Lone Blind Star: Chapter 9 - Escape At Dusk
Explosions and kisses.
Cecilia and her knights were in the middle of placing meat across the back wall of the captain's quarters in the hopes of the princess somehow catalyzing it like blood. Then, a commotion outside gave them pause.
"I'll go see what's going on," Ser Claude said and headed out the door.
Ser Anjali placed a reassuring hand on the princess' shoulder. "Are you sure you can do this?"
No, she wasn't sure, but she had to try. "It should be the same process." She hoped it was. Because it came naturally to her, she never fully understood the ancient magic she used. She just did as the old books instructed. Maybe now wasn't the best time to test its limits, but she wasn't going to sit there and do nothing but fret.
Ser Claude came back, a little winded and a little worried. "Your thief is here," he said and looked out the back window. The others looked, too.
"That's him?" Cecilia said. She couldn't tell. At that distance, they might as well have been ants on a toy wooden boat.
"That's him on the bow—I think," Ser Anjali said, squinting her eyes. She glanced over at the princess. "Are you ready?"
Cecilia turned her eyes upon the small pile of steak and chicken leftover from the dinner display, and the line of sausage links that led behind a turned over table. "Let's do it."
Up on the poop deck, Leon called down to the captain, "Can we outsail them?"
Captain Ray, who didn't much like being kicked out of his cabin, replied, "Doubtful." He gestured toward the merchant vessel with his thumb. "The LIMC has the fastest ships. Even faster if they're sailing light, which I bet they're doin' at the rate they're catchin' up."
Leon disliked the tone the captain spoke to him with but didn't have the time to get into it with him. "Then, we fight."
Captain Ray rubbed his temples. He didn't want to argue with the young Lord Harrington, so he ordered his crew to turn and line up their guns. They were not a battleship by any means, and what cannons they did have were mostly for show. It would take a while before they could fire anything more than rifles.
As the ship swung to the right, a loud explosion from below shook the deck. Leon quickly jumped over the railing and threw open the door to the captain's cabin. An ocean spray laden breeze wetted his face. His eyes widened. Almost the entire back wall was missing. The setting sun met the horizon beyond the pursuing merchant ship, illuminating the room in a blazing orange glow. Cecilia's figure was just a shadow by comparison, deep and dark and unknowable. That was the moment he realised he knew nothing about her.
"Seize her!" Leon commanded.
The soldiers that had gathered behind him rushed ahead, but they paused when the two Rose Knights stood in their way, blocking their path to the princess. Bits and pieces of the knights' armor were charred from the explosion, and they looked all the more intimidating because of it.
"What are you doing?" Leon shrieked at the knights. "Why are you letting her go?"
Ser Anjali glanced back at Cecilia with a smile and mouthed the words, 'Go'. That was all the assurance the princess needed before she dove into the sea.
The captain of the LIMC ship, Daniels, handed Ingram his spyglass with a scowl on his face. "Think ye need to lookit this."
"It have to do with that explosion?" Ingram asked as he hurriedly looked through the spyglass. His gut dropped when he spotted Cecilia fighting against the raging waves in the quickly fleeting sunlight.
"What're ye gonna—"
Ingram shoved the spyglass into the captain's chest and made for the side of the ship.
"Ingram!" the captain hollered. "You're not plannin' on goin' an' gettin' 'er, are ye?"
Ingram slipped on a life vest and tied another to his belt. He gave one telling look back at the captain before jumping into a lifeboat and dropping it into the waves.
Captain Daniels, dedicated to helping a man trying to rescue his love, called for his men to prepare for battle. Soon enough, bursts of gunfire resonated across the water.
Bullets whizzed above Ingram's head and he felt a sense of deja vu. It was like he was back in the rose garden some days—weeks ago. Except this time, he was rushing towards the princess.
He called out to her to get her attention and they speeded toward each other. He dragged her into the boat and she toppled on top of him. Seawater dripped from her hair, the black color leaking out like ink.
"You're here," she panted.
"I love you," he exhaled. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He wanted her to know—needed her to know. If anything were to happen from this moment on, at least she knew. She knew.
Cecilia smiled the brightest smile he had ever seen light her face. "I love you, too!" She grabbed his face and kissed him.
From afar and unbeknownst to the brand new couple, Leon Harrington watched the whole thing. And he seethed with fury. "Fire on them!" he ordered.
"We can't," Captain Ray replied.
"Why not?" Leon spat.
"We can't afford to lose focus on the LIMC ship." He also didn't enjoy firing on a kissing couple, defenseless in a lifeboat among the waves.
Leon growled as he snatched a rifle from one of his soldiers. He stormed to the edge of the deck, aimed, and fired. But Ingram and Cecilia were already rowing away, too far for any of his shots to hit. He yelled in frustration and slammed the rifle on the ground. He would find them again. And next time, he wouldn't let that thief live.
Together, the princess and her thief dragged the lifeboat up the rocky shore. They were quite a ways away from Lighthouse Peak, well hidden at the edge of a forest at night.
"Your ship," she began between heavy breaths, "will they be okay?"
"Don't worry 'bout 'em. They're quite experienced." He spoke as he watched the gunfire continue even after the sun had set. If it weren't for their lamps and the emerging moonlight, he wouldn't have even known there were ships out there.
He was about to say something but the second he turned to her she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss, deeper this time. It seemed as if it would go on forever. Unable to contain himself, Ingram tried to pull away but she didn't want to let go. He stumbled backwards and they both went down, cracking their foreheads against each other.
She laughed and said, "Did I startle you?"
"Ya did." He brushed the side of her neck and up through her hair, his motions tender and fluid. Ingram held her there as he stared into her golden eyes, face framed by silvery white hair illuminated by the moon's creeping white glow. He couldn't help himself, and he kissed her again. It was like they couldn't stop touching each other, like neither could get enough of the other. They were starving.
She fumbled with a button on his shirt and he panicked. He grabbed her wrists and held her at arm's distance. He heard her hiss and immediately let go.
"Did I hurt ya?" He gently took her fingers and massaged the top of her knuckles with his thumb. It was difficult to see, but this close he could see dark smudges around her wrists. "What're these?"
She was reluctant to explain, but could feel his worried gaze and gave in. "Leon had my wrists shackled so I couldn't run away."
Ingram's nostrils flared. He clenched his jaw, grabbed a random rock from shore, and threw it as hard as he could in the direction of Leon Harrington's ship. He shouted some expletives Cecilia couldn't quite make out, which made her giggle. Oh, she loved him so much.
She gave him a quick kiss and said, "It's okay. They're just bruises."
Ingram wanted to put up a fight but didn't want to argue with her. As furious as he was, if she didn't care, he would at least try not to, either. He took a deep breath, a moment for him to calm, and said, "Well, let's get outta here. Maybe even outta Walden for now. Until we come up with a plan, at least."
Helping him up, she replied, "But I have a plan."
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
"We're heading to the Harrington marquisate—in Ostwald territory."