Children of the May (Children of the May Book 1)

Chapter Four: The Storm

 

It was a cold night. At least, I think it was night. The darkness in the hold was so complete that the sun could have been beating down hard on the ship and we would never have known.

Though there were fewer tears immediately after we had sung together, people began to complain again about an hour later. They whispered to each other about the cold, told stories about how their families would come to rescue them. I had no such fantasies; my mother would never come for me, and I could not imagine Martha risking everything to steal me away. That kind of disobedience would lead to the full force of my mother’s rage. The blacksmith was strong, but not strong enough to survive that.

Fitful sleep eventually took most of the others. I listened to the lollop of the sea against the wood. The waterline was perhaps five feet above my head. The cold seeped through the hull, through my cloak, my thin sleeves and into my bones.

‘Drift, are you Drift?’ whispered a soft voice a foot or so away from me.

‘I-I-I-I-I-I am.’

‘Your teeth are chattering, Drift,’ she said. ‘I have a blanket here, do you want to share it with me?’

‘N-N-N-N-N-No. I-I-I have spent colder nights than this.’ It was almost true, though I could not remember ever having been quite so frozen.

The girl sighed a gentle sigh. ‘Your chattering teeth are keeping me awake, and I’m cold too. Share my blanket with me and we can keep each other warm.’

I had been mocked by my sisters my whole life, and knew that no girl would ever offer me anything without it being the first part of a trick. The girl beside me had put no sarcasm in her voice, only shivering and tiredness and a little fear. But I had been fooled more than once, back in the days when Nerina and Neave still found it amusing to toy with me.

I felt her cold fingers on my hand. ‘Come here, Drift, please. I’m cold and I’m scared.’ There was a tremble of tears at the back of her throat. She was a very good actress. ‘Are you not scared too, Drift?’

I wanted to reply that I was not scared. That I was as brave as Mordred and Melwas and whoever else. But in truth I was very frightened, even after Mordred’s speech and our murderous song.

‘I-I-I’ve never been this f-f-f-f-f-far from home before,’ I whispered. Even though I had no reason to be fond of my family, the Lake was the only place I knew. I loved its waters, its forest and the mountains; they had surrounded me every day of my life. A tear welled in my eye, so hot that it almost scalded my freezing cheek.

The girl’s hand tightened on mine and she pulled me towards her. I shuffled across the floor and allowed her to lift a thin woollen blanket over me. I could feel a small amount of warmth from her body, but I did not allow my deformed self to touch her. I was scared that she would pull away in disgust or mockery if she felt my hunched back. I was scared she would call me names and encourage the others to laugh at me.

‘Will you hug me?’ she whispered. ‘That’s the best way to keep warm.’