Chosen : Assassin Book 1

Chosen - Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three

I spent the four days at sea watching my watcher. She fell in love rather quickly, and I knew I had to find a way for her to be free of her obligations to the Guild. They no longer affected only the assassins. I never realized how much the watchers gave up to do what they do. I felt for her. I knew once all was said and done, she would sacrifice her happiness to be with me, even though I was not the person she wanted to be with anymore. Angeline had found someone worthy enough to fall in love with. She deserved to finally be happy.

"Angeline?" I asked.

"Yes, Joselyn?"

"When we finish with finding Belle, would you like to stay with Captain Featherstone?"

"It doesn't matter what I want, silly girl. All that matters is my duty to the Guild and to you."

"It does matter though. You should be free to make your own decisions, not blindly obey the decisions of the Guild."

"Joselyn, when I was chosen for this, I understood I was giving up my freedoms. I wanted to help the world and through you I am," she replied, placing a hand on my arm.

"Don't you want to experience love? Have children? Have a home of your own? Not be someone's pretend handmaiden?"

"Joselyn, there is no place else in the world I'd rather be than with you."

"No place?" I asked, arching my brows at her.

"Okay. So maybe one place."

"And you should be free to be with him. He loves you as much as you love him."

"I've only known him for a week."

"Love at first sight."

She shook her head and walked away from me. She disappeared in the dark abyss of the ship's hull.

Poor Angeline.

"Land ho!" someone from the crow's nest above me shouted.

I spun on my heels, searching the horizon for any sign of wondrous land. Far in the distance, a tiny speck appeared. I could barely see it on the horizon. I almost thought it to be an illusion.

"Where is land?" I asked, placing my hands on either side of the rail at the bow of the ship.

"Yonder. In the distance. That small brown blob, which be land."

"That?"

"Aye, lass," the man tugging on a rope near me said.

"It'll take forever get there."

"You would be surprised at how fast it comes," he replied, tying the thick rope into an intricate knot.

"I suppose."

"Full sails!" Charles shouted from the ship's wheel.

I braced myself as the last sail was dropped and billowed out, catching in the wind. The ship sliced through the water heading for the brown speck which grew larger and large must faster than I thought it would.

As we drew nearer, I could make out a spire of one white-stone building jutting high into the sky. The blue domes of others grew from the beautiful sand. Palm trees dotted the cliffs and shoreline, their branches waving softly in the sea air. People bustled about with baskets of goods. The faint scent of spices and fish mixed in with the salty sea air once in the port. Camels strolled down the streets beside their handlers, large baskets of good hanging from their backs.

I couldn't believe everything I saw. I'd been to so many places around the world, yet none of them came close in comparison to the beauty of Constantinople.