Maskli (Legacy Of Bluebloods 1#)

3

Chapter 2

(Matt)

Saltwater lingered in the air as the hot breeze caressed strands of my hair, making it more unkept than ever. The scorching sun shone merciless above, adding more boredom to the heated space. I scanned over the map given, then back to the edgeless cerulean skyline, noting in changes weather and the direction of sea breeze. Savoring a heavenly mug of hot chocolate that I palmed on my right hand, I marked an arrow below my compass that pointed west on the map.

According to my identification, we should be there in a fair few minutes. I folded my map and tucked it along with that compass into my pocket, an involuntary sigh escaped from the edge of my lips.

Five years.

Five years, I struggled to metamorphose my lugubrious reclusive trait. For five years my brother and I had been away from civilian's eyes. Five years we hid away like thin air, not a word of goodbye, not a letter of farewell or last visit. The time comes and flies like memories. Now to think that we are going home, well - It is a quandary I found neither dread nor jumpy about. Frankly, I did not know how to feel.

"Land Ho!" the Captain roared merrily, turned the steering anticlockwise.

Already?

My forehead furrowed in dismay. I looked to the surrounding for a sign that revealed a mirage of a countryside island. Instead, I was seeing a tiny green spot about eighty-eight feet - or more away from the ship. I glanced at the Captain, who was looking at me, grinning -almost like he knew I was doing the navigation and wanted to get at me. What is this captain playing at? Oh well, I better go get John before the spot came to a better view of the kingdom.

"They requested you and your brother's return after the wedding." I heard a gruff familiar voice informed as I approached the front door of my brother's cabin.

"Have you told them that we will be staying at our hometown from now on?" A gracious voice replied, unmistakably my brother's.

They are talking about us. Catsimite, the kingdom where John and I were sent away for five years. We were educated and trained our skills during our time there, until last month my father sent a letter to our guardians, Earl Uncle Terry, and his wife Aunt Bridget. My father wished us to come back home for my older sister's marriage to Prince George and extended our stay as written in the letter. At first, we're to return home with Uncle Terry. But John was too eager to come back, being impatient as he was, he booked us a ship to Sembon now.

As for my sister, I'm happy for her. My tutor was a bit sad to see us leaving. He wanted us to join in Catsimite court. I heard him tried to convince my uncle. He said that we were too young to be involved in the monarchy.

"I have, my Lord." The voice was getting nearer now, clearer. I knocked on the door quickly, better be a visitor than an eavesdropper. The conversation stopped abruptly.

"Open the door." John's polite voice was heard.

Peter, his bodyguard answered the door, stunned to see I was here. He is older than me, with dark olive skin and a scruffy face that reminded me of those guards back at Catsimite, my father still treated us like a bunch of children, no matter how capable we are to protect ourselves. He insisted on sending us his men, my supposed bodyguard was with the Captain.

"We are here." I entered stiffly -not wanting to be a bothering interruption, informed. My brother's eyes perked up cheerfully "Finally." He was sitting on the chair with his hands folded on the table. He nodded at Peter, who took it as his dismissal and closed the door behind us.

It was hard to concentrate the ear-splitting chatter outside the cabin when the atmosphere in here was tensed. We stood at the same spot for almost a minute and forty-five seconds, the weird silence did not bother me as much as the sound of John's raspy breathing. Neither of us knew where to start, at least both of us were consumed by an air of sudden nervousness. News surely will spread. My father is no commoner, nor a criminal, but the fact that his sons are coming back to their hometown after years overboard - it is a delicious topic not to resist or ignorant about my beloved citizens. I'm not complimenting.