Winds of Fate [Books IV - VI]

Chapter 180.2: Heaven on Earth

~*~

Upon stepping out on deck, the bright noon sunshine first glares Eleanore's eyes. Then come Torkin's squawk, Poco's happy barks, familiar laughter, that all meet her, but the glare still makes the faces into dark splotches. She nearly loses footing, if not for Anton securing her by the waist and closing the door firmly behind them. "You're laced too tightly," he softly says, touching the webbing at her back. "Do you want me to free them now?"

Her cheeks warm. How she missed him, and still, he would look out for her first before his own welfare. "No." She smiles and holds his hand, watching the curiosity in his dark eyes loosen as he returns her smile as well, tenderly. Eleanore raises a brow with a teasing, "We have the rest of the night for loosening all my laces and then some, Captain."

"Ah, you little minx." Anton lets out a laugh, but before he can make a reply—

"NELLIEEEE! AHHHH!"

Aggy?! Eleanore gawps. "Aggy!" She takes a step out of the bridge and cannot help but smile. Ben, still so tall and commanding, now with a stubble and a harpoon slung over his chest waves at her. Not far off, Jim, her faithful quartermaster, now with his bleached hair down to his shoulders, is the one chasing Poco, and Eugenie, nearly unrecognizable in the man's clothes she's in, beams from under her tricorn hat, unable to speak. Eleanore cannot contain her happiness, and tears spring in her eyes. They all have changed so much in just mere months, and how she longs to hold them again—

"Ah!" She squeals as Aggy barrels for her and embraces her nipped waist tightly, lifting her inches off the floorboards, much to the groans of Captain Maynard and his lieutenant. Not far back, Anton crosses his arms over his chest and smiles. "Hahaha!" Eleanore laughs as they spin, and Aggy and her fall down on the deck in fits of giggles. "Aggy, what the—!"

Ben snorts. "Absolutely, that did not go as planned, eh?"

Lying down on the floorboards of the deck, Aggy knocks her chest thrice and coughs, squirming. "Goddamn, Nel," Aggy complains at her, catching her breath, "what in the hell is that?! You look like the Queen of England!" She squirms. "And you damn weigh like her too!"

"Way to make her feel bad. Captain." Jim, with Poco in his arms and licking his face, salutes to Eleanore, and Anton helps her up, all of them ignoring Captain Maynard's insistence that they shut up to avoid attention. James offers his hand, but Eleanore pulls him into a tight hug, making Poco squirm. In her embrace, the quartermaster finally sighs. "Princess. It's been a long time."

Eleanore pulls away while Ben helps Aggy stand. "Very much," she softly says, patting his shoulders, and both she and James laugh. "How have you been! How has it been, handling Sparta? You look—"

"Miserable." Aggy offers with a mocking scoff.

James rolls his eyes, and Eleanore gently giggles. "I was gonna say the longer hair is dashing but I miss the old Jim too. You look tired."

"Thanks, Nel. And, I don't really bear all the burden." Jim nods to the figure behind her. Eleanore stops, surprised. "Yeah... I declined."

She blinks fast. "But... why—"

"It's not my lot." Jim beams contentedly and continues, "And the Captain, we needed his direction. Everyone voted for him too, so you don't worry. He also didn't like it."

Eleanore looks at her husband over her shoulder, but Anton just watches them all and glances at his fellow captain. Her heart hammers hard as she recalls how he had spoken to Neville with such pain and anger. 'I lost my ship to the traitor you bribed.' Traitor. Bribe. "I see..." Eleanore softly says, "I hope you all then learned so much from him?" When they all share a knowing look and smile, she nods and beams then too. "Alright. Let's talk about it on our own ship."