The Chronicle Keeper (Formally - Destiny)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE | nolan

Time had stopped as the realization of what she was planning on doing sunck in. No pun intended. But there was nothing I could do. Even if there was, she would have gone through with it anyway. The deckhands were going crazy. Insanity had taken over with Belle having freed herself and now, Aislin was nowhere to be seen.

"Man overboard!" Some idiot yelled.

"Well get her back! Don't just stand there, you fools!" The witch squawked.

"Yes, Lavinia." They all replied in unison.

I watched as the crew moved to the port side to look over the railing and into the waters that spread out before them. I had to give them credit for not running into each other as they all flooded together over to the railing, looking for Aislin. It not only raised my brows, but some questions as well. Like were these guys really that dull, or was Lavinia dumb enough to hire these guys on to help her. If she is really as powerful as she looks and acts, then having smart help would have been to her advantage, right?

"She's nowhere, Lavinia." One of them called out.

"Yeah, she's vanished." Another one chimed in, looking awfully familiar.

The palm of my hand attempted to smack my forehead, bit it was restrained by the rope that had been keeping my hands tied behind my back. What and idiot. I thought, as I witnessed Lavinia's face boil red. If there was one thing I was grateful for at that moment, it was not being part of the crew; I was beginning to see that every situation or circumstance had its advantages, as small as the seemed.

"Bart, you cretin! No one just vanishes." So he was the guy from the forest! I watched as Lavinia dug her fingers into her temples. An exasperated sigh was released as she closed her weary eyes. I would have been doing the same thing, only imagining escaping to a deserted island.

"She'll be back." Lavinia said definitely, opening her eyes again and lowering her hands back down to rest tensely against her sides.

"Keep an eye out for her." The witch continued. "In the meantime, back to your stations and bring the prisoner below." She turned, pivoting to face the door that would lead her to the innards of the ship, but then stopped.

"And, while you are at it, find a place for those wretched, unruly beasts." She added, before reaching out a slender hand to clamp down on the door's knob.

"Yes, Lavinia." The chorus of men sang.

"I do not want another fiasco like this again. Do you understand?" She asked. Her lyrics were cold and dead. But her undertone was threatening. If there was one thing I had learned about her, first impressions told me she was an ice queen. An intimidating woman, with an intensely powerful aura that permeated from her.

Everyone nodded in agreement, shuffling about without a sound.

***

With each step of resistance from me, the men who had been assigned to escort me below shoved me forward. Every once in a while they found it amusing, even necessary to stun me with their tasers, leaving me vulnerable long enough for them to control about the next ten or so steps, as I stumbled forward. There was no time to dwell on the humiliation that presently was blackmailing my conscious. Undeniably, I would be facing my humiliation when Aislin came to rescue me. But the evil, pessimistic thoughts of her being unsuccessful flooded the forefront of my brain.

"Get moving kid." One of them said, shoving me forward as we descended the metal staircase. As each boot hit a stair, the clang rang and echoed. Below deck was damp, giving the impression of a cave. My boots clattered down the stairs as I tried to compensate for the shove. With my hands tied, I found stabilizing myself more of a challenge than normal.