Lillian's Mercy: King slayer

Chapter 10

I stood eagerly against the cell bars, waiting for the hatch door to open as promised with the key in my hand.

As the wood finally lifted and lantern light replaced the darkness of the filthy room I couldn't help but wonder if I could truly trust these men.

I took a deep breath and turned the key in the lock. I released the breath after a moment and pushed open the creaky door.

Whether they were friend or foe you will leave this ship. This is your only chance.

I kept my steps silent as I made my way to the open hatch. No one moved above as I silently made my way up to the main deck. The hatch was open here too so I quietly pulled myself up taking note of every soldier in sight. They all seemed to be facing away and as I moved closer to one near my escape boat he turned his back to me and bowed his head ever so slightly.

I pulled myself into the boat and hauled my self down to the water. I was grateful to find that the boat had been stocked with small barrels of food and fresh water, a single cup and bowl and strips of cloth with a bottle of rum.

I picked up the oars and checked my bearing. True to the soldiers words, there stood an island not too far off. As men worked to raise the anchor a face peeked over the edge of the vessel.

"There are weapons beneath the bench. The island has many predators. Good luck friend." The familiar soldiers voice whispered through the night.

I bowed my head in response and began rowing towards the island. I rowed as I watched the ships sails fill with the night breeze and moved further and further away.

As I neared the shore, I slowed my pace, only rowing when the waves brought me away from the shoreline.

If there truly were predators on this island then surely they hunted at night. I will wait out the darkness and then make my way to the shore.

As I waited I opened the bench and retrieved the weapons. Two large horse pistols lay in their holsters on top of two short swords in black leather sheaths. I grinned as I strapped them on, feeling safer and safer as each added weapon increased my weight.

I tied the pouch of rounds to my belt and continued to search through the supplies. In a sack by the barrels I found a black and gold tricorn hat with matching gloves and a jacket. With these I would be protected from the sun and night chill.

A small tinder box sat on top of a leather satchel in the bottom of the cloth bag. I pulled these out and put the smaller items inside of it along with some cheese and bread wrapped in a cloth.

Satisfied with my preparations I took another small wedge of cheese and some bread, eating as I watched the sun rise.

Cautiously I rowed to shore. Once in the shallows I climbed out and pulled the boat higher up on the sand.

I unsheathed one of the short swords as I tied off my boat to a tree and searched the treeline. The thicker part of the jungle was further towards the center of the island. The shore line had enough palm trees for wood and to build shelter. I would do that first. I put away my short sword and pulled out the much heavier cutlass. I moved cautiously to the nearest set of thin trees and began chopping through them. When I was satisfied with my pile I hauled it closer to shore. I headed back out and found a bundle of vines I chopped them free and hauled those to the shore too.

I chopped the palm trees down to half their size and cut off the fronds, setting them aside for later use. As the sun grew hotter I hauled my project into the shade of a large rock.

With all the logs chopped to size I began to weave them together with the vines and a series of knots that I had learned on The Maelstrom.

I continued this until I had 3 equal panels, each the length of 2 of me. And the height of one and a half. Again I hauled the pieces to another location, this one a small space near a small cluster of palms.

I laid out one panel and dug a narrow hole about a foot deep and the length of my makeshift panel. I lifted the contraption and slid it into the slot within the sand. I pushed the sand back in and packed it down before moving on to dig a trench for the next wall.

I repeated this until I stood before 3 sturdy walls. I sighed and wiped the sweat from my brow as I looked up to the sun. It was past noon now. Soon the day would get cooler. Good. I still had several vital things to build. I returned to the unused logs and used the left over vines to tie together three more panels, these ones only a few feet in length to allow me to create some sort of door. Finally I built one last panel. This one the same size as the first three but covered in a thick layer of palm fronds. I hauled these over to my foundation and used some thinner vines to ties the walls together for better support.

Now I placed the two side panels of the front wall and secured them in place. Then I measured for my door, chopping away the excess wood and tying it loosely to one of the other panels. I tested its maneuverability and smiled. This would do just fine. I lifted the final foliage covered panel over my head, straining to lift it high enough to place over the top of my small makeshift hut. When I finally succeeded I fastened it in place and hauled the boat over, placing it beside my hut before moving the supplies indoors.

By now the sun began to set, basking the island in a darkening glow. I sighed and made my way outside. I quickly gathered some dry timber and dug a hole for a fire pit. I used my tinder box to ignite the warm glowing flame.

I ate my rations by the fire that night. When it grew eerily dark I added more logs to the fire and headed to the safety of my four walls.

I curled up on the ground my mind plagued with thoughts of rescue and of my boys. It hadn't even been a week and although I had been on a ship amongst many other people I still felt completely and utterly alone.

Now the feeling was worse than ever as I was kept awake by the sounds of predators hunting their prey deeper within the jungle.

I hope someone finds me soon. I cannot take the small boat across an ocean, and when I run out of supplies I'll need to head further into the dangers of the jungle....