The Nightingale

Chapter Twenty

Before Alexander had the chance to respond to her request, they were thrown off balance by the entire ship shaking around them, accompanied by a deafening sound. Natasha stumbled forward, already unsteady on her feet due to her injuries, and felt Alexander's hands fall on her shoulders to steady her.

"What was that?" Natasha asked, looking up at Alexander, eyes widened in surprise. He looked beyond her, his expression shifting as his eyebrows knitted together as a serious expression took over.

"Stay here," he said, without looking at her, and reached for the sword that was resting on a chest at the foot of his bed. Natasha watched him, confused, as well as angry that she was once again being pushed aside, locked in a room and left out of what was happening on board. So, when Alexander moved towards her, heading for the door, she backed up against it, blocking his way. A shadow crossed his face as a look of annoyance flashed behind his eyes, and Alexander sighed heavily.

"Natasha, move." His words were low and cold, and for a moment, Natasha couldn't help but think that he reminded her of John, cold and distant, and insistent on brushing her aside. The anger that Natasha had felt standing in John's room, demanding answers from him when he refused to even look at her, resurfaced, and Natasha crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tell me what's going on." She refused to look away from Alexander's eyes, waiting for his answer.

"Dammit, Natasha, this is not the time for games!" Alexander growled, his eyes flashing from her face to the door behind her as chaos seemed to erupt behind the closed door. Dozens of men shouted at one another, voices overlapping each other to the point where Natasha could barely understand what they were saying through the barricade behind her, but whatever was going on behind her, the ship had suddenly come alive. Another deafening blast erupted in her ears, and the entire ship trembled.

Alexander reached for her, his hand landing on her shoulder to try to move her out of the way, but Natasha fought back, using both of her hands to shove his arm away from her, despite how it made her shoulders scream in protest. "Tell me what's going on!" She yelled at him, taking the surprise in his voice as a sign that if she pressed hard enough, resisted enough, he would give her an answer.

Angrily, Alexander stepped towards her, closing the space between them so they were barely inches apart, but didn't touch her again. He leaned down, close enough that she could feel his breath against her cheek as he spoke, and she realized for the first time just how intimidating he could be.

"Those sounds you hear, that shaking you feel, those are cannons, Natasha, which means we are currently under attack. I advise you to step aside, and lock the door behind you." Natasha's entire body stiffened, and she felt as if she couldn't move but willed her feet to move over enough that Alexander could open the door beside her and brush past her. She watched him as she went, catching a glimpse of the chaos beyond her, the sight of John's men scrambling around the ship as a third blast reverberated in the air around her, although this time, the ship did not quake in the aftermath.

"Lock the door behind you," Alexander repeated. "Do not open it for anyone except for John or me, do you understand?" His voice had softened noticeably, and some of the anger had ebbed from his eyes, but as Natasha studied him in the moment before he closed the door, she could easily the fear that was forming in his blue eyes. Natasha nodded, watching as Alexander pulled the door shut behind him, feeling as if she wanted to say something to him but couldn't find the right words in the seconds she had before the door clicked shut and he was gone.

Natasha's hand lingered by the handle, her fingers shaking as they brushed across the rusted metal. A part of her desired to open the door, to see and to understand what was happening around her, but when something, or someone, slammed onto the wall just outside the door, her fingers quickly dropped the lock into it's place and she backed away from the door until her knees hit Alexander's bed. She half sat, half fell, back onto the bed and held her breath, not wanting anything to distract her from listening to the sounds outside the door. Two deafening crashes sounded almost simultaneously, shaking the ship as they did so, but it felt different this time, and Natasha knew it was John's men firing those cannons in defense of whoever was attacking them.