Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 10

Rewritten
***

Sehyun was hungry, just as he always was. Even when he shoved his plate away with a stomach about to burst, his taste buds yearned for dessert. Just as they did in the middle of the night.

When he woke, the moon in the sky with no stars beside it, he rubbed his eyes and tried to locate his lamp. He bumped into various furniture and stepped and almost slipped on the clothes on his floor. His pillow fell to the ground with a sway of the ship, but he couldn't care less. Or more? He'd been contemplating the correct way to say it and hadn't reached a conclusion yet.

Squinting his eyes in the dark as he stalked across the ship to the kitchen, he heard a squawk. One that sounded just like an owl in pain. The noise he'd heard too often. The squawk would ring in his ears every time the British Navy brought harm to his owls and when they were ambitious enough to get back to the ship.

Worried for Owly but unable to bring it in his tone, he called for the remaining messenger owl left on the Black Egret.

Captain, I've been shot.

The voice was quiet, but loud enough to reach the captain's ears.

Sehyun shook his lamp in the air to call the owl to him.

Flying over like a broken paper plane, Owly lost his strength before reaching Sehyun. His captain ran and reached over the railing to catch the bird.

"Are you okay?" asked Sehyun, not sounding worried at all. Thoughts of the worst ran in his mind. Where would he get a new messenger owl if Owly died? Where would he find such a competent creature? Next time should he buy a hawk instead? How would one heal an owl?

Do I look like I'm okay?

"Owl, you better not piss me off. I was about to get desert and here you are dumping problems on my head."

What a delightful idea. Next time I'll send my crap flying onto your head to get a better reaction out of you.

Sehyun shivered. He had an irrational fear of anything that could fly and anything that looked like a bug. "You dare not. Where does it hurt?"

Sehyun carried Owly to the owlery, his step swaying like his ship in exhaustion.

A British Navy ship found me flying where it's daytime right now. In the east. Whatever they shot at me got my stomach. Owly moved his wing from his stomach, revealing a cut across the bird's torso.

"Tell me exactly where I can find that ship."

You're going to sink it, aren't you?"

"Of course. Is it near Querilke? My mom is going to kill me. We were supposed to be there yesterday."

It's just off the coast of Querilke. When they shot me, they were battling this other ship. I'm sure it belongs to a pirate. And the pirates were losing horribly.

"You tell me this now?"

I'm sorry. My brain must not be working at the moment. Especially with this wound on me.

"Shut up, Owly. It barely cut your skin. You'll be able to fly just fine tomorrow."

The owl passed out melodramatically, exaggerating his pain by throwing his head back and by sticking his tongue out more than necessary.

Sehyun rolled his eyes and taped up Owly's wound.

***

When the sun rose, lighting up Sehyun's tired eyes and clumsy movements, he called for Suzy. He saw her run into his room, rushing to fix her hair and dress.