A Game Of Swans

Chpt 22 - Beyond Me

There was a little bit more discussion about the new plan (which was accompanied by concerned glances from Arthur that I continued to ignore), but it was ultimately decided that we would follow through with it. So, we continued on our route to Kuta Raja in the Banda Aceh province of Aceh, Indonesia. It was estimated that we would arrive in the early hours of tomorrow morning, which luckily gave me time to think about what we would do if we didn't find the ship, and consequently, the Amulet.

Ivan would be pissed. Would he kill us all? Simply steal our stuff and leave us stranded? Stab us, drown us, shoot us? Or would he be okay with it? I snorted to myself at that last thought. Unlikely.

I was sitting at my desk still, staring idly at the wall. The others had all gone back to their ships a couple of hours ago to tell their crew (or just their First Mates, I wasn't sure and frankly didn't care any more) about what was happening. Well, everyone except Arthur of course; he asked Antonio and Francis to relay the information to Kris. 

Currently though, our couple of hours together had consisted of Arthur making the occasional comment and me mostly zoning out and staring at the wall, my exhaustion catching up to me. Blinking, I tried to clear the sleepy haze from my eyes, running my hands over my face. I yawned though, and leaned back in my chair.

I caught Arthur watching me with a frown. I raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

He sighed. "You haven't slept, have you, love?"

A wry smile formed on my face. "Is it that obvious that I had a bad night?"

"To me? Yes. I can read you like a book, you know, and you look shattered."

"I'm fine."

"You're not, love. Maybe take a nap?"

We stared at each other for several moments that seemed a lot longer that they probably were. Mostly because I got lost in his eyes, which I think he noticed because a small smile quirked his lips. 

Maybe a nap would be good, I mused idly, Just a short one. A short nap to wake me up a bit. It won't be any good if we arrive at Kuta Raja or the Straits and I'm too tired to pay proper attention to our surroundings. Heaven forbid I leave those three to deal with Ivan on their own, they'd get turned into fish food.

I sighed and ran my hands over my face before reluctantly standing up. "Alright, I'll take a nap. But on one condition, Eyebrows."

Arthur's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the nickname but he just fixed me with a curious stare. "Yeah?"

"You're napping with me."

He blinked and then laughed lightly and the sound of his laugh made me smile.

"Alright love, I think I can manage that."

He took his hat, gloves and coat off, draping them over one of the chairs in my Quarters, and I pulled off my waistcoat, leaving that on top of one of chest of draws. I yawned again and flopped down onto my bed, which caused Arthur to chuckle. The English captain moved to lay down next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and with a sigh I curled up closer to him. He kissed the top of my head.

There was silence for a few moments.

"I love you," I murmured softly.

"I love you too, (Y/N). Get some sleep." He kissed the top of my head again, rubbing circles into my hip with his thumb. "I'll be here when you wake up."

With a smile on my face, I let my eyes close, and after a short while darkness engulfed me as I slipped off into sleep.

*