The Way of the Sea

Chapter Ten: Blue Blood

The next morning broke with clear skies. Alanna had woken Eden with a pleading smile and only one word:

"Beach?"

They'd decided that a picnic lunch near the ruins would be ideal for a day on the coast. Fredric had carried a massive quilt down to the beach and everyone else had carried the food.

Darin and Alanna has finished their sandwiches in record time, eager to get to the water. Fredric and Merida sat on the quilt, still eating.

Darin bent down and swatted the water. Alanna squealed as the salty drops of water sprayed her face. The weather was finally behaving well enough for the children to play, and they were relishing every moment.

Eden and Aidan sat making small talk on the wall of the ruined house that overlooked Murlough Bay. Eden laughed and said "mhmm" at the appropriate moments, but her mind was back in her upstairs bathroom, helping Alanna clean under her fingernails.

"Do you think Aidan would ever be a soldier?" she had asked.

So innocent. So hopeful.

Eden repeated Alanna's question over and over in her mind, and each time she answered her back, her answer changed.

Would he?

Of course not.

Would he?

Surely not...He couldn't.

Would he?

...I don't know.

The trouble was that deep down, she knew that going off to war to save his countrymen and complete strangers from toil and death was exactly something that Aidan would do. Eden didn't think that it was in his character to do anything else.

But that didn't mean she liked the idea.

"I could sit here and watch the waves forever," she heard him say, drawing her attention back to him. He took a bite out of his sandwich and tapped his heels against the wall as he chewed, watching the sea with jovial fascination.

Eden didn't feel the same joy. She hesitated, staring at her own half-eaten sandwich. She drew in a long, deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Could you, though? Could you be content to do that?"

Aidan swallowed and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Eden straightened her back and lift her chin. "It's just that Alanna thinks you're going off to war." She tried to be lighthearted about it, but she could tell that Aidan could see right through the façade.

Aidan placed his sandwich on his napkin and set it aside before bracing his palms on the edge of the wall. He sighed. "I didn't want to talk to you about it yet because I still don't know what I'm going to do."

Eden looked at him in bewilderment. His confirmation both shocked her and piled dread unto her shoulders.

"Aidan!" she exclaimed. "Ireland's not involved. How--"

"Some men are joining up with the British Army," he said with caution.

"Well," Eden scoffed. "That's not exactly treason, but it isn't wise, either."

Aidan was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He remembered the conversation he had overheard on the dock.

"You know how Gavin and Declan were trying to enlist?"

Eden looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Mhmm."

"It's just -- you know how they are. And if they were willing to go, there's no reason I shouldn't--"