Chapter 19: The Forsaken Land
I woke up to the sound of people cheering outside and the light of the rising sun on my face. I squinted to take a look at the unfamiliar room and remember the things that occurred last night. And that was when I remembered I was drunk – the hammering pain in my head was the evidence. The late night dinner with Captain Drakon played in my head like a sick, annoying theatrical performance I was doomed to watch. And when the memories from last night reached to the sight of an unfamiliar door and to madly kissing a man I wasn't sure if I just imagined almost caused me to break the window and throw myself out to the vastness of the ocean. And did I really say that it was the best ale I had ever tasted? God! If there was another death I would encounter aside from the violent hands of the pirates or unforgiving judgment of the sea, it would be this toe-curling, hair-pulling and teeth-gritting embarrassment.
I was startled when the door opened and when I saw the Skull coming in, I immediately slumped back to the bed and covered my face with the blanket. I couldn't face him like this – not when I acted like a harlot last night. And speaking of being a sexually aggressive drunkard, I checked my clothes if I was still wearing all of it or if there was any weird feeling in any parts of my body. Fortunately, aside from the shame that was pulling me deeper and deeper in the bed, I still felt normal – normal and embarrassed.
"I brought you breakfast and coffee. You'll need it for this day." The sound of his voice caused my cheeks to become even warmer. I personally didn't want to see my face at this moment.
"I – I'm not – h-hungry," I stuttered which added to the embarrassment I was enduring. It was probably better if I had my tongue cut out – it would be rightful punishment for doing shameful things last night.
But the growl in my stomach when I smelled the aroma of hot coffee betrayed me when he put the tray on the side table. Ugh! Being sober after drinking poison was both a blessing and a curse. I wished I could just pretend that I didn't know anything from last night.
"You are hungry." He said and pulled the blanket off me.
I was caught off-guard when I saw the sheet fly to the foot of the bed. I immediately put my hands to cover my face from him. I must pretend to not remember anything. I don't remember anything! Damn it! He'd probably forgotten to be a gentleman!
"Nothing happened last night. You don't have to sulk about it." He said in a serious tone which appeared to me as a slight insult. So for him, what happened last night was nothing. I completely remembered how we kissed each other last night and now, he was saying that it was just nothing?
"I am not sulking," I said and sat on the bed. I looked up at him and met his mesmerizing cold, gray eyes. How could he still manage to look handsome and annoying at the same time in front of me?
"You don't have to bring this. Erasmus will be willing to bring me breakfast," I said when I reached for the coffee on the table.
He crossed his arms in front of me as if I was a kid who needed a lecture because of a bad deed. I was too far away from my parents but it seemed that I would still be served sermon for breakfast.
"I don't just let anyone in my room. You were out of your mind last night, drinking with the Captain and sneaking into other people's bedroom. Can you imagine what worse things that could happen?" He started, his voice was serious and cold.
"You didn't lock your door. And I didn't know that it's your cabin," I said in defense. I felt like I was in a trial and I needed to save myself from judgment.
"And what if I did lock the door? You would've entered Owain's door or another pirate's room and fell on their bed! Or that old Drakon would consider you worthy of his lust and took advantage of your stupidity!"
He was almost shouting. I slowly put back the coffee on the tray while listening to him. He was worse than the elders in the East Land who would discuss how I should act like a lady as the daughter of the leading family of the East. So I was really eating sermon for breakfast.
"I am under the Skull's protection," I answered weakly. It seemed that being under the Skull's protection was my solution to everything.
He sat on the bed in front of me; frustration was in his eyes and said, "What if I couldn't protect you from me? What if I couldn't resist the temptation and devour you like a savage, hungry wolf? Last night, I almost lost my mind and –"
He stopped from speaking and watched me as I covered my ears. How could he say these things to me? I felt uncomfortable and awkward when he continued staring at me. I dropped my hands and turned to another direction.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm regret trespassing into your room. It won't happen again," I said shyly.
When he didn't say anything and continued staring at me, I grabbed the coffee and sipped, pretending that I was busy doing something aside from being uncomfortable in his presence. I shouldn't let him know his stares could affect me this much.
"What?" I finally said when I couldn't bear the intensity of his gaze.
He shook his head and stood up. "Nothing. It's just that – you're still a blushing tomato after all this time."
And with that, he left the room with my mouth gaped open as if I was stung with his mere words. I thought he had become more manly and seriously different ever since he chose the pirate world. But it turned out that he was still the childish Threy who would play with my embarrassment and pick on my blushing cheeks.
After I ate my breakfast half-heartedly, I felt the Obsidian dock on an island. The voices of the pirates were joined by the distant voices of people and I knew then that it wouldn't be so different from the Borgian Island. I looked around the room and wondered if I should stay here for a little bit longer. Threy's room, even though quite spacious and fancier than probably most of the cabins here in Obsidian, had almost nothing in it aside from the weapons and other men's belongings. I knew I wouldn't find anything that would interest me. That was when I decided to walk out of his room to go back to my cabin.
The noises became louder and it felt nearer than the distant voices I heard inside. I started to walk on the unfamiliar hallway and turned on the corner where I saw my cabin few doors from me. A couple of pirates were approaching from the dining area below and regarded me with their mischievous grins. An image of me smiling broadly to every pirate last night flashed on my mind and I couldn't help the blush that was starting to creep on my cheeks. I should never drink again!
I decided to run towards the door of my cabin, hiding my face by looking down on the floor and avoiding the eyes of anyone I met. But I didn't see the approaching pirate and it was too late for me to dodge when I bumped on to him. I staggered back and looked up and was surprised to see the captain staring down at me.
"Good thing you're already awake. It's a good day to see the land beyond the sea." He greeted cheerfully.
I remembered drinking with him last night and the tall glasses of ale he offered me. I remembered talking to him about the crews of the cargo ship and that they should not kill them because they were also human. I remembered talking to the captain of the Obsidian incautiously and now, Captain Drakon was standing in front of me, greeting me, as if nothing happened last night.
"When you're drunk, you puke lots of words. But when you're sober, you swallow it all in," he said smiling. I think after last night, Captain Drakon became less scary for me.
"You shouldn't have given me too much to drink. I regretted everything I did last night." I couldn't help but whine at him. It was his fault why I ended up on Threy's room.
"Oh! Did you really regret it? I thought the safest place for you to go is in the place of your protector," He countered.
"I – I..." I probably told him about the Skull last night and I couldn't find a way to defend myself from this embarrassment.
"You were bragging about the Skull's protection last night and now, you can't even talk about it." His smile grew wider and I knew at that moment that the old man was just teasing me.
"Oh, please, Captain Drakon. My head is still aching from last night and this conversation is not really helping me." I frowned at him.
"Alright! But I suggest you go out and take a look of this forsaken land. Who knows? You might learn something you would never know in your precious land." He said and walked passed me. I looked at the entrance to the deck and wondered if I should go. I was curious and the thought of learning something from an unknown land was interesting enough for me. But this curiosity came with fear and I couldn't help but be frantic about it.
I opened the door to my cabin and changed into more decent clothes. These past few days, I was getting used to wearing trousers and simple dresses and I bet no one from the main lands would even recognize me as the daughter of the ruling family in the East.
When I finished fixing myself, I walked out of my cabin and stepped into the deck. The sun welcomed me once again, kissing my skin with more intense heat this time. But what really caught my attention was the enormous island before us. It was almost as big as the West land but not as prosperous as the latter. The Forsaken Land was actually more chaotic than the Borgian Island. It was more populated with lots of houses built from probably low standard materials lined up in the distance. When I saw men, women and children started to run on the seashore towards us--as if they were expecting our arrival--I faltered. I had never been accustomed to things such as this. We sure had poor citizens in the main lands, but not as many as them – not as miserable as them. And at that moment, I wondered what my father would do in this situation.
I looked around the deck and saw the pirates busy unloading the stuff they stole from the cargo ship. They were being led by Owain who seemed too focused in his task to even notice me. It didn't appear to me that they were selling it to them. When I saw Erasmus walking towards the rope ladder, I ran and joined him in climbing down. He turned to me and smiled when he saw my face.
"I thought you'd prefer to stay. You probably have a headache right now," he said sounding concerned.
He helped me climb down until I stepped my foot on the canoe that was waiting for us. A pirate pulled as towards the shore with the boxes of goods from the cargo ship. When I peek at one of the boxes, I saw bottled medicines. My curiosity was growing stronger and stronger as we reached the shore and I was starting to feel that there was a bigger story behind the stealing.
"Do you think you can help me give some Borgian apples to the kids?" Erasmus asked.
"Sure. I'd like to help you," I said looking at the group of kids staring at us with excitement in their eyes.
When we get off the canoe, the kids hurried to us, reaching out their hands for something we're supposed to give. Erasmus led me to the pirates who were unloading the baskets of apples. I turned around to see other pirates who were already distributing medicines and other stuff to the elder people. I watched as they received it gratefully – some of the women almost had tears in their eyes. Someone tugged on my knee – length skirt and I looked down to see a little girl with green eyes staring up at me. She was thin and wearing clothes that were almost a rug to me. I stooped down to brush the wet black hair sticking on her cheeks.
"Do you want some apples?" I asked, smiling.
She immediately returned my smile with her dazzling one and I couldn't help but fall in love with it. She looked so innocent and I never thought that an apple could actually bring a smile to an angel's face. I took an apple from the basket and gave it to her. She received it with an even wider and brighter smile and bit into it. Other kids followed her and so I found myself distributing apples to the children of the Forsaken Land. I thought my heart would fly out of my chest and burst because of the joy I was feeling whenever they smiled gratefully at me. Some of the little girls even brushed my red hair, amazed at how vibrant the colors could be.
"Are you a princess?" A little boy asked, his cheeks were blushing.
"I am," I said giddily. "Just like all the little girls here. Will you do me a favor and be a good prince to us?"
His shyness faded and smiled warmly at me. "I will be the best prince!" He said loudly which caused the other little boys to disagree and claimed they were better princes.
I was about to hand a little girl an apple when a rough hand suddenly pulled me from behind. The rest of the apples fell and rolled on the sand as I accidentally stumbled on the basket beside me. I saw a rugged, drunk man looking down at me, a bottle of alcoholic drink was in his other hand. I tried to pull my arm back but he was holding it too tight to the point that it started to get hurt. Erasmus was immediately on our side trying to pry away the strange man from me. The children were starting to get scared, but the boy who claimed to be the best prince started to push the strange man away from me with all his might.
"Let her go," Erasmus demanded.
But the man was stronger and he pushed Erasmus away. He, then, brushed the boy in front of him to the side and regarded me with stern look in his eyes. I could even smell the stench of alcohol from his mouth when he spoke.
"We must kill all those selfish princes and princesses from that big land! Don't poison the children's minds with your stupid fairy tales!" He slurred.
But before he could even speak more, he was suddenly pulled away from me and thrown on the sand violently. I looked up to see the Skull who was furiously looking down at the strange man lying in front of us. He stepped in front of me so the man would need to get to him in case he decided to attack me again.
"Go home! There are more people who deserve our help than an irresponsible drunkard like you," the Skull said, his voice dripping with authority.
"She's poisoning the kids with the romantic ideas of those self-centered royals!" The drunken man was trying to get up on his feet. The little children were suddenly on my side, some of them are hiding behind me like I could cover for all of them.
"Her positive imagination does not give you any right to disrespect her especially if she's just trying to help people like you."
The Skull looked at the people who were already watching us. He suddenly grabbed a loaf of bread from a pirate who came to aid us and threw it to the man in which he caught with his hands, dropping the almost empty bottle on the sand.
"Go home! Or you'll regret that you even touch her," he ordered.
The people of the Forsaken Island urged the man to do what he was told. He grudgingly walked back to the group of houses nearby, but not without giving me another harsh look. The children started picking up the apples on the sand while those who came to watch went back to the pirates who were distributing goods and medicines to them. I immediately walked up to the boy who bravely defended me from the man and asked if he was just alright.
"I am a strong prince so I'm not hurt. He's just bigger than me." He answered boastfully. I smiled as I watched him joined the other kids picking up the apples.
A firm hand reached out to my arm and I turned to see the Skull examining it grimly. "Does it hurt? You bruised too easily," he asked.
"I am a strong princess so I'm not hurt. He's just bigger than me." I mimicked what the boy told me trying to make him loosen up.
But he remained serious and looked into my eyes gravely. The smile started to fade in my face and I started to feel the weight of the situation. He rolled down the sleeve of my clothes to cover the red mark on my arm and said,
"What he said was true. We must kill the selfish people in the main land."
That was when my blood started to run cold. The fear his words brought was greater than those of the strange man. He said he must kill the selfish people of the main land. Was he planning to kill our families?