Prince of Embers

1. Under the Floor Boards

Welcome back to part 6 of the Overshadow Series! This takes off after Prince of Blood, so make sure you read in order ^^

For those of you who like a happy story, turn back. It's only getting darker from here on out.

For those who want to join the dark puddles TW: minor character death

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Two pairs of feet made their way up the muddy hills. Their step was unsteady, less so for the muddy earth loosened by the rain, but because the wanderers seldom walked on solid land.

They were used to the incessant up and down of waves beneath their soles.

Hands entangled. Long, slender fingers wrapped around the shorter ones of his lover. They made up for the lack of a missing pinky, cradling the healed stump with reverence.

Hongjoong lifted his head to examine the nearing house on the hill through his wet fringe. The rain had dulled to a sizzle and the ocean's mists rolled over the cliffs to shroud them in constant moisture. Yet, it was drier than what he was used to. The distant crashing of the waves into the rough walls reminded him; called him back home.

The captain's eyes studied the dark windows of the run-down hut, ducked onto the field like a stubborn bug who refused to be washed away by the weather. No horse idled nearby, and no child came running at them, swinging a pan for a weapon.

Though they never announced their visits, this place had never been this silent before.

Disquieted, Hongjoong glanced at his companion.

Seonghwa's face was even. When at rest, it lost the agitated lines of stress and worry that plagued him all the time. Though the scars remained, his skin smoothed out and his strong, beautiful eyes mellowed with that inherent softness.

Even after they spent so many years at sea together, Hongjoong still saw that Seonghwa hadn't been born a pirate. No matter the mad glimmer in his eyes when he was covered in guts and blood and no matter how smoothly he rode the waves. The same pure core remained.

Their wedding ring glinted on Hongjoong's finger when he pushed his hair from his face. His fingers tangled in stubborn braids and dreads, clicking against pearls and rings woven into the complicated mess.

A tribe of native island dwellers had done them for him; had praised his naturally brown hair that was bleached by the sun and the wind. They brightened the stubborn strands into a dirty blond and tied them back with their fascinating techniques. The result upheld much better than Hongjoong would have expected.

"Ye reckon they be 'ome?" Hongjoong asked as they crossed the last spread of slippery grassland. His eye caught onto the raging sea beyond, where a storm chased dark clouds across the skies to strike lightning and thunder at the unfortunate souls who didn't seek a harbour in time.

When Seonghwa replied, the jagged scars on his cheeks where his mouth once got cut open contrasted with the smooth velvet of his voice.

"We can find 'em in town if they left fer the market."

But it wasn't Friday. Seonghwa never timed their visits, only that they couldn't be on Friday. Friday was market day.

Reminded of the day they first met - a Friday -, Hongjoong left it to him to find out while he mulled over his thoughts. Back then, it also rained. And Hongjoong had anchored the Precious at these very shores, seeking provisions and finding so much more.

Seonghwa rapped his knuckles against the drenched door of his prior home. The wood was withering the same way the Precious would if Jongho didn't tend to her so dutifully. Since Seonghwa's mother was old, they should bring their shipwright next time. He could elongate that door's life for however much longer its services were needed.