Crimson Rebirth

Part 6

 She should've known what L said about Varce was true.

 "She's a fine beaut, the lass. How about a little picnic with me in me cabin and we can, uh...talk about favors?" Varce asked as he leaned to Genevieve, who was already very weary of his attempted flirtations. His hand reached to her hair, but a massive hand caught his wrists. A man had walked over, but he towered over the captain, carrying a dark air about him.

 "Lay a hand on the woman," The man practically thundered, his voice a baritone so deep it rippled through the wood planks of the deck, "And I promise you the first thing that is going to happen will be you sitting in the brig while Mr. Hans takes command. So long as I walk here, I will see to it that you remain the ever vigilant captain I know I paid you to be. Do we have an understanding?"

  "Yessir." Varce grumbled, wincing slightly. Damn, the man was STRONG. "I'll be headin' to the wheel now."

 Gene let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding, her hand rubbing her right wrist, if anything, tattooed into her skin. "Thank you." She murmured, taking a deep breath.  

  The man nodded and stepped away from her, taking to the bow of the ship. He didn't have to take many steps, easily one, two, three, to the bow and simply sat down. He adjusted a longsword at his belt, and from the glint of the sunlight, it gave off very distinct features.

 For a first, the blade had a stunning brass and silver pommel, with a diamond on one side and an onyx in the other. The handle itself was of fine wood wrapped in what seemed like silver wiring, perhaps for decorative purposes, then to the crossguard of a semi crescent shape were more but much smaller gemstones, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and onyx interwoven with brass, bronze, copper, gold and silver.

 The blade itself was sheathed in what looked like wood with ivory-shaved paint to give it a white look. It was gorgeous, with gold dye on leather cuffs to keep it to his belt. Which was odd, considering the man looked no more than an ordinary veteran soldier.

 Wait a minute...

 The giveaway was the crew. Any who darted to the man didn't say Sir, they regarded him as Your Highness. Their tones weren't by any means sarcastic, they genuinely respected the man.Wasn't he...?

 "Your Majesty," Han, the first mate approached him, "We'll be approaching Silver Ridge within a week, maybe two."

 The man nodded. He grimaced and told him, "...You know you can just call me..."

 "Yes I understand," Han responded, "But...your sword, M'Lord...."

 The man looked at the longsword. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and unclasped it, then handed it to Hans. He told him, "Take this thing below. I'm not going to be groveled at just because of my new status."  

Gene's eyes stayed on the still waters around them, fighting off another bout of seasickness. "Ni a jor......." She quietly murmured, her hand rubbing against her wrist again, reading the words that had appeared. "I am calm......."

Varce, being ever the good captain, when he wants to be, stayed at the wheel, keeping his eyes on the horizon and definitely not the redhead, the pretty one with the faint bruises. Definitely not on her.

 Definitely not.

 The captain scowled, feeling the wind starting to die down. "It'll turn into rowing at this point." Varce grumbled. "Just want one trip without losing wind at night. Just one."

 Han bowed his head, taking the sword carefully and stowing it belowdecks, hidden from sight, yet where the man would be able to find it if needed. "Done, sir." He said to the man once he came back above. "And if ye'd like, I can smack Varce's head against the wheel. His father would be greatly disappointed to hear his boy of behaving such a way..."

  The man looked up at Han. At Varce's regard of the dying winds he frowned. "Well...this won't do." He stood and walked over to the captain. "Need a hand?"  

  "Only if ye want. In th' morning, the winds'll be back, and we'll be on our way. Either we can anchor here for the night, give everyone a chance ta rest, or we can keep going. Either way, won't impact our travels, sir." Varce muttered, making sure to keep his wandering eyes trained ahead. "Crew can take shifts, everyone else can rest."  

  Kaiju hummed. He regarded, "If it's all the same to you, I see a few people who need to be at places as soon as they can. Some have homes to go back to. I'm not keen on keeping them waiting."

 He then...proceeded to take off his mantle, his cloak, his armor, and then his vest and tunic.  

  Varce nodded, as Han assisted the man as much as he could, putting the armor carefully aside, folding the cloak, and the like. Once that was done, Han made his way over to the redhead, his voice soothing, as though dealing with an easily startled animal. "Miss Genevieve, ye may wanna head below. L told me about yer seasickness, it's about to get bumpy."

 Gene nodded her head in understanding as Han went about his duties, yet something kept her in place. Maybe curiosity, maybe not wanting to be alone with her thoughts. Either way, she didn't move from the deck.  

 The man glanced over. He then approached the woman and asked, "You all right? I see that Hans talked to you but you haven't budged. Something wrong?"  

 Genevieve looked up at him, her emerald eyes seemingly holding onto some of the sadness that the very moon grasped. "Quite alright, sir." She said politely. "I have the perchance for seasickness........ Apparently. Mr. Han was making sure I was alright."  

The man nodded and extended a hand. "I'm used to uneven terrain," he explained, "Let me help you below. Unless you'd prefer the sight of a shirtless man rowing twelve oars and moving the ship half by himself."  

"As much as a sight that would be." Gene started, taking his hand and ducking her head down slightly to mask any sort of blush that may or may not have painted her cheeks. "I believe that below would be the best bet for me...... The ocean and I are not friends."  

  "I could tell," The man stated and helped her to her feet. "You're not a journeying sort, you're more inclined to the comforts of a home and a close knit village."

 He was careful, ever patient as she followed him from the top of the ship. He pointed at his gear, which was a heavy leather backpack meant for long distance journeying, and told her, "Help yourself to whatever you need in there. I keep dry food and water at all times."  

  The moment he mentioned village, Genevieve flinched as though she had been slapped.

 Her mind had done miraculous wonders keeping her from circulating back to what had happened, back to her clan. Yet, it was short-lived. Her right hand immediately flew to where Riskel had bitten her, a recent enough marking that it still blemished the skin, though on the path to healing. Her head ducked down. Embarrassment? No.....

 Shame. Grief. Worry. All three of those and a million emotions more slammed through her, though she tried to not show it.

 She bit her lower lip and bowed her head. "Thank you Mr.........?"  

  The man caught on. He cleared his throat and muttered, "Shame on me, that was tactless on my part."

 "Your Highness," Han spoke again, "The captain's asking for you."

 "Aye, I'm coming," The man answered. He looked at her and considered answering her, but instead smiled. He patted her shoulder and headed above deck to assist.

 That assistance apparently came in the form of a surprising shove as if from behind.  

  She shook her head gently, slowly moving her hand down. "You didn't know, I very well can't fault you for not knowing." Gene said quietly, moving to sit down more than anything else in that moment.
 
The sudden movement caught her off-guard, as she nearly tumbled to the floor. In all of that moment, her mind decided to finally, finally latch onto something Han had said.
 
Your Highness.
 
Her eyes widened slightly. "........................ That was unexpected."  

  Of course, unknowing of Gene's dilemma, there was another unnatural force at work, as a pair of branching stones pierced the sea and cradled the ship between them. A deep thrumming, like the one Gene had heard before, sounded through the sea. The ocean bubbled and splashed around them, but ever still the ship remained moving until dawn rose.