The Mark of Aether

Amidst The Flames~Part I

Ever since the bosun yelled his famous 'lands ahoy!' early this morning, the ship had not known rest. Yells, cheers, and happy chanteys dominated the air surrounding us, everybody buzzing here and there, doing something useful.

I rolled the loose sleeves of the white shirt I'd borrowed from one pirate—the cleanest I'd found and stared at the prow deciding to do something. Grasping the thick riggings, I started pulling on the rough ropes with all my might, pulling the knotted kinks used for fishing out of the water.

I was pulling the ropes with all my forces when I whiffed in the smell of that familiar fresh, spicy musk before I felt the weight of the riggings being lifted away. I already knew it was him before I even turned to look at those deep, blue eyes. Leon pulled the ropes and threw them aside as effortlessly as the world could ever mean before dusting his hands, already done.

"This is not a job for a princess to do.''

''Well, no one here knows and there is no need that they found out,'' I answered, leaning against the rails, seeing Carter's silhouette appearing from behind one half-plied sail with a good-naturally composed Mayra.

"Good morning,'' greeted the Arelesian lord, standing next to me

"Morning to you,'' I replied, carefully sitting on the metallic handrails, feeling a wave of blazing magic engulfing us. The Versamith port must be extremely close by now.

"There you are, we've been looking for you since a while,'' exclaimed Mayra, tugging on the hems of her ridiculously large shirt. A twin of hers could easily fit with her in all that fabric, but it was the cleanest things we could snatch from the sailors. Recharging our reserves of clothes and food was most than primal, but water was the most indispensable of all needs. If truly like what I'd heard, the temperature in Nevora could reach water's ebullition point and leave us dehydrated to our smallest cells.

''Everybody seems to have a lot on their plates. How long do you say it will take us until we finally set the anchor?'' I queried, looking at the land that seemed closer by each passing moment. Several billows of fire merged with the essence of my elemental, feeding my nevorain strength with power.

"Perhaps-'' whatever answers Leon was about to say were cut deaf when something flashed next to our heads. Lost in the blur of the moment, all I could see was Carter's long hair swaying around before his arms pulled me aside, locking me tight.

He had caught a weapon burning with fire, and as I gained back my control over my senses, I realized it was an arrow. And a very sharp one.

The voices on the ship increased, but I knew it was not of joy. A sudden halt made the waves wobble, shaking the entire watercraft with it. I gripped the metallic rails with one hand while I clutched Carter's arm with the other. It took a good few minutes before the sea calmed and my nausea started to retreat.

Taking a quick look around our entourage, I saw several small cutter-boats under the control of the Coast Guard encircling us.

Sirens echoed in the empty air, ringing between my ears like a pain. On the cutters stood an excessive amount of guards, all dressed in scarlet cloaks and similar military side caps. Most of them were holding their bows with similar burning arrows, all pointed straightly at us.

Between the mortified pirates, I saw the distressed captain struggling, trying to run as fast as his peg-leg allowed. He wore an unsettled look in his eye, while what visible of his face was drown in utter fear.

"Where is that boy?'' exclaimed the old man before his eye landed on us. Running and hobbling, he came to us in haste.

"I've brought you here, now it is your turn to make sure we pass safely or I will bring you back from death to kill you myself if you ever fail,'' warned that hombre with all he could muster of a menacing tone, but I knew that his leg was shaking underneath the leather of his pants and boots.