The Water Howlers - Book II ✔

Chapter 12 - Ki

Ki was having the time of her life. Not only did she feel great aboard The Phoenix – Thatch had spent the last couple of hours hurling his guts up over the railing. She loved it. The air was constantly in motion around her and she could feel her gift sucking in the energy from her surrounding element. The feeling transported her back to her home village, standing on the edge of the mountain cliff where she would practice her gift with her uncle. Now, she was standing at the bow of the ship, looking out at the vast sea spread out in front of her. The waves broke against the ship and she could feel light sprays of water as it hit her face. Licking her lips, she tasted the saltiness of the ocean. It would do no good to drink it, Ori had told her. They would have to purify it first, but The Phoenix had barrels of fresh drinking water and Captain Fawke had assured them all that the Water Howlers aboard his ship could extract the salt and bacteria that rendered the ocean water undrinkable if they ever ran out. It was something Ori had learnt as well, he told them afterwards. It was apparently one of the basic and most acquired skills they learnt during training and one that they relied on the most.

The sun had slowly begun its descend as midday passed into the afternoon. White puffy clouds rolled across the sky above them, carried along by the wind. Ki's long dark hair had been braided into one long braid by Emmie before they departed and now the wind played with it, tugging on it with its invisible fingers, but Emmie had done a good job and the braid stayed put. A single tendril at the front had managed to escape and it blew around Ki's face no matter how many times she tugged it behind her ear.

The journey across the Aederlas Sea would take The Phoenix ten days depending on the weather. Ki and Ori had both promised Captain Fawke that they would do what they could to shorten the trip. Ori helped the other Water Howlers with the currents and tried to ease the waters for a more pleasant voyage; whereas Ki made sure, they avoided any oncoming storms or harsh weather. There were no Howlers aboard The Phoenix other than Captain Fawke's two Water Howlers and then the four of them.

Since first having laid eyes on him earlier that day, Ki wondered whether or not Captain Fawke was a Fire Howler. His outfit, the name of the ship, it was all fire-related, but she could not imagine a Fire Howler wanting to spend their life at sea. At least not if she had to judge from the way Thatch was holding up and still only on the first day. If the wind was at her back, she could faintly hear him complain or groan as the wind carried his voice across the ship.

I almost feel bad for him, she thought to herself, a smile on her lips.

Of course, Tristan Fawke could just as well be an ungifted with a particular liking towards fire, but she had learned in the past year, not to assume anything about the ungifted. Turning her head towards the back of the ship, she watched him shout orders from his position by the large rudder. He commanded people's full attention with his mere presence and his crewmembers never hesitated or seemed to question his orders. It was like Sarko, but worse, she thought and chuckled at the thought.

Looking back out at the sea in front of her, Ki's thoughts then strayed back to earlier when the ship was departing the royal harbour. They all stood at the railing watching the large anchor as it rose from the bottom of the harbour, breaking the surface of the water and almost glistening in the pre-dawn light. With a ship this size, it was natural that it caught the attention of many people, who were curious to see such a vessel spread its wide, white sails, which was why several people, many of them children, had come up on the pier to watch the departure. None of them knew who those four at the railing were, that they were the kingdom's protectors off on a secret mission, but they waved at them none-the-less. However, Ki's wave abruptly stopped as she had spotted a person at the back. Cloaked and on a horse, but familiar in shape and size all the same. He had come to see them off, to see her sail away from him. She was bringing home his future wife, her future queen and despite whatever stoic appearance she had put on in front of him, it still hurt deep inside. Ki doubted whether those feelings could just disappear from one moment to the next and she had wondered just how long before her feelings towards the prince had completely vanished. Because she needed them to vanish and it was quite possible that this trip could make that happen. At least that was what she hoped. Even if she had to force it so.