Deserter

TWENTY-ONE

ADD-ON TO OVERLOAD WEEK. I also posted the first chapter of a new Sanders Sides book, called 'A Home For Lost Boys'

And now comes the week of silence, see y'all next weekend

{Here it comes y'all. Virgil gets violent.

Chapter Triggers: he generally puts himself in a lot of danger here, so lets start with him specifically, jumping off something that shouldn't be jumped off of, paranoia, swordfighting, three deaths (nothing is graphically described, but it happens), two stabbings, one trampling by a horse, execution, not a specific mention of blood but kind of an allusion towards it? Those are all I can think of/figure out from reading through the chapter, I apologize if I missed any and feel free to inform me.}

Virgil stood on the deck of the Wavehawk, staring out at the turbulent water. The wind was picking up in knots every second, and the dark expanse churned angrily as rain began to fall.

Someone grunted in distaste next to him. He glanced over and was met with the sight of Captain Mikkelson's dark eyes glaring out at the sea.

"Not a great day for sailing." The prince said quietly.

"It never is when we cast off." Mikkelson muttered. "You ever been on a ship before?"

"Once, when I was a boy." Virgil shrugged. "It was a fairly quiet voyage. If this weather is any indication, I don't think we will have that luxury."

Out of habit, he tapped his knuckles against the wooden railing in front of him. Mikkelson grunted again and turned, his boots thunking loudly on the decking as he walked off.

Virgil sighed and gripped the leather shoulder-strap of his bag, hugging it to his chest. As the moments went by, his stomach began to match the waves he was watching more and more. He was forgetting something, missing a piece of the puzzle. But what was it?

Trying to distract himself from it, he pulled his thick, waterproof cloak from his bag and pulled it on.

It wasn't until he heard Captain Mikkelson begin to shout orders and the crew started the process of casting off that it suddenly hit Virgil. He physically staggered, then whirled to try and find the captain.

"Wait!"

"Too late for that boy! We're under way!" The captain shouted back, standing at the tiller with his legs spread in a stabilizing stance.

Virgil gritted his teeth and spun, racing for the ship's prow.

The craft had already begun to pull away, but he didn't hesitate. As he reached the edge of the deck, he leapt up, planting one foot on the railing, and threw himself out over the small expanse of water between the Wavehawk and the docks.

Several people yelled in surprise and horror, but Virgil tucked himself in and hit the planking hard, lunging forward into a roll to dispel some of the landing. He popped to his feet and took off at a sprint.

Drifter and Spindle were no longer at the inn when he reached it. Cursing under his breath, Virgil burst into the main room of the building.

"First person to give me their horse gets this." He announced, holding up a bag of coins that he had planned on using to start his new life on the other side of the Ugronev.

Not five minutes later, he was on the back of a dusty-grey mare whose name he had been informed was Bluebell, leaning low over her neck as they shot out of the city at a full gallop.

Virgil pulled her up into a walk once he thought they were far enough. Hearing voices past a bend in the road, he turned Bluebell around and dismounted. Grabbing his bag and hiding it in the bushes nearby, Virgil sent the horse racing back the way she had come with a sharp smack to the rear.

He drew his blade carefully, stalking forward and cutting through any foliage to see who was ahead of him without being obvious.

It took a moment or two, but Virgil finally spotted Patton. The sight of the healer being forced to kneel in the center of the road made his blood boil and he cleared his throat loudly, capturing the attention of the three men.

Drifter nickered a greeting, but Virgil ignored him as he stepped into view. "Gentlemen. You really should pick on those your own age."

The man closest to him didn't even have a chance to defend himself. Virgil cut him down and moved on, engaging the second of the group.

His opponent snarled at him as they locked blades. He was fairly well trained, but Virgil knew he was better.

He dodged a wicked swipe and took advantage of the man's momentary distraction as he stumbled to strike a blow of his own. The robber crumbled to the path slowly and Virgil turned to the last man.

"Back off." He had his knife close to Patton's throat. The healer stood awkwardly, trying to keep the blade off of his neck as much as he could.

Virgil stopped, breathing quickly. He shifted his grip on his sword slowly, assessing the situation.

"Just let him go." He finally said quietly.

"Drop the sword." The other man countered.

Virgil gritted his teeth, but slowly began to lower his weapon to the ground. As he let go of the handle, he clicked his tongue twice.

Drifter whinnied angrily and lunged forward, teeth snapping. Patton screamed and threw himself sideways, to the far edge of the road.

Virgil snatched his sword off the ground again and leapt at the last robber as he attempted to fend off the suddenly furious horse that was kicking at him.

"Drifter! Ri fesy."

The horse immediately calmed and backed away. Virgil walked up to the broken body lying in the dirt in front of him.

"I gave you your warning." He said simply before shifting the grip on his sword and bringing it down.

Patton whimpered loudly from where he was lying, tightening his arms around his head to try and block out the noise. Virgil cleaned his blade quickly on one of the bodies and went over to the healer.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, crouching down and carefully reaching a hand out to touch Patton's shoulder.

"Is it over?" Patton peeked out, looking surprisingly small and young for a nearly fifty-five year old man.

Virgil nodded, then grunted in surprise when Patton leapt up and threw his arms around him.

"Hey, hey, you're okay. You're fine- you're not hurt, right?"

Patton shook his head, holding the prince tightly. Virgil could feel him shaking.

"I thought the Wavehawk already left?" The healer asked quietly when he finally pulled away. "What happened?"

Virgil shrugged. "I couldn't shake the feeling that you needed me... jumped ship and tried to find you as quickly as possible."

Patton inhaled shakily and looked around, avoiding looking at the mess that Virgil had left in his wake. "Well it certainly is a good thing you did..."

{I know its probably hard to believe with what has happened already... but here's where things really get moving}