VIOLENT TIDES (gxg - editing)

32

Everything had been chaos for Gael. Waking up now, she didn't remember much of it—fire and flashing blades and so much shouting. Cobblestone scraping painfully against her legs as she was dragged away, into a dark alley. Panicking and trying to shove the assailant away, until the smoke in her eyes cleared and she realized it was only Nathe, pulling her away from the fight and to safety.

He had supported her on his arm the way he had when she was a youth, new to the Finch and too tired and shaky to walk after a near miss with another ship. He led the way to a tavern that had already been searched by the soldiers and paid for a room, only one, and together, they waited.

The crew trickled in slowly, regrouping in ones and twos as they found their way to her. No one said more than a few words—perhaps they didn't know what to say, but they arranged themselves in a ragged circle on the floor, sitting on the floor or on the few chests and boxes pushed up against the wall. Gael sat cross legged on the bed, numb and unable to form a single thought. When Ed appeared in the doorway, he headed straight for where she sat, dropping his head on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his unkempt hair, holding him close to her as though he was a child in need of comfort, even though she wasn't all that much older than him.

Providing comfort for others did nothing to heal the dull ache in Gael's chest. Ainsley was lost, taken to a place she could not reach. She had failed the princess, and she had failed her crew. What were they without the Finch?

Gael barely noticed the tears that trickled down her cheeks. It was late, but everyone seemed reluctant to leave. At some point, Ed had fallen asleep against her, so she shifted him carefully onto the bed and tucked the pillow beneath his head. A few of the crew members began to relocate, paying for another room to clear up space in the one they currently occupied, but others approached the hosts and inquired about blankets to bring up for Gael and those who stayed.

Nathe was the one who gently manoeuvred her onto one of the makeshift beds on the floor, just like he had when she had been fourteen and too afraid to go to sleep, surrounded by the unfamiliar creaking of a ship that was not yet hers. She provided little resistance, allowing herself to be lowered to the floor. Nathe stayed, hovering over her. The sound of the men, fast asleep, had long since filled the little room.

"I'm so sorry, Gael. Will you be alright?"

She rubbed her thumb against her opposite arm, washed in pale moonlight through the window where she sat.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know."

"We can't leave. We should run away before we're found, but..."

"But you can't leave without Ainsley."

Gael let out a long sigh that seemed to leave her empty and hollowed out inside. Rescue seemed impossible. How were they supposed to infiltrate a heavily armed palace? They needed to leave, but the Finch was taken, and she couldn't bear the thought of splitting her crew to leave separately.

Nathe gave her a small, sympathetic smile, reached out and rubbed her shoulders once, then turned to leave.

"We'll talk about it more tomorrow."

She nodded wordlessly, waiting until the door clicked shut behind him before lying down on the makeshift bed, unable to see the ceiling above through her tears.

—

Gael was awoken by pounding footsteps. She jerked to her feet, stumbling over the sheets that wrapped around her legs, just as the door was shoved open from outside. Around her, the pirates that had spent the night in this room began to get up as well. In burst Nathe, leaning in with his hand still clutching the knob.