At Ship's End

The spray of the tumultuous sea kissed the early morning air, leaving tiny pearls of water in its wake. Lucian Pax gently brushed the drops from the little black book nestled on his knees. He sharpened a pencil with a small knife as the sound of heavy boots halted at his back. Though Lucian remained the newest and youngest addition to the Empress crew, he had quickly become accustomed to Captain Ryke’s sovereign footfalls.

“Captain,” Lucian greeted as his pencil glided dark scratches over the page, forming a rough sketch of the port ahead on the horizon.

“Pax,” the Captain returned with a sigh. Captain Ryke leaned in, his braided beard resting upon Lucian’s shoulder. “Fiddling with that book again, I see.” He paused, scanning the result. “Come,” he instructed after a moment.

Lucian snapped his book shut and followed the fellow pirate below deck. A spark sliced through the darkness as Captain Ryke held a lit match between his jeweled fingers. The flame danced over the walls as he guided the match into an ornate lantern. Lucian blinked, adjusting his eyes as he followed the captain deeper into the grand ship.

“I don’t often see you celebrating with the crew after our hauls.” He said as he he shoved a key into a heavy locked door.

Though he had had many conversations with the captain, he had not been behind this particular door before. He watched Captain Ryke turn the key with a twinge of curiosity. “Well, I usually gather my share and put it toward what I need to pay off my father’s debt. Once I return home with what I owe, my mother will be able to live without his burden weighing upon her.” Lucian instinctively raised his hand to the four raised scars along his cheekbone. His fingers ran over each line, one for every five thousand owed.

Lucian lowered his hand when he caught Captain Ryke’s dark eyes following his movements. The captain lingered a moment more before shouldering open the heavy door. Inside the connected room, gold coins and jewels overflowed from chests and sacks like lustrous waterfalls puddled in gleam. “This is but a mere portion of what we have gathered on our journeys. And, yet, you don’t celebrate. Instead, you scribble your little drawings in that book of yours,” he said, waving his hand as if striking away the very idea. “Why?”

“Why?” Lucian repeated, confusion in his tone. “I… I’m content with what I have. I see collecting this only as a reminder of my dead father’s stain on us. I’ll collect enough and when I return, I’ll become a doctor.”

Captain Ryke scoffed a laugh. “So content, you say, that you can stand in this room and not want to swim in the riches that surround us?”

“Yes!” Lucian confirmed, indignation lining his words. “Why is that such a joke to you?”

Captain Ryke breathed a weak laugh, his eyes staring blankly at a splendid tiara dangling from two fingers. “It isn’t,” he responded quietly. He heaved a sigh before continuing. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” He spoke these words in a whisper, his tan face fractals in the large diamonds of the crown.

“That seems very unlikely. You’ve traveled halfway across the world and met hundreds of people. That simply can’t be true,” Lucian explained, his voice wavering a laugh as heat crept up his neck and cheeks.

“Actually, it is,” Captain Riker shrugged, a small smile lifting one side of his mouth. Lucian jumped as the captain tossed the headwear into a mound of coins, the tumbling clatter echoing around the room. “So, doctor?” Captain Ryke questioned as he settled comfortably upon a latched chest.

Lucian blinked, momentarily struck silent by the sudden change in mood. “Yes, a doctor,” he confirmed.

“I would have assumed you’d be an artist or something the way you’re always drawing.”

“I don’t plan to draw for a living. I draw to remember my experiences. So, I can share these experiences with those I love.”

“Those you love?”

Lucian nodded. “My mother, my aunt.” Captain Ryke nodded in understanding as Lucian continued. “What about you? Doctor as well?” He laughed.

“No, I can’t leave this behind,” he said as a handful of coins cascaded from his palm. “I’ll be getting a bigger ship. A grander ship. With a bigger crew. Amassing a larger treasure.” He scanned the riches filling the room, his eyes distant. “Once you’ve earned your fill, you’ll just go? How can you leave all of this behind so easily?”

“Because I’ll be going home. To my family.”

“Is it truly that great? Home? Family?”

“Yes,” Lucian answered without hesitation.

“You’ve never told me, how much do you owe?”

“Twenty thousand.”

Captain Ryke whistled. “That man must have--” He was suddenly interrupted by the clang of a heavy bell. They were under attack.

Captain Ryke bound across the floor, his heavy boots scattering jewels and coins across the room. Lucian spun on his heels and darted after him, his hand flying to the gun at his belt. Captain Ryke unsheathed his sword at the closed door, then quickly turned to face Lucian. He cupped the back of Lucian’s neck and pulled him near.

“Stay close to me. Understand?”

Lucian nodded, his heart racing. The captain swung the door open, the wood bouncing against the wall as the two bolted up the stairs. Lucian readied his gun, the metal cool in his clammy palm as fear and adrenaline pounded through him. Captain Ryke broke onto the deck with a feral yell, his cutlass slicing through the air and striking any attacking pirates in his path. Lucian fired off a shot, the bullet lodging into an assailant’s chest, sending the man crumpling to the slick deck.

The crew and the oncoming sailors swirled around Lucian, the clashing of metal and gunpowder rolling on the mist as Lucian reloaded his gun. Captain Ryke’s broad back pressed against Lucian’s narrow one as they turned in unison, the enemies at their front. Lucian abruptly stumbled backward, his support weakened, as the captain tackled a charging pirate. As Lucian regained his balance, he suddenly felt cold steel against his throat, a dagger digging into the sensitive skin of his neck.

Lucian froze, fear gripping his core, a surprised shout escaping his chest. Captain Ryke whipped around to face Lucian and the powerful woman clutching him by the throat.

“Captain?” She spoke in a heavy accent.

Captain Ryke growled then hesitantly lowered his sword. He nodded. “Captain Darius Ryke. Captain?” He returned, his voice low.

The woman nodded, then whistled shrilly. The attacking pirates halted their movements. She raised her brows to Captain Ryke who instructed his crew to stop attacking as well.

“Captain Lehana Naiser. And I am a great watcher,” she continued, “and an even greater keeper of promises.”

Captain Ryke narrowed his eyes at her. “What do you want, coward?” He spat.

She hissed in disapproval and slowly drug the knife against Lucian’s throat, blood pricking hot against his skin. Captain Ryke held one hand up as if to apologize. “What do you want?” He repeated, his voice softer.

“What any pirate wants. Your treasure.”

The crewmates of the Empress bellowed deep laughter, the very thought ridiculous.

“Your treasure or I end him,” she declared. “Follow along and he lives.”

This only drew more uproarious laughter as Lucian’s stomach churned with dread.

“Kill him,” one fellow pirate called. “He’s not worth his weight in gold!”

“I’d kill you if it meant I could keep my booty!” Said a pirate beside him. She elbowed him as they both exploded into howls of laughter.

Lucian grimaced, his breathing increasing as his body shook against the abrasive captain. His mouth grew dry as sand as he realized these would be his last moments.

“Keeper of promises, you say?” Captain Ryke asked. She nodded proudly as answer. “You would leave him unharmed?”

“He would have no more than this mere scratch upon his neck,” she said as she flitted the knife over his throat.

He extended his arm toward her, his palm upward. “Then so be it.”

She shoved Lucian forward, laughing as she did. He stumbled into Captain Ryke’s extended arm as waves of anger erupted across the Empress.

“What-- I don’t understand,” Lucian sputtered, his voice wavering as relief welled in his eyes. “I’m… I’m no one,” Lucian exclaimed.

“Not to me,” Captain Ryke stated, his eyes soft.

Chants of ‘traitor’ and ‘lily-livered’ flared through the mass as Captain Naiser’s crew began tying thick knots around Captain Ryke’s wrists and chest. Lucian was next.

Captain Naiser shot a bullet into the air to silence the scandalized pirates. “If you are loyal to your gold, come aboard my ship as my crew and it’s yours.” She gestured toward the treasure room as multiple mates began raiding the stash. “Or, you can stay with this sad excuse for a captain.” She waved her arm toward Lucian and Captain Ryke folded on their haunches. “If you do, you won’t be harmed.”

A symphony of sheathing swords rippled through the air as many of his fellow crewmates assisted with lugging chests and sacks to the nearby ship. Those who remained were tied as well. Lucian watched in disbelief as the Empress was stripped of her glory, her treasure room now barren.

Stars sprinkled the black sky as the last of Captain Naiser’s crewmembers dropped a dagger at Captain Ryke’s feet. He trotted across a plank to his ship and pulled the wood across after him.

Captain Ryke cut both he and Lucian of their ties then those of the remaining pirates as the enemy ship drifted away on the horizon. The crew turned to Captain Ryke for direction.

“We’ll continue to the port,” he gestured to the land closing in. “We will recoup there.” He manned the helm, the sailors following suit and taking up their positions. Though the captain stood firm, Lucian could see his hands, now stripped of their many rings and bangles, shaking on the wheel.

Lucian grudgingly strode below deck and stood before the empty room once brimming with wealth. He stroked his fingers over the gashes scarring his fair cheek. He was not sure how long he stood in the dim lighting before heard the captain approach from behind him. He drew a sharp breath as Captain Ryke placed his hand atop Lucian’s. Lucian momentarily leaned into the comfort then turned toward him.

“I don’t understand,” Lucian admitted shakily. “It’s gone. All of it.”

“Not all of it. Not you. You talk of family and home. I’ve never felt that, but you…” he exhaled softly and brushed a blonde hair from Lucian’s forehead. “You make me want to.”

The two stumbled as the ship struck port. Captain Ryke trekked up the stairs, leaving Lucian to process his words. He gathered his book and pencil along with clothing for the short stay before disembarking. He scanned the drunken locals filling the street for Captain Ryke, his chest growing warm with the memory of his confession. His brows knitted in concern as he drove deeper into town in search of him.

He was attempting to describe him to a hiccuping older man when he appeared before him.Em

“I’ve acquired rooms for the night,” the captain explained.

“How? You had not even rings to trade,” Lucian laughed.

“I acquired funds as well,” he said. “I used those to show my appreciation to my loyal crew.”

“Funds?” Lucian question.

“Empress has a new captain now,” he said softly as a smile painted his lips.

“You sold her?”

“Yes,” he stated. “I sold her for your share and then some.”

“My share?” Lucian asked.

“Yes. You are now twenty thousand dollars richer.” Captain Ryke laughed at Lucian’s dumbfounded stare and ran his calloused thumb over Lucian’s scars. “You can go home now.”

“We can go home now,” Lucian corrected.

“Home,” Darius breathed before Lucian pressed his lips to his.