Chapter Three

Tempests, Thunder, and Trickery

 

A young girl of eight stumbled into her father’s room, pushing the door open with a slow creak. It was filled with lots of books and many glittery medals decorating the walls. She was curious to find her mother as her gaze looked up and around the mysterious room. Her father had told her that she needed to stay in her room when it became late at night now that she was old enough, but her mother offered to read her a story. “Mama, Mama, where are you?”

“Charlotte, sweetie, what are you doing here so late?” spoke a mysterious voice to her right, and the girl turned quickly around. There stood her Papa with a four-year-old sleepy Skylar in his arms.

“I’m looking for Mama. Papa, she disappeared when I wanted her to read me a story.” Her father’s smile gave her some encouragement about her mama’s disappearance. “Don’t worry, she didn’t disappear. Ah, speak of the devil. Mama, Charlotte was looking for you.”

Mama appeared through the entryway with a book in her hand. “Mama! There you are!”

“I should be saying that to you, Charlotte! You weren’t in your bed!”

“It was only because you disappeared all of a sudden.” She laughed as her Mama pulled her into a hug.

“I was finding two things. One is your favorite book and something for your papa.” She showed little Charlotte a dark black stone that was as black as night.

“What’s that, Mama?”

Her mama gave her a reassuring grin. “This was a protective charm that Papa and I found. But I can only grant it to someone worthy.”

Little Charlotte jumped diligently back and forth between her mama and papa. “I can be worthy! I’m a good child!”

They gave her a smile before handing her the stone. “I’m sure you can when you are older, my sweet Charlotte. It may come to aid you one day if you decide to seek the rest.”

Little Charlotte gave a puzzled expression. “The rest?” she questioned.

But her mama had no more to say except, “Come now, off to bed.”

Charlotte had started to giggle when her mama started to tickle her into motion. Her papa also started to laugh at the antics his family was starting, and Skylar had begun awakening in her papa’s arms.

Suddenly, everything froze. Her mother wasn’t moving, Skylar and her father were standing completely still and eerily quiet. “Papa? Skylar? Mama?”

As if her voice broke the world itself, the floor tumbled in, and she collapsed inside to appear in her room. Slapping her cheeks, Charlotte ran to her mirror to look at herself. There stood a thirteen-year-old bashful yet gorgeous Charlotte staring into nothing.

“I thought I was with Mama, Skylar, and Papa,” she murmured, but before she could say anything else, she picked up another noise with her ears. The door was opening slowly, too slowly, which caused her to take a step back.

“Charlotte, could you help me with this bow? Papa wanted me to accompany him to the masquerade ball tonight.” A boy of nine entered. He had light-brown hair that was poorly combed into a sort of fashionable way. No matter how many times they had taken a brush to his hair, it would bounce back to the glorifying bed head. 

Heaving a quick sigh, Charlotte relaxed when she recognized the hazel eyes her younger brother sported.

“Charlotte, you look beautiful just like Papa said! He said it was Mama’s dress after all!” Skylar, who seemed to forget about his previous dilemma, quickly grabbed Charlotte’s wrists and helped her out of her stupor.

“Right—but didn’t you need help with your bow?”

Skylar looked up at his elder sister with his hazel eyes. “After we see Papa!”

Charlotte couldn’t help but smile at Skylar’s eagerness. He was kind to everyone he liked, always spoke the truth, and was quiet to those around him. He had a reserved quality about how he presented himself, even at nine. Further, he was always on point with that gut instinct of his.

Reaching the door handle, Skylar pulled it open, and there stood Papa. “Papa, we were just looking for you.”

Their papa just smiled and patted the boy on the head. “I was just looking for you as well. Charlotte, you look elegant. I’m glad I kept that dress from your mother. If she were here, she would be glad.”

Blushing at the compliment, Charlotte bashfully looked down and slightly did a curtsy. “Thank you, Papa.” Soon. her elegance was forgotten as Skylar played with the tailcoat. He wanted to look remarkable just like his older sister had to their Papa.

“I was wondering what seemed off, but you’re missing the bow, Skylar. Other than that, you look like a real gentleman. You would make any woman proud.”

“Thanks, Papa!” Skylar grinned ear to ear.

The walls had shattered around them. Once again, the world around Charlotte seemed to have disappeared.

“Papa? Papa? Where’d you go? Skylar, don’t leave! Don’t leave me alone!”

Collapsing into the darkness around her, she realized another four years had passed and gone. She wasn’t the eight-year-old attached to her mama’s side. She wasn’t the eight-year-old girl who learned of her mother’s disappearance and then sudden death a month after showing her that stone.

She wasn’t the thirteen-year-old girl who danced the night away with the baron’s sons and countless suitors. She wasn’t the thirteen-year-old girl who waved her papa and Skylar off on their voyage a week after that.

She had just turned seventeen years old and was standing in the middle of the carnage in her uncle’s estate. She was adopted at the age of thirteen and raised as a proper gentlewoman. Only now, that too was disappearing. The flames that flickered in her peripheral danced as it destroyed all she ever had known.

“What’s going on? Hey!” People ran left and right around her, memories and killings playing over and over in front of Charlotte.

“Help me! Help!”

“Save us!

“Spare us! General, help us!”

The cries from the dying people made Charlotte start to cry. Why was this happening? Why?

“Everything,” the mysterious man who threw her off the cliff simply stated and disappeared in the blanket of flames. Feeling his presence still there, Charlotte recovered some strength to stand and started running away. “You can’t run forever, retainer.”

Heavy . . . it’s too heavy. Terrified, Charlotte tried to run away from him, only to run into the woman with penetrating blue eyes. Falling, she scrambled away, using her feet and wrists, hearing his laughter from all around her. The woman was slowly walking to her, as if she were a lion in wait about to eat its first meal of the day.

Charlotte used all her strength to get up and followed the flame’s open path. It was there that she recognized a familiar stance.

“Skylar!” Charlotte shouted to her twelve-year-old brother. He was standing still with his back toward her.

“Skylar! The pirates came to the port to kill us! They’ve killed Uncle, and he is now after us . . . We have to escape!” Charlotte couldn’t help but feel a foreboding sensation as she realized something wasn’t right. Why didn’t he respond? Why wasn’t he running away with her? Why wasn’t he helping her?

“Sky—” Her voice disappeared when he turned around with his sword out. He had tears streaming down his face as he thrust his weapon into her. The feeling of steel connected into her nerves as she looked down. Blood was slowly seeping from the wound as she gaped in shock. Her Skylar, her little baby brother, had just stabbed her.

“I’m sorry . . . if it wasn’t for me . . . Forgive me.”

Before she could speak, Zaine’s laugh spilled all around her as she felt her life essence leaving her body.

“Die quickly, Charle. I won’t have you dying a slow miserable death like they want. I’m sorry.” His tears were still there as he withdrew his sword. Standing off into the distance was the man with the white mask. When Skylar noticed his presence, he merely turned and walked to him. Sheathing his rapier, the boy looked at Zaine who had raised his hand to pat his head.

“Good job, Skylar.”

Skylar stood silent as he turned back to the dying Charlotte. She looked sad, even depressed, until anger covered over her emotions as she hissed out. Blood spilled out as the words came pouring from her lips.

“What did you do to him? Skylar! What does he have on you? Skylar!”

The two ignored her screams and began to walk into the surrounding fires. As the flames arose, Charlotte screamed out for Skylar to come back until complete darkness soothed her.

It was pretty warm, more than likely her blood seeping out of her. Charlotte knew she was dying. She knew that time slowed and flip-flopped for the dying, and maybe that was the reason why she was feeling really warm. Like if someone was holding her close. Yearning for death’s embrace, Charlotte tried to curl into its warmth and started to relax.

“It’s not bad dying . . . I’m sorry . . . Skylar. I failed you . . .”

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

Shock went through her body as she remembered Skylar. Her eyes bulged open as she tried to figure out where she was this time. Looking at the bed she was in, she couldn’t help but blink.

Where was she again? Was that a dream? Groaning, Charlotte tried to rise up from the comfy warmth but wasn’t allowed her freedom. Befuddled at not being able to rise up, she turned over to find herself staring into dark-green eyes. Aden was staring at her, bemused, almost watching her every movements.

She screamed out as she tried to push back the captain before her. Memories from her dream and her encounter with those pirates flushed into her mind.

“You scream like a banshee. You know that, idiot?”

“And that is only because I’m in another bed with a man!”

He seemed to scoff at how innocent this girl was through her emphasis on the word “man.” It was a clear indication of her naivety. And not easily thwarted by her rebuff, he gave her a sardonic look. “As if I’d want to do something with a childish girl like you. Why don’t you grow a pair?” His hand wandered and hovered over her chest.

Speechless and shaking with a fury, she was trying to hold in. She tried to maintain what little composure she had.

That was until he said, “You’re almost as flat as a flat iron.”

“I hate you!” The seventeen-year old tackled the raven-haired man back into the mattress and started to scratch, kick, maim, and bite whatever she could get. Aden fought against her, making sure she didn’t cause him too much damage. He was surprised to see that she was already this mobile after sustaining an injury of that caliber on her abdomen. That was until he saw the look of regret pass upon her visage when her face contorted into pain.

“You wouldn’t be the first or last person to hate me,” Aden grunted when he finally managed to catch both her hands in his. He rolled the girl over so that he was straddling her, but he made sure not to sit heavily upon her. “I was minding my own business, grabbing a change of clothes in my room, and suddenly, you start screaming bloody murder in your sleep. I thought my ears were going to bleed.”

Charlotte stopped for a millisecond before comprehending what he just told her. “I was screaming?” She calmed down enough to allow Aden to loosen his hold on her wrists. Just only by a small bit though.

“A gag wasn’t enough to keep you quiet, idiot.” He pointed at the flung handkerchief near the pillow. “Then you had the gall to grab hold of me and wouldn’t let go. Stupid, idiotic girl.”

The seventeen-year-old gapped at the handkerchief before shrieking at the man above her. “You gagged me? How is that humane treatment?” Aden had to restrain her when Charlotte tried head butting him in the process.

She did manage to knee him, making Aden loosen his grip once more. When she was released, Charlotte pushed him away from her, watching as he landed on the mattress sideways. Scrambling away toward the door was the only thing she could do before Aden was on top of her. He hovered over her back, pulling her arm in a terrible armlock. Her head was inches above the floor, and her breath bounced back from the cold hard flooring. If he let her go, she would unceremoniously fall on her nose.

“Who’s Skylar to you?”

“What?” Charlotte cried out as Aden yanked her arm up. She cried out in pain, hoping that her arm wouldn’t get pulled out of its socket.

“Who is Skylar?”

“How dare you invade in my privacy!” Charlotte struggled to get away from him, but to no avail, he had a firm hold on her arm, and it was all that was supporting her over the floorboard.

His green eyes scanned over her squirming form and smirked. “Privacy in this room means squat since I’m the captain. Now I’m asking again, who is Skylar to you?”

The feeling of anger, embarrassment, and helplessness filled her to the core as she hung there. She could feel the blood rush to her head as she hovered there in her gown as well. Also, her position was getting very uncomfortable.

“Skylar’s some boy at the estate,” Charlotte lied through her teeth, deciding it would be best for her to answer his question. That or risk a dislocated shoulder.

“Tch.” Aden moved so that he was at a better vantage point over her while she dangled half off the bed. “Figures,” he said to her.

“Then why did you ask?” Charlotte angrily stated, trying to get him to release her. Her attempts were faltered when he tugged her arm up.

“Curious to see what you would say.”

Charlotte stuttered soon after, not liking the current situation. “Sh—shouldn’t you go do captain like things?” Her words stumbled out in a quick breath as she could feel her arm about to give out. Why was he doing this to her and why was her heart pounding so fast?

“Not until you tell me the truth. Who are you?” The fury that was present in his eyes was enough to scare Charlotte. Even though she could only see out of the corner of her hazel eyes, she could tell he meant business.

“Talk!” He raised his free hand over her chin and turned it to face directly up at him. She was in too much pain from both her arms being practically torn out of their sockets and now having to look uncomfortably at him from an awkward position.

“I am Charie . . . no, I mean Lottie Lionsheart.”

“Charie Lottie?”

“My name is Charie. Lottie is a nickname. I’m seventeen years old, and I worked as a . . . as a . . .”

Aden pulled on her arm, causing her to whimper. “Speak.”

She popped out the only thing she could think of. “A maid. You’re hurting me. Please let me down.” Her tears betrayed her as they fell down her cheeks. She didn’t want to show weakness to him of all people.

Then just like that, she was released, except pain soon followed after. Her face hit the ground, and she slid off the bed in a disgraceful manner. The only saving grace was that her arms were not pulled out of their sockets. Her sides sang a woeful tune of agony as she went to sit up again.

“You say you’re a maid, so be it. You will be my maid until I say you have repaid your debt to me.” The raven-haired male stalked off the bed and into the adjacent room. There were some shuffling sounds before he came back with some breeches, a plain lace-up top, a pair of white socks, and brown lace-up leather shoes. He dropped the articles on top of her and then stared pointedly to her.

“You will pay me back for all the food, clothes, the room you will be using, and time you’ve made me waste. I hope you’re prepared because any hell you’ve known up to this point is nothing compared to my wrath. Now get changed before I do something worse to those arms of yours.”

With that, the captain scoffed at her, “You better be on deck in five minutes or you will find yourself floating dead in the water.”

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

Charlotte changed in record time because for once, she feared the captain would follow through with his threats. She did not like the way he treated her, but she knew her only chance of survival was for her to stay on that ship. At least, until she could find someone who could help her. It may have grated her nerves. It may even try her patience, but she knew it was a necessary evil to overcome. She was a guest. And there was only so much a guest could do on a mercenary ship for the state. 

Walking out of the captain’s room was a blessed feeling, especially since she had forgotten how to move her legs. That jerk of a captain had left her with only two options: go with the flow or get eaten by the sharks. Neither was in her best interest. It was then that she stared at the clothes she miraculously put on. She had never worn clothes such as those. Mostly, she wore dresses and corsets, liners, and ball gowns. If her uncle saw her now, she could see his displeased expression forming in her mind. 

“Stupid, idiotic, jerk . . .” she muttered before turning the corner in the hall. She was heading up the staircase toward the deck when she collided into the man with the moon-and-stars tattoo and beanie.

“Watch it!”

“Ouch!” they both said at the same time.

Xavier rubbed at his head before looking down at the girl. Surprised, he steadied her before she could stumble into the rail. “Hey, new girl, I wasn’t expecting you to be up so soon. The brat said to drag you out kicking and screaming if you were still dawdling. Well, ya definitely made my job easier. This way.” He smiled at her before pointing up at the staircase.

Charlotte, on the other hand, didn’t move from her spot. “I don’t want to be here. I want to be home with my family.” She sniffled before she rubbed her bruised shoulder. The sting of pain accompanied her with each move she made. 

Xavier sighed at her statement before looking up at the ceiling of the hall. “We all have wants in the world that we can’t get, no matter how much we wish for them, kiddo. I know how much you’ve been through these past weeks, but I know Aden is trying to raise your spirits by doing something productive with your time. Trust him.”

She remained quiet. How someone that dastardly could be trying to raise her spirits. 

“Oi, I can’t read minds! Ellipses are for mimes. Say something!”

Charlotte kindly smiled at him for his comically clever statement. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I would trust him, but I am willing to do something else. There’s only as much sleep as one can take before it’s too much to bear.”

“Ah, the beauties of being able to go to sleep. No matter, we all can get sleep when we’re dead. Right now, we’re caught in a bad storm. Are you up for your first task?” Xavier walked around her to put his arm around her shoulder. Lightly pushing her forward toward the stairs, he looked up through the swinging doorway where the gray sky was evident.

“I don’t have much of a choice here. It’s sink or swim now,” she murmured out, remembering emerald-eyes threat.

“Well, we all are either sinking or swimming, might as well try to stay afloat however we can. Now take this rope and help the guys upstairs tie down the crates to the openside channels. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we can go to the caboose and dry off.”

Charlotte bobbed her head. His statement already confirmed her sneaking suspicion of there being no way out to survive this. It was when they had reached the squeaky staircase heading up that Xavier turned back to her. “And quit being formal here—we all are family. D’ you understand, lassie?” 

The auburn scrunched her face at the strange request. “Is my manner of speech that horrid?”

He must have stared at her with his azure eyes unblinkingly before a long sigh escaped his lips. “We’ll work on it a bit more when the storm is over.” He gently used his hands to grab her shoulders. Xavier ushered out into the cold rain dropping down and the wind blowing faster than she would have liked. The frigid air made it hard to even breathe, but the older male shooed her into her task. 

“Hurry it up! Give those two the ropes. Jakob is the one with the sparrows on his arm. Leo is with the oh-so-original beanie!” 

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

A knock on the hard oak wood alerted the lady sitting at the desk. She was surrounded with scattered papers, inventions, tons of empty glass bottles with the label “root beer,” and blueprints for impressive ships and machinery.

Normally, she was not the type to allow interruptions while she was working, but due to recent events, she had allowed any and all to come into her office with news. Exercising her control over her gadgets, she looked up to see the familiar face of her technical scientist and coworker, Belle Anderson, entering with another older gentleman with sandy blond hair.

“There were rumors you died, Admiral.” Her amethyst eyes gauged the reaction of the man, but just like her, he knew how to keep himself composed during certain situations.

“I had to fake my own death to get these to someplace safer. Unfortunately, I could not say the same for my niece and nephew.” He brought out a small box with a special ornate signet on top. The signet was his family crest of a lion on a shield.

The lady sitting at the desk shoved a handful of her scattered papers, bottles, and forms from her desk and dropped them unceremoniously into the arms of Belle, allowing the admiral to place the box in the open available space. “Belle, take those plans and deliver them to the specials team in the bay. That will tell them of their next task.”

Belle shifted the papers in her hand before leaving the room with a small “yes, ma’am.”

When the door deftly shut behind the scientist, the woman turned her attention to the box sitting on her desk. “And what was more important than saving the estate, your people, and your remaining family?” she icily said as he pulled out his key. It took two seconds for him to unlock it and shift the box open for the woman to see.

“I know you are distressed about the recent events, but these stones are of slightly more importance.”

The woman did not seem appeased about hearing that. “What do these four stones have that are of more importance than the lives of your niece and nephew?”

The fleet admiral grimaced before shaking his head. “I wish I could say they are not of importance, but unfortunately, that would be a lie. These stones derive from the legend.”

The woman hitched her breath. “Correct. Olivia Cheric, it is as you think.”

She regained her breath with a shaky voice. “The Relic stones the state has been trying to keep back from the people? If you’ve had them, why did the State not know of it?” She stared at the beauty the stones all shimmered despite the poor lighting from her candlewick.

“I received these from Zaine, but I do not wish to hold then anymore. After losing everything, I want nothing more to do with them.”

The one known as Olivia grimaced at the stones. “What am I supposed to do with these stones then? Hide them away and have Zaine and his pet dogs come and destroy my estate in search of them? Surely, you jest.”

The man standing before her just shook his head. She was about to add more to her speech but stopped as if she had an idea pop into her mind. She quickly jotted down something small on a couple of papers nearby before bringing her attention back to the fleet admiral.

“I had meant to bring them earlier, but the battle made it difficult to escape my current obligations to Cliffside. Olivia Cheric, I am requesting you to perform tests and any type of analysis you can to determine what the origin of these stones are.” She knew there were some business components behind his visit and not some charity call.

“I suppose anything can be done with a price in mind. What do you have for me if I do this for you?” she asked, staring at the accursed stones in her presence. “Keep in mind of course that if it weren’t for these stones, I would still have a secretary, best friend, and cute follower with me. Anything you say will never be able to replace them.”

The fleet admiral merely stared through his hazel eyes back at the woman sitting with the utmost grace. He knew of what he must pay. “Your secretary was picked up by the Division, according to the eye testimony of a witness. Both Charlotte and Skylar are alive, though their whereabouts are unknown. Does that suffice for now?”

The woman looked at the man before her eyes looked back to the stones. “Even in death’s door, you still manage to find out the small and trivial things. All right, I’ll personally test on these stones, and I will bring the results to you no later than late this evening.”

“Can you do sufficient testing between this time and then?”

Olivia Cheric smirked from her seat. “I don’t have a choice, seeing as how I have a secretary, friend, and baby to rescue within the morrow. Now if you excuse me.” She pulled out a pair of goggles and box of tools from underneath her desk.

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

Waves splashed against the hull of the ship with fierce velocity. The clouds were closing in on the ship as if to cover it with a blanket of water. Men were filing out of the cabins and decks as they prepared for the worst.

Charlotte barely emerged from under the galley, and she was already struggling to walk straight. Huge waves continually rocked the hull to the side, and her balance had already been skewed from being under board for quite some time. She lost her footing just as she stepped away from the opening, but the older Drummond grounded her steady.

“Keep your equilibrium at center at all times or else you’ll get taken by the next wave.” He whistled between two fingers. He called over the two boys that she was supposed to head toward earlier. One had a Band-Aid on his left cheek while the other had a plain but continuous smile on his face.

“You three work together to tie whatever else needs to be tied down and do not get crushed by anything. I don’t want to be obligated in cleaning up the blood and gore you’d inevitably make. Now move out!”

The two boys were staring at Charlotte as if she’d grown two heads, but before they could say anything else, Charlotte grabbed the excess rope on the floorboard. When they still haven’t stopped staring at her, she finally snapped at them. “What?”

The one with the Band-Aid just smirked before pointing at her attire while the one with the continuous smile said, “Your breeches are on backward.”

“What?” She looked down, and indeed they were.

Bemused, the two began singing out loud about a young girl in her backward breeches, causing Charlotte to chase after them with the rope.

Aden and Damien were watching from above the deck, and Xavier joined the two with a smirk on his face.

“See, I’m glad you took my suggestion to allow the girl some freedom,” the older one said with a smile.

Damien frowned, unsure of what to think. “Will she really be okay? She obviously doesn’t know how to clothe herself. How is she supposed to work on deck with the other guys?”

The one with unkempt raven hair just grunted before securing a firm grasp on the wheel. Thanks to the riptides underneath the waves, the Division was beginning to drift farther and farther away from the port they were heading to.

“I don’t care how she works with them. What I want to know is who she is and what she plans to do. I’m starting to regret saving her after Zaine threw her off the cliff.” Xavier barked a laugh before turning his attention to the deck.

“She aggravated you enough to that extent. Must be high born for sure.”

Damien meekly smiled before looking at the waves crashing into their hull. “She’s definitely a damsel. Anyway, I’m more worried about the storm.”

Aden clicked his tongue. “Tch. Xav, get those blockheads back on track before I have you finish the tasks in the crow’s nest.”

Xavier, who had been wholeheartedly laughing, began to nervously chuckle. Abruptly, he turned his attention to the three knuckleheads that were messing around. They were supposed to tie everything down after all. “You guys better hurry up your duties or I’ll have you finish tidying the crow’s nest and cleaning the deck with your tongue!”

“Damien, help Markus pull the sails up. We don’t want them torn. Xav, when you’re done rallying the forces, have those scallywags get downstairs once everything is secured.”

Both responded quickly with Damien running down the stairs, grabbing Markus to pull up the sails.

They began their task of pulling the ropes, but they were having trouble once it snagged in the lever.

Xavier saw the rope snapping the lever the instant they pulled the rope down. “Stop. You’ll break the lever, and we’ll lose the sail. You two hold the rope while Jakob climbs up to pull the lever free.”

Leo had pulled Charlotte over to the last canon and tugged the rope from her hands.

“You’ll be helping me with this then. Quick lesson on tying ropes. Sailor knots are your best friend!” He showed her how to tie a sailor knot, and after two attempts, she was able to make one decent enough.

“Great. Now take this rope and wrap it through the open slot in the rail. Yeah, just like that!” Charlotte was beginning to get it around the slot before she looked up. She was looking for encouragement from Leo but was immediately stunned to see a twenty-five-foot surprise heading over to their ship.

Moments before, Jakob climbed the mast to the lever and had easily released the pressure that was snagging the rope. He then slid down the mast to help Markus and Damien by moving onto the next sail.

“Put your backs into it, men!” shouted Xavier as his leadership skills came through. Pulling the ropes, they finally managed to get the mainsail up and secured before moving to the one Jakob had started. Except the thing that caught Charlotte’s attention had gotten Damien’s attention as well.

“Watch out!” Leo snapped his head up to see the huge wave just as it was about to crash over the rail. Grunting, Leo grabbed the rope Charlotte had disregarded into one of the fastest sailor knots he could before the wave washed over them. Damien, as quick as he was, had run over to the rail but slipped on the slick floor. Sliding on his side to the side rail, the blond male pulled Charlotte down just as the wave crashed into and over their ship. It was ten dreadful long seconds before the deck was completely clear of water. The rope that Leo had used to secure them had snapped under the pressure of three bodies, causing them to ride the wave to the starboard side of the ship.

All of this happened while Aden felt the wind whip tendrils of black hair into his face and shouting out Xavier and Damien as loud as he could. He stared with awe and shock as the water receded and most of his crew was shown coughing, struggling to maintain their grips on stationary objects, and recovering from the harsh wave. For the most part, everyone was okay, just in completely different spots than they were originally before the wave hit.

Leo and Charlotte were on the opposite end of the ship, holding what seemed to be a rope over the rail, yelling for Damien to hang on to the rope. As Aden registered it was his brother over the rail, he wanted nothing more than to run over to the side and help them. Unfortunately, all he could do now was control where the ship was going and hope another wave that scale wouldn’t crash into them. 

“Hang on!” the two shouted at the same time as they helped pull the blond-haired man up from the side. Damien spewed water from his mouth.

“Thanks,” he murmured to the girl before grasping her wrist. She winced in pain, but he continued staring at her. “Why did you follow me the way you did? You could have fallen off just like me.”

Leo just laughed before slapping Damien on the back. “Hey, man, we were going to go with you one way or the other. Just be glad I was quick enough to grab that excess rope by the canon.”

Charlotte, on the other hand, just smiled brightly at the blond- and sandy-haired males in front of her. Shouting over the ferocious winds, Charlotte said, “I’ve seen one too many deaths in this past week I couldn’t bear to lose another. Especially someone who just risked their life to save my own, you know.”

Leo reached over to scruff the girl’s wet locks of hair out of her drenched face. Damien, even though he had his doubts at the beginning, finally cracked a laugh at how ridiculous it seemed. He was a year-and-a half-veteran on the sea, and a girl who had probably not sailed over a week in her life had saved his life.

“What?” she asked, confused at how both the guys were laughing at her. Somehow, while the two were laughing, the other guys appeared around them to point out the obvious about Damien. Xavier bent over to hug his younger brother to check for any other injuries. He was the eldest after all and wanted to be sure he was all right.

“Thank goodness, you’re safe! Almost thought I lost my favorite little brother! Good thing we have the little Lottie here. Good job, kiddo!” Markus and Jakob both whacked Charlotte in the back, showing their support for her recent action.

Aden, who was still on wheel duty, merely glared at his family and crew. They would be celebrating and completely forgetting the terrible storm they were still in the middle of. He looked over to the side to see another huge wave rock into their vessel, but luckily, it wasn’t a twenty-foot water wall crashing into them.

“Hey, idiots!” he shouted over the storm. His own unkempt raven hair was plastered to his face as the wind slapped strands into his eyes. Angrily, he wiped the mist and hair off his face to point to his port side where more storm clouds were coming. “Would you all do me the honor of finishing your duties so we don’t all capsize? I would like to live through this. Thanks.”

Everyone looked in the direction their captain was pointing before gaping in shock. Aden, who noticed their frozen reaction, immediately looked at what he was apparently pointing at and felt his left eye twitch.

“Fuck,” he muttered just as a sixty-five-foot rogue wave started to come over them.

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

She briskly walked down to the guest quarters with a just-opened glass bottle of root beer that she had graciously been given by the fleet admiral while she was conducting her tests.

It was fascinating how much she learned from just those four stones and the potential in each. While she was still unsure of what each stone possessed in a matter of strengths and powers, she knew they could easily be used for good or evil. That was most likely why those stones were sought after in the first place.

Not bothering to knock, Olivia walked straight into the room to find the fleet admiral sitting in the ornate armchair with his hands clenched together. His eyes were concentrating hard on something, but for all Olivia could venture, she could tell he was concerned.

“Your stones,” she replied cheerfully, putting the box of stones on his desk.

He merely glanced at the stone before turning to her. “What did you find out about them?” he inquired.

She took a small swig from her drink before exhaling happily. “Well, I found that it was made of rare minerals and substances; but to put it plainly, these stones were made from some type of mysterious ingredient. It’s strange but they have a life in them, and they offer powers beyond comprehension.”

The fleet admiral merely nodded his head as if he knew of what they were despite him asking her for extra testing.

“Do you think these stones are able to pick and choose who can use them?” Olivia glanced down at the box before looking back at the general.

“In theory, these stones may only be compatible with someone who has a similar link to it. You may think of it like a DNA strand. There are only certain types of genomes that will fit with certain types of genomes, but that doesn’t stop the genomes from attempting and trying to fit all the same.”

She dropped the stack of papers that were in her hand that explained everything she just specified next to the box.“You will find your relevant information there. Excuse me, I have a trip to prepare for.” She bowed her head an inch before heading to the door. It was when she reached the knob that the general spoke to her.

“Take these with you. I know you will know what to do with them. You seem to understand them much more than me after all.” He then lifted himself off the seat to leave as well. “I have overstayed my welcome at your estate and will have to go into hiding until the right time to emerge.”

Olivia opened the door, allowing the man to leave before her. She glanced back at the box and then at his retreating figure. “What if I were to destroy those stones instead of taking them with me?” She was hoping it would make him think twice about leaving them in her care, but all she saw was nonchalance.

“If you were to destroy them, it would not cause me any trouble, though would destroying four stones truly solve the real mystery of where the Relic stones originated from?”

Olivia thought no due to more stones being made and used by an unknown source. It would also indicate that more would come into fruition and be used as people found them.

Olivia calculated, “How many do you think are being made? These can’t have such a high productivity that they have grown to a grand scale.”

“That’s where your thinking is wrong, Lady Olivia. Why else would the legend come creeping back to the surface? Someone is recreating power-distributing stones using some sort of contraption and real lives as the cost.”

Fleet Admiral Gerald Rothschild merely glanced over his shoulder. To the inventor, it seemed as if he was checking to make sure no one was around eavesdropping. “Someone is manufacturing fake Relic stones using whatever small power was left from the true Relic stone that they had. But even if we do not know what these stones are made of, we must assume they all possess a variety of powers and consequences that we have never dreamed of.”

Olivia gaped at the box behind her. “The legend that was passed says Relic stones. How would you explain that difference if you are saying there is only one true Relic stone?”

“Someone recreated the legend to put their own spin on it. It doesn’t matter why they altered the legend, but what is certain is this: they did it to create a change, and it will be a change that will affect and alter the way we live through each day.”

Olivia paused, feeling as if she had been just manipulated to believe his story. Something felt fishy about how he managed to get all his intel.

“I see.” The inventor narrowed her eyes. She could only assume that the state had a hand in whatever happened with the true Relic stone, and Gerald Rothschild could not do the cleanup of the mess they created. While she could stand there all day to argue with this man about the real truth, she knew there was not enough time. Her intuition was raging as she clenched her fists with white knuckles.

“Please leave. I need to prepare for my voyage.”

 

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

 

The iciness of the sand underneath Charlotte awakened her from her stupor. For one, she could not remember how she had gotten from the Division to this particular shoreline, but one thing was certain: she was now alone in the middle of somewhere. Further, she was drenched, and her clothing was ripped. She took a couple of moments to collectively pull herself off the ground, and when she did, Charlotte glanced all around her.

“Where am I now?” she muttered as she stared off into the distance. Some debris of wood and board came along the shore as Charlotte stared out at the vast ocean before her.

“I don’t think I’m on the ship anymore,” she said aloud. The island was surrounded by clear blue waters and soft white sand as its beach. Near the southern peaks were some small shipping port with a couple of taverns, a shopping district, and plenty of avenues to adventure. As if her body couldn’t take the pressure of standing, she collapsed onto her knees and felt the cold seawater drift up over her lap. Her body was aching terribly, and when she raised her hand to her scalp, she pulled away with blood on her fingertips.

“Lessye?”

Startled by the new voice, Charlotte turned her attention to the older gentleman who had called out to her. He looked to be in his middle thirties with dark grayish brown hair and dark eyes. He was standing with a board of wood in between his bicep and body, and in his hand was a bucket full of nails and screws.

“What?” Charlotte turned to the new person before giving a quizzical expression. “Who’s Lessye?”

The man seemed just as shocked that she was kneeling there in the sand as water had drenched her head to toe with injuries and blood all over her. The night was soon approaching as well, making it even more dangerous to stay out.

“Ah, I must have gotten the wrong person. What is your name? Did you get shipwrecked?” He dropped the stuff he was carrying to see if Charlotte was all right.

“I’m Charlotte.” She gave a pause when she caught herself saying Rothschild. Taking a breather, she sluggishly replied with her pseudo last name. “Charlotte Lionsheart, and the vessel that I was accompanying got—capsized, I think. I don’t exactly remember.” She rubbed her head before the mysterious man grabbed her hand away from her head. He probed lightly to see where she was bleeding from. “It was terribly stormy, and the ship was incredibly under crewed.”

The man nodded at the explanation. “Don’t worry. If your account is true, your friends must be near here as well. It was very fortuitous that you’re alive after a capsizing. You must have been touched by some guardian angel.”

Charlotte could only shake her head at that. More like the guardian of death and destruction.

“Sir, may I ask who you are.”

“Me? I am known as Lucas Wallace, but you can call me Luke. Don’t worry. If you’ll accompany me, I can get you bandaged up with some warm clothes.”

Charlotte nodded tiredly as she offered her hand to his awaiting one. “Luke—yes, that would be splendid. Thank you.”