Chapter 14: Sunset



After the encounter with the mean man and the lost egg, I never dared leave Threy's side while in Borgian Island. I couldn't find Erasmus and that left me with no choice but to stay inside Threy's protection. With all the nasty glares and malicious glances I was receiving, there was no way I would be able to safely walk around this island alone.



The problem was that Threy decided to stay in the noisy, chaotic bar, drinking tons of ale and anything that would probably burn all the insides of my stomach. I stayed with him on his table while watching the pirates and locals partying their own way inside the bar. There were so many of them getting wasted. Some were even publicly making out in every corner of the place. When one man started to rip a woman's clothes off, I tore my eyes away from them. I blushed when I met Threy's.



"I didn't see that. I– I'm not watching them." I started to defend myself but he dismissed me by drinking from his glass.



I watched him as he emptied it and grabbed another one. I wondered if he was a machine that needed fuel to run. It seemed that his need for liquor was never-ending. He had been drinking for hours now and still, he didn't get drunk.



"Don't you want to go to a quiet place like a library? Or a decent diner?" I asked.



He turned to me and I blushed again when I met his eyes. Why do you always have to blush, Primrose? I wanted to slap my own cheeks and punish them for blushing without my permission. This was a major treachery! He looked at the couple making out and I followed his gaze. I felt my cheeks become warmer as I realized what he was probably thinking.



"It would take more to get me drunk," he said.



"No! It's not like that–" He thought I was sending him a message with my question but as I sputter, I realized that there was no sense defending myself from him. So I simply sulked on my chair and said, "Staying here is probably better."



He continued drinking until the service boy came and asked if he could serve us some lunch. That was when I lighted up. This was my chance to eat a proper meal. I wouldn't let this go.



"Something that's not bread and fish!" I answered a little bit quicker than I supposed to. The service boy nodded and left.



I was feeling hopeful and happy by then and waited eagerly for him to come back. Right at the moment, the service boy looked like an angel to me. He was a savior and a knight in shining armor. I wouldn't move an inch and would just wait for him patiently. I saw a short, thin smile forming on Threy's lips and I wondered what I did that amused him.



"I just–I just want to eat something that's not bread and fish," I started to defend myself.



But his smile faded instantly and turned into his usually serious face. I decided to stay silent and wait for the serviceman to come back. People started to sit on their stools as some of them rested and ordered food for lunch. The stage was cleared of the dancers and the band started to play a mellow song. I listened to it as a woman sang about her lover who was a pirate. Her voice was cold and haunting. It was the first time I had ever heard of this song. Well, mainly because in our land, it was prohibited to patronize pirates. Making a song for the love of a pirate would definitely send you to jail. I didn't know if they were too secluded or our land just created walls that were too high to even consider this kind of thing. But I wasn't in the four lands and the law obviously didn't reach this side of the world. I continued listening to the sad song and welcomed the heaviness I was starting to feel in my chest.



"You fell in love with the sea –

And the sea took you away,

Our love was deep –

And no waves could crash it,

But the sea took you away."



I didn't notice the service boy's arrival and set the food on our table. I felt a tear fell from my eyes and I immediately brushed it off with my fingers. The service boy looked at me.



"Are you alright? Don't you like the food I served?"



I looked down at the table and saw smoking plates of grilled meat. The delicious sight was enough to lift the heaviness in my heart. I looked at him and smiled.



"This is perfect!" I said eagerly.



I decided to focus on the food in front of me while listening to the songs played by the band on the stage after that one about pirates. I had to hurry up before they start playing something that would make this crowd go wild again. Threy decided to stop drinking and eat the meat on his plate. We finished our food quietly, probably because I was enjoying the meat while he probably just didn't want to talk.



The band finally decided to make the crowd dance again after an hour of playing calm music. Threy and the other pirates decided to stay for a few more hours. I somehow got used to the loud music so I leaned my head on the table and took a nap. I woke up to the feeling of a hand on my shoulder shaking me lightly. I opened my eyes and met Trey's, cold and serious as ever.



"It's time to go," he said.



I straightened and looked around me. The band was still playing and most of the people were passed out drunk. I saw some of the pirates walking out of the door as Threy waited for me. I stood up and followed them. It was hard to know the time inside the chaotic bar and when I stepped out of the door, the warmth of the late afternoon welcomed me. Threy started to walk among the crowds and I followed close to him. I shouldn't be lost this time. My fate would be bad in Borgian Island.



We reached the sandy shoreline and I saw Erasmus on the deck of the Obsidian. He waved his hand when he saw me. Pirates were loading barrels and supplies to the ship and I wondered if it was better to wait for them to finish what they were doing before getting on the ship.



"Why aren't you moving? Do you consider staying behind?" Threy asked behind me.



I turned to him frowning, "Is it less dangerous with the pirates in Obsidian?" I asked sarcastically.



If it was possible, he became even more serious. It seemed like he wouldn't take any crap from me at the moment. I started to doubt if my sarcasm had chosen a bad time or a wrong person.



"You must know that you are my captive and I would not let you stay behind."



So that was what I was to him: a captive. He seemed to forget that I somehow shared some of his childhood life. He could have said that the Borgian Island could be an extremely dangerous place for a woman like me so it would be better to take me to the Obsidian with him. He could have said that I was safer with his protection. But he didn't. And somehow, I felt worthless and unimportant.



"Threy Weston would never force a woman into something she doesn't want to do," I answered crossing my arms.



He looked straight into my eyes and I tried not to falter as I looked back at him. It took seconds and sweat was starting to form on my forehead. I was about to give up and step on the sea when he spoke again.



"Maybe Threy Weston wouldn't but the Skull would."



And with that, he lifted me up and threw me on his shoulder. I squeaked and held my breath. I started to panic when he started walking to the sea. What did he think he was doing?



"Put me down, Threy Weston!" I demanded in a formal tone I use whenever I disagree with something.



"Shut up or I'll drop you and pull you on your legs to the ship," he threatened back.



I imagined myself being pulled by my ankles to the Obsidian and it was definitely a horrible image. I decided to stay silent as he carried me to the ship. The tide was already low and I watched the clear white sand as we approached the Obsidian. Before I knew it, he shifted from the way he was carrying me and held me by my waist. He pushed me to the rope ladder roughly.



"Climb up!"



I would like to make more protests but I saw the pirates behind him carrying heavy loads on their shoulders. I clawed my hands on the rope and pulled myself up. Erasmus appeared from the top of the ladder and lent his hands which I quickly grabbed. The pirates waited for me to reach the deck before they continued loading the ship. I walked towards the far side of the deck while Erasmus helped the others in loading supplies. I watched silently as Threy gave orders. When there was nothing left in the shore to load in the ship, Threy started to climb the rope ladder. The pirates began pushing the Obsidian into the deep as they hurled themselves up to the ship.



I watched as the Obsidian moved away from the Borgian Island. The sound of the waves and the song of the sea drowned the chaos and noise of the place. The wind became colder and stronger as it danced with my hair. The sunset on the horizon was enchanting making me want to just stare at it–making me believe that it would bring a lovely night and a promising tomorrow. I watched as the sun painted an abstract picture in the sky. It made me remember the times when my family had to visit the West Land. I would sneak out from Tarnus and ride Argos to the seaside. I guess no matter what the situation was, I would always get mesmerized by the sunset.



"It's getting dark. You should go back to your room."



I turned and saw him looking at me. He walked and stayed on my side. I remembered watching him swim in the sea of West land. He would walk out of the sea with water running down from his sun-kissed body like a son of Poseidon and would tease me because I was caught watching him like a bad little Hades. I left his cold, gray eyes and turn back to the sunset.



"Let me finish marveling at this beauty," I silently said.



I felt him turn his eyes to the sunset. I wondered what he was thinking at the moment. I wondered if the sunset that was playing inside my head was also crossing on his mind. But memories were for the people you cared the most. And I was just his captive–a girl from his childhood. I was not the one he was looking for. I was not the one that could make him wage war against the Laws of our Lands and brave the dangerous sea.



"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked. "I remember you in every sunset–in every time the sun would paint its goodbye and the sea would follow almost leaving the sandy seaside."



I smiled secretly to myself because of the courage I suddenly felt by boldly telling him what I was feeling. The sunset made me remember it all, giving power to the memories it was showing us. The sunset held the past and had witnessed countless stories. It probably knew his adventures and my story, thus it recognized us staring at it together.



When he didn't answer, I decided that maybe he and the sunset were having a serious conversation which I didn't know. I somehow felt envious of everything in him that wasn't about me. I was envious of whatever the sunset was reminding him.



"But you are the sea and I am the sandy shore. And you will always leave me to follow the beauty of the setting sun," I whispered to myself.



He sighed when the sun finally disappeared in the horizon leaving colorful hues in the sky.



"Go to your room and get ready. You will join us for dinner tonight," he said and walked away leaving me the way the sun abandoned this side of the world. He disappeared inside the ship and I wondered what the sun had told him.