“And what about Kearan?” I ask. “What’s his story?”
Enwen looks over at his snoring companion. “Not much is known about
Kearan. He doesn’t talk about himself, but I’ve gathered quite a bit from his sleep talking.”
“What have you learned?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Simple curiosity and boredom.”
“S’pose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. Just don’t tell Kearan I was the one who
told you.”
“I promise.”
Enwen starts dropping his coins back into his purse. “Kearan has been all over the world. He knows the Seventeen Isles inside and out. He’s met all kinds
of people, performed all kinds of jobs and such. He was an adventurer.”
So Kearan not only knows his way around the ocean, but on land as well.
Unusual for a pirate. Our little isles are so close together that everyone travels between them. Each is rich with different food sources. Trade is frequent and necessary between the isles. As such, whoever controls the sea, controls the money of the realm.
Father tolerates the existence of a monarch over the land because he has no wish to rule over landlubbers. He prefers to keep company among the brutes of
the sea. The land king pays tribute to my father yearly in exchange for letting his explorers search through the sea for new lands.
No one has ever managed such a total monopoly over sea travel until my father established his ruling. And someday all that control will be passed down
to me, which is why I wish to prove myself again and again to my father. My current task is one on a large list of feats I’ve completed for him.
I look over at Kearan’s fat body, ugly face, and overall unkempt look. “You
certain he’s not just adventuring in his sleep?”
“Oh yes. He might not look like much now, but that’s because he’s turned into a man who has lost much. Imagine if you were never satisfied with your life, Miss Alosa. Imagine that you traveled all over the world, looking for happiness, looking for thrills to pass the time. Imagine seeing everything there is to see and still not finding happiness. Well, that would give you a very bleak outlook on life, would it not?”
“I suppose it would.”
“There’s not much to do after that. Kearan makes his living on this ship. He’s
an ugly drunk because it takes away the pain. He has no desire to live, yet no desire to die, either. It’s a tough spot to be in.”
“Yet you’re his friend. Why?”
“Because everybody needs somebody. And I haven’t lost hope for Kearan. I
believe he will eventually come into his own, given the right amount of time.
And the right motivation.”
I honestly doubt that, but I’m humoring him. “Why do you assume he’s lost
much?” I ask.
“I hear him calling out a woman’s name at night. Always the same woman.
Parina.”
“Who is she?”
“No idea, and I don’t intend to ask.”
Enwen spreads out on the floor, ending the conversation. He’s given me much to think about while I wait for him to sleep before starting my nightly search.
Everyone has something dark in their past. I suppose it's our job to overcome
it. And if we can’t overcome it, then all we can do is make the most of it.
* * *
“Feel like a stretch?”
Riden stands in front of my cell, tossing the key up in the air and catching it.
I’ve been aboard the Night Farer for six days now. This is the first he’s offered to let me out of my cell.
“Do you like flaunting my freedom out in front of me?” I ask, eying the key.
“You know, I do get a strange sense of amusement from it.”
“Can’t be too easy for you to feel amused when you know I can get out all on
my own.” Of course, I’m referring to the night he caught me sneaking out and not all the nights I’ve snuck out since then.
Riden steps closer, dropping his voice. “I’ve been taking excellent care of the
key ever since. And if I were you, I wouldn’t mention that little mishap to
anyone else. Captain’d get an idea in his head if he knew. And you won’t like his ideas.”
I tilt my head to the side. “You mean you didn’t tell him I tried to escape?”
Best to reinforce the notion. The more Riden doesn’t tell his captain, the more of a wedge I put between Draxen and the crew. Might be able to use that distance
later. Who knows what else will happen while I’m a “captive” at sea?