Alwyn

Only a few steps outside of the room, Alwyn had to stop and catch her breath. The dam which she'd held all her emotions behind crumbled and fear, anxiety, and worry crashed over her. She pressed her hand to the wall to steady herself.

She hadn't wanted Zavier to see that for three days she lived in a constant state of pain, wondering if any second he would stop breathing. It was a kind of torture Alwyn never thought she'd experience.

She didn't remember if she slept at all, all she remembered was never leaving his side. His dark skin had looked so pale. Whatever place he was trapped in his mind made him shudder and murmur uneasily. It was unimaginably terrible watching someone you loved go through pain and be completely helpless to stop it.

But he was alive and now she could finally admit to herself how terrified she'd been of losing him again.

She closed her eyes, taking in a slow breath.

In the dead of night, she had touched the edge of Zavier's jaw, feeling the rough stubble there. She didn't know if he didn't shave because he didn't want to or because he knew she liked the feel of it. Both reasons were highly likely.

In the light of the full moon overhead, Alwyn locked eyes with Zavier. They sat tucked together on the bow of the ship.

"Wyn," Zavier said, his voice low and husky like there was too much emotion trapped in his throat.

She smiled at the sound. Even the lullaby of the ocean didn't match her love for his voice.

"I have to tell you something," he said.

In his eyes, she saw a seriousness that contrasted the mischievous boy she knew so well. It caught her off guard and her heart jerked inside her chest.

"Wyn," Zavier started again. "I am in love with you."

His words stole her thoughts, her breath, her very heartbeat.

It took her a long moment to remember how to speak.

She grinned wickedly. "The King and Queen must be thrilled."

Chuckling softly, Zavier cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin as he leaned in.

"They have no idea of how you have captured me," he said.

He kissed her and Alwyn kissed him back, losing herself in him.

Locked in his embrace, she didn't think about their titles, their roles in life, or the consequences, she could only think about him.

Alwyn curled her fingers, digging her nails into her palm, trying to bury the memory. But it stayed clearly in her mind, more vivid than all others after all the times she'd taken it out and relived each detail.

A whisper in Alwyn's thoughts repeated the fact that Zavier wasn't betrothed. He was free. She headed down the corridor fighting the whisper. She couldn't listen to it. Couldn't give in to its eager voice. They weren't out of trouble yet and she wasn't going to let herself get carried away like last time. She couldn't.

She quickened her steps, she needed Cyrus. He was her ballast. Whenever she found herself caught up in a whirlwind, he was the eye of it. She hurried through Hawk's house. It was a stunning manor with dark wood paneling brightened by intricately designed candelabras and sconces created by his wife, Kiera.

A murmur of voices drew Alwyn towards the kitchen and she paused in the doorway, taking in the scene. Kiera, Fynn, Joric, and Cyrus all stood on one side of the room, staring across the way. On a bench, nestled against the wall lay Wilder, passed out. His sword hung from his waist, his long-form barely fitting the bench.

"Is he all right?" Alwyn asked.

Kiera nodded. "Poor boy, once the Princess left to deliver food, he seemed to give up some fight and slumped down."

Asleep Wilder looked as old as he really was, a boy of eighteen, not a commander of thirty, which was how the crew had seen him since he'd boarded.

The group watched Wilder sleep as if they could see the burden that made him so exhausted he could fall asleep on the spot.

"How is the Prince?" Fynn asked.

This made everyone focus on Alwyn.

"Better," she said. "Weak but he's awake and alive."

Joric relaxed and Alwyn knew he'd held the same fear of Zavier dying as Alwyn had.

Fynn let out a breath, relieved. "I'll go check on him."

As he left along with Joric, Alwyn met Cyrus's gaze. There was something in his eyes that made her hesitate but she couldn't decipher what it was.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "Come on, let's go get a drink, I don't want to wake Wilder."

All Alwyn wanted to do was find a place to lie down and sleep, but she followed her twin. The light of the descending sun splashed long shadows across the streets. The air smelled clean, like the sea and blooming flowers. The stench of a normal city: unwashed bodies, dirt, and dung weren't there.

As Alwyn and Cyrus cut through the streets, Alwyn understood what her mother had always said about the Seau people, they lived by logic and order. The noise there was nothing loud or unsavory, conversations were held in moderate tones. Even the rattle of carriages seemed more subdued.

Cyrus pushed open the door to a tavern and Alwyn stepped inside. Like the rest of the city, the place was filled with voices, but ones that respected each other. The only boisterous tones that were heard came from the few foreigners. They were easy to pick out since they were paler than the rest of the Seau occupants.

Worn out, Alwyn dropped into a chair and slouched down. The weight of restless nights and constant worry made everything feel leadened in her. That same weariness didn't seem to affect her mind and all she could do was turn over and over again the fact that Zavier held no ties to Lydia.

"Did you know that Zavier and Lydia aren't betrothed?" she asked Cyrus.

"Yes."

"How?"

Cyrus stared at her. "Because I talked to her."

The rebuke stung and rightfully so. Alwyn revisited her treatment of Lydia over the course of her journey and flushed with the guilt of it. She didn't want to think about how much of her anger and pain had been self-inflicted because she assumed wrong.

"Where is Sparrow and the crew?" Alwyn asked, knowing from Cyrus's tone that it was best to talk about something else.

Cyrus folded his arms and sank down into his chair.

"I'm surprised you noticed they were gone," he said.

Before Alwyn could dissect the edge to Cyrus's tone, a barmaid approached their table.

"What  can I get you?" she asked.

"Coffee," Alwyn said. "If you have it."

The barmaid looked to Cyrus. When he didn't speak, Alwyn glanced over as well. Cyrus gazed at the barmaid in silent admiration. She had the common ebony Seau skin tone, short tight black curls, and cinnamon eyes.

"Cyrus," Alwyn said, wanting to roll her eyes at him.

Now was not the time for him to lose his head, she did that enough for the two of them.

"Ale," Cyrus managed to get out.

The barmaid swept away and Cyrus trailed her with his eyes.

"Where is the crew?" Alwyn asked.

It took Cyrus a second to reply and even then he didn't look away from the barmaid.

"On the ship," he said, no longer holding an edge in his tone. "Hawk knows of a sailmaker, the mainsail has to be replaced. The crew is there to keep an eye on the ship and see if there is any information they can pick up."

"How much is the sail going to cost us?"

Cyrus told her and she swore under her breath. They didn't have that type of money, even with what Zavier had given them. They'd need to pick up a collection job but how could they do that when they were supposed to get Zavier, Lydia, and Wilder to Loria?

"Hawk offered to pay for the sail," Cyrus said as if knowing her thoughts.

Alwyn balled her fists. "No, we are not putting ourselves in his debt." Frustrated, she rested her head in her hands. "Two seasons. We've had the ship for two seasons and in that time all we've accomplished is losing most of a crew and damaging our ship. We can not add debt to that list. It will be more of a failure."

"And who is to fault for that?"

The question was a piercing arrow aimed at Alwyn and she took the hit. She stared at Cyrus, stunned and hurt. When he didn't retract his words or soften, Alwyn turned away from him. She knew her brother could cut someone down with a phrase, but he'd never done it to her.

Across the way, the barmaid served a table of foreigners. When one of them grabbed her backside, about fifteen men around the bar all rose to their feet, Cyrus included. But the barmaid hit the man in the face with an empty tankard before any of the men could act. The offender cried out and the barmaid calmly walked away.

Cyrus slowly took his seat, gazed pinned on the girl. Alwyn said nothing, willing for his attention to be elsewhere instead of on her at that moment. The girl returned to their table with a mug of ale and a cup of coffee.

"What's your name?" Cyrus asked.

"Yasmine," the girl said.

"Have you ever worked on a ship?" he asked.

"No."

Alwyn narrowed her eyes at Cyrus, but he didn't look at her.

"Do you know how to tie knots?"

He couldn't possibly be thinking what she thought he was.

"Only a simple one."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"Decently enough."

"You ever been on a ship?"

"No."

He was, he was seriously contemplating this, how could he be this stupid?

"Have you ever wanted to leave the Seau Islands?"

"Yes."

"Want to come work on our ship?"

Alwyn glared at Cyrus while Yasmine studied him quietly.

"Cyrus," Alwyn hissed.

He threw a look so hard that she choked down her objection. Yasmine glanced between them, taking in their dynamic as well as their similar facial features.

"I won't sign on without my brother Dempsey," she said.

"What does your brother do?" Cyrus asked.

Alwyn didn't say anything but tried to sear Cyrus with her eyes. What was he possibly thinking?

"He's a blacksmith," Yasmin said. "He makes swords."

"Is he any good with one?"

"He can handle his own."

"Fine," Cyrus said. "Come to Hawk house on Belmont street when your shift is over if you want to join."

Yasmin gave a thoughtful nod of her head and left. Once she was gone, Alwyn leaned forward.

"You can't be serious about this?" she said.

"I am serious."

"She's never been on a ship, don't be stupid."

Cyrus ground his teeth, his anger burning in his gaze. "I would watch who you are accusing of being stupid."

Around them, Alwyn felt the furtive glances of the other occupants and knew this was not a place she could argue with her brother, there wasn't enough noise to drown them out. She stood up and dropped a coin onto the table.

"I am not letting you lose your head and making a thoughtless decision."

She headed to the tavern door and yanked it open. Cyrus was hot on her heels as she stepped into the refreshing night air. When Alwyn found an empty alleyway, she spun on him.

"Why would you ask someone who has never worked on a ship, to join ours?" she asked.

Cyrus crossed his arms, straightening to his full height, which Alwyn had not inherited.

"Not like you noticed but we are down two crew members and need more."

'Notice?' Of course she noticed, she'd sat by Zavier's bed for the last three days fearing he'd never wake up.

"I made a decision," Cyrus continued.

"Without my opinion on it," Alwyn said. "Which should mean something since I'm captain of our ship as well as you."

"Really!" The explosion shocked Alwyn and she took a step back. "You say you're captain, but where were you? Zavier gets stabbed and suddenly I'm the only one in charge of the ship. Tell me, Alwyn were you even aware that we took a prisoner from the enemy ship? Aware that we found out a little bit more about their plan?"

Alwyn didn't speak, she couldn't.

"No! You didn't because you left me to handle everything while you sat by Zavier. So you don't get to be angry with me for acting alone when it's been like that for the last few days. I'm making the decision."

His words made Alwyn feel guilty and ashamed and she hated it.

"Even if your decision is a foolish one?" she snapped back.

Furious, Cyrus jabbed his finger at her.

"You don't get to judge me for being foolish, you were the one that fell in love with a Prince."

He hit her, hit her right where she still bled.

"This is what this is all about," she said. "You're angry that I made the mistake of falling for Zavier."

Cyrus gave a mocking laugh that grated against Alwyn, it was an unkind sound.

"You make it sound like that's your only mistake." He shook his head. His eyes that were mirrors of her own stared at her, cutting through her. "You talk about how we're a failure. But we didn't have to be. We never had to be in this mess. Why did the crew leave? Because you wouldn't stop fighting them because you're insecure. Why are we captains of a ship? Because you thought since mother captained one young, we had to prove we could. But I tried to talk you out it, I knew we weren't ready."

Every statement ripped through Alwyn. She slammed her palms into Cyrus's chest.

"You didn't have to agree," she shouted. "You could have left me to my own fate."

"Then who would pick up the pieces of your mess? I love you and that's why I agreed because I knew you'd be hopeless on you're own." He let out a slow breath and the fury coming off him evaporated. "Yet you still want to do everything your own way when I always wanted us to be a team. You can't have it both ways, Alwyn."

Cyrus turned away from her and walked out of the alley, leaving Alwyn breathing heavily, still geared up for a fight but left with no one to fight against. When he didn't come back, Alwyn released her clenched fists. She stood there, surrounded by the truth.

He was right. He was right about everything and she could only be angry with herself.

Alwyn moved back onto the street but didn't direct her path to Hawk's house, instead she wound her way to the harbor. The night air felt soothing as it whispered against her skin but she knew she didn't deserve to be soothed.

She walked along the pier until she found the Sea Siren. She remembered the pride she felt when her parents bought Cyrus and her the ship. But she also remembered the smugness, knowing that they'd captain a ship earlier than their mother had. Looking at the damaged ship and turning over the previous mistakes she'd made, Alwyn felt like the biggest fool.

Cyrus had tried to talk her out of it, saying that at nineteen they were too young to handle a crew. Her counterargument was that there were two of them so together they were really thirty-eight. But they weren't together. Alwyn had been the one to try and force the crew to listen to her and picked fights with the ones who didn't instantly jump at her orders.

This was her fault. All their failures laid on her.

Looking at it all with a clear view, she saw how Cyrus had had more patience with her than she deserved. Tonight's outburst hadn't come out of nowhere, she'd left him alone when he needed her the most.

The need to see her better half, the only good half, spurred her away from the docks. When she rushed in the front door of Hawk's house, Alwyn came to an abrupt halt. Lydia hovered at the bottom of the staircase, having paused at Alwyn's sudden entrance. Looking at Lydia, Alwyn got struck with another mistake she'd made.

"I owe you an apology," Alwyn said, pushing the words out before she could hold them in like she'd done in Zavier's room earlier.

Lydia blinked at Alwyn, surprised but said nothing.

"I've mistreated you and I hope you can forgive me for my actions," Alwyn said.

After a second, Lydia dipped her head in acceptance. "I do."

The humble way in which Lydia received Alwyn's apology made Alwyn realize why the crew was loyal to her. She regarded them as equals. She was a Princess but that seemed to make no difference. It was a trait she shared with Zavier. A trait Alwyn knew she sorely lacked.

When Lydia drifted off to the kitchen, Alwyn followed hoping she'd find Cyrus there. He was, sitting at the table while Wilder still slept on the bench. Lydia crossed the room to Wilder and gently touched his cheek, whispering something. He woke with a start and Lydia rested her hand on his arm, reassuring him.

"You need to sleep," she said. "Come, there is a bed waiting for you."

Bleary-eyed, Wilder stumbled to his feet and Lydia led him away by the hand. Alwyn watched the scene, knowing she was putting off looking at Cyrus, afraid she'd still find anger in his eyes. When she finally had enough courage to face him, he was already looking at her. She could tell he was still angry, but the emotion only smoldered instead of burned.

"Forgive me, Cyrus," she said. "You're right, I have failed you so many times."

After a long stretch of silence, Cyrus softened and kicked out a chair opposite him. Alwyn took the olive branch.

"I didn't sign on to be captain on my own," he said.

"I know and I don't plan on making you do it on your own again."

Cyrus nodded and Alwyn knew that was the end of their fight. She loved her brother for his forgiving spirit and hated herself for her stubborn one.

Neither of them spoke, letting the silence draw out. Alwyn knew they were both thinking the same thing and knew that it had to be said eventually.

"Zavier and Lydia have to get to Loria," she said. "We gave our word."

"We did."

Alwyn rubbed her eyes, her tiredness returning. "There could be worse people to be indebted to than Hawk."

It was an understatement. Hawk had played the role of first mate to their mother for the first ten years of their lives before he retired. The twins had been loved, trained, and scolded by him. In so many ways he acted as a grandfather to them both.

Somehow that made it easier and harder to accept his generosity. It felt like they would be disappointing him as much as they would their mother since they weren't being successful enough to afford a new sail.

"We can pick up jobs once we safely see Zavier and Lydia to Loria," Alwyn said. "And pay him off."

"You know he'll refuse to accept the money," Cyrus said.

"Yes, but I don't want to feel like we succeed only because others save us."

Sighing, Cyrus ran a hand through his hair. "I agree. Once we raise the money, we'll find a way to convince him to take it."

"But Loria first."

"Loria first."

The hesitant pattern of knocks made Alwyn and Cyrus look to the doorway. No one stood there and Alwyn realized the knocking came from outside the house. She met Cyrus's gaze, quietly asking him if he still wanted to follow through with his decision.

In answer, he stood. Alwyn joined him as he strode to the front door. Waiting on the other side was Yasmine and a young man who looked like a giant in comparison to her petite figure. There was only one answer to who this was, her brother Dempsey. Seeing him and knowing the danger they still faced Alwyn set aside her reservations about having them join their ship.

"We are here," Yasmine said. "To accept your offer."

Cyrus glanced at Alwyn and she saw how he still gave her the chance to object since they were a team. But with a good team, there was always trust and Alwyn trusted Cyrus. After all, he'd trusted her more than she could count.

Alwyn smiled at the siblings.

"Welcome to the crew."

**********************************************************************

"YOU ARE A TOY!"

(Well, it's not exactly what Cyrus said to Alwyn but it has the same vibe.)

Hear ye, hear ye, let's hear those thoughts of thee! 🧜🏽‍♀️⚔️🛡

Zavier declaring his love, Cyrus finding love then going off, new crew mates! Oh jeepers what a chapter! It explains why Alwyn was so pissed, first Zavier is announcing he loves her then getting betrothed to another girl, that's rough stuff. I would be pissed too.

And boy oh boy! Cyrus let Alwyn have it! I mean I can't blame the man, Alwyn is a little hot headed and can be self absorbed sometimes. It was time. Did you agree with him? Or did you think Alwyn didn't more patience?

Things are getting wild people, things are getting wild!!

Side note: I love the name Yasmine and I'm so excited I finally got to use it! Also that it's going to a totally wonderful and confident character! Let's face it, it's no wonder Cyrus is already in love!

Question for you dearest reader: Would you rather in a fantasy world or a sci-fi world?

Reader question from Wishington35: What are you currently watching?

రచయిత సమాధానం (Telugu): The Mentalist. I'm at the end of the 6th season and things are about to go down! Should be interesting. Also I love Patrick, he'd like Sherlock but with a smile and more love.

(Also he was 100% based off Poirot's character. The way he sees things and uses logic and questions to get answers, totally taken from the classic Agatha Christie detective)

Vote, comment, follow because...well I don't know why but do it anyways.