Page 90 of Found at Sea
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Kellan
Wintervale was unlike the other towns we’d visited. Being more in the north where the winters were harsh, the people wore different styles of clothing. The women wore dresses and bodices that actually covered their bodies for warmth as opposed to the ones in Stonebridge and the various other towns where wenches showed as much skin as possible.
I had no intentions on staying long, for we still had a ways to go before reaching our destination, but we needed to replenish supplies.
Coin would buy us more food, fresh water, and warmer clothing for the biting weather we were traveling toward. What coin we lacked, we’d make up for in traded goods, or just take what we wanted regardless, as was our way.
The gray sky added to the chill seeping into my bones, making the town of Wintervale look as cold as it felt. Smoke rose from some of the establishments, and when the wind ruffled my hair, I got a hint of cooking meat.
We made port and lowered the gangplank to lead onto the dock. I told the men the plan, that we’d only be there to get supplies, a warm meal, and then to set sail once more. Kris and Ian joined me at my side, and I cast a look to Fletcher. He was wearing one of my spare coats that swallowed his small frame, and I smirked, thinking it made him even more charming.
He held two plates, one in each hand, and was heading toward the stairs to the lower deck to visit Alek. We exchanged a smile before I stepped onto the plank to leave the ship.
Before I left, I saw Dax walking toward the stern. I didn’t know what purpose he had going aft, but I wasn’t going to waste time debating it.
The wood creaked beneath my boots as I walked across the dock. As more men joined behind me, the sound of our footsteps was all I heard. The town was quiet. No drunken men starting fights in the streets, no whores giggling and hiking up their gowns to reveal their privates. The people walking through the marketplace talked amongst themselves and weren’t boisterous or revolting.
Another ship had come into the harbor after us, and the men made quick work of tying her off at the dock and unloading crates. They must’ve been a merchant vessel.
By the amount of other ships, I concluded Wintervale must’ve been a well-known trade port, so the townsfolk shouldn’t be looking at us with suspicion. However, our clothing and black sails probably gave us away as to what we were: ruffians and cutthroats.
Arrangements were made for supplies, and I was able to pay for everything without having to trade what little we had aboard. One of the fortunate things about not whoring around in brothels any longer was the extra coin weighing down my pockets.
With that thought also came the memory from the night before when I’d been buried inside Fletcher, and my body stirred. I couldn’t wait to be back on the ship and do it all over again. Many…many more times.
Before it’s too late.
Fletcher was my world; the face I looked forward to seeing every day, the one person who saw past my wickedness and loved me anyway. The one who’d laid claim to me—body and soul—and who loved me, not in spite of who I was, but for it.
My reservations held me back from returning that love to him, but I hoped that one day, if I lifted my curse, we could have a real life together.
As I moved through the marketplace, an image of a small house near the seashore came into my mind. It’d be a place where both of my loves could live as one; Fletcher and the sea. But once again, just as it always did when I thought of such pipedreams, I reminded myself that it could never be reality.
Kris and Ian exited the blacksmith’s shop where I’d sent them to sharpen my blades, and upon seeing me, Kris smiled and nodded in greeting.
The rest of the crew had gone straight to the tavern for a warm meal and some mead. Redmond’s grog was all they’d been able to drink for a while, so it didn’t come as a surprise they’d want something stronger and less rancid in taste. A few hours on land wouldn’t put us too far behind in our travels, and since we’d made great progress over the past week, I allowed them to have their fun before we had to set sail later that afternoon.
Dax walked out of the tavern and approached me. “Everything lookin’ good, Captain?”
“Aye.” I eyed him before continuing on my way.
He followed. “Take care of business?”
“Aye,” I repeated. “The supplies will be loaded soon. Did you take care of yours?”
I was sure his needs included someplace to shove his cock for a few minutes.
Dax agreed that he had and walked beside me in silence. A cocky grin was plastered on his face, and the hairs on my nape stood on end.
When Fletcher had told me about Dax threatening Horace, that same sensation had arisen, an unsettling in my gut and a prickling at my scalp. Not wanting to worry my songbird any more than he already was, I’d dismissed it as a misunderstanding to ease Fletcher’s mind.
But it’d troubled me. I just didn’t know why.
Fletcher was still in the brig when I boarded theCrimson, and on a whim, I decided to make a visit down there as well.
I hadn’t visited Alek since I’d ordered for him to be locked up, and as I descended the stairs to the lower deck, I felt guilty for it. Perhaps the guilt stemmed from shame at my actions or irritation that he’d disobeyed me…or maybe it was both of them combined.
