Chapter 8. Eris

My stomach tightens with worry as I begin to climb the ladder.

Was this a good idea after all? I don't even know these men.

By the time I am up in the ship it is too late to turn back.

The tall one leads me to a corner and I clutch my bag as other shirtless men stare at me sharing whispers amongst themselves.

“Well who do we have here?” One approaches me with a small knife in hand, flipping it with much dexterity.

“Behave maggot!” The tall man lashes out in a warning tone and the man backs away.

I push my cloak forward over my head trying to conceal my fear.

The tall man goes down into the ship and I stand in my corner and I glance at my surroundings. The men look at me consciously but none of them dares to come close. Not after the warning.

Soon enough the taller man comes out and is accompanied by his skipping friend but then another man comes out. He's not as tall as the man I'm familiar with but just as heavily built. He must be the captain. I can tell by his extravagant confidence in his gait.

His sandy blonde hair spread haphazardly on his head as he combs it with his hand with a hint of swagger.

The men give way as they approach me and the other two men give way for Blondie to come close enough to me.

He halts in front of me with his bare chest that showcases his biceps staring at me in the face. He looks less intimidating but something about him seems sly. I'll have to be smarter with this one.

“So, my men tell me you have a deal for us,” he says; his deep voice is more intimidating than his appearance taking me off guard.

“Yes,” I manage to voice out and he raises a brow and glances at the tall man who nods at him.

“Hmm, what is your name?” He asks and my mind goes blank.

I can't tell him my real name or he'll find out who I am. And if they find out who I am my plan will be ruined.

I take a moment to bite my lips until it hits me.

“Nyxia”

“What?”

“Speak louder for the captain” the tall man orders.

So I was right!

“My name is Nyxia.”

“Well, Nyxia, my name is Rubeus and if what my men say is true then we've got a deal,” he says, a smile dancing on his lips.

Now it's time to lift my brow.

Is he this easy to deceive?

“But first we need some sort of proof to show that you're not trying to trick us and have us dead by morning.” he jokes and the taller man chuckles.

My mind rings in distress.

“Of course.” I tell him, still panicking internally.

I open my satchel and rummage through it like I'm looking for something worthwhile. Then my hand grabs something. A compass.

I pull it from my satchel and resist the urge to stare at it. It’s pure gold. I had no idea I was carrying anything of this much importance.

It glistens under the rays of the sun as I waved it from side to side triumphantly.

It's my turn to smirk in confidence.

Captain Rubeus snatches it out of my hand and inspects it closely. Then his eyes shoot up at me and a smirk creeps up in his face.

“Well then it seems like we have a deal,” he says tossing it to the skipper. “Welcome aboard to my humble abode,” he says.

He turns to his men with his hands akimbo.

“Don't just stare at me you scoundrels set the sail, we've got a mission!” He yells and the men shout joyfully and scatter around the ship getting things ready.

They sing a strange song as they do so. Their voices blend in harmony.

The tall man comes over to me and carefully places his hand on my shoulder.

“We have a room for you,” his deep voice echoes, “it's downstairs. Follow us,” he says, gesturing for me to follow his lead and I do so.

They lead me to the bottom of the ship through a stairway that leads us down. It's dark even with the sunlight coming from the outside and the stairs squeak once our weight reaches each step.

One of them sparks a torch and leads the way to a room at the far corner. He opens it for me to enter and light immediately pours in from the room’s natural light.

“This will be your room,” the tall man says holding the door for me.

Cobwebs are the first things that greet me as soon as I walk in much to my displeasure.

“You’ll have to excuse the shape she's in,” he suddenly says. “We haven't exactly opened this room since we lost one of us.”

I nod my head at him and take the time to look around the room. It's small but airy but covered in dust. A small bed sits at the corner of the room with a window right at the top of it.

Close to the bed lies a desk full of maps, compasses and odd looking contraptions and then suddenly curiosity takes over my thinking.

Who lived here before me?

“Who was he?” I finally asked and suddenly the air became solemn.

Both men look down for a while and the shorter one speaks.

“Clay. The finest scoundrel we've ever known.”

“Oh.” is all I can say wishing I knew who that was.

“By the way name is Koa and this is my friend-”

“Finn, but you can call me skipper.” The short one interjects proudly.

Koa Rolls his eyes but continues.

“Take your time to look around and make yourself comfortable and don't hesitate to tell us if you need anything.”

“I definitely will.” I reply.

“Alright we'll be on our way,” Finn says, skipping along and Koa follows behind.

“Do you think she likes the room?” I hear Skipper ask.

“Well she doesn't exactly have a choice, the rest are taken, remember.” Koa responds.

I roll my eyes at their lack of discretion. It's more than obvious that the ship lacks a woman's touch. But this is the life I must live now.

Everything is so different from the castle and it will definitely take some time to get used to.

I climb the bed and stand on my toes so I can look out the dusty window but all I see is hundreds of miles of water. Not a single land in sight.

I open the window and let the heavy sea breeze blow the cloak on my head away. I can hear the dancing from the upper cabin more clearly now. They seem so happy to go on this wild goose chase with me.

I almost feel guilty for lying but I don't. I'm doing this for me.