Richard watched as Adalene flew into the serpent’s mouth, and for a moment they all waited in silence.
Then he saw the point of her spear pierce the serpent’s neck, and the beast reared back, screeching in pain. It thrashed about, and then he saw Adalene’s form jump out of the serpent’s mouth, landing in the water below.
Richard threw a rope over for her as the serpent continued to screech until it eventually disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Adalene began to climb the ship, gripping the railing as Richard helped her over the side. Wiping her wet hair out of her face Adalene gasped, “Ve must hurry, it might-”
The ship rocked as it was hit by an unseen force, pushing Richard and the others to the ground.
“What was that?” Richard asked.
“It is trying to sink us!” Adalene shouted, looking over the rail as if that might give her an answer, “I hoped to scare it off, but zat might have only angered it.”
“What can we do?” Alice asked, gripping the railing as the serpent rocked the ship again, sending everyone falling to the ground.
“Ve have to find land,” Adalene said, “Or outrun ze sea serpent. If it calls to other nearby serpents ve vill be doomed.”
The Bowen rocked once again, and Richard thought it was hard enough that his feet lifted off the ground for a moment.
There was a sharp whinny from below decks and Helen gasped. “Midnight!” she exclaimed, “Midnight could be in danger.” Helen began to try to make her way down the stairs but was knocked over by the sea serpent ramming into The Bowen once again.
“Helen,” Richard protested, “It’s not safe! We have to-” He fell over backward by the force of the next rocking of the ship, and when he looked up he saw Helen was already down the stairs.
“Helen!” Richard shouted at her, as she made her way to where Midnight, her horse was neighing in panic, rearing up every time the ship was pounded by the serpent.
“I need to make sure Midnight’s safe,” Helen said back, trying to calm Midnight.
“Helen, we have to get out of here. If we don’t find land, Midnight won’t be the only one in danger.”
The ship rocked once again, but Richard had learned how to keep his balance. Helen looked over at him, her deep blue eyes sincere.
“We can’t leave anybody behind,” Helen said softly, “Just like with Skylar. I know you don’t believe she’s alive, but we have to have hope. If Luke gives up that hope—if any of us give up hope, this quest will be for nothing.”
“I know that,” Richard said, his voice softening, “But you can’t just put yourself in unnecessary danger to save people! You also have to save yourself.”
Richard thought back to the way she’d protected her father just a few short weeks ago, a man she’d barely known but still loved. She’d flung herself in front of him to save him from an assassination attempt, getting herself injured in the process, and almost dying. Richard never understood how one person could be so selfless.
And even after she began to get better, her father seemed to be fighting a war not only in his own kingdom but in his own mind, nearly hurting Helen. But Helen remained hopeful, never giving up on her father.
Now as he stared into her eyes, he knew that she would not leave before they made sure Midnight was coming with them. Richard would probably have to drag her out kicking and screaming to keep her safe.
Richard sighed, the volume of it growing louder as the sigh dragged on. He pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration running through his body.
“Fine…” Richard dragged the word out, trying his best to be crystal clear how much he hated this idea.
“Fine. Fine. Fine.” He said as he started to unhook Midnight’s reins which were tied to the wall.
Richard continued to sigh, and he pulled Midnight up the stairs.
“Thanks, Richard,” Helen said sweetly, and Richard couldn’t suppress the small smile spreading on his face.
They got above deck, and once again, the sea serpent rammed into the side of the ship. Midnight whinnied again, rearing up and almost kicking Richard down.
“What are you-” Luke started to say, then shook his head, saying, “Never mind.”
As Adalene looked over the rail again, she shouted to everyone.
“Vait! I think it’s forgotten us.”
Everyone crowded around Adalene, looking over the railing. It was kind of hard to see under the water, but the sea serpent appeared to be swimming away from them.
“Or it’s getting its friends.” Peter said, and they began to try to chart a course to the nearest island.
Adalene spread the map in front of them in the captain’s quarters and stated that there were no known islands nearby.
“All ve have to do is hope for a miracle.”
“Lucky for us, that happens a lot.” Richard said.
“Don’t say that or you’ll jinx it! Ugh…” Peter said then sighed, angry again at Richard’s bad luck.
“I’m sorry!” Richard shot back, “I was trying to make a joke but I guess that’s just me ‘jinxing it’!”
“Are you trying to get us killed?” Peter returned, walking closer to Richard, “Because from the looks of things the only thing you have to earn is Helen’s heart!”
“I have done well for this group!” Richard shouted in Peter’s face, angrier than he’d ever felt before. “I may not have wanted to be here at the start, but I’ve learned!”
“The only thing you did was stand there while Helen sacrificed herself for her father! Did you give yourself up for somebody you cared about? Keep your own pain and anger inside while you cared for the person you loved?”
“I almost lost everything!” Richard shouted, gripping Peter’s shirt in his hands and pushing him against the wall. He felt tears sting his right eye, but he didn’t care. He only felt rage and pain. “I thought that the only person I cared about would die and I could do nothing! Nothing!”
“Well, I lost everything!” Peter shouted back, pushing Richard off him. “Do you know what it’s like to be helpless to protect your family?”
At this, Richard stopped. He lowered his head, ashamed of his outburst. “At least you had a family who loved you.”
Before Peter could say anything, however, Richard stormed out of the captain’s quarters, wiping angrily at the tears still streaming down his face...219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnDCiJzyE8
