Under Murky Waters

ZALE WASN’T TOO sure what it was that made him sick to the bone. It couldn’t be the rocking of the waves. He was used to the movement and for him, it equated to the smooth lull of a crib to a baby during the calmest of nights. The crash of the waves were the lullaby that nature played with the stars. By all reason, the scene at sea should not make Zale’s stomach churn as it did now.

Yet, it trembled and cried, its groans echoing far louder than any sound made by the water that surrounded them. The laughter of the pirates above deck seemed to grow with each sound of Zale’s discomfort. They boomed like a thousand drums, ringing in his ears.

“You look... a little green,” Cordelia observed. “Are you quite alright?”

Zale could not find the words in him to reply. Instead, he cupped his hands over his mouth, running to the window that Cordelia had climbed in from before hurling the minimum contents of his stomach overboard. From behind, Cordelia grimaced, eyebrows turned into a frown as a shiver crawled up from beneath her skin.

“That is disgusting.”

“Would you please keep quiet for a second?” Zale all but begged. “My head feels like it is about to explode.”

“What are you so worried for? I can just throw the both of us overboard and swim us back to shore.”

“No offense but you have given me no reason to trust you.”

“I saved you from a ship that was doomed to sink.”

“Yes! A ship that was about to sink by your hands!” Zale argued.

“Would you rather I have slaughtered an innocent man?” Cordelia scoffed rather ungracefully when Zale kept quiet, his lips pinched together and eyes staring at the floor with sudden great interest.

In the softest voice, he whispered beneath his breath, “Death might’ve been an act of mercy, all things considered.”

However, no matter how softly Zale had whispered those words, Cordelia still caught them. She shook her head, her dark hair falling down her face like the waves at midnight.

“If you truly believe that, you are weaker than I originally presumed. Life is an open door for unlimited opportunities. I will give up anything to be alive again. After all, I have nothing more to lose.”

Zale kept quiet, his body gently rocking along with the ship. After a few seconds, he slumped down onto a rather empty lidded barrel, sitting on the closed lid with his back hunched in defeat.

“So what now? We wait for doom?” He asked, voice akin to a groan.

“Why are you so pessimistic all of a sudden?” Cordelia quipped back in return, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “This atrocious situation can easily be averted into one in our favor.”

A particularly boisterous string of laughter echoed from above deck. The pirates’ feet hit against the wooden panels, making Zale jump in surprise. Cordelia had to fight back a smile, allowing her lips to twitch slightly. It was enough to betray her emotions because Zale had caught it and returned a scowl of his own.

“And pray tell, Miss Sunshine, how this is a good situation?” Sarcasm saturated each and every word that escaped past Zale’s lips but Cordelia pretended to take no notice. Instead, she calmly flipped her long raven hair over one shoulder, combing through it idly with her fingers.

“They’ve kidnapped you for a reason and I’ll bet it’s for ransom money. They’ve not made you a slave yet and judging by their empty barrels, I’m also wagering that they’ve gotten low on supplies. That means that they will be docking soon.”

At that last sentence, Zale perked up. His interest was peaked, eyebrows raised in curious interest as he leaned slightly forward. “Dock?”

Cordelia nodded, her pink lips shaped into a smart grin. She turned, eyes observing the cerulean sea that sprawled on for miles into the distance. The horizon seemed so within grasp from where she sat yet she knew it was also very much out of reach.

“Yes,” she said, her eyes never leaving the ocean. “And judging by the waves we ride, I’m also guessing that we’re headed for your hometown.”