Ceremus lifted his head to look at him, scanning his face for any trace of dishonesty, but he could find none. He was being sincere.
Seeing the tense expression on his face softening, Hael reached out to touch Ceremus' hand, caressing it lightly. A comforting warmth spread through his palms as he felt the rough, calloused skin against his own. Ceremus stared at their joined hands, recalling the night when they went to the theatre. Remembering his question to Hael, he thought back to their conversation.
A soft smile appeared on his lips as he recalled the memory before it disappeared. Such an earnest and forthright man didn't deserve to be led on and further confused. He deserved to be loved and cherished, respected and appreciated, and Ceremus wasn't confident he could provide that kind of relationship for him—to anyone, for that matter.
His father used to say that though love was important in a relationship, it wasn't enough to keep things stable.
"Take a house, for example. You need a base in order to build it, right? A nice solid base is important, but it also needs bricks, clay and a roof for it to be complete. Without those bricks, you're left with nothing. A relationship requires communication, trust, and more importantly—commitment."
You can never develop a healthy relationship without it. He thought to himself.
Though he felt sad about it, he forced a smile, or what was a semblance of a smile? It was sometimes hard to tell what he was feeling, considering his inability to emote. But it looked as though his smile got through to Hael as he returned a smile of his own.
Ceremus, his guard, and the rest of his crew set off for Trojas the following day. They had stayed in Leacus for seven days, and were about ready to journey back. The king had been away from his kingdom for a long time, and had originally planned on returning within a month, but they got derailed along the way. Ceremus wanted to return to his abode as soon as possible, and bury his worries in a sea of work that would more than likely be awaiting him.
As they said their goodbyes, it was quite obvious that the royal family was sad to see them go—actually, sad to see Hael go, all for different reasons. But Ceremus had no intention of leaving his guard at the hands of the grubby king.
With the beast defeated, and the shield and sword secured, they had no other reason to stay.
"You can always come back here if you ever change your mind, Hael." King Aeson said once again.
Ceremus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Aeson has been trying to recruit him for the past three days now, and Hael always gave him the same reply. It was starting to get old.
The guard cast the older man a polite smile. "I am flattered, but I am happy where I am," He said. And the king could only reluctantly accept.
Emani stepped forward and shook his hand; her smile radiant. "I wish you safety throughout your travels. If things ever fall through with the one you hold dear, know that you always have a place by my side." She said.
Hael accepted the gesture, but also shook his head at the same time. "Unfortunately, I do not see such a thing happening. My heart already belongs to them." Was all he said before pulling away.
Disappointment flashed across her face, but a resigned smile quickly followed. "Indeed, it is unfortunate." She sighed.
And with that, they set off. Meanwhile, in the celestial planes, Kaleeso rejoiced that they had safely reached Leacus, and that Cornelia had blessed them with a shield and sword. Now it was only a matter of making it back to Trojas on time before Dicaeus decided to strike.
According to her informants, the bull he had prepared to kill them with was almost ready, and she feared that with how much energy they've spent over the last few days, they wouldn't be able to defeat it even with the help of the sword and shield.
"Let's just hope they don't encounter any danger on the way." She sighed.
They'd been travelling for fourteen days now, their journey smooth sailing with only one stop on a little island to stock up on a few supplies.
King Aeson had supplied them with enough food and provisions to last them two weeks, which Ceremus was grateful for. The fewer stops they made, the faster they would get to Trojas.
"I don't think I'll ever want to ride a ship after this," Loki said as they sat at the table, enjoying their breakfast.
Both Hael and Ceremus couldn't help agreeing with him. Spending more than a month on a boat, no matter how large and luxurious it was, wasn't ideal in the long run. The king missed the land, and Hael felt even stronger feelings. After the novelty of riding a ship had run out, the vessel started to feel more like a prison.
Nonetheless, things were running smoothly until one of his men—Marcus saw a strange craft approaching their vessel at full speed. He sounded the alarm, altering all the crew members aboard the ship of the emergency.
"What's going on?" Euphorion, another member, asked when he saw the look of alarm on his face.
Marcus said nothing as he simply pointed in the direction of the ship. Euphorion followed his line of sight, and his eyes widened when he saw the boat quickly approaching them.
Of course, this wasn't the first time they'd come across other ships throughout their voyage, but they usually minded their business and passed them by without problems. This one, however, was different. Though Marcus wasn't sure, he felt like the people coming their way weren't just going to pass them by and leave them alone.
"Should we alert His Majesty?" Euphorion asked, cutting through his thoughts.
He snapped his head to look at the younger man, contemplating his words. He wasn't one hundred percent certain the people approaching them were hostile, and it would be bad if he alerted the king just for his worries to be unfounded. Normally he would've dropped everything and alerted him, but he felt like they would be fine on their own for now.
They were all trained sailors, well versed in combat. From the looks of their boat, they didn't seem like much of a threat. So the "honorary" captain shook his head.
"No, we'll deal with them on our own for now. But have someone on standby to alert the king immediately if something goes wrong, though I'm sure knowing him, he would've already sensed it by then." He ordered.
Euphorion nodded and quickly let the others know of the incoming company.
The crew watched warily as the ship finally reached them.
A deep navy blue paint coated its sleek wooden hull, creating a stark contrast with the light blue waves around it. Since it was the afternoon, and it was still light out, Marcus could make out the strange markings engraved on the side of the vessel. Although he didn't understand the language of the markings, they created an ominous feeling. The boat was long and narrow, with a single row of strong oars on each side, manned by hardened men who had most likely spent their entire lives on water.
A raised prow carved to the likeness of a terrifying sea creature jutted forward, its design specifically made to ram into merchant vessels they sought to raid. A tattered, wind-filled, dark red sail (like dried blood) jutted out prominently on the mast, unsettling Marcus and his men.
The deck was a chaos even from a distance, the men on board—barefooted, sun scorched and heavily scared griped their weapons as they prepared to unleash chaos to the men on the large ship, and the man leading the attack was a sight to behold—long black hair tied back into a single loose braid, piercing amber eyes that reminded them of fire and brimstone, and an evil snarl painted his rugged face as he yelled at his men to get ready.
The closer they got to them, the more irritated Marcus grew. Just how dumb and ignorant were these people? Could they not tell that the vessel they were attacking was no regular vessel but a fleet belonging to the royal family?
The only people he could think of who were idiotic enough to attack their ship, despite knowing that would be none other than the pirates.