The rain was falling heavily like the tears of a maiden who'd just lost her love. The young boy was sitting sticking his nose to the transparent glass of the window following with his eyes the unbroken chain of drops linking the sky with the earth. The flowing water on the city's streets looked in his eyes like the waves of a raging sea. This scene reminded him of his absent father who had went on a trip onboard his own ship leaving behind a promise to his son to take him when he's old enough. The little boy was craving that moment but it was destined to never come. The knocking on the door rushed one of the maids to open it, letting two men in, and in the saloon where the kid was sitting and admiring the view, his mother welcomed the two visitors who refused to sit. Albert looked at them; he knew the first one, the much older, to be his father's assistant onboard of his ship and the other man was the young sailor who entered in the service of his father recently, the young arrogant sailor whom his father preferred to take with him instead of his own son as the boy's childish imagination concluded at that time. He looked at his mother; she couldn't hide her worried gaze, why would her husband's vice commander and the new sailor return alone without their superior and her husband? The scene of his mother collapsing in tears when the vice commander brought her the news of her husband death was engraved in the little boy's memory; it was something he couldn't forget. His father's vice commander told them that their ship faced a storm receiving huge damage and it was almost sunk, a lot of the crew members died but as for the captain, he died saving the new young sailor he loved so much the way he loved his own son, as the captain once said. The said sailor who accompanied him was bowing his head the whole time and didn't say a word to the newly widowed wife and herlittle orphaned child. The drowned in tears eyes of the child were fixed on the sailor his father had died protecting, thinking that he'll never be able to ride the sea alongside his beloved father because of that man… because of the same man he saw on the next day on the quay holding his stuffs and leaving on a small boat thinking that a word like (sorry) can fix everything, incapable of understanding how meaningless it sounded in the boy's ears. That "I am sorry" from Alex Walcott meant nothing to the orphaned child.
This was the story Albert told Alice, the reason why he hates that man but even after hearing it, Alice didn't seem to find his hatred reasonable yet said nothing at all. It was painful for him that she didn't stand by his side like the day when he met her by coincidence and told her about his dreams of exploring new seas and discovering whole new worlds. At that day, she pressed on his hand and the two kids made a promise to accomplish this dream together. Albert wondered in pain, she still remembers his dream, but does she still remember the promise to realize that dream together? Albert covered his face laughing at himself… back then, when he returned the next day to see her and found her house empty, he felt great sadness but he thought that this wound had healed with the passing of days, but now that he had seen her again onboard the Amphitrite, the emptiness in his heart was quickly filled with happiness and joy. Albert got out of his luggage a small worn out yellow paper; it'd a note written on it saying: (Goodbye, Albert… we will surely meet again!). It was the note Alice left him before moving to another house and he was still carrying it with him even after the passing of many years but only did now he realize how much this woman is important to him. He knew he did not want to realize his dream without her by his side yet he feared to reveal this feelings to her, he feared that she'd forgotten or changed, he feared to lose her… he wanted to stay beside her even if there had to be a certain unpleasant distance between them.
" There's a small boat on the left, what is it doing alone in the middle of the sea?"
Howard turned at Alex while helming the rudder, he asked:
" What shall we do, should we stop?"
"If they send us no signs this means they are fine by themselves."
Alex replied without getting up; Howard didn't argue and kept moving toward their destination. The boat seemed to be struggling against the waves that kept pushing him further from the ship. Howard noticed this and said:
" It seems they need our help, captain."
Alex left his chair and looked through his spyglass; there was only one person on that boat. Alex looked closer, that person was a woman waving her hands at them, desperately. Howard looked at his captain waiting his orders but he was surprised, for the first time ever since he began serving on this ship these emotionless eyes of his superior sparkled, his hands were shaking as he held the spyglass and his lips were whispering a name he couldn't hear. Howard said worried:
" Captain…"
The shaking hands stopped and the shine quickly faded. Alex sat again on his chair saying:
" Do what you have to."
Howard quickly left the room calling his men to help the lost boat, Albert and Vincent rushed to the ship's deck to see what was going on. The woman on the boat was finally able to control it and direct it toward the thrown ropes from the huge ship, Albert remarked:
" She's lucky indeed to run into us."
" Not if she'll have the same greeting we had."
The boat was approaching steadily form the ship but suddenly it was turned over; a huge whale appeared causing a giant wave with his flippers. Albert searched with his eyes for the young woman and sighed in relief when he found her clinging to the rope yet hardly able to climb up. The whale stroke the ship's left flank with his tail and the woman held tightly to the rope but the stroke was so strong that it made her hands slip and she was about to fall again to the cold water if it weren't for a strong hand that held hers and pulled her to the ship's board as two precise bullets followed by the men's spears took care of the angry creature. Albert turned looking for the man who shot and looked surprised at his friend Vincent who returned the rifle to the sailor standing next to him while the woman was safe in Alex's arms. Everyone looked at Vincent amazed by his accurate aiming while Albert looked at both men, Vincent and Alex, analyzing what just happened. Vincent had shut his rifle then Alex rushed and pulled the woman before she was hit again and killed as if they planned this together without speaking one word to each other. He looked at them, there was a distance between the two men who didn't exchange a single word since the beginning of the trip yet somehow since the beginning of the trip yet somehow their minds worked together in complete synchronicity. The woman opened her blue diamond eyes and looked at the man who saved her life but as soon as she regained consciousness Alex moved his hands away and turned heading back to his room, he didn't even look at the face of the woman he'd just saved. Everyone noticed this and stood baffled, it was a cold act with slight rudeness to it even for their captain still; the woman got up and said to Alex:
" Thank you for saving me, Captain."
And again she showed nothing on her face when her savior walked away without replaying to her thanks while Albert watched him annoyed whispering to Vincent:
"He thinks of himself so high! Can't that man act nicer?"
" He can't."
Albert looked surprised at Vincent who left him and went to his room as well.
That night, Howard took the woman to the captain's room because she wanted to introduce herself properly. The woman sat on a soft coach warming herself with a thick cover; she took the cup of tea the first mate gave her and said:
" My name is Serena. The ship I was travelling on faced an enormous storm that sank it. I managed to survive but then, I got lost in the wide sea… I was lucky enough to run into you, you have my full gratitude."
"So, where is your destination, Lady Serena?"
The girl was about to open her mouth to answer Howard but Alex cut them off:
" We'll drop you on the first harbor we come across."
Howard looked at his captain; his tone was even colder than before, he didn't even look at the girl for once! He was speaking looking through the window yet the girl didn't say anything, she excused herself after she thanking both men once again.
Serena left Alex's room with a sad face; she walked on the ship's deck to have some fresh air but after few steps she ran into Albert who was standing watching the night covering the sea with darkness. He looked at her and smiled, she hesitated for a little while before she stood beside him. They introduced themselves probably, then Albert continued:
" I'm glad we have found you, otherwise who knows what might have happened to you alone lost in the sea!"
The woman looked at him asking:
"Do you hate the sea?"
Albert bowed his head smiling:
" Even when the sea turns to a wild monster taking our beloveds, I can't bring myself to hate it… it's the reason I live for, I wanted to know it and understand it…"
There's was a slight sadness in his words yet the girl didn't urge him to reveal the details, only remarking:
" I once knew a man who spoke like you and had the same dream; he found his refuge in this blue world."
"And what happened to him? Did he realize his dream? Was he happy?"
Albert asked her eager for the answer he wished to hear… he wanted to know that there's a man who could really realize this dream but Serena replied:
" I can't really tell… after all, I only knew him for one night."
"Oh... I see…"
The young man sighed in disappointment. Serena then digressed to lift the sudden heaviness of thoughts that clouded their conversation:
" Say Mister Albert, what is this ship destination? What is it travelling for? It's the famous Amphitrite, is it not?"
" Yes it's… we're on a mission by his majesty."
" I thought the ship follows no one as the rumors say."
" But this is a mission for the entire kingdom's people. Even the Amphitrite cannot be this inhumane."
The girl tilted her head to the side, curiosity rising in the blue of her eyes so Albert went on explaining:
"You see, the Panusarea kingdom is suffering from drought and heat, all the springs and rivers dried and the water resources are about to be completely depleted. Priests have forbidden us from desalting the sea water because the said it'll bring god's wrath and that it has been poisoned by the kingdom's people wrong doings. Life has turned horrible, people are fighting and struggling for water then they die out of thirst all the same. That's why this ship, since it's the most powerful and capable one, is heading to the Wilshire's island. It's said that there's an ever flowing spring there and our mission is to seize control of it and bring the water back to the kingdom since the Wilshire family refused to assist the king and declared their independence from his authority."
" I have heard a lot about this family, it's the most powerful noble family in this kingdom, and even the king fears their power. They resort to their distant mountainous island and have their own huge fleet. Is the Amphitrite that strong to take them on alone?"
Albert didn't know what to answer; he really didn't know why this ship would be sent alone… perhaps it's a mere decoy preceding the imperial fleet. And when he didn't answer, Serena wished him a good night and went to her room.