That’s how they ended up in a wooden lifeboat with two oars, that were battered and splintered to near unusability, and Squeaks clinging to the ladder on the side of the mother boat to toss their luggage out to them. Good old Squeaks. With, fortunately, good old aim.

Elwin caught the bags and tucked them at Prin’s feet.

“Don’t g’way yet!” Squeaks called. He scurried back up the ladder and disappeared onto the ship.

“What are we going to do.” Prin sighed. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his head on his hands. He was sitting on the boat’s tiny wooden bench and clutching his walking stick like a security blanket.

The boat was old dark wood with brass fixtures and a crack on one side, that the first mate had assured them was repaired and sealed completely. It did appear to be watertight. For now.

“I guess we’re gonna wait for Squeaks to get back. Even though, I don’t really trust this thing.” Elwin said. He bent down to poke at the crack in the boats side before quickly thinking better of it.

“He’s a good friend.” Prin said. “Unlike me.”

“Why would you say that?” Elwin said. He leaned in close to Prin’s head to whisper. “Did you not kill his tormenter?” Elwin just wanted Prin to be happy, he would say anything to get the job done. It was hard to be happy in their present predicament.

Prin perked up instantly. His eyes sparkled like two pieces of pretty water separated from the larger ocean. “I did, that’s true!”

Elwin put his hand above his eyes to shield it from the brightness of the sun and looked out toward the horizon. There was something there like a cookie crumb in the distance. He did not like the looks of the length of water between here and there. Even though the water itself was looking fine and the sky was clear. A crisp breeze blew over the water with little waves romping along beneath it like a pack of puppies.

Squeaks came back down the ladder, precariously holding a burlap sack over his shoulder.

“You gotta have some sus’tence for the journey!” He waited until Elwin was ready with arms outstretched before tossing the bag over to him.

Elwin caught it in his arms and peeked inside. A pottery jug and some bread, along with a couple of wrapped parcels of food. “Thank you.” Elwin said. This made him feel better about the distance they would have to go. Slightly.

Prin stood up quickly, making the boat rock precariously under his feet.

“Whoa, careful.” Elwin said. “Maybe you should just . . .”

“Come with us!” the prince called to Squeaks. “Whatever they’ve got on Peacock Island has got to be better then where you’re coming from.”

Squeaks had a grave look on his face. “I don’t mean to scare ya, but they don’t call it Peacock Island no more, not now its overrun by pirates.”

“Pirates?” Prin tilted his head to the side, and Elwin could practically hear the gears turning as he pictured the colorful sword waving figures from his books. He was suppressing a smile, trying to take the news as solemnly as it was given. And failing.

“S’no laughing matter. They are a rough bunch.” Squeaks said. His foot went to slip and he rebalanced himself quickly, holding tight to the ladders rungs now with both hands while he craned his neck to look at them. “Listen, the islands gots two sides, one where the pirates docks their ships and unload cargo, an they gots their own hotels and entertainments. And the other side’s mainly the rich folk whats come aroun’ for their own fun and business stuff. What remains of the hot springs and resorts an the like. I would stay on ‘at side, I was you.”

“How do you know all this?” Elwin wondered.

“I was ‘ere once before and I don’t plan ta go back.” Squeaks said. He switched his gaze from one to the other, finally landing on Prin with a tender look. “You’ll be a’right though, just keep yer head down and mind yer business. And get offa the island as soon as you can.”

“Thank you.” The prince said earnestly. “Not just for the advice and the supplies, but for everything. I won’t ever forget it. But I do still wish you were coming with us.”

“I kinder do too.” Squeaks said regretfully. “But I better get offa this slipp’ry ladder and yous two better get to rowin’!” He declared. With one last backward glance, he was gone up the side of the ship and they were alone.

Elwin looked at the big ship that was still beside them, and the little crumb on the horizon. “How long do you think it will be until it gets dark?”

“A while, hours.” Prin said, joining him in his distant gaze across the long stretch of water.

“Not long enough.” Elwin made a face. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, it wasn’t very encouraging.

“Alright.” Prin plopped down in his seat, with alarming forcefulness, causing the boat to rock side to side. He picked up an oar. “We had better get started then!” He grinned up at Elwin. “So, how do we make this thing go?”

Elwin sat down on his own little bench, opposite Prin. He was already weary at the thought of this. “I’m not entirely sure, but I do know one thing. Whatever you do, don’t drop the oar.”

It took a while, an exhausting while, for them to settle on how it was you move the boat forward. Not to the right, not to the left so far that you go in a continuous circle. Not backwards into the mother boat they had just come from.

It took Prin’s gentle insistence that you must row sitting backwards, and his demonstration of such, that finally began to show progress in the right direction. Both oars being churned (stirred?), by the same person, who’s back was facing the destination. Who knew?

It was much as Prin had gleaned from his books, Elwin supposed.

The prince rowed for a while until his arms grew too tired and sore to continue. Then, they carefully switched positions and Elwin continued the momentum.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Prin laid back with his head on the luggage. “At least it’s a nice day.” He said, watching the sky.

The gulls lazily swooping toward the surface of the blue, and back again. “How are your arms?”

“This is nothing to shoveling coal.” Elwin said.

“It better be a cloudless night.” Prin commented.

Elwin looked over his shoulder. The crumb was coming closer to them, becoming the whole cookie and not just a crumb but, the sun was getting lower. The golden lantern of late afternoon would soon be snuffed, well before they reached any sort of shoreline. By his estimation.

“Yep.” He said.

The prince sat back up. “By goddess its beautiful out here though!” He put his hand above his eyes to shield them from the blinding rays. “The sun is like . . . it’s like it’s dripping down onto the water and there are golden puddles of it floating on the waves.” He reached out as though to catch some of the light in his cupped hand.

Elwin watched the prince while he rowed, it was beautiful out here, but he had something even nicer to look at then the sky or water. “Are you warm enough?” He wondered. When the sun went down, it would get colder still. Although he wasn’t worried for himself, since the rowing was keeping him quite toasty.

Prin pulled his cloak in closer around him, turning back to face Elwin with a beatific smile. “Yep. In fact, I feel so good, I’d like to go for a swim!” He leaned over the side of the little boat so that he could trail his hand in the water. “Oh, it is a little cold. But I could handle it. Maybe just a dip, okay?” He took off his cloak and let it puddle around him. He was halfway out of his shirt as well before Elwin was able to stop him.

“Wait a second!” Elwin protested. “Do you even know how to swim?” There was no way he did. Having spent the vast majority of his life not only on dry land but many dozens of feet above even that.

“How? How do I know if I know how to swim unless I try? Is it not a natural thing?” Prin wriggled out of his shirt and cast his eyes to Elwin in dismay. “To swim? Is what we do before we are even born.”

“That . . . may be so.” Elwin said, having no idea whether that was an accurate statement or not. “But by the time we have grown legs, we’ve forgotten the whole thing!” Elwin pictured a baby as a large tadpole swimming around its mothers innards, and felt that must be more or less accurate.

“Oh.” Prin slowly put his shirt back on, disappointed.

“We just have to be taught is all. I’ll teach you. After this, you know, after we land and all.” Elwin said. Never mind he barely knew how to float himself. If that. He would figure it out.

“Okay, it’s too cold anyway right now.” Prin put his cloak back on. He got the bag from Squeaks and started pawing through it. “Ooo, apples, cheese, some . . . more cheese I think, bread. And the jug is . . .” He wiggled the cork out of the top and sniffed it. “Just water.” He grinned. “I thought it might be some of that quack medicine with the high alcohol content.” The prince laughed.

“No more booze for me, ever.” Elwin said. “I can’t trust it. I will take a drink of water though. Can you . . .?” He leaned toward Prin, not wanting to quit rowing long enough to take a drink. Not with the diminishing daylight.

“Oh, sure, let me just. . .” Prin brought the jug close to Elwin’s lips and helped him take a drink. “Is that better?”

Elwin swallowed the water and smiled at the prince. When his face was this close, it was amazing. The dark circles under Prin’s eyes had vastly diminished and his pale skin was more porcelain and less the almost grey visage of death. Something he ate clearly agreed with him.

“You have amazing eyelashes.” Elwin said, in lieu of those more disturbing thoughts.

Prin laughed. “The things you say!” He dug around in the bag some more and pulled out some cheese, which smelled sharp and rich. “It’s almost like you’re trying to get me to like you.” He winked. “Too late on that one.”

The prince looked at the fist sized block of cheese in his hand, and set it down, rummaging in his luggage until he came up with the small silver knife, a little bigger than a letter opener.

With a jolt, Elwin realized where else that knife may have been. It was on the table in their room on the boat, when he . . .

“Don’t worry.” Prin said, responding to something on his face. “I won’t cut myself. Working in the kitchen these last few days made me more comfortable with a knife.”

Prin sliced the block of cheese into more manageable chunks with his sharp knife.

“I’m sure it did.” Elwin said. “Can I . .?” He opened his mouth like a baby bird, hoping some cheese would jump in.

The light became more golden as the sun bid its colorful farewell. Gold and orange and pink, sliding into lavender and violet. Colors of a hue that really do appear in nature, although it was hard to believe it unless it was right in front of your eyes.

Elwin couldn’t fully enjoy it since he knew it was a sign to very much not stop rowing.

Prin was looking down at his hands as he cut, and not at Elwin’s face. He released a shaky big sigh. “I didn’t say goodbye to him properly.” When he finally looked up, fat droplets that reflected the technicolor sky rolled down his cheeks.

Sure, now he cries.

“Who?” Elwin asked.

“Squeaks! My only friend.” The prince wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Awww Priny, you only knew him for a few days!” Elwin said unhelpfully.

“What does that matter?” Prin asked, his eyes narrowed at Elwin. Not quite a glare, but annoyed. He let out a sob.

Elwin put down his oars, carefully, so as not to lose them over the side. He reached for Prin and pulled him into a, again very carefully, hug. “You said goodbye to him properly! I think he definitely knew how you felt about him.” He patted Prin’s back, watching the light drain away over the ocean and the cookie they were rowing towards become harder to see, over his shoulder. What did it matter, they weren’t going to make it to the island in daylight anyway.

The prince nuzzled into Elwin, wiping his tears on Elwin’s shoulder. “I think I’m just really overwhelmed.”

“That’s understandable.” Elwin said. Me too, was what he didn’t speak out loud. “At least you’ll always have me.”

“You don’t count.” Prin said. “You’ve loved me since we were two years old.”

“Thi-this is true.” Elwin said. “Would’ve been longer except I didn’t know you yet. My world was in darkness.” He teased.

The prince pulled back and smacked him in the shoulder, but his face was alight with a playful grin. “Silly.”

Prin went back to his side of the boat and doled out the cheese and bread.

The two of them ate in contemplative silence, a break in the rowing, as the sun came down and a new world appeared around them.

It wasn’t pitch black, thankfully, not like darkness Elwin had seen before, but more like a darkness that was punctuated by light from the stars and the half pie of the moon. And, inexplicably, from the water, the tips of the little waves, merely ripples, shining white to compete with the stars.

“Shall I take a turn now? I can row for a while.” Prin suggested.

“If you want to, but really it’s fine either way.” In reality Elwin could use the break, his muscles being pulled in a different way then what it had taken to shovel the coal, was making all the stiff and soreness that he had been trying to ignore start to gang up on him. “I can keep going.”

“It might be a long night. On the sea.” Prin pointed out. “We’re going to have to switch off every now and then.”

Prin stood up and shuffled along toward Elwin. “You can even take a nap if you wa--.” Before he could get the words out he pitched forward into Elwin.

Elwin almost dropped the oars but luckily he was holding them with a death grip and managed to catch Prin without letting go of them. “Careful!”

“Something bumped into the boat.” Prin said, practically on Elwin’s lap and breathing heavily.

Elwin, as always disinclined to argue with his prince, hadn’t noticed a thing and couldn’t help saying so. “You probably just tripped, I don’t think we hit anything.”

Prin disentangled himself and shakily got to his feet. “No, I think something hit us.” His eyes were moon wide.

Elwin set the oars down across the boat. He stood up and reached out his hand to Prin. “I’m sure its nothing.” No sooner had the famous last words left his mouth then something pushed at the bottom of the boat, raising it half a foot out of the water.

Prin toppled sideways and Elwin grabbed for him, pulling him back from the edge and they huddled together on the floor of the boat.

“What the hell just happened?” Elwin said.

“Something bumped into the boat.” Prin whispered, as though afraid it would hear them.