Ruby by J. E. Thompson

Author:J. E. Thompson [Thompson, J E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arc Book Club, LLC

Whenever the Water Stirs

Renegade smoothly sailed over the waves of the ocean. Ruby had been given a room belowdecks, but she spent most of her time leaning over the railing, feeling the breeze on her skin and in her hair. She savored the feeling, it was something she hadn’t even known existed.

She wondered if she did this earlier in her life, if she spent a lot of time sailing before she was taken by this kingdom. Considering that the kingdom was practically right on the water, she wouldn’t have been surprised if she had. She hoped she did, because the feeling was wonderful.

“We’ll be at the islands in two days’ time.”

Ruby turned to see that one of the female crew members had come up beside her to stare out into the ocean.

“Incredible, isn’t it?”

“Do you ever get tired of it?” Ruby asked. This was the first girl she’d gotten to speak to since her memories had been taken, and she liked her already.

“No!” she said with confidence. “Never. I mean, sure, it looks the same. There are always waves, sometimes they’re higher or lower, and there’s always water and sky and sun, but don’t you smell it?” She closed her eyes, and Ruby copied her, but all there was in the air was the tang of salt.

“Smell what?” Ruby asked, her eyes still closed.

“Land.” The girl paused and took a deep breath. “It’s strange, I know, but you can always sense your destination. It’s there, dancing on the wind—the smell of cherries on the island chain we’re going to, or the stronger smell of salt to the east, where many of the monsters live in the deeper waters, or to the west, the sweeter smell of the western kingdoms.”

Ruby opened her eyes. “I can’t smell any of that.”

Maybe that meant she wasn’t a sailor before her memories were taken.

“That’s what everyone says,” the girl grinned widely. “Maybe I just have a gift. My name is Melody.”

“I’m Ruby,” she responded. “What do you do on the ship?”

“Mostly, we sing and drink. When we’re working, though, I’m the captain’s first mate. I do all of the tasks he’s too busy to do, like get word around to the crew if there’s a change in course or decide who does what for the trip.”

“That sounds incredible,” Ruby mused, and she meant it.

“I’ve got a good feeling about you, Ruby. There’s always a place for you if you want to stay. I’ve got to get to work, though.”

Melody cheerily waved over her shoulder and walked off towards Devereux, who was holding a steady course straight towards the open water.

Ruby closed her eyes and tried to smell the cherries, and maybe it was her imagination, but she caught a whiff of the tangy fruit. She smiled and opened her eyes again.

She would have liked to stay. It was a tempting thought, to abandon this quest and live out her short days until the headdress killed her on the sea. Woodruff would hate her, and that’s what made the thought all the more enticing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.