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He swayed from side to side, his senses betraying him as he walked below deck, up the steps, and onward to the top of the ship. His sight was blurry and he barely could make out the figure standing at the edge of the ship. Her red hair blew in the wind and as hard as he tried, Cristianno couldn’t stand straight, much less walk toward her.
“Wait…” he muttered, extending his arm out to her. “Wait…” His entire body felt as if it were out of control and while he didn’t feel intoxicated, he continued to sway, side to side, back and forth.
“Captain! We need you, Captain!” Cris turned behind him and heard Ziggly’s voice calling for him, but it was distant and hazy. When Cris turned back to the woman, she seemed father away.
“Wait…please…you promised. Wait…” He took a few steps forward, stumbling over his feet and falling onto the deck. A roar of laughter emerged from behind him, but Cristianno ignored them, lifting his head to look for the woman. Thunder rumbled overhead and soon it began to rain. With his mouth open, Cris looked up and the falling drops hit his face, his body, and even entered his mouth. For a moment, Cris gagged at the salty taste of the drops but he heard a soft whimpering surrounding him every time the sky flashed with lighting.
A glance up showed him familiar eyes. Cris shook his head and pleaded with the crying woman. “It wasn’t my fault! Please, don’t go!” Cris turned to the figure on the deck and noticed an unknown man standing beside the figure. “No, wait…you promised…” The woman’s hair was now under her pink hat that matched her flowing dress.
“Rosaelynn…wait,” he whispered softly.
Rosaelynn….Rosaelynn…Kahlen…Kahlen…
“Kahlen!” He could see clear, noticing that the dress was gone and now the familiar plate armor he was so used seeing her in was on the distant woman. A man stood beside her with an arm around her waist and gazing out at the sea. “Kahlen…you promised…you promised…”
The woman gave him a saddened glance and walked with the man down the plank and into the sea. Cris crawled to the plank and watched the ripples of water down below. And just like that, Kahlen was gone. Cris clawed at the wooden plank and cried hard, ignoring the crew’s sneers. “You promised….Kahlen…you promised.”
“You promised…” he murmured against the pillow. His sea-green eyes instantly lifted as he awakened. A quick gasp forced him to sit up in his bed, the ship swaying faintly from sea’s momentum. It was night and the candle hanging overhead was still lit. He looked around, searching for Kahlen or Rosaelynn, but not even a trace of their scents surrounded him. He placed his left hand on his chest, feeling the fast and hard thumping of his heart. Kahlen had made the same promise Rosaelynn had made earlier. He jumped out of bed and walked toward a black box on his table. He opened the box and saw the rose she had given him a few weeks ago. Even though he didn’t like magic, he managed to find a mage who could preserve it and he carried it with him, without anyone knowing. Cris touched the rose gently and closed his eyes.
“No, she’s not Rosaelynn…She’s not.” He quickly closed the case and walked to a window, leaning against the sill. He stared at the darkness of the sea surrounding his vessel and sighed deeply, his long auburn hair draping his shoulders.
Earlier in the day, Ziggly had reminded him of just how fickle women were and if they didn’t have what they wanted then and there, they would simply move on to something less, but Cris fought to the point of threatening Ziggly.
However, he couldn’t shake the feeling of seeing Kahlen walk away in the arms of another. Not Kahlen…not again.
Cris walked backward toward the bed and simply fell back.. He couldn’t control her actions, but he longed for her. She had his heart, after all.
“You promised to wait for me, Khalen,” he whispered. He grabbed a pillow and held it close, trying to forget the nightmare and any doubt that the cruel sea could be planting in his mind and heart.
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