Chapter VII

(Previous Chapter Six) (Book Homepage & Chapter List) (Next Chapter Eight)12th Day in the 4th of Ründ’s Months, Dry Season, in the 29th Year of King Bornidin the Young’s Reign, 126th Reckoned Year…you can stir the sea with a spoon, but you cannot steer a ship without a crew...From ‘Wisdom of Saint Delód, The Church of the Deep, Written by Saint Delód in the Unreckoned YearsAfter the introductions, Chapel takes Petsune back to the captain's quarters and explains what the next two days will look like. “The Painful Lady is a house; we all live together here. And the crew is family, nobody is too good for a job, and nobody is above anybody else. Except for Mavis. You should probably listen to him.”Petsune appears confused and says, “and you?”But Chapel waves him off saying, “I’m not important, just listen to Mavis. Now, you are aboard the Lady for the next two days, so for these two days, you’re family here. That means helping out. And listening to Mavis. And me, I guess.” Petsune gets the feeling that Chapel’s carefree manner hides a lack of confidence in his ability to lead. The Captain continues, “Anything important will likely come through Mavis anyway.” Chapel claps loudly and says, “Well, now that’s done with. Any questions?”Petsune blinks a few times before saying, “Uh, yes. I have a lot of questions.”Chapel flings himself into a not particularly comfortable looking hammock hung from a truss. Petsune remembers what the Captain had said about the switching of sails and he feels that Chapel is deliberately making him think the worst. So, he confronts the Captain about this matter first, feeling it would further his understanding of the type of dealings the Lady has. When Petsune asks, “So the ship changes sails, but you said that is illegal?”Chapel simply responds disinterestedly, “Yeah, it is illegal, if you don’t have the permits for the colors. Which we do.”Petsune feels that familiar frustration mingled with admiration begin to creep up, but he continues with his questions in a level headed manner. “Alright. Next question, where did this ship come from?”This time Chapel doesn’t respond immediately and Petsune feels he has perhaps asked a difficult or tricky question.After a few moments however, Petsune hears soft snores coming from the hammock. Now his frustration gets the better of him and he says loudly, “Captain Chapel! Could you please manage to stay awake and explain where in the depths this ship came from!”Chapel snorts into a waking state and responds, “huh, what? What did you say?”Petsune nearly growls out, “Where. Did the ship. Come from?”The Captain yawns and says, “I have no idea. I borrowed it indefinitely from a dock on Dintash Mass. They didn’t seem to be using it.”Petsune stammers. “You… you what? You stole it from the Royal Navy?!”“Well they stole it first so-““Chapel! That makes you an enemy of the crown. They could be after you, and this is a very distinct ship.”“Yeah, I thought so too, that’s why I borrowed it.”“If they’re after you, then they’ll consider me one of your crew. I can’t go to prison; I have to get back to Thune Mass: Father Haltur is expecting bread and fish!”Much to the chagrin of Petsune, the Captain simply laughs loudly. After laughing for an infuriating amount of time, Chapel says, “Ah, Pet. I’m no more an enemy of the crown than you are. I heard your argument with that street crier back on Thune Mass - you do know Coldor Cleave is an enemy of the crown, right? That includes any sympathizers. There is that small matter of their betraying the alliance.”Petsune looks away but says, “That’s different. I didn’t steal a ship from under King Bornidin’s nose!”“Neither did I,” Chapel looks very self-satisfied as Petsune expresses bewilderment. Chapel continues, “I borrowed a ship out from under the nose of Prince Feyaz. He’ll never tell the king he lost it for fear of punishment, if he even notices it’s missing.”“How long has it been missing?”“Oh, maybe 8 or 10 years?”Petsune merely blinks in astonishment. The Captain appears to be checking his nails for dirt or something when Petsune follows up the question with another, “And how long was the ship under Prince Feyaz’s nose?”Now Chapel leaves off whatever he was doing and sits upright, looking at Petsune more seriously. The Captain says, “About 20 years.”The timing of things begins to click in Petsune’s mind, and he thinks aloud, “So about 30 years give or take… which is about when the North War ended.”Chapel smiles slightly and verbally prods, “Mhmmm.”“So, this ship was taken during the war? This is a ship from the Coldor Cleave?”“Bingo! That did not take you nearly as long as I thought it would. One detail you're missing though, this isn’t just a Coldor ship. This is the ship of the Cleave of Coldor — their rulers.”Petsune contemplates this added detail but doesn’t see how it matters much, until Chapel speaks again, “The war ended and the Coldor were pushed into the Northwest Waters when the Cleave was killed and this ship was taken.” Again, Petsune contemplates this, suddenly seeing the beauty of this ship in a new light. The Captain watches Petsune as he gazes about the cabin.Chapel speaks again, more softly this time, “The ship wasn’t all they took. The Cleave’s only heir, their son, was aboard this ship - the only survivor.” Petsune looks to Chapel and feels a profound sadness overcome him, imagining a child in the midst of the carnage of war. The Captain asks, “Petsune. How old are you, exactly?”And now the final pieces click into place, and he understands. “You mean… Me?”The Captain looks into Petsune’s eyes with an apologetic sorrow and says, “It’s you, Pet. You’re the son of the Cleave of Coldor, heir to the empty throne.”Petsune feels dizzy and sits down in the chest he slept in just hours ago. The whole world seems to have changed so much so fast. The hurt that he has carried all these years resurfaces and shifts around into new and unfelt emotions. He isn’t just Coldor, he is royalty - not just an enemy of the crown but the biggest threat to the kingdom. His parents are responsible for the North War and betraying the Alliance. A new thought surfaces in Petsune’s reeling mind, “But… how do you know all of this?”After a prolonged silence, Chapel finally speaks again, his face suddenly very intense “Well, I’ve been looking for you for a while now.”“What? Why? What do you want with me?”The Captain turns his intense gaze inward and stares at nothing, then he says, “Let’s just say I’m in the business of righting wrongs. I borrowed this ship without knowing anything about it. But when I learned your story, I wanted to… I dunno, reunite you with it, I guess. It’s the last thing that remains of your family.” Petsune and the Captain sit in silence, the creaking hull of the ship and the strain of its ropes are the only sound for some time. Petsune stares unblinkingly at his lap, seeing the snatches of memory from his earliest years. He wonders what happened and what will happen now, when Chapel speaks again, “that’s why I had Sprig steal your offering plate, to sort of lure you here but—”“Wait, what? That was you? You had a child steal from a priest for you?”“Well, he’s very goo-”“You lured me here? Why in the depths would you do that? What do you want with me?”“Okay, maybe lure isn’t the right word but it’s like I said. I want you to have what belongs to you: I want you to have the Painful Lady.” Chapel continues speaking but Pet is lost in his own crumbling mind. He finds himself once more rendered speechless by Chapel’s words, unable to comprehend their gravity or meaning.Then Chapel is there, seating himself next to Petsune in the chest of fabrics. Again, Petsune fails to find words to say, and Chapel speaks first, “I know this is a lot. I know that. But would you think about it? Just consider what I’ve said until we dock at Ginders Port, then give me your answer. If you want, we’ll take you back to Thune Mass after we’ve unloaded our cargo. I’ll even have Sprig give you back your shiny bowl. Or if what you want is to be captain of the Painful Lady, I will happily return what is rightfully yours. It’s the least I can do.”Petsune’s mind spins but he finds a voice for one thought, “Who else knows?”“Nobody but you and me, Pet. And it’ll stay that way until you say otherwise. In the meantime, until you decide, we’ll treat you as crew. And aboard the Painful Lady, crew is family.”“Right… um, yes… Okay.” Petsune is clearly still in a daze and Chapel simply pats him on the back then soundlessly disappears from the cabin.(Previous Chapter Six) (Book Homepage & Chapter List) (Next Chapter Eight)While no part of this book or the audio will be paywalled, if you are enjoying it and want to support but can’t afford the book, my Substack paid subscription is 60% off the yearly ($12 a year, forever) and 50% off the monthly ($2.25 a month, foreeeever) Get full access to Loser’s Fiction at losersfiction.substack.com/subscribe