The ship glided through the vast blue ocean as the gentle autumn breeze caressed the main deck. The sun was high in the bright sky, and its rays nearly reached their zenith.
The healer and his assistant paced restlessly, their eyes darting towards the cabin’s entrance where the commander and his wife were holed up.
Ayden let out an impatient sigh, his feet tapping the wooden planks.
"I don’t think I can wait any longer! I’m going to knock," he said, his agitation was haunting him.
Eric moved silently and smoothly, his steps barely making a sound as he appeared out of the shadows, blocking the assistant healer’s path with a stern expression.
"Whose door do you think you’re going to knock on?" he asked, his voice laced with warning.
Ayden hesitated, taken aback by the knight’s sudden appearance.
"You startled !" Ayden exclaid as he faced Eric.
The knight grinned, unperturbed. "Don’t be. You should be used to my stealth by now as part of the knighthood team," he replied, a hint of amusent in his voice. "But you still haven’t answered my question."
"The commander’s. They’ve been inside since last night and haven’t co out yet," he replied, feeling a twinge of anxiousness.
"What seems to be the issue?" asked the knight, squinting at the assistant.
"The lady has just recovered, and I’m worried that the commander might hurt her," Ayden replied, his brows furrowed in concern.
Eric cocked his head, studying the assistant healer’s expression.
"Why would he do that? He’s always shown how much he cares for her. It’s unlikely that he would harm her," he reasoned.
"You don’t understand," Ayden’s voice rose in frustration, his cheeks flushing red. "The commander can be a threat to her at tis."
"He knows. I’ve already inford him about the incident between the commander and his wife," Rafe interjected, trying to calm his assistant down.
"If you knew about it, why are you holding back?" Ayden grumbled to Eric with a disapproving look.
"They are enjoying their ti together. Think of it as their honeymoon. Let’s not disturb them," the knight suggested, his tone calm and reasonable. "I assure you that he won’t hurt her. The lady ans the world to him."
"How can you be so sure? I heard her crying last night!" Ayden complained, his worry still evident.
"That wasn’t crying, Ayden. That was moaning. They’re husband and wife. It’s completely normal for them to do whatever they did," Eric explained as he chuckled.
"Don’t talk to like I don’t understand what happened! I’m an assistant healer, and I know what intimacy is. I read dical books all the ti!" Ayden retorted, his face reddening in embarrassnt.
"Learning about intimacy from a book is not the sa as feeling it on your own. Instead of concentrating on reading material, you should pursue a girl and experience it yourself," the knight teased, a playful smirk on his face.
"Drop it, Eric! Don’t try to teach strange things to my assistant!" Rafe scolded with a cold, stern tone.
"Fine, I’ll stop now. But please don’t disturb the commander and his wife. They’ve been through a lot on this journey. So, give them a chance to spend ti together," Eric said firmly, his expression calm and collected.
"Are you sure the lady will be all right?" Ayden asked, still hesitant.
"Cross my heart. She’ll be fine," Eric reassured him. "It’s already lunchti. Let’s go to the dining room and have our al first. The other knights are already there."
"Shouldn’t we wait for the commander and the lady?" Rafe asked.
"There’s no need to. They’re adults and can take care of themselves. The commander won’t let his wife starve. They’ll co out eventually or call for soone to send over the food to them," Eric replied with a grin.
***
Sunlight stread through the cabin’s window, casting dancing dust particles in its path. Kyren lay sound asleep on the bed, his bare, muscular chest rising and falling with each breath.
After finally achieving monts of intimate ecstasy, the gallant commander succumbed to his exhaustion. Days of caring for his sick wife and staying vigilant had taken its toll.
Anna gazed affectionately at Kyren’s face, softly running her fingers over his cheeks and nose. As he slept, the grand duke appeared calm and innocent, a far cry from his usual alert deanour.
In this state, Kyren didn’t seem to possess any of his usual overbearing or intimidating characteristics. The princess often found herself wondering about the possessiveness he exhibited towards her. Did his jealousy drive it, or did it stem from his deep feelings for her? She couldn’t quite tell the difference.
Anna pecked a light kiss on Kyren’s forehead before slipping out of the room, taking care not to wake the exhausted man. As she made her way to the deck, the gentle sea breeze caressed her face. She quickly adjusted the shawl draped around her neck, concealing any evidence of her love affair from the previous night.
Recalling their wild night on the ship still made her blush. Kyren had warned her that he couldn’t hold back his lustful desires, and he had been right. Even now, she still felt a pleasant soreness from the afterglow of their lovemaking.
The ocean’s surface was tranquil, displaying a blue hue as it mirrored the sky’s colour. As she walked, Anna observed the crew mbers working diligently to clean the main deck and others stationed on the vessel’s bow to ensure the ship’s path was clear of hazards.
Not wanting to disturb the sean cleaning the area, she climbed the stairs to the stern castle. She saw the shipmaster steering the rudder using the wheel, his eyes scanning the vast sea ahead.
"Good morning, shipmaster. May I stay here for a mont? The crew is cleaning the main deck, and I don’t want to get in their way," Anna greeted the shipmaster politely, seeking his permission.
"Ah, Good mornin’ to ye, lady. Ye’re welco to stay as long as ye like. How’ve ye been? I haven’t seen ye since the dinner last night. Be ye feelin’ unwell again?" he inquired.
Anna blushed out of embarrassnt, realising that her health condition was common knowledge on the ship.
"No, not at all. I’m just taking so fresh air. The weather seems lovely today, doesn’t it?" she replied, trying to change the subject.
"Nay! It ain’t gonna be fine... The waves’ll be rollin’, and the tempest’ll be blowin’!" an old seaman interrupted, striding over to them.
"The sky ain’t even red, Seadog Grimm," the shipmaster remarked to the old seaman.
"Don’t ye be fooled by the sky, shipmaster... The wind’s been tellin’ a different story. It ain’t gonna be pleasant today. I could taste it since dusk. Three o’clock, the storm’ll co. Ye better be prepared," the old seaman persisted.
"How do you know the bad weather is coming?" Anna asked the old seaman curiously.
"I’ve lived whole life on a ship, lady... Even with eyes closed, I could tell right away," he boasted with pride.
" lady, ’tis Seadog Grimm, the oldest swab on board. He can’t heave-ho as well as he used to ’cause of his age, but his knowledge of the briny deep be vast, so we keep him around," the shipmaster explained to Anna.
He went on to tell her that the term ’Seadog’ was given to a grizzled sea veteran.
"Ah... Bliy, shipmaster! Don’t go embarrassin’ before the lady," the old seaman retorted with a grunt. "Ye might be a younger and stronger lad, but ye can’t be comparin’ yer little years of experience to whole loads of sea adventures."
"Aye, we’ve been listenin’ to yer tales this whole ti, matey," replied the shipmaster, ignoring the old seaman’s boast.
"Sea adventures?" Anna’s eyes lit up with excitent. "There must be lots of fascinating tales to tell! Could you share any interesting stories with ? I love hearing them so much! Normally, I read them in books, but I don’t have any with right now," she requested eagerly.
Seadog Grimm gazed at the princess without blinking. His eyes were fixed on her beautiful pupils, shining like eralds.
"Ye have the eye colour like in the legend, lady," the old seaman said in a low voice with a serious expression.
The shipmaster’s voice suddenly turned stern. "Seadog Grimm! Enough! Yer’ve been warned!"
Anna’s eyes shook as he saw the expression change on both n’s faces.
"Forgive , lady," he apologised. "I shouldn’t be talkin’ about ’tis anymore," he added as he bowed to her.
"Wait! What is this legend all about? I would like to know," she demanded. The ntion of the legend sparked her interest and grew even more when they hesitated to talk about it.
"It ain’t that important," said the shipmaster gruffly. "The lord’s given us strict orders to keep our traps shut about it."
Anna noticed that the shipmaster was referring to Kyren and quickly spoke up, "The commander isn’t here. He’s still sleeping in the cabin. I promise I won’t tell him. Can you please let know? What does it have to do with my eye colour? I’m inquisitive!" Anna pleaded multiple tis.
The shipmaster refused, but the princess wouldn’t give up. After so persuasion, he finally surrendered and allowed Seadog Grimm to tell her about the legend, reminding her not to ntion it to Kyren or take it too seriously.
"’Twas said that the first emperor of Ro’an’s empire, who was once a great seafarer, had eyes as green as erald. He had great magic abilities and could summon storms in the sea. All kinds of beasts, whether on land or in the water, bowed and obeyed him," the old seaman began his tale.
"He must be a powerful one," the princess exclaid with excitent.
"Aye, he was the strongest of all Ro’an’s emperors! Once, he and his people were ambushed by a large group of pirates and outnumbered during a voyage. His beloved soulmate was gravely injured in the fight."
"Oh, no!" Anna exclaid in shock and quickly covered her mouth with her palm. Her eyes fixed on the old man as she listened intently.
"The emperor was so furious, he summoned the Kraken from the deep sea, eliminatin’ all enemies. Then he used his magic power to heal his dyin’ beloved. Luckily, she was saved, and they returned to land and married," the old seaman recounted his tale enthusiastically.
"Ah, he’s a true romantic, saving his beloved and marrying her," Anna smiled, taken in by the story.
"There be a sayin’ that only the emperor’s descendants would have the sa green eyes, and those with ’em would bear the sa power as him. So it was taboo for the pirates to fight against anyone with erald eyes," the old seaman concluded his story.
"So you thought I was his descendant the other day because of my eye colour. That’s why you addressed the Imperial Highness!" Anna finally understood the incident she faced on the first day of the voyage.
"Aye, lady! ’Tis a tale carried forward from one seafarer to another for nearly a hundred years. ’Tis a strong belief of any one of us, be it pirates or sailors," replied Seadog Grimm.
"’Tis now a re myth, lady," the shipmaster interrupted with a hint of scepticism.
"’Tis not a myth! ’Tis the truth, I tell ye! Have ye ever seen anyone with green eye colour like lady?" Seadog Grimm countered with conviction.
The shipmaster was about to scold the old seaman again, but luckily, Anna cald them down.
"That was a wonderful story, Mr Seadog Grimm. I had never heard tales about the first emperor before. Where I co from, we only knew about the last emperor whom the four great lords overthrew. He was said to be a cruel ruler," she comnted.
"Who is the cruel ruler you are referring to?" A voice unexpectedly ca from behind them.
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