To Yonder

You Are The Moon
“Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark
Emerging from the gentle grip of night’s unfolding arms
Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel alone?”
- The Hush Sound

Tanek could feel his world crumpling around him. He felt it fall bit-by-bit; slowly diminishing until eventually there would be nothing left. Nothing had happened, nothing recently, yet the scars were still fresh and ran deep. Tanek was still unhealed and very much a broken man. All he had done was wake up. He had woken up just like any other morning, yet today, as his eyes fluttered open he felt his heavy heart shatter into a million little pieces.

He could remember details of the day, but the most vivid one was the memory of how he had felt. That day, long ago, was the day that changed his like forever more. If it were not for such a horrible day, Tanek would be elsewhere. Perhaps he would be riding horseback across the country, studying the unknown at one of those fancy universities, even courting the most sought after lady without any fear of rejection.

He could have been part of the... but that was a long time ago. That was an old life that Tanek had left behind a very long time ago. He was almost positive he hadn’t looked back, yet now, these thoughts plagued his mind incessantly.

That was who Tanek had been.

The thing is, that day had happened and all the events he could remember took place right before his very own eyes. There was no use in denying the inevitable, especially when it had already taken place. The things that epitomized the present could be totally different. He could be someone else. Thinking that way was dangerous though, did he really want to be a different man? Who would Tanek be?

It had all happened so fast. Tanek was still taking time to process and analyze each individual second. Even if he had found what went wrong, what help would that be? It was done with. The past was a cruel idea, something that couldn’t be changed no matter how hard someone tried – almost as if to constantly mock you.

Though, perhaps it was better that way. If Tanek were given the chance to relive every second of it, he would without a second thought. Sadly, what someone desires is not always what is best, that was something Tanek had learned at a very young age.

That fateful day where Tanek had lost the most important thing to him, his entire world, and then found something else to care about, something he didn’t even know existed… would he change it? No, not at all.

This was who Tanek had become.

---

Will walked along whistling to himself. Both of his hands were buried deep inside his pockets and his eyes were slightly shut in a relaxed manner. Right now, he was completely at peace and he didn’t have a single care in the world.

Will was on a mission to make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to. He made his way through the deck and down to the cabin. He was happy to be under shelter. He felt a storm brewing out there and didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire – it was going to be a big one, he could feel it.

Will walked along silently when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He stopped right in his tracks. To think his thoughts about the storm had almost impaired his ability to sense his surroundings. The storm, he decided, was much more than what he had initially thought.

Something was not right.

He turned towards the open doorway and approached it quietly and cautiously. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what secrets the room in front of him held. A million thoughts raced through his mind. He had to stop this. If he allowed his mind to run wild he would surely think up an occurrence much worse than reality.

He breathed in and then out. On the count of one… two… three…

Inside the room he observed Danny, but Danny…

Will turned around sharply and then quickly turned back. There were too many things in his head for him to focus on the situation in front of him. He quickly rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren’t deceiving him. He had been so sure that something was not right. He had known it in his gut all along. Now all he had to do was notify Tanek and together figure out what the next course of action would be. Will’s string sense of duty began to kick in almost instantly.

Then he turned around again and almost wished it to be untrue.

Oh Danny.

---

Alessia had convinced herself that she was going to confront Tanek about his Mother... Not just his Mother though, his entire past. Yes that was exactly what she was going to do. Alessia composed herself and stood up from where she had been sitting. With one more thought justifying what she was about to do, she was off.

Today, the Princess felt a strange feeling of empowerment.

Alessia began to mentally prepare herself for the conversation about to come. What kind of secrets could one man hold? Would Tanek come form a tragic past? Or maybe he had a childhood that was full of simple pleasures? Whatever the case, Alessia was determined to find out. Even if he did deny her, she would be relentless and just pursue the issue the next day. Tanek would have to give in to her demands eventually whether it be out of willingness to share or annoyance for her to shut up and leave him alone.

Call it woman’s intuition or not, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach – Tanek needed an outlet. The man had probably held onto these thoughts and feelings for so long that he no longer knew how to channel his emotions. He was unable to communicate his sorrow about his Mother and for that he was suffering immensely.

Alessia wondered where she should look first. Perhaps in the cabin right underneath the deck, that seemed like a good place. Alessia slowly made her way over to the staircase buying herself some more time to think. Five seconds ago she was so sure of what she was going to say, now? Now she had absolutely no idea.

A cold gust blew right through her making her appearance disheveled, perfect to match her frazzled mind. Dark clouds loomed over the horizon. They were ominous and left a bad taste in the Princess’ mouth. She hurried inside to escape the chill.

She entered the cabin and was surprised to find it so quiet. There were usually men running around preparing the next meal. Alessia made her way around the desolate room, where was Nelly? Alessia couldn’t recall a single time she had been down here and not seen Nelly standing over the stove. Tanek could wait; she needed to find her friend first.

Alessia must have circled the ship a hundred times yet there was no sign of Nelly. A strange feeling began to build in the pit of Alessia's stomach. Where could she possibly be? She definitely wouldn’t be outside with the storm just miles away. Surely there was something wrong. Alessia could practically count on Nelly being in the kitchen unless doing some manner of labor whether it be cooking or cleaning.

Alessia stood in place thinking. Did she dare confront Tanek about the situation? Could he possibly have information? She knew that Tanek and Will had both been curious about her and Nelly, but Alessia never really thought much of it. Suddenly, all of Tanek’s warnings rang loud and clear in her mind.

“Do not challenge me. You are testing my patience once again.”

Could he have possibly taken her?

He wouldn’t think much of two women hiding on his ship. That’s what she honestly wanted to believe, but things were never that simple in life, especially not in hers. Alessia had learned that harsh lesson just by watching life go by from inside the castle walls, not everyone could be a princess…

Princess.

She was a princess. How would she be able to cover that up? Tanek was no fool; as soon as he found out he would piece things together quickly. She wouldn’t be able hold up this façade for long. If Tanek found out, Alessia would have a day at most to work something out before Tanek retaliated.

Wasn’t this his goal along? Find her? Keep her? Lock her up for all of eternity? Maybe if she went to him with her hands tied… what good would that do? The weight of the situation was beginning to set in for Alessia. Playing pirate should be something left to the children in the town square, not royalty.

“I believe I have told you before, I will not hesitate to dispose of you if you choose to cause me problems. I have always done everything I say, do not test my honest word.”

The feeling in Alessia’s stomach began to make her feel sick. No matter what she believed or how she thought of Tanek, in the end, she had no idea what the man was capable of. The fact of the matter was Tanek was a pirate. Alessia was suddenly transported back in time. Once again she felt insecure, the naïve girl stepping onto a foreign pirate ship for the first time.

“Ay mate, the Capt’n wishes to have a word with ye up in his quarters.” Alessia’s stomach dropped. She looked to see who had spoke hoping to try to get a glimpse at the Captain’s mood from their facial expression. Unfortunately, they were already gone before she had a chance to question them and the voice hadn’t been familiar.

Perhaps the toothless man had misled her. The eve of Tanek’s mother’s death could have caused ill feelings to surface, but that mixed with Alessia’s secret could be been volatile. She didn’t know why, but Alessia began to feel guilty about the whole situation. She was deceiving him. How out of control this whole farce had gotten.

Slowly, she began to make the long trek toward the Captain’s room. Her feet felt heavy and every step forward felt like two steps back. Alessia had never been religious, but she began to pray. Lord, she was hoping with every fiber of her being that she would be spared, she still had so much to experience. She couldn’t even bare the thought of leaving this world without making an impact and leaving her mark.

Before Alessia knew it she stood motionless in front of the familiar wooden door. She had been here countless times for everything imaginable. Today could be her last, but it was no time to be nostalgic. Alessia took a deep breath and was about to knock when the door opened like so many times before, “I am glad you came, please, come in.”

Carefully, Alessia stepped into the room her footsteps hardly making a sound. If only she could somehow figure out a way to melt into the crooked, worn floorboards and disappear forever. Tanek waited until Alessia was in the room and the door was closed before he began to speak, “I just wanted to apologize…”

“What?” It had slipped out before Alessia even had a chance to process what she had just heard. Was she in the clear already? Tanek sure knew how to keep her on her toes.

“My behavior earlier…” Tanek trailed off running a hand through his hair stopping at the nape of his neck massaging it in slow circles. He obviously wasn’t one to admit he was wrong, much less apologize. Her gaze returned to his neck, he was extremely tense, “It was uncalled for and inexcusable. I just wanted to… you know…”

Alessia smiled lightly. She refused to leave this room until she heard the words come out of his mouth. Alessia wanted to hear Tanek admit defeat and say sorry. She urged him on subtly, “Yes Captain…?”

Now that the situation was a whole lot less painful for Alessia, it was suddenly a million times easier to make Tanek uncomfortable. Who knew when Alessia would be able to get Tanek into a position like this again?

The room remained quiet for a few moments. Alessia took the stillness as a moment to cherish Tanek’s presence. As usual he was breathtakingly gorgeous and his hard, blue eyes were a typhoon ready to captivate everyone who crossed his path. She sighed, would there ever be a day when Tanek wasn’t so beautiful?

Never.

“Do not look at me like that,” He said briskly before turning around quickly and walking to the window. He looked out at the open sea rather than at Alec, that way he wouldn’t feel so trapped, “You very damn well know what I am trying to say, a man has got to have some dignity left and some pride so he can show his face around here.”

And that was why Tanek was a man. He could not admit he was wrong, at least not directly. Alessia could feel it though; he was so close to cracking. She noticed him shake his head having an internal battle. He turned his head in her direction his back still facing her, “I am sor-“

He was cut off by a rapid tapping sound. Alessia was unable to identify what it was until Tanek spoke probably relieved he had avoided the dreaded ”s” word, “Come in Will.”

Alessia was still puzzled on how Tanek was always able to decipher Will’s knock. Perhaps it was the fact that the only people who came to visit Tanek were her and Will. Tanek would always rip the door open impatiently almost as if he could sense she was standing out there, she never got a chance to knock. Deductively, that meant every knock at his door was Will.

“Good, you’re here already.” Will’s usually light voice sounded tight and uncharacteristically serious. When Alessia turned around her eyes bulged and her throat felt like it fell right into the depths of her stomach. A crack of thunder boomed in the background.

She had found Nelly.

Will roughly pushed her right into the room before closing and locking the door behind him, “I have made quite an interesting discovery today…” He looked Alessia right in the eye as he spoke as if to pull the secret right out of her mouth, “I’m sure you will be fascinated Tanek.”

Will motioned to Nelly who stood awkwardly in the middle of the room like a deer in headlights. How did he know? Alessia quickly began to sting excuses together trying to think of the most probable one as quick as possible.

“Daniel is really a Danielle,” Will stated and then turned to Alessia. He spoke aloud already knowing the truth, “I suspect Alec here isn’t really an ‘Alec’ either.”

Tanek’s eyes look cold and calculating, “Well? Go on explain yourselves. What is your purpose? Make it quick and make it good. I need you to come up with an excuse for why I should not just throw you overboard this very second.”

Alessia opened her mouth to begin her spew of lies when another knock sounded. Perhaps others did knock on the Captain’s door. Whatever the case, she thanked God once more. These few extra seconds were invaluable.

“Who is that?” Tanek looked at Will who shrugged in response.

“No idea. Hardly anyone comes around at this time. They should all be getting ready for dinner…” Will stated. Alessia was ready to thank the heavens and kiss every star tonight, oh how lucky she was, “Perhaps the men are restless… I did manage to swipe the new head chef…”

Leave it to Will to unintentionally lighten the mood even in such a tense time. The atmosphere seemed to relax slightly, but was broken when then the knocking got louder and more urgent. It became so unbearable that the heavy door seemed as if it were about to fall of it’s hinges. Each bang was a nail driving deeper into Alessia’s skull.

It began to pour. Rain pelted against the ship and almost mimicked the sound of glass shattering. There was one more roar of thunder followed by a streak of lightning across the sky illuminating everything in an unsettling way.

Tanek took a few large strides across the room before doing his infamous move and ripping the door open. He looked like he was about to reprimand whoever hid behind the door when the unknown visitor bared unexpected news in the knick of time. Alessia was unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

“We’re being pursued Captain. A royal vessel has just stopped the ship.”
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