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“That’s brilliant, Enwen.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re much smarter than you let on. Do you only pretend to be a superstitious fool so the crew will remain unsuspecting?”
“Oh no. I’m as superstitious as you can get.”
“And the part about being a fool?”
“I may overdo that one just a bit.”
I laugh lightly. This is the kind of man I would allow to be on my own ship, if he could manage to reserve his stealing for people who weren’t his crew members.
“And what about Kearan?” I ask. “What’s his story?”
Enwen looks over at his snoring companion. “Not much is known about Kearan. He doesn’t talk about himself, but I’ve gathered quite a bit from his sleep talking.”
“What have you learned?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Simple curiosity and boredom.”
“S’pose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you. Just don’t tell Kearan I was the one who told you.”
“I promise.”
Enwen starts dropping his coins back into his purse. “Kearan has been all over the world. He knows the Seventeen Isles inside and out. He’s met all kinds of people, performed all kinds of jobs and such. He was an adventurer.”
So Kearan not only knows his way around the ocean, but on land as well. Unusual for a pirate. Our little isles are so close together that everyone travels between them. Each is rich with different food sources. Trade is frequent and necessary between the isles. As such, whoever controls the sea, controls the money of the realm.
Father tolerates the existence of a monarch over the land because he has no wish to rule over landlubbers. He prefers to keep company among the brutes of the sea. The land king pays tribute to my father yearly in exchange for letting his explorers search through the sea for new lands.
No one has ever managed such a total monopoly over sea travel until my father established his ruling. And someday all that control will be passed down to me, which is why I wish to prove myself again and again to my father. My current task is one on a large list of feats I’ve completed for him.
I look over at Kearan’s fat body, ugly face, and overall unkempt look. “You certain he’s not just adventuring in his sleep?”
“Oh yes. He might not look like much now, but that’s because he’s turned into a man who has lost much. Imagine if you were never satisfied with your life, Miss Alosa. Imagine that you traveled all over the world, looking for happiness, looking for thrills to pass the time. Imagine seeing everything there is to see and still not finding happiness. Well, that would give you a very bleak outlook on life, would it not?”
“I suppose it would.”
“There’s not much to do after that. Kearan makes his living on this ship. He’s an ugly drunk because it takes away the pain. He has no desire to live, yet no desire to die, either. It’s a tough spot to be in.”
“Yet you’re his friend. Why?”
“Because everybody needs somebody. And I haven’t lost hope for Kearan. I believe he will eventually come into his own, given the right amount of time. And the right motivation.”
I honestly doubt that, but I’m humoring him. “Why do you assume he’s lost much?” I ask.
“I hear him calling out a woman’s name at night. Always the same woman. Parina.”
“Who is she?”
“No idea, and I don’t intend to ask.”
Enwen spreads out on the floor, ending the conversation. He’s given me much to think about while I wait for him to sleep before starting my nightly search.
Everyone has something dark in their past. I suppose it's our job to overcome it. And if we can’t overcome it, then all we can do is make the most of it.
