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There were so many people, and anyone could hurt Aspen if they got him alone. To his horror, they had to go below deck just like he’d assumed. It wasn’t quite like the hold on the slave ship, but it was close enough. Voices pressed on him from all sides, a woman called someone’s name, and a baby cried. The only way out was through the hatch, and anyone could come through it at any moment.
He couldn’t stay down here for so long. He'd go insane.
“Put the packs here,” said Roth. “We can stay in the corner and try to shield him.”
Aspen didn’t dare open his eyes when Oriel put him down. He’d see that solitary lantern swinging, the chains, and a sailor climbing down the ladder to crush and make him hurt again. He wanted Oriel’s arms back around him as he curled up on the wood and trembled.
“Aspen…” Roth’s voice was hesitant, and his touch was even more so, but he pulled Aspen up to lean against him and tightened his arms. “I know you’re scared, but we won’t let anyone touch you.”
Aspen kept his eyes closed and leaned into his embrace while Roth stroked his hair. More voices filled the space, boots, and shoes clomped around, and when someone started weeping, he wrapped his arms around Roth’s waist. He tried telling himself this wasn’t the same hold, and the crying fairy wasn’t a slave that had been chained up, but terror still clawed at his brain.
Oriel’s voice came through the madness at some point. “There’s a physician on board so I paid for this.”
Roth paused. “That might work. Aspen, lift your head.”
“No,” he mumbled.
“I got something that will take off the edge,” said Oriel.
Aspen let Oriel put a bottle to his lips. Instead of alcohol like he’d hoped for, the liquid was bitter and had a strange, sweet undertone.
Oriel pulled away the bottle after a couple of sips. “No more. It’ll relax you a bit, and we won’t let anyone touch you either.”
Whatever it was, Aspen felt like he was floating in a few seconds. He couldn’t even keep his grip, and Roth held him anyway. If only he could feel like this forever. Time meant nothing, and he was nowhere at all. Holds, sailors, nightmares, nothing existed. He had the feeling that Roth’s voice was directing a question at him, but he couldn’t focus on the words, and quite frankly, he didn’t give a fuck.
He was free.
When he realized someone was moving him, he still didn’t care. They could have been taking him to dump over the side of the ship, and it wouldn’t matter. After flashes of bright sunlight and fresher air, it grew dark again, and he was placed on something soft.
“It’ll be just us three in here,” came Oriel’s voice. “I promise.”
Where was here? Aspen was nowhere.
“I don’t think we should give him that much again,” said Oriel. “The physician said two mouthfuls, but I think that’s too much.”
“Maybe he thinks incoherent equals calm and fine,” said Roth.
Who cared? This was the best thing ever. Nothing was wrong now. Unfortunately, it didn’t last forever because Aspen started to become aware of his surroundings after a time, and the scent of blackberries came back. They were in a tiny cabin that contained two beds with barely any space between them. Roth had him tucked against his side, and Oriel was sitting against the wall on the other bed.
Roth felt him shift. “Good, you’re awake. You should drink some water.”
Aspen’s mouth was dry, but that wasn’t what he wanted. “Give me more of that stuff.”
“You need water.” Roth helped him to sit up and put a cup to his lips. “It’s been hours.”
The cool water was a relief, although he was sure he’d drop the cup if trusted with it. He still felt rather floaty, and once he was done, he flopped back down on the bed.
“I paid someone to switch with us,” said Oriel. “It was a lot, but I don’t think you could handle at least three weeks down there.”
“Okay.”
Roth pulled the blanket over Aspen to cover him and pulled him against his side once more. “You can sleep, all right? We’re safe here.”
Why was Roth still being so nice to him? He’d even held Aspen down below and tried to make him feel better. Oriel had wasted so much money on him now. Aspen was going to die soon, so why bother taking care of him?
Once they had things figured out, that was it. Oriel would probably go to war, Roth would go with him, and Aspen would end things. He wasn’t following them around and making them deal with him anymore. They’d both redeemed themselves back on Nalha’s ship, but he didn’t deserve the care. Once they left to try and get Oriel’s Kingdom back again, that’d be the last time they ever saw him. They could focus on their own future together without the ball and chain.
It was pretty obvious they already didn’t need him anyway. Around bedtime, Aspen became aware enough to see Roth had changed into his sleep clothes, and he was getting in bed with Oriel to sleep.
