Battling Destiny

Chapter 7

Destiny awoke unsettled in her unfamiliar surroundings. She squinted into the darkness and was able to make out the yellow blanket on the bed before remembering that James had deposited her there earlier.

She yawned and stretched languidly, reveling in the memory of his warmth and the feel of his strong arms around her. She had felt so safe and secure in his embrace that she had literally fallen asleep in his grasp.

James had finally warmed up to her. He spoke to her in a friendly tone and did not mock her. He seemed to enjoy conversing with her. And he thought she was beautiful.

That only took three weeks, she mused. There had even been times when she knew he had the urge to kiss her, though he never acted on it.

She listened to the rain falling heavily outside as the ship rocked formidably. No matter how many times she made this crossing she would never get used to the storms. It wasn’t that she was afraid but it did leave one feeling vulnerable. She sat up and began fumbling for a candle, lighting it and bathing the room in its warm glow.

Destiny padded over to the window and peered out at the swelling waves, wondering what time it was. It was black as pitch and the downpour made it impossible to tell as she stood and stared unseeingly out the porthole.

Lightning flashed savagely several times and with it came a clear picture in her mind. A very unpleasant picture of destruction that had her dashing from the room, the whole of the ship would be in danger if she didn’t find James.

She crossed the hall and knocked swiftly on his door, not waiting for a reply before bursting in. Much to her chagrin she found his cabin empty and quickly ran out without shutting the door behind her.

She sprinted up the stairs to the deck and felt her feet slip on the wet surface so she kicked her shoes off without a second thought and headed toward the bow, which was no easy task considering how violently the ship was rocking. It was raining so hard that she was soaked to the bone in less than a minute but she pressed on.

She called his name a few times but the sound was merely swallowed by the claps of thunder that seemed to be constantly going on.

Destiny spotted James about the same moment he saw her and he rushed forward to meet her. She pitched forward as the ship lurched particularly mercilessly but he caught her round the waist and steadied her.

“Destiny what are you doing? You shouldn’t be up here when it’s storming so badly, winds like this could sweep you straight into the sea. You need to return to your cabin.” James said and began leading her back the way she had come.

“No, wait. You have to listen to me. It’s important.” She replied.

When he kept leading her forward she dug her bare heels into the slippery deck and he would have to drag her if he kept going.

“Stop!” She cried and thankfully he did. “Your ship is headed straight at a huge collection of rocks.”

“It can’t be. I’ve traveled this way over a dozen times and I’ve plotted the course myself.” He replied a bit defensively, offended that she doubted him and his ability.

“I’m not questioning your calculations. The storm has blown us off course by about thirty kilometers.” She said.

James seemed to be weighing her words as he took an agonizingly slow time to mull that information over. He slowly conceded that point but then protested “I’ve got a man in the crow’s nest.”

“He can’t see anything past the bow in this rain but he will and barely in time. They are right there.” She argued as she pointed them out in the inky darkness, frustrated that he wasn’t accepting her warning without question. What did she have to do to get him to believe that she was a true Seer?

“The men are trained for this weather and these situations. I assure you, if anything is out there he’ll see it.” He persuaded.

“Damn you.” She cursed, ignoring his surprised look. “If you do not heed my warning than it is your fault when you kill the hundred and three people aboard because if you don’t pull this ship sharply starboard within the next two minutes that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Those rocks are going tear the bottom of the ship viciously and it will sink admiral.” She spat angrily and spun away from him.

A loud shout from above them caught both of their attentions and Destiny looked up to find the man in the crow’s nest waiving his arms.

“Ahoy! Admiral ahoy! Rocks, dead ahead on the port side. Pull starboard! Now!” The man shouted.

The words sank into James and he looked back at Destiny. She gazed back saying nothing and turned her back on him heatedly before stalking away. He watched her for a moment before kicking himself into action to save his ship and his crew.

Destiny heard him calling out various orders to his men as she traipsed off. She had been on boats all her life, small boats, medium boats and big boats and she was fully aware of the dangers of a storm but she did not feel like obeying and instead of returning to her quarters as she was commanded, she went to the stern of the ship.

She felt the Valiant pulling very sharply to the right and she wrapped her arms snuggly around the railing to keep her footing. She could hear men shouting as the ship creaked menacingly as water sloshed up over the side. She wished she had kept her shoes with her instead of leaving them by the stairs as the rushing water was causing her feet to slip unsteadily.

The ship finally righted itself, the pandemonium died down and she felt instant relief. They were clear now. Destiny released her grip on the rail and resumed her trek to the stern.

It was blessedly empty and she stood gazing out over the raging waves as the rain continued to fall rigorously. Perhaps it would wash away her anger.

“Destiny! I have been looking all over for you. I told you to return to your cabin.” Came James’s relieved voice.

She was startled out of her reverie and left wondering how long she had been standing there as she spun to face him.

Gathering her thoughts, she disputed “And I told you that we were going wreck into rocks, so neither of us took the appropriate action.”

“You told me you were handy to have around.” He offered.

“What good does that do if you won’t listen to me?” She asked flatly.

James stood there fully chastised as she stared at him with storm colored eyes. He took in her waterlogged appearance; she was barefoot and her dress was plastered to every curve of her body, her long curls clung to her cheeks and droplets of waters were collected on her lashes.

She turned her back on him and he was gripped with a fierce desire he had not known he possessed.

He closed the remaining distance between them and whirled her around into his strong embrace, surprise evident on her face.

“What the hell do you do to me?” He demanded with anguish before he roughly claimed her lips.