"Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence." Ovid

----

XXIII.

With a lack of any digging tool, Alex was forced to drag the master's body off the road and into the brush, covering it with branches and leaves. Belle stood motionless, still near the buggy as she watched.

Her golden eyes were wide and shocked, and she hadn't said a word. Alex didn't know if she was afraid of him, or afraid for them. For either, he did not blame her. But Alex couldn't let that happen. Not when he had the power to stop it.

The grave was shallow, and would be discovered in a matter of days, hours even, when the man's wife came looking for him. The moment the body was discovered, there would be a hunting party out for both his and Belle's necks. They would be hanged without trial, without even the blink of an eye for the murder of a white man.

It was the very reason why Alex had never fought back, not a day in his life, against the fists of a white man. And had the master come for him, he would have taken it. But not against a woman.

Alex needed to get himself and Belle off of this island, to get to a place where he wouldn't be out of place as a free black man. He needed to get to Haiti. He needed to find his mother and make a plan, find a way to get back to England, to get back what he was owed ... and to find a way back to Susanna.

Lord, what did she think of him? She probably thought he had just vanished, onto his next conquest, after failing with her. It wasn't right, and he couldn't live with the knowledge that Susanna believed him a false man.

Alex walked swiftly back towards the road carrying the coin purse from the master's pocket and quickly untied Belle's bonds. She tentatively rubbed her wrists as she watched Alex with a strange caution. He resisted wincing at her disgust.

"We need to get back to the port," he told her quietly. "We need to bribe our way onto a ship going to Haiti." He motioned for Belle to climb up into the buggy, and he didn't know whether to hold his hand out to help her or not.

Alex was forced to in the end as Belle was not strong enough to pull herself up into the seat. She was too thin, to weak, to manage such a feat on her own.

"Can I help you?" Alex asked.

Belle nodded warily.

Alex pulled himself up into the driver's seat and then held his hand out to Belle. She placed her small, thin hand in his and he effortless lifted her up onto the seat beside him. She self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself, as though she was trying to protect her torso.

Alex urged the horse on, turning the buggy around and heading back in the direction of the town. He would not ride back directly, not in the light of day. They would have to find somewhere to lie low, to hide and observe at the dock, before they made their move. If they were seen, especially after the master's evil corpse was discovered, it would be a deadly mistake.

Alex had never driven a carriage before, and he was much more comfortable on horseback. Looking at the carriage horse made him think of Argent and wonder at what had become of her. Knowing Len, he would have found some way to make money off of her.

He shook off the thought as they came to a mountain ridge that overlooked the port and the ocean. Alex nudged the horse off of the road, not wanting to stay on the path for any longer than was necessary just in case some other part came across them. He directed the horse into the jungle but couldn't take the buggy more than fifty feet inside of it before the ground became too treacherous. No matter, Alex thought. They were concealed enough for now.

"Wait here," Alex told Belle, who had still not spoken a word. "I'll make my way to the cliff face, to see if I can spot a ship flying under neutral colours." It would be a death wish to approach a British ship. "At nightfall, we will make our way down the mountain."

Belle nodded silently as her chin dropped, her dark curls falling into her face to shield herself.

Alex hesitated, deciding that he couldn't leave her alone and vulnerable in that moment. He couldn't know the fear that she had experienced not even an hour ago. Lord, she had cried out to God to kill her! She had wished for death. She would rather die than experience that again. It was a harrowing truth to assume.

Food, Alex decided. He needed to find food. A breath of wind would knock Belle off of her feet, she was so tiny. Alex searched the surrounding trees, recognising the tropical plants as similar to those that grew on Haiti. Way up in the palms he could see coconuts, but they would be much too difficult to reach. Hanging lower from smaller trees, Alex could see papaya fruit. He would still be required to climb, but it was a more achievable height.

"I will be right back," he promised her, as he jumped down from the buggy and started toward the papaya tree. He placed his hands on the rough bark before encircling his arms around the thin trunk. He used what strength he had left to hoist himself up, using his thighs to grip below him. Slowly but surely, Alex made his way up the trunk of the tree, before finally reaching the fruit after a few minutes. The sweat on his brow trickled into his eyes as he pulled the fruit and threw it down to the ground one by one. When he had exhausted that tree's supply, Alex carefully slid back down the trunk and back onto the ground.

Picking up one of the riper fruits, Alex smashed it against the trunk of the tree, breaking it open slightly. He did the same to another piece before gathering his spoils and carrying them back towards Belle and the buggy.

Belle's eyes widened with hunger when she saw Alex approach, and he was quick to hand her the ripest piece of fruit. Her bony fingers pulled at the crack, but she couldn't quite get it apart. Alex dumped the fruits on the floor on the buggy as he climbed back up beside her. He took the papaya from Belle and pulled it apart, exposing the orange insides and handed it back to her.

Belle ate hungrily, and Alex was quickly to follow, his stomach actually paining him as it received food for the first time in a while. The papaya was quite possibly the best food he had ever tasted.

"Why do you not ask anything of me?" Belle suddenly queried, her sudden question almost startling him.

"I beg your pardon?"

Alex turned to look at Belle, and she was staring at him with a sort of confusion. Her eyes were wide and hypnotising, and in that moment he understood why so many thought her a witch.

"I've been waiting for you to ask," she continued. "To take," she corrected. "Yet you give. You give, and you give, and you give to me. Why don't you take? Take without asking. It is what men do. Why don't you do it?"

Alex nearly choked on his papaya. She had been waiting for him to take from her. He felt the bile rise in his throat at the very idea of doing what she was insinuating.

It is what men do.

Belle believed this was a fact. She believed that men took from women without their consent. She was used to this. Accustomed. So much so that she found it strange that Alex did not take from her.

Alex wished death on the men that she had known.

And he wished that Belle would never beg for death again.

"I won't ever hurt you," Alex promised her, and he knew that despite everything that they had been through since meeting in that cargo hold, Belle did not completely trust him.

And he couldn't blame her.

He could only imagine the sort of man who could earn Belle's trust.

"You have been hurt, grievously, I can see," he added tentatively. "But you need never be scared of me. I would never take from a woman what is not willingly given."

There were ghosts in Belle's golden stare. "Why?" she whispered. "It's easy. Right now, it's easy for you. You could. You are stronger. Why don't you?"

"Because you are free," replied Alex softly. "The same as me. You have free will, and it is your right to choose exactly what happens to you, the same as me. Those who infringe upon your will are not men, but evil fiends who will burn in Hell for their crimes. I don't see you as a target, as easy. I see you as a person."

Belle's stare softened, but her guard didn't vanish, and Alex thought that it probably never would. It was why he really did not know much at all about her save for her name. 

After she had finished her papaya, Belle uttered, "Thank you. Thank you for stopping him."

Alex merely nodded.

***

They sat for hours, watching the sun move slowly through the sky. In the late afternoon, Alex finally left Belle to go and observe the dock.

It was abundant with moored ships, some even belonging to the Navy. He angrily wondered if any navy men had been in the square that morning while they had been auctioned. What was the point of the law if they didn't enforce it? If they had been intercepted, then none of this would have happened.

Alex could see ships without flags, but that did not necessarily mean they were friendly. Even if they were not British, they could still find some way to exploit Alex and Belle at their next port if he was not careful.

Oh, he needed to be closer. They would have to go down to the port at nightfall.

When the sun did indeed finally set, Alex and Belle untethered the horse from the buggy and set him free before making their way down the mountain on foot, believing it to be a more clandestine way to travel. They each carried another papaya to eat and Alex held onto the coin purse that he had stolen. They kept to the safety of the trees and were thankful that no carriages or riders passed them.

By the time they reached the town, it was well and truly dark, and the town's nightlife was alive and well. The taverns were noisy and bustling, and the men were a sight too drunk to be paying attention to any moving figures outside.

Alex and Belle avoided the square all together, electing to head towards the moored ships instead. They were vulnerable, but Alex didn't have any other choice. They kept their heads down, though many of the ships were empty, or carried a skeleton crew as the men enjoyed the life at port.

"Which one of these is safe?" Belle whispered.

Alex didn't know.

"What are you two doing down there?"

Both Alex and Belle jumped at the barking question posed to them in English. Alex turned around quickly to see that a man up on the deck of the ship moored behind them was staring down at them with a lantern in his hand. He was an older sailor, perhaps in his forties, with a weathered face and an even older black tricorn hat.

He was a white man, but upon quick inspection, Alex saw that his ship did not fly a flag.

Alex's heart thundered in his chest as he felt Belle grip his arm. She didn't understand what they man had asked, but if Alex had learned anything, she viewed him as a threat, the same as any man. Alex, at this moment, thought the same.

"My sister and I intend to buy passage to another island," Alex prayed that his voice remained steady and not at all frightened. "Is your captain taking passengers?"

"I am the captain," he replied gruffly as he peered closer at them, before turning away from the railing. He quickly reappeared, though this time on the ramp down to the dock. He still carried the lantern, and as he approached, Alex saw that he was a large man. Not in belly, but in brawn, and he rivalled even Alex's height. Underneath his hat, his dark hair was streaked with silver and his eyes were a pale blue in the lantern light. "And I don't take passengers."

"No matter," murmured Alex. "Good evening. Allons-y," he added to Belle, ushering her away.

"Wait," instructed the captain, stepping towards them with a curious brow.

Alex obeyed, out of habit more than anything.

"Qu'est-ce qu-il demande?" Belle panicked in a hushed tone to Alex.

Alex had a good idea of what the man wanted. The money he could get for two slaves.

"Je veux t'aider," replied the captain.

He wanted to help them? It then took a moment for Alex to realise that the captain had answered Belle's question in French.

"You were in the square this morning," the captain said in English. "I recognise you. You were sold." His tone was calm, and Alex was quite on edge.

"You are mistaken, Captain," Alex assured him. "My sister and I are free people of colour. We are simply looking for passage."

"She is not your sister," deduced the captain. "And I am not mistaken. How are you here? Where is your master?"

Alex's jaw clenched as he stared at the captain warily. What would this man do? He couldn't discern his motives at all. Would he raise the alarm?

"You are mistaken," Alex said again tersely.

"Did you fight him? Do away with him?" asked the captain. When Alex did not respond right away, he smiled. "Good, the sick bastard."

Alex tensed and Belle queried again what was happening.

"Harold Wilkes goes though young girls like –" the captain stopped as he looked upon Belle. "Does she understand?"

"No," replied Alex.

"It's no matter. I shouldn't say such things in front of a woman no matter what language she speaks. The fact of the matter, boy, is that I know exactly who you are, and I am fairly certain I know what you have done."

Alex didn't confirm it, nor did he deny it. "I am willing to pay for safe passage off of this island," Alex said insistently. "Please."

"I don't mix well with slavers," the captain said finally. "The end of that barbaric trade is near. I trade in goods, not people. You keep your money, boy. We ship out tomorrow. Where are you headed?"

Relief washed through Alex and it almost felt taboo. "Haiti," he replied carefully.

The captain pondered for a moment. "Our heading is New Orleans, but I suppose a detour to Port-au-Prince isn't out of the question. Come on. You had better get inside. I'd wager they'll be people looking for you before long, am I right?"

Something inside of Alex was telling him to trust this man, which felt very foreign indeed. He hadn't raised the alarm yet, but that didn't mean he wouldn't. But what other choice did they have?

"Thank you. May I ask for your name, Captain?" Alex asked as he and Belle followed the captain on board his ship.

He turned around and said over his shoulder, "Whitfield, Alexander Whitfield."

----

Hope you enjoyed it!

So we had another small outbreak out of hotel quarantine, and my state is in lockdown for a week. I think the cluster is 26 cases while they control it and do all the contact tracing. It's so depressing to be back in lockdown, and it was so sad to explain to my kids on Thursday that they wouldn't see me on Friday. But we're remote learning for another week - yay!

What is really unlucky is that remote learning royally screwed my eyesight last year. Staring at the screen for so many months wrecked me. And I finally got around to getting my eyes tested, and whattaya know, I needed new glasses. Guess when I was supposed to pick them up? YESTERDAY! The first day of lockdown. And now I have to do another week on my small screen without my new glasses.

Crap :(

On the bright side, my football team had an awesome win tonight. Watching the Bombers win brightens any day!!

Alright, it's nearly 2am. Better head to sleep.

Vote and comment!