Albion's POV

"You're doing better than I thought," Sindri told me as he stood above my hammock below deck. My face was green, and I felt like I was going to throw up everything that was in my stomach. "Even some men who've been travelling for weeks would get ill if the waters like this."

"I don't feel like I'm doing better," I muttered out. I kept my eyes shut and I was curled up with a bucket by my head. "How do you deal with this?"

"I got used to it. Trust me, I was like that too when I first began sailing. Though, instead of a bucket I used my crewmate's boots. He didn't speak for me for two weeks after that."

I gave a weak chuckle at his attempt at comforting me. "I wouldn't either." I slowly sat up and glanced around. It was still mad to me that I was on the ocean, in a huge ship, in a hammock. Or rather in a hammock on a huge ship. "Is it usually this bad?"

Sindri shook his head. "Not this close to land. This is a bit strange. But there's nothing to worry about, we'll be perfectly safe. We have travelled through worse weather."

I really didn't want to travel through worse weather. I wasn't used to being ill. Mother and I used to burn our food to ensure that neither of us became ill, inspecting all of the food carefully before trying to cook them. She had a small fear of being ill, and that made me somewhat paranoid when it came to food.

However, if there was a bug going around the village it was inevitable for everyone to have it. It was a curse of living in such a tight-knit and close community. Everyone looked after each other and that meant once someone had something, it was passed onto those who helped them, and then they required help, and it was a vicious cycle.

"I wonder how the farm is," I thought aloud after taking a few deep breaths. I knew that if I had anything to drink, I'd surely be ill, so I decided to just wait it out until I felt better. "I was working there, and it had just recovered from a pretty bad storm, so it was slippery every step you took."

Sindri nodded and hummed in acknowledgement. "I used to work in the farms too. It was torture after a storm, ma and pa would have to take me to the lake to wash me off before I was even allowed inside the house 'cause I got so dirty." It was like meeting a whole new person, talking to Sindri, since he wasn't there a whole lot. It was strange hearing from someone who used to live in the village. I recognised most of what he talked about, and I could visualise it well. But it was difficult putting it into the context of time.

"Ma made me do that too." I laughed and ran a hand through my shaggy brown hair, which I had been tempted to tie back, but my fringe meant that it would look rather strange. I'd quickly made the decision to get rid of my fringe after we set sail. I didn't know why, I just felt like it was necessary.

"You've got some colour back," Sindri informed. "A colour which doesn't look like it belongs in a forest anyway." He patted my shoulder. "Seems the weather has calmed down as well. Do you want to come up and get your first real view of being out on the ocean?"

I hesitated. "I'm not sure. If I did that, then I'll realise I'm actually on a ship heading out to the middle of the ocean."

Sindri laughed and shook his head. "You'll have to face it at some point, Bud. You're still gonna be on this ship tonight and tomorrow. Better see it when you remember instead of waking up even further away and not remembering where you are."

"Sounds like a nightmare. Which of your crew did that?" I stood up, stumbling a little and needing to hold onto Sindri to keep my balance. I didn't know any of the crew really, I just knew some names which he had mentioned. I had yet to put names to faces. None of them pegged me as the type to formally introduce themselves, but I might also be very wrong.

"Bo," Sindri answered. "He woke up the entire ship. Granted, I do believe that he was very drunk. It's rare that he isn't. Actually, I should probably point him out to you. If he, or anyone else here, gives you any trouble at all, come straight to me."

I nodded and followed him over to the ladder which led up to the deck. "Trust me, I will. I'm not one to bottle things up." Keeping secrets and lying only made things more complicated for everyone.

"Good lad."

I still felt a little ill, but I almost completely forgot about it as I breathed in the fresh sea air. The feeling of the ship rocking was disorientating, but it wasn't as bad when I could actually see the waves, feel the wind on my face.

Sindri led me over to the side of the ship, keeping a hold around my shoulders and letting me look out to sea.

"Wow," I finally said. That had pretty much been my state of mind since I had arrived in the city. "I'm actually on a huge boat at sea."

"Yes, you are." Sindri laughed at my expression. "Congratulations for knowing where you are."

I could've sworn I heard someone laugh behind us, but when I turned there was nobody looking in our direction, or even close enough to hear our conversation.

I laughed alongside him and shook my head. "Thank you, I'm pretty sure that this is the first time I don't actually know where I am." It was true, after all I didn't know where I was on the ocean, nor how far from land we were.

"In time, you'll know where you are all the time. But I prefer not knowing personally. There's something magical and foreign about not being a part of the world. You could probably do anything out here and society wouldn't know." He then looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I'm not telling you to kill members of my crew, by the way. That would be terrible of me."

"It would," I agreed.

"Sindri, can you give us a hand?" someone asked from behind us. "One of the barrels gotta hole in it and you're the best at patching up."

"The best?" I teased lightly before nudging him. "I'll be fine. Best not to let anything go to waste here."

"Aye." He nodded and patted my shoulder. "Take care, don't go overboard." He turned and began walking away to see to the barrel.

"Not planning on it." Even ad I said the words I stepped back from the edge, not feeling very comfortable there anymore. It was still a majestic sight. I couldn't see any sea life and the waves were rather high, so the scene barely changed. But it filled me with hope for the future days on the ship. I hoped to see dolphins and other creatures in the clear water and witness stunning sunsets.

I was brought out of my daydream when water hit me in the face, causing me to frown and splutter. I stepped back some more and dried my face with my sleeve. Surely that must've just been a rather large wave. The wind was still high, so it probably caused the water to fly in my direction.

"Could do anything, huh?" I mused to myself as I turned my back to the ocean, resting my arms on the sides. I felt like I could cower against the wall at any moment due to my shaky legs. There wasn't anyone else on deck, making me wonder if I should even be up here. The sky was turning dark, the grey clouds looming overhead promising rain. Everyone was probably taking cover, and I should probably do the same.

But I didn't want the moment to end. I felt more confident each second I stood there, hearing the swishing of the waves and feeling the cool air. I felt like a character in a bedtime story.

But as the first few drops fell from the sky, I knew that the moment couldn't last forever. I gave the scene one last look before beginning my retreat to the common area, where the hammocks were.

"Leaving so soon?"