Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

THE SAFEST PLACE TO be was exactly where they were, in the middle of the sandy beach. No one trusted the woods that stretched out behind them, at least not in the dark. Even so, Kit was convinced that even if they wanted to, none of them could pull their aching limbs across the sand to get there.
It was a dangerously close call back on the ship. Giselle managed to set the beast ablaze, but the ship was already sinking and he didn't know how. The best solution they could come up with was jumping into the water and hoping they could swim to shore. None of them knew what Chalice was doing, each time was a surprise, but it was a welcome one.
Kit almost didn't make it, the flames licking his feet as he tore the strap from Conrad's chest and wrapped it around his own before diving into the water. The shard gave him enough strength to swim without help, but Chalice was there to lead the way.
There was an overwhelming sense of relief when he saw everyone alive on the sand, breathing real air. He didn't know what Chalice had done, but everyone would be dead without them.
"How the hell did you do that?" Eurion asked after the initial shock had subsided, beating him to the question.
Chalice was quiet for a long moment, pinching the bridge of their nose. "I have no idea. I just did what I was told."
Kit assumed that meant the Gods. He only knew so much about Gifteds, humans capable of magic, but he knew that druids got their magic from Above. Witches drew power from the earth, and wizards have the magic in their own spirits, but they have to study more to use it.
One thing he new was that druids like Chalice could do exactly what they'd just done—become a vessel for the Gods.
"You're incredible, Chalice," Kit said. "Without you I'm afraid I would still be home, trying to impress the King while Avalon suffers. Thank you, for everything."
Chalice shared a grateful smile, then adjusted their position so they were laying on their side. "We should sleep," was all they said.
They didn't have to tell Kit twice, and he was dozing off as soon as he laid against the cool sand, pulling his knees to his chest.
It wasn't the best sleep he'd ever gotten, but when he woke up again, the sun high in the sky, he felt energized again.
Everyone else was already awake, Chalice and Eurion trying to build a fire while Selene searched the edge of the forest, presumably for something to eat, and the faeries sat together against a boulder. He made his way over to Selene.
"Great, you're up," she said. "Help me find something to eat because the last thing I want is to eat seaweed. I'd take a bird over that any day."
"Morgana's gonna skin you alive if you try to eat a bird," Kit warned, but it wasn't something she didn't already know.
"Yeah, I know. We can't get fish, though, so I hope there's fruit or something here." She stepped further into the trees.
A flash of red caught Kit's eye in the distance, and he marched over to find a bush full of berries. He didn't know if they were poisonous or not, but he grabbed a handful and showed it to Selene.
"No idea, go ask Giselle. I'll keep looking."
Kit stepped back out onto the beach, approaching the faeries sitting against the rock. Morgana was already glaring at him, but Giselle didn't notice him until he was right in front of her.
"Selene said you'd know if these were poisonous or not," he told her, showing her the berry.
Giselle took one and examined it, then tossed it to the side. "Better not. Sorry, love."
He rolled his eyes and threw them into a bush. He didn't know how long they would last here and all their stuff was back in Redbágh. At this rate, seaweed was their only option, and he didn't even know how to make it edible.
"Berries are no good," he told Selene as she emerged back from the trees. She was out of luck, too, and they both looked at the sea with dread.
"Fine, Eurion," Selene told the thief as they walked towards the fire. "I guess seaweed is our only bet. I hope you know what to do with it."
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't," she assured them. She already had a pile of it on the sand beside her. "We're gonna have to cook it well since there's no way to wash it."
"Fine, do what you need to do, just give me something edible before I start yelling." Selene was visibly stressed, pulling the ribbon from her hair and then tying it back up, over and over again until she was satisfied with the result.
"Do we have any idea if there's people nearby?" Kit asked, looking around them as if something would immediately present itself to him. It was nothing but trees and beach and ocean for miles.
"No idea," Eurion said. "But we all need to eat before we even try to search for something or we're going to be useless." She was right.
Soon enough, she had enough seaweed prepared for everyone. It smelled bad and tasted worse, but Kit tried to ignore it as he forced it down his throat. The taste, though it never got better, was tolerable after awhile.
"Thanks for that," he told Eurion, standing up and brushing the sand from his backside. "Now, where should we—"
He was interrupted by the sight of something cutting through the fog. He couldn't tell what it was from afar, so he got closer.
"I see something," he said, pointing into the distance. It wasn't a large, imposing ship, but as it got closer, it was clear it was a boat of some kind. His chest filled with hope.
"Wait," Selene said, grabbing his arm. "They could very well be hostile. We'd do well to hide, we don't have any weapons."
"I have the shard," he reminded her.
"And what'll that do? Make you punch a little harder? We need to hide, at least until we know they're safe."
Kit didn't have it in him to argue with her, so he just did as she said, helping Chalice put out the fire and following her into the trees. The rest followed suit, taking shelter behind a cluster of trees and bushes as they watched the boat get closer to the shore. And finally, after what felt like eternity, it stopped.
It was an ordinary sailboat, inside it a single man. As he stepped out from the boat, Kit could observe his features better, and he felt something bubbling in his chest. Guilt, relief, comfort, he had no idea, but it was strong. The hook in the man's nose and the precise trim of his beard was all too familiar to fear.
Without thinking, Kit leapt from the bushes and ran towards the man. "Herwerde!" he cried, despite Selene's persistent shushing from behind the bushes.
Herwerde opened his arms the moment he saw Kit coming his way, pulling him into a warm embrace. It was a relief to know he wasn't here to kill him, at least.
"Herwerde, what are you doing here?"
"I could say the same for you, son." He looked over him with a concerned frown. "I tried to follow you last night but I lost you when the ship went down. You're lucky I found you here."
"Yeah," he breathed. "But it's okay, we're safe."
"'We?'"
Kit turned his head towards the others, nodding to them.
Herwerde's eyes widened when he saw the group climb back out onto the sand.
"My stars, look at all of you." The only one he didn't recognize was Morgana, but Kit thought it best not to explain why he was there. "You're the thief," he said to Eurion. "And you're that faery, and you're the—"
"Yep, yeah, it's us," Selene cut in. "What are you here for?"
"I came to help," he said. "I've been trying to track you down for awhile because there's something I need to show you, and I guess I had to follow the lot of you here."
Selene wasn't convinced. "Show us what? The dungeons? If you're here to arrest us, Herwerde, I might as well go ahead and--"
"Selene, I'm not here to arrest you. In fact, I'm here to help you escape."
The Lady froze. "You what?"
Herwerde lowered his voice, as though there were other people around that weren't supposed to hear him. "I've seen things, heard things around the castle, and I'm starting to think there's something wrong. I came to warn you and help you get somewhere safe, but I guess you've already caught on."
Kit looked at the sailboat. "Can you give is a lift then, if you're here to help?"
"Well of course, I didn't come to drop a message and leave. Come on, I think I can fit you all in."
"Wait," Selene ordered, grabbing his arm. "I need to know you're telling the truth. Morgana."
Morgana obediently stepped forward, securing the Lord in an icy gaze. "Are you telling the truth?" he asked.
Herwerde's gaze didn't falter. "I swear on King Arthur himself, I am telling the truth."
Morgana stared at him for a few beats longer before finally releasing him, moving towards the boat. "He's telling the truth," he said. "Now let's go. I need something to wash the seaweed from my mouth already."
They all clamored into the boat, situating themselves as comfortably as they could with what little space they had, and they pushed off from the horrible shore that Kit hoped he'd never have to see again.
They sailed in silence clear until the sun was deep into the horizon once more, and they finally arrived at the docks hungry and sore and moody.
"What was it you wanted to show me?" Kit finally asked as they made their way back into the village.
Something changed in Herwerde's face, and he looked down at his hands. "Right, well um. You might want to eat and change your clothes before you do that, I don't think you'll want to see it like this."
That was odd. Kit couldn't think of anything he possibly wanted to show him where he'd have to get dressed for it, but he supposed he'd take Herwerde's word for it.
Several showers and a warm meal later, the six of them were back in shape, and Kit and Selene finally retrieved their armor from the stables again. They kept their horses there, they would likely stay at the city one more night, but both he and Selene felt more secure now.
Kit still hadn't the slightest clue what Herwerde was going to show him, and it didn't help when he took them to an inn. "Wait right here," he said, clamoring up the stairs leaving them by the door.
Fear was settling in now, a nagging anxiety at the pit of his stomach. All the clues pointed towards a person, that Herwerde was showing him someone as opposed to something, but he hadn't the slightest clue who it would be.
He felt a steadying hand on his shoulder, and turned to find Chalice standing next to him, just as eager for answers as he was.
Herwerde was gone long enough that Kit started to worry. He started to question Morgana's affirmation that he was telling the truth, but he couldn't have lied about it. Could he?
Just as he was about to go see for himself, Herwerde appeared again, followed by a young boy who couldn't have been older than six.
His skin was a light gold, curly hair a sandy brown that reached beneath the base of his neck and scattered around his ears. His eyes were big and brown and held a playful glow, but also something else that Kit couldn't quite but his finger on.
"A child," Selene said, raising a brow. "We came all this way so you could show us a child."
Something was stirring in Kit's chest as he continued to look at the boy. He didn't know what it was.
"This isn't just any child, though, Selene. Kristofer," he started, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy looked up at Herwerde, then to Kit, then back to his own little hands. "Meet Lionel. Your son."