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[closed - Spencer]
Apr. 17th, 2015 11:21 amThere's a storm coming, darling. Be safe.
Joel supposes he should not be out on the water, not with his mother's warning still echoing in his ears, but he had needed to get out of the palace for a time. The water has long since been the only place he has felt truly comfortable and while most of his kingdom would not expect for their prince to be manning his own sailboat, he's never quite been able to give up the habit. The ocean, his boat, it's where he feels truly at peace, the only place of true silence where he can sink into his thoughts and consider his life as it lay before him.
He has long since passed the age where his parents had expected him to marry and he has put them off time and again. Now, nearing thirty, he suspects he won't be able to put them off any longer. There is to be a ball held soon and they will expect him to choose a bride. There are many things Joel still does not know about himself -- where these abilities come from, for example, that he can lift a hand and stop a weapon from coming near him -- but he is certain he does not want to be married. Not to any of the women being offered to him.
There seems to be little he can do about it, though, and so today he has chosen to escape.
There is a storm coming, his mother was right about that. He can see it brewing to the east, but it looks far enough away that he thinks he still has plenty of time. The sailboat is small but sturdy and Joel is well in control of the vessel even as the wind picks up and sends waves smacking against the boat's body. He reaches down, adjusts the sail, and sends himself further out into the water. A reckless decision, perhaps, but he needs the time alone. He needs time to think.
It isn't until a wave splashes across the deck that Joel realizes he's sailing straight into the storm. That it isn't nearly as far away as he'd thought. That at this rate, he'll be in real danger within moments. Sailing out of the storm seems to be an unlikely option, not with the wind picking up around him, battering his sail and his small boat. The only real option seems to be to sail through.
He's standing to prepare for that when a rope snaps and the mast slams back toward him with a speed he can't brace himself for. It hits his chest, sends him down against the edge of the boat where he knocks his head against the wood. He's in the water without realizing, cold waves splashing over his face, but he can't lift his arms to swim. He can't do anything.
And as he slips under the stormy surface, Joel realizes how much more peaceful it is under the waves.
Joel supposes he should not be out on the water, not with his mother's warning still echoing in his ears, but he had needed to get out of the palace for a time. The water has long since been the only place he has felt truly comfortable and while most of his kingdom would not expect for their prince to be manning his own sailboat, he's never quite been able to give up the habit. The ocean, his boat, it's where he feels truly at peace, the only place of true silence where he can sink into his thoughts and consider his life as it lay before him.
He has long since passed the age where his parents had expected him to marry and he has put them off time and again. Now, nearing thirty, he suspects he won't be able to put them off any longer. There is to be a ball held soon and they will expect him to choose a bride. There are many things Joel still does not know about himself -- where these abilities come from, for example, that he can lift a hand and stop a weapon from coming near him -- but he is certain he does not want to be married. Not to any of the women being offered to him.
There seems to be little he can do about it, though, and so today he has chosen to escape.
There is a storm coming, his mother was right about that. He can see it brewing to the east, but it looks far enough away that he thinks he still has plenty of time. The sailboat is small but sturdy and Joel is well in control of the vessel even as the wind picks up and sends waves smacking against the boat's body. He reaches down, adjusts the sail, and sends himself further out into the water. A reckless decision, perhaps, but he needs the time alone. He needs time to think.
It isn't until a wave splashes across the deck that Joel realizes he's sailing straight into the storm. That it isn't nearly as far away as he'd thought. That at this rate, he'll be in real danger within moments. Sailing out of the storm seems to be an unlikely option, not with the wind picking up around him, battering his sail and his small boat. The only real option seems to be to sail through.
He's standing to prepare for that when a rope snaps and the mast slams back toward him with a speed he can't brace himself for. It hits his chest, sends him down against the edge of the boat where he knocks his head against the wood. He's in the water without realizing, cold waves splashing over his face, but he can't lift his arms to swim. He can't do anything.
And as he slips under the stormy surface, Joel realizes how much more peaceful it is under the waves.
