.........................oh goodness me not only is he growing his hair out for yaoi reasons but also because it showcases hes actually learning to live now for the first time in his entire life. and it is an awkward length because the life hes led has just begun
Sailing Home: A fic. The final part of The Mysterious Message series.
The runes of the letter are never translated on-page, because none of the pov characters were around for that. It was just a normal letter talking about basic life things and the mountains of Kippernia. Nothing plot important.
Also at some point, James’s family came to collect the skeleton.
Anyway, enjoy!
Gunther awoke to the sensation of being aboard a gently rocking ship.
No! Father’s going to kill me for oversleeping! I have to-
The memories came back as he blinked himself awake. The hidden letter written in runes. His father, possibly not his father. His mother’s family. The pirates.
He grunted, finding himself bound and gagged, left on the floor of what appeared to be a captain’s quarters.
The captain’s going to want to see this one.
Gunther shut his eyes and began to pray. He didn’t get very far before the door opened and someone entered the room.
It was a short, heavyset man dressed in simple dark clothing. From what Gunther could see in the light now filtering in the room- it was early morning now- he had short black hair, a wispy mustache, light brown skin and eyes. Gunther might have found him rather handsome, was he not currently holding him hostage.
The man turned to face Gunther, and he saw that he had a gold ring piercing his lower lip. It was slightly off-center, like a fang poking out from his mouth.
Fang.
“Good morning.” Fang said calmly. His voice was raspy, and more higher-pitched than Gunther had expected. “Sleep well?”
Gunther thrashed against his bindings and gag. Smug bastard.
Fang squatted down and removed the gag.
“I am a knight of Kippernia.” Gunther panted. “You’ll be imprisoned for life for this.”
Fang raised his thick eyebrows slightly. “That explains the sword. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe.” Fang pointed, and Gunther saw out of the corner of his eye his sword resting on the captain’s desk.
“If you’re going to kill me, Captain Fang, I suggest you do it now. I won’t divulge anything.”
Fang shrugged. “I don’t plan on killing you. I need you alive, at least for one more day. Most likely less.”
“That sounds very much like you plan on killing me.”
“Well, I do not. Because we need to make a deal.” Gunther half-expected Fang to say those words the way Magnus would, with infuriating smugness, but he said them quite calmly. “I need to keep you aboard my boat for just a little while longer. Once I no longer need you, you can go on your merry way if you so choose. But I will only release you if you promise to never tell anyone anything about me or my crew.”
“I am so sick of making deals like this!” Gunther burst out, reminded of Magnus and exhausted to the bone from the nonstop emotions of the past few days.
Fang raised his eyebrows again. “I am sorry to hear that. But don’t worry.” There was a knock at the door. “This will be over soon.”
Gunther felt his heart begin to pound. Something important was about to happen.
Fang opened the door.
“Here he is.” He said, letting the woman in the room.
It’s bad luck to have women on a ship. Gunther thought stupidly as she walked towards him.
“What’s your name?” The woman asked. She was dressed in similar simple clothing as Fang, her only decoration was a red necklace wrapped around her throat.
“Gunther.” He said.
“Last name?”
He inhaled slowly, looking the woman in the eyes. He could’ve sworn he’d seen her eyes before. She looked like she could be related to him.
“Breech.”
The air in the room stilled as the woman’s eyes widened.
Fang lunged for Gunther. He cried out and ducked his head , expecting an attack, but found that his ropes were being sawed off by Fang’s dagger.
Fang was laughing incredulously now, gasping something about luck and blessings and impossibility.
Gunther felt his ropes hit the floor, and shot to his feet, only to find himself in the woman’s crushing embrace. It was an embrace he had not felt for a very long time. It was an embrace he never thought he’d feel.
The embrace of a mother.
“I don’t understand,” Gunther sobbed. “How is this possible?”
“Magnus tried to kill me.” She breathed. He nodded. “I believe he saw me one night with Fang when he stopped on shore,” Gunther nodded again. “And tried to kill me and left me to drown in the sea. Fang, returning to his boat, found me and saved me.”
Tears were dripping down her face now. He wanted to wipe them away.
“I wanted to come back for you so badly. But I was so wounded, and he was so wealthy, it was so dangerous. Fang promised he’d help me get revenge and get you back. We’ve been sailing ever since, trying to track Magnus alongside Fang’s other pursuits.”
Piracy, she means. Gunther thought, but was far too happy to care.
He hugged her again. “Magnus is in the castle dungeon now. Last night he was being tortured by your own father.”
She gasped. Fang’s jaw also dropped.
Someone knocked at the door.
“Is it urgent?” Fang shouted.
“No, Captain.”
“Then please leave me be, I am busy!”
“Yes, Captain.”
Fang leaned against the wall, looking very attentive. His mother stared at him.
He told them everything. The letter, Jane, Dragon, the brawl, the arrival of his-their- family.
“And then your men took me aboard this ship.” He finished. He wiped some tears off of his cheeks.
Fang nodded. “Most of them know I was helping look for you. Some joined the crew purely to spite Magnus for how he’d treated them when they were a part of his crew. One of them must have recognized you, or at least the resemblance you two have.” He indicated Gunther’s mother.
“Speaking of that, do you remember how I told you that Magnus could never shake the feeling that I was a bastard?” Gunther looked to Fang, who now looked serious. “Is that a possibility? Could I be your son?” He fought to keep his voice from trembling.
Fang and his mother exchanged glances.
“No.” Fang said gently. “I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
Gunther nodded slowly. “What makes you say that?”
“He is infertile.” His mother said.
“I am not infertile-” Fang said at the same time.
They both fell silent and exchanged glances again.
“Why-” His mother said.
“They have female knights now.” Fang said softly. “Female knights.”
His mother nodded.
Fang turned back to Gunther. “I was born a woman, but I became a man to survive at sea when my family died and I had no other choice. Everybody calls me he or sir and I love it that way. Not all of my crew knows, but those who do know they’d best respect me or they’d walk the plank.”
And that was that.
Jane will love to hear that. He thought, feeling a little happy for her. But the rest of him felt crushed.
The idea that he might not have been Magnus’s son had lifted him up, given him hope. He hadn’t admitted it, but he’d wanted to believe that he wasn’t poisoned by Breech blood, that his true father could have been someone good and kind and true.
But no. He was stuck with the same wretched father he’d always had.
He was suddenly filled with the urge to ask Fang if he could join his crew, to change his name and sail away to a new land where he could live a life free of his past.
But leaving his past behind would mean leaving it all behind.
He would never spar with Jane again. Never taste Pepper’s cooking. Never overhear Smithy’s conversations with Pig. Never hear the king’s boisterous laughter. Never see the gentle twinkle of Sir Theodore’s eyes. Never see the content smile that appeared on Rake’s face when he gardened. A million more things came to his mind, things he’d leave behind.
“Mother?”
“Yes?”
“Will you come back? Your family should be at the castle now, and I live there now.”
She hesitated.
“I will ask the king to pardon Fang. King Caradoc is a merciful man. If he promises to give up piracy, maybe he’ll let him go free. There will be restrictions, and negotiations, but it may work.”
There was a long pause. Fang and his mother looked at each other.
“Mother, please.”
He was sent outside while they discussed things. It made him feel like a child again. He also felt like a child due to having to work on a ship.
But he was no longer a child, and was thus allowed to do more adult work now. He did it without being asked, just to feel like he was doing something.
He thought the pirates would be curious about him, but due to his usefulness they hardly batted an eye. When they stared at him, it was mostly just to make sure he didn’t mess up.
After well over an hour, Fang and his mother emerged from the captain’s quarters onto the deck.
“ATTENTION!” Fang bellowed. “MAGNUS BREECH HAS BEEN ARRESTED!”
A riotous cheer erupted over the deck.
“LISTEN UP MEN, BEFORE YOU START POURING OUT DRINKS. NOW THAT HIS FORMER WIFE HAS LESS TO FEAR, SHE HAS EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO RETURN TO HER LOVED ONES ON LAND. I MAY EVEN JOIN HER THERE, BUT THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN.”
The cheering died down.
“You mean you won’t be our captain anymore, sir?” Mulby asked incredulously.
Fang nodded gravely.
There were several gasps. A discontent murmur began to spread. Several of the pirates looked around as if they’d never seen the ship before, seeming lost.
“I don’t know if I’ll leave you yet,” Fang was starting to sound choked up. “But if I do, promise me you won’t do anything stupid, all right? Live your lives well.”
There were several we promises and aye captains, and more chatter began.
They had not sailed very far away from Kippernia to begin with, so the trip back to land was quick. The whole time was spent working, and singing sea shanties, and Gunther overheard a lot of the pirates reminiscing of their time with Fang and his wife. It was so touching he found himself tearing up. That’s how he knew he was beyond exhausted. The first thing he was doing when this was over was sleeping for six hours or more.
“So, how have you been?” His mother asked, having sidled up next to him without him noticing as he tied a knot.
“I’ve been…well, living with Magnus was difficult, as you can imagine. But I’m a knight now. I have a mentor, and- the way some of the pirates talk about Fang remind me of how I feel about him.”
“Tell me everything.”
So he did.
“Fang, sir, as long as you stay calm, I think this will go better.”
“You are right.” Fang swallowed hard. “How do I look?”
“Like a plainly-dressed pirate.”
“Really? It’s that obvious?”
“Yes. I cannot make any promises, but King Caradoc is a merciful man. Behave yourself and keep your promises, and you won’t have to worry about being arrested in Kippernian waters.”
“It’s not just King Caradoc I’m scared of.”
“Yes, my mother’s family is a little mad, but do not anger them and you will live.”
“Gunther’s right. Now come on, it’s a long way to the castle from here.”
“GUNTHER!” Jane screamed.
He was swarmed as soon as he stepped onto castle grounds.
“You’re back! You’re ALIVE!” Rake cried.
“Guess who is not alive?” Jested exclaimed with disturbing glee.
“WHAT?”
“Magnus died this morning. His wounds got infected.”
“YES!” Fang exploded, punching the air.
“I’m sorry, who is this?” Sir Theodore asked, having walked over in all the commotion.
“That’s-um.”
Fang took it with surprising stride. “Hello, you probably know me as Fang, and this is my wife-”
Someone else screamed, and soon Gunther was being crushed by his aunt’s embrace again. Multiple people were sobbing with joy and relief.
Gunther had never been more tired or tearful, but he’d also never been more relieved.
Over a Week Later.
“Goodbye!” Gunther shouted as they boarded the ship. “I will write! I’ll practice our runes!”
“Bye!” His cousin shouted, leaning over and waving.
He, his mother, and Fang watched the boat sail away. She sighed heavily.
“I know,” Fang said heavily. “But you don’t have to worry about your letters being intercepted anymore.”
She nodded. “And my son and lover are here. I have no reason to leave Kippernia anytime soon.”
