The crew was welcoming. About half the crew knew who Evander was and were all thrilled to hear that he had gotten married. She was introduced to so many people that she was sure she'd never remember them all. The captain had insisted on giving them his quarters. They were newlyweds. But Mina and Evander didn't really feel like newlyweds. They were fated mates and had been married only to immediately flee for their lives. Not exactly conducive to those honeymoon feelings. Yet there they were, awkwardly lying in bed together, fully clothed and not speaking. The gentle sway of The Amalthea was their only company.
"I could go." Evander's voice finally cut through the gentle noises of a boat at sea. "I could sleep with the crew."
"We tried that already. Your friend was very insistent." Mina responded, a little salty.
"I could explain the situation a little more. He's bound to understand. He's…" She raised her hand sharply in the air, and he stopped.
"It's no use. We're both adults. I think we can manage to share a bed for a few days. Besides, we're married now. It was bound to happen eventually." Mina insisted, though half-heartedly.
"I just guess I hoped that it would be because we wanted to." Evander's voice was quiet, almost like he was trying not to be heard. She rolled over to face him and waited for him to do the same. She could barely see him in the light of a crescent moon that shone through the large glass windows above the bed.
"Aside from the fact that you are human," she started, no disdain in her voice as it had been when speaking of his species, "I could not have chosen a more respectful mate for me. We will share a bed, and it will be fine. That's final." Her words were soft despite their definitive nature. He reached out to her, brushed a bit of hair out of her face, and smiled.
"Yes, my queen." He responded and rolled back over to sleep. Mina followed suit, rolling onto her back to get comfortable again.
The boat swayed gently with the waves as it cut through the sea. Sleep clung to Mina in the comfort and warmth of the bed. In her comfort, she didn't at first notice the thin but muscular arm that was draped over her and the warm chest pressed against her back. It felt so secure and pleasant that in her haze, she just accepted it as right. Perhaps this all wasn't so bad. Perhaps this fate that was forced upon her wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to her.
No. She would not become complacent with what had been forced on her. She would not give in to the pull of the wielder bond. They may be stuck with each other, but if she was going to give in, it would be because they truly liked one another. Maybe even loved. If Mina had to die as the last Queen on Sapphirus, she would. Was that too selfish?
She was pulled from her thoughts by Van groaning and pressing his face into her back near her neck. He was still fully unconscious, that much was obvious. She tried to gently lift his arm to extricate herself from her predicament. This resulted in another groan and an even tighter embrace. She sighed deeply, deciding the only way out was to wake him. He'd had as hard a day as she had the day before, and she hated doing so, but she couldn't stand the comfort of his unintentional embrace any longer.
"Van… Van" She tried gently to no avail. "Evander?" She tried with a little more force. Still, he was dead to the world. "EVANDER?!" She said loudly and firmly. His breath hitched and transitioned from the deep, slow breathing of slumber to the shallow, quick breathing of slight panic. Immediately, the wayward arm that had snaked around her recoiled, and as if he levitated, there was suddenly a cool space between them.
"I'm so sorry, Mina…" He began, but she stopped him, rolling over to face him.
"It's nothing to worry about," she assured him. "It was unintentional and we don't need to speak of it."
"Right, okay. Thanks," he said with some obvious confusion. "Are you hungry? The captain has eggs and salted meats in the galley. I can see if I can cook you something?"
"That would be lovely," She responded, realizing she hadn't the first idea of how to cook for herself. She'd have to learn if they were to be on their own without staff to do it for her. "Can you teach me?"
"To cook breakfast?" She nodded at him. "Sure!" he said emphatically.
She got out of bed with him and put on the topmost shirt and cloak that she had removed for sleeping. Van averted his eyes appropriately, even though she wasn't exposed in any way. She appreciated that about him. He led her from the captain's quarters to the galley, where there was a cook cleaning up after what was surely the breakfast they had missed. He nodded his head at them as they entered.
"Lance, it's been forever. I can't believe you're still working for the captain!" Evander smiled widely at the man who reached out to shake his hand.
"Not much better for postings. I can travel and do something I enjoy. Not many can say that. Are you two looking for breakfast?"
"We are, but I can take care of it. You're already cleaning up. Plus, Violet here wants me to teach her." He put his arm around her and pulled her into his side tightly.
"Never learned, huh?" She shook her head and he turned his attention back to Van. "Well, you know where everything is. Help yourselves."
"Thank you," she said, bowing her head slightly. The crew had been nothing but welcoming and accommodating to her and Van.
Evander took down a large cast iron that was hanging from the wall and set it up on the cast iron oven that was still burning. Fire on a ship seemed like a dangerous ordeal. It was set on a hearth in the center of the room and vented out the side of the boat. He beckoned her over to him so he could show her what he was doing. First, he took thin slices of salted meat that hung from the ceiling and set them in the warming pan. They were fatty pieces of meat and smelled divine as they heated on the pan's surface. Most of the meat she ate was fresh because of her station. Preserved meats were practically unheard of in the royal court.
"First, you want to cook the meat and render some of the fat out of it for cooking the eggs. This takes a little patience because they're easy to burn. Here, flip it over like this," He said, flipping one of the pieces with a forked utensil. She took the utensil and flipped the other piece of meat. "See, it's easy."
"Wait until you get to the eggs," Lance said, snickering a little.
"Don't listen to him, it's not that hard." Evander insisted gently.
It seemed that the meat took no time at all. Van had her flip it carefully every few minutes. When it was done, he put them on a couple of plates. Then it came time to crack the eggs. Mina had never cracked an egg in her life. Apparently, they cracked them into a cup before putting them into the pan to avoid bad eggs. Van showed her twice how to do it, cracking the egg on a flat surface and then gently using your fingers to pry it open over the cup. His careful instruction resulted in two more eggs with broken yolks. Van smiled at her both times, telling her it was okay before putting them into the pan to cook. He had her flip the eggs with the broken yolks when it came time. When they were done and he had plated everything, he gave himself the eggs she had cracked and gave her the eggs with the beautiful runny yolks.
"Thank you." She said, smiling at her food.
"Of course, my queen." He whispered cheekily, his blue eyes bright and happy. Mina was becoming more grateful for him by the moment. Having met all of the want-to-be wielders that had come before him, he was turning out to be the best of them.