Lines of battered townspeople limped onto the boarding platform of the gigantic vessel, some even crawling. Each prisoner was shackled with heavy, steel cuffs on their ankles and hands. The sluggish ones were whipped and kicked until they inevitably made it onto the boat. At the rear of the pack was Gavriil, staying on his feet and keeping his chin to the ground.
Without regard to the potential repercussions, Aemon yelled out:
"No, Gavriil! You can't just let them do that to you! Go! Get out of there!"
Aemon was surely too loud for anybody not to hear, yet Gavriil still kept his head down, ignoring him.
Sadly, they both knew that there was no escape from this. They were too powerless to face a force that was multiple levels above them in strength. Gavriil was undoubtedly going to enter the ship, and only god could decide what would happen to him after.
A knight began to approach, abandoning his duty of whipping the innocent civilians, while Aemon continued yelling.
"Gavriil! It's me! Aemon…!"
There was no hope. With almost all the captives inside the boat, and a knight ready to take Aemon with them, there was no way for a happy ending to come out of this.
Aemon backed up slowly, tripping on overgrown brush as the guard approached.
"W- woah… Don't come any closer…! Or else!"
Not exactly knowing what he would do if the knight swung, he readied his fists just in case. The soldier obviously disregarded it, given that they kept on.
The halberd was raised into the air, and what followed happened in the blink of an eye.
The bushes behind them rustled as a hazy silhouette emerged from the large shrubs.
"Umph- Ow! Hey, put me down!"
In an instant, the figure grabbed Aemon and threw him over its shoulder. They then knocked the knight out of their way with their hip and booked it straight towards the rickety dock, running faster than Aemon had ever seen.
"You talk way too much for being this scraggly."
Aemon gave a frustrated look, signifying his unappreciation of how the arrogant and raspy-voiced man mocked him, not to mention how he unconsentingly picked him up.
"What are you doing!? Let go of me already!"
The man jumped off a tiny bluff in the terrain, landing on the wooden planks of the port, and responded:
"I'm trying to get us out of here. Now shut the hell up."
His movements were incredible; every gallop in his sprint was precise, landing with little resistance.
"Alright, get in."
With two knights trailing them, the stranger quickly shoved Aemon into the first dinghy in the long array. While untying the rough rope, anchoring the boat to the dock, the man hopped in. With a vigorous push, they were off…
Escaping the island. Without Gavriil.
"No, we can't go! I have a friend here, he's in danger!"
The mysterious, light-colored man shut down any idea of rescuing Gavriil by replying:
"It's no use… You can't get your friend back. Be glad you still have your life. Plus, just look over there. They are getting ready to depart. We wouldn't make it in time."
It was true, before Aemon knew it, the boarding platform at the end of the ship was shutting. Noisy gears cranked as it closed.
"No, you don't understand. I need to save him. I will do whatever it takes!"
The man sighed while closing his dark brown eyes and paddling with a soggy wooden oar.
"Then get on that ship and die like the rest of them… Let my efforts to save you go to waste."
In disgust, Aemon shot back:
"Are you joking? Why do you think I owe you something? I don't even know who you are!"
The black-haired man dropped his head, supporting his cheek with the palm of his hand and his elbow on the edge of the boat.
"My name is Maximilian, but people usually just call me Max. And, you do owe me something… Your head… The same one that would have been chopped off if I didn't grab you back there. So don't go asking me for any favors."
Aemon, still upset, couldn't come up with anything that could argue Max's point. He did save him after all. But at what cost? Gavriil was left for dead.
Once they were at a reasonable distance from the shore, Max tossed the oar back into the boat and said:
"Get comfortable… The neighboring island is a two-day trip in this piece of crap."
They both sat back, Aemon fighting off tears, and Max resting his head on his hands, trying to catch some shut eye.
"Quit shaking over there… I'm tryna go to sleep."
After being bossed around, Aemon said, through crying:
"S- Sorry, I'll stop."
The waves flowed steadily, lightly rocking the boat.
At that point, they had drifted so far that Holvenridge was no longer visible; nothing was. It seemed that the ocean went on forever.
"If you are going to stay awake and keep being a baby, at least keep watch… We don't need pirates harassing us."
That was the final straw. Aemon stood up, peering over Max and grabbing him by the collar of the white button-up shirt he wore under his cloth vest.
"Baby! Baby!? You think I'm a baby!? Do you know what it's like to lose the only person who meant something to you…? Didn't think so!"
Sitting up, annoyed, Max pushed Aemon back into his seat and said:
"I know it all too well. But you aren't ready for that conversation."
Aemon vaguely understood what that meant and shut up.
Max was cold, not in the temperature sense, but in his actions and the way he portrayed himself. It was almost like anything he said went directly to Aemon's heart. He felt he had no choice but to listen and accept whatever Max said.
The tension eventually settled down, and they both went back to lounging, half-enjoying their freedom. All Aemon could think about was what the knights could be doing to Gavriil. All he wanted was for him to be okay.
"What is that noise?"
Max groggily arose, stretching his arms out and squinting his eyes. Looking up, he discovered something that shook his bones. The man who came off to Aemon as nonchalant, the person who didn't even fear the invaders, was actually scared.
The colossal ship caught up to them, this time, aiming a cannon at their boat. The ammunition in the chamber lit up with the most aggressive magenta.
By that time, Aemon had fallen asleep, lying in his tears, and the saltwater that spilled into the ship. While aggressively shaking him, Max yelled:
"Aemon…! You need to wake up!"