Chasing Freedom - Chapter 4
Title: Chasing Freedom, Chapter 4, Siwon/Eunhyuk
Length: 1,983 words
Author: shieldkitten
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Siwon discovers Zhoumi's little business venture. Will he let Hyukjae remain onboard the Sapphire Pearl? Or will he feed Hyukjae to the sharks in a moment of embitteredness?
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
It was three in the afternoon by the sundial erected upon the harbour front, and by the shadow of the foremost mast of the Sapphire Pearl. Siwon stood with his feet planted firmly on the stern deck, watching the tug boats move into position. His nerves were stretched as taut as the tug lines between the vessels. This would be the longest voyage the Sapphire Pearl had ever undertaken.
Only fifteen minutes till they could set sail. Siwon was anxious to cast off, thinking of the men and women huddled in the cargo hold, hidden by provisions and Boston’s exports. International slave trade had recently been outlawed, and although it was unlikely that one of the respectable Cho merchant ships would be inspected, Daemyun had not wished to take any chances.
Speaking of whom… Movement drew Siwon’s gaze from the blue of the horizon to the dusty road along the harbour - a horse drawn carriage trundled up to the berth where the Sapphire Pearl was docked, bearing an all too familiar passenger. For a moment Siwon felt his chest tighten in apprehension - had Daemyun uncovered his true motives? Had he come to reclaim his ship and cargo, and call for Siwon’s arrest? Siwon had prepared himself to face the consequences of his actions, but he feared for Hangeng and Zhoumi, who would surely be forced back into slavery, and he feared for his crew - young, idealistic men who would be penalised for their good hearts.
But Daemyun was smiling as he strode up the gangplank, staff rapping heavily against the wood. Siwon allowed himself to relax. No one knew of his plan aside from his crew, and he had not been lying when he said that they knew how to hold their tongues. Striding down the deck, he doffed his tricorne hat and bowed, greeting Daemyun with a subservient air.
“Everything is in order, I trust?” Daemyun asked, glancing about the ship and tapping his staff meaningfully against the deck, perhaps thinking of the thirty Chinese slaves below.
“Yes, sir, your cargo was installed with no fuss.” Siwon settled his hat back on his head, glancing over to where Hangeng was winding thick lengths of rope around his upper arm. Hangeng met his gaze with a steady eye, but dropped it when Daemyun turned to see what had caught Siwon’s attention.
“My clients in Rio are anxious for their goods,” Daemyun said, clearing his throat. “There was a riot, evidently, very nasty business. Break their spirits, I always say, and their legs if they prove too wilful.”
Siwon felt bile rise in the back of his throat, and he was grateful when Henry, his boatswain, interrupted them with a soft clearing of his throat.
“Sir, Captain, the clock reads three fifteen.”
Daemyun checked his pocket watch, which gleamed in the sunlight, forcing Siwon to squint and avert his eyes. “The Revenue-Marine will be on the other end of the coast. I trust you know the procedure if, by unhappy chance, you are caught?”
“I am to take full responsibility for everything. You were never involved.”
Daemyun smiled. “Bon voyage, captain.”
“Thank you, sir,” Siwon said, walking Daemyun to the gangplank. He glanced at Hangeng again, and Hangeng gave him an almost imperceptible shake of the head, warning him to resist the urge to give Daemyun one last parting shot.
He returned to the stern, taking the wheel in hand, flexing his fingers around a spoke. All his crew had come on deck, even Shindong, his steward. This was the last they would see of Boston, perhaps for the rest of their lives. Henry took his position by Siwon, acting as his second in command while they were in full view of the harbour.
“Raise the gangplank,” he ordered, and Henry took up the call. Zhoumi pulled the plank onto the deck, then turned and gave Siwon a salute, smirking as if this was a game for which he had not revealed all the rules.
“Cast off,” Siwon ordered, turning his eye to the Sargasso Sea. The men on land undid the knots from the docks, casting them over the side of the bank, and Hangeng worked with the other crew members to wind the slack ropes onto the ship. Henry blew a shrill blast on his whistle at the nod from Siwon, and there was an answering horn call from the port. The tug lines grew taut and strained as the tug masters gave the command to lead the Sapphire Pearl out to sea.
Siwon turned the wheel, steering the boat south, toward Brazil. At his command, the tug lines were dropped, and there was a flurry of activity as Hangeng and Seungjun clambered skilfully up the rigging to let loose the sails, stark white against the brilliant azure of sky. The conditions were perfect for the beginning of a journey - a clear sky, a fair breeze, and Boston receding into the distance. When they lost sight of land, Hangeng took his position beside Siwon, relieving Henry of the need to pretend. Siwon took the compass from his breast pocket, waiting for the dancing needle to settle and point North. He nodded to Henry, who darted down to the deck to help Seungjun and Chaegum with the sails as Siwon turned the wheel, bringing the ship about till its bow was inline with the needle of the compass.
“I think it’s time we released our guests, don’t you?” he asked Hangeng, keeping his voice level. Hangeng smiled and nodded, beckoning to Zhoumi before disappearing below deck with him.
The slaves, now free people as far as the Sapphire Pearl was concerned, filtered out onto the deck in twos and threes, some clutching the hands of their friends, perhaps their loved ones, blinking slowly in the light of the sun. Siwon smiled encouragingly at them, gesturing to invite them to explore the ship, to treat at as their home. They still seemed skittish, perhaps afraid that Siwon and his crew were only playing a cruel joke upon them. After all, the route to Brazil and the route up North looked no different out on the high sea, with no land for reference.
He remained up on deck when they returned below to eat dinner. The sun was low in the sky, and the wind was beginning to pick up. There might be rain in the evening, if the clouds gathered to starboard were any indication. Siwon eyed the sails, gauging the required adjustments if they were to continue to sail through the night - he wanted to put as much distance between the Sapphire Pearl and Boston as he could.
A boy ran on deck, no, a young man wearing clothes far too elegant and refined to be one of the Chinese slaves. Siwon stared, watching him lean over the side of the boat, emptying the contents of his stomach into the sea. He straightened, dabbing at his mouth with a linen handkerchief, pushing back his hair with a shaky hand.
“Cute, isn’t he?” Siwon fairly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Zhoumi’s voice in his ear. “Like a young pup.”
“Who is he? And what is he doing on my ship?” Siwon demanded, even as the boy heaved and lurched over to the railing at another bout of nausea.
“He’s a passenger, of course,” Zhoumi said, smiling widely. “And as for your first question, that does remind me. I never asked for his name. Good evening!” Before Siwon could form a reply, Zhoumi ambled down to the deck, hands in his pockets as he approached the young man, leaving Siwon no choice but to follow.
“Good evening,” the young man responded weakly, clutching at the railing and fanning himself with his handkerchief. “I seem to be ill.”
“Ah, the sickness that afflicts every landsman at sea.” Zhoumi nodded sagely, that wicked smile still plastered on his face. “You know the quickest cure for it, don’t you, Captain?” he asked, turning to Siwon and winking. “A healthy dose of strong wine.”
“Captain?” the young man turned even more pale, tugging wretchedly at his hair in an attempt to neaten it. “You’re the captain? I- My name is Lee H- That is- Eunhyuk” It was almost painful to watch the boy floundering in his self-consciousness. “I am honoured to have passage aboard your ship.”
“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake,” Siwon said, drawing himself to his full height. “The Sapphire Pearl is not taking passengers on this voyage.”
“Not…” Eunhyuk turned to Zhoumi, eyes wide. “But you said! And we paid you!”
Siwon could have choked Zhoumi where he stood. The man had an unhealthy obsession with gold, and now it would cause them all a delay they could hardly afford. “You will be reimbursed for your passage. We cannot return to Boston, but we can make port at Halifax, and Zhoumi will be personally responsible for finding you passage on a ship to Boston.”
“No!” Siwon was startled at the strength of Eunhyuk’s objection. “I cannot return to Boston. Please, I must go to Rio.”
“But therein lies the problem, Mr. Lee,” Siwon said gravely, deciding that he would set Zhoumi to pumping bilge water for a week in penance. “We are not going to Rio.”
“We’re sailing to China,” Zhoumi said, more cheerfully than he had any right to be.
“China,” Eunhyuk repeated, turning to Siwon for confirmation. Siwon nodded, and Eunhyuk blanched, leaning over the railing and retching one last time. He straightened and gave the appearance of struggling valiantly to speak before his eyes rolled back into his head, and Siwon was only just in time to catch him before his head connected with the deck.
“I specifically told you not to advertise for passengers!” he raged at Zhoumi now that their only audience was unconscious.
“It’s a little late for ‘I told you’s, Captain,” Zhoumi said. “And it was hardly my fault he didn’t ask where exactly the Pearl was headed. Besides, the boy was so desperate to leave Boston I hardly think the ship mattered, much less the destination.”
“I think you could at least have mentioned that we are headed for a separate landmass.”
Zhoumi assumed an expression of anxious distress. “He would have taken passage aboard some pirate ship if I hadn’t stepped in and saved him. Delicate little thing like that, I couldn’t bear the thought of some lecherous sailor taking advantage of him out at sea.”
“You mean some other lecherous sailor,” Siwon said drily, lifting Eunhyuk up in his arms. He gazed at the gray, ashen pallor of Eunhyuk’s face, and the purpling bruise on his forehead. He did look delicate, and was clearly too green behind the ears to be travelling on his own, if Zhoumi could con him so easily. Siwon wondered what had driven him to leave Boston in so much haste.
“Where is his cabin?” he asked finally, and gave Zhoumi another diapproving look when Zhoumi showed him to the smallest of the passenger cabins. Eunhyuk did not stir when Siwon laid him gently down upon the bed, tucking the pillow under his head for comfort.
At any rate, there was nothing he could do about this unsolicited passenger till they reached Halifax. Making port anywhere closer to Boston meant risking detection. The Sapphire Pearl was renowned for her successful voyages, and so it was common knowledge that she would not be expected to veer from the established trade routes to and from Brazil. Once they shifted colours, raising the false flag Hangeng had made and taking down the blue flags that gave the ship her name, they might be able to slip in unnoticed among the other ships.
“You,” he told Zhoumi as he shut Eunhyuk’s door behind him, giving Eunhyuk privacy to rest, “are on middle watch for the rest of your life.”
And in the next chapter! Hyukjae awakens and has to deal with the knowledge that he is on a ship to CHINA. ZOMG. We might actually get to hear Hangeng speak more than three words at a time, too. I'm excited, aren't you?
(Also I apologise for the severe suck of this chapter, I got really bogged down trying to describe the process of casting off, and failfailfailfailfail all over.)
Length: 1,983 words
Author: shieldkitten
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Siwon discovers Zhoumi's little business venture. Will he let Hyukjae remain onboard the Sapphire Pearl? Or will he feed Hyukjae to the sharks in a moment of embitteredness?
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
It was three in the afternoon by the sundial erected upon the harbour front, and by the shadow of the foremost mast of the Sapphire Pearl. Siwon stood with his feet planted firmly on the stern deck, watching the tug boats move into position. His nerves were stretched as taut as the tug lines between the vessels. This would be the longest voyage the Sapphire Pearl had ever undertaken.
Only fifteen minutes till they could set sail. Siwon was anxious to cast off, thinking of the men and women huddled in the cargo hold, hidden by provisions and Boston’s exports. International slave trade had recently been outlawed, and although it was unlikely that one of the respectable Cho merchant ships would be inspected, Daemyun had not wished to take any chances.
Speaking of whom… Movement drew Siwon’s gaze from the blue of the horizon to the dusty road along the harbour - a horse drawn carriage trundled up to the berth where the Sapphire Pearl was docked, bearing an all too familiar passenger. For a moment Siwon felt his chest tighten in apprehension - had Daemyun uncovered his true motives? Had he come to reclaim his ship and cargo, and call for Siwon’s arrest? Siwon had prepared himself to face the consequences of his actions, but he feared for Hangeng and Zhoumi, who would surely be forced back into slavery, and he feared for his crew - young, idealistic men who would be penalised for their good hearts.
But Daemyun was smiling as he strode up the gangplank, staff rapping heavily against the wood. Siwon allowed himself to relax. No one knew of his plan aside from his crew, and he had not been lying when he said that they knew how to hold their tongues. Striding down the deck, he doffed his tricorne hat and bowed, greeting Daemyun with a subservient air.
“Everything is in order, I trust?” Daemyun asked, glancing about the ship and tapping his staff meaningfully against the deck, perhaps thinking of the thirty Chinese slaves below.
“Yes, sir, your cargo was installed with no fuss.” Siwon settled his hat back on his head, glancing over to where Hangeng was winding thick lengths of rope around his upper arm. Hangeng met his gaze with a steady eye, but dropped it when Daemyun turned to see what had caught Siwon’s attention.
“My clients in Rio are anxious for their goods,” Daemyun said, clearing his throat. “There was a riot, evidently, very nasty business. Break their spirits, I always say, and their legs if they prove too wilful.”
Siwon felt bile rise in the back of his throat, and he was grateful when Henry, his boatswain, interrupted them with a soft clearing of his throat.
“Sir, Captain, the clock reads three fifteen.”
Daemyun checked his pocket watch, which gleamed in the sunlight, forcing Siwon to squint and avert his eyes. “The Revenue-Marine will be on the other end of the coast. I trust you know the procedure if, by unhappy chance, you are caught?”
“I am to take full responsibility for everything. You were never involved.”
Daemyun smiled. “Bon voyage, captain.”
“Thank you, sir,” Siwon said, walking Daemyun to the gangplank. He glanced at Hangeng again, and Hangeng gave him an almost imperceptible shake of the head, warning him to resist the urge to give Daemyun one last parting shot.
He returned to the stern, taking the wheel in hand, flexing his fingers around a spoke. All his crew had come on deck, even Shindong, his steward. This was the last they would see of Boston, perhaps for the rest of their lives. Henry took his position by Siwon, acting as his second in command while they were in full view of the harbour.
“Raise the gangplank,” he ordered, and Henry took up the call. Zhoumi pulled the plank onto the deck, then turned and gave Siwon a salute, smirking as if this was a game for which he had not revealed all the rules.
“Cast off,” Siwon ordered, turning his eye to the Sargasso Sea. The men on land undid the knots from the docks, casting them over the side of the bank, and Hangeng worked with the other crew members to wind the slack ropes onto the ship. Henry blew a shrill blast on his whistle at the nod from Siwon, and there was an answering horn call from the port. The tug lines grew taut and strained as the tug masters gave the command to lead the Sapphire Pearl out to sea.
Siwon turned the wheel, steering the boat south, toward Brazil. At his command, the tug lines were dropped, and there was a flurry of activity as Hangeng and Seungjun clambered skilfully up the rigging to let loose the sails, stark white against the brilliant azure of sky. The conditions were perfect for the beginning of a journey - a clear sky, a fair breeze, and Boston receding into the distance. When they lost sight of land, Hangeng took his position beside Siwon, relieving Henry of the need to pretend. Siwon took the compass from his breast pocket, waiting for the dancing needle to settle and point North. He nodded to Henry, who darted down to the deck to help Seungjun and Chaegum with the sails as Siwon turned the wheel, bringing the ship about till its bow was inline with the needle of the compass.
“I think it’s time we released our guests, don’t you?” he asked Hangeng, keeping his voice level. Hangeng smiled and nodded, beckoning to Zhoumi before disappearing below deck with him.
The slaves, now free people as far as the Sapphire Pearl was concerned, filtered out onto the deck in twos and threes, some clutching the hands of their friends, perhaps their loved ones, blinking slowly in the light of the sun. Siwon smiled encouragingly at them, gesturing to invite them to explore the ship, to treat at as their home. They still seemed skittish, perhaps afraid that Siwon and his crew were only playing a cruel joke upon them. After all, the route to Brazil and the route up North looked no different out on the high sea, with no land for reference.
He remained up on deck when they returned below to eat dinner. The sun was low in the sky, and the wind was beginning to pick up. There might be rain in the evening, if the clouds gathered to starboard were any indication. Siwon eyed the sails, gauging the required adjustments if they were to continue to sail through the night - he wanted to put as much distance between the Sapphire Pearl and Boston as he could.
A boy ran on deck, no, a young man wearing clothes far too elegant and refined to be one of the Chinese slaves. Siwon stared, watching him lean over the side of the boat, emptying the contents of his stomach into the sea. He straightened, dabbing at his mouth with a linen handkerchief, pushing back his hair with a shaky hand.
“Cute, isn’t he?” Siwon fairly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Zhoumi’s voice in his ear. “Like a young pup.”
“Who is he? And what is he doing on my ship?” Siwon demanded, even as the boy heaved and lurched over to the railing at another bout of nausea.
“He’s a passenger, of course,” Zhoumi said, smiling widely. “And as for your first question, that does remind me. I never asked for his name. Good evening!” Before Siwon could form a reply, Zhoumi ambled down to the deck, hands in his pockets as he approached the young man, leaving Siwon no choice but to follow.
“Good evening,” the young man responded weakly, clutching at the railing and fanning himself with his handkerchief. “I seem to be ill.”
“Ah, the sickness that afflicts every landsman at sea.” Zhoumi nodded sagely, that wicked smile still plastered on his face. “You know the quickest cure for it, don’t you, Captain?” he asked, turning to Siwon and winking. “A healthy dose of strong wine.”
“Captain?” the young man turned even more pale, tugging wretchedly at his hair in an attempt to neaten it. “You’re the captain? I- My name is Lee H- That is- Eunhyuk” It was almost painful to watch the boy floundering in his self-consciousness. “I am honoured to have passage aboard your ship.”
“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake,” Siwon said, drawing himself to his full height. “The Sapphire Pearl is not taking passengers on this voyage.”
“Not…” Eunhyuk turned to Zhoumi, eyes wide. “But you said! And we paid you!”
Siwon could have choked Zhoumi where he stood. The man had an unhealthy obsession with gold, and now it would cause them all a delay they could hardly afford. “You will be reimbursed for your passage. We cannot return to Boston, but we can make port at Halifax, and Zhoumi will be personally responsible for finding you passage on a ship to Boston.”
“No!” Siwon was startled at the strength of Eunhyuk’s objection. “I cannot return to Boston. Please, I must go to Rio.”
“But therein lies the problem, Mr. Lee,” Siwon said gravely, deciding that he would set Zhoumi to pumping bilge water for a week in penance. “We are not going to Rio.”
“We’re sailing to China,” Zhoumi said, more cheerfully than he had any right to be.
“China,” Eunhyuk repeated, turning to Siwon for confirmation. Siwon nodded, and Eunhyuk blanched, leaning over the railing and retching one last time. He straightened and gave the appearance of struggling valiantly to speak before his eyes rolled back into his head, and Siwon was only just in time to catch him before his head connected with the deck.
“I specifically told you not to advertise for passengers!” he raged at Zhoumi now that their only audience was unconscious.
“It’s a little late for ‘I told you’s, Captain,” Zhoumi said. “And it was hardly my fault he didn’t ask where exactly the Pearl was headed. Besides, the boy was so desperate to leave Boston I hardly think the ship mattered, much less the destination.”
“I think you could at least have mentioned that we are headed for a separate landmass.”
Zhoumi assumed an expression of anxious distress. “He would have taken passage aboard some pirate ship if I hadn’t stepped in and saved him. Delicate little thing like that, I couldn’t bear the thought of some lecherous sailor taking advantage of him out at sea.”
“You mean some other lecherous sailor,” Siwon said drily, lifting Eunhyuk up in his arms. He gazed at the gray, ashen pallor of Eunhyuk’s face, and the purpling bruise on his forehead. He did look delicate, and was clearly too green behind the ears to be travelling on his own, if Zhoumi could con him so easily. Siwon wondered what had driven him to leave Boston in so much haste.
“Where is his cabin?” he asked finally, and gave Zhoumi another diapproving look when Zhoumi showed him to the smallest of the passenger cabins. Eunhyuk did not stir when Siwon laid him gently down upon the bed, tucking the pillow under his head for comfort.
At any rate, there was nothing he could do about this unsolicited passenger till they reached Halifax. Making port anywhere closer to Boston meant risking detection. The Sapphire Pearl was renowned for her successful voyages, and so it was common knowledge that she would not be expected to veer from the established trade routes to and from Brazil. Once they shifted colours, raising the false flag Hangeng had made and taking down the blue flags that gave the ship her name, they might be able to slip in unnoticed among the other ships.
“You,” he told Zhoumi as he shut Eunhyuk’s door behind him, giving Eunhyuk privacy to rest, “are on middle watch for the rest of your life.”
And in the next chapter! Hyukjae awakens and has to deal with the knowledge that he is on a ship to CHINA. ZOMG. We might actually get to hear Hangeng speak more than three words at a time, too. I'm excited, aren't you?
(Also I apologise for the severe suck of this chapter, I got really bogged down trying to describe the process of casting off, and failfailfailfailfail all over.)