The Song of the Sea

Epilogue

They set sail at first light, exactly four weeks after they had arrived on the island. Not everyone returned to join Jacob and Raephier on The Flying Bounty.

James had found himself caught up in a whirlwind romance with a girl called Lola. She had dark brown curly hair, large brown eyes and cute freckles on her nose. They were already engaged and due to marry in the summer. Jacob had promised faithfully to return for the wedding.

Lyle also didn't join them. He seemed to give everyone a different reason why, and everyone made their own mind up over why he wasn't joining them on their latest voyage. In truth, Lyle was the only one who knew the real reason, and he was determined to keep it that way.

Tyler and Doug were joining the voyage only as far as Jachico, and from there they were going in pursuit of another machinun shell. Two shells meant they could increase their fleet to two ships and thereby double the amount of cargo they could bring home unnoticed by the Tredda and pirates.

On this voyage there were also some new faces. Dan and Lee, two men who had sailed with Jacob in the past were much welcomed additions, and Gabriel was no longer the youngest member after Jacob had agreed to take on Liam, Marco's eldest son who was just 15.

Pete, of course, was by Jacob's side as always.

The feeling onboard the ship was very different from the last time they had left home. This time there was an air of confidence about the men. There were no tears and solemn faces, no worries of not returning home or being parted for too long from loved ones. Of course the sea was always a dangerous place to be, but Jacob and his men felt like they were sailing under the light of a lucky star.

As Jacob watched Raephier standing on the bow of the ship, the early morning sun reflecting off his blonde hair and pale skin, he could well believe that Raephier was that star, sent down from the heavens to protect him and his crew.

Raephier had grown a lot more confident over the last month. He'd enjoyed being on land, developing new skills and finally using his legs to their full potential. He loved to run, especially along the seafront, and he became quite a favourite among the locals. Every morning he would return back home with a gift from one person or another. A batch of fresh fruit tea cakes from Maggie, a pair of trousers from Betty that once belonged to her late husband Keith (they were too big but Raephier was much too polite to ever tell her that), a compass from George who had claimed it would be put to much better use by Raephier than by a man who barely left his house, and a pebble from the young Harrison twins that was (according to them) exactly the same shape as The Flying Bounty.

Raephier also looked physically different too. He looked healthy. HIs hair and skin was benefiting from fresh water to wash in, and Liza's miracle working skin cream which she made herself and practically forced Raephier to try (or at least that's what Jacob said, despite Raephier's insistence that he was happy to try it).

Jacob had found his stay both joyous and frustrating. His house, having been empty for several years, was in a poor state of repair. It had meant that, for the first week, Jacob and Raephier had been sleeping in separate rooms at the tavern. But Jacob found immense joy in working on his house. He loved to use his hands to make and mend things and felt great satisfaction in every job he completed. Raephier had also proved to be a quick learner and they made quite a team, getting things sorted much faster than Jacob had ever anticipated. And of course once they had their own place Jacob had a whole load of other things to enjoy. Like waking up with Raephier curled into his side, or making lunch together, or even just sitting pretending to read, when in fact he was surreptitiously watching Raephier paint on the new canvases he'd bought back in Jechico.

Inside it was a scene of domestic bliss, but the only thing that stopped Jacob from feeling completely at peace was the fact that outside of their home he had to make a conscious effort not to treat Raepheir as anything more than a friend. But he found that so hard when Raephier was always doing something that made Jacob's heart squeeze in his chest. The number of times when he'd gone to pull him in for a hug, or kiss the top of his head but had then had to style it out as something else at the last minute, was beginning to make him look ridiculous. He spent half his time feeling completely uneasy and tense, just waiting for someone to say something about the two of them and how close their relationship was.

So Jacob felt like a weight was lifted off him the moment they sailed out of the harbour and away from prying eyes.

"Are you ready?" Jacob asked, coming up behind Raephier and sliding his arms around him to pull him into his body.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Raepheir said, leaning back into the embrace for a moment before he twisted round in Jacob's arms to pull him in for a kiss.

The kiss was slow and gentle, as if they had all the time in the world.

Which clearly they did not.

"Um, sorry to disturb the two lovebirds," came Pete's voice, "but we need to get moving."

The two lovers separated their lips, mainly to direct a scowl at Pete, who seemed to have an annoying habit of disturbing them at the worst time.

Clearly they hadn't been as far away from prying eyes as they thought and Raephier blushed at the sight of the newbies Dan and Lee staring at the two of them with their jaws on the decks.

Pete turned round and caught sight of the pair of them staring.

"What you looking at? You got a problem, you know where the exit is," Pete snapped, nodding his head towards the water below.

"N-No, no problem at all," Dan spluttered as Lee shook his head so violently Raephier was sure it might fall off.

"Then get back to work!" Pete snapped and both men nearly tripped over their own feet in their haste to get away.

Raephier looked back at Jacob with wide eyes, but Jacob just burst out into laughter, with Pete not far behind.

"Oh, I love fresh meat!" Pete grinned. And Raephier decided it was better not to ask.

Jacob finally let Raephier out of his grip and Rapehier started to strip off, ready to get into the water to guide the ship back up the estuary.

Just as he was about to dive in, a clatter of footsteps made him turn to see young Gabriel running up the deck, dragging a rather nervous looking Liam by the hand.

"Come on, you've got to see this!" Gabriel shouted excitedly, "It's gonna blow your mind."

Raepheir turned to Jacob and they shared a knowing smile.

Then Raephier dived into the water.

The change felt less surprising now, and he embraced the feeling.

After all, he had an audience waiting.

He gave it his all, shooting up into the air and diving back down, making sure to flick his tail for all to see.

When he stopped showing off and rose to the surface, he was met by a sea of familiar faces standing on the side of the ship all whopping and clapping. He picked out Liam right away, and chuckled at the expression of awe and wonder on his face. Then his eyes went straight to Jacob and he felt his stomach dip at the look of pure pride in his eyes.

The feeling was overwhelming.

But in a good way.

A very good way.

Because even though they were just starting out on their journey, as Raephier stared at Jacob and his crew, he knew he was home.