Treasure | Ateez

| 15 |

"Memento viviere"

- Remember to live

☾ ☾ ☾

The next night Aeris tried to escape.

It was a stupid thing to attempt, planned at the last minute with the help of a sleepy crew as she tiptoed across the deck, closing the door to her room with a small click before reaching for her dagger.

She liked it on the ship. There was no fault there, but it was the fact that she had been brought against her will, had to survive and trying to blend in with a crew who had obviously stuck with each other through thick and thin were not the people she would want to get in between. 

They left shore the next day. Today was her only chance.

They did not need what she would bring, and however much she tried, she knew her past would come back to haunt her.

her clothes lay in a small rucksack that she had slung across her back, the pouch filled with gold and silver tied around her waist as she tucked in her dagger as well as two knives she had taken from the weaponry into her belt. 

Her clothes hung loosely across her body, hair swept over her face into a loose ponytail as she tried to make herself look more like the people she had grown up with. 

Her fingers itched against her skin, loose currents flowing below the muscle as they touched the cool night air. It was almost poetic, the nights seemed to always be more energetic, richly coloured than days. 

There was no one about, her eyes flickered past the deck and towards the gangplank that was her way to freedom. 

She walked across the deck, exhaling slowly as her hand held onto the wood of the deck, crouching below to avoid the light and continuing they way she had so long ago to escape the castle. A smile flickered over her face at the thought. 

It had been so long ago, but it felt like yesterday. 

Overtaken by memory, she felt herself disappearing into her past. The rough hands of the guards who had caught her, the crash of the whip in front of her as she had fallen against the marble floor of the throne room, the cruel gaze of her father as he had ordered the punishment to fall.

The wind bit at her skin, her skin shivering at the contact as she pulled the shirt dress closer to her skin. Feet making no noise as she walked closer to the edge, each cell in her body itching in excitement as her yes glittered dangerously. 

"What are you doing?" 

Aeris froze, catching hold of the noise coming from the mast, a slithering noise indicating the lowering of arope as footsteps caught up to her. She straightened her posture, plastering a smile onto her face as she racked her brain for an excuse for the situation she had gotten herself into. 

Seonghwa looked sleepy.

The bags under his eyes were perfect indicators of this, the droop of his shoulders and the shivering of his hands made her frown in worry. She did not know them, but this was not healthy.

"Why are you not asleep?" she asked, waiting till he came closer, flicking the dagger back into her belt before looking at him. "You do not look well"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" 

His voice was rough, a accusatory tone coming through as he took in her appearance, lingering on the satchel across her back and the belt around her waist. "Where are you going?" 

She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face as she thought on what to say. Finally deciding on the most obvious excuse that seemed to be the most suitable at the moment. 

"I needed to use the restroom" 

"Off the ship?" he asked, confused. 

"It is easier" she shrugged, lowering her voice as she continued, "you know, for reasons"

The raven hair's eyes widened, mouth forming a thin line as he nodded slightly. She lowered her head, acting embarrassed as a silence overtook them, the caw of the crows and snaps of seagulls cutting through the air as she turned back towards the lower rooms. 

"I shall get going" 

Her voice threatened to quiver, the beating of her heart as loud as the crash of the waves against the shore, drowning out all noise as she walked past the boy, watching as he stumbled to floow, hissing in pain as his leg acted up once again.  

"What happened to your leg?" she asked, pausing at the doorway to the infirmary. The lull of the calde lights flickering as the herbs nailed to the walls and strewn over the desk swung gently at the bobbing of the ship, casting an earthy smell quite rarely smelt in the sea. 

It was a question that had bothered her for quite some time now, plus she did not believe that the excuse had sunk in so properly with the older boy. She stared silently as he paused, back turned to her before he reached for the door to her right, clicking it open and casting one last look at her.

"Story for another time" 

☾ ☾ ☾