The Belladonna

Chapter 58 - Peaks

Wind blew the sails out and surged Patchwork Sally forward into the night. It was as if the world was sighing in sorrow at the completion of the Cormorant leader's tale. The crew were deathly quiet watching with reverence and awe.

The moon was a vast orb of light behind them and the stars were flickering. It had been hours since Dana had started her story and true to her word Sky had never interrupted. Not once. She hadn't been able to. The rebel woman had not been herself. She had spoken as though her mind was taken back to the time of such betrayal and agony.

Things fell together into painful clarity for Sky. The woman's calculating gaze always trying to predict others. Her hatred for the Davion name was not due to her brother, as Sky had originally suspected, but rather due to the creator of the task that had taken so much from her. After all, it was Christopher Davion who thought up the cannon in the first place. He had deliberately left out vital details to prevent the King from using it before the kingdom was ready. Gaps that had been filled by Dana and William.

"You want to know where I fit?" Dana's silver eyes hardened, her vulnerabilities seemed to have strengthened her. "I am not here for revenge Skyler. That is not what the Cormorants are about. It is our duty to stop what is to come. I must stop it because I am the one that caused it."

Sky nodded. It was cold now; the sun gone and taking it heat with it. Some of the rebels had retired to the deck below, many were still stationed at their places manning the sails. But there were some who had gathered around to listen to the reason behind the formation of their Rebellion. Dana had let them hear her story and so they had listened.

"I believe William was the first innocent to die in this. How I have wished over the year he was the only one." Dana stood suddenly. Sky looked up at her from the railing she sat on. The rebels parted around her and returned to their tasks. Dana took the wheel back and sighed.

Respect had rooted itself in Sky's chest. This woman was on a path to correct her wrongs. She could not blame her father, Christopher warned King Patrick, William's death was not because of her father. Still, Sky could not help but feel that she should take some weight of his death for her father. If he were here he would have said something to Dana. As it were, Sky could only look down at her hands in silence.

"I do not hold you father responsible Skyler." Dana said as though reading the young woman's thoughts. "I spent months studying his notes; he did not intend his creation for this."

"Then what could it be for?" Sky questioned softly.

Dana turned to look back at her. "I have asked myself the same thing for many years. And I have come to the conclusion that he may not have known himself. He was very young. His mind may not have been open to anything other than his original idea."

"Which was?" Sky stood too. She spared a glance up. They were closer to the Arrow now, and would soon begin to make their way into colder waters. In a few days the first of the peaks would come into view.

"In his notes, Davion spoke of wanting to prevent firing between the King's ships and any unfriendly looking foreigners." Dana frowned. "I remembered that he had said the gun would be perfect for 'exploration', you could discourage approach with a single shot at a safe distance. I'm inclined to agree with him, for who would engage in battle with a ship appearing to have that sort of power?"

For some ambiguous reason that made Sky laugh. "Us?"

Dana surprised her with a smile. "Yes. Us." Then she frowned as though something wasn't adding up. "I don't understand how he came to actually possess it. When Dustin had described to me your first encounter with the Jane Duchess I thought it was impossible. We had solved the hows of your father's research yes, but to actually make the abomination... I don't' understand how he could have done it."