Wanderlust (mxm)

Chapter Twenty-one

When Soren woke up, he was alone. The ship rocked gently; soft light shone through the windows. Tanden was nowhere in sight, and somehow Soren wasn't surprised. He moved to throw his left arm over his eyes, only to be stopped by something hard around his wrist. Soren's eyes flew open and he sat up, glaring at the metal cuff around his wrist. The other end was connected to the bedpost. Soren pulled against it, tentatively, testing its strength.

Yet another part of the game. Soren gave up on it and looked for his clothing so he could at least get dressed. The night before they'd be abandoned in a heap by the bed, now they were nicely folded—on the desk.

"Roe, help me," Soren muttered under his breath. "I'll kill him." He yanked against the chain again more forcefully, but it wasn't going to give. With a huff he lay back down and pulled the sheets over his head. At least he could get more sleep.

He was just beginning to doze off when the door opened. Footsteps entered the room, quietly, and something clattered onto the table. Soren listened, half-asleep, until he felt weight on the end of the bed. He sat up so quickly that Tanden nearly fell off of the bed.

Tanden tried to pretend he hadn't been startled, and grinned. "Morning, mate. Didn't think you—"

"What's this?" Soren rattled the chain.

"Oh. I thought it might be fun."

"Aye, right. Lots of fun it'll be if the ship starts to sink, aye?"

Tanden rolled his eyes. "Relax, there's absolutely no danger of that happening right now. Besides... " He hesitated to tug a cord out from under his tunic. A key dangled from it. "I'd swim to the bottom of the ocean to unlock you, if I had to."

"You're trying to be charming, but I'm not in the mood."

Tanden tucked the cord away and smirked. "Hungover?"

Soren narrowed his eyes. "You aren't?"

Tanden shrugged and stood up. "Not really." He walked over to the desk, slipping off his jacket and tossing it over the chair on the way. From the table, he grabbed two glass bottles and something wrapped in a crisp white cloth. "Make some room."

While still annoyed, Soren wasn't about to disobey. He shuffled closer to the head of the bed, dragging the blanket along with him, and crossed his legs. Tanden sat facing him and dropped the bottles and package between them. He pulled the cork from one of the bottles and held it out.

"What is it?" Soren asked, taking the bottle. It smelled like fruit, though he couldn't exactly figure out what kind. The bottle was green, making it hard to see the colour of the drink.

"Juice," Tanden explained as he opened his own bottle. "Made from apples. There's a villa down the coast that makes it. They always send us a crate around this time of year. It doesn't keep very long, but it's delicious while it lasts." He took a drink, then balanced the bottle on his lap so he could unwrap the package.

Soren took a sip. The sweetness was a bit of a shock, but Tanden hadn't lied—it was delicious. "Expensive stuff, I reckon?" He asked before taking a proper gulp. He certainly had never heard of it, which meant it must have been something high class.

"Fairly," Tanden agreed, while revealing the food he had brought. It was a collection of neatly sliced fruit, cubes of cheese and thick slices of bread. He picked up one of the pieces of bread and tore it in half.

Soren drank more of the juice. "So you locked me here and went all the way up to the castle for food to bring back? Seems like it would've been easier just to take me along."

"Maybe, but I like the idea of having you all to myself for the day."

"So that's the plan, then? Spend all day in here?"