SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 4 Dreams Come True

•• RHIAN'S POV ••

Wind whipped at the Igraine's sails as the boat lurched through the air, flying along. A dark skinned girl who Rhian learned was named Nicola sailed the ship with ease.

On the deck, Tedros and Agatha were talking in hushed voices. Tedros looked uneasy and wounded like he was still coming to grips with Lancelot's death while Agatha struggled to comfort him.

A buff Neverboy named Hort was flirting with Nicola at the Ship's helm and the three witches, Hester, Anadil, and Dot, were sharing chocolate nearby. William and Bogden were reading tarot cards. 

With everybody engaged in their own worlds, Rhian set his sights on the blonde witch below deck. Sophie was looking over her quest map when Rhian  found her. He took a seat beside her on the second cushioned chair and racked his brain for what to say.

"Something troubling you?" Rhian asked, noticing the way Sophie's emerald eyes were glued to the quest map.

"I...I was just thinking about what happened last night," Sophie began, barely glancing up at him. Her tone was clipped as if she were worried.

Eventually, Sophie sighed and magically sucked the map up in the vial hanging from her neck.

"Was our date that bad?" Rhian asked, rubbing the back of his head.

At his words, a blush burned Sophie's cheeks and she laughed. "Oh, not that," she told him. "Our date was wonderful...it's something else I'm worried about though."

Pleased with her response but knowing he had to continue with the charade, Rhian squeezed Sophie's hand. "What is it?" He questioned, acting as the concerned boyfriend.

"The Snake escaped from the Sheriff's sack so easily if you think about it," Sophie pointed out. "He had help from someone. The same someone who took Dot out on that date—One of those dirty pirates most likely."

Rhian nodded, for it was best for Sophie to believe it'd been pirates that let the Snake out rather than a long lost friend of Rhian's. Rhian had known he could count on Kei last night to free his brother from the Nottingham jail. It'd be too risky for Rhian to release Japeth himself, so he'd asked Kei for a favor.

Sophie still looked deep in thought as if she doubted her own words and Rhian's gaze dropped down to where Sophie was fiddling with the ring finger on her left hand. It was as if she was remembering a heavy weight that'd been there and Rhian's mind turned to the diamond ring tucked in a box he'd hidden away.

Rhian was going to propose to Sophie sometime. He just didn't know when, but he knew he had to if him and Sophie were to someday get married. But alas, Marrying Sophie was just one thing Rhian had to get through when him and Japeth took Camelot for themselves.

"I can't help but feel...uneasy," Sophie confessed, continuing to fiddle with the bare ring finger on her left hand.

"How so?" Rhian prodded her, half afraid Sophie was thinking too much into this whole Snake thing.

"It's silly," Sophie told him, her voice suddenly trembling, "But I-I thought that the Snake seemed familiar somehow. For a moment in Jaunt Jolie in that horrendous map room, both Agatha and I saw him. We mistook him for Rafal, but he's not. He can't be Rafal. It's not possible because I killed Rafal myself—"

"So you're worrying about your deceased ex?" Rhian said, relieved that Sophie hadn't caught onto him and the Snake's twin-ship or the fact that they were working together. "This isn't what I had in mind for our second date, Sophie."