Chapter 50: Chapter 23

Even though Abble insisted we start sword training immediately, I made her rest for the next five days. I wanted that red on her stamina bar to go away and her health to be above thirty per cent, which took about four days.

The more time it took for her to recover, the more I appreciated my health regeneration. You could be the strongest person in the world, but it could take days to weeks for your health to return. That was a vulnerability I was glad I didn’t have to concern myself with.

Much of Jordan’s time was spent lying on the floor in the room’s corner, dozing off all day. When Jordan wasn’t sleeping, she would just stare at me blankly. The only thing she could do on this ship was take naps—she definitely couldn’t leave the room without creating uneasiness.

I offered Jordan food several times, and she refused it. There wasn’t any real expectation for her to eat it, but I figured I would be considerate and offer. I was already getting hungry, which meant she had to be starving. This thought brought me a moment of concern for Abble. However, I didn’t think Jordan would do something like that, considering she had eaten none of the men on the boat.

Being out in the middle of the ocean was rather dull. I had been lying on the floor in front of Jordan for most of the morning. Abble and I tried playing cards, but after being beaten for the hundredth time, I think it was excusable to lose interest in that activity.

My finger impatiently tapped on the black wood floor as the sun shone from the window.

I was glad that my light sensitivity had diminished. Walking to the ship in Lockward was irritating, but now it was bearable. That or I was learning to live with it.

Ugh. So bored.

What was left to do? I had read through everything in the system and didn’t feel like exercising in front of Abble. That was a good way to get made fun of, and I wasn’t looking to entertain her.

I needed a hobby or something because living forever would be tedious if I spent most of my time like this. Hopefully, the college will keep me entertained for a while. At least there would be something to read.

Abble hopped up from her bed, letting off a small squeal as she stretched. “We’re going to start today. I am not sitting in this room any longer. It's not a request.”

I sat up. “Are you sure?”

She frowned at me. “Kade, I am fine. You’re being overprotective.”

My eyes squinted at her. “I think my concern is warranted after you almost died from Tide Fever.”

Abble marched over, staring down at me. “What is my health at?”

“It’s a little over thirty per cent.”

Abble tsked. “That’s more than enough.”

I sighed and slowly stood up. “Fine. If the stitches come out, it's not my fault.”

Abble skipped to the window seat, picked her short jacket up, and slid into it before tying her hair into a ponytail. 

She had been in such a pleasant mood. It was a tad weird, truthfully. Normally I would’ve been made fun of a thousand times by now, but her comments had been held back. That was okay with me but a touch out of character for her.

Jordan looked up at me from her lying position, and I squatted down, patting her head. “You stay here. I’ll be fine. If I need, I’ll yell.”

She groaned, moving her head away from me.

“What’s your problem?”

Jordan kept her eyes away from me, and I returned to my upright position, tilting my head at her.

Was she mopping about something?

As Abble came over, she grabbed my hair and tucked it into a ponytail.

After tightening the bobble, she came in front of me with a huge smile. “My god, you look adorable with a ponytail.”

“Ponytails are for women. I’ll bun it, but I am not doing a tail.”

I reached to take the bobble out, but Abble grabbed my hand.

She pouted her lips. “No, they’re not! Pleaseeeeee, keep it.”

Agh. I couldn’t say no to that face. My sister often made that expression, but I usually ignored it. When Abble did it, there was no option but to nod and agree.

“Fine, but only because you’re teaching me how to sword fight.”

Abble smiled. “You’re the best.”

“Comparably to?”

“Everyone?”—Abble put her hands on her hips—“You definitely are my favourite person.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”

Abble and I walked out to the deck, and she immediately stepped over to the two men chatting by the shroud. She asked them for their cutlass, and they both pulled them from their scabbards with confused expressions.

As Abble walked back over, she threw one sword at me, and I failed to catch it as it fell to the deck.

I hastily bent down to pick it up, returning to Abble’s disappointed face.

She sighed. “Off to a poor start.”

I held the sword up. “I get nervous when things start off well at the beginning.”

“Lesson one. Boldness often beats technique. Those less afraid of getting hurt will often push harder, allowing them to overpower opponents with more skill. Aggression wins fights,”—Abble put her finger up—“however we must learn basic techniques before we focus on aggression.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

Abble gripped the leather hilt with both hands, lifting the sword up and over her shoulder, keeping the hilt close to the right side of her face. Her left boot stepped in front, and she swung her sword gently. “I want you to practise this motion at least a thousand times daily as a warm-up.”

“Warm-up? And that’s a lot…”

“It should take roughly thirty minutes. After a few days, I’ll teach you another swing, and you can add that to your warm-ups.”

“Like another thousand?”

Abble nodded. “Yes.”

There was no way I could do that in thirty minutes.

“Okay…”

Anthony walked past us with a smirk. “The scary demon doesn’t know how to swing a sword.”

Oh, he wanted to start something? Normally I am passive, but something about this smug guy’s face made me want to puff my chest. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t much older than me.

“Those are confident words for someone who advocated throwing me overboard because he was scared.”

Anthony stopped swivelling around on one heel. “You think I fear you?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I think you were being a little bitch.”

Nailed it.

Abble glanced at me with a grin.

Anthony frowned slightly. “You wanna start something? Because I am all for kicking your ass in front of your girlfriend.”

I smirked, making sure my slightly longer-than-normal canines were visible. “Let’s.”

Abble put her palm up. “Alright, guys. How about before we make it to Endeavor, you two have a sparring match with wooden swords?”

Anthony nodded at me. “Let’s make it with real blades, since the demon boy is so confident.”

I kept my attention firmly focused on Anthony. “Fine with me”

Abble raised her eyebrow at Anthony. “Okay, but I just don’t want to hear about it when he takes an arm off.”

Anthony huffed, walking off.

“We’ll do this in fourteen days.”

Anthony said nothing, as Abble couldn’t stop grinning at me.

I step back from her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I like this, Kade. The bitch part was a nice touch.”

I shook my head at Abble. “You’re rubbing off on me. I am unsure if it is a positive thing.”

“It’s entertaining. You should keep it up”—Abble motioned her sword at me—“now get to swinging. I gotta get you better than Anthony, which is easy, but fourteen days is not much time. Will just have to rely on that aggression.”

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It took me more than two hours to do the swings. Abble didn’t seem disappointed or anything, which helped my eagerness. I figured she would be more like the tough love method of positive reinforcement, but she gave me nods of approval the whole time.

Soon after that torturous warm-up, Abble wanted me to learn to dodge. She swung her blade at me slowly, making me repeat the motions to avoid the downward swing. It was a tad concerning to me we were using regular swords for this, but Abble kept a tight, controlled swing that she increased gradually in speed.

An hour or so later, Abble dropped her cutlass to the side with a smile. “That’s not bad for the first day.”

I laughed. “I am glad you are not angry with me.”

Abble shook her head. “Nah, that was better than expected.”

I received a substantial amount of stamina, strength and dexterity EXP. 429 spread out between the three. So Dexterity had something to do with using weapons because this was the first time I had seen it get EXP. There also seemed to be a scaling factor to stat experience. I was definitely getting more for my efforts now. 

You know, Kade, you could like not be an idiot and hover your finger over the stat to see what it does. I had all the time in the world over the past couple of days, and that never accrued to me.

I was slow, but at least I got to the destination at some point.

Abble patted me on the shoulder. “Let’s go rest now, and by rest, I mean beat you at cards for the hundredth time.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re already there, and do I really have a choice?”

She smirked. “Nope, you don’t because I’m the princess.”

I glanced up at Wrecky, steering the boat. “I will meet you in the room in a second”—my gaze returned to Abble—“is that okay with the princess?”

Abble nodded and scanned around at the men swabbing the deck. “Yeah, just be careful.”

Wrecky looked at me as Abble entered the officer quarters, and I climbed up the stairs to the quarterdeck. I stopped next to Wrecky, staring forward at the rather calm sea ahead. Either of us said anything for a few minutes, and I ended up being the first one to speak. 

“How are things with you being a demon?”

Wrecky shrugged. “Fine. Always fucking thirsty, but it’s not horrible.”

“Well, hopefully, it keeps being a nuisance rather than a problem.”

Wrecky nodded, keeping his stare forward. “Did you have something you wanted to talk about? Asking me how I am doing isn’t what you came up here to say.”

“It is none of my business, but I think you and Abble should talk before we get off the boat.”

Wrecky glanced over. “You know, when someone starts with ‘It is none of my business’, they’re usually about to make it their business. Why did she tell you what happened?”

I sighed and leaned on the railing with my forearms, looking down at the lower deck. “Somewhat, and it seems like maybe some misunderstandings may have happened.”

“Kade, do you not like Abble?”

I glanced back at Wrecky. “Of course I like Abble.”

“No, I mean—”

I spun around, sitting on the railing. “Oh, because I’ve been in her room at night.”

Wrecky sighed. “Abble… is friendly, and it can appear”—Wrecky paused—“she can easily give the wrong impression, but you probably already know that if she told you about me. You’re probably not sleeping on the floor.”

I paused. “I’m not.”

Wrecky pressed his lips flat. “I figured that much.”

“I am not standing in your way or anything. If you want to express your feelings to her, by all means, go ahead.”

Wrecky shook his head. “She’s not into me. It’s tricky to read Abble’s sporadic feelings, but I’m pretty sure she likes you. Just let her make the first move, so you’re certain. You don’t want to end up like me.”

I laughed, standing up. “Abble is not into me. Even you said I wasn’t her type. Plus, it’s been a little over three weeks since I met her. Hardly time for something like that to develop.”

“It doesn’t take but a smile to stir feelings. Anyone that claims otherwise has never been with a woman.”

I tittered. “Well, I’ll take your word for it. Abble and I have been both clear on what is going on, and I assure you it’s just friendly.”

Wrecky rolled his eyes. “Sure, Kade.”

“Please think about it. You might not see her again after she steps off this boat.”

Wrecky squeezed the handles of the wheel. “I know.”

I descended the quarter-deck stairs to Anthony, leaning against one of the mast poles, spinning a knife around his wrist. We both made eye contact before I turned for the officer’s quarters. 

There was a little excitement building for our little match. I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I accidentally took a finger or hand off. 

Arriving at Abble’s door, I knocked, and she yelled for me to come in. I entered and closed the door, turning the lock. 

Nobody was going to murder me anymore, but that didn’t mean I trusted the words of a boat filled with pirates. 

Abble was sitting in the centre of her bed, combing her now wet hair. “Hey.”

I came over to the bed and lay down on the maroon sheets. “Washed your hair?”

“No. I have to get it wet to comb, or it just turns into his big puffy mess—or breaks. I blame my father. Mother's hair was very straight.”

I rested my head on my arm. “I like how your hair curls into corkscrews.”

Abble smiled. “Really? I got made fun of as a child for it.”

I smirked. “And I bet you beat them up for it.”

“Nah. I was pretty quiet as a kid”—Abble shrugged—“I didn’t get mouthy until much later.”

“Did you go to school or anything? You speak a little unorthodox sometimes, but it’s mostly well articulated.”

“For a bit. Mother was educated, but not the teaching type with academics.”

“You didn’t stay in school?” 

Abble sighed. “The nobles didn’t want their kids being taught around a pirate daughter.”

I frowned. “They kicked you out?” 

Abble dropped the comb to her side. “Kinda. My mother's temper boiled, and she removed me from school. I learned enough not to sound like an idiot.” 

My eyes glanced down at the comb. “Would you like me to brush your hair?”

Abble squinted her eyes at me. “Why would you do that?”

I hesitated. “My sister would ask me to do it sometimes. It feels good… and I want you to feel good… I guess?”

That over-explanation wasn’t needed.

Abble paused before handing the bush to me. “Okay.” she scooted over and turned her back on me.

I took the wooden comb and ran it through her hair gently. After a few seconds, she moaned and leaned her head back a few inches.

“Did your mother never comb your hair?”

“Yeah, she did, but it wasn’t gentle like you. You’re fantastic at this. Such an odd thing to be talented at.”

I laughed. “I’m rank hundred hair combing.”

“I can tell.”

This continued for a few minutes before she fell back into me, and I stopped combing. “I can’t comb like this.”

“That’s okay. You can just put your arms around me.”

I encircled my arms around her in obedience to what wasn't really a suggestion, but an order. We just sat there for a while, not saying anything.

This cuddling thing wasn’t terrible, even if sometimes the lub-dub of her heartbeat became painfully loud to me. I was learning to tune it out gradually. Hopefully, soon I will be able to fully enjoy a moment like this without thinking about her blood and the whooshing sound of each pulse.

Abble ran her nails down my forearm, which sent shivers down my spine. “I hope you know you’re going to be doing that a lot now.”

I tittered. “You cut my nails, I’ll comb your hair. Fairtrade.”

“Deal.” Abble sat back up and turned around with a smile. “Time for cards!”

 

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