Chapter 48: Chapter 48

CHAOS

"Grand." Armin went to Mory Gand's table in the canteen. He was a young sailor, with a short brown beard and a pointed chin. His eyes always looked mocking. If he weren't such an ass, thought Armin, you'd even come across as sympathetic.

Mory sat with some friends. He looked up. "Campbell. What do you want?"

Armin grabbed Mory by the collar in no time at all, threw him to the ground and bent over him. He was seething with anger and also with guilt.

Mory's friends jumped up to help their comrades, but Armin was determined to take some of his anger out on the pig who had abused his little brother.

And because he knew very well that Armin alone could hardly do enough against four men, he aimed at the most painful areas. On Mory's nose, eye, temple and when the others pulled him off Mory he kicked him in the ribs as well. Mory writhed with a groan.

Armin was shocked at how much he liked the sight of the squirming bastard. Without any pity he stared at the panting figure. Only now did he realize that neither Mory himself nor one of his friends had granted himself.

Captain Durham's voice thundered: "Campbell! What's wrong with you!? Explain yourself!"

Armin slapped himself mentally. Had he just decided to become as good as invisible. "That son of a bitch abused my little brother, sir."

Even though he knew it wouldn't do any good, he'd said it. It didn't matter whether on land or on the ship; Boys have had a difficult life. If they were really unlucky and caught a shitty employer or supervisor like Grand, nobody helped either. Because most people agreed; Boys need spankings to be good men.

Both Armin and his father Arin hated this saying. That's why he didn't care what happened to Jacob. That's exactly why he wanted Grand to fucking suffer. If only for the fact that Mory had made the little one dependent on God knows what. Armin didn't even want to think about withdrawal...

Durham shrugged impassively and widened his eyes. "And further!?"

"He made him dependent on something. I don't even know what, but you can see it on Jacob."

Armin's voice was little more than a growl.

Mory smiled thinly. “The little git got everything and took it himself. Why do you think I hit him like that?"

Durham raised an eyebrow significantly and waited for Armin's explanation. And while he didn't really know which of the two to jump for the throat first, he noticed that the sea probably didn't mean well with him. So far every trip has been a disaster.

"Campbell," the captain sighed. "Want to go back to that cell for a fight?"

"I want Grand to stay away from my brother." Or get whipped!, he thought more and more upset. Why not? If you have to be used for something as stupid as mast ropes, why not for that too!?

Durham started to say something, but that disgusting figure on the floor raised a hand. "Agreed."

Armin wanted so much to spit on him. Of course, now you probably don't enjoy him as much, do you? Jacob was only ten years old. Armin's blood boiled over, shook off the four men holding him and stomped towards the door.

Ari stood in it and glared at Mory. As Armin passed him, he grabbed his arm and pulled him with him.

"Where is his cabin?"

"From Grand?"

"By who else?"

Without hesitation, the younger one took the lead and brought him to a room with two hammocks. It smelled like rotten eggs and there was strange smoke in the air.

But Armin couldn't be stopped, he searched like crazy. Lifted smelly shirts and pants, pushed aside blankets and candles, rummaged in bags and chests. Opened every can, no matter how small... Nothing.

Ari reappeared next to him, bagless as well. "We should go, Armin. If Grand catches you here, you're still in the cell. Unless something worse happens."

Armin laughed hard. "Sure, you can do it with me."

"Come Armin, please! What else will happen to Isabella?"

He had to smile. "My senorita is killing them all, Ari..." anyway, he followed Ari outside and to his own cabin.

When he entered, Jacob was lying on the bed shaking and crying. He looked over at them as if he were a wild animal and wanted to maul Armin. "What the hell have you done!?"

"Jacob..." Isabella murmured softly, sitting on the floor next to the bed.

But the boy didn't hear her at all. He got up shakily and staggered towards Armin. "Jac, it was bound to happen. It'll get better, believe me."

Jac bared his teeth. "What do you want to know, huh? I have pain Armin! I need this!"

"You're in pain because of this stuff. It'll stop if you hold on." If we hold on. How could they possibly do that? Either way, Armin wasn't going to let Jac down.

Jac stared at Ari. "It's your fault if I die! When I die of my pain!"

Ari's cheeks flushed with anger. "If I'm to blame for anything, it's only that you'll be alive when we get back to England!"

Jacob wanted to throw himself at his grand cousin of the same age when Armin caught him. "Eat something, Jac. Maybe it'll get better."

But at new accusations, the boy raised his eyes. Armin wanted to die. His mother's blue eyes filled with tears, his blond short hair clung to his temples with sweat. “You're my brother, Armin... Why are you doing this to me? You want to protect me, don't you? Then why are you hurting me so much?"

Tears ran down the ten-year-old's cheeks, and a tremor shook his shoulders.

Armin didn't know what to say...

Jacob grabbed Armin's shoulders. "Please Armin! please let me go Just one more time and I'll be fine!"

When was the last time Armin felt so helpless? that guilty? That useless? He just stood there holding his little brother crying and had to ignore his begging. How should he take this pain away from him? What did he know about it? Could he die from it?

It wasn't every day someone was addicted to anything other than alcohol. But was that the same as here?

Where no one knew exactly what Jacob was longing for?

Jacob suddenly stopped crying and looked at Armin hatefully. "You're just like Ari! You want to punish me for having the idea to come here! You don't want to help me!"

Suddenly Isabella was on her feet, with a wary look on her face. Then Jac started thrashing again.

He kept screaming how much he hated and loathed them all. Firmly convinced that this only consists of punishment. He wanted to tear his clothes.

And what did Armin think of? The only thing he was capable of? He watched Isabella cross Jacob's arms and hug him close, grumbling softly at him...

TAME STORM

The light breeze on the deck was still quite warm and pleasant for the late evening. And the sky was so clear that the moon lit up the night. The only dark expression was Armin's as he leaned on the railing and stared at the horizon.

Jacob had screamed himself hoarse and beat himself up tired. He lay on his bed of straw and threatened to get a fever. When I was sure the ten-year-old was asleep, I locked the door behind me and let Ari stand guard in front of it.

Armin was so far away with his thoughts that he twitched slightly when I touched his shoulder. But he didn't need to look at me, he knew it was me.

"It's not your fault, Armin." I breathed softly. Whereupon he lowered his head and looked at the gentle waves. "How were you supposed to know that?"

Not otherwise moving, he slipped an arm around my waist. "Why do you know what you have to do, senorita? With Jacob? While I stand there like a sheep, you just do what needs to be done. How do you know that?"

I shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know anything, Armin. I just do what I think. And I think Jac is going through a lot right now and is a very young guy. And the first thing that comes to mind is to protect him. If that means I have to hold his arms so he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else, then I will." I sighed at the memory. Will I ever be able to forget those anguished children's eyes?

Armin still didn't raise his head. "I'm just going stiff... My limbs, my mind... everything's faltering. If you weren't here..." he trailed off.

He didn't need to speak any further. I understood what he wanted to tell me. That was enough. I rested my head on his shoulder, exhausted. "He'll survive, Armin. And he's been through a lot more than you. So be strong for him."

A deep growl came from his chest. "You mean I shouldn't hide here? Do you want to say that?"

Not directly... “You should just be there, Armin. And if you let him scold you, if you let him hit you... He doesn't know what to do with himself."

He sucked in the air through his nose. “Tell me what to do, Isabella. Then nothing will stop me."

"Find out what Mory gave him."

Armin looked at me. The hatred that this name aroused in him darkened his already dark brown eyes to black.

"Find out what it was, then maybe we can help him better. Otherwise we're poking around in the dark. And don't do it like a sailor would, with fists. But like a knight of your rank."

A corner of his mouth twitched up, making him fearsome. "With my sword?"

"With your dignity, Armin. You're way ahead of him, so don't stoop to his level."

His head snapped towards me and kissed me hard. Then he turned and walked away with his back straight.

Ari sat in front of the door, as agreed, with her head back and staring at the sky. When he saw me coming, smiled timidly. "How is Armin?"

I thought of that dangerous smile and shrugged; lips pursed. "Maybe we'll find out soon enough. And how are you, Ari?"

"To be honest, I'm relieved. Now I don't have to worry about finding him dead one morning..."

I stroked his black hair and smiled. "It was very brave of you to break your promise."

"No, Isabella." He smiled sadly. "It was necessary. Because he's my best friend. And I don't care what else he throws at me, how many times he slaps my lips... After that, he'll be my friend again." Smiling like a rogue, he looked up at me and winked charmingly. "And then he owes me."

With Akay, Armin strolled across the deck of the Elizabeth, seemingly relaxed. He needed an idea. Inwardly, he had gotten his storm under control enough that he couldn't just lose his head again.

Not even when Arthur appeared next to him and just walked beside him. He wanted to shoo him away, but he just walked his rounds without a word. Arthur next to him.

"Armin." He murmured softly at some point when the morning was already beginning. "What are we going to do about Grand?"

"Leave it, Arthur. I don't need you for anything."

Arthur stopped abruptly and grabbed Armin's upper arm. Akay was immediately there with his lips raised and without a sound between them. "I want that pig just like you, dammit!"

"Oh yes? Why would you have anything against him? Since you're so similar?" Armin growled, still seemingly calm.

Arthur seemed genuinely offended. “I have never abused a child and never will. Just because I can't stand you doesn't make me a bad person."

"But not very trustworthy either."

Arthur shifted his feet impatiently. "Listen man, I know your siblings pretty damn well, right? Who saved Jacob from feeling the wrath of the priest when he tried to imitate our prank?"

"Don't count your good deeds for me, yeah? Save that for Petrus." Armin freed his arm calmly and was about to walk on when Arthur grabbed him again and threw him against the wall. He wanted to defend himself with every fiber of his body. But he remained calm. "Let me help you ! They're keeping an eye on them, not me. So you need me."

Armin gritted his teeth. "Do you know when I needed you? When Syman moved out. Or when my father almost didn't survive the plague. Or when those guys got their hands on me at your inn."

Arthur actually took a step back.

"And you've always let me down. Always Arthur. But this time it's not about me, it's about my family. I'm not going to let anything go wrong with this."

Arthur stepped aside, visibly concerned. So Armin could evaporate before he could have even a spark of sympathy for him. But before he was too far away, Arthur grumbled after him: "I'm sorry, Armin..."

Armin came back tired as a dog and brought bread and water with him. All night Jacob slept delirious. He spoke in his sleep, revealing much of his time with Grand. But I would be careful and tell Armin about it. Someday maybe, but not now.

He sat next to me for a while, staring at the edges of the bread.

Then he told me what had happened tonight and that he didn't know how to find the smoke poison. Then Jacob opened his eyes and stared back and forth between us.

"Are you thirsty?" Armin forestalled me. Expertly, he lifted his sweating head a little and helped Jac with the mug. "Do you remember the name of that stuff you want to penetrate like that?"

"No..." Jac grumbled, offended. "But even if you did, you wouldn't give it to me, am I right?"

Undeterred, Armin continued. "How did you take it? Was it fumes? Anything to eat?"

"It was a brew... Very intense, like strong tea made by an herbal witch."

We exchanged a look before Armin took the boy's thin wrist in his hand. "Tell me honestly, Jacob. Have you seen where Grand keeps that stuff?"

"No."

"You're not supposed to lie to me, boy. It doesn't help now."

But Jacob gritted his teeth. "No."

Armin nodded, visibly exhausted. "Are you hungry?"

Jacob nodded and looked up at me pleadingly. “Tell him not to do anything to Grand, Isabella. If he talks to him, I'll never get anything again."

On the other straw bed, Ari growled in annoyance. "Can't you see that you're not doing well?"

"What do you know, traitor?"

Ari dropped back onto his bed. "I know I'll get back at you slowly when you're feeling better..."

Suddenly Armin jumped up and stomped towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm looking for Arthur..."

ALLIES

Arthur stood in front of his assigned mast, tying ropes. Armin ignored this irony and stepped next to him.

It took a lot of effort for him to open his mouth. "Do you have a plan?"

Arthur tried not to look surprised and kept knotting. "First of all, we can't look like friends now."

"It won't be that difficult."

"Secondly, I have to make friends with Grand so that I can get into his circle of friends and branch off stuff like that." Armin didn't see any major problems there either, but he wanted to maintain dignity...

"Third, we take this to Durham and bust Mory. We can seek advice on whether the stuff is permanently addictive. And the matter is settled."

Armin nodded seriously. “Fourth, you get what you hope for. I assume."

Arthur sighed in exasperation. "I have a problem with you, not with Jac. So I'm just hoping the boy will be back."

Armin left it at that and steamed away. He still had work to do before they came back to England. His whole plan had gone haywire. From the beginning. And he wondered if this whole trip had made any sense at all. Because all he got was one more enemy, one bruised brother, one untrustworthy ally, and a pile of wool with no buyers, and that before summer when prices wouldn't be so high...

And in addition to that; a seething black knight in the harbor.

So a great success...

So that's how time went. Arthur befriended Mory, who was very cautious. After the whole incident with Jac, he didn't dare come out with his stash right away.

Jacob actually seemed to be cured enough to be able to socialize again. However, Armin didn't trust the boy yet. Two weeks wasn't long enough for that.

During these two weeks, Isabella got a book with herbs for a brew in a port near France. And worried meant stolen. Meanwhile, Armin stole the owner's bag of coins from the shop.

Since then, Isabella has been studying herbs and their effects to find out how long Jacob could not be trusted and how far it would actually be an addiction. But without the Actual Herb, she could only guess.

The front between Armin and Arthur remained icy. Neither one nor the other dared to cross paths and limited their conversations to the most necessary. Besides, Armin was convinced that Arthur was hoping for more than he was letting on.

The Elizabeth now stopped in the port near Dublin. Jacob and Ari holed up somewhere in town with Akay. Armin and Isabella went about their actual mission.

Armin was dying to finally have a basis for existence. He had so much responsibility at home that he couldn't come back empty-handed.

Spring was in full swing in Ireland. The townspeople had decorated everything imaginable with flowers, Armin had even discovered a poor dog wearing a garland of flowers around its neck.

And although everything looked so peaceful, it was still a port city. The breeding ground for every crime.

And this is what the two were looking for.

They entered an inn that, thank God, didn't have a single flower. But the men were fierce and mysterious.

Involuntarily, Armin made sure that not one of them would get too close to his Spaniard.

Together they sat down at the bar. Armin ordered a beer from the barman with an eye patch and let his eyes wander unobtrusively through the room.

"They're watching us." Isabella grumbled into her wine goblet.

Armin took a sip, it tasted disgusting...

The barman laughed out loud. "Nothing for you, milk boy?"

Armin grinned. "Milk is more palatable than that stuff."

A white-bearded guy with a conspicuous Irish accent gave Armin a light nudge on the shoulder. "What do you have there? Where is she from?"

Isabella's expression remained friendly and distant. Neither she nor Armin gave an answer.

"Hmm, lazy mouth hey? Well, women aren't there to talk." The bony elbow nudged Armin's arm. "Am I right, boy?"

Armin grinned. "A man with a clue."

The old man's chest swelled. "I mean that, boy! If you only knew what beauties come by here. To this day, everyone who comes around is mine."

Somewhere in the back a young fellow laughed mockingly.

The old man turned around abruptly. "What's there to laugh about, hey!?"

"Every you say? You can hardly know if you haven't missed a lady at the port. Nobody can know everything that happens in the harbor." Armin glared at the old man defiantly.

He exchanged a look with the barman. "Of course it's possible, my friend."

Armin smiled conspicuously sneakily. "Give me a name that can."

The barman grinned dirty. "Farell."

The old man sat down again in the chair next to Armin. "Farelle. A genius who knows everything that happens in Dublin's harbour."

"And where would he be found?"

The old man shrugged his shoulders regretfully. "I'm sorry, nobody ever knows. Not even his closest ally. No one can ever pee on his leg like that."

"And how else do you find him?"

The barman grinned. “Most of the time you can ask the nuns. They know him very well."

Isabella blushed with anger. As a Spaniard, she was enormously God-fearing and probably couldn't stand such disrespectful insinuations.

Armin nodded, took her hand and left some coins behind. "Then, gentleman."

"Good luck lad, maybe you'll find him before you leave again!" the old man looked at Isabella again. "Maybe we'll see each other again?"

But Armin already let the door close behind him.

Isabella eyed a blue flower hanging among others on the outbuilding. "And now? To the church? As thieves?"

Isabella's long brown hair shone in the warm sun and between the flowers she shone like an elf or fairy with her green eyes. She looked so beautiful that Armin noticed how long he hadn't enjoyed his wife. Of course they slept together every night, but not in the way Armin was thinking of.

"If we don't go up in flames there as thieves, then I'll have to speak to a nun."

He took the flower that Isabella had liked and pushed it into her hair. "You look like you did when I first saw you."

She grinned and looked down shyly. "Stop it..."

"Really, senorita." He kissed the back of her hand like the gentleman he was. When he wasn't playing pirates. "In England you get the life you deserve."

Her cheeks actually turned a little pink. "Let's find a church, Captain."

33

SISTER RUTH

It smelled so good, how could you resist? Especially when you were already as hungry as he was?

He reached out his small hand for the small piece of pie that the cook had put down on the stack of wood in her haste. Wasn't anyone here...

At least that's what he thought and was immediately taught a lesson when Sister Ruth's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"I caught you!"

The little orphan looked up at her without any remorse. "Hello, Sister Ruth."

"Don't pretend this is a normal encounter! I caught you stealing, Leonard. That's what you're going to stand for."

Leonard didn't care, he would try again anytime. So he continued to look unmoved at the young sister. Sister Ruth clicked her tongue in disapproval. "What would the gentleman say if he were here?"

Leonard shrugged innocently. "I have no idea, sister. He's never shown his face until now!"

The sister's face turned a little red. Whether out of anger or shame because this childlike logic disarmed her, the boy didn't know.

"Well... wait a minute, I'll stretch out your ears, you godless brat! Always the same, every morning and always you!"

"I thought you liked consistency, Sister Ruth!"

With an ominous expression, she bent down menacingly towards little Leonard. Then, quite unusually, a man came up to them.

"Sister Ruth?" he asked in a deep voice that impressed the little boy mightily. Or was it his tall stature? His stern gaze with the friendly eyes? Or the red sword on his hip?

But the nun had no eyes for the imposing knight beside her. She stared at Leonard, fully on her mission.

"Not now, I have something to do here!"

The knight's eyes met the boy. "What have you done?"

"Nothing."

Ruth tugged at his arm roughly. "You wanted to steal!"

The knight eyed the skinny little frame. "Eat?" Leonard nodded. "Don't do that anymore, okay? You can be hanged for that."

"Yes, sir."

The man looked at the nun with a charming grin. "Done." Ruth now looked at the big man as if she wanted to hit him. "Listen to me, sister."

“Men have no business here! That's where the gate is, it's best to get out of it again."

"So Farell isn't a man?"

The young sister blushed uncharacteristically. But before she could reply, Leonard remembered. "Farelle! The gentleman who always brings us food and shoes! You remember, don't you sister? Recently he took a ball with him. We shot your window. Do you still know? huh?"

As the boy spoke, the nun boiled up with every word. The strange man was obviously grinning maliciously. "You didn't want to lie, did you sister? You know that it is punished as well as stealing?"

The nun looked dangerous. "What do you think of!?"

"Farell sleeps there often."

"So?" The guy looked more and more satisfied with himself. "Does anyone know where he is at the moment?"

Leonard looked up at Ruth. She refused to look the knight in the eye. "He's gone and that's that..."

"I wish it would be like this. But I have some things I'd like to sell to him."

The nun crossed herself. "Where do all these criminals come from, sir?"

"By the devil, sister!" Leonard quirked his chin with obvious pride.

Then the man in front of him suddenly crouched down. "Come on boy. What did he say where he's going?"

"Farell never says things like that. I have no idea where he is."

"Does he sometimes smell of the salty sea or fish? Or more like mead and food?"

"No, he often smells pathetically of horses."

The knight grinned. "Do you know where the next farm with horses is?"

"That's enough!" snapped the nun, but the two ignored her.

"Outside the port city, sir."

The friendly smile with a dimple made the man even more likeable to the nun. "Many Thanks. What is your name?"

"Leonard."

The knight fetched a pouch and put it in Leonard's hand. "Promise me on your holy heart that you'll share this with the others."

"What are you allowing yourself?"

"Promised."

He raised his long index finger. "Breaking a promise is not a man of honor, you know? That's terribly pathetic."

Leonard nodded and when the knight winked after examining the nun's arm, the brat broke free and bolted away.

"You might have nerves!"

Armin smiled slightly arrogantly. "Try to talk. Even if you beat her up a thousand times and it doesn't do any good, it doesn't do anything for a thousand and one times either."

"Out! I never want to see you here again!"

Armin bowed mockingly and walked away whistling.

Isabella sat in front of the gate in a bare meadow with a little girl in rags on her lap and chatted with boys around her. She too had distributed her provisions to the children.

One of the teenagers just bit into the apple he was given and passed it to a smaller boy. "You don't look like an English woman."

"I'm from Spain." She too had seen what he did with the apple.

"Then why do you speak English so well?"

"I learned it. And you?"

The little girl wriggled on her lap. "Farell and many new sisters from the docks are teaching us."

When Armin came closer, the smaller, frightened, ran back behind the gate. The adolescent was almost overpowered. When he wanted to follow them, he stopped in front of Armin. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Was that your brother?"

The youth shrugged his shoulders stubbornly. "We're all kind of siblings. We only have ourselves."

Armin nodded and silently thanked God that he had parents and a home.

The boy took the girl by the hand and disappeared with her behind the gates of the monastery.

Armin held out his hand and helped me up. "It's terrible, Armin. Even though I wasn't inside, I still saw enough..."

He just nodded, so concerned. "At least I know where to look. But we should hurry before the ship leaves."

"We need a horse?"

"I figured I'd borrow it from here and bring it back on the way back. But Sister Ruth would make sure I got a stubborn or lame beast..."

What... What on earth was I thinking, sending the red knight to a monastery? Did I need to know why this Sister Ruth despised him?

"So? What should we do?"

Armin thought for a moment and crept back to the gate. He whistled loudly once and motioned to a skinny little blond boy with a gap in his teeth.

Armin said a few words to him and immediately the boy nodded eagerly, hurried away and came back with a young bay stallion.

Armin handed him a coin, got on with me and drove the horse. "Where are we going?"

"Get out of town, senorita. I have a feeling Farell can have no choice but to take my deal..."