Chapter 50: Chapter 50

THE SMALL AND THE BIG

Arthur ran toward the small lifeboats, but before he could reach them, Armin grabbed his shoulder and jerked him around.

It was Arthur who struck first. Armin deftly dodged, kicked his legs away and grabbed his collar to keep him on the ground. Of course, Moor still wanted to flee, so it turned into a real brawl.

When I got there, Armin was already bleeding, as was Arthur. And it was impossible to tell which of the two won the upper hand.

Durham had tied Moor's hands with a rope and taken him outside with him. He yelled at some men to come and help immediately.

But I was only marginally aware of that. Because I followed Armin immediately.

With an angry growl, Armin grabbed Arthur by the collar, threw him against the wall and stepped in front of him.

"Why are you doing that?" Armin hissed. "Why man? You knew you couldn't get away with it."

Arthur looked Armin in the eye with undisguised hatred. “I thought Durham would think you stole the necklace. But it never occurred to him. Because this is about a Campbell, huh!?"

Arthur hit Armin on the temple so that he actually staggered for a moment and couldn't block the blow to the stomach.

"You're an idiot." Armin growled, bent over. "If you hadn't run, it might have worked."

Arthur grabbed Armin by the shoulders and threw him to the ground with great force, kneeling on his chest and punching him.

Until Armin grabbed his hands and tried to defend himself. Arthur grinned smugly. "Well little one? Can't you defend yourself again?" Arthur laughed, slapped Armin in the face with the palm of his hand and grabbed his jaw. "It's the same thing, huh? Once again you're lying under me and can only beg. But you're too proud for that ?"

I saw Armin's jaw twitch.

“Of course you are. Just like always. And it brings you the same as always."

He swung back and punched my husband and grinned.

He just grinned.

Suddenly he stopped in shock, then Armin pushed him away and grabbed his throat.

He pinned it to the rail and raised his fist. But she didn't smash into Moor's face. He looked at Armin hatefully.

"Go ahead, baby."

Armin shook his head. "We were best friends. How so? What have I done to you, man?"

Arthur smiled ghostly. "Oh, little one. What once was is over. Don't you understand? It's your own fault I hate you. You alone."

The men from Durham came and wanted to help Armin, but Akay suddenly stood in the way...

"What have I ever done to you!? Whose mother nursed you back to health? Whose father protected you from the men in your tavern? And me? Haven't I always stood by you!? No matter what kind of shoot you did!?"

Arthur bared a row of Bloody Teeth. "I was the only one who didn't beat you up all the time. Of course you stood by me."

"You know it's not true." I could see how much it hurt Armin to hear that.

Arthur shook his head. "You've always been such a wimp." A tear ran down Arthur's face. "Because you've always had the damn luck on your side. There's only one way to be like you. But unlike you, I had to do everything myself fight."

"In my family. Syman made you what you are today."

Sir Moor nodded. "And now you want my gratitude, yes? Don't you have enough recognition already? As a Campbell's son? A black knight?"

Shaken, Armin dropped his hand and stood up. Arthur sat on the floor in front of him and raised both hands.

"You didn't get it, little one. Never."

"What?"

“The stories that life lets us write. I'm destined for the gutter that my father walked. And you for the ones your father left. Without being able to do anything about it."

Durham's men joined them and grabbed Arthur by the arms and pulled him to his feet.

Armin looked at his former friend. "You are wrong."

Arthur looked into Armin's eyes, grinned and remained silent.

The men, on Durham's orders, dragged Arthur and Grand to a lifeboat, threw them both into their own and lowered them overboard using a pulley at the ship's bow.

Grand sat in his boot and grumpily stared at his feet. Arthur stood up, looked at the sun and sighed. Then he turned to Armin and a wistful smile stole onto his face. The boat slowly glided down, but it seemed like an eternity to Armin.

In this almost harmless smile he recognized his best friend. With whom he had played so many pranks. Caused tons of trouble and suffered so much with old Moor paying attention to his son again.

Armin recognized in Arthur's look that he was also thinking about that time. The older one shrugged his shoulders in surrender.

"In another life we could have stayed friends."

Armin nodded slowly. "I thought we were already in this life."

Arthur grinned warmly. "You've always been the better of us..."

Armin just didn't understand himself. He had hated Arthur for so long that just hearing his name made him bitter. And now? Now he felt like crying. Like the brat he once was. And who just didn't understand why his friend hated him from one day to the next...

Before Arthur's head disappeared behind the railing, he nodded at Armin with his head held high. "Campbell."

His voice was hotter. "Moor."

Arthur's gaze slid to Isabella. "Senorita."

Then they heard the ropes creak and the boats hit the water.

Without looking, like the other men, to see if anyone had been thrown overboard, Armin turned away and stalked off...

Jac and Ari slipped quietly into the cafeteria. If you caught them so late, there would be thunderstorms.

Then they discovered Armin at one of the tables. He was hunched over, drinking beer and staring at his hands.

Akay sat next to him and laid his head on the bench.

Isabella stayed in the cabin, she said Armin would like to be alone and the boys should leave him alone. But Jacob felt as if he owed Armin his support more than ever.

He quietly slipped onto a bench in front of his brother and stared at the same spot on the table as Armin. He growled softly. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

The boys heard from his voice how many beers he had already drunk. Jac answer for both. "Wouldn't it be better if you stopped drinking?"

Armin glared back and forth between the two. "Would you like me to hit you?"

"Come on Armin, that's not your style. I'll help you into the cabin, huh?"

Armin stood up angrily. "What are you imagining, hey!? Do you think I need someone to tell me what to do and what not to do!?"

Jacob shook his head and wanted to say something when Armin grabbed his collar and pulled him dangerously closer.

Then he raised his hand to hit him.

But Jacob wasn't afraid. Armin had never harmed him a hair. And the louder Armin barked, the less dangerous he was.

"Do you seriously think I'll listen to your accusations?"

"No."

"No!" Slowly the big brother's hand dropped. Then he pushed the younger one away. "Leave me alone, Jaci."

But Jacob stayed where he was. Armin looked at the boy for a moment, fell back on the bench and rubbed your forehead.

"I heard what Arthur said..."

The older one sighed, a little more tense again. So Jac shut up and slid onto Armin Bank. "Can I stay up with you?"

Armin eyed him first, then Ari. He was also sitting on a bench ready to watch. "As you wish..."

In fact, the boys stayed up for another half hour. Then fatigue got the better of them and they fell asleep with their heads in their arms.

After a while, Isabella came to him.

She did not say anything. Slowly she began to take away the empty jars. And Armin had the feeling that the beer was getting thinner and thinner since she was scurrying around here.

In small portions she held out a piece of bread for him to eat. And before the night was over, his condition was no longer too confused.

Still silent, she pushed Akay's head away and sat down next to Armin. It was he who broke the silence. "Did you send me the guards?"

She shook her head. "I thought you'd have a reason for coming here alone."

"Good of you... I was embarrassed enough that you heard and saw all that."

She laid her head gently on his upper arm. "It doesn't have to be. You were kids then."

But Armin thought of the slap and those humble memories. "The sea is hostile to me, senorita."

"Hm?"

"Whenever I meet her, she has to hit me with a humiliation..."

Isabella kissed his jaw tenderly. "But things always worked out for the better in the end, didn't they?"

Yes, yes... he had to admit that. His Isabella had become sacred to him.

"There you are." She breathed. "You'll see, Armin. There's something good about this trip too. Maybe it's really modest right now, but everything will be fine..."

He closed his eyes and hoped that his wife would always fall from heaven when hope should fail him again...

ENGLAND

The rest of the trip was quiet and unspectacular. It stayed calm and normal. So normal that Armin was almost skeptical.

But he was able to rearrange his castle numbers, using his new profits to lay a foundation for his plans. And it took his mind off the unwelcome pity and sort of disappointment for Arthur.

Isabella was always the first he told about his plans, and she was the only one whose advice she took.

He almost felt like crying the day England appeared on the horizon. And he was happy to see his father again. Who would easily help him over the loss of his former best friend with a straight and dry announcement.

Isabella nestled against his arm. "I'm so glad we're not sailing to Scotland after all."

Armin nodded. "To be honest, me too."

"Jacob and Ari are sweating like criminals before their trial."

Armin couldn't quite suppress a gleeful laugh. "Very good comparison."

In fact, he didn't want to swap places with any of the guys. But it was their own fault.

And although he kept trying to remind himself of that, and although it galled him that Isabella had been right, he actually felt sorry for the two bullies.

She was right when she said at the beginning of her trip that Armin would have compassion. And his heart would break if Arin and Syman took their sons to heart.

He had protested. But now it had come to this. So much so that he was racking his brains about how to get Jac and Ari out of it...

The London port city still stank. But damn, that was home!

He had his goods brought to his castle and then they jumped on an old cart with grain and were driven to the first crossroads. From there, they kept walking until they met the next ride.

They had to spend a night outdoors, but the next noon, after tramping through a forest, Armin recognized his home.

The hut his father had built, from which smoke combs happily rose, the barn and the clothesline. The dense forest behind. The green hill leading to the village... And his mother.

She was sitting in front of the hut on the old tree trunk, which they usually used to chop wood. But Elain often sat on it too. If it was nice, she sewed there, prepared the food or rocked the children to their naps.

Arin often sat next to her and talked to her about anything that came to mind. Sometimes it was about the children, sometimes it was about the smithy, sometimes it was about the simple little things in life...

The children had always deliberately left their parents undisturbed when they were both sitting there. It wasn't a rule, but Syman had done it that way and Armin kept it that way.

Now his mother was sitting there again. Her long blonde hair held back from her face with a thin leather strap, her practiced fingers sewing a shirt...

Armin had arrived. Finally arrived again.

He exchanged a look with Isabella, who soaked everything up like a sponge.

Then he turned to the boys. Ari looked at the small fork in the road that led to Syman's house. He looked up at Armin a little pale. "I send my regards to him..."

They nodded to each other, then the boy hurriedly disappeared.

When Armin stepped into the bright clearing, Elain lifted her head. Grinning, she got up and walked towards him.

Armin was aware that he was grinning like an idiot. But with his own mother, even a man was allowed to become a child again.

Elain stroked Armin's black hair and put her arms around him. She closed her eyes blissfully and pressed her cheek against his. She opened her eyes a little and looked at Jacob. He looked at her with trembling fingers and wet eyes. Armin kissed her forehead and smiled happily.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

"Of course." She had to look up at him, as tall as he was. Then she hugged me. "And you, Isabella?"

It was overwhelming how good that motherly hug felt. I only knew my father. And Elain's warm and so loving nature made it easy for me to imagine how I would want a mother to be.

I had to swallow hard before I could answer. "I'm glad to be back in England."

Elain placed a warm hand on my cheek. "We're glad you're finally back. I was worried about how you'd feel at sea."

I swallowed hard again. She thought of me. Despite my best efforts not to show her, Elain seemed to have noticed something. This woman possessed the ability to see things in people that she tried so hard to hide.

She winked charmingly. "Off to the house, you'll give us something to eat soon. And now about you..." She turned to Jacob. He looked up at her almost beseechingly. Trembling and struggling to be brave. Elain's suddenly stern face startled me. But she grabbed her son's shoulders and pulled him to her "What were you thinking, my child?"

Jacob clutched herself, sobbing uncontrollably, and buried his face in her shoulder.

She grumbled softly and scratched the back of his head. "It's fine, I'm here..."

But Jacob was not sufficiently comforted. "I was so afraid you were evil... that you wouldn't greet me..."

Elain softly clicked his tongue. "Shouldn't you know me better?"

Armin briefly put his hand on his mother's upper arm, then he led me into the hut. It was flooded with light, it smelled like fresh food and there was enough space for the whole family.

There was a door that led to another room. From there, one came to the children's room and the parents' room.

Right next to this door was the kitchen. Fresh bread lay sliced in a basket, herbs hung next to the window to dry... It was a completely different world than the one I was used to. But it was a beautiful world.

A world in which a child could grow up without worries.

When Armin came in with me, he inhaled the smell deeply and bit his lip. "Steak... the right day to come home..."

"Armin!" Little Elizabeth came towards us from the door next to the kitchen, threw herself into Armin's arms and laughed merrily.

He picked her up and playfully pulled her blond braids. "Well, are you all right?"

"Father and Syman are fighting, but otherwise everything is fine." She grinned a genuine Campbell smile with the typical dimples.

Armin exchanged a confused look with me. "What do you mean they're having a fight?"

Elly shrugged. "You know I'm not told stuff like that. But the argument must have been bad. Because Syman was only here with Father for a day after they were at the docks for Jacob and Ari. After that he rode straight to your castle. Nothing has been heard from him since..."

Armin was speechless.

"Now isn't anyone there when Ari goes home?" It was the first thing that came to mind.

Elly shook her head after Armin put her down again. "They're all with you." She scratched her little nose. "Where's Jaci? Is he alright?"

Armin shook his head. "Don't go until Mom comes back."

"It's good." She smiled up at me. "Nice that you're here too. May I braid your hair? Ma he showed me."

Armin gently pulled her braid again. "First we'll eat." Elly smiled lovingly at Armin. "I'm serious. We're hungry, Elly."

"I'm so glad you're back."

Elly adored Armin the way I probably would if I had had an older brother.

I was almost overwhelmed by my sudden envy. When they visited us at the castle, I didn't feel that way.

Was it envy? Or what else?

Suddenly Elly clung to her legs. “You look like a pirate, Isabella. Very beautiful!"

Armin smiled and gently kissed my cheek. "Make yourself at home, senorita."