Chapter Twenty-One

"Better lock it in your pocket, talking this one to the grave."

I woke up the next morning, with Sebastian's arms round my waist. I realized that he had stayed in my cabin, and in the bed with me. I moved his hands, wiggling my body away from his. I stood up scrambling through my chest to find one of the dresses my mother had packed. I sliped it over my slip and tightend the corset that run up the front of it. I grabbed my hair pinching it up into a bun on the side of my head, "Why did I let him stay?" In my head all I could see was Calston's eyes as he raied a fist or a hand at me over and over again. I cringed at the thought. I watched Sebastian's body move, and I hurried myself out of the room. Lucas was either not up, or was on the deck. I made my way to the nearest chair, where the crewman had prepared a small breakfast.

I took a cup of tea and brought it my mouth, inhaling the smell of the sweet flower on the bottom of the pot. When i opened my eyes, Sebastian stood in front of the table. "Where did you hurry off to?"

"I was hungry, and it smelt amaizng out here." I held up the cup toward him, and he nodded.

"If that's the reason you would like to go with, I will take it. So today, how would you like to learn some skills you need." He smiled at me, and took an apple from the table, biting into it loudly.

"Right now?" I looked over ther brim of my cup at him.

"Yes. Becuase we still have a long journey home, and I would like to begin before we touch down on London soil." I took one more long sip before standing up.

"Alright, let's begin then."

"Not in that." He laughed, pointing at my gown.

"Why not?" I was taken aback at the way he was looking at me.

"Hold on." He disappeared into his room, returning with some clothes, "Go put these on, I had them specially made for you."

I walked into my room, and laid the outfit out. They were a pair of britches that came to mid calf, a pair of black leather boots, similar to those Sebastian wore, a white shirt similar to his, and a vest that went and tightened over the shirt. I looked at it all, before undressing myself, sliding all of these one. I looked down at my apperance and could feel my mother's reaction thousand of miles away.

I entered back into the main room, and Sebastian stood holding both my sword an dhis in his hands. I looked at him, and reached for mine. "Not yet." I looked at him with wide eyes, 'First you need to learn stance, and balance."

I looked at him, like he was crazy. "How do I do that?"

"Much like dancing or piano, practice." He sat the swords on the bench and walked toward me. "You need to brace both feet like this on the floor, and hold your body above itself." He positioned my legs, to where they were firmly on the floor, and slightly bent. "Now you can lunge forward and backwards without ever missing a beat." He demonstrated, moving forward and backwards. "Next, moving your upper body...."

The lesson on how to move from position to positoin seemed to last forever. Sebastian moved gracefully explaing every move, and how he learned it all as a young boy. But when he stopped, slidding the sword into my hand, my body froze, fearing the worse. I had played with "swords" as a child with my father, but this was real, this blade could kill somone. I looked at Sebastian as he grabbed his twirling it, with the upmost confidence in me and himself.

"We are going to practice everything we learned." He smiled, "Get in the beginning position." He stood across from me, and took his place. I gulped, feeling the lump in my throat. I braced my legs, and held my body and the sword up, mimicking his movements. "Ready, fight." He mouthed to me, coming swiftly at me, and I froze. He stopped inches in front of me, "Camille. It's okay." He took a few steps back, and looked at me again. This time I nodded, "Then you begin." I looked at him, before allowing my breathe to be freed.

"Okay." I pranced toward him, leaping toward his stomach, he brought the sword up clinking them together, and throwing me backwards. I caught my weight throwing it forward at him. The fight moved as a dance, and I was leading. Sebastian smiled, everytime my figure threw his body backwards, till I moved and swung the sword slashing into his shirt. I gasped, almost dropping my sword.

"Sebastian!" I rushed forward, and looked. I hadn't even cut the skin.

"It's okay, no blood, no fowl. It's just a cut in the shirt." He looked down, "But good job, I have never met someone to catch on so quickly."

"I used to take tree limbs and make swords, chased Aiden around the estate, and Lucas. My father and I would fight with them..."

"So you already knew a thing or two.." He pouted, and the smiled, "But I am glad to have such a noble student. We are done for today, I need to speak with the captian, if you want to go find Lucas. He has been awfully strange today."

"Did he see my cabin last night?"

"Not at all." Sebastian winced, and trotted off up the stairs. I followed behind him to see Lucas sitting with a pen and a small leather bond notebook in hand. I walked toward him, and looked over his shoulder. He seemed to be writing a story or something.

"What's that?" I touched his shoulder, and he jumped slamming it closed.

"Nothing. Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry, I was hoping to find you, to see how you were. Sebastian said you've been this way the last few days."

"If I have, that's none of your concern." He was cold, as he sat up looking at me. "What are you wearing..."

"Sebastian was teaching me how to sword fight, and why are you being this way, Lucas? We are friends." I was hurt by him, and his actions.

"I know.. I am sorry, I am just thinking of what you said about Serena, and how that isn't like the person I felt so strongly for." He hung his head, looking at the book.

"Lucas," I sat beside him, touching his arm, "Sometimes people can be two different people. Like me, I would never be this person in front of my mother, but I am in front of everyone else." I looked down at my feet, "She could be one person to you, and another to anyone else. She isn't going to always be who she is with you."

"But I was hoping, for one normal person in my life."

"What does that mean Lucas?"

"My father is more focused on map, my mother is more tied up with the High Society of London she forgets I am her child, my sister was so severly sick from everything she forgot what it meant to be a sister, and live. And you, you're someone else." I looked at him, "Not in a bad way, just in a way where you are hard to be around because you always feel like you are nothing important. It's a good thing, you are special Camille."

"Your sister is living now, she is married. Soon with child, and many after that. " Even if he's a monster, I will pretend.

"She's going to be miserable with Darius, her entire life." I couldn't help but agree on the inside. "But I will not say anything, my parents made their choice for her, believing she would have the best outcome with him. Just as I believe I may be for Serena..."

"That you once believed was for me..." I whispered, not thinking he heard me.

"Yes, as I once felt for you, but Camille, I cannot love somone who will not let go of things to save her life. Otherwise you wouldn't be here today."

"Lucas, I never asked for your approval, nor your love." I stood up looking at him, "And I am here today, because this is what my father wanted, no one else. Other than me, to follow the path my father laid before me, to find out why. Just like you do everything your father wishes upon you, that's why you are with Serena, correct?"

"Yes.. It is." He admitted, looking into my eyes, "You are correct, he introduced me to Serena, saying to forget about you."

"Well you did a nice job of it." I smiled, standing up.

"Camille..."

"Don't Lucas, I hope you realize who the real Serena is before it costs you something bigger, than me." I walked away, toward the head of the ship, and I could hear sniffling, and when I turned my head for one second, I watched a single tear fall from Lucas' face, and I realized, my love for him was gone. My love stood for my father, and what came next. But my heart felt heavy, worrying what I just had done would cost Lucas his life.