Life was different on the ship. Many of the daily things that Celegorm took for granted, such as sleeping in or having an extra helping of dessert, did not exist. The ship had a very structured schedule. Everyone was expected to do various chores on a daily basis. His skills had made him invaluable in the kitchen, where he prepared breakfast, lunch, and supper regularly. His lack of other skills placed him in charge of the scum buckets and the chamber pots.
It turned out that the latter was not very difficult, since there were only two on the entire ship. Most of the time, the sailors walked out onto the edge of the masthead and relieved themselves right into the water. They had teasingly told Aredhel that they would have to somehow find a few more buckets for her to use while she was aboard. It made Celegorm’s jaw drop the next day when he walked out onto the deck before anyone else had awoken to see Aredhel squatting on the masthead.
Today, he had been brought a new delicacy: Squid. It was something he had never cooked before, but was willing to try. The challenge had been figuring out just what was edible, and what was not. Aredhel took to laughing at him when she came into the galley for bait to see him nibbling on some part of a tentacle. “I am glad not to have your job,” she said.
“Likewise,” he agreed. Few knew how afraid of heights he was, but Aredhel was one of them. “I wonder if I can just ‘accidentally’ drop this overboard. It is all chewy, and not in a delightful taffy sort of way.”
“Yuck. What about looking in one of those books over there?” asked Aredhel, pointing to the cookbooks that were stacked under a counter.
Celegorm looked over his shoulder. “Firstly, they smell moldy. Secondly, a ellon using a book to cook from is like an ellon asking for directions when he is lost. It never happens.”
As Aredhel giggled, everything in the kitchen suddenly jostled about, including the elves standing in it. “What was that?” she asked as once again it felt like the boat was knocked into.
The pair raced up on deck, where they joined the entire crew. “Sharks!” shouted the cabin boy.
“Thank you, captain obvious,” snarled the quartermaster as he pushed the youngling aside and peered down over the railing. “Six or seven of them by my count.”
“Four more on this side,” announced another crew mate.
“They must smell the catch,” said the cabin boy. He was leaned over the rail to get a better look. One of the sharks decided to leap at him, and he was pulled back just in time by the captain, who shoved him down onto the deck.
“They must smell an imbecile,” scolded the captain. “Unless you want to be shark bait, boy, stay back!”
A distressed cry came near to the ship, and everyone looked out to see a very large creature floundering around. There was a little blood in the water, and the sharks were beginning to circle it. “What sort of fish is that?” questioned Celegorm.
“Not a fish,” corrected the first mate. “That thing breathes air just the same as you and I. It hardly stands a chance,” said the sailor sadly. “Looks like the mother abandoned it.”
“The mother was probably killed by those beasts,” guessed the quartermaster. “If the little one was a bit older, it might stand a chance to either swim away or fight them.”
“There are too many,” said the captain sadly.
Aredhel looked on with dismay. “Is there nothing to be done to help?”
“If we drop nets, it means capturing a very unhappy shark in a net. Sharks are smart; it would be too dangerous to attempt, and it would leave nine more to get at the baby anyhow. To be honest,” admitted the captain, “it might be best to harpoon the whale and put it out of its misery before those monsters tear it apart.”
Celegorm squeezed Aredhel’s hand when she grabbed hold of his. “Nature is cruel, sometimes,” he whispered to her.
Just as the crew was readying a spear, something awesome happened. Another whale leaped out of the water several meters away and cruised across the surface. His horn shined brightly, and pierced the side of one of the hungry sharks. As the narwhal drew back, the mortally wounded shark began to sink in the water, but was descended upon by its brethren.
As the other sharks feasted on their fallen comrade, the whales made their escape to safer waters. Aredhel sighed softly and Celegorm turned his head and kissed her brow.
---
It took little for Celegorm to convince Aredhel to stay on the ship for another voyage. In fact, it took much more to convince her that it was time for them to move on. They had every intention to stay aboard for another trip out to sea, until they overheard one of the crewmembers chatting with a merchant who had come on the ship to negotiate the next catch. Most of the talk was about salmon and crabs, but then there was mention of the news from inland. That was when Celegorm, who was unseen in the galley, really began to listen.
“What I heard was she was kidnapped,” he heard the merchant say.
“Well, then, it cannot be the two we have with us. If anything, she leads him around.” There was a pause, and then the fisher asked, “What did you say she looked like.”
“Same as any of those Noldor. Tall, dark hair, grey eyes. He is the one who stands out – very fair, I was told.”
“He would not necessarily stand out here.”
The merchant mumbled something Celegorm could not hear, and then said, “This one would. He is one of Prince Feanor’s sons.”
“Arrogant brat, then? This could be the one.”
“There is a reward for their return – King Finwe is trying to discretely find them, so his messengers have only been telling a few people about it. I only tell you because it seems as if they may be right under your nose.”
With enough evidence for Celegorm, he quietly put away the ingredients he had been taking store of and walked through a door that led to a passage that in a roundabout way got him into the rope storage that he and Aredhel had been using to sleep in. “Aredhel, wake up. We need to go,” he whispered as he rubbed her arm to wake her.
Aredhel stirred and sat up. “Time to go already?” she asked, feeling as if she had only just laid down for her nap.
“Time to leave the ship,” said Celegorm as he moved to the corner to shove a few things into a sack. Rope was helpful, and so was the set of fishhooks he had found in the corner when they took up residence here. The hammock was something Celegorm considered taking, but since he did not wish to be pegged as a thief, he left it.
Aredhel crossed her arms over her chest. “What? Why? I want to stay,” argued Aredhel. “I am having so much fun here.”
“But Aredhel—“
“For once, I have a real place. There is a real need for me!”
“But Aredhel—“
“When I am up in that crow’s nest, I can see everything! It is such a rush, and I love it. If you want to go back home, then go ahead, but I am staying here.” She stomped her foot against the floor for emphasis.
Celegorm had the thought for a moment to leave her, but as he heard the call above for the ship to get underway, he tugged on her arm. “Aredhel, you have to listen to me. Grandfather put out a reward for our return. If we stay, the crew is going to collect on the reward, and we will end up back home as soon as the ship arrives back next time. I do not want to go home; if we leave the ship we are going to go back to the forest.”
“Oh.” Aredhel leaped off of the hammock. “We have to hurry, then! If we do not, we shall have to swim back!”
Hastily, the pair gathered up their things and ran to the ladder. Above, they could see the crew moving around on the deck. “We are too late,” hissed Aredhel. “We will never make it off now without them seeing us!”
Celegorm heard the final call for boarding and then the sound of the ropes being untied from the dock. “Follow me. Stay close, and do not question me.” Celegorm climbed the ladder, and reluctantly Aredhel stayed close behind. They reached the deck almost simultaneously. The crew was rushing about, taking orders barked from the captain.
When only one rope remained tied to the dock, Celegorm pointed and ran for it. Aredhel followed suit. It took two long steps for Celegorm to cross the rope after jumping onto it. Aredhel took three, and in the confusion, dropped her shoes (which she had grabbed but not had a chance to put on) into the water.
“Mother is going to have a fit!” she exclaimed as she knelt down on the dock and tried to reach down to grab the footware.
Celegorm was five paces ahead before he noticed that Aredhel was lagging behind. He ran back and got her to her feet just as the crewmember who suspected them of being Finwe’s grandchildren stepped his foot onto the dock. “Come on!” shouted Celegorm. He pushed Aredhel behind him as the crewmember made a grab for her. Without thinking, Celegorm turned and launched a kick squarely at the chest of the sailor, causing him to fall backwards into the icy water. “Sorry!” he called behind him as he and Aredhel ran through the traffic of the seaport, and into the woods as soon as they could reach them.
