Will felt that someone was gently shaking his shoulder. When he opened his eyes and focused his vision, he saw an old sailor, with a candle in his right hand.

The sailor put the candle closer to Will's face, when sailor saw that he was awake, the man spoke to him:

“Good morning sir, I am Tom, the right hand of the captain of this ship."

Will sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?"

The old sailor smiled. “It's still night sir."

He stretched. “Why did you wake me up? What do you want?"

“Sir, you need to follow me" Will without any other question, got up and started following the sailor. Thanks to the source of light, he could clearly see the crates and other things in his path, because this time he didn't have Jade with her dragon eyesight to help him.

After a few moments, they went outside and arrived at the main deck. 

When they arrived, Will went to the side of the ship, he stopped and started to watch the stars, he even recognized a few constellations. 

After a few moments, he heard a coughing sound, Will turned his head and saw the standing old sailor who was waiting for him near the door. 

Will mumbled. “Sorry" And quickly went to him, the old sailor opened the door and gestured to him to get inside. 

Will entered the room. The old sailor closed the door, which closed with a loud crack. 

He looked around the room. The room was small and dark.  Inside was a lot of furniture, a few paintings. Will heard a weird sound, and then he realized that he was not alone. 

He wanted to turn around and leave the room, but when he started turning, he heard a female voice that whispered: “Come closer".

He did as the voice told him, and bumped into something. He began to touch the object with his hands, then someone lit the candle. As the room illuminated, Will saw that he bumped into a wooden desk, and the person that lit the candle was the captain. 

He looked around the room but saw no one else.

He looked at her face, lightly illuminated by the candle. She was still looking at the candle, watching the dancing fire.

“Hello Will, I brought you here because I have a few questions"

He raised one eyebrow. “About me?"

She lifted her head and looked at him. “Yes, a few questions, nothing more" 

“Right, so what do you want to know?"

“I want to know more about you… and about your brother"

“He is a king, why do you even question that" Will said in an offended and a bit of furious tone.

“Because you both showed up here, alone, without any guards, I know it is not my business, but if you are telling the truth and your brother really is a king, I think that you should travel on your own ship or at least with a few guards"

“Well, you have a point, but we don't want to draw attention to ourselves." His mind recalled that incident in the alley.  “You know in this world there are a lot of bad people,"

“Hmm, well it is true" She saw that she interrupted him. “Sorry for interrupting, go on"

“W-we decided to travel with you because your ship was the fastest way to get to the kingdom. If I had called a ship, then we would have waited a few days for it, and besides we don't need any guards, we can take care of ourselves."

“Interesting… tell me, how rich is the king?"

“Well, my brother is very rich, he is that rich that he could fill a whole ship like this with items made from gold, pure gold"

“Gold you say... so he have a huge fortune"

Will felt that the captain didn't quite believe his words, he had to come up with something to encourage her, something that no one could resist… like money.

“Yes, and I am sure that he will greatly reward you for bringing us to him" Will assured her.

Upon hearing this, she abruptly stood up and placed her hands on the table.

She hit the table with her hands. “And what I wanted to hear! I must tell you the truth, at first I assumed that you two were liars" She smiled. “But oh, I was really wrong"

He gulped and said:

“Well, in the past few years a lot of people have told us that. We are used to it."

He waved his hand.

“Tom" She gestures at the door. “Will bring you back to your cabin, when you and your wife woke up, you two will go to him, he will tell both of you what you need to do, and  you will do a few tasks for me"

“What tasks?" he asked her.

“Well at first I planned to giving you two something harder to do, but when you told me about the reward, let's say that I changed my mind"

“What do you want us to do?" Will again asked her.

“You will clean the ship." She thought for a while. “You will also be checking the ropes that we're using for securing our goods. Tom will help you with that." She again stopped. “And your wife will help in the kitchen."

“That's it? Could you give us something more to do?" 

“Yes, and NO, I don't want to overwork you or your wife" She smiled.

Will slowly nodded. “Do you want to know something else?"

“No, I know what I wanted to know, you can go now"

“Thank you, goodnight"

After saying that, he nervously left the cabin.

When he closed the door, Will relaxed and left a small sigh.

“The conversation was that difficult?" The old sailor asked him.

Will turned his head and saw the sailor who was standing near the door.

He looked at him. “I just wasn't expecting it" He looked at the door. 

“Do you want to return to your cabin sir?"

Will looked at the stars. “Could we wait for a while?" He asked and looked at the sailor.

The old man looked at the half burned candle. “We can if you want sir"

They went to the site of the ship, Will leaned against the hull and looked at the horizon.

After a while, he turned his head. “How did you end up here?"

The old sailor rubbed his neck. “Well, I was young, without a place to go. I joined this crew, this decision saved my life, and now this ship is my home, and its crew is my family." The old sailor also leaned against the side of the ship.

Will chuckled. “Ahh, Well I had a place to live, but I wanted to chase my dream, so I moved out from there"

“Did you fulfill your dream?" The old sailor asked curiously.

He shook his head. “Well, I realized that it was not worth it" 

His mind was telling him that is a lie, that a few days ago, he was somebody, he was just ONE mission away from becoming a master. After becoming one, he would have power and status. But because of that dragoness, and his own stupidity, he lost everything.

But did he really? Will always wanted to be like his father, he was always amazed when his father was telling him about his adventures. He wanted to be just like him, and his natural talent for magic even more convinced him to take this path, but after all these sacrifices, after all the bad things he saw, after all these years of isolation.

He can't lie to himself anymore, maybe he is a powerful mage, but he sacrificed a lot to be one. 

And the dragoness, Jade. Because of her, he lost all of his years of hard work. That night, if only he had chosen a different place to rest, they would never have met and any of it would never have happened. Will was still slightly mad at her, but inside he felt different, something inside was telling him that it was good that he was still helping her. Now he could do anything, and finally, he can visit his family. After all these years, he was finally free.

Will realized that, maybe after all these years, maybe his dream wasn't really his, after all.

He returned to reality and looked at Tom.

“Well you tried, later you rejected it, but at least you had a choice" He saw tears forming in the old man's eyes. 

Will slowly nodded.

He thought for a while, searching for a more cheerful topic. “What do you think about mages and dragons?" He asked the sailor, changing the topic.

The old man wondered for a moment. “It's a weird question sir, well when I travel around I hear a lot about the mages and tales about dragons, until now I didn't saw one, so I don't have an opinion"

“Well I personally like mages, I heard a lot about their adventures, and my father was one, and about the dragons… I really never saw one either, I only read about them"

Tom became deadly serious. “Don't talk about mages near the captain, because of one someone close to her had died, and to this day, she hates magic and mages"

At that moment, Will was happy that he didn't reveal this fact about himself. “Thanks for warning… wait?! Why didn't you become the captain? After all, you have been on the sea for years"

The man looked at the sky and simply replied. “Too much responsibility"

Will attitude changed when he thought about bad scenarios that could happen on a ship.  “Right… you need to manage a whole ship, after all"

Will, for the last time, looked at the sky and asked:

“Could you lend me your candle?"

“Yes, here" 

Will took the candle and smiled. “Thanks, goodnight Tom" 

“Goodnight Sir"  

Will slowly went with the candle down and swiftly moved between the crates. After a few steps, he arrived at their bed. He extinguished the candle and put it beside his side of the bed.

He sat and started thinking. He told another lie to save their trip and what's worse, he has two days to prepare a good enough plan to satisfy the captain. 

Well, when he didn't make a plan, and they were out of options, they would just run away.

Will lay down, closed his eyes and finally fell asleep.  

After a few hours Will woke up and then he gently woke up Jade.

Then, with the help from Jade, they went outside. They waited on the main deck for Tom. 

When he arrived, Tom gave her directions and Jade went to the kitchen.

He then went to Will and after a while they both went down to the cargo, They stood in front of a small crate.

“You need to check if the crate is moving" He gave Will the candle and continued.

“If the crate moves, even by an inch, then that means that the ropes are loose, and we need to tighten them"

The old sailor tried to push the crate, but the crate was tightly bound to the wooden floor and didn't move an inch. 

The sailor looked down. “This one is fine." 

They went to a larger one.

The man looked at the crate and said:

“Now is your turn, check this crate"

Will gave him the candle, went to the crate, and pushed it. The crate moved slightly.

Will looked down and said:

“I think it moves a few inches."

"Then we must secure the ropes," said the old sailor, then he went to the nearest rope.

Will went to the other side and started checking the ropes, checked two of them, and when he was done he walked over to the old sailor who was just finishing checking the last rope.

When Will finished he went to the old man and asked him:

“How many crates are on this ship?"

“We secured two... there is only 198 left"

Will sighed. “Then let's not waste time" 

And by that one by one they started to check the crates. 

After some hours…

They slowly made their progress and when there were a few crates left, Will heard a quiet sound. 

“What is that sound?" He asked Tom.

“What sound?"

Will focused for a moment and listened to the sound.

“Like... ringing a bell"

“That sound, it's a signal, the food is ready"

They went to main deck. 

At the center there was a large barrel waiting for them, with a man standing next to it. They went closer, Will saw a few bowls and spoons near the barrel. When Tom got his portion, it was his turn, he went closer to get a wooden bowl and spoon for himself.    

When the cook poured the soup into the bowl, Will realized that the soup was as cold as ice, he sniffed the cold soup and regretted it, Because the dish smelled awful.

He looked at the dish then at the man and asked:

“What is in that soup?"

“Fish" The cook looked at something that was behind Will, and with anger said.“Move, others want to eat too"

Will looked behind him and saw a few crew members. “Sorry" He quickly moved away from the barrel. 

He spotted Jade, who was standing near the side of the ship. He slowly went to her.   

He ate the first spoon and tasted the soup. The taste was better than the smell. Will didn't mind the taste, because when he was on his missions, sometimes he ate a lot of worse meals than this one.

He ate a few spoons of the soup and asked her:

“Are you alright?"

She turned her head to him and nodded, and with her spoon pointed towards him.

“Don't worry about me, I am fine"

She, hearing that, smiled.

“Do you have something to do after we finish eating?

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

“So we will meet after a few hours"

She nodded again.

After they both finished their meals and went to different parts of the ship to finish their work.

When Will met up again with Tom, the sailor decided he would finish checking the ropes and gave Will another task to do.

Tom gave him some cloth and a rusty bucket filled with water. Will slowly started cleaning the main deck, a lot of the planks were covered in mud and other dirt. After cleaning most of the deck, he stopped for a while and started looking for a place he might have missed. When he wanted to approach the bucket then someone placed an arm on his shoulder.

Will turned his head only to see Tom, he calmed down and asked:

“Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine... actually I have a question"

“About me?" 

Tom nodded in confirmation.

“Aren't you a mage yourself?" The old sailor asked with suspicion.

“Me?" Will started laughing to cover his lie. “Dangerous adventures, fighting, creating fire with your hands" He stopped laughing. “All of this is too dangerous, I couldn't be a mage, I don't want to risk my life" He said with a serious tone. 

The old sailor frowned, thought for a moment, and said:

“So, if you don't want to risk your life, why are you and your wife traveling alone? Without any protection? Sir, your brother is a king!"

"We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, and you know, there are a lot of bad people in this world"

The old sailor nodded and then looked at the bucket. “Maybe I will do the work for you sir?" He asked and looked back at Will.

He shook his head. "No need… oh and could you call me Will" 

“As you wish" said Tom nodded.

Will smiled.

"I need to go, goodnight Will" Said the old sailor and went towards the stairs.

Will finished his job and went to his cabin. 

When he arrived, and lit the candle. After the room illuminated, Will saw Jade, who was lying on her side of the bed, waiting for him. 

He put down the candle and lay near her.

After a few moments he looked at her and asked:

“How was your day?"

She turned her head and looked at him. “Fine, I helped the cook with a few things, but I am totally exhausted. I had never used this human form for so long before" 

“You are always in your true form?" Will asked her. 

“Yes, it's just easier for me"

After a moment of hesitation, Will asked her:

"If I may ask, how old are you? Once I read that dragons age much slower than humans. Is it true?"

She sighed. “Yes, we do age slower. Well if I count right, I am at least 120 years old, but I think that I am probably older"

He opened his mouth. “Over 120 years?! Probably older?!" He calmed down and asked: 

"Aren't you bored? You know you've lived so long"

She smiled. "Over 120 years, when it flew by." Shook her head and continued. "If you find the right person to share that long life with.  Then you will never be bored"

Will started shouting. “But! 120 years! That's a lot! A lot of humans die before they turn 30!" 

She chuckled. “Hey! I am not that old. Other dragons are much older than me, and all of them are fine"

He shifted closer to her. “Older?! So how old are they?!"

“Some 500 years, some even more" She looked around. “Could you lower your voice, we don't want to wake up someone" She scolded him.

He rubbed his hand. "Sorry. I'm just curious. I've read a lot about dragons, but those books were short and mostly about the dangerous side of dragons. And now I can talk with one"

She lowered her head. “It must be a pleasant experience"

Will saw her change of mood. “Sorry, If I said something that offended you. I lived a lot of years alone, and now I can finally talk to another human" He realized what he said a moment ago. “Sorry! I know that you are not a human, well you are now, but you are really a dragon and…" he sighed. “In my head all of this sounded better"

She smiled. “Humans are weird, and funny"

He raised his brow. “We are?"

"Yes. We dragons are brave but selfish creatures. I've seen so much, but your species continues to amaze me. Humans are capable of creating and inventing amazing things. Even though every human lives such a short life.

“Well, humans do a lot of things when we work together, building cities, ships, castles" He said with pride. 

“Dragons don't work well together, like you humans. But when you are forced to, you get along with it."

“WAIT?! Dragons live together? In one book I read that dragons are very protective of their territory"

Jade turned her head to the side. “We were… but after your kind started expanding, we had to-" She stopped and covered her mouth with her hands   

Will saw her gesture and realized that he had crossed the line. All of his curiosity vanished, and was replaced with guilt.

She turned her head to him. “I cannot tell you about that. If I did told you about it–"

He interrupted her. “Sorry…  If you want just say, and I'm never again going to ask you about your kind" He said in an apologetic tone.

She nodded, accepting his apology. 

She looked at the almost burned out candle and said: “We should go to sleep"

He nodded slightly. “Good idea, goodnight"

After a while, Will lay on his side of the bed and fell asleep, but Jade was still sitting on her side of the bed. She looked at her hands, human hands that were shaking a little. Every movement caused her a slight pain. She was afraid because she had never been in human form for so long before.

But she must endure. If she changed here, and someone would saw her then all of their trip would be lost. She must endure, for Will, for the trip, for her family…

She lied down, closed her eyes, and focused on something else. She was thinking of her family, of all the happy moments they had together, and thanks to these cheerful thoughts, she had finally been able to fall asleep.

END OF CHAPTER 4