by G. Bailey
"Cassandra, you are far stronger than most, and you don't have to hide here. That I can promise you. No one on this ship will condemn you for a mark," he says, and I cross my arms.
"I do have to hide. I will always have to hide from the world, just so I can survive. The king has a price on my head, and the powers I am meant to have, I don’t," I tell him. I’m not annoyed or angry at him, but I know my tone comes across that way. The world has given me nothing but a life full of hiding, a Sea God that doesn’t exist, and a king that hunts my kind.
"No, you don't, and you will realise this soon. Live, Cassandra, or what is the point of all this hiding? You are finally free," Chaz says and stands up.
"I don't feel very free, Chaz," I say softly.
"You are. Cassandra, you are freer than most and more special than you know. It also helps that you are building friendships with pirates who are known to be protective of their own," Chaz says and picks up his book. He stops right in front of me, only a breath away as I process his words. Would the pirates protect me? I can’t see it.
"Say my name again," Chaz asks me softly.
"Chaz?" I say, mimicking his soft tone, and he closes his eyes.
"My name sounds beautiful on your lips, just like their owner," he says with a small smile, and I take a deep breath, feeling a fluttering in my stomach as his eyes meet mine.
"Live, Cassandra," he says softly and leaves.
My name sounds even more beautiful on his lips.
13
Cassandra
"Very good," Zack compliments me after I finish washing up all the dishes from lunch. The meal was surprisingly quiet, and I learned that three times a day, they sit down to have a meal. Three meals a day is a lot, and it's hard to get my head around how much food they have. They don’t waste food, though. They always manage to eat all the cooked food, and I helped Zack put back the extra food. In some ways, it makes that bit easier to accept. They all spoke to me a little over the meals, and they mainly asked about Onaya. I was thankful they seemed to stay away from asking about my family or the mark.
“That barrel is moving.” I point a finger at one of the barrels which is shaking from side to side. I really hope they don’t have rats here.
Zack stomps over and pulls the lid open, reaches in and pulls out a big red cat. The cat is huge, with a large stomach and bright-red fur. I’ve heard of cats and seen drawings of them in books, but there weren’t any on the islands. The cat meows loudly and starts hissing. I wouldn’t say it is friendly at all, but very handsome for a cat.
“Salty Sam, how many times have I thrown you off this ship, and you keep coming back?” Zack says, and the cat meows again as he swipes a paw at him, catching his shirt. Zack puts him down on the floor, and he runs out of the room. Zack mutters a few things under his breath as he looks down at the scratch holes in his black shirt.
“Salty Sam?” I ask with a small smile, Zack just laughs.
“I thought we had left that cat on Sevten the last time we were there,” Zack says and shakes his head.
“How did he get back on board?” I ask him, sucking in a breath when Zack pulls his shirt off. Zack’s chest is muscular on the top, and his stomach is flat, with toned muscles dipping down into his trousers. He doesn’t notice my staring as he pulls a drawer open and gets out a small metal box. When he turns around, I hold in my gasp. Zack has scars all over his back. They must have been so painful and look as if all have been done with a whip. Zack turns to look at me, his eyes watching me closely, and I don’t say a word. I know that must have been the punishment for killing his parents.
“Don’t ask. That cat appears everywhere, and is always eating the food,” he says, quickly changing he subject, and I laugh a little, but my laugh dies off as I look at all the barrels.
“There are so many starving people on Onaya,” I say, and he nods as he sits on one of the barrels. I watch as he opens the small box and pulls out a needle and some string. I watch him closely, wondering if he will take the gloves off to use them.
“You met Dante on Onaya, right?” he asks me as he threads the string through the needle perfectly, even with his gloves on.
“Yes,” I say.
“I was with him and Chaz. We had just given ten barrels of food to the orphanage. Onaya is worse off than a lot of the islands, so we try to help,” he tells me. I wondered what Dante was doing on the island, and now that I think back to it, it makes sense. There was no need for them to be on the island. These pirates just keep shocking me. I look back at the barrels of food as Zack stitches his shirt back together. All the things I’ve been told about pirates are coming back to me.
The seas are lost, pirates are death.
Always kill a pirate.
Pirates rule the sea and don’t welcome strangers.
Pirates have black teeth and evil eyes from the deaths they have caused.
These are all the things I’ve been told more than once in my life. Yet, every one of them is untrue for these pirates.
"Maybe you should go for a walk," he says, nodding a head towards the door. I know Zack suggests this because I've stood staring at the dozens of barrels of food for way too long, and I look back at him; my eyes travelling over every part of his skin I can see. There aren’t any scars on the front of his chest or his upper arms. Only a lot of muscle and smooth, tanned skin. When I look up to his face, it’s to see him staring at me.
“You’re a very handsome pirate,” I say, then grin at him when he looks at me in shock. I don’t think he expected me to say that. I didn’t expect me to say that, either, but it’s true. Zack is very handsome. I turn and walk out of the kitchen, feeling my back burning with his gaze, but I don’t turn to look. I walk down the corridor, not seeing anyone else and loving the noise of the ship. Growing up in a silent house and everything being so quiet was never something I liked. I like the noise, and the sound of the ship as it sails through the ocean is soothing in a way. I quickly run up the stairs leading to the outside of the ship, wanting to see the ocean.
I bump into a woman when I step outside the doors to the deck. She tumbles over, and I quickly reach a hand to pick her up.
“Don’t touch me,” she screeches and scurries across the wet floor to get away from me. I recognise her as the woman sitting by Ryland last night. The woman has long, brown hair, in a complicated plait. I would place her as a little older than me. Her blue eyes watch me in fear.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I say, and she gets up on her own. She just stands there as the ship rocks from the waves, and she stares at my mark. I don’t know what she is going to do, but I simply watch.
I hear laughing, and I turn to look at the man. I find Hunter leaning against the main mast of the ship. It’s annoying to see his smirk as I glare at him. I didn’t even notice him there.
“No, the changed one is just here to sprinkle flowers and happiness on the ship. Don’t run from her or you might hurt her feelings. Then everything could go boom,” Hunter says and makes a show of doing a big clap with his hands. The woman’s eyes widen in fear and she runs away, straight to the stairs that are next to me. She moves so slow next to me, and I go to say something but decide against it. Anything I can say to her will just scare her more. So, I just take a step back, and she quickly goes down the stairs and pulls the door shut.
“Why did you do that?” I ask, turning to Hunter. My tone is sharp and annoyed.
“I was only informing the poor woman about you,” he says with a dark chuckle.
“What do you care, anyway?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips.
“Nothing, little bird. I care nothing about changed ones,” he sneers out, and I glare at him as I walk away. I walk straight towards the glass doors that lead to the captain’s room. I just want to get away from him and hopefully someone else will be in there.
“Little bird,” Hunter says, and I turn to see him standing only a step away from me.
“Get lost, Hunter. Don’t you have someone
else to be cruel to?” I say, crossing my arms. Hunter just laughs darkly as he walks over to me, I walk backwards until my back is pressed against the cold, glass doors of the captain’s room. He stops right in front of me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of his body. I lift my head to stare into his eyes, debating kicking him again, but instead, I can’t stop looking at his eyes. Hunter has dark blue eyes, like a dark, stormy night. It’s a weird shade of the darkest blue that almost seems a dark grey. So dark and enchanting. Much like his personality.
“Why haven’t you run?” he asks me after a moment’s silence. I’m surprised that his words are soft, unlike every other time he has spoken to me. I begin to answer when the door is opened behind me, and I fall backwards. Hunter goes to catch me, but just misses, and I slam onto the floor. I blink my eyes open to see Ryland looking down at me with a confused expression. He offers his hand, and I let him pull me up.
“You alright?” he asks me.
“Yes, I was just talking to–” I say, turning to see Hunter, but the space where he was is now empty. Hunter has left me here, and I’m not even a little bit surprised.
14
Cassandra
“Doesn’t matter,” I say to Ryland with a shake of my head, only after staring at the empty space where Hunter was for a long time. It doesn’t surprise me that Hunter just walked off. I just can’t understand why he would talk to me so softly, like he actually cared.
“Why don’t you come in?” Ryland asks me, but doesn’t wait for an answer as he walks back into the room. I shut the doors behind me, looking at the stained glass. The glass is a mixture of oranges and reds blended together. It looks like a sunset, and is very lovely. I turn and walk into the room, stopping to look around. The room is larger than I would have expected from the outside. There is a bed tucked into the one side and a massive, wooden table in the middle. The wall near the bed is full of shelves, with books piled on them. The table is full of things, everything from maps to gold cups and jars of random things. The walls are red in here, and there’s a big window where I can see blue sea for miles. There isn’t a cloud in the blue skies, and in the far distance, I can see two ships. When I look closer, I can see their black sails. More pirates.
I walk over to the window and stare out at the sea and the ships. I can feel Ryland’s eyes on me, but it’s such a gorgeous view. The sea is so beautiful, and I’m guessing it’s the Middle Sea, because it’s not green. It’s a deep-blue that sparkles as the bright sunlight hits it.
“Must be strange to see the sea,” he comments as he moves to stand next to me. We both just stare at the ocean for a while, watching as birds fly through the skies.
“Very,” I reply. It is very strange, but somehow, it feels right. I feel more at home on this ship than I ever did in my home.
“The king will be looking for you by now. He was expected at your island two days after you ran,” Ryland tells me and steps away. He doesn’t have to tell me what I already know. I know the king will send the guards after me, and the last place I want to be is with the king. I’m sure he would make a spectacle of killing me, to warn others and make me out to be dangerous. I turn and watch as Ryland goes over to the big table and picks up an aged scroll. He unrolls the scroll out on the table and leaves glass paper weights on the corners. When I look around, I see the massive sword in a holder by the side of his bed. The silver sword handle catches the light and I wonder how he manages to lift such a heavy looking sword. What is with these pirates and big swords?
“Come here, Cassandra,” he says softly. I walk over and stand next to him as I look down at the map. It’s of our world, all the seven islands and the seven seas. It’s a very detailed map, with each island showing their elements. Even the seas have drawings on them, from tornados for the Storm Sea and shipwrecks for the Lost Sea.
“What is this line?” I ask him. There’s a black line connecting all the islands and little dates written next to each island. There is no year on the dates, just months.
“That’s the route the king takes and the months he visits each island. You see, he is at Onaya now, and that is his last place before he returns home to Foten,” he says as I run my finger across it.
Ryland takes my finger and moves it across the map to another set of lines. His hand feels rough and warm as it holds mine. I glance at our hands and then up to Ryland. He is really handsome; his features are more rugged than his brother’s, and there’s a certain feeling of power that comes from him. I wonder what his story is. How did he become a pirate who runs a ship?
“This is where the guards patrol. They will be at Sevten when we are there, for the auctions,” he says and lets go of my hand. I glance down at the purple line he has shown me. It’s a slightly different route from the king’s, but he is right, it looks like the guards will be in Sevten this month.
“Auctions?” I ask. I have never heard of any auctions, but then I know little of Sevten. My books only told stories of the shape of the land and the weather.
“Not everyone is free. The auctions sell poor people to the richer families, and sometimes they sell a changed baby,” he tells me. I move my hand away from the map to look at him.
“Why buy a changed baby to only have the king send his guards to kill them?” I ask. My tone is sharp, but it’s not directed at him. I hate speaking about the deaths of the people like me. They never have a chance to live because of the king.
“The only people who win the changed babies are guards, Cassandra,” he says softly. Ryland moves closer and places his hand on my arm. His thumbs running soothing circles as I look at the map in anger.
“So they can kill them?” I snap out, pulling my arm away and walking over to the window. I don’t want to be soothed.
“Yes. It’s a perfect way to make sure all the changed ones are given to the guards. The auctions offer them money or food in exchange for the child. Most people would give up anything for either of those. I’m honestly surprised your mother or father didn’t,” he tells me. I don’t look at him as I stare out the window. I wonder if my father knew of these auctions, and I wonder if he would have always kept me a secret.
“Why did you show me this?” I ask him, choosing not to comment on the mention of my father and why he hid me. I don’t want to tell him about my mother and her death. I find it hard to speak to anyone about my mother. I don’t move as he comes to stand right next to me, his arm pushed against mine.
“I’m not sure,” he says, looking down at me. Ryland’s eyes trace every part of my face before he leans forward, getting a wayward piece of my hair and tucking it behind my ear. I watch as he looks up from my eyes to the mark on my forehead and suddenly pulls away. Ryland walks over to the table, his back to me, but he looks very tense. I feel the same way as he does. I’m too drawn to these pirates.
“How do you know all this? Where the king will be?” I ask him. My father said no one knows what routes the king and his guards take so that they can’t be attacked. This kind of information would be priceless to the people who hate the crown.
“Let’s just say I know the king and queen well. I grew up in the castle,” Ryland says as he looks down at the map.
“What are they like?” I ask. I have read many books on the royal family. I know there was once another family that ruled before the changed one destroyed everything. They died with the millions, and the royals we have now took the throne. I’m sure there’s more, but I can’t remember all the history I’ve read about them.
“The king is cruel, and the queen has lost her mind,” he says, his voice dripping with hate. I don’t understand his strong reaction, but to call the king cruel? Cruel sounds like a personal word to use.
“‘Lost her mind’?” I ask, repeating his words instead of touching the subject of the king. I have heard little of his personality. My father always said he respected the king, but didn’t respect the hunt on the changed ones. My father never told me anything important about the queen. Only once did he tell me s
omething, and that was when he had a bit too much purple juice. The purple juice is what makes him fall over, and Everly told me they call it ‘getting drunk’. My father said that the queen has beautiful, black hair before he passed out.
“There is so much you do not understand, Cassandra, and I wish you never learn any of it. It’s best that you forget all of us when you step on to Fiaten and start your new life,” he tells me. I can see he has shut down, and he won’t look at me.
“I . . .,” I say, but find I don’t know what to say to him.
I have a feeling I couldn’t forget these pirates if I tried.
15
Ryland
“You feel drawn to her as well,” Dante says as he comes in and shuts the door behind him. Cassandra has just left my room, and her entire body is drawing me in. Everything about her is drawing me in. I wonder if it’s the same thing as my father felt for my mother. My mother is very beautiful, said to be even more so when she was younger.
“Perhaps,” I say, not telling him anything. I have known Dante for years, since we were children, and when Hunter and I said we were leaving the castle, he came with us. I will always owe him for that. Dante has saved my life nearly as many times as I’ve saved his.
“We have both been around male changed ones and seen how females are drawn to them,” Dante says, not filling in the end of that sentence. The very reason we are travelling around is to look for male changed ones and take them back to Fiaten. The mountain is full of them, and they are being trained. The only problem is that Cassandra is a woman. I don’t know how to explain to her that they are building an army in the mountains, an army to take back the throne. There are a lot of secrets on this ship, and I have no doubt she would run if we started to tell them to her.
“Cassandra is a very beautiful young woman, most men would be drawn to her,” I say, moving to the table and looking over the map. The wind is good over the seas, and I know we will miss the guards’ ship. The last thing we need is them finding us, or her. It would be one hell of a fight, and I won’t give her up to the king. The guards would try to take me and Hunter to the king if they found us, but they would prefer to take Cassandra. I can imagine how happy a female changed one would make the king.