by G. Bailey
How long will it be before I fall in love with these pirates, as they slowly take my heart with each day?
When Dante shuts the door, he snaps me out of my thoughts. I place the egg on the small chair in the corner of the room and pick up a blanket off the small dresser. I wrap the egg up, just in case. I also pick a spare pillow off the bed as Dante watches and put it on the floor in front of the chair. Just in case the ship moves. When I turn around, Dante is lying on the bed and looks comfy.
“Come here, pretty girl,” he says, patting the bed next to him as he lies on his side. My cheeks go bright red as my mouth parts. Dante looks so attractive tonight, not that he hasn’t always been. His shirt is laced at the top, but left open, so I can see the muscles of his chest. His hair is cut short and he has a slight beard, which suits him. I glance at his muscular arms and down his body.
“I can’t lie in bed with you, Dante,” I say with a chuckle.
“Please? I thought we lost you today, and I just want to hold you. Nothing more. I just need to feel you close to me,” he asks me, shocking me enough with his kind words that I find my feet taking me to him. I slide off my flat shoes before getting on the bed with him, and his arm snakes around my waist, pulling me against his hard body. I don’t feel myself breathe as I tuck my head under his chin and place my hand on his chest. We stay like this for a long time before Dante speaks.
“When the others came back to the ship and woke me up, and you were gone–” Dante clears his throat and then continues speaking, “all of us panicked. Until that point, I didn’t realise how much I would miss you. I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you stay on the ship with us and not leave?” Dante asks. Each word feels like an arrow to the chest.
“Dante,” I say gently as his hand slides down my face, then lifts my head up, and our lips meet. He moves his lips slowly against mine, giving me time to respond, and I gently move my lips like he does. Dante controls the kiss, but he is gentle, each kiss sweet and slow. I can’t think straight until he breaks away and looks at me.
“I can’t make you stay with us, and living with pirates isn’t safe, but think about it.” Dante says and gently kisses me again before letting me go. I sit up as he rolls off the other side of the bed and walks to the door,
“Goodnight, pretty girl,” Dante says before he opens the door.
“Wait, Dante. Are mermaids real?” I ask him, and he laughs.
“One kiss doesn’t get you that answer,” he says, and I glare at him. I pick a pillow up and throw it at him. He catches it and throws it back at me.
“Dante,” I say using a more serious tone, and he smiles.
“Mermaids are real,” he says and turns to walk out. I knew it. I wonder what they look like, what they are like.
I place my fingers against my lips, still able to taste Dante’s kisses. My first kiss was with a pirate, and I’m surprised that I don’t regret a second of it.
21
Cassandra
“So, how are you settling in?” I ask Livvy as we clean up the dishes in the kitchen after breakfast the next morning. I can’t stop smiling, and I know it’s because of Dante’s sweet kisses. He only smiled at me this morning over breakfast, but everything has been a little mad. There are four new men on the ship, all extremely thin, and they ate a lot at breakfast. They have been offered the same deal as Livvy. I’m starting to realise that the pirates take on homeless and desperate people. They offer them food and safety as they travel around. There is also a family of four: two children and their parents. They are mainly cleaning the ship, and I’ve seen the black-haired children running around the ship.
It’s really rather sweet. Yes, sweet how they help these people who need it. If only people on Onaya knew what the pirates were really like. I have no doubt that most pirates are not like these, but still, they should be recognised for the good things they do.
It’s not what I expected from pirates, but then again, these pirates are nothing like I would have expected at all.
“Fine. I have my own little room down there, and it has a lock on the door, so no one can get in. Everyone is nice, but–” she stops mid-sentence.
“But?” I ask as she hands me a plate to dry with the dishcloth.
“I always expected to die on Sevten, and now, now I have life ahead of me. I have no idea what to do or how to be happy about it,” she says, stopping the washing up and moving away. I put down the plate and lean against the counter.
“My life changed a lot in one day, and I found that it’s best to just take it one day at a time. Life can throw a lot of arrows at you, and yes, one may hit you, but most will miss, and you will forget about them. This is just a part of your life, and one arrow won’t stop you,” I tell her, and she smiles at me.
“You’re right,” she says.
“Do you have any hobbies? Anything you really wanted to do if you could,” I ask her.
“I know it’s nothing special, but–” she starts, then seems to change her mind.
“Tell me,” I say, bumping her shoulder, and she laughs.
“I just want to find a good man, settle down, and have some children. I want a simple life where I know my family will be safe,” she says.
“That is a special plan, and I want you to have it,” I tell her.
“And, it’s an unrealistic plan,” she says.
“No, it’s not. I want the same things, too, you know. I want a family and a life. I want happiness and a world where I don’t have to hide,” I say.
“I want that for you, too, and who knows? Maybe we will have that,” she says. I hope we do, too. We clean all the dishes up, and I walk out of the room to find Chaz leaning against the wall. Chaz’s blond hair looks like he’s run his fingers through it several times, and his jaw is freshly shaven. He looks really good, and I take a step closer to him without thinking about it. These pirates draw me in too much.
“I wanted to talk you, if you have a second?” Chaz asks, and I nod.
“I’m going to go and have a look around,” Livvy says and hugs me before she walks off. I’m not used to her being so friendly, but I guess she has become a friend to me because of what we went through together.
“So, is everything okay?” I ask, and he nods. Chaz holds out a hand, and I slip mine into his as he walks us down the corridor and into his room. The room is lit up from the bright sun shining through the window. It’s still a little cold down here, and I shut the door behind us.
“I bought you some new clothes when we were in Sevten,” he says, offering me a big bundle of blue and black clothing.
“You didn’t have to. These must have cost a fortune that I can’t repay you,” I say, holding the soft clothing closer.
“We are pirates, and we have a lot of gold,” he winks, and I laugh. It doesn’t surprise me they have gold as they couldn’t afford the amount of food they have on board otherwise. They also couldn’t afford to help as many people as they do. I wonder where they got it from in the first place. I place the clothes on the bed and have a look through them. There are three blue tops, and black, tight-looking trousers. There are also two blue dresses that look normal to what I used to wear back home. There are also three pairs of thick socks.
“Oh, and these,” he holds up a pair of long boots. They look like they would go up to my knees, and he puts them on his bed. I run my fingers over the thick leather.
“Thank you,” I say and walk over to him. I don’t know what inspires me, but I throw my arms around his neck and hold him close. He doesn’t move for a while, but when I try to move away, his arms go around me, holding me close.
“Every time you’re near me, all I want is to be closer, Cassandra,” Chaz whispers, his mouth near my ear, and I freeze.
“I–” I manage to get out, and he kisses my ear gently, making me freeze again. Chaz feels so warm this close to me, and I have the urge to bury my face into his chest. I know I’m attracted to him, how could I not be, but I kissed Dante last night. I may not ha
ve much experience with people or relationships, but I know about jealousy. I got jealous every time I saw the love between Everly and her mother, Miss Drone. That kind of jealousy is cruel and threatens to take you over.
“You shouldn’t want to be close to me. I mean, I knocked you out with a book,” I say, trying to make the situation funny and stop my heart from pounding.
Chaz gently kisses my ear again and whispers, “Oh, Cassandra, you would have to do far more than hit me on the head with a book to stop me from wanting you.” He chuckles lightly, then lets me go, and I step back. I don’t say a word, and neither does he, but his eyes show humour. I turn around and go back towards my clothes on the bed.
“Cassandra, I did get you something else,” he says, and I turn my head to give him a quizzical look. What else could he think of getting me?
“I’ll have to repay you somehow,” I say, and he shakes his head.
“No need,” he says and pulls out a necklace from his pocket. The necklace is a triangle with a bright-green stone in the middle. The shape of the necklace is similar to my mark, but it’s beautiful and made out of gold. I have never been given a gift like this before, and all the jewellery I had was lost to the sea. Even then, it was never given to me. My father just didn’t say anything when I found it and started wearing my mother’s necklace. Mind you, he wouldn’t speak much of her at all to me. I wish I knew more about her sometimes, and now I know it’s too late to find out anything more.
“Can I?” he asks, holding up the necklace, and I nod, speechless.
“Thank you, it is so pretty. I’ve never been given anything like this before,” I say as I hold my hair up, and he puts the necklace on. Chaz’s fingers skim my neck and send shivers through me before he steps away.
“Beautiful, stunning, and unique. Those are words I would use, but they are also words I would use to describe you,” he says, and I let my hair fall down before I turn to him. I can’t process his sweet words, knowing they are ones I won’t forget.
“Why do you wear this necklace?” I ask him, stepping closer and skimming my fingers around the different shells.
“There is one from every island, all seven. I collected them to remind me of something,”
“Of what?” I ask.
“That all of us are connected, even if the islands aren’t joined together anymore. I believe we can one day have peace, and I will fight my whole life to see that day,” he says.
“There will never be peace as long as the king hunts the changed ones. When he hunts me,” I say, looking down and letting my hand fall.
“The king won’t live forever,” Chaz says, and I watch as he moves to sit in the chair in the room.
“What do you read in here?” I ask him, following him over.
“Mainly books on healing, but this one is on dragons. I was looking for anything useful about your egg,” he says, reminding me of my dragon egg in Dante’s room. I’ll take it with me to whoever’s room I’m staying in tonight.
“Did you find anything?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“No, but there is one more book to read.” He points at the blue book on the table. I pick it up and go to sit on his bed. I miss reading. It’s been too long since I sat down with a new book. I read all the ones in my house, and eventually, I just re-read everything.
“What are you doing?” he asks me as I get comfy and open the first page. I know it’s strange, but I missed this so much.
“Reading. We can look together, and I like to read,” I tell him, and he smiles widely.
“Me too,” he replies and looks down at his book. My eyes trace his large body and his slightly messy hair that looks like he has run his fingers through it one too many times.
Chaz is really handsome, but I force myself to look down at the book.
These pirates are way too distracting.
22
Cassandra
I look up at the water as it falls from the shower, splashing all over me, and think about the new feelings I’m having for all these pirates. I mean, they are pirates, and I’m in here wishing Everly was here, so I could ask her questions about men.
Questions about what I’m feeling for them all and how I’m drawn to each of them.
I turn off the shower and dry myself off with one of Chaz’s towels. I pull the new, tight, black trousers on, and they stick to my legs and stop around my waist. I tuck the simple, blue shirt into them, then pull my thick socks on and love how they feel. Then I pull on the knee-high leather boots that I’m surprised are my size. Did he measure my feet when I was out cold? I pull my hair up in a band, leaving the braids out to shape my face. I don’t know why, but I find myself wanting to look nice for these pirates.
I look over at myself in the small mirror inside Chaz’s bathroom. My brown eyes are bright today, and I feel strangely content with everything in my life. I’m on a pirate ship, and I’m, I’m happy.
“They look . . . you look–” Chaz mumbles out when I come out of the bathroom. I know I’m not sleeping in his room tonight, and we have spent the whole day reading in here. Chaz explained earlier that he isn’t one of them that are running the ship tonight. We found a lot of information about dragons in the books. Like how they need warmth when they first hatch and how they grow to five times the size of when they are born in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, there weren’t any drawings in the books of ice dragons. We found interesting drawings of some fire dragons, but Chaz thinks they will be very different.
“Thank you,” I say, and he nods. Chaz’s door is opened, and Zack walks in, stopping in his tracks as he looks me over.
“You look older, more . . . beautiful,” Zack says. The word ‘beautiful’ is said slowly, like he doesn’t want to say it. Zack looks over at Chaz as he stands and moves next to me, his arm brushing against mine.
“Cassandra, you’re staying in my room tonight,” Zack says, and I nod. I started to realise that there is no point trying to argue with them about staying in their rooms. It’s not like I’m sharing a bed with them, not exactly.
“Okay, thanks. I need to get my egg from Dante’s room,” I say, and he nods, offering me a glove-covered hand. I let my hand brush Chaz’s fingers as I walk past him and towards Zack, sliding my hand into his as we walk out.
“I already got it and placed it in a box with a blanket in my room,” he says, and I smile widely up at him.
“Thank you,” I say, and he nods, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away.
“Night, Cass,” Chaz says behind me, and I turn to nod at him, my eyes wandering over him before I let Zack pull me into the corridor.
“I made you some food, since you missed dinner,” he says as we walk down the corridor. His blond hair is wavy today, looking soft and newly washed. Zack smells like cooked food, but then I wouldn’t expect much less from someone who spends most of the day in the kitchen. It’s comforting.
He leads me down the corridor and opens the door nearest the kitchens. The room is larger than I expected, with a long, flat bed on one wall and two small windows. There is a desk in the one corner with a lantern on it, flooding the room in a soft-yellow light. There is also a guitar resting against the bed, sheets of paper on the bed next to it. I go over to it, running my fingers across the wire strings.
“I have only seen guitars in books. I’ve never heard one played before,” I say to myself more than Zack, but he hears me anyway.
“Can I play for you?” he asks me. I turn my head slightly and catch his eyes.
“You don’t have to,” I say.
“I want to,” he chuckles, moving over to me. I sit on the bed, picking up the plate of food and start eating. Zack chooses to sit on the chair by the desk. He places the guitar on the floor between his legs as he pulls his gloves off. I can’t see them too much in the dim light but what I can see makes me stand up and walk over, leaving my food on the bed.
“What happened?” I ask as I pick his hand up in my own. I know it’s rude to ask, an
d we don’t know each other well, but I feel like I want to know. I feel like I want to know everything about these pirates.
“I told you once that I paid a price for killing my parents, and the price wasn’t just what is on my back,” he says softly as I run my fingers over the dozens of little white scars all over his hands.
“This is why you wear gloves all the time,” I say in a whisper.
“They are not a nice sight, neither are the lashes I received on my back,” Zack tells me, and I let go of his hands to tuck his hair behind his ears as it falls around his face. He catches my hand with his and holds it over his face as his head rises to watch me.
“You didn’t deserve what they did to you,” I say softly, and he moves his head slightly to the side to press a kiss into the middle of my hand.
“Cassandra, you should be careful with your words. Men will fall in love with you for your sweet words,” he says and lets my hand go.
“They are not sweet, just true,” I tell him, brushing my fingers across his hand once more, and he looks down at his hand.
“My little fighter. You are going to fight a way into my heart, and I hope I get yours in return,” he says with a crooked smile as he looks up at me. I don’t reply, feeling my cheeks blushing, and the room feels like it’s getting warmer.