Part 11 (1/2)

”Now go!” He ordered and glared at me with such softness in his light blue eyes. I had seen that only a few times in him before.

Once I was able to move my hatchet arm back down, I glanced with wide eyes around at Ettie, Han and Bonny. They had gathered around behind me. Ettie had her hand tucked into a pocket of the denim duster she wore, which meant she was ready to pop an attack and was just waiting for some sign from me.

I shook my head, noticing Han also had his hands cleanly on the handles of two swords at his hips. For a big man he was quite good with a pointed tip.

Bonny I couldn't really discern anything from, other than she was certainly amused by the turn of events. Or maybe that was because she got to leave. She got more out of this than she was probably expecting.

Once I had turned around, Bonny pointed to the crates we still hadn't loaded. Han removed his hands from his sword hilts after a moment, before scooting over to lay his palms upon the crates.

”No. Leave them.” I heard Hue say, back to his normal baritone voice.

Han jerked away from the crates. I heard Bonny hiss defiantly. She was upset, but reluctantly turned and directed her people up the ramp of the nearby s.h.i.+p, knowing she was lucky to be getting away at all without a fight.

I slipped up next to Han and Ettie. They both looked at me like I was trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I just pointed with my hatchet and shrugged.

”You know he wouldn't just let you go.” Ettie said quietly. Han hummed and nodded in agreement.

”It's better than staying and dying.” I said, pus.h.i.+ng past both of them and walking up the plank. I half turned back at the top of the ramp, and watched the twins step onto the ramp while I gazed at Hue's hair. He never went anywhere without that hat.

Whatever was going on, it was enough to scare Hue into letting me get away for the second time since I had seen him again after a year. And I think I knew why.

The twins pa.s.sed next to me, before I yelled as loud as I could. ”One more thing, Hue.”

He glanced up at me, I couldn't really make out much of his face, it was mostly all dark, but I could tell he was looking at me with those s.h.i.+mmering sea blue eyes. So I continued, ”What happened to your hat?”

He laughed. But what really gave him away was his voice. I could practically hear him smiling in his voice. ”Same thing that happened to yours.”

”Gaggles of help Hue, Gaggles.” I could hear him chuckling again as I turned and headed up into the s.h.i.+p.

Something was going down. And it involved both mine and Hue's caps.

But why?

Eleven.

The Red Faerie The fox, who had resided in my pocket, sat on the makes.h.i.+ft cot in a cabin room, which I had been directed to by a one-armed sailor girl. I noticed how many more women of all types Captain Bonny kept on her s.h.i.+p. Of course when I mentioned that, all I got was sa.s.s from Ettie about how I would be the only woman to notice such a thing.

The fox yawned and stretched his front legs before rolling on his side and looking like he had fallen asleep, again. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had. Reynard gorged himself on Lemon Scotches and slept all day in my pocket. Surely, he still had to be tired.

”Lazy fox.” I mused while rolling my eyes and slipping the poncho over my head before tossing it aside. I was just about to pull my tunic off as well when the door to the cabin popped open.

”Oh Faerie Mother! Sorry, sorry.” A young, low voice cursed. This of course forced me to turn around out of sheer curiosity and drop my s.h.i.+rt back down, unsure of whom it was.

I blinked a few times, before breathing out in exclamation, ”Roberts?”

”Sorry Miss Gnidori.” Roberts apologized, like he had known I was in this room.

”It's alright. I thought you were one of Captain Bonny's buccaneers. But how did you know it was me? And what are you doing on this s.h.i.+p anyway?” I asked. I had a lot of questions that weren't being answered lately. So I wanted to change that. I knew I could definitely get my answers out of him.

”Well word traveled through the s.h.i.+p that we were boarding Red Riding Hood in the captain's cabin again. So I wanted to see you first this time.”

”So I am in Bonny's cabin?” I thought out loud while turning and glancing around me. The royal blues, golds and purples in drapes across the porthole and delicate sheets on the bed probably weren't normal. Jeweled goblets sat strewn on one of the tables with a few closed chests in the room used as side tables for intricate statues. It made sense that I was in her room.

My eyes fell back to Roberts, now wearing a similar outfit to all the other buccaneers on the pirate king's s.h.i.+p. They wore crimson and obsidian bandannas and basic dark tunics and pants. It was definitely a step down from what he wore before.

”And?” I provoked, after the silence held. I still wasn't sure how to handle the fact that he had mentioned I had been in here before, even though not even the crusty cot I was to sleep on gave any indication to me that I had been here before.

”Oh. Uh...” He s.h.i.+fted awkwardly, his eyes turning away from me quickly. ”I stood up to the captain, showed her an idea I had that would work better. If it hadn't been for what happened when I last saw you, I wouldn't have ever considered doing that. Although, I never would have left with the captain if it hadn't been for you either.”

”You changed everything, Miss Gnidori. For the better too.” He concluded, turning his fair-haired head back toward me finally. He was smiling and it was then that I realized why he was in here.

”I didn't do anything, Roberts. Please don't thank me.” I pretty much pleaded with the new pirate Roberts.

”But you did. Your strength, fearlessness. The tales about you, and the legends, and that talk you gave me. You are like a story to most people, something no one really expects to ever see. Yet there you were, holding yourself so well, as though suddenly I was involved in your legends. Thank you for putting the belief back into me. You showed me I had to do things for myself and my own reasons if I ever wanted to go anywhere.”

”Then I did you a terrible service, Roberts.” I sighed and lowered my head. After a moment, I turned around and walked away, running my fingertips along the cot sheets to the fur of the sleeping fox.

”What do you mean?” He asked, while I heard the sound of footsteps echoing nearby. I attempted looking back without s.h.i.+fting my head, but instead looked down to the rising and falling creme chest of Reynard.

”You have to do things for yourself to create your own power. But only when you do something for others do you discover the peak of that power.” I recited so cleanly. Words my Grandmama told me, many years ago when she was still around. Words I still didn't entirely understand even now. But that didn't mean I didn't believe in them.

”Who knew you could be so deep, Gnidori.” Yet another voice spoke from the entrance, which made me turn around once again, my hand flinging away from the lemon creme fox.

I managed to look just in time to see Bonny nodding to Roberts. Her sparkling lavender eye shone like a purple moon as she glanced to me, with a smile.

”Captain.” Roberts said with the same military salute he would have given to army superior officers.

”Please Alonso, no need to salute now.” Bonny began, her crackling eye not fading from watching me. ”And good to see you and Reynard are settling in for the trip, Gnidori. I do hope Reynard does not think that cot is just for him.”

”Yeah, I think he did it on purpose.” I shrugged and glanced back at the fox. He had rolled over in the last few seconds to lay on his back with one of his hind legs kicking into the air. He looked more like he was playing dead now. I had to suppress the laugh that tried to wiggle out.

Captain Bonny nodded to Roberts again, and stepped away from him. ”That will be all, Alonso. I'm sure you can find something to do.”

Roberts looked like he was hesitating, or lingering at wanting to say something more as he glanced to me. But he just kept turning his head and popped open the ajar cabin door and slipped back out with a slam of the wood.

Bonny's eyes never fell away from me as she closed the distance between us after Roberts left. Her smile was still softly arching her lips, and her eye still exploding with a fierce energy. I was weary of what she was going to do next.

She didn't say or do anything though. Instead she just stared at me. So I broke the silence.

”He said again.” My tone firm, but light and lilting, as an expression of confusion befell the pirate captain.

”Is that code?” She finally asked, bemused and with a flash of a half grin.

”Roberts. He said that I was on this s.h.i.+p again. What did he mean by that? He said I was in this cabin.” I elaborated further. Really I had six or so days of my life completely missing. So as far as I knew, Bonny knew more about those days than I did.

”Ah.” The pirate king began, while striding over to a table where a couple of bottles sat. My guess was rum. Pirates loved their rum. At least that was the rumor.