“Dinner's ready!!!” Yelled a voice followed by a rush of footsteps. 

Emmet turned to Malec. How the hell do I wake him up? He gently touched Malec’s shoulder, nothing happened. He tried again, laying a hand on Malec's shoulder and shaking him.

“Malec?” His name sounded so alien in his mouth.

“Whatsit?” He asked, groggy.

“Dinner.” Said Emmet, putting on his shoes. Malec put on his boots and tied his hair back into a ponytail. They walked out of the room together and Malec led Emmet to the mess hall. The mess hall was just a long row of tables on the upper deck, well lit by lanterns and full of pirates all eating, drinking, and talking at the top of their lungs. Some of the crew stared at Emmet, others looked at him with curiosity and an expressions of madness, but most ignored him completely. Malec kept walking, pulling Emmet along to sit on one of the many long benches. He sat down by a large, pig-like man and Emmet sat on his other side. The pig-man, who Malec addressed as Ulio, was large in height and girth, he had a large nose and big ears- no, one big ear. The other was cut clean off. Emmet tried not to look sick as he grabbed some food and tried to ignore the stares and whispers of the rest of the crew. Even Ulio was asking Malec about Emmet and why the captain had kept him when suddenly the captain's voice rung through the mess hall and all were silent.

“As you’ve all noticed, we have a new face among us. His name is Emmet. He isn’t here to join the crew,” The crew made sounds of disappointment. The captain silenced them and continued, “But! He says he is the son of the head of the Richter Importing Company. I’ve sent my bird to England and if his father wants him back, he’ll give us whatever we want. I've demanded 20,000 pounds in exchange for Emmet.” The crew cheered and the captain sat down at his own place in the hall at the head of a table.

Emmet stared at his food, no longer hungry. All he wanted was to have something familiar to hold on to or someone kind to talk to who didn't scare him. Maybe just to go back to Malec's quarters and sleep, then maybe wake up in his own bed and realize it was just some terrifying dream, but he wouldn't ask Malec to go back with him because then he'd know he was scared. He fished his ring necklace out from his shirt and held it between his fingers, trying to draw some comfort from it.

Once Malec had finished eating and drinking he tugged on the shackle's  chain, "Come on you soggy blanket, let’s go."

"Go? Go where?"

"You'll see ya bloody inspector, now up with ya." Malec apparently wasn't taking no for an answer. Emmet tucked his ring away and followed obediently.

Malec led them away from the long tables, the chains clinking softly and their shoes padding along on the hard, worn wood of the ship. Emmet kept his eyes fixed on Malec’s long black hair, swaying in front of him and glistening in the lamp light. They walked down the creaking stairs to the main deck, lit only by one lantern and the small one Malec had brought with them.

“Why are we walking around the ship in the middle of the night- are you going to toss me overboard?!” Emmet looked at the dark railing, then at the even darker sea.

"Christ no," Malec said softly. “Just look up.”

Emmet raised an eyebrow but looked up anyway and his breath was taken away. He was looking at the most beautiful star-lit sky he had ever seen. There was no moon to dim the stars or clouds to cover them, only a thick clusters of bright stars. He relaxed and all of the tension, stress, and fear from the day left him and he took a breath of the cold night air. "It's beautiful. Nothing like I've ever seen back home." Emmet said, still in awe of the stars above their heads.

"It's one of the reasons I never wanted to run away from being a pirate. You could stay you know, be a pirate and never leave the open seas and the stars. We'd still get the ransom and then you could-"

"No!" Emmet interrupted. "I mean, no I have- I have a role to carry out in life. I have to take after my father and run his business. I couldn't be a pirate even if I wanted to. I don't."

"Ah." Malec said, a little discouraged. Emmet yawned and shivered. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'm not sure what job you're doing tomorrow, but you can't be falling asleep on it."

Emmet nodded, took one last look at the stars, and followed Malec to his room. Their room now he supposed. No, it's Malec's room and my temporary prison, just like the rest of the ship.

They entered the room and Malec locked the door with his keys then unlocked his end of the shackles and then locked it to the bedpost, making sure Emmet would be going nowhere while he slept.

"What if I want to undress to sleep?" Emmet said in protest. Malec sighed, unlocked the shackle on Emmet's wrist and put the keys on his own table. Emmet pulled off his clothes and got in bed, leaving his undershirt and trousers on and letting Malec lock his wrist again.

"Now don't even think about trying to get the keys." Ordered Malec, making his way over to his side of the bed and putting the keys on the far side of the table.

"Didn't last time, did I?" Said Emmet. Malec ignored him and let down his hair, removed his boots and then took off his shirt, indirectly showing Emmet his sun worn and scarred back. Malec turned and Emmet quickly looked away. He blew out the light by his bed. Emmet did the same, and without wanting to, fell asleep.