The moon’s white light shined down on Venus’ glassy gaze as she awaited his reply. He paced back and forth thinking of what to do now that he rudely dragged her out of the water without any rhyme or reason. His fingers twitched a mile a minute with each step as he mumbled to himself about what his captain would say if he saw what he had just done. Turning back to look at her, his eyes beamed when he saw her eyes were open and she was responding to his pacing. Reaching out his hand his fingers trembled awkwardly as he offered the sandy girl assistance.

Her sandy hand grasped his as he pulled her up and blushed, “I didn’t mean to drag you but I need you to come with me. I didn’t mean to knock you out, I was just afraid you would run away.” With all the restraint he could muster, a shine in his eye appeared as tears welled up. Holding his breath, he tried his best not to think of what he just did to her.

“It’s alright, I understand,” Venus softly spoke to the boy trying his best to stay together. She patted his shoulder as she walked past him to leave but was taken aback by a firm hand wrapping around her wrist. ‘I see he’s not the pushover he seems to be,’ she thought to herself.

He wiped what tears had tried to escape away for good and mumbled in an awkwardly tense tone, “I know you haven’t done anything bad but my captain wants to see you, so please come with me.” He tugged on her arm towards the docks but she stayed in place trying to keep a smile from washing over her face.

He tries to pull her away once more making a flood of giggles erupt from her stomach. His blush flushed through his face like the sun bursting in between a cloudy day, for just a moment before replacing it with anger. “Scotty,” she caressed his own name gently making his anger subside into bashfulness. She slowly tried to pull her arm away but his grip still remained vice-tight, “ And what will happen if your captain were to slaughter me like the rest?”

With that one question, Scotty’s hands clenched down on her shoulders as he scorned, “he’s not that kind of person! Never has been and never will be! I don’t know where you got that idea from but it’s not true, he would never do anything to hurt you!” His determination didn’t waver even as e realized how improper he was being to the foreign lady, he kept his ground and facade up,

Only long enough for her to start bursting out with laughter. It was as is he’d dumped overboard and the waves were smashing him up against some nearby rocks mercilessly crushing his pride. “You’re such a child, so ignorant to the world around you!” She cackled gasping for air at the comedy he was bleeding out without meaning to.

She slaps his hand away to leave but he pulls her back without thinking of what was to come. “That’s what you think! I’m way too old for you anyways,” he piped up through cracking vocal cords.

Venus’ face rumbled as she grit her teeth and tried to hide the blush creeping over her nose, “what does that mean?”

“I just don’t like being around younger girls, it’s improper in Arla.”

“Young?” She tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes, you look like you could be in your early 20 years. It seems as if you’ve just become an adult.” He notices the space between them being nonexistent and goes to push them apart but saw the bewilderment in her eyes as if she’d just realized she was young.

Venus, on the other hand, was trying to wrap her thoughts around what she just hear, ‘so does this mean I’m no longer in my youth years? I thought I looked pretty damn good for my age! When do you not become young anymore?’ She looked up with curiosity reflecting through her lavender eyes, “Scotty, are you young then?”

“Of course not! I-I’m old enough to be your older brother!”

“You’re old?”

“Yes old, older than you! Young and old are opposites when you’ve grown taller and maturer,” he sighed. “I’m thirty years old. Many years past you, how old are you exactly not to know what this all means? Your mother should’ve explained it to you before you came of age.”

She tilted her head and thought, ‘I thought he said I was young, now he’s saying I’m old? Well if living for thirty years is old then, well...I’m really old.’ She surmised an answer still having lingering thoughts about the difference between being old and young, “I think I stopped keeping track 2,759 but I don’t remember when that was. Maybe Last winter?” She looked back to the sea behind him and mumbled, “I guess I just didn’t see a point to counting anymore…”

She looked back to see his eyes wide and mouth agape at her words. He frantically told himself, ‘I basically called her old without even realizing it! She definitely looks like she’d be at most a decade younger than I while at least five years away.’ He began to awkwardly laugh as Venus giggled along making the awkward interaction dissipate into the air like water under the searing summer sun.

She tugged away the slightest bit and confessed, “I’m sorry that I can’t help you, Scotty. I’ve been looking for my family and if I go with you to that boat I’m sure I wouldn’t get too far.” She looked him up and down and laughed again, “though I may have found one of my brothers already,” she poked him in the side with a broad grin shining in the sun.

“What?” He exclaimed through red cheeks. “I could never dream of being related to you!”

She tilted her head after subsiding her laughter, “why?”

The blush crept up past his ears evening covering his neck. He began to sweat under the pressure of how to answer her simple question. He stuttered, “I’d be too ashamed of how I’m feeling right now only to find out that we were related!” His eyes darted everywhere but her face to try and mask his embarrassment.

But she saw it.

Reaching out, she cupped his face in her hands making him focus on her eyes as she whispered, “how you feel?”

Shutting his eyes tight he rambled, “I wasn’t raised around women so I don’t know what you think I meant by that but I just meant that you’re very beautiful and I would feel guilty for being related to you. Living in solitude away from the public made me unable to interact with people properly. I’m not very skilled with words nor have I explored my feelings in depth with anyone before! Sometimes I don’t even know what’s going on when Caspien talks about the women in his life,” he went on and on about how he hasn’t had much experience with subtleties.

She went to calm him down again as the waves would help cool the sand on a hot day when they both turned to the sound of swords being unsheathed. From every side, people surrounded them some holder swords glinting in the light while others held pistols to eye level aiming for Scotty’s head. From behind the circling army, James crept up with a cunning smile and sneered, “we meet again, young sea witch.”

Venus and Scotty separated at his crude remark. The two of them looked around for an escape and came to the conclusion that they’d let their guard down for too long. With his men stalking closer, James ordered, “don’t forget to muzzle the girl. She’s more than meets the eye.” With that, his men pounced and dragged the two of them away.