After a series of drinking and playing, the crew had finally decided to bring the celebration to an end. The night has become a little chillier, the winds hitting the sails the only sounds one could hear. Maggie had positioned herself behind the wheel, as the rest of the crew went to their respective cabins. Addison had already bid Angelina good night, for the Spanish pirate had decided to spend the night at the crow's nest. She'll probably need its glorious sight when she ponders about everything.

Angelina climbs to the crow's nest, astounded the moment she steps foot on the place. It was at least three or four times the size of El Cazador's. It was more comfortable and peaceful than the one back in her ship. She ties her hair into a bun, feeling the cool breeze as she did. Letting out a relaxed sigh, she rests her palms on the wooden barrier that surrounds the place; it smelled of fresh varnish and is smooth to the touch. 

She smiles, a thought occurring in her mind, "I wonder how he has all the time to even varnish this."

"Hmm," she mumbles. "Maybe Edward has all the time in the world."

"I don't," a voice comes from behind. Angelina almost yelped in surprise. Edward climbs the ladder and positions himself next to her. "Though, I wish I had."

"Don't we all?" she responds, her gaze never leaving the sight of the glimmering, blue sea. "What are you doing here? And so I thought I'd be able to contemplate on my own."

"'Tis my shift at the crow's nest tonight, apparently."

"Admit it, you're just stalking me."

"I swear with my life I am not, Miss Salazar."

Edward observes the woman; she seemed too enthralled with the beauty that is across her. She was staring at the waters like she didn't own a ship for years. He joins her in silence—and for quite some time, the two shared a moment of stillness. They only hear of the soft waves and nothing more; their peaceful breaths audible every now and then, too. If they could stay like that, in that very place for eternity, they would.

Edward surveyed Angelina for a bit of a while before he initiated a conversation. "It seems to me that you adore being in the crow's nest."

"Oh, I do," she slightly chuckles. "I adore everything in this place, and all the things it has to offer."

"Well, you could stay here anytime you would like."

"Oh?" she looks at him, her eyes showing a light glimmer as she speaks. "Gracias. But I still don't like you, just so you know."

"Pleasure is all mine," says Edward. He tries to keep to himself the inquiry he had been wanting to ask her since the game, but he just couldn't. He had to ask her. "How are you, Miss Salazar?"

Angelina shoots him a questioning look, but before he could even respond, she lets out a heavy sigh, facing the view. "Lost."

"Lost?" he repeats in a soft manner. "Apologies, Miss Salazar. I couldn't quite understand what you had meant to say. Pray tell?"

"I feel lost," she emphasizes. "And I feel more lost because I don't know why I'm opening up to you, Edward. Am I under a spell of yours?"

"'Tis good news that you're not," he grins before facing the splendid sea. He then beckons to the small, wooden bench on the center of the crow's nest. "Would you like to take a seat?"

Angelina's eyes shimmer in joy. "Oh, thank goodness. I didn't know there was a bench here."

"There wasn't one in the past," he takes a seat, and motions for her to take the empty space beside him. "Addison requested that I put a small bench because she said her feet would rot standing here for hours."

"You really are good friends with Addie, aren't you," she takes the space beside Edward, their arms touching due to the not-so-spacious bench. "How long have you been together?"

"Six years, to be exact. She wasn't there when I recruited the crew twelve years ago," he answers, placing his elbows on his thighs. He then casts a sideward glance at the woman beside her. "'Tis okay if you do not want to give it an answer, but I have a specific inquiry."

"What is it?"

"Well," he clears his throat. "Your first mate confessed. Are you alright? I saw you back there."

"Oh, that..." she feels herself drown in her thoughts once again. Feeling heavy, her shoulders begin to fall. The wind blows harder, and she shivers slightly at the chill. "I don't know, Edward."

The Captain doesn't answer. He coaxes his coat of leather off his body, then places it around the woman's shoulders. She looks at him in confusion, "I'm wearing a long-sleeved top. I don't need this."

She was about to remove the leather when she feels chilly all over again, sending shivers down her body. She absent-mindedly clutches the coat Edward has given her. He chuckles, "You're snobbish even when you are lost, Miss Salazar."

"Fine," she says, wrapping Edward's coat into her body even more. "Just so you know, I am—"

"Not grateful," he says. "I know that already, Captain Spanish-Frown."

Angelina tries to hide a smile; but even when she thinks she succeeded in showing a frown, Edward had already witnessed a tiny grin on the edge of her reddish, plump lips. A tremor passes through him when he realizes what he'd thought. He brushes away the idea.

"I meant to say I was grateful," she corrected him, a smirk forming across her face.

"You are?" he asks, his eyes fixed not to the solemn sea, but to the woman beside him. 

He observes her with great intent; the darkness of her hair, her nose of perfect form, and even the slight hoarseness of her voice and its hints of Spanish blood whenever she spoke. She then turns to face him, and that way, he was able to appreciate closely the roundness and the dim of her eyes beneath those long, curled lashes. And when she spoke once more, he couldn't help himself from shifting his gaze from her eyes, down to her lips.

"I am, Edward. Really," she says, barely even a whisper. "...Edward?"

"Apologies," he snaps back into reality. He almost wanted to stab himself for whatever it is he had done—did he really just laid eyes on a woman? Not in this lifetime, he should not. "'Tis only hard to believe that you are."

"I think it's my turn to ask you a question," she clicks her tongue. "What was the lie?"

"Pardon?"

"The lie," she repeats. "Back in the game. What was the lie?"

Edward shakes his head as he chuckles. He shoots her a funny look. "Must you really know?"

"I want to," she answers. "You tell me the lie in yours, and I'll tell you mine."

Edward contemplates. He is somehow intrigued, and he does yearn to discover the lie from Miss Salazar's declarations. One secret wouldn't hurt; it was his first time to be chosen by the bottle head, after all. He shrugs his shoulders, "The lie is I've had romantic affinities in the past."

Angelina yanks herself from the bench and howls of too much laughter to the point where Edward needed to cover her mouth from being too loud. She slaps his hands away, raising both her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay! I'll stop."

"I implore you to not be too loud, Miss Salazar," he sighs. "The others are fast asleep."

"Sorry," she giggles as she takes the seat beside Edward once again. She shoots him a wink, "I can think of different circumstances."

Edward shakes his head. "You cannot sleep your way around here."

"Like I would," she clears her throat, a curious expression on her face. "So, you haven't had a woman your entire life? You're clearly not a woman-magnet like I thought."

"You think I'm a woman magnet?" a wide smile plastered across his face; he almost wanted to laugh hysterically. "Goodness. I can't believe you've been thinking of me that way, Miss Salazar—ow!"

"Shut your mouth or I will kill you," she sneered as she slapped his arm. Without his thick, leather coat, he wasn't able to escape from the slight pain. "No! I definitely did not!"

"Care to elaborate why you think I'm a woman magnet?"

"I just thought that—god, I don't owe you anything! I despise you."

Clearly, Angelina looked so flustered that her face is bright-red, conspicuous even in darkness—she was embarrassed, but she looked so adorable to him, anyway. "Are you calm now?"

"I am calm," she rolls her eyes. "I still despise you. It must have been easy for you to think of those statements because you've done this plenty of times."

"This is my first time to play. Do you despise me that much?"

"Take a wild guess."

"I won't," he says. He lightly taps her arm, and she looks at him in return. Angelina gives him a confused look. "What?"

"What's the lie?" he asks her. "Back in the game. What's the lie, Miss Salazar?"

Angelina ponders for a moment, then smiles. "The lie is I'm not good under the sheets," she tucks a few strands of her hair behind her ear as they kept on falling beneath her eyes. She smirks at Edward, "Not because I'm not good, but because I'm really good."

The Captain chuckled along with the woman, amusement obvious in his eyes and smile. She is wittier than he thought, he says at the back of his mind. She sure must have wild experiences in a lot of things. How did she get away with this hell of a game that easily?

Though after a few moments of being cheery, both of them seemed to stop dead in their tracks. He just discovered details of her life; and as for the pirate woman, she realizes how she unknowingly revealed two of her most precious secrets.

Edward breaks the silence. "Miss Salazar..."

She remains focused to the sea; she doesn't turn to face him, and she doesn't plan on doing so.

Edward lets out a burdened sigh. He stands away from the bench where Angelina was seated, resting his hands on the wooden barriers. He shuts his eyes closed as the breeze touches his skin—after quite some time, he speaks to her, his back facing the woman. 

"The navy man. You didn't steal from him, did you?"

"I told you, I stole from him. That's why he was chasing me."

"Oh? What did you steal from him then? From what I recall, he was calling your name."

"It's just..." she sighs heavily. "I stole from him, that's all."

"You stole his heart, I suppose?" Edward spins around so his front faces Angelina. He frowns, seeing her this way, with none but a look of being astray and a salient emotion in her face. It somehow distresses the Captain. 

Slowly, Angelina stands away from the bench and walks toward him, halting when they are only a few inches apart. They hold their gaze—and no one plans to break it anytime soon.

"Miss Salazar..." he whispers, his tone pained. "You needn't lie to me."

She doesn't answer. She doesn't know what to do at the moment; all she knows is that Edward was able to disclose her secrets, and she could be in great danger. "If you want to surrender me to the navy in exchange for silver..."

"Heaven forbid!" he slightly raises his voice, yet it still sounded soft to the woman. "Why would I do that to you?"

"I don't know!" she blinks several times, delaying the tears. "I don't trust you."

"A surreptitious romance with a navy officer?" he mumbles to her, and she nods.

"It was veiled for twelve years," she mutters. A tear successfully made its way to her cheeks. She hastily wipes it away with her palms. "Edward, please..."

Angelina's eyes lock with his, a cold quiver passing through her body when carefully, he tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. His soft palm gently wipes away her tears before he puts it down to his side. "Listen to me," he whispers.

"I know the code. Never trust pirates," he begins. "But being dubious all the time can bring you to danger, Miss Salazar. I want you to know..."

His hands reach to the leather that hugged her and softly coaxes his coat around her shoulders, pulling it tight in the front. "You can trust me with everything."

"Don't see me as a pirate, if that helps," Edward whispers, his breath cold as the night. She stands there dumbfounded, her body enveloped by the chill, both from the cool breeze and the Captain's enchanting actions. 

"You may see me as Edward," he says. "Son of a nobleman. Trustworthy. Unprejudiced...liberal. I believe I can understand you more than anyone."

A son of a nobleman? She asks at the back of her mind. He speaks once more, and as she gazes into those brown eyes of his, Angelina affirms the honesty he just spoke. It is always the eyes that reveal one's candor, after all.

He seemed so comforting and kind; how on earth did he not fall in love yet? And why on the Caribbean am I being so vulnerable in front of him?

"And believe me when I tell you that all your secrets are the safest when they're with me," he gives her a reassuring smile. "You need not fret about me. I won't hold any judgment. You can continue crying."

"Those words you have said," Angelina sniffs, clutching Edward's coat. "None of them are lies?"

He gently grips her shoulders, his eyes observing hers with focused intent. 

Angelina wasn't able to hold back the dam of emotions she had been delaying for a while now; for only a night, she considers, maybe it would be alright to be vulnerable. 

Perhaps tonight, it wouldn't hurt if she lets down her guard.

"Only the truth, Miss Salazar," he beams of something secret; something just for her. "No lies."