arson took a deep breath as he awakened to the first rays of sunlight. He yawned and started to stretch when he heard a strange sound coming from the other side of the bed. Remembering Evie, he turned to look.

 He gave a huge grin as he watched and listened. She was snoring as loudly as any pirate, and her hair was a messy mass of twists and twirls across the pillows and around her shoulders. There was a soft blush on her cheeks and a natural upward curve on her sweet lips. It was like waking up to a smiling angel, but for the loud gurgling snore that echoed against the walls.

 He laughed quietly and rose from the bed to dress for the day.

 Just as he had finished buckling his belt, he heard a soft whimper. He looked over to find her turning in the bed in a struggle with the blanket. She kicked it over and suddenly sat straight up.

 Evie remembered as she was about to stretch that she was aboard a pirate ship and in the captain's own bed. The urgency to relieve herself stung her private place, and she looked up to find him staring. Before fear had a chance to grip her, she realized he was fully dressed. There was no intention in his demeanor to harm her, and true to his word, he hadn't all night.

 She bit her bottom lip and looked at him in apparent discomfort. She had to go but not with him there.

 "Please," she said with a whimper. "I have to use the chamber pot."

 He understood and nodded.

 "I'll give you privacy," he replied and stepped out of the cabin.

 He still had to put on his captain's coat and boots, so he stayed just outside while she did her business.

 Evie pulled away her borrowed trousers and squatted over the pot the best she could. As the urine poured down, it once again burned, and she couldn't stop a small scream at the sharp pain. She began to cry, and Garson hurried into the room.

 He shut the door behind him as he watched her balance herself on shaking legs. She held tightly to the bed and cried. She stared up at him and her eyes grew large in worry. She was embarrassed that he was there watching her at such a moment, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

 Remembering what she had told him the night before, Garson went to her and held onto her shoulders.

 "Are you done?" he asked patiently.

 She nodded and sniffed away the tears.

 He lifted her and laid her on her back. She gasped and was about to grab the blanket when he held her hand to stop her.

 "Let me help you," he told her. "This is my doing. It's my responsibility."

 She laid on her back and wiped away her tears as he grabbed a wet washcloth from the basin.

 "Not hard, please," she sobbed in worry before he could wash her.

 "I'll be gentle," he replied in a reassuring voice.

 She clutched the bed as he softly patted the area clean with the water. The burning finally went away, and she gave a relieved sigh.

 Garson gulped when he saw the raw swollen flesh. It was throbbing from the pain, and he looked up at her with worry as he pressed the cold wet cloth against her. When she sighed and relaxed, he looked down and saw the redness had improved. He gently patted her dry and set the cloth aside.

 He reached over and grabbed the jar of medicine from the small table. She watched as he removed the lid and scooped a bit on two of his fingers.

 "Mister Ronan said to put a lot but not to waste it," she murmured through the discomfort and humiliation.

 "Does it help?" he asked before applying it.

 "It does," she answered quietly.

 "Use as much as you need. I'll have him make more," he told her.

 She stared at the ceiling and covered her mouth with her hand when she felt the ointment against her flesh. Along with the medicine, she felt his fingers slide over her, and she couldn't stop a soft whimper from escaping.

 He stopped and stared at her.

 "Am I hurting you?" he worried.

 She shook her head.

 "It's cold," she whispered, "and embarrassing."

 He continued to carefully rub on the medicine until it covered the whole area.

 "You have nothing to be embarrassed about," he replied. "I'm the one who's ashamed."

 He closed the jar and returned it to the table.

 "Lay there for a moment," he instructed.

 He emptied the chamber pot through the window, inspecting the contents first. He was relieved there was no blood.

 "Do you still bleed?" he asked as he sat beside her.

 "No," she answered as she wiped away more tears.

 She couldn't believe he truly was remorseful. She knew none of this meant she could let down her guard with him, but at least he wasn't completely terrible.

 "I think the medicine healed the part that was bleeding," she added.

 Garson nodded at her response.

 "I have to see to the crew," he told her. "I'll have Ronan bring breakfast. I never eat this early, but I'm sure you're hungry. Do you like to read?"

 She looked up at him from the pillow and nodded.

 "Very much," she answered. "Uncle has a collection in his study. It was the one thing he allowed me to do. Oh, and paint. I like to paint."

 Garson returned her subtle smile.

 "I have books here you may read," he offered. "There are books elsewhere on the ship, but I don't want you leaving this cabin. At least for now. If there's anything in particular you'd like, tell Ronan or Radnor. They'll get it for you.

 As for paints, I believe one of the crew may have some you can borrow. I'll speak with him and have Radnor bring what he can find."

 "What about you?" she asked.

 He looked down at her and brushed aside a lock of hair laying across her neck. "What about me?"

 She gulped at his sudden show of affection and cleared her throat to answer.

 "Why does Mister Radnor have to bring it?" she wondered.

 "I'll likely be busy watching for danger," he replied. His brow furrowed when a look of regret crossed her face. "Would you like for me to bring them to you when I find them?" he asked.

 She nodded and quickly gasped as he leaned over her. When his lips touched her forehead, she squeezed her fingers around the lace of her blouse.

 Garson looked down into her eyes and softly caressed her cheek. "I swear on my life, I will never harm you again."

Hello, Readers! 

Forgive the interruption but I have news to share. In case you missed it on my profile page, I am working on two side stories: One for Garson and one for Evie. 

Each will focus on their lives from birth until the moment they meet on the Devil's Spear. These side stories will bring you a whole new perspective on little nuances that you either missed or made you wonder. 

You'll learn more about Garson's father and his relationship with his mother and brother. You'll be taken aboard his first ship, learn of Dane, and discover the reasons buried deeply inside Garson for his actions with Dane as well as with Evie.

You'll learn more about Evie's nature and certain things that are familiar to her but she can't remember. You'll be taken into her uncle's manor as she tries to grasp her parents' deaths and survive Edgar's torment. You'll understand her tender heart more and realize she isn't as naive as even she believes herself to be.

I know you will be pleasantly surprised by these two backstories. I can't wait to share them with you! 

I considered slipping them into flashbacks within this novel, but I believed it would mess with the flow of the story. Also, much of what you will learn would ruin shocking revelations within this novel. 

These stories will be fairly short. While this is 88 chapters, I believe Garson's and Evie's stories will be roughly 15 chapters or less. I will be posting them both, running concurrently, the very day after "A Moon For The Mountain"'s final episode, which is in August.

One more thing before I go: You will meet two new important characters in the next chapter. For those of you who have read "Raven & Fox," the name Holt will be familiar to you. Yes, it is the same Holt. This story takes place before his appearance at the end of that short story. I thought it would be nice to slip in a small backstory for him for those of you who read "Raven & Fox." Kind of my way of thanking you for reading my novels. 

Just like I slip a few more things into this story that have links to my other novels. If you find them when you see them, comment and let me know! 

Thank you for supporting "A Moon For The Mountain" through views, likes, comments, and Ink. Above all else, knowing that you appreciate what I write means more than anything in the world to me (other than my daughter, of course!). 

I hope you have a great week! 🌸

Lady Lily 💜