The first day aboard a human ship was a bit difficult with legs. The boat often swayed due to the ocean’s current, and I often found myself knocked around the ship. I recall that it was that very evening that I ventured out above deck and the pirates seemed to be celebrating something. They were singing and dancing, and tons of rum to go around. However when I came out the festivities immediately stopped as someone yelled, “Stowaway!”

Another yelled, “A Woman!” I forgot that the crew had yet to see me in my human form. It must have been quite shocking, though that isn’t an excuse for the behavior they showed. I soon found myself surrounded by boorish men who were grabbing at me and saying crude things like, “What’s a sweet little thing like you doing aboard a ship like this,” or “Hey sweetie would you like to have some fun with us tonight.” I had never found myself in such a situation before and despite all my tough talk from the day before I froze.

I think I remember asking them to stop repeatedly and right when I thought things were to turn for the worse, I heard his voice ring out, “STOP!” Everything seemed to be quiet and all you could hear was the crashing of the waves. “What do you lads think you're doing to our esteemed guest!?” Though I could hear his voice I couldn’t see him and found myself looking around for his image.

“Esteemed guest?” one of the men exclaimed, “sir, I don’t recall seeing such a beautiful woman come aboard. She must be a stowaway!”

Another man even laughed and stated “Yes, a very beautiful and stupid woman to sneak aboard a pirate ship. She's obviously looking for some kind of fun.”

“Silence!” I soon realized that his voice came from above. I looked up and there he stood up upon the ship’s upper deck behind me looking down on his crew. “Are you men so blind that the one whom you are showing such dishonorable behavior to is none other than the Sea-Witch herself?”

“Sea witch!” the men exclaimed. They then quickly scrambled back from me in fear.

“This is that creature,” one of the piggish men exclaimed.

           Creature?! I thought, says the pig on two legs. Kai climbed down and made his way over to me.

           “I’m sorry,” he bowed low as he spoke, “Please forgive my men for their unseemly behavior. I promise I will punish them dearly for this.” He shot a glare at the men who assaulted me, and they all fell to their knees begging for forgiveness. The apology from his men did not make me feel any better, for it was said mostly out of fear of what I may do to them than of remorse. I bit the bottom of my lip then as I was about to speak, I lost my footing and was about to fall only to find myself in Kai’s arms. They were stronger than I had expected. “Are you alright?” he asked as he helped steady me.

           “Y-yes” I cleared my throat, “I’m fine think you,” I looked up into his scarlet eyes, and he looked back in mine. I soon found myself quickly stepping back and looking away, “Please, see to these men being properly punished, for now, I will return to my courters” I then quickly retreated inside.

***   

           When I returned to the room I collapsed onto the bed and screamed into the pillow. How could I be so STUPID? I thought in dismay. What’s wrong with me I am not so usually this thoughtless, am I?

           “Jenna” I heard a whisper from my bag. “Jenna” it repeated. I quickly pulled out Mirror from the pocket and, “Finally, how long did you plan to keep me in there by myself.”

           “Sorry Mirror,” I didn’t mean to.

           He sighed, “It’s fine considering what you’ve just been through.”

           “What I just been through? What are you . . . How?”

           “One of the men on this ship has a handheld mirror, for some reason or another he seems to like looking at himself even though I wouldn’t say he’s the most attractive being,” he paused for a moment, “Anyway he was holding the mirror when it happened. I saw everything.”

           I groaned and fell back onto the bed thinking to myself, great now even the mirror knows of my embarrassment. I thought back to how Kai had saved me and what it felt like in his arms.

A slight blush made its way to my cheeks when “You’re falling for that boy aren’t you?” the mirror said. I sprang up and stared at him.

“What?” I said in shock. Mirror had a very calm expression on his face.

“You heard me,” Mirror said calmly. There was no hint of him teasing me about it either. “I’ve been around for a long time; I’ve seen it many times. I know what it looks like when one falls in love with another. And love is a form of fate, it is inevitable and inescapable.”

“And You think I will fall in love with that silver tongue pirate?” I laughed, “And that it might be fate no less. What a Joke.”

“Jenna,” he said my name almost harshly, “Love is no laughing matter, it is not as sugary sweet as some people like to claim. I can also be messy and painful. It can bring two worlds together as well as tearing them apart.” I placed him down on the nightstand and stood up. “Everyone falls in love eventually, even the ones who seem to reject it from others with everything they have.”

“Mirror,” I said quietly, “was this the real reason you wanted to come along.” There was no response and when I looked back at him only to saw that he had most likely left to spy on someone else. “you’re wrong mirror.” I sighed, “Love makes people foolish. So much so that they trust the wrong people and get hurt. I have no intention of trusting anyone. Therefore I cannot . . . Will not fall in love.” There was then a knock on the door.

“Jenna, thought you might be hungry, so I brought fruit.” Said Kai from the other side of the door, “May I come in?”

“It is your room as well is it not, I don’t see why you need my permission to enter,” I said in a snarky voice as he opened the door.

“A room I may add that I am sharing with the unmarried Calla Lilly of Lezennet market.” He said as he placed the plate of fruit on the table. “Plus, I wouldn’t want to repeat that accident that happened earlier today.” He smiled sheepishly. “Would you?”

I blushed a deep shade of red as I said “No, I would not.”

We both sat across from each other at the table snacking on different types of fruit. “You will be pleased to know that the men who assaulted you are being thoroughly punished. They are to hold a handstand for an hour and if they fall, they must start again, and they will be swabbing the deck for the next three weeks as well as being on dish duty.”

“I imagine holding such a stance is quite difficult on a boat,” I responded.

“Trust me it is,” he smiled. “So, what do you say about playing a game,” he asked as he got up and made his way over to a cabinet on the left side of the room.

“What kind of game?” I asked while peeling an orange.

He opened the cabinet and pulled out a large bottle and brought it over. “I call it truth or drink,” he said cheerfully as he set the bottle on the table along with two small shot glasses. “We take turns asking each other a single question and if you don’t want to answer the question you take a drink.”

“Aren’t you a little too young for wine?” I asked with squinted eyes.

He squinted back, “I’m a Pirate deary, there is no age limit for wine.”

“Oh really?”

“Really” he replied.

“You sure you’re not just looking for an excuse to drink?” I joked back.

He laughed, “I’m a Pirate. I don’t need an excuse to drink.” He said as he uncorked the bottle, “But you look like you do. You should loosen up a bit more Jenna, you’re too tense.”

“Too Tense” I scoffed, “I’ll show you how tense I can be” I poured the alcohol in both glasses and drank mine right there. It was sweet and there was a bubbly sensation in my mouth. The taste was familiar. Then I heard a few snickers that then burst out in roaring laughter. I grabbed the bottle and turned the label towards me it read Sparkling Grape Juice. “This isn’t wine,” I said as the heat rose in my cheeks.

“You sound disappointed,” he said between chuckles while hunching over holding his stomach. “I’d rather not risk getting drunk in the company of a lady in hopes that we don’t wind up doing something we both might find rather foolish.”

“Foolish?” I questioned as his gaze on me lingered.

“Yes,” he said in an almost sweet tone of voice with a slight smile on his lips, “something foolish.”

“I-I see th-then,” I said a bit flustered.  “You ask a question first.” I looked back at the juice and repoured my glass and thought to myself, why do I keep making a fool of myself today?

“Now you’re talking” he rubbed his hands together, “Alright then, let’s start off easy. How old are you?”

“Sixteen. And you?”

“Seventeen,” he smiled, “What is your favorite thing to do.”

“Make potions,” I said without hesitation.

“Isn’t that part of your job?”

“Oh, I believe you said one question each.”

He motioned to me, “Fair enough.”

“Do you like being a pirate?”

“Ah, you like to dive right into the personal stuff, don’t you?” he asked. I shot him my business smile. “Hmm . . . I’d say I like traveling more than being a pirate.”

           “Oh?”

           “It’s the life I was born to doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it. So why potions?”

           “Though it’s a part of my job as a sea witch, I’ve always found the process quite relaxing.” I then asked my next question, “Okay, my question. If you weren’t born to the life of a pirate, what life would you rather have?”

           “Well, I like to travel. So, I imagine that I’d work as a true and honest merchant. Making a living off buying and trading goods.”

           “You sold the cloth merchant stolen goods” I gasped in realization.

           He laughed heartedly, “Yes, and you helped.” I buried my face in my hands, to hide my laughter from my outburst. “Okay, my turn,” He looked at me with his head tilted to the side thinking of what question he should ask next. “I couldn’t help but notice how well you walk with two legs when you normally have eight. How long have you been living amongst the humans.”

           I removed my hands slowly from my face. “How old was I again . . . I’d say about 5 or 6 years now.” He looked at me as if that unlocked even more questions, ones that I sensed I would not care too much to answer. “I know who your father is, but what about your mother what was she like?”

“My mother, heh,” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “She claimed to be a descendant of a fairy of Briar Valley. And her beauty only helped back up her claim. She had scarlet eyes, pale white skin, and long black hair. She got a kick out of scaring people, was a real practical jokester, and was incredibly talented with a sword.” A smile appeared on him as he talked about her, “She was often quite childish, but she knew when to be serious. And she loved us both with all her heart till the day she died.” He took a drink.

“Why’d you drink when you answered the question?”

He poured another glass, “Just felt like it. Do you ever venture back down below to visit family?” I drank the glass. “Alright then? I believe the next question is yours.”

           I poured more into the glass and asked, “What seas have you visited?”

           He smiled, “Finally an easy one. I’ve seen them all.” He leaned back into his chair. And asked the next question, and I would ask another. I learned about his life and he learned as much as I felt like answering, while he drank even when he still had the intention of answering the questions. And after the bottle was empty, he eventually asked a question I did not expect to hear. “Who hurt you, Jenna?” he asked in an almost remorseful voice. “Or should I say who didn’t?” I felt a shock through my system. I part of me felt panicked and I quickly drank the last of the juice that made its way into my glass from a previous round. I felt like I was having a bit of a hard time thinking as he gave me a sad look.

           “Why do you want to know so much about me?” I asked looking at the empty glass.

           “Is that your question?” he asked. I nodded. His eyes studied me for a while. “I’m not entirely sure. I guess I couldn’t help but feel drawn to you the moment our eyes first met.” He got up and made his way over me, I soon found him standing close as he leaned over so that his face was just inches away from my own. “And as a result, I can’t help but want to know more about you.” I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was sincere and it . . . scared me.

As it seemed he was leaning in closer for some reason I responded, “Then there is something important you should know about me.” 

Once again, a small smile appeared on his lips, “And what is that pry tell?”

“I-I’m drunk,” I giggled as my voice began to slur, “on Sparkly Grape Juice. Ha ha and now I’m drrrunk habbing parshicipating in a drrrinking game with a a pirate,” I laughed as he stepped back looking me up and down, and I pointed to the bottle. “Sparkle Juicce.” My face then planted itself onto the table with a thud.

I heard him laugh as my eyelids began to get heavy. “To think we’ve only known each other for a few days and yet, you’re already causing me trouble.” He sighed as I saw the smile creep back upon his lips as my eyes closed, “And yet for some reason I can’t help, but hope you’ll cause even more.” The last thing I remember is the feeling of being carried away in his arms.