Afterward, the crew began to see me differently and treated me with both kindness and respect from then on. I kept my distance from Kai for a while after that or at least tried to. He was practically glued to my side for most of the trip. I found that I got along with her quite well. I found talking to Divine quite enjoyable. I think she became my second close acquaintance apart from Mirror. I often caught Kai talking to Mirror from time to time. Though I didn’t make much of it. I assumed Mirror would keep his mouth shut when it came to things that involved me, so I saw no problem with the two of them spending time together.

We also went over strategies on how to save the captain from Morgana. With Mirrors’ help we were able to keep an eye on her and what was happening with Avery. We decided I would first meet with her and sneak over an invisibility potion to Avery. With instructions and hopes that when it appeared that he had disappeared it would cause her to panic enough to open the cell he was keeping him so he could slip out and I could help him escape. A few men including Kai will also be using an invisibility potion to follow me in case something goes wrong. They are what Divine calls “The Improvise Squad.”

Honestly, things went quite well on our travels except for one thing. Mirror was right I was starting to fall for Kai. Every time built a wall to separate me from him, he tore it down effortlessly. I could tell he was falling for me as well and it only scared me even more.  It was the night before I was to see Morgana. That I spent some time alone with Divine above deck. He noticed that both Kai and I were developing feelings for each other. “So” he said in a sing-song voice, “Have you two shared another kiss again.”

“What?” I exclaimed, taking a step back.

“Oh, come on little Blue, I see the way you both look at each other.” He stated, “Girl if that isn’t love I don’t know what is.”

“Please, I fall in love,” I said dryly. “I’m a Sea Witch. My kind are known for our cold-blooded nature.” 

           “Just because you’re cold-blooded doesn’t mean you don’t have a heart.”

           “Put the subject to rest Divine.” I said tiredly “Love is not in the cards for someone like me.”

           “Oh, Darling,” she exclaimed, “Love is everyone’s deck. From the innocent to the wicked. Everyone falls in love eventually. Even me, granted not all love is everlasting it is still out there and it is inevitable.”

           “urgh” I groaned, “you sound like Mirror.” Divine laughed. Then suddenly Kai came out in a panic.

           “Jenna!” He sounded distressed as he called my name making his way over. “I was talking with Mirror when . . .”

           “What is it? Did something happen to Avery?” I questioned.

           “The Deal,” he said sternly as he grabbed my shoulders, “The consequences for not completing it, what are they?”

           “Kai, what?” His grip was strong. It hurts! “I thought you didn’t care to know the consequences.”

           “Jenna” The way he said my name though stern it felt as if it was full of worry.

           “You don’t have to worry about it too much,” I said meekly, “you will not be the one implemented by it if things go wrong.”

           “What do you mean-“

           Kai,” Divine said sternly back, “you’re hurting her.” His eyes widened as if he had just realized what he was doing and released his grip.

           “I’m sorry,” then turned to Divine, “Can you leave us for a few seconds? I need to talk to Jenna alone.”

           “Very well, but I want a full explanation later,” she said walking away.

           “Mirror said that if you fail to help us save my father, you’ll turn into sea foam and disappear.”

           “That’s right,” I responded, “If we can’t manage to trick Morgana and get away from her, we’re going to need some strong magic and the more I place in exchange in the deal the stronger my magic will be if we need to face her head on.”

           “I don’t care,” he said in a frustrated tone, “Jenna, you’re bargaining your life away.”

           “Yes, my life,” I stated. “That way no one else will get hurt if this all goes wrong. I don’t understand why you're so upset.”

           “You don’t understand,” he looked hurt as he spoke, “no one else will get hurt. What about your family? Do you not think they’ll worry about you? What’s happened to you . . .”

           “Family,” I angrily replied. “I don’t have one, Kai. They threw me out when I was a little girl. They never wanted a daughter like me to begin with.” 

           He looked at me with a bit of shock then shook his head, “What about your friends back in the town,”

           “You mean business acquaintances,” I stated, “I don’t believe in such things like friendship.”

           “What about Mirror and Divine and the rest of the crew who’ve started to take a liking to you? Do you not think of them as friends, because they do. I’m sure if something happens to you, they will all be hurt.”

           I glared at him. “I don’t think you understand. This is a business transaction. Whatever may befall me in this deal should not be of concern to you.”

“Not be of concern,” Kai looked even more shocked by the words. He then moved his hand to my cheek, “I will be hurt if you disappear too,” he then whispered, “Jenna I . . .”

“Don’t say it,” I felt as if I choked out the words as if I were pleading to him not to say what feared to hear from him the most. Because if he said it, I would have to admit two things I didn’t want to be true. One being that since coming aboard this ship I felt more of a sense of belonging than I had on land or even in the sea. And two, that I was falling hopelessly in love with the man before me. “It’s getting late,” I said as I slipped out of his reach. “We have a big day tomorrow if you want to save your dad, we’ll need to rest up.” I left him there alone on the deck.

***  

When I made it back to the room, “mirror,” I called sternly.

           “Yes,” he answered calmly.

           “Why did you tell him?” I said with my fist balled so tight that my fingernails dove into my skin.

           “He deserved to know,” he said.

           My hand then loosened its grip and tears began to fall from my eyes, “mirror . . . why,” I sat down on the bed, “why is this happening . . . I can’t . . . breath.”

           “Jenna, why are you crying,”

           “Why? I-I Don’t know. I,”

           “Then may I guess why,” I didn’t respond as I tried to regulate my breathing once more. He spoke anyway, “I think you’re in this state because your love for this world you often claimed to have lost, but never did, is finally loving you back. And you’re scared of what that means and what will change because of it.” I stared at him in shock while holding my chest, “So you’re fighting back and hurting your heart in the process.”

My voice broke as I spoke, “If that is even true then how do I get the pain to stop.”

“By giving into the love that is being offered to you and not letting go of it.” I cried myself to sleep that night. As Mirror mumbled one last comment, “Your world has always been a mess Jenna, but it is still a beautiful world you live in regardless. Here’s to hopes that it will only get better from here on out.”