Creak.

I sit up and rub my eyes as the sound disrupts my sleep. “Vio?” Thanks to the tiny bits of moonlight sneaking through the window in the back of our room, I can barely make out her figure in the darkness.

“This stupid door…” She sighs and closes it behind her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“That’s alright. Even being woken up randomly by a Goddess is a blessing to me.”

“You…” She shakes her head and sits on her bed. “You’re really something else.”

“Sorry,” I say, worried that my recent actions have been annoying her.

“It’s fine. You are who you are. No need to apologize about that.” Vio coughs into her hand. “Anyway, Ian told me that your friend has been having trouble sleeping.”

Maybe that’s why he was acting the way he was the other day. Poor guy. He didn’t even want to be here, but I got him dragged into this crazy mess. I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help.

“So,” Vio continues. “I was wondering if you were having any problems like that. If you do, tell me and I’ll see what I can do.”

This might be my chance to ask about Captain Swift, but a devious thought pops into my mind. Vio has just given me the perfect excuse to tease her and I’m not going to miss it.

“Actually, I have been having a little trouble sleeping, but if I could use a Goddess as a pillow, I bet that would go away.”

She responds with silence, and I can imagine her face turning red on the other side of the dark room. “I know I said to come up with more original lines, but if you’re just going to make fun of me, I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.”

I snicker to myself as I lie down again. “Sorry, Vio. And goodnight.” A few moments pass in silence as I close my eyes and prepare to drift off.

“I’m serious, though,” Vio says. “If anything is actually bothering you, let me know.”

She really is kind. Even after I annoyed her, she still cares enough to make sure I’m okay. It’s like what Leorio used to do for me, except I feel much safer with Vio than I ever did with him. I appreciate her offer, but I really am okay. On the other hand, it sounds like Joshua isn’t doing as well. Hopefully I can help him for once.

*

Since the day he talked to me in captain’s quarters, I haven’t seen Joshua. Ian says he’s fine, and that he just likes to stay in his room. Whenever I try to talk to Joshua, he doesn’t open the door, and only tells me to go away. My worry grows each day, but Ian assures me that if something were wrong, he would do something about it. I really wish I could do something, but for now, I have to place my trust in Ian.

Vio's fears about how the rest of the crew might act towards me have been unfounded. Some of them greet me as they walk by, but for the most part, the pirates don't seem to care that I'm here. I expected to always have eyes on me like at the academy, so this is nice. It's as if I'm free from my family name, even if only while I'm on this ship.

I continue to try to ask Vio about Captain Swift, but whenever I see her, I get distracted and tease her. One mention of her godly beauty flusters her, and any more than that turns her into my favorite: tomato Vio. When that happens, she kicks me out of the kitchen, or walks away and hides from me. This has the unfortunate downside of me never getting to ask her about who Captain Swift is.

And so, we float along the seemingly endless waters of the Mallen Sea for a week, and it makes me wonder why it isn't called the Mallen Ocean instead. A few years ago, Leorio told me a story about how the guy who named the Mallen Sea misjudged its size when he named it, and was too stubborn to admit his mistake, so the name Mallen Sea stuck. At the time, I thought he was trying to cheer me up after my punishment with a silly story, but now I'm starting to think there was some truth to the story.

In the distance, a mass of land finally appears. Nearly hanging over the side of the ship, I stare at the green blob on the horizon. Try as I might to see it better by squinting, it's too far away for now to make out anything significant.

“Having fun there?” Joshua asks behind me.

I jump at his voice and almost fall overboard. “Joshua? You’re okay.” A wave of relief washes over me as I stare at his slicked-back dark hair and glasses.

“Yup, and that card-loving idiot Ian made sure of it.” He shakes his head. “These stupid pirates are so annoying. They’re so nice, it makes it hard to dislike them.”

I smile and nod intently. “Right?”

Joshua breaks eye contact and gazes out at the small blob of land on the horizon. “That’s not what I’m here to talk about. I was thinking a lot this past week, and I realized I’ve been a bit immature. So, I’m sorry.”

His words take me by complete surprise. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me, since I’m the one who got him dragged into this mess. “I should be the one—”

“Anyway, how about we talk about something more fun, like muffins?” 

He’s trying to cheat. He thinks that by talking about muffins, I’ll completely drop the previous conversation. I’d rather not, and I still need to apologize to him, but if he’s trying so hard to change the subject, he must not want to talk about it anymore. It frustrates me, but I’ll let him, especially if it gives me a chance to talk about muffins.

Joshua adjusts his glasses and glances back at me. “I still have no idea why you like them so much, but there has to be a reason right? And I don’t mean just because they taste good.”

“Oh, it’s because of my mom,” I say without thinking. “She used to make really good muffins, and now they’re the only thing I have left to remember her by.” The words slip out before I can stop them; a truth I’ve never said out loud.

He cocks his brow. “Isn’t Duchess Krehn still alive?”

My heart drops as I realize what I just said. Any further and I would have betrayed the Krehn family and earned myself a punishment so great that death would be the easier option. I have to consider my next words carefully. If I slip up, and Joshua digs a little deeper, my secret could be exposed.

“S-something like that.” I stare at the wooden deck beneath my feet and hope that Joshua won’t ask any questions.

He taps me on the shoulder. “Are you okay?”

A whistle assaults my ears from above, saving me from Joshua’s questions. "Captain!" Ian shouts as he slides down the ladder from the crow's nest with the whistle around his neck. "There's trouble."