"Evans, are you listening to me?" barked Captain James Potter. Lily Evans jumped in her seat, startled by the Captain's voice. A blush crept up on her cheeks and she rustled her short red hair in embarrassment. She hadn't quite gotten used to the boyish short hair and still had the habit of touching it.
"No, er, sorry, Captain," she responded, nearly forgetting to lower her voice to something resembling a man's voice. To be honest, the reason why she was having troubling focusing was because Captain Potter decided to walk around shirtless.
"As I was saying, Luke, you've earned your place in this crew. What you did yesterday was very noble of you. Not many men would risk their lives to save me like you did," he went on. It took Lily a moment to realize that he was addressing her. That was the downside of masquerading around as a man.
"Thank you, Captain. I would risk my life any day for you," Lily spoke. Men from the crew gathered around her scoffed in annoyance, and she supressed the urge to glare at them. She wasn't just sucking up, she meant every word.
"It's time for your initiation ceremony," Captain Potter smirked. Lily , no, they know, don't they?she panicked internally. If this was all a ruse to get her to expose herself…
"Oh, go walk the plank, James," the Captain's right-hand man, Sirius Black, said with a nudge. "Can't you see the poor boy is terrified?" he added with a snicker.
"Right, so we're gonna tie you in some rope and lower you into the ocean for a few minutes. It isn't that bad, really," he assured with a grin.
"Get naked!" someone in the crew who had obviously had too much rum shouted. Soon, the entire crew began to chant those two words over and over again. Lily's heart sped up and she glanced around for ways out. The only option she had was walking the plank.
"Oh, I don't, I mean, really there isn't any–" she sputtered in protest, but to no avail. The crew surrounded themselves around her and began to tug on her clothes. A rip sounded through the air and cold blasted onto Lily.
"What the hell?" someone muttered as Lily made an attempt to cover her breasts. She was mortified.
"Get her!" someone shouted and a mob made their way closer to Lily. She closed her eyes as she accepted the fact that something bad was about to go down. That is, until the sound of a sword being drawn caused her to open her eyes. There was Captain Potter, standing right in front of her with his sword drawn at the crowd.
"I will slit the throats of every last one of you if you even dare to take another step forward. Go back to your cabins," he commanded with a fierce look. Even the boldest of them all retreated.
Nothing was said for the longest while between them, until, "Why are you saving me?"
"You saved my life, I'll save yours," he whispered as he turned around to face her. She appreciated the fact that he made an effort not to stare, but she grew annoyed at his sneaky glances.
"Stop it!" she yelled at him after a few minutes had passed by. In return, he gave her a cocky grin and threw her shirt at her.
"Do you want to sleep in my cabin tonight?" he asked quietly.
"Absolutely not!" she shouted, offended at the implication. Captain Potter flushed with surprise.
"Oh, I didn't mean like that. Just for, you know, protection," he fumbled with his words. Lily's forehead relaxed and she gave a small smile.
"Yeah, thank you," she said and he smiled back.
