Ribbon Girl

Christopher: Part One: Medicine for Me

When I first laid my eyes on Aleks, that night when I examined her when she idiotically jumped off of the crow's nest, I think I knew right then that my life would somehow change with her. I was right. But not in the way I suspected, not something along the lines of, oh, she will definitely make things harder to concentrate on around here. I could practically cook a raw egg on Eduardo's face, that's how much he hated her and how much she enjoyed teasing him, so that lead to the conclusion that there will be screaming matches between them at ridiculous hours in the morning. And all right, I'll admit it, I thought that she might be the type to swoon, simper and act all weak because we're Pirates. Or try to seduce us. That often happens. Especially with the Captain, now that I think of it...

But, anyway, I never would've guessed that she would change me in this way...ever. Let me explain it clearly; I think, no, I KNOW I am head over heels for Aleks...But I don't think she notices.

But it's still odd that she has this much control over me, and in such a short period of time!

Usually, whenever Captain Morgan and the rest (apart from maybe Nathan; he's a smidgen quieter than the rest) are off galloping on land and seducing innocent (or otherwise) ladies, I tag along to make sure no one gets too drunk or hurt. Or wild. Like that time when Russell and Thomas fell off of the peer and developed an inflammation of the throat for three days afterwards. Or when Eduardo nearly steered the Sirus onto rocks because he was so hung over and had not slept a wink. I'm the mother figure on this ship, kind of a big brother to everyone. I just thought that Aleks would be another immature little child I'll grow fond of and act like the overprotective parent.

But no. No, Aleks is the type of girl that goes against expectations, even mine. She that one in a million girl that's get born every thousand years under the full moon when Venus and the moon turn blue and there are precisely one thousand six hundred fifty seven stars shining in the sky. She doesn't know that, beats herself up over her flaws and pretends she's alright. Sometimes, I want to grab hold of her shoulders, shake her hard and yell at her to just accept the fact that she's by far, THE only woman who's ever came close to my...h..heart, I guess. That felt good, saying that.

I didn't quite think that I would fall in love with her. At least, not so soon. And not when everyone else on board are trying to win her for themselves as well. I mean, they try to hide their feelings, especially Nathan and Eduardo, but, hey, I'm a doctor, trained to work with emotional people so what may be not so obvious to them is flashing neon to me. They're...really in the deep end. Over their heads. The little things they do for Aleks amuse me yet also annoy me slightly. Like the time when Thomas and Aleks dove to retrieve Alek's fallen pendant and when Thomas found it, she gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek? My feelings? They were confused. As the "Mother" figure, I guess I should give up on Aleks, make way for the others as I have always one.

But not this time. This time, I'm truly, really fighting for Aleks. Because she's too unique, beautiful, perfectly flawed to let her slip through my fingers like silk ribbons.

And Aleks? She's oblivious. Totally and utterly oblivious to them and me. She's smart alright with common sense and spirit, and doesn't mind listening to me ramble on about medicine, well fare and other trivial things. She listens to me, appreciative with some sarcasm when I rant on a little bit too much. But when it comes to matters of the heart, Cupid could've smacked me in the face and she wouldn't notice. Yep. That clueless.

But one day, hopefully soon, I'm going to show her that I care for her. Deeply.

I think that I first knew I loved her during the second week of her stay, after the Captain approved of her joining our crew. She had never sailed before and was inexperienced with canons and weapons, but she made up for it by being independent, a hard worker and a quick learner. We were used to see her up early before dawn, up in the crow's nest with a satisfied smile on her lovely face and wind tousling through her hair or running around the ship helping wherever she was needed. Aleks wore pirate garb; loose white shirt with patches, raggedy trousers and a small dagger and pistol concealed within the folds of a second - hand scarf we found. Her clothes did not do her justice and any other women would rather stick pins in her eyes before wearing such a mangy assortment, but Aleks barely batted an eyelash as we presented her with these rags. The only thing she would not take of was a cheap trinket, a brass necklace with a small, bronze amulet in the shape of a swallow hanging off the delicate chain. I wonder why...but prying is not a good quality to have.

But this one day, when the Sirus was floating along a leisurely breeze in the Topaz Sea and guided by the North current, Aleks could not be found anywhere. At all. People were worried in the morning, when we had all risen and only Nathan was preparing breakfast...without his usual assistant. Aleks. But we didn't panic for some reason, we thought that Aleks was probably having a lie in after all those early mornings. So we ate and worked until the burning sun pounded on our backs and the air grew hot and heavy. It was midday and there was still no trace of Aleks, not even the soft pitter patter of her feet running on deck. Nathan in his kitchen hadn't seen her since last night and Eduardo didn't see her since he began steering in the morning. Thomas and Russell had no clue where she was and word soon spread about board that Aleks was missing. Even Eduardo went a little pale as Captain organ announced that Aleks may have been left behind at the last port, or even worse, swept into the sea because of the vicious storm we came across last night. Aleks had remained above deck, furling the sails so they wouldn't tear. The last I saw of Aleks was her form high up, being battered by the sea and the wind but carrying on as if those forces meant nothing more than a slight case of hiccups.

We were just about to really start panicking, with Russell already claiming he'd run both his swords clean through the "kidnapper"(I think he believed Aleks was kidnapped by the Rika pirates or the Navy even) and Nathan was muttering oaths under his breath, his hand twitching dangerously above the scythe and chain he wore in his belt. Captain Morgan was faking a smile and was about to split us up to search the ship when a small, tired voice asked from the open doorway to the Captain's cabin; "What's going on here?"

My heart started pounding so loud, I thought that I may suffer from an unknown heart disease. Spinning around on my heels, I saw the dishevelled form of Aleks leaning against the wooden doorway, yawning loudly. Her face was peaceful, content albeit slightly confused. Rumpled hair stuck out at various angles, although I swear, with the midday sun illuminating her, Aleks was at that moment the most beautiful being that ever drew breath.

I rushed forward and threw my arms around her slightly smaller form, crushing her in a hug of relief. I never felt so worried abut a person in my entire life and I'm a doctor, for crying out loud. Thomas and Russell followed my suit, as well as Captain Morgan. Nathan stood quietly back, instead ruffling her hair even more with the first smile I ever saw on his face. Eduardo smirked at her. That's it.

"What's the big deal? Assaulting me?" Aleks's voice drifted up, slightly muffled from underneath four pirates but I could tell she was teasing us a little bit.

In that moment I realised, I was in love with Aleks. And she was my medicine.