This chapter is nice and long, so enjoy it :) ...
Oh, I never had any intention of letting Utau have Dia... She's Amu's :) ...
With that said, onto the chapter.
Chapter 7
Easter's ship floated just south of the town's harbor. All the pirates were aboard and the sun had almost completely set below the horizon. Everyone waited for orders, passing the time as they usually did. The pirates were sprawled out over the deck with dice or cards or telling lewd stories of when they had found themselves in the company of certain women in the town when no one was looking. Ikuto tuned them out. The captain had disappeared into his quarters and had not come out. Only recently did he send word to Kairi to join him and tell him of the mission to fetch the lock from Amu.
Ikuto lounged on the beam of one of the lower sails, waiting. He watched the other pirates silently. Utau leaned against the mast below him; her long skirts and heeled boots did not make it impossible for her to climb up to him, but they did make it harder. She stayed on deck.
It took the captain only a few minutes to realize that Kairi did not have the lock. After hearing that had happened to it, he stormed out of his room and onto the main deck. He searched the other pirates and spotted Ikuto in the mast. He marched to it, standing almost face to face with Utau before he looked up.
"Ikuto," he commanded, "get down here, now!" As much as Ikuto did not want to obey him, the captain was the one man who he could not refuse. Utau remained where she was as Ikuto landed next to her silently. The captain glared at him.
"Where is the lock?" the captain questioned. Some of the other pirates around them turned to watch the confrontation. Ikuto felt Utau's eyes on him as well, questioning him, wondering what the captain meant in his accusation. Everyone had heard the captain say he wanted Kairi to retrieve the lock, so the confusion was rightfully earned. Ikuto blinked and looked over the captain's shoulder. He saw Kairi standing just inside the captain's door.
"I don't have it," Ikuto replied with a shrug of his shoulders. A surprised grin tugged at the young green haired pirate's face. Ikuto saw a glimpse of it before it disappeared. He should have been surprised, but he was thinking of other things.
"Why did Kairi say he gave it to you ?" the captain frowned.
"Ikuto?" Utau questioned in shock. She reached for his arm and clung to it like a lost child.
"The guardians took it back," Ikuto explained, his voice void of emotion. He would not let anyone know that he had given it back; that was to be a secret shared by only Amu and himself.
"Why did you have the lock?" the captain demanded again, "I told Kairi to retrieve it. He told me he did."
"And he was correct," Ikuto interrupted. The boy would be free of blame; he had only followed orders.
"Then where is it," the captain shouted. The pirates that had not been listening outright to the conversation dropped all pretenses and turned to watch. Ikuto looked at the captain. The old man was red in the face and sweating heavily under his black hat, even in the cool evening air. Ikuto felt his own anger rise, but he pushed it back, letting the flames burn only through his eyes. Yoru crouched halfway behind Ikuto's neck and his shoulder, hissing as only a cornered cat can.
"I told you, the guardians have the lock," Ikuto scowled. The captain reached out and took Ikuto's shoulders in each of his hands and shoved him backwards into the mast. Utau had been pulled away by Yukari only seconds before.
"You weakling," the captain hissed, "you took the lock from Kairi to try and gain back your lost pride, and you went and got it stolen from you by those kids." Ikuto narrowed his eyes, but did not refute the claim. He would not beg, but silently he hoped the captain would drop this string of words and move on; he knew where this would end up. Luck was not on his side.
"You're useless, just like your father," the captain growled. Ikuto snapped his head around to glare at the captain. He had heard the man throw similar insults at him before, but never in front of the whole crew, and never in front of Utau. The captain loosened up on his hold, only to slam Ikuto back once more. The captain, for his age, was still a strong man. It came with the business of being a pirate.
"How can you get beaten by a bunch of kids when you have the advantage?" the captain raged.
"I could ask you the same question," Ikuto hissed. Yoru swiped his claws at the captain's hand on Ikuto's left shoulder and the man drew back with a yelp. Ikuto slipped out from under the captain's grasp and moved just out of his reach, but no further. He did not reach up to sooth the building bump he knew he would have on the back of his head either. He would not let the captain win that battle, not when he had won all the others.
"You're just like your father," the captain growled once again. He looked like he was about to say something else and then paused; he finally added,
"But this is my ship now, not yours. Your father's dishonor has made it so. You are mine to do with as I see fit boy." The captain grinned and walked back to his quarters, slamming the door behind him.
All eyes on deck flew to Ikuto where he stood silently. He did not refuse to met any of their stares and soon they all hastily returned to what they were doing previously.
Utau approached Ikuto cautiously, having been freed by Yukari earlier. She embraced him in her own death grip of a hug. Ikuto allowed himself to relax slightly in her arms but not too much. He knew she had questions on her mind. He would have wanted to shield her from learning that the captain despised their father entirely, but he could not change the past.
"Why did you ruin Kairi's mission Iktuo?" Utau mumbled into his white shirt, "We could have had the lock now." Ikuto looked down at the top of her head and remained silent.
Even his own sister would not understand his desire to protect Amu from Easter, especially when he himself was not entirely sure of the feeling's origins. They stood in silence for several minutes until the captain's door was flung open and the man himself stepped out into the last ray of the fading sun. Yukari walked out behind him, a smile on her face. Kairi appeared next. The crew watched them as the captain reached out his hands to signal he was about to speak.
"It has come to my attention that tonight was not as much of a complete failure as I thought it was," the captain grinned. He made sure to glance at Ikuto and Utau before continuing with his speech. "Kairi has informed me that this lock needs to be glowing in order to be able to properly purify the x-eggs and call upon the embryo so I can capture it." Some of the pirates mumbled in confusion.
"When the lock is not in contact with the girl it stops glowing, therefore rendering it useless," the captain announced. Ikuto tensed. Utau looked up at him but continued to embrace him.
"Ikuto?" she mumbled, "what's wrong?" The blue haired pirate was silent as he heard the captain announce the new plan, one that had no loopholes to exploit or ways for him to keep Amu safe.
"Tonight we attack The Guardian and kidnap the girl and the lock!" the captain grinned. The pirates cheered and hurried to their feet to ready the ship. They loved looting ships and towns; it was their specialty. They were ill-equipped to deal with character changing kids, but they knew how to attack a ship. Now, they even had the element of surprise.
"Utau," Yukari stated, raising her eyebrow at the blond who was still locked in an embrace with her older brother, "you're helping with the attack, we need to get ready. You're the only one who can find the girl on the ship on the first try without alerting the other children of our presence." Utau nodded, realizing she was to use her two shugo charas to track Amu's shugo charas and thus find Amu. Ikuto watched her walk away as she pulled out the two eggs from a deep pocket in the back of her skirts. They opened and released her two very different shugo charas.
"Ikuto," the captain called. The boy pirate turned to face the man, who had only moments before been angry enough to throw him overboard, as he stood calmly in his doorway. He motioned for Ikuto to join him. Ikuto moved into the room and leaned against the table. The captain stood at the door with a scheming smile.
"You got lucky this time with your mistake," the captain explained, "Kairi told me afterward that you knew the lock would not work if it did not glow. He also said that the lock only works in this girl's hands." Ikuto looked away and silently wished to strangle the boy. Kairi apparently thought he had been protecting Ikuto by saying that the lock would not have worked away. Now Amu was in more danger then she knew.
"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this," the captain said after Ikuto's silence.
"Not really," Ikuto replied; he needed to find a way to keep Amu away from Easter. The captain was not amused but kept talking anyway.
"I'm telling you this so you know that just because it worked out in your favor this time," he explained, "I'm not giving you another chance to mess things up for us." Ikuto looked up, seeing what the captain meant at the last second. The blue haired pirate leaped for the door, his fingers closing around the handle a second too late. The dead bolt was locked in place from the outside as Ikuto twisted the knob in vain. He thought he heard the captain shift a barrel in front of the door as well, but he could not be sure since he had decided to kick the door at that precise moment.
"Don't break my door," the captain scowled. Ikuto could hardly hear him. He glowered at the door for a second, before he heard the captain speak again. He sounded calmer this time.
"I'll let you out after we've got the girl," the captain stated, leaning close to the door so Ikuto could hear him. Ikuto heard his footsteps walk away and the frenzied sound of the other pirates scurrying to ready the ship to chase after the guardians. He slammed his fist against the door and scowled. Yoru watched Ikuto with his big eyes and then leaned against his neck to try and comfort him.
It did not take long before Easter's ship sailed into sight of The Guardian. The sun was gone and the moon high in the sky at that point. As quietly as pirates could, they sailed up and snuck across the planks they lowered, following Yukari and Utau. The blond followed her two shugo charas as they floated towards the bedrooms. They passed two doors and stopped at the next one.
"In here," giggled the little devil chara. Utau nodded and signaled to the waiting pirates. Three of them moved into the room and snatched up Amu. A muffled squeak made Yukari cringe, but it was quickly silenced with a thud and the pirates left the room with Amu bundled in her bedspread. One of her legs hung free of the makeshift bag, banging against the door frame as the pirates carried her down the hall.
Utau ducked into the room and scanned the tops of the desks and drawers. She did not see the lock and assumed Amu was wearing it. She spotted a basket and her eyes widened. The blond looked to each of the four eggs before she grabbed the basket and hurried after the other pirates. Once they all stepped back onto Easter's ship the captain gave the order.
"Sink it!" his voice rang out. The pirates shouted out in joy and the cannons exploded. Dark smoke filled the air. A cannon ball collided with the main mast of the guardian's ship. Like a great tree, the mast toppled over, each of the lines tethering it to the ship snapping with high pitched twangs. Shouts began to come from inside The Guardian; two silhouettes ran onto deck from the bedrooms. By then, Easter had already done the damage and was fleeing the scene.
Water rushed into the gaping holes the cannon balls had left at the waterline. The steering wheel had been shattered into nothing more than splinters. Several of the sails now had rips and the polished wood of the deck was pock-marked. The once beautiful ship now floated in tatters.
"Amu!" called a small voice from Utau's arms. She looked down and saw three sets of eyes peeking out from their eggs.
"Stay inside or those eggs will get broken," Utau threatened. The pink and green eggs shut immediately, but the blue chara eyed Utau before slowly agreeing to her demand. Utau sighed, she would normally not mind hatched shugo charas; it meant the child they were with was confident and powerful, but these four belonged to the pink haired girl who had gotten Ikuto into trouble. Utau did not understand her brother's attention to Amu, but she could see something was going on. She would do anything in her power to keep him safe.
She followed the two pirates down a set of rickety stairs through a previously locked door and into the brig. They dropped the blanket to the floor. Utau heard a dazed moan from inside it. Yukari appeared at Utau's side.
"What are those?" she questioned, looking to the basket in Utau's arms.
"Her shugo charas," Utau replied. Yukari knew all about the charas, so Utau explained why she had grabbed them, "she needs them to use the lock."
"Here," the woman said. She handed Utau a wire cage. At her questioning glance, she added, "the captain once had a parrot that he kept in here because it liked to fly off." Utai nodded and placed each egg into the bird cage. She locked the door and set it on the ground near Amu. Yukari took the key and folded it into her pocket.
"Come Utau," the woman stated. Utau saw that the one pirate moved to follow them while the other one lifted the unconscious Amu's hands and bound them together with a small length of rope. Utau turned away and left the brig.
Up on deck, she saw the last glimpse of The Guardian before the moon was hidden by a dense pack of clouds. Yukari ordered two of the pirates who were standing around to unlock Ikuto. In a moment, he stepped onto the deck, glared at the captain who wore a pleased grin, and jumped up into the tangle of sails. The wind pushed them north. They headed to a town where the captain planned to test the girl's power with a new batch of x-eggs. It had all begun in this town, and it would all end in this town.
-o-
The dirty window let in just enough sunlight to wake Amu from her forced slumber. Blinking her eyes, she reached up to push away her blanket and discovered her hands tied together with a thick rope. Panic rushed through her as she flung herself into sitting position and looked around.
"Amu!" called three tiny voices. The pink haired girl turned to see her three charas and still un-hatched egg in a bird cage beside her.
"You guys," Amu breathed a sigh a relief, "where are we?" She looked around, taking in all of the room around her. She heard footsteps above her and waves around her. She knew she was in a ship.
"We were kidnapped Amu!" Ran cried.
"By who?" Amu questioned, even though she was certain she already knew the answer, "where are we?" The door to the brig opened and Amu saw a familiar face. She smiled.
"Ikuto-!" she began to say, until she saw the man who stepped through the door behind him. Her heart sank. If Ikuto was here, then she could only be one place. That man could thus, only be one person. This is Easter's ship, and he's the captain. Amu shivered; she was scared. It was only then that she realized she was still in her night clothes. At least I was smart enough not to wear a nightgown to bed last night, she thought to herself.
"So you're finally up," the captain sneered as he stepped closer. Amu struggled to her feet and backed away. She looked to Ikuto, but he made a point of not meeting her eyes.
"What do you want?" Amu demanded, "why am I here?" She realized then that she was the only one in this prison, "where are the other guardians?"
"At the bottom of the ocean," laughed the captain.
"You're lying," Amu chocked. She glanced helplessly at Ikuto. He looked up slowly to meet her eyes.
"Their ship was destroyed," he stated.
"No," Amu gasped. She raised her bound hands to her mouth in shock, shaking her head, willing her tears away. The ship can't be sunk. They can't be dead. No way. They can't. She thought.
"Why am I here?" Amu repeated more softly then before.
"You are going to help me get the embryo," the captain stated.
"I won't," Amu answered. She heard a voice inside her head agree with her. Yes, it said softly, good. She looked at her three charas and saw they had remained silent. She stood up straighter and dropped her hands from her in front of her chest, "I will not help you. There's no way." The captain raised his eyebrow and grinned again.
"You won't have a choice," he explained, "you'd just leave all those poor children to live without their heart's egg?"
"No, I-" Amu tried to say.
"Because if you don't do as I say, that is exactly what will happen," the captain said as he leaned forward. Amu stepped back again; her charas pounded on the wires of the cage to try and help her.
"All you need to do is purify the x-eggs when I tell you," the captain of Easter said. He stood up once more and turned to leave. He beckoned for Ikuto to follow.
"I won't do it!" Amu shouted once more, "I won't help you get the embryo!" Ikuto glanced back at Amu a second before the captain did. She caught the look in his eyes, but could not identify the feeling completely.
"I told you Amu," the captain stated. All joy was gone from his voice, "you won't have a choice." He pushed Ikuto in front of him and walked up the steps, locking the brig door behind him.
Amu slid down the column at her back that supported the deck above her. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, happy they had not fallen before when she had been trying to be brave.
"Amu," Ran, Miki, and Suu cried together. Amu reached for the cage and placed it in her lap. She poked her fingers through the bars so the three girls could grab onto them. They were scared; she was scared. They sat together like that for a while.
Amu felt the sun grow stronger and the ship come to stop. Her charas had fallen asleep and Amu stood to look out the grimy window.
She saw a large town set on a tall cliff. The houses and buildings started at the harbor where the ships were docked and rose with the cliff to the very top where a lighthouse sat. The cliffs looked like they extended north for miles. She though she even saw a flash of white sand further north, secluded from the world by the sharp rocks and sheer drops.
Amu wondered how long she would need to wait here.
She was left alone for the remainder of the day, watching the activity through her tiny circular window. She found that the ship was not docked at the harbor, but instead anchored a few miles out and the pirates had to row back and forth when they left and returned later.
The day slowly turned to night. Amu had since moved to sit with her head resting on her knees on her stolen bedspread. She had no sense of time with her eyes closed and the sun no longer shining on her back; she listened to the silence of the ship around her. Amu jumped at the sound of the lock on the brig door clicking suddenly. She looked up and gathered herself to face whoever it was.
"I'm still not helping you," Amu announced, "Go away!"
"You're so noisy," Ikuto stated as he stepped into the room, "do you want everyone on the ship to know I'm here?" Amu was silent as a smile spread over her face. Ikuto stepped silently across the room and drew the cutlass from his belt.
"What are you doing?" Amu squeaked when she saw the sharp edge of the shiny blade. Ikuto grabbed her wrists in his free hand and expertly sliced the rope away. He released her and put the blade back in his belt.
"Thanks," Amu mumbled.
"Let's go," Ikuto replied without looking at her.
"What about Ran, Miki, and Suu?" Amu questioned.
"I don't have the key," Ikuto sighed. Amu snatched up the cage with a frown and followed him up the stairs. He paused at the top step. His cat chara flew to him and landed on his shoulder.
"Come on," Ikuto whispered. He reached back and grabbed Amu's hand, pulling her along. Amu had no time to feel her heart beat race in her chest, she was too busy looking around, waiting to be found out. They got to the edge of the ship and Ikuto stopped to peer over the edge. Amu looked to her charas in the cage and took a deep breath. She heard Ikuto bang his fist on the railing and hiss under his breath.
"Ikuto," she whispered. He turned to her. She knew she had asked him this before, and now she would ask him again. She needed an answer.
"Why are you helping me?" Amu asked.
"I'd like to know the same thing Ikuto," a feminine voice said from the darkness. Amu heard Ikuto mutter something through his teeth, but did not catch the words. Amu took a step closer to him as Utau stepped out of the shadows of the crew's quarters and into the sunlight from the setting sun.
"Yoru, find the key," Ikuto ordered gently. The cat chara nodded and floated away quickly.
"Why Ikuto!" Utau demanded. Ikuto was silent. Then the rest of the crew stepped onto the deck, the captain leading them. Looking around, Amu saw they were vastly outnumbered. Where had they all come from? She wondered.
The pirates moved closer and Amu took another few steps towards Ikuto. He watched everyone, trying to think of a way out. The small boat he had planned to use to escape had been moved, and he did not know where to look for it even if he had the time to. He stalled for time, backing Amu into the far corner of the deck where he kept his violin hidden. The other pirates advanced on them.
Ikuto pulled out the violin case and had a moment's satisfaction when he saw the captain's face. Along with the Dumpy Key, Ikuto had worked to keep his father's violin a secret. He slipped the strap over his shoulder and looked to each of the advancing pirates. Amu shivered behind him; he felt her grab a handful of his shirt in her hand nervously.
"Found it!" came the triumphant voice of Yoru. The cat dropped the key into Amu's hand and flew to Ikuto's shoulder. Ikuto smiled for a moment. Amu worked to unlock the cage but found it difficult. Sensing Amu's panic, Ikuto drew his cutlass from his belt and pointed it at the pirate who stood directly in front of him, the captain.
"What are you planning to do?" the captain asked mockingly, "it's you against the entire crew. You'll never win." Ikuto refused to respond to the threat.
"I'll happily cut you down myself just for getting in my way," the captain stated. The rest of the crew stood silent as they watched the captain reach for another pirate's sword. The sound of steel being drawn made Amu look up. She paused in her struggles with the cage and took a deep breath. Ikuto, you won't fight alone, she decided, I'll help. She was going to make a stand. Then the little voice that she heard before echoed in her mind again. She heard the words just as the lock to the wire cage finally opened, freeing her charas.
"Good choice Amu," the voice said, only this time aloud and not only inside her head. An explosion of sparkles burst free from where Amu stood. The little yellow egg cracked and opened, revealing a fourth girl who smiled brightly at Amu. The lock at Amu's chest glittered and she felt the feeling of the transformation flow through her. When the light faded, she was dressed in yellow and radiated the confidence she wished she always had. The pirates let out collective gasps around her.
"Utau!" Yuakari shouted, moving forward to grab the blond as she stepped closer, calling her devil chara to her.
"Amu go!" Ikuto commanded. Amu looked to him and saw he stood facing neither the captain who advanced on him with a sword nor her, who stood several feet behind him near the railing. He had divided his attention between the two sides, precariously balanced. He would need to pick one.
The captain lunged at Ikuto to get to Amu, his sword ready to cut him down if he needed to. Amu reached out and grabbed Ikuto's arm, pulling him out of the way of the blade and over the edge of the railing with her, choosing for him. Smiling, she lifted the two of them higher into the air as she flew. I did it! She exclaimed in her mind. Her charas flew beside her. Ikuto stared up in shock at Amu as she gripped his wrist tighter to keep him from falling and wrapped his hand around her forearm.
"You're heavy, you know that?" Amu commented as she sank lower in the air when a gust of salty wind buffeted her. She thought she heard Ikuto laugh, but he did not say anything.
They flew north, the ship fading from view in the dark as Amu moved closer to shore towards the beach she thought she had seen earlier.
After the beach came into view a few minutes later, Amu realized how far away it still was. The sparkling feeling she had felt before was fading and she began to doubt herself. What if I can't carry him all that way? She wondered amongst other fears that began to surface. She heard the voice again. She realized it was the chara from her yellow diamond egg.
"No Amu!" she called, "you have to believe in yourself or you'll-" But the voice vanished as the transformation was dropped. Amu fell with Ikuto towards the ocean, still hand in hand.
"Amu!" screamed her four charas.
"Yoru!" Ikuto called, "the violin!" The cat chara grabbed the case from Ikuto's shoulder and struggled to lift it away from the water even as Ikuto fell. Amu and Ikuto hit the waves and sank under the surf, surfacing shortly after. The waves brought them tumbling to shore. Amu shivered in her pajamas as she trudged up the beach. Ikuto walked behind her, his wet hair sticking to his face. Both of them were drenched; their cloths clung to their bodies.
Yoru and the four girls sat with the violin case where the waves did not reach, all exhausted from the task of saving the precious instrument. Amu and Ikuto moved over to their charas and stood in silence for a moment. Ikuto shook his head to shake off the water and frowned. Amu saw this and laughed.
"You looked like a drowned cat," she giggled. Ikuto was about to reply when a gust of cold wind blew in off the ocean. Amu shivered and wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to stay warm. The salty ocean water dripped down her pajamas, which luckily had not been white like his shirt. Instead, he grabbed her hand and began walking down the beach, searching the cliffs as he went. The charas sighed and lifted the case between them, trying to share the burden as best they could and still keep up. The sun was low on the horizon. Clouds gathered around it. It would soon be gone.
"W-where are we g-going?" stuttered Amu as her teeth clattered together. The wind had picked up, a storm seemed to be approaching the town. Ikuto said nothing as he kept tugging her along the beach. They walked for a short time until he found what he seemed to be looking for and turned left towards the cliffs. Amu saw the cave he was headed for and drew back nervously.
"It's ok," Ikuto promised. His voice was gentle. He had even loosened his grip on Amu's hand so she could follow him at her own pace. She stepped into the cave behind him and gasped in awe. The small opening that she had barely fit through had opened to reveal a large cavern that her school could easily have fit into. A pool of water sat untouched just inside the opening to the right, proof that the tide would cover the entrance eventually. Amu looked to the sand at her feet and saw something shining in the sand from the stray sunbeams that slipped inside.
"Ikuto, what's-" she began to ask. She would have reached down to grab the yellow object, but Ikuto pulled her forward and ignored her question.
"This way," Ikuto said as he guided her over piled rocks and up a somewhat steep sandy incline. The cavern walls were filled with small inlets and caves. Amu worried she would get lost if Ikuto abandoned her. She felt her charas floating behind her as Ikuto pulled gently on her hand to keep her moving. He led her up into one of the small caves that the big room branched off to, followed it for hundreds of steps, around small twists and turns, past more openings, stopped, and then dropped Amu's hand.
The room was dark since it turned away from the entrance and the remaining sunlight could not reach. They had been walking in the dark for some time, but only now did Amu shudder and start to feel scared. She felt her charas pulling gently on strands of her hair to let her know they were nearby.
She kicked the sand in her nervousness and heard a metallic clanging sound. Curious, Amu bent over and felt the sand around her feet for the source of the noise. She could not see anything, but her fingers eventually closed around the object she thought she was searching for. It was cool to the touch and circular. Its surface had embossed markings on it that were unfamiliar to Amu as she ran her fingers over it.
A spark caught Amu's attention and she turned to see Ikuto with his sword drawn and a newly lit candle in his other hand. She saw the rock he had just used to create the spark slip to the sand.
"Where did you get that?" Amu asked, referring to the candle. Ikuto looked to the flame and then into the darkness. He seemed just as nervous as she did.
"Ikuto," Amu questioned, "What's going on?" She squeezed the object in her hand and then realized she could find out what it was because of the candle. Ikuto moved a few steps, searching for something else, but the light was still enough to illuminate the object Amu held. Her golden eyes widened and she gasped. She held in her fingers a golden coin, an ancient gold coin, one that would have been in pirate stories of old.
Then, in a brilliant display, the entire cavern sparkled. Ikuto leaned up from the basin carved into the cave's wall that now leaped with flame. The flames burned on a thin layer of oil and wax that was spread on a sill around the entire room. Amu stood speechless.
It was not the fire that impressed her, though that was cool. It was not that Ikuto approached her silently, and she finally noticed his wet, white shirt stuck to his body and rendered it completely see through, though she did blush at the sight.
It was the fact that she was surrounded by a room full of treasure that made her jaw drop and her breath come short.
So how was it? Did you like it?
Only one or two more chapters after this. Maybe one, unless i break it up into two... So the big finale is coming up!
I'd love to know what you think at this point.
Reviews are great! I love them!
