~Enjoy

Two weeks later...

Scrub, dunk, repeat.

Amy's back ached, and the muscles in her arms tensed and relaxed as she scrubbed away at the ship's filthy deck. Back and forth, back and forth- she had been at the chore for hours, laboring away under the burning sun without rest or refreshment.

Her body was bruised, battered, sunburned, and exhausted, yet she still had several hours of hard work ahead of her.

Everyday she was expected to roll out of her hammock while it was still dark and frigid, choke down whatever the cook provided for food, work for hours without a break, and ignore the captain's son's gaze at all times.

The last one was the hardest.

She was constantly aware of him- he lurked in the corner of her vision- watching her, suspicion written in his handsome features, as if he was waiting for the right moment to expose her for what she truly was- a fraud. Yet he hadn't tried to speak with her after that first day, and for that Amy was both relieved, and oddly disappointed.

She swiped her sweaty forehead, and sat back on her heels, stalling the moment when she would have to go back to work.

Above her head, seagulls soared lazily in the brilliant azure and peacock sky, and below the sea was a mix of peacock and rich cerulean.

"Azturpealean" Amy whispered, with a small smile, liking the way the new word sounded.

"What did you say?"

Heart pounding with a startled burst adrenaline, Amy hurriedly got back down on hands and knees, and began to scrub with vigor. She knew instantly whom the voice belonged to, but she dared not acknowledge the mysterious nameless boy.

"Answer me, Cabin Boy!" His tone dripped irritation and contempt, but Amy detected a hint of curiosity as well.

"N-Nothing," She mumbled, mortified -the last thing she wanted to do was admit that she had been idly making up fanciful words about the sky and sea.

"Nothing, what? How do you address the captain's son, you brainless pig?"

Amy gritted her teeth at his annoyingly superior attitude, and her face flushed hot. She had seen him act this way around the other crew members when bored or annoyed- he was just goading her into a fight! No matter how handsome he was, the younger Kabra was still cruel.

"How am I to address someone without a name, you awful b-beast?" She could not hide the flash of irritation and anger in her voice, and as expected, he did not take the insult lightly.

He shot out an arm and grabbed her foot. Amy yelped in surprise and fear as he jerked her skyward, and dangled her face down, several feet above the deck, and shook her until her teeth rattled.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" He spat, face dark with fury. "Do you know what I could do to you for saying such a thing?

Amy whimpered, and tried to hold her arms inconspicuously over her descending shirt to hide her identity, but it was too late. His eyes widened in shock, and she was afraid he would drop her on her head. Her locket swung freely around, and the young man alternated staring at her exposed chest, and down at the locket.

"Well, well," he sneered. His gaze lost some of its rage, and his lips turned up in a smirk that mirrored one of his father's. Amy shivered and crossed her arms tighter over her chest. "Our useless cabin boy is a useless cabin girl. Lovely." His voice dripped with heavy sarcasm.

He released Amy, and she tumbled to the ground, awkwardly tugging at her shirt as she fell. She scanned the deck, but no one else seemed to have discovered who she really was- everyone had their heads ducked down to avoid confrontation with the angry teen.


The younger Kabra paced back and forth for a moment, unsure of what he should do. Should he turn this...this...fake in? He glared down at the girl in disgust. She was huddled into herself, legs pulled up to her chest; bottom lip trembling slightly, a wary expression creasing her dirt stained face.

Pitiful.

And yet somehow...she'd slipped under his radar.

He eyed the pendant around her neck, identical to his own, then stared straight into her oddly familiar green eyes. Now that he was picturing her as a girl rather than a bothersome cabin boy, he realized that with long hair and those green eyes, she would look almost identical to the portrait he carried in his locket.

What if... the two were connected?

"Where did you get that locket?" He blurted urgently, taking a step towards her. The girl stared up at him blankly, a confused frown gracing her plain face. "W-What?"

His jaw tightened in annoyance at her blank look. "It's a simple question, where did you get your locket?"

She squirmed under his gaze, and unconsciously fingered the heart. "My mother gave it to me before she died..."

He smirked triumphantly and withdrew his matching locket and clicked it open with his thumb to reveal the woman's pretty face. "Your mother?" he purred. "Is this her?"

The girl's eyes grew wide, "How did you-? Where did you get that?" She reached out a hesitant finger to caress the image, but he snapped it closed and pocketed it before she could touch it. "You know..." He said casually, "If my father knew there was a woman aboard his ship he would be furious. I could see to it that he did not find out..." he leaned in close to her. "For a small price." He enunciated the last four words carefully. "I want your locket."

Her face grew indignant, "N-no! I didn't decided to sneak onto this ship. I wouldn't even be here if your father hadn't kidnapped me! You can't have my locket."

He raised an eyebrow, "Don't forget your place, Wench. I hold your fate in my hands." He held out a hand, and waggled his slim fingers expectantly. "Give me the locket."

"Why do you even want it?" She challenged suspiciously, holding it tightly in her fist. She scooted away from him. "Y-you're a pirate- you steal riches for a living. You must have mountains of treasure. Besides, you already have a locket...it's...it's identical to mine!"

Quick as a wink, he ducked his head down close to hers, and she shuddered as his breath tickled her skin."You will give it to me." He hissed, "Or I will make it my personal business to see that your life is a living hell."

"It's just a locket," she whispered, her green eyes fixed on his. "But it's my locket."

He shot her his most intimidating glare, and she shrank back, but her grip on the locket did not loosen. He gritted his teeth at her unbelievable stubbornness. Footsteps sounded on the deck behind him.

"Is something the matter, Son?" A cool voice asked. The teen whipped around, to see his father staring at him, one eyebrow raised in question. Wind played in the man's jet black hair, and his amber eyes bore into his son's.

Below him, the girl had stuffed the locket back inside her shirt and was once more scrubbing vigorously at the deck like nothing at all had happened. She kept glancing nervously up at the teen, her green eyes silently pleading with him not to reveal her identity.

The younger Kabra's lip curled in disgust at her pitifulness, and he wished he could take her locket and find the treasure right that instant- for he was certain that her metal heart held the other half of the map- but that was easier said than done. His father was still standing over them, and the teen had no wish to share whatever wealth he might find with Vikram. It would be far better to wait, he decided, and take the locket at another time.

"Well, answer me, Boy." Vikram was growing impatient. "Is something the matter?" Out of the corner of his eye, the son noticed that his father too was eyeing the girl, or more specifically, the heart shaped lump protruding from beneath her shirt with more than a little interest.

The teen tensed. Was it possible his father knew about the locket around his son's neck, and its twin?

A tear trickled down the bridge of the girl's nose, and the young man sighed and stared straight into

his father's waiting face. "No, Sir," he lied smoothly. "Nothing at all..."

(A N)

Annnnd I'm back! As you know, I was gone all last month while I was participating in NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month). This was my first year of participating in NaNo, and I'm quite proud to announce that I met my goal of writing over 50,000 thousand words in that month. My original story isn't finished, but it's about three fourths of the way through. :) Congratulations to everyone who braved NaNoWriMo last month. *Confetti* NaNo is very challenging!

Please review, and thank you so much for being patient about the wait. You guys are awesome. :)