Sorry that it was late but my computer was going through all these technical glitches and after answering my emails fan fiction has finally fixed the problem. So give a shout out to them. I know the last chapter didn't move the plot much but I planned out the story way far ahead so trust me when I saw that in the future more drama or action will come. I noticed I keep saying trust me. Man I got to get out of this habit.
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Home Sweet Home
Kori didn't even bother or she didn't attempt to think about knocking on the door before entering. If you think about it she had a reasonable excuse. The excuse you say? The absolutely reasonable and believable excuse was that Kori was overfilled with excitement; it pulsed through her whole body with the beat of her pulse and blocked all the common sense in her mind that she didn't bother thinking of knocking. But that didn't at all mean that Kori didn't regret it after words. In fact it was quiet the opposite.
In the moment, her emotions had made her equivalent to a plastered drunk man. Kori slammed the door open with a loud wham and the sight that greeted her was an only towel clad Richard. Kori really couldn't help but let her eyes wonder from his chiseled, perfectly toned chest, to his towel that started to slip past his masculine hips and his toned thighs back up to his amazing blue grey eyes.
Once Kori gave herself a good shake of her head, the white veil of haze and mist that clouded her eyes and mind faded away, turning her hazy emerald green back to their original vibrant color. Kori also noticed the moment right after, that Richard's eyes had the same sparkle of amusement and the exact same damn annoying, but dazzling, smirk that his lips curled into.
Her face turned a deep color that made a red rose seem pale in comparison and Richard didn't help at all, only he fueled the burning fire even bigger.
"Like what you see?" His tone was low, husky and teasing that only rivaled the feel of soft fabric of velvet. Kori's face turned an even deeper red, if that was even humanly possible, and she started to fear that the stupid blush would forever be permanent.
Finally realizing how the alluring and damn good looking man that she ogling not even a minute ago was still in a state of undress. In fact his towel was slipping even lower from his hips and the prick didn't even move a finger the readjust the towel. Kori ran out the room, a string of curses spewing from her mouth. It was a bad habit and she knew it but the man really was just to damn good looking for his own good and he knew it and acted upon it.
Kori waited a few moments before opening the well polished door to a medium sized crack, without a single creak she might add, and poked her head in to make sure everything was clear and Richard decided to show her mercy and put some clothes on.
But no one was in her sight and Kori opened the door to its full capability and reentered the room closing the door with little creaks.
Kori than turned her head and body to the rest of the room, and saw that Richard was on the far side of the bed, wearing nothing but black pants and laced up boots but still, to her dissatisfaction and satisfaction, no shirt leaving his toned muscles to be studied and ogled by her traitors that she called her eyes.
"Now why don't you put a shirt on?" Kori asked in an obvious tone of annoyance.
"I like seeing you flustered." Richard answered nonchalantly and it took Kori all her will to ignore the urge to roll her eyes. Her will seemed to have weakened because she did roll her eyes but Richard only laughed.
"Moving on." Kori said to move the conversation to a different subject, keeping her eyes everywhere but Richard's and his half dressed form. "I figured it out." Richard looked at Kori like she just blurted out that she had seen the ghost of her father or something equally crazy.
Unfortunately for Kori, her thoughts and her eyes were against her because she found herself staring at those orbs, and got lost in those spell binding blue grey eyes of his, for what she felt was the millionth time.
"Let me rephrase." Kori stated, refocusing her gaze on something other than Richard and thus broke the spell his eyes put her in. "I meant that I found out where Paul Wayne's second home is located."
Then without saying another word from her and not letting Richard say anything else, she handed him the severely damaged letter, and watched as his gaze read the letter and over and over again with frantic eyes, similar how she did a few minutes ago.
His eyes than looked at hers, trying to compose them so they didn't show the overjoyed happiness and were back to their usual cold and unfeeling gaze but Kori didn't live and train with Xaphier to be fouled that beyond those misty blue grey eyes was a frantic growing happiness.
"I'll tell Raven and Karen and I can you please inform Gar and Vic." Kori told Richard, lifting her heel so she could leave.
Turning on the toes of her boot, Kori walked to the door. Kori opened the door and was about to take a step forward into the dimly lifted narrow hallway, when Kori remembered that she wanted to give a little advice to Richard.
"You really do need to put a shirt on." Kori looked him up and down; Richard's eyes glowed with the mischievous spark. Blushing, Kori knew for a fact that the blush was permanently keeping her cheeks the same rosy color she hated.
Then Kori exited the room, taking the letter with her, unknown to the clueless and amused Richard.
Kori had no freaking clue how she did it. Really none at all. She didn't even know what possessed her to ask that damn stubborn fool, the stupid damn question, really.
Once Vic and Gar were told, the little secret that was supposed to stay between them got out to everyone aboard the ship and know everyone was located in the mess hall.
The mess hall was a large room, with four, long, dusty dinner tables in the middle stretching from across one wall to the other, only leaving narrow isles and a foot long path along the roughened ends to navigate through the large crowd and to get to the door on one of the sides walls that lead into the kitchen, only to come back with as many beer bottles they could hold, only to watch them disappear quicker than Raven and Karen could blink. Then the two women would repeat the process, all the while taking a drink from the pile and drinking away.
Navigating her way through the crowded isles, Kori made it to the table wear Richard was sitting. She found him laughing, the laugh was smooth and deep and Kori wanted to hear it again. It pleased her ears and was unlike all the other drunk shouts and cries.
Kori was surprised to say that pale cheeks were still the same vivid pale and his demeanor was still the same, no slurred words or wild hand gestures. The only reason anyone would think that Richard was as drunk as the rest was the fact that ten empty beer bottles surrounded him either on the table or the floor in shattered, rough pieces.
"Richard." Kori called out softly. She was a little bit scared to be around so many drunken strangers, none the less male strangers, and so she found her voice quivering from its usually confident and loud volume.
Richard seemed to have heard her for he turned his head, holding a half empty beer bottle in his hand. His eyes never lost their hypnotizing effect; in fact the effect got worse with the hazy white veil mad the perfect shad of blue shine even brighter and contrasting greatly from the dull of the light grey.
It seemed no one noticed that Richard wasn't participating in the conversation because they continued their belly laughter, the men continued to drink and talk, all the while completely ignorant.
"Yes." He answered at the sound of his name, studying her up and down with a cold look.
"I was wondering if you could do me a big favor." Kori stated, though it sounded more like a question, twiddling her fingers as she nervously looking at her boot covered feet. She couldn't help but admire the lovely blue velvet boots.
"What's the request?" Richard asked in a sigh, running his hand through his black spiky hair, making his bangs fall on his face and giving Kori the urge to brush them away.
Taking a deep breath, Kori closed her eyes before telling him her request.
"I was wondering if you would let me see my family one last time."
Now she was suffering these consequences because Richard seemed to be milking it for all it's worth.
While she was going through her small town, everybody she knew from birth to know rushed towards her. First they expressed their gratitude at the sight that Kori was safe and sound back in her home town. Then they would greet Xaphier in a warm hug, everyone in the village had a soft spot for him, especially the young and elder woman. The soft spot started to form ever since he lived here. The next step in the process would be they would ask who Richard was. Kori was about ready to jump and claw out his eyes of the said man all because he had an arm grasped around her waist, his fingers grabbing the material as if they were chained together.
Then Richard would tell the phony but believable story that he was walking home from the market. He preferred going to alley way and he happened to witness a group of thugs trying to gang rape this beautiful red head woman. Insensately, he jumped into action and succeeded in beating them to nothing but a bloody pulp. . Then his mouth started spewing out this nonsense that they on their way to Kori's house they met Xaphier and Xaphier followed them since they used to be childhood friends. Kori heard the venom in Richard's voice at the word friend. Now here Richard was to ask for Kori's hand in marriage, supposedly because he thought that she was the most beautiful and educated creature in the world he had ever met. His original intent was to take her home to his parents but love happens, right?
Then the wife's and daughter's gushed at the story and kept on saying 'that's so romantic', 'I hope I am invited to your wedding,' and the father and son's would look up at him in that stupid man's pride and both Xaphier and her would glare at him but they didn't seem to faze Richard, in fact it only fueled the fire worse.
Kori really had to give Richard his points on keeping the same story. Unlike other people she knew or read in books that made their tales more stupid, unrealistic and over exaggerated the more people they told. In fact Kori almost started to believe the story. She said almost. The arm around her waist and the knowledge that he was her kidnapper was the only thing that was keeping her from falling into Richard's world of make believe.
She was happy that Xaphier was there giving her support. If he wasn't here Kori didn't know what she do without him. In a way though she was glad Richard was here. Even though he basically latched and tried to squeeze her waist to nothing but the hand was comforting.
Now they had made it to the French glass door of her childhood home, Richard had finally unattached himself from her, her bruised waist decided now was a good time to start aching in pain and she was afraid to let her hand even brush the bruised skin. Kori couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole thing. But it all due respect who wouldn't be nervous coming home with the stranger that kidnapped you and telling your parents, who haven't seen you in days (or weeks it was kind of difficult to tell time on a ship) that your going to go back with your kidnapper just because you want to go on some stupid treasure hunt. The truth was she was forced to but Kori really wanted to go with him.
Kori lifted her hand and scrapped her knuckles against the door, creating an echoing knock and took a deep breath in.
Not a moment later the door was slammed open in a violent gesture and Kori felt even guiltier, if that was possible, just looking at her distressed mother and father.
Her mother's usually perfect red hair was frizzed and spiking out in all directions. Her eyes had black violet bags and her gold eyes seemed dull from their usually laughing bright ones. Her clothes were crumple and wrinkled and hung very loosely against her too skinny body. Her ivory glowing skin was now a pale ghostly sickly color that made Kori sick with worry and disgust.
Her father looked the same. His hair seemed to have tiny little grey hairs that reflected in the light, dark violet bags under his happy but calm cinnamon eyes, pale sickly skin, and his clothes hung loosely on his skinny form.
Kori saw that once they gazed up at Scarlet, and she could see the relief and the utter happiness in their eyes.
Scarlet instantly pulled her daughter into a tight hug, whispering not so quietly in Kori's ear, 'my baby, it's really my baby!' Scarlet then hugged her daughter tighter, hoping she would never ever have to see Kori disappear like that again.
It was nerve racking. Worrying everyday if she was alive, was she bruised, was she still a virgin. The thought of death scared her so much that it was to frightening to even attempt to think about.
Kori hugged her mother back, after taking a deep breath in her mother's iron grip, and she found that she had missed the sound of her mother's steady strong heart beat under her ears, singing its soft melody.
Scarlet finally realized that her only daughter needed air, due to Kori's panting breaths and Scarlet let go. Not even a second later Kori watched as Scarlet turned to tightly hug Xaphier whispering the words thank you like a broken record. Xaphier's features softened as he hugged her back by loosely draping an arm around her petite waist.
Kori watched the scene with a small sad smile but she quickly refocused on her father.
Turning around, Kori scowled in distaste at the thought of her mother's and fathers terrible appearance. If she known that it would have this effect on them she would have given Richard an extra good whack or two.
Her father's strong calloused hands gripped the curves of her cheek and she watched as he looked her over, making sure that she was unharmed as if he was making sure wasn't an illusion of the light and that she was really right here in front of him. When John was sure saw that it was really her, his wonderful but annoying daughter, he pulled her into a tight hug.
Kori took in his familiar, yet it felt foreign, strong masculine scent and she nearly cried at how much she missed it.
"I missed you guys." Kori whispered into her father's hardened shoulder.
"We did to." Her father whispered back in his gentle, yet strong voice that only Kori knew her father could use. He started to rub soothing small circles into her back with his roughened hand and Kori didn't try to hold back the tears that fell from her eyes.
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Well Kori is going back to her family now but they will get back onto the high, wild seas soon so don't worry about that.
