John Smith.

That was all Jim could think about. John had quickly pulled away after kissing him and left without a word. He was now alone in John's office. He could still feel John's lips on his and it made his heart beat a little faster. Jim had been instantly attracted to John the moment he first met him. But it wasn't until the night of the storm that when John rescued him and placed his body protectively against his that Jim began to develop feelings for him. He never thought John felt the same way, though.

Jim slowly walked out of the office and made his way off the ship. He wasn't sure where he was going to go, but he couldn't stay on the ship and drive himself crazy thinking about John.

The marketplace was more crowded than Jim had been expecting, but he was glad for the distraction. That is until he felt someone grab him and pull him down a deserted alley, away from everyone else. It wasn't until they stopped that Jim realized it was John. Jim would have been lying if he said this didn't make him somewhat happy.

"We need to talk," John told him.

Jim nodded.

"The Captain cannot find out what happened, so you can't tell anyone," John said.

"Of course not." Jim was very aware of the fact that John was still clutching his arm. "But, why did it happen?"

"I'm attracted to you." John frowned and let go of Jim's arm. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line."

"You didn't," Jim told him.

"I didn't?"

Jim shook his head. "I wanted it. I had wanted it for a while."

John leaned against Jim and lowered his head so his mouth was only an inch from Jim's. Jim closed eyes and his heart pounded in anticipation. John put his hand on Jim's arm and pulled him into a kiss. Jim instantly felt weak and he gripped John's shirt to steady himself. This kiss was much more passionate than their first. They both gave into what they wanted and there was no hesitation between them.

"Have you guys seen- Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

Jim and John quickly pulled apart to see Meg coming up to them. John stepped away from Jim and straightened up.

"I'm so sorry," Meg said again. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine," John said.

Meg slowly nodded. "Anyways. Aurora has jumped ship and we can't find her."

"Aurora knows better than to jump ship here," John said.

"I don't know, John. I think being raped and tortured were the final straws," Meg said.

"The same thing will happen to her if she stays here. I'll help look for her."

John walked away and Jim started to leave as well, but Meg grabbed him and pulled him back. She gave him a sly smile, but he just stared at her.

"So, you and John, huh?" Meg pulled out a cigarette, the struck a match against the wall and lit her cigarette before shaking the match and dropping it on the ground.

"I don't know."

Meg let out a short laugh as she turned her head and blew smoke out of her mouth. "Yeah right."

"I don't know what's going on with us."

"That kiss looked pretty serious."

"No one was supposed to see that."

Meg nodded as she took a drag of her cigarette. She then put her hand on her hip as she blew out the smoke. "Don't worry about me. John and I have been friends for a while; I already knew he liked you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jim instantly felt stupid after asking the question since it made him sound like an immature teenager.

"It wasn't my place. I knew John would tell you eventually."

"He didn't really tell me," Jim said. "He just pinned me against the wall and kissed me."

Meg smiled. "That's awesome. Way better than me just telling you, don't you think?"

Jim couldn't help smiling back. "Yes."

X X X

"Good night, Dearest."

"Good night, Father."

Princess Jasmine pulled her blanket up over her shoulders as she watched her father walk out of her room and close the door. She had had a long day and it felt good to finally be in bed. Her pet tiger, Raja, was asleep next to her bed and it only took a few minutes for her to fall asleep as well.

Jasmine was jolted awake a couple hours later, however, when she heard Raja roar. He then whimpered and it was silent again. Jasmine slowly closed her eyes again and reached down to pet Raja.

"Did you have a nightmare?" she asked him quietly.

All of a sudden, Jasmine was pulled out of her bed by a pair of hands. Before she had time to react and scream, a handkerchief was shoved into her mouth and tied around head. She tried to get away, but wasn't strong enough. She looked over at Raja and noticed he had two tranquilizer darts in his side. Panic welled up inside Jasmine and she let out a muffled scream.

"Shut up." A young woman with long white hair and a blue face tattoo stepped in front of her.

Jasmine's eyes widened in horror. It was now apparent that Jasmine was in more danger than she had thought. She had heard rumors about Princess Kida, the pirate captain, and she knew a war against the soldiers of her kingdom had just been declared.

Kida eyed Jasmine as she was pulled towards her balcony. She then frowned and held up her hand.

"Wait!" Kida hissed. She went over to Jasmine's wardrobe and started rifling through her clothes. She pulled out a pair of light blue pants, a matching off-the-shoulder midriff top and gold shoes. "Put these on."

It was then that Jasmine remembered she was wearing a sheer nightgown. She quickly grabbed the clothes and changed into them. When she was done, she was immediately thrown over someone's shoulder and he made his way down a rope that was now hanging from her balcony. They stuck to the shadows as they snuck through the village and didn't run into anybody else. When Jasmine saw the big ship in the harbor, she started struggling again. The man didn't let go of her arm and continued to drag her behind him. When they boarded the ship, Jasmine noticed the crew was ready to set sail.

She was brought below deck to the brig. Kida opened a cell door and Jasmine was shoved inside. The door closed behind her with a metallic thud. Kida reached through the bars and pulled the handkerchief off her.

"Let me go!" Jasmine demanded, grabbing the bars.

"Not a chance, Princess." Kida gripped Jasmine's wrist and pulled her hand through the bars causing Jasmine to be smashed against the cell door. "You're worth a lot of money."

Jasmine tried not to flinch at the pain of the bars digging into her body. She glared at Kida, but didn't say anything. Kida let go of her hand and Jasmine hurried away from the door.

Kida turned to face a young man standing behind her. "Aladdin, you're in charge of watching the prisoner. Do not leave her unattended under any circumstance, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Very well." Kida turned on her heel and walked away.

Jasmine cowered in the back of the cell as Aladdin sat down across from it.

"Please don't hurt me," Jasmine pleaded.

Aladdin looked up at her, surprised. "I'm not going to hurt you."