A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 12: A Matter of Truth

Ruban stood at the starboard railing of the Cruel Mistress, drumming his fingers on the wood. What would posses his sister to do that? Why would she so rashly give herself to someone she didn't know a stitch about? He growled and shoved off the railing, clasping his hands behind his back and beginning to pace.

"Lad, you'll get a headache trying to figure out all the things goin' on right now," Jack said as Ruban almost ran into him while he leaned on the railing.

"Why would my sister do this?" he hissed for about the tenth time as he leaned next to Jack and they watched the sunrise.

"Son," Jack sighed. "When are you gonna realize that women do things for a strange reasons. Reasons that men do not want to know about. Trust me."

Ruban sighed, and resumed drumming his fingers on the wood. He sat there a few moments, but soon growled and shoved off the railing again to head toward the captain's cabin.

"Don't do it, lad!" Jack called, but didn't move.

Ruban ignored him and shoved the doors open to reveal Esperanza and Krystal talking. Krystal sat at her desk and his sister had spun around to look at Ruban. He slammed the door shut behind him and marched toward Krystal's desk, past his sister.

"You can't let her do this, Tia!" he growled.

"Ruban, please," Esperanza tried. "I know what I'm-"

"She doesn't know what she's doing!" Ruban snapped to Krystal, ignoring Esperanza. "She thinks the world is wonderful and pretty with no sense of cautiousness, or thought, for that matter!"

"Do not speak of me as if I am not present!" Esperanza snapped, and Ruban turned to her. "You think I am so naïve to think that evil does not exist in this world?"

"Yes!"

"Well, I'm not! But Jag won't hurt me! He likes me-!"

"My point exactly! How do you know he won't rape you?"

"Ruban!" Esperanza gasped.

"Stop scaring your sister, niño," Krystal ordered in a low voice, drawing their attention to her. "I've seen how Jag looks at her. He won't hurt her, or even touch her if she says 'no'."

"Tia," Ruban breathed, leaning on her desk. "You can't be considering letting her go with him?"

"Don't start to irritate me, Ruban, I'll run out of blood to cough up," she groaned then turned her head weakly toward Esperanza. "Leave us, sobrina?"

Esperanza nodded and walking out, leaving Ruban and Krystal alone as the captain still sitting in her chair.

"Yo sé que ella es su hermana, sobrino," (I know she's your sister, nephew) Krystal began. "Pero ella es su hija propia, conviritiéndose en una mujer, y aun no puedo convencerla de que hacer o que ella no quiere. En cuanto a esta tritón, que parecen estar fascinados con los demás. Estoy seguro de que no la hora." (But she's her own girl, becoming a woman, and even I cannot persuade her to do what she doesn't want to. As for this merman, they seem to be mesmerized with each other. I'm sure he won't h her)

"Tia," Ruban murmured. "Ella es una joven, niña ingenua y vulnerable. Ya sea que estén o no hipnotizado entre sí, que podia hacerle daño." (She is a young, naive, vulnerable girl. Whether or not they are mesmerized with each other, he could hurt her)

"Usted sabe que yo sea un buen juez del character, no?" (You know me to be a good judge of character, yes?)

Ruban nodded.

"Entonces confía en mí ahora, cuando te digo que cuando estoy hablando de Esperanza para Jag, no veo nada, sino el amor y la devoción en sus ojos." (Then trust me now when I tell you that when I am speaking of Esperanza to Jag, I see nothing but love and devotion in his eyes)

Ruban stared at his aunt in shock as he still leaned on the desk.

"Amor?" he breathed.

"Ha estado observando desde hace años, y creo que nunca le haría daño intencionadamente." (He's been watching her for years now, and I believe he would never hurt her intentionally)

"¿Y qué pasa con esta chica Athear? ¿Y si no me curas? ¿Y si no existe?" (And what about this Athear girl? What if she doesn't heal you? What if she doesn't exist?)

"Ella existe, Ruban." (She's exists)

"¿Cómo puede usted estar seguro?" (How can you be sure?)

"He conocido a su." (I've met her)

Meanwhile...

Esperanza ran to the brig and into the cell that Jag was in.

"I'm sorry about this," she smiled warmly. "My brother didn't want you-"

"Why did you tell them that you promised yourself to me?" he questioned and Esperanza looked at him in surprise as he placed his hands on her arms.

"If I hadn't, she wouldn't have left you alone about it," she replied.

"You shouldn't have lied," he sighed.

"Who said I was lying?"

Jag shot wide eyes at her dead serious face and pulled his hands away from her as if burned.

"What?" Jag's voice cracked. Esperanza opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it to cast her gaze down as she wrung her hands.

"I-I don't know you," she murmured. "But at the same time, I do." She looked up at him. "I thought you were the sea and you were always there for me when I was upset. I…I just want to thank you."

She walked toward him, placing cautious hands on his chest as he stared at her in disbelief.

"Esperanza…" he breathed, his eyes dropping to her face but before he could finish his thought, she placed her lips to his, tenderly then quickly pulled away.

"Help my Tia, and I'm yours."

Later...

"Are you sure about this, Captain?" John wondered, lying in his hammock below deck as Krystal sat on a bench next to him. "If he's lying-"

"I know," Krystal explained. "But Jack won't have 'no' for an answer."

"Since when did that stop you?" John smirked.

"Since I started coughing up blood for no outward reason," Krystal retorted, coughing a bit as if to prove her point. "We'll get you fixed up, right as rain, John. Can't run the ship properly without you."

"You flatter me, Captain," John smiled, weakly.

"Krystal?" Jasmine called from the hatch and she looked up at the blonde. "Mamali is looking for you."

"Bring her here," Krystal ordered and Jasmine nodded, leading Mamali down the hatch. She ran to the captain and was careful when she hugged her.

"Lukamui! Qué está pasando?" (What's happening?) she cried. "Mateo me ayudó a escaper, pero no quisieron venire conmigo! Ahora Ruban me dice que ha vuelto loco!" (Mateo helped me escape but wouldn't come with me! Now Ruban tells me you've gone mad!)

"Cálmate," (Calm yourself) Krystal ordered, gently. "Va a estar bien. Vamos a curarme. Ve a buscar a mi sobrino para mí, verdad?" (It's going to be alright. We're going to heal me. Go get my nephew for me, will you?)

Mamali hesitantly nodded, but did as she was told. She returned a few moments later, dragging Ruban behind her. When she left him in front of Krystal, the captain lifted his hand and swiftly smacked it, hard making him growl in pain.

"That's for frightening Mamali by telling her I was dying!" Krystal barked before stomping on her nephew's foot, making him shout again.

"That's for throwing Jag in the brig without my permission, when we need him on deck!"

She smacked the back of his head and he it with a hiss of pain.

"And that's in case you decide to do any other stupid things!"

"A bit harsh, Captain?" John wondered and Krystal glared at him.

"Harsh would be tying him to the crow's nest in a storm," she ground out. "But since we're not sailing through one now, I have to make do with what I have."

"I thought I was doing the right thing!" Ruban nearly whined, rubbing his head.

"It's Jack's job to annoy me, not yours!" Krystal shot back. "If I wasn't in an invalid state, I would shove my boot up your arse for all your stupidity!"

"Why are you picking on me?" her nephew growled. "Esperanza is the one who-!"

"Don't say it!" Krystal barked. "I let her have a tongue lashing earlier! That's why I was so weak when you walked in on us! I was-!"

She began coughing violently and threw herself on the floor to throw up the blood that never seemed to stop coming.

"Captain!" John cried and tried to sit up but his injuries flared in agonizing pain. He cried out and the hammock swung as he laid back.

"John! Don't move!" Jasmine breathed, going to him as Krystal still coughed.

"Tia!" Ruban cried, kneeling to help her, but she shoved him away and he stumbled to the floor.

"Lukamui!" Mamali gasped, also moving to help her but Krystal was staring at Ruban as he sat up and glared back at her.

"Get-! Your-! Sister!" she coughed and Ruban stood up then stomped up the steps toward the deck, but he stopped half way up.

Ruban…

His eyes widened as he whipped his head around to see if anyone down the stairs had called him, but no one looked up from Krystal still hacking up blood. He shook the thought from his head, remembering he had to get his sister and he continued up the stairs. As he walked toward the brig, he recalled what Krystal had told him, that she'd met Athear.

How? When? This Athear woman was a total mystery to everyone else on this ship, but Jag and Krystal knew her. She hadn't told him anything else after that because Jack had walked into the room and wanted some time with Krystal to talk. This was wracking his brain and all he wanted was to know everything he needed to know. Would his aunt give him the answers he needed? The one's he wanted?

"Like she's going to tell me anything," he scoffed. "Even if I asked, she wouldn't spill it."

He stopped just before entering the brig and leaned on a beam.

"What was that beautiful voice I heard?"

A/N: uh-oh! Ruban's hearing voices too! lol reviews?