A.N.- You all are amazing. I can't tell you how much it means to me. This story isn't over yet.
They two stood side by side both taking in the sight of the endless sea waiting for the other to break the silence between the two. Riley let out a sigh and gripped the side railing for support.
"Thank you," she figured that she owed him at least that. A ghost of a smile played his lips as he realized exactly what she was doing.
"For what?" He teased. Even though he appreciated the thank you, he still wanted to hear everything she had to say on the matter. He just hoped that she didn't question why he jumped into the waves to save her because he hadn't had come up with an answer for that yet.
Instead of finding his little act charming, Riley found it infuriating. Here she was trying to offer him a thank you, and he was just milking it for all it was worth. She had a feeling even if they saw each other many years down the line he would still hold this over her head.
"Never mind," she replied slightly flustered. "I figured I would be able to offer an apology without you acting like this." She started to turn to return down stairs but a hand reached out to her arm stopping her.
"Riley, wait." Their eyes connected and Riley was almost sure that he didn't need to grab her arm to stop her dead in her tracks; he just needed to look at her like that. She didn't know what it was; there was a certain vulnerability that was in his eyes that made her heart pause. She knew based on his behavior that there weren't many he showed this side to, he was probably had a troubled past, it made sense that his walls were built high.
"I'm sorry." She probably didn't realize how painful it was for him to even say the words, he never had cared about other opinions, but there was something different about her that he could place his finger on. He trusted her; he didn't have someone like that in his life for a long time.
"I'm not- I mean I haven't"- no matter how much he wanted to explain what thoughts that were running through his mind right now it didn't seem like the words weren't flowing his mouth as smoothly as he wanted, and her brown eyes were making it hard to focus. Riley walked back to her original spot next to him and he forced himself to turn away.
"My father wasn't in the picture; it was just my mother and I for the longest time. I had to step up and provide for her, but there was one day that we got into a fight and she went to the market. It seems silly now; I don't remember what the argument was about." He ran his thumb with the grain of the wood trying to distract himself enough but not enough from getting off track in his storytelling.
"And pirates decided to attack. It wasn't until the night start to fall that I went to look for, and I hadn't seen her since. I heard that a pirate cut her down while she was trying to protect someone else." His eyes tried to look anywhere but the brunette who was closer than he was used to, but the second she put her hand on his to try and comfort him. The electricity flowed between the two as their eyes connected.
Lucas's eyes fell to her lips wondering what would happen if he leaned in and took her lips into his. They had almost kissed once before, and even in moments like this it seemed like whatever he was feeling for the brunette was mutual. He could kiss her and then confess that he was feelings something, he would forget about the bounty on her safe return and they could just live their lives with each other. He stopped the thinking process knowing that all of this was silly; he didn't know what her feelings were for him, all their interactions could have been just in the moment. He watched as she turned away blushing even though she did her best to hide it.
"The brother of yours that you talked about, was he the one that used to Captain this ship?" His comment only caused her blush to deepen. After Riley had released them from the brig, he had been too curious so he started to snoop, and what he found surprised him.
"Yeah, it turned out that he was Captain for a couple years, but it surprises me that"- He words halfway faded away as the light started to reflect in her eyes. The wind gently blew her hair sometimes in her face, she would push her hair behind her ear and every now and then she would glance down but her eyes always returned to him. It got to the point of where he gave into his desires and reached out grabbed her face in her hands causing Riley to gasp. Her skin was even softer than he imagined he decided as his thumb caressed her check in a loving manner. Her eyes were searching his and no words needed to be exchanged, they had been dancing around this since they first met; the undeniable connection between the two.
"Lucas," she breathed out. "Lucas."
"Lucas," a hand grabbed his shoulder bringing him back to reality of a very concern Riley standing in front of him. His hands were not caressing the face before him but were instead by his side.
Riley tilted her head slightly to the side watching the blonde's behavior closely. If she didn't know any better she could have seen the faintest of blushes spread across his cheeks. She was telling him stories of Josh and he seemed to go somewhere else in his mind, she feared that she was boring him.
"Where did you go in your mind just then?" She was always a curious one who wasn't worried about asking questions of others. She noticed the blush that was already present grew a deeper tone and he tried to look anywhere but at her.
"Nowhere, you were saying." There was no chance where he would tell her where his mind wandered, she was reoccurring in more thoughts and day dreams and dreams that he woke up in the middle of the night. It was harder to ignore the butterflies that fluttered up when she was around. He had done what the rule had forbidden and fallen for the mark.
"I was saying that I wondered what my parents would think about this, sword fighting, socializing with pirates, and the things that Charlie's family would say"- Lucas's eyes narrowed in confusion at her confession.
"Charlie?" There was a certain question in his voice. Their eyes interlocked and a pink tint appeared on her facial features.
"Oh," she had forgotten that she hadn't disclosed her current situation back home.
"Charlie is the man that my parents want me to marry." She made sure to state her that Charlie wasn't her first choice, if she had any say at all she wouldn't marry him; not after her adventures here with him, and everyone else of course.
"Well congratulations." He managed to fake a happy voice. His stomach churned, he needed to go somewhere else that she wouldn't follow him.
"I think I'm going to get some shut eye," it wasn't wrong, between the storms, the mermaid attack, and his Riley dreams, there was much sleep that had occurred over the previous nights. He headed towards the stairs without looking back. As soon as he was out of sight for the brunette he punched the closest wooden beam.
Of course, there was someone waiting for her back home, how could there not be? She was kind, beautiful, and had this certain spunk that made him smile at times. He wasn't looking for someone, he just took a job, and then she walked into view. At first, he rolled his eyes at her antics, she seemed so innocent to all the world had to offer him, but then he came to adore that about her. The real reason that he had saved her in the night of the storm was that it was second nature; he didn't think twice about possibly jumping to his death. When he took her downstairs, she was with him until she fell asleep. He just wanted to tend to her, protect her.
This Charlie character made his skin crawl even though he had never met the man. He was probably high society, a good match for a Governor's daughter, but not for Riley. If she went back she would be living a life of settling, always wanting more. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wood where his hand had just been. He didn't need someone who could converse with the fates to tell him how his story ended; a Governor's daughter would never pick an orphan with nothing to his name.
Maya's eyes scanned the map and the secrets that Riley had unlocked with her quick thinking. All this time the secret was right underneath her nose and she didn't even realize it.
"Where are you Josh?" She had been looking for her former Captain for the better half of a year to no avail. She had only a couple options left before she exhausted all her resources, and at that point she would have no choice but to assume his death. She wanted to believe that he was strong enough to endure any kind of torture and witty enough to squirm out of any situation that he would come across.
"Captain," Maya used anything she could grab to help cover the map from the intruder. To her knowledge, they had been able to keep the map a secret and she intended to keep it that way. Once the word of a map got out, it only encouraged more mutiny behavior. She had already made the mistake of telling Johnathan, but that had since then been resolved. She only hoped that he didn't share what he knew with the others, but right now she still had control over her ship.
"What have I told you about barging in here," Her tone usually intimidated her crew, but every so often she had to show even more that she was in charge.
"Sorry Captain, we will be docking within the hour." She watched his eyes dip down to the map sprawled across her desk and she snarled at him to dismiss him. She was expected to act a certain way as Captain of a ship, she often wondered what Josh saw in her to give her the honor.
"Maya?" Her anger started to surge until she saw that it was in fact Farkle at the door. At least she knew that she could trust Farkle because Riley spoke highly of him. They had carried some conversations but never ones that lasted more than a couple minutes.
"What is it?" Her words came off more hostile than planned, she saw him physically flinch.
"You can't sell the mermaid." He didn't know what came over him with the burst of courage. He was in no position to demand something from Maya, she spared their life when she could have easily killed them without blinking, but the words had just fallen out of his mouth before he could stop them.
"What did you say?" It was too late to back down now, he had to stand his ground, or at least try to manipulate her into agreeing keeping her.
"Just listen. I know how much she could go for in the market, but wouldn't something like mermaid tears fetch for so much more handsome price?"
Mermaid tears were mysteries to many, just because it seemed like every sailor who had encountered them had a different story to tell. Sailors claimed that their tears produce the most beautiful pearls, others said other kinds of gems, some even insisted on magical properties for any partake of the bitter sweet tears. Not many were able to survive a mermaid attack let alone convince one to cry, so there were so many rumors floating around.
Maya sat there for a second to take in what the scientist in front of her was saying. Sure selling the mermaid now would increase the moment in their pockets, but if she could produce pearls or even give her some powers, it would be well worth the wait.
"And you can convince her to cry?" He stepped back a little at her question that was a daunting task in front of him, he had done some studying on the creatures, but most of it was just speculations. Farkle nodded; it was the only way to buy him time so he could fulfill his promise. Maya's eyes jumped back down to the map.
"Alright she's your responsibility now." Farkle's mouth dropped not believing what he was hearing. The victory was short lived when he realized that he still didn't have a way to bring her back home.
"Maya, what are we doing here?" It was almost as if she was following her like a lost puppy through the semi crowded streets. Maya had sent the crew off to their own leisure within town to eat drink or whatever their heart desired. Before Riley had joined them, she had pulled her to the side and asked to come with her, she agreed without hesitation but now as she was on Maya's tail, she couldn't help to realize that they weren't in the best side of town. Maya stopped as she had reached her destination and knocked on the door. Riley jumped when part of the doorway shifting revealing a pair of stunning eyes. Maya's voice dropped to a whisper, Riley leaned forward to try and hear what she was saying, but to no avail. The slot shut rather forcefully before the door opened and Maya turned to her anxious companion.
"Stay here and stand guard. I'll be out shortly, and Riley-"
"If I'm not, do not under any circumstances come after me." The door closed quickly behind her leaving Riley waiting out in the ally with some characters that she wouldn't wish to meet in the daytime let alone at night. She clutched her sword with the knowledge that she had the knowledge and skill to protect her if necessary. It seemed odd that Maya would instruct her not to go after her if anything happened to her; but if she wasn't confident in her fighting ability, why bring her in the first place?
Time started to pass to allowing her mind to wander from the situation that she had put herself in. It wandered to her parents and how much she missed them, despite to how much she would hate to admit it. She missed her talks with Vanessa and when she would have to sneak out to the marketplace. Even though Governor and she didn't see eye to eye often, he was still her Father. She had contemplated finding a ship back home earlier in the day, but she found something was holding her back, whether it was the friendship with Maya, the idea of finding her brother, or the thought of Lucas; she had refuse to return home until everything had settled.
Lucas.
Her mind didn't know what to do with the rogue blonde who had walked into her life. It seemed like he was opening up to her on the ship, but ever since then their communication was shut down. He barely looked at her, and had distanced himself to her company. She had wondered if she had said something that offended him, but if she did she couldn't think about what it would be if she did. The nature of their relationship seemed to be one that of push and pull, but she had thought that they were starting to get past that faze.
Riley was slung back to reality when Maya bolted out a stone face plastered on; she didn't reply when Riley called her name. She had never seen Maya like this, almost as if she had seen a ghost, despite her attempts to get the blonde to respond; Maya continued in the direction to the ship.
"Gather the men; tell them to get to the ship at once." Her voice was emotionless, and Riley was sure if she waived her hand in front of Maya's face she wouldn't know if she would notice.
"Maya, what's going on?"
"Go quickly Riley, I won't ask again." Riley reached out and grabbed Maya's shoulder causing her to stop her path to the ship.
"What happened in there?" All color had drained from Maya's face, "I found Josh."
A.N.- I know Josh! Now we just have to go rescue him. I think I'll stop there and make you all want more. White Houses will be updated Thursday if you all read that. Let me know what you think!