Chapter 21

Jim did do as Silver asked. He searched for Jasmine, who he found out, was making it difficult to find her. Checking the sleeping quarters, he only found a few of the crew members sleeping. Going to the kitchen, he only found Silver who was cleaning up a few more dishes. Looking up at the crows nest, he found no one there. Going down below deck, he didn't see her there either. Then turning around, he bumped into her and all the tools she was carrying went falling onto the floor.

"Sorry, uh, let me help you." Jim said, bending over to get the tools.

"No, I got it." Jasmine replied, beating him to it.

Once the tools were picked up, Jasmine walked over to her little working station and began putting them down. She didn't speak to the boy behind her, which was strange. Normally whenever she was angry at Jim, she would explode and then go silent. Now he was worried if she was going to explode after being silent. Then he decided to put the fear aside and talk to her.

"Do you need any help?" Jim questioned.

"As I said before, I got it." Jasmine answered and then began walking away once the tools were organized.

"Jasmine I'm sorry, what I said was uncalled for." He blurted out, which caused her to stop.

"Don't be sorry for saying the truth." She replied, not looking at him before continuing walking away.

When she began walking up the steps, Jim ran after her. Up on deck, she continued to walk away from him.

"Jim go to bed." She said over her shoulder.

"No. Not until you answer my question." He replied, coming to stand in front of her.

"Do pray tell what your question is." She commented, not in the mood for his presence.

"Why does the free bird never sing?" He questioned, saying exactly what Silver told him and could see the girl before him understand what he was talking about.

"I don't have time to give you some sob story." Was her response.

"Some sob story? Is that what you think your life is?" He asked and was received with no answer.

Jasmine was complicated and infuriating at best, but Jim had seen certain things through her eyes. He had been given glimpses of a person with an open mind and how she sees the world. When they went solar surfing together, he could see the way it made her feel and it was something more than the feeling he got. The moment he saw her song for him, he saw how it captured his life and she didn't know all the details. How could someone who can study a dead language and understand it, not see the importance of her own life?

"Jasmine, please tell me." He pleaded.

"No." Was her response, and Jim could see her shaking despite it not being cold.

"I'm not going to go away until you tell me." He challenged.

"Why should I tell you something that I've almost succeeded in forgetting?!" There it was, the explosion. "You know I've spent the last few years learning how to push away my past until I can't remember it at all. I've never had to worry about making a friend and then worry about telling them my history. Then you came along and was... just.. ugh!" She grabbed an empty bottle and threw it at the stars.

She breathed heavily as she watched the bottle fall into darkness. Normally, she would be able to compose herself before she exploded. However, it wasn't until she met Jim, when old emotions began to arise. Now, more than anything she wanted to tell him who she was, but the fear of him knowing the truth was stronger.

"If you knew the dark side of me, you will despise me." She said, catching him slightly off guard.

"Then help me understand." He replied, and watched her sigh, indicating she was giving in.

"Not here." She stated, and Jim got the hint.

They climbed up to the crows nest, as on deck would have too many ears. Once they reached the top, the wind blew loud enough for them to hear each other, but would make it difficult for others. Jasmine didn't want to tell him, but knowing that was just as stubborn as her, didn't really give her a choice. Sitting down next to each other, the girl began to tell the boy she will betray, her story.

"My parents were different than most. They were both sailors who met each other when my mothers ship crashed and my father saved her from dying. It was then on when they realized that they couldn't live without each other and sailed across the stars together in my fathers ship. When they had me, they used up all the money they had just to buy our house. They continued to live their life on a ship and would sometimes bring me along. So I guess you could say I've been on a ship my whole life." She started.

"What were your parents like?" Jim asked, after she became silent for a moment.

"My father was calm, a good leader, a little reckless at times, and he always put everyone before himself. My mother was a bookworm like me, every night she would read me stories from the printed books because she hated how the books today came to life due to a hologram instead of letting the reader use their imagination. She loved to sing and wanted me to sing whenever I was being antsy as it seemed to calm me down. We could never trust her in the kitchen though, as she was a terrible cook, which unfortunately she passed that trait onto me." Jasmine answered.

"Really, I thought that Silver would've broken you out of that." Jim replied in a joking manner.

"No he tried, believe me. Even my own father tried to help, but to no avail. That is why you are stuck as the cabin boy." She stated, causing them to chuckle.

"So what happened to them?" The boy questioned, then watched as the frown came upon her face.

"They went on an expedition. I remember watching them prepare for it like there was something they had to prove. They took me to my aunt and uncles house, hugged me goodbye, and said that when they came back, everything would change for us. Being as I was six, I had no idea what they were talking about and I still don't. As the weeks flew by, there was no word from them. Then one day, a man came knocking on the door and when he left, my aunt told me.." She stopped and Jim could see her trying to hold back her tears. "She told me that my parents had gone missing and she wasn't sure if they were ever going to come back and that was when I stopped singing. Two years later, my uncle came running into the house and began locking the door. He kept on rambling about 'They had found us' and the next thing we knew was someone banging on the door. My uncle made my aunt and I hide in the cellar as he took on the men. The next thing I know, I'm screaming because of the gunshot I heard and they were upon us. They kept on asking 'Where is it?' and she would say she didn't know. They trashed the house, trying to find something I know not what and when they couldn't find it, their leader shot my aunt out of frustration. Instinct took over me as I bit the man holding onto me and the next thing I know is I'm running. I ran and ran until I couldn't hear their shouting. When I was far enough away, I turned around and watched as the house burned to the ground." She stopped, seeing everything flash before her eyes and then could feel Jim's hand hold onto hers.

"The next thing I know, I wake up on a ship that was docked in Fosliuria. I realized then that I had stowed away and quickly snuck off the ship as best I could. Wandering around, I met a boy named Luke Hendrickson who brought me to his home, which turned out to be the home of every thief on the planet. They took me in, trained me to steal and two years later, they tested me to see if I was worthy to be among them. The next thing I know, I'm running from the cops and Luke, who was supposed to help me escape, was nowhere in sight. I felt betrayed by him as I thought that we were becoming friends. Then, I ran into Silver who saved me from my crime, took me in, taught me how to work on a ship, and the rest is history. A few years later, after visiting almost every planet, I lost hope in hearing word of my missing parents and have decided to be grateful to have Silver as a father figure and to continue sailing with him and I wouldn't have it any other way." She concluded.

Then, she found herself pulled into a hug and realized that she had been crying. Normally Silver would do this, but to have someone who wasn't like family to her, felt... nice. What was more surprising was the fact that she knew Jim wasn't really sentimental and here he was holding onto her as she finally let go. They went silent for a while, until Jim decided to ask one more question.

"What is your dark side?" He asked.

"I'm afraid you're going to find out soon." Was her final answer.

Author's Note: Aaaaannnnd here comes the sobs from you all. Yeah Jasmine's story is messed up. Well the longest chapter for this story is done, I hope you enjoyed it somewhat and please leave a review of your thoughts.