Two unexpected guests had Elsa pacing under the cover of the stars on deck. Jarrahs lute gently played in the background. Olaf was giggling with the young girl as they played on deck while Saphire sat grumpily on one sailing beam.
Anna went below deck to go to bed, she seemed to fatigue quickly these days.
She really hoped she was all right. When this was all over she needed to be sure Anna took it easy.
"What the hell is going on?" Elsa jumped and turned to face Keahi who was rubbing her forehead, a grimace on her lips. Keahi groaned, crushing the heels of her hands into her eyes. She looked disoriented and stumbled, catching a hand on the railing to support her.
Jarrah jogged up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was a mistake.
Keahi grabbed his arm in a lock, nearly popping it at the elbow joint. For someone so large, she slammed him to the railing like a rag doll. Keahi winced at the motion, but pinned his broad chest on the guard railings just over the water. Holding his arm in the lock, every wiggle he tried to make she pressed harder, which had a squeaking grunt coming from Jarrah. "What the hell are you thinking?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Jarrah cracked out. "It's for your own good, I swear!"
"Calm down, Keahi." Saphire hustled over to the two, "Even though I get it, Jarrah is an idiot." She concluded, putting a hand on Keahi's arm.
Keahi relaxed for a fraction of a second.
Elsa's eyes narrowed as she marched over. Keahi stiffened as Elsa slowed, holding her hands up in surrender. "We didn't mean to scare we just had to get you away from Crow." She told as gently as she could.
Confusion marred the edges of Keahi's eyes as she looked back to Jarrah, "You know my brother will kill you if he figures out your deserters, you know that, right?"
"Yes, yes." Jarrah whined, "But just calm down and listen."
Elsa took a slow step forward, Keahi jumped a little and trained her gaze back on Elsa.
Elsa resisted the urge to run over and hug her despite the situation. She looked confused, angry, and a little scared. But not of the situation here, that fear clouded there in her eyes when she mentioned Crow. "I'm sorry, for what we did. But…I…had to get you away from Crow. I promise you're safe." Elsa realized she was standing just a foot away. She closed the remaining gap and put a hand on Keahi's, the same hand that was pinning Jarrah to the railing.
The heat and anger in Keahi's eyes diminished just enough, and she let Jarrah go. He popped up and ran to stand behind Saphire who just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "That's what you get." Elsa heard Saphire mumble to Jarrah who only whined in response.
"What the hell is going on? And what did you put in my drink?" Keahi demanded, taking a step back from Elsa as if she were afraid of her.
Elsa's heart shattered at the motion and she laced her hands in front of her, trying to keep herself as guarded and collected as possible. "Maybe you should rest a bit before we get into that." Elsa told, watching Keahi carefully.
Jarrah rolled his aching shoulder, gingerly coming up to a cooling down Keahi and cautiously slapping her arm. "Remember that old herbalist near the Dragon's Sea? I snagged a bag of sleep powder, just in case I ever needed it."
"What could you possibly need that for?" Keahi grunted, rubbing her neck achingly.
"Well, this was the first time I used it so not a lot of things, clearly." Jarrah grinned.
"Honestly, I guess this isn't the worst place I've woken up." Keahi sighed out, calming down enough to realize she wasn't in any immediate danger. She eyed Elsa before leaning over the railing and spitting. "It left a horrible taste in my mouth. Can I see?" Keahi finally asked casually. Too casually.
Jarrah happily obliged and pulled a red satchel from his pocket and handed it to her. Keahi took it and tested its weight in her hand before pivoting and tossing it as far out into the water as she could.
"Why did I not see that coming?" Jarrah sighed.
"Ah Ha I'm so glad you're okay!" Olaf cheered as he made an appearance from below deck after all the commotion.
"Ah Ha? What the heck are you?" Keahi echoed, confused and groaning as she shoved the heels of her hands into her eyes. "I'm so confused. Why does it seem like everyone knows me on this ship?"
"Because…" Elsa started, then chewed on her lip. Keahi was already worked up and confused. She didn't need to toss more at her right now. She was just glad Keahi was starting to wind down, having Jarrah and Saphire here probably helped on that front.
"Who's kid?" Keahi broke through Elsa's jumbled thought. While she was trying to figure out what to say, Keahi had walked over to the girl hiding behind a drum barrel after all the commotion. They watched each other before the girl moved her hands once more, she hesitantly came out from behind the barrel.
Keahi looked surprised, crouching on the balls of her feet while resting her arms on her knees. Keahi moved her hands in the same odd patterns and the girl's eyes widened as she leapt up and hugged Keahi's neck.
Elsa, Jarrah, and Olaf stood slack jawed. Elsa recovered and rushed over. "How...did you do that? We've been trying to get her to talk all evening."
"Oh," Keahi cleared her throat, most of the anger evaporated now as she embarrassingly eased the young child off of her. "She's using sign language. She can't hear." Keahi tapped the girl's ears. She giggled in response.
Elsa had to hold her hands tightly together to keep herself from pulling Keahi into a hug. There was so much she didn't know about Keahi, and everything she kept learning had her wanting to learn more and more at every turn. The realization made her throat tight, and she tried to push past it. She couldn't be throwing herself at Keahi while Keahi was still trying to reel in what had happened. "How did you learn that?"
"Ah, there was a kid I grew up with that couldn't hear. I guess I kind of picked it up." Keahi replied with a shrug, rubbing the back of her neck. Saphire and Jarrah came to her side, both talking to Keahi though Elsa didn't listen into the conversation. It was just static as the easy, but wolfish, grin appeared once more on Keahi's lips. Elsa was glad she had calmed down.
Olaf giggled happily as the girl tugged on the hem of Elsa's cloak, she smiled and crouched down. The girl made a hand motion; they weren't the same as before but mocked the way Elsa's hands moved with her magic. Holding her hand up, blue swirls started to glow and whirl before they touched the deck and a small pile of snow appeared. Both Olaf and the girl went to it and started playing.
Elsa straightened and took in a deep breath before walking back to the railing of the deck. She gripped the edges, squeezing her eyes shut. She was glad that fiasco was over.
"Ugh, you know I hate you, blondie." Saphire mocked, making a fake gagging sound. Saphire came to sit on the edge of the railing, tapping her foot in annoyance as she took a bite of a red apple.
Elsa tried her best to ignore her. She wasn't exactly fond of the woman either.
"Does it bug you? When I hang on her? You feel that surge of anger and jealousy swim through you? It's a powerful feeling, right?" Saphire purred, trying to push her buttons.
Elsa closed her eyes and took in yet another deep breath, listening to the water lapping against the sides of the ship to ground her. "Does messing with people's feelings give you joy?"
"Yes, immensely." Saphire replied without a thought. "There's something very euphoric about the power you can have over someone with just the power of your body."
Elsa clutched the railing, but instead of getting angry and lashing out, she just felt sorry for her. She only smiled at the murky water below.
"Oh no, you are crazy. Why are you smiling and why aren't you getting angry?" Saphire sneered.
Elsa shook her head, putting her face to the moon. "I was so afraid of well, fear. I forgot what love felt like for a while. Love for my family or otherwise. I thought at the end of the day, I would hurt them or I wouldn't be good enough for them. I imagine you are a lot like me back then. Using your strengths to hide your insecurities, but we were the same." She looked over at Saphire who was watching her in shock. "Just a scared little girl. Except I moved past it." She frowned, turning to angle herself towards Saphire. "Keahi is not a toy to be played with."
Saphire blanched, tossing her apple in the water. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I know more than you think. I also know, true love for someone...it's wanting what's best for them, no matter the cost to yourself. It's happiness when you see their smile, the spark of their touch, the fluttering feeling when you look at them." Elsa looked down at her hands, a sad smile on her lips. "It's looking into their eyes and seeing endless possibilities and knowing your life will never be yours again and being so grateful for it."
Elsa turned to peek over at Keahi, Jarrah, Olaf, and the child stowaway.
But Keahi was already looking at her, and her heart lurched when their eyes met. There was still confusion within their depths, but something else was there. Searching. She couldn't imagine what Keahi was feeling right now.
"Damn it." Saphire gripped her flowing skirt in her fists, clutching it tightly as she trembled. "You won before I even had a chance." She whispered out, glaring up at Elsa. "With a speech like that I can't even be angry." She grumbled, starting to walk away.
Saphire hesitated, tapped her foot aggressively against the deck before groaning as she tilted her head towards the sky. "Ugh, just to ease that pretty little head of yours. Keahi wouldn't even touch me even with her memory taken. It's like some part of her still knows. I hate you both." She added, going back to her post on one of the sails.
Elsa watched her in shock, but as she turned back to the ocean, a giddy smile crept onto her lips.
Deep down, Keahi was still hers.
Always.
Now she just had to figure out how to get her to remember.
