(Author's note: I just HAD to write a chapter from Mia's point of view! She's my fave!!)
"I knew you'd escape." Mia commented as Kris gleefully stomped through the door, that man and Will following. She resisted the temptation to run up and hug her death-defying cousin, but couldn't hide her happiness.
"Damn right, Mi!" Kris said, sweeping her little cousin up in a bear hug. So much for Mia's no-physical-contact rule. "And I couldn't have done it without Jack!"
Ugh.
Jack looked overly smug, slipping his arm around Kris's waist. Mia really wished he wouldn't do that. She hated him, and it practically made her cringe to think about him being that close to her, kissing her. She didn't even want to think about what else they did.
"I really couldn't leave you to die, now could I?" he replied, burying his face into Kris's hair and whispering something into her ear, which made her grin widely.
Gross.
The other man, Will, looked vaguely uncomfortable as he watched them carry on so happily. She had no doubt that he would be as disgusted as she was.
"Kris!" her father exclaimed as he hobbled into the room. At least he was happy. She hardly ever saw dear-old-dad in a good mood, mostly due to his busted knees but partly due to her. But what could she say? She hated wearing dresses, and she had to cause havoc for being forced to.
"Aww, Jack, you sea-dog you!" her father said gleefully. "I don't know what we'd do without you!"
Hmmm, enjoying life in peace, perhaps?
"Well what are you doing? Come in, come in, you can tell us all about it." Her father continued. "Mia, get us some drinks, will you?"
Mia scowled and turned towards the kitchen.
"I'll go with her." She heard Kris say. Mia could always count on her to brighten he mood, or at least loosen it a bit.
"Don't be long." He said. It's a wonder he could even part his hands from her, let alone- GASP-
Be in a separate room from her!
Kris followed Mia into the cramped little kitchen.
They carried on the same way they used to when Mia was young; she would struggle to reach the glasses in the high-up cupboard while Kris would kick open the cabinet near the door of the kitchen to retrieve the drinks. She always took out some fine wine for Mia's dad (it was about all he could stomach these days) and a bottle of cinnamon rum for her.
Mia plonked the glasses down on a worn tray on the rotting wooden table, as Kris took a long swig of the rum, straight from the bottle. She poured a glass half-full and slid it across the table to Mia, in a don't-tell-and-I'll-give-you-more kind of manner. Kris always did that, it was a wonder Mia wasn't a drunk.
Kris sat down in one of the chairs and leaned back, resting her feet up on the table, humming. Yes, actually humming. Her cousin. The murderous one. Humming. It was a disgrace. Mia really wished she knew what Kris saw in that man, because all she saw was some black eyeliner and a whole whack of gold teeth.
Kris only lived at this house 3 times. The first was when her mother died, and she was forced to. The second was when Mia was born. And the third was still in place. Mia couldn't remember Kris living there when she was a baby, but she always heard stories about it. No one would have thought Kris would give a second look at a baby, but when she found out her aunt was pregnant, she rushed right in and plonked herself down with a receiving blanket. Mia's mother had died during labour, but Kris had stuck around, surprising everyone, to help take care of her. She fed her and put her to sleep and read her stories, until Mia was around one year old. Then Kris had felt 'the calling' and left to sail the open waters.
One of the only people who had ever seen Kris's soft side was Mia.
She also remembered Kris visiting. Mostly when she was little, Kris used to drop in every once and a while to see her. Mia could remember Kris giving her piggybacks and teaching her how to use a sword, but she could remember the stories the best. Kris told fantastic stories; even if Mia knew most of them weren't true.
There had been no stories lately.
When Kris saw Mia had finished her drink, she removed her feet from the table and stood up. "Guess they'll be wanting their drinks, eh Mi?" she said with a devious grin that Mia couldn't quite figure out. Instead of dwelling on it, she followed her out of the kitchen and into the sitting room, where Jack was busy recapturing the events of the day for Mia's father, occasionally letting Will get in a word or two.
"So anyway then- you're back!" Jack said, reaching out for a glass of Mia's tray as Kris poured drinks into the rest of them.
Mia sat down and listened to their on-going story in silence. She watched as Jack animatedly took off from where he left, somewhere around when Kris was about to get beheaded by the 'great hulk' of an executioner. He managed to drain 4 glasses or rum while he did this. As he talked, Mia imagined him in the place of Kris and her in the place of the executioner. And no one to save him.
She almost felt bad about hating her cousin's saviour.
Almost.
* * *
Mia always slept fitfully. Head mostly hidden under her covers, reddish-brown hair sprawled out across the pillow, she would sleep away until high noon. As she was doing now.
She lay in the peaceful darkness of her room, savouring those delicious moments of limbo between consciousness and sleep. She did not know weather she was just falling asleep or waking up, and right now she didn't care. It was just so serene….
Someone was talking to her. Whispering poetic words, words of beauty and love. Such nice words….
I love you….. And I always will…
So nice…
She felt someone sit on the edge of her bed, the weight making her slip slightly sideways.
I don't know what I'd do without you….
Me neither…
You're my world…….. Beautiful…… today…… I love you…… Kris……
Yes, so nice, go on, please do…..
Kris?
The single word jarred her awake. Kris…. That wasn't right…She wasn't Kris… Wait a minute!
Someone was in her room!!
Mia left her peaceful state with a loud scream.
"AAAAAAAAH!!! GET OUT!!" she yelled, kicking the person sitting at the foot of her bed.
"GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!!!!!"
"What the-" the person said in an unmistakeable slur. Jack.
"GET THE HELL OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mia screamed as Jack jumped up. She tried to kick him again as she realised he had probably thought she was Kris. Too bad.
"What…… Mia?!" Jack threw his arms up to protect his face as she whipped one of her pillows at him.
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!" She yelled one last time as Jack rushed out the door. He poked his head back in the door to say something, but another pillow flying in his direction sent him off for good.
Bloody pirate.
* * *
The next day, Jack made a point of avoiding Mia as much as he possibly could. And with good reason, too. She was feeling absolutely murderous.
Besides the fact that there was a large, creaky ship full of pirates tied up to the dock feet from her house, the routine went pretty much as usual. She got up around noon, helped her Father make lunch, ate lunch, then just kind of sat around and vegetated.
It made Mia feel a little better to see that Kris was back to her normal schedule, the one that had been going on before she slipped into depression. She had heard Kris up at around nine in the morning, and now she could see her from her bedroom window, swimming in the ocean like she usually did. Kris always swam with her clothes on. Every time Mia asked why, Kris would just reply that it was like washing yourself and your clothes at the same time.
There were so many things Mia didn't get about her cousin.
But still, at least Jack wasn't with her. Oh wait, never mind. His shaggy-haired head appeared from the water, laughing. Mia watched them emotionlessly as they chased, splashed, and tormented each other. She turned away in disgust when they started to kiss.
What exactly she didn't like about Jack, other than he was a filthy-drunken-womaniser, Mia couldn't quite place her finger on. She just disliked him. Everything from his unruly hair to his coal-lined eyes to his gold teeth to his drunken gestures and obsession for jewellery, she hated.
A few hours later, Mia had been forced outside by a laughing Kris and her pushy father to join Jack's crew for a supper. They had lit a gigantic bonfire and roasted various types of meat over it, and everyone was drinking and laughing and generally having a good time. Except her.
For the few precious moments Jack wasn't at Kris's side, Mia would hang around her. For the majority of the night, though, she found herself at her father's side or trying to make conversation with Anna-Maria. Anna-Maria was one of the only members of Jack's crew she actually liked. They had a few things in common.
And Mia was pretty sure she disliked Jack almost as much as she herself did.
But Mia just couldn't get last night's scene out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. She could almost laugh at the way Jack's face had looked when he realised he was whispering sweet-nothings into his object of obsession's little cousin's ear. But what he had said still bothered her as much as it had the night before. She just couldn't bring herself to admit it. She'd kill if anyone found out what she'd been thinking. Actually, she'd do worse.
But the thing is, she actually found what he said sweet.
* * *
"We're leaving tomorrow." Jack announced the next day.
"Why?" Mia asked, not to him but to Kris. Now that Kris was back to her normal self, Mia didn't want her to leave yet.
"We really have no time to waste." Jack said, leaning closer as Kris left the room to aid Mia's dad in getting out of his chair. "Wouldn't want to slack off, would we, Mi?"
Mia looked at him in disgust. "I'm sure that even if you had time to waste, Jack, you'd be late anyway. And do I really need to remind you that my name is Mia?" She said angrily. Only one person was allowed to call her Mi.
Jack raised his hands defensively. "No need to get touchy, Mi. And please, call me captain."
Mia then stormed off. Who was he to speak like that to her?!
She sat on her bed, brooding about how she could discreetly get back at him. After almost an hour, Mia came to a conclusion. There was only one way she could substantially get back at that slime ball and get what she wanted. Mia grinned deviously, in much the same way she had seen Kris grin. But she couldn't help it.
Her plan was just way too perfect.