A/N- So sorry about the wait. Last week was CIF so I was gone for most of the end of the week. Long Beach is a great city and all, but traffic sucks trying to get there. After CIF came STAR testing, but this was my last year so I didn't care. Along with other things to make my life busy I haven't been able to write, but no I'm back so it's all good. Hope you guys like this chapter!
This chapter is somewhat of a nonsense chapter so sorry! It's just everyone on the ship having a fun time. The action starts again in the next chapter!
Moon Titan- Yes the end will be soon, but it won't be for another couple chapters. I'm thinking there will probably be around 5 plus chapters left. So you have a little more to watch out for.
RuuD BoY- You need to remember it was hard to get information back and forth in those times. Endy's parents aren't in this chapter, but they are in the next chapter along with most of the other characters. Sere's dad is mad he's just trying to stay calm, but there's always what is he going to do when he finds Sere and the pirates?
BlAcKfIrE889- Yes Emerald and Beryl are related. They won't make any more appearances, but they might be mentioned at the very end. They'll be seen in the prologue story when I continue it, but I want to finish this story first.
passionate-nights- Thank You!
cosmos serenity- Thank you for staying with this story! Wow, the longest one huh? I'm honored. I hope you didn't die in that long wait though! Thanks for the typo alert! I hope there aren't a lot in this chapter, but as you said no one can be perfect.
Ffgirlmoonie- This is just a fun chapter… the next one is when the action comes back into the plot.
VcChick- Nothing is going to happen to the pirates… yet. Don't worry nothing serious will ever happen to them.
Sailor Saturn2- Parents don't understand a lot of things in real life either from my perspective. But hey, Serenity has yet to know, but that will be ending soon…
Alexandria18- Well now since you know where the problem is from… you have to wait. You'll still like this chapter though!
Fellow- Thank you and I will!
KiwiKol- Thank you and sorry for the wait!
LynGreenTea- Wrote more, but wasn't very fast, but I did write.
Madamoiselle La Lune- Not really bringing her back, but mentioning her. Her time to shine is in Trust, but that won't be updated for a while.
Gr33nJ3w3lRain- Face it, it's Seiya and in this story his goal in life was the same as Diamond's… until Diamond died and now it's only his. But ya, he'll be around for a little bit longer.
Mysterious advisor- Thank you! I thought everyone needed to have some time. Each couple deserves some time in the spot light even if this is mainly a Sere/Dare story.
eliza-morgan22- Thank you and read on!
Sailorceb- I tried, but I couldn't update that fast. The next chapter should be up faster though!
OnesanMarina- You're good at being patient then since this update took so long! This chapter is fun, but the next one will answer some of you questions.
"Good morning Serenity." Malachite said when he saw the princess walk up to the top deck where he was currently at the wheel.
"Good morning Malachite." Serenity answered.
"It's nice to see you back up and moving. None of us can believe that you spent two days stuck in that cabin when you could have been out here. Amy and Lita said you'd never be the one stuck in doors for as long as 5 minutes unless you were forced.
"They are usually right, but this had different circumstances." Serenity said. "I wanted to make sure Darien was alright and I needed to watch his shoulder. Though I have not been around a lot of gun shots, from what my father said they can be tricky to heal."
"I'm sure Darien is doing just fine." Malachite said with a smile.
"He says he is and I'm going to take his word. Where are we off to this time?" Serenity asked.
"Right now we're going back to the cove where Alan attacked us. We're sure no one should be there since Alan was pretty much the only person to know that the cove was our hiding spot."
"And after that?"
"Who knows. We'll talk about it when we get there, but for now we're going there to rest. Some of the men might go to a close town for supplies and drinks, but most will stay in the cove looking through the treasure."
"O." Serenity seemed to drift off from reality for a while as she looked out upon the deck where the crew was currently working. Malachite just smiled at the young girl before turning his attention back to the water. "We were lucky the crew didn't have a mutiny aren't we?" Serenity asked breaking the silence.
"We are. No one knows how the crew will react to anything, especially women o board a pirate ship."
"They're a good crew…"
"And a loyal one." Darien said interrupting his princess.
"Darien, you're up!" Serenity said. She wrapped her arms around him, carefully avoiding his injured shoulder.
"Good to see you again. How's your arm?" Malachite asked.
"It's doing a lot better. Why don't you go see Mina and I'll take over for a bit now. After all I am the captain." Darien said. Malachite smiled and patted his friend on his back before leaving to find Mina.
"It's nice to be back on deck and in complete control again." Darien said.
"What do you mean? Weren't you in control of the ship the whole time while I was gone?" Serenity asked peering up at Darien.
"Let's just say I wasn't thinking straight until I had you back in my arms."
"O." Serenity said. She walked over to the side of the deck and looked out at the sea and let out what she thought was a quiet sigh.
"What's wrong?" Darien asked. He walked over to Serenity and wrapped his arms around her.
"Hm? Nothing."
"I know something is wrong."
"I promise that there is nothing wrong Dare."
"Sere, I'm a pirate. I lie for a living, don't you think I would be able to tell when you aren't telling the truth? Please tell me what's bothering you."
"I just wish that some of this never happened."
"What do you mean? You never wanted to meet me?" Darien asked.
"No, I never wanted you to get hurt. God Darien, I can't even imagine life without you! But because of me you were at risk for a mutiny, you were shot, and your ship was under attack…" Serenity's legs cave out and Darien caught her so she wouldn't fall. She sobbed into his chest as he held her and traced soothing patters on her back.
"My ship is always under attack. That's the life of being a pirate or any one who lives on the sea. My crew trusts me so when we explained ourselves they decided not to turn on us. We just need to give them money for beer when we go to Triste now, but that's something I'm more than willing to do. And being shot, yes it is regrettable, but we don't have to worry about Diamond anymore." Serenity stayed quiet and her sobs began to slow down.
"Can you teach me how to steer the ship?" Serenity asked trying to lighten the mood. Darien just smiled and led her over to where the large wheel was. For the rest of the day Darien let Serenity take over the wheel. He would occasionally leave her to go talk to one of the crewmen or to get something to eat. Serenity liked being at the wheel because in her opinion it was the best view of the ocean from the ship.
"Do you want me to take the wheel?" Darien asked as he wrapped his arms around Serenity. Serenity only shook her hand and gripped the wheel tighter.
"Well Darien, it seems as though we won't need to find anyone to steer the ship anymore." Nephrite said from behind the couple. Darien smiled and nodded to his friend.
"You wanna bet?" Lita asked from behind Nephrite.
"And what would this bet be for?"
"If I can make Serenity leave the wheel you have to… hm… you'll have to dress up and sing on the deck in front of your entire crew and during the middle of the day." Lita said with a smile. Nephrite's eyes got wide before they closed back to slits and watched Lita carefully.
"And if I win?"
"If you win you get a private catering service all night." Lita said.
"Alright, we have an accord!" Nephrite said. Instead of shaking Lita's hand he grabbed her and pulled her in for a long deep kiss. "You might want to hurry. I'll give you ten minutes because nothing has gotten Serenity to leave that post all day."
Darien just kept smiling as Nephrite and Lita set up their bet. They had a few moments of quiet whispering, but then they turned back to Darien and Serenity. Serenity had yet to take her eyes off the ocean even though Darien told her that there shouldn't be anyone there since it was the open sea and they were too far out for most merchant ships.
"What do you two have planned?" Darien asked.
"You'll see." Lita smiled at Darien. She turned around and walked under the deck of the ship. Nephrite and Darien just looked at each other and shrugged. When Lita returned her hands were hiding something behind her back and she had a smile plastered to her face. "Ready?" Lita asked Darien and Nephrite who nodded. "Sere, I've got coo-" Before Lita could finish Serenity was grabbing Lita's arms and pulled cookies from her hands.
"There's more in your room." Lita said. Serenity smiled and ran off into the cabin she was sharing with Darien.
"Wha? How?" Darien stood stunned.
"Here's the thing about Serenity. No matter how full she claims to be, she will always fall victim to sweets." Lita explained. "Now I believe you need to go get dressed."
Nephrite growled before sulking back to his room. "What was the deal?" Darien asked as he took hold of the wheel.
"You'll see right about….now." Lita smiled and watched as a door flung open and Nephrite came out in his fanciest clothes and started singing. Darien and the rest of the crew couldn't help but laugh at this supposedly tough pirate dressed up in a pillowy shirt, shinny black boots, and tight black pants with a matching vest. He was running around and singing, not well, but singing.
"I can't believe it." Darien said laughing. Everyone had taken some time from their duties and watched Nephrite's antics. Serenity re-emerged from the cabin with a handful of cookies and a large smile. Mina and Malachite watched from the far side of the ship where they had been talking and watching the ocean. Amy and Zoicite emerged from their room with books in her hands and smiles. Rei and Jadeite appeared from the galley. Jadeite had flour in his hair and a scowl on his face, but Rei had a triumphant smile as she watched Nephrite.
"Does anyone have any money?" Someone called.
"Does anyone know how to sing any worse?" Another called. Various other shouts called from different parts of the ship before Nephrite stopped and returned to his room where he changed back into a loose shirt, old pants, and dusty brown boots.
"I think I need to go make sure he'll survive this blow to his ego." Lita said.
"You better." Darien said. He started hollering back at everyone to get back to work. Soon the ship was working like a pirate ship again, but everyone had smiles on their faces still.
"You want one?" Serenity asked holding a cookie up to Darien.
"No, I'm fine. I had some when Lita first baked them."
"Wait, you're telling me I missed HOT cookies?"
"Sorry, I asked if you wanted to come, but you wouldn't budge."
"O, well you could have brought me some."
"I'm sorry." Darien kissed Serenity's head. "Now, why don't you go lay down. I know you might not think you're tired, but I know you are. I'll come wake you up tomorrow morning."
"Morning? Tomorrow? It's still light outside Dare!"
"Yes, but not much longer. If you have not noticed the sun has almost set." Serenity looked up at the sky and saw the sun blazing up the sky one last time with a red fire before it decided to fall behind the horizon. She mumbled a small "o" before leaving Darien with a kiss and leaving for the cabin where she promptly falls asleep.
Serenity moans as light hit her eyes and interrupts her dreaming. She manages to open one eye and notices that the sun has already come up far enough to be 10 AM. "I better not have missed breakfast." She mutters as she stretches. When she relaxes her muscles an arm slithers over her waist and pulls her closer to a hard chest.
"Good morning love." Darien said as he kissed Serenity's neck.
"Darien! When did you come in?"
"Malachite took over for me late last night. When I walked in you were sleeping and I decided to join you."
"But… but what about breakfast?" Serenity whined hoping there would be some food left for her.
"You mean that?" Darien asked pointing to a tray on his desk. Serenity's eyes widened at the sight of melon and toast.
"You let them bring more melon onto the ship?" Serenity asked.
"I didn't let anyone bring melon onto my ship. Lita forced me to let her." Darien said. "I know she's your friend and all, but she can be scary when she wants to be."
"You're telling me. You wonder how I got up in the morning back home? Lita would threaten to pour ice water on me if I didn't get up." Serenity said.
"Really? Wow, I'll need to remember that." Darien was rewarded with a smack to his head. "What?"
"There will be no throwing water on me as I sleep understand?" Serenity asked.
"Let me guess, I've done it before."
"Lita got the idea from you! One time you wanted me to come watch you fight someone, I forget who, but anyways, and I wouldn't wake up because someone had taken me on a stroll around the garden the night before so I was really tired. So you leave me alone after five minutes of failed attempts to wake me up. When you come back you have a bucket full of ice water that you throw on me. Your parents found it quite funny and so did Lita. I had to take another bath, rinse out that nightgown and then get dressed before you came back in threatening me with another bucket of ice water." Serenity explained.
"O well, you want some breakfast?" Serenity's face instantly lit up at the mention of food and she nodded her head. Darien got up and received the tray from the desk and brought it back to bed.
"Endy, when are you going to tell them?" Serenity asked as she took a bite out of a piece of toast.
"I don't know. Let's get to the cove first and then we'll figure out when. I want to tell the guys and girls before we tell the crew." Darien said.
"I understand, it's just getting hard to stop myself from calling you Endymion in front of them."
"I know and I'm sorry. Soon we'll be able to ok?" Serenity nodded and took another bite from an already half eaten melon. A little juice dribbled down her chin, but Darien lifted up her chin so he could lick the juice up, causing Serenity to laugh.
"Can I steer again today?" Serenity asked.
"As long as you promise to not get obsessed with it and cause any more damage to Nephrite's ego."
"That wasn't my fault, but I will lighten up."
"Then I guess it is alright." Serenity smiled and kissed Darien before she put all her dishes back on the tray and ran around the room trying to find clothes.
"Look in the chest in the closet." Darien instructed. Serenity gave him a quizzical look before she walked over to the closet and tugged out a medium sized chest. When she opened it she found three pairs of black pants and a variety of shirts in different colors. "Mina picked up some things while they were waiting for us."
"Remind me to thank her then. Did she get any boots?"
"They should be in the bottom of the chest." Sure enough there were two pairs of boots sitting in the corner. Serenity made Darien turn around as she changed from her slip into the pants and shirt.
"Alright, you can turn back around."
"I don't think I'm letting you leave this cabin." Darien said eyeing his princess.
"And why not?" Serenity asked.
"Because you look too good and I don't want my crew to see you like that. Go find a dress." Darien said.
"No."
"Are you disobeying your captain?"
"Nope."
"I believe you are."
"I am not. I am disobeying a command from the man I love because I will not be ordered around like some trained animal." Serenity shot back.
"I was only joking Sere."
"I know, but I thought I'd let you know to never order me around."
"Alright. Are you ready?" Serenity nodded and followed Darien out of the cabin and onto the top deck.
"Captain." A young boy said.
"Hello Jack." Darien said with a smile.
"Princess Serenity."
"Call me Serenity, er… um…"
"My name's Jack Whitt Pri- Serenity."
"Well it's nice to meet you Jack." Serenity smiled at him.
"Everything look fine Jack?" Darien asked.
"Yes sir. Malachite taught me how to steer last night so I can help you guys."
"That's good. Go take a break and get some rest and something to eat." Darien suggested.
"Yes sir. Nice to meet you Serenity." Serenity just smiled at Jack as he walked down the stairs onto the main deck and started heading for the galley below. She turned back around after Jack had disappeared and took the wheel's spokes into her hands.
"Just keep her heading straight. There's a storm coming so I'll take over when that hits alright?" Darien asked. Serenity just nodded and kept her eye out on the horizon.
"You have a boy as part of your crew Darien?" Serenity asked.
"He was a stow away. I guess he was trying to escape his family or something. He became really good a keeping the ship clean and would follow orders well so we kept him. The crew also took to being his family so it didn't feel right leaving him somewhere."
"That's so sweet."
"Never ever call me, my ship, or my crew sweet ever again."
"Aw yes, the big bad pirates." Darien grinned at Serenity's joke and nodded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and just watched his ship slice through the water. Always keeping an eye on the large thunder heads coming their way.
