A/N: Finally we get to their actual adventure part… Hope you like this and the direction I'm taking this. We're moving closer to NaNoWriMo, that means the chapters to this won't come out as often. I might end up writing a bit here and there, if the muse gets stuck in my original sequel I'm plotting out right now.
Chapter 14: RuebenThe warm summer wind picked up, sweeping over the Jolly Roger and ruffling the loose hair falling from Rueben's ponytail. His arms were wrapped around his girlfriend; they'd been together for almost a year now. Graduation had been a month ago, and now they were taking a much needed vacation with their friends.
"Ahoy! Permission to come aboard." Daimen's voice carried up the gangplank.
At the helm, Rueben chuckled as he watched his friend clamor onboard with Gloria. William and Rose were already downstairs getting settled in one of the smaller cabins next to the captain's quarters.
Disentangling himself from Hope, he walked down to meet his friend on the main deck. Hope followed him.
"Permission granted," Rueben said in a fake, curt voice, giving a mock salute at his friend.
Damien smirked and wrapped his arm around Gloria. "So where's the Capt'n?" he asked, looking around the ship.
"Down below," Hope replied and greeted her friend, Gloria, with a hug.
"Well, that'll be the ship's new captain, she means," Rueben said. "The old captain is picking up provisions from their car."
"Who are you calling old?" Killian said from the gangplank, carrying a crate in his arms. Emma followed him with various bags in her hands.
Hope chuckled and patted Rueben's chest. "Nice going, Rueben. Piss off my daddy before we even get out of port. We'll end up having him with us on this trip." She sighed dramatically and glanced at her parents.
Rueben grinned. "No worries, my love, I'll take care of your father." He walked over to take the crate from Killian and explained, "I just remarked that this ship has a new captain for this journey."
"Uh huh," Killian remarked sarcastically. "So where's William?"
Rueben told Killian where to find William and watched the pirate descend below deck. The trip had been planned for several months now; the group of friends had been beyond excited when Hope's father was willing to lend them his old ship. His only request was that they all should partake in several training excursions beforehand.
It turned out that William, Rueben and, of course, Hope had some previous experience with sailing and navigating. It was on one of these excursions that William had shown far more knowledge in the art of captaining a ship than anyone else. Rueben was appointed next in command and in charge of navigation. He'd been a bit wary about taking up the role and actually thought Hope was a much better choice. But he'd promised her she could be Second Mate.
The rest of their friends were all satisfied with this role distribution. Gloria had volunteered to be in charge of the galley, with the assistance of Rose. Damien was content to be the all-round man, climbing the mast to fix the sails or keep watch in the crow's nest. He was the most agile of the men and not as burly as both William and Rueben.
When William and Killian emerged on deck again, they seemed to be discussing something. Rueben looked at them curiously, tilting his head and trying to pick up what they were speaking about. When he realized what it was, he rolled his eyes. Hope's father was apparently curious to know why William, the captain, wasn't bunking in the Captain's Quarters. It was, in Killian's eyes, unheard of.
"With all due respect, Mr. Jones," William began. "I know this is your ship, but Rose and I are fine in the cabin down there. We both agreed that Hope and Rueben should have your quarters," William tried to explain while they walked over to where Rueben was.
"Aye, I guess if you young ones can make some agreement on the sleeping arrangements, I'm not going to argue who sleeps where," Killian finally relented.
His eyes found Rueben, and when the pirate squinted at him, Rueben gulped. He had an inkling to what Killian was thinking. Ever since Hope's birthday, he'd had a few run-ins with Killian about the close, intimate relationship he'd begun having with his daughter.
When Killian got closer to Rueben, he whispered, "I do hope you're respectful of my daughter, I want no—"
"Killian, stop!" Emma's voice cut in and she grabbed her husband's arm, dragging him away from Rueben. "I'm sorry, Rueben. Let me deal with my husband here for a sec."
Killian grumbled something under his breath while he tried to look as if he paid attention to the ribbing his wife was giving him.
"Is he still giving you shite about sleeping with Hope on his ship?" Damien laughed and clapped Rueben on the back.
William laughed too when Rueben groaned at his friends.
"Fuck off." He rubbed his neck in frustration. "Yeah, the old pirate apparently can't let it go."
Rueben relaxed once Hope slipped her hand in his, and the friends began to prepare for the journey. They hadn't set out a complete course yet, but they wanted to sail south; maybe as far as Agrabah. Hope had brought her realm-jumping comb along with her sword. When he'd asked about that, she'd merely shrugged and said, "It can't hurt to be prepared."
Emma and Killian helped the group stow away the provisions and said their final goodbyes and parting wishes of a safe journey.
Finally, they could set sail and head toward the open waters.
The weather was perfect for sailing, and within a short time, the crew found their groove, making sure the ship was in tip-top shape. The training session they'd had with Killain (and one time with Rueben's father) had proven successful. Even if the ship was enchanted, it was reassuring to know that each member of the ship's crew knew how to carry out the various tasks required to keep the ship afloat.
They took their time sailing down the coast, and by the first nightfall, Rueben found himself out on the deck, alone with Hope. The day had been filled with so many activities with their friends. So it was nice to have some quiet time with his girlfriend.
Wrapping his arm around her from behind, he nuzzled her ear and whispered, "Hey you."
"Hi." She let her body press into his. "So how's the navigation going?"
"Just great."
"I knew you could do this," Hope said and looked back at him with a smile. "This trip is so perfect; we all needed this." She sighed.
Rueben knew Hope had been stressed out over the last few months of preparing for exams. When it was finally over, it was nice to have this time alone with their friends.
"Yeah, we did." He kissed her cheek and gently shifted her around so he could capture her lips in a deep, plundering kiss. The groan forming through her lips sent spikes of heat through him. He pressed her body up against the railing and let the passion between them take over.
Both forgot the world around them as they kissed, the familiar crackle of her magic filling the air around them. It was a pretty normal occurrence, so it didn't faze Rueben anymore.
"Oy, love birds, go down below if ya wanna do the deed." Damien's voice was heard from the crow's nest above them.
"Fuck," Rueben mumbled, pressing his forehead against hers. "Forgot the idiot was up there."
Hope laughed and looked up, "Ain't you supposed to watch the horizon or something?"
"Aye," Damien shouted back. "But for the sake of my mental health, could you stop sucking face where I can see ya'."
Rueben laughed, then relented. "Okay, we will." He took Hope's hand and walked with her around the deck, enjoying the starry sky above. They kept their talk to much more low-key subjects.
Standing at the bow, they watched the ship cut gently through the calm waters the weather forecasts had been promising for the next few days.
Rueben gave Hope a sidelong glance, her bright blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight. She looked deep in thought, her fingers playing with the butterfly pendant around her neck. He'd realized she did this whenever she was thinking about something. "Still worried about that prophecy?" Rueben asked gently, not sure if she was even ready to talk about the things they'd found in their research relating to Morpho and Stella Octo, or the powers of hope.
"Yeah." She grinned wryly and shrugged, "I mean, this is bloody freaking me out. I know I should probably just let it go, but ever since I found out that this—" she gently tugged at her butterfly pendant, "— is Morpho, as in a blue butterfly, which consequently also represents hope. I haven't really been able to just let it be." She sighed. "And to think, my parents named me Hope. I mean how crazy is that?"
Rueben pulled her in for a hug; he could clearly see how much this affected her. "Let's not worry ourselves with things we can't change." He placed a kiss on her temple and whispered, "Let's just enjoy this trip?"
"I will, but something tells me to be on the lookout for anything strange." She shrugged, "I don't know why I feel this way, but I will enjoy this trip with you all. Even if we're still nowhere close to figuring out what Stella Octo means, other than something with a star and the number eight."
"Yeah, hurrah for latin," Rueben chuckled. "But let's worry about all of that later." He pulled her closer and let Hope rest her head against his chest as they gazed over the glittering black waters.
Hope only hummed in response and wrapped her arms around his waist.
A few days later, they docked in Agrabah, and the crew excitedly disembarked from the Jolly Roger. They were greeted by a representative from the palace letting them know that Princess Jasmine and Prince Aladdin invited them for a dinner party that night.
Rueben watched while Hope spoke with the representative; she seemed to be in her element. Her posture oozed royal confidence, and Rueben was suddenly much more aware that his girlfriend was a princess. He gulped down the lump forming in his throat; he just hoped he would be able to uphold the same confidence once they met up with the royals of Agrabah.
The girls were already making plans and decided to go shopping: the men groaned at this and complained at how long this would take.
"Hush," Rose said, slapping William on his arm. "We need to look our best for the royals here in Agrabah."
Hope interjected. "Well, we could let the boys go off on their own, and we could shop for them too." This suggestion was met with cheers from the men who rushed off to find someplace to have fun.
Several, long hours later, the three men stood, grumbling on deck. All the fun they'd shared today had evaporated the second they'd been goaded into wearing the clothes the ladies had found for them.
"What the bloody hell am I wearing?" Damien grumbled as he came out in loose fitted pants made of a dark green silky material.
Willaim and Rueben wore similar pants, and on their feet, they wore moccasins with pointed tips. Their loose fitted white shirts were showing off more chest than they would ever do at a social gathering of any royal calibre back in Royal City. But here in Agrabah, these clothes were considered normal formal wear. Neither girl seemed to mind one bit.
"Hush," Gloria admonished her boyfriend. "Let me just enjoy this scene for a sec." Her eyes shined brightly as she took in her man.
Rueben looked down at himself; his pants were dark blue, and they seemed to match the color of Hope's attire. It wasn't a dress, rather some loose fitted pants made of an almost see-through fabric. Her midriff was bare, and she wore a cropped halter top, which tied at the back. Gloria wore a similar top, only in a green that matched Damien's outfit. Rose's red cropped top was an off the shoulder cut, and William didn't seem to mind this.
Rueben could understand why his friends were grumbling, and honestly felt as if the ladies had set them up. But looking at Hope dressed like this, he couldn't really care how he was dressed. He walked over and wrapped his arm around her, placing his hand on her bare back and whispered, "Good call there, my love. You look amazing in this. Ready to wow some royals here in Agrabah?"
"Sure I am." Hope turned to wave at their friends. "Come on, lads, cheer up. This is how everyone dresses here."
Rueben grinned and watched as both William and Damien finally relented and walked to the ladies waiting for them.
The palace had sent a carriage for them, and they were all completely awed by the splendor of this place; everything seemed to shimmer and shine in the hot sun.
Once inside, they were greeted by Princess Jasmine and Prince Aladdin, it had been a long time since Hope had seen them. She'd only been a small child.
"Welcome everyone," Jasmine greeted, approaching the group, Aladdin right next to her. "Hope, it's so nice to see you here. When we got word of you passing by, we had to make a feast out of it," she said in a sweet voice as she embraced Hope. "Sorry I couldn't be there for your birthday last year. There was some crazy stuff going on in the south seas we had to deal with."
"Oh." Hope looked at her worriedly. "What kind of thing?"
"Our outstanding captain, Sinbad, was lost at sea; presumed dead, I'm afraid." Jasmine explained.
"What happened?" Rueben asked after suddenly picking up on the conversation.
Aladdin stepped up and greeted Rueben as he explained, "Ships had reported back on several occasions after they'd encountered sirens and barely made it back home."
"It seems as if the sirens have become more active down in the South Seas," Jasmine interjected, waving her hand in the air, "but let's not dwell on sad stories. Let's enjoy a small party, shall we?" She motioned for them to follow her into the large hall where lines of tables were set up.
"This is a small party?" William asked under his breath as they took in the splendor of it all.
Ruben had to agree with his friend; this seemed like a grand gesture just to accommodate their visit. But he guessed everything here was a bit over the top, so he chose to enjoy himself. Placing a hand on Hope's back, he followed his friends inside, and they were shown where to sit. A large round table at the very front of the hall was set up for them and their hosts.
The evening and celebration was a spectacular affair, and everyone ended up enjoying this evening in such a glamorous setting. Living on a ship for several days was fine, but this was something special.
Once back at the ship, the three couples returned to their cabins where the ladies showed how much they appreciated their men wearing the oriental clothing they'd picked out for them.
The next morning, they had a crew meeting, as William called it. They needed to figure out where to go next.
"I'm not so sure going further south is a great idea," William pondered as he looked over the charts spread over the table they'd all gathered around.
"And miss out on running into sirens?" Damien asked with a raised eyebrow, "That would be one hell of a tale to bring home."
"Don't be stupid, Damien," Gloria admonished, tucking herself closer to him; she looked worried.
Rueben knew she was the quiet girl of the group, and more often than not, she would think before taking action.
"Well, we could head west, toward The Land of Untold Stories," Rueben suggested, tapping that particular realm. He shrugged. "I've never been there."
"It would be cool to meet Dracula," Damien said with a smirk.
"Well, there's a large portion of open waters we need to cross," William said, his eyebrows wrinkled in thought. "But the weather should hold up for at least another day or two."
"So, we're going to meet Dracula?" Rose asked with an eye roll. "Well that would be a new adventure, for sure."
William looked around, making sure no one seemed to object to this new course. Finally, he nodded and rolled up the charts. "We'll make sure to stock up from the market here in Agrabah, and head out tomorrow morning."
"Yeah," Rose said. "We have a whole nother day of shopping."
Damien groaned at this, but followed Gloria to the galley, where she would make note of what they needed.
The palace was perched high above the city of Agrabah, the rays of the early sun reflecting on the gilded roof tops. Rueben watched from the helm as they prepared the Jolly Roger for the next step of their journey.
By now, everyone seemed to easily fall into their roles on the ship, and they made good use of the tide leaving the bay area. Soon, the magical ship was out on the open waters, the sun at their backs, and clear sky and calm waters ahead of them. Rueben only hoped the voyage across the open water would bring them safely to their destination. A small shiver of anticipation skated down his spine; he looked around, trying to tap into whatever made this happen. Nothing came to mind and he shook the feeling off and gripped the wheel while focusing on the course plotted out by him and Hope.