Things are starting to heat up y'all!
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As soon as John shut the door I fell to the floor. Had I missed something? One minute he look terrified of losing me and the next it's like he couldn't wait to get away. For a second there I thought he was starting to act like he lov-
Stop it. You are a paycheck to him, and nothing else. Picking myself up off the floor I looked in the mirror to get a good look at myself. Seeing the bruises on my face and neck made my throat burn with tears, but I refused to let anyone see me look any weaker than they already did. I went to pull the plug to drain the water, tightened my towel and set off to get dressed.
Walking out of the bathroom I was instantly overwhelmed at my surroundings. The entire room, floor to ceiling was made of deep auburn mahogany. The furniture was even made of the same materials, giving the room a cozy masculine feel. I was pleasantly surprised at how organized everything was; the bed was nearly made with dark red bedding, there wasn't much clutter except for a few books and small lanterns gave the room a soft glow.
I looked around for my things, praying that Jim had brought them over by now. When my search turned up with nothing, I started to panic. Great, now you're gonna have to go across this ship in nothing but a towel to go get your things. I tried to think where Jim would have left my boxes, and figured I should check John's office before truly panicking. Walking over to the door, I leaned close to listen and see if anyone was still in there. Hearing nothing, I cracked open the door carefully and peered in. Whew. It's empty. And there's my stuff!
On the other side of the room, my trunks were stacked neatly next to the door. I opened the bathroom door, slunk across the room, grabbed another outfit and ran back before anyone could come back in. Feeling the warm steam left over from my bath instantly soothed me, and my mind drifted into a fog of thoughts. I thought John and I were getting along great. Am I the only one that felt that spark? Obviously if he's acting as cold as he is now.
Just the thought of John's change in attitude made me choke up. I had no idea why, after the things I just went through and the injuries I sustained you would think that would upset me more than anything. But no. You're upset because you think he doesn't like you.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Berating myself wasn't going to make me feel any better, so I set to the task of getting dressed to meet the constable. Thankfully, the potion John used had healed a majority of my wounds, they were just raised pink shadows compared to before. I threw on a loose tunic and some leather trousers. Looking back in the mirror I took a closer inspection at my eye and went to work trying to braid my hair. Yeah, that's gonna look LOVELY tomorrow.
Lifting my hands behind my head was a mistake, for as soon as I did pain raked through my entire body. Stifling a scream, I steadied myself on the counter and caught a hold of my breath, waiting for the shock wave to subside. Well, guess my hair is just going to be loose and crazy then. I tucked my tunic into my trousers, took one last look, then headed to John's office to put my boots on.
Thankfully Jim stacked things exactly as I had them in my room so finding things were easy. First thing I grabbed was my hunting knife and strapped it to my thigh. I'll be damned if I am ANYWHERE on this ship unarmed. Next, I laced up my boots. Once I was dressed, I threw the door open to see a shocked John Silver.
"Oh!" He jumped back, "yer already ready?" The distant attitude was back.
Not in the mood for his hot and cold game, I gave him a cold look of my own. "How long is it supposed to take to put a shirt and a pair of pants on?"
"Not long I suppose." He rubbed his neck nervously, "Just t'ought you needed some time to gather yerself." It satisfied me to no end to see a flash of hurt shine on his face, it wasn't there for long though before he pulled on a cool face of his own.
"Nah. I'm fine. Is the constable here yet?" I didn't realize how cold it had gotten until I pulled on my coat, my breath hung in the air with every word.
Coming in behind me, John leaned over my shoulder and pointed with his mechanical arm at a black battleship. It wasn't near as big as the one we were on, but still held the same intimidating authority. I watched as it came closer and closer, until finally a gangplank landed and a fleet of robots came aboard. They looked absolutely terrifying, being about as big as John, made completely of cold metal and red glowing eyes. When they asked a crew member, "Where is Ms. Anastasia Clearwater?" I immediately froze.
John placed a hand on each shoulder, squeezed reassuringly, and whispered in my ear "Don't be scared lass, they just want to ask ya what happened. I'll be wit' ya every step of t'e way." I guess he decided to blow hot again, but I was too scared to try and be angry with him. Checking to see no one was looking, I leaned into his hands and accepted his support. I've never even seen a Galactic Cop before, much less been interrogated by one. Am I going to go to jail?
John was back in my ear again, apparently I had spoken that last part out loud. "You don't have any reason to be arrested lass. I promise you everyt'ing will be alright." As the cops approached John released me, but was still close enough for me to touch. Two of them came towards me while the other four followed Jim down to my cabin. Your old cabin remember?
"Are you Princess Anastasia Clearwater?" One cop asked.
"Y-yes." I stammered.
"Would you please follow us? We have a few questions to ask you."
"Erm, sure" and off we went back into John's state room.
The questioning lasted about an hour and a half, and wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. I just had to give a statement, let them document my injuries and compare my story to the evidence and that was it. John gave his witness statement, but other than that there wasn't much to do.
When they were headed out they each stopped to shake my hand. "Thank you for your cooperation your majesty, we will have the official report sent to you in 10 days."
"What?! Wait is this report going to be available to the public?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am." The first cop answered, "A crime happened here, therefore we have to make a report that is available in the public archives."
"Um, I'm sorry but I can't let you do that."
Their eyes immediately flashed red, the explanation I was about to give caught in my throat. Thankfully John stepped in.
"Pardon me gentlemen, but t'e reason her highness doesn't want this to be public knowledge is because she is on her way to her wedding in Montressor. If word gets out t'at she was nearly raped it would put her virtue into question as well as jeopardize the wedding."
I actually hadn't thought of that, I just didn't want people to know that I got manhandled on my first day outside of my home. But Johns reason would probably work better than mine. I peeked around his shoulder to see if the two robots bought it. They seemed to ponder it a moment, then one finally answered.
"We'll have to call it in to headquarters to see if we can get approval to have the files sealed."
John then produced a heavy purse full of gold and secretly handed it over to the robots. "I t'ink there's enough there to make it seem like this never happened. What do ya say?"
The robot who did all the talking immediately opened up a hatch in its body and stuffed the purse in there. "Yes sir, don't worry about a thing. Y'all have a good night now." He beeped, and off they went back on to their ship.
I just stood there shocked at the little exchange. "I don't know if I should be grateful or worried that they took your bribe so easily."
John glanced down at me over his shoulder "A t'ank you works just fine."
Surprised at my own rudeness I immediately thanked him, and watched as the Intergalactic ship sailed away. All of a sudden my stomach snarled making John bust out in laughter. "Guess we oughta get some food in t'at stomach of yers eh?"
"I think I'm just gonna grab a purp and head to bed."
"Nonsense, last time I seen you eat a good amount was t'is mornin' right after we launched. C'mon, I'm sure I can wrestle ya up somethin'" and next thing I knew I was being pulled down into the galley. Sitting there I let my mind wander again as I watched John work. Now he's acting like nothing is wrong, where as before it seemed like he wanted nothing to do with me. Is he putting up a front when other people are around or does he really want to just get rid of me? Before I knew it my eyes were getting too heavy to hold open and I was getting pulled to sleep, when all of a sudden there was a clunk in front of me.
My eyes flew open to a bowl of steaming heaven. I didn't even bother asking John what it was, I dived in right away. He sat across from me, leaned on his fist and watched me in boredom.
"Don't you have some other captain-y things to be doing?" I asked stuffing my mouth with another spoonful.
"Didn't yer parents teach you better t'an to eat with yer mouthful?" he countered with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not a princess on this ship remember. Manners don't apply to me until we land in Montressor." I was already halfway through.
"Ah," he laughed "and no. I don't have ot'er 'captain-y' t'ings to do. Jim is taking care of all that." He started rubbing his eyes for the ten-thousandth time today.
"You know you're gonna rub your eyes out of your head if you keep doin' that" I pointed at him. "And you can't stop being a captain just because I'm here. It's your job."
"I already told ya protectin' you is my job for now." he growled. There he goes blowing cold AGAIN.
I jumped up and washed my bowl and spoon. I was fed up with the bipolar attitude from the man, and I just wanted to be ALONE. He was acting like I made things difficult on purpose. Walking past him I stopped right before the stairs and turned to him, "Well consider yourself off the clock since I'm going to bed now." His head shot up as he noticed I had an attitude of my own.
"Now wait a minute lass, I didn't mean-" he soothed.
"No. I know what you meant." I cut him off. "I wasn't aware being my keeper was that stressful of a position." I heard him call my full name as I stormed up the stairs, but I didn't bother turning back. This had been the longest day and all I wanted was to go to sleep, besides my injuries were starting to ache again. I needed to go and try to fall asleep before the pain got too bad.
Thankfully that night I slept uninterrupted, and the next few days were relatively uneventful. I spent a majority of my time at the helm with Jim and John learning all the different controls for the ship. When I wasn't there I was with John helping him prepare meals, or doing grunt work with Jim. Thankfully by the third day all of my wounds from the fight as well as my labor had all healed, and I was starting to form calluses of my own.
I was still trying to figure John out. He had his moments where he acted so tender and caring, and then the next he was just as cold as a glacier. The few times we were alone sparks would dance between us, and he would get this look in his eyes that convinced me that he felt something more, but it was like as soon as he realized he was getting too close he would throw a wall up and push me away. What do you expect him to do? You're engaged idiot. Things had been going like this for the first 4 days together when I finally asked Jim about it. Jim was his best friend, and therefore the least likely to blabber about my questions to the crew.
We were hanging on our scaffold below the ship scraping barnacles off of the hull. I fought with myself on how to approach the subject, when I just blurted it out to get it over with.
"Does he have feelings for me Jim?"
He knew exactly who I was talking about, started choking on his purp, and when he finally cleared his throat all he could do was stutter. "N-now Ana, wh-where on earth w-would you get that f-from?" he sputtered turning a bright red.
"You know exactly why. He's your best friend, I know you notice the way he looks at me sometimes."
"Yeah, and I notice the way you look at him too." he accused.
Now it was my turn to blush bright red. "Just answer my question!"
"I think you already know the answer, you're just looking to me for confirmation."
I pondered this for a second. Is that really what I'm looking for? Confirmation that it's not just me that feels this way? "The only reason I ask is because he blows hot and cold." I started digging at the next barnacle just to keep from having to look at Jim. "I just-need to know how he feels. You're his best friend, I figured he would have told you something"
Jim had finished his snack and was back at it when he asked "Why is it so important for you to know? Will it change the fact that you're to be married in ten days?"
"Well, no." Would it change anything if he did? "Why can't you just answer my damn questions!" I shouted, pretending to pout.
He started laughing, "Well he hasn't told me anything directly, but then again he doesn't have to it's that obvious."
"So?"
"He's crazy about ya."
My hands flew to my mouth hiding my smile. Quit acting like a damn child. Why does it even matter if he loves you or not?! "But," Jim interrupted my thoughts, glancing above us to make sure no one was around, "You have to understand something Ana. He can't be seen showing any weakness to this crew, if he shows that he cares for you TOO much then you turn into his weakness. You saw the way he acted after Zach got a hold of you, he couldn't even stand the thought of someone even looking at you, much less touching you. That alone has the crew thinking that he is madly in love with you."
I just swung there scraping barnacles processing what he was saying. He continued to explain things to me, checking every now and then that no one was watching us. "I'm not meaning to scare you, but you deserve to know the situation we could possibly be in. If this crew knew just how much he cared about you, they would hurt you to get to him."
"But I've seen the way the men act around John, they are all utterly devoted to him." I countered.
"On the outside yes, but you have to understand your position in society comes with a lot of money. A LOT of money. Yes we are being paid a substantial amount to escort you, but that amount could easily double if you were taken hostage and the crew knows this." he turned to look me square on. "Like I said I am not trying to frighten you, but you are capable enough of taking care of yourself so you deserve to know. If the crew decided to take you hostage, they could easily kill John and I to get us out of the way."
A light bulb went off in my head, "Which is why he is blowing hot and cold all the time, he's trying to protect me." Duh.
"Exactly" Jim grinned. "He isn't being rude to hurt your feelings, he's doing it to make the crew think he doesn't care."
"But he really cares right?" I asked.
"Entirely too much." he answered, "But you're engaged Ana. How on earth can this situation between you and John end in a good way?"
This question left me stumped. "Look, I'm not saying that I'm going to marry John instead. I just wanted an explanation as to his crazy behavior, I just wanted to make sure I didn't offend John in anyway."
"I think the only way you could offend John is if you gave another man attention." Jim laughed, "I love that man like a brother but I tell ya he can get a bit protective of who he cares about."
Just then the dinner alarm sounded, and thankfully we had finished our scraping just in time. On our way back up Jim asked "Look, can you not tell John everything we talked about. I mean, you can tell him how I explained his behavior, just don't tell him I told you why he has to act that way in the first place."
"Of course not. He would deny it all anyway." Once we cleaned our tools and ourselves, we headed up to the deck to get some dinner. Before we reached the upper deck, we were met with a very pissed off John Silver. Oh great. What now?
"What in t'e hell took ya so long down t'ere?" he yelled to me.
"We hadn't had a chance to scrape barnacles since we took off. There was a bigger build up than there was the first time." I explained. Just because I could better understand his mood swings, didn't mean I was any less tired of having to deal with them.
"Well I could'a used yer help wit' makin' dinner, next time let Jim finish on his own and you come help me." he huffed. Ah, he wanted to talk to me alone again before everyone came down for dinner.
"Yes Cap'n, I'll keep that in mind." I snapped, watching confusion flash across his face. "I have to have a word with you after dinner by the way, if you can find the time."
"You'll have to keep it brief, I'm on t'e night watch tonight."
We followed each other down to the galley, sparks shooting between us both the entire way. We each ate our dinner practically ignoring each other, except when I watched John tell his nightly tales with the crew. Once everyone filled up and filed out I started cleaning up the dishes. The sloshing of the dish water helped soothe my nerves, but as soon as I heard him stepping down those steps they wound right back up again.
He came up beside me, leaned up against the counter and looked down at me with his usual uncaring demeanor. "So, what did ya need to talk 'bout?" he asked.
"Jim explained everything to me." I whispered, shooting him a meaningful look.
Right away he knew what I was talking about. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Ah did he now?"
"Mhm." I answered, I wanted to give him a chance to talk to explain it himself.
He bent down to my ear, sending shivers up my spine, and whispered "Well we'll just have to find somewhere private to talk won't we? Come look for me above deck once yer done wit' those dishes."
I could only muster a nod, and listened as he walked back up the stairs on to the deck to start his night watch. For the rest of the time it took for me to finish the dishes, my nerves were completely shot. Is he going to be angry? Probably, but I've come this far. No use in backing out now. Once I finished cleaning the galley, I threw on my coat and headed up the stairs. It was another frosty night, but none the less still beautiful.
I leisurely walked about the deck, enjoying the night while still looking for John. Once I found that the deck was completely empty, I started looking up amongst the masts. There he was, at the highest point in the crow's nest perfectly hidden from below by the solar sails. Of course you would pick the most difficult spot to get to for us to talk.
Once I made it up to where John was I was pretty out of breath. John seemed surprised himself that I made it up that far. "Ya know if ya would have called me down I could have helped you up here." He was leaning on the side looking out into the etherium smoking on his pipe. "So, ya said ya needed to talk?"
I leaned opposite of him, trying to gauge his body language. "Yeah. Jim told me everything."
He blew out smoke, hung his head and started rubbing the bridge of his nose. A little habit I've noticed that he does whenever he's too stressed. "Define everyt'ing"
"He explained why you blow hot and cold, how if the crew knew just how much you cared about me then I'm as good as dead." I fidgeted. Why are you all of a sudden so nervous. The usual sparks danced between us when he turned to face me.
"I won't let a single one of 'em touch ya. Ya know t'at right?" The fierce look of protection in his eyes shot through me.
"I know. I just wanted some type of explanation. I thought I had offended you in some way, one minute you were friendly and the next you ignored me." I muttered, not able to look him in the eye. He walked across and stood in front of me, tilting my chin up with his mechanical hand and forced me to look at him.
"Ya haven't done a single t'ing wrong lass." he reassured me. I forgot how much I missed this side of John. "I should'a explained it to ya myself."
"No, you haven't really had time." I whispered, feeling stupid for thinking that he was ever mad at me. His hand had moved from my chin and was lightly trailing down my neck. I closed my eyes and relished in the feeling of the metal cooling my neck down. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Only if you answer my question first." Ugh, what is up with you and Jim dodging questions? He was so close I had to sit up on the railing of the crows nest and look up to see his face. I didn't have any fear of falling, John would catch me in a second.
"What is it." I asked, too entranced by him working my neck.
"Why aren't ya afraid of my gears?" he whispered, as if he was too nervous to say it out loud.
My eyes shot open, thinking he would ask anything else. "Do I have a reason to be afraid of them?"
"Well, no. It's just ya seem totally comfortable wit' t'em. Even Jim shied away from them when we first met, but you, you didn't have a trace of fear t'e first time ya saw me."
I thought about it for a second, before I finally realized the answer. I trusted him from the beginning. "I don't have any reason to be afraid of you.I know you won't hurt me John, I knew that from the moment I saw you across that ballroom."
He didn't quite know how to answer that, so he just kept tracing designs all down my neck and collarbone. Snapping out of my trance I remembered my train of thought. "So, since I answered your question are you going to answer mine?"
"Ugh," he faked annoyance, "I guess." The grin he held on his face gave me the courage to press on.
"You have to promise to answer it with 100% truth!" I said.
"Oh come on lass-"
"Promise! Or I'll get down from here." I threatened with a smile of my own.
He held his hands up in truce, "Okay okay lass, I promise." then he laid his hands on either side of me on the rail of the crows nest, pulling his face even closer to mine and whispered "So what's yer question?" My mind clouded, I nibbled on my lip and debated if I should take the leap or not.
"If ya chew on t'at lip much more lass I'm gonna have to make it feel better." he winked.
Woah. Wait, what?! He has to be drunk to be talking like that, he HAS to be. I placed my hands on his chest to keep some distance between us. This has to be a dream. Looking up in his eyes, I asked him the question that has been killing me. "John, do you love me?"