Hey guys
I know it's been a while since I last updated and it's probably going to be even longer before the next update. My granddad is really sick and he's gone into a coma. He may not make it so we're probably going to fly into his hometown. So it might be a while until we meet again. I just thought I'd post this chapter. Please review.
The next day
Amber stared out of the window in the cabin at the sunset. April was right. The potion had done wonders for her back.
"You should be resting," came a female voice behind here. She turned around to find a girl her age standing against the doorframe. She had light brown hair and brown eyes.
"I take it you're April." Amber said.
"And I take it you're Amber." April said. She put out her hand and Amber shook it. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Amber said. "Thanks for the potion. I feel as good as new." April flashed her a 'yeah right' look before slapping her back gently. Amber cringed in pain. "Well nearly as good as new."
"Well, I'm glad you two have met." Jake said entering the cabin. His falcon was perched on his shoulder.
"Morning Jake" Amber said.
"Morning Master" April said.
"No need for formalities when we aren't in public." Jake said.
"Morning Jake" April said again. Jake smiled.
"Glad to see you up and about." Jake commented looking at Amber. "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Breakfast would be nice." Amber replied.
"I'll bring some down." April said heading to the door. "Jake, you want some?" Jake nodded. He started to lightly stroke his falcon who had hopped on to his hand.
"What's its name?" Amber asked watching the bird.
"Striker" he replied. "Want to stroke him?"
"Err…will he peck me to death or anything?" she asked nervously.
"Don't worry he won't," Jake said. "He's really friendly." He held out his hand and Amber cautiously put out her hand and gently stroked the bird.
"He's beautiful" Amber commented. Jake smiled.
"You want to hold him?" he asked. She nodded. He smiled and gently took her hand and made a jerking motion with his hand to motion for Striker to move on to her hand. Striker moved on to Amber's hand, but neither noticed. They were both staring at each other, both feeling electricity buzzing through their hands. Striker waited patiently for his master to return his notice to him. Suddenly the door was flung open and April entered with two trays of food.
"Breakfast" she said. "Jen has ordered me to make sure you eat all of it. She claims that you don't eat enough." she said to Jake.
"Thanks April" Jake said taking the trays from her. He looked at Amber and then nodded at the hammock. She sighed and climbed into the hammock. She had learnt the day before that it was pointless to argue with him about resting. He placed the tray on her lap and seated himself in a chair.
"So Jen is who exactly?" Amber asked as she attacked the eggs.
"Our cook Jennifer," Jake replied. "We found her and her twin brother Troy on an island. They were also pirates before. They had been shipwrecked. They were driving each other insane. Troy really is rather annoying at times. Jennifer is really sweet, but she has quite a temper. Jennifer's is an absolutely amazing cook. Troy on the other hand is an absolutely crappy cook. But he gets really sensitive about it so if he produces anything just stuff it in your mouth, smile and nod along." Amber nodded. They continued to eat sharing small talk, April occasionally pinching something off Jake's plate.
"So how close are we to the Cave of Mazes?" Amber asked finally.
"We should be there in about an hour," Jake said as he stood up and picked up both his and her trays. "Rest some more." With that he and April exited the cabin. Amber stretched out on the hammock and shut her eyes.
Jake and April walked out of the cabin. Jake walked absentmindedly towards the deck. April placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards him.
"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked. He nodded and followed her to her cabin.
"What's wrong April?" Jake asked.
"She's the one isn't she?" April asked. Jake was quiet for a while before nodding. April looked at him sympathetically before leaning forward and squeezing his hand. She knew how hard this subject was for him to deal with. Having Amber there was torture for him. Jake sighed.
"April what am I going to do?" he asked. She remained silent. It was a rhetorical question and she knew it was. "God…I still love her April. I still love her. It's been five bloody years and I still love her. I tried to stop loving her, but I couldn't. I just couldn't."
April leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Jake sighed and hugged her back. April was more than just an apprentice to him. She had been a cross between a little and big sister to him. She was his confidant and he loved her dearly. He pulled away and sat down on a chair.
"I'm so confused" he muttered.
"I know you are," she replied crouching on her legs in front of him. "Jake you want my advice?" she asked. He nodded. "I think you should tell her how you feel."
"WHAT!" he shouted standing up straight, in the process banging their knees together and throwing her off balance and on to the ground. "Sorry" he muttered helping her up. "But how can I just tell her!"
"Listen Jake," April said slowly. "At this point for all you know she could have feelings for you. And I know she's with that other guy, but…" she sighed. "You never know. Besides she may well dump that other guy for you."
"Why would she do that?" he asked.
"Because Jake, you're a great guy," she began, well accustomed to his tendency to bring himself down. "You're smart, you're funny, you're brave, you're strong and you're handsome. You're perfect." She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Thanks April" Jake said giving her a hug. He kissed the top of her head. "I better go talk to Demetri about our location." She nodded and he headed towards the door.
"Jake," she called. He turned and looked at her. "It's going to be okay." He smiled.
"Is it really?" he muttered as he left. He said it to himself, but she heard it. She was quiet for a while watching the door.
"I don't know Jake," she whispered. "I don't know."
Jake walked up to the deck. Demetri was standing by the mast staring out at the sea.
"Demetri how much longer?" Jake asked.
"About three quarters of an hour" Demetri replied. Jake nodded. At this point April joined them. She noticed that Jake looked a bit worried.
"What's wrong Master?" she asked. She always called him Master, except when they were alone.
"We're approaching the Cave of Mazes" Jake answered.
"What exactly is the Cave of Mazes?" she asked. He looked at her with a surprised look on his face. She usually knew about this stuff. "I've heard of it, but I've never heard why exactly it's so dangerous. And you haven't taught me anything about it."
"It's a subterranean cave," Jake replied. "As the name suggests it's a giant maze. It's got a thick smog inside the cave. There are jagged rocks all around the cave and the cave itself is extremely narrow. Plus there are some creatures…" he trailed off.
"Creatures? What sort of creatures?" April asked.
"I don't know," Jake said after a pause. April eyebrows raised. Jake was surprisingly knowledgeable when it came to the sea, that is taking into consideration the fact that he had been sailing for only five years. If Jake didn't know it, few people did. "None of the people that have met these creatures have lived to tell the tale. Not even the Hawk ventured into that cave." April nodded. The two remained silent watching the sea that they both loved so much.
45 minutes later
Jake, Amber and April stood on the bridge of the ship all staring at the mouth of the cave they were approaching. Demetri was at the wheel with Jake's special map. The map showed a path to get through the cave and into the Sea of Gloom.
"I hope we don't run into any of those creatures" April said casually. Jake nodded. They all had various weapons attached to their belt.
"You think you could handle an attack cause you could just stay in the cabin…" Jake began looking at Amber.
"Jake I'm fine," she said cutting him off. He looked at her and finally nodded.
The ship slowly entered the cave. After only a few seconds they were all stricken by the thick fog in the cave. They could barely see two feet in front of them. The ship moved at a slow pace through the water, Demetri carefully following the path the map was showing him. The others were all keeping a lookout for rocks and creatures. There were a few rocks here and there, but no sign of any creatures.
After nearly half an hour"Still no sign of any creatures," April said quietly. "Do you think it's just a myth. These creatures I mean." Jake nodded.
"I guess…" he began, but they never found out what Jake had guessed because at that very moment something leapt out of the water and landed on the deck. Everyone spun around to face it.
If there were any creatures in this cave this certainly was one of them. It let out a noise between a growl and a croak. It was a slim covered thing. It had a similar shape to a human but it had dark green skin. It was unbelievably ugly. It had a long tongue that was sticking out and touching the floor. It had gills and its feet were fins. It had long sharp claws the size of daggers and there were horns all over its face, chest and shoulders. It had huge glowing eyes that resembled head lights. They all stood frozen staring at the creature all blinking at the thing.
"Well what the hell are you waiting for!" Jake shouted finally. "Get it." The entire crew snapped back to reality and charged at the thing. It leapt into the air and on to the top of the mast. "After it!" Jake exclaimed as some of the crew started to climb the mast while others pulled out bows and arrows and started to fire. "Come on!" Jake shouted.
"JAKE! Behind you!" April shouted.
Jake turned around and saw another one of the creatures leaping at him. Before he could react Amber leapt into the air and kicked the creature square in the chest. She landed on the deck and groaned slightly touching her back. Jake raced forward, pulled out his sword and stabbed the thing. The thee stared at the dead thing in front of them. A shout brought them back down to Xarth. They spun around and saw to their horror that thousands of creatures were leaping on to the ship. They heard growls behind them and spun around to find hundreds of creatures climbing on to the bridge behind them. They exchanged glances before racing at the creatures.
The entire crew was bravely fighting the things. There were millions of them. And to make matters even worse the fog had increased making hard to see the deck from the bridge. But the crew was doing pretty well. They were all pretty beaten up, but they were all alive where as a countless number of dead things lay about. Suddenly a whole bunch of things launched their tongues at the ship and started pulling it down. The ship smashed against some rocks. The ship tilted to one side. Amber and April managed to grab on to things, but Jake was sent hurtling over the edge. He managed to grab on to the railing around the bridge. He held out his hand.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" he shouted summoning up bits of wood and using them to cover the gap in the ship.
He then used his powers to push the creature's tongues off his ship. He then pushed them into the water. The ship straightened up and Jake was about to climb back up when one of the creatures he had missed lashed out with its tongue and grabbed his leg. It started pulling him down into the water. He could feel his fingers starting to slip and just as his grip gave way he felt a hand grab his. He looked up to find Amber holding on tightly to his hand.
"For a bunch of overgrown mutant frogs they sure are strong!" she exclaimed pulling out her dagger. She held it by the blade, aimed and let it fly. It sliced right through the creatures tongue and Jake and Amber jerked forward and back safely o to the ship.
"Safe," muttered Jake. He looked up at the approaching creatures. "Or as close to safe as we're going to get." With that the two leapt back into battle.
Jake was fighting off creatures, shouting orders and watching Amber all at the same time. He could tell her back was hurting her and she was having a really hard time. Unfortunately one of the things noticed it as well and leapt at her back and fiercely lashed at it with it's claws. Amber cried out, stumbled backwards and fell off the bridge and on to the hard deck.
"AMBER!" Jake shouted leaping off the bridge and on to the deck. He fiercely slashed at an approaching thing with his sword, hopping its head right off! He knelt down beside Amber and placed his hand on her cheek. "Amber?" he whispered quietly.
"Jake…my back" she muttered cringing in pain.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm here." Meanwhile several creatures had started to approach them. Amber lost consciousness. Jake looked up at the creatures. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" he roared fiercely. He raised his hands. "AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
The result was instantaneous. The entire ship was covered in a black shield and there were several splat noises at creatures smashed into the shield. Next balls of black energy appeared out of no where and attacked all the creatures, completely disintegrating them. This continued until each and every creature on board was destroyed, including the already dead carcasses. Net the ship started moving through the water at an unbelievable speed until about ten minutes later they exited the cave and entered the Sea of Gloom. At this point the shield disappeared and Jake collapsed on top of Amber.
A few hours laterJake woke up with a slight stinging near his eye. He was lying on a hammock. He opened his eyes to find Amber dabbing a cloth near his eye. It had something on it that stung slightly.
"Glad to see you're up," Amber said smiling at him.
"You should be resting," he said immediately. Amber chuckled slightly.
"I'm fine," she said. "April managed to make some more of that potion. My back feels much better. I must say that apprentice of yours is very efficient. She's made sure everyone has had injuries attended to and has set a course through this sea we're in." Jake chuckled.
"That's our April," he said. Amber smiled at him and raised the cloth again. He held up his hand. "It's okay. I can do that."
"No it's okay," she said dabbing his face again. "Besides I owe you. April told me about that powerful attack you pulled to save me. Thanks. Still can't believe I messed up like that though." She chuckled slightly.
"Not your fault," Jake said sitting up as best he could in a hammock. "You were severely injured going into the battle. And come on it took a lot of guts to go into a fight against such weird creatures with your back in that condition. I always admired that about you. No matter how hard the enemy hits you, you always get back up." Amber smiled.
"Thanks Jake," she said. "Too bad I missed you little display." Jake chuckled.
"Not the first time you've missed one of my 'little displays' as you call them. Remember the Thanksgiving turkey incident?" He said with a laugh.
"I'm actually a little glad I missed that particular display," Amber said also laughing. "Remember the time we went all over looking for the perfect gift for Opal? And I told you to write her a story and you kept saying no and…"
"In the end I did write her a story and she said it was the best gift ever." Jake said finishing her sentence. They sat in silence for a while just staring at each other and remembering all the things they had done as kids.
"I've missed you Jake," Amber said leaning forward and giving him a hug. This time instead of pushing her away he gently hugged her back. "It's been tough not having my best bud around."
"Well you've had Tom," Jake said hoping that she didn't notice the fact that he practically spat out the name. Luckily she didn't. She pulled away and they smiled at each other.
"Yeah, but…" she trailed off. She looked away from him. He leaned forward, cupped her chin and turned her head towards him.
"What?" he asked gently.
"Well the thing is…" Amber began, but before she could tell him the door swung open and Jake quickly pulled his hand away.
A tall girl walked in. She looked a little younger than them. She had long blonde hair and green eyes. She walked up to the hammock and pushed Amber off the chair she was sitting on and on to the floor. She stood next to Jake. Amber stood up hand on back. She curled her other hand into a fist and raised it up, but Jake shot her an apologetic and pleading looking. Amber dropped her hand and leaned against the wall. The girl encased one of Jake's hand in both of her hands.
"Jakey are you alright?" she asked. Amber raised her eyebrow at this.
"I'm fine Angela," Jake replied pulling her hand away from her.
"I can't believe you put yourself though that pain. I would never make you do that to yourself!" the girl said shooting a glare at Amber who simply glared back.
"No one made me do anything," Jake said immediately. "I chose to use my powers. Now if you would be so kind as to leave me and Amber alone." Angela nodded and turned to leave the room. At the door she shot him a flirtatious look and left. Amber walked to the hammock and sat down in the chair again. They were silent for a while.
"So she seems nice," Amber said finally sarcasm dripping from every word. Jake sighed.
"Sorry Amber," Jake said placing his hand on top of hers. "Should have warned you. Angela has a bit of a crush on me. And she tends to get a little jealous."
"Little being the understatement of the century," Amber stated.
"Well look on the positive side," Jake said. "She just pushed you out of a chair. Once she saw April giving me a hug so she pushed her off the bridge and into the water."
"That's not sooo bad," Amber said hand still on her back.
"It was winter," Jake said. "And we were in the Sea of Ice Water. She had the most dreadful cold for over a month."
"Okay that was pretty bad," Amber admitted.
"Yeah," Jake said thinking back to the incident. He chuckled. Trying to get Amber to rest was nothing compared to trying to get April to rest. "Well April has a 'Kill Angela' club. Talk to her if your interested in joining." They both laughed. "Well we better go see where we are."
Amber nodded and the two stood up and started to leave the room. Jake glanced at himself in his mirror an saw that he ha a deep cut that started on top of his eye and moved down the side of his face. He winced slightly. He noticed Amber too had a cut across the bottom of her face. They both probably had more…
The two walked up to the deck to find April looking out at the Sea of Gloom. It really did live up to its name. The water was pitch black. And not just that the entire air around the area was gloomy and doomy (know that's technically not a word). They both instantly felt depressed and worried and unhappy. Jake quickly shook it off. His mother had trained him, Opal and Ethan in hiding their emotions. That plus years of being a cold pirate had made him an expert at hiding his feelings and emotions. But the urge was immensely strong. Even he was having trouble keeping it back. This may be bad……
Well that's chapter three. Hope you guys liked it. Like I said it might be a while until we meet again.
Until then.
Dragon. Out.