She watched him walkaway. She watched as long as she could, peeking out from the corner of the alley until she could no longer see him. She then shrunk back, reminding herself of the village. But maybe it would be different this time. She had faith in Ky. If something happened here, too, he would surely defend her.
She liked him. She felt a stronger connection with him than she spent time with him on the airship. And maybe he did, too.
She was kidding herself. What he was doing, what she was seeing in him; it was more than a connection. From the start and to this point, it grew. She saw it and she was beginning to feel it, too. She felt her own connection after he freed her. It wasn't just for helping her. That feeling . . .
He kissed her. She had never been kissed and never thought she would, but around came Ky. He protected her, he fought for her, and he kissed her.
Why?What sort of man was he? What sort of man would kiss a Gear, a Gear people feared who would bring birth to another war?
Be careful, Dizzy, a voice said to her. Don't trust him so quickly.
"Undine," she said.
She's right! a more aggressive voice said.
Dizzy held her head as the two entities began to push back into her and shared the same power, where they would become one again; then she would lose her human appearance, the appearance Ky adored. Human.
"Stop it you two," she said. "Ky will be back anytime."
Stay away from him! the aggressive one said. He is nothing but trouble. Kill him! Kill him!
"I'm not going to do that," she said.
You should have killed him the day you saw him. You gave in! Now look at yourself. He touched you!
Necro, don't be so harsh, the other said.
Dizzy put her hands over her ears. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening." The world around her went silent and when she felt Undine and Necro subside, she let go. But as she listened further, she found the air wasn't completely quiet. She heard something in the distance. It was a sound she never heard before. It was high-pitched. There was a rhythm that rose and fell. The sound seemed to sway and thump the air. It was exciting.
Dizzy inched closer to the opening of the alley and listened. It seduced her and sang to her like a Siren. It was like the singing of birds, but there were no birds here. Perhaps a few gulls but they weren't making the beautiful sound. It was far too beautiful for any bird to make.
She peeked out the alley and looked around. A few people passed her but she was invisible to them.
She smiled.
Dizzy, don't! Don't!
"But it's so pretty." She stepped out and looked left and right, checking if she drew attention or saw Ky.
Nothing.
Dizzy!
"It's all right, Necro." She began to follow the sound. The people around her didn't seem to notice her as she walked. They just walked by and paid no attention. She was one of them. She didn't need Ky now, but then again, she still wanted him. She wanted to show him.
At the source of the sound, there was a small crowd. They were surrounding something. She walked a little closer and stopped. She peeked past the people and saw three men at the center of their attention. They were holding instruments. They were the source of the sound.
One man held an instrument against his neck while he stroked a bow across it. One strummed another instrument shaped like it but it was larger and bellowed a deeper sound. Another stood with them, holding a long, stick-shaped object, whistling into it.
She smiled as she watched and listened. It seemed to jump into the air and fly around her like butterflies. She giggled to herself, and as she did she began to forget about Ky, his order and Necro and Undine. She felt human. She was human.
She curiously stepped closer and watched the violinist. He stroked his bow across the neck of his instrument like a saw. Dizzy's heart pounded like a drum with excitement. Then, something bumped into her shoulder and a voice said, "Isn't this great?" Dizzy turned her head and saw a young girl in her teens standing next to her. She was wearing an orange outfit with a tri-shaped hat on her head. On the front of it there was a picture of a skull and cross bones. But there was nothing threatening about the girl. She had a friendly smile. "I love places and guys like these," she said.
"What are they doing?"
"Having fun!" The girl suddenly took off through the audience and jumped into a spot near the band. She began kicking up her feet and swayed her body. The girl seemed to become a part of the music, adding image to the sound. Thepace of the violins picked up as if challenging her in its song with her arrival. She shuffled her feet left, right, back, forward.
As she watched her, Dizzy slowly began to move forward into the crowd, then joined the girl's side. She looked down on her before she began to move with her. She watched her feet and followed. When she shuffled to the side, so did she. When she picked up the pace, she followed her direction. She kicked and shuffled and spun along with the girl. She even hooked arms with the girl and the two spun in the circle. They spun until the world was a blur of colors and her dancing partner's face was all she could see. When they let go, the two looked at each other, smiling.
"Dizzy!"
Suddenly something grabbed her by the arm and yanked her away. She waspulled back and spun around. In front of her was Ky, upset and frowning.
"What are you doing?"
She looked at him. "I was having some fun." She pointed towards the crowd. "I found a really nice person. See?" She pulled away from him and ran back to the girl in orange who was standing nearby. When she met her side, the girl leaned towards her and whispered, "Your boyfriend looks like the jealous type."
""No, he's . . ."
"Dizzy," she heard Ky calling. His voice was advancing. "We're going." He clasped a hand on her shoulder.
She glanced at the girl then to Ky. She noticed the girl staring at him with her eyes growing wide. She then screamed, COP!" She took off, screaming, leaving the two behind her. They stood there, staring.
"Ky, what was that?" Dizzy asked in confusion.
"A pirate." He then glanced at her. It was fast and hard."Dizzy, stay here! And I mean it!"
He took off after the girl.
* * *
Ky's feet pounded the ground as he ran after the little pirate. She was at good distance in front of him but he could catch up. He had a few advantages. Did she ever fight in a war? Was she trained by the Sacred Order? Was she able to send out rare projectile magic? No.
"Johnny!" the girl cried out.
There was a man by a pier, a man in black. She ran towards him and hid behind him once she reached him.
"Johnny! Johnny! There's a cop!"
Ky slowed to a stop and looked across at the man and frowned. The two started at each other. "Johnny," Ky said in a sour tone.
The pirate dipped his hat to him. "So we meet again, officer. You don't give up, do you?"
Ky sighed and said sarcastically under his breath, "This has been a wonderful day."
Across from him, Johnny tilted his head. "What?"
"Nothing." He waved him off. "What are you doing here, Johnny?"
"Doing what everybody else is doing," He gestured a hand around him. There were ships resting by the piers and ferries at the corner of his eye. Ky saw a familiar airship with a few girls around it. "We're not all that bad as you think, officer. You know that."
"Yeah," the girl from behind him said. "We're the friendly pirates."
"That may be but it's still against the law what you do. I'm on duty. I must arrest you."
Johnny sighed."You just don't listen, do you?"
"No, it's you who doesn't listen!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Johnny waved his hands in defense. "Sorry to hear you had a bad day but you don't have to go off like that."
"Just cooperate with me," Ky said.
The girl behind Johnny peeked out from behind him and frowned. "What is your problem?"
Just as he was about to speak, a soft voice behind him said, "What's everyone arguing about?"
Recognizing the voice, Ky quickly turned his head and saw Dizzy approaching the scene. He frowned. "Dizzy, what did I say?" He went to her and took her arm more harshly than he wanted. "I told you to stay still. Why did you follow me?"
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Hey, hey," Johnny said as he observed them. "Don't take it out on her."
Ky turned his head to him. "I'm not taking anything out on her."
"Well, it sounds like—"
"She's not a part of this—"
"I mean when I get just as angry as you, I don't cop an attitude."
Behind him, the girl peeked out and mumbled nervously, "Cop . . ." She moved away as the two bickered back and forth, and so did Dizzy when she failed to plea for them to stop. The two met each other nearby.
"Men," the young pirate said. "Can't live with them, can't live without them. Geez, look at those two. Your boyfriend is cute but—"
"He's not really—"
The young pirate shook a finger at her. "Oh, your just friends. Stop denying it, you love him. You're blushing. That's the look of love."
"It's just the sun. It's been doing that to Ky and I recently. We've been traveling for a while."
The girl laughed. "Yeah, sure."
While the two talked, Johnny and Ky advanced on each other and finally broke out into a fight. Ky was first to lunge at him. He went for his arm and once he had a grip on him, Johnny kicked him across the ribs, knocking him aside. When Ky gained his footing, Johnny drew a sword from his side and slashed the blade into the air in front of him.
Dizzy screamed when she saw this. She rushed towards the two and skidded to a stop between them. When she did, the human side of her disappeared and out burst the Gear everyone feared. She stood in front of Ky with her arms and wings out.
"No! Stop!" She turned her head to Ky and saw blood on his shoulder. Although not deep, it showed on his white uniform.
"Dizzy, wait," Ky said and reached for her. His fingers touched her feathers.
"But he hurt you," she said.
"I'll be all right," he said and put a hand on the fresh wound. He grimaced slightly.
Johnny spoke nothing in his own defense. He and the girl were standing across from them, shocked. They stood there, staring at Dizzy. Then Ky began to pull Dizzy away. "Dizzy, we need to go. Now."
She stared across at the girl and dug her feet into the ground to keep him from taking her away. She pointed at her. "But she's nice."
"They're pirates," Ky said to her ear.
"Friendly pirates," the girl pointed out.
"It doesn't matter," Ky said and began to pull her away. As he did, he glared at Johnny. "I'm sure I'll catch you again after I'm done here. If I had my sword, it might have been—"
"Wait," Dizzy said and pulled out from his grasp. She ran to the girl by Johnny. She stopped beside her. "I want to go with them."
Ky stared but couldn't find himself to say anything for a while. As his mind tried to find why she would say such a thing, the three looked amongst each other. They exchanged questions and the pirates looked at Dizzy curiously.
Suddenly, something struck him like lightning. It came fast. It was crazy.
He stood there a long time, watching them. It must have been minutes. Then he finally took a step forward. "Johnny, this is Dizzy. She's a fugitive like you. We— She—" He bit his lower lip before he spoke again. "I've been looking for a safe place for her. A place no one would know or find her." He stared long at his face. "I don't like to barter with pirates, but—" He paused, looked at Dizzy then to Johnny. "The last place someone would look for a Gear would be with pirates."
Johnny dipped his head slightly and looked at him from under his shades. "So you're asking. . ." Johnny trailed off.
Ky darted his eyes. He glanced at Dizzy before he said, "Would you take her in? I would never ask such a thing, but I'm getting desperate. And maybe you are too. I won't arrest you."
Johnny jumped. "Are you serious?"
Ky nodded.
Johnny and the young pirate stared at him, frozen by his words.
"So you want us to horde her," Johnny said.
"Not horde her, protect her." He turned his attention to Dizzy. "What say you, Dizzy?"
She looked at him then to the pirates. "I'll go with them," she said slowly. "I like them, even though—" She glanced at Johnny. "—he tried to attack you, and you two were arguing."
"Hey, hey," Johnny said. "He started it. You get it, he's a cop and we're pirates. What do you expect? He's going to try to arrest us. He's been doing it for a while. But we're just too good for him to catch us." He smiled with all teeth.
"Try not to get ahead of yourself," Ky said.
"Well, excuse me, officer. But will you stick to your word? Really. You won't arrest us as long as she's with us?"
"Yes," Ky said. "And as long as you can stay out of trouble."
"You're hard, you know. Hard. But how can anyone pass up your offer? I get a free pardon and I get another pretty girl to join our crew. So, you got it, officer. You got a deal."
Ky let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Johnny." He then cast a gaze on Dizzy. "I think we've done it. I think I found you a safe place—as I promised." There was no happiness in his voice. He glanced at Johnny from under his brows. "Right?"
"Right," he said.
"Good!" The young pirate grabbed Dizzy by the hand. "Come on! I'll show you around!" She began pulling her to the port where the Mayship waited.
"Yeah, good idea," Johnny said as he kept his eyes on Ky. "Let's get out of here before any more cops come. They're like dogs. They travel in packs." He turned then, following the two girls who were running to the ship.
Ky watched, standing there alone. It felt like his feet were glued to the ground as they walked away. His body felt like stone and his eyes were locked on Dizzy. A few girls looked on at her while Dizzy exchanged a few words with May as they walked up the dock of the ship. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. She stood there with her back to him, and finally, she turned around and ran to him. She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you so much. Goodbye." She pulled away, leaving his hands to grasp only air. She took one glance of him beforeshe turned and began to walk away. He sighed as she did.
This was it. Game over.
He turned and put his hands into his pockets. When he did, he felt something hard in one of them. He grasped it and pulled it out, and what he held was the compass.
He stopped and turned around and raised it over his head. "Dizzy!"
She turned.
"If you want this, you'll have to come back," he said. He waved it so she saw its shape and its color and recognized itas her favorite compass.
When she saw it, she smiled. "I will!" she called.
Ky smiled in return and lowered his arm and put the compass back into his pocket. He moved on, not looking back.