Chapter 10

"Zarabeth, put the gun down."

"I-I don't understand."

"Zarabeth, please."

"Felix, wha-what are you...Where's Jim?"

"Give me the gun, and I'll explain everything. Please."

"No! You tell me right now! Where is Jim? What's going on? Why are you...those men...they..."

Zara could feel the fragile control she had on her emotions slipping as reality began to wash over her one heavy wave at a time, her legs trembling violently beneath her as she clung desperately to the laser pistol in her hands, fighting to keep it aimed where she wanted it to stay.

It was just her and Felix left in the stateroom, the two men having quickly left them after the first mate's appearance, hauling their injured comrade away with them.

"Zarabeth, listen to me." Hesitantly taking small steps closer to her, Felix continued to hope that the terrified and confused girl in front of him wouldn't pull the trigger balanced beneath her finger, his look gradually hardening with determination the more distance he closed between them. "I'm not going to hurt you. Please just hear me out."

"Where is Jim?" Tears of frustration forming in the corners of her eyes, Zara no longer had the strength to keep her hands raised, her weight mostly supported by the desk behind her. She couldn't think. She didn't understand. Feelings fought for dominance in her mind, fighting to be dealt with first before another, but she couldn't. There were too many questions still unanswered.

Taking in a quivering breath, her repeated plea came out barely louder than a whisper, her eyes never leaving Felix's gaze as she searched desperately for any explanation.

"Where is Jim?"

Seeing his opportunity, the first mate quickly took hold of the laser pistol, freeing it from the girl's hand with hardly any fight before unloading and putting it aside. Now certain that she couldn't hurt him or herself, Felix gently put his hands on either of her shoulders, ignoring how she flinched beneath his touch. "Zarabeth, listen. Jim is safe. They're not allowed to hurt him, or the rest of the crew for that matter, not at least after they've been properly detained."

"What-What do mean detained-"

"I...I didn't want them to see you. I thought...I thought if I kept them from knowing that you were here that-"

"Felix is this...is this a mutiny?"

He couldn't answer her, not this time, his amber gaze dropping away from hers as his grip seemed to tighten just a little more on her arms.

Zara's breath hitched in her throat when he made no move to reply, his silence more than enough confirmation for her. "Why?"

No answer.

"Felix how could you? After all you and Jim, you and this crew have been through? How can you just betray them? What can you possibly hope to gain from this to make it worth-"

"You weren't supposed to be here!"

Stunned into silence at his sudden outburst, his resounding words filled the room before fading back into silence, his temper back in his control as his eyes managed to finally meet hers again.

"You were not supposed to be here."

Zarabeth's thoughts flit back to the day she came onboard, back to how uneasy Felix had seemed upon hearing that she was staying, back to how on edge he'd been this entire trip.

Her momentary anger replaced by overwhelming hurt, the tears she'd been holding back slowly fell over her cheeks, hardly finding the voice to speak.

"Felix, why?"

Looking down away from her, his jaw shook as he grit his teeth in frustration, baring his fangs at an invisible culprit before finally finding the words to answer her.

"You won't understand. This-This ship...it's all I have, all I've ever had. I've been first officer of her since I left the Academy. That was six years ago. Six years, Zarabeth. I thought...I thought I was to be captain of the Aberdeen, I was near certain of it. But no. No, after all my years of hard work, the ship gets passed down to some greenhorn, some nobody, and all because he supposedly found Treasure Planet."

Zara could do nothing but watch him in fearful silence as his words changed between being frightfully quiet to having more emotion than she'd yet seen in him. She didn't know what to do except stand there, biting down hard on her lip to keep it from trembling as some of the pieces began to fit together in her mind.

"Felix, why...why didn't you ever say something?"

His anger must have been more than he could handle, his gaze suddenly avoiding hers the only answer he dared to give.

"This isn't the way. You and I both know that, but it doesn't have to stay like this. We-We can still do something to-"

"No, no you don't know! Stop saying that!"

His outburst rang in her ears, leaving the girl shaking beneath his hands as they tightened a little on her arms. Half expecting some physical outpouring of his anger, she tried to ready herself, but was surprised by how soft his next words were. "Zarabeth, there's no going back. I'm finally going to get what I deserve, what I've earned in sweat and blood these past six years. I can't let you or anyone else stop me. So please..." Letting his grip on her loosen a little, he managed to meet those fearful eyes that still hadn't left his. "Please don't fight this."

Trying to think of anything to say to him, it was difficult for Zarabeth to focus, her heavy and trembling breathing mirrored by the rest of her body, her small efforts to keep herself in some semblance of control overruled by her panicked mind.

Whatever she'd been about to say, the words were as quickly forgotten as they'd been thought up, the heavy door leading into the stateroom suddenly thrown open to let in the gusts of stormy air bombarding the decks outside.

"There she is! Estrada! You two-timing gutter snipe! Mind explaining to me why in the blue blazes you were hiding this sniveling little girl?! She nearly killed one of my better men!"

Felix was instantly turned to face the newcomer, placing himself protectively between him and Zarabeth, one of his hands still securely holding fast to her arm. "Calm yourself, Ewen. I wasn't hiding anything. I honestly didn't know she would be here."

The man was obviously not convinced, his scarred and misshapen face twisting into an irritate grimace as he took a threatening step forward, his leather boots falling with heavy tread against the wood flooring. "But you still intended to keep her away from us, is that it?! Want to keep the wench for yourself, do ya?! Well we'll just see about tha-"

The man's advances were suddenly forgotten once he was staring down the barrel of a laser pistol, Felix's hand as steady as anything, finger at the ready to fire if necessary.

"No one touches her."

"You-You ungrateful sow's vermin! Do you forget that I'm getting you this ship?! You have no right-"

"I have every right. Lay a single finger on her and the deal is off. Nothing more. She and the others will be properly dealt with when it is over, but not before. Do I make myself clear?"

The man called Ewen stood there in fuming silence for a few short moments, his piercing gaze moving between Felix and Zarabeth before finally managing to turn away with a low grunt of submission. "Crystal."

"Good." Lowering his gun with a relaxed sort of gesture, the first officer moved so that he was more standing beside Zara than in front of her, almost acting as though she didn't exist at the moment. "Now, Ewen, I hope you came up here to do more than just rant and rave at me. Are the prisoners secured yet?"

His back turned to them both, the man's pride was obviously still recovering. "Most are secured and counted for, but some are still giving us trouble, their captain especially. But it won't be much longer."

Zarabeth's chest tightened painfully at the mention of Jim, the girl fighting to bury her instincts to pull away from Felix's hold then and there.

She could only watch as the man beside her released a heavy breath with a decided nod, his eyes glancing at her sending shivers down her neck. Those eyes, so full of warmth and light but days before were now empty and cold, like so many shards of broken ice.

"Very well then. I'll deal with him myself. He won't be trouble for much longer."

"Yes, sir."