Chapter Two ~
It was once again night and the princess was found on the starboard side, staring off at sea.
An open locket, clutched tight in her hand, softly played 'a pirates life for me'. She was lost deep in her thoughts and didn't hear the man that approached her. That is until he cleared his throat.
Snapping the locket shut, Zaralinda whirled around to face the man. Zaralinda stared at the pirate with a blank expression. She didn't want him to know he startled her.
"That is a beautiful little trinket." He commented, eyeing the locket she still held in her hand.
Zaralinda looked at her hand, no emotion playing across her perfectly compossed face. "Indeed, it is lovely." She stated, looking back up at the man. She was waiting for him to state his business with her. He obviously didn't approach her for nothing.
"May I inquire where you got it from?" The man questioned, feeling quesy under Zaralinda's unblinking stare.
Zaralinda also understood that it wasn't greed in the mans eyes as he looked at the locket. There was a sad story behind that look and she was intruged. If there was one weakness to the head strong princess, it was her love to hear of daring adventures. Of pirates sailing in the seas.
She also understood that her answer meant a lot to him. "I don't really remember. A lady gave it to me when I was very little." She repiled, for an unknown reason to her, she gave the man an honest answer.
"May I see it?" The man questioned, holding his hand.
Zaralinda looked uncertainly down at the locket before shrugging and delicately placing the locket on the mans open palm. This was one of the few jewelleries she owned that had a value to her. Everything else, she's throw away without a second thought, bytnthis locket... it meant too much to her to bargain with.
That is why, she kept a close eye on it while the man looked at it, tracing every detail with delicacy. She knew pirates loved gold, but this man was holding the locket the same way she had. Like it was to precious.
"Yes, yes. Just like I thought." He mummbled more to himself than to the princess. But in the silent - not counting the howl of the wonder and crashing of the waves - night, Zaralinda could hear him just fine.
She stared at the man, intruged. She wanted to know what he thought.
Almost like feeling her gaze in her and hearing her thoughts he answered her.
"This is the locket of a pirate. Made specially for my sister." He answered seeing the questioning look in her face. Looking up from the locket, he was met with two startling blue eyes filled with wonder and interest. It was a look he was well familliar with, therefore he knew she wanted to listen to his tale. Not one to lose an eager audience, Gibbs almost immediatly launched into the story.
"She was a crazy woman with many dreams. She was kind and not as obesses with treasure as many pirates, she just loved the thought of sailing her life away at sea. This didn't mean that she didn't pillage, plunder, riffle, loot, and whatever else a pirate need to do to survive, though I don't think she's ever killed anyone in her life." Here he stopped and shook his head.
"Ofcourse. No one can be that good without consequences." He murmured sounding all tragic. He was enjoying having an audience so hooked - though only Zaralinda was there, but she was hooked into his tale enough, to drink on everything he said with greedy eyes.
"She fell in love with a prince." He whispered, leaning closer to her - not that he had to lean far. Zaralinda had already leaned as close as she dared, from the moment he had started telling about her sister. "They were happy together. She bore him two kids before he had to take over from his father and become King. Kailasa didn't like this. She didn't want to be cooped up in some palace, wearing pomus ballgowns and pretending she cared about people who only loved her because she was there queen. At least as a pirate she knew who she was and where she stood with people. She didn't have to pretend for anyone."
Zaralinda actually stumbled back from shock. She felt like this unknown man - a strangers whom she had just met - was telling her about herself when he explained his sisters predicatment about being a queen. Wasn't that the very reason she had run away? To get away from her royal duties. To get away from people who smiled to her face and hated her behind her back.
She stared at the man in shock, but he went on, not noticing her shock.
"She refused to his offer to make her his queen and there they seperated ways. He got the little girl, who looked an exact copy of her mother. Eyes blue as the Seven seas. Hair as black as the night. Skin as smooth as a pearl. Lips as red as cheery. She was a born beauty."
"Woah - pause!" Zaralinda exclaimed, she even took a step or two away from the man, holding her hands up - as if to ward off something evil.
It was too dark for the man to see her features properly, but whom he had just discribed was Zaralinda herself and she knew it. She stared at the man with wide eyes, and he stared back at her puzzled. The hood of the cloak she was wearing was pulled over her head, therefore covered her hair and shaded the rest of the features of her face.
She cleared her throat and motioned for the man to go on. 'It can't be me he meant. Because there is no way my mom used to be a pirate. She's way to standard and posh for that.' Was what was going through the head as she motioned for the man to go on.
"She continued what she did. That is until a few decades ago..." here the man leaned in closer to Zaralinda's ears, and whispered. "She set sail to find the lost treasure of DaTaniel. It was a long and hard journey and no one knew where this treasure was. Before she started n her journey, she told me that she wanted to see her daughter one, last time. She came back to Tortuga and told me... she have her locket to her daughter." Here he paused and looked at Zaralinda long and hard.
She didn't miss the impliment in his words either.
Her mind was realing with possibilities. She didn't remember the lady who had given her this locket very well. She had been only 8 when she met her.
"Your sister... what did she look like?"Zaralinda asked curiously, trying to keep her chargin out of her voice, but failing miserably.
"Much like her daughter. Hair as black as the darkest night. Eyes as blue as the deep sea. Tan skin and a height to match any man." The man answered with a shrug of his shoulder and stood back straighter.
A silence followed, while Zaralinda's mind whirled with disturbing and somewhat exciting thoughts. The man anyhow, happily drank away from his flask. Clearly run, from the smell of it.
Finally, Zaralinda broke the silence with an almost whispered question.
"Do you, by any chance, know the daughters name?"
The man looked a her strangely. Clearly, he was too drunk to have put together what she had. He nodded his head drunkenly.
"I remember her name sounding something like... Sara - Serena - Sana ... urgh, it ended with a Linda." He said, giving up trying to figure out the girls name.
Zaralinda stared at the man with wide eyes. Her breath coming out in short gasps. She held on to the railing to keep her upright. But she wasnt wilking to believe what her Heart was telling her. She wanted to make sure before she believe something as propestorous as this.
"Zaralinda?" She said in a voice so small, it was a surprise that he even heard it over the howling of the wind.
"Ah! That's it lass. Zaralinda." The man exclaimed,edit, not seeming to find it wierd at all that some strangers guessed his neices name I one guess. Well... he was rather drunk.
Zaralinda was left speachless by his answer. Her level gave way, and she fell on her knees right there, in deck. She stared at the man with a mixture of horror and disbeliefe. She took in deep, breaths, not wanting to break down there, where anyone could see her. She was with pirates, she couldn't show any weakness they could pounce on.
So taking a deep, steadying breath, she scrambled back to her feet.
"Mr. Ur-" she started before she realised she made the same mistake she made 10 years ago again. This brought a tiny smile to her lips, remembering the first pirate she ever met.
"Gibbs. Joshamee Gibbs." The man supplied kindly, giving her a toothy grin.
"Well, Mr. Gibbs, do you think you would be able to recognise your neice if she was standing in front of you?" She questioned, her voice taking on a formal tone. She didn't know how else to ask this. This was how she had dealt with every situation out of control, back at home. Being the prince of Argus, she had all rights to demand such things and she hadn't been against using them when she had no idea what else she must do.
This was a habbit she was trying to leave behind her in Argus. She knew she was no longer at home and couldn't treat everryone like they were her subjects - because they no longer were. If she wanted to leave her identity, she had had to leave her rights behind as well.
"Of course I would." Gibbs answered, lookng somewhat offended by her question. "There is no way I can forget the one link left to my sister." He added as an after thought, in a much softer voice.
She looked at the man, with a staedy gaze, holding him captive just with her gaze. She was evaluating whether he was sober enough to really be able to recognise his niece as he said. Then decided she had nothing less to lose.
Taking a deep breath to harden her resolve, she didn't even look around, before she pulled her hood back from her head, revealing her soft features to the man.
He took one look at her and coughed out the sip of rum he had just taken. Looking at Zaralinda like he had just seen a ghost.
"Mothers love. You're Kailasa's daughter!" He gasped, staringat the girl with a mixture of many emotions. Then he blinked, taking her in. She did look to be around the age Kailasa's daughter would be. She had her mothers black as night locks, sea blue eyes, even the way the girl held herself reminded Gibbs of his sister.
"Are you sure?" Zaralinda asked in a small voice.
It was hard to believe that she had been Lord to her whole life. Even more, thatshe had met her real mother but couldn't even remember the way she looked. She didn't exactly know why, but her encounter with the beautiful lady who had given her the locket was a blur.
"I'd know you anywhere Zaralinda." He said in soft voice, holding her hand and his eyes still taking her with wonder.
All wind left Zaralinda and she Gibbs her head, years forming in her eyes. "So you're telling me that my mother is a pirate. That the lady I have been calling mother all these days isn't even my birth mother. That I've been lied to almost my whole life?" She asked, though she meant it all rhetorically.
Gibbs didn't know how to answer he, so stayed silent. Which, considering all Zaralinda was feeling, was for the best.
They stayed there silently for a long time. Not utterng a word. Zaralinda leaned against the railing, her back to the sea, her mind realing with hurt and for some reason understanding. No, not why her family lied to her. She understood why she was so different from the rest of her family. Sure her father was her real father. But the two brothers and mother she loved with all her heart weren't her true family.
"Wait - if you're saying my mother is your sister, that'll make you... my uncle!" She suddenly said, breaking the long silence that had fallen between the two.
"Well, yes. That makes me your uncle." Gibbs answered, looking abashed, shuffling on his feet.
If Zaralinda hadn't been so down in the depths, she had found her uncles behaviour adourable and laughed merrily. As it was, she was still in too much shock to notice anything else.
The two continued talking for awhile more, before Zaralinda decided to call it a night. Leaving Mr. Gibbs standing - and takng her locket back - she walked back to the cabin she was sharing with Rivka in a daze.
Forgetting that it was late and Rivka would probably be asleep, she banged the door shut after her. Rivka was startled awake, but seeing it was just her friend she relaxed.
"Is it morning already?" She groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and not seeing in what state Zaralinda was in.
Silently, Zaralinda shook her head. Surprised Rivka looked at her firend and finally noticed that Zaralinda was soaced out with a really sad look in her face.
"What happened?" She asked, immediately sitting up, worried about her friend. She knew Zaralinda enough to know ythat she woukdnt be back until the sun rose, so it was startling enough she back before sunrise. Now that she looked like she wanted to crush too, Rivka knew something was very wrong.
"Oh, Riv." Zaralinda cried, instantly launching herself at the waiting arms of her friend. Burying my face in Rivka's shoulder, she relayed everything that happened at the starboard to her friend, holding nothing back.