Each syllable resonated deep within me. I felt we were truly in sync for the first time in a while, no lies nor illusions between us.
"Do you trust me?" He smiled. I smiled.
"Of course." And for once, I could speak with all my heart and soul.
Like a dancer, Jasper leaned down with grace. His hair swept his face as he descended upon me. With perfect timing and synchronicity, I swung a hand up with the last of my strength in full faith knowing he would catch me; and he did.
"If only you trusted me that much to start with, we could've had a much different relationship."
"Doesn't mean we still can't."
Our eyes only grazed each other's sight before both our eyes were squished shut, our noses touching, our mouths plastered together. He smelled musty and earthy; a familiar scent that reminded me of the orphanage, mixed with a new daring ocean stench I might have been beginning to love. I registered and imprinted the taste of his lip in my mind. His newly callused fingertips brushed the skin on my back, every point of contact instantly warmed. I fastened one arm around his neck and gripped the prickly rope with the other. There was zero space between us. I'd felt our bodies mesh, our figures fitting together like puzzle pieces. Blending until we were finally one in the same person. Our lips parted but we were still emotionally connected. I continued to feel his warm breathe against my face for a moment longer. I couldn't keep a silly grin off my face as he swiftly pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight. I hugged him back, digging my face into his chest.
I heard my friends' voices cheering from the nest above as we were lifted into the sky. Below us the roaring, whistling, cheering howls of the men congratulated us the way of a newly engaged couple, but I felt more like just received both the Montague and Capulets' blessings. I finally had nothing holding me back. I hoped to stay in his arms longer than eternity, but eventually we reached the nest and were hauled up.
We momentarily parted physically as I was tackled by a herd of relieved friends. To my right, Raven squeezed Jasper's shoulder with a smile. A nod of defeat was followed by an offering of friendship. The boys shook hands briefly.
"How did I not notice!?" Cliff complained as he kept his arms around me but shifted his head to stare at my now unsupported, thinly-shielded chest.
"I always knew!" Shiloh purred as he buried his face between my hills.
"No you didn't!" Cliff scoffed as he pushed his head toward my chest.
Jasper shot them a glare and they both disappointedly backed away.
"By the way, I'm gay." Fay smiled.
There was a momentary silence as the boys stared at him in shock. I began to laugh at the borderline fear on their faces.
"And I liked Jasper."
My chuckle ended as his began.
"But don't worry, that's in the past now." He slithered past me. "I've got my eye on someone new." And rubbed shoulders with Raven. My eyebrows jumped as a smile crawled onto my face with Raven's paling in confusion.
Our happy coming together was then paused as the King approached the edge of the basket.
"Long time no see, Kwamie my friend! The men have been so loud without you!" We turned to see the King yelling down to the captain and Howler. The King turned his attention to Captain Gryphon. "So you're the pirate who napped my favourite sailor!" Gryphon gave a hearty chuckle from below as the King gave him a teasing smile. Howler showed more expression than I'd ever seen on his face before as his smile seemed to shine.
"You are not plotting to take this town my kingdom too now are you?" I hadn't considered royalty to have humour before I heard him say it.
"Not exactly…" our captain called back. "There is something I'd like your help with though!"
Here it was. I rubbed my palms together. My curiosity had been slowly growing through the fight. What treasure was so grand pirates would cross the world to attain?
"We want permission to settle down and live a normal life in this town."
What?
Grumbles of confusion quickly crescendoed to complaints of the hoarse-throat-inducing level.
"SHUT IT!" The voice bellowed across the vessel, cancelling out all other complaints.
"Do you really want to die in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of ugly, old men?" My friends and I exchanged awkward glances. The pirates down below exchanged similar looks.
"It's time for us to settle down! Live an honest life at least in our last years! Not have to shit in a bucket!" This statement elicited several nods of agreement.
The King chuckled before giving permission.
"If you wish to settle in this town peacefully, I'll gladly welcome you!"
The pirates cheered as the soldiers respectfully walked off the boat some chatting with former pirates amiably.
The King began to climb down shortly followed by Fay, Raven, Cliff, and Shiloh. Just as Shiloh's blond bounced below basket level, Jasper pulled me in quickly and pecked my forehead. The moment was sweet yet short lived as Raven called up for us to hurry up, a tease chirped in his voice. We parted with a mutual disappointment that was eased with a small smile before we climbed down.
As my feet hit the ground, I was unexpectedly greeted by the King, my friends noticeably intimidated from a few yards away.
"Good fight. I apologize for any injuries I inflicted." The King spoke with grace.
I shook my head with a smile.
"Back at you." After a moment, I wondered if I should have spoke more informally with a King.
He simply laughed. His amusement seemed to sing a familiar tune. I felt unusually comfortable with the thirty-year old.
As his chuckle calmed, his smile became nostalgic.
"You remind me of a woman I used to love."
This peaked my curiosity, but he wouldn't elaborate as he immediately grew awkward and fumbled for words.
"Sorry," he chuckled then glanced behind him. Gryphon and Howler were patiently waiting for him by the bridge. "Well sorry again and goodbye." I nodded back before he marched off to the Captain and his old friend.
Just as I was left by one, I was surrounded by many.
"So are you really a girl!?" Several orphans began to ask at once. Only half maintained the respect to look me in the eye.
"Why did you join as a boy?"
"Do you like crossdressing?"
"Are you and Jasper going steady?"
The onslaught of questions gave me simultaneous relief and discomfort. They weren't mad. We were all still friends. I sighed, feeling a certain obligation to answer as much as I could.
"Yep, I'm a bona fide female." They gasped with respect and uncertainty. At the orphanage, the only girls we saw were the middle aged chefs and the young woman who passed below our window. A girl our age was foreign thing to most of them.
As they stared, I launched into the tail of why I joined the orphanage as a boy. I told them about how the woman I called Mother died and how she envied men and how that made me decide to become a man.
"So my cross-dressing is not a weird fetish or something I like, just something I committed to on for the sake of my Mother."
"So you and Jasper?"
I glanced at Jasper who then made his way to my side with a smile and a possessive arm thrown around me.
"I guess so." I let out a giggle that felt unnatural after acting so manly after a year.
"You guess?" Jasper coughed. I laughed again then spun around and hugged him.
"Just kidding." I winked at Fay. "He's mine." Fay just laughed then threw a glance at a huffy Raven who inched away from the happy boy. The rest of the boys squealed and laughed or howled and whistled. After a few more questions, most of which I wouldn't answer due to vulgarity, I snuck away to satisfy a curiosity.
Jasper and Raven caught up to me just as I found the man in question chatting with his First Mate.
"Captain!" He turned with a chuckle and a thumb in his belt.
"Oh, just Gryphon is fine now." A flicker of melancholy passed like a cold breeze; the feeling was gone before I could suffer. My curiosity was beginning to eat at me.
"I heard we came here for a treasure! Was that a lie?" It came out in more of a shout than I expected.
Gryphon chuckled and snuck a glance at Raven.
"It's finally time. Come with me." Raven, Jasper, Howler, and I followed the retiring pirate down the dock into town. I couldn't help but get caught up in my surroundings. There were beautiful, exotically colored plants in pots hanging from windows and overhangs. The streets were tiled with stones varying colors of cooled fire. Even as the sun was still several minutes from rising, activity was audible from inside houses as babies wept and mothers hummed. The night breeze nipped at my nose and the smell of fresh air cleansed my salted nostrils.
Finally, we arrived at a house. This one was smaller and older than its neighbors and quite a bit less kept. It had dark wooden walls and a forest green roof. A small windowsill garden bloomed with wild vegetable life that climbed up the frame toward the sky. There was a certain allure to the house that reminded me slightly of the Dragon's Nest somehow.
Gryphon almost skipped up to the mustard yellow door yet paused for a good minute before knocking. He glanced back at us, almost making sure we were still there, then finally gave a solid two knocks.
We twiddled our thumbs in anticipation for only a moment before the door swung revealing a gorgeous not-quite-yet-middle-aged woman with the same golden and tanned skin Raven possessed as well as the messy hair and dirty clothes that fit the house perfectly.
The ex-pirate and beautiful mess gazed at each other for only two seconds before the woman slapped her arms around Gryphon's head and smacked her mouth to his seemingly sucking his soul out of him. Gryphon appeared to be fighting back though as he pushed her into the house against her wall trying to tug at her tongue. We awkwardly looked away as their tongues engaged in a battle. Eventually Howler coughed and the two momentarily broke to breath. The woman then spots Howler and flashes a radiant smile.
"Gryphon! Kwamie! You came back!" She ran up and mauled Howler with a cushiony hug.
Howler quietly smiles back and nods.
"It's been a while."
When she lets go she hops over to scan over us. Her eyes lock on Raven, jaw instantly dropping, aura suddenly less overwhelming.
She turns back to Gryphon who walked back out of the house next to the woman.
"Is it-?" She barely managed to whisper. Gryphon nodded. The gorgeous woman flung her arms around Raven squeezing him tight while appearing on the verge of tears.
In child-like confusion, Raven hugged back slightly flushed. When they parted, Gryphon offered an explanation.
"We travelled across the world for the greatest treasure a man could have: someone he could spend the rest of his life with." He gestured to the woman whose eyes never left Raven. "This is Serafine: Raven's mother."
Raven's mouth fell open as did Jasper's and mine. The similarities were there: golden hair, tanned skin, open emotions. I could see why Raven was so attractive now, though Gryphon wasn't ugly, Sera could have been a model.
Raven seemed to also be fitting together the puzzle pieces. We watched him as the wheels in his mind pushed to fully understand the significance of the woman in front of him.
"Mom?" He choked out. She nodded, actually tearing up now, and hugged her son once more. Gryphon wrapped his arms around the both of them, patting his son's back while rubbing his lover's.
"I'm going to be living with Sera from now on. The rest of the old crew has decided to stay and live in this town as well. We'll be average landlubbers in no time."
Raven took a moment to mentally recap.
"But- what about the Dragon Nest?"
Gryphon smiled.
"She's all yours now, Captain." Raven's face lit up as he smiled. He appeared like a boy who's dad gave him a pony for his fifth birthday. He then turned to Jasper and me.
"You guys'll continue working with me right?" I hadn't even considered what happened next. I fancied a thought at staying in town with the older soon-to-be landlubbers, growing old with Jasper in one of these little houses. But even in imagination, I couldn't forget the rest of my friends or the adventures I was looking forward to as a pirate. Jasper seemed to read my mind.
"Of course we'll stay." The emerald eyed boy flashed me an understanding smile. He was so cute.
"As long as you turn down the flirting," I raised an eyebrow at the sandy blond who pouted.
"No promises," he teased. Raven stuck out a tongue as Jasper shot him a, half joking, warning glare. They then both can't help but laugh the semi-tension away.
"Then as my first act as captain: Jasper, you are now deemed First Mate- if you'll accept?"
Jasper smiled and hooked an arm around his Captain.
"You bet I do." They laughed together like long time best friends. They was a photo-worthy pair as the sun break the horizon over the ocean washing through their hair. I smiled to myself but deep inside, my heart squeezed at the thought of everything coming to an end.
.
.
.
Later that day, after a short nap on board after that all-nighter, the Dragon's Nest had been fully prepped and ready to take off once more. The former crew lined up on the deck as the former orphans/new fully-fledged pirates took the reins. I stood next to Jasper and my close friends at the head of the boat with my hands on some sail ropes and eyes watching the crowd gathered to see us off. Dozens of familiar faces with big smiles and rosy cheeks called up encouragements. I saw Howler, Sera, Gryphon, and the monkey that always sat on his shoulder at the front of the crowd waving proudly. Instead of happiness, I found myself frightened for leaving. What would come next?
Jasper seemed to sense my worry as he pull me into a hug. His warmth against my back, his arm over mine; he reassured me.
As Raven called for the sails to come down, I pulled with all my might. I turned to see Shiloh, Cliff, and Fay smiling, helping me pull with all our muscles. I heard Raven continuing to fulfill his duties beautifully, calling from his post, flashing me a quick thumbs up. I felt my head bump Jasper's chest as I leaned back and his head purposely bump my back. With a warm feeling spreading from my chest, I looked to the blue beyond. How could I have thought of this as everything coming to an end. We were lifting the anchor, taking our things, and letting the wind take us where it may.
I was starting a new, grander adventure together with everyone I loved where I could be the real, the new me, not a boy, not an orphan, but a pirate, a bona fide member of the crew. For the world nor my gender, I wouldn't leave that boat and those boys for I was now and always would be; the girl in the Dragon Nest.
*Author's Note*
*sniffle* *sniffle* It's finally coming to an end... Well I had fun and hope y'all also enjoyed it! Please do review! And if anyone has any questions, I'll try to answer them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story! (Sorry if you were disappointed in the end or just totally thought it sucked...)