(Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet; just Maryam and my other OC's :))

(Authors Note: Hello again dear readers/fellow writers! So, I just wanted to apologize for not uploading this chapter sooner: there was a severe snow storm in my town and literally everyone lost power/internet for almost a week. No water. No heat. No light. No cellphone. Just cold, dreary nothingness. On the plus side, I used that time to catch up on my reading (via sunlight and flashlight of course). Thankfully, the power is back and the wifi is strong...for what it is here. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter and feel free to drop a comment as I enjoy the feedback and draw inspiration from the positive feedback :) Until next time, stay cozy.)

"English/Common"

"Sarcasm or Emphasis"

**Dreams**

Chapter 3

Making her way through the various halls and corridors in search of the library, Maryam somehow got turned around and lost her sense of direction. She'd never been on a ship this large before and actually found it rather intimidating. In truth, she felt like she was being swallowed with each new twist and turn.

By chance, she ended up in the cargo hold and was now curiously looking around at the exotic goods and supplies. There were trunks and chests of various sizes, as well as crates and barrels, and even some ornate statues and pottery. As she started to head back towards the exit, Maryam suddenly heard the sound of gears shifting, which meant either there was some sort of machine operating or she wasn't alone.

"Oh, hello there! You're not one of the crew. What are you doing down here," an android asked as he stepped out from behind one of the barrels, to which she tilted her head and crossed her arms:

"I could be asking you the same question." Seeing him fidget, Maryam offered a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Besides, I'm not supposed to be here either, so this technically makes us even."

"Heh, I guess it does. By the way, my name's B.E.N, what's yours?"

"It's Maryam."

"Oh, that's a pretty name. It suits you nicely. By the way, your ensemble is just dazzling! You look like a princess."

"Thank you," she smiled at his compliment before they suddenly heard the door open, followed by voices coming down the stairs, to which they hid themselves behind a stack of crates and kept quiet:

"I presume the shipment is accounted for?"

"Aye, Sir. We loaded it up this morning upon your request."

"Very good; however, I must ask to see the inventory for myself."

"Of course, Sir."

Upon hearing Edmund's voice among the group, Maryam softly began to tremble as she was afraid of what he might do if he caught her down here when he specifically told her to stay away from the crew areas. Then again, he wasn't part of the crew, so why was he here? As much as she wanted to take a look at the cargo he was inspecting, she dared not move or show her face, lest he hear or see her. No. It was best to forget about it and ignore her curiosity; however, that didn't stop B.E.N from taking an inquisitive peek before ducking back down beside her:

"Wow, those guys are packing some serious firepower," he whispered, to which she made a 'shushing' gesture while keeping herself firmly pressed against the crate. Unfortunately, a large quillrat darted out from nearby and scurried across her feet, causing her to emit a startled gasp before B.E.N placed his metal hand over her mouth.

Hearing the sound, Edmund and his men pulled out their concealed firearms and slowly began making their way over towards her location. Hearing them approach, B.E.N quickly grabbed the quillrat and tossed it, to which it emitted a series of shrill shrieks as it scurried out in front of the men. This provided enough distraction for him and Maryam to sneak past and ascend up the stairs where they then ran down the maze of corridors until they were certain that they weren't being followed:

"Holy nebulous! That was too close! Are you alright, Mary?"

The young hybrid nodded as she took a moment to catch her breath, "Yea, I'm okay. How about you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Thank you so much for asking."

"You're welcome. Also, thanks for getting us out back there."

"Of course! I wasn't gonna let anything happen to my new friend."

"Friend?"

"Well yea, we're friends now, aren't we," he asked with a hopeful expression, to which she smiled and gave him a nod:

"I suppose we are."

"Oh, happy day! I have a friend," he hugged her close and lifted her off the ground, causing her to giggle at his enthusiasm. "Oh sorry, I got too excited. You see, I've never really had a friend before."

"Never," she asked as he set her back down, to which he shook his head:

"Well, not really. I mean, there's my Captain, but he's not exactly the friendliest guy. I think he suffers from mood swings, personally."

"Is your Captain the commander of this vessel?"

"Oh no, no, no! My Captain is elsewhere at the moment."

"Does he know you're here?"

"Of course. But that's not really important right now. I'm curious as to why a pretty lady like you is wandering around such a large ship unattended."

A soft blush dusted Maryam's cheeks as they casually walked along the next corridor, "Well, I wanted to explore and see more of the interior for myself. During my exploration I got turned around and became lost, hence why I found myself in the cargo area. Obviously, my curiosity got the better of me."

"Oh, I get that way too sometimes. My Captain finds it annoying, but he means well_in his own cranky way."

"He sounds charming," she sarcastically replied with a smile before glancing down at her crystal slippers, "So_you said I was pretty?"

"Well, yea. Look at you: you look like a princess about to attend a royal gala."

"I guess one would assume that," she noted with a sigh. "But despite my fancy getup, I'm not a noblewoman by any means."

"You're not?"

She smiled and shook her head, "No. I'm actually a seamstress back on Audra. I'm only here because of my fiance."

"Oh, you're getting married?! I love weddings!"

*sigh* "_I am, but I don't have much choice in the matter. I'd tell you more, but I'd rather not talk about it at this time."

"No worries, we've got time. You can tell me whenever you like."

"Thanks B.E.N."

"Sure thing," he smiled as they continued to navigate their way through the ship.

After a few minutes, they reached her stateroom, to which she bid the android a temporary goodbye before they parted ways for the time being. In truth, she hoped she'd see B.E.N again before the end of her trip as he was quite fun to converse with and was very kindly towards her in general.

Upon closing the door behind her, Maryam headed over to the lavatory to lightly freshen up before she was expected in the dining hall for dinner. While she would have liked to glance through the library, she had enough exploring for the day and was still in a slight state of panic after nearly being discovered in the cargo hold by Edmund and his associates. 'Let's just hope they didn't see me,' she mentally stated before glancing at herself in the mirror and adjusting her bustle and gown. As soon as she stepped out of the lavatory, the stateroom door opened to reveal Mr. Swift:

"Oh, good evening, Milord. Fancy seeing you here."

"Indeed," he replied with a neutral tone before approaching her, to which he then slowly ran his claw along her cheek and down her neck. "I was beginning to think you had gotten lost."

"W-Well, it wasn't easy navigating my way around such a large ship, but I somehow managed."

"So you did," he skeptically eyed her as a predator does before they determine if something is prey or not, to which she lightly began to shiver. "You're trembling."

"I_It's because I'm cold," she lied, hoping he'd buy it.

With a small, almost non-existent smirk, he leaned next to her ear and spoke in a low, sensual voice, "Perhaps I can help you with that."

Before she could respond, Maryam felt his mandibles upon her lips as he forcefully pried her mouth open and inserted his tongue while firmly holding her within his pincers. She wanted to protest and push him away, but she also feared the consequences if she did. That, and his grip on her was so tight that she was afraid he'd slice off her arms if she moved them the wrong way. Accepting her fate, she retreated to the back of her mind as a means of escape while he laid her upon the bed.

As he did all this, Maryam tightly closed her eyes and forced herself not to cry; however, a sharp and sudden jerk of the ship caused Edmund to release his vice-like grip on her as he was then thrown off the bed and onto the floor.

Taking the opportunity to scramble to her feet, Maryam made a break for the door and sprinted out of the room while ignoring the searing pain in her arms from where Edmund's pincers sliced her flesh. Although there were people screaming and running about, she didn't bother asking what was wrong as she just wanted to get away from her fiance as quickly as possible.

As she turned the corner, she suddenly crashed into a familiar android: "Oh, Mary! Thank the stars you're alright! Come on, you need to get out of here!"

"Wait, B.E.N, what's going on," she asked as he grabbed her hand and led her down a nearby flight of stairs.

"No time to explain. You need to get to the longboats and leave! Hurry," he urged before a pair of pirates stepped out in front of them:

"Oi, B.E.N, wha'ya got there; some fancy tart," the first (a squid-like alien) asked as he and his comrade blocked their path.

"Ooh, she's a tasty-looking beauty," the other (a vulture-like alien) stated with a sharp, menacing grin as he eyed the young woman. "Hand 'er over."

"No! She's my friend and she's staying with me," the android protested as he stood between Maryam and the men.

"B.E.N_you're a pirate," the young woman asked in disbelief, to which he lowered his gaze in an apologetic way:

"Not by choice. I'm so sorry, Mary."

"Aww, how touching," the first pirate mocked before reaching over and grabbing the young woman with one of his tentacle arms, causing her to hiss, flail and kick her slippers off in the process:

Not wanting to endure whatever horrors these men had in store for her, Maryam did the only thing she could think of: "PARLEY!"

"What," the second pirate asked, dumbfounded while his comrade tightly held her in his cold, suctioned grip.

"Parley! I invoke the right of parley, which according to the pirates code, I cannot be harmed until the parley is complete."

"I know the code," he sneered.

"Then honor it by taking me to your Captain," she retorted with a challenging tone.

"Very well."

(Sooo, I hope chapter 3 was worth the wait. I certainly enjoyed writing it for all of you and I'm glad B.E.N finally made his debut. Don't worry, Flint will be in the next one ;) Until next time, keep it classy and make good choices.)