I woke up in my hammock again and found Robin, who'd gone back to sleep, standing near my hammock; he'd been doing this ever since I first slept on this ship—and he looked as though he'd carry on doing it until we'd actually set foot off this ship.
I got up and sat down, letting out a long sigh. I was still amazed that he was willing to do all this just for me—even though I wasn't anything like his fiancée, and I hated being treated as someone I didn't even know.
Yet I couldn't deny that his kindness was truly making me soften towards him—I realised this when I tried to wake him by gently tugging at the hem of his green jacket, rather than by hitting or shaking him violently.
"Tsk… He really does know how to make me soften." Before I could protest any further, the man was already awake—his dark eyes glanced in my direction and instantly he gave a slight smile, now showing gratitude—though, if I'm being honest, it really sent shivers down my spine. "Stop that, you're scaring me."
Robin's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he pulled himself away from the support pole of my hanging bed. "Come on, let's have breakfast," he yawned, stretching my body and letting out a contented sigh as his bones cracked.
Just as I was about to take a step, I glanced to the side and saw a girl with a light tan lying there, her body completely covered by a blanket. My blue eyes drifted to the hammock next to her and fell on a man wearing his trousers loosely and unbuttoned—I knew exactly what had happened last night without even needing to ask.
"What are you waiting for?" Robin was on his way out; I glanced in his direction briefly before turning back towards Liz—I was weighing up which one I should go to first, but if I threw up again without having eaten, I'd be completely wiped out.
"Ah, no," I finally said, setting off after Robin from behind; in the dining room—I could see the side dishes already laid out on the table and we just had to serve ourselves.
When I reached the dining table, I immediately took a bite of the salted meat on my plate; as soon as I swallowed it, I felt an urge to throw it up. "Red will love this meal—but not me," I held out my plate towards Robin, who was casually tucking into the meat without a care in the world.
"Be grateful; there are plenty of people out there who can't eat."
"Who are you? My dad?"
"No, I'd rather be an older brother sort of figure."
"Don't take it seriously."
After exchanging our usual banter, my eyes glanced towards the door of the crew's sleeping quarters—Liz emerged from inside, her eyes still heavy with sleep, but a burly crew member approached her without giving her a moment's rest. "Hey, are you free tonight?" the man asked with a sly smile on his face.
Liz didn't even seem to have the energy to reply; she turned her face away whilst touching her neck—it was clear she was at a loss as to what to say. "Um… I think—" Before she could say yes, I jumped to my feet and slammed my fist on the table, drawing everyone's attention to me.
I walked quickly towards the poor girl who'd been pushed into a corner; my hand reached for her left shoulder and I pulled her closer—she let out a startled gasp at my sudden action. "What a pity; I was already going to make the most of her tonight," I replied, leaving the burly man and Liz baffled and shocked.
"You…"
"What? Do you want to go up against the captain's right-hand man?"
"No, never mind."
The man turned and walked away, leaving the two of us behind, and that tense moment began to ease. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the girl beside me, her cheeks flushed and her purple eyes sparkling. "Alice, I never thought you'd look at me that way," she misunderstood; I quickly withdrew my hand and put it in my pocket.
"Don't get the wrong idea, I was only doing this to protect you," I replied—I never imagined she'd misunderstand like that. "Besides, why did you want to accept it so readily even though you didn't want to?"
Her eyes were no longer as gentle as before; she tilted my head and gave me a look that screamed 'isn't it obvious?', though I didn't understand what exactly was obvious. "I don't want to be ignored just because I'm a woman," she said before walking away. I was really curious as to why she'd joined this pirate crew—because, apart from me, she was the only other woman on board.
From my pocket, a fairy emerged with a blinding light that dazzled my eyes as she stood right in front of my face. "Hey! Move away," I said, pushing her tiny body away before my fingers grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "What's the matter? Are you hungry?"
The jingle rang out and she slapped my face with her tiny hands; I tilted my head, but the sound of that little bell kept ringing, threatening to drive me mad. My finger immediately covered her lips, silencing that annoying sound. "Right, right, I get it—you don't like being kept in my pocket," I said, placing her on my shoulder.
"I just don't want to draw too much attention to myself," I said, and Tinkie immediately crossed her arms, puffing out her cheeks as she let out a resonant "Hmph" that I could hear clearly because she was sitting right next to my ear. "I mean, with my beauty alone, I'm already the centre of attention! Let alone if you're constantly appearing near me," I added, but the fairy didn't seem convinced by my reasoning.
I glanced over at Liz, who was about to help herself to some food, and, summoning all my strength, I shouted so that my voice would reach her ears. "I was serious about what I said earlier, Liz! I'll be waiting for you tonight—don't keep me waiting!" Liz nearly jumped and slowly turned towards me as I walked up the stairs with Robin and Tinkie.
Time passed and finally, as the sun disappeared and was replaced by the moon, my feet touched the wooden deck—the cold night air stung my skin. Liz was standing with her elbows rested on the gunwale, her chin resting on her palms.
"Hey," I said, stopping beside her; she turned towards me, her black hair fluttering in the wind—she returned my greeting, and as I leaned forward against the bulwark, a wave of nausea rose in my stomach.
She turned back round before asking, "So, what do you want?" I didn't answer—and she tried to wait patiently, but eventually she grew curious as to why I wasn't answering; when she looked over to the side, she found me vomiting up every bit of food I'd swallowed that day. "HUH?!"
Once I felt better, I leaned wearily with my back against the wooden bulwark—Liz herself sighed before a long silence was suddenly broken by the sound of laughter from the girl beside me. "Goodness me… Why on earth did you even set foot on this ship?" she asked, wiping away her tears.
"I've already answered that," I replied, and to be honest, I felt really mocked when she laughed at me. "What about you? Why did you want to join the pirates?"
The light-hearted atmosphere immediately turned serious again; realising this, I immediately felt bad towards Liz as it seemed I'd brought up a topic she might not want to discuss—but I couldn't resist my curiosity, as I wondered what would make a girl who hadn't even reached adulthood join a pirate crew.
"I was saved by them—Captain Hook in particular," she began, and slowly I sat up and stood on my feet—letting her continue her story.
A year ago, Elizabeth was sitting in the corner of the living room, her whole body trembling—her parents lay lifeless, blood flooding the floor. Before her stood two pirates, striding towards the unfortunate girl as she wept uncontrollably, their swords drawn.
But before the blades could pierce Liz's body, their heads had already been severed—blood spurted, splattering Liz's face; her eyes widened in terror as the two pirates' bodies fell before her.
She gazed at it all in horror; her eyes darted forward again and found a man who was opening a display cabinet and taking all the glittering jewellery from within. The man, with long, curly black hair, turned towards Liz, who was still unable to process what was happening.
"Are you all right, kid?"
That question made time seem to stand still—he was asking after her well-being? Liz simply couldn't believe what she'd just heard; she'd thought the man would take her life too, but instead he was busy taking all the valuables from the house.
"You… weren't trying to kill me?"
"How old are you?"
"…Sixteen."
"Hah! You're still just a kid; killing you would mean nothing to me—besides, what could you possibly do to fight back against me? You're no threat."
Liz was speechless; she hadn't expected to receive any mercy—her entire village had been destroyed, leaving only her still alive and with all her limbs intact. Because of this, she begged to join Captain Hook's pirate crew, and to her surprise, she was accepted immediately, without him seeming to bat an eyelid.
From that moment on, she began trying to prove herself so that she could impress the captain, doing all sorts of things to show that she was a reliable girl and not someone who'd be better off thrown overboard.
I fell silent, lost for words upon hearing all this; I then plucked up the courage to voice what was on my mind. "You do realise that Captain Hook's pirate crew is currently plundering your village too, don't you?" I asked, but she didn't even flinch.
She turned her full attention towards me, flashed a faint smile and replied nonchalantly. "That's true, but it's fair payment for saving me."