Pirate Princess (32 page)

He sat back down and said, “My favorite port? Hm, well I’m not sure anymore.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Well now, Crilan has a whole new appeal to it than it did before,” he said.

I smiled wide and said, “I love how you can turn everything into a way to flirt.”

He laughed, but didn’t respond to my comment. After a moment he asked, “If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I sat there and thought about everything that had happened to me and wished I could change so much of it. “If I knew what I do now, I would have taken my mask off when I was confronted by my uncle on the beach at the festival. I could have told him the truth or I could have lied and said I was pretending to be Jax so I could join in at the festival and see what it was like now. Either would have been better than what happened.” I trailed off and felt like the scar on my back was tingling. I would never forget that pain. I started to reach back to touch it, but Finn turned around and grabbed my hand.

“In time it’ll fade,” he said, but I wasn’t sure if he meant the scar or the memory of the pain.

“What would you change from your past?” I asked him.

“I have a few I wish I could change,” he admitted, “I would have gotten to you sooner when you were captured as Jax so you wouldn’t have that scar and I would have steered clear of Carlos’ island.”

“I wouldn’t change those,” I told him.

“Why not?” he asked with a frown.

“Because they showed me how fierce you could be and gave me something that no one else can say.”

“What’s that?” he asked as he looked at me with a quizzical expression on his face.

“My boyfriend killed Carlos the crusher to save me.”

“Boyfriend, huh?” he asked.

I blushed and asked, “Is there another term you would prefer I used? I can just call you Captain if…”

“Boyfriend is perfect,” he whispered as he touched his forehead to mine.

“What is your favorite color?” I asked as I tried to swallow. I wanted to kiss him, but I was trying to hold back.

“Bluish-green,” he whispered, “The color of your eyes and the sea.”

“What is your favorite activity?” I asked in a whisper.

“Kissing you,” he murmured and then kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I loved kissing him.

When we finally stopped kissing I couldn’t think of anything else to ask him. We ate some food and then played in the ocean together.

We stayed on the island for two more days doing nothing but relax and get to know more about each other. I learned about his sisters and I told him about picking on Eric. He told me how he joined the crew as a boy and I told him about my first battle with Esmeralda and Jared. We traveled to the far seas to an island where pirates went to relax and a truce was called so no one could steal from each other or cause any damage to anyone’s ship. My father had always talked about the Isle of Respite as they referred to it, but I had never been there with him. When we docked that night, Finn took me to a place where the food was spicy and the drinks were cold. It was a large building filled with tables and people who all looked happy and calm. We sat at a small table with only two chairs in one of the back corners and I felt full and content.

“How often do you come here?” I asked him. There were quite a few women here and many were beautiful and much more voluptuous than me. I had never felt insecure about my body before, but as I looked at them, I felt inadequate.

“I visit a couple of times a year,” Finn said, “this is the one place the entire crew can come to shore and relax without worrying about the ship. It’s also the one place that has a large population of women who enjoy the company of pirate men. Many ports don’t have that option and a man needs female company now and then.”

“How long do you usually stay here?” I asked. I could see his crew wanting to stay for a long time, especially since they were enjoying some extra attention from Finn winning the festival.

“Captain Finn, congratulations on winning the festival,” a woman who had a miniscule percentage of clothes to body said with a smile. She leaned over the table flaunting her cleavage and said, “Come find me next time you’re in port and alone.”

I was too stunned by her audaciousness to even be upset or mad. She walked away after Finn said something which I didn’t hear, since I was too busy staring at her.

“Are you ready to see my home?” he asked me, bringing me back to the present and him.

“Your home? I didn’t know you had a home here.”

He stood up and we headed outside into the crisp night air. The events over the past week had made me realize that I needed to enjoy life, every second of it, since we had no idea how much time we had. He linked his hand with mine and the warm reassuring pressure brought a smile to my face and made me forget about the woman.

“I have a few homes actually,” he admitted, “but this is one of my favorites.”

“Why do you have several homes?”

“I like having something that is mine and there are certain ports that I visit which are special and ones where I feel comfortable. Someday I’ll show you the place that I hope to retire in.”

The town was comprised of several taverns, hotels, stores and then houses as far as I could see in the night. Did they farm here or did they just survive off what the island provided? “I look forward to seeing all of your homes,” I responded as my mind wandered to what he might be doing in five or ten years. Most pirates weren’t actually actively pirating for very long. There were a few who had long careers, but most would pirate for four or five years, plundering and stealing as much as possible, and then retire or simply live inland and have minor jobs for the rest of their lives. I had no idea if Finn planned to make a life out of pirating or if he would retire to land.

We turned down a street that was quiet and he stopped in front of a small house surrounded by grass. We walked inside and I was shocked to see a fully furnished house instead of a simple bed or necessities only. The house was really just one large room with an attached bathroom. “It may be small, but it has everything I could need,” he said. “At least now that you are here it has everything. I always knew that something was missing, but until now I was not sure what it was.”

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me sweetly. “It’s a beautiful home,” I told him, “and I will admit it is nothing like I thought it would be.”

“What did you expect?” he asked curiously.

“An empty room with just a bed.”

He laughed and said, “I would rather stay in my captain’s cabin if that were true.”

“How long have you owned this?”

“Two years. I saved up for this one so that I could relax without paying for a hotel or worrying about the cost of staying here and making my crew leave early just because I didn’t want to waste so much money on housing accommodations. It seemed the most logical course was to purchase a house for one lump sum and then never have to pay for hotels for myself again. Now my crew has to tell me when they’re ready to leave.”

“Don’t you get bored here?” I asked.

“I get bored all around the seas,” he said with a smile, “but it makes my crew happy and so it makes me happy. I’m sure you can help me find ways to keep entertained.”

“Oh I can think of a few things,” I said with a happy smirk and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I am glad that you are letting me see this part of your life in addition to taking me around to all of the islands and places you have already visited.”

“Well it’s not just for you. We pretty much have a set sailing schedule and it happened to align perfectly with your temporary journey with us.”

“How long will we stay here?” I asked him. I didn’t really care how long we stayed here or if we simply stayed here and he just took me home a year later.

“A month at least, but possibly more.”

“Well I better figure out how to entertain the both of us for thirty days.”

“Oh don’t worry, there is plenty for us to do,” he said with a smile.

“Well, then what is first?”

He picked me up in his arms and walked to the bed. “First we sleep because I am weary from our journeys and though I will never admit it to anyone except you, I do enjoy some time on the land.”

The bed was very soft and the warmth that continued to grow inside of me with each touch and experience with Finn bloomed brighter than ever.

We woke up at the crack of dawn, packed provisions, and then Finn led the way out of town, and towards mountains and jungle.

“You know your way around here, right?” I asked to reassure myself.

“Your lack of faith in me hurts,” he teased.

“Your bed is very comfortable and I would hate to miss it tonight,” I teased him back.

“I knew you were only here for my bed.” I blushed and he grinned, happy to have made me blush again.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“I’m taking you to my favorite place on this island,” he explained, “and I cannot wait to see your face when we get there.”

“Please tell me it is not a volcano.”

He laughed. “No, I promise it is not a volcano.”

“I did love the volcanoes. They’re beautiful and amazing, but they remind me how insignificant we are and it makes me sad and hurts the massive ego I have built up for myself,” I told him.

“Well we definitely don’t want to hurt your ego. If it was damaged you might not enjoy the things I can beat you in.”

“It’s a rather small list,” I said.

“Only because we have yet to challenge each other in so many other activities,” he insisted.

“I think you are just about the most egotistical pirate I know,” I lied. In truth most pirates were egotistical and it was sort of a requirement in order to be a pirate, or at least a notable one.

We climbed through the dense jungle and I felt sweat dripping down my back. How could it be so cool by the ocean and so muggy here when they were so close together? A few hours later we rested to drink water and I took the time to enjoy the view. Everything was lush, large, and brightly colored like a few of the other jungles we had seen on our journey so far, but here it seemed more controlled and less wild. I realized that I had yet to see any animals, not even birds.

“Only a little bit farther,” he told me as he stood up.

I stood up as well and waved him forward. “Lead the way, Captain.”

“Of course, recruit.”

“I am not a recruit,” I reminded him.

“So you keep telling me.”

“Finn, what type of magic do you have?” I knew he had some since he could activate the ring’s magic powers that allowed us to hear the other’s thoughts.

“Nothing exuberate or exciting like your lock picking power, but I have the basic abilities like lighting things on fire, healing minor injuries, and activating charmed items like the ring we had worn.”

“In your kingdom do they encourage magic use?” there were many kingdoms who discouraged it and some who even believed magic was the work of darkness and banned those who had magical abilities.

“Yes, they do, but I didn’t care too much about magic. My only dream was to become a pirate and sail around the world. Most of the adults I knew had lived in the same area their entire lives and it made me sad that people couldn’t go out and see what the world was really like and experience all the wonders there are. The other children thought I was ridiculous for even wanting to leave our kingdom, but if they could see me now and see the things I have, I know they would go back and join me if they could.”

“Do you regret anything about your past?” I asked. There were things I regretted, many things.

“Only that I had not met you sooner,” he said with a broad smile.

“Flattery so early in the morning might upset my stomach,” I teased him.

The jungle thinned and we stepped out on top of a hill that overlooked a valley filled with grass and purple wildflowers. It was not something I expected to see in a jungle. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered. I felt like if I talked in a normal volume I might break the serenity of what was before me. It always amazed me that there was such variety in the terrains and such beauty in some while others, like the great deserts, were so harsh.

“I came here a lot when I was a new pirate and our former captain docked here. It was the one place that helped me keep hope that I could find beauty and happiness in the world again.”

“I can see how this would help with that,” I whispered and then sat down to enjoy the view.

Finn took out some food and we sat side by side, our arms touching in peaceful silence. It amazed me how Finn could go from being a fierce fighter to a man who gazed at wild flowers to remind himself of the beauty in the lands.

“Before I was born my father planted wild flowers like this across an entire island so that when he brought my mother she would see the island in full bloom and it was there that he proposed to her. He said it had taken him two full months to plant all of the flowers, but seeing her eyes light up and the tears of joy on her face when he asked her to marry him was worth it.” I don’t know why I shared the story with Finn. I had not told anyone else about it, not even Esmeralda.

“Sounds like your father really loved your mother,” Finn commented.

I nodded my head. “He did. He still loves her. I see it on his face when he talks about her or when something reminds him of her. He looks so happy for a moment as he remembers their love and then sad for his loss. I wish I had known my mother, but I wish she was still alive for my father most of all.”

We sat in silence again and then Finn packed our things and we returned to his house to find Bernard waiting for us. “Hello Bernard,” Finn called.

“Hello Captain. The crew is headed to the Dusty Shovel and we wanted to see if you and Jax would like to come.”

“We’ll change and head over,” Finn said.

“Don’t take too long or the tavern might run out of liquor before you arrive,” Bernard warned with a smile.

“They drank two taverns out of liquor the first time we came here after I was named captain. It became quite the night which featured more fights than the town usually saw for an entire month,” Finn said with a laugh.