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:  C H A P T E R  S I X :

The loud clatter of a plate hitting the floor spooked me awake. Disoriented and slightly confused, I groaned at the smell of fish and seaweed in the air until I realized that I was stuck straight in the middle of the source of it all. The lurching in my stomach became prevalent as well, and as soon as I recalled where I was, I toppled off the crate and headed straight for the railing.

Bile burned its way up my throat and into the sea below. Just staring down at it made me nauseous with unease and fear. Stricken with terror, I slumped down from the railing's edge and curled down onto the floor, both of my hands gripping the railing post with white knuckles.

"Easy there, princess. Why'd ya go and nap on the deck like that? Ya gotta get used to sleeping on a ship before ya do that, dearie." The sound of his voice only made me want to hurl more.

I smeared the back of my hand over my mouth, and checked to make sure I was at least relatively clean. The jacket around me provided enough warmth to heat an entire home, and I was especially glad I had it all to myself at that moment, even if it did come from a conniving pirate charged with the death of my mother.

My eyes felt crusty and dry, so I rubbed them before looking up at Cody. He was crouched down in front of me, holding out a medicine bottle of some sort. Behind him, there stood at least five other men peering around each other to look at me like I was a performing animal.

Ears lit up like embers, I snatched the bottle from him and took a sip from it. It tasted like herbs and dirt, and the odd texture made me cough at first before I swallowed it down. It got rid of the taste of bile, but that was the only good thing about it.

"Dear mother of Zula what was that?" I choked out, covering my mouth as I handed it back over to him. He took it and screwed the cap back on.

"Helps with sea sickness. You'll get used to it though--being on the sea, I mean," Cody explained. He saw me look back at all the other men watching, and turned back to shoo them away and return to work.

The sky was painted with colors I had never seen before. There were mixes of yellows and purples, blues and oranges, and they all faded into the starlit sky in the east. I strained to see the clouds, and the darkness settling on the horizon where the night was beginning to conquer.

I pointed off at it and got Cody's attention. "What's that way?"

"That there is a storm. We'll be sailin' around it, so don't ya worry 'bout a thing," he told me, and stooped down to grab my arm. He hauled me onto my feet, and kept me steady as the dots started to swarm my vision. "Eat somethin' before ya fall down."

He had settled a plate on the ground by the crate, and on it was a biscuit and a mix of rice and oil. I took the plate up into my hands and picked at the hard rice pellets and the bread that was more like a puck of rock.

"Get used to it," he told me. I blinked up at him before staring back down at the rationed meal. After my first bite of the bread, I was quick to finish it off and lick my lips after wiping the plate clear of rice. The whole time Cody and I sat on the stairs of the quarterdeck.

He popped open the top of a canteen and passed it to me. I took a sip and realized it was wine. I did not mind wine all that much, so gulped down a few drinks of it and passed it back to him.

"Thank you," I said, and he only nodded in return. He tipped back the canteen and downed the rest of the wine before screwing the cap back on.

His hand came out to help me up, and his expression told me he could be doing so many other tasks right now than following me around. I swatted his hand away and pulled myself up, tugging the coat around me tighter as a wind carried on from the east.

His icy eyes studied me before gesturing to the side. "You've got a meeting with the captain."

My fists balled up at my sides after I set the plate down on one of the crates. "What does he want? He does not seem like the one to schedule meetings if you ask me," I retorted, which earned me a glare from him, as well as one of the passing pirates. I shut my mouth when the stranger eyed me down, his stature larger and more overawing than Cody's. His shirt had the sleeves torn off, revealing the set of tattoos and straps tied to his bicep, and I regretted ever talking so loud when I saw the crinkled scars on his face.

"Best mind your mouth, little lady," he sneered at me.

"She doesn't mean a thing, lay off," Cody snapped back. "No one threatens her, captain's orders."

Yeah, no one but him and his son, I mused dreadfully as we passed the pirate who made his glaring blatantly obvious. I made a mental note to keep as far away from the sleeveless sailor as possible.

Cody sounded three hard knocks on the door before Avarice answered back with a grunted curse and a crash on the ground. He peeled the door open and stepped quickly inside, leaving me in the dust as he rushed towards the living space where a bout of yelling pursued. I debated walking off, but when I looked over my shoulder at the pirate who didn't quite fancy me, I thought twice about it.

I slid inside and shut the door behind me as quietly as possible. The daggers stuck in the wood shook, and when I turned my attention to Avarice and his son, my eyes grew wide at the sight of another person in the room.

More importantly, a female.

She was pressed up against the farthest wall, looking terrified and skittish as she looked between the captain and Cody. I could barely hear a thing when I saw her striking eyes flicker towards me, and gasped when I noticed the pale periwinkle hue that was so incredibly odd to see against her dark skin. Her hair was long and knotted, all the way down to her waist in small braids and beads. She reminded me of the tribes Theo and I saw at Norbank all those years ago, but how she landed herself here was beyond me.

"Ya said you'd release her when I brought you the girl!" Cody screamed, spit flying from his mouth and his teeth clenched back in a sneer of disgust. "You promised!"

"I didn't say a word! Ya know how it is--promises are something I can't make, boy!" he howled back, the slur in his words making it obvious he was a seeing the world slanted. The glass on the ground came from a rum bottle like the one he divided between himself and Cody during our first "meeting".

The girl's eyes were locked on me. I could feel them during the entire heated debate, and risked stopping to stare back at her. Her wide features were drawn down in anguish, as if the sight of me physically pained her.

"If you cannot make promises then neither can I!" Cody roared. I scrambled back as I saw him come for me in a stampede of rage. I scrambled back for the door, but grabbed hold of something other than the doorknob instead.

He swung out a sword from its holster on his hip, earning a shrill cry from the girl and a booming shout from his father. He spun me back from the door, and I dislodged one of the knives in the process of him coming up behind me and holding the blade of the sword to my neck.

Everything seemed to stop then. I was lost in a daze of confusion as I watched Avarice hold his hands up in surrender, fingers splayed and dagger now on the ground. He lowered himself to a crouch, as if approaching a wounded animal in fear of damaging it further.

"Careful there, boy, ya don't know what yer doin'," he warned, drawing nearer at a meticulous pace. He stopped all together when Cody stepped back and took me with him, digging the blade in further to my neck.

I hissed and craned my chin up, my heart pulsing against my chest with such strength, I felt it all throughout my body. The fact that Cody had the upper hand here terrified me, considering his blade against my throat was the reason for it. My mind was running faster than it ever had before, and I came to the conclusion that whatever it was that I was doing on this ship, Avarice needed me to be alive.

What was the reason for my being here, anyhow?

"Promise to me that when we reach Brunmere, that you'll lift her curse and let her go," Cody demanded. A sliver of heat touched the nook where my chin met my neck, followed by a stinging seer against my skin that meant the sharp edge of his blade was a cogent threat.

"Please, Cody, ya can't," the girl begged, her musical ascent hitting me straight in the heart. I felt tears prick my eyes, and I longed to do something to fix this. There had to be a way to appease Cody and save my skin without infuriating Avarice any further. As of right now, the captain was having a difficult time trying not to beg for mercy.

Cody shuffled in his place, and I felt his position change so he could hold my chin up and get a better grip on the edge of his sword. The girl squeaked in fear. "Ya can't, Cody. She's Lanore's only girl!"

I gave up fidgeting at the sound of that one. The name resonated in my already whirling brain, and struck me so deep in the chest I thought my heart would squeeze its way through the gap just to escape this mutiny. My eyes went wide and I thought I might hurl if it weren't for the fact that Cody was holding my chin in a vice grip, and a sword to my throat.

"Yes, listen to the lassie," Avarice insisted. He was closer now, close enough to reach out and touch me. Cody tensed up behind me, and I could tell he had backed himself up against a wall.

There was no escape for him.

"Promise you'll let her go," he choked out. I was staring at Avarice, noting the beads of sweat on his forehead, and how they caught in his hefty beard. He blinked his brilliant blue eyes up at his son, and made a gentle nod in agreement. "Say it! I wanna hear ya say it!" Cody bellowed. Another nick to the neck.

"Aye! Aye, I promise. I-I'll let the lassie go. Now release Maxine here so we can chat," Avarice said, voice quivering with unease. Cody hesitated, and I was chanting in my head for him to believe his father, if only for this one time. A moment later, the blade disappeared and I stumbled forward, falling directly into Avarice's waiting arms.

I felt safer with Cody's sword to my neck than in his captain's hands.

He tugged me away from his son and held me to his chest. I was too shocked to do a thing. His massive hand cradled the back of my head, soothing down my hair before pushing it aside from my shoulders. When he reeled back from me, he ducked down and checked the cuts under my chin. The smooth skin on his forehead was wrinkled now, worry lines etching in his otherwise perfect complexion.

"Captain, I-" Cody's voice spoke up behind me.

Avarice's expression changed then as he rose up to his full height and brushed past me to face his son. "Get out of my sight," he hissed. I flinched at how cruel his voice was, like a snake. I couldn't bare to turn around, so I stayed in the same place I was when Avarice pulled me aside. A moment later, the cabin door slammed shut and all that was left was the sound of the wind howling against the windows, and the ocean torrent splashing up against the side of the ship.