Vince's grip on my shoulders didn't loosen all night long.

I tried prying his arm off once but that ended in his arm moving to around my waist and squeezing really tight to where I couldn't breathe. Oh, and he's also a really heavy sleeper. When I tried waking him up gently, all I got was soft breathing. The only good thing that came out of being cuddled by the pirate that killed my friend was that he sleep talks. You can imagine how that went.

"Vince, you need to wake up." I whisper, cheeks flared a bright, noticeable red.

All I get in return in his head tilting over to the side where I could get a better look at his face. I purse my lips, quickly looking over to the crew that were, currently, not making much commotion. They hadn't even noticed we weren't going to come back, some of them had even fallen asleep on the soft sand. I would've wanted them to leave us alone, but naturally, I had to get myself stuck in this mess.

I fell asleep for a minute or two before waking back up with a sharp breath and the realization that I probably should give up on sleeping for the night.

So that's what I did. I didn't sleep. Now here I am, sitting close enough to the rushing up water to where it can only graze the bottoms of my already pruned up feet. My knees are tucked up to my chest, arms crossed over my pale, uncovered legs while the sun slowly started to rise over the coast. The light yellow color reflected off the rolling waves, shining just enough light so the stars could go to bed for the day. The moon never went to bed. No matter if it was during the day or late at night. The moon was always there and that's the reason why I rely on the moon to keep me calm most of the time. I know the moon won't leave but for a short while before coming straight back, unlike many people I happen to know.

My dull, bloodshot eyes watch the rocking of salty water, my feet digging into the small grains of white sand while my hands lock together around my knees. Twisting my head to my right, I see Vince still asleep, his body slumped over and sweat making his dirty blonde hair stick to the sides of his face. His mouth was slightly agape and his head leaned back against the uncomfortable feeling cave wall. His hands were laid in his lap and his legs were stretched out across the sand. My boots, his pistols, and his belt were all sitting to the right of him. Seagulls were bouncing and pecking around him, inspecting him from a short distance, quite curious looking. With a small smile, I turn my head to the left and see a bunch of men clumped together in one massive sleeping pile. The coals they once used for heat were now nothing but cold ash that was getting swept away by the light breeze.

I'm surprised no one has caught all of us on this beach yet. The beach itself isn't small at all, but it is close to the castle where my mother and many guards are. If I were a guard or in command, I probably would've issued out an order to scout around the castle to see if the prisoner was around the area. Granted, there is a big section of trees and thick bushes blocking any sight from the beach and providing some muffling for the loud sound of crashing of waves. But hey, they can do what they want. Just as long as Vince's ship gets here before the guards can find us, I'm all down for waiting.

As I'm about to call out and wake up the sleepy pirates, a seagull flies down to my side. My lips curl upwards into a soft smile as its head cranes to the side to look up at me, its silver colored eye unblinking. I reach out a hand to see if it would let me pet it at least once, my fingertips aching to feel the softness of its feathers. It lets out a high pitched warning shriek, scurrying away from my oncoming hand. I pull my hand back, not wanting to frighten the little guy more than I already have. Choosing to ignore the seagull, I turn my head back to the teal colored, glistening clear water. A peck at the sleeve of my shirt makes me flinch, my arm jerking back. Snapping my eyes back over to my left side, the seagull stares at me closely, as if he wanted something from me.

"I don't have anything." I try to shoo him away from me with a flick of my wrist, not in the mood to deal with a needy seagull.

His orange, webbed feet pat against the sand when trying to get away from my hand for the second time only for me to hear the slight pitter patter of it coming straight back to my side. An irritated sigh passes through the cracks of my clenched teeth, my sleepy eyes staring down at his white feathers as he ruffles them at me with a mocking screech.

"You're just as annoying as the killer pirate over there," I go to point over at Vince but my finger connects with something instead of air.

Tearing my eyes away from the seagull that wanted my attention but not my touch, I look up to see Vince's still sleepy figure towering over mine. In his hands held my unzipped boots and his belt with pistols attached, not yet connected to his hips. Quirking a brow at his grumpiness, I pat the spot beside me, telling him to sit down. He was going to anyway but I felt like I needed control of the situation. Without a word, he crosses a leg over another and lowers himself down onto the sun warmed sand beside me. I graciously take my boots from his hands, setting them beside the annoying seagull. The seagull pecks at my fingers, a pained yelp passing through my lips as I drop the boots.

"Hey, cut it out, Crabby!" I whisper shout at him, waving my hand in the air to dull the stinging pain.

Vince goes into a fit of giggles at my struggle with the attention whore of a seagull, a smile stretched across his chapped pink lips. I squint my eyes at him, not finding my red, throbbing index finger something to laugh at.

"Did you just name the bloody seagull?" He says through giggles, his morning voice sending heat pooling to my cheeks.

"I did! He's a super crabby seagull, so the name Crabby was born." I hiss over at Crabby only to get a dissatisfied squeak in return.

Crabby starts pecking at the sand to find some grub but not leaving too far from my side, finally giving me some much needed peace. Now I need to deal with the pirate beside me. Vince watches me out of the corner of his eye, a smirk still lingering on his lips. I roll my bloodshot eyes, ignoring his taunting stare.

You just got up, dude. Give it a break. Unless pirates don't take breaks?

"How'd you sleep?" He mumbles, prying his eyes away from me.

"I didn't get any." I mumble back, eyes closing.

A smile creeps onto my face as the light breeze heads straight at me, the straight strands of my charcoal colored hair tangling and twisting together. It will be pain to brush out later but I don't exactly care at the moment. I can feel and hear Vince shifting around beside me, seeming to be busy. I crack open an eye, my orb seeing him fix his wavy, tangled hair back into a neat, high pony tail again. After chasing me around, getting thrown in a jail cell and helping me escape, along with himself, his old pony tail was starting to sag an bit. But don't get me wrong, he looks great either way.

"How did you sleep?" I ask him, already knowing the answer.

"I didn't sleep very well," he replies with his usual gruff tone of voice.

Liar. You slept like a baby and you know it. Or maybe you didn't sleep and just pretended? I don't know, man. Vince is the type of guy that you have to keep a really close eye on. I feel like if I'm not careful enough, one minute we could be smiling and laughing, the next second he's holding the tip of his pistol to my forehead, finger on the trigger. My life isn't that glamorous but it's still mine and I want to live for a long time.

"Sure you didn't." I chuckle at his expression going from seriously tying his hair up to an aggravated expression in seconds.

He parts his lips to snap something back at me but gets interrupted by his crew waking up with over dramatic yawns and stretching. His green eyes stare intensely at the pile of balled up men before his eyebrows scrunch together tightly.

"Aye, keep it down!" Vince shouts at them, completely ignoring the fact that everyone is still trying to wake up.

I lift up a hand and press a palm to my forehead, trying to prevent myself from getting a headache. Please, don't yell in my ear good sir. I'm tired, slightly hungry, could easily get in a foul mood. It's not like he can hear me, and I don't have the guts to tell him off. I need to get my crap together if I'm going to live with a bunch of creepy, vulgar men on a ship with no escape except death.

Vince gets up and dusts the sand off himself before marching over to his crew to do who knows what. I roll my eyes, not bothering to follow him. If he needs me, I'll be over here like I have been the whole morning. Crabby continues to stick with me like glue, his unblinking eyes watching the beach carefully. Okay, don't get me wrong, I love the company but why are you sticking around me? Are you like a body guard or something?

Crabby, after being quiet the whole time without any complications, starts to shriek at the top of his lungs. His high pitched screech seems to get louder the more I try to soothe my screaming pet. Vince and the others were now watching me trying to calm Crabby, all of them looking severely confused.

As if on cue, for the second time this week, another gun goes off behind me. My body freezes up and my hands clench into tight fists, fists so tight that my knuckles start to turn pure white. I froze up the last time this happened. This time, I need to do something other than run away, but I can't do that if I don't snap out of it. Crabby pecks at my fingers again, a harsh way of telling me to act quickly. With a trembling figure and wide eyes, I snap my head back to see what was going on.

Please, for the love of my sanity, don't let anyone be laying dead this time.

Actually, the one thing I hoped for came true. No one was dead but one of the crew members was very pale, staring down at the hole beside his foot. No one get hit, thank goodness. Lined up and all pointing their guns at Vince and his crew were some guards from the castle. I knew it was the ones from my castle because of the ugly shade of red they wore. Mother always did like to experiment with the ugly colors no one liked.

Vince's eyes waver from being locked onto the eyes of one guard and me, the green of his eyes holding the emotion of calmness yet a pinch of excitement. They also seemed to be more blue than green at the moment. I'm guessing he loves situations like this. Stupid pirate.

One guard struts over to me with a heavy scowl across his face, looking absolutely thrilled to see me once more while slinging his rifle over his back. Picking up my boots and gingerly grabbing my forearm, he pulls me up from the sand and starts to drag me back in the direction of the castle. Crabby flaps his wings and follows after, unhappily squeaking at the guard pulling me away.

"Wait, what about them?!" I panic, not breaking eye contact with Vince who looked like he was about to rip out the throats of everyone here. Knowing him, he probably was about to.

"Why do you care what happens to them? One of them killed Mr. Johnson, remember?" The guard's grip on my forearm tightens to where it starts to burn.

He's wasting his breath. I've made up my mind and I'm not changing it for anything. If I want to get everyone out safely without people being seriously hurt, I need to play this right. So like I did when I was little, I grab onto the guards hand, pry his fingers away from my skin and shift my body weight backwards. Falling back into the sand, Vince, the crew, and the guards all lift a brow, wondering why I was using this method.

The temper tantrum.

"I'm not going." I blink, giving a smirk to the guard that looking ready to shoot someone.

"Lady Campbell told us to find you and bring you home." A guard lifts a hand, pointing out the obvious.

"You're going to have to drag me home then. I'm not leaving this spot." I tremble slightly, trying to keep a cool and calm face.

"Challenge accepted." The guard that grabbed me the first time growls, handing my boots over to another guard before walking over to my spread out arms.

He bends down to grab my hands and drag me back. Seeing that he was standing right over the top of me, an idea clicks. I give a mischievous smile to myself. Before he can take up both of my hands in his, I shift my arm upwards and crack my clenched up hand into his crotch. All of the guys wince, sucking in heavy breaths through their teeth as I roll out of the way so the guard can fall to his knees and writhe in pain. I slip the gun off of the bent over guards back, pointing it over at the other guards that looked a bit surprised.

"Go back to the castle and tell Mother that you didn't find me. If you don't leave, I will shoot one of you." I let my lips curve upwards into a sly smile, my pearly whites sparkling.

They all aim their guns at me but their fingers aren't on the trigger. They're bluffing, I'm not. See, that's the thing about me. If I say something, I mean it.

"What? You're going to shoot me?" I cock my head to the side, eyes narrowing.

I place my finger on the rifles trigger, sucking up a breath to better my aim. I'm not going to kill one of them but I will severely injure someone. Okay... not severely. I'm not that mean. They all spare glances at each other, looking quite shaken up. Lowering their guns, some stutter apologies and go to grab up their pain seething friend. Two help up their friend and start to help him limp away while the others followed behind. The one guard holding my boots drop them, putting his hands up and scrambling away.

"Miss, I sure do hope you know what you're doing with these guys." One turns back to face me, a small smile on his face before he heads into the thickness of trees with his friends.

When I know they're all gone and not returning, I lower my gun with shaking hands. I clench my jaw tightly and throw down the rifle, not wanting to touch it again. Crabby cranes his head at me, his eyes staring into my soul.

"Yer seriously comin' with us? I thought ye was bluffin'." One of the men from Vince's crew pipes up.

"No, I'm serious about this." I try to wipe the completely shock written expression off my face, covering it up with a expression of pure dedication when turning around to face the men behind me.

"Have you even used a gun before?" Vince gives a knowing smirks, his usual bright green eyes flashing a dark blue.

"Once."

I don't like guns. I'm not fond of them at all. Guns have ruined my life on many occasions and I almost couldn't bring myself to hold the one I was just a second ago. Big guns are worse than little ones. Little ones can kill, yes. But most of the time they can only nip at you. Big guns such as rifles can kill you easily within one shot. That, or can they can seriously damage. I've been shot at when I was little, and my friend was killed by having his brains blown out. I don't like the sound of their trigger being pulled, and I don't like the feeling of how light or heavy they are. I just don't like guns.

I'm scared to death that one day I'll die from being shot at. That is my worst fear.

"Anyway, I'm done talking about it." I bite my bottom lip, turning towards the direction of the cave, picking up my boots, and walking off before anyone can ask questions.

I can feel Vince's eyes pinned on my back as I walk away. Surely they're all confused. I know for a fact that they are. They don't know me any better than I know them. Some must think that I won't be able to handle myself. I can though. I've taught myself how to use a dagger, gotten sword fighting lessons from many teachers, and I also have a blow pipe of my own. I don't use it much anymore because Mother always tried keeping me inside so there was no need to hit guards with sleep darts. I should've thought to bring it with me. I'll just snatch it up when we come back here to steal all of the gold from my mother.

Crabby follows me on foot, flapping his wings to get his most needed attention. Sparing a glare at him, I couldn't help but let a smile fall onto my lips. This bird was stubborn, and I don't even know why he keeps sticking around me. But he did warn us of the upcoming guards. We just didn't listen. I'm glad I have someone to stick by my side, though. I just didn't expect it to be a seagull.

"Aye, Lass!" Vince calls out.

I stop in my tracks, flipping the black hair out of my face before turning back to see what he was fussing about. His finger is pointed to the ocean, his eyes looking out over the large array of teal and blue colored water. My eyes follow where his finger is pointing, squinting really hard to see the very thing I have been waiting on for over a day.

Vince's ship.

This emotion rushes over my heart, one I haven't felt it a really long time. Part of me is ecstatic that his ship has finally arrived. The other part of me feels guilty for leaving like this. A truly bittersweet feeling.

Quickly bending over, I slip back on my leather boots. I didn't exactly want to be walking around on an unfamiliar ship that could potentially give me a deadly illness. Granted, my boots are filled with little grains of sand now, but who cares? I can finally be free from my mothers clutches and I'm not bound to that stupid castle anymore. Vince ushers me over, an odd smile stretched across his face.

"That your ship? I sure hope so." I run up to his side, Crabby right beside me.

"Sure is. I didn't know how much I missed the ol' girl until now." He sighs, his greenish blue eyes softening at the sight of his ship getting closer.

The crew cheers, hooting and hollering about how they were glad the ship was back. I've never seen all of them, including Vince, so worked up and excited about something. They are like little kids in a way. I find it kind of cute.

"What is the ships name?" I catch Vince's harsh eyes after letting the question roll off my tongue.

"We call her The Crimson Lust."

You probably call your ship that because you've murdered over a million of people with it. Just a guess.

"Sorry sorry." I give him a sheepish smile.

The ship stops fairly close to the shore, the red sails lapping up at the smooth wind. Painted on the side of the ship was the usual pirate logo, along with their flag being nothing but black fabric with skull and crossbones stitched into it. Even by looking at it from a distance, you could tell it was a pirate ship. If the black flag and the red sails don't give it away, I don't know what will. One person waved from the boat while two other people started to row to shore on rowboats. The crew eagerly waved back.

Vince turns his full body towards me, my eyes locking with his. A line of tension connected from my eyes to his, almost like jolt of electricity. I let my head fall, unable to keep staring at him like that. As much as I don't want to admit that this fool is my captain, I have to. I need to treat him with respect. Otherwise, my life aboard the ship will be very short.

His hand reaches out and gently grabs my chin, tipping my head upwards to meet his overbearing gaze once more. Unlike before where he wasn't smiling, his lips held his usual smirk this time. Crabby pecks at his blood stained boots, trying to get him to release my chin. My eyes snap down and I shush him my jutting my feet towards him.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asks me, his smirk falling upon seeing my face twist into guilt.

"Of course I am." I bite back the words I really want to say.

"You're like an open book. Something is eating you alive."

I grab his hand and pull it away from my chin, giving him an encouraging smile to let him know I will be fine. Truthfully, I don't know if I'll make it a day or not. I'm one woman that hasn't been able to leave her royal castle for years. Now all of a sudden I'm all on my own with a bunch of pirates. Guess I'll find out if I have what it takes to make it.

"I'll be fine. But you better know how to treat a lady with respect, Captain."

Crabby squeaks and Vince looks down at my faithful companion, giving a breathy chuckle. I raise a brow at him. He leans in and closes the gap between us, his lips lingering beside my ear.

"I guess you're going to have to wait and see." He whispers.

After his unnecessary talk, he walks away without another word being said, going to greet his men that just got to shore with their rowboats. I glare at his back, the heat pooling at my cheeks growing redder and redder. Just because I can still feel his breath against my ear, I swipe my hand over my ear and shiver. Crabby lets out a short, high pitched squeal at me. Probably laughing at me for all I know.

"Who's the girl?" A hear one of the unfamiliar men of the crew ask Vince.

Sucking in a breath of fresh air, I march over to Vince and the two men I have yet to meet. First impressions are everything, right?

"The name is Ella," I speak up, setting my hands down on my hips.

The man that asked who I was bends down to my height and holds out a hand, giving me a smile. First thing I notice about his smile is the golden tooth. It didn't bother me though. His skin was the color of black coffee and tied around his head was a red bandana. He was much larger than Vince. Not height wise, but muscle wise. With a friendly smile, I slip my pale hand into his.

"So you're the famous Ella Jane Campbell? Well, this was expected." He chuckles, shaking my hand.

"My name is Barnes, but Captain Williams usually calls me Ashes." He releases my hand and stands back up from his squatting position.

"You told me you were going to kill her after getting the coins. I don't see any coins but I do see Miss Ella." Ashes smirks at Vince.

Vince crosses his arms, glaring slightly. That glare is all too familiar and I haven't even known Vince for a week.

"Just get the crew back to the ship. I'll explain everything later." Vince waves his hand, telling him to be off.

The second guy never did come up to talk with me. He looked bitter about me being here, not that I blame him. It's a huge change for the both of us. I'm just glad that one of the men besides Vince knows how to be civil. I doubt the other men don't even know what the word civil means. Ashes is a pretty cool guy so far. I feel like we could be great friends.

Most of the crew piles up into the boat with the other guy that didn't seem to like me. They all squeezed in as many as they could. Surprisingly, they all fit. I expected the boat to sink. Vince climbs into the rowboat along with Ashes, holding out a scarred hand for me to grab on to. I stare at his hand, biting my tongue so hard that I can feel the skin breaking under my teeth.

"This is your last chance. If you're going back, I suggest you do it now." Vince gives me a warm smile, one that makes my stomach do flips.

"I won't judge you if you do, Ella." Vince nods his head, waiting on me to make a choice.

Crabby flies up and perches on the edge of the rowboat beside Vince, a way of telling me to get in the boat and don't look back. But being me, guess what I do?

I look back.

My eyes scan over the green trees and thick bushes. Just over the trees is the sight of my home, my castle. Mother is probably waiting inside for me, ready to stuff me in another dress and call everything okay. I think she knows what is going on, as well. She knows it's too late to get me back home now. She may not have known that Vince was a pirate, but she did know he wasn't normal.

I could go back. I could pretend this never happened. Anthony is most likely waiting for me, a table well prepared for me to sit down at, and a teapot full of freshly brewed tea and new, recently cleaned teacups ready to be used. Mother would find me a new husband and I could start a life I never knew I'd get. But you know what? I'm this far into my new life now that I just can't stop. Not while it is just getting started.

"I can't go back. Maybe one day. Just not today." I murmur to myself.

"Okay, lets go." I grab Vince's hand, giving both him and Ashes a warm smile.

Vince pulls me into the rowboat, his scarred hand holding tightly onto my unbruised and smooth skinned hand. Ashes starts to row us back to The Crimson Lust, the place I'm going to live for a long time. I went from a castle to a pirate ship in less than one minute. My gut is telling me that this was a very bad idea, but my mind is saying that I should stop worrying and have fun. The little kid me would be excited about living with pirates and sailing the seas.

I found that shipwreck so long ago and hoped, dreamed that pirates were real. I never knew I'd be seeing one so many years later into my life. Johnson is dead. I've reminded myself many times before and I'll continue to. I have nothing to go back to. This is the path I was meant to take. It was my destiny to find that shipwreck, it was my destiny to have my fiancé killed. It's my destiny to be a pirate.

So why, for the first time in my whole life, regretting something I've been wanting to do my whole life?