Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, forgive me? :) I honestly felt discouraged about this story and wanted a break but my break took longer than I thought. Recently I've been getting messages to update so that gave me some confidence back!
Copyright 2013
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*Charlie POV*
The cool sea breeze plays with my hair as I stand on the dock watching Johnny walk gracefully away. Chimes of floating buoys and the soft sounds of the waves create a light little melody in the still night. My cheeks are still flaming red with heat from his goodnight kiss. My lips still tingling, wanting more of his soft lips.
He promised to come back tomorrow for lunch and take a ride on his expensive Thoroughbred horses around his 200 acres of private land. My heart swells with excitement as fluttery thoughts fill my mind about our hopefully perfect day tomorrow. I just hope I don't embarrass myself! I've never ridden a horse before and to be honest, horses are scary beasts.
Off in the distance the town clock chimes four times and quiets. Its already four in the morning! I run my hand through my wild hair, smoothing it back into a ponytail. Sighing I turn on my heal and climb back onto ship, heading to my room. I sneak down along the hallways quickly and quietly passing Nate's bedroom, being extra careful to not wake him. I hear him snoring loudly through his closed door. I stifle a giggle when I hear him groan and murmur a woman's name. Probably an old flame.
Back in my bedroom, I slip off my now stained and torn slightly torn dress and shrug on my favorite white cotton sleeping gown. Nate had bought this for me a long time ago and I treasure it dearly. It was very expensive and the cotton feels like silk against my skin. It was my first nightgown that i ever had since i was a kid. I snuggle up under my covers and smell the soft scent of lavender. Howell knows its my favorite flower and never fails to spritz some of his famous perfumes onto the sheets of my bed.
Howell used to live in Fiona Piers before joining the Black Diamond crew. He was a humble, but decently wealthy, merchant. Him and his wife made the best perfumes in the world. Her name was Katrina Crystal which was an odd name. Howell never even heard of a family with the last name Crystal. She had told him she wasn't from here and came from another land. She never said where and he never asked again.
His wife was pregnant their first child at the time when she disappeared. Howell explained to me how his wife acted strange for months nearing their child's birth. She had a strong desire to be by the ocean side everyday. How she refused to eat anything but seafood for weeks. Even took baths filled with salt water. She desperately wanted to live nearby the ocean so Howell bought an expensive cottage nearby the sea to make his young wife happy.
His wife seemed to be back to normal for a few weeks. Until one night he heard a beautiful voice singing the most memorizing song in the middle of the night. The words of the song was in a different language, one he had never before. The music entranced him and filled his thoughts with the ocean. He said he never felt happier in his entire life.
He looked out the window in hope to see the person singing the wonderful song. Instead he saw his wife walking on the beach, heading straight for the ocean. He called for her to come back but she seemed to not have heard him. By the time he ran outside, she had disappeared, her footsteps were washed away by the waves. He dove into the waves desperately searching and he stayed out all night waiting for her to come back but she never did.
Howell now knows that it was mermaids who stole his wife away. He searched for years for her, never giving up hope she might be alive somewhere. Black Blood discovered his quest and took him in as his first mate, helping him search. But over the years Howell had started to give up. Although, he never stopped making perfumes.
He says to me with misty eyes why he makes the perfumes to this day. "Makin dese keeps her close. Cherry Blossoms are er favorite scent. I sometimes spray into the air so the wind can carry da scent to her. Then she will follow it and come back to me."
Tears filled my own eyes as he told me the tale how he lost his wife and his child. It was many years ago that this has happened and still it fills my heart with sadness at the loss of his love.
Blinking away sudden tears, I settle myself in my bed, thinking about Johnny again. Im unable to stop myself from imagining Johnny lying in my bed with me and holding me close. I gasp at the sudden thought for we are not even engaged yet! However, my lips still curve into a devilish small smile knowing one day, he will never leave my side...
*following morning*
Dressed in a deep crimson red trousers and a pale pink blouse I look over every detail of my body. Making sure I look perfect for Johnny without being all dressed up and frilly looking. I put on my worn down black boots and tried to tame my hair. I even took out my small sparkling diamond nose stud to make myself look less like a pirate. I don't own any "normal" clothes and certainly not the proper riding clothes.
My clothes will just have to do for now. I go back to my hair but quickly give up again. I throw my hands up in frustration trying to tame my tangled hair. Brushing my, normally silky black hair, back into my normal ponytail and tying it with a silk red ribbon. I don't own any makeup but I had washed every bit of dirt and grime off my body and face. I even had asked Howell for some perfume and he went nuts. Excitedly poking through hundreds of bottles of various scents before settling with a Coca Butter mixed with Vanilla oils to spray me all over. Even in my hair!
"Oh! Dis is the one for you lass. Men love dis ere sent of vanilla!" He smiles his toothy grin.
After he was satisfied with how I smelt I thanked him and left his room. I make a quick stop by the kitchen and grab myself a large red apple to eat before I leave for lunch. I don't want to seem unladylike for eating too much for lunch. Although, I quickly regret eating the apple because my stomach starts to churn with the nervousness of seeing him again. Also the thought of riding horses with him! I really hope I don't die. I throw the half eaten apple out of the window hearing the soft sploosh of the water.
Exiting the kitchen I decide to tell Nate where I'm headed so he doesn't worry. I walk down the crammed hallways of the ship, my boots thudding loudly against the wooden floor. Not bothering to knock on his door of his office I enter and find two large, scary looking men having a serious discussion with Nate. The three of them don't even notice my presence until I clear my throat.
"Uh, Nate. Who are these people and why are they on our ship?" I scowl putting my hands on my hip. He didn't tell me we were doing business today..
The man on the right slowly turns around and places his beady black eyes on me. I suddenly feel extremely uncomfortable. He is extremely tall, about 6'4, very muscular and his face is covered in grime with one long, jagged scar under his left eye. He looks at me up and down greedily and I shiver internally.
"Get your low-life eyes off of her." Nate growls throwing his hands down on his table. His empty bottle of Rum falls off his desk and onto the floor and rolls away, unbroken.
The man laughs, "I didn't know you had a slave on board here. Do you and the crew use her to fun?"
Slave? Fun!? "Excuse me! I am his sister. You have no right-" My voice raises to a high pitched squeal.
"Charlie stop." Nate barks. The man now has an amused expression on his ugly face.
"But I-" I need to give this guy a piece of my mind!
"No." He simply says. My mouth drops open but I say nothing. "This is Riven Valtire and uh- Vex Valtire. The two famed thief brothers."
Well shit. Why would they be here? I look at my brother Nate worriedly and he gives me a weak reassuring smile. The man who spoke earlier, Riven, smiles at me too. Exposing his browned, rotting teeth. He's missing three in the bottom row and they are replaced by fake silver ones. I shiver again.
His brother, Vex, had made no movement to even acknowledge I'm here in the room, dressed in all black and looking bored around the room. He's significantly smaller than his brother and has no scars with brown hair and green eyes. A long beard covers half of his face and hangs down to his collar bone hiding a gold necklace.
"Why are they here?" I stomp, growing sick from the smell emitting from Riven, I'm sure. I resist the urge to plug my nose, I must look fearless and strong.
"They need our, well your, service. They need you to steal something without getting caught."
Riven barks out a laugh and raises his eyebrows at me. "This is the one who is skilled in thieving? Ha! We will take our business else where."
Rage bubbles up inside me, "Oh! And you're supposed to be the famous thieves!? Why do you need my help then?" I retort back. I swear I feel steam coming out from my ears and nose.
"Because young lady. We don't want to be caught. We fuck up who we steal from and these people need to stay alive.... For now." Finally Vex makes a sound and laughs evilly, pulling out a sharp, silver blade and starts to play with it. My eyes widen and I look at Riven in his eyes.
"I accept." I boldly announce. Ah shit. What have I gotten myself into.
"Charlie! I told them no." Nate stands up in his chair. "Take your filthy business else where!"
Vex speaks up in a deep voice that sends chills down my spine, "The lady already accepted. Too late."
"We will drop off a note tomorrow explaining where we need you to steal from and what." Riven says.
"Fine." I say standing my ground. Although fear darts through me. They both leave the room and Nate lets out a frustrated sigh.
"Really Charlie? Really?" He asks. "Do you know where you need to steal from."
"Obviously not. They will drop off the note tomorrow!" I say exasperated.
"They want you to steal from the Kings personal armory. You moron!"
Damn it. "What!? Why didn't you say that Nate!" I scream. I'm doing to die! I groan out loud pacing the room.
"That's why I said no Charlie!!" He yells back.
"Fuck Nate! What do I do?" I worriedly ask.
"You do it." He states. I look at him in shock. "I'm serious. You're talented enough."
"Oh my god."
"They're paying big money Charlie! Five grand in gold. We will be rich until we die!" He excitedly says.
"We could get out." A slow realization dawns on me. "Nate! We can quit being pirates!!"
He turns to face me. His matching gold eyes looking into mine, "Don't be absurd!"
Gesturing with his hands. "Look at what we have!"
"A life where people hunt us every fucking day?" I frown.
"This is the life for me Charles. My life. Not yours."
Crossing my arms, "Whatever. I'm late to meet Johnny. Bye" I slam the door behind me.
Annoyance stirs throughout me. I want to bash my head against the wall, I am such an idiot! What would they need from the armory? That is beyond me. The armory is in a creepy place too! In the slums of Yelm City filled with fortune tellers who scam you out of every penny. The worst thieves live there and what's worse, they have a no pirate tolerance zone. I am going to die there.
I make my way up on to the deck and I groan internally. Maybe I can act like a guard? No. That wouldn't work. Girls aren't guards. Maybe an important noble? No I can't let them see my face! They will know instantly I'm part of the Black Diamond ship from a tattoo on my shoulder blade.
A tattoo of three small diamonds with a mermaid weaving in and out of the stones. Signaling what we do. Signaling we are the most powerful pirate crew ever, also the richest. The mermaid represents our main hunting supply and the three diamonds shows how powerful we are. It is truly a beautiful tattoo and I often admire the same one on my brothers back.
His tattoo almost covers his entire upper back while mine is small and intricate on my right shoulder blade. Where I can cover it with clothes or my long hair. His mermaid is shirtless exposing her breasts which give me great annoyance he had chosen to do so. My mermaid has her black hair covering them, showing modesty and elegance. Her tail is golden, to match my eyes. I had chosen to make the mermaid look like me and I love it.
I hear a light chuckle and I look up to see Johnny waiting for me on the docks. "Something troubling you?" He asks with a playful grin.
I frown, unsure what to tell him.
Just tell him that I'm going to do what pirates do! My subconscious tells me.
No! I retort back. He won't like that. "I- uh... I'm just nervous about the horses." I blurt out a weak, but somewhat truthful lie. I feel a pang in my heart knowing I had to lie to him.
He laughs again, "They're the best trained horses. I'll put you on my favorite mare. So do not worry!"
"O-okay." I mumble. He extends his hand, offering me assistance off the boat. I smile knowing that he's doing it to be a gentleman. He knows perfectly well I can easily hop off myself.
"You look," he pauses. "Nice. Suit for riding. Your boots look worn down though. This cannot do. We must get you new ones right away."
I'm stunned by his observation. I wore these boots for the fact that I don't want to ruin my nicer ones. "Well I have others but we will be around horses and I didn't want to get then dirty." I say.
"We will get you proper riding attire. You cannot go on looking like this. I see you took out your diamond nose ring. Good." His demeanor is slightly cold and stiff.
"Johnny it's fine-" I start.
"No. You mustn't look like this!" He says raising his voice. Jeez. What's his problem? "Now come Charlie. We must get going." He promptly states.
"Uhm okay..." He takes my arms a little forcefully and pulls me towards the shopping center of Greenville.
As we enter town I feel him pull me in close and walk quicker to a shop. His head is bent down and I struggle to keep up with him without running. We finally enter a shop of his choice and he closes the door behind him. The shop keeper greets him as he enters. The owner looks at me up and down and raises his eyebrow but says nothing.
The shop keeper is short and has small stubby fingers. He has bright red hair and his face is covered with freckles but his white beard covers half of his face. I struggle to not laugh at him as he reminds me of an elf. He's dressed in an obviously expensive, custom, suit that fits him perfectly. He puts on his green rimmed glasses and studies me.
I advert my gaze elsewhere and notice the shop is empty but filled with expensive gowns and suits. Clothes of every fabric and shoes of every color. If I was a regular girl I'm sure I would look through the clothes but shopping isn't my thing, especially dresses.
The shop keeper ushers me into a dressing room wordlessly and throws off my clothes. I let out a startled cry and the man laughs.
"Are you okay in there?" Johnny asks his voice hiding a hint of laughter.
"Um well... Ouch!-" the shopkeeper pulls my shirt tight which then hugs my small waist.
"Not a corset. Lace blouse. Light shirt, good movement for riding!" The man says.
"Uh-huh.." I strain out.
After an hour of the man fussing over what I looked like. He finally settled on a pale blue shirt with a dark tan leather riding jacket with matching gloves. He picked out dark grey briefs with shiny black riding boots. I stood, uncomfortable, in my new clothes as Johnny paid the shop owner a hefty sum for my clothes.
"Really. It's fine Johnny. It's not needed." I say pulling the sleeves down.
He gives me a pointed look and scowls. "You do not like the things I'm giving you?" He says angrily.
I choose not to answer. I have an uneasy feeling that he is embarrassed to be seen with me in daylight. He even told the man to fix my hair so it would fall in romantic soft curls. Im sure he noticed my tattoo so he discreetly gave me a soft white scarf to cover it. Knowing that Johnny Bridge wouldnt want anyone to know I'm a pirate. Johnny now looks at me with a satisfied smile.
"Now you don't look like a... Well you look nice." He says with a mean gleam in his eye.
I grow uneasy with his intentions. I want him to accept me for who I am and what my past was. Not to mold me into a lady of proper society. I will refuse to wear those dresses everyday. With corsets that you can't breathe in 90 degree weather. I plan to wear light pants for as long as I can. Comfortable clothing that lets me breathe. I rip off my scarf and Johnny frowns but says nothing.
We step outside and in front of the shop is a huge black wooden carriage and the windows are shut with curtains. the driver is dressed in an expensive suit and the horse is a massive Friesian with a silver halter with bells along the side. On the halter is the phrase "Greensville Manor" engraved along the side. I look at Johnny who has a proud smile.
"So we don't have to walk in the cold." He states. I frown, its not that cold. Tugging on my new leather jacket and holding my clothes close to me I climb into the carriage. Johnny shuts the door behind him and lets out a seemingly relieved sigh.
"Can we open the curtains. I would like to see outside and have some air." I ask. The carriage is small but comfortable. I feel suffocated in my jacket and sweat starts to break out on my brow. The air is stuffy and humid inside.
He gives me the same pointed look and slowly shakes his head. I groan inwardly and roll my eyes. Johnny looks past me and sets his gaze on a section of the carriage.
The carriage was decorated by someone with rich taste. The seats were plush, covered in a green velvet with pink and red flower designs, hand sewn with great care. The curtains matched the seats and was trimmed in a shiny gold cloth. Dark tan oak made the walls of the carriage and the only light shining through came from the mosaic glass sky light. I admit the carriage was beautiful but with a touch of darkness. I wondered how It would look with the windows open.
I let out another sigh as the carriage comes to a bumpy stop. Johnny opens the door and lets me climb out first. I feel his stare on my tattoo and I smirk, knowing that's one thing he will never change.
As I look around, I am stunned at the beauty of his home. A large Victorian style mansion painted an off white trimmed in blue panels. A tall brass fence protects the home from the outside. As we approach the front gates, two large guards stand out front with a mean looking demeanor and a watchful eye as they both open the gates to allow us through.
Johnny nods his head in thanks and stiffly takes my hand in his. I do not notice he had taken my hand in his because I am taken aback by the scale of his front yard. A beautiful copper, brick path way is expertly laid out leading to the door way. Along the path are bushes of red, blue, pink, and white roses! A large maple tree is in the center of the path as it splits around the tree. A black marble bench is placed underneath the tree.
My eyes absorb the sheer beauty of his home. My mouth gaps open as I take in every detail. There are so many colorful flowers! Expertly trimmed and groomed every day. The grass is a beautiful green color and is kept short. Bunches of flowers in bright blue pots are placed around a fountain carved into a rearing horse. Another tree is in the center of the yard with a small swing tied to the branches. It's so quiet here, but it's not a peaceful quietness but somewhat eerie.
Where are the birds, bugs, and the small animals? It's so quiet... Not even a single butterfly is enjoying the front garden. There must be thousands of flowers of all kinds out here! How could there be not a single bug?
Johnny takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Don't you just love the silence, my dear? Don't touch the flowers, they're lined with poison. Even the tree is poisonous." He says proudly.
"Why?" I dumbly ask.
He frowns. "I won't have pests ruining my garden. I paid big money for this." He continues forward and quickens his pace.
"The barn is located in the back, would you like to eat lunch first?"
I shake my head. I feel nauseous and slightly confused. Who is this man?
"Don't shake your head like that!" He snaps.
"You'll ruin your hair."
"Who cares?" I mutter.
"I do, Charlie. If you are to be seen with me you must look.. Presentable!" He says sternly.
And there it is. The punch line. "I knew it!" I blurt out.
"Knew what?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.
"That... You want to be with me?" I whisper. Johnny chuckles and his eyes grow soft. He turns to me and cups my face in his large hands, smiling. Lightly, he kisses my cheeks and pulls me into a warm hug. But I do not feel safe anymore. Not with him.
I notice now that his home was built so that no one could get in... Or out by any chance. I'll have to play this carefully...
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Tell me what you think! Please comment, vote, fan, and feel free to critique! I love feedback and I will personally reply to each one! I appreciate it! I wrote this on my phone and not on a computer so I apologize in advance for any spelling errors and/or grammar issues. I suck at grammar anyways...
Feel free to point them out!!!
Loves you guyss