Deceptively Royal

Chapter 6

Vannah rushes to grab the locket and carefully undoes the clasp. "You shouldn't have this," she states.
I shrug "I could destroy it, if you prefer." A chorus of voices chime in telling me I should not do that. I address the pirates "You need this locket, and I can help. I am the only one who knows its history. If that is not sufficient enough reason, let me know." Under the table, I nervously fidget with my hands. Once in a while a surge of bravery overcomes me, and I give off some attitude. But when the bravery goes away, I am just a scared little girl. A pathetic girl who was not made for this life and will never be suited for it. As much as the 'pirate life' excites me, I know that someday in the near future I will have to go back. Back to my kingdom, back to the people who will only ever know me as their ruler, and nothing more.

Vannah sighs "It's reason enough. Later, you will be introduced to the rest of the crew. Be sure to show your locket to Ria. She might be able to help. Unfortunately, we do not have any free cabins, so you will have to keep bunking with Sophie. Welcome aboard the Whispering Serpent."

Sophie leads me to a small library. The mahogany shelves are loaded with books shoved in at weird angles. In the back there is a round table, and a girl with slick black hair and brown skin, sits crouched over a pile of books. I watch as she underlines specific passages and then grabs a new book. Sophie clears her throat, and the girl looks up. Her spectacles are crooked, and she reaches up to adjust them. Sophie introduces me to the girl "This is Ria. our resident historian and master cartographer." Ria gives me a shy wave and goes back to flipping through pages of the book. "The captain wanted you to check out an artifact." Sophie glances at me and I hand Ria my locket. She opens the clasp and begins sketching the map. "It will be handy if we have a full-scale map, are you okay with me keeping it for a while?" Ria asks hesitantly. I nod and give her a smile. The corners of her mouth perk up a tiny bit and then she goes back to her work. Sophie drags me out of the library. "C'mon, we have more people to meet." She exclaims.

Our next stop is the kitchen. For a ship of this size, the kitchen is surprisingly large. The steel cupboards were recently cleaned, and I can see  my reflection in them. The smell of steamed vegetables fills the room, and someone slides over a plate. "Hi, my name is Leigh. This is a new recipe I'm experimenting with. Would you like to try?"
I pick up the plate and inspect it. The flaky shell is filled with vegetables and some sort of unidentifiable grey meat. "What is it?" I ask.
"Ah uh ah, you don't get to know. If I told you, then you would automatically form an opinion. Just try it." Leigh says with a smirk.

I carefully cut a piece with my fork and shove it in my mouth. The warmth of the meal consumes me, and I begin to chew on a piece of meat. The meat is lean and seems to be covered in a variety of spices. I swallow, longing for more and go to take my next bite. I end up finishing the whole pie in a matter of minutes. Turns out, fighting makes you hungry. I wait until I am done and then ask again "What is it?" "It is..." Leigh takes a dramatic pause "donkey pot pie." I repeatedly blink, not quite believing what I just heard. "It's good, though?" I say.

Wow, Marley. You just ate an amazing dish and all you can say is an insult.

"Well I am an excellent chef. See if I would have just said what it was, you probably wouldn't have eaten it. But you ended up liking it or I assume you did, since you ate the whole piece." Sophie says her goodbyes and tells me to rest, so I make my way back to her bunk.

After a quick nap, I head to the ship's deck. I lean onto the edge of the ship and stare out at the sea. Its beauty is unreal. I could watch the waves rock back and forth for hours and never get bored. If I were a talented artist, I would paint a piece and hang it above my bedroom wall. Unfortunately I am not, so I will have to be satisfied with just looking at it.

At the stern of the ship, I hear a loud slam and look around to see what may have caused it. A group of the pirates are practicing their fighting techniques. Amongst the midst I see Vannah practicing combat. Her moves appear natural and her opponent doesn't seem to stand a chance. Remembering the fighting training I received at the palace, I search for Vannah's tell. Something that could potentially give me an advantage in the future. She is agile and moves so quickly I am not able to get a close enough look. She is comfortable with both sides, and if one is weaker it doesn't show.

Someone nudges my shoulder and I turn to see the culprit. "What are you lookin' at?" Sophie asks curiously. I start to respond but I get interrupted "Ouu you were staring at Vannah, you like her." She squeals.

Do I like Vannah?

I had never liked anyone before, at least not in that way. Always found them a bit obnoxious, really. I thought back to when I had first met Vannah. My heart was pounding. I had thought it was just me being nervous.

Maybe it was something more?

Sophie seems to know a lot more than me about this kind of stuff so I decide to take her word. I do like Vannah. I mean she is rather pretty.

Sophie takes my silence as an answer and excitedly exclaims "I will try to give you more time together. I think I can even get her to help you with combat." A pit of dread fills my stomach—this is how I am supposed to feel about spending time with my crush, it's supposed to make me nervous, right?— and hesitantly I nod at Sophie's suggestion.