Endless

A Quiet Night

Ryder's information turned out to be very useful. We pillaged and looted 7 more ships within the month, causing a massive hole in the Royal Navy system. We collected more gold, clothes and weapons than we had ever stolen before.

Ryder himself also proved to be quite useful. He could fight well, and was, like I predicted, very strong (once he had had a few meals in him).

Over the weeks his confidence grew and he became full of life. He told wonderful stories of adventures, and as dull as they may be compared to ours, his excitement and great storytelling quality made the stories sound like folktales. We all listened eagerly like children.
Ryder spoke rhythmically, entrancing us, and when he spoke he spoke with a passion. I found myself watching him during the day even when he was just fighting. Then he would notice and make eye contact, forcing me to break it and walk off embarrassed.

Weirdly, Dorian seemed to like him less and less. Every time I would talk about how passionate Ryder was, Dorian's eyes would flash and he would look at him with narrowed eyes. He was harsh on Ryder too, making him practice over and over, and sneering at him when he made a mistake. I couldn't understand it, Ryder had been perfectly civil to Dorian.
When it happened again I called Dorian up. It was late, and most of the crew were in their cabin floor. It was dark and the night was warm. Dorian looked at me. He told Ryder to go down to the crew cabin. He walked up the stairs and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes captain?"

"What're you doing?" I hissed at him. "Ryder did nothing to you. In fact the only thing he's responsible for is all that gold you have under your bed! Leave him alone."

Dorian stood still with his arms folded. He moved his tongue around his teeth, preventing him from bursting out. "Fine." He said shortly, but continued to look at me. It gave me the impression that he had so much more he wanted to say.

I looked at him, giving the space for him to retaliate, but he said nothing. I waited for a snarky comment, but nothing came. He started to walk off slowly, as though every step was a big challenge. His mouth twitched. Still I looked at him, arms folded too.

He was at the bottom of the stairs, his back to me, when he broke. "I'll tell your lover you said hi."

"There it is!" I said and threw my hands up in the air, exasperated.

"Well what do you want me to say?" Dorian exclaimed, running back up the stairs.

"Nothing! I want you to say nothing!" I cried, pointing at him, "I want you to do your job and teach Ryder how to be a better pirate!"

"He isn't a pirate!" Dorian exclaimed. "He's just a navy prisoner!"

"He's a pirate from a pirate ship!" I yelled.
"We don't know that!" Dorian cried, "none of us have heard of the Western Sailor! For all we know he's a thief and is just gaining our trust so he can stab us in the back!"

"Oh you just know everything about Ryder, don't you?" I said sneering.

"Well at least I'm not blinded!" Dorian said pointing at me.

I looked at him incredulously. "I'm- blinded?"

"I can see it!" Dorian exclaimed.

"I am NOT blinded!" I spat.

Dorian moved about the steering wheel, anger taking over him. "You look at Ryder all day, watch him fight, watch him talk," Dorian spoke through gritted teeth, ears turning red, "You blush when he looks at you and you tell me about how amazing he is when he speaks about his stupid stories."

"Why does any of this matter?" I cried, "why do you care?"

Dorian looked around him for help. "Why- why do I care?" He said incredulously. He looked lost for words. "Because- because-"

He looked at me. I looked back. Then before I knew what was happening, Dorian moved forward towards me, cupped my face in his hands, pulled me in and kissed me. For a moment, time stood still. The waves rocked the boat, lapping the sides. The moon shone brighter than it had even before. Fireflies lit the up the scene and the warm air blew gently through my hair. Dorian kissed me gently, and I closed my eyes, kissing him back, as smile forming on my lips. Butterflies moved in my stomach, as he pulled me in closer. I felt so elated. But then as quickly as it had started, it ended and Dorian pulled away. His face was flushed, and he was breathless. Then he walked away and went down the stairs. I watched him go, equally flushed and breathless. He looked back at me one more time, before disappearing down into the cabin floor.

I stood on the steering deck alone, trying to process what had just happened. Then, I walked as if in a trance down to my cabin and shut the door behind me.