The Pirate and the Princess | Niki x Puffy

5.- The Polygon and the Pain behind Privacy

It took all of Niki's self control to not bolt out the door that morning.

She had to sit through breakfast, the morning rundown of current affairs (which Tommy seemed to be paying more attention to than usual for some reason), then pacing in her room and watching the clock slowly tick by in antagonizing slowness.

Lunch was maybe even worse. She shoved down her food and had to wait for everyone else to finish before asking to be excused. She had made sure to ask her parents if she could go out that afternoon, to which they said yes, but it still surprised them seeing her so excited for something.

When they had all finished eating and Niki had received the green light to leave, she bolted off down the stairs with Michael on her heels.

He had been promoted to Niki's private guard, per her request. She knew he needed the upgrade in salary (and maybe she had become fond of him).

The harbor was much more crowded than it had been the day before, with sailors and fisherman returning to their daily tasks.

Niki spotted her. Amongst the sea of people, Niki had managed to see Puffy. She was standing with her hands in her pockets, looking around for someone.

Niki felt her heart flutter when she realized she was the one Puffy was looking for.

They greeted each other enthusiastically and when asked if she was ready, Niki nodded with even more enthusiasm.

Puffy led Niki onto her ship, quaint and lovely, yet strong and fierce.

Like Puffy, Niki thought.

The anchor was raised and Niki's heart raced. She was moments away from...

Something.

But something wonderful, she knew.

And wonderful it was.

It was liberating and beautiful and magnificent all at once. A cut of freedom so rarely tasted by Niki that she savored every bite. She breathed and heard and saw and felt. The blue ocean, the glimpse at another life so different from the minuscule fish she'd seen at the dock. An entire system working together.

The gulls crying out to her, relaying everything they'd seen in a language Niki longed to understand. Oh the tales she imagined they'd tell.

Every wave they hit brought another cry of laughter from her heart. It was so perfect and imperfect and everything in between.

The explosions in her heart had been firing non-stop, and Niki was sure she didn't want it to end.

But then it did.

And she saw land.

And it all slipped away.

She felt it sidling out of her heart, all the life and joy. It was sucked from her soul and all she was left with was a deep longing, something missing, something gone.

Every nerve and cell in her body was screaming at her to keep going.

So they did.

Puffy obeyed Niki's every request and they went far and close and traveled around the entire Vyzatyy island, just off the coast from Niki's kingdom. A brand new perspective branched in her mind. Before then, Niki had only imagined what freedom must've felt like, now she was tasting it, breathing it, loving it.

Somehow she felt 30 miles under the sea and 30 miles in the air all at the same time.

And she adored it.

——————

Niki didn't let Puffy stop till the sun was setting in the sky, and even then she begged her for one more trip. Tomorrow, Puffy promised.