Destined

Chapter 6: The Cromer

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice filled the air. Astoria looks back to see who it was. It was Hongjoong and he looked furious. "Um...What brings you here, Captain?" She was terrified. "I was gonna come in here to do some work. But now I see you trying to steal what belongs to us." Before she could even explain, Hongjoong was already walking towards her. He grabs the hourglass from her hands. Since he was taller and stronger than her, she was powerless. He places it in one hand and uses the other to grab onto her right wrist. Astoria was in pain from the grip but was too scared to say anything. He takes her up on deck and puts her right in the middle of it. The others looked in confusion.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Yunho asked. Hongjoong points to Astoria. "She had the Cromer in her hands. She was planning to steal it from us." Everyone was in shock. Mingi was furious. The smile he had before was gone. "I knew it. I told you she would." Astoria looks at everyone with sadness in her eyes. She was about to lose the trust she gained quickly from everyone. "Please! I can explain! I don't even know what a Cromer is." "A likely story,'' Jongho yelled from above the deck, still holding onto the wheel. She looks around, hoping someone would say anything. But alas, everyone was thinking the same thing. They thought she may be a traitor after all and it was all an act. Astoria was going to feel trapped again and now more alone than ever. There was however one person who knew something wasn't right.

Seonghwa was watching with worry for her. He knew somehow that she would never do that. He goes up to Hongjoong. "Let her explain." They all look at him astounded. "Are you crazy?! What if it is true?" San asked. He crosses his arms. "Why else would she go into Hongjoong's room?" Seonghwa looks at Astoria. "I am sure there is a reason for this to happen. Let us not jump to conclusions already. What do you say, Captain?" He asked while turning his eyes to Hongjoong.

Hongjoong looks at Seonghwa and then Astoria. "Explain away. Convince us you're not a traitor." Astoria looks at everyone. "I was only curious about it because Mingi mentioned it yesterday. I can tell it means a lot to all of you. Something bad happened and I do not want to step over boundaries by asking. I am so sorry that my curiosity got the best of me. I didn't mean to lose your trust already. I have been here for not even 2 whole days and can tell how much you all care for each other. I want to earn your complete trust. For some, I know it will take longer. I understand why. I may be a princess but starting today...I would like to be a pirate and become a full fledged member of the Ateez pirate crew."

"I should also explain why we met the way we did. It is quite simple. I ran away from my home. I was arranged to marry an arrogant prince nearby. I refused to since he is a player. All my life I wanted to find my destiny because it's clearly not ruling a kingdom. I wanna believe my destiny is here. We were meant to meet. It may sound crazy but it could be true. Was I afraid of you all yesterday? Yes, I was. But it didn't take long for me to feel safe and like you guys. I can see you all care for each other and what you said is true. You are all like a family to one another. It's loud and chaotic but also caring and loving. I hope to be a part of it."

The crew didn't know what to say or even think. Astoria just confessed that she wants to join them. Usually women would swoon over them when they land in villages and say they wanna be with them. But once they see how the guys act around each other, those women stay away from them. But not Astoria. She was different. Something inside Hongjoong told him that she is trusted enough to know what happened. He felt she wouldn't judge them. He goes over to her, holding the Cromer. She watches feeling slightly nervous over not knowing what he was gonna do next.

"I will tell you about this hourglass and why it is so important to us. For starters, it is called the Cromer. It plays a huge part in our lives. The Cromer practically started all of this in a way none of us expected. Let's start from the beginning. First off, we have been friends for years and grew up in the same village together. One day, our lives changed forever. 3 years ago, we were given the Cromer by The Man in the Black Fedora and he told us to protect it. We swore to protect it in our village, even though we had no idea what it meant. But then, villains called the Android Guardians came along and tried to take it away from us. We fought hard for it but they took Yeosang away during the fight along with the Cromer."

"We were of course devastated. Our close friend was taken away from us for nothing. It was then that a man called Left Eye appeared. He knew of the Android Guardians and wanted us to go rescue Yeosang and get the Comer. We agreed with no hesitation. Left Eye gave us the coordinates to the lair of the Android Guardians. He let us borrow a ship he had to go rescue Yeosang. He also told us to meet him at the Strickland afterwards to discuss what to do next."

"We managed to find Yeosang and the Cromer , both trapped in glass boxes, at the lair of the Android Guardians. While we were there, we found The Man in the Black Fedora. But he was accompanied by 7 other men. It turned out that they are another version of us called the Black Pirates. We didn't know if they were the enemy or allies. We still don't know what they are to us. Before we could even get near them, the Android Guardians emerged and the Black Pirates disappeared."

"We once again fought for our friend and the Cromer and won that time. Afterwards, we went off to see Left Eye at the Strickland, which wasn't far from the lair. We told him what had happened and he told us to trust them, the Black Pirates. Left Eye decided that we could use the ship to go around and do deeds that may seem bad to others but are good in the long run. And so from then on, we became the Ateez Pirates that everyone talks about. They are either good or bad stories. Some people say we are evil but we don't care. To each other, we are a found family. Now you know the real us, princess."

Astoria was speechless. The 8 men around her have been through something that even she couldn't imagine to be real. She looks over at Yeosang, who has his head down. He was remembering the day it all happened. She goes over to him. Everyone watches her wondering what she's gonna do. Yeosang didn't notice until he saw her feet by his. He looks at her in confusement. She wraps her arms around him and gives him a hug. Since she was shorter than him, her head touched his chest. Yeosang was in shock as the others were surprised at what was going on. "I'm so sorry," said Astoria with sadness in her voice. What made it more surprising was that Yeosang hugged her back. "I'm alright, Astoria." She pulls back and looks up at him. "You used my name." He gives her a smile. "It is your name after all. We might as well use it."

Astoria looks at Hongjoong. "So do you forgive me, Captain?" Hongjoong gives the Cromer to Seonghwa and goes over to Astoria. He puts his hand on her shoulder. "Welcome to your destiny, mate." He flashes her a smile. Almost everyone cheered. Jongho flashes a small smile from above. Wooyoung and San go over to tackle her with a hug. Astoria chuckles, "Okay okay don't hurt me with your hugs." Seonghwa goes downstairs to put the Cromer away.

Mingi, who was leaning against the wall near the door, softened his glare as he watched Atoria interact with the others. Yunho goes over to him. "I see that changed your perspective of her. Maybe you can talk to her more often." Mingi looks at him. "There is something strange about this girl." Yunho chuckles, "Maybe you want her hug." He said with a tease in his tone. Mingi lightly pushes him in embarrassment. He then sees Wooyoung and San play wrestle with Astoria. She was winning since she had the advantage growing up with an older brother. Wooyoung pouts and tries to convince her to go easy. Astoria laughs at his attempt. This made Mingi smile, but only a little. "She is becoming one of us, my friend. Let's see how well she does." Yunho nods in agreement. "I have total faith in her."

After Seonghwa comes back up, he goes over to Hongjoong, "Who would have thought that she would be the one to join us. She's a fighter with a kind soul." Hongjoong nods in agreement, "She earned our trust so easily. Let's hope as we set sail, no one hurts her to get to us." Seonghwa nods and looks over at Astoria. "We will protect her." Astoria has found her destiny so quickly. She found a safe place to be. The cage is now open. Astoria was free.