Pirates at Heart

Chapter 6: Cold nights

After our interesting meal, the sun had completely set and the moon was a sinister smile that glowed a bright ivory that reflected on the deep blue ocean. Bonnie led me to our sleeping chambers and the higher ranks got their own rooms with large double beds.

As I made my way down the stairs, I noticed a door with a giant padlock on it that was barricaded from the outside world.

"That's Scarlet's room. She really likes her privacy." Bonnie giggled to herself as we made our way down the staircase. The further down we got, the cooler and darker it became. A dank aroma filled the air as Bonnie swung a creaky door to our chambers.

"This is our room." She said whilst pulling me inside enthusiastically by my hand.

Inside the room, there were a dozen sleeping hammocks, all the shade of washed out colours from the rainbow. It was almost pitch black inside apart from the luminous shine of the moon that peered through like a creepy burglar.

"Most of these beds are occupied apart from these five." Her hands displayed five hammocks that looked relatively unslept in. The green one caught my eye since it was the biggest and a similar colour to my eyes.

"I'll take this one, I guess." I mumbled, approaching the bed and resting my body weight on it. I was still in my day clothes but was too tired to change.

"Aren't you going to get your night clothes on?" Bonnie questioned. I shook my head and she disappeared for a while.

The other girls filtered through and each of them laid on their hammock since they had already changed into their night clothes.

"It's been such a long day." Karla said as she nestled beneath her blankets she had clearly stolen from Scorpia or Scarlet.

"Spare me a blanket, will ye?" Trinity tugged on Karla's blanket but she snatched it away.

"No. You know how cold it gets. Go steal your own from Scarlet. She already has enough." Karla clutched onto her blankets for dear life but before Trinity could reply Raven sneakily snuck up behind Karla and snatched a couple blankets.

"HEY! GIVE THOSE BACK." Karla screamed, groping for the blankets but Raven was too quick and handed one to Trinity.

"Thanks, Raven." Trinity took the blanket and snuggled up in it before settling down for a deep slumber.

Before she got into her own bed, Raven glanced over to me who was observing from a few meters away and I couldn't help but chuckle at Karla who looked completely mortified. In her hand, there was a remaining blanket so she walked over to me and outstretched her hand with the blanket.

"For me?"

She didn't reply but her silence was enough.

"Well, thank you." I took the blanket from her hand and felt its silky texture against my skin. At that point Bonnie had returned clutching several pairs of night clothes and she herself was wearing a two-piece pyjama piece with mini flowers stitched in the silky fabric.

After changing into Bonnie's lent pyjamas and wrapping myself in a human cocoon with Raven's blanket, I was starting to feel a lot more comfortable but I couldn't help but shake the feeling that my dad was very worried about me. Despite being very aggressive, it was true that he did care about me.

Our hammocks swung gently with the rhythm of the boat acting as a natural bassinet to rock  me to sleep. Daylight faded from the boat and we did our best to soak up the warmth until a creeping coolness approached with its chilling fingers that grazed our skin.

All of a sudden, my eyelids became quite heavy and I instantly to fell into a deep slumber. It had been such an exhausting day and I needed to sleep to make up from last night's drink sesh. The tranquility was all I needed in this godforsaken place and my own body heat managed to keep me somewhat warm for the entirety of my sleep. Until, late at night, I was awoken by a subtle chattering sound. My eyes flickered open and sure enough, Bonnie came into view.

"Bonnie? What are you doing up?" I whispered in a hushed tone to ensure I didn't wake the other. It probably didn't matter, though, there were all out cold.

Bonnie couldn't reply. Her legs were tucked up under her chin and her limbs quivered. My first thought was that she was scared of something but after confirming that nothing was in the room I realised, she was freezing. I simply wasn't able to empathise because I was wrapped in a warm insulated blanket.

"Fine. Take it." I unwrapped myself from the blanket and a chilly sensation touched my skin as soon as I strew the blanket to the direction Bonnie was in. She didn't hesitate to scoop up the blanket and wrap herself in its warmth.

"Thanks. You're a lifesaver, Izzy."

My heart felt warm from the good deed I had just done my body was overcome with the freezing chill from the winter night.

This was the most perfect opportunity to reflect on my day since I was too cold to sleep but just warm enough to stay alive. My father was probably worried sick and there was probably a search party looking for me. Or worse, maybe no one was looking and no one cared at all. For a second, I forgot my chilliness as my body was overcome with a wave of nausea from the awful thought. Thankfully, I didn't vomit this time but the taste of the bitter residue of vomit lingered on my tastebuds.

Curling up into a ball, a small, sincere tear rolled from my eyes. My head throbbed with pain and I could still feel small amounts of blood in the crevice of the wound. I shivered in silence truly feeling sorry for myself. I laid awake for the next few hours until the sun started to rise in the crystal blue sky and cast a warm blanket over my exposed skin, making me forget my troubles and fall into a deep well needed slumber.

"Morning! Get up everyone!"

Or so I thought..