The Unwilling Queen of Pirates

The Truth

The next few days were spent in the same manner. The meals were finally putting some weight on Sparrow. She still looked so small and fragile but her Hero strength was increasing. Her corset was even filling out more. She's caught Reaver's eyes wandering more times than she cared to count.

The Hero felt good. Better than she has felt in the last six years. It hurt to know that Reaver would be setting sail so soon but she refused to let herself go to waste any longer. In all her spare time, she even began practicing her skills in a sparring room Reaver had arranged in the back. The Pirate often watched her and sometimes joined her when shooting at targets.

When they were fighting against Lucien's men, they had made a good team. Using their guns, they picked off most of them before they even got close. When they did get too close, Sparrow would pull out her sword and fight them off while Reaver kept shooting.

Fighting with the other two meant Sparrow using her sword the entire fight. It got tiring after a while and she got sick of always being covered in blood.

Reaver was pleased to see the Hero start to return to herself. He had worried that he would lose her to her own unforgiving mind.

He took joy in shooting with her, even though he had no need to practice. The Pirate needed her prepared for when he told her his real purpose of tracking her down. He just hoped Garth and Hammer didn't arrive in Bloodstone until after he and the Hero set sail.

A few more days and Reaver was finally ready. His ship was fully stocked and Sparrow was ready enough to travel.

It was true that it was near time to bring another sacrifice with him to the Shadow Court. He didn't entirely need the Hero but that was the only thing keeping her in Bloodstone. The lie that the great Reaver needed a little Sparrow to help save him was too great for her to resist, even if she's lost her Hero ways.

"Today is the day, Sparrow. We leave in an hour," the Pirate said, once they had both woken up.

The Hero's clothes once again were tight on her muscular body, so she can travel again without issues. Reaver was pleased with how her appearance had changed. One day, she will come crawling into his bed, begging for the great Reaver to love her body. He takes pleasure to imagine that day, every time he plays around with another woman. Though every time, he gets frustrated because he looks down and sees that the woman is not Sparrow. She was just a Harlot he picked up on the street. The real Sparrow was trying to sleep a few rooms away, no doubt hearing them.

The Pirate hoped she was laying jealousy wishing that she was in the room with him but every morn', he saw no jealousy in her eyes. Though she seems slightly happier each day, so Reaver can keep hoping.

This particular morning, she seems sluggish. Words he said just passed through without much recognition and she stared off during the day.

"Sparrow, what troubles you so?" Reaver asked.

"Hmm? I didn't have a peaceful sleep last night," she answered.

"I wasn't the cause, was I?" He wondered aloud.

"No, no. I've learned to ignore you and your whores. I just get frequent nightmares. Nothing to worry about," she said smoothly, without thought.

"What nightmares could be haunting the great Hero?"

"Just old memories," she answered.

Reaver never had asked why she was chasing Lucien. He always assumed it was just Sparrow trying to be a Hero but maybe it was something deeper than that.

"Why did you want Lucien dead?"

"So you finally asked... I was about eight, living in the gutters of Bowerstone with my sister, Rose. Everybody spit on us. Our parents were killed by bandits, so we were on our own. We bought a music box from the old world that granted wishes. We wished to live in a castle. Lucien later invited us to his castle where he killed my sister and shot me out of the window. Then Teresa found me."

Revenge, Reaver is now realizing. Now everything made sense. The way she threw herself upon Lucien and his men was a person who had nothing left to go back to. He always assumed she was just trying so hard to be a Hero that Sparrow didn't care if it killed her. Now that the fight was over, her revenge sated, she had nothing left.

"Now I understand," he says in a serious tone.

"Yep," she simply said.

The Pirate stayed silent while he contemplated what to do. After a silent moment that seemed to stretch beyond all his years, he came to a decision.

"We leave for Wraith March immediately."