Ever After

Chapter Twelve

I hear muffled voices when I wake up.

"How did she do that?" the first voice said. It sounded like a man's.

"I don't know. But I'm thinking neither did she." A girl's voice said.

"What about you, you've know her longer. Did she always have.....it?" Said the guy again.

"I've only known her for less than two days more than you. I didn't know she could do that!" Another girl exclaims.

"Shhhhhh. You'll wake her up." the other girl shushes.

"You don't thinks he could be one of.....them?" The man said.

"I don't know. But if she is..." said girl number one.

"No. She can't be. If she really is one of them, then I think she'd know." the seconds girl said.

"Ugh..." I groan as I get up. I blink my eyes into focus and see Hook, Red, and Rapunzel standing in front of the bed I am lying in. I sit up and feel a sudden soreness in my gut. I groan again, and rub my forehead. "What happened?" I ask weakly. I feel extremely tired, as if I could collapse and fall asleep for days.

I rub my eyes awake, trying to fight off the sleep. I turn to the edge and let my legs dangle off the side of the bed. My head hangs down and I breath deeply to get my body started.

"You okay?" Rapunzel asked handing me a glass of water. I take it and drink it down in one gulp. Setting the glass on the table, I look around. Right now I think I'm in the captains quarters. There is a map on the wall, a table full of navigation tools. A door to a washroom, and lanterns hanging from different places throughout the big room.

"Yea I think. What happened?" I say looking at Red and Hook. They look worried and hesitant. As if their deciding whether they should tell me or not.

"A-are you a... a ma-" Rapunzel stutters before she is cut off by Red who plants a hand over her mouth.

"You were hit in the back of the head when you were trying to save us. Luckily what remained of the crew managed to get some of the mermaids away from us. So Hook could take the wheel and shake the mermaids off. From there we've been sailing to Calvera, we'll be at Grenna's Pass in a few hours I believe." Red explained almost convincingly. Almost. I still feel like they are hiding something from me. But what is it? I didn't feel something hit me in the head, so something else obviously happened to me.

I felt a headache form in my brain,and held my forehead to massage it. Whatever happened to me definitely left an aftershock. Rapunzel helped me up and Hook, Red, Rapunzel and I walked up out of the captains quarters, and onto the main deck. The sun shined on my face, and my headache multiplied as the rays of sun hit me.

The crew were doing their usual business, tending to the ship. Hook returned to the wheel, and Red, Rapunzel and I went to the side of the ship.

Rapunzel and Red were whispering to each other about something I couldn't hear over the wind. They kept stealing glances at me out of the corner of their eyes. I didn't want to stand here awkwardly while they talked about something they obviously didn't want me to know.

I looked for a new area I could be alone for a while. Or as alone I could get on a pirate ship, in the middle of the ocean, with a bunch of people on board. So far, the crows nest seemed the most inviting. I climbed up the rigging, up the main mast, and got into the crow's nest. I could see the ocean from a higher point, and being the only one up there I felt calm as the breeze blew across my face.

I started thinking about what I was going to do once I got to Calvera. I haven't been there in a year. What could have happened while I was gone? Adam probably found a girl he was going to marry or already had married. That's what the ball was for anyway. To find a future queen. But if Calvera has a new queen now, she is definitely sending all forces to find him.