Captain's Quarters (Sequel to The Piper Boy)

Chapter 10

Amily felt like she couldn't have been happier. What she has with Byron was real. It wasn't the overly passionate love that was abnormal like she had with Peter Pan. It was a sweet almost classic teenage crush. And it gave Amily the most fantastic butterflies in her stomach. Even the small fire in the brig couldn't lull her to sleep. Love was overwhelming.

So when Amily had survived the night with about three hours of sleep on her side she half-lept off her chair to go and greet Byron and the day. Alexis fiddled with a loose thread on her blouse so she hardly noticed Amily leave.

She didn't bother to look above decks, she knew Byron well enough to know where he'd be. The kitchens were not only his usual haunt but his favorite place on the ship. And now it was hers too.

But the kitchens weren't alive with the cheery tune of whatever song Byron chose to whistle that day nor the clanking of pots and pans. The room itself was so quiet Amily could hear the fire flickering behind the grate. She looked quickly at Dorrice for some enlightenment on the subject but the seductive woman just kept on smiling her usual provocative smirk.

Byron couldn't be asleep at this hour, every pirate was to be awake at dawn. Maybe Hook had ordered him to do something above decks for a change. It wouldn't be the first time the pirate captain surprised Amily.

And yet the decks might as well have been empty because they too showed a lack of beautiful brown-eyes pirates. Everyone was too preoccupied with their business to notice Amily on the verge of having a heart attack.

"Has anyone seen Byron?" she shouted.

There was no answer. Just the usual bustle of commotion coming from the collective sound of every pirate going about their duties as normal.

"Jed!" Amily spotted the old man scrubbing decks fiercely but luckily he found time to perk his head up in answer to the girl's call.

"Eh, Little Miss Amily. How are ya today?" he said cheerfully from across the deck.

"Jed, where is he? Where's Byron?" said Amily hysterically.

"Byron? I haven't seen 'im this morning. You check the kitchens?"

Amily knew that Jed wouldn't be any help. If you didn't call for him, the old man couldn't see past his whittling knife. With an exhale of frustration Amily stomped towards the helm to speak with the captain.

"Hook, where's Byron?" she practically screamed the words at the pirate.

"Hello to you too" he said sarcastically.

"I don't have time for this. WHERE IS HE?" she screamed.

"Did you check the-"

"YES I CHECKED THE GODDAMN KITCHENS! HE'S NOT HERE"

Hook sighed and led Amily over to steer the ship. He always knew it was a way for her to relax and calm herself. Amily gripped the handles of the helm tightly, feeling like she wanted to steer the ship right into a whirlpool if it was the only way to take her to Byron.

 "Look, love. Many a pirate has been driven mad by the sea, if Byron's not on the ship anymore... I'm afraid he may have jumped" Hook sounded as though he suspected this was coming.

"No, no he couldn't have done that. Last night-" Amily stopped and wished she could eat her words. She vowed to never let anyone in her romance with Byron but... maybe it was for the best.

"Last night what?" Said Hook though his tone gave away what he thought had happened.

"Last night we said that we loved each other. He would never have jumped, he couldn't" said Amily. She chose to ignore that sagging part in her mind that threatened to send those mad thoughts of a run-away, drowned Byron in her head.