𝔒𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔘𝔭𝔬𝔫 𝔄 𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪 | ♛

Part Eight

The ship slides through the water like a hot knife through butter, making for the large hole in the cave wall.

I realise too late that the water ends where the rock walls do.

I try to warn everyone, but I'm frozen, standing at the wooden railing of the fore-deck helplessly, watching the first half of the ship drift over the edge of the thundering waterfall, which falls endlessly downwards through the clouds. I brace myself for the inevitable tilt as we clear the halfway point, but it never comes. Instead, we glide out into the air on a straight trajectory.

Suddenly able to move again, and not believing my eyes, I glance back at Caleb. Even from this distance, I see his white smile.

A trumpeting noise sounds from above us and I glance up to see a flock of what can only be dragons flying above us, in V formation. An array of colours from bronze to brown, red to green - and even blues - dart around us; not attacking, but gently curious.

A white dragon cruises beside us, and it curves its head to look at me with whirling, iridescent eyes. I tentatively raise a hand to scratch its glittering eye ridges, its scales surprisingly smooth and warm.

Jax, my name is Jax, a voice says indignantly.

What? Who- I look at it incredulously, removing my hand. Did you just talk to me - in my mind?

Yes, human girl. I'm a he, not an it!

Jax rumbles with dragon-laughter and leaves my side to complete a complicated aerobatic routine, with tumbles and freefalls, much to my open-mouthed marvelling.

My flock and I must leave you now. Jax nudges me affectionately, his opalescent eyes spinning fast. Until next time, human friend.

Jax swoops away, and I turn to Caleb to see if he has seen this phenomenon, only to find him similarly amazed at the bronze dragon, now seemingly bidding him farewell.

***

We dock the magnificent ship at a conveniently placed dock (which was miraculously empty) and leave it after stuffing our pockets and decorating ourselves with as much gold and silver jewellery as we can carry.

"Hey," Caleb says as we walk down the gangplank, "have you seen my new hair accessory?"

I turn around with a confused frown, and snort with laughter as I see him doing a model pose, one hand on his hip and the other behind his head. A dainty, sparkling tiara sits snugly among tufts of blond hair.

"Very nice," I manage amid my snickering. "A captain to a princess; you are going up in the world!"

He takes it off and is in front of me in two long strides.

"You know," he says thoughtfully, placing the tiara carefully on my head, "Pirate captains often kidnap princesses."

I raise an eyebrow. "So you're going to kidnap yourself? Good luck."

"No," he replies. "If someone steals a crown, it doesn't make them royalty. You, however..."

I gasp in a tiny breath as his eyes flicker to my lips and then back to my eyes, silently asking permission before he makes a move.

I bite my lip. "I'm not a princess, Caleb."

"Maybe not, but you're a princess to me."

He leans in and I automatically tilt my head and close my eyes. Every thought fizzles out in my head as his gentle hands scorch the back of my neck.

Someone shouting makes us both jump and we both whip around to see Jaye chasing Reed down the gangplank, who holds a rough slingshot in his hand and is cackling loudly while she screams at him.

I shoot a sheepish look at Caleb and walk over to Bonny, who is in deep conversation with Nathan. By the looks on their faces, he is converting her to the evil child-genius way of thinking.

"Bonny, Nathan," I say in a teasing but warning tone, trying to cover up my embarrassment.

What if someone saw us?

"We're not doing anything," Bonny says innocently.

"Nothing bad," Nathan corrects.

"Alright guys," Caleb interrupts, beckoning everyone over. "We've got to get back home."

There are groans of protest but he holds up his hand and silences them.

"With all this gold, I think we have enough to buy a new house in the country. We can get anything you want."

"Horses?"

"Video games?"

"Paintball?"

"A princess room?"

"A pirate ship bed!"

"All of that," he agrees. "But first we need to get back without getting mugged."

"And how are we going to do that?" I ask dubiously. "We can't walk, and we definitely can't call a taxi."

He shoots me a wicked grin that makes my chest suddenly ache like he'd carved a hole where my heart should be.

"We're going to sneak a lift in a furniture van."

My jaw drops. "What?"

Becca's face lights up. "Like in A Hundred And One Dalmatians!"

"Yup. It'll stop right in front of that gate. We have to be fast, because it's not going to stop for long."

Right on cue, a big white van with a flap-down half door rolled up and stopped right in front of the gate.

"It's early!" Caleb says. "Go go go, get in, quick!"

I lead them to the van and lift Becca and Bonny into the van. Caleb joins me and we link our hands to create a step between us for the others.

The engine fires and we share a panicked glance.

"Get in!" he mouths, kneeling down to let me use his knee and shoulders. I scramble over the top and turn around just as the van starts to move.

"Caleb!" I said, holding out my hands.

He grabs them and runs with the van, jumping at the last minute. I pull hard and he tumbles in headfirst, landing flat on his back.

He stands and brushes himself off, grinning. "Well, that was fun."

I smile, bearing away the thoughts of what would've happened if he hadn't made it. "You're telling me!"

We find a crate labelled BLANKETS, break it open, and bed down on the floor. Caleb and I sit side by side at the door, looking out at the scenery whipping by.

He makes a few comments, but my vague answers aren't enough to keep the conversation going; I'm too deep in thought and altogether too flustered to say more than a five-word sentence coherently.

The countryside fazes into the suburbs as quickly as the orange streaks on the horizon fade, giving way to the glint of cats' eyes embedded in the road and the glow of the soft white moon. Soon we cross the inner city limits, and skyscrapers seem to grow around us and streetlights illuminate our faces constantly. We all duck down and hide ourselves, lest we be seen, but we seem to be lucky and no one even notices.

Millions of lights on a thousand floors causes the dense mass of skyscrapers to glitter like bejewelled microphones. People and cars flash by, just mere whirrs of colour streaking through the streets. Despite the time, business hasn't come to a halt; the night owls of the city are out for a movie, dinner, or to relax in a smoky bar downtown.

I get snapshots of acrid smells - food, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes - mixed in with paint and perfume, baked goods and spices. The noise is muffled, consisting of bursts of laughter and the drone of vehicles that dulls my mind.

My eyelids lull.