The WindFlyer

Chapter 27

Draen's PoV

I wake up just like I have usually been doing for the last six days except today it's earlier. The sun has not yet started to rise, there is no pink in the sky yet. Also, there is a weight pressed against my chest which wards off the morning chill. I open my eyes and blink once, attempting to ward off the strange image before me. When I open my eyes again, I realize I must have woken up before Astoria and that she is now pressed to my chest with My arms are circling her waist. Her golden hair fans out on her pillow like a halo about her head. My heart rate spikes, she is going to be livid when she wakes up. As if she can read my thoughts, Astoria begins to stir. I begin to panic and snap my eyes shut to pretend I am still asleep. If it works, I might be lucky enough not to face her wrath. Or she could throw me in the brig again, I don't really know.

I feel her shift slightly in my arms before she stops. I hear a small sigh before Astoria gently begins moving herself out of my arms like she is afraid to wake me. Why would she be afraid to wake me? Why isn't she pissed as hell? I feel my breathing hitch. After a few seconds of maneuvering, Astoria is out of bed and walking around, getting herself together. I hear the sound of water splashing and then boots treading softly in the room. Suddenly the stop.

"I know you're awake," Astoria says. I can just imagine her stance now: hands on her hips, feet shoulder width apart, head cocked to the left slightly. Well, it was a valiant attempt to try and avoid her wrath, but it failed. I crack one I open and am met with the exact stance I imagined. I internalize my smile at how well I've come to know her mannerisms. I sit up very slowly a look at her. Astoria nods once to herself before turning away. She walks to a corner of her room and taps her hand against the wall before beginning to climb. Well, the girl certainly loves her secret ladders and passages. I should be surprised, or I feel like I should be, but honestly I'm not. I'm more shocked that she didn't even comment on the... compromising position we woke up in. She is about half way up to wherever it is the ladder leads now. She hasn't even looked at me again. I furrow my brow.

"I -- erm -- I'm sorry for the position we woke up in," I say in an attempt to ease my own anxiety at the situation. She pauses her climb and drops on hand. Swinging around, she looks at me now.

"Well, it's no different from the past six mornings," she says dismissively. I feel my eyes widen as I watch her latch back onto the wood and start climbing again. Her head is almost at the top of the room when I speak again.

"Why haven't you said anything?" I ask while running a hand through my hair. It's gotten long, much longer than my father ever let me keep it. He said it was unbecoming of a prince, always cropping it close to my head. Now it reaches down to the middle of my neck, my black hair curling. I should cut it.

"Because I don't mind it," she breezes before pushing a few planks out of the way and hoisting herself through the opening. Did she just... wait. What? Did I hear correctly? There's no way. I scramble out of the bed and jam my feet into my boots before running to the corner she had gone to. I search for the handles she hand used to climb but I can't find them. I run my hands over the smooth wall in confusion. She just scaled the wood. I swear there was a ladder built into the wall. I lay my hand against the wood and lean, putting my weight on it, to think for a moment. How in the hell does she-- my thoughts are cut off when the wall seems to snap open and the ladder spring free. I jump back with a strangled gasp before I realize. Sneaky sneaky woman. There must be some sort of pressure trigger in the wall. I quickly grab hold and climb, I don't know how long I have before it shuts again but I have no desire to fall. I push the planks open and then squeeze myself through. It is an uncomfortable fit for me, but I make do.

"You don't mind it?" I hiss once out of the little hole. I shove the covering back into place before standing there, my spine rigid. Astoria doesn't glance back from where she stands at the wheel. I see her shoulders shake a little as if she is laughing at me. There is also a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you like waking up like that," I say with a smirk. I watch the slight blush bloom into a darker red.

"If you keep distracting me, I am going to crash us into a rock," she mutters. I start beaming slightly at her discomfort and lack of response.

"You do like it!" I exclaim with a laugh. "Here I though you were going to kill my when you found out!"

"It keeps the draft at bay," she reasons with a wave of her hand but my smile only grows. A brash and stupid idea pops into my head. Who knew teasing the pirate could be so fun? I stride across the small deck with a stupid grin still plastered on my face. She isn't looking at me so she won't see the sneak attack I've got planned. I clasp my hands behind my back as I stroll casually over.

"No, I don't think that's it," I start, standing just behind her now, "I think you enjoy being held." I wind my arms around her waist and pull her against me. The pirate squeaks in surprise, the feared captain... squeaks! "I think you like feeling arms around your waist and a solid chest at your back, just like this," I whisper in her ear. She turns her head slightly to glare at me.

"Don't flatter yourself," she scoffs but I can feel her uneven breathing. When the crew starts to pop up and out of their sleeping quarters, Astoria shoulders me off of her. I stumble back a step. She glares over at me again and tosses a particularly vulgar gesture my way. I can't help but laugh.

The sun begins to rise now and the day begins. The sky skips pink today, jumping right to a ruby red color. Astoria's head snaps up to look at it. She takes a long, steady breath and then she begins to swear colorfully. I nearly choke on my own tongue at the exact words she used. She seems to notice my reaction. "Pirates vocabulary," she winks at me before starting to shout orders to her crew. They jump to attention, shaking off the remains of sleep as her voice rings out over the deck. The orders sound different than they have in the past. In my six days working with this crew and for the captain, these orders seem to have not come up. Almost as if she is preparing for something.

"What's going on?" I ask, watching the crew scramble about.

"Can't you tell?" She responds, tightening her hands on the wheel as her eyes careen about. She mutters something under her breath about red skies at morn, sailors forewarn. Her light demeanor has dropped completely at this point. Her shoulders tensing up and her whole body looking like it's suddenly been lit up on a high wire. I feel the crew also tensing up, as if they too know what is coming. I guess I am the only one who doesn't seem to know.

"No, am I supposed to know something? Everyone else seems to," I reply trying to catch her eye, trying to get the captain to look at me. There is something in her eye, something worried but also... also excited. Maybe excited is not the right word for it, but that is the closest I can come to describing what I see. It's a fire blazing in those eyes. Maybe something almost wild and free.

"There is a storm coming." I shake my head, that can't be true. The sky looks clear and cloudless. A slight breeze ruffles my hair just then. As if sensing my disbelief in the captain, clouds seem to start forming on the horizon. They form and form and form, dark and ominous and fast approaching. As if on cue, a bolt of lightning crashes into the water and thunder soon follows. I swallow and watch the torrent of rain begin. Astoria chuckles darkly.

"Yes, there is a storm coming... and we are going through."