Distant Shores 2: Waves Of Time

Calm Seas...For Now

You lean over and gently kiss Edward to wake him. He returns your kiss and you both sit up smiling.

"You're still here."

He lets out a sigh of relief, and his eyes shine, filled with pure happiness. You decide to fill him in on Robert and coming back later; why ruin the mood? You wrap him in a tight hug.

"I'm going to find a way to stay here forever. This is my home, Edward. Wherever you are is where I want to be."

He holds you tighter and kisses the top of your head.

"I've been waiting to hear you say those words. I can't imagine my life without you."

"Edward..."

You look up at him and say three words that you've been wanting to say for a long time.

"I love you."

He kisses you softly before he answers,

"I love you too, Coral. I think I've loved you since the minute I first laid eyes on you."

You spend the rest of the morning in each others' arms, just saying the words over and over again.

Later, you're walking up the stairs towards the quarterdeck when you pause to take a look at the bright, blue Caribbean sky. You can smell the salt from the sea and feel the wind in your hair. All of a sudden, a colorful rainbow flies by, and you smile at Sunset as she perches on the ledge above you and preens her feathers.

"Hey pretty girl. How are you today?"

"Had sex! Had sex!"

Sunset begins squawking loudly and you try to shush her, to no avail.

"Had sex! Had sex!"

"Sunset, please keep it down girl."

"Had sex! Had sex!"

You immediately feel your face turn red when you hear snickering behind you. You turn around and see Charlie. You are suddenly very grateful that the rest of the crew is sailing on the Damnation, so they can't hear your bird blabbing about your sex life.

You laugh to yourself when you think about your crew stealing Robert's ship. It made sense though; the plan was for the rest of the crew to sail towards Tiburon on the Damnation, and meet you there. Oliver needed to stock up on supplies for the Intrepid before he could go back to London, so he was going to drop you off and get what he needed at Tiburon. He would be able to take his ship back and your crew would make a new home with the Damnation.

Charlie's eyes sparkle playfully before she throws an arm around your shoulders.

"Nothin' to be embarrassed about, love. I knew it was going to happen. You and Edward aren't exactly subtle."

You roll your eyes, cracking a smile, when you see a streak of black fly down and land next to Sunset. You immediately recognize Robert's parrot, and he starts squawking as loudly as you remember.

"We had sex!"

You see the way Sunset nuzzles up against Robert's parrot and you realize that she wasn't trying to out you and Edward, but instead was boasting about her own sexual conquest. You instantly feel like throwing up.

"Sunset! How could you have sex with Robert's parrot?! This is not acceptable! I raised you to know better than this!"

Sunset looks at you, tilts her head, and gives you a small squawk of defiance.

You let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine, as long as you're happy, but this is still weird. Don't expect me to ever be on board with this. This was exactly what I was afraid of when you two started becoming friends at the St. Sylvian tavern."

Charlie pulls you to the side and gives you a serious look. She begins speaking in a hushed tone.

"Actually I wanted to speak to you privately for a minute. There's something I need to show you. Can we talk in the captain's cabin later tonight? Edward and Oliver will meet us in there."

"Of course, but why can't we talk here; it's just the two of us?"

"The seas have ears everywhere; best to play it safe, love."

She gives you a sly wink and walks away. You can't help but wonder what Charlie found. It must be important if she's only trusting three people with the information. But you also realize it'll be the perfect time to tell the three people you trust most, about how you came back and that Robert is alive.

Later that night, after Doyle releases you from your lookout shift, you make your way to the captain's cabin. Edward, Charlie, and Oliver are already inside, waiting for you. They look up as you enter.

"Perfect timing, Coral."

Oliver greets you from his desk, where he's just pulled a mahogany box from a drawer. Edward puts his arm around your shoulders as Charlie fishes something from her pocket.

"You need to see this, love."

You can't tell what it is until she drops it, holding it by a chain, between her fingers. You feel a headache starting to form; it's the compass!