The Pirate Girl

Chapter 17

It took about an hour and a half to get all of the crew back onto the ship. 

That's the problem with those lifeboats-they're meant for a ship that's under attack or for things like that, and that means that once you unattach the boats from the side of the ship, they don't go back on.  Meaning that we had to bring the whole crew back onto the ship, just using the two ropes that me and Emily had swung down on.

I sighed as I finally swung my legs over the side of the ship, where the entire crew was waiting for me, nervously.

I walked over to the top of the deck, and sat down, aware that they were all staring at me.  I tried to pretend that I was playing with my hair, just to look busy, but I was kind of failing.

Eventually, I groaned, turned around, and snapped at them, "Take a picture, It'll last longer!"

They all stepped back at the same time, but then the captain stepped foward, his eyes focused on the ground. He coughed, and then admitted, "We have discussed the situation, and we realize that if it wasn't for you and your friend, we'd all probably be dead now."

I rolled my eyes, muttering "Ain't that the truth." before looking back at him, waiting for him to finish.  "We decided that, as a reward for your behavior, we will allow you and your friend to go back to your home, if you choose to."

My mouth dropped open, and I wondered if I had heard him right.  Go back home?  They would really let us go back home!

I jumped around, pumping my fist in the air happily.  "Did you hear him Em?  He said we could go back home!  Can you believe it?"

For some reason, my eyes landed on Gale as I was celebrating, and I stopped mid-jump.  If I went home, that would mean I would have to leave him.  I knew that he still didn't remember me fully, but the idea of going back without him caused a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I looked over at Emily, and I saw that she didn't look to happy either at the moment.  She had some people that were important to her here, too, especially Jacob.

She had met Jacob while they were both swabbing the deck, and they had instantly been friends.  Later, we had figured out that he had been friends with Gale since they had both joined the crew at age ten.  Ever since then, the four of us had hung out a lot when we didn't have anything else to do.  That is, until Gale had lost his memory.

Emily met my eyes, and I knew what she was going to say before she said it.  "Lilo... I don't know if I want to leave just yet.  I mean, we still have to find that treasure, right?"

A huge grin spread across my face, and I nodded.  I glanced over, and saw that Gale was grinning too.

"Well, umm.. if that's your choice, then I guess you two will be allowed to stay.  However, you will both be treated as part of the crew, and you'll have to do the same amount of work as everyone else."  the Captain spat out, looking not at all pleased that he had to let two girls stay on his precious ship.

"Thanks, almighty Captain." I snickered, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.  He scowled at me, then turned and marched towards the captain chambers angrily.

Emily ran over to Jacob happily, and I hesitantly shuffled over to where Gale was standing, waiting for me.

I looked up at him, not sure what to say, but he spoke before I could think of something.

"Lilo, I think I'm starting to remember you."

My eyes popped open, and I clapped my hands excitedly.  "Really Gale?  What made you remember?"

He looked down like he was sort of embarrissed, and blurted out, "When you were fighting that siren, I was really worried that something would happen to you.  I don't know how, but it kind of triggered something in my brain, and I remembered how important you are to me."

My eyes filled with tears, and I wrapped my arms around him, murmering, "Thanks Gale, you have no idea how much that means to me."

I looked up, and saw that he was smirking down at me.  I realized suddenly that I still had my arms around him, and I dropped them quickly, muttering, "Let's go find Emily and Jacob."

He agreed, still smirking, and I almost ran to find Emily, so embarrissed about what had happened.

Gale's P.O.V.

'Lilo, I think I'm starting to remember you."  I said.  I tried not to flinch at how dumb I sounded, and I looked at Lilo to see how she was reacting.  She looked so startled, her eyes oped wide, and her mouth hanging open, that I was about to take it back, but she cut me off, saying, "Really Gale!  What made you remember?"

Oh crap, what was I going to say?  The truth was, that when I saw her about to be thrown over the rock by the siren, someting had snapped inside of me.  I can't really explain it, but seeing her so helpless and scared like that had made me remember the night I hit my head, and I had realized that she was the person who's safety I had been worried about instead of my own as I tumbled towards the ground.

It had brought back all of my memories of her, and I felt awful for treating her so badly after I had first lost my memory.

I looked down at my hands, and mumbled quietly, "When you were fighing that siren, I was really worried that something would happen to you.  I don't know how, but it kind of triggered something in my brain, and I remembered how important you are to me." 

Oh my gosh, how cheesy did that sound?  I sounded like somebody off a soap opera!  She must think I'm so stupid.

I was snapped out my thoughts, as I felt her arms around my stomach, and I stopped moving completly, almost not breathing. 

"Thanks Gale, you have no idea how much that means to me."  she murmered into my shirt, but I didn't listen.  All I could think about was how warm she was, and how I never wanted her to let go of me.

Just as I thought that, she pulled away, her face bright red.

I couldn't help but smirk at her, as I took in her terrified expression, like she had done something wrong.

"Let's go find Emily and Jacob."  she muttered, not meeting my eyes, and then she ran off, leaving me standing there awkwardly as the other crewmates shot knowing glances at me.

I shrugged it off, and ran after Lilo, breathing unevenly.

She finally found Jacob and Emily, and she walked over to them, trying to stop the blush that had crawled across her cheeks ever since she'd hugged me.

"Hey, so what's up?" I asked in a casual voice.

"Well, we talked to the first mate, and he said that we're getting closer to the island."  Emily informed us, her eyes gleaming with excitment.

I shot a sideways glance over at Lilo, and saw that she too was beaming with happiness.

"Wow."  I remarked, looking at them both, "Who knew that you too would get so happy over a treasure, seeing as you're not even pirates."

Lilo smacked me playfully, protesting "You don't have to be a pirate to like gold and jewels.  I'm pretty sure that just about everybody does."

Well, she did have a point.

We started up a random conversation, and just as we were all about to go to our rooms for the night, we heard a shout coming from the lookout post.

"Land Ho!"

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So Gale finally remembers Lilo :)  I think it's really sweet, and it was kind of a fun chapter to write! The next chapter's going to be EPIC!  Anyway, Happy Birthday to me!

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