Pirate By Blood

Chapter 29: Sunrise

CHAPTER 29

Sunrise

Maleen stood at the bow of the ship, her arms crossed as she leant on the rail as the golden rays of the rising sun made her hair and face glow and warm up just that little bit more. The sea was calm, with just the occasional lapping of the waves as they hit the wooden ship, and the wind was hardly noticeable, but it was there.

It was tranquil; a beautiful scene to behold and something that Maleen had never really appreciated before that moment. But then again, before now, she hadn’t had the one thing she had wanted.

And even though he had run out on her mother and herself, Maleen could only hope that Leroy had a real reason for not returning like he promised. She wanted to know the answers to so many things, but this question was the most important to her. Why had he left and why did he presume that there was a chance he would never return?

Many people had told her that Leroy was the right man to answer her questions properly, and that was why she was waiting. Waiting that little bit longer.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Leroy asked, and Maleen turned to see him standing with a large piece of cloth holding his arm in a horizontal position against his stomach; supporting it, like he had been doing earlier by himself. She smiled when she saw him, before turning back and looking at the view they were admiring.

“Indeed,” She said, “I’ve never really noticed before now.”

He stood next to her and leaned against the rail casually, turning away from the sun so they could see each other just a little better.

“How’s the shoulder?” Maleen asked, glancing down at the cloth that was holding his injured arm in place. She winced slightly, noticing that it had small spots of blood on it.

“Better by the minute, you know,” He said cheerfully, wiggling the fingers to show that at least he could do that without it hurting, “Oh and, this isn’t mine” – he indicated to the stains Maleen had just noticed – “Joe just said it was the only thing he could find; he said it’d help. It’s supposed to take the weight off it, I presume; and it’s working.”

“You gave me quite a scare, earlier,” She admitted, “when it happened, that is. I thought that everything I’d been through would have been wasted if the worst happened. I thought...”

“You thought death’d catch me?” Leroy smiled, “Shows how much lack of faith you have in me. I’m still as strong as I once was, you know. If not stronger. However, I do believe that the everything that happened could have been avoided – fighting over a ring! You’d think people would want to go for a bigger prize...”

“A ring?” Maleen questioned.

“Yes, that was what Sarah was after; waste of time, if you ask me.”

“But Pedro said it was one of the most valuable objects in the world; and that you got it from a shop on Silver Street; and the only shop there was a pawnbroker.”

“Your point being...?”

“How can you find one of the most valuable items in the world in a pawnbroker?”

Leroy chuckled, “As I told our dear Sarah, the treasure is more valuable to me than it is to her...oh, and that reminds me; I brought you a little something,” he slipped his good hand inside his coat, with that devilish smile on his face yet again, and produced something from the inside pocket. He held it between his thumb and forefinger for a moment, before taking Maleen’s hand and placing it in her palm. She looked down at it, then back up at him; amazed.