A Pirated Heart

Their Past and Fight

"Sister, how long have you known the captain?" Damien questioned as he begrudgingly mopped the deck as punishment for punching Kaden's arm in Sortega. He looked over at his sister and found Arabella leaning against the side railing, watching him. She shrugged.

"Since he came aboard the ship."

"How long ago was that?" Damien probed further. He glanced from his sister to the blonde haired man who stood at the helm with Jarrus and Ashik.

"Seven years." Arabella answered in a bored tone. Damien returned his attention to Arabella at her reply.

"Seven years? That's all?" He was surprised. He had honestly expected it to be longer. The way to two of them acted made it seem like they had known each other their whole lives.

"Yes."

"He became a pirate captain in seven years." Damien responded as Arabella sighed.

"Jarrus took him on just for that purpose I think. He was getting older and his old wounds were making it harder for him to do much and he didn't like any of the crew at the time. And Lockes was...impressive even at that age." Arabella explained as she waved her hand as if it was nothing but trivial information. Damien smirked.

"You were impressed by him?"

"Hardly. He was an ass. He still is. Although to be honest, I wish he'd go back to how he was at the beginning." Arabella replied as Damien stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, he ignored me. It was easier." Arabella responded easily as Damien scoffed. He couldn't imagine Kaden Lockes just ignoring his sister. At least not the way the two of them were now. However, before he could open his mouth to ask what changed, Jarrus limped over to them and patted him on the shoulder.

"And what are ya jabberin' on about over here?" Jarrus asked as Arabella shrugged. Her eyes drifted to the helm and found Kaden mumbling with Ashik.

"Damien was curious as to how long I've known Lockes." She replied, unconcerned as she stood erect. She could feel the ship veering off course since her captain wasn't paying attention.

"Oh boy! That's a story!" Jarrus exclaimed. Damien turned to the elder pirate, expectantly.

"Wait there's a story?"

"Indeed there is. Lockes hated Bells from the moment the two of 'em met. He didn't agree with me keepin' a girl aboard the ship, ya see." Jarrus started as Damien leaned against his mop, ignoring his duties to listen to the old sea dog's story. Arabella ignored them as she started toward the helm. Jarrus watched her with a smirk before continuing with his tale. A few other members of the crew inched closer, curious as to the real relationship between their resident magic woman and their captain.

"And Bells, well she hated anything with a heart." Jarrus chuckled at his words.

"I swear most of their days were spent either fightin' or ignorin' each other."

"Is that any different than it is now?" Damien asked confused. Jarrus barked out a laugh at his words.

"Boy, there's a hellova difference. They used to try and kill each other or forget the other even existed."

Kaden's eyes followed Arabella's path from her brother on the deck to his side on the helm. He didn't even pay attention to the small crowd that had gathered around Jarrus and Damien. Ashik was half tempted to roll his eyes at Kaden's limited attention span.

"That woman certainly holds you captive, human," Ashik remarked as Kaden let his eyes drift from Arabella's steady ascent on the stairs to the Leviathan in front of him.