Stolen Treasure

Chapter 4

I continued to struggle as I was carried down to the brig. The pirate carrying me didn't seem to be bothered by or even notice any of my efforts, though. He discarded me into a cell and locked the door. He didn't untie my hands or take the cloth off my mouth, so I sat there uncomfortably. Since I had nothing else to do, I started manipulating my wrists to see if I could slip out of the rope tied around them. Unfortunately, I only succeeded in irritating my skin.

Some time later, the door to my cell opened and the young blond pirate walked in. I glared at him as he stood in the entryway. He just smirked right back at me, leaning against the doorway and observing me for a while. After what felt like forever, he pushed himself off the doorframe and walked towards me. I frantically tried to back away, but it was difficult to do since my hands were behind my back. I had to use my feet and legs to scoot myself backwards, but my efforts were futile. He only had to take a few steps and he was right in front of me.

He kneeled down and reached his hand towards my face. I flinched away from his touch, squeezing my eyes shut as I anticipated pain. But instead, I felt him taking the cloth off my mouth and pulling it over my head. I opened my eyes and watched him apprehensively. He moved behind me and untied my hands as well. As soon as they were free, I gingerly rubbed my sore wrists.

He stood up and looked down at me. I stared up at him with a guarded expression.

"Well, aren't you going to get up?" he asked.

I stayed exactly where I was. He sighed.

"You know, this is not usually the way you treat old friends," he chided.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, getting more confused by the minute.

"What? You mean you don't remember me?" he asked feigning hurt, but there was a trace of mockery in his voice.

I shook my head. He smirked before he continued speaking.

"I must say, Raphaelle, you certainly have changed," he said, raking his gaze up and down my body. I blushed, feeling exposed by those green eyes. "Not the same scrawny, awkward little pushover you used to be."

"How do you know my name?" I asked warily.

"Still don't remember me, huh? Think hard, Ginger Snap," he said.

Ginger Snap!

That struck home.

Only one person ever called me that, I thought.

"Alex?" I gawked, not truly believing it could be the same boy I was thinking of.

He smirked at me, confirming that it was truly him.

In front of me was one of the meanest boys from my life at the orphanage. He used to make fun of me all the time. The nickname Ginger Snap was derived from my red-gold hair, but he'd made it seem like a bad thing, so I'd hated it. He used to always harass me. He would pull my hair, push me around, sometimes literally, when we played outside, steal my stuff and break my toys, and anything else he could think of that would make me miserable.

I remembered the day that he'd been adopted. I was six and he was eight. All of us were in a line and a young couple was looking at each of us, deciding who they wanted to interview. They were about to come to me when Alex pulled me back and stole my place in line. I would have to go to the end of the line or risk looking bad by stealing my place back. Even if I'd thought the risk was worth it, I didn't have the guts to stand up for myself, at least not back then. Before I even found a new place in line, the couple had decided to interview Alex. When he walked off to get to know them, he glanced back and shot me an evil grin. After that, I never saw him again. No doubt he fooled that poor couple into thinking he was a little angel. They must have had quite the shock when they took him home and really got to know him.

I'd been so glad that he was gone, but a little angry too. That could've been me, I used to think. But I had gotten over it, telling myself they wouldn't have picked me anyway.

But now here he was, standing right in front of me. I couldn't keep my mouth from hanging open in shock.

Now that I knew who he was, I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. He looked almost exactly the same as he had when we were kids. He had grown, of course, and filled out quite nicely, but he still had the same hair and eyes. The eyes should have alerted me to who he was. They had the same cold, calculating expression as always, and they were the purest of green. They reminded me of a serpent.

"Miss me?" he smirked.

"But-how-how is it possible? How can you be here?" I asked.

"I'm still not exactly sure, but I don't care. Coming here was the best thing that ever happened to me," he proclaimed.

"How long have you been here?" I inquired, wondering if maybe he arrived at the same time as me.

"About 3 years," he replied. "You?"

Nope, he's been here way longer than me. "A little less than a year," I answered.

He just nodded, acknowledging my answer but not adding any comments.

"How did you find me?" I questioned.

"The discovery of Flint's Trove is quite well known in the pirate society, and when I heard someone mention your name, I knew immediately exactly who you were. I mean, if I was here, why not you? After that, it was fairly simple to track you down," he explained.

"How did you get here?" Alex continued.

"I made a wish on my 16th birthday to be in Treasure Planet and it came true," I answered.

"A wish? Really?" he scoffed, laughing at my explanation.

"Yes, a wish," I retorted, slightly annoyed that he was making fun of my answer.

"Well, how very simple and childlike," he mocked.

"Okay," I started, standing up from my spot on the ground. "Not that it's not great to see you and everything," I said sarcastically, "but why did you kidnap me?"

He smirked at me before answering.

"I need your help to get back home," he said. I didn't even know it was possible to get back to our universe, and even if it was, I would never consider going back. There was nothing for me over there.

"How am I supposed to help you do that?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said ominously.

"But... you said coming here was the best thing that ever happened to you. Why do you want to go back?" I asked.

He looked at me, contemplating whether or not he was going to answer my question. Then he flashed me a mischievous grin.

"Because I want to take over our world."