The City of the Dead

Chapter 14

I smiled, slowly bringing myself closer to him. "Of course, that would be nice. It's nice to talk to someone who is normal, at least as normal as you can be when you're a pirate," I teased.

I felt him take a step closer too, so there was almost no space in between us. I lifted my head more, since he was about half a foot taller than me.

"I'll come by tonight, about half an hour after the funeral, to escort you to where we will be eating." I felt his breath on my forehead with every word he spoke, but not wanting to move any further apart. "Wear something nice, I have big plans for our evening." I smiled again and this time he slowly lowered his head towards mine. As he closed his eyes, his soft lips lightly brushed mine. He slowly pulled back, leaving the feeling of his lips lingering on mine. He was beaming.

"I'll see you tonight," I whispered, still afraid I would shatter the moment, like a delicate glass plate.

"I'll see you then." He winked and slowly walked away, leaving me standing outside my door, feeling as if I would melt.

I dreamily opened my door, and rested against it, slowly sliding down to the ground as it closed. I had never been so happy because of a boy; in fact I had never been in any relationship before. Adonis was my first kiss, and that made him so much more special to me.

My muscles began to hurt as I smiled through the next half hour. I went to my wardrobe and was thankful that Blackbeard had put some dresses in there. I threw them all out onto my bed and selected the ones that were my size, putting the rest back.

There were about ten dresses and after fifteen minutes of deciding what one to wear, I selected a light pink dress that went down to my feet. It had a sparkly silver belt that went around my rib cage, and then after that it returned to the light pink colour, falling loosely to my feet. I had no nice shoes in my closet, so I decided that I would go barefoot.

I didn't get changed though, because I knew the funeral was coming up and I was sure all the other pirates would just be wearing their normal clothes. When I saw the sun slowly begin to colour the sky, painting it with vibrant oranges, purples, and pinks, I finally ascended the staircase and joined the growing crowd of pirates surrounding the still silhouette that was covered by a blanket.

I felt my eyes moisten, but quickly blinked back the tears not wanting to appear weak in front of the crew. I stood, forgetting all my happiness, as I willed Onix's body to move and surprise us; to tell us he was okay. But I knew that would never happen. In my heart I knew he was dead, but my brain could not accept that fact.

Finally, Adonis and Blackbeard himself came out to lead the ceremony. I had no idea how it would go or what they had planned for it. The only thing I knew was that it would be quite different from the few funerals I had gone to in Illinois.

"Today, ye've all gathered here to wish yer fellow sailor and mate's goodbye. Me myself have come to pay me respects, and me son be giving the final words," Blackbeard spoke, breaking the silence of sadness that hung in the air like smoke.

Adonis stepped forward and cleared his throat. "We all knew Onix since he was young. He was one of my good friends, as he was to many of you. He was a kind man, willing to put his life down for others, and to make his day worse if it only made someone else's better. He did not deserve to die. He had a father aboard this ship, and brothers; all of us. We say goodbye to him today, honoring his memory, remembering the brutality of his death. Above all, we remember that he was a brave man, a man who ended his life doing something his mother and father would be proud of."

My breath stopped as I tried to figure out how Adonis had known what Onix had said as he died, before memories of Quan's presence came back to me.