Linda, The Fifth Legend (NaNoWriMo 2014) (Completed)

XIX: Story Time

We're on a ship. I have no clue how because the pirate's knocked us out, but somehow they have managed to drag us onto a ship. Percival raises his arms beside me stretching and yawning as he finally wakes up. It takes a few seconds for him to remember that we're being held captive by pirates. Once he does though, he immediately jumps causing a loud metallic clang to sound throughout the dim lot room we're in. He looks to his wrists to find them bound by chains. Mine are bound as well.

I close my eyes and breathe in the deep salty smell of the sea. Well I try, but there's no smell at all. That's odd. I could always smell the salt of the ocean when I was on a boat. My eyes abruptly open when I hear more clanging. A young girl with gray shredded robes for clothes approaches us slowly. She also has chains on her wrist. So Hook is still enslaving innocent children then.

She carries a small tray of food. There isn't really much on it, just a chicken bone with a little bit of meat on it. The girl probably ate some off of the plate before coming here. I couldn't blame her for taking some. From what I can remember, we didn't get fed a lot. We only got food about twice a week and it was never very much.

"Here's your food," she mumbles in a nervous manner. As she sets the tray down in front of us, I reach for her hands and clasp mine over hers.

"It will get better," I tell her, looking into her eyes. When I get out of this place, I'm taking all of the slave children with me. Then I'll return them back to their parents.

The girl seems taken aback. Slowly though, she nods, even though her eyes don't portray any newfound hope. She must've been here for quite some time. I know exactly how she feels. I felt the same way too for a long time, until Adric came along.

Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts, I release her from my grip and turn over to Percival, who is looking thoughtfully over at the girl. A blush leaps onto her face. She quickly dashes away and leaves the room, shutting the door with a slam. For a few moments, we both sit in solitude, not knowing what to say to each other. Then Percival shufflees his body so he's facing me a little more and looks me directly in the eyes.

"I don't care what you think right now, but I think you owe me an explanation. Who exactly are you?"

I don't answer right away. Should I really tell him everything? Would he understand? If I tell him, I've lost all of my leverage to find out who he is. Is it worth it though to withdraw this information just because I want to know his big secret?

"I already read their minds. I know all about you being captured and then escaping a few years later, betraying your friend in the process. The older one was Captain Hook, right? He was the one to enslave you. What I don't understand though is what happened before that," he says.

I immediately shake my head. "No that isn't what happened!"

"You didn't get captured and made a slave when you were little?"

"That part's true, but I didn't betray Adric. At least I didn't think I did. I thought he was dead." I sigh when Percival gives me a confused look. "Let me tell you the whole story."

I position my body so that I'm facing him and he's facing me. I ignore the clatter of chains while doing so. Moving around isn't as hard as I thought it would be. The chains don't bind anything but our wrists so the rest of our bodies are free to move around wherever we please. Once I'm finished moving, I take a deep breath. I'm about to reveal my lifelong secret that I swore I would never tell anyone. I can't believe I'm actually going through with this.

"I was young and stupid," I start slowly. "I had two loving parents and three siblings, whom I loved very much, although I rarely showed it. Their names were Wendy, John and Michael and together, we were all the Darlings."