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(Circe's P.O.V)
I don't know how long I was in my room for, but eventually I fell asleep in my strange bed, my dreams full of bright colors and twisting figures.
When I woke, the room was silent and dark, the sheets on my bed were sweaty, twisted and wrapped around my legs, proof of my restless sleep. I rubbed at my eyes with closed fists and twisted my head to the side, swinging my feet over the edge of the bed and sucking in my breath as my toes touched the cool wooden boards. Gingerly I padded over to the porthole and stooped my head slightly so I could look through it. The night sky was painted a deep navy blue, the stars twinkling coldly down from their majestic thrones.
Feeling almost as though I was still dreaming, I twisted the door handle, the door swinging open silently and the darkness beckoning me forward. I stepped out into the small passageway and drifted down to the door at the end that had a beautiful stained glass window set in the middle. It depicted an image of an exquisite Mermaid, seated on a rock in the middle of the ocean, combing her hair. I studied her momentarily, noting her long golden locks and gem blue eyes.
"I'm like that," I whispered to no-one in particular. "I'm a Siren." I reached out a hand to touch the smooth glass body, my fingers lingering over her bottle-green fish tail.
Why don't I have one of those?
I wiggled my toes and tried to imagine what it would be like if they weren't there. That would be so strange. I wondered briefly what Hobbs would say when he found out that I couldn't swim, I bet that he wouldn't have an answer for that one. My lip twitched at the thought. That man had an answer for everything. Gently I pushed on the Mermaid door, surprised when it swung open. I had half expected it to be locked. I stepped inside the room and instantly wished that I hadn't.
It was His room.
Obsidians.
The door clicked shut behind me and I gulped, my eyes searching for any signs of movement, first towards his bed and then in the other corners of the room. I spied the door to freedom on the opposite side of the room and made a beeline for it, once again surprised when no-one stopped me. Perhaps he wasn't in here? I opened the door that I knew led to the deck and quietly stepped outside. The brisk sea air ruffled my hair and danced around the hem of my night gown, making it billow out around my feet. I scanned the deck and froze in my tracks. Roughly about five hammocks were suspended in the rigging, one of them occupied. Two figures crouched around a small table, the lantern set in the middle spreading an orange light over the checkered black and white board.
"Checkmate!" One of the figures said, leaning back triumphantly and flicking his shaggy black hair out of his eyes. The other more hulking shadow growled in annoyance and slammed his fist down on the board making the pieces jump and topple over with a clatter.
"You cheated," The deep voice accused and as he moved forward into the light I saw the face of one of the two Giants that had all but tortured me the other night. I swallowed and carefully took a step back trying not to make any noise but of course with my luck being as horrible as it was I managed to step on a creaky board and a drawn out squeak echoed through the night air.
Both heads turned to look directly at me, the giant leering creepily as the slighter figure stood up and called out my name.
"Circe!"
I tried to back up as he drew closer but my feet betrayed me and took a step forward out of the shadows.
"Hello Colby" I murmured, pleased when my voice came out cool and collected instead of shaky. He came to a halt in front of me and frowned as the giant suddenly roared with laughter upon hearing my words.
"Shhh," He said, blushing furiously, his silver eyes flickering. "Don't call me that, it's bad for my image!"
I snickered, "What image?"
He turned to glare over his shoulder. "Shut your trap Samson before I shut it for you!" The giant, Samson, covered his mouth within hand and turned away although I could still see his massive shoulders shaking with laughter. Colby glared at him once more before turning back to me. He grinned and flicked his shaggy hair out of his eyes. "My Bad Boy image," He said nonchalantly, leaning his arm on the wall behind me, efficiently trapping me between the wall and his chest. He flexed his arm muscles and winked. "Like what you see?"
I rolled my eyes and shoved at him, he backed away easily, catching hold of my hand before I knew what was happening and dragging me up a small flight of stairs that led to the Poop Deck, the same stairs, I realized, that I had hidden under when I had escaped from Colby's room. I shuddered at the memory and glanced nervously behind me at the hulking figure of Samson who was watching me with the eyes of a predator. When he caught my gaze he bared his teeth in a smile in a knowing smile and winked at me.
I felt another persistent tug on my hand and lurched forward into Colby. "Don't fret Sweet," he whispered into my ear, his breath tickling my neck. He caught a strand of my hair that was flying around my face and ever so gently tucked it into place behind my ear. "I won't let him hurt you." He said sincerely, his silver gaze capturing my own. At that moment I could have sworn I heard a growl echo from above me and my head snapped up to search the rigging. I couldn't see very far but I thought I could make out a deeper shadow near the top of the mast and I stared at it trying to work out if there was really something there or if I was just imagining things.
Colby scowled in the direction I was looking before he pulled me forward again muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Immature".
Before I could even begin to formulate a question, Colby tugged me over to where a rotund figure was leaning against the ships wheel. "Hobbs!"
The figure jolted and the hat that had been covering his eyes fell off his head and onto the ground. When he saw who it was he relaxed, stretching his arms out and giving a huge yawn.
"Crikey Boy you be comin' jest in time, I was about to fall asleep on my feet!" He yawned again and smiled at me. "'Ello there Miss Circe"
I smiled shyly at him as Colby pulled me a little closer to his side without seeming to notice. "What time are we arriving Hobbs?"
Hobbs looked out to sea, scanning the horizon as Colby turned to look in the same direction, pulling me round with him.
"I'd say we be there in a couple of 'ours if the wind be stayin' the same" He said gruffly. "Time fer a quick kip, I'm thinkin'. You right to take charge Boy?"
Colby nodded. "You get some sleep, Bones will be working our sorry butts off when we get there" He said, ushering Hobbs down the steps and I watched as he made his way across the deck to one of the hammocks, nodding at Samson as he went. He pulled himself up into the swinging bed and settled into it, only his boots visible.
"You can sleep in one of those one night it you want"
I turned to face Colby who was now leaning casually against the wheel, as he gestured towards the hammocks. "They are extremely comfortable, and on a night like tonight it is reasonably warm."
I shook my head shivering at the thought of sleeping out here alone. How creepy would that be! Anyone could creep up and attack you! "I think I'll pass," I muttered, looking down at my toes.
Colby nudged me playfully. "Aww come on, it'll be great. I promise I'll keep my hands to myself and stay in my own bunk, unless you want to sleep in one together." He winked as I comprehended what he was saying.
"Wait, so you would stay out here with me?"
"Of course," He scoffed. "Don't be silly, you think I would let you sleep out here on your own? One Maiden sleeping out in the open on a shipful of Pirates? I don't think so." He said grumpily. "You might get stolen, or worse" His voice darkened and I shuddered.
"So what was Hobbs talking about before?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. "Are we stopping somewhere?"
Cobalt smiled gently at me noticing my change in subject. He beckoned me forward and tentatively I took as step towards him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up to the wheel, placing my hands on the smooth handles and reaching around me to grab two of the lower down handles, trapping me between his arms, my his hard chest pressed up against my back. Against my better judgement I felt my body lean back into his slightly and he dipped his head to whisper in my ear, letting go of the wheel with one hand and pointing out the the horizon.
"See how there is a darker line, sitting on top of the water?" I peered where he was pointing and noted that the light had changed slightly since I had stepped outside. It was that early morning darkness, the kind of darkness that had the potential of turning into day, but hadn't quite gotten there yet. Against the dusky blue skyline I noted that there was indeed as darker strip of blue, one that I wouldn't have noticed if Colby had pointed it out. The longer I looked the more defined it became until I realized that I was looking at a long thin strip of land.
"The land that your looking at is where we are going, to Port Savannah to be exact. We need to buy more supplies before we set off on our next Journey. The stocks must be completely full before we continue as we will be returning with more passengers than we set out with."
I twisted my head around to look at him with wide eyes. "Where are we going exactly? And who are we picking up?"
Colby's eyes sparkled. "You'll have to wait and see Princess." He bent down again, his cheek brushing against my own. "Bones just told me today and I don't think anyone else is supposed to know. You're going to love it though, that I can promise."
The soft touch of his skin sent little sparks shooting throughout my body and I shivered as he straightened up, twisting the wheel slightly to the left. The ship creaked and groaned as she glided through the water with an elegance disproportionate to her size.
Colby's arms tightened around me and I felt him look up. I stayed where I was, looking straight ahead at the lightening sky.
"How long till we arrive?" I questioned, feeling strangely contented. Ever since Hobbs had explained, things felt as though they were a lot simpler. I knew now that nothing was going to happen to me, I was too important. With that realization tucked under my belt I felt much safer. Cobalt and Hobbs would look after me.
"About three hours" Colby said softly, resting his chin on the top of my head. I decided that maybe Colby could have two sides after all. The cocky Colby was defiantly annoying, but he was being quite sweet at the moment. It must just be the others who are a bad influence. I scanned the deck and noted that Samson had chosen to occupy one of the other hammocks, his massive legs hung out over the sides and his arms were crossed over his muscled chest. The abandoned game of Chess sat on the table, all of the pieces lined up neatly on their opposing sides.
"Recruit new members …" Colby was muttering and I cut in.
"What was that?"
I felt him shake his head behind me. "Nothing Princess, I was just saying that we need to recruit some more crew members as well, we are running low on hands."
"Why?" I asked curiously, straining to turn my head around so I could look him in the eye but his arms tightened around me, making it impossible to move. When he spoke his voice sounded distinctly uncomfortable.
"Well you see," He began. "Obsidian has quite a temper as you've probably noticed, and well… He keeps shooting them all" He finished, his tone sheepish.
"What?!"
"Well it's technically their fault, if they just did what they were supposed to, he wouldn't get angry. But new hands are sloppy and he just loses his temper with most of them. The Crew that are left with us now are the ones that have learned how to survive on this ship. Bones tries not to shoot any of the old hands because they do what he tells them to and they do it well. Samson down there and his brother Joel," Here he pointed to the hammock that he been occupied when I stepped outside. "They have been with us for two years and Bones keeps them because they are basically massive and intimidating and they sort out the new recruits when Bones loses his temper."
I nodded, still feeling slightly shocked.
"But lately Obsidian has been shooting more people than usual and so we need to find a few more people willing to sail with us. Preferably ones who have sailed before."
Suddenly there was a thump and Colby's arms disappeared from around me as he spun around, pushing me behind him. I peeked around his arm to meet a pair of mismatched eyes as Obsidian stared down at me with an almost hungry gaze. His beautiful mouth pushed up into a smile and he spoke, velvet words weaving into my ears.
"And that, Beautiful, is where you come in."