The city was burning as far as the eye could see.
"It's all my fault," Came Shawn's whimpering voice from behind.
"It's all of our fault, no one person is more responsible than another," Clay said as he came to stand besides me.
"Clay's right Shawn, honestly we shouldn't even be here but-" I started with a sigh.
"But what Maggie?" Shelby asked quietly.
With a determined huff I looked to the night sky, soon to be swallowed by the smoke and replied, "But, we need to help the people that are immediately affected by the fire and help them get somewhere safe. Then we need to disappear as if we were never here."
"Does everyone understand what needs to be done?" Questioned Ozusaw sternly.
With a nod of their heads they all looked to me. "Go, make sure your faces are covered and not seen," I commanded as they all took off into the city.
"What would you like me to do?" Ozusaw asked from directly behind me.
"I want you to go get the ship ready, we need it to be ready as soon as we are done here. This city will no longer welcome us back here," I said with a sigh.
As I turned around to face Ozusaw he got to a knee, gently grabbed my hand and kissed it after saying, "Your wish is my command."
As Ozusaw left I knew what I had to do, even if it meant that my crew would leave without me. I had to right some wrongs.
Four Days Before
Port New Haven
"Captain, I think I see Port New Haven from here! We should be there before sundown!" Shouted Bear from the crows nest.
"Everyone prepare for port!" I commanded swiftly.
"Aye Aye Captain!" The crew yelled all at once.
"Captain, are you sure we should board here? What if we get caught by the pirates, there's no saying what they'll do to the ship," Ozusaw questioned with concern.
"Well, you don't think I am going to leave the ship unmanned do you. I plan on leaving half of the crew here and taking only a few people with me to get what we need," I said with a smirk.
"Just like our captain to think ahead. I know your a dumb animal Ozu but I thought you should know better than to question our captain," Cole said with a taunting voice.
"Now, now Cole don't tease Ozusaw like that. The captain would have said something if she needed us to defend her. Ain't that right captain?" Shawn chimed in.
I nodded and gestured for Ozusaw to follow me. After a quick glance from the crew he followed me on silent feet.
We entered the captain's chamber without a word. After I was seated at the desk Ozusaw came to kneel to the side of me.
I turned my chair and asked quietly, "Why are you kneeling Ozu?"
"I am kneeling because what Cole said was right. I shouldn't have questioned you, especially not in front of the whole crew," He replied with his head bowed.
I placed two fingers under his chin and made him look at me as I said, "Why do you think that? Did I get mad at you? Did I yell?"
"Well no," He said unsure now.
"Then why do you think that?" I asked gently.
"You saved me and for me to question you like that in front of the whole crew is something that I should never do. It undermines your authority as captain. I should be grateful and trust in you always," He replied quietly.
"It is for those exact reasons that you should question me, maybe not in front of the crew," I admitted, "But, I would never get mad because you questioned me. Now if you were to hurt one of the crew members or lose control, then I might get mad. Even then it is not guaranteed that I would get mad at you," I stated boldly as I moved my hand up to play with his hair.
He gently moved my hand down to his cheek and holding my hand he leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. As he opened his eyes he softly whispered, "I love you. I am sorry for everything. I will be forever grateful for you saving me."
"Ozu," I said softly, "I might have saved you, but you also saved me. I love you too," I finished with a single tear running down my cheek.
Ozusaw quickly wiped it off and pulled me off the chair so that we were both standing. Before I knew what he would do next he pulled me into a hug and nuzzled my neck.
"Ozu-" I started before he interrupted and said soothingly, "I know that it is hard to keep a brave face knowing where we are headed, but I will be with you every step of the way. You don't need to keep on a brave face with me."
My eyes went wide with shock before I hugged him tight and cried quietly.
All while I cried he continued to hug me and traced soft circles on my back as to calm me down and sooth me.
I ended up falling asleep on his arms and woke in bed by myself to cheering from the deck. I quickly swung my legs over got dressed and headed towards my crew.
It was going to be an adventure and I was pumped.