Marianne pulled me behind her, a girlish excited energy surrounding her. She pulls me out and onto the top deck. "Close your eyes," she said.
"What are you going to do to me? I'm a little scared." I responded, laughing.
"My God. Close your eyes, Robin," she said, barely able to suppress a laugh. She put her hand over my eyes and led me up a small set of stairs.
Marianne urged me forward and then straightened me out.
"Open them," she whispered into my ear, and I opened my eyes, and immediately, my jaw dropped. "This doesn't nearly give the full sea justice," she said into my air.
Ahead of us were the stars speckling the sky. I put my hands on the wheel and leaned forward, feeling on top of the world. The deck below us was being mopped by crewmen singing off-key sea shanties. I felt her smile against my skin. "Do you want to see the sea in all its glory?" she asked. "We can go tonight."
I spun toward her, my body pinned against the wheel. "Tonight?"
I felt my arousal reignite when Marianne pressed to me and took my lips against hers.
"We can be back by--"
"Captain?"
Marianne's eyes changed from affectionate to annoyed. "Aye?" she said, swinging her head to face a stout redheaded man wearing a green shirt. "Smee? I thought I told you not to disturb me if--"
"Believe me, Captain. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."
"Well, then what is it?" she barked.
Her voice had completely changed, and I nearly broke my neck trying to keep up with how fast she switched. She'd gone from being the excited young girl I met so many years ago to a seasoned, frightening pirate ready to swing her sword. And my heart raced my blood to my ears in awe of her.
"There's a man the mates caught trying to-"
"Jack!" I said quickly. "He was going to come after me.."
Marianne lifted her hand to tell me to stop before turning to Smee. "Release him. The man's done nothing wrong."
"But-" Smee said.
"Are ye questioning me?" Marianne started.
"He's knocked out and in the brig."
I wiggled out from under Marianne's arm. "Where's the brig? I need to help him."
"Who's this?" Smee asked as if he was just now seeing me.
"I'll take her down," Marianne said.
"But your arm."
"That is the second time you've questioned me, Smee," the annoyed captain said, "Don't let there be a third."
"Captain," he said, bowing his head before walking away.
"Don't worry about him," Marianne said, switching back to the woman I knew and wrapping her arm around my waist to lead me to the lower deck. "Lovely chap. I've known him for so long. He means the world to me."
I laughed. "Does being a captain mean being so..."
"Yes, if you want their respect," Marianne explained. "If they don't like it, they can vote in a new captain."
She pulled a ring of bronze keys from her coat and unlocked a door to a narrow set of stairs leading down. "I'm going to need my good hand on the wall. Go ahead of me, love."
When we were at the bottom of the stairs, it was dark except for the moonlight coming in from the portholes. I felt around, feeling the thin bars of cells. "This reminds me of when we met," I said.
Marianne snorted. "I like to think this place smells a bit better."
It did, but there wasn't a competition. The brig smelled heavily of fish and mildew. When we reached the end of the hall, Marianne unlocked a door. "He'll be here."
A snoring lump was on the cot. Jack was out cold. "I'm so sorry, Jack," I murmured, checking him for blood. There wasn't much luckily. "Can we get him back to shore?"
"Do you want to take him?"
I looked at her shadowy figure. "I want to stay here with you. At least for a little while longer. But he should be at the monastery with Tuck."
"You want to..." she started, "stay...here?"
I stood up from Jack's bedside. "For a little while. Is that so surprising?"
I would need to return. She knew that as well as I, but it had been so long. So many years of believing Marianne was dead with only a shred of half-evidence that she may have lived. I couldn't just leave then. Just for a night, I wanted to be with her.
"No, no, no," she said. "I'm just..."
"Mmm, yes, darling. Bring that bosom here," Jack muttered, smacking his lips in his sleep.
At that, Marianne and I burst into laughter. "I'm glad to see he still has his half-wits about him," I said. "Should we go upstairs?"
"I'll tell my men to drop him at the monastery. They won't harm him. He may have a nasty headache when he wakes."
"They didn't kill him."
"No. They know better," she explained. "Unless their lives are in immediate peril and killing is unavoidable, they know to simply disarm and bring souls to the brig if necessary."
"You're nothing like what I expected."
Marianne outstretched her arm and led me to the stairs. "What did you expect?"
"The bloodthirsty pirate Captain Rogers."
She growled playfully and pushed me against the wall. "Who says I'm not?"