The high cor would have continued to play his violin, but a bang from the front door snapped them back into the present moment.
He did not tell her to stay where she was. He did not run to defend her from the possible intruders.
The high cor pulled out a gun and aimed it towards her.
"So that they know I will shoot you if they try to take you from me," he said.
Mariana stared at him.
How could someone so noble also be such a piece of trash? She did not understand how he could claim to love her when not even Daniel had ever treated her like this. This would end in a tragedy, one way or another, the situation had nothing to do with love and everything to do with pride. It took all the power she had in her to refrain from risking breaking free from the influence of the Potion of Life - she wanted to attack him so badly, it was unreal.
There were footsteps coming from the hall outside. Sam's finger was twitching on the trigger.
A whiff of cocoa visited Mariana's nostrils.
"The pirate king is coming for you," she said. "You know that it is true. You know that you will not make it."
"Show him to me, then," Sam said and opened the door in one swift motion.
Daniel barged in and shot the high cor in the head.
Mariana could have screamed. She did not.
She could have thrown herself into the arms of her rescuer, but she was not sure how Daniel felt about her at this moment. It was crazy to think just how much he had to love her to risk everything. Neul was not his own city, he could not do as he pleased, and yet he had come to get her.
They approached each other as Daniel's pirates looted the place.
Step by step, drifting like in a dream. Mariana raised her hands towards him. She did this to show him that she had no weapons, but he took this as a sign to hold her, just by the tips of her fingers, like they were starting a traditional dance.
The dance in question would have been a wedding dance, if not for the sad fact that no one was getting married here.
They were two pirates with worlds of miserable memories on their shoulders.
His strong form beckoned her: come closer, woman! His eyes had suspicion rooted deeply within their saddened expression, but she thought she could change that.
Yes, she could definitely fix him. And if that would not work out, she could always break herself to match him better.
It wasn't like she was complete without him, anyway.
"I missed you," she said.
"Stupid Mariana," he growled and pressed her against his chest. "Why release that beast?"
"Wasn't my idea…"
"And why do you take no responsibility for anything any longer?" He raised his eyebrows, but he was petting her hair and then he pressed his face against her neck. "It is not like you to be the damsel in distress."
"I have changed too much." She shook her head. "I don't know what's got into me, Daniel. I want the old me back. It's like I am trying so hard to reach something I don't even want…"
"That can be solved easily."
The pirate king pushed her away, but she complained. He didn't pull her back in, but now his expression told of mischief and vigor.
"You can sail with me."
Mariana considered letting go of everything she had tried to build. She didn't want to give up the status of being a captain of her own ship, but without her demonic heartthrob by her side, there wasn't any substance in prestige.
"We can co-captain our ship," Daniel said.
A spark that was a wild forest fire within itself arose in her chest.
"You mean you will…you will…"
"Whatever you may think about me, I am not drunk on power, I can give some of it away. I want to sail with you again. Your advice is sound and your soul is on fire from all the adventures. I want you back so bad, Mariana."
Tears of joy stung much more than tears of any other emotion.
"You want to…"
Still none of that I loveyousomuch business. None of that - even though the pirate king had just killed a man for Mariana. Well, whatever, she was going to stay as a captain and sail the seas forever, no matter the cost.
"You can thank me here," Daniel said and tapped her lips, licking his teeth while he did it.
"You licentious man," Mariana said and kissed him.
This was the best kiss she could have imagined. When she was soft and kept his lips inviting, he was firm, and the other way around, their mouths fit together perfectly.
Then it was time to leave Neul quickly, like with a fire under their bottoms, but they also talked about stealing the cube back and came to the conclusion that they had to kill the magician.
No other way around it, which was unfortunate, but they could not have anyone running around with the capacity to do whatever they pleased to do with the dice. The implication that Daniel was demonic was strongly in the air between them, but it was no more pressing or problematic to Mariana than a simple, heavy cloud.
All that this meant was that sometimes it was good to have a little bit of rain in one's life.
Mariana was so happy that she practically danced her way into the shady inn that promised complete privacy. She spent the rest of that day getting herself to look pretty for Daniel, combing and curling her hair. She was sorry about that little perfume incident with the fortune teller; she would have very much liked to steal or buy a bottle of that absolutely charming rosey stuff.
Then someone knocked on her door, interrupting the line of eyeshadow trailing her lids.