The Pirate Queen

Chapter 20

Days after the fight, Eric still couldn't get it out of his head. The way Ariel had looked at him, that she'd let him hold her hand, the words they exchanged.

Do you mean it?

He hadn't, not at first. At first, it had been something to frustrate her; to make her angry and see her face grow red. Yet somehow a month into the journey it had transformed into something different. Something deeper and more meaningful.

Yes, he meant all the words he'd ever spoken to her. At this point, he thought lying to Ariel might kill him. It was ridiculous how in over his head he was feeling about her. The way his heart would pound and his palms would get sweaty and his breathing got a little weird. Did people with crushes feel this ridiculous? This over the top? Or was it just him and his royal genetics?

"Eric. You're starring."

He jumped and turned to look at Jora beside him on the deck, cleaning out some of Flounder's pistols. The first mate in question was on the opposite end of the deck with Seb, Ariel, and Alastair discussing who knows what. Jora had offered to come keep him company out on the deck while he went through some of his warm up maneuvers but Eric felt like that was another reason the chef wanted to stay with him.

Jora had been... weird after Eric's fight with Ariel. There was a cautious, nervous look in his eyes and a tension to his posture Eric hadn't seen in a long time. It bothered him that he couldn't figure out why.

"Why are you acting so strange?" Eric blurted, pulling his eyes away from Ariel's back. "Ever since our fight you just... I don't understand."

Jora snapped the chamber back into the pistol with more force than necessary. "It's too complicated to explain."

"Well can you try?" Eric set down his sword and walked over to his friend, plopping down on the crate next to him. "I don't like it when my one friend is angry with me and there might be something I can do to fix it."

The corner of Jora's lips twitched up in a smile and he shook his head. He toook a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to look at his friend. "To put it simply, I don't want either of you to get hurt."

Eric's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Jora, I know how to fight. You've seen me."

Jora smacked the back of Eric's head, scowling. "No, you idiot. I saw the way you two looked at each other and I'm just..." He sighed and set down the cleaned pistol and ran greasy fingers through his hair without a thought. "Whatever we find on that island, I think it's going to be about more than tea and spices. And I think you both might be stuck at a crossroads and not know how to go forward."

Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting. It was a thought Eric had frequently, what he'd do once they got to the island, but he did his best to keep himself busy and not think about it. He couldn't just steal the goods from Ariel. Even though he didn't know what she wanted the money for, it wouldn't sit right with him to do that. But he didn't know how to broker a deal with a pirate with their own agenda. Or broker a deal with someone he was starting to feel more for than just friendship.

"Eric you know I see you like a brother," Jora continued and Eric nodded slowly, still thinking through Jora's words. "But Ariel is also like a sister to me and I just... I want you to make sure you know what you're getting into with her."

"What does that mean?"

"You are a prince, Eric," Jora hissed.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Really? I wasn't aware. Thanks for the reminder."

Jora slapped his arm. "And she is a pirate. Her hands are not clean. Every law Darmken has, she has probably broken. Twice. Your best military commander, she is smarter than. She can out drink the town drunkard. Outshoot any veteran. Cut a man down without blinking. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"