Their Cruise, Our Ship

Chapter One

                                               ! S O P H I E ' S    P O V !

I shivered as the cold, salty ocean breeze brushed against my skin. It had been pretty warm when we left the Lost Cities, so all I was wearing were some denim shorts and a white t-shirt (Della had gotten us some specially made human clothes so that we would blend in). 

"Are you cold?" I asked Biana, who was standing next to me.

"Not really," She replied. "It's strange, but I don't really feel the cold."

"Lucky." I grumbled.

We were standing on a pretty private wharf, waiting for our cruise, Her Royal Highness to arrive. There were only a few other people waiting to board, as it was a private cruise and only VIPs could board her. 

I was so thrilled when Fitz and Biana asked if I wanted to come - I was never privileged enough to go on one in my time spent in the Forbidded Cities, so I was super excited to go. Apparently Her Royal Highness gave a generous en suite for every person on board, with a king sized double bed and a huge TV. 

The ship was split into sections, so you would have a section that you and whoever else you were travelling with would share. Each section had a pool, a movie room, six bedrooms, a lounge (which doubled as the movie room), a dining room/kitchen a -

"Hey Foster."

A voice cut through my thoughts.

"Hi Keefe." I brushed my hair behind my ear. "Are you pretty excited?"

Keefe shrugged. "Nah."

I was dumbfounded. How could he not be excited?

"I'm not pretty excited. I'M VIBRATING I'M SO EXCITED!" Keefe laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face. You looked like someone had..I dunno, shaved Biana's head or someth-"

"I beg your pardon?" Biana rounded on Keefe. "Who's going to shave my head now?"

"Guys, look! She's here!"The shout came from a little in front of me - it was Dex.

 I whipped my head around to see a magnificent ship gliding across the opalescent water. Her Royal Highness was written in big cursive letters on the side. I was still taking in the size of this thing when the boat came right up to the wharf where we were all standing, and a hatch opened up.

For a moment it was just a gap. Everyone was bending down to try and see inside the hatch when it opened a little wider and a ramp fell out onto the wharf. 

We were all confuzzled, the thought of Biana's head being shaved long gone.

But then a man in a suit stepped out of the opening. "Hello, my name is Mr Langweil (pronounced Lang-weel) but I'd prefer if you called me Jericho. Welcome aboard Her Royal Highness, I sincerely hope you enjoy your trip."

Mr Langweil stepped off the ramp and onto the wharf. From here I could see his features a lot better. He had tanned skin and his shaggy brown hair was swept of to the side in a careless way. He looked pretty young, probably around Fitz and Keefe's age - 20-23 maybe? He also had bright blue eyes that contrasted against his other features a lot. 

"When you enter our ship, you will see one of our lovely staff, Emma. She will check your tickets and give you an attendant to show you to your rooms."

I narrowed my eyes. Normally darker skinned humans don't have blue eyes...do they? I hadn't been around them for a long time.
Oh well. It was probably nothing.

Mr Langweil held out his hand to Linh with a shallow bow. "Milady."

She blushed and took his hand. I shared a knowing look with Biana. Yes, Linh had been holding the tickets, but I don't think that was the only reason Mr Langweil picked her.

The rest of us came onto the ship in the following order. Biana, Me, Keefe, Tam, Fitz and then Dex. When I stepped through the hatch I was greeted with a golden chandelier hanging from a high ceiling above a shimmering gold, white and silver decorated lobby. There was a woman standing in a silver uniform with a clipboard in her hand - Emma. "Welcome aboard," She greeted us. "May I please see your tickets?"

Linh smiled sweetly and handed the tickets over. "We have a voucher," she said. "It should cover all of us."

Emma smiled back and glanced at the tickets. But then her smile fell. "How many people have you got in your group?"

Linh's smile also slipped off her face. "Seven."

Emma gave a wry laugh. "I'm sorry to say that one of you will have to leave Her Royal Highness."

"What? Why?" Keefe exclaimed. 

Emma looked at him. "You only have six tickets."

Everyone looked at everyone else in horror. 

Then a small voice at the back of the group piped up;

"Hey..um, guys? I'll stay back."

A/N Hehe who do think will be left behind? Some people might not be too happy but I dont really like this character so I'm booting them off Her Royal Highness. @kotlcandsokeefe if you're reading you probably know who it is ;)

You can put your guesses here --------------->