Neither Lady nor Pirate (Complete)

Chapter Twenty One

I really love this week's update.  I like building the story for the perfect moment to happen... :)

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy sharing it!

XOXO

sophie9630

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TWENTY-ONE

"How did you suppose this was going to happen?" Finn questioned impatiently. His tone of doubt was prevalent, making Abbie all the more eager to prove him wrong.

She could get the runaway slave to the ship, and she could do it before the stars fully absorbed the night sky.

Abbie pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course she'd known Maliyah would have difficulty accepting her destination, but did Finn have to act like such a self-righteous prick about it at the moment?

"I don't know, Finn..." She breathed through clenched teeth.

Maliyah, seemingly oblivious to the tension between the other two, stood with feet firmly rooted in the sand. Her wide eyes would not leave The Iron Lady that sat bobbing gently out in the distance. The moment that she'd spotted the rowboat on the beach, she froze, body shaking with nervous tremors.

Trying to communicate with words proved impossible. For nearly a half hour, Abbie had struggled to lead Maliyah to the tiny boat. Nothing worked, as the young girl refused to even acknowledge Abbie's presence.

After abandoning the fruitless work, and for the sake of having something other to do than begin an argument, Abbie began to pace. The thick sand flew out underfoot, creating small divots along the shore. The hungry ocean waters consumed them quickly and dragged all remaining sand until the surface was smooth once more.

This repeated several times as Abbie trekked back and forth. Finn stood several feet away, hands on hips indignantly and head dropped back so that he was looking at the darkness of night overcoming the evening sun.

"We can't very well just spend the evening on the beach. We don't have any supplies!" He exclaimed, lifting his head to stare at Abbie's swiftly pacing figure. "And, we can't very well leave her here alone."

"But why can't we stay with her here? We can show her that we don't plan to abandon her and then in the morning the rest of the men can come to say hello! And then, when she gets to know them, she will realize how wonderful they are! Oh, Finn, this is perfect! You can row back to the boat and—"

"Abbie. Listen to yourself! That plan cannot possibly work... Spend the night sleeping on the beach? What if Charlie returns?" Abbie noted the hint of venomous disgust when Finn spoke Charlie's name. He continued, not noticing that Abbie had stopped pacing.

"Not only would Maliyah's safety be compromised, but so would the safety of the crew. And that is something that cannot happen. I simply cannot allow you to jeopardize this mission with your silly plans of heroism."

Abbie could not disguise the hurt in her voice. Never had she thought Finn could think her so selfish. "Finn, is that what you think my motive is? You think I want to be a hero?"

"Abbie that's not—"

"No, Finn. It is what you wanted to say. I knew you were upset when I asked you to leave the first time, and I knew that this idea to save Maliyah would probably not run over too smoothly right away... But, I never thought you would think that I wanted to help this poor girl simply to play hero for the day."

Inhaling deeply, Finn shut his eyes tightly and pursed his lips. He placed his right hand over his eyes and gently began to rub his temples with his index finger and thumb.