Promise

Chapter 4

Bopp had wondered where I'd disappeared to for so long, but I didn't tell him about everything that had happened. Not the meeting I overheard, not Plume 's conversation with me, and definitely not the spark of romance that had occurred in his private room.

"Well, did you at least tell him about how I checked out the window and everything is alright?" he asked, seeming slightly unsure and frustrated.

"Yes, I did," I lied.

He shrugged. "Alright. Let's go start on supper."

I nodded following him to wherever the kitchen was. When I was around Bopp or any of the captain's other men I felt like a nothing. Like I was just an extra hand for help. But when I was around Plume , he made me feel like I could do anything. He made me feel like I had a purpose.

Supper was short and simple, at least for me, as I barely ate anything, having no appetite, deep in thought about everything. I was hoping to see Plume show up to supper so I could see him or talk to him, but he never showed up. I understood though. Being a captain took a lot of work, even if it meant skipping meals.

I had remembered he wanted to meet on deck early the next morning, and this whole entire day had been tiring and definitely exciting, so after I barely ate anything, I decided to sneak away off to my bedroom and get some rest.

The second floor was large and the halls was long with many rooms. My bedroom was near the beginning of the hall while the Private Room was clear at the end. As I arrived at my door, I peeked down the darkened hall, now that the sun was going down, seeing if I could tell if Plume was still busy or deep in thought in his Private Room. I couldn't tell though, because the big metal door was shut and there was no way I could tell if there were candles lit in the room or not because there was no empty space between the floor and the bottom of the door.

I wanted to check on him, or ask if he needed any help with anything or at least say goodnight, but I figured he might just want to be left alone for now, hence he never even showed up to supper, so I brushed it off and entered my room, quietly shutting and locking the door behind me. I honestly didn't think I was necessarily unsafe or should be worried about someone entering my bedroom during the night, but I was still the only girl on a ship of a bunch of men.

Not having the energy to go back to the room with spare clothes and see if I could find anything fitting for pajamas, I lazily flopped down on the uncomfortable, creaky bed in the clothes I had put on earlier, and fell asleep almost instantly, the boat rocking me like a baby to sleep.

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I awoke abruptly from a nightmare. My father. I had seen him again and was so close to getting him back and he was shot. I had had many nightmares of this before, knowing that could be very likely being an active sailor in a sea full of hundreds of different clans of pirates, but this time it was different. It wasn't just any random, imaginative pirate who shot him down; it was Captain Plume .

My hair still sticking to my forehead with sweat, my heart still racing loud enough for me to hear it in the silence of the early-morning hour, I sat up, staring at the wall across the room.

What if that happened? I thought to myself. I knew my father wasn't dead. That's why I had so much hope. Actually, part of me wanted to be committed to this whole pirate thing because that meant an easier chance for me to find him again. But what if that chance of "finding him" was just a chance for anyone in our clan, or even Plume himself to kill my father? What if I was forced to myself?

So many thoughts running through my head, I decided to stand up and wake myself up a bit, as I drew the curtains and glanced outside. The sun was starting to rise. I needed to get ready! I was supposed to meet with Plume ! Almost pushing aside the memories from my dream completely, I quickly made myself presentable with a brush and a ribbon I'd found, tying up my long hair, as I busted out the door, running up the many steps to the deck.