Uncharted Waters

Chapter Thirteen

"How long have I been asleep for?" I asked in a hazy state.

"About three days," Gabe said.

"What about Atlantis? Has Lars said anything?" I asked.

"Not yet. We've been anchored all this time, we haven't moved."

"I need to go talk to him," I said, attempting to get up.

Black dots began to cloud my vision and I hugged a nearby wooden pole to steady myself.

"Lee, you need to rest," Gabe said.

"I probably do, but I need to see Lars. Help me to his quarters," I said.

"But-"

"I'm going with or without you!"

"Fine," He said and put his arm around me.

Lars was sitting in his chair with his hands in his hair.

I barged in, "What's the plan?" I asked.

Lars jumped a bit, startled, and looked up at me, "What the bloody hell are you doing out of bed?"

"I tried to make her stay, cap," Gabe said.

"I'm fine, just a little weak."
"Just a little weak? You didn't eat for days! Speaking of eating, get her some stew," Lars said, nodding at Gabe.
Gabe nodded and left the room.
"Why aren't we moving?" I said.
"I just - I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to give up or..." he trailed off and started fiddling with a trinket on his desk. 
"Just because I almost died a few times doesn't mean we shouldn't try again!" I said half sarcastically.
He looked up at me, one brow raised.
"We can't give up this easy. We aren't true pirates if we do."
"We? Pirates?" Lars laughed and got up from his chair, "Who said you were a pirate?"
"Well. I'm still thinking about that one. All I know is that your crew isn't half bad as I thought they would be," I said.
"Thanks for the compliment," Lars rolled his eyes, but I saw a small smile start to form.
"Your soup is down in the mess hall, nice and hot," Gabe said.
He stood there for a moment until a crew member yelled for him. He nodded his farewell and exited again.
"Thank you!" I yelled as he strode onto the deck.
"So you really want to do this? You want to go back?" Lars asked.
"I've spent my life waiting for this moment. I would rather die than not at least try."
Lars smirked, "aye aye, sailor."
I took a step forward towards the door but lost my balance when I felt the ship rock a bit. I stumbled into the wall and grasped onto a wooden pull. I bent forward a bit, black dots threatening to cloud my vision again, "Bloody hell," I mumbled, "When will this end?"
"As soon as you get more food in you," Lars said, "Here," He said as he came up beside me and grabbed my waist, putting my arm around his neck.
I shivered at his tight grasp and for some reason thought of the kiss we recently shared. It wasn't a real kiss, really, but it was a still a kiss. A strong, deep kiss.
"Lee?"
"Huh?" I said, looking up at Lars.
His close proximity startled me as his blue eyes gazed into mine.
"Did you say something?" I asked.
"Yeah, I asked if you were okay, you seemed to be kind of out of it for a second there."
"Oh- yeah. I'm fine," I said, hoping I wasn't blushing.
After an awkward few minutes of maneuvering our way down below, I finally reached the table.
"It'll be about a three day journey back to the entrance of Atlantis. In the mean time, eat as much as you can. You'll need to get your strength up."
"Aye aye, Captain," I said and dove into my food. It looked amazing.
He studied me for one more moment and left without another word.
"Are you a mermaid?"
I jumped at the close voice beside me.
I turned to see Michael gazing up at me with wonder.
I laughed, "No. Definitely not. Would you still be my friend if I was though?"
"Probably not. I wouldn't want you to eat me," he said in a nonchalant tone.
I smiled, "Thanks."
"There's some bread in the kitchen, do you want some for your soup?" Michael asked, "I was saving it for myself, for later on, but you need it more."
"How about we split it," I said, smiling down at him.
He gleamed, "Okay! I will be right back! I would say don't go anywhere, but from the way Lars was holding you I don't think you can."
"I could crawl, but not very fast," I shrugged.
Michael stayed quiet for a moment as if deciding whether to say something else.
"I think your a pretty special person, Lee," he finally said.
"Thank you, but why do you say that? Your just as special as I am."
He seemed to be surprised at my words but kept going with his explanation, "I've never seen Lars act like that before. Helping you down the stairs, talking to you like a friend. It's weird. You must be pretty important," Michael said casually and got up to leave, "I'll be back with bread!"
That was an odd comment. My thoughts lingered on his comment for a few more seconds, but the smell of stew washed those thoughts away. I was too hungry to care about anything right now.