by Ryan Gilbert
Before Riggs could even aim his weapon, Julia grabbed onto her lover’s arm.
“No, Riggs! You can’t do that,” she exclaimed.
“Julia, she’s a monster,” he argued, trying to pull his gun free from her grasp.
“Just listen to me, Riggs,” Julia pleaded, “She’s not the same.”
The Captain ceased his struggle for a moment. His eyes slowly moved from Julia to Ororis and then back to Julia. The love of his life was defending the very creature who had tried to kill them several years ago.
Letting his arm drop to his side, Riggs said, “Explain to me how she’s not the same.”
“Without her, I wouldn’t be here.”
Confused, Riggs asked, “What do you mean?”
“After everything that happened on the Adventure Prize, I woke up on Isla De Dolor. Ororis has helped me survive this entire time. She helped me, Riggs. Without her, I’d probably be dead.”
His eyes shifting to the fearsome mermaid, he could see that what Julia was saying was true. For a brief couple seconds, he could almost spot a bit of humility on Ororis’s face.
Hesitantly, he placed his pistol back in his belt. He took a step closer to the mermaid, unsure of what to make of the situation.
“Much as it pains me to say it… thank you, Ororis.”
She responded with a meager nod of the head.
“What is it ye want?” asked Riggs, “You wouldn’t still be here if ye didn’t want somethin’.”
Tossing her hair over her shoulders, Ororis replied, “I’m not asking for much, Riggs. Just some gratitude…”
She locked eyes with him as she continued.
“… and a place on your crew.”
Riggs tried to stop himself, but he could not. Uproarious laughter escaped him. His former enemy wanted to join his crew? Something must have happened to mess with her head.
“After everythin’ ye’ve done, you want to join me crew?”
With a somewhat innocent smirk, Ororis said, “I want to turn my life around. I think joining you would be the best way to do that.”
Turning to Julia, Riggs said, “Can we have a word, love?”
He took the girl by the hand and led her to the doorway to his cabin, stopping just outside. The rest of his friends followed behind, crowding around them.
“I don’t like this, Captain,” said Clint.
“Aye, me neither,” said Coral Jack, constantly peering over at the Red Sky’s first true enemy.
“What’re we going to do?” asked Eli.
“Give me a second and ye’ll find out. Now be quiet,” ordered Riggs.
Giving the girl his full attention, Riggs said, “Julia, I need to know one thing.”
“What is it?” she asked.
After taking a deep breath, he asked, “Do you trust her?”
Looking past Riggs to Ororis, Julia said, “Riggs, she’s done nothing but help me ever since I nearly died. I really do think she’s trying to start a new life.”
“But do you trust her?”
Julia bowed her head.
“I’d be lying if I said I did… but I try to think of it this way. When we first met, I didn’t trust you one bit. I didn’t trust any of you. Now look at us. We’re all willing to die for each other. We didn’t get to be that way unless we gave each other a chance.”
Coral Jack and Valera looked to each other and nodded. They knew firsthand the importance of giving someone a chance.
“We agree with Julia,” they said.
Riggs was stuck. One part of him still wanted to blast a hole through the mermaid’s head, but another part of him nagged his conscience to give her a chance. If Julia could bring herself to work with their former enemy, then Riggs should be able to as well.
Stepping away from the group, Riggs made his way over to Ororis. She looked at him with a smile on her face, like she had already anticipated their decision.
“I assume that since I’m still alive I’m part of your crew now,” she said, giving a small laugh.
“Against my better judgment… yes.”
Before the mermaid could respond, Riggs raised a finger and pointed it at her, saying, “Just know this, Ororis. If you try anythin’… anythin’ at all… I will not hesitate to kill ye on the spot. If you lay one finger on any of my crewmates, you won’t live to see the sun rise.”
Flashing the pirate captain a grin, Ororis said, “You don’t need to worry about that, Riggs. I don’t plan on dying any time soon.”
As much as he hated to do so, Riggs held out a hand to the mermaid. Eagerly, she grasped it and shook it, signaling the beginning of a new partnership.
“Welcome to the crew, Ororis,” Riggs said gruffly, “Now help the others get the ship ready to sail. We need to get to New York before the Fancy, and we’ve already lost precious time.”
Ororis nodded, stepping past Riggs and following some of the crew down to the lower decks. Once the mermaid had left his sight, the Captain made his way back to Julia and his friends.
“What do ye want us to do, Captain?” asked Clint.
“Whatever ye can to get this ship sailin’ fast. I leave that in your hands, Mr. Wayko.”
“Aye,” said Clint as Riggs dismissed the crew.
As his friends spread out across the deck, Riggs led Julia into the cabin. She was finally able to relax, laying down on Riggs’ bed like she had so many times before. At the head of the bed, he sat in a chair and watched her as she quickly fell asleep.
He still could not believe that she was alive.
For the remainder of the voyage to New York, Ororis did nothing to antagonize the crew. Much to Riggs’ surprise, she worked as hard as she could, sometimes even getting jobs done faster than the other crewmates. She genuinely seemed like she wanted to turn over a new leaf.
However, as much as Riggs wanted to be like Julia and believe the mermaid, he just found that he could not. Having their former enemy join the crew just felt strange. Riggs could see the uneasiness in the eyes of his crewmates that had encountered Ororis before. None of the men stayed close to her for long, fearful that she would revert back to her evil ways and kill them.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Captain Riggs.”
Startled back to reality, Riggs turned to the side and saw Jones leaning against the rail.
“Are ye keepin’ track of when I’m talkin’ now?” the Captain asked.
“Just an observation.”
“What is it ye want, Jones?”
Thomas stepped forward, arms resting at his sides seemingly without a care in the world. He seemed relaxed, unlike everyone else onboard the ship.
“I don’t want anything. I’m just seeing how you look at her,” he said, subtly pointing at Ororis.
“What of it? You’d look at her the same way if she’d nearly killed you.”
“You’re trying to think of a reason why you shouldn’t have given her a second chance,” said Jones.
Riggs took a step closer to Thomas and said, “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”
He began to move past his crewmate, but Jones reached out a hand and held onto his captain’s shoulder. In frustration, Riggs spun around, swatting Thomas’s hand away. His crewmate just held up his hands to show that he did not want to fight.
“I know the value of a second chance, Captain Riggs. Years ago, if I had been given one, I wouldn’t be standing here today. A second chance can change someone’s life… even if they were evil before.”
Straightening his coat, Riggs spat, “We’ll see about that, Jones.”
Turning his back on Thomas, the Captain made his way up to the helm, standing at Clint’s side as he navigated the ship. He remained there for the next couple hours.
Just as the sun was starting to set in the sky, Riggs heard someone yell, “Land ho!”
“Clint… spyglass,” he ordered.
His friend quickly handed over the instrument, keeping his eyes on the sea stretching out in front of them and the growing strip of l
and beyond that.
Riggs raised the spyglass to his eye, watching as the bustling port of New York came into view. He could see the white masts of the ships pointing up to the stripes of red, yellow, and orange in the sky. He had never thought he would see that port again, and yet here he was, trying desperately to arrive before Every. Thankfully, it did not look like the Fancy had arrived.
Both Riggs and his crew knew it was only a matter of time.
“Turn the ship to starboard, Clint. All the rest o’ you, get ready to drop anchor,” he ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” was the response he heard.
If the Red Sky was going to keep Every from getting what he wanted, then they needed to give themselves an advantage. From where they sat in the water, they could see any ship coming from miles around. Nothing entered the port without their knowledge.
“Let’s see the King of Pirates try to get past us now,” said Riggs with a grin on his face.
“I certainly hope your plan works, Captain,” said Clint, still a bit wary.
“Don’t they always work?” Riggs asked sarcastically as he walked down the stairs to his cabin.
He did not want to let Every get past him. Just to make sure that there were no other entrances into New York, Riggs needed to consult his charts. Even if there was a tiny inlet somewhere, he wanted to know.
Inside his cabin, it was dark. Only one lantern was still lit, casting a faint orange glow throughout the room. Outside, the sun fell below the waves of the ocean, blackening the sky as Riggs pulled out a weathered map of New York. As he spread it out on the table, he could feel his eyelids getting heavier. A full force of exhaustion hit him as he tried to keep his eyes open. He needed to make sure that there was no way for Every to reach the port. It was not the time to be sleeping.
Slamming his hand on the table kept him awake for a little bit longer. Barely able to keep his head up, the Captain rested his forehead in his palm as he looked down at the map. Markings on the map from the Red Sky’s previous voyage to New York started to blend with the old ink from when the parchment was first made. Riggs’ vision turned blurry as he could no longer see the wrinkles on the page. No longer able to stay awake, Riggs let his head drop to the table, his eyes closed in sleep.
“Wake up, Captain.”
Riggs’ eyes opened wide as a hook snagged the back of his coat. Before he could even react, Garrett threw him out of the chair, sending him crashing to the ground.
“What the hell? I’m tryin’ to sleep, Garrett,” Riggs grumbled, slowly getting to his feet.
As he rubbed his eyes, he could see his dead crewmate pulling a sword from his belt. He could hear the threatening sound of the blade as the mutineer ran his metal hook across the surface of the weapon.
“Ye can sleep when ye give in to me, Captain,” Garrett said as he swung his sword.
Riggs ducked to the side just in time, avoiding the attack of his hallucination. The sword sunk into his overturned chair, burying the steel in a notch of wood.
Watching Garrett pull the sword out of the chair, the pirate captain could do nothing but stand there in horror. Never before had his hallucinations been this real. Feeling around at his side, he yanked his sword from its scabbard, holding it up to keep his foe from coming any closer.
“I’m not givin’ in to you, Garrett. I’ve lasted this long, and I’m not goin’ to start to lose now.”
Garrett flicked his sword forward, barely tapping his blade against Riggs’ weapon. He was toying with him as he circled his former captain.
Licking his chops, the mutineer said, “Ye think I can’t sense it? Ye think I can’t sense the distrust boiling up inside ye? Yer sailing wit’ the son of a bloodthirsty admiral, a mighty suspicious bloke, and the very mermaid who tried to end yer damn life.”
Without warning, Garrett leapt forward, locking blades with Riggs.
“I know ye ain’t gonna hold out forever. I’m gonna make you crack, Captain.”
He grabbed Riggs by the wrist and spun him around, kicking him onto the Captain’s own bed. Riggs rolled to the side just in time, avoiding the mutineer’s blade as it just missed his head. He tried to run to the door, but Garrett caught him with his hook, tearing through the fleeing pirate’s sleeve.
“You’re nothin’ more than a monster in my head,” Riggs growled, slashing his sword at his dead enemy.
Without even a flinch, Garrett caught the blade in his hook, snickering as he did so.
“Ah, but I could be so much more. I could be yer guardian angel… or perhaps moreso a devil,” he cackled, pushing Riggs backward.
With the point of his hook mere inches from his former captain’s neck, Garrett said, “I know everything that goes through your head, Captain. I can feel the change in you. Just let me push you over that edge.”
He pushed the hook down further, forcing Riggs back against a table. The Captain tried his hardest to keep the hook from slicing into his neck, but he could feel his hands slipping.
“Let me free, Riggs. You know ye want to feel the blood running through your fingers. You want to hold Ororis’s heart in your hands.”
The edge of Garrett’s hook pricked Riggs’ neck, drawing blood.
“I’ll give you everything you’ve wanted. Just… give… in!”
Before Garrett could say anything more, Riggs drove his foot into the mutineer’s knee, catching him by surprise. The Captain dodged the hook as his attacker fell forward, bashing his forehead into the table and driving his hook straight through the wooden boards. As quickly as he could, Riggs scrambled to his feet, holding a helpless Garrett at the edge of his sword. With his hook caught, the dead man could do nothing.
“There’s one thing yer forgettin’, mate.”
Garrett said nothing, frantically trying to free himself.
Raising his sword, Riggs said, “I already have everythin’ I ever wanted.”
Garrett let out a scream that was cut short by the blade slicing through his neck. His headless body crumpled to the ground once again, just like it had on that beach so long ago.
“Riggs!”
The Captain’s eyes burst open. Julia was at his side, shaking him as he lay on the table. The light of the moon now shone through the windows of the cabin, illuminating the girl’s fair skin.
“Wh-what happened?” Riggs asked groggily.
“You fell asleep,” said the concerned girl, “From the looks of it, you seemed like you were having a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yes. You were groaning and twitching… and talking nonsense to yourself.”
Hastily sitting up in his chair, Riggs said, “It was nothin’.”
Julia gave the pirate a pitiful look, saying, “Riggs, I know you. I can tell when you’re lying.”
He let out a deep breath, brushing his hair out of his face. She was right. It had been a nightmare.
When her lover did not respond, Julia sat down on his knee, draping her arms over his shoulder. Gently, she ran the tips of her fingers through his scraggly hair, relaxing him.
“Would you like to talk about it?” she asked calmly.
Riggs’ first instinct was to refuse, but something stopped him from saying anything. As he looked up into the eyes of the woman that he had thought dead, he felt a bit of hope spring up inside his heart. He had kept his hallucinations and visions a secret for nearly a year, fearful that his crew would think that he was insane. With Julia, he did not need to hide.
“Yes… yes, I would,” he replied.
“What did you see?” she asked, the backs of her fingers softly sliding across his cheeks.
“I saw Garrett.”
“Garrett? You mean…”
“Yes, the same Garrett who mutinied against me. I’ve been hallucinatin’ that he was here ever since…” Riggs paused for a moment, his heart caught in his throat, “… ever since I thought you had died.”
“Riggs, that’s horrible. I can’t imagine what that must have done to you,
” said Julia, ever so gently laying the pirate’s head against her chest as she continued to stroke his hair.
“I was so close to breakin’, love. Every time I laid me hand on my sword, I could feel the urge to just be heartless.”
Shaking her head, Julia tried to ease Riggs back into a calm state of mind. She said, “Promise me that you’ll never be heartless. Promise me that you’ll never be like that madman.”
“Julia, I don’t know what I’m goin’ to be.”
The girl brought a hand to each side of the pirate’s face and said, “Promise me, Riggs.”
He reached up and held onto her wrists, soaking in each moment and each touch that he had missed for the past year.
“I can’t,” he said, “I couldn’t protect you before. I need to do somethin’.”
His gaze trailed away from the girl as he began to feel ashamed.
“Captain Robert Briggs, you look at me right now.”
Wearily, he brought his eyes back to Julia, awaiting her stern response. To his amazement, she was calm as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her loving embrace.
“You don’t need to change anything, Riggs. No matter how much you think you let me down, you haven’t. I’m still here… and nothing is going to take away the love we share.”
Before Riggs could respond, Julia ran her fingers down to his coat collar and pulled him into a passionate kiss. They both closed their eyes as they felt the sweet touch of the other’s warm lips.
Nothing else mattered in that moment. Henry Every was nothing. Admiral Carter was nothing. Magic was nothing. For Riggs and Julia, the only magic that mattered was the kind flowing between them.
The magic of true love.
As soon as the kiss ended, Riggs brought his hand to Julia’s cheek, gently cupping it in his palm.
“I missed you so much,” he said, staring deep into the girl’s beautiful green eyes.
Letting out a slight giggle, Julia said, “I missed you too, Robert.”
She leaned forward, kissing Riggs again as she laid a hand on his chest. She could feel his heart beating faster as their lips locked in silent fervor. Taking Riggs’ hand, she laid it on her chest, right above her heart. Together, they felt their hearts beat as one.
