“So, this isyour rig?” he said as I took a seat across from him.
I glancedaround proudly. “Yep, this is The Queen. I’ve got a small crew, butthey’re family. It’s a good place.”
He cocked aneyebrow. “Much better than a bunch’a man-eatin’ pirates, I reckon?”
I grabbed asmall quilt from the back of the chair and wrapped it around myshoulders, laughing despite the seriousness of what he’d just said.Remembering how close we both came to death at the hands of hisinsane brother. “Yeah, just a little.”
Silence filledthe room, packing the holes in between the crackles of the growingfire behind us. My eyes raked Benjamin’s body, taking in the sightof him. Still willing my brain to believe he wasn’t part of myimagination. He appeared cleaned up, a fresh change of clothescovering his body; brown leather trousers and a loose cream-coloredshirt underneath a dark, fur lined trench. His long brown curlsstill wild and messy around his shoulders.
“How long haveyou been here?” I asked him. “In town, I mean?”
“Three days,”he replied and then stood to grab the kettle of water boiling overthe open fire. My eyes followed him back and forth as he prepared apot of loose tea on the table and sat back down. “I spent most ofthose finding my way in a world lost to me. Things have…changed.”
“Yes, theyhave.” I rubbed my tired face. “Are you okay?”
His thick browcreased over those warm, brown eyes as he regarded me with a lookof pain. “I am now.”
I realizedthen, as big of a man Benjamin was, he must have been terrifiedwhen he came ashore. And then another thought occurred to me.“Wait, where’s your ship?”
He guffawed.“Gone.”
“What do youmean gone?”
Benjamingroaned a sigh and leaned back, preparing for a long story. “Iwasted no time after you left. I had no idea how long it would takeyou to find the Siren Isles, if at all. But, I knew, if you weresuccessful, I wouldn’t have the chance to prepare once the cursebegan to break. So, I threw my brother overboard, then hauledPleeman’s body ashore. Burned itto ashes. I gathered up my belongings and kept them with me, justin case.”
He stopped andlifted a large fabric satchel from his side, bulging with lumps ofdifferent shapes and sizes. He looped the long strap over his headand hooked it on the back of the chair before reaching in andpulling out a clay jar and set it on the table.
“What’s this?”I asked.
He shrugged.“Pleeman. I gathered his ashes, thinking, if I got out of there, ifI found you… maybe we could–”
I reachedacross the table and took his hand in mine. “We’ll bring him hometo his girls.”
Benjaminnodded and squeezed my hand, refusing to let go. “After that, Iwaited. For what, I wasn’t sure. The skies to open up? The ship tosuddenly set sail? I didn’t know what to expect. And the two menwho remained despised me for what I did to Abraham. They went mad.I had to tie them up in the brig just to have a moment’speace.”
“So, whathappened, then? When the curse broke?” I asked, dying to know thedetails. I’d waited so long for confirmation that my wish worked.That my crew didn’t risk their lives at the might of a kraken for nothing.
He shook hishead. “I’ve no idea. It all happened so fast. I was on deck, thesky turned dark and fell silent. Became eerily still. Like apainting. As if….as if it weren’t even real to begin with.”Benjamin’s eyes became lost in the memory. “I felt the ship move,it cracked and groaned from years of being laid up. Like a wakingbeast. I looked to the horizon, waiting for it to near, butinstead…found us plunging downward. The ocean opened up, slowlyswallowing us whole. I ran inside Abraham’s quarters. Barely madeit before the wave came crashing down.”
Benjamin letgo of my hand then and relaxed back into his chair.
“That was allI remember. I woke up on the beach near the docks here. No ship. Nomen. But… alive.” He smiled, eyes glistening with gratitude. “Thankyou.”
“No need forthanks,” I assured my friend.
He checked thetea and saw that it had steeped. I watched as he poured us two mugsand pushed one across the table for me. I held it up to my face,inhaling the steam, letting it seep into my face and warm mybones.
“So,” he saidcheerfully and waggled his thick, brown eyebrows, “Tell meeverything.”
I laughed andsettled in to regal him in thetale of The Siren Isles, our great battle with the kraken and how the siren granted me threeenchanted pearls. I told him of the wishes, and how I worried theydidn’t work. He became fascinated with the details of my mission tofind my sister and offered to help in any way he could. And thengave me a warm, heartfelt congratulations when I told him of mywedding day.
I knew he’dalways have a spot for me in his heart, but it wasn’t like onewould assume. His fondness for me. It went deeper than that. Weshared a bond sewn together by the magic of the ocean and thethreads of fate. I believed, then, that I was meant to wash ashoreon that island. It was written in my destiny to meet Benjamin andbreak that curse. The man was right where he was supposed to be. Inmy life, as my friend, and part of my crew of misfit pirates.
For hours, wesat in the warmth of my captain’s quarters, going over every single moment and detail since we lastparted. Before long, my tired body got the best of me and Icouldn’t fight off the relentless yawns. Benjamin insisted we getsome sleep and he grabbed a pillow and blanket from my bed, tossingit on the floor.
“Well, thislooks familiar,” he said jokingly as I crawled under the heavyquilts of my comfy bed.
“Tomorrow,before we go to Pleeman’s farm, I’ll show you to the bunksbelowdecks. Get you your own room.You’ll be happy
