10
The Crown’s Justic e
H e turned towards the door, and I instinctively moved to follow him.
“We arrive to Loro tonight, we can leave you at the port. It's easy to find a ship and crew there.”
“What? No, I'm coming with you.”
He stopped abruptly and turned to face me. “You are no longer needed here. You had something that I wanted, and I already have it. Either you walk the plank right now, or we leave you safe and sound at the next port. You choose, love,” he said, giving me that smile again, the one that reminded me that he did something to earn the favor of a God. Maybe he smiled at him like this. Maybe this ship would always be driven by the fastest winds of the Nine Seas because Captain Calico Pierce once smiled at the God of the winds.
“I can help.”
“How? You haven't even seen that ship in person.”
I looked down at the floor, to my feet stepping on some of the pieces of the globe that were still on the ground. “You talked about a map. You have nothing more than a clue as to where the ship may be. You were expecting a map, and you don't have it.”
He stared at me in silence. I wasn't sure what I was saying or thinking, but what I did know was that Dara wanted me here, and that was reason enough for staying. She didn't die for me to end up on some island. And I was on a pirate ship for the first time in my life.
The girl who dreamed from the shores, was now in the middle of the ocean. And I was going to do everything I could to keep her dream alive.
“You need to stipulate a route to The Heartbreak Harbor and you don't have the specific map to do so.”
“I have a map,” he said, grabbing the one he had shown me before.
“You and I know that you can't read it properly.”
He looked at me with wide eyes and a terrible smirk that suggested I had completely lost my mind, and that he somehow was amused by the statement.
“I beg your pardon?” That bittersweet laugh from this morning in the stables filled my ears again, making me doubt of the audacity I had decided to have at this very moment.
“I am a pirate, I can read any map.”
“Of course,” I said, putting my arms behind my back as I walked to the door. “And because you are a pirate, you certainly know that it's clearly a fake map, surely recreated by some cheap restaurateur who clearly hasn't read a book about the Romantic Order in his life.”
We were both at the door then, and I took the liberty to take the map from his hand. “Not even a geography one I would dare to say.”
He grabbed my wrist and took the map with a laugh. “ His life, huh?”
“Oh, whoever did that botch was clearly a man.”
“You are clearly just talking nonsense.”
“And you are clearly not looking properly.”
“Then you clearly don't know who I am.” His smiled widened to a grin. “You can't talk about false attempts on a restored work with an art thief.” He let go of my wrist as he whispered, “You can't outlie the liar, love.”
I was walking out the door onto the deck when I heard myself say, “Don't believe me then. Leave me in Loro, let's see who arrives to The Heartbreak Harbor first.”
I might have said it on purpose just to hear him laugh again. Because of course, I knew he would—he could tell I was making it all up, and I was probably being unbearably irritating.
“Oh, the safe and sound option is slowly leaving the table because there is nothing I want to do more this instant than make you walk the plank.”
He started following me, and I had to raise my voice slightly to be heard over the wind. “It’s clear that map lacks crucial details, which is why you were searching for another, is it not? ”
The ship was still moving quickly, though not as fast as before, which led me to believe we had outrun Tidia far enough that not royal ship could follow. But suddenly, a sharp lurch of the ship interrupted my thoughts, throwing me off balance and into the arms behind me.
“Cease the teasing and speak if you know something. I'm getting tired of this.”
A second strong movement spun me around to face Captain Pierce. There was something in his eyes—uncertainty, as if he couldn’t fathom why the ship was behaving this way or why the sails had slowed. He turned his gaze skyward, as though silently asking Ventus for answers. Another violent swing of the ship had him gripping my arm tighter, his eyes scanning the deck, searching for something—someone—trying to make sense of it all.
Another big sway of the ship, an even tighter grip on my arms. The rings on his fingers pressing against my skin.
He looked like he was losing control, his gaze darting as he continued searching for something. The erratic movements, the uncertainty, the surprise—it could only mean one thing: we were caught in a dangerous current, or worse, in the very vortex where all the seas converged, creating whirlpools powerful enough to swallow entire ships like this one.
And as if to prove my point, a wave crashed onto the deck, soaking us with its passage.
This is the answer, Lady Love. I’m giving you the answer.
What ?
I kept hearing that voice but I never gave it too much thought. I assumed it was just in my head, a product of fatigue or nerves.
Maybe memories of Dara, lingering in my mind, something I had created unconsciously to keep her with me—a way to not feel so alone or scared. But lately, that voice had become something more. It was the only thing offering me answers, almost like a guide, leading me forward.
Another crash of a wave.
Lady Love, you know where we are. You know it and he doesn't.
“The currents,” I said out loud above the movement.
Captain Pierce looked suddenly at me, with eyes open and full of questions.
“Your map does not have the romantic currents or tides.”
He frowned and something in his face changed, I could tell he wanted to say something but for some reason was holding it back.
“You can't enter a sea without knowing its currents.”
“I'm a pirate. I know the currents,” he almost yelled, so I could hear him above the chaos.
“Knowing them by name does not give you the knowledge of their location.”
He still looked at me with confusion, and I knew exactly what he was thinking—that I must be mad. Because anyone who didn’t dismiss the Romantic Order as mere legend or story, anyone who believed in it, knew that the currents were never static. They were always shifting, in constant motion. That was why it was impossible to map them. Only Thalassa knew where they might be next, for she was the one who set them in motion .
“There is no map that represents them,” he finally said.
“There sure is one because you were looking for it.”
Another strong movement of the ship had us rocking to the sides.
“Only Thalassa knows,” he yelled.
You know too, Lady Love.
I touched the left side of my neck with my hand, pointing at the heart shaped birthmark as I looked at him in the eyes. “Therefore, I know.”
Before he could say something, I heard Duke from afar. “Cap’n! We have company!”
We both turned to where the voice had come from, and I saw the largest ship of the royal navy of Tidia drawing closer.
The Crown's Justice was about to reach The Rebecca.
To starboard we had the enemy, and to port, we had assured death by the sea.