6. Joy
JOY
“They kicked the door down! I hope they do not expect me to pay for that myself!”
- LAYLANI GLASS, OWNER OF LUCKI’S TAVERN.
Laylani threw the victor’s hand in the air and the crowd roared so loudly the pub began to shake. She had won, the stranger from the crowd had won. Sam slammed her fist into the table and stormed out of the door, several smaller, crying women following her. Jameson and I cheered so loudly, my throat began to ache. We jumped and threw our hands in the air. This felt like a victory, and we needed a victory. I jumped on Jameson’s back and he whirled me in a circle and through the crowd, towards Laylani and the stranger.
“Alright, alright,” Laylani shouted to the wild crowd. “We need to know our winner’s name, don’t we?” she asked, and the crowd cheered again. She turned to the stranger and leaned in close. Laylani smiled and held her hand in the air, the pub silenced almost immediately.
“Our champion, the woman who is drinking in my pub, free of charge, is… Dahlia!”
The crowd echoed her until Dahlia’s name was being chanted throughout the entire pub. I smiled to myself, chuckling as the brown beams above us began swaying ever so slightly, as though they, too, were cheering along with us.
I glanced up and Dahlia was looking straight at me. Even though her curly hair covered most of her face, I felt like I saw right into her mind. She smiled a shy smile but one of joy. I sucked in a breath and mouthed without thinking, “congratulations.” She smiled and mouthed, “thank you.”
Laylani bounded over to me with two shot glasses balanced between her hands.
“I like her,” she said, glancing back at Dahlia leaning on the bar and then to me. “She asked me what your name was.” Laylani wiggled an eyebrow as I gulped down my drink.
“What did you tell her?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible. She remained quiet. “Laylani?!”
“Alright,” she said with a smirk. “I told her your name was Joy.”
“And?” I asked.
“And what? She asked me your name and I told her.” She shrugged her shoulders, and I rolled my eyes. “Do you have a little crush?” she teased and I scoffed, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.
“I don’t even know her; we’ve never even had a conversation!” I protested.
“Mmhhm,” Laylani hummed. “When I told her your name… she wrote it down,” she said with a wink, before pouring me another drink and slinking off into the crowd.
Wrote it down? How hard is it to remember a three-letter name. I feigned being angry, attempting to murder the butterflies in my stomach.
I stood alone, watching Laylani flirt with drunk customers as Jameson danced with a girl on the makeshift dance floor. I sighed, staring up at the framed oil paintings dotted alone the walls, at one of the women. She was a pirate, a true pirate, like the ones who wore the hats and walked the plank and fought enemies. We didn’t really do that anymore; it was too hot for hats and Jameson used our plank as more of a ledge to dive off. We still fought though, I was adamant that each of our crew knew how to fight, with fists and swords.
“She’s beautiful” a voice sounded behind me; it was soft but sharp like a velvet-wrapped sword. She stepped beside me with a smile.
“She was more than beautiful,” I said quietly, and Dahlia nodded.
“Yes, she was a pioneer, the first female pirate…” she said with a smile. “But she was beautiful nonetheless.” Dahlia turned to look at me, her hair brushing against my shoulder.
“I’ve been told that you’re a pirate,” she said with a smile, her skin creasing around her eyes. I laughed, turning to face her.
“I am no pirate,” I said. “I just like the ocean.”
“And I am no Gias player, but I still won the competition,” she said taking a sip of her drink, I mirrored the action. “Would you like to dance with me?” she asked softly, trying, and failing, to tuck a curly lock behind her ear.
I smiled, about to accept but suddenly Lolita appeared in my mind. Was I being unfaithful for being attracted to another women? Would Lolita want me to move on and be happy? Did I want to move on?
“I can see your mind working behind your eyes,” Dahlia said quietly. “It’s just a dance, Joy, feel free to say no, I won’t be offended.” The sound of my name on her tongue was new and exciting and my breath seemed to quicken.
“I never told you my name,” I teased her.
“I know,” she said, holding out her hand, and without overthinking it, I took it.
There was something odd about Dahlia, she played Gia and strutted as though she was a street rat, like the rest of us, like she’d been running about the cobbled streets for her entire life and yet when she danced, she was… regal. I walked onto the crooked wooden floor, expecting her to stumble her way through a halfhearted waltz like I was, but instead her body slackened and then solidified as though she was preparing for battle. She glided along the floor, twirling me and avoiding my clumsy feet without a single thought.
“Who are you?” I whispered into her shoulder, and she shuddered with laughter.
We spun around the floor, dancing to song after song and at one point we switched partners, and I was suddenly wrapped in Jameson’s long arms.
“Having fun?” Jameson teased over the music.
“Surprisingly, yes,” I answered, my face aching from laughing.
“That smile,” he said. “It’s my favorite.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and I held him closer. “The power of Kai’d,” he whispered into my ear before spinning me back into Dahlia’s arms.
“The power of Kai’d indeed,” I whispered to myself.
The night seemed like something from a fairytale, I never dreamed life could be this good since I lost Lolita. Kai was looking down on our island. My thoughts seemed to melt and reform over and over again. It was okay for things not to mean anything, and it was okay for things to mean something too. For a moment, I was happy and carefree, I did not mind the feeling.
The smash of metal against metal woke me from my trance. Two palace guards stood at the threshold of Lucki’s Tavern. At once I glanced over at Jameson, he stared back at me, beginning to make his way toward me with furrowed brows.
The music stopped suddenly, flat notes scratching our ears. The crowd shouted in angst and my hand shot out to grip Jameson’s.
Three people stood in the doorway, their faces hidden, and their bodies cloaked in black. They reached up their hands in sync and swords materialized from the air. A gasp overtook the crowd and people began to scatter as the beings marched into the room, knocking aside tables, chairs, and people.
It took me a moment to realize that they were stalking toward us. Jameson, Dahlia, and I stood, frozen to the spot. I pushed against my feet, begging them to move but they did not budge. A tear slipped down Dahlia’s face.
Jameson stood, his legs shaking, his face twisted into something I had not seen before, more than the confusion or fear that I was feeling. Something different, almost… recognition. The candles seemed to dim before snuffing out completely, and darkness buried us softly.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered, more to himself than to Jameson. I squeezed my eyes shut.
But then the candles flickered back to life and the room came into focus. I breathed in deep, looking over at Jameson.
But he was not there.
I was not holding his hand.
I was holding Dahlia’s.
I dropped her hand instantly, hastily looking around the room for Jameson. I raced around, searching every nook and cranny. But I knew he wasn’t there. I knew I wouldn’t find him. My mind and my body seemed out of sync. My body wouldn’t stop searching even though my mind begged it to give up.
“Jameson!” I cried out, and I felt a hand against my shoulder. My heart burst as I turned, only to find Laylani. Fat tears began pouring from my eyes.
“What happened? Did they take him away?” I turned to Laylani and tugged on her blouse. “They did, didn’t they? Why did they take him? Where did they take him?” A thousand questions burst into my mind, but one statement followed my every thought.
I was all alone again.
Why would they take my Jameson? Had he done something? Had he forgotten to pay up after another losing card game?
I crumbled to the floor, unbothered by the hundreds of eyes staring at me.
“Everyone, out,” Laylani shouted. “Show’s over.”
I cried until I couldn’t cry any longer, until my body became dry, and I worried that suddenly I would begin to cry tears of sand. As the patrons left, I thought of my crew. They had already lost so much; they could not lose someone else.
“I’m going to find him,” I said to no one in particular. “I’m going to find him and bring him home.” The confidence in my voice did not waver but hundreds of questions swirled through my mind like smoke. Why did they take him? What could they possibly want with an orphaned ship captain? I had known Jameson for the last ten years and he had never mentioned anything about this. Was it a fluke? Or was he keeping secrets from me? I sighed, standing hastily, aiming for the door.
“Where will you go?” Dahlia’s voice rang out quietly. I swung my head in her direction.
“They can’t have gone far.”
“You will not find them here, not on this island.” Her voice was steady and strong.
“What are you talking about?” I stalked toward her. “Do you know where he is?”
“I-I didn’t think,” she stuttered softly. “I didn’t think they would look for me here.”
“Who?” I got dangerously close to her now. “Who took him?”
“Hunters. They hunt the continents for… for certain people.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I had been safe here, I thought they couldn’t get to me but… I was wrong.” She attempted to walk toward me, but I took a step back.
“Why did they take him instead of you?” My voice was deadly and calm.
“I don’t know… When you reached your hand out towards Jameson, I took it instead, I didn’t think—” I slammed her body toward the wall, my forearm against her neck as I unsheathed my dagger and held it against the soft skin of her throat.
“You sacrificed Jameson to save yourself?” I roared, pushing the dagger slightly, enough to draw blood.
“It’s not like that,” she struggled against my grip. “I didn’t mean to, I can’t… I couldn’t go back.” I pushed the blade again.
“Wait! Wait!” She screeched. “I know where his is! I can take you.”
I pulled the blade back ever so slightly.
“Tell me!” I demanded.
“We both know that as soon as I tell you, I am a dead woman.” Her voice regained some of its strength.
I seethed, knowing that as soon as she spoke, I would have driven the dagger into her windpipe.
“I’ll take you,” she whispered, rubbing her throat as my pressure lifted. I tightened my grip on the dagger, striding for the door before I turned back.
“He better be alive when I find him.” I threw the dagger with all my strength, and it landed mere inches from Dahlia’s face. “Or a dagger to your throat will be the least of your worries.”