It wasn’t too long before Sirius returned. He had with him a bottle of antiseptic, some cotton pads, two shot glasses, and a bottle of Jack.

Her eye caught the bottle of Jack immediately and it did make her perk up. Not just because it was alcohol but because Sirius was bringing her alcohol and she knew what his thoughts on the stuff were.

“Human whiskey?” she observed.

He laughed as he set things down on the table. The he reached up for the cut on her forehead with antiseptic soaked pad. He gently brushed a few wild strands of hair out of the way, much like he had done earlier. “I thought that might cheer you up.”

“But you don’t drink.”

“I don’t drink when the crew’s getting pissed. It’s fine on the odd occasion and I figure this one warrants and exception.”

She winced as he cleaned her cut with the antiseptic.

“Sorry,” he told her.

“No, you’re alright.”

“I’m sorry about Michael. What he did.”

Amanda was surprised at the anger in his voice. She glanced up at his face. “That wasn’t your fault.”

“Wasn’t it? He’s on my ship. I’m responsible for what happens on my ship.” He sat down on the bed next to her.

“You can’t control everything. Anyway, I’m fine.” Amanda was surprised to find she meant it too, apart from the one niggling worry about the whole firestarter thing. Why hadn’t he asked yet?

“You want a plaster?” Sirius asked as he held up a pack.

Amanda laughed and shook her head. “Dad always said things heal better when they’re open to the air, and he was a healer so…” She paused. She couldn’t keep waiting like this. “Why haven’t you asked about my powers?”

Sirius shrugged. “Power is a personal thing. You want to tell me you’ll tell me. I trust you.” He got up from the bed and crossed to the table. There he poured them each a shot of whiskey. She was surprised how well the glasses stayed put with the constant rolling of the ocean. They must have a grippy bottom or something.

“Maybe you shouldn’t.”

He glanced at her and she caught a smile there beneath his dark beard. “That’s exactly why I trust you.”

Amanda frowned at him, confused.

“You’re don’t have as good of a poker face as you think,” he added. Another smile.

Amanda snorted. “You’ve seen me play. You think you could beat me?”

“No.” The smile was still there, more subtle now but there was that glint in his eye again. He was teasing, that much she knew, she just wasn’t sure where he was going with this line of conversation. Perhaps he didn’t know any better than she did what lay ahead? Perhaps he was just testing the waters, just like she was. He was right about one thing though. She had trouble reading him. He was certainly an enigma.

“Not in aggregate,” he added. He took the seat by the desk and handed her the glass of whiskey

She snorted again. Not in aggregate? This guy was too smart for her. Who talked like that? And here she was with a cut on her forehead acting completely unladylike. She had to internally laugh at that thought. Her mother was always telling her to be more ladylike and never in her life had she ever wanted to be ladylike, until now. Well, too late, fuck it. You play the hand you have. If there was one thing she was good at it was going with the flow.

Putting on a more serious front she said, “You know that book you got me with all those stories?”

“Yeah?” He caught on to the serious tone and he looked at her curiously.

“Well I read another one. The one about the two princesses in the cage.”

“Yeah?”

“And it’s horribly depressing. One of them turns to stone and the other one just ends up locked in a different cage. Are all the stories in that book sad like that?”

He smiled softly. “It’s funny. I never actually thought of them like that but I suppose they are. I used to find them comforting.”

“Comforting?” she gave him a disbelieving look.

“Yeah.” He looked thoughtful.

“Well I want a new ending. You gave me one to the other story. Now I want one for this story,” she demanded with a smile. Then she nodded to the bed beside her. “Come sit.”

He did as he was told. Soon they were sitting side by side on the bed. “A new ending, hmm. Okay. Let me think for a bit.” He sipped his whiskey thoughtfully.

“What do you think of this?” he asked of the whiskey.

“Honestly? I can’t tell the difference.”

He laughed. “Neither can I. Okay how about this for a different ending...”

“There once was a man who kept two princesses trapped in cages, one bare and damp, the other lavish with a little window that overlooked the sea.

One day he threw the cage door open and offered the girls a chance to go free. The girl in the gilded cage fled outside to find a rough world. When asked if she wanted to return she said no. But outside the weather beat at her relentlessly until eventually she turned to stone. Then the stone crumbled and blew away in the wind. The other girl chose the gilded cage. But that night she looked out at the sea for the first time and although she went to bed content, that was also the first night in a long time that she dreamed.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

As the days passed and the gilded cage got more and more familiar she too longed for the vast and endless sea. Not wanting to turn to stone like her sister she comes up with a plan-”

“Her sister?”

“Yes, they’re sisters.”

“Okay, continue.”

“So she comes up with a plan. Night and day she works, trying to figure out exactly what makes a sorcerer tick.”

“Ooo, I know. Is it arrogance?”

Sirius gave her a look.

“An obnoxious intellect?” she offered in a playful tone. “Or… maybe…”

“Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”

“Yes, sorry. Please continue.” She set her empty shot glass aside and cuddled up close to him.

He sculled the rest of his whiskey, set it aside, and wrapped an arm around her. “It’s the pursuit of knowledge,” he answered.

“I knew it!”

He gave her another look.

Amanda sniggered and watched at Sirius did his very best to keep a straight face.

“Go on,” she encouraged.”

He paused to chuckle before continuing. “Okay… so… I’ve forgotten where I was up to.”

“She was figuring out what made the sorcerer tick.”

“Right right, um, so as we know all sorcerers love knowledge, so she figured it must be some kind of horrific experiment, except in this case he hardly ever seemed to ask her any questions, so she figured he must be observing her some other way.”

“He’s a mindwalker,” Amanda guessed.

She felt Sirius’ chest move as he tried not to laugh again. Then he held a finger to his lips.

She looked adoringly up at him and watched his green eyes twinkle. She marvelled at how he could smile with his eyes even without moving his lips.

For a moment he seemed lost again. Then he picked up the story. “So she looked everywhere for something that might be an infusement.”

“Lots of things to look at in a gilded cage,” Amanda observed.

“There are,” Sirius agreed, “But she was a borrower-”

“How come she didn’t just borrow the sorcerer’s powers?”

“Because he’s a sorcerer and also a mindwalker and so for some reason she never thinks of it.” For a moment he gave her that mischievous grin before getting serious again. “So she searched and she searched but she found nothing. For months and months she stayed up late considering her options, until even the very annoying seagull outside her window had gone to bed.”

“The seagull? Are you just making this up?” she accused.

He gave her a look of disbelief but his tone was playful, “No, it’s a legit fucking ending. Signed sealed and approved by the original author.”

She grinned then pulled herself up higher so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

“Anyway the seagull is important.”

She snorted and then gave him a doubtful look.

He smiled secretively. “It is. Listen,” he told her as his voice suddenly took on an entirely different tone. Up until then it had been lighthearted, playful, and a little hesitant as if he was trying to think of things as he said them. But now it became more rhythmic and hushed. Amanda found herself captivated by it and she no longer asked any questions. She just listened as he described all the things the princess tried, none of which worked.

“One day she was sitting at her the window looking out as she noticed something unusual about the seagull.”

He glanced at Amanda to see if she would ask but she stayed silent and so Sirius answered for her. “It was the only one.”

He continued. “In all her years since her sister had left not once had she ever seen a seagull before, until a couple of months ago this one just showed up. At first she didn’t notice it. It just blended into the background until this one particular day when she was feeling especially wistful. But once she did notice it, once she really looked at it, everything changed. Including the seagull. Right before her very eyes the seagull shifted into none other than her sister, the one whom she had seen turn to stone. You see, her sister was a powerful shapeshifter.”

“I’ve never heard of a shapeshifter who can turn to stone or who can split their body apart,” Amanda countered.

“Well, this one could. Power is as unique as people.”

Amanda didn’t argue. She supposed it was theoretically possible, after all she could do things most other firestarters couldn’t.

“As the princess watched, her sister transformed once more, this time into a golden monkey with a key shaped tail. A key that just happened to fit the lock on the bars that covered the window.”

“How come the sorcerer didn’t know the seagull was the other princess?” Amanda asked.

“Because he had one weakness that the sister had figured out. Despite being a very powerful sorcerer he couldn’t read or control the mind of anyone in animal form. Also on this particular day he was out getting groceries.”

Amanda snorted. “Wait, how did the sister figure that out?”

“Well, you know know how there was the bell for the food. Often when it was rung the food would appear almost immediately, as if it had been made in advance.”

“By someone who could read minds?”

“Exactly. But some days the sister liked to transform into a cat because then she could fit her whole body into the sunny patch on the floor and because she could hear the sea better. On days like this she might fancy something to eat but when she transformed to ring the bell the food was never quite as fast.”

“Clever,” Amanda mused. “But why did her sister wait to let her out? Surely the sorcerer must have left the tower other times?”

“Because she wasn’t sure the princess wanted to be rescued. After all the princess chose that cage remember? So her sister had to be sure she really wanted to leave. Just because she survived and grew to love her freedom did not mean that the outside world was any kinder or that her sister would like it as she did.”

Amanda grew thoughtful and in a more serious voice she asked, “Do you think she was really content? The girl in the first story, the one who chose the gilded the cage?”

“Perhaps,” he smiled softly again and his expression got thoughtful. “I always thought it was a bit reminiscent of real life. Everything’s a cage one way or another.”

She frowned. “Do you really think so?”

He looked at her. “But some cages are better than others.”

She thought about it and then asked, “Like not having a lot of money?”

“Like that. But also I think the important part was that she got to choose. That was her freedom in a way. Besides, is anyone ever really content?”

“But she couldn’t change her mind later, neither of them could. And I’m not so sure that contentment is the goal.” She laid her head on his chest and with a sigh she said, “I get why you can’t just give me the pegasus, despite what you said to Michael.”

Sirius was quiet.

Amanda couldn’t help herself. What she said next, despite what it sounded like, really wasn’t intended to persuade him, honest. She simply wanted to share. “I thought of a name for him.”

“What? The pegasus?”

She shrunk down into her shoulders and hugged him tighter, feeling guilty. “Yeah.”

He snorted and then started chuckling and then continued on for quite some time. When he finally stopped he was silent a moment and then he asked, “Alright, what is it?”

“The name?” She dared a look up at him. He looked like he was trying not to laugh again.

“Yeah, the name.”

“Ghost,” she announced proudly.

“Ghost?” Sirius frowned. “But he’s black, not very ghost like.”

“I think it suits him.”

“Well I suppose.” He gave another laugh.

She could feel his fingers casually work their way up and stroke the side of her neck and then her ear. She found it nice and calming.

After a few minutes he said, “You know, I wasn’t just saying that to Michael to shut him up.”

“But what about the crew and all the other jobs?”

“Yeah.” He sighed and ran one hand through his hair. “It’s complicated.”

“It’s okay. I mean, maybe they’ll sell him to a good home.” Was she really ready to give up on Ghost? Just when she’d named him.

Sirius was quiet for a bit and then he replied, “Let me think on it for a bit okay. Don’t give up just yet.”