Groggily, I wake up and look at the ceiling above me. The whorls in the wood are mesmerizing. I follow them as I think. This isn’t my home. But home is gone.

            “Get up, you lazy piece of shit,” I whisper to myself in the dim light that sifts through the curtain.

            “Get up and live your life,“ I say, thinking of how it’s a sad life. A life full of loss and regret and pain. But I’m a coward. Too scared of what comes next to kill myself, so I might as well do what I do while I live it. So I get up and realize, this isn’t the cabin that I fell asleep in.

            #knock, knock#

            I wait, expecting that the knocker will open the door immediately, but it seems like they’re waiting for me to answer.

            #knock, knock#

            A bit louder this time. It’s as if they weren’t sure if I heard with the first knock. I’m tempted to tell them to fuck off, but I’m also wondering. Wondering where I am and what I’m doing here. So I answer,

            “Yes, what is it?”

            “I’ve brought food.”

            I suddenly feel the emptiness of my stomach, so I ask them to enter. The door opens to reveal a scraggly creature with a tray, and as he comes closer, I regret feeling hunger as his smell has taken my want away. I almost gag, but my manners will never be lacking, even in the most trying of circumstances.

            “Thank you. You may go,” I say, hoping sincerely that he retreats soon enough for the smell not to linger. He puts down the tray and leaves immediately for which I am grateful, but as he leaves, another man enters. Without a knock and without a, by your leave, but ever so much more of a welcome presence. He is tall, dark and handsome. As a prince come out of a fairy tale. Yet, he is very obviously not a prince. His hair is in a mohawk, his eyes are like the darkness of the abyss and above his strong jawline lies a wry grin.

            “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked with the grin never leaving his lips.

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            I think about the contrast from this man to the one who preceded him. I think about the fact that I still don’t know where the hell I am, but need to find out and answer, “by all means,” and wave to the tray on the table with it’s two chairs.

            I get up off the bed. I still feel the waves, so I am still at sea. I am still fully dressed, which makes sense since I sent Bella, my maid away last night in my irritation and fell asleep in exhaustion. I take a seat which isn’t even a step away, look at the tray and see two bowls. Obviously, the not-so-prince, was expecting to join me.

            He bows and states, “My name is Captain John Rose. As you might have suspected, I have taken you off the Calimara and brought you onto my ship, Tsumani. I hope you’ll forgive the inconvenience. You see I sunk the Calimara. I rather suspected you wouldn’t want to be drowned and brought you to my cabin instead.”

            I laugh and say, “You’re quite right. Drowning seems like an abysmal way to die. I must say, you seem much better than the bloke that brought in the tray.”

            “I did it on purpose. He brings food to all my crew to make the food seem better in comparison, no matter what the food actually is.”

            “So clever of you, but, pray tell, what is your intention, Captain?” I take a bite of the oatmeal in the bowl and have a pleasant surprise. It is a bite full of cinnamon and apples and honey. Better than the gruel I had on the Calimara for sure.

            “You may not believe this,” he states, glancing to the side, “but I’m not entirely sure.”

            “…”

            “You see, I have a rather strange gift. It’s the gift of hunches.”

            A bit confused I say, “…so you, win at gambling?”

            “No, well, yes, but I don’t use it that way often since casino’s have enforcers. What I mean to say is, I followed my hunches. No less than five, but somehow it seems like all of my hunches were leading me to you.”

            “Pfft. A gift of hunches led you to me. What a joke! I’ve heard of the Tsunami. It’s a pirate ship. You’re telling me you had a hunch that led you to be a pirate captain? Let me tell you, Captain Rose, your hunch was wrong. You won’t get a cent of ransom for me. My father wants me dead. I suppose he would pay you to kill me if you offered that instead, but I can’t say it would be much.”

            “My lady, despite what you have said, I can’t help but treat you as I know you should be treated.”

            “A ‘my lady,’ no less. Do you even know my name?”

            “Enlighten me.”

            “I am Elena Wyndum.”