Page 66 of Enchanted By a Pirate
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As they approached the small bay, Chris remained by her side. He rested his forearms on the railing and watched the giant as silently as Anna.
Anton followed them along the coast, his footsteps echoing out to sea, throwing back the waves crashing onto the beach. He had recognized that they were heading for the bay and waited there, no less euphoric than before. He never stopped waving for a moment, his big face beaming along with the sun.
Anna stopped waving. She peered thoughtfully at the giant, grateful that Chris was no longer pressuring her since she was allowing him to accompany her for the discussion. Neither of them exchanged a word as they stood close to each other, lost in thought.
The ship passed the rocks and sailed into the small bay. Anna gripped the railing tighter, worried. She hoped her theory wasn't true and that Anton was the kind, honorable giant she believed he was. She didn't even want to imagine what it meant for her gut feeling and all the decisions she had made based on it if she had been wrong about the gentle giant.
Chris sensed her restlessness and placed a hand on hers. He nodded to her wordlessly. When the Fortuna was in danger of running aground, Jack dropped anchor and Freddy lowered the rowboat into the water. "Shall I come with you?" he called to them. His facial expression was sullen, but now Anna knew how to interpret the expression.
The captain hesitated, as if he was considering taking his men with him as reinforcements. However, what would the giants say if a group of pirates stepped on their land?
"No, stay on board. Inspect the foremast again to make sure the storm didn't cause any damage. If so, fix it. Also, check the sails and repair them if they were damaged. But, be ready at all times so that we can depart straight away."
"Aye aye, Captain," the crew answered in chorus.
One after the other, Anna and Chris climbed down the rope ladder into the rowboat. As soon as Anna was seated on one of the transverse boards, Chris began rowing. She heard the steady lapping of the water and the waves rushing toward land. Seagulls screamed, adding a picturesque atmosphere to the moment, although Anna's heart beat harder with each stroke of the oar.
"Anemone! Anemone! I'm here," Anton shouted, as if she might possibly overlook him. He waded into the sea — the water in the bay was a small pond to him and didn't even reach above his ankles. With every step, waves began to rise, even though he was walking slowly. The rowboat rocked harder and harder. Anna clung to the edge of the boat.
"Get out of the water, giant. Or do you want us to go for a swim?"
Anton laughed bashfully. The tone was warm and light, eliciting a smile from Anna. When he held out his hand to her, she was tempted to jump on it. But she understood the captain's concern, which was why she waved to Anton from the boat.
"We're coming to you on land, Toni."
"Then you have to come into my hand. As soon as Norbert notices that a human is entering our realm, he will lift the temporary truce."
Anna listened. "Who is Norbert?"
The giant rolled his eyes. "Our leader — at least that's what he calls himself."
Anna glanced at the captain and shrugged questioningly. "I'd say, you stay in the boat and I'll talk to him."
"Ani, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Come on, Anemone." Without further ado, Anton grabbed her and placed her on one of his mattress-sized hands. He simply left Chris sitting in the rowboat, who immediately stood up and followed Anton's every move like a hawk.
"Be careful with her, giant, otherwise, you might be in for some trouble!" His posture emphasized the threat he had made, but Anton paid no attention to him at all. He brought Anna close to his face and smiled.
"How are you, Anemone? Oh, I see you're wearing one of your dresses. How pretty! Does that mean you can transform too?"
"Unfortunately, no, but I now know that I'm a fairy."
"That's fantastic news!" Toni sighed in relief and beamed at her again. "How was the journey?"
"It was wonderful, my dear. How did the conversation with the giants go? Apparently you were successful. Otherwise, we would hardly have been able to sail to the shores of your kingdom."
"It wasn't easy to convince the others. They groaned and roared loudly — I think that caused a storm in the southeast of the sea. But you didn't notice, did you?"
Didn't notice? She remembered the storm from the previous night all too well. Anna grinned. "Everyone is fine."
"In any case, the others aren't completely convinced that the scoundrel won't get in their way again. If the captain flies his ship through the air or sets foot on our land again, they will pursue him and his crew until he and his men are lying at the bottom of the sea."
The captain certainly must have provoked the giants with his actions at the time. But wasn't it a good sign that they were being at least somewhat accommodating? "Well, we'd better let him know before he rows ashore."
They glanced at Chris standing in the rowboat, who hadn't taken his eyes off them for a second. He was still a long ways from shore, so Anton waved him off. Anna gave him a friendly smile. How she had missed him! But then she became serious.
