Page 64 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"Is this…?"
"Aye, one of your dresses."
She slowly came closer and stroked the natural material. It felt cool and warm at the same time. Pleasant. There's no way it would scratch. "Can I…?"
Chris held it out to her. "Of course, it's yours." He watched as she took the dress, sat on the bed, and stroked the interwoven leaves lovingly. "I'll go out and decide where we can go ashore."
"Okay." Without looking up, she waved at him. Then she heard nothing more, and just sat feeling the article of clothing in her hands. She slowly raised it to her face, pressed her nose into the material, and took a deep breath. Her heart beat faster. She was excited, joyful. This was hers. When Chris had pulled it out, she had known immediately. A piece of the past, something of hers. It seemed infinitely precious to her.
She peeled off the blanket and slipped into the dress. Into her dress. As she pulled the wide straps over her shoulders, a smile filled her face. It fit like a second skin — just perfectly.
That's what she'd worn back then. She was a fairy and this was her dress. She stroked it reverently again and again. Why wouldn't any memories come back even though she had rediscovered so much from her inner convictions? Anton was her friend, she and Chris were a couple, she was a fairy — why did she know all this but nothing from the past returned?
If she truly was the one blocking the memories and the magic, why was she doing it? What had happened back then that had shocked her so much? And why couldn't it all just be retrieved with a simple flick of the wrist?
Deep in thought, she paced the room. Her shoes were still wet, as were her socks. She spotted a pair of boots that didn't look quite as big as Chris's. Could they possibly… be hers? Had Chris put them out for her? She hadn't even noticed.
As she slipped in a bare foot, she smiled. Exactly her size. And the leather felt so soft, as if it had already been broken in. If they were hers from back then, how could that be after so many years? Had Chris conditioned them to keep them soft? After all, he had carefully stored her dress. The thought of him warmedher heart. She wanted to go to him, thank him, and then… then she wanted to see the Kingdom of Rocks.
As she stepped out the door, it was so bright that she blinked. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and the storm was nowhere to be seen. The men had only set one sail on the main mast and the others were catching up with them. It looked like hard work as they unraveled the huge mass of material. When they noticed Anna, they turned and gawked at her. Wordlessly, they stared at her clothes. Anna would have loved to turn in a circle, she felt so comfortable in the leafy dress.
Jack was the first to find his voice. "Our pirate fairy is finally back!" He laughed loudly and the other men joined in, roaring and hooting. Warmth and gratitude flowed through her. Gratitude for how the pirates had welcomed her. A smile tugged at her lips. It had been a long time since she'd had that feeling of belonging that she felt that morning.
Chris stepped out of the shadow of the sails and approached. His eyes lit up and a cheeky grin spread across his face. When he reached her, his voice was a rough whisper.
"I like you better naked, but this dress," he whistled appreciatively as he slowly moved his eyes up and down her body, "was always my favorite."
Overjoyed, Anna looked down. In her other life, she had always worn pants — jeans, to be precise — so it was unusual. Still, the garment felt like coming home. She smiled and lookedat Chris challengingly. "Can we finally land, Captain, or do you need a moment?"
He grinned. "We can land, madam. Your giant is waiting on the bank, waving his arms."
"Really?" She hurried past him, ducked under the sail, and ran to the bow on the upper deck. She leaned on the railing and looked out at the land before them. High cliffs reached up into the blue sky, everything gray on gray, as if this part of the country consisted only of stone. There was hardly any suitable place to moor on the rocky coast. No harbor was in sight. And in the middle of this gray wasteland, something moved. It was big, wide, and not only gray, but also mossy green.
"Toni!"
She leaned forward, careful to hold on tightly to the railing. The giant almost blended in with the monotonous background, but the longer she concentrated on the moving spot, the better she could make him out. He waved at her with both arms at the same time and she waved back happily.
Chris stood next to her and watched the spectacle with a smile. "We're just going to go ashore for a moment so you can talk to him. Then we sail on to the Arctic Ocean to the Kingdom of Winter."
"Only for a moment? That's too bad."
"Aye, the giants don't like trespassers."
The explanation was obvious. It would be better not to irritate the rulers of this kingdom. Once again, she scanned the barren land with her eyes. "Do only giants live in the kingdom?"
"And lots of goats, the giants' main food source. There used to be a few people who lived there. They milked the goats and traded the milk and cheese made from it. Plus, of course, the wool and meat. But back when you disappeared and I took to the sky to find you, the giants drove the last people from their land."
"Since then, only goats and giants have lived there?"
"Aye."
Anna laughed half-heartedly. "Why is everyone mad at me and hunting me — I even have a bounty on my head! — when it was you who sailed into the sky and threw everything out of balance?"
Chris shrugged. "It must be my charm." He grinned. "Everyone knew I was only able to do this with the help of the dust you gave me. Sorry, love, I think that's why most of the blame was placed on you. But I'm not popular, if that's any consolation."
Anna smiled. "I can hardly imagine that." Wait, he could only fly because she'd given him the dust? "Is there still a small portion of the fairy dust left in the barrel that I gave you back then?"
"No, I had to dump everything over the Fortuna. Otherwise, the ship would never have taken to the air."
