Page 88 of Enchanted By a Pirate
Chris shook his head almost imperceptibly. "He can't come in without destroying everything."
"Is there a problem?" Calla sneered, while Freddy took advantage of the captain's distraction to knock the cage out of his hand. Anna crashed loudly onto the floor. She fluttered up a little in time so that she wasn’t hurt. That had been close. With her hands wrapped around the bars, she watched the men.
Chris wanted to bend down for her, but the pirates pushed him back while Calla ran over and grabbed the cage and Anna. As she picked her up, Anna saw something that made her heart flutter. The barred door. It was no longer straight but crooked. With a little luck, it was off its hinges and Anna would be able to push it open.
Calla immediately put the bag over the cage again while the captain fought all six pirates at the same time. "Ani!" he shouted, and the worry she heard in his voice made her chest tighten. She couldn't give up — not just for the fairies and herself, but also for Chris, who was risking everything to save her. And he had been doing that ever since she disappeared, or even before.
She slammed her shoulder into the crooked door. It wobbled but didn't pop open. The noise drew Calla's attention.
"What are you doing?" She pulled the bag aside at the same moment that Anna slammed into the door again, which finally flew off its hinges. With a hiss, she dashed out of the prison and high into the air before Calla realized what Anna had done.
"I'm out of the cage, Chris," she called, and the captain laughed. The power he put into his blows was unimaginable. He effortlessly disarmed the five mutineers, who ended up unconscious on the ground with only Freddy remaining. They stared at each other and circled one another as if they had been rehearsing the movements for years. Each knew the other's weaknesses, but who would win?
How could she help Chris? Before she could find a solution, someone barreled toward her. Calla. She had transformed again. Her face was contorted with rage. She took a pinch of fairy dustfrom the bag hanging from her belt and blew it at Anna. The fairy dust source immediately grew quieter. Panic struck Anna as she realized what was happening.
"Stop it, Calla!" Anna pointed to the stream that was threatening to disappear. "You may not use fairy dust to harm anyone, especially not a fairy. Otherwise, the magic will dry up."
"You think so?" The fairy peered closely at the trickle and her eyes widened in horror. But, instead of stopping, she laughed deviously and a sly expression filled her face. "Then stop fighting us." She cleared her throat loudly. "Stop resisting or I will destroy the fairies' magic forever!"
Freddy parried Chris and pushed him back with the next thrust so that the captain had his back against the wall. "Did you hear what she said?"
"So what? I don't care about fairy magic. I only care about Ani."
"But I do." Anna flew sadly next to the captain, who looked at her warningly.
"Ani, don't let yourself be blackmailed. There will be a way to get the source working again."
Anna shook her head sadly. "No, I feel it. If Calla uses magic against me, it will destroy the fairies forever."
"Freddy doesn't want that either. They're bluffing!"
"Do you want to risk it?" Freddy pointed to the basin full of fairy dust. "I have my share, but you won't have anything. And the fairies will die. Isn't that so, Anemone?"
Anna pressed her lips together. Calla held another pinch of dust in her hands, ready to harm Anna with it. If only she had some fairy dust with her, she could have stopped the fairy somehow.
The five pirates lay motionless on the floor and Freddy leaned against the basin, running his finger through the glittering particles. Chris's eyes darted from her to Freddy andback to her again. He hesitated, holding his saber ready, but he didn't continue fighting. Instead, he waited for her verdict.
She nodded resignedly and Chris lowered his saber. "Are you certain?"
"Unfortunately, I can feel it." And she did. The fountain screamed, weeping for the fairy who was ready to harm another fairy with its bright magic. It waited, willing to go to any extremes to prevent further harm. Was that why it had stopped flowing back then? Because Calla had betrayed her and the other fairies? Or because Anna had lost her faith? Maybe everything was connected. She couldn't say with certainty, but it didn't matter what had happened back then. All that mattered was the here and now.
Chris breathed in and out loudly.
"That's good, Captain," Freddy sneered. Anna thought she saw Chris raise his saber again, but he didn't. Instead, he looked at her. "Remember, Ani, I believe in you. I always have. You can do so much more than most. Believe in yourself and you will succeed in everything!"
Had she just imagined it or had he stared at her chest for a split second? But why…. Lost in thought, Anna's hand went to her cleavage, where the necklace was resting over the dress. She watched as Freddy took Chris's weapon and began to bind his hands while the captain kept looking her in the eyes. And then another memory flashed.
It had been the evening of their first kiss. They had agreed to meet in the small bay and were sitting around the campfire. The sun was setting and Anna was fighting to stay awake longer to see the stars shining over the man she thought about every day.
With a subtle smile, he took her hands and asked her to close her eyes. As she did, she felt a cold object around her neck. It was metal, but she could tell it wasn't iron. Confident, she kepther eyes closed until a clasp clicked and the captain stroked her shoulders. His rough hands left trails of goosebumps.
"You are my sun, Ani, and will be for all time."
She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at herself. He had put a gold chain on her with a sun-shaped pendant dangling from it. She stroked it reverently.
"Thank you, it's beautiful."
The captain slowly picked up the pendant, the gold glistening in the light of the evening sun. "It has a secret lock." A mechanism clicked and the sun's body popped open, revealing a small compartment. "You can hide something in it—maybe some of your fairy dust. Then you'll have an emergency stash on you if your bag ever runs out."
