Rolling from one end of the bed to the other, Maria tried desperately to fall asleep. It had been three hours since she had blown up on Fin, as she headed straight to her room afterwards. Though she blurted out that she was leaving in the morning, she had no real plans on how to execute such a plan.
Staring at the ceiling, she pondered whether or not it was the right choice for her to treat Fin the way she did. There was a lingering sense of guilt that tugged at her chest, and she wondered if she went too far.
“Well… he was being selfish…” she mumbled those words exactly eighty times in the past few hours. It was almost like she was trying to justify her outburst. Her heart beat relentlessly in anxiety, wondering how she’d even face Fin.
No, the biggest curiosity was how Fin would treat her afterwards. Would he apologize? Would he take back what he said? It was all a mystery to Maria. He always was. Ever since they were children, she could never decipher how he felt, and this case was no different.
Her mind wandered back to the fun they’d experienced for the last two days. Being so hung up on their plans to escape, she had forgotten all about the time they had held hands the first day they were stranded.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit foolish, having been so shy and nervous to carry out such an action. When she hesitated, Fin acted. That’s how it always has been. Deep down, she knew that Fin meant no ill will when he asked her the question of quitting.
But she wasn’t going to lie and say her rage was unjustified either. She might have overblown her claims a tad bit, but the fact that she had suffered so much and gone through much pain to get to where she was remained true.
Extending her arm, she stared at the back of her hand. Slightly squinting her eyes, she daydreamed about her experience holding his hand once more and fantasized about doing it again someday.
Her heart beat faster as she imagined herself leading a happy life with Fin. Sharing her first kiss, embracing each other warmly, and even getting married. It all flashed in her mind too fast, even for her.
Perhaps it was another part of herself telling her that this is the life she could have if she were to quit. The main problem was that, despite all her desires to stay alongside Fin for the rest of her life, she still didn’t want to leave all that she had worked for behind.
It hurt her so much because the truth was she was conflicted from the start. Ever since making eye contact with him during their last battle, the only thought and desire that drummed in her mind was the “what-if” of finally leading a life devoid of crime and agony.
But was it worth all the sacrifice to just throw it all away in the end? If she was doing everything for a boy, then was she doing anything for herself in the first place?
All that she ever wanted was at the palm of her hands. All she needed to do was leave her room and talk to Fin. All she needed to do was go across the hall and finally tell him how much she loved him, and how much she wanted to be with him. By doing so, she would solve all of her internal turmoil and finally achieve her dreams of living a happy life with the person she loved most.
But despite how easy it may seem, her legs wouldn’t budge, and the strength in her body was all but nonexistent. No matter how much mental courage she tried to gather, in the end, her mind would block any physical activity.
Because if she were to make a choice, then the other would be lost forever. Did she love him enough to abandon everything that she worked for? Or was the effort she put into getting to where she was far more important than spending time with a single boy?
She spent ten years without him, and if he were to quit, then she could always just visit him anytime. But was that what she truly wanted? Did she want to continue being a pirate just because she put so much effort? Or would she finally let herself rest and enjoy the life that she had always dreamed of?
It was too early. She was too young to make such a big life decision. Had she searched for ten more years, she would have been in her thirties and would most likely not mind leaving her career behind, as it would have meant that she had done enough.
But as she currently stood, from her mentality, she hadn’t done nearly enough to justify a happy retirement.
Slamming her arm back down onto the bed, Maria’s mind wandered back to the day when she tried to hold Fin’s hand. There was one pounding question that she kept asking herself that was never truly answered.
“Does he even like me back?”
What would happen if she did decide to stay, but her romantic dreams never came to fruition? In that case, everything would have gone to waste. The easiest thing to do was to confirm with the person himself, but for some reason, whenever the topic was at the tip of her lips, she would always hesitate and back down.
After all, that was the main reason she went up to the rooftop in the first place, until she got upset and sidetracked. Now her opportunity was gone, with no chance to recover it.
“Or maybe, I can ask him tomorrow before I leave.”
She rolled to the right.
“Or, maybe I can stay for another day or so to cool down.”
She rolled to the left.
“But the navy will be here in full force by then.”
“Ugh! I’ll deal with it tomorrow!" she exclaimed to herself, wrapping her entire body around her blanket.
As she closed her eyes once more, trying to force herself back to sleep, there were loud knocks on the door that startled her awake again. She tried to ignore it at first, assuming that it was simply the wind clashing against the wooden door.
However, a minute passed, and then another, and the knocking still persisted. Yuna, or most likely E-CAT, would have answered the door by now. But the door continued knocking like an annoying child nagging at their parents.
“Ugh! Fine!” she threw her blanket away and stomped towards her bedroom exit. Her steps sank into the smooth carpet underneath. Upon opening the door, she was surprised to see that all the hall lights were on. No, the entire building was lit up. This was strange to Maria, since Yuna always enforced the “lights out” rule around her estate.
The knocking continued.
Snapping out of her temporary thoughts, she rushed over to the door. There was a part of her that wished Fin would also walk down the hall and towards the door, so they could interact one more time before going to bed.
If she was truly planning on leaving in the morning, then she would want to at least say goodbye properly.
Gripping the metal handle, Maria swung open the door with every intention of yelling at the person behind it. To her surprise, it was Tan, who seemed out of breath, his clothes drenched in sweat.
“W-What’s wrong with you?!” Maria asked, her face shocked to see someone so lax wearing such a serious and dire expression.
“The captain…” he wheezed out, before taking another second to pull air into his lungs.
Maria watched on patiently as the chills of the outside wind seeped through her pajamas.
“The captain…”
“He turned himself over to the navy!!!”
Without a shred of hesitation, Maria sprinted back into her room, grabbing the necessary equipment and a change of clothes.
On the other side of the island, far from the estate, the gentle sea creaked the dormant ships from side to side.
Being a small island, there was rarely anyone from other nations visiting the city of Flarenorice. The ones who did were rich and powerful businessmen and nobles, all of whom owned their own private ports.
As such, there was only one public port. Two navy recon boats floated peacefully atop the sleeping waters. The eyes of the night crew sailors grew wearier and wearier with each passing second.
Danny and Izzy, whom Yuna had met the day before for her reconnaissance mission, yawned loudly, sitting on two wooden chairs next to their boats on the boardwalk.
“Did we end up getting a confirmation?” Izzy asked, lighting a cigarette.
“Yeah. They’ll be here in a few hours. Apparently they set sail a bit earlier from the orders of the Empress,” Danny replied.
“Empress? What’s she got to do with all this? I can’t imagine someone like her taking interest in such small matters.”
“The last time she got involved in something, it was ten years ago when we caught the Pirate Queen.”
“Maybe it’s a way for her to feel like she’s involved with the lower class. Or something like that.”
The two synchronously nodded, slumped over, wishing for the night to end sooner. Behind the two marines was an endless void of darkness inhabiting the sea. Though they sailed across the ocean various times, it still sent chills down their spines when they were faced with the reality of how dark the ocean could truly get in the dark.
As another yawn escaped their mouths, the snapping sound of a nearby branch jolted both of them awake. Immediately, their imaginations ran wild. Danny, who was the more superficial one, drew his pistol right away, expecting an animal or a monster straight from his nightmares.
Izzy was far less cautious, assuming it might be someone lurking about. Best-case scenario, it would be one of the pirates they were looking for. Then, two pairs of footsteps echoed from within the forest.
“Come out!” Danny exclaimed, his hands trembling in fear. He didn’t know what to expect from potentially calling out a threat like that. Oftentimes, when discovered, people or animals lurking would be threatened to run away.
However, as the two silhouettes came into full view, illuminated by the shining moonlight, the two navymen couldn’t help but gasp. A man with short, orange hair and a familiar noble with golden blonde, drill hair stepped out from the shadows.
Fin had his hands up to his head, metallic shackles restraining him. Yuna, as if holding onto a beast, held tightly onto the chain links of the handcuffs. Her eyes looked in sorrow at Fin, but snapped back into focus as the navymen stepped closer and closer.
Slightly looking over his shoulder, Fin’s gaze met Yuna’s, as if telling her that everything was going to be okay. Taking the hint, the noble cleared her throat as loudly as she could, breaking the silent tension between them and the navymen.
“This is the pirate you’ve been looking for, yes?”
Danny and Izzy stopped, and nodded.
“H-How?!” Danny questioned.
“This wretch was found crawling my treasury, hoping to steal my funds, most likely.” she said in an irritated tone, before kicking Fin on his lower back, forcing him to lose balance and fall forward onto the sand.
“Take him, I never wish to see him again.”
The two navymen immediately got to work, treating the infamous pirate captain with intense hostility. Though she had put on a cool front, it took everything within Yuna not to blast the rude men with magic.
Danny gripped Fin’s hair, lifting him up until his neck couldn’t bend anymore, “where is Maria Lemonia? If you tell us where she is, we’ll lighten your sentence.”
Their promise was clearly a lie, and if he were a lower-level pirate, it most likely would have worked on him. The physical abuse combined with the threat of death would be enough to scare anyone.
“I… I killed her…” he uttered before getting let go, his face planting down on the sand. At first, he debated telling the military this lie, as it would no doubt destroy her reputation going forward. However, it was the only way that he could think of to get the navy off her back as quickly as possible, retreating their ships upon securing Fin.
As Danny forcefully dragged Fin towards one of the ships, Izzy approached Yuna, taking off his navy hat in a show of respect.
“Thank you, ma’am. As promised, we will deliver your bounty prize as soon as possible.”
With a respectful bow, Izzy turned around, making his way towards the boat.
Yuna crossed her arms, seeing someone whom she considered to be a friend treated harshly and horribly. Slammed against the ship’s mast, Fin was bound tightly to prevent any form of escape. Her heart ached and wanted to do nothing more than blast the navymen away and live as a fugitive in exchange for Fin’s freedom.
But she was told not to act.
As gripping as it was, Yuna flipped her hair and made her way back towards the estate. She bit down on her lips, wondering if she had made the right choice.