I saw Robin—the person from inside dream—sleeping standing up, leaning against the wooden pole supporting my hammock. "Why is he sleeping standing up?" I asked, before deciding to poke him on the side of his stomach, which made him open his eyes straight away.
His dark eyes immediately met my blue ones. "Oh, you're awake," he said before stretching, as if he wasn't doing anything strange or out of the ordinary—had he not been given a place in the hammock? If so, he could always sleep on the floor.
"Why were you sleeping like that?"
"Like what?"
"Standing up."
"Oh?" He rested his hands on his hips, his expression appearing relaxed before he finally replied. "Most of the crew here are men—and given their nature… they're a bunch of scoundrels; they might just do whatever they fancy to a girl like you."
I was taken aback by that—was he protecting me? I'd never imagined he'd do that, even knowing I was a Fable with an Everafter far more powerful than his. "Do you remember that girl called Liz?" He asked.
"…Even though she was only eighteen, some men used that as an excuse to take advantage of their seniority and make her do things that—I needn't mention." I looked back at the men who were asleep; I'd been aware of it from the start, but I was even more acutely aware of it now—I was surrounded by danger.
"I see," I muttered, and that made me think about the danger even more carefully. I climbed down from the hammock and gave him a light punch on the chest. "Thanks, you really are a mate I can rely on," I said, unable to suppress a smile. A former criminal and my former opponent was protecting me from the scoundrels I'd once regarded him as being one of.
After that, Robin enjoyed the fresh air and the scent of the sea, which made his shoulders feel a little lighter—having finished breakfast, he wanted to relax as he would in London, but this wasn't his cosy home. "Hey, new lad! Think you're the captain? Come and give us a hand over here." Robin turned and saw some of the crew trying to load the cannon with cannonballs.
"Give me a moment," he said, immediately running over, whilst everyone else was busy with their respective tasks—I was hiding in a spot where people rarely ventured. My reason? To stave off my nausea; just looking at the sea would make me vomit on the spot.
"It looks like we're approaching the first challenge!" shouted a man with a telescope in his hand; he was standing in the crow's nest—and had already spotted signs of the first challenge. "We're heading into the Sirens' area!"
That news immediately had the crew scrambling to get ready; suddenly, a tap on my shoulder made me turn around with a start. "Uwogh!" I saw a girl with tanned skin and an amber-coloured bandana that matched her eyes. "O-Oh… Liz—you gave me a fright."
Liz let out a long sigh. "Why did you join us in the first place if you get seasick?" she asked. There was no way I could answer because my pride got the better of me—so I had to come up with an excuse whilst my stomach churned.
"I… I'm here to look for my mate," I said—it wasn't a lie, but the truth was I didn't want to look helpless just staring at the waves, only to end up failing so embarrassingly when Robin saw me unable to hold back my nausea the first time.
"Huh," Liz looked sceptical, but her eyes drifted towards the exit at the far end of the spacious room. "Anyway, the Captain's looking for you—you must go and see him at once," she added, and I replied with a faint nod before she turned and walked away.
As soon as no one else was within my field of vision, I collapsed straight to the floor. 'I WANT TO DIE…' This seasickness is going to kill me, and Captain Hook is bound to call on me to use my wits, as it seems we're approaching the Sirens' territory.
But I forced my legs to keep walking and finally breathed in the fresh air. "Oh, Alice!" Robin called out, but I immediately hurried to the side of the ship and threw up everything in an instant. "Oh, Alice…" His tone changed instantly.
Once my nausea had subsided for the time being, I turned round and leaned against the hard wood—as I looked ahead, the world still felt slightly upside down, but I could see Robin smiling amusedly, and beside him was a man in a long red jacket. "Captain Hook..." I called out, reaching into my pocket—even though I was seasick, I had to prove my worth.
I walked towards him, though I nearly toppled sideways several times; eventually, however, I managed to hand him a fairly large pouch. "You need a way to counter the sirens' song, don't you?" I needed Robin's help to stand upright, as my legs felt as though they'd lost the ability to support me properly.
"Oh? You're rather clever. Yes, I do need a way to ward it off," he folded his arms and glared at me with his dark eyes. "And I assume this pouch you're holding is the solution?" He took the pouch and pulled the string that kept it closed.
When the contents were revealed, they turned out to be a pair of earplugs made of beeswax—and there were so many of them that they'd be enough for the entire crew on board. "Impressive, but where did you get all of these when you only found out about this Siren area a day ago?" The corners of his mouth turned up, and I could see satisfaction on his face.
"A lady never says," I replied. In truth, ever since Captain Hook had shown me the chart detailing the challenge, I'd already been preparing a plan, and one part of it was to make these earplugs in secret.
And at last night's party, I whispered to Robin to help make the rest because I was too tired that night to make any more—why did I do it in secret? Because I didn't want the crew to see my Everafter abilities.
I made all those earplugs from my Everafter cards, and since Robin couldn't activate my cards, I gave him some beeswax that was ready to be moulded into earplugs.
Captain Hook roared with laughter at my answer; although I'd had no intention of making a joke of it, at least he seemed happy now. "You really are fascinating!" He held the sack high above his head so that all the crew around us could see it. "We'll survive the first challenge!" he declared, and was immediately met with jubilant cheers from his crew.
Meanwhile, I looked out at the sea, which had become much calmer than usual—there were no waves or strong winds. Ahead of the ship, a thin mist was beginning to slowly engulf us—the seabirds that had been accompanying the ship since we set sail were starting to turn back, as if frightened by what lay ahead.
The seawater had grown darker than before, and I had just begun to hear a faint singing sound that vanished instantly when Robin inserted the earplugs into my ears. I lifted my head to look at the man, who had already put his own in as well. "You'd better get some rest, Princess," he grinned mockingly as the nickname rolled off his tongue.
"...I'll throw you into the sea, seaweed," I retorted, but even though I was trying to sound threatening, I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the amusement of that nickname.
Once the entire crew had put on their earplugs, they immediately prepared to face this challenge with composure—unbeknown to them, the ship had already been swallowed whole by the fog. I leaned against the wooden wall and looked around for any sign of the Siren.
My eyes were drawn automatically to the left, where I spotted a gigantic coral quite close to the ship; I could feel such a violent jolt that I was practically torn from the floor—I looked ahead and saw that the bow had crashed into that very same coral.
I saw a crew member shouting out as if searching for someone; I got up off the floor and tried to find anyone who might be missing. Both my shoulders were shaken, and as I turned round, I saw a man with ginger hair—his face looked utterly panicked and distraught.
He was trying to tell me something, but as wax in my ears was blocking my hearing—I had to read his lips. My eyes widened, and my hands began to sweat—not because of seasickness, but because I realised that one person was missing, and it wasn't just any crew member.
"Captain Hook is running and leaping towards a giant boulder."
The words that came out of Robin's mouth made me spin round immediately; a blinding blue light burst from my hands, making me the centre of attention for the crew—two cards were drawn; I was meant to hurl myself into the air, but unfortunately, an overwhelming wave of seasickness struck me like a bolt of lightning.
I tripped over my own feet, causing me to stagger forwards; my feet were no longer touching the floor, and the next thing I knew, my head was plunging straight into the water. There was one other thing I'd kept hidden from everyone, apart from the fact that I was suffering from seasickness—I cannot swim.