Rogue Argent Sea, Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Reflections

Reese couldn't see anything past the thin, pale fingers gripping onto the jar. Mary was holding it with much more care than Tia had done. Reese sat down on the cold glass floor, trying to process what had just happened.

Orville didn't care about her.

He didn't give a single, solitary fuck.

Reese hated the fact that it bothered her. She always knew that something like this was inevitable, a friendship or anything more between them was an impossibility. She was lying to him, and to him she was just the price on her head.

Despite moonlit talks and friendly conversations, she was just a liar and he was just a pirate.

This was all inevitable, she knew something was bound to destroy their friendship, and yet it still hurt like hell.

When it had just been her and Timm and Matthias, she didn't trust a single soul. She didn't trust anyone after their parents left, after the mess with Ari, trusting people was bad and it all lead to shit like this.

It was better to keep guarded than have hope blown up in your face.

And yet, she felt like she had found a home on the ship. The two and a half months changed things. She felt as if the crew was her family, like she could trust any of them, trust Orville, with her life.

Apparently she was wrong.

So, so wrong.

The world suddenly came to an abrupt stop, a thud ringing through the glass jar as it was gently set down on a desk. The fingers were removed from Reese's view, and the woman from earlier came into view as she sat down in front of the desk and jar.

“Hello,” she said, softer than the tense conversation earlier, “I'm Mary, Mary Fabre. I'll be staying with you during your time here.”

Reese didn't reply, but she didn't take her eyes off of Mary. She drew her knees up to her chest, locking her arms around them. She wanted to bury her face in her arms and cry, wanted to give into exhaustion and sleep, wanted to just break down utterly and entirely. However, she didn't break eye contact with the woman, suspicious over her every move.

Orville had no qualms about tossing her into jars, and Tia had no problem with rolling the jar around in her hands, and although Mary had handled the jar with care, Reese still kept herself on guard. After the demolition of trust from the day, she didn't dare let any weakness show through.

Mary drummed her clawed fingers on the table, her seemingly feeling as talkative as Reese was. She paused for a moment, before leaning in slightly closer.

She smiled, and from the way it crossed her face, it was evident Mary wasn't used to smiling. It stretched her scars in an unnatural way, the smile contrasted sharply with the heavy bags under her weary eyes.

“It will be alright, miss,” she offered, “Things will be okay.”

Reese truly doubted it.

-

The second that the two ships were parted, Orville was barking out orders.

“Jack, crows nest, now,” he ordered, his voice laced with angers. He spoke in a tone that one wouldn't dare disobey. “If their ship gets near ours again, shout out instantly, okay? Keep track of which direction they're going, use your compass.”

Jack sniffled, still shaking from the ordeal, but he managed a nod. He made his way to the crows nest, wiping off his tears on an already soaking wet sleeve. He was a mess, but if he wanted to be a good pirates like the others someday, he'd have to toughen up, he told himself.

Orville then turned to Dill.

“Get in the sails, let everything loose, we need to get out of here as fast as possible.

Dill, who was also a mess but more composed than Jack, nodded sharply.

“Aye, captain,” he said curtly, before moving to climb up the main mast after Jack.

“Look,” Orville said, raising his voice so the whole crew could hear him, “I realize we're all a heartbeat away from a panic attack, but we need to get away from them first, then have panic attacks.”

He glanced over to the other three awaiting orders, his eyes landing on Viola's arm.

“Saffy, go down to the kitchens and help stitch Viola up, please,” he said, turning to the cook, “Get ice for your eye too, and something to clean out those cuts. Leave the med kits out once you're done, I think everyone else needs some patching up too, but you two seem to have the worst of it.”

Bonnie and Viola both nodded, before going down below decks.

“Bonnie,” Orville said, turning to his first mate and last crew member, “We need to talk.”

With that, he moved to go below decks, unable to stand the sight of the ship sailing away any longer. He knew Bonnie was following, by the click of their boots on the wooden steps.

The second he was out of sight from the rest of the crew, he let his shoulders sag, the weight of all that had happened hitting him. He blinked several times, thick eyelashes batting away the tears that wanted to spring up.

He headed to his office, sinking down into his desk chair, a void and vacant look on his face. Bonnie entered a moment later, shutting the door behind the two of them.

They turned to him, seeing how utterly broken he looked.

Orville sagged in his chair, staring at nothing. He looked downright exhausted, tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but it was clear he was refusing to allow it. Every single muscle in his body was tense, his chest was practically pounding with the rate his heart was going, he seemed on the precipice of a total breakdown.

“Are you okay?” Bonnie asked, keeping their voice low and careful. They grabbed one of the chairs from in front of the desk and slid it around, so they were sitting directly in front of him, instead of across the desk.

Orville bit his lip, and shook his head. He ran a hand over his face, screwing his eyes shut.

“God, seeing her, I just... it's making me remember,” Orville said, his voice wavering, “All the things she did to me, everything, I don't want to remember it but it's stuck in my head and keeps on playing over and over.”

Bonnie let out a light sigh through their lips; this was going to be bad. There was only a handful of things that triggered Orville like this, but when they hit, they hit hard.

“It's going to be alright,” Bonnie told him. They weren't quite sure if it was true, but it was what he needed to hear.

Orville shook his head, blond waves of hair shaking about his face lightly.

“I can't even focus on me right now. We have a bigger problem.”

Bonnie leaned back, their eyebrows knitting into a frown. They glanced over Orville, eyes landing on his pocket, noting the lack of weight in it. It didn't take them more than a few seconds to piece it all together.

“You gave her to Tia,” they stated, not a question but a fact.

Bonnie had grown fond of Reese, as had all the others. While this wasn't a situation they supported, Bonnie trusted Orville to only do what he absolutely had to.

Orville nodded, a guilt ridden look on his features.

“I didn't want to,” he said, not even managing the courage to look Bonnie in the eyes as he talked, “God, I didn't want to. But she caught us specifically to get the princess. She was going to kill all of you, do the same things did to me to you, and I c-couldn't let that happen, it would have been my f-f-fault and I just couldn't let it happen-”

“Orville,” Bonnie broke in, soft but firm.

Orville stilled, quieting. He seemed to draw in on himself, and he took a quick moment to breathe deeply before looking back up to Bonnie.

“We're going to get her back, we have to get her back. She's not safe there,” he let out another shaky breath, before speaking more firmly. “I think I have a person on the inside.”

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, a slight bit of surprise evident on their face.

“You have a connection?” they asked, a tad bit confused. They thought Orville had cut off all contact with anyone or anything relating to Tia long ago.

“When I was in Tia's office there was a woman there. A lykoi, I think. Really timid and quiet. But she had the same scars as me.”

Bonnie, the only person whom Orville had told the story of his scars to, their eyes went wide.

“And the scars, that's how Tia marks her 'mates'. By the way the girl acted, it was just as nonconsensual as it was when I was in her place. She seemed utterly dead inside. I managed a sort of signal to her, and she definitely picked it up. I told her earlier I'd help her escape if she helped me. I think we can make this work.”

Bonnie nodded, gears turning in their head. They could figure this out. Even if Mary turned out to not be on their side, they'd try to get Reese back anyway.

“What's the plan?”

“I'm thinking me and you can take one of the rowboats to the ship. The water is pretty calm tonight, and I doubt they got too far, so it shouldn't be too hard. We'll sail out, and the woman, Mary she'll help us on board. Avoid other people, get the princess back, help Mary out, get the hell out of dodge.”

“And if Mary isn't on our side?”

“Die.”

“Good plan,” Bonnie said dryly, although they weren't sure if Orville was joking or not. “No one's going to die tonight. What happens after we get Reese and this Mary?”

“I was thinking we could go to the safe house,” Orville stated, “Assuming we get in and out without Tia noticing, we can get the hell away from her before she notices anything wrong. She doesn't know about the safe house, we should be safe there. We just lay low there for a few days, weeks, until this all blows over.”

Bonnie nodded sharply.

“There's about fifty different holes in that plan, but it'll do,” they said, bluntly.

Orville leaned back further in his chair, running a hand through his hair anxiously. He screwed his eyes shut, slumping his shoulders.

“She's never going to forgive me,” he said, barely audible.

“The princess?” Bonnie prompted, “I'm sure she'll understand when you explain everything. You did practically the same to Dill three weeks of him being on the ship, he understood.”

“This is different. Dill knew I had a plan. The princess, she thought I just betrayed her like that,” Orville said, turning to look up at Bonnie again, “I tossed her in a jar for fucks sake. Tia made me say I hated her. She doesn't know we're coming for her, or that I care. She's not going to trust me. It's stupid of me for ever thinking that there could be anything good between us anyway, with the position we're in, she's our fucking captive for fucks sake. And I just practically gifted her to the most vile and dangerous person I know. She's... she's never going to trust me again.”

Bonnie didn't speak, they just let him vent, get it all out.

“Like, if it was you, or Saffy or Viola even, I know you guys would get it. I know you'd understand that I'd come back for you and yeah, you'd be pissed, but you would understand it was what I had to do and that I'd be back for you. I'd always come back for any of you. But she doesn't know that, hasn't ever been in a spot like this. She doesn't know. She probably fucking hates me now.”

“Orville,” Bonnie said, their voice breaking into his rambles easily, “She'll understand when you explain it to her. She won't like it, and it will take time for her to trust you again, but she will understand. Don't act like it's all over when you still have a chance. We're going to get her back, we going to be somewhere safe, away from Tia, and things will go back to how they were before.

Orville sighed, he screwed his eyes shut once more.

“I hope so,” he said, voice tired, “I really, really hope so.”