Page 12 of Escaping Pirates (Legends of Neverland #4)

“Rendered,” I corrected under my breath as I stumbled down to the kitchens, where the heavy scent of a thick stew made my stomach growl in protest.

“Aye, the Cap’n said ye’d be taking that new lad his meals,” the cook, a large, beefy man named Thad, said. “Don’t steal any, mind.” He handed me a heavy platter with a generous portion of stew, a slice of thick sourdough bread, and two oranges.

Would the cruelty of my time aboard this ship never end?

Carrying portions of food that I would never eat was even worse than my arms being suspended over my head when I was so famished.

The scent wafted up to me as I carried the tray, tantalizing me with the forbidden smells that made my mouth water.

When I finally entered the brig, I was about to faint from the smells and my knees were on the verge of buckling.

“Here,” I said, coming to a stop in front of Harlan’s cell and preparing to pass the items through one by one. “Blossom says she is hindered breathless by the thought of you.”

“Hindered, is she? I certainly hope so.” He looked over my shoulder to ensure that we were alone, then lowered his voice. “I didn’t ask for the extra meals for myself, Elena. You need to eat.”

His words didn’t quite register at first. “Me?”

“I’d intended to save it for you, but if you’re the one delivering it, that makes it much easier. Eat .”

“But what about you?”

He shrugged. “If I’m extra hungry at dinner, that’ll just encourage them to give me larger portions tomorrow. I assume you don’t have much time to deliver this before those two expect you back, so please, eat it.”

I needed no further urging. Harlan peeled the oranges for me while I gulped down the bowl of stew, barely even stopping to draw breath. It was piping hot and loaded with onions, carrots, and potatoes. I’d never tasted anything so good.

“Take it easy,” Harlan urged, handing the peeled oranges back through the bars. “You’ll make yourself sick if you eat that fast.”

I nodded but couldn’t stop myself from shoving in half an orange at a time and swooning as the citrusy burst of flavor hit my mouth like a tropical explosion.

So much for ladylike grace in front of company.

I practically inhaled everything, and an unpleasant sensation grew in my stomach.

It took me a full minute before I realized I was overly full, a feeling that I had all but forgotten.

“I can’t finish,” I told him. I would burst if I ate anything else.

Harlan shot me a thoroughly mistrustful expression. “I don’t need it,” he told me, holding his hand up to push away the tray.

“I really can’t finish,” I assured him. “I’m not sure why, but…”

“I’m sure your stomach has shrunken since you’ve been here,” Harlan admitted grudgingly.

“It will take time to get you back to normal.” He smiled at me, so reassuring and kind that it made me momentarily forget our imprisonment.

“We’ll make it through this, don’t worry.

You probably should go before they suspect anything. ”

“Right. They want my help to get ready for tonight. Good luck.”

“You too.”

Sugar and Blossom did look their best that evening. Each had chosen some of the nicest dresses and jewelry that had been on my ship when I was captured. They both wore them well, even if I hated seeing my father’s stolen merchandise on them.

“Now get out,” Blossom ordered me once she had finally pronounced herself ready and sent for Harlan. “This is my special night.”

“Mine too! Harlan can spend time with me first, then you,” Sugar said.

“No! I need to go first. ”

As if summoned by his daughters’ disagreement, Captain Harsh appeared in the doorway, but I did a double-take when I saw him. He had bathed and combed his hair, as well as put on a fresh set of clothing.

“Daddy, you look so nice! What’s the occasion?” Blossom said, twirling so she could show off her dress.

“I’m here to chaperone your evening with that boy, and you look lovely, dear.”

Sugar’s mouth dropped to the ground. “We can’t have you here, Daddy! He’s courting us!”

Blossom nodded her head up and down. “Right, you can’t be here!”

“I have to chaperone you. Who knows what he might try? I know how men are.”

“Daddy, no! We can’t have you. We need a different chaperone!”

“Absolutely not. I will protect you girls. I’ll sit in the corner and be so quiet that you won’t even know I’m there.” He looked at me. “You’re dismissed.”

I left them to their family squabble, passing Harlan on my way down to the brig as he was escorted up to see the girls.

As we were surrounded by pirates, I couldn’t do anything more than give him the tiniest of sympathetic smiles as we passed, and he grimaced back.

I muffled my laughter. He knew exactly what he was walking into, and his face was so expressive that it was like he had words labeling his emotions slapped across his forehead.

I pushed the brig door open and went into my cell, wondering how Harlan’s date was going, when I stopped dead. Something was different…

The cell door hadn’t clanged shut like normal. I caught my breath and slowly pivoted as I realized that I hadn’t been followed and locked up like usual. Disbelieving, I took a few steps closer to the brig door that led to the rest of the ship. It was shut tight, leaving me entirely alone.

Think, Elena, think! I ordered myself. There was no way to determine how long I would be unattended, and who knew how long it would be before such an opportunity arose again?

I couldn’t squander it now. We weren’t anywhere near land, so I had to stay on the ship.

Were there any keys hanging on a wall? If I could somehow smuggle a key into my cell for the next time we were near land…

But no, the captain always kept the keys on his person. With an anxious glance over my shoulder, I ran to the end of the brig, where I’d seen the captain and his brother go for drinks, hoping to find supplies, a map, a knife, anything that could be useful.

Instead, the cabinet at the end of the walkway held only empty bottles.

It seemed that perhaps the captain’s secret stock wasn’t so secret after all if the crew were able to sneak down to steal drinks while I was with Sugar and Blossom.

I stared at one of the bottles, an idea simmering in the back of my mind.

Empty bottles weren’t useless. After finding their corks where they’d fallen to the bottom of the cabinet, I took three bottles and carefully hid them in the straw on the floor of my cell, arranging them so the glass wouldn’t clink together and the bottles wouldn’t roll when the ship heaved from side to side.

My hands trembled, but a fierce pride burned within my chest. I didn’t need to be on land to send a message.

Heavy, running footsteps overhead made me jump and sit rigidly straight on my wooden bunk. The noises had come from the sisters’ quarters and were leading to the brig. Was Harlan fleeing the date?

The captain burst into the brig, staring around, then his shoulders relaxed when he saw me in my cell.

He marched over and pulled the cell door all the way closed, turning the key in the lock with that metallic grind that I hated so much.

“That’s better,” he grouched, then looked up at me. “Thought you might try to run.”

“I have nowhere to go.”

He smirked. “And don’t you forget it, either.”

I’d fallen asleep by the time Harlan was escorted back to the brig and shoved into his cell.

“How did it go?” I whispered as soon as the captain had left. My and Harlan’s bunks were only separated by the cell bars, so our faces were less than a foot apart.

“Not quite as terribly as I expected.”

“I need more details than that.”

“Let’s see, Sugar asked me right away if I was seeing anyone, and I told her yes.”

“You are?” It shouldn’t have surprised me. Harlan was handsome, intelligent, and thoughtful. Any girl would be lucky to be with him. The slight twinge I felt was only because I was grateful to him for his kindness, that was all.

Harlan let out a chuckle. “Yes, they were about to break down when I told them that I was now seeing the two most memorable women on the ocean.”

I let out a soft breath of laughter. “I bet they loved that.”

“Oh, they did. I worry I might have laid it on a little too thick, but I need to buy some time until I can figure out a plan. I had a question for you, though. Why do they call you Scurvyella?”

I gently pulled back my upper lip to reveal my weakening gums in the moonlight spilling into the brig. “I knew it affected pirates, but I don’t know how to fix it. As for the Ella part, they said it was easier than Elena.”

“That’s hardly a difference, and Elena is a much prettier name. But—you need fruits and vegetables. What was your diet like before today?”

“Hardtack.”

“What else?”

“Sometimes dried fish. That’s all.”

Harlan closed his eyes and a vein throbbed in his temple. When he opened his eyes again, there was a fire blazing there, but he spoke in a voice of forced calm. “Keep eating fruits like those oranges today. Scurvy can be cured if you eat citrus.”

My heart leapt. Maybe I wouldn’t lose my teeth after all. “We won’t have to worry about finding citrus if we can find a way out of here, and I thought of a plan. How do you feel about writing Sugar and Blossom love letters?”

“Like I’d rather be eaten by a kraken. I don’t see how meaningless love letters would help us at all.”

As softly as possible, I told him about the bottles I’d squirrelled away. “So,” I finished in hushed, excited tone, “If you can convince them to give you paper and ink to compose sonnets of love anytime you’re in here, we could?—”

“Write letters to put in the bottle,” Harlan interrupted me. “You’re brilliant, Elena.”

“Brilliant, desperate, call it whatever you want,” I teased while I felt heat warm my cheeks from his compliment. “As long as we get out of here, I’ll be happy. Now you just need to get some paper and ink.”

“Next time I see Sugar and Blossom, I’ll have to tell them about how I want to write down my true feelings anytime we’re apart, for my heart cannot bear the pain of being away from them without being able to pen my every thought.”

“Careful, sailor boy. Any girl would melt like wax at such declarations. They could have their father marry you to one of them by the week’s end. He is a ship’s captain, so he has that power.”

The shared cell bars vibrated as Harlan shuddered on his bunk. “That’s terrible. Don’t wish that on me.”

I laughed quietly. “So between now and when you get the paper, you need to think of some romantic poetry and love notes. I hope you’re good at that sort of thing.”

“I guess I’ll need to learn quickly. Tomorrow when they call for you, see if you can pick up any tips about what they want to hear so I know what to write.”

I could barely contain my glee. “We could have them out by this time tomorrow night!”

“As wonderful as that would be,” Harlan told me slowly, “we should actually stagger releasing the bottles a few days apart, ideally when we’re already close to land.

The tide here would just push them farther out to the open ocean, and there is no guarantee that the bottles will go the way we want. ”

My momentary ecstasy dimmed. “I guess that makes sense. We can’t waste the opportunity.”

Harlan’s fingers gripped around the cell bar. “Patience is key. But don’t worry—if we work together, I’ll get us out of here. I promise.”

I gently brushed my hand against his. “I promise too. We’re in this together.”

As I closed my eyes to go to sleep that night, a steely resolve drove away the fear and isolation that had been my only companions since my imprisonment. I had a purpose, and I was no longer alone.