CHAPTER 30 OMG!!
Here it is!! I really like this Chapter n.n Its exciting IM excited for what's next, you are all going to LOVE it I hope xD 

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(Circe's P.O.V)

When I woke the next morning the empty space that Cobalt had left behind was still warm. 

I rolled over, stretching my arms out and burying my face into the pillow as I did. The soft material smelt distinctly of Colby, the scent was a mixture of sea air, sweet spices and that musky man smell that was just so appealing to wake up to in the morning. I couldn't help but compare it to the way Obsidian had smelt last night though before we had gotten into that fight, like something wild yet alluring, enough to make you lightheaded but still aware of the dash of danger that had been added to the mix.

I rolled onto my back and firmly shoved thoughts of Obsidian out of my mind. It would be best if I just tried to steer clear of him for as long as possible, although this ridiculous attraction that I had for him made me think that that probably wouldn't be very long at all.

I sat up and rubbed at my eyes with closed fists, my throat scratchy and my neck stiff. I recalled that I had thrown up rather violently last night which was a reasonable explanation for a sore neck. I massaged it, absentmindedly noticing that I was still in the same attire from yesterday and the cuffs of my sleeves were stained a rusty brown around the edges from where my blood had tricked down the side of my hands.

Wondering where Colby had got to and desperate for a change of clothes, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and headed for the door. Upon swinging it open, I noticed that the halls were filled with various crew members rushing back and forth furiously, shouts of orders could be heard both below and above deck and I wondered how I had failed to hear the ruckus before.

I reached out an arm and grabbed a passing Pirate by the arm. "What is going on?"

He eyed me up and down before shuffling the bundle of ropes in his arms. "We've entered the fog missy, the Cap'n be preparin' the ship." He grunted.

"Preparing it for what?" I started to ask but he had already pushed past me and continued on his way.

Curiously, I walked in the direction he had taken, following the passage that would lead me onto the deck and pressing myself up against the wall whenever someone bustled past me in a hurry so that I wouldn't be knocked down. 

I was about six feet away from the door when I stopped. Small tendrils of smoke were curling out from under the gaps in the door, not just underneath but the sides as well and they hung in the air like wisps of silk, coiling and twisting in the lightest of breezes. 

But was it smoke? Surely the ship wasn't on fire? I sniffed the air. It didn't smell like smoke, but then what could it be? My question was suddenly answered as the door flew open and another crew member hurried through, holding what appeared to be an armful of cannonballs. As he did, a massive gust of the smoke like substance blew through the door in one great big gust and hovered there, very solidly one the door had closed again. 

Tentatively I moved forward and stuck a hand out into the smoke. I held it there for a moment and when I pulled back, my sleeve was slightly damp and I realized that it wasn't smoke at all. 

It was mist.

I recalled back to last night when I had stood at the top of the crows nest and spotted the thick cloud that had hovered over the water like snow cloaks the land. This must have been what the man was referring to when he had said that we had entered the fog.

But how had we reached it so fast? That was impossible, unless it was moving as quickly towards us as we had been towards it. I swallowed at the thought, my imagination carrying me away with thoughts of strangling fog that crept up on ships and swallowed them whole, holding them captive in it's murky depths until they died from starvation or went crazy from lack of sunlight. 

It was with these thoughts in mind that I slowly made my way forward through the fog that still hovered by the door and fumbled around for a moment before locating the door handle, twisting it and stepping outside.

Everything was completely white.

For a moment I was completely disorientated, I couldn't see a thing and my imagination hadn't been too far off. The mist swirled around me, so thick that I felt as though I could reach out and physically grab a chunk of it in one hand. When I breathed in, the thickness invaded my lungs, weighing me down with each breath. I felt my hair and clothing grow instantly damp and blindly I moved around, trying desperately to find the door so that I could go back inside.

I was sure that I had only taken a few steps forward but the door seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth and suddenly I felt a chill run through me. I was surrounded by whiteness, the wooden planks beneath my feet were the only thing that reminded me that I was standing on a ship, filled with other inhabitants. If it hadn't been for that I might have gone slightly crazy with the thought that at this moment, I was the only thing left alive in this entire world. 

There was a noise to my right that made me jump and then another shout to my left as someone gave an order. Other than the occasional yell, the deck was eerily quiet but I could hear footsteps thumping around me as people hurried on with the tasks they had been set, although how they managed to see what they were doing I had no idea. The fact I knew there were people on deck with me, but I was unable to see them just chilled me even more and when a hand came down on my shoulder I let out a small scream of surprise before turning around and coming face to face with Obsidian.

His gold and silver eyes glowed out of the white fog making him look even more ethereal than usual. I couldn't help but notice that his white shirt was completely drenched through, the material sticking to his stomach and outlining every perfectly sculpted muscle. 

Seeing his shirt made me think of myself and I looked down, noting with horror that my own white top was now almost as soaked as his own and I hastily folded my arms over my chest, lifting my eyes back up to meet his cold gaze.

"And this is exactly why I didn't want you outside today you little wench. You'll just get in the way and I'm too busy to take care of your sorry behind."

Before I could even think about replying to that, he had already turned slightly, still gripping my arm and yelled for his brother.

"Cobalt! Get over here now!"

Almost instantly Colby was by his side and he smiled down at me like a friendlier version of Obsidian. 

"Good morning Cee!" He said cheerfully. "Did you not get my note?"

I looked at him in confusion, Obsidians grasp suddenly uncomfortably tight. "No?"

He looked sheepish. "Well it told you to stay in my room until I could take you back to your own room without you hurting yourself or getting lost. This can be rather disorientating." he waved around a bronzed hand, indicating the swirling fog that surrounded us. "But no matter, I'll take you now. Lacy is already waiting."

"Make sure she stays there." Obsidian sneered, not looking towards me at all. Cobalt frowned angrily at his tone but nodded anyway, his mouth set in a firm line and at that, Obsidians hold disappeared and he vanished into the mist. 

"Come on Cee." Colby reached out for my hand and tugged me forwards after him as he lead me towards who knows where. A couple of seconds later however, I had found my bearings as the door to Obsidian's quarters came into view. Colby held it open for me and ushered me inside before him before shutting the door firmly behind us.

There was a moment of silence before Colby spoke, his voice soft. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you say to make him so angry last night? He's only ever this angry when he loses control and I am fairly certain he is very in control at the moment."

I felt slightly guilty at his words but that was quickly replaced with shock. "Obsidian didn't tell you?" I hadn't thought he would be one to pass up the opportunity to make me look bad.

Cobalt shook his head. "No, he didn't. He said, and I quote, 'It's none of your barnacle ass-wiping business'" He chuckled softly. 

I simply nodded, finding no humor in his words. "I told him that he was a selfish self centered barstad." I said weakly, looking away from him as I did.

Cobalt let out a soft "Oh" and I  raised my eyes back up to his, instantly feeling ashamed at the disappointed look on his face.

"I went too far, I know." I muttered. 

"Not meaning to offended you Circe but you did. I know that my brother is a trigger happy maniac and at times yes, it does seem as though he doesn't give a rats ass about anyone else but everything he does has an ulterior motive behind it, and it usually ends up benefiting that person greatly. He is anything but selfish and you are probably going to need to apologize."

His words weren't harshly spoken in anyway, they were soft and understanding but that just made it worse and I was almost wishing that he had shouted them at me with full force. I turned my face away from him, unable to look at him any longer, my cheeks burning with shame. 

"I'm not saying I'm taking his side," He said, frowning heavily. "I don't know what he did to make you say those things and I doubt that you wouldn't have said them without reason. I also don't agree with the way that he just left you up there by yourself, no matter how mad he was he shouldn't have done that."

Cobalt's hands were suddenly under my chin, tilting my face up so that I was forced to look straight into his smoldering silver eyes.

"Even though you are both in the wrong, I think it would be easier for all of us if you just apologized first. Obsidian may not be selfish but he is terribly stubborn," His eyes twinkled. "you of all people should know that."

I nodded and blushed as he pressed his lips to my forehead briefly before taking my hand again. 

"Come on then, Lacy is waiting."

I found my voice again as he towed me down the corridor. "Why do we have to stay inside?"

Cobalt chuckled. "Well aside from the obvious reasons," He gestured to my soaked attire. "What with the fact that you two are the only women on board and all, we also just don't want to be losing you in all of this fog." He looked at me tenderly. "You are irreplaceable Circe, don't forget that we were sent by your Mother to take you to her, we would be killed if anything happened to you."

I gulped and nodded in agreement. I hadn't thought about it that way before and again a wave of guilt washed over me as I realized that Obsidian might have actually had a decent reason for asking me to remain inside but because of my hot temper I had lashed out before giving him a chance to explain.

As soon as we entered the room, Lacy bounded over to us, squeezing me happily around the middle. 

"Hi Circe!" She chirped happily and I smiled at her, returning the hug.

"Hello Lacy, I'm sorry for neglecting you lately."

She looked up at me, her arms still around my middle and her eyes full of forgiveness which made me feel just that little bit worse.

"That's alright Cee, we have plenty of time to make up for that today, seeing how these thugs aren't letting us go outside."

Cobalt's eyes narrowed playfully at her words and he cracked his knuckles in a manner that was almost threatening. "Watch what you say little girl, you might find yourself getting into a spot of bother that you just can't weasel your skinny little behind out of." 

With that he pounced on her, tugging her away from me and throwing her down on the bed as he tickled her mercilessly. I laughed aloud, watching her squirm and shriek profanities at him inbetween giggles. For such a small girl she really did have the most atrocious mouth. 

When she finally gave in, Cobalt left her on the bed and walked to me, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug before announcing that he would be back later to check up on us. With the door shut firmly behind him, Lacy and myself simply stared at each other for a few moments before bursting into excited giggles that had seemed to stem from absolutely no-where. 

"What- what's so f-funny?" I gasped out, clutching at my stomach as I rolled around on the floor.

Lacy was on her back on the bed paralyzed by the laughter and it took her a couple of tries to even get a coherent sentence out. 

"I- I don't know, I don't know!" She wheezed, which just made us laugh harder, Lacy tumbling off the bed to join me on the floor as we cackled away like a pair of loons. 

Eventually nothing could be heard in the room apart from us trying to control our breathing as we lay on our backs, side by side, staring up at the ceiling. I turned my face to the side and smiled at her as she mirrored my movements. 

"I think I need to laugh, so thankyou." I said softly.

She grinned back at me and squeezed my hand. "You're welcome."

We lay in silence for a while longer before Lacy's excited voice spoke up again.

"So what do you want to do now?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever you want to do I guess."

Lacy sat up, her eyes twinkling mischievously which I should have known straight away was a bad sign.

"Can we play dress ups? Oh please Circe, please!"

I groaned and covered my eyes with my hands. When I opened them, Lacy was hovering over me with the most adorable little expression on her heart shaped face and I immediately slapped my hands back over my eyes again.

"Do we have to?" I whined. "It's not like we have anywhere to dress up for."

"Yes we do," She said determinedly. "I want to do all of things that I would do if I had a big sister, I'm tired of being surrounded by men day in and day out."

I felt slightly guilty at her words and removed my hands from my face. "Okay, you will go first then." I decided, cutting off her protests as I quickly sat up and took her hands. "No arguments." I said, holding a hand up. "I have neglected you for the last couple of days so now this is going to be about you, you can dress me how you like after, are we agreed?"

She reluctantly nodded her head but I saw a spark of excitement shine in her eyes as I made my way over to my washroom and started sorting what I would need. When Cherry had packed us for the trip, she had really made sure she had packed. Everything was covered, even things that weren't essential and I had to wonder just what she thought we would get up to on this voyage. I shrugged to myself as I moved back out of the washroom to dump the items in my hands on the bed. Perhaps she had known that we would need a girly day at some point. 

"Right, you sit here ..." I gestured towards the piano stool that I had dragged over for Lacy to sit on and I actually felt a little bit of excitment at the thought of playing dress ups, even though I was technically too big for such games now, it hadn't stopped me from dolling Pearl up back home whenever I had the chance. 

"Comfortable?" I questioned, and she nodded, bouncing up and down in anticipation. I grinned and grabbed my comb, setting to work on her hair and for once allowing myself to just push aside everything that had happened since I had been taken from my home and just relax.

* 

"One more pin ... and I'm all done!" I said cheerfully, taking a step back and admiring my handy work. It had taken a while but Lacy looked absolutly stunning. I helped her into one of my good dresses that she had bashfully asked if she was allowed to try on and the red material complimented her pale skin, black hair and bright green eyes perfectly, if I did say so myself. 

The look on her face at being allowed to wear such a beautiful dress made me feel terribly humble. Dresses such as these had been common everyday wear back at home, I hadn't realized before, but Lacy probably never had the chance to wear such things. In fact I couldn't remember a time when I hadn't seen her in men's clothes. 

"You look beautiful," I said softly, fluffing the dress out around her feet. And indeed she did. Her black ringlets had been tamed and braided in an intricate design that I had often used on Pearls hair, whenever she could stay still for long enough that was and I had coloured her lips with a deep red stain. Khol lined her eyes, not too much as she was still young, I had only applied it along the top of her eye lids but extended the line so her eyes appeared larger than ususal. Her face was powered, again just lightly, with darker pink to highlight her sharp cheekbones and give the illusion that she was constantly colouring at some compliment. 

"Do you want to see?"

She patted her hair nervously. "I think so ..."

"Of course you do," I laughed, ushering her towards the washroom where a long full length mirror stood. "you won't recognize yourself."

I had great pleasure in watching her come to face to face with the young lady in the mirror; her full lips dropped open before they pulled up into a happy smile that stretched from ear to ear. She twirled around twice, her dress flaring out around her before she turned to hug me tightly.

"Thankyou so much Cee!" She squealed, "I look like a Princess!"

I laughed, "That you do. Leonardo would be speechless."

She looked up at me and blushed. "You really think so?"

I smiled. "I know so."

She bit her lip for a moment before her grin burst out over her face again and she laughed happily, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the chair. 

"Your turn!"

*

 "Where are my two gorgeous girls?"

Lacy giggled as she put the finishing touches on my hair. "We're through here Colby!"

It had taken a while but Lacy finally deemed me done up enough for display. I was in my favorite blue and white dress that I hadn't had a chance to wear since I had boared the ship and I had patiently shown Lacy how to apply powder, blusher and stain for my lips. I had taken care of the Khol for my eyes as she was worried her lines were a bit too wobbly but I had taught her how to achieve a straight line on her hand incase she felt brave enough to try next time.

To my surprise she hadn't needed help with my hair, she explained that strangly enough, after many years of coiling ropes and practising on anything else she could get her hands on, she just had the knack for doing hair. Now my soft golden curls were piled in a delicate crown on top of my head, gentle ringlets escaping every now and then to cascade down my neck, leaving my face clear.

Cobalt walked into the washroom where I was seated with Lacy still fussing around me and his mouth dropped open before turning into a wide grin. 

"Well don't you two lovely ladies just look marvolous?" He exclaimed, stopping in front of Lacy in a sweeping bow. She giggled at the action and he winked cheekily. 

"You look as though you are about to be swept of for a night of dancing Miss Lacy, it seems a shame to waste such a pretty frock, perhaps if we are lucky a certain someone might play us a little something to waltz to?" He turned towards me and indicated with a less than subtle nod of the head that I should move myself to the piano in the next room.

Under any other circumstances I would have protested but the look on Lacy's face was of such excitment that I couldn't say no. I reluctantly lifted my skirts and made my way into the main room, pulling the piano stool over to the piano and seating myself on it with a sigh, arranging my dress around my legs so that it wouldn't get in the way of the pedals. 

Lacy was chattering away enthusiastically as I stared at the keys, unsure of what to play. I knew most waltz's  off by heart since I was small but I felt slightly nervous. Piano had been a special thing between me and my Father back at home, I had only ever really played for him. How would I feel now, playing it without him?

I closed my eyes and for a moment imagined that Nathaniel was at my side.

"Teach me how to play something Cissy." He said from behind me, sweeping my hair to one side of my neck and dropping a kiss on the top of my head.

I smiled but didn't cease playing the pretty little waltz that I had just recently mastered.

He plopped himself down onto the stool beside me, forcing me to move over in order to give him room. I giggled as he prodded me in the side my concentration breaking as I stumbled over one note, then another, and another, untill the whole piece fell to ruins in a jumbled cacophany of off notes and muddled harmonies.

"Naaaaaddy." I whined, pouting slightly. "I was just getting the hang of it and you ruined it."

He grinned cheekily at me. "Not my fault Miss Priss. Teach me how to play."

"You shouldn't even be here," I hissed. "don't you have duties to do?"

I had just passed my thirteenth year while Nathaniel was two years older at fifteen and training for his posistion in the Army. 

He shook his head, his floppy golden hair that was so like mine swishing in front of his eyes. "Your Father gave me the rest of the day off, he said you might need some company."

I sighed. "Fine, I know something we can play."

His expression brightened as he shuffled his body to be closer to mine. "Really? What is it?"

And so on that sunny afternoon, I had taught him a duet to play with me that was short yet sweet. He had picked it up surprisingly quickly and we were soon playing it over and over until he had played too fast and I had played too slow and the notes got jumbled and then we had tumbled to the floor laughing and tickling each other silly untill my nurse had come into the room and announced that it was time for my afternoon lessons.

I came back to reality to find that only a couple of seconds had passed and Lacy and Colby were still busy laughing behind me. Smiliing softly to myself I gently laid my hands on the keys and ran through the scales a couple of times, instantly feeling relaxed at the welcoming sound. 

"Shh," I heard Cobalt whisper from behind me. "The music is starting."

I smiled again, more widely this time and knew exactly what I was going to play. As the opening notes of the waltz I had been playing before Naddy had interupted started I heard Lacy laugh as Cobalts formal voice echoed through the small room.

"Madam, you are extremly beautiful and I can no longer stand the sight of you standing alone. May I have the honor of this dance?" His voice was extremly posh and fancy and reminded me of the first time we had met, when he had been a smooth talker, charming all the ladies in his vain attempts to get my attention. I had been so uncomfortable around him then, so scared. It was funny how things had changed over the weeks. 

My fingers flew effortlessly over the black and white keys and I was pleased that I didn't have to try to remember how to do this. I had never needed the sheets for any of my pieces once I had played them enough and I hoped that they were still all up in my head so that I could go over them later. 

I laughed loudly as Cobalt and Lacy danced around the piano, Lacy with her delicate little feet on top of Cobalts as he twirled her around in a style of dancing very simliar to the way that he had first danced with me. Bold, daring and dangerous.

Lacy's laughter was as loud as my own and Cobalts eyes were twinkling, our joy bouncing around inside the silver depths as though it was captured there forever. 

When you lived like this, unsure about what the next day would bring, it was these moments that I lived for, these golden moments when time seemed to freeze and nothing in the world seemed to matter apart from the fact that for a few minutes I could simply appreciate the perfection of now. 

If I had know what was to happen next, I don't think I would have changed anything in that moment. I would have kept it just the way it was.

 Simple and perfect.

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