Dear Olivia,

Oh, dear. You confuse me so. Especially when you're drunk.

Tonight was wonderful, certainly, but I don't know how to feel. I don't want to think about it, though. If I think about it too much, I will lose this lovely bubbly feeling you have given me, and I'm not willing to do that quite yet.

I worry for you, mi amor. One day you will realize that drinking isn't good for your health. Your poor liver, I can hear it screaming from here.

You drank three-fourths of the bottle. I finished it off, just to keep you from drowning yourself in anymore.

But even drunk you isn't bad, Livia. You were so carefree and beautiful tonight, rid of all your vices and inhibitions. You smiled.

I followed you up to the deck, partly because I worried for your safety, but mostly because I would follow you anywhere.

The stars, Livi. They claimed you, tonight. They all reached out, illuminating you in the darkness. My golden goddess, you are. My pirate princess. I wouldn't dare to say that to you, though. You would most certainly have my head for such romanticisms as these.

You fell on the deck, and I couldn't tell if you tripped, or just dropped. But you took me down with you. Now, I don't know what exactly we said to each other, but I remember lying there with you, your breath on my skin, and you asking if I would jump off the plank with you.

I must admit, my love, I thought about it for a moment. Such a pleasant suicide that would be, just you and I, tossing ourselves out of this pirate's life, into the great unknown. I would never be without you again.

But we couldn't so I said, "I love you, but no."

I only realized what I'd said when you smiled and said, "You love me?"

Oh, god, yes, I wanted to say. Yes, yes, I love you with every fiber of my being. With every beat of my heart. Yes, of course I love you.

Before I could say any of this, though, you told me you loved me too.

I told you you were just drunk. You insisted that you really do love me. Oh, how I want to believe you. And I do, Livi, I do. You love me. It feels good.

       Goodnight, mi cariño,

                        -Robin ♥

XXX

Luckily, Chip had sequins.

For once, this revelation brought hoots of joy, not squinted eyes and confusion. Although Robin did have to wonder why his crewmen had a secret stash of glitter and sparkles.

But who would believe a masquerade ball guest who lacked sparkle? They needed sequins, and Chip was the man for the job. No questions asked, no jokes made. Well, only a few jokes made.

He couldn't take part in the laughter and jabbing, though. All he could see when he blinked were images on Heather and Peter and Amanda, flashing across his eyelids whenever he dared to close them. Olivia appeared every so often as well, but hers remained a hazy, repressed image.

Caelum sat apart, too.

Robin fastened his mask to his face, feeling the feathers tickle his ears. Chip had chosen a royal blue one for him, heavy with gold sequins and midnight feathers. He looked rather mysterious behind it, his eyes and nose hidden. He would shave his face tomorrow night and let Chip give him a haircut. This way, he could feel securely obscured.

Sighing, he walked over to the other man. The afternoon sun glinted off his bronze skin like he was a statue, still and indifferent.

"Hey," Robin said.

Caelum did not take his eyes from the sea. "Hi."

"How are you holding up?"

The man shrugged. "I dunno."

Robin took this as an invitation to sit down. "We're going to get her back," he promised. "Heather's a tough gal. If anyone can survive this, it's her."

Cae gave a grim nod. "It's just . . . the last conversation we had was an argument. I didn't even get to kiss her goodbye."

"Caelum." He thought for a moment, knowing he needed to tread carefully. He'd seen quite a few grown men cry in his day, so he knew this one was on the verge of tears. "She knows you love her. And besides, you'll see her again soon. You can apologize then."

He blinked, looking away. "You never realize how much you take someone for granted until they're gone."

Robin nodded. "It's true."

"Do you still miss her?" Cae looked back to Robin, brown eyes shiny with unshed tears.

Now it was Robin's turn to look away. "Of course."

"Hey, ye two!" Came a shout from the quarterdeck. "G' over here! We got us some sequins for ye, cap'n!"

He shook himself, standing. "It'll be okay," he told Caelum. "Just you wait."