My eyes drifted over to Serah throughout the day, but she was firmly avoiding eye contact. I hadn’t realized how attached I’d become in the past month or two. Everything about her mesmerized me, even now when I knew we were parting ways.

The way she ordered the pirates around, her hair blowing in the breeze, her cutlass fixed to her waist.

Her eyes scanned the horizon lazily, but I could see the tension in her shoulders and especially in her sharp jawline.

I sighed as I turned back to Henry on the helm. He glanced at me, “Trouble in paradise?”

“What do you think?” I asked, “This whole time I thought she was interested, she wasn’t.”

“I think she was. And is.” Henry said, “But, she’s got sacrifices to make. As the captain she’s got our lives in her hand, your lives and the crew’s. If we drop you guys off we will avoid the guards coming to the island in search of you, which would lead to our entire crew’s arrest and hanging.”

“Haven’t you escaped from prisons before?”

Henry chuckled humorlessly, “Never let your past victories define your future losses. Any time that we get arrested, could be our last. Serah’s just taking that into account. And what do you want to do? Tell your father that you want to marry a pirate captain?”

“But Serah’s a princess.” I protested.

“Serah would never settle into that life. It’s not who she is.” Henry said firmly.

I sighed as I turned to face the horizon, “So, we just go home and forget all this?”

Henry shrugged, “You can forget it, or you can remember it. Doesn’t matter. But you’re going home. And it would be better for everybody if you stayed there, too.”

I sighed again, my shoulders sagging in defeat.

“Hey.” Tanner came up behind me and clapped my shoulder, “We’ll see you again someday, prince. Maybe when you’re king you can put in a good word for us with the kingdom and let us come visit.”

“That’s an idea.” I said suddenly.

“Hmm?” Tanner looked distracted as he watched Serah below us. She seemed to be chewing Sam out for following us on board instead of staying home.

“You can visit once I put in a good word for you.”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone of our whereabouts.”

I stilled.

“What is it?” Tanner asked, “Don’t think you can keep a secret?”

“Louis.” I muttered, “If I go back he’ll be the one to tell everyone of your whereabouts.”

“Why is this?” Tanner prompted.

I stared at him, “Serah didn’t say anything about Louis?”

“No, as you may recall only a week or two later, she was kidnapped and during that time we aren’t often alone.” He looked displeased with the fact that we interrupted his time with his pirate family.

“Well, Louis wants the throne and to get it I have to be dead. So I made a deal with him; he doesn’t tell of this islands whereabouts and the fact that Serah is still alive, and he gets the Persian throne.”

“That’s an insane plan.” Tanner muttered.

“But now that Sam has returned and wishes to go home, perhaps it won’t be such a big deal that Serah’s identity is compromised.” Henry said suddenly.

“Maybe.” I mumbled.

* *

Three days later, we had reached the Persian mainland port.

We docked and the pirates exited the ship with us.

“Well.” William was the first to speak as he turned back to the pirates, “Goodbye, pirates.”

Henry and Tanner shook our hands and Elizabeth and Lydia hugged each and every one of us. But Serah hung back, merely nodding at us.

“Oh come on.” Kate reached for her but Serah stepped back from her hug, “No, no. We don’t do that here.”

But Kate ignored her protests and wrapped her arms around Serah, “Goodbye, Serah.”

“Goodbye.” Serah replied.

“We’ll see each other soon.”

“The only way we’d see each other was if we were arrested.” Serah said dryly.

“And let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” Elizabeth said cheerily.

“Yes. Let’s hope.” Serah said.

And with that, we turned away from them and went home.