Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold

“What’s this?” Jack asked.

“Tribute.” Said Clematis. He put down his hat. Guns, swords, food, and bottles of rum were placed at the table before him.

“Oooh!” Said Jack, but I could tell he was proud of himself.

I was cutting onions for no reason when he came to see me. I knew he would.

“Where’s you’re tribute, cabin boy?” He asked, putting stress on the last word.

“He wouldn’t have bothered with a simple cabin cook, even if I was in disguse.”


“But you’re not very simple, though, are you?” He leaned closer to me. I caught my breath and leaned away.

He looked disappointed. “Well, I’ll see you above deck.” He winked at me. “They made me captain, Marina.”


“Are you serious?” I asked him. “You’ll be the youngest sea captain-“


“Anyone’s ever heard of, I know. But do you blame them?” He asked with a second wink. “Do I even get a thank you?”

“Thank you.” I said.

“I was hoping for a little more.”


“Don’t push me, that was hard enough.”


He laughed this time, a real laugh. I might’ve been proud of myself for that laugh. Then he gave me another look and my chest tightened again.

“I’m proud of you.” I said finally.

He smirked. “I’m proud of me too.”

“Must you make everything a joke?”

“I was being serious.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know.”

“Well, like I said, they made me captain. I have a lot of work to do.”

I nodded.

“Marina?”

“Yes?”


“You don’t have to keep pretending to be a boy anymore, you know. Now that I’m captain, they don’t get a say in the matter.”

“I don’t want you to lose your crew right away.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. By the time we land again, they’ll have forgotten about it.”

“We aren’t going to land for a while?” Oh dear. And here I was thinking we’d be landing soon.


“No. I want to stay out on the sea forever. I’m going to steal and ruin and blow things up!”

“You’re going to be a deceitful, slimy, monstrous dog.” I said with a sigh.

“I’m going to be a pirate, love.”


“There’s no difference.”

He laughed again. “Then I suppose you’re a deceitful, slimy, monstrous dog as well.”


“I’m no pirate.”


“And yet here you are, on a pirate’s ship, cooking a pirate’s meals, you walk like a pirate, you talk like a pirate…” He brushed my chin with his finger and I jerked away, making him smirk again. “And you look like a pirate, love.”


“That’s rude.”

“I know. All you need to complete your pirate-ness-“
“That’s not a word.”
“-is to marry a pirate.”

“Excuse me?”

“Forget I said anything.” He put his hand on my knife blade, making me loosen my grip. I hadn’t realized I’d been gripping it so hard. “Or perhaps marry is too strong a word.”

I glared at him. “Doesn’t this “Captain” have things to do Jack?”


He sighed and dropped the subject. “Is dinner almost ready? Being smart makes me hungry.”

Just like that, Jack had changed from a handsome, exciting adult to a whiny, laughable child. Maybe this was why Captain Maybell hadn’t made Jack captain before. And pirates love their positions. They are selfish and deceitful. Jack’s offhand comment(or maybe not so offhand), had bothered me. Had I really become one of them? I didn’t like what I’d seen of pirates so far. Well, besides Jack. They were dirty, got angry easily, and hurt people for no reason. And even though Jack had most of those traits as well, there was something different about him. Maybe it was his easygoingness, or his funny demeanor. But I knew deep down that my feelings for Jack went deeper than that. Which made me irritated.

“No, it is not.” I told him, sounding more irritable that I’d meant to let off. He gave me a strange look.

“I didn’t mean to make you mad, Marina.”

“Don’t call me that! What if someone walked down the stairs and heard you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe I don’t care.”

“Maybe I do! You should go. I have to make dinner anyway.”


He sighed. “Alright.” He still looked disappointed, and that made me feel guilty.

“Go get ‘em, Cap’n.” I told with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Jack gave me a smile.

“Call when dinner’s ready, cabin boy.” He shot me a last evil little smile and disappeared up the stairs.