Chapter 45
The sun was bright, the sky wide open like a warm welcome, and the sea stretched endlessly in all directions. The Black Pearl sailed smooth and steady, her sails full of life as the wind whispered promises of calmer tides. After days of healing, laughter had finally returned to the ship.
The battle was now a memory, a brutal one—but still a memory. No more blood. No more screaming. No more nightmares—at least for now.
Jake stood at the helm, a half-empty bottle of rum in one hand and his hat tipped back on his head. He hummed to himself, some broken sea shanty that likely only made sense in his half-drunken mind.
"You know," he said out loud, to no one in particular, "it occurs to me that nearly dying makes dinner taste much better."
From behind him, Elias leaned against the railing, arms folded, black coat flapping softly in the wind. His dark hair had been trimmed a little—by Jake, who insisted he was excellent with knives—and for once, Elias looked... content.
"Speak for yourself," Elias replied with a smirk. "I nearly ate Raina's hand earlier thinking it was a roasted leg."
Jake turned and raised his bottle. "That's the spirit. Cannibalism is always the next logical step after saving the world."
Inside the dining quarters, the table was filled to the brim. Roasted fish, wild boar, potatoes, tropical fruit, warm bread—and barrels of rum, of course. Elias sat in the middle of it all, one foot on the bench, scarf half-tied, and tore into his meal like a starved animal.
Raina sat next to him, calmly sipping from her goblet. She watched Elias devour food with wide, amused eyes. "Do you even chew, or is that just for people who haven't killed a sea god?"
Elias swallowed an entire piece of meat and spoke with his mouth full. "When you've been dead, bleeding, stabbed, drowned, and cursed—chewing becomes optional."
"He's got a point," Jake added, plopping down next to Raina and swinging his legs onto the table. "Man fights a sea god and now thinks he's royalty."
"Correction," Elias said with a grin. "I am royalty. I'm the Prince of Exhaustion and the Duke of I Need a Nap."
The crew laughed. Even the quiet ones. Even the ones who still had old bruises and sore shoulders. Tonight was different. Tonight was warm and full of food. Full of peace.
The Black Pearl rocked gently as the crew feasted. There were songs, most of them off-key, and stories that had already been told ten times but somehow grew better each time.
Jake stood up halfway through the meal, dramatically raising a piece of fruit like a scepter. "To Elias! The sword-swinging, curse-breaking, king-slaying madman who eats like a starving lion and still manages to look cooler than me."
The crew banged their cups and stomped their feet in agreement.
Elias raised his own cup, grinning. "To Jake. The only pirate I know who can fall off the ship three times in a single week and still land on his feet."
Jake winked. "That's called talent, lad. And maybe a deal I made with gravity."
Raina leaned back in her seat, looking at the two of them. They were both fools. Brave, loyal, ridiculous fools. And they were hers. Her family. Her crew.
She raised her cup. "To all of us. Survivors of the sea."
The night went on like that. Laughter. Music. The stars above them twinkling like they were listening in.
Eventually, Elias sat back, stomach full and eyes heavy. He let out a long sigh.
"You know," he murmured, staring at the ceiling, "I think I might actually be happy."
Jake nodded, tipping his hat down. "Don't get used to it. Knowing our luck, something'll explode by morning."
Elias chuckled. "Yeah. Probably. But tonight..."
He looked around. At the plates stacked high. At the crew's tired but smiling faces. At Raina sipping her drink. At Jake, half asleep and already snoring lightly.
"Tonight, I'll take it."
Outside, the sea whispered gently, and the Black Pearl sailed on.
Peaceful. For now.
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