He pulled back his hood and let the ocean breeze blow through his straight black hair as he stepped out from the hull. Max expected Britt to say something the moment he came out. Without his hood on, the color of his hair was the only thing he shared in a Rollo Islander’s appearance. Rolloans were bulkier and tattooed with dark-toned skin. Their hair grew thick and curly, unlike his. Max faced the ship’s stern for a moment, waiting for her to react. When nothing happened, he looked for her and didn’t see her. The mast blocked him from Britt’s view, so he took another deep breath and walked out into view. Max made eye contact with her and continued to stroll confidently toward her. He watched her eyes grow wide in disbelief and her jaw slacken in surprise.
“What are you...” Britt started to say and trailed off, staring at him.
He held his breath when he saw her look of surprise turn into a smile, then an instant later she shook her head and replaced it with a scowl. “Max!” she barked.
Max twitched, jumping at the sudden outburst. He stopped several paces away, thinking, I should’ve stayed in the hull. Britt stormed at him and he put up his hands defensively, “Now just hear me out.”
“Oh, hear you out, should I?” she growled, stopping just inches from his face. Her dark facial features hardened, and her lip quivered as he had never seen it before. After a moment during which Max thought she might headbutt him, she said, “I’m turning this ship to shore right now and dropping you off.”
“Britt, please don’t send me back. I belong here with you and the crew,” Max pleaded.
“I can’t believe you directly disobeyed my order. If we weren’t going to war right now and our speed wasn’t depended on, oh boy, you would be in for it.”
“I will be more effective here. If you send me back, I won’t be able to concentrate. I'll just be worrying about you and why I’m not here with you.”
“The crystal bearers need you with them. Anders and Maija will need all the help they can get in fighting the dragons once they reach Aquina.”
“And I will get there faster if I come with you,” he argued.
“We went over this last night,” Britt said through clenched teeth.
“And you were wrong,” Max stated firmly. “What if Aquina has already been attacked with magic by the time you arrive? You’ll also need people with crystals to fight them.”
“That’s why we brought Sanka. You were ordered to stay with the others,” Britt said.
“You think Sanka can hold off a hundred dragons by himself?”
“And you could?”
“We would have a better chance and at least I would be there to protect you. Look what happened to Kirsten. Do you want that to happen to you if I’m not there?”
“You bring her up as though she’s still at the front of your mind,” Britt said.
“Oh, that’s bull. You know I was never into her,” Max sighed and added, “Please, Britt, it would kill me to show up in Aquina and find out that Merglan had beat us there and something horrible had happened. Even if a hundred dragons burn all the ships when we get there, at least we’ll be together. I need to be with you in the end.”
Britt didn’t respond right away. Max held his breath, waiting for her to say something. Suddenly Max realized that the entire crew was staring at them. They had been hanging on every word he and Britt had said. Max had become so lost in the moment he forgot that an entire crew was witnessing their fight.
“Let him stay, Captain,” one of the warriors standing nearby said.
“Yeah, come on, he’s one of us now, even if he still can’t use a sword,” Sanka added, smiling at him.
Soon the whole crew began pleading with Britt to keep Max onboard. Max heard one of the warriors call out over the others, “Besides, we’ll be in the back if we turn around now. We can’t let Red beat us to the mouth of the Bareback River.”
Finally, Britt held up her hands to silence them, “Alright, alright. He can stay.”
They responded with a resounding cheer and Max felt hands patting him on the back and shoulders as if he had just won the Grandwood Games.
Britt emphatically pointed a finger at Max, “But don’t think you will get any special treatment. You will act as one of the crew onboard my ship. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you had to take the place of one of my men. Where is he anyway?”
“Onboard Cricket’s ship,” Sanka said, thumbing behind them.
“Well, at least Cricket could use him,” Britt said with a wry smile. Max matched her grin and she shouted, “What are you all doing standing around? Get back to work!”
Max and the others hustled back to their stations. While he and Sanka made necessary adjustments to the rigging, Max glanced back at Britt. She was staring at him. When their eyes met, she shook her head at him with a broad smile. He laughed and knew that he’d done the right thing in sneaking aboard the ship.
That night Max leaned against the ship’s stern, his arm around Britt. He looked up at the stars overhead. The sky rocked and swayed as the ship bobbed along, sailing farther south along the coast of the Bareback Plains. Britt leaned her head against his chest and whispered, “I can’t believe you pulled that stunt.”
Max chuckled, “I can't believe you seriously considered dropping me off on shore.”
“I can’t look weak in front of them,” she whispered, motioning to the other warriors who had opted to sleep on deck.
Max shivered and pulled Britt in tighter, “You would have to do a lot to make these men believe you’re weak. Many became fugitives and outcasts for you, and now the rest of the Islanders are following in your footsteps. These people don’t need reminding that you’re in charge.”
“That doesn’t reflect the popular vote,” Britt said. “You know, you were there on the beach when they decided to elect Red as Chief.”
“What I saw that night was a group of old men deciding to go with the past leader’s son because he was a fierce warrior. Now that this political station is becoming more difficult to navigate and the different nations of the world are having to work with one another, your people need a leader who can adapt.”
“I wish they all thought like you,” she whispered.
“I think they already do. Especially now,” Max said and fiddled with the crystal necklace around his neck.
“How well do you know how to use that?” Britt asked.
“The crystal? Or,” he nodded down. “Because if I need to remind you of that, I’m not as good as I thought,” Max said, holding back his laughter.
“Yes, I'm talking about the crystal,” Britt said, poking him in the side. Max laughed and Britt added, “You weirdo. I wouldn’t ask you that, I already know.”
“That’s right. You wouldn’t ask, you’re more of a take-action and find-out-for-yourself type.” Britt jabbed him hard in the ribs and he winced, “Ouch. Hey, you know it’s truth. I was happy to sleep on that couch.”
