Page 23 of Of Song and Darkness

“You love the ocean? I can tell.” Penelope interrupted my thoughts of doom, drawing my attention back to her.

“With my entire being,” I answered with a bit of sadness lining my tone.

“So does Kai. I used to think he stuck around for me when he was in port, but let's be real, it's all about the ocean. The sea's his one true love, no doubt about it.”

When I turned to Penelope, she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. I smiled, trying to rid myself of the doom-filled thoughts that constantly plagued my mind. “I know the feeling.”

Glancing sidelong at Penelope, I finally mustered up the courage to ask her about Kai. I certainly wasn’t going to gain anything from my short, snarky conversations with him. “How much do you know about Kai? Do you know anything about his family?”

Penelope seemed taken aback by my question, and I feared I had crossed a line, but I desperately needed to know more about the man I was putting hope in to help me save the Seven Seas.

“Not much is known about Kai other than the rumors that spread around about him, and believe me, most of those are true,” she said with a look of wariness. “No one really knows about his family. He doesn’t talk much, least of all about his past. Let’s just say I don’t think you become a pirate if you had a good upbringing. Know what I mean?” The sadness in Penelope’s eyes instantly disappeared as she led me into her home. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. It will make you feel better.”

The small hut she led me into was nothing like the finery in Kai’s cabin. The floors and walls were made of some sort of dried mud that had hardened to a rock-solid consistency, and there were few pieces of furniture, but it was nice and tidy. She motioned at a metal tub that looked barely big enough for me to fit in, filled to the brim with water.

“I was getting ready to wash myself before I heard the commotion on the beach.” She shrugged. “I had already filled it full of water. It’s probably cold by now, but you’re welcome to it.”

I stared at the water, bent, and dipped my hands in like I had done with the wooden bucket I used in Kai’s cabin.

“Give me those dirty clothes. I’ll find you something clean to wear.” She held her hand out to me in an impatient manner. “Better hurry. Kai will be back soon, and I promise he does not knock before entering a woman’s room.” Penelope smiled.

“I’ve already found that out,” I answered and quickly undressed.

“Hurry up and get in,” she scolded before venturing outside with my clothes.

I quickly immersed myself in the frigid water, ducking under the surface to wet my hair. By the time I came back up for air, I already felt better.

Penelope walked back through the door. “There’s a bar of soap next to you. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.” She pointed to a rectangular white object, and I grabbed it and held it up to my nose.

It didn’t have much of a smell and looked awful. I tentatively bit into it, instantly regretting the decision.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know what soap is?” Penelope fussed, throwing both of her hands to her hips.

I shook my head because, honestly, I didn’t know.

“Where did Kai find you?” Penelope asked. She extracted the soap from my hands and lathered it on a cloth.

“Here, now wash.” She pushed the rag toward me, and I did as she instructed, scrubbing every inch of my body.

“Now your hair.” She rubbed the soap against my scalp. The uneasy feeling of a human touching my hair quickly vanished as I watched bubbles form from the soap.

After she finished scrubbing my hair, I ducked back under the water to rinse off the bubbles. When I surfaced, I felt like myself again.

“Come on, dry off with this, and try these clothes on.” Penelope handed me a large cloth, and I quickly wrapped it around my nakedness.

Penelope helped me into the new clothes and finished by tying the front of the dress. “Even in one of my oldest dresses, you still outshine me.” Penelope huffed and motioned toward a broken mirror she had sitting up against the wall.

Penelope had chosen an emerald-green dress that was short and flowy and came just above my knees with long flounce sleeves that hung off my shoulders. The bodice was ruched at my bust and had a tie front. My hair was still soaking wet and dripped onto the dress, deepening the color.

“Sit here.” Penelope motioned to a chair. She used the cloth to dry my hair and then ran an object with bristles through it, pulling out all of the tangles. “Now you’re ready. I probably just shot myself in the foot for helping you. Once Kai sees you, he’ll likely drool all over you.” A touch of anger lined her tone.

“You don’t have to worry about that. He hates me, and I assure you the feeling is mutual,” I vowed.

“Mm-hmm, that’s not what I witnessed on the beach when I came down. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and you him,” Penelope said, causing a strange flutter in my chest.

I chewed on the bottom of my lip. “I’m just trying to figure him out.” The conversation made me uncomfortable.

“Let’s go! Time’s wastin’ and the tide is shifting.”

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