1

Crest had, had a bad sleep. Rolling around he pulled his blanket up to his neck. Last night had been rough. He had experienced another set of nightmares. This time the dreams weren’t as violent as the night before. Which wasn't saying much. It was like comparing, which was less painful, getting stabbed or getting shot. All and all it had been pretty awful all the same.

Suddenly, an aroma filled the room, causing Crest’s nose to twitch. Bacon! By the smell of things, it must have been morning. The girls were downstairs cooking, which meant the Drunken Tankard had opened. Though Crest heard no rumblings downstairs, which meant that customers probably hadn’t poured in yet. Although he wasn’t exactly sleeping, the fact that it was still quiet would make it easier for him to rest for a few more minutes. Or so he thought.

Turning to his right, sunshine tickled his eyes even when closed. He groaned. Might as well wake up. He turned on his left. The light didn’t pierce this direction, but it was too late, his conscious brain had already awakened. Yawning, he opened his watery eyes and sat upright.

Strange. On the poorly lit side of the room, it looked like someone was there.

Someone was.

Slow to react he screamed after a heartbeat. Fumbling backward, he put distance between himself and them.

Kneeling in front of him was the mysterious girl.

Spooked, Crest shouted. “Wha—What the hell do you want?”

The girl put a finger to her lips, as though she were pondering the matter herself. “Not sure. I just thought I’d watch you.” She said with a slight smirk.

Crest’s eye twitched and his face wrinkled like worn-out clothes. “You’ve been watching me all night?” He asked. As if it would have been any less bizarre if she had been watching him for only just a little while.

The girl scratched her head and let out a nervous laughter. “Yeah, I guess I was.”

“And why were you doing that?!” He bellowed.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head from side to side. “I heard you talking in your sleep from my room. You kept calling for your mom. You looked distressed so I figured I’d be here if you needed me.”

Crest held his hand over his mouth. He looked embarrassed. Was I really calling her in my sleep like that?

The girl continued. “Y’know, last night, you said your father and brother set sail together. Your mother. Where is she?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care?”

The girl shrugged.

Crest scratched the back of his head and sighed. He was never comfortable talking about his deceased mother, but he had grown used to it. “Dead. For a while now actually.”

“Oh!” The girl held her hand to her face. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

Her sympathy fell on deaf ears.

“Don’t be,” Pushing his sheets to the side, Crest stood up dawning a confident smile. No. A fake smile. “Bad things happen to everybody. It’s a matter of getting up and moving on. There’s too much to be happy about to cry so often.”

It sounded nice, but the girl didn’t seem to buy it. In fact, she called his bluff. “You cry a lot, don’t you?”

His smile soured instantly. He sneered. “Leave me alone.” Exiting the room, he headed downstairs, leaving the girl to herself.

She sat there in silence, deadpan, and unmoving.

2

“Morning Borka. Morning Dorsea.” Crossing the dining room floor, Crest greeted the girls as they came from the kitchen.

“Morning Crest hon!” Borka looked busy, she had two platters worth of food in her hands.

“Morning baboon.” Dorsea was carrying two platters of her own.

They passed him by and began to service the customers as usual.

“Morning Lou.” Crest said taking a seat at the bar. As usual, his friend was working the drinks.

“Morning Crest.” Lou waved in his direction quickly, before servicing a customer. He didn’t ignore Crest though, he kept the conversation going. “Have you seen our new friend today?”

That took Crest by surprise. “Oh, uh…” He figured it might be a little awkward to admit to the situation he had woken up to that morning. Instead, he lied. “Nope. Haven’t seen her. She’s probably still sleeping like a baby.” He said with nervous laughter, that turned a bit malicious in tone. His eyes rolled over like heavy stones.

“That’s funny,” Lou remarked. “How much can one person sleep? She was passed out all yesterday morning and evening. You’d think she’d be awake.”

“Anyway,” Crest deflected. Reaching for his coin pouch, he pulled out a couple moolah and placed them on the counter. “How’s about a beer Lou?”

“Beer? I’ve never had a beer before!” A voice near Crest fawned. An all too familiar voice.

Crest turned to his side. It was the mysterious girl again. Sweat dripped down Crest’s forehead as he glared at her. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Ignoring him, she continued as if he had said nothing at all. She looked up at him with a dumb grin. “Hey master, you’ll pay for me right?”

Wh—what?!? Turning red, Crest’s eyes bulged wildly. “W–w–what the heck did you just say?”

“I asked if you would pay for me.”

“I heard you the first time! What’s this master business? Exactly, what the hell are you trying to imply here!?”

The girl held her hand in her palm. “Oh that? It’s simple really. I’ve chosen you as my new master. Y’know, as in my owner. I decided on the matter myself. I’m going to pay my debt by becoming your slave. Seeing as you were the one who saw the need to save me from being a slave in the first place, I see it only fitting that I thank you by bestowing to you the right that you stole from someone else. And seeing as you’re such a kind and caring master, I’m sure you’ll reward my service by taking me to Angel City.”

“I already told you! I’m not doing that!” Crest looked heated. “And stop calling me master! What if someone hears you?!”

The girl became smug. Grabbing him by the shoulder, she leaned into him. “Oh, don’t be shy master. Treat me right and I’ll treat you right.”

“Oh, get off me will ya!?” He shouted as she snuggled him tight.

A hand reached for the moolah that was left on the counter. Lou glared at Crest as he pocketed the money that he had left there. “Crest…. you didn’t….”

The girl hugged him tighter.

“‘Didn’t’? ‘Didn’t’ what?” Crest retaliated. He didn’t care for the bartender’s tone. Lou didn’t pay him any mind though and went to go pour Crest his drink instead. “I swear, this isn’t what it looks like!! I’m innocent!! I’m a good man!!!”

Crest huffed then slammed his head into the counter.

“Goddammit!”

The mysterious girl patted him on the back. “Oh, master. You’re kind of a silly guy. Getting to know you will be fun.”

Raising his head, Crest looked at the girl with cutting eyes. “Look, you’re free now. I ain’t looking for no subordinates. Get a clue you nitwit. Leave me be.”

“Nuh-uh,” she insisted. “The only way to get a favor is to do a favor for someone else. Since you already did me a favor, I owe you a favor. So, if I give my life to you, you’ll owe me big.”

“You dumb girl. Even if I went along with this whole fiasco, you think I would repay you for being my slave?!”

Holding a finger to her mouth, the girl pondered the thought for a moment. “Yeah…actually I think you would. You seem like a softie that I can guilt into taking me to Angel City. Mean guys don’t miss their mom or go rescuing damsels unprovoked.”

Surprised at the girl’s craftiness, Crest’s face twisted. “Y’know, I thought you were just a ditz, but you’ve got some gall! Where do you get off?”

“Calm down,” she said wafting the hot air. “I’m just having a bit of fun.”

Just then Lou came across the counter with a pair of drinks. One for Crest. “Here you go…. dog.” He said spitefully as he sat the beer down on the counter. Crest’s devastated expression said it all. The other beer was for the mysterious girl. "This one is on the house young lady.”

“Aww. Thanks.” She said sheepishly as she received her drink.

“You’re quite welcome,” Lou said. After serving them both, he went on to attend to other customers on the other end of the bar.

“What a nice man Mr. Lou is.” She remarked, taking note of Lou’s kindness.

Just then Crest, who was beside her rose to his feet. Without taking even one sip of his drink, he began to walk off. He just left it there. And he probably didn’t have any plans of coming back to it either.

“Wait, where are you going?” The mysterious girl asked him.

Waving her off he simply said, “Out.”

“Hold on I’m your slave! Where you go, I go!”

He didn’t look back. “Piss off. I’m not in the mood for any shenanigans.”

She wasn’t listening. Getting up from her seat, she followed in behind him.

Borka had just finished serving a table when she had taken notice of Crest leaving. A look of confusion spread over her face. “Crest? Where are you going?”

“Taking a break … for the rest of the day.” He said as he passed her by and exited the tavern.

Not far behind him was the mysterious girl calling out like a mad woman or a banshee. “MASTER!” She yelled, causing a scene. “WAIT FOR ME!” The klutz nearly tripped as they were leaving.

Borka looked on as they left, mouth agape. She turned red and her eyes became swirls. “M-m-master!?”

3

Morning became night.

4

“Where are they?” Borka sat at the bar looking at her magic mirror to check the time. It was way past closing, and the gang was ready to go home.

“Let’s just go,” Dorsea stood in the kitchen doorway. "He’s out with his new girlfriend anyway.”

Turning in her chair, Borka screamed at Dorsea. “SHE IS NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!!”

“Could your crush be any more obvious?” Dorsea whispered to herself.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?”

“Nothing. Nothing.”

Just then the front door shot open. In came Crest followed by the mysterious girl. She had been following him all day.

“Master!” The girl was still singing the same old tune. “Master! Master! Master! Mast—”

“Dear God!” Crest exclaimed plugging his ears. “Would someone help me? She won’t stop!”

Rushing over to Crest in a hurry, Borka checked with him to see if he was alright. “CREST HON! ARE YOU OKAY? SHE DIDN’T SEXUAL HARASS YOU DID SHE?”

Crest unplugged his ears. Even plugging them wouldn’t have blocked out Borka’s yelling. “No! She’s ANNOYING me!”

“Alright, that’s enough for tonight.” Taking Borka by the collar, Dorsea pulled her away from Crest with sheer strength alone. She called out to the old man. “Lou we’re leaving. Come on.”

“Right behind you.” Lou stepped out from behind the counter and followed Borka and Dorsea.

Borka didn’t want to leave. Slumping to the ground, she let herself be dragged across the floor like a ragdoll. “CREST! DON’T FALL FOR HER FEMININE WILES!” She warned.

“WAIT!” Crest yelled out, as he noticed them leaving. “YOU AREN’T SERIOUSLY LEAVING ME WITH HER ARE YOU!?”

Lou was the last one out. “See you in the morning…. dog.” He shut the door behind them.

Now Crest and the mysterious girl were completely alone.

“Aww….they’re gone again.” The mysterious girl sounded saddened by the fact. She then turned to Crest. “What are we going to do until they get back.”

Crest looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “ ‘We’ aren’t going to do anything.”

For a moment she paused. “So…. we’ll be doing nothing then?” She questioned.

Agitated and tired, Crest facepalmed. He had grown weary of the girl now and only wanted to take a rest. “You can do whatever you want. Just leave me alone. I’m going to bed.”

Crest went upstairs, retiring to his bedroom.

5

Crest fell out over his mattress. Although he wasn’t entirely ready to go to sleep. If he did, it was likely that he would be bombarded with nightmares again. He didn’t want that. But it also wasn’t up to him. He had, had quite a week. Pirates, nightmares, and the weight of a girl’s wishes on his back. It was all a little too much and it left him drained.

What am I going to do? He thought. Now that the girl was running around calling herself his slave, he was in a tough position. Either he risked the embarrassment by letting the behavior continue, making him look like a weirdo or pervert. Or he would cave and take the girl to Angel City like she wanted. Both gave her leverage over him. And he didn’t like that. Not one bit.

Suddenly the weight of his bed felt heavier. Looking up, there she was again. Sitting in a kneeling position. Though tempted to ask what she wanted this time, he didn’t. He wasn’t exactly out of breath, but he was also tired of lecturing her.

“Look,” she said. “I know you and I aren’t exactly friends yet. But you could at least give me a shot.”

Somehow, she was different now. She didn’t sound as silly as she often had been. A twinge of seriousness oozed in her voice. Ready to hear what she had to say, Crest sat in an upright position. “Okay. I’ll bite. What’s up?”

“First of all. I won’t call you master anymore. I wasn’t entirely serious anyway.” It came out that she hadn’t been annoying him because she was oblivious, but more for the sake of. Thankfully, it looked like that was over now. “Second. And I know this might sound contradictory…..but I want to join your crew.”

“Crew? I don’t have a crew.”

“The other night when you were talking about Al Spar Munda you said you needed a crew to go there.”

Crest laid back down. “Yeah, but I was just talking. Don’t think too much about it.”

The girl sat in silence for a moment before speaking. “But…. You have to go. I can’t go there on my own.” She admitted.

“What?” Crest didn’t seem to buy what she was selling. He scowled at her. “What do you mean? Aren’t you just trying to get to Angel City?”

She shook her head. “Actually, I decided that even if I do get my memories back, I’m going to Al Spar Munda with you. After all your taking me to Angel City, so I have to pay you back.”

“Don’t assume I’m taking you anywhere!!” Crest growled.

She smiled. “Don’t be so uptight. Isn’t it obvious? Me and you met for a reason.”

“A reason?”

Her face lit up. “We need each other. I need to find out who I was, and you need a crew to go to Al Spar Munda. Like I said, I believe in favors for favors, so if you help me with my problem, I’ll help you with yours. I’ll be your first mate. How’s that sound?”

“Really?” Crest scratched his beard. He seemed genuinely surprised someone would even offer. Leo hadn’t even offered, he was off doing his own thing. “But…why?”

“Because you need someone who believes in your dream. Someone who’ll be there right by your side. Friends can only be so supportive. But a crewmate is someone who’ll jump into the murky waters or the darkest abyss for you. They’re more than friends. They’re something else entirely. I don’t know if you’d make a great leader or not, but I’m going to follow you no matter what. You’ve already proven you would risk yourself to help an innocent, so I have no problem doing the same for you.”

She was right. People supported his dream, they even encouraged it. But nobody was really ride or die for him. None of his closest friends would have even dared think about going on a world tour. Even Leo was off doing his own thing. Funny thing was Leo considered himself a leader, but Crest considered that comical. But in the spirit of self-degradation, he didn’t know if he would be much better.

“You’re looking at the wrong guy,” Crest shook his head. “Your speech is touching but I’m not suited to be your captain. That’s more Alabaster or my dad’s forte I’d assume. They always had guys willing to follow them, so I always believed they were good leaders. But I’m not like them, so I don’t think I could be that kind of man.”

Squishing her lips, the girl pouted. “Why the heck not? Are you afraid you’re not good enough? Is that the same fear that told you to stay here in this place, while your father and Mr. Alabaster went off and lived their lives? You could have been part of their crew y’know?”

Those were good questions. Crest paused. He had never really thought about why he never took the chance to leave. The obvious answer was that he wanted to be a captain instead of a crewmate. But there was also the fact that he felt he had responsibilities to take care of in Beros, such as his mom or the tavern. He got so caught up in his daily life, that breaking the routine seemed too difficult. “I suppose there’s some truth in that, but I never wanted to be a subordinate. I admired them sure, but I wanted to do my own thing, when I was ready. Not to mention I was always held back by something. Either I had to take care of my mom, or the Drunken Tankard. Life never permitted me to step outside of my bubble.”

The girl crossed her arms. “Well, nothing is stopping you now is there?”

Crest looked down at the floor. “I guess not.” He whispered. “I was always…..” He paused. He appeared cross with himself. Was he about to let out his feelings to this woman? Did he….trust her now? Whatever, they were just talking. It was no big deal. “I always feared that if I set out on my own, it would be hard for me to find people who would want to be a part of my crew. Not many people are willing to go because they see it as too dangerous. It’s the ultimate adventure, but one riddled with risk.”

The girl pressed a thumb against her chest. “Well, guess what? The danger doesn’t matter to me at all. I might not be too smart for saying that, but I don’t care. As long as you aren’t scared, I won’t be scared either. So how’s about it? You get me to Angel City and I promise I’ll help you fulfill your dream of being the ultimate adventurer.” She held out her hand to shake his.

He looked at it for a moment. Deadpan. She’s so confident, he thought. This girl just met me, and she’s already putting so much faith in my dream. She’s dumb but brave. He seemed to be open to idea, but he was still hesitant. “What about my friends? They still—”

The girl suddenly got cross with him. “What about you? Your father left you and your mom, right? But you still admire him. That’s because he was selfish. He did what he wanted and deep down you want to be that free. Well, it isn’t hard, it’s easy. But you have to unshackle yourself. Do it. Follow your dream. Because without a dream you might as well be dead.”

Crest couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but somehow he couldn’t help but feel she was right. Dad, he thought. You were selfish. You left mom to die in my care, but I still forgive you. Maybe….maybe I can learn to forgive myself. He huffed. “You’d really accompany me? It’s that easy?” He asked.

As if he had to ask in the first place. “A favor…. for a favor.”

Hesitantly, Crest reached for her hand and shook it. But his weak handshake turned firm the more he deliberated on the idea of being partners. He became confident. They were both just getting to know each other, but now they would be together for the long haul. At least until they saw Al Spar Munda. Crest felt inordinately happy for some reason. He would be giving up his job at the Drunken Tankard to travel. Oh Hell, he would be giving up his job! “Where are we gonna get the money though?” He asked.

“You’re talented right?” She asked a rhetorical question. “We can be like…freelancers.”

“Freelancers?”

“It's a term I picked up. They're like people who do a bunch of odd jobs for money. We can change jobs as we move around. You could be a bouncer somewhere else……or if you’re feeling up to it maybe a circus clown.”

Crest chuckled to himself. That humored him. “Well then sounds like a plan then…..Ms., uhh?” It occurred to Crest that he didn’t know what to call the girl. “Actually I have no idea what to call you.”

Scratching her head, the girl blinked rapidly. She stuck out her tongue. “I haven’t thought of any names either. How’s about you try taking a shot? If it’s good, I’ll use it.”

“Huh!” Crest exclaimed. He was surprised that she would trust him with something as important as giving her a name. In fact he felt a little bit strange that she would even ask. But what the heck? Why not? He looked her up and down, and the thing that stood out the most about her other than her missing eye was the fact that her hair was the color pink. It reminded him of a certain flower, that his mother loved. “How’s about Cerra? Like the Cerra flower?”