A Pirate's Life for Me: Part Four

      There was a green Kyrii and a blue Chia wearing business suits and sunglasses onboard. Tallin could also see that there was a young girl sitting in the very back of the boat. She was actually quite hard to miss, as she leaped out of the boat in front of the other two, rocking the boat back and forth in the shallow water as she leaped into the shallow water.

      "WHERE IS SHE!! I DEMAND TO SEE HER THIS INSTANT!!!" she bellowed at Tallin, grabbing a hold of the collar of his shirt.

      "Slow down, miss!" he said to her, pulling her off of his collar, "Who be's ye talkin' about? Screamin' all that gibberish in me face ain't gonna help me out any!" He put his paw on his sword hilt, ready to fight if necessary.

      The young girl narrowed her eyes at the Lupe. "You know very well who I'm talking about! You kidnapped her for gosh sakes!! I KNOW SHE'S HERE!" Again she took hold of Tallin's shirt, and this time the other two had to yank her off, restraining her from attacking more viciously. Again she yelled at the Lupe, still attempting to break free from the other two's grips.

      "DANI!! YOU FOOL!! YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!! I KNOW SHE'S HERE! GIVE HER BACK!! SHE'S MINE!!" the hysterical owner yelled.

      Tallin stood there, not knowing what to do. This girl was obviously ready to blow, and she felt a strange need to get Dani back. Obviously, she was Dani's owner, and Tallin now understood why she ran away. With an owner like this, it would be hard not to. Tallin had to think fast.

      "I'm sorry miss, but there's no one named Dani here! Trust me, I was born here, and raised on this very island, so I would know!" Tallin lied as he tried to think of some bright idea.

      "Oh, no, you must be mistaken!" Ysabel poked a finger in Tallin's face, "you see, my Dani has been pestering me, and pestering me for all sixteen years of her life about being a pirate, so naturally this is where her first refuge would be. It's only logic," she said matter-of-factly.

      "Well messing with me isn't exactly logic," Tallin mumbled as he turned around and slowly walked back into The Golden Dubloon. Once inside, he bellowed for Dani.

      "DANI!!! COME HERE!"

      Dani came running into the room, "What's the matter Tallin?"

      "She's here, and she's lookin' fer ya!"

      "Who?" Dani asked.

      "Yer owner! She's absolutely hysterical!" Tallin replied. Dani looked helplessly around for some sort of escape. Her heart began racing.

      "What should I do?" she asked.

      "I don't know. Just go out thar and face 'er I guess," he placed a paw on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, "we'll find some way to win."

      By now Loretta and Rosetta had joined them, and they all walked out of the restaurant.

      "Oh Dani! I've been so worried!" Ysabel ran over to Dani and looked her over, "What are you wearing! You look like a regular old pirate! Well, now that I've found you, you can come back home again! You know, I knew I was right when I thought you would be here."

      Dani pulled away from Ysabel's grasp.

      "I am a pirate, and I'm staying here!" Dani said in response to Ysabel's comment. "Look, Ysabel, I'm happy here! You can't take all this away from me just because you don't want to let me go! Have you ever stopped to realize that I'm different than you? Just because you don't like my idea of a future doesn't mean it's okay for you to keep it from happening. Can't you just let me stay here? It's not that much of a loss to you anyway. You never treated me all that well."

      "Look, Dani, this is for your own good! And you can't say I haven't treated you well! I've given you food, a roof over your head, and I've given you unconditional love! Do you think you're safe here?! Look at these pirates! They're savages!" Ysabel replied.

      Unconditional love. Sure. Dani retorted to herself.

      Tallin was very offended by Ysabel's comment, and Loretta and Rosetta had to restrain him from attacking Ysabel. He gave out a low growl instead. Dani and her owner continued to argue.

      "What about your brother, Fion? He misses you so much, you know..." Ysabel said.

      "Yeah, sure. I've never heard anyone lie through their teeth like that before," Dani folded her arms and looked away. After a short pause, she began again, "Look," she said, "why are you holding me back from this? Can't you just let me go?" She shoved Ysabel away from her.

      At this point Tallin broke away from Rosetta and Loretta and stepped into the argument.

      "Alright, shut up everyone! Now look," he said to Ysabel, "why is it that ye won't let this girl go? I think that ye needs ter just give 'er up! If ye want 'er to do what's right, then just let her go for gosh sakes! I can see why she'd much rather stay here rather than live in your household."

      Ysabel's stare bored a hole in Tallin's head. It was evil, full of hate and pain. She spoke to him in a voice, almost a whisper, to keep from screaming at him.

      "Do you think you're her owner? Well, you're not. I am, and I can tell her what's right for her and what's not. I don't need some cut-throat savage of a pirate to take my place," she said, still staring at him.

      Tallin was fuming with anger, and he drew his sword and held it up to Ysabel's throat, but didn't get too far, as Rosetta and Loretta again grasped his arms to keep him from getting too violent. His claws were still digging into the sand in attempt to break free.

      However, a few seconds later, Loretta let go of Tallin and walked up to Ysabel. She looked her straight in the eye, and said, in the most cynical voice possible, "You let 'er stay if she wants ter stay. She obviously doesn't like you, and frankly, I can see why. I don't see how anyone could respect a heartless witch like you. Now, you let her stay, or Rosetta's gonna let go of Tallin, and yer all his," she said with a smirk on her face.

      Tallin growled, showing every single sharp tooth that adorned his jaw. He still held his sword unsheathed and glinting in the sun in one hand.

      Ysabel looked at Loretta, then Tallin, and put on a look of pure disgust and hatred. She was reluctant to give up on this fight.

      "Dani, I want what's best for you, you have to understand! It's only doing my job as your owner to take you back and-"

      "Take me back and what? Know that I'm not truly happy living under the circumstances you put me under? Well, Ysabel, if you want to do what's best for me, I suggest you turn your sorry hind end around and march back to that boat, and leave me here!" Dani yelled, poking at Ysabel with her claw. Ysabel was appalled by this comment, and grabbed Dani by the arm.

      "You are going to come with me! You're not the one to be giving orders around here" She yelled, trying to pull Dani into the boat. At this point Rosetta had let go of Tallin and he walked up to Ysabel, his sword in one hand and a determined look on his face.

      "You let her stay, or tonight, you'll be sleepin' with the fishes," he whispered in her ear as he held his sword against her throat.

      Ysabel let go of Dani out of pure shock, causing the Kougra to fall backwards. Tallin caught her and stood her next to him. She ran back to Loretta and Rosetta to ensure the fact that she wasn't going to be dragged into that boat.

      Tallin continued to threaten Ysabel and keep her from recapturing Dani, until she finally gave up the fight that. Tallin shove her back into the boat.. There wasn't even one tear on her cheek. Her sad expression was obviously fake She yelled back to Dani as the boat sailed away,

      "Dani, you can come back whenever you want! I'm sorry about everything! I..." Dani couldn't hear the rest as the boat was too far away.

      Ysabel was gone. She wasn't coming back. Tallin made sure of that. Dani looked at her feet for a few moments. Then she noticed Tallin standing beside her. They were both speechless.

      Tallin put his arm around her shoulder. She looked at him, and he looked at her. They both smiled and looked back out at the rolling waves.

      "Does this mean I'm staying?" Dani asked.

      Tallin replied, "Yes."

  The End