Morning was rough- for Kris at least. Amber ignored him the whole time as if he didn’t exist anymore in her eyes. It was torture for him. He loved her. He really did. But to see his loved one turn their backs on him was like running through an endless forest of thorns and there was no way out of it. He felt guilty for what he has done. But most of all, he hated his father for creating this mess in the first place. If only he died, Kris’s life would be seen again in a whole new light.

“Morning!” Key called to Amber gleefully. “Feeling better?”

Amber nodded shyly. “Thank you.” Key gave her a smile as they made their way into the dining section of the ship. The dining section almost looked like a buffet- only dirtier and made of wood. The dining tables were all picnic benches in the middle of the room while plates and food were served off the side for people to help themselves. Many of the crew was lined up and others were seated. The room was loud but welcoming. Everyone had a smiled on their face and they cheered when rum was served to the tables.

“Ay! Move ova lass! If yer gonna get food then ya better get in line!” Amber wasn’t paying attention until a rude man startled her. She apparently was standing on the side, not looking to be in the lineup, or out.

“Sorry.” Amber bowed. But instead of genuinely accepting her apology, he spat on the floor a couple inches away from her and moved on. Amber furrowed her eyebrows in disgust. “Pirates.” she mumbled hatefully under her breath.

“Don’t worry about them.” Key smiled. “Look on the bright side, at least we’re not starving in a prison or having to swim for our lives.”

“I kinda wish that we were swimming away to shore by now instead of staying on the same boat with these shameless murderers.” Amber muttered. Key laughed at her which made Amber smile.

“Take it easy.” Key patted her back. “I don’t think you’ll want to swim in icy water again. The last time we did that, we got stranded and almost died. Not gonna go through that again.” Amber managed a smile. She wish she knew what he was talking about. If only she regained her memories again.

~

Coming out of the dining room, Kris stared out into the darkening sky.

“Oi Capt’n!” one of the crew members called.

“Yes Carter.” Captain Wu answered. He had his thumbs tucked in his belt as he swayed over to the guy.

“We’re in for a storm soon.” he reported.

“Ay. Understood.” Wu nodded. “All hands on deck. I want this ship ready for her.”

“Yes sir!” Carter saluted and went on his way, ordering the others to prepare for the storm that they were approaching.

“What’s going on?” Amber asked as she walked on deck with Key next to her. The men were running around frantically trying to make sure that the ship would be stable enough to withstand the storm. The thunder was heard from far and it seemed to be getting louder as time went by.

“Looks to be a storm soon.” Key mumbled. “We should head inside before it starts pouring on us.”

“Good idea.” Amber nodded and they headed inside. Kris, on the other hand, was running around helping out the rest of the crew.

“You idiots! You want to get us killed lowering the mast like that?!” Kris shouted, “Look out to the sky. The clouds are darker than grey. They’re black! With a rumbling storm like that, if the mast and sails aren’t secured, the ship will flip!” Nodding their heads, the crew immediately secured the mast so that they wouldn’t be blown away with the wind.

“Ay! Who are you to boss us around like that?” one of the crew members asked.

“I am the Captain’s son. I know this ship better than you would ever know. Now shut your trap and get to work!” Kris shouted at him. Startled, the crew member jumped back and ran to help the others.

“Leading again I see.” Captain Wu muttered next to Kris as he walked out of his cabin.

“Well, I just don’t want my friends and I to be going down along with this ship.” Kris replied with a mutter.

“Hmph. Guess they won’t be need’n this captain anymore with you around.” Wu smirked.

“Well, now that you’re here and I’m about to leave, they’re all yours.” Kris sighed, giving his father a sarcastic smile. Glaring at him immediately after, Kris stormed back into the cabin. He hopped onto his hammock and placed his hands behind his head.

Closing his eyes, he imagined that he was back at the farm. With Halmoni. With his brothers. With Amber. He imagined that everything was fine. That this whole pirate instance had never happened. That Key had never come along to reunite with his fiancee. That Amber had loved him all along and that they could’ve been together. But that was just all his imagination. What has happened, had already happened. He couldn’t change his past even if he wanted to. He couldn’t change the way things were arranged. He could change the fact that his father was a pirate. Or the fact that his mother has died. Or the fact that Amber was already engaged to someone long before him.

Then, a sudden giggle disrupted his thoughts. He opened his eyes and turned to the noise only to find that Key had just finished telling Amber a funny story that they had both gone through together. Kris eyed them in disgust. He thought that he should be in Key’s position right now, not the other way around.

Just then, a huge tip of the boat has startled the three, causing them to rush outside to see what was going on. Slamming the door open, the dock was being filled with the splattering of rain drops coming from the sky. And these rain drops were not regular sized. No, they were huge and heavy. When the rain pounded on their skin, it felt as if they were being slapped. Every drop stung on their bare skin. In a matter of seconds, they were soaking wet from head to toe. Looking around, Kris saw the water rage and roar, raising higher and higher.

“What’s going on?” Kris shouted through the rain.

“The skies ain’t with us today.” a crew member replied loudly.

“Get back inside! It’s going to be a rough ride through this storm!” another shouted. Nodding, the three started to head back inside. But once they reached the door, the wind slammed the door shut, refusing to open.

“It’s stuck!” Key shouted, helping Kris open the door. But no matter how much force they applied, it wouldn’t open. On top of that, the rain soaked their grip, making it even harder for them to get the job done.

“What do we do then?” Amber asked.

“We can only help out on the ship.” Kris replied.

“What? Are you crazy? We don’t even know the basics as to how a ship works.” Amber replied. Key and Kris looked at her wearing an “oh yeah” expression. Amber looked at them and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, that’s right. You two know, but Miss I-Don’t-Have-My-Memories here doesn’t know.” Amber heaved. Crossing her arms, she watched the two men turn around and help the rest of the ship.

Standing there for two full minutes, Amber decided that she felt too unproductive to stand there and do nothing. So she decided to go out there and try to do what she can. Pulling on ropes, helping out the crew steer the ship and making sure that all the ship’s parts were still intact were just some of the things that they did. Running around from here to there, everyone was trying their best to keep the ship from tipping on such rough waves.

“Uh-oh.” one of the crew members mumbled. The rest of the crew looked at the waves up ahead.

“Capt’n!” Carter called.

“Yes Master Carter.” he shouted.

“Up ahead!” he pointed. Wu averted his eyes to where Carter pointed.

“Dear me.” he muttered to himself. “ALL HANDS BELOW DECK! THERE’S A BIG ONE COMING!” he ordered.

“ALL HANDS BELOW DECK!” Car