I went below deck where Jake was cleaning his sword. I had something I wanted to ask him. “Jake, can I ask you something?” He looked up from his work. “Aye, you can.” He replied.

I sat down with a sigh and asked, “Why did you want to be a pirate?” Jake looked at me with a grin. “I’ve been wonderin’ when you were gonna ask that. You’ve always been the curious type.” He said. I looked down feeling a little bad for asking. Then he said,

“My father was never really there for me. He went to work early in the morning and came home late at night. As soon as he would sit down on his favorite chair he would tell me he wanted me to be a doctor. He’d scold me if I missed one problem in my school work. So when I was of age I decided it was finally time to get out of here. I made everyone believe I was going to medical school so that leaving would be easy. I planned to be a pirate for about two years. I was so thrilled when I was finally able to live my dream.” He sounded so proud of himself, but I didn’t understand why.

“But that still doesn’t answer my question. Why did you want to be a pirate?” I asked again.

“Because I could do whatever I pleased! I could go anywhere I wanted to go and have anything I wanted. A pirate’s life is the best life for me.” Jake finished with a smile. Then he asked, “So what about you? Why’d you leave your luxurious life to be a pirate?”

I giggled. “Well, believe me, I hadn’t planned it all out like you did. Captain Elinor came to my door one evening looking for a key which I had found the day before. So she told us what she was doing and soon enough I volunteered to join her on her adventure. After the chest was found I had a feeling inside that was telling me that this is where I belonged. I’ve been on this ship for about a year now.” I explained. Jake looked at me as if he was interested in my story.

“And what was in the chest?” He asked.
“Oh, it was treasure that belonged to Elinor’s parents.” I said.
“What were her parent’s names?” Jake asked. He looked very anxious to find out.

“Uh- I believe they were Alice and Elliot McGovern.” I said. He looked away as if he was thinking of something. “Why did you want to know?” I asked.

“Nothing- it was-uh-nothing. I was just wondering.” He said quickly. “I’d better see where we are.” He said and went on deck. “He’s acting rather peculiar.” I said to myself. “Oh, it’s probably nothing.”

As I stood up I saw Elinor standing in a corner. She was spying on us!
“Elinor, is there something you needed?” I asked. She just stared at me and then she said harshly, “What have I told ye about mentioning my parent’s names and their treasure chest to people?”
“But Jake is my friend! He would never think of stealing from you!” I said.

“Listen, Victoria, I know he’s yer friend, but you haven’t seen him in six years. We don’t know that we can trust him!” Elinor explained.
“What is so dangerous of others knowing about your parent’s treasure anyways?” I asked.

Elinor came close to my ear and whispered, “The Cube of Light belongs to them.” I gasped. “Then why don’t you-” I blurted out, but Elinor covered my mouth and hushed me.

I whispered, “Then why don’t you give it to Blackheart and save Elena?” Elinor looked at me worriedly. “Because the Cube of Light is powerful and it could be used to destroy an entire city. If Blackheart had control of it she would destroy every city that threatens her. That is why she wants to trade for it!” Elinor said.

“I understand. But why did Blackheart say you stole it from her?” I asked.
“Because she stole it from my parents and they got it back from her! They paid for it with their lives…” Elinor’s voice trailed off. She cleared her throat, “Come, let’s go on deck.” She said.

I felt sorry for Elinor and I hoped I was right about Jake.

That’s the end of Part 3! Look for Part 4 coming soon! 🙂
~Jaclynn~