Treasure

Amber stared at Colt in confusion. "Isn't there..." she sighed and threw her arms in the air, groaning with frustration. "Forget it." she grumbled, and stomped back into the cabin containing Velna.

"Amber! Be cooperative, will you?"

Velna----

Velna looked up from her work and looked at Amber. "Having problems with something?" She asked looking back down at her work. "You know he likes you right?" She had noticed, course she had lived on ships with men her whole life, she knew when someone liked someone or just wanted to use them. She had learned.

Colt----

Colt shook his head as AMber disappeared then looked at Tim. "Get to work, boy." He growled.

"You know he likes you, right?" Amber blinked. Velna shook her head, continuing to mop the floor. She smiled slightly, her eyes wandering over to Amber's expression. "There anything shocking about that?"

Amber snapped out of her train of thought. Ignoring the last comment, she cleared her throat and paced the floor. "I'm having no problems." she stated bluntly. "I used to be a hostage, and I simply failed to understand why I was treated higher than you."

Velna wanted to laugh. "Did anything I just say get through to you?"

Velna-----

Amber seemed to ignore that comment too. "Man, you really are blind." Velna wrung the mop out and then carried the bucket to the window dumping it out and getting more water. "He does though, I can tell by the way he looks at you. Boy, he's got some eyes on him. Gorgeous. Course, not my type." She laughed. "And your in denial, pity."

Amber took a deep breath, holding her hands within each other. "How.. can you.. tell?" she asked hesitantly, unable to deny her curiosity much longer. "I mean, Colt." she breathed, as if in fascination. "He's the son of the, well, of the captain."

Velna rolled her eyes. "Amber, I -" Somebody suddenly rapped on the door, the banging vibrating the water in the bucket. Both girls swung their heads around and watched Tim and Colt stride in. Colt was holding Tim by his collar and dropped him mercilessly on the ground.

"Behave yourself." he growled. His eyes locked with Amber and he smiled. Did he always smile when he looked at her? "Amber, I apologize, for I know you don't like taking care of the hostages." Amber cocked her head slightly. "I'm sending Chris in to watch them." Colt told her, gracefully moving across the room. "Could I speak with you?"

***Thanks, :'( ****

Velna---

Velna smiled and laughed softly then went back to working.

*tears*

Colt-----

Colt led the bewildered looking Amber up the stairs and to the bow of the boat. He looked out over the water. It was getting dark and most of the crew had gone below deck to eat or sleep.

"What did you want to speak with me about?" Amber asked in a quiet voice. He turned around and leaned against the railing.

"Well, I'm sorry for putting you in a position that made you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have done that." He said, she started to talk and he held his hand up to hush her. "But you seem to be good at it as long as you aren't scared. There is nothign to Tim that should make you afraid of him. Plus, if he ever gave you any trouble you just need to tell me and I'll deal with it."

He looked down into her beautiful eyes and smiled. He wanted her to know that he would take care of her, that she didn't need to be worried about if it was her place to say something or not.

Amber was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. She pursed her lips and opened them slightly, sucking the sea air into her lungs. "Thank you." she smiled slightly, looking up into his eyes. "For the reassurance. "

Colt nodded. "So keep that in mind, Amber." He grinned. "Will you remember?" Why was he so absurdly handsome? Amber looked away for a moment.

"Could I tell you something?"

**the bell rang!! I have to go to french!!**

***Alright, peace***

Colt---

Colt nodded. "You can tell me anything, Amber, don't ever be afraid to." He said lifting her chin so she looked at him once again. He didn't want to move his fingers from her face but he did crossing his arms and looking at her letting a smile play across his lips as he watched her.


*tears*

**Ha, in the middle of french. Don't say anything: Shhh.**

As he took his fingers off her chin she felt a sudden longing for him to touch her again. She looked into his eyes hesitantly, admiring the softness hidden behind them. Immediately she regretted asking that question. God, how she wanted to know how he felt. Velna had sparked her curiosity immensly, and it was tearing he apart little by little.

"Colt... I..." she took in a sharp breath, not knowing what to say. Blood rushed up to her cheeks and she closed her eyes."

"Yes?"

"I don't elieve I'm making any progress with baby-sitting the hostages. I believe I should just, you know..." Colt sighed. How many times was she going to bring this up? "Maybe I should help the cook." She added before she said anything els stupid. She raced away, leaving Colt watching her, folding his arms.

***Alright***

Colt---

Colt stood there confussed. He ran a hand through his hair as she watched him run off. He didn't know what he had done to upset her, or embarress her. So why did she take off like there was a ball of fire under her. He frowned and walked towards where teh hostages were. He had to do somethign to get that girl off his mind, cause nothing else was working.

"Chris is watching them." He reminded himself. He was offically at a lose of what to do. He wanted to know what she was really going to ask, but he figured he would never know.

The cook worked under the ship, serving eventual meals to all the members of hte crew. Surprisingly he was quite a young man, a couple years older than Amber, but his right arm, the arm he used to sword fight, was severely injured during a battle and now it was simply wrapped in guaze instead of being treated.

"Hows the arm?" Amber asked as she bounced down the stairs. Cook turned to her and smiled, continuing to stir the stew.

"Painful as ever." he laughed. Amber furrowed her eyebrows at his positivity, but said nothing. "Hows the hostages?

"I don't really understand why we call them hostages. More as slaves, they are." Cook nodded in agreement, tapping the metal spoon at the edge of the pot. "When's dinner?" she asked, rolling her finger against the texture of the wooden counter.

"When it's done." he answered simply. Cook tucked his dirty blonde hair back behind his ear, looking up at the cracked ceiling of the kitchen. "Hows the Colt situation?" he asked casually. Amber snapped her head up and stared into his eyes.

"What do you mean? How... did you talk to Velna?"

"More or less."

"Beautiful." Amber rolled her eyes, grabbing her forehead with annoyance. "She thinks he's interested in me, which he isn't, and now my curiosity is getting the best of me and I'm dying inside. Cook, I'm dying."

Cook gave her a strange look. "You aren't being the slightest bit dramatic?" he asked. Amber spat on the fire that was cooking the stew. It sizzle and flickered slightly.

"No." she frowned. Cook shrugged. "Tell me when dinner's finished." she grumbled, pounding back up the stairs.

"Will do!" he called after her.

**I thought Tim had fallen asleep on his way out of the cabin >< Ah well, I'll try getting it right this time. Forget that what I wrote before happened.**

Chris

Chris stepped into the cabin with a sigh, sometimes the hostages seemed to be more trouble than they were worth. He shot Tim a quick look, letting him know that he wouldn't be able to try anything further now that he was here. Then he settled back against the wall, drawing his knife and polishing it absentmindedly for a moment.

He looked up, his eyes flicking from one hostage to the other, settling on Velna for a long moment before he looked away again. You shouldn't even come close to thinking about her like that. When you do, you'll start cutting her slack. And if you do that for a hostage, the crew is going to notice. And then where'll you be?

He sheathed the knife again - there was no way he could just polish a clean knife for however long they were going to be working for. He nodded to Velna, "The ship we found you on. Which port was it headed to?"

I have a new character!! His name is Cook. Whoo.

Name: Cook

Age: 20

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Dirty Blonde

Weight: Slim, slightly muscular

History: Used to be a pirate but his sword-fighting arm was severely injured in a fight so he's useless in battle. Stays down in the ship and cooks the crews meals.

Personality: Light-hearted and immensly flirtatious. He's very social, and hates having to stay under the ship all day when he could be out having fun with everybody else. He's very, very attractive and nice in some ways, but nobody really ever goes down to the kitchen besides a couple of people.

Has a friendly crush on Amber (Colt has some competition!)

Velna----

Velna shrugged, "No clue, I was put on it when the ship I was on before met them. I was just told to pack my things and go." She replied not looking up but continuing to work. She would work the hardest. That way if the ship ever ran low on supplies she would be the last hostage to be killed, hopefully.

"You had to have over heard something." Chris replied.

"Nope." She kept scrubbing at the cracks in the floor. "Nothing."



Colt----

*nothing*

Amber glared down on the floor of the deck, charging toward the cabin where the hostages were working. She attempted to knock on the door politely, but the banging overwhelmed the ship.

Chris appeared at the entrance. "Hi Amber." he greeted. "What do you need?" Amber said a quick hello and poked her head inside, locking eyes with Velna.

"What did you say to Cook?" she asked, marching into the room. A smile broke out of Velna's face and she fought to control it. Rolling her eyes, Velna continued to mop the floor.

"I didn't tell him anything." she stated simply. "And if I did, Amber, it isn't anything to make a big deal out of." Amber folded her arms and glared at Velna.

"Fine. Just fine." She spat, kicking the bucket of water and turning on her heel. Chris stopped her on her way out.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, eyeing Velna. God, this was frustrating. Colt was making her life a wreck without even realizing it.

"Oh, nothing Chris." she grinned, cocking her head slightly for an innocent effect. That was it. She had to find out from Colt - she just had to. What if he did feel that way? "Do you know the whereabouts of Colt?"