"Do I really have to bring this as well?" In a modest room, a girl with short black hair was watching her friend pack clothes and beauty products into her suitcase. "I'm going on a cruise, not to a fashion show."
"Oh, come on, even a captain has to look beautiful when giving orders, you know," replied the girl with long blonde hair, who was none other than myself. "By the way, you'd look even more attractive if you let your hair grow," I said, running my fingers through her daek hair, which felt softer than before.
"You're like a mother packing her daughter's things as she's about to set off into the world," Liz remarked before I packed the last set of clothes, giving a little chuckle at her comment.
I closed the suitcase; it was actually mine, one I'd stopped using not long ago, so I'd just given it to her. "If that's the case, you should've gone by Lindsey, not Hook," I replied, handing the suitcase to Liz, who immediately felt just how heavy it was.
I gave her a set of clothes and some beauty products I no longer used; Liz needed both hands to lift the suitcase. "Are you trying to make me do a workout as well?" Liz complained, but I simply replied with a pat on her back.
"Come on, Robin's already waiting in the living room," I said, walking towards the door and pulling the handle to let us out. Liz walked behind me carrying that heavy suitcase, but whilst I was humming, I could hear Liz's footsteps come to a halt.
I turned round and saw her standing there in silence, staring at the door next to mine. "Is this the room belonging to the friend you've often told me about?" Liz wondered, and I stepped closer, looking at the nameplate on the door which read 'Red'—indicating who owned the room.
"Yes, and I'm planning to refocus on searching for him after this—I'm sure he hasn't gone that far."
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"Because he's too daft to go very far; I'm not even sure he knows how to book a plane ticket."
I turned and walked back towards the stairs, followed immediately by Liz from behind. As our feet touched the living room floor, I could see Robin sitting there relaxing whilst watching the telly—he was making himself at home as if the house were his own.
"Oh? Are you two done? Girls really do take ages to get ready, don't they?" Robin remarked with a grin, switching off the programme he had been watching.
"Robin, that's a stereotype—you'll be hated by all women for saying that."
"Hey, come on, I was just joking."
"Let's go, Liz. Let's just leave this bloke behind."
"Right, right, I'm sorry!"
Over the past few days, Liz travelled to various places and spoke to people everywhere about the heart of the ocean, making both her name and Captain Hook's increasingly famous in London; she even made the front page of the newspapers at the time.
However, one city was not enough for her; she wanted to tell everyone in the world about it, which is why she decided to set sail again. At the harbour, we supplied her with plenty of food, spices and all sorts of equipment she might need. "Why do you all look like that? I've already got a few crew members; I won't be on my own or feel lonely!" After visiting various places, plenty of people had become interested and wanted to set sail with her in search of more treasure.
Behind Liz there was already a group of people, and now the number of women was equal to the number of men, unlike back then when only the two of us were the female crew members on the Jolly Roger. "Although, to be honest… I'll be lonely without you two," Liz admitted, shyly scraping the ground with the toe of her shoe.
"A captain shouldn't look so vulnerable, you know," Robin commented, and that both annoyed and amused Liz at the same time; she playfully hit him, making Robin chuckle. "Still, I'll miss you too."
Liz's cheeks flushed at those words; she turned her face away slightly before hitting Robin properly, quite hard. "Ouch! Hey, what did I do to deserve that?!" protested the ginger-haired man, but Liz didn't reply and simply pulled the brim of her tricorn down.
I let out a long sigh and shook my head. "Is there nothing you want to tell me?" I asked, prompting Liz to look up again—after a moment's silence she gave a little laugh before rushing over to give me a tight hug. However, I was taken aback when her embrace grew too tight, as if she didn't want to let go; I then hugged her back before lifting her up and swaying her from side to side. "Yes, yes, I'm going to miss you terribly too—don't forget to pop round sometime, shall we go and watch a film again?"
Once Liz's feet touched the ground again, she broke the embrace, but our faces were still only a few inches apart, so I could feel her breath on my face. "Of course! I might even take you out sailing for a bit," she said enthusiastically; I immediately pushed her shoulders back with both hands, as the thought of vomiting every five minutes again made me feel instantly disinclined.
"No, thank you," I replied briefly, drawing a chuckle from her; the rest of her crew had already climbed aboard the colossal ship, and I could hear their cries of awe from below. "Isn't that ship a bit too big?"
"It's all we've got—and it's free," Liz gazed at the ship that was now hers; it had never crossed her mind that she'd become a pirate captain with a vessel that big. "Besides, it's more luxurious inside than the one we were on back then, and oh—it actually has a bathroom!"
Hearing that made my jaw drop to the floor. "It's got a bathroom?! Then why didn't you ever tell us?!" I hadn't had a shower for three weeks and was judged as filthy by everyone—it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.
"You know Alice even considered having a bath in the sea, didn't you?" Robin added; it was an idea that had only flashed through my mind because I can't swim, so having a bath in the sea would be tantamount to suicide.
"Come on, pirates don't care about washing—besides, we've already been washed by our own sweat," Liz replied nonchalantly, and that made me want to really teach this daft girl a lesson, but I didn't want our farewell to include some pointless row.
To my surprise, I saw a drop of water fall to the ground; it wasn't rain, but a tear held back by the ship's captain. She wiped it away as if we hadn't seen it fall. She turned round and, with a resolute look, saluted, causing Robin and me to exchange confused glances.
"My journey will certainly be tough without the two of you, but I'll prove that I can be just as brilliant as you!" Her hand was still raised in salute; Robin and I exchanged glances, wondering whether we should do the same or not, and eventually we reached an agreement and saluted the girl named Elizabeth Hook.
"Have a wonderful journey, Captain Hook!" Robin and I shouted in unison. I was actually feeling terribly embarrassed at being watched by so many people right now, but today marked the birth of the new Captain Hook, with a new crew and a new voyage.
The ship had already weighed anchor and set sail; from aboard our ship, I could see Liz waving—but that wasn't quite enough for me. "Robin, get ready to fly," I said, pulling out four cards.
"Oh, you… I'm sometimes baffled by the way you think, you know," Robin muttered, but still attached the cards to his shoes—and in that very instant we shot forward like a bullet, trailing the ship from behind; Liz's eyes widened as she saw us approaching her for the last time.
"Take good care of yourself, okay? Don't do anything stupid—because we know you're an expert at that!" My cheer made Liz's eyes well up again; this was what I wanted to see—her letting her emotions flow freely without holding them back.
"And don't forget to have a wash at least once a week, because your crew will leave you if you smell of sweat," I said, and the man's green cap was blown away by the strong wind.
Liz then gave a broad smile as tears streamed down her face. "YES! YOU LOT LOOK AFTER YOURSELVES TOO, OKAY!" She shouted as the ship sailed further away towards the setting sun. "And I—LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!" she declared loudly to everyone on board the ship and to the creatures in the sea.
The ship continued on its way, leaving the two former crew members floating in the air. Our journey had indeed come to an end, but that didn't mean we'd ever forget it; these memories will remain firmly etched in all our minds as we move forward towards our next adventure.