Coral Martin crawled into bed, exhausted from the days of wondering if her life would ever get better.
"It used to be great," she said to no one in particular, "At least, it was till Mom and Dad died."
She remembered the shock that had hit her when she was first told of the deaths as if it had just happened a few days ago. She couldn't even remember the person who broke the news to her, just the crushing blow on her heart. As time had passed, the pain had not gotten any easier, just more and more difficult to bear. She still shed a tear for them almost daily.
"I just need to get away!" Coral wished on a shooting star as it darted past her window. "Please God, set me free."
~0~
Coral opened her light green eyes, tired from a long, sleepless night. Her vision became blurry as tears began to fall from her face. She had dreamed about her parents, awakening with a deep sense of loss and an aching heart. She felt a metal band wrapped around her finger. Strange, she had no memory of slipping a ring onto her hand. She had not even owned a ring since she was very young, save for her parent's wedding rings that hung around her neck. She shrugged it off. Perhaps she had just put one on in her sleep by mistake.
"Whatever." she mumbled. "I'll deal with it in the morning."
Coral laid her head back on the soft pillow. She heard a long, content sigh. Her eyes popped back open. That wasn't her sigh.
Coral's eyes traveled to a man beside her. She didn't quite take it in, and assumed she was in a very vivid dream. She poked his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin on her fingertips. She gasped.
He rolled over to face her, greeting her with a smile. "It's not yet morning, love."
A scream pierced the air. Coral wished whoever was doing it would stop, so she could make sense of the situation. The man gently reached up and brought her jaw to a close. "If you keep screaming like that, love, the Navy'll be on us in a moment."
She leapt out of bed, her long black hair streaming behind her. She glanced down at her body, still clad in comfy pajama pants and an oversized band tee. She couldn't ignore the feeling that something inside her had changed, however. Coral was too disturbed to realize the ring may have had something to do with that feeling.
"Who are you? Why are you here? Why were you in my house, in my room, in my BED?" Coral screamed at his confused face, hers close to tears of anger, as she backed away from the bed. She couldn't help but wonder if he did anything to her. "Who ever you are, leave! Don't come back!" she screamed, nearly paralyzed with fear and confusion.
He walked toward her and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shut it, my bonny lass. If you wake the crew, there will be a problem come morning."
The crew?
He tried to lead her back to the bed, but she refused to move. Coral was far from trusting this man. The way she had met him didn't help much, either. "Get your hands off me." He relented, sensing the rage beneath her seemingly calm exterior.
"Just don't say anything loud or stupid." Something about his Scottish accent and the way he sounded like Gerard Butler calmed her, but didn't stop her from glaring.
"Fine. I won't yell." She crossed her arms defiantly.
He lit a candle, casting light throughout the room. For the first time, Coral examined her surroundings. She saw some furniture, obviously the troublesome bed, arranged in a room that resembled an 18th century pirate ship's captain's quarters. Confused, Coral looked at the Scottish man before her.
He lacked a shirt, but had black pants. His skin was bronze from the sun, excluding his white feet. He wore his hair long, long enough that Coral compared it to the hair of American idol finalist Bo Bice. He looked at her, his lips curling into a smile. Black boots, obviously his, rested on the floor by the bed. A red shirt was draped over the bedpost.
Suddenly, realization hit Coral. This was not her house. She was not normally this slow, but it was the middle of the night. She was scared out of her skin, in a place she wasn't sure of, had never been before, with a man she had never seen. She couldn't help it if she was a little slow.
The candle light flickered. Coral noticed the man's light beard. "You . . . Who are who?"
He stood from the bed. Coral noticed he was much taller than her, by a foot at least. Her head merely reached his shoulders. His beard brushed her forehead as he tried to press his lips against it. She pushed him away, backing up two or three steps. He appeared confused, and maybe a little hurt. Coral almost felt bad, but then she remembered all that had happened.
"Don't you know me?"
"Why would I? I've never seen you before in my life!" Coral scowled, concluding that she was the victim of some cruel prank, or this man was legally insane.
"Beautiful," He placed his hands in front of his body, as if he wanted to embrace her, and began to walk toward her. He stopped, shot down by her icy glare. "It's me." His words failed to stop the same way his steps did. Coral felt a slight tug on her heart, but her heart had been hardened by life, so it was easy for her to ignore it.
"Tell me your name. Tell me, if you can, why I'm here."
"I am Captain Jonas Edwards, and you have only just become this, but you are my wife."