^“Did she drink a lot of the water?” a soothing, male voice asks, and I struggle to pull my eyes open as I hear another voice talk. The room smells like herbs, and it’s unfamiliar, and there is another smell that reminds me of the sea.

“No, I believe she will be fine. Have you ever seen a female changed one before?” another man replies, his voice is deep, and it sounds familiar. I try to pull myself awake to look, but I just feel sick instead.

“I will ask the others, but no, I haven’t. Well, other than the queen,” the first man, with the soothing voice, replies. The room feels like it’s spinning just before I hear a door shut. I wonder why the room smells like herbs. I force myself to blink my eyes open to see I’m lying down on a small bed, the sheets are white, and the pillow is soft under my head. My hair feels slightly damp as I lift my head a little. The room is all wooden, and the small, circular window gives me the biggest hint that I’m on the ship I crashed into. It must be a pirate ship. I move the covers a little to see that my dress and necklace are gone, instead I’m wearing a long, white shirt. I can’t believe they changed my clothes, but I don’t feel like they have hurt me. Other than the dizziness, I feel fine. I sit up quickly and look around the dimly lit room, seeing the light is coming from the small window.

“Be careful,” the soothing, deep voice of the man from before warns, and I shoot my gaze to the light-blond-haired man sitting on a desk on the other side of the room. He looks around my age, wearing a dark-red shirt that shows off the middle of his chest. The shirt is tucked into black trousers, and he has a black bandana tied around his neck. He also has a necklace on, it’s long and has little white shells hanging off of the silver chain. His hair is medium-length, tied low at the back of his head and pulled away from his handsome face.

The man is a pirate, not handsome.

“Who are you?” I ask as we both watch each other; his face is blurring a bit, and I know it’s from falling in that sea.

“Chaz, and you are?” he asks.

“Leaving,” I mutter and try to stand up off the bed. I fall straight to the ground with a smack. My body feels so weak, and the room blurs again. I hear Chaz as he jumps off the table and runs over to me. He sighs before he picks me up and lays me back on the bed. He hands me the blanket and looks me over.

“You’re weak, but it should wear off soon. I gave you some paste for your arm, it’s where the sea has given you an infection,” he tells me, and I look at my arm. It’s tied up with a white bandage. I quickly move away from him and to the other side of the bed, the room spins as I do so.

“Here, have this,” Chaz says as he picks something up off the small dresser by the bed. His bright-green eyes locking with mine.

“What is it?” I ask, looking at the small, black cup he tries to hand me.

“Water, what else?” he says with a tired smile.

“You’re a pirate. Why would I trust it not to be poisoned?” I ask him. I watch him closely as he shakes his head at me. I don’t know why, but I feel slightly guilty for saying that to him. I know he must have looked after me, but I just feel . . . I feel scared, and it’s not something I’m used to feeling.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do, changed one, but I suggest that not all rumours are true,” Chaz tells me. I frown at that, it’s well known that pirates do whatever they want. They own the waters, and they trade passage for food and treasure but end up killing the ones who are careless enough to make a deal with them. They kill anyone they want and take what they want. Even the King trades food and gold with them, so they leave him alone.

Then again, the changed ones are meant to be all powerful with the power to destroy the land and seas. I don’t have an ounce of power, and I’ve been hidden all my life for nothing. I guess if they wanted me dead, I would be. I wonder if it was Chaz that pulled me out of the water.

I take the glass, and he nods at me, his eyes looking me over before he steps away. I drink it, discovering that it is water. I feel a little silly for reacting so badly to him.

“Rest, I will keep you safe,” he tells me, his words soothing but protective. This pirate doesn’t know me, so why would he speak to me so kindly. I look over at him in confusion. I don’t get why they would save me from the water, why they would bother keeping me alive?

“Why?” I ask him.

“I may be a pirate, and you may be a changed one, but we are all still people. All people should know kindness, and I doubt you have had much of that in your life,” he says, and walks away. I watch him pull a book off his desk and sit in the chair next to it to read.

“My name is Cassandra,” I tell him as he takes his seat, his deep-brown eyes meet mine. I don’t know why I told him my name, but I feel safe, if only for a second around him.

“Rest, Cassandra,” he says softly, his words having the reaction he wants as I drift off to sleep, his deep-brown eyes haunting my dreams.