Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 11

"Oh, Will," Janie said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

Will shrugged. "It was a stupid thing to do."

"You can't brush it off that easily. This is important," Janie shook her head.

"It's over. Not a lot that can be done about it now," Will shrugged. "Honestly, I think all of you are making a much bigger deal out of this than it needs to be."

"Will, all that stress and hurt you've been ignoring is still there. The situation last night might be over, but you're still sailing headlong into danger. If this is where your head goes when things get dangerous, this kind of thing will happen again." Janie looked like she wanted to climb through the mirror. Sometimes the mirror's magic let them feel like they were in the same room, but in that moment the two of them felt every league between them.

"What do I do?" Will asked.

"I think you need to start with Jack," Janie suggested. "Really talk to her. Don't just go with the flow and see if the problem fixes itself, like you've both been doing so far."

Will looked pained, but nodded. "You are usually right about this stuff. Anything else?"

"Have you ever tried inducing your curse? Under more controlled circumstances? Testing it?" Janie asked.

"Not really. Everything I know about it I've learned through retrospect," Will shrugged. "It seems pretty unpredictable."

"Try it. Maybe Bella can help?" Janie said with a small smile.

"Alright. Is that all?" Will asked.

"No more inviting death?" Janie asked.

Will let out a breath. "Oh fine, but only because you said so," he smiled.

"I'm serious, Will." Janie said, not letting his attempt at humor derail her. "I know that what you are doing is risky, but you have Jack and you have Bella. They're both there to help you assess the risks and try to plan for them. Let them help."

Will nodded. "I've been out of this game too long. I took my eye off the horizon. I won't do it again."

"You better not. I don't know what I'd do if you died," she swallowed. She looked like she wanted to say more, but she just shook her head. "I'll wait here as long as it takes, but you have to promise me you'll make it back. No matter what."

"I can't promise that," Will said. "I really might die on this trip, no matter how hard I try not to."

"Promise me," Janie said, all the fierceness and venom back in her voice.

Will sighed. "Alright. I promise."

"Good. Thank you." Janie looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't. Will noticed.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you now?" he asked.

"No. You don't need anymore distractions. I'm fine. I did something stupid and I learned from it. It isn't your problem. I'll be fine," Janie's tone made it clear the discussion on that subject was over.

Will knew better than to push it. "Alright. Is there anything I can do to make things easier? Talk to Caine? Bella could talk to Chance?"

"No. I'm fine. I don't want you worrying about me," Janie shook her head. "I'm your magic mirror now. You ask me questions, you tell me what you need to know, and I'll help. I have nothing else to do, and nothing I'd rather be doing."

"Shouldn't that go both ways? I want to help you too," Will said.

"I have Caine and Tonya here, and I have Bella on the ship with you. I'm even starting to develop a rapport with Captain Vex. I have all the help I need. I don't need your help with my personal troubles. They aren't as important as what you are doing. You hired me to be your assistant, and as far as I'm concerned that's still my role," Janie was still talking in the no-nonsense tone that she usually reserved for customers. Will found it strangely comforting.

"Once I come back, we are going to renegotiate your contract," Will said with a small smile.

"Yes we will," Janie agreed. "Until then, this is the way things are."

"Janie, Janie on the wall, fairest mirror of them all," Will grinned with a dramatic flourish.

Janie scoffed and wiped away a bit more smudged makeup, then looked at it on her fingers. "Not right now I'm not."

"I guess we will have to agree to disagree," Will shrugged.

"You are really trying to get out from under me being mad at you," Janie said with one arched brow.

"Is it working?" Will asked hopefully.

"A little," Janie admitted with a small smile.

"I'll keep trying then," Will said. "Want to come out on deck at dusk and see what ship life is like?"

Her expression softened, and for a moment she looked like she was about to cry again, but the look was fleeting. A moment later her fierce, smudged, exasperated expression was back. She nodded. "I'd love that."

The whole room lurched. Belita's display of delicate dishware mounted on the wall rocked and the fires in the candles and lanterns danced. Will rocked with it, swaying back and forth for a moment.

"What was that?" Janie asked.

"A speed test, I think. Felt like a swell. The Captain is going full sail with the wind, seeing how fast we can go. The waves we cut through hit harder the faster we go," Will explained.

"Is it dangerous?" Janie asked, a little worried.

"Not really. It's actually a safety check. If we need to go full sail in worse conditions, we'll have a good idea of how the ship handles with its current load and configuration," Will said.

"Are you needed?" Janie asked.

"No, but I will be afterward. Part of the test is to see if the helm gets off course under these conditions, with the waves hitting hard and moving the prow bit by bit," Will continued.

"Sounds very complicated," Janie said, her brows knitting a bit.

"It is, but when everyone knows what they are doing it's easy," Will said reassuringly. He rocked with the motion as the prow cut another decent sized wave.

"So you can talk to me a while longer?" Janie asked.

"For a bit," Will agreed.

"Good. Tell me more about All Souls Night. I've always wanted to see it," Janie smiled.

"Well, the costumes are incredible," Will began, jostling upward as the ship rolled again.

Janie almost felt like she was aboard the ship while she listened to Will's story of the night before.