Ellie blushed at Charlie's compliment. "You flatter me," she said before jumping at the sound of another voice from behind her. The princess whirled around, and her eyes lit up. "Lori!" she cried out, rushing over to the pirate captain and throwing her arms around her.
(Why do I get Squirt vibes from Ellie? 😂 Like in Finding Nemo, when the little turtle is like "Hey dad, did you see that? Did you see me? Did you see what I did?" and the dad is like, "You so totally rock, Squirt!" except the dad is Lorelei. Idk, just me? 😂)
(ROTFL 🤣🤣🤣)
Lori chuckled and quickly returned the embrace. “I told you we'd be alright. The other ship didn't even get close to us.” she smiled. “But I'm glad you had something interesting to do while I was busy.”
"Yes," Ellie chirped excitedly. "Charlie is a magnificent teacher! And I made a salve!" Her expression, however, turned more serious for her next question. "Were they close enough for you to see who it was?"
“Good. I’m glad you are getting along so well.” she said with her smile growing, matching Ellie's enthusiasm. “I’m so proud of you.” At the question, however, her smile faded and she nodded. “Aye. I saw who it was.” she answered honestly as she tightened her hug. “It was from your father's kingdom.”
Ellie closed her eyes and buried her face in Lori's shoulder, muttering a curse the pirate had never heard her say before under her breath. "How did he manage to find us so quickly?"
Lori was definitely surprised to hear Ellie curse but now wasn't the time to worry about that. “Someone must have seen us together when we left.” she sighed. It was the only explanation she could come up with. “Don't worry. We got away. And I'm not going to give you up without a fight. Not this time.” she promised.
Ellie nodded, her forehead rubbing against the cloth of Lorelei's blouse. "I know, my love. And I promise the same for you." She lifted her gaze and her wide bluebell eyes met Lori's. "I'll fight them!"
The picture of delicate, sweet Ellie holding a sword and fighting was a bit much to picture.
Lori couldn't help the brief surprised laugh at the mental image but she smiled and kissed Ellie's forehead. “And I can teach you.” she offered sincerely, though she still planned to protect Ellie even after she knew how to fight.
Ellie nodded fiercely. "I will!" she enthused. "I will fight them. Nothing will separate us again. I love you too much to let that happen." She held Lorelei tightly and kissed her.
Lori smiled and hugged Ellie closer. “I don't doubt that you will. I love you too.” she said softly, returning the kiss.
“Oi. You two won't be the only ones fighting.” Charlie pointed out, smirking confidently. “Don't forget that.”
Ellie eventually broke off the kiss and flushed at Charlie's remark. "Very true," she said shyly, nuzzling her nose against Lorelei's neck.
Lori chuckled at the gesture and hugged Ellie again.
“Oh, you don't have to be shy in front of me. I've been around a bit.” Charlie winked teasingly. “Just be careful in front of Tommy.”
"Darling," Ellie whispered in Lori's ear. "I'm afraid all the excitement from the day has worn me out. Could we turn in for the night?" She didn't want Charlie to be offended at all, but as she reconsidered, the woman didn't seem like the easily-offended type.
“Of course, my love.” Lori purred back. “Jax can take care of things for the night.” she assured as she started to lead Ellie back up to their cabin.
"Thank you." Ellie smiled and leaned on Lori as she walked. "I'm practically falling asleep on my feet, darling," she teased.
“Oh, really?” Lori smirked before quickly scooping Ellie into a bridal hold. “How about now, my love?” she teased back.
"Oh!" Ellie's eyes widened, and she quickly wrapped her arms around Lori's neck and blushed. "Much better, thank you my dearest."
Lori chuckled and kissed her cheek as she climbed the stairs. “My pleasure.” she said happily.
Ellie smiled and let her head rest on Lori's shoulder. She didn't want to be made separate from the rest of the crew, but she also didn't mind being dotted on by her lover.
Considering the multi-year separation they had been through, Lori was going to take every opportunity to dote on Ellie. But Ellie was part of the “family” now, she wasn't really separate from the others. She just held a special place in Lori’s heart.
“What happened to the ship my father sent?” Ellie asked suddenly. Her head lifted up as she spoke. “Did it turn back? Or did the twins hit it?”
“Don't worry, Ellie. They gave up when we started to outpace them.” Lori assured. “The twins were only firing back to scare them and let them know that we could handle a fight.”
Ellie nodded. “Okay,” she murmured, laying her head back down on Lori’s shoulder. “I just want to lay in bed and cuddle you.”
“Alright. We can do that.” Lori nodded. “Being so near to your first fight is probably what tired you out.” she suggested as she neared her cabin. “Can you manage to open the door?”