Summary: Captain Ember still strikes a chord of fear in him, but Danny will do whatever it takes to find Captain Vlad.
Characters: Danny, Dash, and Ember

A Helping Hand

Despite how calm he might look on the outside, nervousness kept building up inside him. Last time Danny was here, Captain Vlad was the one who did all the talking. The pouch of gold and jewels on his hip suddenly felt a hundred times heavier. What if it wasn't enough to pay Captain Ember? What if she didn't want to listen to him or help him because Captain Vlad wasn't here? Danny tried to squash down all the worries buzzing around inside his head. All he could do was let things play out and hope for the best.

"I'm guessing," Captain Ember took a seat in her throne, crossing her legs, "that your presence here means you have some business with me?" She lifted an eyebrow as she laced her fingers over her knee. "And why, do you think, I would help some common cabin boy?"

"I know you have no reason to help me." Danny could see Dash gulp out the corner of his eye. He freed the pouch from his hip and took a step forward. "I have payment." He dropped the pouch on the table between them. Captain Ember's gaze dipped toward the pouch for a brief moment then snapped back up to Danny. "Maybe it's not enough to matter." He shrugged. "But you and Captain Vlad seem to have history. I'm willing to bet you care enough to help rescue him if he's in trouble."

"Are you?" A sly smirk cut across Captain Ember's face.

"She may be hot," Dash mumbled quietly for Danny to hear, "but I wouldn't trust anyone with a smile like that."

Captain Ember drew a dagger from her belt. "Are you willing," she examined the sharpness of the blade, "to bet your life on that?"

Danny swallowed. Remain calm. Remain calm, he repeated to himself. "If you don't care about what happens to Captain Vlad, perhaps you care more about what happens to your son." Some of the playfulness fled from Captain Ember's eyes. He had her attention. "I was charged with watching over Youngblood and teaching him about working on a pirate ship. I also saved his life after he fell overboard during an attack by the navy. I got dragged under by mermaids before I could get back on the ship. Now I'm trying to get back there. I don't know what happened after we got separated. I don't know if they beat back the navy or if the navy captured them. Whatever the answer, I will get back to Captain Vlad." His gaze hardened, and his mouth pressed into a thin, determined line. "So can you offer me help or not?"

Captain Ember stood, and Danny tried his hardest not to flinch. She didn't look angry, at least. "Well," she turned her head, "you wanted to know how serious he was."

"Who's she talking to?" Dash whispered, but Danny could only shrug.

Someone stepped out from the shadows off to the side of the throne. Danny slid his hand to the hilt of his sword. Who was it? He thought up a number of possibilities, but he didn't expect the person who stepped into the light. His hand fell away from the sword as his eyes widened.

"Desiree!" Danny gawked for a second before snapping out of his surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Desiree flicked some of her hair over her shoulder. She dressed differently from the last time they met. Now she looked more like a pirate than a noble woman attending a fancy party. "I didn't like that reading I did for you. It kept bothering me. Then I had a vision of everything splitting apart, and you were lost adrift in the storm."

"We've met a few times in the past." Captain Ember grinned as she rested an arm on Desiree's shoulder. "So she knew to come to me if she wanted to find out anything about Vlad."

Desiree nodded. "I may not be a fighter, but I intend to join you on your search for Vlad."

"I don't know. It could be danger-" Danny snapped his mouth shut at the fierce glare from Desiree's visible eye.

"Vlad is important to me as well. He saved my life. I must return that favor."

"O-Okay." Danny held up his hands. He knew the feeling of wanting to do whatever possible for someone important to him, but he also knew how frustrating it felt when he thought about how useless he was. When he first woke up after escaping from the sea god Nocturne, he felt lost, not sure what he could possibly do to find Captain Vlad again. When thoughts of Captain Vlad and the rest of his crew being captured by the navy entered his mind, he was terrified. But now he was doing whatever he could to find Captain Vlad again. He could understand Desiree's feelings. "We'll take you with us."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Dash questioned, folding his arms. "It is my ship, after all."

"I'm sure your merman friend will agree to it." Desiree smiled, and Danny could see Dash practically melt at the sight of it. With a roll of his eyes, Danny gave Dash a hard nudge in the side with his elbow.

"Uh, right!" Dash laughed, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Of course you're welcome to join us!"

"I've already told Desiree everything I could dig up. She'll fill you in once you've set sail." Captain Ember turned to Desiree as she sheathed her blade again. She unbuckled the sheath from her belt and held it out to Desiree. "I know you want to do whatever you can to save Vlad, but just remember that he wouldn't want you to risk your life for his. He saved you so you could live freely."

Desiree nodded, wrapping her hand around the sheathed blade. "I know. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sat back and let him die if I could do something to help." She pulled Captain Ember into a tight embrace. "I promise we'll all make it back alive."

"I won't forgive you if you don't." The corner of Captain Ember's mouth tugged into a smirk.

With their brief goodbye finished, Desiree walked over to join Danny and Dash. "Let's head to that ship then." She smiled, but there was a nervousness lingering in her gaze.

Danny smiled encouragingly. "Everything's going to be all right." He planned to hold on tightly to that hope, because thinking otherwise left him with a cold, dark hollow feeling inside.

Author's Note: I know I haven't posted in a really long time. I swear I'm still writing stuff. I've just been trying to focus a bit on some original ideas, which turns out to be more like pulling teeth with how much I struggle to get anything done on them. XD;;;