Two years later…

"Paul, do you think, Xander knows that I am a girl?" Andrea asked hesitantly.

"What makes you think that?" Paul asked her back, the concern in his voice was obvious. "Did he say or ask you anything?

"No, he didn't but he's acting strange." Andrea says in a low voice that enough for Paul to hear. "Just this morning he's talking nonsense like, why how come he doesn't know anything about my backgrounds and why we're not that close, yet?"

…

Andrea was glaring at Xander. She's been doing it frequently, since they left the port at Z city it seemed that he's been pissing her off, purposely.

He's been asking her to do this and that, keeping her to work even in a very simple work. It's either he'll ask her to run an errand or let her make a double/triple copy of the list of their cargo that they had taken from ambushing or plundering from another private ship.

"Will that be all, sir?" Andrea ask stiffly.

"Hmmm, that will be for now."

Just right after hearing it, Andrea bolted to the cabin door. But before she reached the door she heard Xander called her name once again and ask her to come closer.

Andrea feel nervous and at the same time she feels disturbed that she took a steps backward to avoid Xanders penetrating eyes. She doesn't like the way he looks at her, she feels uneasy and kinda intimidated. She just wants to run and hide away from him. There's something in her mind that tells her to run away as far as away from this overbearing man. The way he looks at her doesn't seem right either. She tried to read it but she can't read his emotions, he masked it too well.

"How old are you, Drew?" Xander asked all of a sudden.

"S-seventeen, sir ”

"Hmmm, don't you think it's too old now to be a cabin boy?" An unpleasant smile appear on his Face that makes Andrea's bone chilled.

He walked past her to go to his mini wine rack but he did purposely to brush her side while walking past her.

Momentarily surprised, she just stare at him without answering his query. Andrea was aware of him as a man-a man of extraordinary charisma to every living girl. That's why a simple touch from him makes her wonder how does it feel to be under his strong arms.

She pulled her train of thoughts toward him and focused on the issue at hand.

"Are you telling me, you no longer need me as your errand boy, sir?" She asked him while trying to look at him but failed to do so, that's why she just hung her head low.

"Did I say something like that?" He says while smirking. "If only you follow all my orders without glaring at me or talking back behind my back, just like how you treat Paul, things would be much easier between us." Xander added.

"Hmmmm, maybe I'll transfer you to be a gunner's mate," Xanders said as if he's thinking of a better way to teach her a lesson.

"I always follow your orders without complaining. And as for glaring at you- I'm sorry but you always think of me as insolent anyway, so what's the difference?" Andrea stated, "And as for being a gunner's mate, I would love to to it and will appreciate it. It's been one of my favorite parts of this ship, so being a gunner's mate would be awesome!" Andrea says dramatically, though the truth is if it was before she would gladly accept it, but now that her body is more mature than before she's afraid to stay longer with the other crew, afraid that they'll discover her real gender.

Being a gunner in a pirate ship is one of her dream role, but she's too appalled now to have a close proximity with the other crews. She knew that the changes in her body is dangerous with all the hungry eyes of the pirate crew. She shivered with just the thought of it.

Xander studied her expressions and smiled secretly, he knew that her words and actions don't match but he likes to tease her anyway.

"Never mind! Forget it! I'm already used of your insolent efficiency for the last two years you're working with me." He set the glass down harshly that he has to be, he just wants to play with her wit right now.

Andrea can't help it, her tongue is faster than her mind, " Bah! You were the one who ask for it, I just answer your query! And as for being insolent, I was merely showing you how efficient my insolence is!"

"Be careful, Drew. I am not like Paul who is a gentleman, don't push me too far or I might punish you in some way you haven't thinking, yet." He said in a very low but dangerous voice that makes Andrea shivered.

Andrea lower her head and apologize to Xander while excusing herself that she needs an air before she continues her work at the cargo lists. But instead of letting her go he block her way and stare at her.

Xander didn't move he just watch her playing idly on the edge of her clothes.

"Relax, Drew. I won't bite you," you can feel the amusement in his voice, " you know in spite of our two years working and sleeping in the same room, I realized that I don't really know you or is there anything that we have in common."

Once again, Andrea shot him a venomous look but Xander only grinned at her.

"Sir, because you're the captain and I'm just your errand boy. The only thing we have in common are dirty linens, slop jars, plundering or ambushing another pirate ship, it occurs to me that as it's a boring topic since you've been at it for many years than I do. As long as I perform my duty to you as your cabin boy, I don't think it's necessarily that we should know each other well."

"Oh, but you don't perform your duty well! You dislike me- which is you make it very clear since from the start. Considering that I am the one who took you after begging for it. I don't feel any gratitude from you at all." Xander reply playfully, he's amused how the emotions on Andrea's face was showing.

"I didn't know that my likes and dislikes were important to you, you never mentioned them before," she said boldly. "You're just imagining things, sir. I believe that if I have been disliking you, you have confronted me already from the beginning, so why now?"

"Hmmm, do I Drew? Did I just imagined the look you flashed on my way not too long ago? Or was it just my imagination when you stare at me venomously when I'm just asking you?" He asked dryly.

"I apologise if you think that my manner is not to your liking, I shall try not to do it in the future." she says humbly

"Damn it! You're very adept in avoiding my question, now tell me Drew, why you find working at me so distasteful?"

Xander's lip was thinned while waiting for her response.

"You know boy's at my age are more rebellious, I think that I'm in that phase where I don't appreciate the over authority over me." Andrea answered in a low voice while trying to avoid Xander's eyes. But before she can do it, the disappointed look in his eyes was so sudden that she can't tear her gaze on him.

In the inside Xander was grinning, how he likes to play with her emotions, if only she can be honest with him. He's livid whenever he saw Paul and Andrew having fun together. He's jealous of their closeness. But he'll never show or tell that to her.

For Andrea, whatever she's been doing is just like a defence mechanism for her. She can't show her true feelings for him. Not now when she can't even tell him who she really is. But the disappointment she saw in his eyes makes her feel bad. She knew that she's not being fair with him. But she can’t do anything, it's not the right time yet.

…...

"Hmmm… Xander is not a fool and you've been working under him for two years now." Paul says after she told him what had happened.

"But I can't leave, yet. It's not the right time to go back home." she pleaded on him. But it seems like it only landed on deaf ears.

"No, I can't let you continue your charade. On the next port that we're going to go. I'm bringing you with me. And I wouldn't accept NO for an answer or else I will tell Xander your secret." Paul says firmly.

Andrea can not refute him because she knows that he’s right, the longer she stays in the ship, the more her secret is not safe.

She has to think of anything to make sure that she doesn’t go back home earlier than her plan or else everything she sacrifice will be in vain.

Her time is running out, they only have two weeks before they reach the port of M city. She's thinking of what to do, she's not eighteen yet, she still can't claim that she’ the rightful owner of Zaragoza Manor, she has to find a way to convince Paul that she has to stay longer in the ship for three more months.