Cont. Pt. 3

Everyone was VERY quiet. Very awkward.

"Mmm...you pushed the button," Ellen said.
"Yea...it was the first thing that came to mind..."
"Who's that???" Jane pointed a finger at a bobbing minion.
"Er...I'm not quite sure...one of Elmo's friends."
"Oh."
Quiet again...treading water...
"Elmo wasn't as nice as I thought...I just needed a fencing partner..."

Now, truth be told, Ian had thought Jane and Ellen had been kidnapped by pirates and taken on the Glatisant, forced to be deck-hands. There is no doubt this was a cover-up rumor spread by Ellen to keep up public relations. Unfortunately the rumor hadn't taken quite the right course...

"Oh...! That was our third ship this month! Wh-wh-at arrrre we g-going to do, Ell-l-len?" Jane's teeth chattered from the cold water.
"Where are all the pirates?" Ian said, confused.
(Together) "We're right here!"
"Aren't there more of you?"
"Well, I h-h-h-ad some fish..." (Her face was purple by now.)
"And I thought you needed to be rescued! There's only two of you! Actually you do need to be rescued! You guys are crazy!"
"Didn't you know we are pirates?"
"I thought it was a joke! I thought you were coerced!"
"Why did you push the button?"
"Well, it seemed like the thing to do at the time!"
Ellen looked at Jane. "Well, it's what I would have done."
Jane to Ellen: "Yea, I w-w-would h-h-have t-t-t-t-too. As a matter of fact, it was all I c-c-could d-do to try to f-f-f-forget we had that."
"I know, that's why I locked it up."
"Well, we had better assess our losses and start from scratch," said Ellen. "Let's swim to that little knoll over there." A strong current had been pushing them toward land.
"Yea," said Ian,"You two are down a ship, and I am down a fencing partner. I am astonished. How can you both be pirates and not swordsmen...err...swordspersons?"
That was a realistic thing to say, and Jane and Ellen did not know what to make of it, being opportunists rather than the realist Ian was. CLEARLY Jane and Ellen needed some balance.