A/N - Hello there my lovely readers! Once again thank you for the lovely reviews, I can't thank you guys enough :)

I apologize for my late update but I felt this was a tough chapter to write and I didn't want to just rush through it. It is also very very very long and I didn't feel like splitting it because I felt like that would ruin the flow. I'm not satisfied with it but I guess it'll just have to do. Happy reading :D

"Meet me in outer space

we could spend the night,

Watch the earth come up,

I've grown tired of that place."

"I don't know if I'm ready for this," Princess Melody muttered to herself as she let out a deep shaky breath. Fumbling with a stray thread that had managed to loosen its way out of her skirt she mentally scolded herself for being so nervous. She was never one to get agitated over such things. On the contrary she charted her own adventures most of the time. So what was with this sudden anxiety? Maybe it was the thought of being away from her family for an unknown amount of time or maybe it was the thought of venturing out into something that was completely foreign to her. Standing in front of the RLS Legacy it dawned on her that maybe she didn't anticipate this much as she thought she would.

"Are you ready lass?" the burly man called Silver asked her suddenly snapping her out of her reverie. "Yes Captain Long John Silver," Melody replied meekly, the nervousness apparent in her voice. "Please, no formalities Lass. Call me Silver," Silver said smiling warmly at the girl.

Returning the smile she slowly nodded her head, it was really sweet that he was trying to make her feel comfortable. "Come on aboard now, we'll be leaving soon," Silver called out to her already making his way onto the ship, "Your luggage has already been taken care of." Nodding her head again the girl followed after the cyborg. With wide eyes she marveled at how the sails seemed to glitter and how the masts were made up of metal. Even the bow of the ship seemed to be tipped with a metal. The ship appeared to be nothing like the ones on earth.

"Captain Hawkins will show you around the ship while I get things ready for the launch," Silver told her disrupting her train of thought yet again. "Alright," she responded as she turned to face Captain Hawkins who had his hands jammed in the pockets of his jacket and an uninterested expression on his face. The boy spoke suddenly, "Well I guess we've met formally but I'm Jim." He paused bringing out his hand, a small smile plastered on his lips, "Welcome aboard the ship."

"Thanks Jim, my name's Melody. But everyone calls me Mel for short," she replied shaking his hand and smiling back at him. "Shouldn't I call you princess or something?" Jim asked shooting her a doubtful look. It was only appropriate after all. He'd read that princesses were very proper and mannered and although Melody didn't seem to fit into that category it didn't change the fact that she was royalty. "Well sure, if you want me to call you Captain Jim Hawkins," she replied a facetious smirk playing on her lips. Jim let out a low chuckle, yep definitely not proper or mannered at all.

"Alright alright I get your point," he chuckled. "Okay Melody follow me," he said gesturing his hand in the forward direction, he needed to show her around the ship quickly so that he could be there for the launch. She nodded and began walking in the gestured direction alongside the boy to the back of the deck. The pair stopped when they came to a small corridor which had four rooms. Jim walked forward and opened the first door to reveal a small dingy room which consisted of a wooden bed, a woolen blue rug, a dainty little dressing table and a small mahogany cabinet. The room was dimly light because the only source of light was a dull lamp and a small window. "This I take is my cabin?" the princess asked as she strode into it looking around with an adorning smile. "Yeah, I know it isn't much," Hawkins started. "It's wonderful, I love it," she cut him off and flashed him a bright smile. Jim's voice got caught in his throat and he awkwardly looked away running his fingers through his hair.

"Glad you like it, your luggage has been put under your bed. The window does in fact open by the way if you decide that you need some fresh air or something," he rambled, "Now c'mon, I still have to show you the rest of the ship." Responding with an "Alright" she followed after the brunette who turned to the room opposite hers. "This is my cabin," he pointed, "So if you need anything you'll know where to find me. Except at night, I don't like people interrupting my sleep." Melody rolled her eyes at this. "I have no intention of coming to your cabin at night," she said with an incredulous expression. "Don't be too sure of that princess," he said a playful smile on his lips. She rolled her eyes again and scoffed, following him further down the hall. "This is Silver's cabin although he isn't there most of the time," Jim chuckled standing next to the room after hers. "Why not?" she asked, her lips curved into a small half smile. "Well, he's kinda restless. He's always at the bow or at the wheel. The only time he ever comes here is when he needs to sleep," Jim explained. "Silver sounds like a fun guy," Melody chuckled. "Yeah, yeah he is," the boy replied, a growing smile on his face. "Well anyway," he started, "that last room opposite Silver's is the lavatory. Silver and I usually share it but you'll have to use it too."

"It's fine," she replied. "What about the galley?" she asked him curiously, she knew that the boy seemed to be in a hurry so she decided to try and get it over with as soon as possible. "Oh right," he replied. "Follow me," he said jamming his hands into his pockets again.

As they walked out of the hallway together Jim noticed that Silver had already began instructing the crew on what to do, they were going to set sail soon. He smiled to himself as he wondered how this adventure was going to play out. He led the girl down the stairs and to another hallway, this one was slightly longer. She seemed to be lost in thought, her eyes wandering all over the hallway. Turning left he showed her the crew cabin where the rest of the crew slept, he would've introduced her to the rest of the crew but he was running short of time. He showed her the hammocks in which they slept and the table where they usually gathered to play a game of cards. She seemed intrigued even though the cabin was nothing out of the ordinary. It was only because even though she had been on ships before she had never been on one like this one and never come across a crew like this one.

Finished with the tour of the crew cabin Jim asked her to follow him to their last destination, the galley. She walked after him, touching the wooden walls of the hallway as they made their way to the right. Jim looked at her curiously, he could understand why she seemed so fascinated with the ship. The wood was from the trees of the planet Artemis which was supposed to have the strongest and smoothest wood that could be found among all of the galaxies. They entered the galley together and Melody narrowed her vision to see a fat figure who seemed to by busy chopping something.

"Hey Maddy!" Jim called out, a devious smirk playing on his lips. "Jim you little rascal, I told you to stop calling me that," the figure scolded in a playful tone turning around to reveal some sort of a hybrid between a mouse and a human, a maternal smile on her face. She obviously didn't seem to be human Melody thought to herself. Her grandfather had told her to be prepared to meet all sorts of creatures on her trip.

The old woman's gaze suddenly turned to Melody and she joyfully let out a yelp. "Well hello there deary, I'm Madeline. You must be Melody!" she continued in her jolly voice pulling the girl into a bone crushing embrace. "Yeff nife tooh meef youh tooh," she managed in between muffles. She seemed to be lost in all that fat Jim observed as he tried to a stifle a laugh. Instead he ended up failing miserably as he burst out into a fit of chuckles. On hearing his rude reaction Melody snapped her head in his direction and shot him a deathly glare. This in turn only encouraged the boy to laugh more.

"You'll have to excuse Jim my dear, he's bit of a brat," the woman commented with a smug expression. "Hey," Jim immediately protested shooting daggers at Madeline with his glare, his face was scrunched up into a frown and his eyebrows were furrowed together in annoyance. Melody burst out laughing this time, the expression on Jim's face was absolutely priceless. It reminded her of Timothy's expression when she had made fun of his stuffed rabbit.

Jim's gaze immediately drifted to Melody as he continued to glare. "Whatever," the boy looked away and rolled his eyes, a scoff apparent on his face. "My job's done, I'm going upstairs now," he muttered walking out of the galley. Melody noticed Madeline's gaze soften and she spoke maternally, "That boy really needs to learn how to lighten up," she said earnestly making Melody smile. "Yeah, yeah he does," she agreed, "Is he always like this?"

"Well he seems to be happy most of the time but sometimes I can't help but feel that he's holding back," Madeline explained. Melody turned to look thoughtfully in the direction in which Jim had exited. "Well dear, the ships about to launch. Up you go now, you wouldn't want to miss it," she smiled at the girl breaking her out of her thoughts. "Alright! Thank you Madeline," Melody replied gratefully giving Madeline a quick hug. She hurriedly rushed out of the galley and up the stairs with an excited smile on her lips.

Her gaze drifting upward she noticed that Jim and Silver were already at the bridge of the ship near the captain's wheel and all the other crew members were running about doing their respective tasks. The sails had been opened and they looked ablaze. She noticed a beam of light flying down through the top of the mast down to the bottom like a lightning strike. Melody looked up in wonder as she suddenly began to feel light weighted. Gasping she looked down to see that her feet were no longer on the ground and so she frantically tried to get back down confused as to what was happening.

"Henry, activate the artificial gravity field," she heard Jim cry out from near the wheel. Turning her head her eyes scanned the deck to see who Jim had instructed and she was taken aback to see a tubby creature with tentacles, it kind of reminded her of an octopus. The creature saluted to Jim with one tentacle and pulled a black curved lever that was attached to an orange sort of a turbine with the other. Without warning Melody felt her feet descend back onto the ground. 'What just happened?' she asked herself confused beyond belief.

"Mel! Lass! Get up here," Silver suddenly called out to her, noticing her on the deck with a bemused look on her face. She beamed at him and happily ran up to where Jim and Silver were standing. "Excited?" Silver asked the girl, a knowing smile on his face. "More than I've ever been before," she replied smiling brilliantly back at him. "Why do the sails glow like that?" she asked suddenly, curiosity engulfing her. "Runs on stored solar power and nuclear energy," Jim explained leaning over to look at her and smiling at her thoughtful expression. "It runs on electricity basically," he chuckled. "How fascinating," Melody replied with a growing smile she wondered when the time would come when her planet would have technology as advanced as this. She giggled suddenly, her musings interrupted by something tickling her ear. Trying to itch it off she was surprised when a pink blob with the cutest face and smile came into her vision, his eyes fixedly looking at her.

"Morph, don't startle the poor girl," Silver laughed. "No no it's alright, he's adorable," she giggled letting the creature stand on her palm which it began to stroke.
"He likes you," Jim told her with a soft smile. "Yeah well I like him too," she gushed and pulled him closer to her cheek. The pink blob began to change in shape suddenly startling Melody. He turned into a pair of lips and kissed her on the cheek, earning a squeak from the girl. "He's a shape shifter," Silver explained. "A mischievous shape shifter obviously," Melody giggled staring at the blob with an adorning gaze.

The ship's horn could be heard suddenly and the groups conversation was cut short, the ship was finally airborne. "I wish there was a better way to get a look at the launch," Melody said to no one in particular. "I can arrange that," Jim said with a smirk. "Come on," he said in a rush and began to climb up the ladder attached to the mast that held up the Crow's nest. He stopped midway, turning to look over at Melody. "On second thoughts, never mind," he told her, his voice dripping feigned sympathy. "Huh? Why not?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance. "Well, you're going to have a tough time getting up there and there's no way I'm going to carry you," Jim said like he couldn't care less, "You're a girl and all not to mention a princess. We wouldn't want you falling on your pretty little behind."

She glared at him, how dare he think of her as a weakling? She would show him, she was as adventurous as they came. Giving him a sarcastic smile she began to climb up the ladder with great agility. Jim taken aback raised an eyebrow and at the blink of an eye she was already facing him. He wasn't expecting that at all and Melody knew that as she snickered to herself. He remained quiet as they climbed up to the Crow's nest together, the place had the best view in the entire ship and he liked going there whenever the ship was about to launch. He sneaked a glance at Melody who seemed to be lost to the world, watching starry eyed as the ground began to look smaller and smaller and the sky began to turn darker and darker. Earth seemed merely like a tiny speck now and the stars blanketed the sky.

"This is amazing," she whispered, leaning on the edge with her arms. "Yeah it is pretty cool," Jim grinned, "The launch has always been one of the favorite parts of any trip.", "I can see why," she smiled and he responded similarly. They stood there for a while staring out at the sky with smiles on their faces.

Once they were sure that the ship was afloat they made their way back down to the deck contently. "Had fun?" Silver asked them smiling softly. "Of course! That was absolutely amazing," Melody exclaimed clasping her hands together. "Thanks by the way," she said turning to Jim and smiling at him sweetly. "Don't mention it," the boy replied skittishly turning his head to the side and shoving his hands into his pockets. Melody noticed that this seemed to be a curious habit of his. "Well, I'm off to my cabin. Got some stuff to do," Jim spoke, "Later." He proceeded down the stairs and disappeared into the hallway with Silver, Melody and Morph watching behind.

"Silver, is it okay if I look around the ship?" Melody asked suddenly, her eyes imploring the Cyborg. "Of course lass," Silver chuckled, "Go ahead." She giggled happily and giddily pranced down the stairs excited to finally take a look at the ship properly. The Princess spent a good amount of time getting familiar with the ship and it's crew members. She explored each and every nook and cranny, marveling at how beautifully crafted it was. The girl also spent some time conversing with Madeline and Silver who were so welcoming and nice to her that she slowly felt her nervousness and unease melting away. She had felt out of place at the beginning of the launch, but now that she was getting familiar with her surroundings she felt confident that she would grow used to life on the RLS Legacy.

Satisfied that her time was well spent she was now standing at the bow staring out at the night sky. There seemed to be so many different patterns and phenomenon and she was fascinated with each and every one of them. She saw stars closer than she had ever seen them before, she noticed colorful masses of lights swirling together to form beautiful patterns and watched the gigantic rocks fly past the ship with tails that seemed to be lit up with fireworks. Lost in her reverie she was interrupted by the scuffling of feet behind her. She turned around to notice Jim who seemed to be walking towards the end of the bow.

"What's that?" Melody suddenly asked pointing to a ball of blue light surrounded by a swivel of red and green clouds. Jim abruptly turned his head in her direction and raised his eyebrows, he didn't think anybody would be out here. "That's a nebula," he explained walking towards her. He leaned on the edge of the bow alongside the girl and glanced at her. She looked at him expectantly as if waiting for more of an explanation. He smiled to himself and continued, "Nebulas are astral bodies which are mostly mixtures of dust and gases."

"This is so fascinating," she laughed, "did you learn about all this in training?"
"Something like that," he said his smile growing a bit more, "I actually trained in this academy for space sailors and cadets."
"Well, that explains how you're so smart. Guys back on earth generally don't know these things," she told him honestly as she curiously gazed at the nebula. Jim laughed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head, "If you want I could teach about the different things you'll probably get to see, kind of like your own personal space guide or something."

"That'd be great!" she exclaimed grinning at him. This was perfect, finally someone who could answer all the questions that were bubbling up in her thoughts. She actually wanted to ask someone about them but she had suppressed her curiosity because she didn't want to seem annoying. The people on the ship probably thought her to be uneducated about space and she was glad that Jim had offered to help.

Contentedly she looked out at the blue and noticed a formation of stars that seemed to create a pattern. "Jim look! It's Orion," she cried out suddenly surprising Jim who was busy looking at the nebula. His head shot to face her, a look of pure bewilderment marred across his features. "You know about constellations?" he asked with wide eyes and mouth agape. "Of course, I absolutely love them," she replied chirpily, "In fact, I think I see the big dipper right there."

Jim looked out at the sky immediately, his eyes searching for the constellation. He grinned when he spotted it and examined the starry blanket for a constellation of his own. "There" he suddenly pointed, "that's Andromeda." She looked in the pointed direction and sure enough she saw Andromeda. Well two could play at that game.

"I see Cassiopeia," she exclaimed, her voice rising an octave higher. "Yeah and there's Cepheus," he responded just as quickly. Their friendly competition went on a while with each of them throwing names of constellations faster than the other.

"Cygnus," Jim Hawkins asserted pointing to a slightly far away constellation. Melody looked at him and scrunched up her nose ambiguously, the boy had got it all wrong, "No no that isn't Cygnus, that's Cancer." Jim gave her a look of disapproval, was she really questioning his knowledge on constellations?

"Look Melody, I think I know my stuff and that's definitely Cygnus", he said to her.
"And I'm pretty sure too, that is Cancer," she retorted with a confident look on her face.

Jim frowned at her, no one challenged him when it came to such things. Melody mistaking his silence for submission turned to look at the boy and was taken aback by the look on his face. She giggled at how ridiculous he looked, that frown didn't suit him at all. "Alright fine, how about we just ask someone else what they think?" she suggested. "No one on the ship knows anything about constellations," he replied pursing his lips. The Princesses' eyebrows etched together and she seemed to be lost deep in thought. "I know," she cried out suddenly, "What about that professor Silver said we're going to meet on Sirabius." She stopped suddenly her shoulders visibly slouched, "How are we going to show him though?"

Jim looked at her, an excited look on his face. "I know just the thing," he exclaimed dashing towards his cabin. Rummaging through his drawers he found what he was looking for. Grabbing the camera he ran out of his cabin and back to Melody, panting a bit. He made sure he was standing still and he pointed the camera to the sky. When he was sure the constellation was in focus he took a picture.

"We show this to the doc and we'll decide who the winner is. Deal?" Jim asked with a smug grin. "Deal. What are we betting on though?" Melody asked. Jim's smile turned devious, "Loser has to do whatever the winner asks him to." "You're on!" Melody replied with an equally smug expression on her face.

The boy and girl looked at each other and burst out laughing and they turned to face the sky again. Melody started giggling to herself suddenly causing Jim to look at her curiously. "What's so funny?" he asked. "It's nothing, it's silly really," she replied coyly and looked away. "No no what is it?" he asked again. "Well those stars over there remind me of Sebastian, my crab uncle," she told him meekly."You have a crab for an uncle?" he asked amused. She nodded her head and let out a soft laugh. Jim smiled and his gaze shifted to the direction in which she had pointed and he noticed that it did indeed look like a crab. He chuckled and continued to stare at the endless blue. "Yeah, it sorta does." he said, "and that over there looks like my cat friend, Amelia." It was Melody's turn to laugh. "And that looks like an anchor, well kinda at least," she giggled.

And so the pair continued to find shapes in the stars like children not really sure how long they were going to be there but instead just enjoying this innocent game together underneath the night sky.

A/N 2 - Phew! That was a real task to type out and I'm very tired. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring and that everyone was in character. The reason I made this chapter so long is because I want to write each day on the ship as a chapter, let's see how long that'll last. I tried my best to get into the details but I think I sorta screwed up :P

Thanks for reading this far!

PS. The little snippets before every chapter highlighted in italics are actually songs that I think suit the chapter and also suit the couple. If you're interested the one in the first chapter was 'Take me somewhere nice' by Sky Sailing, the one in the second chapter was 'Take me somewhere nice' by Mogwai and lastly the one in this chapter was 'Stellar' by Incubus :D