Another proposal.

After the steamy diversion at the pool, King’s serious demeanor returned, and he gave Johanna some simple instructions regarding the pool water, a pair of buckets, and the route to and from his house. Johanna had almost forgotten her earlier deal to help the man haul water, but took to the job easily enough. Her muscles were somewhat sore by the time she finished filling the buckets, dragging them to King’s house, swapping them out, and dragging an empty set of buckets back.

Given her aching muscles, and the thin layer of sweat covering her body, Johanna opted for another dip in the pool. King had disappeared shortly after giving Johanna her instructions, and while there were probably more productive ways to spend her time before he returned, the cool, refreshing water of the pool was too tempting the pass up. Johanna slid luxuriously into the pool, and allowed herself to float lazily towards it’s center as her eyes drifted shut. The sun was warm on her face, and Johanna could feel herself slowly drifting towards sleep.

Before she could fall asleep entirely, though, King returned. “Out of the pool, Johanna. I have something for you.”

Johanna opened a lazy eye, and glanced sideways towards King. He had put on his pants, at some point, and had a small cloth sack in his right hand. Johanna swam to the edge of the pool, and tried to get a closer look at it. “You don’t seem the gift-giving type, King.”

“Correct,” He replied, “I’d like your assistance with a task tomorrow night. In exchange, the contents of this bag,” He held up the bag, which clearly had something inside, even if Johanna couldn’t see what it was, “Are yours.”

Johanna gave a thoughtful hum, then tiled her head to the side, “It doesn’t seem very wise to accept a deal without knowing what’s needed or what I’ll be getting for it. Would you care to divulge some actual information?”

King grunted, but overturned the bag. Out fell two items. The first was a knife. It was a remarkably normal knife, given the circumstances. It had a sharp, four-inch metal blade that caught the light of the sun brightly. As for the other item… “King, what use would I have for a leather collar?”

King gave Johanna a look that suggested the answer was obvious. “It’s for you to wear. In fact, you can even wear it in my home, where other clothing is forbidden.”

Johanna rolled her eyes. “Okay. Why would I want to wear a collar?”

“I would appreciate it, to start,” King said, easily, “And, perhaps more pertinent to your interests, wearing it will provide you with certain protections and benefits around the island that come from being associated with me.”

“Protections and benefits around the island?” Johanna fixed him with a look of incredulity.

King nodded. “You and I aren’t alone on this island, Johanna. There are others. And if you wear that collar, which places you under my protection, these others should treat you accordingly.”

Johanna let out a sigh and pulled herself out of the pool. “So instead of a badge of office or captain’s hat, I get to wear a leather collar?”

“You have a hat?” King asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I haven’t seen it since the storm,” Johanna admitted.

King pressed the knife and collar into Johanna’s hands. “The collar won’t be lost so easily.”

“And the task you need tomorrow?”

“A small thing. A few minutes, just after nightfall, then we can return home and go to bed.”

Johanna sighed. The knife could be useful. And if King wasn’t lying about the collar, it might be useful too. Still, putting it on felt like it would be giving up even more of her freedom to this man, and he was still being evasive about the task he wanted her for tomorrow. She still had room to refuse, of course, but could she afford to?