Chapter 1
"And what about this requires my presence?"
Captain Eddward Vincent stood ominously, clearly unamused, in the dungeon like area under the deck where a recently obtained prisoner was chained; in the dimly lit room said prisoner laid on the floor motionless. From the ground he could see a pair of black boots that stood facing him, as well as the two crew members that had been watching him, who were now standing tall, at attention.
"Captain, he hasn't said a word the whole week we've had him down here, even with the uh, encouragement. Won't eat either" explained a diminutive crew member. He seemed nervous in front of his captain, but not afraid.
"It's almost like he doesn't mind gettin' his ass beat" A tomboyish woman with short, shagged, blue hair placed her toothpick back in her mouth and shrugged nonchalantly, sending Eddward a look of defeat. She wore a cropped black tank top and loose fitting evergreen breeches paired with black leather boots, and was never seen without a toothpick in her mouth just the male was never seen without the earplugs that hung from his pocket.
"We gave it our best shot so he's all yours D."
The woman patted Eddward's back and as she and her comrade ascended the steps leading up to the deck, Edd took a step closer to the curled up body on the floor, whose hands were tied and tired eyes looked down, not daring to meet the Captain's. The boy had laid there for days, knowing his eventual fate and inviting death to take him before it became his reality. The captain swiftly grabbed ahold of his prisoner's hair, knelt down, and brought the frailer male up to his eye level forcefully. The prisoner winced in pain, shutting his eyes tightly to continue avoiding Edd's glare.
"Now, little redhead, I'm sure even you can understand that I can't sell a corpse, correct?" Eddward asked as he jerked the boy once more, his pale freckled face twisted in pain. Well, of course, he could but not for nearly as much. "You may maintain this petty silence as a meaningless act of rebellion, but you. will. eat."
The sharp words pierced through the captive's last line of defense, this man was ten times as terrifying as any crew member the boy had encountered so far, granted he'd only met two. Yet somehow, without bruising him, the captain's presence alone was nearly enough to make the redhead comply.
"That red hair makes you quite the catch as they say, I'll get a substantial amount for you on the market." The boy's eyes began to sting and he felt his chest tighten at the mention of his fate. "However, if you misbehave, I have no quarrel removing extremities, starting with the fingers perhaps?" If the young man was pale before, he seemed almost transparent now. Petrified, he shook, and the water in his eyes he'd been trying so desperately to hold fell down his cheeks as he looked up in shock at the prospect of torture. "Now, Kevin, is it?" Edd reached into a pocket on his coat and pulled out a small roll of stale bread
"Eat."
Almost immediately, and full of fear, Kevin answered
"M-my hands"
"I'm afraid that's a privilege you've yet to earn. Your mouth alone will suffice."
In that moment, Kevin knew that he would no longer refuse any orders given by this demented man. His resolve to die had vanished, and had been replaced by an unwavering fear of what Eddward Vincent would do to him if he tried to starve himself again.
As Eddward threw the roll to the floor, releasing Kevin's hair which sent him to the floor as well, the prisoner just stared at it, wanting to maintain his pride but too cowardly to rebel he could only look at the bread, wishing he had the strength to refuse it. "Go on" Edd prompted sharply, threateningly. Kevin looked up at Edd with the most pitiful expression he'd ever made. Watery eyes, wet cheeks, and a trembling lip as if begging for mercy. He'd be dammed if he didn't try one last attempt at maintaining his strike. Unfortunately Kevin's attempt was to no avail, Edd's eyes returned the glance, but with a strong, unwavering and expecting glare.
He was no longer angry, but he knew he had won and planned to watch his prey cave beneath him. The job wasn't done until then. Humiliated, Kevin dipped his head to the floor as he began to eat. Edd smirked and watched him, reaping the reward of his domination, and once Kevin finished, he left the smaller male alone in the darkness to wallow in the shame he was sure to feel for being so quick to break.
Up above, hushed voiced discussed the situation.
"I know D is ruthless, but trafficking? That's a little much, he knows how fucked up it is for the unlucky ones who get sold into it, is he really gonna do this?" Said the shorter crew member, cleaning out a rifle.
He was a strange looking fellow; three cowlicks stood out from the short black mess on top of his head, his hands veiled by gunpowder, masking the tattoos on his knuckles and part of the sleeve on his right arm.
"Eddy, our captain's not a bad guy, it's shitty but you know as well as I do times have been tough lately, we're not gettin paid as much and this cutie will fetch a great bargain. I trust Edd, no prey no pay." Responded the blue haired woman.
"He's doing what he has to to avoid mutiny from us." A tall, scrawny male with olive skin and deep mahogany hair continued to scribble on a large poster scroll without bothering to look up.
"Rave, shut it, you know that'd never happen." The woman's eyebrows furrowed "none of us would…"
"None of us, yes, but we aren't everyone, Marie, you know as well as I do that we aren't the only ones waiting to get paid. No one's starving yet but our daily bread is moldy, the boards are falling apart here and there and some of us are sick. No matter how you look at it it's not ideal."
The man spoke in such a candid tone, and Marie couldn't help but admit that he was right. They looted and hunted what they could from a variety of sources, usually without consequences, but pirates didn't exactly just stumble upon big red X's in the sand, or a boat of wealthy, corrupt aristocrats overflowing with gold every week. After a bit of silence doting on the grim topic, Eddy decided it was time to change the subject.
"Mappin the skies are we Rave?"
"If you must know, I'm trying to calculate when we'll arrive so we can drop off this poor soul"
"PLEASE tell me we'll be there soon" a turquoise haired fellow with a cheeky face and an average build hung his head over the side of the ship, neck chief spotted with remnants of upchuck. His name was Natt, new to the crew, and yet to adjust to life on the ever rocking sea.
"I'm afraid we have about a month and a half to go before we get rid of our special cargo, there are quite a few stops to make before the trafficking markets location. He's headed, in the end, to a high class market, mostly because of his uncommon looks." Rave remarked.
"Damn that red hair" Natt's face seemed to blend in a way that took on a hue of pale green as he fell victim once more to the waves
"That pumpkin is gonna pay for my bullets and your bread" the tattooed man now had powder and gunk covering "EDDY" inscribed across the first knuckles of his right hand, and various skulls, designs and other collections of ink that covered his forearms, now coated with black. "Maybe s'more rum too" he chuckled.
"How does it not surprise me that out of all the victuals one could acquire from pirating across the seven seas, enough to feed a plethora of fleets, my incompetent crew insists on spending some rations on rum?" Edd arose, jokingly, from the ships lowest level, where he'd left Kevin in their dungeon of sorts.
"Aww c'mon D, you know we haven't had that shit in months, no trouble in wishin." Marie smirked, walking over to her captain.
"So did you get him to eat?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact he was easy enough to convince." Eddward looked down. "He shouldn't give you any more of a fuss, and he does, he'll answer to me."
"Edd…" began Marie quietly so only the two could hear, touching Edd's shoulder "thanks. I know it's-"
"It's a step in the right direction, soon enough we'll be rid of him." Edd cut her off, looking back up at the few members of his crew, a bit of his family, and flashing a smirk
"Well if there's anything the shark of the sea can't do, I'll throw my prized pistol into the Atlantic" Eddy proclaimed, and proceeding that pulled out his "baby" and apologized to the contraption.
"I'll be in my quarters"
Edd bid his crew goodnight and went off to his room, the biggest single room on the ship but still minimal in space, with his bed, desk, bookshelf, dresser, and bathroom. Marked maps, paintings, and other documents littered the walls. A record player and a box of music sat in the corner, untouched but well preserved. Thanks to his own genius engineering, pluming for waste leaving the ship wasn't a problem, and buckets, primitive as they were, were used for prisoners, which occupied the ship.
Edd sat down at his desk, removing his headwear, and picked up a book he hadn't yet gotten around to reading. As evening became night, Edd's mind wouldn't rest thinking about the red haired boy all alone at the bottom of the ship. He felt so much pity for him, Edd really did. Scaring the poor thing like that, probably terrified in the dark, so small and pale… but eating, and alive, Edd reminded himself.
"It was the only way."
He thought, and thought again, until he came to terms with yet another weight on his shoulders, or so it felt. Another fucked up thing he'd done, another person he'd hurt, probably beyond repair in the end. He knew that, but Marie… his crew… Edd opened his desk drawer and swallowed a pill from the pile of those that helped him sleep, acquired from a doctor in a fishing town long ago. Along with fishing wisdom he'd collected them as an aid for sleep, they had a slight numbing affect it seemed on his discontent. He'd have to do much worse, he knew that.
He pictured the fragile male tied up there again, but with another tablet, chose to not care about him anymore and get some sleep, to replace pity with the coldness he was known for. He'd earned his title, the redhead wouldn't get any mercy, no matter how pitiful he was… "Nothing changes with this one" Edd thought to himself as he disrobed and dozed off for the night, reconfirming his resolution to save his crew, to keep them together, at the expense of one unlucky redhead.