Hello everybody!
I'm back with another new story, the idea of which came very suddenly when I was about to fall asleep.
I could call each separation a new scene, but I didn't, because I'm lazy. I might come back later and change it however.
Before people try to correct me, the words of the song sung which is sung in POTC3 by the captain are most likely wrong. I couldn't be bothered to look them up or correct them, so I am aware. If they're right, I'm amazed. And anyway, he is a bit drunk, so can you blame him for not remembering the words?
And I hereby apologise for not putting a restraint on Mr Cullen. I couldn't keep him away.
Enjoy, and review!
Act One
1547. Kind of. But nobody talks like it. Just the background is from 1547, ok?
A ship.
"Mai, are you sure you couldn't eat anymore?" asked the young fair man sitting opposite her. She smiled warmly at him.
"Yes, I'm stuffed."
"Shall we head back to the cabin then?" he asked politely. His best friend replied in the affirmative, and they walked back together to their resting place, chatting amiably.
"Good night John" Mai said as soon as they stopped outside her door. John's light blue eyes met her deep brown ones and smiled.
"Good night." The young lady stepped into her cabin and shut the door behind her. Once inside, she walked over to the small dressing table, above which was a glass window that looked out over the rippling waves of the sea. Mai sighed in comfort and reached up to the top of her head to let her long brown locks out. They tumbled out of the knot with one touch, falling wildly by her shoulders. Mai stared out at the moving waves, becoming mesmerised with their pattern, until the sight of thunderous clouds above caught her eyes and she frowned. Perhaps a storm was brewing. Mai shivered at the thought of it, and hurried to her bed, covering herself with all the blankets- just in case.
Mai had just dropped off when a large crash made her eyelids fly open. From her small bunk, it felt like the world was spinning around her, until she realised that it was just the boat rocking. But it was rocking with more force than she had ever thought possible.
There was another sudden crash, a ripping sound, and screams. Mai sat up straight away, and started to get dressed as quickly as she could. The boat tipped alarmingly, and Mai looked out of the window, to instantly regret is as her stomach churned. All she could see was the sky. The boat tipped back to its original position, but there was a flash of lightning, followed by a roar of thunder.
The next thing Mai knew, the boat had broken apart and she was struggling to stay above water. She grabbed a piece of floating debris, wondering how the boat had managed to wreck so quickly, and then began to search through the floating people and bits of boat to find John. But the waves had risen to an enormous height, and Mai was having trouble holding on to the bit of wood.
Then, suddenly, she caught sight of a blond head.
"John!" she shouted, before she was sprayed with more sea water. The head turned, and it was John, but the current was leading him in another direction.
"Mai! Be careful!"
"But what-"
"Mai! If something happens," he was getting further away, and a large wave blocked him from Mai's view, so she could only hear part of the next sentence, "Your parents-"
The biggest wave Mai had even seen in her life suddenly fell on top of John. Mai screamed. When it calmed over, there was no one there anymore.
Mai stared at that empty part of the sea in shock. The storm seemed to being calming down, and Mai felt a faint tugging at her eyelids, which got stronger. She tried to fight it, to swim and find John, but before she knew it, she had slumped over the piece of wood, unconscious.
A beach, Illyria.
Mai hazily blinked open her eyelids, to find one eye buried in sand. The other eye took in a blue sky, some beach with what looked to be ship wreckage strewn about, and a man who was walking along the beach. Mai groaned and lifted her head up. The man, seeing the sudden movement, came over to Mai, singing.
Mai had never seen a stranger man. He had brown hair, she thought, which was wildly flying around in the wind, and green eyes that seemed to be questioning everything. He was dressed in an odd assortment of clothes, and was smoking a pipe. He wasn't walking, it was more like tottering, and Mai wondered how much he had been drinking.
"OH! Heave, ho, haul together
Hoist the colours high!
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
Never say we die- Well, what have we here?"
Mai sat up straight.
"What country is this?"
"This? This is Illyria my good madam." Mai nodded in understanding. She had heard her parents speak of it once.
"And who are you?"
"I am Captain Cullen. It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of such an honourable young lady," he attempted a bow, but thought better of it. Mai noted that his speech was slurred.
"I lost a friend on this ship that wrecked. He was fair, with blue eyes. Have you seen him?"
"I'd be thinking that you're the only one who survived."
Mai blinked back the tears, forcing herself to think of her current situation. She began thinking. She needed to find work, and earn money before she could afford another boat trip back home. Wherever home was.
"Who governs Illyria?"
"That would be the Duke Oliver. But if you're thinking of working for him, he doesn't employ women." Mai frowned. What was wrong with women?
Odd man. I bet it's because he's scared of women. Because he's super super ugly.
"Where would be the best place to find work?" she asked. Captain Cullen tapped his chin with his pipe as he thought.
"It would be the Duke's, but you're obviously a woman…" Mai glanced down to look at herself. She was wearing a pale pink dress, and she had had a shawl, but it had been lost somewhere. She tilted her head, trying to imagine…
Mai grinned mischievously.
"I don't think that will be a problem. Say, Captain Cullen, do you think you could help me out with something...?"
Lady Masako's house, Illyria.
"Ayako!" cried Lady Masako from her bedroom. She was sitting by her mirror, scrutinising her face again. She was perfectly satisfied with her features, but a triple check was never too much.
Masako's maid came in, dragging her feet.
"Yeah?" Masako's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Excuse me! Ayako Matsuzaki! You are my maid! How dare you talk to me in such a way?" Ayako scowled. She hated having to work for a girl who was younger than her. But the pay was good.
"I beg your pardon," she amended stiffly. Masako shot her an evil glare, and then haughtily picked up a letter from her desk and handed it to Ayako. She looked at the letter before taking it, and smiled. The letter was on printed paper, and smelled of Masako's scent.
A love letter.
"It this to the same person I take it?"
"Naturally."
"Isn't this the seventh letter? Is he not reciprocating then?"
"Shut up!" Masako spat. "Duke Naru just doesn't understand his own feelings yet. He's denying himself of love ever since his brother died 8 months ago." Ayako smiled knowingly.
"So that's it."
"Just take it to him," she snapped. Ayako nodded and left Masako to her own thoughts.
She had just reached the bottom of the winding staircase when she was met by Masako's uncle, who grinned at her.
"What's that then?" Ayako scowled. If she thought she hated Masako, it was nothing compared to her uncle.
Masako's uncle, the bachelor.
The drunkard.
Sir Takigawa.
"It has nothing to do with you," she told him sternly, and tried to get past him. But he was blocking her way.
"Please?" He asked softly, tuning puppy eyes on her. But Ayako was not fooled. Instead...
Whack.
"Ow!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the large hall. "I could have you fired for this!"
"Whatever," she growled. "Why don't you act your age for once?"
"How old do you think I am?" he suddenly asked, curious. His whining mood had already vanished, and he looked playfully at her.
"47? 49?" Ayako guessed. She had never really ever looked at him properly.
"Actually, I'm 30," he corrected, laughing. Ayako stared at him, noticing something odd for the first time.
He was actually quite young.
And actually, not that bad looking.
And she was only 29.
"Oh, well..." She quickly left the house before anything else could be said.
The court of Duke Oliver, Illyria.
Mai nervously pulled her hat lower to try and hide her eyes more. She had only just begun to get used to her new breeches and shirt, which the actually very nice Captain Cullen had bought for her. Usually Mai wasn't shy, but this was a foreign land, and Mai didn't know where she would go if she couldn't get a job here.
Or if she actually looked like a boy. She had bound her chest tightly with bandages, but she didn't know if her face would give it away.
Steeling herself, she walked up to the wrought iron gate and met the man that waited there.
"I'd like to see the Duke Oliver, please," said Mai, making her voice just a little bit deeper. The man, to her relief, nodded and opened up the gate. Mai walked behind the man as she was led across the large front gardens and into the house that should have been called a mansion.
Once inside, Mai allowed a small breath of awe out of her lips. The interior of the house was magnificent. The hall alone was large and spacious, with a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling and impressive suits of armour in the corners. The man, seeing just a young boy who was probably new around these parts, smiled.
"Don't worry. When you've been here as long as I have, you'll get used to it."
"The Duke Oliver," began Mai timidly, "What's he like?"
"Master Naru? Oh, he's not bad. He doesn't talk much, and is rather cold, and arrogant, and horrible...but deep, deep down, deeper than you think, he's a really nice person." Mai nodded, wondering why he called him Naru. What kind of nickname was that?
After climbing up up some long winding staircases, and down long corridors, the man finally reached a closed door. He looked at Mai.
"He's here. Be nice to him." He winked at Mai, knocked on the door, and left.
"Come in," came a voice from inside, and Mai gulped, and walked inside.
Mai had been expecting an old, nearly withered man who would be sitting by a desk, with white hair, a rasping voice and a mean look about his face.
When she opened the door, Mai found herself rooted to the spot.
The only thing in common with her idea of Duke Oliver and the real Duke Oliver was the fact that he was a man.
'Scared of women because he's super super ugly' weren't exactly the right words to describe him.
This Duke was young, she would say only a year or so older than she was. He was tall, with obsidian black hair which fell slightly in front of sapphire blue eyes. And he was dressed entirely in black. But it suited him.
Mai hated to admit it, but this man was very handsome.
Duke Oliver was standing by the fire in a long room. He was reading a book, and looked up once to see a frozen young man standing by his door. His bright blue eyes held hers.
"If you just came here to stare at me, I'll have a painter paint you a picture of me to keep." Mai choked, and strode forward, trying to imitate the way a man walked.
"Um, I just wanted to know if I could work for you."
"Name?"
"Mirai Taniyama."
"How old are you?"
"Nearly 18."
"And why have you come to me?"
"Because I was on a ship, and then it wrecked, and I'm the only survivor, and I need work so I can pay for a trip back home, and someone told me that you might give me work..." Mai rambled on.
"Why would I need another person to work for me?" Mai scowled, unable to hide her annoyance. Why was this man so annoying? And why would she want a picture of him? Even if he was very good looking...
"I don't know, because I don't know anything about you!" she replied. Mai saw the flicker of a smile on his face, and briefly wondered how handsome he would look if he smiled fully.
"Good point." He said no more, and went back to reading his book. Mai waited, but her quick temper started to get the better of her. Finally Mai cracked.
"Well? Can I work for you?" Oliver looked up again.
"Can you make good tea?"
"...Yes."
"And can you get rid of annoying girls who try and ask for my hand in marriage every day?"
"...If you want me to." Now Mai could see what the man had meant. He was a real Duke Naru. Naru the Narcissist. He was practically bragging about his looks.
"And their parents who believe that every man in possession of a fortune like mine must be in want of a wife?" And his wealth.
"Yes."
"Then you're hired. Now go home." Mai winced at his words. It did not go unnoticed.
"What's the matter?"
"I don't have a home in Illyria." Duke Naru sighed. This was all taking too much trouble.
"Then you can stay here," He answered.
Mai broke out into a beam.
"Thank you!" She cried, and jumped up and down.
Naru, who hadn't been paying much attention to her, suddenly stared at her.
He saw a rather small young man with a rather girly face. Girls might find him cute, what with his deep brown eyes that shone of kindness and naivety, which were framed by long, dark lashes. His hair was brown, but most of it was caught up in his hat.
Mai suddenly realised that she could have easily given her game away and that she would have to be a lot more careful in future, and that the Duke was staring at her, blushed slightly, and cleared her throat, looking away. Naru blinked, and stopped his assessment of her.
"Go and find my steward, who will provide you with a room. Be up by the sixth hour tomorrow."
"Yes, Duke Naru. Thank you very much," Mai turned to leave.
"Wait a minute." Mai turned back.
"What did you call me?"
"Oops," Mai cleared her throat again. "Naru. For narcissist right?" He didn't reply, so Mai took it as a chance to leave the room.
But he never made it.
The door opened before he was even close and a woman walked in, wearing a maids uniform. The woman didn't notice Mai at first, and walked straight to Naru, holding out a small letter. He saw it, and covered his eyes with his hands, groaning.
"Another one?"
"Yup." The maid grinned.
"Mirai!" called the Duke. The maid turned to see Mai for the first time, and her eyes widened suddenly, but the narrowed.
"Who's this then?" she asked casually.
"New worker," explained Naru. He beckoned towards Mai, who had nervously stopped quite far away from him. She had noticed that the maid's eyes had yet to leave her face.
"Your first chore. Take this letter," he held it out to her, "rip it four times, any way you like," Mai did so, very confused, "and throw it into the fire here." Mai looked at her new boss as she did, questioning him with a glance. His face was unreadable.
"Now you can both go. Ayako, tell your mistress to stop bothering me." The maid did a thumbs up, looked back at Mai and dragged her by the arm out of the room. Mai made a noise of surprise, but allowed herself to be taken out.
Once outside, Ayako turned on Mai. At the look on her face, Mai's heart started to beat a little faster. She didn't look happy.
"Mirai is it? That's a nice name…for a boy…"
DUNDUNDUN! Are Mai's masquerading days already numbered????
Mai's older, because this is the old days, and it will work out better in the end :D
And Naru's just a touch nicer. Becuase we'd all like him to be. :D
Did you notice the strange resemblence this bears with a famous play?
I know what you're thinking, twelfth night, twins, Gene, Noll, dressing up as a girl.
It doesn't work. Lord knows I tried to make it work. But it just doesnt, because they're the same gender. You're welcome to try though!
REVIEW!
xxx
