In the dark of the night, waves lapped against the sides of a strong, wooden, hull. At the moment, the ocean was peaceful, but she could have a mighty temper, and often changed on a whim. Wind whipped around filling up the topsail, mainsail, and jib, pushing the ship forward along the glassy surface of the water.
A few torches lit up the decks atop the ship, and made the deck shiny, seeing that it was covered in a permanent layer of sea spray. It was slippery, but the expert crew had the footing as good as any sea dog's.
Up on the highest deck, the captain stood while with one hand he controlled the ships movements with ease. After years of being on the sea, it was second nature for him to steer his mighty ship over it. Although, even the captain wasn't bold enough to boast that he was master of predicting the sea.
Movement of the ship was slow and lax; most of the deck hands were sleeping on the deck below for that matter. However, the relaxing mood was a lie, for the ship and the crew had just been chased around the reefs for the good part of the night by the British Fleet after docking in the port of Snh'lay. It used to be a free port, but the authorities had taken hold of it over the years.
Needless to say, the two breeds of men did not mix well. Much like oil and water actually. Guns were shot and a huge brawl had broken out in the streets. However, the crew had escaped…
A new figure walked up from the sleeping quarters of the ship, and looked up to the high, enclosed deck above where the captain stood. He quickly made his way up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder of his rugged. "Cap'n, at our last port I'm afraid more of our deck hands met up with Jack Ketch (1) after that run in with that British Fleet."
The captain turned around to face his first mate. His hair was sweeping in wild directions showing that it was barely combed, and there was a thin layer of grime on his neck. "How short are we?" He knew that they needed only about eight or nine people to actually sail the ship, but more were needed to man the guns and defend while on the run. With a shortage of men aboard, they would be at a disadvantage.
"At the moment…" He counted in his head for a moment, "At the moment we only have around seven including you and me."
The captain's eyes widened, "7?" came the hoarse whisper. With the fleet behind them, they would be as finished. "Tala, desperate times call for desperate measures. It would be hard for us to find men willing to be running from the law in such a short period of time. "What is the nearest island with a group of beached on it?"
Tala raised an eyebrow, the beached where a small people whose ancestors had been some of the original pirates. Back then, pirates had formed a sort of fraternity, and wouldn't fight or steal from each other (2). However, as time passed, a new breed of pirates had been born. They had wiped out there predecessors, and marooned them on small islands. Burt there ships so they couldn't leave. So they stayed on their little islands, cut off from the rest of the world. Moreover, over time, their children had children. And these children, taught never to go to sea, where taught the original code of the pirate.
Never kill a brother.
Never fight a brother.
Save a brother, even if you need to give up yourself.
All men are of the sea, and although she be cruel and fierce, we must always return.
However, the children where taught never to leave or sail. Their parents deemed the new pirates too reckless. But sticking to the original code, at a funeral, the coffin was thrown back into the depths – where all must return.
Seeing how cut off the beached where, the authorities didn't guard their homes.
"You want to snatch a couple of them and make them sail the ship considering that they won't be missed by those stiff coats." Tala thought about it, it might work. "Kai, while it's a good plan in theory, the beached have no idea how to sail, nor do they want to."
"Who said they had to want to?" Kai asked coldly, stretching his intent. He was fine with forced labor, as long as there was a worthwhile profit. And escaping the fleet seemed like a worthy cause.
"Alright Cap'n…" Tala said with a slight sigh. He knew that he was going to have to break in the new men, and it was probably not going to be a nice experience. "I'll run it by the crew."
"Good." Kai said with a nod, knowing that he was a leader of a shaky democracy. If the men didn't agree, they might mutiny. "And tell them that the other option is that we all meet Jack Ketch."
Tala gave a nod in agreement. "So we'll get on land tomorrow and pick a few up?"
"No, I think it would be better to go at night actually. We'll drop anchor close by, but we can't be seen, and wait until night fall. Then we go." Kai said with a smirk, although it was not a happy one. The beached would not be happy with him after he stole away a few of their sons. And the ones he took would be as wild as a hurricane. But he had been through hurricanes before. All you needed to do was find the eye, and make it through the first wall then ride it out.
"I'll send Spencer and Ian up to relieve you, they'll navigate us to the nearest beached island." Tala said as he walked down from the poop deck and back to the crew's quarters.
xXxXxXxXx
Rei snatched the telescope from Bryan and quickly clambered up the look out pole. The ruins of three ships where the main part of their home on the small island, and the lookout towers where still intact. While the main part of the village back farther inland, a few stayed close to the coast.
"There's a ship out there." Rei said as he gazed out onto the ocean.
"Rei, stop it." Bryan said rolling his eyes as he looped another rope around a nearby railing. It was attached to a sail hammock, which Bryan promptly flopped onto and got comfortable. The salty sea air ruffled his hair and he smiled with content. "I just want to lay here until the tides come and threaten to sweep me away. You should relax too," Bryan gave a large stretched, "Every since you father died and you became the best candidate to be leader, you've been so tight with responsibilities."
"Bryan really, I just saw a ship go by the bay and it went into a cove behind the trees." Rei said pointing to the east where tree's blocked the view. "It wasn't flying any flags like the ships that come here to trade with us either."
"Rei you're imagining it. Shut up." Bryan said, nuzzling his head into the rough sail. It smelled good and had a pleasant scratchy feeling against his face.
Rei's eyes narrowed and his lips turned down into a frown. Putting both his hands and feet around the pole, he slid back down to the broken deck of the ship. "I'm not hallucinating! Bryan I really just saw a ship go by and I don't like the looks of it!"
"Nnnghh…" Bryan wasn't listening, seeing that he was slowly falling asleep. He mutely nodded, just hoping that Rei would shut up and let him sleep.
Rei glared and drew his sword from its sheath; he slashed the rope of the hammock closest to Bryan's head, causing the taller man to fall hard on the floor beneath him with a sharp thwack!
"Rei! What the hell has gotten into you!" Bryan yelled holding his head with one hand and shoving Rei with the other.
"There's a ship in that damn cove and it's not the traders!" Rei yelled right back as he landed hard on his rear. He pointed an accusing finger at Bryan, "You don't believe me either! That's what's wrong with me!" He got up and sheathed his sword again, "Just humor me, and tell the people to be on guard, I'm going to the cove by myself seeing as you don't give a damn."
Bryan glared but gave in, "Fine." He spat out, not angry, but it felt right to do at the time. "I'll do you one better me bucko, I'll come with you to that cove and drop you into the water once you see that there is nothing there!" He stood up and swatted some sand off his worn leather leggings. "I'll have a messenger tell everyone so don't throw a fit."
xXxXxXxXx
Rei barely dodged a cocoanut as it fell from a high tree above. "Sheesh…" He groaned shaking his head. If Bryan didn't kill him for dragging him across the island the trees sure would. "Almost there Bry."
"We better be." Bryan groaned angrily, "I hate treks like this. And the fact that there is nothing there isn't helping!"
Rei rolled his eyes and turned around, wrapping his arms around Bryan's neck. "Oh shush." He smiled and pecked Bryan quickly on the lips, "You're whining like a child."
Bryan looked away trying to hide his pout, "But this is so pointless Rei." His hands settled on Rei's hips, "I know that you where imagining it."
"How?"
"Because you're insane." Bryan said with a hint of a grin.
Rei put his hands on Bryan's chest and pushed him away a little, "That's a bit harsh don't you think?"
"Don't worry." Bryan said, "It's what makes you worth while." With that, he promptly kissed Rei on the lips to emphasize his point.
Rei smiled and wrapped his arms around Bryan's waist, "I'll take it." He said with a shrug. Slipping out of Bryan's hold he walked ahead again, "Let's keep moving, we're almost there so let's not stop now. I need to prove you wrong and we need to find out who is on this ship and why they're here."
"Let's just drop the ship from conversation for a while. My head is starting to hurt." Bryan groaned again.
"But why?" Rei asked, "It's just full of fluff." He winked as he saw Bryan's eyes narrow into an oh-payback-is-a-bitch glare, Rei knew that Bryan was about to lunge forward and grab him, so he had to be just out of his reach at all costs. Rei jumped ahead as Bryan shot towards him.
"Get back here." Bryan said quickly running towards him.
Rei only grinned and ran farther away, pleased with the fact that he had gotten his stubborn partner to move with some motivation and speed. He could lead him to the cove now in only half the time!
As Rei had said earlier, it wasn't far away at all. Rei suddenly stopped running at the tree line that stopped before the short length of stone and sand besides the calm waters of the cove. Ducking down, he pushes aside the leafy branches to take a peek.
Bryan came to a halt and grabbed Rei from behind tightly, "Gotcha!"
"Shhh!" Rei swatted his shoulder lightly and shot a quick glare. He pointed back through the little peek hole of leaves into the cove.
Indeed, there was a ship there, a strongly built fierce one at that. Trimmed while sails against a dark mahogany wood hull with vibrant red and gold paint on her. The name was etched into the hull – Fire Phoenix.
Rei thought that the name suited it well, it looked as grand and as noble as a phoenix should be. It did the name justice. "Told you there was a ship Bry." He said quietly with a smirk.
However, Bryan was far past the humiliation of being proved wrong, he was now in defensive. Ready to draw his sword and kill the first man that stepped of the ship and onto land. He held Rei tighter to his chest and gripped the pommel of his sword. "Rei we need to make sure that they don't find anyone. They're flying no colors so we can only presume that they're pirates. (3)" Bryan took a glance behind him to check that they weren't already there, "We're sent the messenger earlier so that's good. They'll stay hidden until they get word from us. Rei, we're going to need to bluff once they get off the ship."
"Why?" Rei asked quietly.
"We don't know what their intent is or how many are on board. And if they thing that there are more than just the two of us, they'll be less likely to cause trouble." Bryan explained in a hushed voice. "Now I have a plan, but we need to start now if we want a chance." And with that, he grabbed Rei's hand and stalked back into the thick forestation.
xXxXxXxXx
Kai waited for night to fall impatiently, seeing as that the fleet could find them at any moment. And when the sun had finally set and the moon had risen, he was eager to step ashore.
"Tala." He said quickly while stepping into the already prepared long boat, "Go get Spencer and Ian."
Tala nodded and quickly fetched them, along with long pieces of rope and cloth. Hopping into the long boat along with the two other men, they quickly lowered into the waters of the cove.
"I figure that they will be close to the coast. And we're far away from area's that could support a group of people so it's unlikely that they know we're here." Kai mused aloud while playing absent-mindedly with a ring on his finger.
After rowing a short distance, the long boat rubbed up onto the rock shore. Kai was just about to step out when a figure walked out into the clearing between the cove and trees.
"State your business." The figure said calmly while putting a hand on his hip.
Kai looked him over quickly to find a short, thin, man with his hair tied back in a messy tie. Kai swiftly stepped out of the long boat and stood in a diplomatic manner. "My crew is short and we need men." He said putting it simply. He wasn't sure of the intellect of these island folk.
"So you come to and island where it's forbidden to sail?" Rei asked raising an eyebrow in a surprised manner. "You're stupid."
"No, I'm persuading." Kai said with a smirk as he pulled out his sword from it's sheath. The beads on the end of the hilt shook slightly in anticipation. He thrust it out towards Rei in a threatening manner. "How many of your people know that we're here?"
Bryan jumped out from the clearing and smacked away Kai's sword with his own. "Enough to easily defeat the three you brought with you and still sink your ship." Bryan was good at lying, a trait he had picked up while trading and haggling prices to his own benefit. "They'll wait until we signal them, but right now we have this cove surrounded. Leave now."
"No." Kai answered even though his eyes widened. Surrounded? This was very very bad. It would be harder to gather people if they where hidden. He turned his head back to Tala and whispered, "Can we make it with nine?"
"Barely." Tala nodded and drew his own sword.
Rei took a step forward just like Bryan had told him too, "Go back on your ship or I'll order attack." The leaves behind him rustled like there was someone back there along with other nearby trees. Rei bit the inside of his lip nervously, he hoped that this worked. The thin line of string on his ankle was thin, and just small enough to go unnoticed. And when he pulled it by moving his leg, the other strings where moved to make it look like there actually was more than two people out.
Kai lunged forward and swung at Bryan because he was closer, "Tala we need to do this fast so just get these two!" He called as he struggled for power against Bryan.
Rei leapt at Kai with his sword but was blocked by Tala. Rei found himself struggling to out match Tala, for he seemed to be an expert swordsman, along with being more adapt in the muscular area. He yanked his ankle again, but the string snapped when Bryan accidentally stepped on it.
Rei froze and sent a worried glance at Bryan "Covers blown!" He said just as Kai had managed to over power Bryan and get a good hold on him.
"Spencer, rope!" Kai yelled as he struggled to keep Bryan down on the rocky ground. Spencer tossed a think coil over to him and helped to tie Bryan's wrists together tightly so that he couldn't attack. Kai nodded his head towards the boat to have Spencer take him, and he turned to help Tala with Rei, who was still holding his own.
"Damn you pirates!" Rei hissed in a whisper and Kai tried to knock his sword down from his hands. Rei parried and swung back aiming for his chest.
Tala blocked with his sword while Kai dropped his and got a firm hold around Rei's neck in an almost choke.
Rei struggled but found that the more that he moved, the tighter the hold became. Bryan was shouting something at him, but he couldn't hear it over the pounding of his own heart as he twisted and kicked. Slowly, he weakened and his vision began to fade as Kai put a particular pressure on his neck, making him pass out.
Kai sighed with relief as he felt the smaller figure go limp in his arms as he passed out. "About time. The fleet is probably almost here so we'll need to go now." He picked Rei up by his collar and dragged him over to the boat before tossing him into the bottom.
Bryan trashed from his position in anger and wiped out Kai's legs causing him to fall hard onto the wood bottom, "Bastard!"
Kai glared and kicked Bryan right back, "That's captain to you!" Satisfied with the new silence he sat back down, "Get back to the ship." He ordered quickly while sending a quick glance at the smallest one on the boat, who was passed out beneath his legs.
xXxXxXxXx
1 – Nickname among pirates for the Hangman
2 – This is actually true, the original pirates where called the "Brethren of the Coast." And where a large group that didn't fight or steal from each other. Over time, greed took over and the brethren was destroyed.
3 – From the teaching that where passed down from their parents and their parents, pirates have gotten a rotten reputation among the beached. A bit worse than it really is, so it's a bit like whisper down the lane.
M'kay alright. As you can see I re did this entire first chapter. I still have the same amount of length, with some new details as you can see. And for those of you panicking, don't worry this is a KaiRei story. I just decided that I wanted to have some tension between couple in later chapters and this was the best way to do it. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think.
IMPORTANT!
I've taken off all of the old chapters so I can start over on this, so old Holiday fans, be sure to re-read!