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I'm very sorry for the delay - unfortunately I had no idea for the theme song at first, and when I found it, I fell a bit sick, so it was hard on me. Beta-reader had more work to do with this one, too... So yeah, basically, I just got my fixes and applied them and am immediately publishing this long cutie.
We're getting to the main plot slowly ~
Thank you Stephy for beta-ing once again. :3
Song themes - first is Spanish Ladies (from Assasin's Creed - Black Flag), and the second - My Jolly Sailor Bold, mermaid's song from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Enjoy the chapter!
Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish Ladies,
Farewell and adieu to you, ladies of Spain;
For we've received orders for to sail for old England
And we may never see you fair ladies again.
The pirates tensed ropes while singing the song loudly. Their time here was up; they needed to leave Acalypha once again, so they sung rhythmically, while preparing to depart. Layla Heart yelled commands once in a while, rest of time strolling along the deck with Caprico, checking if everything was alright.
They managed to refill their supplies (like every time they've been here - people in the town loved them; two pirate crews was the thing that made this place prosperous - tourists were coming and going, just to see the famous orphanage, granny's grave, and - with a bit of luck - one of the crews itself.) Now, they didn't usually came to any town and party like that - they had few places to gather new supplies, cure their hurt ones, or even sit in some dirty pub, but they always were observed by the guards and couldn't even scream, not to be arrested. They weren't like those crews whose members portraits hung in every city, with few zeroes behind the first digit in their rewards, so they were untouchable if they didn't cause any ruckus, but still, the guards didn't need much reasons to pack them to jail. This was different though; this was their hometown, and the guards would be torn to pieces by the people if they tried to pick a fight with either Starry King, or Fairy Tail pirates. Not that the pirates did something bad - they only partied. A bit.
Layla observed as her crew attached the ropes, feeling nervous.
We will rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,
We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas
Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England;
From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues.
The song continued, and Layla felt more and more uneasy. Why though? She didn't know herself. She did everything she wanted in here already, and yet she felt like it was really bad idea to depart now. She bit her lip, looking at the crowd – people always lined up and listened to their songs, watched their preparations, and waved them goodbye. Often they threw some gifts on the deck – although their magazines were full – like kids giving them chocolate, their favourite baker throwing some sweet buns for the day, or little girls offering the captain flowers. She loved children and was delighted every time they got her something.
Some squeal caught her attention, and as she looked through the crowd, little girl waved her, sitting on the shoulders of some man. She was one of the orphans, she noticed; Cana if she remembered correctly. Girl threw her a wreath, and just as Layla caught it, she squealed in delight. Blonde woman smiled at the cute girl, and put it on her head, mouthing "Thank you", as she didn't want to disturb the song. Town people loved their singing.
We hove our ship to with the wind from sou'west, boys
We hove our ship to, deep soundings to take;
'Twas forty-five fathoms,with a white sandy bottom,
So we squared our main yard and up channel did steer
She quickly turned her head away, embarrassed, just as she saw who was holding the girl. Blonde man chuckled, when she blushed a bit; no one else seemed to notice. He threw a single white rose to the deck, and Layla picked it up, but still, didn't look at him at all.
She glanced at the sails and then at her lieutenant, who nodded.
"OKAY, BOYS! LET'S GET THIS GIRL MOVING, THE ADVENTURE AWAITS!" she yelled at her boys, as always referring to their ship as "her" (What? She needed some lady's company. She liked to complain to it at the crew a bit... okay she did it most of the time).
"AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!" from every single one of them was a response to her order.
"AWAIT OUR RETURN, ACALYPHA!" she turned around, and waved at the people, who began to cheer, wave, and scream their goodbyes. The anchor rose, and the rovers began their work at loud "ONE, TWO! ONE, TWO!" and the sound of drum.
The boat slowly began to move, and soon the wind helped the sailors, being too light to carry the boat by the shore. The song began to fade at the town of Acalypha, as the pirate ship faded in the light of setting sun. Layla didn't look back; if she did, she knew she might've jump off the ship and stayed there forever, and she was afraid of that.
We will rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,
We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas
Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England;
From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues.
Now let ev'ry man drink off his full bumper,
And let ev'ry man drink off his full glass;
We'll drink and be jolly and drown melancholy,
And here's to the health of each true-hearted lass
We will rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,
We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas
Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England;
From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues...
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERGH.
Caprico looked at his captain, worried.
Layla Star was definitely not okay.
Since they departed from Acalypha two months ago, she's been acting weird – for example, she'd randomly scream at deck hands who weren't cleaning the deck now... few minutes after they did it perfectly. Or she'd yell at the crew at the dinner (she'd never interrupt their meal before) and get foggy eyes at random jokes. She grew paler, her eyes and hair lost their shine, and she seemed to be skinnier than before they had left home. And now... this.
BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERGH.
Even if the crew didn't suspect a thing by this time (and lieutenant was sure most of them did), now even the stupidest of them, Taurus would notice that something's off. Because Layla Star didn't just throw up in some weak storm.
Sure, she had been nauseous sometimes when the waves were... extreme. Everyone had. But she survived through much worse winds than now.
She lifted herself, not wanting to fall off the side of the ship, and spited in the ocean.
"Must've had something bad... Watch out for those eggs!" she yelled, and began commanding again. The storm wasn't that bad, and they've had experienced crew, so she didn't really have to – but Caprico knew that she was doing it to keep them calm about her state. She was well aware of how the morale would fall if she'd be weak.
Still, her skin was slightly green, and Caprico saw that she was on the edge. He began yelling commands himself. "You go rest, those eggs didn't do you any good, that's possibly food poisoning! Not getting them on this deck ever again!" he tried to outshout the loud wind, for all the pirates to hear him as well as herself. Layla nodded, grateful that he went with her bluff.
He had the same eggs she had eaten in the morning after all.
The storm didn't seem to go away; in fact, it was slowly intensifying. Soon, the crew began to feel nervous.
Without Layla it'd be hard, Caprico sighed at the thought. He'd have to manage this whole mess by himself...
It was hours already, and the situation got really bad. Layla slept; he did not want to wake her up as it'd mess the whole crew. Her state was even worse than the storm. He yelled commands, the sailors were in chaos, they were scared, tired, and did not know what to do. They've never faced a storm that bad.
And then, something's happened. Awkwardly, all his nervousness dissolved in the air. He looked around; the crew members seemed to calm down, too, and do their duties perfectly fine without him yelling at them. His head felt a bit dizzy, and he smiled; it was such a pleasant song to hear...
Upon one summer's morning,
I carefully did stray,
Down by the Walls of Wapping,
where I met a sailor gay,
The song had calmed them all. The ocean seemed to calm down a little, too, though the wind still was strong and the waves were high. The island slowly appeared before them, inviting them to stop there and wait. The singing voice was so calming, so warm...
Conversing with a youngng lass,
who seem'd to be in pain,
Saying, William, when you go,
I fear you'll ne'er return again.
"DUMP THE ANCHOR!" He yelled as they reached the right place for the ship to stay.
Layla snapped the door of her cabin open, seconds after the whole ship stopped and woke her from her nap. First thing, she vomited again over the broadside. Second, she snapped out of it, and began to yell. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU IDIOTS?! WHO'S ANCHORING THE BOAT IN THE STORM?!"
And her eyes shot wide open, when she had heard the song.
My heart is pierced by Cupid,
I disdain all glittering gold,
There is nothing can console me
but my jolly sailor bold.
"Oh fuck. YOU IDIOOTS!" She began to curse, yell, do everything she could think of and was loud. She tried to drown out the singing, but it was too late.
The sailors began to throw themselves in the water, and she desperately did the same.
She was a woman, the siren wouldn't get her. And, she swore to the King of the Sea, this bitch wouldn't get her crew either. Or she wouldn't be named Layla Star.
What was weird, the song was coming from the island, not the sea. Usually the mermaids would be on the open sea, or rocky sandbanks, definitely not islands...
His hair it hangs in ringlets,
his eyes as black as coal,
My happiness attend him
wherever he may go,
She followed her crew, trying to slap them, hold them, yell at them, do anything; nothing worked. They all, zombie-like, went to the depths of the forest. They walked, and walked, and the voice grew louder. Finally, they stopped, and Layla saw the spring.
It wasn't big, nor was it looking deep; but she knew it was. It had to be.
The sailors circled the water, calmly getting closer.
From Tower Hill to Blackwall,
I'll wander, weep and moan,
All for my jolly sailor,
until he sails home.
Oh no, that wouldn't happen. Not when she was around.
She pushed Caprico away, dived in the water, and the song stopped immediately.
Lieutenant snapped out of the trance first. Looking at the water, he knew what had happened immediately.
Thunderbolt hit the tree near them.
"FUCK! LAYLA!"
This seemed to work on the rest of the crew. All of them knew what had happened well. They screwed up, and were lured by mermaid. And she jumped in to save them.
Cancer wanted to jump in after his captain, but Caprico caught him.
"Stop it right now!"
"Get off me, you son of a bitch! I need to help her-"
"AND WHAT WILL YOU DO AGAINST A SIREN, YOU IDIOT?! NOBODY JUMP IN THIS SPRING, OR I'LL SHOOT YOU!" Caprico yelled, getting his gun ready. It would be hopeless, and he didn't mean to lose any one of them. "I'll go. I'm the one responsible for this."
"And what will YOU do?" Cancer snapped. Caprico shrugged.
He didn't know.
"No, we're all staying here. No one moves. No one. The mermaids like women. They hate men. It could kill her if we'd jump in. She has a chance when she's alone."
Scorpio stood out. He might not be the lieutenant, but he knew what to do with mermaids. He lived through three attacks of the damn creatures. "We have to believe in her."
The storm was slowly dying out. They sat around the spring, praying to the King of the Sea to spare their captain.
Seconds passed, forming minutes, cumulating to hours. Storm had ended, and the clouds dispelled. Sunlight graced the trees and the surface of water, its reflexes dancing on their faces, and the silence replaced once loudly raging storm. If it wasn't for birds, and slight wind that was slowly shifting the branches, there would be no sound.
They stared at the water, getting more and more anxious with every passing moment.
It was way too long.
"Hey... What will we-"
As some deck hand began to speak, losing hope, the water started waving and foam up. Blonde hair emerged, then whole head, and rest of her body. She spit the water out, and her crew pulled her out. She coughed. She was soaked wet, and when she looked at Caprico, who was screaming, among the others, relieved she's okay, she looked bewildered and terrified, holding her stomach with both hands. She spit more of the liquid out, and with rough voice, she ordered. "Take me home".
Everyone fell dead silent, her coughing out and spiting the water around being the only voice besides the slow, warm wind. They stared at her in disbelief; Cancer was first to speak out.
"But, Makarov will be there by this time..." he started. Layla hated Macao, everyone knew that. She hissed.
"I don't care, take me home. I'll handle Macao. Fuck, I'll handle everything there. I'm not getting on this fucking again ship after you drop me."
They weren't happy to oblige, but eventually, they did.
Love and Lucky bar was filled with pirates again. This time though, it was Fairy Tail crew. They were even louder than Starry King's, but Jude didn't seem to care. He'd have to get used to it, he'll inherit the pub soon - the owner fell ill, and as he had no family, he said that if Jude buried him and got him tombstone, he'd give the place to him.
It was so loud inside, and the storm was crying outside, they didn't stand a chance to hear the loud people on the streets.
So, when the door sprung open, and the blonde woman appeared in the frame, her – slightly fatter? - figure basking in lightning, everyone fell dead silent and stared at her with shock.
"Find yourself a different face, Conbolt, or you'll never get laid!"
Makarov blinked, woken up from the trance.
"Layla?"
"YOU FAT COW, WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Macao snapped, interrupting his captain and standing up.
"YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME FAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Layla went in, and the rest of her crew followed.
"Yes I did! How many did you put on?!" He snickered at her, and she slapped him in the face.
It was rather playful slap, he knew that, but he wouldn't let it pass. He was about to give her back, but his hand was stopped by Caprico and Scorpio, as they caught him by his arms.
"You're not touching her now. Sorry lad" Caprico looked apologetic, and Macau stared at him, stunned. They've never, ever stopped him from hitting her. They knew that she'd only hit them, too. It was wrong, something was off-
"What's wrong, Layla?" He stood straight. The air somehow felt tense - he'd always call her by surname, and not her Christian name.
Shit, he hated her, but he knew her since they were, like, THREE. He'd want to keep his enemy safe, who else would he argue with?
She only smiled at him, and turned to the other captain in the pub. "Hey there, Makarov, long time no see!" She beamed, and hugged her friend. He hugged her back, and smiled, too. The rest of crews began their greetings - they were old friends, and they didn't get to see each other much often.
"What's so important so you risk arguing with our Macao, my dear Layla?" Makarov asked the girl, smiling. She patted her belly, and glanced over the bar, to see the bartender at his usual place, now staring at her as the rest of people there. But he was different than them. His look, full of admiration, but also a bit of fear, caused her to blush - not that anyone noticed. She never blushed crimson, just light pink, complimenting her cheeks so ladylike you'd never guess she was a pirate, the captain of them on top of it. She spoke, her eyes still linked with Jude's.
"Well, I've got a special gift from someone, and I need to take care of it. And you," she turned her head and faced Makarov again, before continuing "you, my dear friend, shall take care of the rest of my crew while I do so. I won't let them go without a decent captain after what had happened lately. I won't hand them off to mermaids, and you're the only captain beside me who can resist them."
Dead silence fell upon the pub once again at her statement.
Basicaly - say goodbye to Layla and her crew, and brace yourselves - Summer's comming :D Yeah, we'll skip a bit in next chapter. A big bit, to be honest. No worries - everything will be explained. Just later.
I wonder if when I'll write big bit more into the story, I should update two times a week. Uhh, depends on your feedback as well, as it keeps me motivated (and Stephy's amount of time plays its big part, but still).
By the way - do me a big favor and check poll on my profile, just so I know if I should write a thing or two, it'd be greatly appreciated!
Okay, done rambling, gonna get my beauty sleep and hit the test tomorrow morning (it's 1 A.M. but I don't care, okay, I needed to update this XD). Wish me luck, sweet peas!