AN: You can all slap me! I'm so sorry about how long it's been! If any of you really care, let's just say that 4 AP classes and playing the viola in 2 symphonies takes up quite a bit of my time. Sometimes I wonder if I regret it, but then I remember how great it'll feel to not have to take those classes in college, and I persevere. Thanksgiving break is coming up in a couple of weeks, so Chapter 11 should not be a bajillion months like this one was, hopefully! (should is the key word in that sentence...)
I hope you like it!
Chapter 10
"Okay, I am definitely not sure about this. I have never… 'went out on the town' before…," Asune told Luciana tentatively, half nervous and half enraged that she was being dragged out of a good night's sleep for Luciana's little past-times… in Santana, of all places. "And you know how I feel about this place, Luciana. Why do you even want to hang out with me in the first place?"
Luciana laughed freely, her wild tawny locks bouncing excitedly in the wind. "Because I really do think you would make a nice gypsy, Asune. You just need to get a little desensitized to the scary things first. I'll prove to you that this night will be nothing but fun."
Asune, although she felt a little better now that Luciana seemed to be warming up to her, still did not feel comfortable in the slightest. Nausea was creeping up on her, and, if Luciana did not have her arm jovially slung across Asune's shoulders, Asune would be certain that her weak and trembling knees would have made her fall to the ground. She shuddered slightly and Luciana narrowed her eyes.
"C'mon. I need to get you loosened up a bit." Luciana took Asune's hand roughly and led her towards a small shack. Luciana lifted a tanned arm to push aside the leather hanging, like a door, over the entrance, multiple beads clicking together, lightly announcing their entrance to anybody who cared to notice. As soon as the two women entered the shack, the pungent smell of alcohol told Asune that she was in a pub.
"No, Luciana, I don't want to drink. Bad things happen to people who drink." She gulped, wrinkling her nose against the smell of the shack. She had only had alcohol once, and she had hated it. She refused to even partake in the expensive wine at Ayanokoji's manor, even if she was permitted to.
"You are too sheltered, girly. Trust me, the rum here is amazing." Without asking Asune's permission, Luciana went up to the bar and ordered two glasses of rum. When the drinks came, Asune squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered.
"I really don't like alcohol. It makes me sick."
Luciana laughed a hearty laugh. "There is no need to worry, Asune. The rum here wasn't cultured in some dirty basement by people who have no experience. This is professionally made, and it is infused with herbs that might be able to mask the taste of such strong alcohol, if you really hate it. Just try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to drink any more. Simple."
Asune sighed, realizing that Luciana was merely going to keep pressuring her until she consented. She took a deep breath, picked up the glass, and took a sip.
Luciana was right- the herbs did mask the strong taste of the alcohol. The truth of the matter, though, was that once Luciana detected the spice of strong cinnamon, she immediately spat it out onto the dirty floor, eyes wide.
"No, no, I cannot possibly drink this."
"Why not? Was it really that bad?" Luciana looked a little irritated that things hadn't gone her way, but she also exhibited concern for Asune's condition, which warmed Asune's heart a little.
"I'm allergic to cinnamon… It has been so long… but if I ingest cinnamon, it gets hard to breathe… Luciana, I really don't like drinking. You can drink as much as you want, but I think I'll just have water or something."
Luciana sighed. "I suppose I respect your opinion." She lifted the glass and drowned it in one go, before beckoning the bartender, asking for another rum and water.
All the while, Asune had been quite uneasy in the pub. Whenever the voices grew louder, Asune could feel her heart reciprocating that intensity, and her palms would become clammy with anxiety that something bad was going to happen.
However, as the night drew onward, Luciana became increasingly more inebriated, and seeing Luciana, carefree and joyous, made Asune relax a little bit. She began to laugh more at Luciana's jokes and stories, and she even began to converse with some of the people who sat beside the two women. None of them made any move to hurt her, and all were unexpectedly nice, regarding their appearance. When Asune and Luciana left the pub- Luciana stumbling and Asune holding her up- Asune had begun to form an entirely different picture of the people who lived in Santana. Consequently, she began to see gypsies in another way as well.
Asune wondered what would happen if she just continued the itinerant life of the gypsies, abandoning her dream to pursue her own fortune in a world that was not kind to her. Right at this moment, the idea of one going wherever the wind takes her is incredibly magical. Perhaps Madame Zolta would be willing to let her stay forever. She did not want to be alone, and she already felt a kinship with everybody in the caravan. No matter what happened, at least she would have a surrogate family to replace the one she had lost.
Haruhi, she thought, a single tear running down her cheek as her chest was engulfed in sob that was impossible to keep back. Haruhi… she had betrayed a girl she saw as a little sister… all for the money of the pillaging and evil pirates that Luciana and the rest of the gypsies detested. She felt broken, defeated, unforgivable. If she ever saw Haruhi again, she would beg for her forgiveness. She would fall to her knees and clutch onto Haruhi's skirts and cry until she was empty. The gypsies couldn't possibly replace Haruhi. But they could fill a hole that Haruhi's loss had created in her.
Asune's sobbing attracted the attention of her drunk companion, and Luciana reached a tanned hand up to Asune's head, pulling her towards herself. The position was awkward, even more so because Asune was still walking and trying to hold Luciana's weight up at the same time.
"Don't cry, Asune. Whatever plagues you, the sea-foam waves will wash away faster than you could ever imagine."
Luciana began to stroke Asune's head. Asune knew Luciana's strange affections were because of Luciana's drunkenness, but the comfort made Asune cry more deeply anyway. The acknowledgment of Luciana's perception was enough to make her feel as if her heart was floating, as if her suffering could truly end with a mere turn of the tide.
After putting the unconscious Luciana to bed, Asune sat in the caravan brushing out her plain hair, looking into the mirror. The woman she saw now was nothing like the sheltered woman she had once been while working for Ayanokoji. Her skin had darkened and dried from the sun and seawater, and her hands showed signs of actual, strenuous work; the painful blisters that had formed at the beginning of her journey had hardened into work-ready calluses. Her hair was longer and thicker, and her body was more muscular. Although her eyes were slightly dark underneath, and her skin was not as smooth and soft anymore… Asune loved her reflection, for the first time in her life.
"Luciana has taken a liking to you," Madame Zolta said, startling Asune. Asune looked to the side and saw the austere woman standing there with a slight smile on her face. "She hasn't been so excited about a friend since before her parents died."
"Her parents are dead?"
Zolta nodded. "They were accused of stealing pharmaceutical recipes from the Ohtori medical company, and were subsequently put to death."
Asune took in a breath of air, shocked. "But… didn't Luciana's family make those recipes in the first place? Wasn't it the Ohtoris who stole the recipes from them?"
Zolta smiled. "Yes. Luciana pretends that it does not affect her. It does, though. However, since she has started to spend time with you, she seems freer."
"Like a sea-foam wave washing away her misery…," Asune commented quietly, her eyes down.
She looked up as Zolta put a bejeweled hand upon Asune's shoulder. "Perhaps I may have misjudged you," she remarked as she squeezed Asune's shoulder, a barely-perceptible warmth in her eyes. "Continue working hard, and your own misery will soon part ways for you." Zolta left with those words, leaving Asune with her thoughts, her friend, and her reflection.
"What is the Calypso's Death?" asked Berune tentatively as Benio made her way gravely onto her black-sailed ship.
"You heard the man, didn't you? It's the most fearsome ship on the seven seas."
Berune frowned. "But don't they say that about all of the ships?"
Benio turned around swiftly, placing her hands on Berune's shoulders, grasping them firmly. "Little flower, I'm afraid you don't understand. This is no exaggeration we are talking about here. Do you know why the sails are red? They aren't even a bright red, either. They are dark red, sinister and terrifying. The sails are that type of red because all who have been captured by that ship have been killed. Their blood is drained out, a dye is made from it, and that dye is used for the sails."
Berune gasped with a single shuddering breath. "T-that cannot possibly be true!"
Benio smiled. "I wish it were true, my dear. I should know. My mother made the mistake of crossing the Calypso's Death before. The captain is ruthless, yes, but my mother had always loved him. He was a pureblooded pirate, through and through, and so was my mother. She felt as if she deserved to be with him, and they would be a fearsome couple, indeed. She killed his wife, and in turn, he killed her and used her life-water to paint the sails."
Berune shuddered. "I'm so sorry!"
"Oh, no need to feel any pity for me," Benio replied with a laugh, letting Berune go and straightening up. "My mother was dense, and she was a fool. I knew the moment she committed the dreadful act of killing the captain's wife that she was a goner. In fact, I feel less pity for her than I do for the captain's daughter."
"The captain had a daughter?"
"Yes. Shortly after the captain's wife was killed, she went missing. I'm one of the few who are certain that she even existed; most people regard the daughter as a mere tall tale, a legend gone awry. I know she's real, though, and with that pirate blood flowing through her veins, she's bound to be alive still, too, and tough as an atlas beetle!"
"I wonder if she'll ever go looking for her father."
"Maybe someday. Or maybe not. Maybe she'll start her own pirate fleet and oust all of us out of the water!" Benio laughed as she led Berune into the cabin where the other maids and Manon were. Benio beckoned Chizuru and Hinako out onto the deck, indicating that she wished to speak to them in private. The two lady-pirates joined Berune on the other side of the ship, where Benio was sure that their voices would not be carried to the cabin; she did not want to alarm Manon, Berune, or any of the other workers.
"Are you sure that we will meet with them tonight?" Hinako asked. "This entire plan would be blown out of the water if you miscalculated."
"Of course I know for certain. Do you hold no trust in your dear captain?" Benio asked, pressing a hand to her chest in feigned sadness.
"We do, but we can't afford any slip-up."
"Nekozawa's information is exact. You will have a narrow margin between our arrival and dawn. You two will have to work efficiently. Prepare now, so we can loot quickly and get out of here."
The two first mates nodded, and Benio left them alone.
The moon was dipping dangerously low over the night sky when the two women of The Zuka stole across the inky black ocean towards the looming construction before them. Their soft footfalls made no noise as they peeked behind every nook and cranny in search of their prize.
"Hinako," Chizuru breathed, so lightly it was almost inaudible. Hinako's perceptive hearing picked it up, and she joined her mate by her side as Chizuru lifted back the gossamer curtain, revealing half of their loot. Chizuru gave a look to Hinako, who nodded and slunk away.
Hinako quietly, as a ghost, padded up and out onto the deck, opening the one door that could end everything if its occupant was an early riser. The door was inched open until Hinako silently sighed in relief. She walked over, grasped onto the thin chain, and yanked it off its perch, stealing out of the room and joining Chizuru at the lifeboat, holding up the glittering reward.
"That's it. Let's go."
The two rejoined Benio, who was restlessly pacing in her cabin.
"We have them," Chizuru announced triumphantly. Benio took the slumbering girl from Chizuru, laying her onto the downy white sheets gathered on a cot in the corner. Hinako handed Benio the second half of their trophy, and Benio held it up to the light, smiling as it glittered, creating lights on the wooden wall of the cabin.
"With these things… Oh, this is just perfect." Benio grinned in glee as she looked at the sleeping Haruhi, dressed in a simple white petticoat, on the cot, before alternating her gaze to the shining pendant of a golden hawk poised exultantly above Benio's head.
"Yes, yes… with these things, I shall finally have my revenge."
AN: Muahahahaaaaaaa revenge... like Hamlet :D I hope you all liked this installment! God bless! :D