Hey all! Lara-Chan's muses are working overtime *grins sheepishly*. I know, I have too many stories going on as it is, but this one just popped into my head! And since the next chapter of Nineteen is still with my beta….. well, here ya go. Depending on reviews, I'll continue or just stop it here. You all just tell me what you think! Here's the story summary:
It is 1544 and Kenshin Himura, the Portuguese seafarer, is captain of a ship sailing for Japan, only the second excursion EVER into Japan by foreigners. A young woman who has been deemed "a menace" to the government goes with him as a present for the emperor. Her name is Kamiya Kaoru, and why is she a menace? Because she is the leader of the movement for equality rights in Portugal! Uh-oh, craziness ensues… That is… it will ensue if you review.
By the way, the title means "siren song" hehe.
On with the story!
canção do siren
The Mediterranean ebbs and flows as it has for centuries. It does not change its course to the pacific in the wake of storm or when the skies are quiet. It has bore silent, vigilant witness to horrible happenings, enough blood to turn its waters red. It also has rejoiced as people baptize newborn babes in its clear, fresh waters. Like motherly arms encircling all of Italy, France and Spain, it keeps these places safe from drifting out toward unknown destinations.
However, it leaves Portugal out in the torrents, forcing it to brave the angry Atlantic alone. But no matter how dangerous the Atlantic might be, some men chose to defy her.
Himura Kenshin was one such man.
City of Lagos, southern tip of Portugal, April 12, 1544
The salty sea wind rustled his red hair. A slender hand pushed some stray hairs back behind his ears revealing a cross shaped scar. He held a clipboard between his calloused hands and was making hurried marks across the paper as white sails began to unfurl. A wooden ship bobbed in the water behind him and sailors scurried from the dock to the ship deck carrying heavy boxes and barrels.
"Silks?" Himura Kenshin's eyes roamed the cargo on the dock. "And where is the wine?"
"We've already loaded most of it, sir." A sailor gave a military salute to Kenshin. He waved him off with the back of his hand.
"Very well, jewels?" He turned his back, attending to other matters. He knew he didn't have much time. The ship was supposed to leave within the hour and everything had to be perfect, although he didn't know exactly what the emperor of Japan was going to do with all of this stuff. King Phillip of Portugal had made an unnecessarily long list in his opinion. He didn't have the heart to tell him that Emperor Go-Nara wouldn't care a thing about any of the material possessions. He read down through the excess.
Twenty-one royal envoys. 'Check'. Kenshin glanced over his shoulder, 'They're around here somewhere.'
A treasure chest filled with the finest jewels in the land. 'Being loaded.'
Large cases of fine French wine. 'Check.' He doubted the emperor had ever tasted alcoholics and snickered at the thought of a drunken royal.
Gold coins. 'Check.'
Missionaries. Kenshin grimaced. They were there, he just wished they weren't. It was extremely unlucky to take people of the cloth on a long voyage. They could perform funeral rites and made the sea perceive that you didn't trust her. Women too made the sea angry, since they competed with her beauty.
Ladies dresses for the Empress of Japan. 'Check.'
Ladies Perfume for the Empress. 'Check.'
Woman for the Emperor of Japan, Miss Kamiya Kaoru. To be kept under lock and key until destination reached. A sigh escaped Kenshin's lips. He knew the type of girl she would be, he had seen her kind so many times before on different excursions around the globe. The Portuguese royals always insisted taking a gift of a woman to the royalty of every country Kenshin visited. Something about representing the fine Portuguese race, Kenshin really didn't understand.
"Where is the girl, this Kamiya Kaoru?" he shouted above the hubbub. His mind began to paint a picture of what she might look like. 'She will be poor, that's for sure, they always are. She's probably spent half her life in prison for some minor offense. Of course she will be beautiful, she would not be chosen if she wasn't. She will be afraid and delicate, young, scared of the water and the ocean storm. Quiet, uneducated, illiterate most likely…"
"Here she is, chief." Kenshin turned around to see a rather plump sailor pulling a woman by the arm towards the ship.
"Get your lascivious paws off of me you despicable hell hound! Ugh!" THUMP.
"Uhh, oro?" The last noise had been the sound of the plump sailor being thrown upon the deck. He had been flung over the girls shoulder and landed squarely on his rear, stunned and blinking. The young woman dusted her hands off and placed them on her hips. She glared at Kenshin with a mix of hate and disgust.
She was very strikingly beautiful, he had guessed that right. She was an old time beautiful, as if she could spring out of a novel. Kenshin found himself thinking how much she resembled his long deceased mother when she had been young. The girls eyes shone bluer than the Atlantic and her eyelashes were longer than any Kenshin had ever seen. Ebony hair caressed her shoulders, blowing in the calm breeze.
She began to walk towards him defiantly. None of the other sailors made a move to stop her. He had been wrong about her wealth, she wore a long, high collar, blue dress accented in black ribbon. A large cameo brooch hung from her neck and a golden band rested around her left ring finger. She was well to do, there was no denying her status. And by the looks of the ring, she had been married before.
Delicate, she was not. Not the kind of delicate like one finds in a lily anyway. She resembled a tornado, a dangerous beauty, rushing up to him and matching her angered gaze with his passive purple eyes.
"Are you the captain of this rickety barrel?" She pointed an index finger towards the King's ship.
"Ahrem…yes, m'lady,Captain Himura at your service."
Kaoru smiled and looked pleased with herself. She reeled her head back as if she was going to laugh and then produced a huge spitwad, landing it clearly on Kenshin's polished black shoes.
"Oro?"
A cheer went up from a crowd on the docks. Kenshin hadn't noticed it before, but a large crowd of women had assimilated on the docks.
" Your lady? Your Lady!? I'm sorry, sir, I didn't realize that I was talking to Almighty God!" She screamed. "One year in a government prison and suddenly every man with half a centil is trying to lead me around and own me! You and your government officials thought keeping me in a concrete box would stop the equality revolution. NEVER! You can send me to hell if you like, but that won't stop change! " The ladies on the dock cheered again, waving their shawls in the air. They murmured her name in a mix of deep respect and excitement. She turned to face them, stretching out her arms towards them.
"Uh, Miss Kamiya, I nev….." She ignored him.
"Good women of the New Republic! I leave you now to embark on a monumental journey. The government says I am dangerous, and I say if equality is dangerous, then count me dangerous as well!"
The crowd cheered again. More and more supporters filtered in.
"But my dear friends, just because I have been exiled does not mean that our cause should die! Keep fighting against the injustices, and I shall fight to the death until I can return to you, my friends, and to the great country of Portugal!"
More cheering.
"I walk toward my exile with open arms and a free spirit, forever proud to be a WOMAN!" And with that, she turned on her heels, marching defiantly up the ramp towards the main deck. Kenshin
sighed and set his clipboard down, trailing after her.
"This is going to be a long two months…" he sighed as he tried to catch up with the defiant blue dress in front of him.
A/N: I realize that Kamiya Kaoru and Himura Kenshin aren't exactly Portuguese names, but I am keeping them, obviously. Plus, I am keeping the traditional order of last name first name for the Japanese names, but the truly Portuguese names (i.e. the characters that I make up) will be kept in western form, first name last name.
Well, there ya go! Flames and reviews are both welcome, so review away… otherwise, this will just turn into a one-shot! Till next time, toodles!
~Lara-Chan