Thanks to Eli Tan and shino for the reviews! Makes me happy...^^
****
Part 4
The Beginning of a Circle
****
The sea waves were very calming. Robin enjoyed pretty days like this. The sun's
rays were just past zenith and there were a few wispy clouds in the sky. Robin held a
book in her hands and sat on the deck taking in each word that would later lead her to the
Rio Poneglyph. It was times like these she wish she had her family and friends. Her past
was a clouded mystery, but she did remember some things vividly.
She remembered it was a cloudy, breezy day. The sun was not out and the
dandelion seedlings flew in the air. She held a book in her small hands and asked the
surrounding workers what the harder vocabulary was. They happily obliged, but were
also very busy at an excavation site. Her parents stood by her looking at pots and bones
that had seen better days.
It was when the rain began to mist down on them when the trouble started. Crews
covered the site with a tarp and ran for cover. Robin, hustled by her mother, tried to run
into the tent, but tripped over a root and dropped her book. She turned to pick it up when
she heard shots and screams. It was then when she feared the worst.
Running towards the tent, she found her parents on the ground with the crew, all
in a mixture of blood and dirt. There was no sign of what or who did the massacre, but
Robin seemed to have escaped the very worst. She called for help by snail-phone and was
able to get the marines on the other line. They arrived and brought the girl to a foster
home for where she could stay at temporarily before finding relatives. It was two weeks
later that she ran away.
Robin sat up and wiped her eyes clear of crystal tears. The sea really did look
beautiful...
"Ey, Robin. You can see the ship from over 'ere."
The man from the inn, whom she found out, was named Ruther, called from the
other end of the ship. Robin placed the bookmark in its proper place and walked over to
join the other man. The ship that they saw must have been tens of miles away, but even
from that far she could the see the mast that carried a pirate flag.
It was not that she had anything against pirates, but she did feel a little uneasy
around them since the incident that caused the bounty to be put on her head. She didn't
want to be associated with that crowd. Ruther then directed her to gather her things
because they would be boarding the ship at anytime in the next couple hours.
With all respects given, Ruther ended up being right about arriving in a couple
hours. Her arrival on the ship gathered many eyes and comments from the all-male crew.
Robin stayed behind Ruther, trusting him with her safety and protection. It was when
they arrived in front of a large, beautifully detailed wooden door when she felt a sinking
feeling rise in her stomach. She suddenly felt very nervous; so much that she had to grab
onto Ruther's pant leg for support. He looked down; black rolls dangling, and had a
smirk grow on his angular face.
The door opened with a loud creak and two men that were once inside exited the
room, both having scowls covering their faces. Robin kept her eyes on the floorboards as
she followed Ruther into the room. Seated in the center on a large throne-like chair sat a
man who had a large, bushy, gray, beard. To complete the visage of his face, his
eyebrows were also gray and bushy; his eyes black beads, and seemed to be quite short in
stature. He looked like a sort of old, physically challenged bear.
Ruther greeted his captain with ease and turned to introduce Robin when the
captain interrupted him with his own style of banter.
"She wanted, newly wanted. What 'er deal?"
Ruther gave a smile and pointed a thumb toward the girl.
"She finished 'im off. Done it quickly, too. Better than myself."
The captain hopped off his seat and circled Robin, keeping an eye on her as if he
were making s decision that could make or break her. The man stopped when he came to
Ruther for the third time and elbowed him in the shin. There was a small murmur of pain,
but was totally ignored by the captain when he turned and grabbed Robin's small hands.
"Wouldya be willin' to do another job?"
Robin almost allowed her composure to scatter. They wanted another job? It was
crazy... but she was getting paid very well. Depending on the amount, she might be able
to go to another island in a boat that she bought from the money she earned; it would be
the perfect plan... the only drawback was that she had to kill others in order to get the
money. She didn't want to become an emotionless killer, but she had yet to find a better
option in reaching her goals. It was a hard and trying decision that Robin had to make.
"Depends on the pay, sir."
She knew that respect was always good when dealing for better compensation; it
mainly meant that she would be getting more that she would expect, just for being polite.
A sweet deal when she needed it.
The captain's laugh rang in the room and caused Ruther to look at Robin with a
suspicious eye. The captain held out a hand that held three fingers up.
"I'll give ya three times as much than what you got for the last guy. That's nine
thousan', ya?"
Robin nodded slowly. Nine thousand bellies and the three thousand she had from
the last job. It was not a bad price, but to kill one person for this much? Why so much
money for a man?
"For only one man?"
The moment Robin said those words she instantly regretted it. She knew the price
was high, but questioning it could mean that she'd lose it all and that would bring her
back to being on the run with a small amount of bellies to help her survive.
"Kid, iz not jus' one man. Ya got three. Thas why I tripled da price. One man for
nine? Only real bounties will go along for somethin' like that. Wha you're doing is small
stuff."
"Small stuff?"
"Yeah, jus a little knock off 'ere an dere. Its not like dey are truly dangerous, but
ya may wanna watch yor back."
Robin nodded and thought the offer over again in her mind. The job was quite
simple, but now she had to get rid of more than one person. She didn't know how most
bounty hunters and assassins could do this, to kill with others without regret. It was hard
to kill one man, but to kill more than one person was something Robin didn't know if she
could do. She was young and as much as she had changed, she still considered herself
human.
"Fine. I want to get half the money in advance. I need supplies for when I arrive
at the destination."
The captain looked at Robin as if she had just suddenly grown another head,
which wasn't far off to what she actually could do. He began to guffaw again, beer in the
kegs shaking from the disruptive force of his voice. Robin looked over to where Ruther
stood and saw he had a large smile pasted on his face. What in the world was so funny
that any word she said had to be laughed at? It was bad for the self-esteem and the mind,
but she ignored it and asked what the problem was.
"Dere is no problem, kid. Ya mus have gotten a bad lead from somewhere. Ya're
gonna do da job here. I have got three mutinous members here on me ship an I want them
to meet an… unfortunate end."
Robin nodded again and looked at the floorboards below her. She really did need
the money...
"Just that, then I have to leave. I have things I need to start. I have travels that I
need to put forth."
The captain gave a curt nod in understanding and grabbed a purple velvet bag
with yellow trimming off of a nearby shelf and placed it on the table before Robin. The
clang of settling gold pieces told her that most of her payment would be fulfilled as soon
as possible, making her leaving also as quick as possible.
She soon left the captain's room and traveled towards the deck. She would not
think of sleeping with a pirate crew by herself since she was the only female on the ship.
Nightfall would soon approach and Robin wanted to make sure she could leave with no
problems.
The smell of gruel-like food filled the air and made Robin feel sick to her
stomach. She knew that on big ships with large crews like this good food was hard to
come by and very expensive when bought for a crew of over a hundred men. A thing like
that was a luxury and could not be afforded when there was little money to be spent.
Cheap food was easier to get and therefore was supplied to the crewmembers at
mealtimes. A smaller crew would definitely be better off in the meal department.
Robin had waited till most of the men had finished their dinner before she went
down to get herself something. She didn't want to make any close ties with the men so
leaving and killing would be a bit easier on her conscience. She knew that jobs like this
paid well, but ethics and morals always came to mind when situations like this came up.
She had wondered how men and women alike who were known for murder could do it so
easily and not have it drone in on their minds. Even though she was so young she was at
the age where she knew the difference between 'right' and 'wrong'. What she had to do
was considered 'wrong'.
Yet when taking the other view she could see the 'right' side also. It was in a
stripped sense the idea of survival of the fittest and she happened to be the fittest. But
when looking back to morals and ethics, what she was doing was so very wrong.
The food looked and smelled like something that had begun to spoil and should
have been thrown out ages ago, but it was surprisingly tasty. Some of the crew who had
lingered in the mess hall when she arrived had stared at her with interest and confusion. It
was not everyday they saw a girl on board of their ship and definitely none so appealing
as Robin. She had eyes that men would gawk over and black hair so fine that it was also
seen as exotic. Even though she was only an eight-year-old, she was quite aware of men's
main intentions when they spoke, joked, and chided behind her back.
She felt a hand gently land on her should she was about to release her power when
she turned and saw the man who owned the hand, Ruther. She dropped her guards a bit,
but still stayed on alert for some other seemingly men that roamed the ship looking for
some fun. He gave a smile and placed his bowl on the table as he took the seat next to
her.
"How ye doin'?"
Robin shrugged and kept her eyes on the bowl of food in front of her. She knew
that Ruther had helped her in the past, but she couldn't get attached; she had to leave it all
that night.
"Wha shut ya up so fas?"
"I just need to get this done and go. Please don't give me a reason to stay."
Ruther looked at the girl with a shocked expression written on his face. He
understood that companionship was hard to get at times like these, but this girl readily
rejected kindness in an instant. Yet she spoke the truth, if they had gotten to know each
other better he would try to keep her from leaving, not only for her own benefit, but his as
well. If he would befriend her he'd want to keep a close eye on her in almost a parent-like
way. Avoiding each other seemed to be the only solution to the arising problem, though
he didn't like the idea.
"I get ya. I'll get ya wen yare needed."
Ruther rose and Robin kept her eyes on the bowl as he went to another table.
"Thank you for understanding."
A few more hours passed and Robin gave up on reading her book as dusk set to
night. It was a beautiful transformation she would never get tired of and reading in the
black air didn't motivate her in the least. It was around the time that most of the men took
out the liquor and began to sing off key when Ruther had walked up to her asking her to
follow him below deck. Robin got a few leers from the men as she walked by them, but
they mainly kept to themselves, almost as if they knew what she was capable of.
Ruther and Robin arrived in front a red painted door and with a flick of his wrist
entered through the open door into the room. It was a dank, poorly lit place, but soon was
brighter once Ruther had lit a few lanterns. In the center stood a table and some cards
with a large pitcher of ale in the middle. Robin had a sick feeling that this would be the
last game that the men in the room would be having.
It only took a few moments of silence before voices were heard coming from
down the hall. The men soon entered the room looking slightly soused from the activities
coming from upper deck. They eyed Robin eagerly, but cringed when their eyes came
across the glare that Ruther gave each of them. Robin knew it was all a matter of time
before the job would be finished. She felt the knot that began in the pit of her stomach
grow into something that was almost uncontrollable. She wanted her job to be over with
as soon as possible.
The captain entered the room in relaxed strides and the men's looks of aloofness
stopped suddenly and turned into glances of feigned respect. Robin knew all these men
must have been guilty, but why have her do the killing? There must be a reason... She
tried to ignore the locking of the door and them men's expressions turning from feigned
respect into terror filled. They knew what was coming; this was going to be harder than
she thought.
The captain gave Robin a cue that meant to do her stuff. The men looked over to
her with looks of mercy in their eyes. She knew she couldn't be affect by these people,
she had to leave to find the Rio Poneglyph, to set to her own dreams. She tapped into her
power and saw an arm grow out of each man's shoulder and wrap around the neck;
placing them in some kind of headlock. The men gasped for air as each began to
suffocate. It took a while, but each grew limp and fell to the ground as their lungs gave
out under the stress. Robin looked from the men to the captain and Ruther since they
were the only other ones in the room that weren't dead or unconscious.
The captain looked as if he had found something that he could use, a tool for his
own bidding. Robin didn't like his look and decided that she really needed to leave. She
turned to look at Ruther, only to find his mouth open trying to comprehend what was
going on. She looked to the floor, ashamed for her curse and walked towards the door,
only to find that it was still locked. She turned towards Ruther only to find him behind
the captain, who seemed to start going at her with an air of deception about him. She
knew what he wanted and would get it over her dead body.
"Sir, you come one step closer and I swear I'll make you regret it!"
The captain laughed and placed a hand on his hip.
"Kid, ya gonna get nothing if ya do that to me."
"If that's the way you're going to have it, well then I'd rather not get the money!"
Ruther gave Robin a look of surprise and then looked back towards his captain,
who was seething with the defiance of his whims. He walked towards her and held out a
hand intending it to go around her small neck, but was stopped by a knife to the throat.
Ruther only looked in awe as Robin's summoned arm held his captain at bay. She looked
at him, hoping he got the idea for the key, but didn't seem to get through to him. An arm
appeared out of his side and grabbed the key ring from him before he was aware of what
was happening. The arm threw the ring to the door, which was then caught by another
arm and then the door was soon unlocked by the work of quick hands.
Robin backed out of the room slowly, watching to see if either man would make a
move to go after her, but saw that each was too stunned to do anything. She turned on her
heels and fled from the room and crawled her way back up the steps to the deck above
her. She wormed her way through men and jumped into a small lifeboat, which held her
bag and books in it. She had arms appear at the top and lower her down to the dark sea
below.
As the boat pulled away from the ship and glided to freedom, Robin heard yells of
protests and outrage echo in the night air. She turned her back to the ship and kept her
focus on what was ahead of her. She wanted nothing more than to just keep her focus on
the present and future and not the past. Nothing ever good comes from the past, the only
outlook needed was the one pointing to the future and Robin was now following it.
****
Part 4
The Beginning of a Circle
****
The sea waves were very calming. Robin enjoyed pretty days like this. The sun's
rays were just past zenith and there were a few wispy clouds in the sky. Robin held a
book in her hands and sat on the deck taking in each word that would later lead her to the
Rio Poneglyph. It was times like these she wish she had her family and friends. Her past
was a clouded mystery, but she did remember some things vividly.
She remembered it was a cloudy, breezy day. The sun was not out and the
dandelion seedlings flew in the air. She held a book in her small hands and asked the
surrounding workers what the harder vocabulary was. They happily obliged, but were
also very busy at an excavation site. Her parents stood by her looking at pots and bones
that had seen better days.
It was when the rain began to mist down on them when the trouble started. Crews
covered the site with a tarp and ran for cover. Robin, hustled by her mother, tried to run
into the tent, but tripped over a root and dropped her book. She turned to pick it up when
she heard shots and screams. It was then when she feared the worst.
Running towards the tent, she found her parents on the ground with the crew, all
in a mixture of blood and dirt. There was no sign of what or who did the massacre, but
Robin seemed to have escaped the very worst. She called for help by snail-phone and was
able to get the marines on the other line. They arrived and brought the girl to a foster
home for where she could stay at temporarily before finding relatives. It was two weeks
later that she ran away.
Robin sat up and wiped her eyes clear of crystal tears. The sea really did look
beautiful...
"Ey, Robin. You can see the ship from over 'ere."
The man from the inn, whom she found out, was named Ruther, called from the
other end of the ship. Robin placed the bookmark in its proper place and walked over to
join the other man. The ship that they saw must have been tens of miles away, but even
from that far she could the see the mast that carried a pirate flag.
It was not that she had anything against pirates, but she did feel a little uneasy
around them since the incident that caused the bounty to be put on her head. She didn't
want to be associated with that crowd. Ruther then directed her to gather her things
because they would be boarding the ship at anytime in the next couple hours.
With all respects given, Ruther ended up being right about arriving in a couple
hours. Her arrival on the ship gathered many eyes and comments from the all-male crew.
Robin stayed behind Ruther, trusting him with her safety and protection. It was when
they arrived in front of a large, beautifully detailed wooden door when she felt a sinking
feeling rise in her stomach. She suddenly felt very nervous; so much that she had to grab
onto Ruther's pant leg for support. He looked down; black rolls dangling, and had a
smirk grow on his angular face.
The door opened with a loud creak and two men that were once inside exited the
room, both having scowls covering their faces. Robin kept her eyes on the floorboards as
she followed Ruther into the room. Seated in the center on a large throne-like chair sat a
man who had a large, bushy, gray, beard. To complete the visage of his face, his
eyebrows were also gray and bushy; his eyes black beads, and seemed to be quite short in
stature. He looked like a sort of old, physically challenged bear.
Ruther greeted his captain with ease and turned to introduce Robin when the
captain interrupted him with his own style of banter.
"She wanted, newly wanted. What 'er deal?"
Ruther gave a smile and pointed a thumb toward the girl.
"She finished 'im off. Done it quickly, too. Better than myself."
The captain hopped off his seat and circled Robin, keeping an eye on her as if he
were making s decision that could make or break her. The man stopped when he came to
Ruther for the third time and elbowed him in the shin. There was a small murmur of pain,
but was totally ignored by the captain when he turned and grabbed Robin's small hands.
"Wouldya be willin' to do another job?"
Robin almost allowed her composure to scatter. They wanted another job? It was
crazy... but she was getting paid very well. Depending on the amount, she might be able
to go to another island in a boat that she bought from the money she earned; it would be
the perfect plan... the only drawback was that she had to kill others in order to get the
money. She didn't want to become an emotionless killer, but she had yet to find a better
option in reaching her goals. It was a hard and trying decision that Robin had to make.
"Depends on the pay, sir."
She knew that respect was always good when dealing for better compensation; it
mainly meant that she would be getting more that she would expect, just for being polite.
A sweet deal when she needed it.
The captain's laugh rang in the room and caused Ruther to look at Robin with a
suspicious eye. The captain held out a hand that held three fingers up.
"I'll give ya three times as much than what you got for the last guy. That's nine
thousan', ya?"
Robin nodded slowly. Nine thousand bellies and the three thousand she had from
the last job. It was not a bad price, but to kill one person for this much? Why so much
money for a man?
"For only one man?"
The moment Robin said those words she instantly regretted it. She knew the price
was high, but questioning it could mean that she'd lose it all and that would bring her
back to being on the run with a small amount of bellies to help her survive.
"Kid, iz not jus' one man. Ya got three. Thas why I tripled da price. One man for
nine? Only real bounties will go along for somethin' like that. Wha you're doing is small
stuff."
"Small stuff?"
"Yeah, jus a little knock off 'ere an dere. Its not like dey are truly dangerous, but
ya may wanna watch yor back."
Robin nodded and thought the offer over again in her mind. The job was quite
simple, but now she had to get rid of more than one person. She didn't know how most
bounty hunters and assassins could do this, to kill with others without regret. It was hard
to kill one man, but to kill more than one person was something Robin didn't know if she
could do. She was young and as much as she had changed, she still considered herself
human.
"Fine. I want to get half the money in advance. I need supplies for when I arrive
at the destination."
The captain looked at Robin as if she had just suddenly grown another head,
which wasn't far off to what she actually could do. He began to guffaw again, beer in the
kegs shaking from the disruptive force of his voice. Robin looked over to where Ruther
stood and saw he had a large smile pasted on his face. What in the world was so funny
that any word she said had to be laughed at? It was bad for the self-esteem and the mind,
but she ignored it and asked what the problem was.
"Dere is no problem, kid. Ya mus have gotten a bad lead from somewhere. Ya're
gonna do da job here. I have got three mutinous members here on me ship an I want them
to meet an… unfortunate end."
Robin nodded again and looked at the floorboards below her. She really did need
the money...
"Just that, then I have to leave. I have things I need to start. I have travels that I
need to put forth."
The captain gave a curt nod in understanding and grabbed a purple velvet bag
with yellow trimming off of a nearby shelf and placed it on the table before Robin. The
clang of settling gold pieces told her that most of her payment would be fulfilled as soon
as possible, making her leaving also as quick as possible.
She soon left the captain's room and traveled towards the deck. She would not
think of sleeping with a pirate crew by herself since she was the only female on the ship.
Nightfall would soon approach and Robin wanted to make sure she could leave with no
problems.
The smell of gruel-like food filled the air and made Robin feel sick to her
stomach. She knew that on big ships with large crews like this good food was hard to
come by and very expensive when bought for a crew of over a hundred men. A thing like
that was a luxury and could not be afforded when there was little money to be spent.
Cheap food was easier to get and therefore was supplied to the crewmembers at
mealtimes. A smaller crew would definitely be better off in the meal department.
Robin had waited till most of the men had finished their dinner before she went
down to get herself something. She didn't want to make any close ties with the men so
leaving and killing would be a bit easier on her conscience. She knew that jobs like this
paid well, but ethics and morals always came to mind when situations like this came up.
She had wondered how men and women alike who were known for murder could do it so
easily and not have it drone in on their minds. Even though she was so young she was at
the age where she knew the difference between 'right' and 'wrong'. What she had to do
was considered 'wrong'.
Yet when taking the other view she could see the 'right' side also. It was in a
stripped sense the idea of survival of the fittest and she happened to be the fittest. But
when looking back to morals and ethics, what she was doing was so very wrong.
The food looked and smelled like something that had begun to spoil and should
have been thrown out ages ago, but it was surprisingly tasty. Some of the crew who had
lingered in the mess hall when she arrived had stared at her with interest and confusion. It
was not everyday they saw a girl on board of their ship and definitely none so appealing
as Robin. She had eyes that men would gawk over and black hair so fine that it was also
seen as exotic. Even though she was only an eight-year-old, she was quite aware of men's
main intentions when they spoke, joked, and chided behind her back.
She felt a hand gently land on her should she was about to release her power when
she turned and saw the man who owned the hand, Ruther. She dropped her guards a bit,
but still stayed on alert for some other seemingly men that roamed the ship looking for
some fun. He gave a smile and placed his bowl on the table as he took the seat next to
her.
"How ye doin'?"
Robin shrugged and kept her eyes on the bowl of food in front of her. She knew
that Ruther had helped her in the past, but she couldn't get attached; she had to leave it all
that night.
"Wha shut ya up so fas?"
"I just need to get this done and go. Please don't give me a reason to stay."
Ruther looked at the girl with a shocked expression written on his face. He
understood that companionship was hard to get at times like these, but this girl readily
rejected kindness in an instant. Yet she spoke the truth, if they had gotten to know each
other better he would try to keep her from leaving, not only for her own benefit, but his as
well. If he would befriend her he'd want to keep a close eye on her in almost a parent-like
way. Avoiding each other seemed to be the only solution to the arising problem, though
he didn't like the idea.
"I get ya. I'll get ya wen yare needed."
Ruther rose and Robin kept her eyes on the bowl as he went to another table.
"Thank you for understanding."
A few more hours passed and Robin gave up on reading her book as dusk set to
night. It was a beautiful transformation she would never get tired of and reading in the
black air didn't motivate her in the least. It was around the time that most of the men took
out the liquor and began to sing off key when Ruther had walked up to her asking her to
follow him below deck. Robin got a few leers from the men as she walked by them, but
they mainly kept to themselves, almost as if they knew what she was capable of.
Ruther and Robin arrived in front a red painted door and with a flick of his wrist
entered through the open door into the room. It was a dank, poorly lit place, but soon was
brighter once Ruther had lit a few lanterns. In the center stood a table and some cards
with a large pitcher of ale in the middle. Robin had a sick feeling that this would be the
last game that the men in the room would be having.
It only took a few moments of silence before voices were heard coming from
down the hall. The men soon entered the room looking slightly soused from the activities
coming from upper deck. They eyed Robin eagerly, but cringed when their eyes came
across the glare that Ruther gave each of them. Robin knew it was all a matter of time
before the job would be finished. She felt the knot that began in the pit of her stomach
grow into something that was almost uncontrollable. She wanted her job to be over with
as soon as possible.
The captain entered the room in relaxed strides and the men's looks of aloofness
stopped suddenly and turned into glances of feigned respect. Robin knew all these men
must have been guilty, but why have her do the killing? There must be a reason... She
tried to ignore the locking of the door and them men's expressions turning from feigned
respect into terror filled. They knew what was coming; this was going to be harder than
she thought.
The captain gave Robin a cue that meant to do her stuff. The men looked over to
her with looks of mercy in their eyes. She knew she couldn't be affect by these people,
she had to leave to find the Rio Poneglyph, to set to her own dreams. She tapped into her
power and saw an arm grow out of each man's shoulder and wrap around the neck;
placing them in some kind of headlock. The men gasped for air as each began to
suffocate. It took a while, but each grew limp and fell to the ground as their lungs gave
out under the stress. Robin looked from the men to the captain and Ruther since they
were the only other ones in the room that weren't dead or unconscious.
The captain looked as if he had found something that he could use, a tool for his
own bidding. Robin didn't like his look and decided that she really needed to leave. She
turned to look at Ruther, only to find his mouth open trying to comprehend what was
going on. She looked to the floor, ashamed for her curse and walked towards the door,
only to find that it was still locked. She turned towards Ruther only to find him behind
the captain, who seemed to start going at her with an air of deception about him. She
knew what he wanted and would get it over her dead body.
"Sir, you come one step closer and I swear I'll make you regret it!"
The captain laughed and placed a hand on his hip.
"Kid, ya gonna get nothing if ya do that to me."
"If that's the way you're going to have it, well then I'd rather not get the money!"
Ruther gave Robin a look of surprise and then looked back towards his captain,
who was seething with the defiance of his whims. He walked towards her and held out a
hand intending it to go around her small neck, but was stopped by a knife to the throat.
Ruther only looked in awe as Robin's summoned arm held his captain at bay. She looked
at him, hoping he got the idea for the key, but didn't seem to get through to him. An arm
appeared out of his side and grabbed the key ring from him before he was aware of what
was happening. The arm threw the ring to the door, which was then caught by another
arm and then the door was soon unlocked by the work of quick hands.
Robin backed out of the room slowly, watching to see if either man would make a
move to go after her, but saw that each was too stunned to do anything. She turned on her
heels and fled from the room and crawled her way back up the steps to the deck above
her. She wormed her way through men and jumped into a small lifeboat, which held her
bag and books in it. She had arms appear at the top and lower her down to the dark sea
below.
As the boat pulled away from the ship and glided to freedom, Robin heard yells of
protests and outrage echo in the night air. She turned her back to the ship and kept her
focus on what was ahead of her. She wanted nothing more than to just keep her focus on
the present and future and not the past. Nothing ever good comes from the past, the only
outlook needed was the one pointing to the future and Robin was now following it.