Ahoy, mateys! Hope ye're all doin' great! Let's get a first glance at our pirates, shall we?
Enjoy!
Pirates? How on earth was that possible? We've only just left! Even if they were waiting to ambush the convoy right outside the harbor, they'd have been seen by the coast watch.
"Please tell me you didn't hear pirates too…" said Mokuba.
I climb up on a barrel to look out through one of the portholes. In the distance, I can see of of the triplet battleships, the White Wing I believe, much further than it's supposed to be, heading straight towards another ship. That rogue ship has a black flag floating at the top of the mainmast. I can't see much clearer but I don't have to to know there's a skull on it too.
"What do you see?" asks Mokuba.
"The pirate ship is far away and the White Wing is pursuing."
I frown. Something is not right. There's so much movement up there that the whole ship trembles under the footsteps and shouts coming from the upper decks. The enemy ship has been spotted far away and one of the protectors is already on it's way to block it. So why is the ship in such a panic when the Blue Eyes and Three Heads are supposed to be keeping guard?
'Unless for some reason, the Golden Whale is left wide open.'
Jumping off the barrel I rush to the other side of the room and climb up wooden cases to look at the other side. My heart freezes in my chest when I see the Blue Eyes as far from the Golden Whale as the White Wing is. I can't see the Three-Heads and the Blue Eyes is headed towards another rogue ship in the distance.
"Bait," I mutter. "Lure the defense away to make an opening."
An organized attack? That's impossible. Pirates don't strategize like this, they always pick easy targets such as lone merchant or travel ships. Not to mention they're far too reckless to agree to an alliance with not one but two other crews. Seto was clear about that; pirates do not share. What is going on? Wait. Assuming there's a third rogue ship to get the Three-Heads away as well, wouldn't that mean there'd be a fourth ship to attack the Whale? But if that was the case, why would Seto leave the carrier defenseless?
A scream then rings in our ears followed by the sound of something falling in the water. I look out the porthole and my eyes widen in shock. Captain Nesbitt emerges from the water, his head bleeding heavily. One by one, sailors are falling in, and clearly not willingly. Some are wounded. It hits me. They're already onboard. Brainstorming of how is a waste of time. I grab Mokuba's hand and pull him behind me into the hallway and towards the stairs.
"Where are we going?" he asks.
"We have to get off this ship now!" I tell him. "When we get to the main deck, don't think about it. Just run and jump, alright? We're still close to the coast, we can swim there. Understood?"
He doesn't reply but I sense his hand squeeze mine as the realization sinks in. My heart beats in my chest like it never has, so much that it hurts. This was to supposed to be my return to the sea, my quest to my heritage. Now only my life matters. It takes forever for us to reach the stairs and when we do make it up to the higher level, a painful scream reaches our ears.
"Is that all the famous Kaiba company's got for seamen? Pathetic. Come on, men! The armory is ours!"
I come to halt and Mokuba slams in my back. Too late. Our way out is blocked.
"W-What now?" asks the panicking boy.
They're blocking our way. If we try to go up, they'll kill us. We can't get out. Hide. We need to hide. Whipping around, I race back down to the lowest deck and back to the food storage. They're bound to be more interested by the merchandise rather than the food, at least at first. That reasoning is the best I can come up with. I look around frantically searching for a hiding spot. Those few seconds seem like an eternity, before I finally push Mokuba behind the large pile of stacked up wheat bags. In a wooden case there, are extra burlap bags which judging from the smell were used to carry potatoes.
"Get down," I order as I grab the largest one.
He does as I say and I cover us with the large canvas. Now that I've finally stopped moving, I can feel my heart still trying to escape my chest and pounding in my head stronger than ever. Every part of me is shaking. What now? If we try to get out, they'll kill us. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can do!
I glance at Mokuba. He's not shaking but looking into nothingness, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Shock still paralyzed him. It doesn't even look like he's breathing.
"It's my fault, isn't it?" he mutters but not to me. "Old Tom says stowaways bring bad luck to ships… If I hadn't come here, this wouldn't have… would it?"
The voice is monotone but tears then drip down his cheeks and sobs shake him. I want to reassure him. I do. Nothing breaks more my heart than seeing one of my two dearest people like this. My voice doesn't come out and my own teeth start to shatter. I can't move. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. But when his sobs become louder, I bite my lip before wrapping my arms around him. I hold him against me as much to choke the noise as to calm him down.
"It's not your fault. But we can't let them find us." Curse my shaking voice! "We have to wait and be quiet. That's all we can do right now. We have to be quiet, Moki."
The noise then becomes a strange gurgle as the boy desperately tries to quiet himself down. When he does, I loosen my hold on him. I'm not certain which of us is shaking the most now. Then, eyes still filled with tears, with a cracking voice, I hear those words of hope.
"He'll find us, right?"
He says nothing more and only tries to choke his own fear. Brave child.
"Seto will find us," I whisper, rubbing his back.
He'd have to first chase away the three rogue ships and then come back. But knowing Baron Seto Kaiba, if anyone can do this in record time it's him. There's nothing else I can do other than keep us out of sight until then. The footsteps and shouts are still making a ruckus up there. They're closer now that they've found the armory. It's only a matter of time before they come down there.
'I don't understand. How did they embark on the Whale? If there had been four ships, there's no way Seto wouldn't have noticed them. He'd have gotten suspicious at the second one. So either that fourth ship was small enough to sneak up on the Whale unnoticed… or there wasn't one. That makes even less sense.'
Neither of us dares to talk anymore. I close my eyes to listen to the noises. There are no more sounds of metal hitting against metal or gunshots anymore. What I hear now are not just cheers however. There's still a lot of moving around and unclear orders being shouted. Most of the Whale's crew has to be dead, captured or, most likely, overboard. A shiver of fear travels down my spine and I clench Moki's shirt. That fear is familiar. I've been scared like this before. Time goes by for what feels like an eternity. Suddenly, much closer footsteps reach our ears, approaching fast.
"Aha!" says a voice from the entrance. "Finally! Food! I'm starvin'. Come on, get in on this."
"Yeah, I don't think so," replies another one. "I like havin' me head on me shoulders. That Captain'll have us whipped if we take anythin' more than our share."
"Do what ye want, ye lily-livered wimp. I'm hungry, I'm eatin'. I ain't scared o' the bastard."
The familiar sound of someone biting into an apple rings. He's near the barrels. Good, that's in the opposite corner. I'm guessing the other one is at the entrance.
"You really have a death wish. Take it from an ol' jack. That Captain ain't no softy. Nor's his quartermaster."
"Well, well, well," suddenly said a new, deep voice. "Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?"
Slow and loud footsteps enter the room, adding to the already ominous atmosphere. Both Moki and I hold our breath.
"Mr Bakura!" exclaimed the first one. "It's not what ye think, Sir…"
"What I think is that you stuff your faces while we still need to get this huge ass ship to its destination and that you're already picking at the tribute. Am I wrong so far?"
The way this guy speaks is much more proper than the two others. Seto says it's not unusual for pirate leaders to have some sort of education. It usually grants them higher status. There was a moment of silence.
"Apologies, Sir," mumbled the first one. "T'won't happen again…"
"Indeed not."
A gunshot rings. I jump but thankfully, bring my hands to my and Mokuba's mouths before either of us can scream and give us away. We stare at each other and his terror struck eyes beg me for reassurance. But still, there's nothing I can do other than keep us quiet. The sound of something heavy hitting the floor is followed by a plea.
"Hey, I didn't do nothin'," said the second one, defensively. "I swear on me mother's head!"
"Shut up. The only reason I'm not shooting you right now, is because we're already low on ABs. Get back to work. If I find you slacking again, I'll feed you to the sharks myself."
"A-Aye, Sir."
The sailor hurries away and I hear the only man left sigh. "What the bloody hell was that idiot thinking? Crews don't mix. Well, at least it's almost over. Better clean up before the rats get in."
There were more footsteps followed by a brief pause and then the sound of something being dragged across the floor. I wait for the sound to die away to breath normally and remove my hands.
"Did you hear?" whispers Mokuba. "They're moving the ship! If we get too far from the coast, we won't be able to make it back swimming."
Curses! Everything is just getting worse. If we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait until they reached another coast and get there. Who knows how long that would take? The longer it did, the further from Seto we'll be and who knows how far from home.
"Wait," I said. "This is a transporter. There has to be smaller boats to carry merchandise to and from land when ports are to small to let it anchor there."
"But they're either kept at the very front of the ship or attached to the sides," he replied, deploying his knowledge of ships. "How are we going to get there without them noticing?"
Excellent question. The only thing I can think of is waiting for nightfall. But that's too long! Who knows how far we'll be from the coast by then? Besides, we won't be able to see a thing in the night. But when else could we sneak by without getting noticed… Someone on the upper decks shouts something about needing more people to handle something. More footsteps and shouts follow.
"Right now…" I mutter. "That man from earlier said something about not having enough ABs. Those are sailors, isn't that right?"
The boy nods. "It means Able-Bodied Seamen."
They've tossed overboard the crew of the Whale. They probably don't have enough men and are experiencing trouble navigating it. That's why they're so much shouting and movement. They have to get this ship somewhere to get back on their own. If it's one of the three ships back there, then they didn't think this plan through. Engaging each of Seto's triplet battle ships one-on-one is no easy task. In fact, they don't stand a chance. If they're expecting one of the three rogue ships to come get them, that won't work. Too risky. No, they'd have a fourth ship waiting for them somewhere. That's much smarter. But whoever orchestrated that plan, was using the three other ships as bait. Now that is pirate work.
'Think Yugi,' I tell myself.
"What do you mean 'right now?" asks Mokuba. "You want to just run across the main deck hoping we're not caught? That's not going to work."
"No. We have to blend in."
"How?"
I look at our clothes. The advantage is that I can pass as a boy. But our clothes are far too clean and rich looking. Especially his. He's wearing his school uniform. Reaching inside my waistcoat, I grab the dagger Seto gave me and proceed to cut off all the decorative golden buttons from the sleeves of my white shirt before rolling them up to my elbows. I then get rid of my shoes and stockings. Too fancy. After that, I shred the bottom half of my breeches.
"You're not seriously going to…"
"I can't think of anything else." I grab my hat and begin cutting off every decorative stitch off, effectively ruining it. "First, I'm going to do some reconnaissance and find where the boats are. You stay here."
His eyes widen in panic. "What? Yugi, no! That's too dangerous. What if they catch you?"
"What choice do we have?" I nearly shout.
He throws me a confused look as we both realize just how scared I truly am. My hand clutching the dagger is shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Maybe he's right. Maybe it's an awful idea. But it's just the only one I can think of.
"Then I'm coming with you," he insists.
"You can't, we'd be far too suspicious. Just wait here for me, stay hidden. I promise, I'll be back in less than an hour. Deal?"
My smile is forced and I'm sure he can tell. But if it can reassure him only a little bit then it's worth it. After a few seconds, he nods. After a moment of reflexion, I hand him the dagger. If something does happen to me, then I'd rather give him a fighting chance.
"I'll be back," I say, crushing him against me one more time. "I promise."
Standing up on my shaking legs, I put my now ruined tricorn on my head after passing my head on my headscarf to make sure it covered everything. I instruct Mokuba to stay hidden under the burlap bag until I come find him and carefully make my way to the staircase. Of my breath or heartbeat, I'm not certain which is the loudest. To me, both are echoing throughout the ship and I fear they'll give me away. I close my eyes and take a deeper breath. Seto would say to obstruct everything else from the objective.
'I'm not trying to hide. I'm trying to blend in.'
One more deep breath and I walk up the stairs as I normally would, while working on my sailor posture. Slouching, letting my arms swing, walking fast… I reach the third lower deck. The eating, kitchen and infirmary area. It's quiet. It seems no one is there. I keep moving and get up on the gun deck. There, on the other hand, are some of them. A small group of men admiring the canons and weaponry.
"Would'ye look at these beauties?" said a bearded man, crouching next to a canon. "Captain Arcana'll definitely ask those for his share. Bout time ours got an upgrade."
"I ain't too sure bout that," replied the other. "The Captain o' the Millennium said everythin' was gonna be split equally. We might get a fourth of all of it. T'was the deal."
"Aye. The man be a real persuasive demon. Hell, I ain't gonna be surprised if he was the devil himself. But our Captain be a real buccaneer. If he wants somethin', he gets it or else."
"Ain't that right?"
The men's raw, unbridled laughter makes me feel naked. I suddenly regret not having Seto's dagger. Then I remember that this is also the armory deck. There has to be knives there. With a little luck, I might get my hand on a loaded pistol. Blend in, don't hide. I step into the room, keeping my eyes on the door that leads to the weaponry and walk as confidently and naturally as I can.
"Oi, lad!"
I freeze. Curses. I turn to them, but keep my head down. The one speaking to me is the bearded man.
"Where d'ye think ye're goin'? Ye're not thinkin' of takin' anythin', are ye? Ya'll be made to walk the plank if ye do."
"I-I need a knife," I reply making my voice as deep as I can.
"Arn't ye listenin'? Everythin' here's part o' the tribute. None gets to touch till all the crews are back together. We're here to make sure of that."
All the crews? He must mean when all the four ships will have meet up. It really was an alliance. What did it take for four different crews to agree to work together? Makes me wonder; why are the pirates here seem to be a mix from different crews? I force the analytical thoughts away and get back on the subject at hand.
"But I really need a knife," I say. "The quartermaster told me to work the ropes on the mast. He'll have me whipped if I take too long…"
As expected, they say nothing and stare at each other. It seems the quartermaster is a real terror amongst all the men on this ship. They whisper at each other before one of them sighs, takes a knife out of his boot and tosses it at me. I catch what seems like a rusty but solid blade. Much less elegant than the one Seto gave me. But something I could use none the less.
"Ain't ye a sorry sprog? Ain't even got a knife of yer own."
They laugh again and I bite my lips to keep myself from thanking him and nod instead before hurrying out. Once out, I lean on the wall and let out the heavy breath I've been holding in. That was too close. But I can't stop here. I put the knife in my waistcoat and go up the first lower deck. It's empty. No wonder, if the quartermaster is having everyone work to compensate for the lack of sailors. No one gets to rest. Perfect. The more occupied they are, the less they'll pay attention to me. Still, the prospect of walking in the middle a pirate crew is about as tempting as going for a swim in the middle of shark infested waters.
'Focus. Find the boats, find a way to get one in the water, get back to Moki.'
With that self-encouragement, I walk up the last flight of stairs to the main deck. The sunlight burns bright and the moment my foot makes contact with the hot wood, I flinch. Taking my shoes off was not such a brilliant idea after all. But it was better than being given away by them. I'll just have to grit my teeth and deal with it.
As expected, most of them are here, working to make the ship sail. The scene is strangely familiar. It's just like when the Bleu Eyes departed. Everyone moves, to each his job… In a way, even a pirate crew has to be organized to function properly.
'Don't get in the way. No one will notice you.'
A glance at the poop deck tells me no one is overseeing the whole process. Not enough men, all hands needed. This is the only time I'll get this chance. I move towards the front of the ship, matching the pacing of the people around me. Despite the lack of men, they'd managed to already get out of sight from the escort ships. However, the coast was still very much in sight. Which was good for us.
"Get a move on, you scurvy dogs! This ship won't move itself! You call yourselves seamen? Will somebody get those bloody canons attached properly?"
On a shroud leading up to the main mast, rings the voice from earlier. The man —whom I can only see from the back— has long shaggy white hair and wears a long black coat over his clothes. I turn my back to him quickly and keep walking. What have they called him in the food storage? Mr Bakura? No doubt he is the designated quartermaster.
'Forget him. Focus Yugi.'
Finally, I spot the boats. Four of them, laid down on their sides at the very front of the ship. But as I get closer I realize that they're not as small as they look. It'll take all of my strength and Moki's to even hope to move it. Not to mention, there is no way to do this without bringing attention to ourselves. I silently curse before remembering what Moki said about sometimes carriers having boats attached to their sides. Glancing over the edge, I indeed find one. All I have to do is cut the rope and it'll land on the water. A wave of relief comes over me and I sigh. Now all we have to do is find the best opportunity. I look at the coast again. The Whale really is sailing alongside it. No doubt on its way to the rendezvous.
'If they keep on this course, then waiting for nightfall might not be a bad idea…'
"I swear, does everyone on this bloody ship have a death wish?"
Whipping around, I find myself face to face with the quartermaster and my heart nearly stops. His eyes are throwing daggers at me. He seems young. Maybe as young as Seto even. But that hardly matters. This is the man who shot someone dead without a second thought not an hour ago!
"Let me make this very clear for you, powder monkey; I don't care if you're a bloody brat. The punishment's the same for slacking. From which damn crew are you anyways? I don't remember agreeing to having useless sprogs onboard for this."
"I uh…" What am I supposed to answer to that?
"Slacker and thick-headed. You're from Arcana's crew, aren't you? It's a miracle you all aren't dead from sheer stupidity already." His eyebrows came closer together and he suddenly started looking me up and down. "Where were you affected during the operation?"
His hand goes up to his belt, where I can see a sword and a pistol. My insides freeze. If I can't answer that correctly, I'm as good as dead.
"Oi! Quartermaster!" suddenly shouts a voice from the other side of the deck. "Ye'll want to see this. We've got ourselves a rat!"
Without so much as throwing another glance at me, the quartermaster quickly makes his way towards the main deck. I take a breath of relief but it only lasts until another familiar voice reaches my ears.
"Let go off me, pirate scum!"
A group of men are gathered in front of the entrance to the lower decks. One of them, a shirtless tall black man, is holding Mokuba by the arms while the boy struggles with all his might. Everything freezes around me and without even realizing, I'm running across the Whale. I pass the quartermaster before he can get there, and before I know it, the knife is in my hands and I shove the blade inside the shirtless man's arm.
"Arg!" he lets out, letting go off Mokuba.
But at that exact moment, I realize my mistake. The scream earns the attention of everyone in sight and movement on the deck seems to stop completely. Grabbing Mokuba by the arm and retreat to the edge of the ship, clenching my bloody knife. My eyes dart from one pirate to another as they stare at us. They clearly don't see us as a threat. In their eyes, we're just two boys.
"I knew it," says the quartermaster, his voice dripping with murder intent.
Every part of me is shaking, even my insides. What should we do? Jump in now and hope to make it to shore? They'd have no trouble shooting us from the ship. What do we do? What do I do?!
"Sorry lads," says the white-haired man, reaching for his pistol. "This is as far as you go."
We're going to die. The thought rings through my head like an alarm bell. Dropping my knife, I whip around and wrap my arms around Moki's head before…
POW!
Oh boy! Who wants to guess where that bullet ended? Sorry if this chapter was a bit expositional. I promise good stuff's coming up!
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