Pirates Pt 2:
Adrian rushed to get a room ready, then bolted through narrow hallways and across the deck to lean against the captain's door. He strained to hear conversation through the thick wood.
"Why, I am Abe Mazur." The captain's voice glided through the air, as if in answer to a question. "You're quite certain you've never heard of me?"
Adrian couldn't catch the girl's reply.
"Well, I am a man of many hats, a man of business. But you can call me captain. And you?"
She didn't say anything.
"Milk? Sugar?" Abe sounded unaffected by her unfriendly silence.
"I don't want any of your godforsaken tea." She answered as though fighting through a lump in her throat. Adrian could barely hear her.
"Really, must you call everything on this ship godforsaken?" It was evident in his tone that she'd done this several times, and Abe was getting tired of it.
"I'm just telling it like it is." The girl answered, her voice growing stronger.
"You're going to starve if you don't eat something." Abe warned.
"I prefer starvation to damnation."
She'd have to be crazy to believe she would go to Hell for drinking Abe's tea or eating his biscuits. She didn't strike Adrian as someone who was particularly crazy, but she sounded dead serious.
Then again, mistaking Abe for the devil might be all too easy. Adrian could see the resemblance.
Abe sighed. "Have it your way, then."
There were a few distant clinking sounds. Adrian guessed the captain was loading a plate for himself. "So, alchemist girl. What brought you outside on this brisk spring night?"
"You already know I was running away."
"What were you running away from?"
"Is that any of your business?"
"It is now that you are a passenger on my ship."
"An unwilling passenger." The girl reminded him.
"Then I suppose you'll have to unwillingly state your business." Abe reasoned.
There was a tense silence, and Adrian just knew she was thinking of him. He was proven right a moment later.
"If you intend to use compulsion again—"
"No, no," Abe assured her. "No more compulsion. Adrian was quite out of line in doing so."
Adrian didn't know what had possessed him to commit such an act. After a year of abstaining from the practice, he'd broken his record by compelling an innocent girl twice in one night.
Of course, another thing to think about was her little magic trick. Adrian didn't know how it was possible—humans didn't have magic like the Moroi—but she'd summoned fire. Clear as day, he'd seen it appear in her palm.
Maybe she's some sort of flame thrower. Right, he rolled his eyes at himself, a likely story. Poor little alchemist girl with big dreams of joining the circus. Or, Adrian thought, perhaps it was an alchemist trick. They are rumored to have more than a few scientific feats up their sleeves.
Yes, that was the more plausible of the two. That had to be it.
But, still… something didn't quite add up…
Well, whatever it was, he couldn't bring himself to regret warning her off in the way he did. If Abe caught wind of her peculiar talent, he'd likely never let her go.
And, though Adrian wanted to know what had happened as much as Abe would, Adrian had seen her fear. Through her bravado, Adrian sensed that she was absolutely terrified. He'd watched men about to get their heads loped off by Abe, and that girl had felt more horror than even them. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to force her to stay aboard her entire life. Her misery would make him miserable.
So he'd lied, and he'd compelled, and now he was listening.
"Adrian, I never took you for an eavesdropper." And now he'd been caught; though, he wasn't particularly worried.
"And what are you here for?" Adrian knew perfectly well what her answer would be.
"I'm going to eavesdrop." Rose grinned. It was that same mischievous grin that had Adrian captured from the moment he'd seen it all that time ago. Him and every other man. "But, unlike you," she was saying, "I have a right to do so."
"A right?"
"The captain is my father." Rose explained and put her ear to the door. "Children are supposed to spy on their fathers. I'm fulfilling my daughterly duties."
The door was suddenly jerked away from them, and Abe's solid frame replaced it.
Adrian tensed. Okay, now he was worried. With Abe you never knew what the punishment would be.
The captain looked down on them, his face giving nothing away. Finally, he sighed. "If you are going to sneak around, at least whisper. I thought I taught you better."
"Oh, well. We'll do better next time." Rose promised, shaking off her surprise. "Are you going to let us in, old man?"
Of course she isn't concerned, Adrian thought. But I sure as hell still am.
"What do you think, dear?" Abe turned around.
Adrian couldn't see far into the room, but he could well imagine the girl's expression as she said her next words. Pinched, sour, and angry. "I think," she said curtly, "that it doesn't matter what I think. You're just going to do whatever you want."
Abe looked utterly delighted as he turned back to the door. "Would you listen to that? It's been a while since I've been spoken to in that manner. And by an alchemist child, no less."
"And you're… happy about that?" Rose asked.
At the same time the girl quietly huffed, "I am not a child." Were it not for his vampiric hearing, Adrian wouldn't have caught it.
"I take it the cargo is safely below deck?" Abe asked Rose. At her nod, he retreated back into the room. "Ah, well," he said. "We've had quite the night. I believe we could all do with some sleep. Adrian, would you kindly show the Miss to her bunk?"
"Of course."
The captain ushered all three of them out of his rooms. Night air greeted Adrian's face once back up on deck.
As soon as Abe's door was shut Rose halted both the girl and Adrian in their tracks. "So, do you have a name?"
"Of course I have one." The girl put up a convincing, condescending show. Adrian was impressed she'd held up this long—he'd have expected tears by now.
"What is it, then?" Rose put her hands on her hips.
The girl didn't speak, just glared.
"I told you my name." Adrian reminded her.
"And then you kidnapped me."
"Can it really be considered kidnapping if you came to us asking for a ride?" Rose wondered.
"Yes." The girl said indignantly. "I changed my mind, and you still made me come! You forced me onto this boat! It is considered kidnapping!" By the end, she was in near hysteria.
Here it is. The breakdown I was expecting.
"Look… girl." Adrian said softly, before Rose could respond. The girl had adopted a wild, trapped expression. She was bound to explode any minute now. "I'm sure Captain Mazur will let you off at the first stop. He's just curious. As soon as he grows bored of your novelty, you'll be off this ship. Alive." He added.
"And if he grows bored before we reach port? Or suppose he doesn't get bored until after land is long gone?" The girl eyed the ocean. Her voice broke. "How far is the next stop, anyway?"
"Three days, if the weather stays clear." Adrian answered.
"And how far are we from…" She didn't finish her sentence.
"Your home?" Adrian finished for her. "We hauled up the anchor as you were getting… situated."
She nodded.
Then, without warning, she dove for the edge.
Had it not been for Rose, she would have made it over, too.
"Let go of me!" She cried, clawing at Rose's hands and arms. "Let go!"
Rose held fast.
In the commotion, the two girls didn't notice the door to the right of Abe's open. They didn't notice the hulking, duster-clad form step out into the night. But Adrian did.
"Belikov. How nice of you to join us. Lovely night, isn't it?" Adrian greeted him.
Dimitri Belikov, Abe's right hand man. He noted the situation with a grim expression. "Quite." He answered and strode over to the struggling girls.
Separating them took some creative maneuvering, but he did it. The girl still fought, but Belikov's grip was like iron. She'd never escape that.
Unless, of course, she tried her magic trick.
She didn't.
"Thanks, comrade." Rose dusted off her shirt and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "We almost had a jumper."
"I can see that."
She wasn't fighting so much anymore. It looked as if she were trying to avoid contact as much as possible—which was ridiculous, considering.
"I'm going to escort her to her bunk now." Adrian shot a look at Rose. "Unless you feel the need to start another conversation?"
Rose scowled. "It's not my fault she almost bailed."
"You were scaring her." Adrian said.
"I would've jumped anyway." The girl put in. The wild look was gone from her eyes, and she held her chin up once again. It seemed the fear-induced irrationality was over—for now, at least. "Conversation or not."
"If you stop trying to get loose I'll make sure we have as little contact as possible." Adrian played a chip. "But, if you try and run…"
She nodded. "Fine."
Adrian took hold of her. He tried to make his grip as light as possible without making it weak. "Come on. Bedtime."
Belikov released her arm, and both he and Rose disappeared into their respective rooms on either side of Abe's—Dimitri stopping to give them one last look. When it was clear she wasn't going to fight, the door swung shut.
"Hang on." The girl stopped walking about halfway there. "You don't expect me to room with…your kind, do you?" She sounded disgusted.
"Why," Adrian challenged. "Would that be a problem?"
Judging from the look on her face—that would most definitely be a problem.
"And just how do I know I'll wake up in the morning? How do I know you won't bite me in my sleep?" She demanded, her eyes wide.
He studied her, really studied her, for the first time that night.
She was pretty, he decided, with dark blonde hair a bit on the short side, and brown eyes that glinted in the moonlight. She was small and skinny, but he knew she was far from weak. In studying her he realized that as ridiculous as it sounded to Adrian, for her, getting bitten it was a legitimate fear. She really believed that would happen if she let her guard down.
"Well, then, I guess you'll be happy to know the captain wants you in a private room." Adrian said.
Though fractionally relieved, she still glowered at him. "You could have just told me that."
He shrugged. For a moment, all that could be heard was the lapping of the waves against the ship.
Then, he tugged at her arm and continued leading her to her room. He stopped in front of the door, and out of the corner of his eye he watched as the girl realized the door locked from the outside. And that he had the key.
He let her in.
"Well, here it is." He told her.
It wasn't bad, by any means. It was tidy, with a decent bed and a clothes chest. But her face still showed dismay.
"My prison cell." She sighed.
"We have those, you know." Adrian said conversationally, and her face whitened. "This is much nicer. Not even close to a cell."
She got the hint and complained no more.
She backed up slowly, not taking her eyes on him. She jumped as he closed the door behind them with a small click.
"What are you doing?" She asked. She looked about ready to faint.
"I just want to talk." Adrian said. He put his hands in the air and sat on the chest. "Relax, I'm not… hungry." It felt odd having to reassure someone of that. The only humans he'd ever known were glad when he was hungry.
"What do you want to talk about?" She cautiously said.
"To start off with," he put his hands in his lap, "could you please tell me your name? Or at least a name. I need to call you something other than 'girl'."
She stiffened.
"It really is a ridiculous thing to withhold." He prodded.
She gave what had become her trademark answer. "My name is none of your business."
Adrian sighed. "Well then, girl. I want to talk about what you did on the beach."
She stayed silent.
"You said it was a fire spell." He prompted.
"You made me say it was a fire spell." She scowled. "With compulsion."
He winced. "Yes, I did, and I'm sorry about that. But I also lied for you. I gave you a chance to get off this boat."
"What are you talking about? You're the one who brought me on." She crossed her arms.
"I wasn't lying up on deck." He told her. "Once Abe gets bored, he'll let you go. And if I'd told him about you, he'd never get bored."
She nodded. "Alright. Thank you for that."
Adrian regarded her for another couple moments, and then tapped into the magic that was unique to him. He brought her aura into view. "You're exhausted." He noted. "And panicked. And homesick already. But mostly exhausted."
She fidgeted. His oral report of her feelings clearly made her nervous. "You don't know any of those things." She finally said.
Adrian let her aura fade from sight. "We'll talk more tomorrow."
He stood, and she didn't stop him as he exited the room. Just before he put the key in the lock, however, the door opened up a crack.
Just enough for him to see an eye, golden by the light of candle.
She sized him up.
"And how do you know I don't have a spell that can unlock doors?" She asked.
"Well, unless you have a spell that can get you past a vampire guard, you're out of luck. I'm used to the night shift, so I won't be tired any time soon." She worked out that he wasn't going anywhere. "And a spell that will stop you from being injured after jumping from the ship, or I guarantee you'll be floating meat. And a spell that can give you enough energy to even get to shore."
She made a face.
He sighed, and his eyebrows drew together. "You will get off when it's time. I know it isn't the easiest thing to do, but trust me when I say you'll be free soon enough."
One minute passed, then two, then, "Sydney. My name is Sydney."
She slammed the door shut.
Adrian proceeded to lock it and slump against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.
"Sydney," He said. "Sydney."
And sadly, that is probably the last of that. Though, has asked if she can continue the story, so keep an eye out for it!
Up next: The Roaring 20's.