Chapter VII
The Map to Romefeller's Lost Treasure
Trowa dropped down in front of them so suddenly Wufei nearly swallowed his tongue. He pierced the lookout with his angriest most vicious glare. 'Aren't ye supposed to shout, Bart'n?'
'I wasn't sure what I was seeing so I decided not to.' The green-eyed man explained simply, turning to the captain who had remained quiet so far, steering the ship towards their destination. 'There's a rocky island ahead.'
'Ye think it's the siren's den?' the first mate questioned.
'It can't be anything else.'
'It isn't.' Heero agreed looking through his telescope. 'We're here.' He pocketed the magnifying instrument. 'Tell everyone to stop what they're doing and drop the anchor. We need to review our plan before we get any closer.'
'Avast ye!' the Chinese man shouted and one by one the tripulation's heads started snapping towards him. 'Shorten all sails! Drop anchor!'
As the Peacemillion slowly came to a halt the crew gathered on the main deck with curious looks on their faces. The captain met Relena's eyes for a fraction of a second before turning away. Now that she knew about him, about his past, he could no longer be at ease around her. She was curious, he could sense it, and that would eventually lead to her asking questions he was not ready to answer. Unless he kept distant and cold and did not – under any circumstances – give her room to talk to him about his past. Thankfully, at that moment, they had a whole den of sirens to distract them.
'Are we there?' Quatre was the first to reach him, wishing to get a private word.
'Aye.' Heero answered quietly and let Chang go ahead to fill in the rest of the crew without him.
'Will we stick to our plan?'
'Perhaps… We still need Hilde and Relena to agree to it.'
'What about the rest of the crew? I thought we'd take a vote.'
'We will, but I don't think they'll object.'
Quatre nodded. They had spent more than one sleepless night trying to come up with the safest plan for all of them, but even that plan still had more risks than the blonde was comfortable with. He had wanted to run a poll ever since it had become apparent that they truly did not have any idea what they were dealing with, and he was glad the captain agreed with him on that. He even wanted to suggest they divide the profits differently than they usually did, providing those who would be exposed to higher risks an equally higher pay, but he had kept his mouth shut about that. When it came to coin, negotiations never ran very smoothly even if they did reach the desired results at the end.
'So what's the plan?' Duo was asking the first mate when they reached the main deck and, at Heero's sign, the blonde pirate took the lead of their meeting.
'Relena and Hilde will steer the ship towards our destination while the rest of us will be tied to the masts.'
'That's ridiculous.' Wufei turned to face him with an angry scowl. 'Even Maxwell could've come up with a plan like that.'
'Oy!' the braided pirate protested though no one paid him any mind.
'I heard not all women are immune.' Hilde confessed. She knew she should have given their strategist and their captain that one piece of information earlier, but for some reason it had never occurred to her until that very moment that she might not be immune. Now that she found herself face-to-face with a possible oneway trip to Davy Jones' locker she did not wish to take any chances.
'And if they aren't we're all going to die.' Chang translated for the blonde man, stressing the fact that he thought his plan was a bad one.
'What do you want me to do?' Quatre questioned on the verge of losing his patience. He had been under a lot of stress ever since they had left Port Royal, most of it self-inflicted, because in his heart he was not yet as selfish as the common pirate – he would probably never be – and so he cared about others as much as he cared about himself. He was truly angry and that anger was what prompted a suggestion he would have otherwise never made, a suggestion he thought was absolutely unacceptable. 'Send them in a rowboat ahead of us?'
The crew shared thoughtful looks. 'At least, if they aren't immune, we won't all end up dead…' Howard scratched his chin thoughtfully.
'No, but the two of us will!' Hilde was furious and Duo had to hold her by the arm as she took a step towards the old man.
'What are the odds of both of them being susceptible to the sirens' spell when the majority of women seem to be resistant?' Trowa questioned evenly.
'You can't be seriously considering this course of action… It's bloody cowardly!' Quatre reinforced his protests, but none of them seemed very concerned with his accusations. He turned to the captain who stood as silent and motionless as a statue beside him. 'Heero, say something!'
Heero had caught Relena's gaze at some point after the blonde strategist's impulsive suggestion. She might die. There was a serious chance she might die and he tried to imagine what it would feel like to never see her again. It felt numb, cold and empty…and numb. He had felt numb ever since his mother had given up on him, ever since Heero Yuy had been killed right in front of him, ever since Odin Lowe had claimed his paternity… Feeling numb was tiring and Heero was exhausted, but there was nothing he could say. As captain, he was not allowed to favour any of his crew members and, even if he did, it would be wrong of him to show it. As captain, he had to see the bigger picture and think about what was best for the ship before anything else.
'Figure out a way to make this new plan safe and profitable enough for both Schbeiker and Darlian to agree to it.' He told Quatre neutrally and met the blonde woman's expecting gaze once more. 'This is our only option.'
'He's not serious about this, is he?' Duo asked the strategist as they watched the captain walk back to his quarters.
The blonde sighed. He was trying to think, to concentrate, but he knew his braided crewmate would keep repeating his question over and over again until he had his answer. 'He's right, Duo. This is our only option.'
'No, it isn't. We could turn about. We could head back and loot merchant ships down the Spanish trading route.'
'For how long? 'Til we're all dead?'
'C'mon, Quatre… We don't need that much to survive.'
'Duo…' the blonde man met his eyes with a grave kind of sadness in his own kind gaze. 'If we find Romefeller's treasure, we will never have to loot… ever again.'
The official blabbermouth went silent and solemn for a moment. There had been a time back when he was a street rat, back when he had joined Odin Lowe's crew, when life had mattered very little to him. Back then he would have killed a man for a piece of bread, but that notion had changed completely at some point during his years as a pirate. He cared for those he shared his life with now and he no longer thought their lives were worth any amount of gold. 'This treasure will mean nothing if someone dies.'
Quatre's expression softened. 'I know.' He said with a ghost of a smile. 'That's why I'm going to do my best to make sure no one does.'
XXX
Relena watched quietly as Duo tied Hilde to her thwart. They had been promised twice what they would be originally making to agree to the new plan. The black haired woman had accepted the proposal immediately, proving that – despite the fact that she had not been a pirate for long – she already had the greedy pirate eyes. Men had lots of things to spend their personal savings on like wenches and rum and gambling… The blonde woman had no idea what to do with hers, so she had requested a private audience with the captain instead of the extra-coin, if she came back alive. She could still see, with her mind's eye, the way Heero had narrowed his eyes at her. There had been no protests though, despite the fact that the crew was now sure she was completely out of her mind. Relena ignored them. She was living strictly in the present and the captain's avoidance of her was the only thing currently bothering her.
'There.' Quatre smiled at her when he finished tying her to her own seat. Across from them, Duo and Hilde seemed to be done as well. 'Do you remember the plan? Want to go over it again?'
'We'll be fine, Winner.' The black haired woman reassured him impatiently.
'Ye come back alive, aye?' the braided man eyed them in turn, serious. 'Or I'll have to go to Davy Jones' locker and kill ye with me own hands.'
'O' course we're coming back alive! Who do ye think we are?' Hilde poked him on the ribs with an angry pout.
'You are the most courageous lady-pirates I have ever met.' The blonde man beamed at them, cutting off Duo's retort before the two inseparable bickerers could start another show.
'Ye are the only lady-pirates he's ever met.' The braided man smirked, earning a glare from Quatre.
'Are you sure…'
'We know the plan, Quatre.' Relena smiled reassuringly up at him and he finally nodded, satisfied, turning to scale the railing back onto the main deck.
'I told Trowa to let ye take Shadow with ye for good luck, but I think he assumed I was makin' fun of 'im…' Duo scratched his head. 'He didn't look very amused though.'
'She could die, Duo.' Hilde shook her head at him hopelessly.
'I guess… Hadn't really given it that much thought.'
'Ye never give anything much thought.'
'Are ye coming up, Maxwell? 'Cause I wouldn't mind sending ye with them to face the sirens.' Chang appeared at the railing above them, his eyebrow raised.
'Don't worry, Duo.' Howard joined the Chinese man a wide grin on his face. 'With all that hair ye should be safe.'
'Ye just wait 'til I get up there, ye old man, and I'll show ye the opposite of safe!'
The women followed the braided man with their eyes and, when the first mate ordered their rowboat to be lowered, their gazes met. Hilde looked apprehensive so Relena gave the dark haired woman her most reassuring smile. She was used to putting aside her feelings to conform to the feelings of others.
It was funny that – despite being the only women on board – they were still uneasy around each other. Hilde still felt bad about her earlier assumption that the blonde woman was the captain's concubine and Relena did not feel comfortable insisting on a friendship that seemed unlikely at that point. The awkwardness of their situation only seemed to grow more obvious as Hilde rowed them away from the Peacemillion and towards the reunion of smaller rocks, which marked the way to the much bigger rock formation they believed to house the siren's den.
The sky was growing cloudy and dark, a fact that only added to the eeriness of their situation. Their eyes met again, Relena's smile still in place, and the dark haired woman frowned. 'Why did ye do it?' she asked no longer able to hold back.
'Do what?'
'Give up the gold… For a banter with the captain? Isn't that something ye can do for free? And at any time?'
The blonde woman's smile gave way to a thoughtful expression as her gaze followed the dark blue water all the way to the white-grey sky. A group of seagulls seemed to be fleeing from the same rocky island where they were headed. 'I wish to know the answer to questions he does not want answered… So I'm paying for that.'
'In gold.'
'Yes. That's a language pirates understand and I'm learning to speak it.'
'That's not…' Hilde still looked confused if not even more so. 'Ye're giving up gold in exchange for personal information? Are ye planning to blackmail 'im? 'Cause I highly doubt he'd let ye.' She was whispering by the time she finished even though there was no one around to hear them.
'Blackmail?' Relena's eyes widened in sheer horror. 'By no means!'
'Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to imply…'
They went quiet then, but the blonde did not allow the uneasy apologetic silence to last for long. 'I know I'm not what you expect a pirate to be… I am still learning, but even so… I don't think I can ever be the kind of person who places gold above all things.'
Hilde watched her quietly for a moment. 'If it makes ye feel better… No one on that ship is what I expected a pirate to be like.'
Relena chuckled. 'Perhaps, ultimately, to be a pirate simply means to be oneself regardless of what law says is right or wrong.'
'Perhaps.'
And just as they seemed to reach a common place, a horrid dissonant screech reached their ears, melting their smiles into painful frowns. 'What is that?' the blonde asked covering her ears with her hands.
'I have no idea… Could it be the sirens?'
'Were they not supposed to sing?'
'Aye…'
'What do we do?'
'We should keep rowing. The others are watching us with the telescopes… If we stop here for long they'll think we're in trouble and pull us back. We must keep going 'til we see a siren.'
Relena nodded even though she was starting to feel the same apprehension the black haired woman seemed to have been experiencing ever since they had left the ship. 'What if there are no sirens?'
'What do ye mean?' Hilde turned to her with a worried gaze. They had started talking in whispers the moment they passed the first rock.
'Couldn't this be the wrong place?'
'And what would be making this horrid noise? Bats?'
'No, not bats…' the blonde woman's eyes widened as they turned right and into the circle of rocks. The other woman saw the change in her companion and stopped rowing, twisting her neck slowly to peek over her shoulder.
Sitting all over the rocky surface of the small grey island were dozens of mean looking half-bird half-woman creatures with dark feathers, long shiny hair and curious beady eyes. They flexed and extended their claws, cocking their human heads like birds as they assessed the newcomers. 'Harpies…' Hilde whispered in horror. 'Pull the rope!'
Hearing the fear in her companion's hiss, Relena slowly reached out behind her for the rope Quatre had tied to their boat and whose other end was being held by the crew back on the Peacemillion. She gave it a violent tug, alarming both the crew and the harpies. 'Hilde!' she shouted as the first of the monsters made its move.
The black haired woman hit the creature on the head with the oar. 'Keep tugging!' she told Relena over the loud flapping of wings and the frantic screeching of the harpies. They had clearly not expected their prey to fight back and so made a brief retreat to their rocks, apparently to devise a strategy. Hilde pulled a gun out of her waistband and handed it to the other woman. 'Do ye know how to use it?'
'Yes.' The blonde said. Heero had taught her the basics, but she was not exactly good at it yet.
'Fire if ye need to.'
Relena looked down at the weapon in her hands and hoped she would not.
XXX
Trowa followed the ladies' progress attentively from the crow's nest, first without the telescope and then with it. He was surprised when they stopped, seemingly arguing, and Relena covered her ears with her hands, but then he remembered the sirens' song and had to bite his tongue not to shout for the others to haul them back. He watched their every move carefully to make sure and let out a deep breath when they started moving forward again. It was funny… He had not even known he cared.
'What are they doing?' he asked Shadow as he saw the rowboat disappear behind a particularly big rock. 'Watch the rope!' he shouted, searching for them with the telescope. 'Didn't Quatre tell them not to leave our sight?'
'Trowa, what's going on?' the blonde shouted from the forecastle.
'They're not coming back…' Trowa kept mumbling to the kitten as well as himself. He tried not to fidget, but the quiet simply could not bode well.
'The rope!' Duo shouted suddenly. 'There was tug!'
'Are ye sure, Maxwell?' Chang asked him, his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised. 'Cause if they aren't done and we pull them back, ye're next.'
'I… I'm not sure. I… I thought I felt a pull, but…'
'Nay. He's right. They're in trouble.' Howard frowned down worriedly at the rope he held in his hands.
'What are ye waiting for? Pull!' Heero shouted, taking a hold of the rope himself. 'Barton, keep us posted!'
Trowa's eyes followed the now taut rope all the way to the rowboat just as it reappeared. The women looked fine except for the fact that Relena had a gun in her hand and Hilde was holding the oar as if it was a weapon. He frowned, but there was no need to wonder what the threat was for soon a flock of large bird-like creatures appeared into his line of sight. 'Ye must see this, Capt'n!'
The captain let go of the rope. 'Keep pulling!' he ordered before rushing to the bowsprit with his telescope already in hand. A group of at least ten blood-thirsty harpies was following the rowboat and they seemed to be catching up to it. 'Pull faster!' he told the others. 'Pull as fast as you can!'
'Heero?' Quatre tried to get an explanation out of the captain even as he helped pull the rope, but Heero was already on his way past them, moving towards the main deck.
'Help me get the weapons.' He told Trowa when the lookout dropped down beside him. 'And find a safe place for that cat.'
'Are they what I think they are?'
'Aye.'
'So muskets?'
'Pistols too.'
'What about the canons?'
'Too slow.'
They took the stairs down to the gun deck where all the weapons were stored inside a big old chest. Heero entrusted Trowa with more than enough guns for the whole crew and sent him on his way back to the forecastle before following with his own pistols and musket. A scream, followed by the sound of a gun going off, had them picking up their pace.
The rowboat was already half-way between the rocky island and the ship, but the harpies had it practically surrounded and were taking turns diving over the women's heads like seabirds trying to catch fish. Hilde seemed to be having a slightly easier time fending off their attacks with the oars than Relena, who barely had enough time to aim and fire before having to duck.
Trowa dropped the weapons at the crew's feet with a loud clatter just as Heero reached the bowsprit, raised the musket and fired. The harpy's cry of pain was nearly deafening and it clearly infuriated her companions further. Their target shifted from the women in the rowboat to the men on the ship and they were soon hovering over the masts and sails.
'Ye won't wreck me ship, ye monsters!' Howard shouted angrily as he fired his musket at a harpy whose claws were reaching for the foresail.
'Argh! They're fast!' Duo complained, reloading his pistol after missing all his previous shots. 'These weapons are the worst!'
'Stop blaming the weapons, Maxwell, and improve yer ridiculously bad aim.' Chang snapped at him, hitting a harpy on the stomach with a shot from his pistol.
'If only they'd come down… Cowardly beasts! If they came anywhere near my blade they'd be dead in a blink.' The braided man kept complaining as he fired.
'Bart'n solved that problem.' The Chinese man pointed out still trying to hit a second shot on the wounded harpy.
The lookout was climbing the ratlines and firing one of his pistols at the same time. He was almost half-way to the crow's nest. Duo stopped firing for a second to gape at him. 'Hey, Heero? Ye seen Bart'n? He's as batty as ye are.'
Heero merely snorted as he and Quatre managed to haul the rowboat the rest of the way. There were still three harpies trying to feast on Relena and Hilde and with both of the oars broken and the ammunition over they had gotten their hairs pulled quite a few times. The black haired woman had a cut on her shoulder that had the blonde strategist extremely concerned.
'We should've brought Sally.' He mumbled regretfully. Wufei's 'secret' lover had a profound knowledge of oriental medicine that had come in handy quite a few times.
'It's too late for that now.' Was all the captain told him, remembering to stay low as the rowboat hit the Peacemillion's bow with a thud and the harpies were suddenly face-to-face with them. Quatre shouted and fell on his back as one of them closed its claws around his throat. Thankfully, Heero shot it on the head before the blonde could even start missing his oxygen.
As the captain turned to help the strategist though one of the other harpies seized the opportunity to attack. Heero stepped away in time to save his heart, but not his arm. The bird woman left a deep scratch on it before encountering Duo's sword. 'Finally!' the braided man celebrated, earning himself a narrow-eyed look from the wounded captain. 'What?'
Duo swung his cutlass again, cutting off the wing of the third harpy. The creature's screech would have sent them to the floor with their hands on their ears had Heero not shot it on the forehead, putting it out of its misery. 'If ye're going to be gory, Maxwell, ye should know ye will be mopping the deck later.' That said, he turned to Quatre who had just made it back to his feet.
'I'm fine.' The blonde assured them still rubbing his throat soothingly with one hand.
They then bent over the railing to assess the ladies' condition. Relena was fussing over Hilde's torn shoulder, looking shaken and pale. She looked up at them with wide-eyes when she felt their gazes on her. 'It won't stop bleeding.' She said unable to hide the fear in her voice.
'Bring them up.' Heero told Duo and had to squeeze the braided man's shoulder to get him out of his sudden paralysis. It was worrying to see the man frozen like that.
'Aye, Capt'n.' he said, his complexion having grown paler in a matter of seconds.
'She'll be fine, Duo. We'll make sure of it.' The captain added before the braided man made his way down. Then he met Quatre's gaze. 'Take care of things here.'
'But, Heero! Your arm!'
He paused on his way to the main deck, where Wufei and Howard were fighting the last few harpies, and looked down at his blood soaked sleeve as if he had just noticed it. 'It's nothing.' He assured the blonde and disappeared down the stairs. Quatre watched him go until Duo called out for help and he turned to assist Hilde over the railing.
XXX
'I miss being captain…' Howard whined, wrinkling his nose as he pushed a particularly heavy, particularly bloody harpy over the railing. 'Do ye hold elections regularly or only when necessary?'
'Only when necessary.' Quatre told him with a shrug, pausing in dragging another dead harpy to glance over his shoulder at Duo. The captain had told the braided man to mop the deck, but he seemed to be far too worried about Hilde to be able to function. The blonde man kept finding him paralysed, watching the door that led to Heero's quarters where the black haired woman was being treated by Wufei with Relena's assistance. He turned back to Howard. 'Chang often threatens Heero with elections, but so far no one has seen any real need for a new captain.'
'Oy, Duo!' the older man straightened his back, wiping sweat off his brow as he caught his breath. 'Are ye going to help, ye leadswinger?'
'Oh…' the braided pirate snapped out of his trance with a confused frown, but when he met their eyes it was with a determined almost angry look on his face. He raised the mop, dove it into the bucket and resumed swabbing as fast and powerfully as he could. 'Stupid harpies.' He mumbled.
Quatre and Howard exchanged worried glances. 'He looks motivated.' Trowa commented, pushing his own dead harpy off the ship. Shadow watched curiously as the creature disappeared underneath the waves.
'You should get those checked.' The blonde pirate told him, pointing at a few scratches he had gotten on his head and shoulders.
'Heero hasn't got his checked and it looks way worse.'
'He hasn't? I thought he was with Chang doing just that.'
'Nay.' The lookout nodded towards the forecastle where the captain was assessing the damage to his wounded arm himself. 'Relena's already in there with Chang and Hilde so he probably found it best to give them space.'
Quatre huffed and shook his head sceptically. 'Am I the only one who cares about you? Go sit there with him and I'll see if Chang is done with Hilde.' He did not wait for an answer and walked away mumbling that they should have brought Sally.
Trowa shook his head, but did as told if only to let Heero know that medical care was on its way. The captain did not look too worried about his arm. 'How's Schbeiker?' he raised his eyes when the lookout arrived.
'We were trying to give them space… Quatre just went to check. He'll send Chang here afterwards.'
'Chang knows better than to force care upon me.'
'Aye, but Relena doesn't.' Heero frowned suspiciously at him, but Trowa's eyes were fixed on his chamber's door at the other side of the ship. 'And she's already on her way.'
'Ye stay where you are, Barton. You're wounded too.'
'Sorry, Capt'n, but they're only mild scratches and I don't like to be fussed over.'
'Trowa!' the captain pushed himself to his feet, but the lookout was already half-way up the ratlines before he could say anything. There was no point challenging the green-eyed man when it came to agility. Heero swore under his breath and waited to be cornered by the most dangerous person on board.
She arrived carrying a bucket of fresh water and two pieces of cloth, her eyes seemed to be searching for something as she made her way towards him with a small frown. 'Where's Trowa?'
'Bailed.' He said simply and watched as she took a seat beside him on the wooden chest where they stored ammunition. 'How's Schbeiker?'
'The bleeding has stopped. Wufei said she'll be alright, but she needs rest.'
'Ye should tell Maxwell that before he barges in there and talks her to death.'
Relena smirked. 'I think the attention might be good for her as well.'
'Hn.'
Her hands seemed to hover around his arm as if she was waiting for permission to touch him or trying to figure out where to start. He had practically torn off the sleeve, exposing the entire gash. It was certainly extensive, but the blood made it look worse than it really was. Heero was not used to being touched, in fact, he made sure himself people kept their distance and he was not about to give her permission. There was a growing part of him that already craved her touch, that made him want to take her hand and run his fingers through her hair. It was hard enough to keep those impulses in check… Heaven knew what might happen if he verbally gave her permission.
'I'll have to touch you.' She informed him finally, deciding to do so with the wet cloth instead of with her naked hands.
'Fine.' The captain conceded watching her wring the cloth, her brow slightly furrowed in concentration. 'Ye don't have to do this. It's a superficial wound.'
She raised her head, meeting his serious eyes with her honest ones. 'I know I don't, but I want to.'
Heero's jaw clamped shut and he turned away from her before he did something he might later regret. He would never outright admit it, but maybe Chang had been right… Maybe she was more of a temptation than he could handle. And if he was succumbing to her charms he could not even fathom how the others must be faring.
The cool wet cloth was soothing against his burning skin, but it still stung enough to make him hiss. 'Sorry.' Relena said, frowning sympathetically. It almost looked like she could feel his pain. She watched him closely for any signs of discomfort as she worked and realised that it was her proximity that unsettled him the most… But was it her? Or would anyone's proximity have caused the same response? She gingerly traced the outline of the scratch with her fingers and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt him tense under her touch and heard his breath catch in his throat. 'You were right… It's not as deep as it looked.'
He cleared his throat awkwardly and pulled away. 'No, it's not.'
Relena tried not to feel rejected by his reaction, but it was hard not to. The captain had already been avoiding her and it was not the first time… She had thought they had settled their differences, but – apparently – that was not the case. Not just yet. 'The conversation you promised me…' she started.
'That was only in case you survived the sirens.' Heero readily informed her, raising his walls.
'Oh…'
'There were no sirens.'
She turned back to the bucket as she focused on rinsing the cloth. 'No, there were not.'
The captain knew that was the perfect moment to leave, but he could not. He could not leave her looking defeated… Especially not when he had been the one to defeat her. Whatever power she had over him, whatever spell she had cast had already taken root and those roots seemed to run way deeper than he had realised. It pained and angered him to see her sad and since he was the one to blame he had no idea what to make of it. After a moment, she met his eyes again and seemed to find something in his gaze that brought the determination back to her face.
'You should not let your past hold you hostage. You need to share it so you can let it go.' Relena told him seriously and left before he could say a word.
XXX
The nightly rain washed away all the remaining traces of the battle while the crew recovered and, by the time the day broke, they were ready to set sail again. There was palpable tension in the air, apprehension as they headed towards what had once been the siren's den and eventually become a harpies' nest. With the exception of Hilde, who was still resting and recovering, no member of the crew had let go of their weapons, carrying guns and cutlasses in hand in case any more harpies decided to strike.
Silence reigned on board the Peacemillion and, for once, the captain was not happy about it. Every crewmember seemed to freeze where they were as the ship veered starboard, inching closer to the spot where Relena and Hilde had first been attacked. The blonde woman's hold on the railing tightened as she searched the surrounding rocks for signs of the feathery creatures. There was none.
The corridor of scattered rocks turned right a second time and it was then that they saw it… At the base of the stony island, carved by thousands of years of salty winds and waters, stood the entrance to the siren's den.
A very short stretch of sand connected the entrance to the water and that was where the Peacemillion came to a halt. Duo and Howard dropped the anchor – just in case – before joining the gathering on the main deck. There had been no time to devise a very detailed plan, but Quatre had come up with something anyway and, like any other risky plan, it required the others' agreement.
'We have no idea what's in there.' The blonde went straight to the point, gesturing towards the dark passageway that led to unimaginable places. But our main fear is that there might be actual sirens… Well, Hilde is down and we can't send Relena alone. We don't know anything about dealing with sirens ashore. Maybe they'll be friendly. Any volunteers?'
Howard turned to Duo who turned to Trowa who turned to Wufei who scowled. No one was willing to risk their life. Quatre sighed. 'Fine, I'll…'
'I'll go.' Heero cut in, looking as unaffected as usual by anything that was going on.
'It's alright, I…' Relena tried to step in, to tell them she felt confident enough to do it on her own.
'Haven't ye got a better plan?' the braided pirate had a half-sceptical half-worried frown on his face. 'If Heero's gone Chang will become captain.'
'If Heero dies we take a vote.' Trowa corrected him, ignoring the vicious glare the Chinese man was sending their way.
'To die in the arms of a beautiful siren…' Howard mused dreamily, throwing a supportive arm around the captain's shoulders.
'Are ye volunteering now, Howard?' Heero raised an unfriendly eyebrow at him.
'By no means, Capt'n.' the older man tittered, raising his hands as if to defend himself. 'Just lettin' ye know yer memory will be honoured.'
'I highly doubt that.' Heero mumbled to himself before turning to the blonde woman. 'Ready?'
'Aye.' She said, trying to give him her most reassuring smile. It was still hard, after the previous day's conversation, to meet his eye. She had left without waiting for his reply and because his face was usually blank she could not tell whether he was mad at her or upset or… Relena was at a loss when it came to him.
'Are you really going to do this?' Quatre asked them worriedly.
'Have ye got a better plan?' Heero rephrased Duo's question, raising his eyebrows.
The blonde strategist looked sheepishly down at his boots. 'Nay.'
XXX
The sound of their footsteps echoed together with the rhythmic dripping of water as they started making their way into the cave. Relena raised her lamp a little and saw the light reflected on the moist dark walls. Heero was a couple steps behind her and she wondered if the stiffness in the air might be solely caused by his disturbingly quiet presence. He was as uncomfortable as she was, both weighed down by the things they had left unsaid. Or maybe he was just worried she might ask him questions he was not ready to answer, dig into his past and unbury memories that would forever pain him. She did not want that. She did not want him to worry.
'I'm sorry I said what I said.' She whispered, afraid her voice would echo and wake some unseen enemy if she spoke any louder. 'It was not my place.'
Heero watched her back in silence as he tried to figure out how to respond to that, if he even should. Part of him was angry at her for meddling even though he knew her intentions were noble. The other – bigger – part was wary. It was hard for him to admit it, but he was afraid of her, afraid of all those strange feelings she invoked in him and the needs she awakened. He had been trying his best to stay away from her, but he could see it was not working. And it was as hard to stay mad at her as it was to keep his distance. 'It does not bother me if the others tell ye stories… but I don't talk about the past.'
He said that quietly, politely, nearly apologetic. Relena smiled at him over her shoulder. 'I understand.'
'I won't deny you that private conversation. Ye have earned it, but I needed you to know that first.'
'So no questions about the past…' she was still smiling as she followed the pathway, mindful of puddles and pebbles, and wondered what to ask him then.
Before Relena could come to any conclusions though, they reached the end of the corridor and found themselves stepping into a wide inner chamber. Sunlight streamed in through the slits between the rocks above them, illuminating the pool at the very centre of the room and painting the walls in white and bluish hues. Against the far back wall, the rocks had been sculpted by nature and the cave's former occupants into a sort of bench, and around the chamber other smaller rocks had clearly been positioned as to serve as seats as well.
It was in the darkest dampest corner that they found her. A woman, covered in moss and dust, her very long light blonde hair clinging to her skin, her naked body was covered by nothing more than a dirty piece of sheet that resembled the kind used to craft sails for ships. It looked like she had been there – asleep – for decades.
'Is she dead?' Relena wondered aloud as they halted a couple steps away from the woman.
'Nay.' Heero shook his head with a conflicted frown. It was not possible for that woman to be alive and yet… He was pretty sure he could see her breathing.
'Don't.' the young lady seized his hand before he could check the stranger's pulse. He pulled away, startled as if her touch had scorched him. Relena turned away from him for a moment. 'I'm sorry.' She said quietly, then met his eyes again with renewed determination. 'What if she's a siren? You shouldn't be here if she wakes up.'
He snorted. As if he would leave her alone in there with a possible siren. 'I'll take my chances.' They stopped breathing when he took the mysterious woman's wrist, but nothing happened. 'There's a pulse.' He confirmed.
'Oh, my god! She really is alive.'
'Aye.'
'What now?'
'Now we carry her back to the ship. She must know something…' Heero prepared to pick the woman up, but the cloth that had been covering her slid away and Relena quickly spun him round. In his shock, he did not resist or react in any way.
'Don't look!' she told him. 'We must respect her privacy…whoever she is.' He did not say anything to that. The irrational male in him disagreed entirely, but he understood privacy and had complete control over those impulses. Except when it came to Relena it seemed… He could not trust himself with her. 'Heero?' she asked after a minute.
'Hn.'
Relena pushed the unconscious woman's hair further away from her back so she could take a better look. 'There's something on her back… A drawing… I think it might be a map.'
'A map?'
'Yes.' She confirmed however unsure. 'Do you think this woman and this…tattoo were what the sirens were protecting?'
'Aye.' He turned around slowly so he could meet her eyes. The mysterious woman remained asleep even as Relena rewrapped her in the dirty sail cloth. 'The key to finding Romefeller's lost treasure.'
GLOSSARY:
Avast – apparently, it's an abbreviation of 'hold fast', an expression used to tell everyone on board to stop what they're doing and pay attention.
