Hello again! Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter this time-the next portion of the story is a rather long one, as well as being critical to the plot. I think that if I'd combined it with this chapter, it would've been far too much. On the upside, though, the story picks up quite a bit after this point, and you'll be learning a lot more about what's going on!
Please don't forget to review if you feel like it! I appreciate any and all feedback, good or bad, so don't be shy.
Alibaba secured the final barrel to the ship's deck. "That's the last of them!" he called out to his crew. They had completed the work that they had needed to carry out at Usraepi, and had come away with a respectable profit in exchange for their efforts. But even as his shipmates made hasty preparations to set sail, he still felt a small sense of dissatisfaction welling in his gut.
Morgiana came to stand beside him as he looked out at the docks and the bustling agora just behind them. If she sensed that something was off about her captain-and she must've-she, mercifully, had the good sense to not mention it.
After a few moments of pressing silence, he confessed, "This place is kinda like where I grew up."
"I thought you grew up much farther from here," she replied.
"Yeah, but it's the same basic setup here. There was a market just like this one where I lived. They had everything there-jewels, weapons...one man sold these amazing crystal vases that were taller than he was. And the food! It came from all over the world, and you could smell it from a mile away!" He let out a light laugh, which quickly transformed into a sigh. "My brother and I saw it all come into our port every day on ships...but we could never have any of it. We vowed one day we'd be rich enough to buy out the whole market."
Morgiana glanced at him. Something uncharacteristically delicate had crept into her voice. "Your brother is gone now, right?"
"Yeah." Suddenly, Alibaba turned to her and flashed an embarrassed grin. "You don't wanna hear about all this, I know."
"I do," she quickly asserted. "It's wonderful to know how far you've come since then, and...and I'm honored to work with someone who's managed to accomplish so much."
He stared at her in surprise for quite some time before smiling again, this time out of genuine pleasure. "I couldn't run this ship without you, Mor...in fact, sometimes I think you should be the one in charge." He stepped away from the scene before him and began walking towards the helm. "Can you bring me the sextant? We need to head 30 degrees to the northeast."
In an instant, it came. The wind fell upon them all at once, rushing out of nothingness. It fattened the white bellies of the sails and seemed to enliven the Dragoness once again. It brought relief to the sun-soaked skins of all the sailors, cooling them. Every member of the crew brightened and chattered enthusiastically about this, their first relief from the heat in weeks. Just for that moment, all seemed simply perfect.
Too perfect, Alibaba quickly realized. The gusts blew towards the northeast, in precisely the direction which he wanted to go.
"Sorry, Morgiana," he started slowly, "I think I meant to say northwest."
And the wind shifted.
The hell? It took him no time to conclude that the wind was not only being controlled by some conscious force, but also that the controller must be very near. Taking a quick scan of the area, he found that, amidst the chaos of the docks, one cloaked figure stood almost entirely still. Though a hood completely covered the stranger's eyes, Alibaba could see that the entity seemed to be focused on the ship.
"Morgiana, you're in charge for the next few minutes." Before she could question him, he quickly disembarked from the ship. He knew that it might be unwise to interrogate this hidden figure, but such thoughts had rarely stopped him before.
As he came down, the cloaked person began to walk purposefully away. So he was watching. Alibaba began to follow, but the mysterious one only walked faster. Alibaba followed suit. "Hey! Hey, hold on a second, would you?!"
The hooded person stopped, as though in response to Alibaba's call. Then, without warning, the figure darted into the marketplace.
Shit.
Unthinking, Alibaba gave chase. He raced after his illusive target, struggling to dodge the vendors and customers that had packed into the market. He desperately attempted to keep his eye on the person, who seemed to be rapidly disappearing into the crowd.
With a final surge of energy, he sped through the throngs and began to gain on the person before him. When he was close enough, he managed to step on the cloak as it trailed on the dusty earth, causing it to fall from the figure.
It dropped to reveal a boy about the same age as Alibaba, a boy with hair as dark as a crow's wing. A boy with eyes of different colors.
A miniature eternity passed between them. They stared at each other for what must have been only a few seconds, for what must've been forever to them. A swarm of questions swirled in Alibaba's head, the noise of a thousand thoughts deafening and dizzying his stunned mind.
Hakuryuu spoke up before he had the chance to sort out the whirlpool of ideas. "Leave me alone, Alibaba!"
Instantly, Alibaba's confusion twisted into anger. "'Leave me alone?' You send winds after our ship and you want me to leave you alone?! You're full of shit!"
"I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were well. I didn't mean for you to spot me and I'll be leaving now!"
Alibaba grabbed his former companion and slammed him up against one of the marble columns that surrounded the marketplace. "First of all, asshole, you're not gonna 'check up on me' because you're not my goddamn babysitter. Second, why the hell did you leave to begin with?!"
Hakuryuu shoved him back with surprising force. "You seriously think you could understand?!"
"Don't treat me like an idiot, Haku-!"
"Hakuryuu?"
Both combatants froze at the sound of the new voice. Suddenly, they noticed that several of the Dragoness's sailors, evidently having spotted the commotion from the ship, had come running after the two of them. All had eyes fixed on Hakuryuu.
"My God, it is you," Olba breathed, incredulous. "We all thought you were dead."
Alibaba turned to his subordinate. "What? He was never even-"
"I might as well be," the black-haired boy admitted, smiling sadly. "After I fell overboard, I was floating on driftwood for days, no food or water at all. I was half-unconscious by the time I washed up on the shores here and the people took me in."
"That's incredible! How many people can say they've been lost at sea twice and survived?!" In his excitement, Olba apparently didn't notice the cynicism in his captain's expression, nor that fact that Alibaba's eyes were about to roll out of their sockets.
"Yes, it is amazing, isn't it?" Hakuryuu glanced at Alibaba smugly.
Don't you give me that, idiot. "Hakuryuu said just now that he can't wait to get back on our ship again and start working some more! Isn't that right, Hakuryuu?"
Hakuryuu's eyes may have been mismatched, but they both looked murderous as they flashed a glare in Alibaba's direction. The blond willed himself to hold back a smirk. Then, with a smile that was not so much a smile as a baring of clenched teeth, Hakuryuu responded, "Right. Can't wait."
Olba walked behind the two other young men as they walked back towards the ship. Good thing, too, as they couldn't strangle each other with a witness around.