Chapter 3: Genesis
All I heard from the soldiers was coughing and dry-heaving.
The ship was parked along a cliff along an uninhabited side of the island. It was everything I would expect from Black Roberts; the only other colour besides the stained cherry body, was black. Black flags, black sails, etc. As if his arrogance wasn't overpowering enough, his ship proved the true nature of it.
Fortunately, Roberts put me down as soon as we were aboard the vessel. After we had departed, he led me and N to his cabin.
"All right, you two wanna tell me about this treasure?" he asked, sitting down in his chair, throwing his feet up onto the desk. Nagisa looks to me. I cross my arms.
"How do we know you won't just throw us both into the sea as soon as you've heard what you need?" I ask and take a seat on the edge of the desk.
"I can't promise I won't" Roberts says. "In case you haven't noticed, sweetheart, I'm a pirate."
N butts in. "Then I guess we can't tell you everything just yet." Roberts doesn't like this.
"Don't hold me cheap!" he yells, slamming a fist down on his desk. "What is this Gardiner's Trove?"
But N just stands there silently with a smug smile on his face. It was definitely a close second to Eyes' bitch face.
"Well the girl must know something about it" Roberts says, turning to me. "I know those Saint Cross bastards know about it." I remain silent. No way am I telling this guy anything if he's gonna be an ass about it.
Eyes, hearing the commotion from the hall, come in. "I've heard of it" he says as he adjusts his glasses.
Roberts grows impatient after a moment of silence following Eyes' statement. "I'm waiting" he says.
Eyes continues. "It's a legend; The women of the House Viatala's royal family have, for generations, been secretly protecting a weapon of the ancient civilization that once almost destroyed their land long ago. It's sister weapon, the Warrior's Trove, is the only thing that can defeat it. It is said that whoever wields both can rule the world." He then looks to me for confirmation.
"I mean, you've just about nailed it" I say.
"So you're telling me it's not treasure?" Roberts asks.
"Nope" I say. "But the Saint Cross bastards have the Warrior's Trove."
Roberts falls silent. "They've been after me and Nagisa for years" I say. Roberts raises an eyebrow at this, and I realize he doesn't know what my brother and I do.
"We go from town to town. I coax drunk men into a bed with me, and then we rob and kill them so they can't go to the Saint Cross. But eventually those bastards caught on, so we've been on the run." I explain. "That's why we want the Gardiner's Trove: so if push comes to shove, we can take them. The only catch is that they're looking for it too."
Suddenly Roberts swings his legs down from their perch on the desk and stands up, taking a step towards me. "Where's this treasure you promised me?" he asks very condescendingly. But I remain cold.
"Well, there's many ancient relics hidden with the Gardiner's Trove you could worth about ten times the Saint Cross is worth. Stuff like my rosary, precious metals, expensive gems, exotic plants and spices - that kind of thing."
An evil smile crosses Roberts' face. "All right, deal. We'll take you to the Gardiner's Trove and we'll take everything else there for ourselves."
"Deal" I say putting out my hand. We shake on it, and it's settled.
"The trove is most likely to be located on Amamiku Island" I say. "Yoh's family used to run the shrine there."
"Then we'll set course for Amamiku Island" Roberts says definitively.
Out of habit, I go to fiddle with the rosary around my neck, only to remember it's not there, and I put my arm back down to my side.
"Now that that's settled," Eyes says. "why don't you show Miss Avalon to her quarters."
"Ugh, why me?" Roberts whines.
"Because everyone else is working" Eyes says, again with his bitch-faced smile.
"You-"
"We've all had a very tough time here after a certain someone passed out in a certain bar"
Finally Roberts gives in. "Fine! I'll do it, god damn you."
Without another word, Roberts forcefully grabs my wrist, pulling me off his desk. As I pass by N, he whispers to me "Roberts is very submissive when it comes to Eyes, huh." I can't help but giggle.
"What are you two whispering about!" Roberts yells at us. I roll my eyes and begin to follow Roberts again.
"Uh, I should probably sleep in the same room as my sister!" Nagisa stutters out. It was expected that N would be protective of me, not wanting me to be alone with Black Roberts. It was only natural for an older brother, even though he knew I could fend for myself.
Suddenly, Yoh comes running in chasing after a pink parrot. "No, no men" the parrot squawks out.
Getting the parrot to land on his outstretched arm, Yoh says "It's fine, Nagisa, we have another cabin for you."
N, like a child, shoots the parrot an evil eye.
"This is Sakura" Yoh said, introducing the parrot. Her colour did very much resemble that of a sakura flower. "Right this way" Yoh says. And N follows, all the while glaring at that parrot. What an enthralling rivalry forming . . .
"By the way, Nagisa, you're really strong." I hear Yoh say from down the hall.
"Oh thanks, you yourself were very graceful in battle as well." N thanks him.
"Get a room!" I yell back down the hall at them. Roberts lets out a slight chuckle.
Once we're farther down the hall, I glance up at Roberts' sullen profile. He leads me to a small room in a separate hallway.
"You can use this room" He says. "Eyes has seen to the furnishings, so you shouldn't need anything else."
The room before me is unexpectedly clean and neat. It's by far the cleanest room I'd ever sleep in. I found it surprising that a room could be this clean on a pirate ship, what with the whole place being lived in by ruffians.
"Thank you" I said, stepping into the room. But Roberts grabs my shoulder and whips me around to face him. "Hey!" he says. He grabs hold of my waist-length hair, pulling on it so I'd be forced to look up at him. His face is so close I can feel his breath on my cheek. My heart begins to thump nervously.
"Lemme tell you this now" he says. "I'm not gonna treat you any different just because you're a woman!"
"Ok, great. Now can you let go of my hair, please?"
With all my strength, I push him away from me. Roberts only laughs.
"What? You think I'd try to make a move on a kid like you?" he asks.
Combing through my hair with my fingers, I say "I'm 21, I'm an adult thank you."
His dark eyebrows knit together in a frown, and then he laughs. "Life at sea is far harder than on land. Better prepare yourself for it. But with this much spirit, I'm sure you'll be fine, honey."
With that, Roberts takes his leave. I can hear his muffled laugh, cigar hanging from his lips, as he walks down the hallway.
"Honey, my ass" I say to myself as I make my way over to the vanity across the room. Just as I suspected, my hair was a mess after being tossed around so much. My hair was a side-parted, dirty blonde with the bottom layer dyed black with a simple herbal dye I had made, which my hair took surprisingly well to. My powder black eye makeup had been smudged at the outer corners of my eyes. In that moment I was glad I'd brought more with me in my small bucket-style bag.
My eyes themselves looked very tired. I had to admit that I was actually quite exhausted. So exhausted I don't even notice Yoh when he enters.
"Hey, brought you a blanket" he says. "Also here's some bread and beer if you're hungry."
Yoh proceeds to hand me the blanket and set my meal on the table beside my bed. "Thank Yoh" I say, giggling.
"You don't have to thank me" he says smiling.
I go sit down on my bed and wrap the blanket around my shoulders. Munching on my bread, I ask him "So how'd you get involved with these guys, anyway?"
Yoh sits down next to me. "Guys like Roberts? He's stubborn and violent, but I like him. He's a great pirate, better than I could ever hope to be. And I owe him my life" he tells me.
"Your life?"
"Yeah" Yoh says softly. "My mother was killed when pirates attacked Amamiku, or more accurately, Navy men disguised as pirates."
"I'm sorry" I say trying to comfort him.
"And the Queens Coast Navy did nothing to protect us. . . but Roberts saved me from being killed by one of the men. The fine details are unimportant, but I want you to know this: Roberts may be a pirate, but he fights for those who can't fight for themselves. And that's why I'll always follow him."
"And Izumi?" I ask, referencing his twin brother.
"He joined the Queens Coast. He's in denial about it not being pirates who attacked, so now he goes around hunting them."
That meant that they were enemies. I felt genuinely bad for Yoh; him and Izumi had been so close when I knew them. Now they were miles apart, hunting each other.
"Anyway, about Roberts, despite how he appears, he's looking after you" he said, interrupting my thoughts. I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "After all," Yoh began. "he's the one who ordered us to put together this room for you."
Ok, I had to admit that was kinda sweet.
"I know!" Yoh said suddenly. "Why don't you come up on deck first thing tomorrow morning? Then you'll see he's not just any pirate Captain."
I nod, agreeing to his cheerful request. "Sure, Yoh" I say smiling.
"Well, anyway, goodnight Avalon" he says before leaving my room.
While I trusted Yoh, I remained dubious. How could a man like Roberts be a good guy? But then I remembered that his whole crew followed him unconditionally, and I decided to give the guy a fair chance. Laying down in my bed, I let sleep consume me.
The next morning, I go up to the deck as promised to find the crew already hard at work.
Roberts strolls up behind me. "Alright you scoundrels! Breakfast time!" he yells, right into my ear, leaving me temporarily half deaf.
Just as I begin to register that it's time for food, all of the pirates leap into action and begin to set up a long table. I watch as they all take their places in their respected spots; some of them sitting on chairs, some on barrels.
"Hey kid," Roberts says, patting me on the back. "hurry up and sit down."
Across the way I see Yoh motion towards the empty seat next to him. I happily oblige and take a seat next to him.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder on this ship, my brother bursts out of the kitchen in an apron, pushing a rusty food cart.
"Alright, fellas. I worked real hard on this soup, so eat up dammit!" he shouts.
Wow, not even twenty-four hours and N's already part of the crew.
N then proceeds to take the empty seat next to me.
It's at that point that Roberts' voice rings out above the group. "Enough chatter!" he says sternly. I can't help but sit up straight at such an authoritative voice.
And then the feast begins. All around me, I see people shoving food into their mouth with amazing vigor and enthusiasm. Soon enough, I begin to eat as well.
After about twenty minutes, when everybody's finished eating, Roberts stands up and declares the table be cleared. And just like before, everything is cleaned up in an instant. I opt to wait on the sidelines, not wanting to get in anyone's way. I just watch, admiring how fast they work.
"Alright, cleaning time!" Roberts yells to the crew when all's said and done. "Get it done fast! No cutting corners!"
With that, everyone disperses and begins to clean, surprising me once again with the priority cleanliness holds with the crew.
Most of their tools are made of sandstone, which I guess is to scrub away the excess salt from the water. Smart.
Off to the side I hear Roberts commanding the crew members. "Hey! Quit slacking!" I hear him yell to one of them. Upon noticing me looking, Roberts strolls up to me.
"So, what do you think of my ship, Kid?" he asks. I think for a moment, then answer.
"Everyone seems wholeheartedly committed" I say honestly. "You lead them well."
When N is finished cleaning the kitchen, he comes over to me from behind and hugs me around my neck, again showing his brotherly protectiveness.
"Hey sis!" he says. "You sleep well?"
"Like the dead."
"Good."
Roberts raises an eyebrow at my answer. "It's unusual for a woman to be able to sleep so well on a ship like this."
"You wore me out" I retort flatly.
"You should be scared!" he scolded me. "Being too scared to sleep would be normal!"
N comes to my defense. "Ok, but why are you getting angry about it?" N asks. "I was able to sleep well too, what with the cute guy in the next hammock."
I can't help but giggle at my brother.
"I can't take any more of you two" Roberts says defeated and walks away. As if Roberts wasn't irritated already, Yoh comes running up to him in a fluster.
"Roberts, there's a crack at the foot of the main mast!" he reports.
"What?" Roberts says. "Reinforce it immediately. Eyes, look into getting a new mast. And Yoh, coordinate the replacement work."
The amount of trust he puts in his crew catches me off guard. I can't help the small smile on my lips.
"Not even Naval officers can run such a slick operation" N whispers to me.
"You're right, he's no ordinary pirate" I whisper back.
It was in that moment that I realized we were right to go to him for help. He's smart, brave, and knows how to run a crew. What else could you really ask for in an accomplice?