Another chapter I hated writing. Why does the MC always have to get kidnapped? I mean, I know it's a chance for your guy to save you but god damn. How about a strong female character for once Ntt Solmare, hm? As a feminist, I find this triggering. lol
Also I imagine the first scene here to kind of be like the drug dealer scene in the Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" It's great, go watch it. Legit though it's pretty hilarious.
Chapter 10: Mine
"Long time, no see Avalon" I hear Izumi's voice as my eyes flutter open. As expected, I'm in an unfamiliar cabin on an unfamiliar ship. I get out of bed and forcefully push Izumi.
"Fuck you, you fucking asshole!" I shout at him. "Like seriously, what the fuck?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Izumi squeaks out.
"What's going on? What the fuck is going on!"
"Nothing, I-"
"This is not nothing! Where am I?"
"Everythings fine-"
"Why did you kidnap me?" I scream at him.
"It's nothing like that-"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Izumi begins to tear up. "Stop ganging up on me!"
My head hurts, my thoughts are hazy, and I sure as hell am pissed the fuck off. Childhood friend or not. "Where am I?"
"Y-You're on the Arc Royale" I finally get him to say.
"Take me back to the Black Swan!" I say.
"You're not my fucking mother" Izumi says, sniffling. "She's dead! And those pirates, they killed her!"
I am fed up with all these damn misconceptions about pirates. I have been on a ship with these pirates for months and nothing bad has happened to me. It pisses me off because I know what it's like to be misunderstood. I'm a woman, a whore, I have to deal with this shit on a daily basis, but I can handle it. I pride myself in my ability to stick up for people, similar to how Roberts fights for the weak. And I am fed up with Izumi! Not just because he drugged and kidnapped me, but because the Black Pirates did not kill his mother. He's wrong!
"That's . . . they're not. . ." I hesitate to tell him, since Roberts and Yoh think it's best for him not to know. It's not something I have the right to say.
"You're running from Saint Cross, aren't you? That's why you took up with these pirates, right?" Izumi says firmly.
I sigh. "That's true, Izumi, but-"
"Don't worry, the Queens Coast will keep you safe."
I press my hands to my head that's still dizzy from all the chemicals. The more Izumi says, the more angry I become.
"But I want to go back!" I plead.
But Izumi shuts me down immediately. "You can't! Roberts is a heinous criminal and a wanted man" he says matter-of-factly.
"So am I!" I shout at him, full well knowing he doesn't know what I'm talking about. "They may be pirates, but they treat me with respect, unlike you apparently!"
Izumi frowns. "Pirates must be wiped out, that is justice."
"Izumi" I try again, however my voice trails off in the face of his dark tone.
All of a sudden, there's a loud explosion and the ship rocks violently. It's all to familiar as I topple over. Everyone's shouting from the deck above us can even be heard in here. There's the sound of cannon fire, and I know Roberts is here to save me. Flashing a quick smirk in Izumi's direction, I get up and kick down the door. I have no idea where to go, but I look for stairs, my only vague instruction to go up. Knowing Izumi is after me, adrenaline pumps through my veins.
When I reach the deck, I'm greeted by the intolerable screech of a lookout's whistling and smoke-filled air. I begin to cough as the gunpowder-tainted air fills my lungs. Grabbing onto a railing for support, I'm doubled over in a coughing fit. As Izumi reaches the deck, another shot rocks the ship. Off in the distance I can see Drake's hardened expression as he glares at the Black Swan.
"We're hit on the port side!" I hear a sailor yell. "At this rate we'll sink!"
"The auxiliary mast has been hit! It's useless!" yells another.
From off to the side, I hear the deep voice of the blonde man from before. "Black Roberts is serious today. . . Maybe we shouldn't have taken his woman. . ."
Lord Effingham speaks leisurely as he waves smoke away from his face.
"There's nothing for it! Change course! Hard to port!" Drake yells to his crew.
"Out with the frying pan and into the Kraken's nest" Effingham says, as if this happens every other weekend.
Just as the Arc Royale turns around, the ship is suddenly drastically tilt, making it impossible for it to stand. I clutch onto the railing as tightly as I can, praying that I not fall into the dark abyss that is the waters below. My eyes begin to strain as dust obstructs my view of the Black Swan. And then I realize that the bow of the Black Swan is leaning right onto the deck of the Arc Royale.
There's Roberts, standing right where the two ships meet, shotgun in hand.
"Alright you bastards!" he yells from his ship. "Say hi to the devil for me, because you're gonna die tonight!"
I have never been so relieved to hear someones voice in all my life. Behind Roberts stands his crew, all armed and dangerous.
"Avalon, don't move; I'm coming for you" Roberts yells to me. I try to yell back to him but I take in a lungful of gunpowder smoke and go into another coughing fit.
"I'm taking back my treasure!" Roberts screams out from amidst the chaos.
I look up to find ropes being flung from the Black Swan onto the Arc Royale, pirates piling onto them like ants on a picnic. There's a huge dip as the weight distribution on the higher up side of the ship evens out.
"Alright, you scurvy dogs!" Yoh exclaims as he swings onto the Royale.
As soon as Roberts lands in front of me we both reach out to each other, but not before one of the Queens men grabs hold of me.
"Don't you dare take what's mine!" Roberts threatens him as he points his gun.
But before Roberts can do anything, I elbow the man in the collar bone as hard as I can. There's a loud crack, and he lets go of me. But neither me nor Roberts could've anticipated Drake suddenly grabbing me tightly around the arms.
"Playing dirty as usual, huh Roberts?" Drake says, tightening his hold on me.
"I see you got fat" Roberts taunts flatly. Drake squints very menacingly.
"I'm warning you Roberts," Drake says. "I seriously going to kill you."
Roberts laughs and draws his gun, aiming at Drake's head. "Is that so?"
Drake throws me aside and runs at Roberts with his hatchet raised high above his head. As the distance between them closes, Drake swings down, but misses. Robets nimbly dodges the blow and thrusts the muzzle of his shotgun at his opponent. But before he's able to pull the trigger, Drake barrels into his side. Roberts tumbles to the floor and rolls out of the hatchet's way, opening the space between them once again.
"You bastard! Come fight me hand to hand!" yells Drake in a bitter tone.
"Nah," Roberts says cooly, an arrogant smile displayed proudly upon his face. "I can blow your head off from here."
This time, Roberts fires. But Drake is able to evade the bullet. He takes this opportunity to come at Roberts with his hatchet in tow.
I scream out as blood splatters through the air. But when I look, the one covered in his own blood is Drake, as Roberts had somehow stabbed him with . . . my dagger?
Cursing Roberts, Captain Ingram pitches forward onto his face. He lands in a fetal position, clutching a hand to his wound. Roberts walks towards him as he fits a shell into the shotgun.
"Good for you, Drake. You bought yourself some time to pray to God" he says. "Although only a moment."
Despite being doubled over in pain, Drake looks up. "Why do you need that woman?" he asks Roberts.
"What did you say?" Roberts ask, suddenly serious.
"Maybe you're going to sell her off to the sex trade. But even so, it doesn't seem worth it to pick a fight with us just to get her back."
"She is mine." Roberts says. "And I do not like being stolen from."
Drake chuckles at this. "How sweet, you're in love. Well, you've changed."
"What? That's bullshit!" Roberts stammers.
"So it's true then?" Drake says. "Well, get it done then, anyway."
Roberts goes to pull the trigger, and I can't help but cringe. When the gunshot never comes, I hesitantly open my eyes to see Roberts pointing the gun to the sky.
"... Roberts" Drake says slowly.
"You're right, I have changed." Roberts calmly says. "Now that I think about it, rather than kill you here, it'd be better revenge to have you experience the humiliation of being spared by me for the rest of your life."
"You son of a bitch."
"That's me" Roberts says, laughing. He then walks over to me and scoops me up in his arms. As Drake is spouting curses, Roberts simply carries me to the edge of the ship. Looking back, Drake's face is bright red with anger and regret.
"Hold on to my neck" Roberts tells me, grabbing one of the ropes in preparation to swing over.
"Don't tell me we're going to swing!" I whine.
"That's exactly what we're going to do" Roberts says as he jumps with me in tow.
Despite my desperate clinging to him, I'm convinced I'm going to die. But when we don't, I let out a breath of relief.
"Avalon!" I hear my brother yell as he runs towards me with his arms open wide.
"Nagisa!" I say as I run and jump onto him, my legs around his waist as we hug.
"Hey!" Roberts shouts in protest, but Nagisa ignores him.
"It seems I should've been trying to kill you instead of Drake" Roberts says. "I don't like how you're touching her."
"I'm her brother . . . "
"Hmph, still."
Roberts makes his way toward us as the rest of the crew members return to the ship, when suddenly the lookout yells down to us.
"The Saint Cross is headed our way!"