Chapter 15: Surprised and Confused
Disclaimer: I only own the OCs and the –plot- of this fic.
"Dinner is ready, lads." Gilbert said when he opened the door to the cabin Rey and Shinn were in.
"We'll be out in a minute, sir." Rey replied, for he was still awake.
Durandal nodded and left.
Rey turned to Shinn and began nudging him. "Shinn, wake up, 'tis supper time." He said quietly.
"I'm not hungry." The boy mumbled.
"Shinn, ye need t' eat, come now, 'tis only food." Rey replied and continued shaking him gently.
Shinn groaned and turned over, his back to Rey now.
Rey scowled and grabbed Shinn and began dragging him off the bed. The boy gasped and began struggling.
"Wot do ye think yer doin'!? Stop it! Lemme go!" he exclaimed. Rey got him off the bed and Shinn struggled in his arms, kicking his legs about wildly while they were off the ground.
"Shinn, stop being such a hassle! If'n ye would just do as I say, we wouldn't have t' go through this ev'ry time! Blast it!" Rey exclaimed and let go. Shinn stumbled and grabbed the bedpost to steady himself while he tried to recover.
"Now…just get yerself cleaned up, will ya? That's all I ask." Rey said exasperatingly.
He handed him some clean clothes and Shinn eyed them fearfully. He glanced from the clothes to Rey and tentively reached out to them, afraid that Rey was trying to trick him. He snatched the clothes and waited for Rey's reaction, who simply sighed and went over to the dresser to pick out his own clothes.
He calmed a bit and went into the small washroom to change and wash himself.
"Sir, The young man who was wounded has awoken. He told me that he is indeed Nicol Amarfi, who was captured from the S. S. Blitz. He also confirms that the blond young woman we captured along with the pirates is Cagalli Ula Attha. He has also inquired about a Miss Lacus Clyne who was captured as well and may perhaps be on this ship." Siegel Clyne told Rau, his last sentence between clenched teeth as he held back a glare.
"Ah, very well then, everything is in order." Rau replied, ignoring his last sentence.
"Why did you not alert me of my daughter's presence? Where is she? Is she hurt?" he asked angrily.
Rau sighed and finally turned to look at Siegel. "I was unsure on whether she was truly Lacus or not. The girl that was escorted to my cabin told me that she and Cagalli were kidnapped by the pirates. She requested that their punishment not be severe, babbling about how they treated her nicely or some such nonsense. If this girl is truly your daughter, Siegel, then I believe she was damaged while in Kira's company, for I did not recognize the sweet girl that was your daughter." He said softly, but with a harsh edge.
Siegel's eyes widened and he gasped, taking a step back. "What do you mean, damaged? And why is she in your chambers!?" he asked incredulously.
"My good man, we had nowhere else to put her. But I will have her moved to your quarters if you so wish." Rau explained calmly, ignoring his first question.
"Liar! You were going to take her as your own! You were going to hide the fact that she was my daughter and take her as your bride! How dare you!" Siegel roared.
"Calm thyself, man! I was going to do no such thing! Now if you wish to be further angered, then I will have to lock you with those wretched beasts down below! Is that clear!?" Rau bellowed, standing from where he was seated.
Siegel took another step back and tried to calm himself. He couldn't afford to anger Rau, for he could be tried with treason and hanged with the pirates, so he conceded. "Yes, sir, it is understood. I apologize for my rudeness, 'tis only because I have missed my daughter and am outraged that she would be kidnapped by those miscreants."
"Good, is that all the news, then?" Rau asked, sitting back down.
"Yes sir." Siegel said, defeated.
"Very well, you may leave to take supper with the rest of the crew." Rau replied. Siegel turned and left, thinking of ways to right this wrong.
Rau smirked and then got up, having been told that dinner for him and the better half of the crew (guests, basically) was prepared and waiting for him.
Lacus combed her pink hair and fixed the dress Rau had lent her. She didn't want to think of how he got the dress in the first place and who it was originally intended for, she only let her mind focus on Kira Yamato, who might very well soon be hanged.
She set the brush down harder than she wanted and tried to breathe normally. She couldn't break down now, she had to stay calm and figure a way out of this. There had to be something she could do! She'd find Nicol, and anyone else not destined for the gallows to help her free her friends. If they sail to ORB, she'll be able to rally the whole town, besides, Cagalli (whether she wanted to be or not) was heir to the throne.
She sighed and stood, putting on a look of calm and sophistication, as she was used to back in ORB. She almost laughed at herself, but held her look as she strode out of the cabin and to dinner.
Guards appeared at the steps, leading the way with their bayonets. Kira stood, ready to fight if they meant to hang them here and now, and the others stood as well, looking wary and hostile.
Athrun glanced over at Cagalli, who had cleaned up most of the blood on her face. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling about her being down here.
He knew that she was pledged to be Yuuna's bride, but he also knew she hated that coward with every fiber of her being; she also refused to accept her calling to be Princess of ORB, saying she wasn't meant to be a Princess, but a Pirate.
"Where is she? Where's Cagalli?" the lead guard asked, looking around. Athrun's eyes flew wide. He turned to look at Kira who looked puzzled and furious. He mouthed the word "Yuuna" and Kira face hardened. He understood.
Cagalli stood warily and walked toward the bars of her cell.
"Aha! There she is, Captain Rau said to have her cleaned up and proper like to have dinner with the Guests of Honor." The guard said when eh saw her and two others opened her cell and dragged her out.
"Wait! Wot's goin' on? Wot dinner, and what about th' rest o' me friends?" Cagalli asked, panicking.
"You are being honored by presenting yerself at dinner with the Cap'n and his guests, so ye'd better be happy about it and shut yer yap!" another guard told her. She looked back at Kira worriedly and could see the anger behind his concerned gaze. Something was wrong.
They dragged her to a washroom and shoved her in a cold bath where she was ordered to hurry up and wash herself. There was an older woman in the room who helped her clean up and then get dressed in a pretty Victorian dress.
When she was presentable she was "escorted" to a Dining Room of some sort where a long, polished wood table was laced and china plates were placed around it. She sat down and saw Gilbert Durandal. She gasped and he nodded to her, but didn't say anything.
She remained calm as she tried to figure out what this was all about. There were a lot of empty seats at the table, and she figured that the Captain would occupy one, but what about all the others?
She heard the door open and looked behind her to see Lacus walk in wearing a similar dress.
"Lacus!" she exclaimed, standing.
"Cagalli! Oh goodness I'm so glad you're safe!" Lacus also exclaimed and they embraced.
"What of the others?" Lacus whispered while they hugged.
"Kira, Athrun, and most o' the crew are down in cells, where I was taken. I don' know about Shinn or Nicol, and I wasn't even sure if'n you made it out of that mess, but at least we're together now." Cagalli whispered back.
Lacus nodded and sat beside her, clutching her hand underneath the table. Durandal watched all of this with a cool eye.
"Wot do ya think the meanin' of this is?" Cagalli asked her quietly.
"I'm not sure, who are all these plates for?" Lacus asked. Cagalli shrugged and glanced around nervously, not liking the gaze of Gilbert boring into her neck.
The door opened again and Gilbert smiled and stood. The girls looked behind them and gasped again as they saw Rey and Shinn walk in.
"Shinn!" they gasped, taking in his rugged face and refined but borrowed clothes.
His eyes widened and he seemed to come back to life. "Cagalli! Lacus! Wot are ye doin' here?" he asked, going to embrace them.
"Shinn, enough chatter, take your place away from these young ladies." Durandal ordered. Rey lightly tugged on his arm as the girls watched him sit next to Durandal, Cagalli glaring at Rey and Gil with hatred.
'This isn't good, Gil has his hands on Shinn now, wot are we goin' t' do!?' she asked herself, trying to figure out how all this madness happened. Was it all just a bad dream? She knew it wasn't, reality had caught up to all of them. They were doomed.
Lacus glanced at Cagalli and they shared a knowing look, even though Lacus didn't know the whole story of the three siblings. She understood that things were going from bad to worse.
Shinn was placed in between Gil and Rey, but he wished that he was far away, or at least closer to his sister. He glanced at Rey, who had put on his emotionless mask. He dared not look at his father, the man he ran from, the man he hated, the man that betrayed his mother and was determined to make him into a civilized, brain-dead aristocrat like himself.
The door opened again and Yuuna stepped in, looking cleaned up and less seasick. Cagalli looked ready to bolt but then Rau appeared and everyone was made to stand. Guards were placed outside the doors and Yuuna took a seat next to Cagalli once Rau was seated at the head of the table, next to Lacus.
"Well, well, it appears I have found my wayward wife! You shouldn't have run off like you did, Cagalli, to desert your country would make you a traitor, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Yuuna said. Cagalli glared at him with pure hatred and he coughed before turning away.
"I thank all of you for accompanying me to dinner, and hope that the past hostilities can be forgotten for this night. Now, let us sup and be merry!" Rau told the gathered guests, raising his wine glass in a toast.
Gil, Rey and Yuuna raised theirs as well and said, "Hear, hear!" before drinking.
Cagalli, Lacus, and Shinn glanced at each other, wondering what was in store for them. Things didn't look good for any of the Freedom crew, who were now faced with being slaves to life and responsibilities instead of free to be and do whatever they wanted as they so hoped and dreamed to be.
Will they manage to escape before it's too late?
Will they finally be free?
These thoughts raced through each of them as they contemplated their dark futures, desperately searching for the light of Hope.
-Author's note: So, this is technically the ending of The Pirate's Treasure! Hooray! I managed to make a plot before I ended it! Don't worry, there will definitely be a sequel, but I'm not going to post it until I have a definite plot and story to go by, so look out for it but don't expect anything real soon. I'll post some kind of one-shot or last chapter to kind of explain everything with Kira, Cagalli, and Shinn's lineage and such soon so watch for that. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or ideas feel free to tell me in a review! Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me throughout this whole thing and reviewed to make me update each chappy! Peace out!-