WR:
Ookami Aya: Thank you very much for your in-depth reviews. I know I am a little crummy on punctuation and general grammar – it's one of my faults. I am slowly getting better at it, sadly this fic was one I wrote aout 4 years ago, sitting on a beach in Costa Rica, and I am only now starting to type it up and post it. If I was writing it fresh then I expect the general structure of it would flow a little better. I am trying to touch it up as I go through it, but like I say, not my strongest point. Still, I'm glad you are reading and enjoying it around the mistakes. Please do keep leaving advice
OK, so, leading on from last chapter, they've entered the mines...
Chapter 10
Horror gripped her. Her breath came in short, short gasps. Her knuckles were white, her hand tight around the handle of her boomerang. How could this have happened? One moment she had been walking over an iron panelled floor, behind the others, alert and ready... next the footing had vanished beneath her, and the ground had swallowed her up. She had tumbled down a chute, emerging at the bottom and gingerly climbing to her feet. Now she looked around her, her mouth was dry, her eyes wide with surprise. She knew that she could fight, and fight well... but against ten men? For a moment she thought about flinging herself at them, attacking and killing until she was inevitably cut down. Her grip on her weapon tightened, and her body tensed for the lunge.
Suddenly within her swelled an incredibly powerful surge of chilling desperation. Desperation to protect her baby! It may not be planned, it may be the child of hr enemy, it may be the reason she had now agreed to marry Vyse, but, it was also hers. With an immense power of will, Aika forced herself to straighten from her fighting crouch. Tears of shame welled, but she swallowed them back, and allowed her boomerang to clatter to the floor.
'For the baby' she thought forcefully. 'You are doing this so your baby stands a chance to live, so it can know its father, and perhaps you will be alive to see it.' Gauntleted hands snatched at her, and she was led deeper into the caverns of the Mines, again, a prisoner of Vaula.
"Don't tell me to talk sense!" Roared Vyse, glowering at Drachma. "We have to find her, she could be in trouble!"
"In the middle of an underground mine, swarming with Vaulans? Boy, we are all in trouble!" Came the angry reply from the huge man. "That bonny lass is perfectly capable and if anyone can find their way out of here, it's her. Now lets stop wasting time and get a move on, so we can get out of this hole!"
Fina quietly watched the angry exchange, her eyes lingering on the frustrated Air Pirate at her side. She cautiously reached out and touched his arm.
"Don't worry, Vyse. Aika is very strong. I'm sure we'll find her soon enough."
He made a non-committal grunting noise, before stalking forwards. Fina's hand fell back to her side, and she sighed quietly, before following. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Vyse suddenly came to t stop, swearing loudly, the sound echoing off the close walls.
"This is idiotic!" He snapped. "Someone was controlling that trap door, and that means we are being watched! We have been separated once, easily..." He reached into a pouch on his belt and drew out a length of sailing twine. "Here, loop it around your belt, I don't want to make it any easier for those Vaulan scrum!"
They linked themselves together, Drachma giving the younger man a curt nod of the head before they moved off again. Still there was silence, but now it had eased somewhat.
Alfonso laughed victoriously. The girl had been taken aboard his ship, and promptly put under heavy sleep enchantments. She was to be held like that by two men, who would take it in shifts to renew the spells. She had been surprisingly compliant, and had put up no fight at all, allowing herself to be led. All the men knew of, or had witnessed her stint in the Arena, and assuming she would not remain so docile, had vouched that keeping her in a constant state of unconsciousness was the best option. Now Alfonso turned to his fellow Admiral.
"We need to start transporting her right away." He said, "I don't want to give the others any chance to set her free. I doubt we'll be able to separate the rest now..." He said, nodding to the three people shown on the monitors, now bound together. De Loco glanced up at the younger, striking man... oh how he loathed him! Such fine attributes; height, breadth of shoulder, a carelessly handsome face... such gifts were wasted on the vain, foolish man.
"Well, how convenient then, that she was taken aboard your personal ship, Alfonso, best you get down to the docking area, and hurry back to Vaula." He said snidely. The blond haired man flushed red.
"If you are suggesting, De Loco, that I am shirking my duty.."
"I'd never suggest something like that, boy." Interrupted the odd looking, squat man. Alfonso seemed to relax slightly. "I would merely imply it."
The Admiral gritted his teeth, his fingers twitching towards his sabre, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"I'm sure you feel the need to take her, and a whole ship's crew of armed soldiers with you, back to the city." De Loco continued. "After all, she is just one little girl, an unconscious one at that, and drastic security measures must, of course, be taken." He said, his eyes never leaving the remaining trio of pirates, meandering their way through the confusing pathways of the Mine. Alfonso clenched his fists, and kept his arms locked at his sides, in a valiant attempt to keep from killing the ugly little man.
"In case it had escaped your notice, Admiral." He said stiffly, between clenched teeth. "That 'one little girl' has so far managed to dupe the Royal Court into believing she was a fisherman's daughter, fight her way out of the Arena, blow apart Vaula's monorail, escape the Grand Fortress, defeat Admiral Belleza, retrieve the Red Moon Crystal, and find her way here... unlike you, I deem it unwise to underestimate her now."
"All of those things she has done, has been with the help of her comrades." De Loco snapped. "Alone she is nothing."
"Well, if you feel so confident about that, I'll have her transferred to the Chameleon. You can escort her back to Vaula, take full credit for her capture, and I'll stay here and keep an eye on the other three."
De Loco rounded on him, his face stormy.
"My ship is far more advanced than yours Alfonso, and is capable of wreaking havoc, whereas yours is simply a pleasure barge with a couple of guns! These pirates have bested you once before, so now I shall step up and succeed where you have failed! I have no use for you here, so return to Vaula and let the girl meet her fate!" He snarled.
How dare Alfonso? De Loco would never run back to Vaula, not when there was chaos to be wrought! The Queen had ordered them all to be taken alive, however if they managed to get out, and it came to ship to ship battle, the Admiral would delight in burning them from the skies!
"Very well Admiral," Alfonso said stiffly, "if those are your orders." Without waiting for a reply, he turned , stalking out of the control room, towards the docks. Upon boarding his ship, orders were given to set a course for Vaula. Alfonso dropped into his ornate chair on the Bridge. It would take a little over a week to reach Vaula, with his ship's powerful engines, and streamlined hull. He shouted commands to cut the journey time as much as possible by powering through any reefs or rifts that the ship could overcome, and by cutting rations to eliminate the need to stop for supplies. Out of the windbreaker, he watched the Moon Stone Mines fall away as the craft moved away and increased its altitude.
'They are stronger than you think De Loco.' He thought to himself. Belleza was a natural tactician, yet her ship had been towed into the repair yard after the pirates were done with it. True the Chameleon was equipped with very powerful weaponry, but De Loco never planned. He just attacked, always underestimating his opponents. Brute force and technology usually won it for the repulsive little man, but the pirates had proved to be both strong and tactful. Alfonso was glad to be heading away from the inevitable battle, for he was also eager to know what punishment the girl would be subjected to.
Blackness. Total, peaceful, mind-numbing blackness. Aware of nothing, time slipped by dreamlessly. In the brief bouts of wakefulness, which she was permitted for meals, she could not tell how much time has passed, as there were no windows or port-holes, only a tiny vent which allowed clean air into her sealed cell. She knew she must be being taken back to Vaula, and she tried to measure the number of days by the number of meals she was given. She estimated two a day, although it could have easily been one. On what could have been the fifth or perhaps the sixth day, she awoke, as always, with wrists manacled to the wall. Standing gingerly, she could take almost three substantial steps, before her chains stopped her. She stretched her legs for a while, before the door was opened. She turned to take the tray of measly scraps on which she was surviving. However, it was not a soldier, or a galley boy who stepped into her cell, but Alfonso. She took one, unsure step backwards, keeping the chains taught, by coiling them around her wrists. She swallowed a bolus of dislike for the arrogant ass, but stayed silent, glaring at him.
Alfonso smirked and stepped forwards, tossing the pitiful rations onto the cot bed she had just occupied. There it was, the thing he hated most about this woman; the defiance in her eyes. He allowed a disarming smile to spread over his face.
"your sentence won't be passed until we reach Vaula, in two days." He told her conversationally. "And I am to present you to the Queen unspoiled..."
Then with a lack of speed that dulled her senses, his hand came up in a stunning backhand across her face. She staggered back onto the cot, the tray, and her rations clattering to the floor. It hadn't hurt all that much, but the slap had struck her pride, and she slowly rose to her feet, tasting the metallic tang of blood on her tongue.
"But that was for my demotion." He said as if commenting on the weather, straightening his spotless white gloves. Aika swallowed her anger. She could feel a bruise forming on her cheek already.
"Hm? What's this?" He said, closing the last step between them. "Nothing to say?" He laughed coldly. "It doesn't matter, you'll open those pretty little lips of yours soon enough. The Queen is planning on making your death especially painful. I doubt you'll manage any intelligible words, it'll mainly be screaming."
Aika went cold, and her face drained of colour.
"Then why didn't you just have your men kill me in the Mines then?" She asked.
"Ahh, but that would be too easy, I expect it'll take weeks, even months for you to die." He smiled horribly. Aika's mind was whirling. She was such a fool! The immediate desire to protect her child in the Mines had fogged her judgement. Of course the Queen would never allow her to live, in her stupidity she had given herself to them, to death. She had condemned her unborn child, in an act she had intended to prolong it life, to a long drawn out, horrific end. 'At least it will feel nothing...' she thought.
Suddenly anger flared in her chest, fanning her hatred for Vaula. How dare they! What right had they to trap and kill the free and good? She had killed in her life, but never had she done so for pleasure. Now, however, a resolution to take as many Vaulans with her as possible settled in her heart. She would die, that was no longer of any doubt in her mind, but they would not find her so easy to kill...
Alfonso started to turn away. The chuckle on his lips, however, dies and disintegrated into a strangled gasping noise. Aika had, in a moment of deadly impulsiveness, flicked the loose length of chain over the admirals head. With a yank, she snapped it tight, the metal crushing into the man's throat, which clicked and groaned ominously. The man had his back to her, his hands scrabbling desperately away at the greasy metal, desperately trying to gain some oxygen. Aika could hear shouts through the still-open door, and knew soldiers were seconds away, evidently her cell was under close observation.
"Whoreson!" She snarled, placing a booted foot between his shoulder blades, pushing him further forwards to increase the pressure on his neck. Then men were around her, she heard the call for the Moons. With no time to shield herself, Blue Magic gripped her and unconsciousness tugged her into its murky depths, and the hard floor of the cell rushed up to meet her. Blackness again... merciful blackness.
Why her? Why did she have to be the one... the only one caught? Now she would suffer the longest and no doubt, the most. The queen would keep her alive. Tortured, but alive, to lure her comrades to her rescue. If she killed the girl, news of it would travel fast; 'The pirate who fooled Vaula, dead!'
That would give the others no reason to follow her here.
Alfonso's ship had docked twenty minutes ago, and he was having his prisoner brought directly to the Throne Room. Ramirez now stood beside General Galcian and he, like everyone else in the room, was utterly silent, ears strained to hear the first signs of approach. They need not have tried. Soon, from outside the doors, came sounds of what could be a scuffle. The doors were then thrown open, and Alfonso entered, just as the words "Take your filthy hands off me, you ugly Vaulan bastards!" rang out loudly and clearly. Despite himself, Ramirez felt a slight smirk tugging at his lips, only his iron will was able to keep his face blank. He was glad to hear she was still as spirited as ever.
His green eyes flickered towards the 1st Admiral. The man wore a silken scarf around hsi neck, and seemed to be trying to suppress winces when he breathed.
Then, she was hauled in. She wore another battle dress, this one of brown leather, as opposed to the garish yellow. Her hair had come loose and was tangled and dull, after a weeks' imprisonment, and tumbled over her shoulders. They had received a transmission, informing them that she had cooperated in her capture and had not attacked them... the same could not be said for now. She ws struggling and fighting like a demon against the three men that held her. They wore armour, but no helmets and their faces were red and shone with sweat. She managed to get a hand free and raised it.
"Moons..."
An armoured gauntlet cuffed her across the cheek, stunning her into silence. Her legs were kicked from under her and she grunted in pain as her knees hit the floor. The strong hands held her down, forcing her to remain in the kneeling position. This did not stop her from spitting with contempt onto the spotless marble tiles. Her saliva was pink from the blood drawn from the blow to the face , and a trickle of crimson had run down her chin from the corner of her mouth.
"Dogs!" she snarled. "Take your fucking hands off me!"
This time she cried out as the blow caught her across the temple, and she descended into a dazed silence. Ramirez forced his eyes away from erh an back to the Queen. His face was still quite blank, but at the first strike laid on her, he had stiffened involuntarily. At the second, it had become a physical effort not to draw his sabre and tear their hands from her. If he continued to watch her, he may well lose the battle, so instead he locked his gaze on the enormous monarch. Only the slightest tremor gave him away, as a quiver of fury tingled over his flesh. Galcian's eyes flickered to him for a moment, before returning to the dais.
"You have caused value a lot of trouble." Teadora was saying, her voice tight and angry. You will never leave here, not until your corpse is tossed into Deep Sky!" slowly and laboriously, the Queen got to her feet and turned to a messenger. "Let it be known that the Pirate whore who defied Vaula had been caught, and as an example to other law breakers, she will be tortured over a number of weeks, until she reveals the location of her crew and what their treacherous intentions are. I wish the transmission to be put out on all frequencies, so all of Arcadia knows."
Aika felt that if she hated the Empress any more, she would be able to kill her with her gaze alone.
"Captain!" She snapped, as she turned back to face those in the room. For a moment, Aika's heart leapt, thinking that she was addressing Ramirez. However, one of the men holding her, snapped his heels together, as he came to attention. "I want her punishment to start at once! You and your two men there may escort her down to the calls and ensure that she is suitably welcomed back to Vaula."
Aika's blood roared in her ears and she suddenly felt dizzy and sick, as her memory brought back the screams of the peasant girl and the jeers of the soldiers who abused her.
"With great pleasure Your Majesty." The Captain said. The lustful tone of his voice sent Aika into a well of terror. Already she felt herself being hauled upright and dragged towards the doors. For a flickering moment all eyes were on her, but her gaze met with the only ones which mattered to her. In that instant while horror and helplessness robbed her of speech, her wide, terrified eyes locked with those deep, emerald orbs. Then the moment was gone, as she was spun around and marched from the room.
She was almost half way to the cells before her spirit forced its way through the wall of numbness around her mind. If she entered those cells, she would be raped, she would be tortured, and eventually murdered. If there was any way in this world, that she could prevent that, then she must! With a shout she tore one arm free and kicked out with her booted feet. Now, however, the soldiers showed no restraint. Blows hammered at her from all sides, but still she fought, even as tears of desperation slid down her cheeks. They bound her wrists before her, tightly, cutting into the skin, while pain continued to dig at her mercilessly.
Don Vito was slouching behind his desk, debating if he should give in to Marco's constant whine and give the boy a mug of ale.
"Cummon Don, you know how it is. A laddie like me 'as gotta eat! Drink too for that matter, and there ain'n naught but dirty water that I can get in the sewers! Would drive anyone to crime, a life like that would!"
Marco was becoming such a regular in the jails, that Don suspected he would actually enjoy being given a life sentence. Solid food and shelter, it would be a tempting option for the lad. Slowly he poured a small amount of the brew into a wooden beaker. Glaring at the boy, he pointed a stubby finger at him.
"I give you this, and you shut it, go to sleep and keep quiet. The guards are getting mighty tired of bringing you in. Keep saying want to just slit your throat and be done with you. Keep up your prattle and I'll let 'em!"
Marco grinned, and nodded. Not saying a word, eyes fixed on the small cup.
With a sigh Don stood and passed it through the bars to him. The boy swigged loudly, and drained it in seconds.
"So, you reckon Aika and those Pirates would take me with 'em if they come to Vaula again?" he asked as soon as the cup was empty.
"I told you to keep quiet boy!"
"Well, I think they might. Aika liked me and Vyse seemed ok, after all, I helped 'em escape and that."
"If any of them come anywhere near Vaula again, after defying the Queen like that, they will never leave. They would die in these very cells. Now shut it!"
Marco was about to talk again, but the sounds of a scuffle outside cut across him. The door was opened and four people, locked together in a struggle entered the jails. The boy's eyes widened.
"Aika!" He hissed.
"We need a cell Jailer. The Queen has ordered this girl to be tortured and that is precisely what we intent to do."
Don blinked in surprise at their arrival, looking at the dazed woman strung between the three men.
"There is one at the end, lock her up and I'll get my tools."
"Not that kind of torture you fat idiot!" Snarled the Captain, shoving past him. "Cummon lads, tis our duty to obey the Queen."
The men laughed, jeering in anticipation. Marco looked desperately at Don as they dragged their burden past.
"Don, you can't let 'em."
"I can't stop it boy. The girl is as good as dead."
It had only been minutes since Aika had been led away, when
the other occupants of the Throne Room were dismissed. But to Ramirez that time may as well have been years. That look she had given him; that fear, the pleading, desperate, agonised look. His lips were tight as images of those three men abusing her presented themselves before his mind's eye. He knew Galcian was watching him, but try as he might, he could not unclench his balled fists. He could not allow it! A woman like that deserved better than such a horrific end. But the Queen had ordered it and there was nothing he could do. To disobey her orders now, at such a crucial stage, could jeopardise the General's plans. But if he stood aside... then Aika would die. Although, she would undoubtedly welcome the prospect of death before this night had reached its conclusion. An image of her, naked, innocent and trusting, below him, flickered through his memory. The way she had kissed and touched him, how she had gasped so sweetly at his caress.
His brain and body heard, and reacted to the dismissal, and he marched out perfectly beside Galcian. As soon as the pair were clear of the throngs and were out of earshot, the General turned to the younger man with a dark expression on his face.
"Boy..." He growled warningly.
"Sir," The younger man said, cutting across, something he had never done before. "with all due respect, my Master, I must say that I would never seek to disobey you. I am eternally grateful for everything you have done for me and I know that this close to the culmination of our plans, it must seem a poor way indeed to repay you. But in this instance, General, I feel I must go against the Queens orders."
Ramirez's emerald eyes were fixed on a spot, just over the taller man's shoulder, not wanting to see the angry look on the man's face. The silence between them stretched. Every second that passed was drawing Aika closer and closer to horrific abuse at the hands of the Imperial soldiers.
"I can see that girl is quite a weakness of yours, boy. A weakness I would prefer to see stamped out." Ramirez opened his mouth to interject, but Galcian raised his hand, demanding silence. "I stood you interrupting me once, boy, I'll not stand it again." Only the Admiral's iron loyalty to the man before him, kept him from speaking, allowing the General to continue.
"Although, I've never seen you so impassioned about a female. A man needs a woman to ease his strains, with her body and her mind. The girl is well suited to you, if she had been born of Vaula and come to my notice, I have no doubt that I would have made a match of you both. She is, however, our enemy and has been sentenced as such. True, Teadora will not rule for much longer, but till then, we must appease her. You know there will only be one choice for you, if you save her."
The pale haired man nodded.
"Yes, My Lord, I know."
"It still may not be enough... But I will not stop you, Ramirez."
Disbelief leapt through the Admiral and he at last brought his eyes to his master's face. It was tight and disapproving, yet there was an essence of understanding there. Ramirez bowed his head.
"I thank you, Sir."
"You had better hurry, boy, those men looked rather eager."
With a nod, Ramirez turned away and sprinted in the direction of the cells. How long had it been? Would they have reached the jails already? Was he too late? The look of desperation and fear she had shot him hovered before him for a moment. No! He would be there in time! He could not allow something like that to befall her. As he ran he did not allow the notion of love to settle within him. Affection, yes. She was a beautiful woman, who had intelligence, wit, and sweetness. The fact that he wanted to preserve that and keep it for himself, was not unusual. He sped on, forcing his way past some serfs and almost knocking a whore to the floor, not even noticing that it was Celeste. Time seemed to drag on, every step took an age, the moments were slipping past and with each of them Aika came closer to a horrific fate. It seemed years before the dungeon doors loomed before him. His shoulder slammed into it and it banged open. The fetid stench of the Vaulan jails filled his nostrils and the cruel hollering of the three soldiers, his ears.
At once it was clear where they were, the door hung arrogantly open and Don Vito was stood looking at the portal with a look almost of remorse on his face. At Ramirez's entrance, the huge jailer jumped and looked open mouthed at the Admiral's sudden arrival. Ignoring him, the younger man shoved past, drawing his sword and stepping down into the cell. The three men died swiftly, but he barely saw them. Their blood flooded around him, mingling with hers – by the Moons there was a lot of hers! He knelt and hauled her damaged body to him.
"Don, get me a Priest, now!" He snarled.
The man nodded dumbly and scurried out of sight. She shuddered alarmingly in his arms, and he looked at her.
"They are dead," He whispered, "No more harm will come to you."
She was gasping for air around her sobs, tears falling to her bruised cheeks.
"Our.. our .. baby." She moaned, "They've .. killed .. our.."
He went still. For the first time, the sheer volume of blood made sense, he looked at her legs, crimson with gore, crimson with what would have been his heir...
"They killed it.. they killed our baby, Ramirez." She moaned into his chest.
They crouched together, and he willed his shock away, he had to get her through this, he had to lend her his strength. Quietly he called on some silver magic, to soothe her, then he heard the sound of the jailer's returning footsteps. At the priest's horrified expression, Ramirez slowly stood, pulling the broken woman up with him as gently as he could.
"Father, the lady and I wish to be wed. Now."
"N-now?"
"Yes, here and now!"
Gently he tilted her face up to him, holding her agonised gaze with his. As he looked at her, he silently swore an oath that he would never allow her to be put through such torment again, he would protect her with all the power that he had.
"You and I must marry to save both our lives. Your loss is my loss also, but dry your eyes Aika, for in this brief moment, you are a bride."
"Y-you need witnesses." Stammered the priest. "I cannot bind you under the Moons without witnesses."
Ramirez glanced at the jailer.
"You." He said, the one word an order.
"I'll witness!" Came a voice from down the jail.
"I told you to keep silent boy!" Don shouted back. Ramirez was a ruthless man, and the jailer did not want to see the boy's life ended just because he could not keep quiet. But the platinum haired man was nodding his assent.
"There, two witnesses. Now join us!"
Don fetched Marco from his cell and the two stood and swore by the Moons that they would bare holy witness to the union.
So there, below the Imperial Palace, a Pirate married an Admiral, surrounded by blood and corpses, the ceremony witnessed by a torturer and an urchin.
WR: There you go! Married! But what is the Queen gonna think of this? Ramirez has killed Vaulan officers, and married an enemy of Vaula. My my my. Impulsive lad isn't he. Review, tell me what you think, and I'll try and write the next chapter soon.
Tho im working pretty much full time in a cocktail bar right now, so it might take me some time...:S