CHAPTER 9: ABOUT GEORGE …

It was an eerie woman's voice. One that was full of longing and distress. It was a cry for help, a ghostly cry that echoed clearly throughout the room as each cry sounded before fading away. The sound was magnified a hundred times by the enclosed, silent room. For a minute, it was just filled with the woman's voice, calling and calling …

"Hugh! HUGH!"

It was a cry that definitely sent shivers down your spine, whether you believe in the supernatural or not.

Beast boy gripped Raven's arm tighter, and it hurt. Raven bit back her lip to keep from crying out loud herself. Numb with fear, she forced her frozen fingers to pry his fingers off. But it was no use. His grip was one of a steel clamp's.

Finally, the crying stopped and the last of the voice faded into dead silence.

"HUGH! Hugh! Hugh …"

"R, R, Raven … That d, definitely is not a p, p, prank …" quivered Beast boy.

He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Raven had to admit too, she was pretty spooked. Yet, her logical side told her there was a logical explanation for all of this. But she doubt Beast boy would listen to logic now. And besides, she guessed, well, maybe, she didn't want to be alone after all that had happened.

"Climb in, Beast boy. Let's go to sleep."

Mutterings and nodding soon broke out. The pirates have started to discuss among themselves and even seemed to forget they were even there. Robin could feel a headache coming on. He also felt just a bit insulted that they were not questioning him or Starfire and instead, seemed to regard them as insignificant as they were clearly ignoring them.

"Excuse me? But may I ask what is it that you are most passionately discussing about?" Starfire stood up and brushed the dirt from her skirt.

What is she doing? Robin stared in disbelief. She's in such a vulnerable position! Anyone could stab her now!

"Starfire!" Robin hissed as he pulled himself up and stood in front of Starfire protectively, "I'd rather you not question them about their discussing of your death!"

The pirates looked confused and looked at one another. Then, after a moment, they realised what Robin was saying and burst into peals of laughter!

"Death? Me lad, ye've got it wrong! We aren't goin' t' scuttle ye!" a pirate managed to say into between his laughing.

"See, Robin? You have nothing to fear! These kind people will not kill us!" Starfire came up behind him and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You never know." Robin glared angrily at the still laughing pirates.

But his glare only made them laugh harder. Starfire too, let out a small giggle. He looked at her as if she were mad.

"Forgive my friend, Robin. He is very tired." Starfire smiled.

Tired? Lucky fer ye, we 'ave a spare cabin! Ye can rest peacefully in thar tonight!" Another pirate said cheerfully.

And before the either of them knew what was happening, they found themselves being dragged to their cabin for the night.

Robin looked inside. It wasn't half bad, he admitted to himself. The bed definitely looked big enough for two people and very, very comfortable too …

Starfire flew to the bed in delight. The pirates who led them to their cabin looked on curiously. Robin saw their puzzled faces and mouthed, "Super power." to them. The pirates, though nodded their heads, still continued to look confused.

Nevertheless, they quickly left the room to let the two sleep.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Robin questioned, still wary of the pirates, "They would probably murder us in our sleep tonight or something …"

"Oh, Robin!" Starfire sighed as she smoothed the bedspreads, "You must learn to trust people more! These wonderful pirates are only showing us a great kindness, and we should be appreciative of the great kindness!"

"I don't know, Star." Robin still sounded doubtful, "I don't know if we can trust someone whom we've met only five minutes ago."

"Well, then." Starfire turned to look at him in the eye, "Do you trust me?"

Robin can't help but smile at Starfire's serious expression. He knew the answer right away. "Yes."

"Then, let us go to sleep."

That night, Robin laid against the soft pillows. The bed was warm and cosy and Starfire was also right beside him. He's never felt this happy for a long, long time. Just for tonight, he decided, he will let himself rest.

Relaxing his muscles and sinking further into the soft, soft bed, Robin felt himself drifting off to a restful sleep.

Raven woke up at dawn. And for a moment, she thought she was back at home, in her own room. Then, disappointment set in, she was still stuck in the 1500s.

Raven imagined the sky back at the Tower at this time of the day. White fluffy clouds floating by, a soft, gentle breeze blowing, the sun, gold and bright, rising from the ground, bright colours, pink, yellow, orange and purple streaked through baby blue sky.

She realised, that she felt desperately homesick. What if, Beast boy and her would never get to go home? Then, she pushed that thought away, that was enough negative thinking. Surely, Robin, Starfire and Cyborg will think of a way to rescue them!

Raven proceeded to climb out of bed softly, not wishing to wake the green changeling, snoring softly in bed. She thought now would be the best time to investigate what happened last night and felt guilty at not wanting to bring Beast boy alone. But he was too noisy, attracted too much attention, brought in too much distraction.

For her to succeed and get to the bottom of things, she must be cunning, sharp, discreet and quiet.

So it was for the best, Raven assured herself she was doing the right thing for not bringing him along, even though she knew he would most definitely want to go …

Raven made her way out onto the ship deck. She scanned the surroundings, there was not a person in sight. Then, somewhere from the dining room, where they feasted last night, came the distant clanging of pots and pans. That must be George, Cabin boy, preparing the pirates' breakfast.

And if there's anyone to start the investigation with, it would most certainly be George. It was him who told them about the ghostly voice and thumping on the floor, after all.

Raven walked briskly to the door and swung it open. The sound of the pots and pans were more distinct now but she did not see George anywhere. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a wooden door at the back of the room. Of course! The kitchen must be inside. That was where George came out with the dishes last night, so he should be inside right now.

Raven swung open that door and a delicious smell of something savory and warm hit her.

"That smells delicious." Raven commented in her neutral voice and made George, who was in front of the room, stirring a pot of … something, jump.

"Raven?" George turned around, wide-eyed. He looked a little nervous for some reason.

"What's that you're cooking?" Raven asked, going up to him.

George stepped aside quickly and Raven bent over the huge pot of …

"Stew." he said softly.

"You should have cooked this last night." Raven nodded her approval at him.

George shrugged and continued to stir its contents. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up, "It's all vegetables."

Raven let out a little laugh as she thought of Beast boy's starved expression last night at the table, "That's good news for Beast boy."

George nodded, but did not say anything else.

Raven surveyed him carefully, he was certainly a man of a few words. It might be hard to pull out information from him, she frowned. Hard, but not impossible. She thought and smoothened her forehead.

"So, uh … I heard the thumping." Raven started.

George froze for a while, then relaxed and continued to stir, "I expected you to."

Raven added on, "I also heard the cry."

George added in some carrots to the stew, "Sounded more like a wail to me." he said softly.

Raven didn't know what to say. She had expected him to panic, or get anxious, and hopefully tell her it was all a trick, a stupid joke he, with the help of some pirates had pulled. But he was quite calm about and did not look nervous at all.

"So, you didn't do all the noises?" The words were out of Raven's mouth before she could pull them back. And then, she cursed under her breath. So much for being discreet.

"No." George said, again, in his tiny voice but there was a firmness to his answer. She believed him. Then, he diced up some onions quickly and threw them inside the pot too. After that, he covered it with a lid and opened a door at the side of the room.

Raven wondered how many doors are there in this ship.

"Wait!" she called, before he was about to enter the room. George turned and looked at her expectantly.

"Can you … tell me anything more about the sounds?"

George shook his head, "I have to do the laundry." then, he gave a tiny bow and disappeared inside.

Raven sighed, she was getting nowhere with this.

She waited in the dining room as pirates filed in one by one and took a seat. Some greeted her, some waved, and some tried to make a conversation. But Raven was distracted this morning, she was trying to think up of another to get answers. The pirates saw this and eventually, decided not to disturb her.

But what if no one on this ship really knew what happened? What if George was telling the truth? That he really did not know where the sounds came from or who made them? Where would Raven get all the answers then?

When Beast boy came in and took the chair next to her. He noticed she was frowning slightly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Raven shook her head. Beast boy knew that from that notion, that Raven clearly wanted to do some thinking alone. Then he wondered if she ever got tired of thinking. Wouldn't her brain hurt?

But then again, she was Raven.

He shook his head. He would never understand that girl.

Throughout the day, Raven kept wandering off alone. Beast boy mostly stayed in the kitchen, hoping to find more of breakfast's stew even though he must have gobbled at least a third of it, on his own.

The strange thing was, she kept noticing George everywhere she went. And every time she would approach him, he would turn the other way and hurry off. It was almost as if he was trying to avoid her. But if he was, why?

In the afternoon, she spotted him near the wheel of the ship. He was holding a compass and the piece of parchment he dropped last night. He kept looking at the parchment, then towards the sea and occasionally checking his compass.

And when he spotted Raven behind him, he paled, thrust the parchment in his pocket and ran off, pretending he hadn't seen her.

Then at around three, she caught him standing near a small wooden boat at the side of the ship. It was those kinds of boat where you would use during an emergency. George was looking at it intently and even ran his fingers up and down the rope holding the boat to the ship.

Again, when he saw Raven was behind, he ran off towards the kitchen.

Finally, when it was almost time for dinner, she went to the kitchen to see what George had come up with. To her surprise, she saw him sitting on a wooden chair, holding something small, sparkly and red in his hands. He almost dropped in when the door opened but managed to catch it in time.

Clasping it in both hands protectively and shielding it from view, he very swiftly slipped the thing into a small, black silk bag and thrust it in his pocket.

This time, he didn't look afraid. He looked a bit annoyed as he frowned at Raven and hurried to the other door in the kitchen. He opened it, went inside, and slammed it shut.

It was all so strange, Raven thought. Why would George be acting this way? Everything still doesn't match up. Raven felt like she had all the big, obvious puzzle pieces in her hands, but she still couldn't manage to piece them completely together yet for she was still missing holes. She was still missing all the tiny, mini puzzle pieces. The sketchy details, which were all too easy to overlook.

Raven thought about all that had happened ever since she had arrived on the Red Daggers' ship. She thought about the Captain welcoming them, the feast and the stories the pirates told. She thought about George warning them about the voice and thumping as they made their way to the cabin and she thought about George's strange behaviour today. She even thought about her room and all its weird knickknacks, being careful not to miss any important details.

Then, finally, everything came together.

A/N: To all those who were wondering how I update so fast ... Well, the reason is, I'm really worried all of you will come after me if I don't. :p Haha ... I hate to cause any sort of irritation from readers, sometimes, my own patience is worn out if I wait too long for a chapter. :)