"-ake? Hey, I think she's waking up!"
An unfamiliar voice could be heard next to her, not one of the deeper, manlier voices of one of the men who had taken her, but that of a younger boy. As her bright green eyes finally began to open, there was a pair of brown eyes right above her. Her eyes opened more, and despite how dark it seemed to be, she saw the face of a boy looming over her's. He seemed to be talking, but not to her. And even if he was speaking to her, she couldn't hear, for there was a loud ringing in her ears. He kept turning away and looking back,, apparently talking to someone else who she couldn't yet see. But as she began to gain consciousness, she lifted her arms and rubbed her eyes with her hands, the ringing in her ears slowly fading away.
The boy put his arm under her back and helped her sit up, though she wish she hadn't sat up at all. Her head began to throb in one spot, right where her head had smacked off of the edge of the deck coming down the stairs. She put her hand on the spot where it hurt, even though it wouldn't help, and looked around her. There were five other kids around her: another girl around her age and four boys, the one who was right next to her seeming to be the eldest. The area they were in was dark, but there were a few small circle windows in the lower half of the ship, though they were too high for any of the kids to reach. As far as she could tell, the kids were in a cell of some sort, the door locked and the bars close enough together that none of the kids could fit through.
One thing that she did notice from where she sat on the ground...those kids she saw at the bottom of the steps with the weights on their hands and the bags on their heads were gone. She wasn't going to ask though, just in case. That, and right now she just wanted to figure out what was happening and why the six of them were in a cell.
"W-What are we doing here? Where are we?" The other four kids, minus the older boy next to her, all looked at each other with equal amounts of fear and sadness on their faces.
"We are in the lower half of the Sea Grail. That's the ship that took us...and burned our home..., " he stated, sorrow growing more present in his voice as his words continued. Tears began to fill her eyes as the thought of Greymouth, as well as her mother, appeared in her head. Before she could really start to cry, the boy pulled her over and hugged her, the other children joining in. "It's ok...we can get through this together, " she heard the other young girl say with a somewhat shaky voice.
As the group parted, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at each of them. None of them looked overly familiar, yet at that moment she felt as if they were her best friends, the only friends she had. "Who are all of you?"
Each of them began to introduce themselves. The first to do so was the older boy who she first saw when she woke up. He was a few years older than her, maybe around 8 or 9, with short brown hair, brown eyes, and his name was Lewis. Another boy, one who seemed near her age and had red-brown hair and brown eyes was named Oliver. Another boy, maybe a few years older, had longer black hair to his ears and grey eyes, whose name was Roulan. The last boy had light brown hair and blue eyes whose name was Ivo. Finally, the girl who was around her age with shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes was named Edith. They seemed like an interesting group of kids, ones that could be easy to get to know. Though she didn't have much of a choice really. She was stuck in a cell with them. Who knows when they were gonna get out.
Before any of them could really say anything, footsteps were heard coming down the staircase. Each of the kids had their eyes locked on the steps that weren't too far away from the cell. A man with a bandana on his head and ragged clothes came down with a rope in his hands. He looked over at the kids and gave a crooked smile with cracked teeth before walking over to the cell, pulling out a metal hoop with keys attached to it. Each of the kids began to stand, but he stopped and glared at them. "Don't get excited young'ins, I ain't takin' all of you, " he grumbled, turning the key in the hole and opening the door, using himself to make sure none of the kids tried to run out. He reached over and grabbed hold of whatever kid was closest, which ended up being Roulan. He pulled the boy over and grabbed both of his arms, closing the door and leaning against him while he pulled Roulan's arms behind his back and tied his wrists together with the rope. He reached behind him and locked the cell door again, pushing Roulan forward and walking up the steps with him.
The other kids could only watched as one of the boys was taken up the steps and out of view. They all wanted to know where he was going, but at the same time were scared to find out. Who knows what those pirates were going to do to him. They wanted to run out and help, but there wasn't anything they could do without keys.
They didn't know how long they waited, sat on the floor of the cell, waiting for Roulan to be brought back. When he was finally brought back, he was pushed back into the cell and exchanged, Oliver being removed from the cell next with rope around his wrists and a knife to his back. As much as the kids all wanted to ask questions, Roulan stayed quiet, sat near the other corner of the cell away from the others. This happened multiple times, each kid being taken from the cell and up the stairs. Each of them came back into the cell and remained quiet, not saying a word of what had happened to them. The last ones were Lewis and the silver-haired girl. After Edith had been taken up and brought back, the man came and grabbed Lewis, tying him up, though Lewis attempted to put up more of a fight than the others. He tried to struggle, but he was still a boy, so he wasn't as strong as the man tying his wrists. They all watched as Lewis was forced upstairs.
When he returned, he was quiet like the others, but he was more willing to be close to everyone. He looked at the green-eyed girl and let out a sigh, sitting next to her for a moment. Though his company was short lived, for she was next. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her up off the ground, making her slightly dizzy. She did see the other children look towards her with concerned and frightened looks, wishing they could stop her from having to go to whatever this was, but there was nothing they could do, for the cell door was shut and locked as quick as possible. The girl felt the man pull both her wrists behind her, knotting the rope around them and putting the edge of his knife, which was now have hidden in his palm, to her mid-back. Somehow it almost seemed foolish, thinking that a five year old girl could possibly do anything that required a knife to her back. But in a way it was smart, for these pirates didn't know what these small kids could be capable of.
The man forced her up the steps and into the daylight, and her heart sank at the sight. It wasn't the fact that she was on the ship or that the ship was covered in pirates that shocked her. It was the fact that they were surrounded by nothing. She knew they were on a ship, she knew that since before they were in the cell. But now they were truly sailing. No land could be seen anywhere. They were surrounded by a large, vast ocean. How these pirates had enough confidence to sail during the day was beyond anyone's common sense, but the girl was too young to really have that be her first thought when she saw the ocean. She couldn't take in the sight for long, anyway, for she was pushed towards one end of the ship where she had first seen the Captain of the ship. The steps she first saw him on had a door next to it, most likely leading to the Captain's quarters, though she didn't know this. The man pushing her knocked on the door and a deep grunt from inside signaled for the door to be opened. As the lower-ranked man pushed the girl inside, she once again saw that man, only in the light. It wasn't like his features were going to change in just a short amount of time unless she missed a lot of action while she was unconscious. He still looked like the ragged, scarred, dirty man that she saw, only he seemed a bit bored. He was sitting at a large table on the opposite side, facing the door, with his head leaned back on the chair. He seemed very uninterested in his surroundings and didn't really seem to notice that she had been brought in.
When the Captain lifted his head and saw the girl, he took his feet down off the table where they were resting before and sat up in his chair, now seeming interested. He motioned his hand toward them, making the man give her a push forward before he closed the door behind her, guarding it at her back. For a moment, child and Captain remained still, staring at one another without a single word spoken. After a few moments of silence, the man spoke. "Sit."
As much as she didn't want to, the girl took a few small steps forward, scared of getting any closer, also scared of what he might do if she didn't do as she was told. One of the chairs on the side of the table closest to the door was already pulled outwards, so she gave herself a small boost onto the seat, struggling to do so with her hands tied. Once again, there was silence as the two looked at each other. Apparently the Captain realized this, for he began speaking.
"So little missy, I must ask. Where'd you get that hair and them eyes from, hmm? You know those ain't common colors, right?" Despite the slight hint of kindness that was in his voice, it was clear that there was reason behind these questions. Now that she thought about it, this wasn't the first time questions like this came up. Even in Greymouth there were kids who loved becoming her friends when they saw how unique she was, and many other adults would question her mother. Her mother would always have to confirm to everyone that her daughter's hair and eyes were natural. She didn't even know how herself, but that was the way her daughter had been since she was born. As a baby her hair was white and her eyes were a blue-green, but babies usually developed into their true colors when they got older. So far, her little child had never done so. Her eyes had turned pure green and her hair remained the nearly-white color that she had when she was born.
Ignoring her thoughts, the girl didn't answer. She wasn't willing to talk to this man, no matter how nice he tried to sound. She knew what he was. He was a pirate, like the rest of them. "If you won't answer that, can I get a name?" Even then she still didn't answer. She merely looked down, sudden images of her mother and her burning home appearing in her mind. Almost on cue, the pirate Captain stood from his chair, walking around the table and over to the girl. Her legs started to shake as he got closer, pushing herself farther away in the chair until he stopped next to her. He leaned over the chair, putting his hands with unclipped and dirty nails on the arm. "If these be the words you're seeking to get ya to talk, I heard what my crew member did to your mother. Told me himself. As a matter of fact..., " he trailed off, standing straight and walking to the door, opening it slight and calling the name of one of the men, though she didn't hear the name. As a man walked into the quarters, green eyes locked onto the man. Instantly, she recognized him. That was the man that killed his mother. She watched him do it.
The Captain walked back over to the girl, reaching over the table in front of his seat where his previous meal was still sitting. He grabbed the knife off his plate and walked over to the man. Without a word, the Captain threw his hand forward, his fist smacking the man across the cheek while the knife, in the same hand, left a deep gash across the man's face. Blood began coming out of both ends of the cut, the area around it swelling. As hard as he attempted to hide it, the crew member instantly put both hands over the cut, wincing in pain and shock after his Captain's actions. Even the young girl was speechless, her mouth opening in surprise and slight fear.
"I specifically told you fools not to kill any o' the ladies or youngsters. You dared not follow my orders, so get going to the lower deck. I be expectin' a little feast for this girly, as well as the others in that cell, " the Captain snapped before opening and shoving the bleeding man out of the door, slamming the door in the man's face. As the Captain turned, bloody knife in hand, he walked over to the chair again, setting the knife in front of the girl on the table. "Apologies, miss. Now, a name?"
"T-Tawny..., " she stuttered, now scared that he would grab that knife and do the same to her as he did the other pirate. With a smile, the Captain nodded and turned, going back to his seat on the other side of the table. For a moment, Tawny stared down at the knife. Was the fact that there was blood on that knife...because of her? Was she the reason that the Captain used the knife on that man? She didn't have time to answer herself before the Captain began speaking again.
"The name's Burne. This is my ship, the Sea Grail. I doubt they spoke, as told, but I have offered you little ones a spot in my crew. Each of them agreed to my terms. I offer this agreement to you, as well. Become a part of my crew. Work under my every command. When y'all are older, if you wish, I will allow you to see your precious home of Greymouth again. But only if you work for me. If not, I intend on leaving you at the next island we land on. Or, if you prefer to get off my ship sooner...I can hand ya over to the sharks."
Here it is: Chapter 3! To those who intend on following the story, leave some comments! I love to know what you guys think of these chapters. Sometimes I might leave questions down here in the side-notes, just to see what you guys think will happen.
Do you think that Tawny will accept Captain Burne's offer? What do you think that fresh slash across that pirates face is going to cause between Tawny and himself, if Tawny does agree?
I'd love to hear your predictions!
As expected, each of the characters who have shown up thus far belong to me. None of them are in any of the actual movies.
