Previously, on Pirates In Love...
The crew made their way to the castle. On the way up, Eduardo asked about Alex.
Eduardo - "Is Alex with Thomas?"
King - "Hm?"
Eduardo - "I'm just wondering why she's not here. She said she'd be at the docks when we came in. Did you lock her up somewhere?" His voice was tinged lightly with malice.
King - "Ah, yes, well. I was hoping you wouldn't ask for her so soon… A couple days ago, she got injured. It's just a flesh wound -"
Russell - "What happened to Alex?!"
Russell grabbed the front of the King's robe. The guards pointed their guns at him.
Russell - "What did you do to 'er!"
Morgan - "Russell, calm down!"
Morgan pulled Russell off the King.
The King patted down his front. "She's recovering… She hasn't woken up yet."
Eduardo - "Why not? Is she unconscious?"
King - "Not exactly… I'm afraid Alex hasn't been entirely truthful to you… Or else you'd have never had her on your ship."
They walked to the castle in silence. The King refused to give any more information until Thomas was treated. The crew was apprehensive. What was with the King's cryptic warning? How did Alex get injured? Of course something like this would happen while they were away. The girl seemed to attract the worst of men.
They reached Thomas' room. Christopher hastily gave him what he believed to be the most potent version of the Earth Palm medicine. He checked his vitals and replaced the cloth on his forehead for a cooler one. He looked very thin and pale compared to when they had left him. Christopher rubbed his head, a worried expression on his face. He explained to the King that he'd have to wait and see if there were any changes before he knew for sure if it was working. The King agreed and reminded them that they'd still be in his custody until signs of life returned to Thomas.
Russell - "Well, ya got us 'ere, tell us more 'bout Alex!"
Eduardo - "Better yet, take us to her."
The King nodded. "Please, follow me."
The King led them to the room he had originally set up for her that she had refused. She appeared peaceful and healthy, her chest rising and falling gently in her sleep.
Christopher - "What's her injury?"
The King - "She doesn't have one anymore…"
Christopher - "You said she was still recovering."
The King - "Not from her chest wound. That healed up within the first day."
Russell - "What?! How?"
The King sighed. He wondered how easily the people of Moldor empire would believe this story. He started by explaining how Alex was injured. How she'd gone out to buy some herbs, accompanied by guards of course. How she was attacked by a mercenary crew led by one named Daniel.
Eduardo - "Daniel? Again?"
The King - "Oh? You know him?"
Morgan crossed his arms and tucked his chin in. "We've heard of him from Alex. He tried to kidnap her once before."
The King - "... And you still kept her with you after that?"
Eduardo - "She claimed to have no idea why Daniel took her." Eduardo's suspicions were growing. "We're not afraid of some mercenaries, we can protect her fine."
The King - "She's not the one that needs protection."
The King gave them all a stern look.
The King - "Alex carries the blood of a Siren."
The crew stood silent.
Nathan - "Sirens don't exist…"
Russell - "What are ya tryin' ta pull here? Feedin' us some bullshit fairytale story!" Russell launched himself at the King again, but Morgan held him back.
The King - "I had a feeling you wouldn't believe me. Siren's Cove is in Reiz after all."
Eduardo - "Siren's Cove…?" He abruptly turned around and exited the room.
The King nodded at a guard who followed Eduardo. He turned back to the remaining crew and began to explain the so-called myth of the sirens.
They've been around for as long as the Reiz empire has, and they used to have many islands that they called home. Countless sailors would fall victim to their cries, never to return home to tell the tall tales of the screeching harpies. Their waters were left uncharted since no one would ever come back. Eventually, one brave crew did make a return trip, bringing with them a siren they had captured. The crew asked how they kept it alive without being affected by its song. The King laughed and said, "The crew was female! Sirens are only hell bent on men."
Over time and with much research, a poison was concocted that incapacitated the Sirens. Reiz soldiers sailed out and began to eradicate them, forcing them to flee. The Sirens went into hiding. They took up refuge on the only island remaining in uncharted waters, and since then their existence went from rare, to legend, and finally myth.
The poison was also lost in time, as a key ingredient of it was the Earth Palm which grew scarce as they used it to make the poison. Christopher was shocked. The Earth Palm healed everyone and everything, right?
The King - "For humans, yes, Earth Palm is very effective. However, Sirens are not human. It only makes sense that what heals one species could be dangerous to another."
The King paused to let the information sink in.
The King - "I hope that if you can believe a legend such as Earth Palm, that you'll also believe in the existence of Sirens."
Morgan - "HAHAHA!" Morgan burst out laughing. "Very intriguing story my liege. I might use it to woo some ladies." His expression became serious. "But you have no proof. We have no reason to believe -"
Just then the doors burst open and Eduardo marched back in with an armful of maps.
Eduardo - "The King is telling the truth." He spread the maps on a table. "Siren's Cove exists."
Eduardo brought out the three pieces of the ancient Ullr map. He placed them together to make them whole and pointed at an island near the middle, right at the intersection of the torn edges. It was jagged like a star and surrounded by dots of smaller landmarks. There was writing over it that was almost illegible.
Eduardo - "This is Siren's Cove. It doesn't appear on any of these other maps that depict the Reiz empire. And this area over here." He pointed at a section just outside the border of Moldor. "It seemed familiar. The shoreline is completely wrong though, but this area used to be the land of the Ullr people, before Moldor invaded. I can't believe I didn't see it before." He ran his fingers through his hair, frustration written all over his face.
The King - "You have a map that old in your possession?" He came over to look at the map. "The crying…"
Eduardo - "You can read Ullr script?"
The King - "I'm only familiar with a few words. That being one of them because…"
Eduardo - "It's the name the Ullr people gave to the island… where the sirens live. And where their treasure is. The Crying Island."
Nathan - "Hold on. Yer people's treasure is in Siren's Cove? How can ya know that?"
Eduardo - "It is rumoured that the Ullr treasure has never been found because it is protected by ancient magic. I never thought they would mean sirens."
Eduardo clenched his fists. This would be impossible. There was no way they could get near Siren's Cove. Nathan looked over at Alex, still asleep. All this hustle and bustle would've woken anyone up. There must be something else wrong with her, like the King said. He walked over to check on her. Christopher and Morgan were studying Eduardo who had begun to shake with rage. He had come this close to his goal only to be completely hindered - he looked up at Alex - by the likes of her.
Morgan - "So Alex is a siren… what does this have to do with her injury?" He asked the King. "You said it healed in a day?"
The King interlaced his fingers and thrummed them against the backs of his hands.
The King - "See, that's the perplexing part. Daniel revealed to my soldiers that he had somehow acquired the ancient poison, most likely from his client, and, unbeknownst to him, one of his men had laced his blade with it. And then he struck Alex across the chest. According to legend, the poison puts sirens into an eternal sleep. The only way that they could wake would be from the cries of other sirens, but even if they did wake they would be weak. And it would have to be quick, too, since the poison deteriorates the siren's body. That hasn't happened to Alex though. She's in perfect health, and her chest wound which should have taken days to heal is nothing but a thin line of a scar now."
Nathan took a knife out, startling everyone, and swiftly cut the front of Alex's shirt. He opened it without exposing her breasts. There on her chest was a thin white line, from the bottom of her breast to her collarbone.
Nathan - "She didn' 'ave that before we left."
Christopher - "If she healed so quickly after the poison went into her system… And her body is perfectly fine… Was it the Earth Palm?" Christopher turned towards the King. "That would mean she's only part-siren. Part of her is human?"
The King nodded slowly. "I came to that conclusion as well. Sirens do heal fast, and with the help of Earth Palm from the poison, her human side healed even faster… However, she has been asleep for the past two days. Nothing we did could wake her up."
Nathan - "She'll be like this forever?"
The King solemnly looked down. "It may be for the best… Sirens are enemies to seafarers such as yourselves."
Russell had been trying to hold back his rage. He knew Morgan didn't want him to be angry and uncouth in front of the King. But he couldn't take it anymore.
Russell - "She's not an enemy!" Everyone turned towards Russell in surprise. "She's a crewmate! She's one o' us. She never did any o' tha stuff those siren whores did in 'em fairy tales." He turned towards Morgan. "A siren's cry can wake 'er up right? That's what ya said!" He shot a look at the King then looked back at Morgan. "We gotta go to Siren's Cove, Cap."
Eduardo - "Are you insane?" Eduardo was face-to-face with Russell in a flash. "Siren's Cove is ten times as dangerous as Skull Island! We'd never make it near there, and even if we did, we'd fall victim to the sirens."
Russell - "Ain't tha' where ya treasure is? Ya just gonna give up on tha' so easily? And give up on Alex?" He vehemently pointed at her. Eduardo flinched as if in pain. "Ya wanna leave 'er like tha' forever?"
Eduardo scowled. "So what? She isn't even human. We can drop her off in Yamato and be done with her. That was our deal."
Russell brought his fists up, about to rough up Eduardo, when Morgan stepped between them.
Morgan - "That's enough." The room was tense. One more slight movement would make everyone snap like the taught string of a violin. "I'm the captain of this crew. I'll decide what happens to Alex. You all need to cool off."
A maid scurried into the room, but paused when she reached the middle of it. She hesitated before getting everyone's attention. The room was brimming with tension.
Maid - "My liege!" She curtsied, her voice shaking. "Thomas has woken up."
The King immediately strode out of the room and motioned for everyone else to follow him. Once back in Thomas' room, everyone gathered around the bed.
Thomas - "... Wha's happenin'... Where am I?"
Christopher - "Ah… You got a lot to catch up on Thomas." He put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair a bit. "I'm going to tend to Thomas." He said to Morgan.
Morgan nodded. "Welcome back Thomas!" He grinned.
Thomas - "... Where did I go?" He noticed the King had come to stand by his bed, beaming. "Oh! It's you!"
The King - "We have a lot of catching up to do as well, son." The King turned towards the others. "I'm afraid I'll still have to keep you captive until Thomas has returned to full health. The guards will escort you down to the prison cells."
With some grumbling from Russell, he, Morgan, Eduardo, and Nathan all went down to the prison cells. Christopher stayed behind to continue to tend to Thomas. On their way to their own cell, they passed the cell that Daniel and his crew were in. They looked to be in rough shape. The crew glared at them as they walked past without a word. A few minutes later they were brought food and drink. Daniel's cell received nothing. They ate in silence. Nathan looked at the poorly cooked food they had been given. He just stared at it. He didn't have an appetite. He didn't know what to think. All he wanted was to eat Alex's steamed red bean bun. This prison food was horrible.
Nathan - "Cap… What are ya gonna do with Alex?"
Morgan stopped eating and remained silent for a moment. "... I don't know."
Morgan knew that the crew was conflicted, especially Eduardo. This was a task beyond their abilities. The Sirius crew was indeed incredible, but even he knew they had limits. There were dark mysteries in the world that he would never go near, never want to reveal... Alex had decided to keep her dark secret to herself, and look where it landed her. He thought of his own past. He thought of how things were still unresolved between him and Alex. How frightened she was when he was so close to the truth. There would be no end to his guilt if he left her like this. He sighed. None of that would matter if he led his crew to their deaths at Siren's Cove. Was it too risky? Of course not, he would do anything to bring her back to life. But he couldn't make this decision based on his own desires, based on the fact that he could so easily forgive her because he knew exactly what she went through. He gritted his teeth.
Russell tossed his plate aside and it clattered on the floor, jolting everyone out of their thoughts. He sat angrily, one knee up with a hand gripping it. To him the decision was clear. He didn't understand how the Cap didn't know what to do. Never leave a man behind right? Er, woman, too, he supposed. He stared at Eduardo. That's our motto, innit?
Eduardo sat arms crossed and cross legged. He had returned to his frosty self, but inside he was an inferno. He couldn't believe how Alex kept her true self a secret like that. He entrusted her with his own secret and told her about his past, his lifelong goal, and she said nothing to him. What a bad girl. He thought he had trained her to be better than that to him. And she had become so great at following all his orders. Wasn't she afraid of him? His shoulders slouched and his expression softened. Of course she was afraid of him. That's why she didn't tell him. He remembered when she'd first come onto the boat and he'd constantly threaten to throw her overboard. Who knew what he would have done if he found out she was a harpy, an enemy to pirates and sailors? He had scared her into silence. It was his fault that she ended up like this. Gripping the side of his face with his eyepatch he scowled. He was a weak man for blaming everything on her.
Thomas had been caught up on the situation with Alex. He had visited her once he had the strength to, and he sat by her bed crying. He couldn't help but blame himself for her condition. If they had kept moving, maybe Daniel wouldn't have caught up with them. He felt so useless. He didn't even have the strength to convince her not to leave when she had confessed her secret to him. He was in a daze at the time, but at some point during the crew's trip to Skull Island, Alex had told him the truth of what happened on Daniel's ship. She must have thought that he couldn't hear her. She had cried and promised to leave once they were set free. She didn't want any more trouble for the Sirius crew. And she knew that someone like her could never travel around with pirates. She was a threat to them. Even in his hazy state he wanted desperately to tell her 'No! You belong with the Sirius crew. Things wouldn't be the same without you…'
Thomas - "You're… so important… to me." He sobbed the words out just as she did, even though she couldn't hear him.
It took less than a week for Thomas to fully recover, having received daily doses of Earth Palm from Christopher. The King fulfilled his end of the bargain and gave back the crew's freedom, as well as free lodging at the castle for saving his son. Thomas and the King had discussed his real upbringing, how he was meant to be a prince. Despite this incredible revelation, Thomas politely refused. He said that he had some business to take care of with the Sirius crew, but he would sure to be back someday, maybe even to stay for good.
The crew stood at the docks of Reiz. Alex had been brought on board and placed in Morgan's bed. They faced the King now.
The King - "Have you made your decision?"
Morgan nodded. "I have."
The King didn't ask what he had decided, but simply nodded, a saddened look spreading across his face. Either way, it would be unpleasant. Christopher looked at Morgan. They hadn't talked about it this whole time. He knew there was no changing his mind. He crossed his arms and looked down at the planks of wood of the dock. He agreed with the Captain's decision, but he also knew that it wouldn't be what Alex would want them to do. He could just picture it, almost the same as when they were leaving for Skull Island. 'Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Don't risk your lives for me.'
The crew and the King bid their adieus and pushed off, heading for open waters.
Eduardo - "Captain… Where are we headed?"
Morgan stood at the prow of the boat, one foot on the lower railing, his elbow propped up on his knee.
Morgan - "We're going to Siren's Cove."