Prologue part 3! There's only one more part to this prologue. Well when you're born in the spiral and have a hard knock life there's lots to talk about. This chapter covers everything up to when they were arrested. This chapter also mentions things that will happen in the other story that I haven't written yet, so bear with me. Again, I threw in some stuff from the other game into the backstory here. It's fun to crossover. Right away, you're going to notice the way of the ninja pig is in here. Playing that mini game in Wizard101, Master Minamoto the ninja pig said his nephew took the course, it made me wonder if the ninja pigs trained with the way of ninja pig. Anyway, it was still fun to write. Also, I have a physical copy of my book! It's called A Tale of Roses in case you weren't already aware and are interested; a little warning though, the language is flowery in it as it's written like an old fairy tale. So anyway, enjoy the chapter!
[3rd person omniscient]
Gilda kept good to her arrangement. She was a hard worker, unsurprising for those familiar with those in the navy. She would bundle bale after bale of rice, which increased her own strength and stamina. She was so good at the farm work, they suggested Emi lee not to return to the farm and focus all her efforts on training; it didn't seem like she was even necessary to keep it up. However, Emily insisted she take over sometimes as she didn't want her sister to run herself into the ground. Not only was Gilda good at farming, she was also a good enough cook. She taught the pigs a recipe for rice-flour vermicelli. Emily certainly enjoyed the long skinny noodles.
Due to Gilda being such a great help around the farm and house, she was allowed to partake in the Ninja feasts. Gilda was not used to having her belly so full, even if the diet strayed slightly away from what she was used to. They also allowed Gilda to watch Emily when she trained and practiced; Gilda quickly became a friend of the clan like her Grandfather before her. Gilda learned how make medicine and explosives, also applying what she knew from her time in the navy.
Emily would go on and on about what she learned in training to her, and whilst it was annoying to hear her ramble, Gilda took this time to learn something about Ninja skills. Occasionally, Emi lee and would spar. Gilda was quite dodgy, but Emily knew how to blend into the shadows. Gilda was so impressed; she did her best to try to learn that skill herself, mixing it with what she knew from her time in the streets. Emily however, wanted to learn how to be a better dodger. Gilda was flabbergasted with this response.
"You can blend into the shadows, but you can't dodge? That seems to contradict itself."
"I know how to hide well, but who's to say I go to block a hit and I'll instead block it with my face or body. Not to mention there's the obstacle course I've yet to complete."
"Obstacle course?"
Learning the way of the Ninja Pig to be exact; Wizards loved to force their pets to endure it, but Ninja pigs had to complete these tests of free running themselves. By the time Emily had met Gilda, she had completed two levels; however she had three more to perfect before she could master the art of free running. Running across narrow beams without losing your footing, avoiding being knocked into the water by moving blocks, hammers, moving screens, and turn wheels, and let's not forget to mention the catapulting floor. Spring boards at least helped with gaining distance, but if you mistimed it, you'd end up in the water. Also you had to complete this track under a couple minutes, the faster it got completed the better your score. The water wasn't too bad, except occasionally you'd run into a storm shark. This also helped trainees gain the ability to swim faster.
"This seems a bit intense," said Gilda when it was explained to her.
"It's ninja training," said Emily. "What do you expect?"
"Still intense; how have you not died?"
"A strong will to live," Emily joked. "You could come watch next time I go up to the course to train; I'm not sure if I'll do better or worse with you watching."
"I think I'll be constantly worried about you dying."
"Aww, that's sweet of you."
"I just don't want to watch someone die alright," said Gilda defiantly. "It won't be fun."
"Don't worry; no one has ever died on the course. Maybe broke a few bones, got electrocuted, but never died. It's more dangerous to endure poisons, and I've already completed that training."
With that, Gilda agreed to come watch Emily train.
The obstacle course was hidden away in the mountains. It took half a day's trek to get there. When they got there, it was explained that other ninja clans and monk orders used this course as well to hone agility. Sometimes there would be other ninja there training, and when that was the case, they'd have to wear their masks and speak only a little to hide their identities. Luckily, every time Gilda went no one else was there, so there was no need to hide her.
"The course is the enemy," said her instructor. "The enemy deserves no mercy. Thread the eye of the needle."
Off Emily went. Gilda was confused on the instructor's teachings, and she was told this meant Emily should show no signs of hesitation if she wants to successfully dodge and complete the course fast. Emily had pass through hammers and moving blocks simultaneously, then had get past moving blocks catapulting floors, which had the added bonus of blocking her path when they were up. Next were wheels and catapulting floors, which were easy enough to get passed. Next came the moving screens and moving blocks until she made it to the spring boards, luckily avoiding the water. She did have some trouble with the hammers afterwards. Gilda flinched each time she was knocked into the water and hastily tried to bring herself back onto the course. Big and small moving blocks happened afterwards, which hampered her visibility. Afterwards came more wheels and catapulting floors, Emily slipped up a few times on those. After those came the moving screens, and then the hard part…rushing across a narrow beam while avoiding moving blocks. At the end she just had to maneuver through some moving screens and she was done. She had to do all of this under two and half minutes. Her first go had her have ten seconds to spare.
"You hesitate too much; your main problem is you are not fast enough."
"Of course, you must allow some time for patience so you do not run headfirst like a fool," said another instructor.
"You must learn balance between the two," said a third.
"I haven't done the course before; I'll be better next time, I promise."
On the way back, the instructors commented on what Gilda had told them during the run.
"Emi lee, Gilda here has been telling us how she dodges spark fire on a daily basis."
"It wasn't every day," defended Gilda. "It was just most days."
"She may be visible but she is unhittable, which is impressive. You should aspire to be like her in that sense."
"Yes, try to aim to do the course in thirty seconds if you wish to best her," said another trainer.
Emily was aghast. "I can't even run that fast."
"That's a bit mean," said Gilda to the instructor.
"We make our students run fast while dodging blunt force objects that attempt to drench them in water and you think what we just said is mean?"
"Well, yeah, you're asking her to do something inhumanely possible."
"We are well aware of Emi lee's limits," said another instructor. "The best time anyone can have on that level of the course is a minute and fifty seconds."
"Then why tell her to achieve the impossible?"
"It would best that she pushes herself and not give up; we'll tell her when she's good enough to move on."
"You wish to trash her self-esteem in order for her to get better?"
"We wish she was more like you; able to dodge spark fire at a moment's notice. Going at a leisurely pace she will not reach where you are at for a few years. We wish for her to go above and beyond and complete her training early."
"I got like that because my life was constantly under threat; put her in that obstacle course enough and I'm pretty sure she'll get there."
"We can't constantly be in the mountains; there is other training that must be completed."
Returning to the farm, Emily continued her training. In her martial arts training she got herself to the level of a purple/blue belt. She was also trained to throw darts, chopsticks and needles. She had to work on her accuracy. She also learned to use drills and picks as a part of her tool-set. Emily would occasionally go back up to the mountains, going back up seven more times before she completed level three.
In the meanwhile, Gilda and Emily had to run errands to the town square in order to do some shopping. On one of their runs, they had run into two people that looked a bit like them. Well, one of them had pinkish hair, and the other's hair was a bit wavier than theirs. The faces and the eyes were the same though. There were arguments over what the situation was. Emily and Emily looked very similar and shared a name, the other two were Gilda and Genevieve who looked and acted drastically different. Genevieve had pink in her hair and had a lot of purple on, also she was very white. Gilda had reddish hair and a bit of a tan. Genevieve was a bit snarky but fun-loving and energetic; Gilda was snarky but hard edged like blunt steel. The girls could still feel a connection between them however. The wizard Emily felt they were dimensional counterparts, seeing as the wizards originated from another dimension. The wizards were surprised to know their counterparts had pirate lineage and a hard knock life.
Emi lee was actually happy to see them.
"Gilda, one time the ninja clan sent me to train in the Himoolayas, and I got abducted and brainwashed by a crazy cult that wanted to free a demon. They sent me out to fight them in order to psyche them out, but luckily it didn't work and they knocked me back to my senses."
"We thought you were just some ninja magic trick," said the wizard called Genevieve.
"We didn't think we'd run into you again," said the wizard Emily.
"I guess I should thank you for saving my sister's life," said Gilda.
"Don't mention it," said Genevieve.
"It's what we do," said the wizard Emily.
"Do you need a place to stay while you are here?" asked Emily. Gilda pulled Emily aside.
"Bad enough you reveal you're a Ninja to them, but now you want them to stay with us?"
"They are noble people; they've helped and saved hundreds like us. It's called the art of hospitality. Also they've done a good deed for us, we should pay it back. I'm pretty sure my clan would agree."
"Or they may be mad at you," said Gilda.
"It's our dimensional counterparts, they're like family; it should be an exception like you were. Also, they did save my life when I was fighting them as a ninja, I'm sure it's fine."
"It's fine," said the wizard Emily.
"Yeah, we have a castle we can stay in," said Genevieve. "Thanks for the other though."
"Well okay," said Emily, slightly relieved.
"You have a what now?" said Gilda shocked. Gilda knew what a castle was. The emperor had one, and when she learned how to read she learned every royal person had one. If you had one it meant you were stupid rich.
"Oh right, I forgot that castles usually cost a lot of money."
"You forgot?!...You can come whenever you like!"
"Really," said the wizard Emily.
"Yes, if you need anything, don't be afraid to search us out," said Emily.
"That goes for me as well," said Gilda. "I might make you a bowl of vermicelli for the road."
"Oh, she likes pasta like I do," said Genevieve.
"Well, it is all I ever really ate," said Gilda sheepishly.
They did run into them a couple more times. The ninja clan wanted to meet the wizards who saved their ward's life, and after that feast they warned them not to tell anyone their secret. Emily did help out the wizards in securing some outposts, and locating some spirit caves, but that was all that happened. It did put them in good with the emperor, and they started to get more well-paying jobs from him personally. It seems good things happened to Emily whenever the wizards showed up. They used the excuse of the extra money being that they helped save the emperor's life by helping locate his spirit.
Emily did keep up with her promise to look over the letters meant for her and her sister. They were apparently written by the person bringing them to Mooshu. It explained in great detail how the uprising happened that took out their parents. Also that their parents were on the search for El Dorado in the hopes to keep the girls secure in their futures. Knowing that they were a part of the reason they had died made the girls feel a little guilty. Gilda had to snap the both of them out of it by reminding them the choices their parents made were their own, yes they had made it for them, but seeing as how they never told the girls about it; they had no reason to be guilty. Of course as she said this she had tears in her eyes. Gilda was secretly chastising her parents for being so dumb, why did they have to do something so stupid just to make sure they had a good life. If they didn't go through with it, Gilda wouldn't have grown up in the streets of Scrimshaw, Emily wouldn't have been put through the hell that was Ninja training. Emily still held onto a small hope that they were not dead, because like her they had a strong will to survive. Of course, a part of her that thought they were probably dead was guilty for being born, causing their parents to risk everything for her and her sister.
The letters also explained their heritage a bit. It had a family tree within them. On their father's side, his father was from Mooshu, and his mother was from Marleybone. On their mother's side, her father was from Krokotopia and her mother was from Grizzleheim.
"So we are half tan and half white," said Gilda. "You look white and I'm tanned, which makes no sense as you're a farmer."
"My skin type doesn't tan easy but instead burns," said Emily. "I tend to keep covered up. Of course the Ninja say I'm very pretty this way because I'm as white as cows. This way, I can draw more people in for information."
"I guess that makes sense…"
The letters explained that they were going to try each homestead of each relative until they found a surviving one that could take us in.
"That plan was foiled when he died," said Emily. "No one wanted to make the journey to Marleybone with a toddler."
"So, he wasn't sure if we had living family in Marleybone."
"I guess not," said Emily. "Yet there are names in here of who to look for in each place. For Marleybone…Nyla Thompson, Denise Brown, Sandra Richards; for Krokotopia…Aton Gila; for Grizzleheim…Magnhild Windreaver, Tarben Windreaver, Alvida Haddock, Alfhild Hofferson, Welch Windreaver, Garth Windreaver, Erik Windreaver, Ronald Windreaver."
"Sounds like we have a potential few relatives," said Gilda, "especially from Grizzleheim."
"It's very difficult to get passage to the last two places from Mooshu. Of course we might be able to get a boat to Marleybone."
"Yeah, the place where I'm wanted by the Armada."
"The Armada isn't even stationed in Marleybone; we should be fine as long as we avoid ships."
"My crew is stationed in Marleybone! They might turn me in!"
"Just don't get spotted by them," said Emily, the master hider.
"Oh gee, why didn't I think of that," said Gilda sarcastically. "You look a lot like me, our only difference is the tan, who's to say they won't arrest you instead?"
"Aww," said Emily.
"I'll be kicked out of this place if you get discovered. Speaking of, will your clan just let you go to Marleybone?"
"As long as I come back probably," Emily shrugged.
"You made a big fuss saying you couldn't just leave!"
"If I leave and never come back I'll be disowned, but as long as I promise to come back and keep good on the promise it'll be fine."
"Make up your mind! Will they let you go or not?"
"I have to ask!"
"You wish to see if you have still living family?"
"It would be nice to harbor some connections in other worlds," said Emily while bowing.
"I'm worried how this might affect your training," said the high elder.
"She also mentioned you might disown her," said Gilda. The elders seemed shocked with this news.
"We admire your dedication to this clan Emi lee, and appreciate that you came to us with this wish first."
"Would you have disowned her or not," said Gilda.
"If she left without word, we may have had to."
"Emi lee, you understand you must return to us to complete your training," said a female elder.
"I understand," said Emily.
"For that, you cannot be gone too long," said another elder.
"I understand," said Emily.
"You must also not reveal to this family of yours your heritage and training while you were here."
"Why not? You allowed her to tell me and those wizards," said Gilda.
"You are another grandchild of Ao Long, one who would seek refuge here. These family members of yours call Marleybone their home, with no need of Mooshu. The wizards were basically another version of you, and great heroes who did you good service."
"What if I need them for informants?" asked Emily.
"Get the information without revealing yourself," said the high elder.
"What if that's not enough?" She shared a look with the high elder. "Our father had sisters it seems, their children would also be grandchildren of Ao long."
"Emi lee," said an elder sternly. "We cannot keep making exceptions for you, for Ao Long, as much as we cherish you two. We've never met these family members of yours, how can you ask us to accept them into our fold, which is what we do by allowing them to know our secrets?"
The high elder spoke. "If you can get information without revealing this truth of yourself, get it that way. If there is no other alternative, then they may know."
"High elder," the elder protested.
"I admit; I care too much for Ao Long. These members in Marleybone are his family and cherished ones. You are right that we do not know them, and they may not be able to keep a secret. If they cherish you, Emi lee and your grandfather before you, they might. It might be good to have eyes and ears on another world. You may go, Emi Lee; see if your family lives, see if they accept you. Do come back as soon as you are able however, you must stay committed to your training."
"Very well, I understand; thank you High elder, I will come back as soon as I'm able. I promise you this." Emily got back up, and went to get her casual wear for travelling.
Normally Emi lee wore a red kimono like shirt, with black hakama pants when she was farming. When she was training she wore a thinner style of dress, black cotton ninja pants and her thin red cheongsam style shirt. When she was in stealth mode she swapped out her red clothes for black ninja wear. She described to Gilda that because she was travelling, proper etiquette dictated that she travel in a travelling kimono, but still opted to wear her hakama pants. Gilda thought she was being silly, as they were going to Marleybone and wearing Mooshu dress would make her stand out. Emily countered with the fact that she didn't have any other clothes to wear. Gilda definitely made note that they would go shopping when they got there.
They gained passage on a ship that was heading to Marleybone. It took them about a month to get there. When they got off the boat, Emily had made sure that Gilda's face was covered so she would not get spotted. The next task was asking around to find who they were looking for. Gilda had suggested that Emily do that as she needed to be invisible. The first name on the list was probably their grandmother. So Emily asked around for the address of a certain Nyla Thompson, looking into post offices, laundromats and general stores. Thanks to Emily's awareness of social knowledge, due to all her digging she found her. It really helped them when she said she was her granddaughter looking to reconnect. Gilda suggested they buy some clothes so Emily fit in with the public more, but Emily declined saying she wanted their grandmother to believe her when she says she was living with friends of their grandfather. They eventually reached her address. With some slight hesitation, Emily knocked on the door. The one who answered it was a portly human woman, with curly grey hair on the top of her head.
"Can I help you?" she asked, holding a towel in her hands.
"Nyla Thompson," Emily swallowed.
"Yes, that is me." Emily swallowed again, tears threatening to come to her eyes.
"We…I may…we…we're your…granddaughters." Nyla got these wide eyes as those words were said.
"Emily, Gilda?"
"You know about us?" asked Emily.
"I lost contact with my son about nine years ago. I assumed the worst had happened."
"They died," said Gilda, speaking up.
"Yeah…I was raised in Mooshu, with friends of Ao Long."
"I was raised in Scrimshaw. We were told about you, and decided to see if you were still alive."
Nyla had tears in her eyes. Not only had she just learned her son was dead but her two granddaughters were alive.
"Why were you not raised by Ao?"
"He died before I got there, so his friends took me in." Nyla dropped her towel and grasped her hands to her mouth. The man she loved was dead as well. They had been separated for years, but she had always had him alive in her mind. Tears had started falling from her eyes, happy tears but mostly sad tears. She invited the girls inside. Emily had started crying as well, happy to meet her grandmother. Gilda was still stone cold.
They spent some time getting to know their grandmother. They learned a bit about their father's childhood. Apparently, Ao had spent some time in Marleybone, and they had a daughter. Ao then didn't wish for his heritage to bring down his family, so he departed for Mooshu. Of course after six years Nyla decided she couldn't live without him, so she took her family to see him in Mooshu. They spent a couple years there, but then Ao told her to take their family and return to Marleybone. Humans are a minority in Mooshu, but outsiders are even less common. If they were to stay, they would be outcasts their whole lives.
"I managed just fine there," said Emily. "Sure I didn't look like I belonged in Mooshu, but I spoke the language and respected the culture just fine."
"You were a child," said Nyla. "It is easy for you to adapt. It would not have been easy for me. I wish I had fought him harder though."
Ao had sent away his wife and three children so they could live a more accepted life in Marleybone. Of course, his times in the skies resonated with their father. Ao had come to Marleybone originally as a trader, and Nyla's father often did business at the port, so she would often see him. They hit it off really well. Apparently, the call of the skies came from their grandfather. Gilda doubted it was just him; both of their parents were pirates, and Ao spent most of his life in Mooshu. If only they could get to know their mother's side of the family, they probably had some sailors there as well.
Nyla was not aware her son had become a pirate; she thought he was just a sailor.
"I guess the pirate's life called to him," said Emily.
"Maybe he was drawn into it by our mother; who knows?" said Gilda. If only she could get passage to Grizzleheim.
She had asked what Ao's friends did for a living and if they raised her well. Emily kept her promise to her clan and told her Grandmother they were farmers. They raised her with culture, a sense of honor, and they made her strong. Gilda was questioning that. Her grandmother had asked how Gilda's life had been growing up in Scrimshaw. Gilda told her that life was rough, but the rats that raised her made sure she had food each day. Gilda told her she eventually journeyed to Marleybone and joined the Navy, but didn't know she had relatives there. Her Grandmother asked her why she wanted to join the Navy.
"My life had no sense of order or direction; I wanted to straighten it out."
Gilda decided not to tell her grandmother about her being wanted by the Armada. She told her that one day she left the navy and settled in Mooshu where she met Emily, deciding to stay with her and her family. Nyla wanted to know what his son got up to, but unfortunately, the girls told her since their parents died when they were four, they don't remember much about them. All they really remembered was that their parents let them play on the decks of the ship, and that they told them stories about a city of gold.
Over time, the girls got to know their two aunts, Sandra and Denise. Sandra was separated from her husband, but her son Michael was already old enough that he has a baby of his own. Her daughter Cassidy was surprised but delighted to meet her two cousins. Cassidy was a tad older than them, and she was more enthralled with the fact they were from different worlds than the fact they were family. Denise was also separated from her husband (seems it ran in the family for the women), she had a daughter named Alexandra. Alexandra was slightly younger than them, and actually wanted to get to know them. They had a fun time talking with Alexandra.
It got to the point where they told their grandmother and aunts what happened to their father. They told them how a squid attacked their ship, how they got a new crew, how they went on the hunt for El Dorado, how they sold out to the Armada, and how the storm came and separated them. Gilda seemed uneasy during this talk, so Emily approached her.
"Gilda are you okay?"
"The memories are hard."
"I've been meaning to ask…are you afraid of storms?" Gilda looked up at her.
"I guess I am; what clued you in?"
"Passing through storm gates on the way here you always got nervous."
"Can you blame me after what happened?"
"A storm took our parents?"
"No! A storm buffeted me around like a leaf in the wind! I thought I was going to die!"
"Yeah, I remember that."
"You remember that?! You seriously aren't afraid of storms?!"
"To be fair it never happened to me. My fear is losing those close to me," she said murmuring the last part.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. "I hoped the storm would put you down somewhere safe, that's why I'm not afraid of that."
"What an optimistic child you were," said Gilda. "I guess all the…training really snuffed that out of you," she said, whispering the part on training.
"What are talking about? I'm not a pessimist."
"No, but you're really hardcore."
"I'm hardcore?"
"You know how to manipulate and blackmail, you know how to persuade and intimidate, you know how to sniff people out and read them like a book."
"I'm polite, and you're not."
"I may be rough around the edges, but you're a sharpened blade. I did not see you becoming this at all."
"I'm pretty cool aren't I, that was the goal."
Gilda flashed back to what her sister was like, always following her around like a lost puppy.
"Don't tell me you wanted to be cool back then."
"I followed you because you knew what you wanted to do, you were so sure of yourself and you knew how to have fun. I wished I had that. I didn't know what the world was yet or what I wanted to be. Once I stumbled upon it, I knew it's what I wanted, to be amazing."
Gilda thought back to her sister and imagined her ending up on Scrimshaw. She'd probably go to the orphanage, be adopted by some Bonnie and Clyde, and then go around committing crimes. Would she commit to that too? What if Gilda ended up in Mooshu? She was a defiant kid, if they told her the training was hard she'd probably go back to the people who dropped her off and end up in an orphanage, then run away eventually ending up in Marleybone. Her sister was a committer, someone who puts 100 percent into her role. To think this frightening and amazing force of nature was lying under the surface waiting to be awakened, and that person was super loyal to her. Gilda was wondering if she was worthy of that.
The girls ended up staying in Marleybone for about a month, and in that month, they bought Emily some new clothes. They were in a Marleybonian style: brown pants and a button up white blouse and collar; over that she had a red over-shirt like a vest, buttoned up by eight buttons in the front. The sleeves had brown cuffs at the end, and around her waist she tied a red sash, securing that with a belt. The over shirt had a little spill over her pants, but the dress like function of her shirt had pockets to store things in, which would always be useful. For boots, she got a red slim style, which tied off at the top with red ribbons. She also got herself a red tricorne with a red sash fashioned around it and a feather stuck in it.
"Very red," said Gilda.
"It's my favorite colour. In Mooshu, the colour means luck and good fortune."
"Well I hope we get some," said Gilda.
"What about your outfit?" said Emily. "Don't you want a change of clothes?"
"I like what I have," said Gilda.
What she did have was this: her hair clasped in a ponytail with a golden clasp (stole it off someone in scrimshaw), a navy blue tricorne with an old feather and a yellow sash, navy blue tights, a navy blue skirt with a navy blue waist scarf, a white blouse with a navy blue vest, brown slim boots with blue ribbon tying them off at the top.
"You're not going to be stealthy with that," said Gilda.
"I won't wear it at Mooshu, and you'll be surprised how much I can hide, even with red on."
"Suit yourself," said Gilda.
After their month in Marleybone catching up with family, they had to head back on the next ship. Emily was sad to leave, as this meant she would not see her family that much. She had to focus on training for several years to come, and she'd only get to visit if she had a mission in Marleybone. Of course Gilda was free to come and go as she pleased, it would be nice to keep in contact with them, let them know how they were doing. Their family was a tad upset at their leaving. Their grandmother thought they were there to stay. Emily explained that while Marleybone was nice, Mooshu was her home, and she had family waiting for her to come back. Gilda had to let it slip that she was wanted by the Armada for treason. After some freaking out, Gilda explained she was only seen as traitorous by the Armada, and didn't actually do anything horrible; however this meant she couldn't stay in Marleybone or else her old crew might turn her in. Their family understood the situation. Hoping they would see them again, they saw them off.
Returning to Mooshu, Emily went right back into training. She started training to receive her blue/brown belt in martial arts. She was taught how to use shuriken and knifes for throwing and jabbing which she picked up fast. She was also taught how to use knifes to make holes in the walls and other such pointed tools for that use.
Emily moved onto the next stage of her free-running training, stage four.
"Do not forget to breathe," said her instructor. "It is the most important thing"
Right; Emily remembered the breathing technique for faster running, double breathing.
"Sweep the leg, agh…never mind."
"No, I'm listening," she said.
"You must armor your mind from the madness of too much thinking."
Emily knew what that meant…work on instinct. Move without thinking, to become speed itself. This was going to be difficult, as Emily liked to think. Her mind was constantly moving.
This course was trickier then every other one so far. She went fast to avoid the wheels, but the blocks made the wheels more of a problem this time. Not to mention at the end of the course was a long narrow beam to run across, which would take forever unless you used the spring board to jump. Of course, since the beam was so narrow, the spring board usually sent her directly into the water.
"You must learn to jump without relying on the springboards."
"I can't jump that far," she said indignantly.
"Who said you needed to," said the instructor. "You must be creative with your abilities, and find another way around your obstacles."
"Here's a fun idea," said Gilda one night. "What if we take after our dimensional counterparts?"
"And become Wizards?" said Emily.
"No, I was more thinking we become heroes."
"You can't just become a hero overnight; they were already doing magic and travelling worlds for a year." Emily did not imagine her sister jumping the gun for altruism. One time she mentioned if she grew up in Scrimshaw she would have taken care of the group who raised her, and Gilda called her a saint.
"I was just thinking they had the right idea, becoming super rich…" Oh there it was.
"You just want money; we don't have to be heroes for that."
"Yeah, but I want to roll in it like they did."
"That takes time," said Emily. She laid back on her matt. "You know, when we were young we wanted to pirates like our parents were."
"What are you saying?" Emily sat back up.
"The closest thing to what you want is being a mercenary, someone who does any job for money. A pirate is someone who does it while riding a ship and captaining a crew."
"What's the difference between that and a sailor?"
"A sailor is more honest work; pirates do any job."
"I thought being a pirate allowed us to be a little more self-interested."
"Of course, what we want will be the end goal."
"Hey Sis, you want to go after our childhood dream?"
I don't know," said Emily.
"What you mean you don't know? You're the one who suggested it."
"You suggested it first."
"Right now you did!"
"I have something going on right now!" Emily sighed. "When I was taken in by these people, I took an oath that I would take up their trade. Becoming a pirate would mean leaving it all behind, leaving them behind."
"I may never see the rats that raised me again."
"It was easier for you," said Emily, laying back. Emily definitely was a committer. Problem was, she had committed to the Ninja life as well as her sister and their promise.
"Maybe one day you'll find that the ninja life is not for you, and you'll want to be a pirate with me." Emily swallowed.
"I'm really skilled with a blade, I can't think of any other use than for being an assassin. I've been training my whole life for this."
"They took you in but with that they decided your future for you, you should be allowed to choose what you want to do, despite everything you learned." They were quiet for a bit. "In all honesty, I don't think you're a killer." Emily looked at her. "You're too nice. You can be intimidating, and you hit pretty hard, but I don't think you have it in you to take a life. You are a skilled fighter though, and are really good at hiding; I think you'd be good at piracy."
"You're just saying that because you want me to be a pirate with you."
"Hey you don't have to be a pirate with me. I don't care if you stay a Ninja. I'm just calling it as I see it. You're a fighter, but you're not a killer."
"Don't let my clan hear you or they'll disown me right now."
"Is it really that important that they consider you family, and that they let you back in this house should you leave?"
"Yes," she said bluntly. "I owe them everything. They gave me a home when I had none; they gave me a family when I had none."
"I'm your family," said Gilda. "When we were little the skies were are home. You still have something to return to."
"The meaning of memory and nostalgia have no importance to you do they?"
"The way I see it, birds have to leave the nest one day. You should make your own name, not take theirs."
"When they took me in, it was under the assumption I would."
"That was then; you should ask yourself if this is what you want now."
"I don't know." They were silent for a bit more.
"How about this? Nothing is set in stone right now, if you decide you want to be a pirate, we can have some plans ready so we're not stumbling blind like I was when I got here."
"Alright, seems like a plan."
So, they started planning. They needed a ship with a cool name, but that cost a butt ton of money that they didn't have. They didn't have the means of stealing and keeping a ship either. Also they would need a crew. They would either need to be loyal to them, or work for pay. They didn't have money or jobs to supply that money. The jobs would have to fit in with that boat, and as long as Emily was roped in with her training, the jobs would probably be ninja related. They did ask the ninja clan if they were willing to become a pirate crew with them. They were sat down and told that that life was behind them, and they look forward to the future of living on the land. So having a crew of already loyal and collaborative ninjas was out.
"We've got nothing," complained Gilda.
"Well, you could build up some savings by doing some odd jobs around here and on your way back and forth from Marleybone."
"That's actually a good idea, Em. Next time I head to Marleybone, I'll provide a service of transporting something with me for a reasonable fee. Do this enough times, and we should be able to buy a boat."
"And then a crew," said Emily.
"You know what this means?"
"We have to make a flag that represents us! I'll go buy some sailcloth thread."
After buying the thread, they had to draw up some plans. They didn't remember what their parent's flag looked like; all they could remember was the colour blue. They knew blue had to be a part of the flag, to play homage to their parents. They decided to make it navy blue to pay homage Gilda's navy days. To pay homage to Emily's time in Mooshu and her favorite colour, the styled the flag with a background consisting of a navy blue field, with a big red circle in the middle. Every good pirate flag needed a sigil, but the girls couldn't decide which they wanted. A fox, a wolf, a dragon, a rose, a griffin, an anchor, a star, swords, they just couldn't decide. They eventually settled on a compass symbol usually displayed on a map, which would show their goal was to travel the whole spiral. They made the star gold, while they made the circle surrounding it brown. Once their design was settled, they started stitching the design together. In Gilda's off time she used the loom to weave together the flag's field. Once that was completed, the girls took a needle and thread and started stitching the design of the compass onto their flag.
Once done, they admired their work, and hung it inside their room.
"This is the symbol that will represent Emily and Gilda Thompson," said Gilda.
"Yeah," said Emily slightly smiling.
"Well, I better get to work on raising that money."
"So you're heading off?"
"First I'll need someone who can give me a package, and then I'll head off."
Gilda had to advertise her services to the port town.
"Can't be bothered to sail to Marleybone, postal charges too much, well I'll take your package for whatever you have on you. The only condition is you'll have to pay the same amount when I'm back in two months." She figured if she charged pocket change and then allowed two months for those folks to save up the same amount of pocket change, she'd rake in a lot of business. People lined up to give her their letters and packages for Marleybone; she wrote down the amount they spent and their address so she could collect their fees later.
She travelled to Marleybone, and once she got there she spent some time delivering all those packages. This time, she only really visited her family for about a week. After which she headed back for Mooshu to collect her payment. On the way back however, she hit a snag. The ship she was on ran into the Armada. Gilda hid herself below decks, as she tended to do as they crossed the storm gates. She wondered if she could shove herself in a closet. The Armada was doing routine inspection, looking for anything not abiding by the code of law. Last time this happened, her crew ousted her for being a pirate's daughter. She didn't tell this crew that, but she was still handling postage without a permit.
Of course, due to Gilda's luck, one of the crew members had noticed she was doing something illegal, and thus reported her to the Armada to avoid getting in trouble with them. Of course, when the Armada soldiers found her, they recognized her as the one wanted for treason. Her appearance didn't change much in two years.
Gilda did her best to fight them off. She threw some small bombs on her towards the ones cornering her. She ducked their attempts to grab her and then dodged their spark fire in her direction. She had to make her way to the top deck and get a row boat. The closest world was Mooshu, again; so she'd go back there, hide and never return to Marleybone again. She grabbed a cutlass and shield on the way to top deck. Some Battle Angels tried to descend on her, but she dodged them and hacked at their wings to disorient them. She nearly made it to the row boats, but she got walled in by the Dragoons.
"These are new," she huffed.
They were tough too; her cutlass couldn't pierce their armor. They grabbed her by the arms.
"There'll be no getting away, pirate," said the leader.
"So you're arresting me based on who my parents were, huh? Was killing them not enough? What if I decided to live an honest life, would that not have been good enough for you?"
The clockwork leaned forward robotically, until its mask was inches from Gilda's and she could peer right into its hollow eyes.
"Our paths are forged by those who make us. Were you not just committing a crime?"
"It's only a crime based on those who make the laws. No one got hurt!"
"Postage systems exist for a reason." It lifted itself back up to standing. "You are under arrest, for treason and not abiding by the laws of business and postage."
Some time passed, and Emily eagerly awaited her sister's return to Mooshu. She was in the port town around the time of her sister's estimated arrival, arriving every day so she could meet her should she arrive. She had their flag with her in a basket she carried, planning to hold it up so her sister could see her upon arrival. Another one of the clan was with her that day for shopping purposes. As Emi lee walked around with her basket, what she saw made her drop it. A ship that wasn't from Marleybone was passing through the harbor.
"Excuse me, sir," she asked a crane port worker, "what origin of ship is that?"
The crane tipped his hat to gaze at the ship.
"I believe that's Valencian in origin. Hmm, I wonder what brings the Armada to these parts."
"Armada! This is bad," said Emi lee.
"I'll say," said a pig port worker. "I recognize that ship, and it belongs to Deacon: the Armada's spymaster. He's probably on the hunt for illegal activity."
"He's the one to sniff it out?"
"He has eyes and ears everywhere; if they want to find someone or something, he's the tool for the job."
"They've been frantic lately," said a goat dock worker. "I hear they're cracking down on crime in all parts of the spiral; almost as if they're searching for someone in particular."
Emily was even more frazzled hearing that. She looked around and saw a bull captain nearby, and he had what she wanted at that moment, a spyglass.
"Excuse me sir, can I borrow this real quick?!" she cried, whilst taking the spyglass from him.
She quickly oriented the glass to the point she could see directly on the ship. She saw the clockwork soldiers moving around robotically. Some were scanning the horizon; others were operating the ship, while the rest were standing at attention. She lowered her sights to a lower window, and oriented the glass to peer further in. It was what she feared, she saw her sister grasping at the bars and shaking them. She removed the glass from her eye.
"This is a really good spyglass," she commented. She returned it to the disgruntled captain and bowed, "Thank you sir." He took it roughly from her hands.
Her sister had gotten captured by the Armada. She had a small thought, what if her sister had kept running. Maybe she would've avoided them. Then Emily remembered the alternative, why she made her stay in the first place: Emily wasn't around to protect her. She looked back at her chaperone, distracted from shopping, but she could tell they had an unseen gaze on her. The agreement was that Gilda got caught; they would leave her to the wolves, or in this case clockworks. That didn't right with Emily, much like she couldn't kill her, much like she couldn't let her go. Emily stood conflicted: she loved her ninja clan and didn't want to betray them, but she didn't want to betray her sister either. She was running out of time, as soon the boat would make it to the next storm gate; she had to make a choice.
Option A: she leave her sister to her fate (likely death as clockworks were heartless), continuing to stay with her clan until she becomes a rare human ninja. Option B: She rescues her sister from certain doom, potentially earning the ire of her clan. Then again, she knew how to hide. No one knew she knew how to fight; she could corner the Armada, fight them off, save her sister, blame it all on adrenaline and an inherited skillset, and not be disowned. As her clan often said, they care too much for their grandfather. Well she cared too much for her sister.
Using her knowledge of stealth, she snuck aboard an unwatched ship. She quickly strung her flag up the mast, and then set off. She wasn't travelling as fast as she liked, so she found the nifty wind stone. Her sister mentioned she used it to get away from the Armada the first time, well Emily decided she'd use one to catch up. It took a little bit to figure out how to work it. She slammed it onto the board that held the wheel of the ship. Suddenly, a large burst of air was flowing out of the stone and into the sails, and this allowed her to move twice as fast.
Gilda was just sitting her cell. The Armada were not the greatest wardens; they only gave her water every few days and surmised that she only needed one feeding before they reached their destination, and it wasn't feeding day just yet. Gilda didn't see the point however, as the heartless machines would probably give her the death penalty, why wait until they were in Valencia? Her only reassurance is that the clockworks would be leaving her sister alone, as they didn't even know about her existence. Suddenly, she felt a great lurch in the boat, like something had rammed into it.
Emily gritted her teeth. The ship she was on had taken some cannon fire upon approach, and she didn't have anyone on board to man her cannons. At this rate her ship was going to go down. She looked over towards her ship's health, still in the blue but not for long. Luckily, her wheel provided a bit of a magical boost. She pressed the button in the wheel and green energy enveloped the ship, mending the damage. This ship wouldn't follow her unless she provoked it. She saw a button on the side of the boat, in her curiosity she went over and pressed it. Suddenly a swarm of sharks shot from the figure head and started attacking the boat. For extra fun, she went and blew the horn, which called forth a storm cloud. A giant hand emerged and threw lightning at the deck.
It took out several clockworks at that moment. They were functional, but destabilized for the time being. Deacon knew that whoever was on this vessel meant to be their enemy. Emily realized that enough should do the trick, as she didn't want to sink the boat; she just needed it to follow her. When the ship turned to face her, she turned her boat back to shore. She just stayed just within reach for them to follow her, but not within reach for them to shoot her down.
"Why are we following this lone vessel?" asked an Armada solider.
"This is obviously an enemy of the Armada; if they are choosing to attack our ships as they pass, they must not be left alone. They must be apprehended.
"Understood," said the solider. "It seems they wish to escape back to land. Shall we follow them inward?"
"Indeed," said Deacon. "Have the troops prepare to march inward. We shall do a sweep of the land for this criminal if they intend to hide."
"Understood." The troops then changed their position so they could march off the boat.
Gilda recognized the flag that had passed the boat. That idiot! The agreement was to leave her to her fate! Back at the docks, Emi lee's chaperone was present and observing this all take place.
"Foolish child," he said under his breath. He had to make himself scarce, if Emily recognized him, it would just draw unnecessary attention to the clan. He could berate her later.
When Emily made it back to the docks and got off the ship, she immediately got hounded by dockworkers for stealing a boat. She looked behind the one berating her,
"Father!" she cried out, as if she recognized someone. Unsurprisingly, the dockworker turned around, and using that distraction, she ducked away from him. A crowd had been drawn to watch the spectacle, which she used to hide her tracks. As she escaped, she heard the murmurs of the crowd. 'Wasn't she that human girl living with that family of farmers down the way?' She had to change into Marleybonian attire, she had already drawn too much attention to herself. She rushed back home as fast as ninja-ly possible. Once she was inside, she quickly began to change into pants, blouse, button up cover-shirt, boots, and tricorne. She was confronted by her chaperone and the elders.
"Emi lee, we just heard what happened!"
"Are you out of your mind!?"
"Gilda is in trouble," she said bluntly as she continued changing.
"We agreed to leave her be should this happen!"
"This happened because I wasn't there; I need to make amends."
"You must not make yourself a spectacle!"
"That is why I'm changing! I will save my sister!" She then rushed out of the building. The elders shook their heads.
"The delusions of love," said a female elder.
"She has not been fully trained, she will be caught."
"That is her decision to make," said the high elder.
During Deacon's sweep, they had already run into two individuals who tried to brawl with the troops for disturbing the peace. They had arrested both of these figures swiftly. They just had to locate the one who had attacked their ship. They had approached an empty street, the lone figure there dressed entirely in red, face hidden by the tricorne. Emily had already asked the occupants of the street to leave, as things might get ugly.
"Why is this street empty?" asked Deacon.
"I'm offended," said Emily, with a mockingly bruised ego, "I'm still here. Or did you not notice?"
"Your dress is not of Mooshu origin," commented Deacon.
"Correct," said Emily. "I'm not from around these parts." Emily walked to the middle of the street.
"Name your business here," said Deacon.
"Just living, or do you have a problem with that?"
"Do you seek to interfere with the Armada?"
"Huh, I guess I do."
"Name your business with us."
"Alright then," said Emily. "My name is Emily Thompson. Ten years ago, you shot down my parents' ship in the middle of a storm. Just recently, you apprehended my sister Gilda."
"So she has a sister," said Deacon coldly. "So you were the one who attacked my ship."
"Aye, it be me you're looking for. Do tell me, what were the charges for her arrest?"
"Illegal postage and treason."
"Ah yes, I heard of both. Illegal postage be a bit light for your kind of detention. As for the treason…our parents do not determine who we be, they certainly help, but who we are is always our choice. You have no right to arrest her for that." Emily pulled out her twin daggers, ready for a fight.
"Very well," said Deacon. "She is under arrest for Illegal postage, resisting arrest, and being a pirate, which still makes her a traitor to the spiral. You should join her, for attempting to duel an officer."
"How about you just arrest me for dueling an officer," said Emily as she rushed him.
A dragoon got in the way of her trying to attack Deacon. Emily quickly ran back the way she came allowing to swing past him, actually landing a hit on Deacon. Deacon did shoot some spark-fire into her shoulder, but she kept attacking him. Deacon managed to get out a dagger to defend himself. She kept pressing on, laying attack after attack on him. He managed to shoot some Spark fire into her chest, and then at her two blade, disarming her. She was then surrounded by Armada soldiers.
"Stand down pirate," said Deacon, unfazed. "You are under arrest for choosing to duel with an officer."
"You won't win," said Emily, grabbing her blades. She went to jump at him again, but ended up being grabbed by a couple dragoons.
"Take her back to the ship," said Deacon. "We are done here."
Emily was then dragged back to the ship. From the shadows, an older pig from her clan lowered her head as she saw her get dragged off. Of course, people had come to watch the duel between Emily and Deacon, like they would stay away when something big was going down. Emily had made herself a spectacle, and being dragged through the streets towards their ship, everyone would know who she was.
Gilda had wondered how long they would be staying in Mooshu. She had tried picking the lock, but it was an intricate mechanism. One needed to hit a button or pull a switch on the outside. All she could hope for is that her sister would be so good at hiding; the Armada wouldn't be able to find her and would give up the search. Apparently her sister wasn't as good as she thought, her sister was dumped in her right next to her.
Gilda went over to her sister, lifted her up, and started shaking her by the shoulders.
"You idiot! It's bad enough that one of us gets caught and now you have to throw yourself into the mix! All dressed in red too! It's like you wanted them to catch you!"
"I did!" said Emily. That got her a big slap in the face.
"You dummy! What do you mean you did!?"
"I was going to fight them, defeat them and get you out!"
"How'd that work out for you?!"
"Not well…"said Emily sheepishly.
"No duh!" Gilda went over to the bench and sat on it. "You should have just left me to my fate like we agreed."
"I couldn't do that. I know it's what we agreed, but I got sick at the thought of it. I hear the Armada kills every one of its prisoners."
"You can't fight the Armada, there's too many of them. You need numbers to fight numbers; as an island your only bet is to run and hide. All you did was throw your own life away in trying to save me."
"Well now there's two of us," said Emily. "We might have a better chance of getting away when we get to Valencia."
"Without our weapons?" Their weapons were confiscated when they were arrested.
"I didn't say anything about fighting, I said getting away. I can hide, and you can dodge, that should mean something."
"Aren't you a ray of sunshine," said Gilda. She laid back on the bench. "This time though, I just hope you're right. Here's to hoping we do get out of this somehow."
Next up is the tutorial! That is a good question though, what do the Armada do with their prisoners? Anyway, stay tuned for the next part of this thrilling adventure!