Gallows

[buildingaspaceship]

"He is," he didn't smile, and didn't frown, he didn't know what he could do. He walks over to her and grabs her arm, though his grip wasn't as rough as usual. He pulls her to the ladder, "go down, please." He says, before putting his hands in his pockets and biting his lip. He felt sick to his stomach, terrified of being the only one in his family left. His father had died at the hand of a king, but he had been too young to do anything about it. His mother fell ill and died shortly after his father did. She was all he had, and she could be gone.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven looks at him and then nods before climbing down the ladder, she sighs and stands at the bottom waiting for him to follow her down. She was getting worried now, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to cry, but she physically couldn't. Her whole body seemed to shake, not prepared to know what was going to happen. She looks at the floor, trying to control her breaths, as they became shallow.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Once she had climbed down he followed, then grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the engine room and onto the deck. The loud chatter quickly grew silent, as he pulled Raven over the pole he had originally tied her to, and tied her hands around it again. He doesn't apologise, or say anything at all, as he walks away from her and over to Tyrion. He licked his lips nervously and put his hands in his pockets as he braced himself for any news. Tyrion looked down at him, he was much taller than he was, and he grabbed Gio's arm, turning him away from the crowd and speaking in a hushed tone.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven just walks, she doesn't comment at him dragging her along and she doesn't even make a fuss about him tying her back to the pole. She gulps as he moves over to Tyrion and she knows that her fate was with what the man told him. She blinks away fresh tears and stares, she couldn't hear what they were saying and she didn't really want to know. She looks away and stares at the floor, trying to focus on everything but them.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"She's dead." He says quietly, and the second that Gio hears the news his mind goes blank and he collapses to the floor on his knees, a cry coming from his throat that bled with anger and sadness. He put his head in his hands and he began to sob, unafraid of being judged by his crew, who when they saw him collapse knew immediately that Genevieve was gone. They took off their hats and held them to their chests, silent. You could have heard a clock tick on the ship, if it hadn't been for the muffled sobs of Gio's. She was dead? Raven didn't even cross his mind, all he could feel was guilt and sadness and heartbreak.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven stares at him, her breath caught in her throat. She knew what the answer was, she knew she was going to die. She stares at the floor and lets tears fall slowly, she cries, "No, you stupid man, you weren't supposed to kill her." She whispers talking about her father. She stares at Giovanni and then at the other pirates. She blinks away the tears, letting more fall. She stares at the sky and cries more, letting every one of her current emotions show, the anger, the sadness, the fear, the pain, all of it.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Gio wipes away his tears and stands up after a few moments. Tyrion and Ruben are talking, and the crew were now talking in hushed tones. Gio looks around, spotting Raven. A lump in his throat formed and he swallowed, but it wouldn't go away. He walks straight past her and to the engine room, grabbing his gun off the side and taking the safety off. With anger inside him he fires the first shot at the window, breaking the glass and watching it fall through the sky. The second shot was at the wall, the third and the four piercing through maps. He eventually throws the emptied gun onto the floor, before yelling loudly. The sounds he made weren't words, though.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven watches him and flinches at each gun shot. She stares at everyone, tears streaming down her face. Her breaths were shallow and she sinks to the fall, her hands still bound to the pole. She hiccups, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeats many times almost silently. She rests her head against her knees, trying to think clearly. She continues to cry, trying to be quiet but failing miserably.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Gio walks out of the engine room and looks at her, before walking over to her, kneeling down next to her and glaring at her. "My sister is dead because of YOUR father." He yells, untying her hands roughly and grabbing her arm, pulling her up. He pulls her roughly down a flight of stairs, and then another, down to the lowest point of the ship. He pushes her down on the floor roughly and slams the door behind him, glaring down at her.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven flinches, "I'm sorry!" She says loudly, tears still managing to fall. She flinches as he pulls her down the stairs and pushes her to the floor. She whimpers quietly, bruising her knees when he pushes her down. She stares at him, fear radiating off of her. She continues to cry helplessly.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't let you starve to death right here!" He yells, slamming his boot down on the ground. He was filled with anger, he wanted to hurt someone, and she would have to do, but the real person he wanted to hurt was her father. He hated him, for what he had done, and though he couldn't really hate Raven, he couldn't feel anything positive towards her either.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven flinches and attempts to move backwards, shuffling on her butt. She whimpers, "Because I'm not my father, I've done nothing wrong. I get that your pained, and your angry, b..but.." She trails off slowly, crying more. She doesn't want to be near him, so she stands wobbly and moves backwards slowly.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"Damn right I'm fucking pained!" He yells, kicking the wall angrily, "my sister, my thirteen year old sister was killed by your father." He says harshly, but his voice cracks at the end of father, and tears form in his eyes. He looks down at the gun in his hands and he drops it, before slamming his palms against the wall. He leans his forehead against it, letting the tears go again. His sister was gone and he was about to kill an innocent girl.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven whimpers again as she watches him, "Two wrong do not make a right, Giovanni." She murmurs quietly, staring at him. She was petrified right now, scared by the man that seemed so nice just hours ago. Her breaths stayed shallow, she stares the gun, "If you're going to kill me, then just kill me." She says quietly with a pained expression. She too was hurting, his sister was once her friend too. She blink away the tears and wipes them away, taking a deep breath and standing bravely.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"I-" he takes a shaky breath, "I can't kill you, Raven." He admits, turning around and letting the tears till down his cheeks, "I just can't!" He kicks the gun away from him, "I would rather die myself than kill you in the place of your father. It's him I want to hurt." He says, his voice trailing off into silence, he looks at Raven and then back at the floor before grabbing his gun and walking out of the room, locking the door behind him. He runs up onto the main deck, and into the engine room, grabbing Ruben as he went.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven blinks multiple times before sinking to the floor and sobbing gently. She lets out a deep breath, "He didn't kill me." She mumbles to herself, blinking some more and staring at one of the walls. She curses under her breath, her mind thinking. Why hadn't he killed her? Was the one thought that repeated in her head, over and over again.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Gio and Ruben were in the engine room for the rest of the night, discussing and planning and Gio even turned the ship around, setting it sailing back towards the castle. They'd be there by the next morning if he continued with this speed, and so he put it on auto at this speed, before retiring to his bedroom. Yes it was only afternoon, and he had much to do to prepare for tomorrow, but he didn't care. His sister on his mind was prevention him from being able to do anything productive, and he didn't want to move. He wrapped himself in the covers of his bed and stayed there, fully clothed and very, very sad.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven had grew bored of crying and instead stood and headed towards the locked door that stood in front of her. She bangs her hands against it heavily, hoping to grab someone's attention. She continues to hit against it loudly, before stopping and leaning against the far wall.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

He couldn't stay put anymore. His mind was filled with Genevieve, and revenge on the king, but he stood slowly and let the blankets drop, before walking out of his room and down to the bottom deck. He unlocks the door of Ravens cell and walks inside, shutting it behind him. He looks at her, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth in a straight line, before finally speaking, "you're free to go. I'm taking you back to the castle." He says slowly, explaining the current situation.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven looks at him in shock, "Thank you." She murmurs wiping her face. She smiles weakly, "I'm sorry for your loss Captain Giovanni." She murmurs quietly, looking at him face, you could tell he had been crying. She looks at her clothes and noted that she left her tiara in the engine room. She sighs and then looks at the floor, she was happy to go home, but she pitied the man in front of her, he just lost everything because of her father.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"It doesn't come without a price, Princess Raven." He says slowly, "but when I know what that price is, then it will be exacted." He shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't say anything about her being sorry for his loss of his sister, he didn't want to even think her name any more. He opens the door of the room, "we'll be arriving at the dock tomorrow, we will walk from there to the gates of the castle. Just you and I, I am not letting my pirates walk through the streets of your fathers kingdom." His tone is harsh when he says the last two words, but he looks down at the floor. "You're free to have my bed again, considering if you sleep near the others they will not hesitate to do what I could not."

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven shakes her head, "No, you need to sleep more than I." She comments quietly, she stares at the door and then sighs, "I don't care what your crew think of me. They'd only kill me because you couldn't do it yourself, they probably think you should be more unforgiving." She says quietly. She looks at him, "I'm sure I'll be fine," she murmurs.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"I will sleep just fine downstairs with my crew." He says, "I am usually much more unforgiving, I wouldn't look twice at slaughtering someone who hadn't even crossed me just for the jewel on their wrist," he looks her straight in the eye, "but I can't bring myself to kill you. And that makes you lucky and me a weak man." He turns and walks out of the door, taking his gun out of his pocket and twirling it around his fingers. Aside from just her cell being on the bottom deck, there were other cells too, and some held other prisoners from other voyages, and he unlocked ones door, seeing a cowering man inside. Raising his gun and aiming it at the mans head, he shot him, straight through without a blink of hesitation, and the blood splattered on the cells wall and floor.

 

[CrystalSmith]

Raven sighs at his stubbornness. She hears the gunshot and notices that he had left the door unlocked. She opened it, she follows the sound from where she heard the gunshot, "Giovanni." She says quietly, gasping when she sees the open cell that held the now dead man. She stares at Giovanni and sighed, "Why did you not just kill me? I thought you hate royals at yet you keep me alive, whether I'm innocent or not." She comments, looking away from the blood on the cell wall.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"You remind me of her." He says quietly, sheathing his gun and walking towards the man on the floor, he kneels next to him and examined the gun shot, before standing and looking at Raven. "I suppose I don't hate all royals." He says before looking down at the floor, and walking past her and up a deck, he flags a woman as she walks past and grabs her arm, telling her to clean up the open cell on the bottom deck. She doesn't ask questions, just nods her head and goes down the stairs. Gio sighs and sits down at the food table, putting his head in his hands.