The Greedy Mermaid (closed w/ Teadhem)

[dullumn]

Anny


The brunette gave her friend's hand another squeeze, finding comfort in it herself. Her shaking hands were beginning to calm, though her mind was spinning. "We.. we.." Her sentence trailed off when it found no answer. She bit her lip and swallowed the intrusive fear of never seeing her family again. "I don't know."


Tom


A rush of confusion traveled through him. "What, like a kidnappin'?" he exclaimed with widened eyes. 

 

[Teadhem]

Bernhard


"All set here!", he shouted as soon as the job was finished. His hands went through his hair, brushing it away from his face. Then he sighed. 


Cornelia


Anny's squeeze was comforting, at least they had eachother. She gave her a quick smile. "I just... Can't believe this is happening. We were supposed to have finished at the market now, and went to look for that bookstore. Suddenly, we are here. I wish it was a bad dream..."


Chester


He had thought he heard the captain's voice, and had waited a while for one of the crewmember's to burst in his door to tell him what they'd found. But noone came. Confused by why there was so little activity, he left the galley. 


Elysa


She took a deep, shaky breath. "Yes, I'm afraid so", she sighed. 

 

[dullumn]

Mali


The captain came out on deck again just as he tightened a red scarf around his waist and straightened his hat. Satisfied to see that the plank was gone, he turned to Bernie. "Get the sails ready, we're leaving as soon as possible. Raccoon, the anchor!" 


Anny


"I know..." She looked back at the two by the mast. She didn't know who either of them were, but remembered the lady had called for Cornelia. "Do you know those two?" 


Tom


For the third time in just a few minutes, the man let out a quiet "blimey." His heart sunk in his chest. He had left his booth to deliver fish, and now he was getting kidnapped? 

 

[Teadhem]

Bernhard


He looked up at the sails and whistled. "I'm getting too old for this", he mumbled and got to work.


Suko


As the captain started to give out orders, he exhanged a look with his brother. A quick push from Nico made it very clear who was going to help Bernie. He got on his feet and started to climb up the rigging.


Cornelia


She followed Anny's gaze to Elysa and took a moment to study the two before answering. "I know the lady. Her name is Elysa. Out fathers are well acquainted, so we have met quite a few times dinner parties and such. Before she got married, that is." She tried to remember the last time she saw this lady. It must have been years...


Elysa


Out of words she looked at the sea. Blimey, he'd said three times. Blimey indeed. This was not how she had expected the day to turn out. What had God planned for them? 

 

[dullumn]

Mali


He watched them scurry to their task and made his own little way towards the remaining goldfish. The sea was quiet, the streets were quiet. Except for the stowaways, this would be smooth sailing. "Did you get anything before the disturbance?" He crossed his arms and rested against the railings, glancing over at Nico.

Anny


Her eyes stayed put on Elysa and the man for a while. Married. The word had a wonderful and bitter taste all at once. Her mother had mentioned marriage only last week, but never introduced any suitors. "Pardon, she can't be much older than you and me?" She looked to Cornelia as not to glare. 


Tom


Though this might not be the time, he found himself wondering what would happen to the fish - or, more specifically, his booth. There was no one to watch over it anymore and there might be more than one dishonest soul in this town ... 

 

[Teadhem]

Nico


He kept his eyes on the captain as he came closer. With a light pat on his bag, he opened his mouth. "Not much, I'm afraid. Some salted meat and a few breads. I don't think Chester will be quite satisfied. In fact, you can ask him yourself." He nodded towards the doors leading to the lower floors where the cook's head appeared. 


Chester


He stepped out on deck and immediately noticed something was wrong. The plank was taken away. The captain was back and all dressed up. The crew were making the ship ready to sail. And... He blinked a few times. There were... Three upper class women and a strange man there? He stared at them for quite a few seconds before glancing over at Nico for answers.


Cornelia


"I think she is about 24 years old", she replied. Before she continued, she stared off into plain air for a moment trying to remember when Elysa tied the knot. "It must have been... 3 years since she married, I believe", she finally concluded.

 

[dullumn]

Mali


He turned his head to follow Nico's nod and made a small grimace. Cook might be too soft to accept a kidnapping right off the bat. Putting up a smile, he tilted his head and greeted him with a quick wave.


Anny


 Twenty four and already married for three years. Her mother would have loved that. She nodded solemnly, wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the ground. "Poor lady, her husband won't know what happened to her ..." 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


Confused he lifted his hand slightly as a response to the captain's greeting. His eyes flickered between the captain and the girls a few times before he slowly made his way over to the two men. While walking, he wiped his hands on the apron. 


Cornelia


She tried to remember who Elysa's husband was, but no name came to her mind. One thing she remembered clearly, however. The man had been quite a few years older than her. "It must be awful. Perhaps he thinks she left him..."

 

[dullumn]

Mali


The captain lifted his chin and studied the cook. Softness wasn't really the best trait for a pirate cook. "Meet our new stowaways, mate," he said as soon as Chester was close enough. "These ladies will be staying with us for a while." 


Anny


Her eyebrows raised while she turned to look at Elysa again. "Oh no," she exclaimed softly. "You don't think so, do you? People will not take kindly to that..." 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


He was having none of the captain's "stowaways". "You kidnapped three young ladies?" A concerned look spread across his face. What on earth were they thinking? 


Cornelia


"I hope not... But he might. She's still young, and he is quite older than her. He might think she found some young man at her own age", she mumbled. "And you know how much people like rumors about scandals". She studied Elysa's curls. 

 

[dullumn]

Mali


His grimace returned. "Kidnapped is such a strong word," he muttered and leaned back, his eyes wandering to Blondie and her friend. "They didn't leave us much of a choice. I don't know about you, but several of us have a warrant to consider." The blonde man shrugged as he turned his eyes back to Chester. "It hardly seemed worth risking for a few ladies that saw something they shouldn't have. Besiiides, it's not like we're gonna kill 'em." He gave the cook a pat on his shoulder as pushed away from the railings and walked past him, heading for the helm. 


Anny


"Oh yes," she muttered while gently stroking her upper arms. It was all she got to say before she spotted the captain walk towards the helm. Her stomach tied in knots. "We're ... moving now."


Yi Wei


After the anchor was dealt with she had returned to fetch the potatoes left by the man. She would have told him that the pain would wear off and that it wasn't serious, but instead decided to consider passing the information on to either of the twins later. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


"You can't just..!", he quickly lifted his arms, but let them fall not long after while sighing. There had to be a better way to solve this, warrant or not. They couldn't just take these girls away from their home and families like this. 


Suko


He climbed down from the mast and jumped down on deck when two meters were remaining. The breeze made his hair strands wave, and he took a deep breath of sea air.


Cornelia
Her head turned as soon as Anny finished her sentence. She was right. Slowly, but surely they were. "Oh god, we are", she whispered while staring at the buildings. Was this the last time she saw these houses? She felt an immediate need to hold onto something solid, but the rail was too far away.

 

[dullumn]

 
​

SEVERAL HOURS LATER
​

 
​

Mali


With both arms rested between the handles on the helm he lazily watched the horizon with growing contentment. The further away from land they got, the more his mood brightened.


Anny


For the last hour or so, the brunette had been sitting on a barrel by the rail. She stared in the direction of the harbour, which had disappeared from view long ago, and mindlessly fiddled with a piece of her skirt. The frown was still imprinted in her face.


Tom


The fisherman was still sitting by the mast to rest. Though the headache was fading, his own sense of helplessness kept him seated. Mission "Deliver fish" had failed miserably and taken a very unexpected turn. Pirates. Man, those things were usually just scary stories for kids. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


After the Captain left him, he had returned to the galley. The crew had brought down what they'd managed to get on their trip to the market, which was quite disappointing. At least they had food for a few days. They would have to eat bread and potatoes for a while to they got rid of it before it got rotten. The bread had a wonderful crust, and made a satisfying, crunchy sound when he cut it in slices. After his frustration had settled a little, he'd started cooking. Fried potatoes on toast. He was going to save the salted meat, as it would last longer. He'd found four wooden plates and arranged the food. Now he was balancing the plates on his elbows and hands while making his way up on deck. As soon as he stepped out on deck, he started looking for the ladies and the young man. He quickly spotted the brunette and made his way to her. He placed a plate on the rail beside her. "Here you go, flower. I know you probably aren't hungry, but try to eat something, hm?" 


Cornelia


She had sat down nearby Anny, but did not feel much like talking. Her hometown was long gone. Out of sight. By now, her mother was probably starting to wonder where she was. Her last guess would be here. On a damned pirate ship. She had never been nauseous on a ship before. Now it felt like she could throw up any moment. Everything was gone, who knew what these people would do to them. She cautiously kept an eye on the person she suspected was the cook when he went up to Anny. He only had four plates she noticed. One for each of them. Were they poisoned?


Elysa


She was sitting with her dress folded around her feet, leaning towards the railing. Her hands were folded and her lips moved as she whispered a prayer. 


Bernhard


Not having much to do, he'd sat down on the rail with a piece of wood and a knife. When he heard the cook's voice, he looked up.

 

[dullumn]

Anny


She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard footsteps approaching. Her shoulders raised immediately, but she stayed quiet and watched the man talk. For a moment her eyes only travelled back and forth between him and the plate, until it dawned on her what he was saying. He was right. She hadn't eaten in many many hours, but hadn't he said it she would hardly have noticed. Oh dear ... Her brown eyes studied him cautiously. The man had something kind, something gentle about him - and it made her shoulders slowly lower again. "Thank you," she forced the words out through a dry throat.


Mali


The captain's eyes wandered across the deck and landed on the lady with the folded hands. He couldn't help but scoff at the sight. Praying here would do her absolutely no good. It had never helped anyone on this ship. 


Matìas


From the moment he could smell toast and to Chester reached the ladies, his attention was strictly focused on the food. He had seated himself by Bernhard's feet to practise his sailors knot, which somehow never turned out right no matter how long he took. Of course he had forgotten all about the knot now, as food was suddenly present. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


He sent her a smile and nodded to her polite reply. "You're welcome. I recommend it warm. It's a bit chill out here", he said as he turned around and placed a plate by her blonde friend. Then he went over to the praying girl and the boy Yi Wei had knocked out. 


Cornelia


She made sure her back was straight, and kept her chin high when the cook turned to her. Her face was turned away from him as he put the plate down. She was quite surprised by Anny's politeness, but refused to act the same way. They were surrounded by barbarians and no act of kindness from the crew would change that impression. 


Bernhard


He noticed the kid's excitement. "There's probably some for us down there as well", he mumbled. The newcomers hadn't said much since they left the city. Slowly he dragged the knife down his wood carving, keeping his eyes on the girls. Then he blew away some of the sawdust and put the carving in his pocket. He gazed down at the boy and got up before sitting down beside him. He carefully placed his hands on the boy's hands and led him through the process of a sailor's knot. The kid would probably not remember the whole thing next time, but at least he would be one step closer

 

[dullumn]

Anny


Out of caution, she watched the man walk away from them. The food stayed where it was and she pressed her hands down in her lap. She did a sharp inhale, pushing her shoulders up. They never lowered quite all the way, but stayed on the height of her chin. After a quick look in Cornelia's direction, the brunette bit her lip and looked down. Miss Cornelia kept a cold attitude, one that she could never imitate. The man just now had seemed much gentler than many of the other men here. Much less ... intimidating. 


Tom


The man glanced over at the still unnamed woman, listening to her indistinct prayer. It felt nice to listen to her little mutter of hope. The situation was hard enough without them all giving up hope. His attention was brought to the man with the plates when his feet appeared in his side view. He looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "You the cook, then?"


Matìas


His eyes broke away from the food when Bernie took his hands. He watched the knot carefully, narrowing his eyes slightly - as if that would really help him stay focused. It was a lot harder than it seemed, remembering all these different knots and thingys. Most of his time went to scrubbing the deck and running errands anyway. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


A gentle smile spread across his face as the man with the curly hair spoke. "I am indeed. I guess it's kind of my fault these morons are still alive, unfortunately", he mumbled and crouched down. Carefully he put a plate down beside the man. "How's the head?" The man hadn't moved much, but he believed Yi Wei would have done something if the injury was serious.


Elysa


She looked up when she heard the fisherman's voice. Her prayer came to an end and her hands fell into her lap. 


Bernhard


"There you go, kid", he said while thightening the knot. He patted the boy's head and got back up. A sigh escaped his mouth on his way up, and he put his hands on his back. It had become quite stiff from sitting on the rail for so long. Lovely cracking sounds could be heard as he tried to stretch out. 

 

[dullumn]

Tom


He raised a hand to his head and snorted. "It's getting there," he said with a short smile. "Thanks." The fisherman pushed himself higher up against the mast and put the plate on his lap. Man, he was starving. About time food was introduced. "I get we ain't supposed to be nosey, but can ya tell us where we're going?"


Matìas


Two big front teeth revealed themselves in a big grin. That knot looked amazing! He didn't bother to fix his hair, instead let it fall in front of his eyes as he pulled his knees to his chest and threw the knot away. The loud cracking of joints made him shiver and grimace, sticking his tongue out. "A burro viejo, aparejo nuevo," he muttered to himself. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


He ran his free hand through his hair with his eyes on the sails. "To be honest... I'm not sure it has been decided yet", he mumbled. Had the Captain and the quartermasters already discussed it? Probably not. Also, they would have to take the amount of food left into account. To help with that, he would probably be included in the discussion. For a brief moment he studied the Captain who was just as hard to read as always. 


Bernhard


He glanced down at the kid. "I suspect that's Spanish for Please retire soon", he muttered and gave the kid a small push. "Come on, let's go say hi to Chester before my stomach starts making even worse noises". 

 

[dullumn]

Tom


He followed the lads wandering gaze to the man in the fancy hat - the Captain, he reckoned. "We're not ... leaving the country, are we?" he wrinkled his nose. He paused for a moment and grimaced. "... Are we?"


Matìas


The young boy titled over at the push and caught himself before hitting the floor. Just as quickly as he had fallen, he was back up on his feet. He sniffed and wiped his nose, looking up at the older man. Pushes usually meant follow. 

 

[Teadhem]

Chester


He hesitated. He wasn't really sure himself, and he certainly wasn't sure how long the newcomers were going to stay with them or how much they were supposed to know. "We might. I think we'll just have to wait n'see". He looked over at the woman who had been praying earlier and handed her the last plate as she was within reach. 


Elysa


"Thank you". With care she lifted the plate from the cook's hand and placed it in her lap. She made a quick prayer thanking for the meal, before closing her eyes as she took in the smell. With her long, delicate fingers she liftet a piece of potatoe to her mouth and started eating. 


Bernhard


A confused look spread across his face and he quickly reached out his arm as the kid fell over. The boy managed just fine alone however, and he sighed realieved before he started to walk. 

 

[dullumn]

Tom


He dragged a hand over his mouth and sighed. Shit. A nearby city, and he could definitely get home. Another country? Well, he hadn't ever been outside of the motherland ... His father had to watch the shop for a while, then. He leaned back again and took a big bite of his food - not exactly as elegant as the miss. 


Matìas


Quick, light steps were heard right behind Bernie. The boy almost walked in his shadow, he was so close.


Mali


The Captain searched the deck for the twins, already having spotted Chester by the stowaways. It was about time they set a course. As much as he loved sailing mindlessly, there was still the issue of supplies that they had failed to resolve this morning. Matter of fact, they had added another challenge instead. 

 

[Teadhem]

Bernhard


With long steps he went over to Chester. "Chester! Any chance there's some food for an ol' man and a small, neverending pithole too?" He gesticulated to Matías while sending the newcomers a warm smile underneath his bushy mustache. 


Chester


When the woman replied he gave her a nod and got up. Shortly after he heard the old man's voice behind him. He turned around and looked from Bernie to Matías. Neverending pithole, the comment made him smile. "Help yourselves, there's plenty more down in the galley", he said and gesticulated towards the door.


Suko


He had situated himself beside his brother away from the others and were catching up on the accounting. They'd looked over the numbers quite a few times now, and his head was starting to hurt. Gazing out on deck while his brother mumbled his eyes met the Captain's. He immediately understood what he meant. He ran his fingers through his hair before poking his twin's shoulder. They both got up and nodded to the Captain. 

 

[dullumn]

Matías 


He put up a big smile for Chester and put his hands in his pockets, titling back and forth on his heels. Toast with potatoe was his favourite food. Of course, though he roughly understood the gesture, he stayed exactly where he was. Sometimes words meant something completely different than gestures, and to be fair he wanted a good look at the strangers too.


Tom


He raised his eyebrows at the two men approaching. Or, well, the man and the ... Boy. Blimey, he looked way too young to be here. The man on the other hand ... Yup, he looked just right. "You crew too then? Reckon you look way too happy to be here against your will?"


Mali 


After giving a quick nod to Suko, he did a quick nod towards Chester. Better get him too then. He turned his attention to the second navigator, a man in his thirties, and gestured for him to take the helm.