✔ Masquerade | England [EDITING]

t h r e e

The Vargas Brothers

The seafaring days went on. 

You started to steer clear of the Commander ever since he tried to kill you two days in a row when you first set foot on the ship. You followed his commands to the dot as Antonio advised you, but never made attempts to speak to the Commander unless he spoke.

It seemed to you that your obedience had mellowed him down slightly, but it still didn't stop him from watching you like a hawk. You were still under his strict surveillance, almost as if he waited for you to slip up so that he could get an excuse to tear you apart. Thankfully for you, Antonio faithfully prevented that from happening.

Had it not been for Antonio, you would have already been dead.

But he had been talking to you a little bit more normally than before, which surprised you, and even asked you about the details of your father, which you told him. You wondered why he seemed agonised by the mention of it, but didn't ask. 

It was another fine morning and you were sweeping the deck of La Reina, which you found out recently was the name of the ship. Of course, Antonio had named it, since, as the story went, Arthur found it too troublesome to think of a suitable name and left it to his right-hand man.

"Wretched woman, come here!" Arthur screamed from the library he was sitting in.

Ever since you joined the crew, your nickname was a combination of a bad adjective and "woman". It took a while for you to get used to it; it was also reassuring that he was treating you like everyone else, since he was pretty much badmouthing everyone.

Abandoning the broom, you went off to the library.

"You called?" you asked upon entering.

"How well can you cook?" he asked immediately, not looking up from the mess of maps sprawled on the table.

"Pretty damn great." You said, "It's so good, you'd fall dead."

"So you're saying that you cook radioactive food which can kill people, am I right?" 

"Uh..." You blinked, "Nope. My specialty is making food so damn good that you fall dead in peace."

"Make sure your claims are more clear next time." he huffed at you and shook his head.

"Of course, Commander." You nodded, "Why do you ask, by the way?" 

"I thought I'd introduce you to the best place in this ship; I realised I hadn't done so, and it's an insult to womenfolk," He stood up and walked to the door, "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" You asked and he gave you the 'can you seriously not figure out where we are heading to right now?' look as he led the way.

"The kitchen, you donkey." He replied with a heavy sigh, murmuring something about how slow you were, "Where all the food is made, in case you did not know."

I wonder why his remarks seem less cutting than usual...

"You'll be helping the boys in the kitchen today," He finally stopped at a door and opened it.

"Antonio, the wretched woman will be cooking with you and the others today!" he shouted.

"Excellent!" He grinned and came up to you with a grin, "I'm sure you will be a great help,"

"Seeing how slow this woman is, I doubt she would be of any help whatsoever," Arthur bluntly commented, making you purse your lips as you glanced at the two brunets at the back who were watching the scene unfold with great interest.