FELLOWSHIP || Ateez Fanfiction

Chapter Nine: Snowfall

I go outside and see a few people gather around our ship.
The other two come onto the deck.
They instantly wave at the people in front of our ship.
A group of children wave back at us.
"Seems like they are already waiting for us.", I mumble.
We leave the ship and immediately an older man comes to greet us.
"Welcome on our island! I am Ulrich Grabbestin and the mayor of this village. Who are you and where are you from?", he asks with a thick accent.
"Hello, I am Captain Hongjoong Motik and the other two are Yunho Faersbelt and Mingi Sunenschiin. We are treasure hunters who travel the world. We wanted to sail to Wisnpfloss but we got into a giant storm that messed with our compass, so we are here now instead.", I explain.
"I understand. You're free to stay as long as you like. We actually haven't had visitors from outside in more than two decades. Let me show you the village."

We follow the man into the main part of the village. A few houses stand around a big well. Two roads lead away from the plaza which also have houses alongside of them. The mayor tells a bit about the village's history.
After a while I spot two people at the other end of the plaza. An older man and a young woman are walking side by side and talking to each other in a strange dialect. The woman seems very uncomfortable. Then the man starts touching her inappropriately. Before I can even say anything, Yunho sprints towards them and stands protectively infront of the woman. Mingi and me follow after him.
"Leave her alone! Can't you see that she is uncomfortable?!", Yunho shouts angrily.
"She is my wife and I can do with her whatever I want.", the man states.
"No woman should be treated like that even if she is your wife.", Mingi says.
The mayor also walks up to us.
"Seems like there is a misunderstanding. She is his wife and also a Maarlit, so there is nothing wrong here. She doesn't deserve better.", he says.
His words infuriate me. How can he accept such a behavior?
"So you think that it's okay for man to assault woman?", I ask furiously.
"Oh god! No! Of course not! But the Maarlits are just little rats that you somehow can't get rid of. So he can treat her however he wants.", the mayor replies.
I look at the woman. She just stares to the ground, saying nothing. She looks so sad and innocent. What did she do to be treated like this? Or did she even do anything?
The man grabs the woman's arm and pulls her towards him.
"Let's go home, babe.", he says and leaves the plaza, dragging her behind him.
"Shall we continue now?", the mayor asks.
"I think we will look around on our own now but thanks for sharing your knowledge.", I say.

We go down the way on the left side of the plaza. I still can't believe what we just witnessed but it makes me wonder who the Maarlit family is.
Besides some more houses, we also walk past some lemon and orange trees. Then I almost get run over by a middle aged woman. She is wearing a knee lenght, short-sleeved dress that has been patched too many times which reveals the bruises, scars and wounds on her body. A group of young man is running after her with stones in their hands.
Out of seemingly nowhere a young handsome man appears. He is only wearing a pair of outworn trousers.
He is extremely skinny but still also a bit muscular. He looks enraged and sprints towards the men. He hits the men with a few kicks but it is clear that he is not going to win this fight because it is one against five and they are a lot stronger since they are not malnourished.
What is going on in this village? This is already the second time where a woman gets assulted and now a fight?
It now looks really bad for the man.
"Pliis, leev us alunn!", the woman shouts.
Yunho, Mingi and I manage to intervene the fight.
"Who are you and why are you protecting the Maarlits?", one of the men asks with a thick accent again. Maarlit, again?
"We are treasure hunters who are just halting here after traveling through a big storm. Why are you attacking them?", I ask.
"They are beggars who bring misfortune everywhere they go. They don't deserve better.", he answers.
"Shouldn't you help the less fortunate ones instead of bullying and attacking them?"
"The Maarlits can't be helped no matter how much you try to help them, they just are good for nothing. We will spare you for today San. We still have other things to do."
The men leave. The young man runs towards his mother.
"Mutr ar yu oke?", he asks.
The woman nods.
"Faeng yu fur haelfin us.", the man says to us.
Is he thanking us?
He must have seen our puzzled faces because he repeats it again, more understandable but still with a thick accent:
"Thank you for helping us."
"No problem, are you both okay?", Yunho asks.
"Yes, thank you."
The woman motions us to follow her. We slowly walk next to the two.
"We saw one of your other family members with her husband earlier. He treated her very badly. Do you know that he treats her like this?", I ask.
"Yes. But it is better that way. At least she has something to eat, proper clothes and a proper bed.", the woman says.
"Are you homeless?", I ask.
"Oh no! Fortunately my husband has inherited his family's house. The oldest on this island. Even if it's not what it used to be. We had to sell 90 percent of the furniture. So we sleep on straw on the floor.", the woman tells.
"The mayor told us that his house was the first on this island.", Mingi comments.
"Well, it's not. My husband's ancestors were the ones who found the island. The mayor's ancestors were friends with our family. Back then both families shared the mayor role but then our family was cursed and now we live like this.", the woman points towards a villa at the end of the road.
It is a very old run-down building. The roof and the exterior of second floor have several holes in them. It doesn't have any glass windows. The wood from which it is made of is rotten at a few places. I now can kind of understand why they married their daughter to that old guy. Living under such conditions must be horrible.