Treasure of the Heart

Ch. 2 - The R.L.S. Legacy

I scuffled through my front door, if you could call it that. A large tin piece of roof I gathered from the dump to close off the open doorway to an abandoned shack by the creek. I collapsed on my haybed, and exhaled deeply. "This day couldn't have gone any worse." I said to myself as I turned to face the wall. For a moment however, the boy I saw earlier entered my mind. I thought about the shape of his face, and the way he stared at me. I wondered if I'd ever see him again. "Ack!" I shouted, jolting myself up and grabbing my head, shuffling my dirty hair aggressively. "Don't think like that! It's a waste of time!" Then I flopped back down on my uncomfortable makeshift mattress. "The hell am I thinking..." I whispered, "that'll never happen." I rolled back over, and closed my eyes, falling into a much needed, deep sleep.

The next day arrived, the sun was bright and the birds were chirping. I bathed in the creek and washed all the dirt I could off myself with just water. It was hard sometimes, being deprived of feminine pleasures like makeup and fancy shampoos and perfumes. But survival was key in a place like this. I finished up and went to get dressed. Today I'd do my rounds at the Montressor Space Port, a place where shipments came in, and trouble you caused would often be forgotten because nobody stuck around.

I wandered through the streets, using my sticky-fingered skills to steal a few snacks here and there, fruits from different planets and regions. If they were at all rare, I would never know, but I always assumed the sweeter tasting ones probably fetched higher prices. I sat on top of some large crates while I enjoyed my collection of fruits. I liked to come here to people watch as well. Today I found myself watching a dog-like man be swindled into buying a space suit that was for sure nothing more than a piece of junk. The rich were always so easy to trick, I thought as I snickered in between bites. When I finished my measly meal, I hopped down off the crates and began to wander once more. There's gotta be something of value around here today, I thought to myself. Maybe some fancy rings off a vendor's table I could swipe and sell for some quick cash, or a job I could find between pirates or bounty hunters. As I made my rounds, I came upon a large ship. It was pretty miraculous looking, with large solar sails to carry it. I whistled in my impressment, and thought about all the places this ship had probably traveled. I also wondered what treasures could be inside of it. An eyebrow raised with the thought, and a smirk came across my face while I held up my hand to my jaw in an inquisitive state. Suddenly a whistle blew. I looked behind myself and saw the vendor I snagged my snacks from earlier. A guard was talking to him, and I knew they were alerting them of my presence. I had to think fast if I was going to avoid being caught again. I looked around, and took notice of a rope from one of the masts hanging off the side of the ship. Normally it'd be too high up, but luckily this ship was being brought cargo, and a stack of crates were just the right amount high for me to reach it. I smiled as I took off, and started to quickly scale it. I grabbed hold of the rope, and dragged myself up, just in time before the guards made their way over. I slid onto the deck with a sigh, and peeked over the edge. They had no clue. I felt slick in my deed, and better yet, created an even more perfect opportunity for me to start exploring this ship for goods.

Jim and the doctor Doppler were just now making their way up the walkway of the ship. Jim looked in amazement, failing to watch out for people as he made his way across the deck. In his excitement, he accidently ran into a large, flabby, slug-like crewmember. Before Jim could apologize, a sound like flatulence emitted from the crew member, and wind from the man's mouth like orifice blew into his face. Jim was speechless and somewhat a little disgusted. Doppler came over and stated for Jim not to worry, suddenly making noises of flatulence himself, with his arms and mouth. The strange crewmember then proceeded to laugh, and went on his way after saluting the both of them. "I'm fluent in Flatular, Jim. Took two years of it in high school." Doppler said, before proudly walking away. "Flatular...cool." Said Jim as he adjusted his hair after being tussled from the aggravation of the crewmember. The two were led into the Captains quarters, where they spoke to Mr. Arrow, the second in command, and the Captain, Amelia.

After losing the inn and coming in possession of the map to Treasure Planet, the three had taken refuge at Dr. Dopplers home. It was during the moment that Doppler was saying how miraculous it was to have such a thing and how it could take years for him to unlock it, that Jim by chance, almost naturally unlocked the map. A swirling green galaxy ruptured out of it, and planets from every star system formed around them. The holographic, almost mystical projection began to move. Doppler named off each one he recognized, exclaiming how many of these were lightyears away. Suddenly, they came upon it, "Treasure Planet!" Jim exclaimed. Then the green aura faded and the particles of the hologram reverted back to the bronze orb. "Treasure Planet! This is a map to Treasure Planet!" Jim shouted excitedly. It was in fact the map, the genuine one. It took some time, but Jim was able to convince his mother to let him go on this journey, hire a crew, get a ship, and venture out into deep space for the treasure, so long as Dr. Doppler accompanied him. Now here they were, on the ship, the R.L.S. Legacy, speaking to Captain Amelia, a very cat-like women who exuded power and authority, and her trusty partner, Mr. Arrow, who was a man of stone, quite literally.

"I'll be keeping the map in my study, locked up and only used in brief moments." Amelia explained. Before Jim could protest, him and Doppler were being carried out the door, to attend to their new "duties."

It was simply by happenstance that after I found nothing of value on the ship, I was noticed by Mr. Arrow as I was trying to make my escape back down the walkway to the pier. "You there!" He called to me, right as my foot was lifting from the deck to the boards of the walkway. I froze up momentarily. I turned slowly, saying, "Sir." Imagine my shock when I saw him, the boy I saw just the other day, standing beside this boulder of a man, and even more curious, the wealthy man who had been swindled into buying a piece of junk space suit just earlier today. The boulder of a man called me over. I proceeded to walk over to him, trying to act as though I belonged there, but of course there was no way for me to know what kind of crew this was. "Your name?" He asked me. I paused for a moment, not wanting to give my real name, I'd make one up so as to not leave a trace of myself when I took off from this place. "M-Malou!" I proclaimed. It was a storybook name, one I read when I was little of a woman who was once royalty, and when she was going to be beheaded by her husband, the king, she escaped to the sea and became a pirate, stealing from sleazy, no good, rich-men, like her husband had been. The thought of being like her brought a smile to my face at that moment.

"Well, Malou, what are your duties to this ship?" He questioned me, clearly onto the fact I didn't belong there. I thought fast. "Well, I was hoping you'd give them to me sir, I'm a newly hired crewmember to the R.L.S. Legacy." He hummed in response, then asked, "Why did you join?" I thought for a moment, and responded, "The same reason anyone would, right? To see the world, adventure, be a part of something?" I smiled nervously. I felt sweat begin to form on my temples. He hummed again, as his hand lifted to his chin, patting his finger to it a couple times. He then laughed with a huff and said, "Alright then, I'll give you a job." He directed me to follow with the other two, the boy from the other day, and the dog-like man in the junky spacesuit. The boulder man led us down below the ship, into an area with seats and a kitchen. A rather hefty man was cooking something. A chef I thought. "Mr. Silver!" the boulder man called over to the cook. "Why, Mr. Arrow sir, bringing such fine young gentlemen into me galley" he said, turning quickly on his heel, and bowing, revealing a cyborg arm. Jim and I both gasped at the site. This Mr. Silver looked up, and his smile suddenly didn't seem as strong at my site, but he quickly brought it back up, saying, "oh, and a fine young las as well." I felt tense in the moment, and over my shoulder I heard the boy beside me whisper, "A cyborg..." He seemed just as offput as myself. First, Mr. Arrow introduced the dog man, as Dr. Doppler. "Love the outfit doc," the cyborg said, shooting a harmless, red laser beam from his cyborg eye, seemingly scanning him. The doctor appeared nervous, then grabbed for the boy and pushed him forward, saying, "This young lad is Jim Hawkins." Jim Hawkins, I thought, I'll remember that. The cyborg, Silver, extended a hand to introduce himself, but Jim did not accept. The air felt stale at that moment.