Theo's back slammed on the floor and the wind was knocked out of her. She rolled to her side and began to push herself up. It was hard to catch her breath and once she did, it went right out again. She got a hard kick to the chest and she slammed her palm on the ground in frustration.
"Give me a second, Xy!" Theo coughed out and pushed herself to sit up.
"You won't have a second in the ring," Xyra stomped over to her and knelt next to Theo, a large hand coming up to wrap around her neck and shove her back onto the floor.
Theo's hands wrapped around Xyra's fingers, prying them off of her neck. She managed to get her leg up to Xyra's chest and push as hard as she could. Xyra's fingers peeled away from her neck as she was pushed backward. Theo scrambled to her feet, backing away from Xyra.
"My opponent isn't going to be some combat freak," Theo caught her breath and lifted her fists up again, "give me a sword and I might take less of a fucking beating every round."
Xyra ignored her comment and walked over to square up with the Captain. One punch flew in her direction but Theo quickly batted it out of the way with a defensive swipe of her arm. Xyra tried again and missed because Theo ducked. The third one, however, struck Theo straight in the jaw. Theo could feel the blood in her mouth; she was weak, tired, and fucked up. Her ribs ached and so did her fists, even the wraps around her knuckles didn't prevent the pain. Xyra left their fight, letting Theo recover from a ringing ear. Xyra walked to a chest, opened it, and pulled out two sheathed falchions. She tossed one to Theo who snatched it out of the air and unsheathed it.
"Not my favorite one but I'll make due," Theo shrugged, spitting blood on the floor, and before Xyra was ready, Theo brought her sword down. It was blocked and parried. The clashing of metal reverberated around the room as they continued to fight and Theo was handling Xyra way better with a sword than with fists.
Theo was maybe three moves away from victory. She could see it in her head, she knew Xyra's fighting style well and could picture the scene playing out in front of her. While Xyra's hand-to-hand style was highly diverse and adaptable, her sword fighting was less so. To Theo, it was highly predictable and she could taste the win, her ego prematurely inflating. Theo was pushing Xyra back, playing offense. Her first strike in her endgame was coming down when a shrill scream came from her doorway. Theo froze her action, turning back to look at what the hell had happened.
Tuni was standing in the doorway with wide eyes, "Real swords?!"
Theo dropped her falchion and held her hands up as if that would absolve her of the crimes committed against Tuni. Xyra followed suit and took advantage of her position furthest from the door to keep creeping backward to face less of the healer's wrath.
"I could hear the clanging from half across the deck," Tuni's voice was still stern and she barged in, picking up each of the swords and their sheaths before throwing them back in the chest, "I try to ignore the foolishness you all get up to but there is a point when I have to step in."
Tuni looked disappointed as she huffed and sighed, picking up the mess that was Theo's quarters. Tuni walked to Xyra first, probably knowing by then that Xyra would have the least amount of injuries. She was looked up and down and then dismissed, but Xyra stayed in the room as Tuni moved on to Theo. Tuni stood in front of her, not touching, just looking. Tuni let out a louder sigh than she had before and pressed her fingers against each temple. After a deep breath she glanced up at Theo with a look that could only be described as desperation and frustration.
"Tomorrow, we arrive at Corinspe," Tuni reminded, "and we don't know what is coming, or when you will be expected to rise to Fletching's challenge. The plan you and I discussed during your party, Captain, was that you would take it easy until we arrived so your body could be rested."
"I know," Theo didn't even say anything in her defense.
"This," Tuni tugged Theo's bottom lip down to show a gash in it and a bloody mouth. She then pulled Theo's high-waisted pants down slightly to uncover more of the bruise that was forming there, "and this."
Tuni grabbed Theo's chin and tilted it down to press into a bruise that was forming high on her cheekbone, "and especially this doesn't look like a rested body."
Theo grabbed Tuni's hand and held it in hers, "Forgive me, Fortune."
"Captain," Tuni sighed and shook her head, "you have to ask yourself for forgiveness, not me. This is self-sabotage."
"I need to be prepared," Theo insisted, "I can't do that by sitting around."
"And you," Tuni ignored Theo and turned to Xyra with narrowed eyes, pointing a finger at her with her free hand, "stop enabling her."
"She outranks me, I just obey orders," Xyra shrugged.
"Like I have never seen you say no to her," Tuni scoffed.
"She is still right here," Theo reminded.
Tuni turned back to Theo, "I cannot do anything for your injuries so, I will leave and attend to other matters but may your god Riva take my word for it, if you try and train again I will find a new crew and I will take Morgana with me."
It was an empty threat but the seriousness behind her words and the fire in her eyes made Theo almost believe it for a second. Theo nodded in understanding and Tuni left as quickly as she had come in. Xyra looked at Theo and they both were holding in smiles. Xyra shook her head as she walked past Theo and gave her a pat on the back.
"Good session, Cap," Xyra said as she took a seat in front of Theo's desk.
Theo turned to her, "Why are you sitting? We've got work to do."
"Did you not hear the woman?"
"You said it yourself, I outrank both of you and my orders are that we train, we weren't done."
"Tuni is right. No more fighting. We are one sun out from Corinspe," Xyra shook her head, standing her ground.
"It'll be at least five or six suns before the trial moves along far enough for him to challenge me," Theo rationalized.
"Or it might be two. Or we might find that things have gone south and are forced to fight in an inter-pirate war the moment we step foot onshore," Xyra shot back, "If you want to be prepared, sit there and run the plan back to me."
"Evidence goes to Evana," Theo held up a finger, starting them off. Evana got the evidence because she was trustworthy, had experience with not snitching if caught with it before it was presented, and because any officer that held it was going to be an obvious target. If Fletching knew they had evidence against him, a hit could be taken out of them even if it was against island rules. If they left it on the ship, it could be burned or stolen; so Evana volunteered to be the one responsible for the evidence. Theo held up a second, "Evana gets the fuck away from the dock and into an inn as soon as possible, locks herself in there."
"Three members of the vanguard are with her at all times the moment she steps off the boat," Xyra added onto the plan.
Theo held up a third finger at Xyra's addition and then put up a fourth, "You go to Grog's and get the boys together to update them. Cook and I book it to Uncilo's place."
A fifth finger went up as Theo continued, "We ask him to call for a meeting the next sun. We tell him we have evidence of the rat and wish to bring it to light and call a trial for the accused at the meeting."
"And if he says that there is no quorum? Not all the pirates that are on their way are back have arrived, the meeting cannot go on, Captain Theo," Xyra questioned, the impression of Uncilo was scarily accurate.
"The evidence is so damning that quorum wouldn't matter. Every pirate up there, even Fletching's little crew of followers will vote for his trial and vote to convict if it came to that," Theo recited, "there is also a looming threat of The Center being on its way and us not knowing so the meeting needs to happen immediately."
"And then?"
Theo moved onto a new hand, holding up the first finger on it, "We go to trial the next morning and the crew gets to work. Start a whisper campaign leaking the evidence we are presenting to the other pirates outside of the meeting. So even if he manages to go free or kill me and avoid sentencing, his reputation would go down in flames."
Xyra shook her head at Theo's reference to her death, "And if Uncilo never grants you the meeting?"
"Whisper campaign anyway," Theo recalled their plan, "and then I kill Fletching in the dead of night and all our problems go away."
"Theo," Xyra scolded and narrowed her eyes, shaking her head, "you will be jailed, tried, and kicked off the island if you do that."
"Would it be so bad to be kicked out?"
"Theo, when an idea comes to you, it is difficult to get you off that track," Xyra leaned forward in her chair, "I am telling you right now, get that shit out of your head. We have a duty to the island and other crews there, we cannot just get kicked out."
"We're under Uncilo's thumb there. We have no freedom," Theo crossed her arms, "The elders are no better than The Center, giving their decisions to Uncilo who executes it without question. They're not even on the sea anymore, why should any of them have a say in things."
Xyra raised an eyebrow, "Quit it. Uncilo does what is best for the island, not what the elders tell him to, you know this."
"You never hesitated to talk shit about him our whole lives and now that I want to, you won't entertain it," Theo scoffed.
"My problems with Uncilo ended when we were no longer under his care," Xyra shrugged, "he sits atop the pirate council and thus commands my respect, Theo. Now, if Uncilo rejects your request for a meeting what are we going to do?"
"Whisper campaign. Make it impossible for Uncilo to continue to deny a meeting and a trial," Theo recited with a roll of her eyes.
"No killing Fletching in the middle of the night," Xyra pressed, looking for confirmation. Theo didn't say anything, "I need to hear you say it."
"No killing Fletching in the middle of the night," Theo sighed and leaned her head back on the chair, "I'll do it bright and early in the morning."
Xyra shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm going to have them row me to the sloop to make sure Cooker and Red are up to date and then I'll send Red over here. I need to be on the sloop when we arrive tomorrow morning."
"Safe travels," Theo waved Xyra off and stared up at the ceiling.
She had been joking with Xyra, pulling her leg about Fletching, but if it came down to it, Theo would not hesitate to end Fletching's life outside of the fair process of a trial. If he wanted to be judged according to the rules, he should have been better at following them. Theo sent a silent request to Riva, that a meeting would be called and Fletching would be brought to justice from within the system, without a need for a fuss. But if a fuss was what they were handed, she would just have to handle it.
There was nothing much for Theo to do except wait. She would have been worried but there was nothing she could do. The calm before the storm, her gut had settled from the constant nervous state that the past cycle had brought. They were a night away from the moment they had been waiting for. Putting Fletching on trial for his crimes against Corinspe was not going to be done without a fight. He and his lackeys made up a significant portion of the population at Corinspe and she knew he had tricks up his sleeve. She should have been worried out of her mind but the feeling was assuaged.
Theo was still on duty, technically. She would be on duty all night as would her second, which would be Ava. But the skies were clear and the only other ship on the horizon was one flying pirate colors, which meant that if shit went sideways before arriving at Corinspe they would have backup. So, Theo poured herself a drink. For a long while, endless cycles it felt like Theo had been refraining from any sort of leisure in the form of drinking or smoking while at sea. But after being so good for so long, she felt like a drink was well deserved. She took her first sip, letting the less than pleasant flavor filter through her senses. Leaning against her chair, she relaxed into it as she took her next sip. Then, the door opened.
"Drinking on the job?" Ava walked into the room and shut the door behind her. She was lugging a large sack behind her, "I thought you were supposed to be responsible."
"And here I was, about to offer you a glass," Theo poured herself another bit.
Ava chuckled and set the bag down once she was halfway inside and then made her way over to Theo's wardrobe that contained the liquor. She pulled out a glass and walked over to Theo's desk, setting it down.
"Pour me one," Ava insisted.
Theo complied with the command and topped Ava's glass with some of her rum. She jutted her chin out towards the bag, "What's in there?"
"Presents."
"For me?" Theo raised an eyebrow.
"Aye, the ones I bought for you while I was on my trip," Ava explained as she sat down.
"Why now?" Theo chuckled.
"I mean, if you die because of Fletching I want you to do so with more riches to your name," Ava teased and sat on her usual chair.
How thoughtful," Theo laughed, "Would you want yours?"
"My what?"
"Your presents."
"Are you trying to one-up me?" Ava narrowed her eyes with a chuckle.
"No, if I die I want you to be surrounded by the things I gave you," Theo shrugged, "so you can forever be haunted by me."
"Being haunted? Sounds thrilling," Ava wiggled her eyebrows and held out her hands, "presents please."
Theo laughed as she stood up and dragged Ava's chair to a wardrobe with a drawer filled with presents. Theo left Ava to pilfer through her new belongings and she walked back to the bag with her things, sitting on the floor and opening it. Inside was a myriad of items, some less practical than others but all of them thoughtful. There was a lot of jerky, which she wondered if it would still be any good. There were matching sets of bracelets, some necklaces, and many beautiful earrings; both simple designs and more eccentric ones. There were also several empty journals, each with a different backing or design. Several different colored ink jars and pens were also laid at the bottom of the bag. Theo felt overjoyed, she was always in a great mood when presents were involved. The last thing she pulled out was a book.
Her brows furrowed as she removed the wrappings covering the book and revealed an Aelizan heading. She carefully ran her fingers over the textured front, feeling the bumps from the title. It read 'The Map of The Night Sky' in Aelizan. It looked like a book printed during a past age, perhaps more than several classifications before. The bindings of the book looked to be with a method that hadn't been used in quite some time. Theo flipped through the pages, reading some chapter titles and getting a synopsis of the book. It was an old astronomy text, one that detailed the development of sailing and navigating through the use of stars. As she flipped from the back of the book to the front, she landed on the first page. As she was about to close it and put it on her desk so she could tackle it once she had a bit of time to read, small ink on the side of the page caught her eyes. She opened the book again and focused on the writing. In Ava's penmanship, easily recognizable from her time as Theo's tutor, was a phrase in Aelizan.
I'le richenia def in il asea
You shine brighter than the stars
Theo read the line over and over. It was in Ava's handwriting which meant she had to ask someone to translate what she wanted to say and write it herself. Theo felt like weeping tears of joy. This was their first time alone since the night of her party and while nothing had changed, everything had. Theo had a large grin and she could just taste things returning to normal. The end was on the horizon and a well-earned break was coming, this was just a sneak peek of what her life would be like after the conflict was over. Theo was grinning to herself as she put the book down and watched Ava. Her head was buried in the drawer as her arms reached inside opening her gifts. She had put on one of the many kerchiefs that Theo had bought for Ava to wear on her head and Theo couldn't help but laugh. Ava turned around.
"What's with the cheeky smile?" Ava laughed.
"You like me," Theo smirked as she pulled on a pair of gloves she had been gifted and reached her hand into the bag for some jerky, just to see if it was any good.
Ava rolled her eyes instead of answering and went back to rummaging through the drawer. Theo sat and watched as she went through the things, stopping every so often to try something on or turn around and excitedly show Theo the item, as if Theo hadn't been the one to buy it. She held back comments about finding Ava to be very cute at that moment and instead sipped her drink and enjoyed the show. Patiently awaiting the moment when Corinspe was upon them.
They stayed up the rest of the night, well, mostly. They each took turns having a brief nap and then they were out on the deck an hour before first light. Theo's eye was stuck to the spyglass, looking for the tell-tale signs that the reef was approaching. It was on them suddenly and Theo put her fingers to her mouth and gave the whistle. With the signal, the crew on both ships began preparing. Theo handed the spyglass over to Ava dismissed herself from the conversation they had struck up. Corinspe was fast approaching and the time to get ready for whatever was awaiting them there had arrived. She had to push out any doubts or fears she had and push herself into a mind state of confidence and strength. She was goddamn Captain Theo, no one could fuck with her.
Theo took over at the helm. Navi was on the sloop and Theo trusted no one else to navigate her ship through the obstacles ahead. She began to yell out commands, making sure everything on the ship was perfect. There was little room for error. Theo was in her element, she maneuvered her wooden beast through the swaths of danger as she reflected on what was to come. She had been training nonstop, she truly felt that she had never been a better fighter than at that moment. When she was younger, she excelled at being dexterous. She knew how to weave through the crowds and kill in a moment of surprise but that skill was less useful now. Over the years, she had grown stronger in her fighting and Theo knew she could beat Fletching; especially if she played just as dirty as he did.
They had just entered the bay, passing through a small passage made by the reef when the call came from the sloop, Navi was shouting a request.
"Captain, look to the shore!"
Theo grabbed the spyglass from her side and pointed it over to the shores of Corinspe, scanning along the docks for what Navi was pointing out. An instant frown settled over Theo's face. There was a crowd amassed at the docks, more than the normal amount of people were congregated very close together. Her spyglass showed people still running down the path from town and joining the growing mass, indicating to her that it had begun to form once they spotted Theo's ship entering the waters.
"Red," Theo said as she put the spyglass away, a bit of worry seeping into her veins, "go tell the vanguard to take Evana and keep her hidden in storage until this crowd goes away."
"Is everything alright?" Ava asked.
"I don't think so," Theo turned away from Ava and put her fingers to her mouth, letting out a loud, long whistle. Followed by three short whistles, indicating to the sloop to stay alert.
Theo's palms had become sweaty, the full captain's garb she adorned in the morning humidity was no help. She wiped her palms off on her coat and leftthe helm, walking down the stairs and giving the commands for a neat landing at the dock. The sinking feeling in her stomach didn't go away. She felt no comfort, no blanket of safety from Riva or her friends. Even with her brain pushing all the trepidation out of her mind, she was still uneasy. There was something hanging in the atmosphere like the island had taken a deep breath and was holding it.
The dock was unnaturally quiet, in all her time at Corinspe, there were only a handful of occasions that the docks were without a sound. None of those times brought good news with it. Theo's mind flashed with all of the possibilities. Uncilo's death among them. But, when she saw him at the front of the crowd and that scenario was wiped from her mind. Theo made herself sturdy, mentally, and walked off the deck of her ship. Her footsteps were heard as she walked off, everything around her dead silent. Walking over from the sloop, Xyra joined her at her side and Cooker came in next to Xyra.
As they made their way down the dock and approached the throngs of people, they all had their hands on their weapons. She scanned the crowd and got a closer look at every one. They were joined by nearly the whole island; all of her friends, pirates she didn't know, the elders, the Council, and her enemies. Fletching was there too, standing right next to Uncilo. Fletching caught Theo's eye as she walked forward. Whatever was going to happen had him behind it which wasn't promising. Theo's hand gripped the falchion at her side as she looked around for an escape route from whatever she was facing. There was nothing, people were completely surrounding them. The only way out of this was going back to the ship but they wouldn't even make it out of port if she tried to flee.
Theo stopped, about a dozen feet away from the nearest person to her, Uncilo. His face was like stone, if he was feeling any certain way, Theo couldn't tell. Next to him with a face of victory, Fletching.
"What'd you get up to this time, bastard?" Theo addressed Fletching.
Fletching only smirked and looked over to Uncilo who lifted a hand up and closed his fist.
Four men moved forward, some of the volunteers that made up the pirate guard. Theo pulled out her sword and they stopped. She didn't command anyone else on her crew to move into action though, she pushed everyone behind her instead.
"Captain Theo of the Scorned Woman. You are under arrest and pending trial for crimes against Corinspe and against Corinspian allies," Uncilo spoke, no emotion laced his tone.
The guards tried to stop forward again but Theo shook her head.
"On what fucking grounds?" Theo yelled and kept her sword up, waving it as a warning, "Move and you'll be on the floor in a second."
The guards stopped moving.
"Suspected of aiding Captain Theo of her crimes are Xyra, the first mate of the Scorned Woman. Cooker, advisor to Captain Theo. And Red, the quartermaster. As such, all three of them will also be placed under arrest and will await trial in prison," he Continued.
"What the fuck Uncilo?!" Theo cried out and spared a glance over to her old captain. He didn't react, "I've done nothing."
"You're a rat. Working with Vaith himself," Fletching spoke up and went to step out closer to Theo but Uncilo stopped him.
"That's a pile of horseshit. It's madness" Theo scoffed and then looked back at Uncilo, forcing him to meet her eyes, "That man killed my parents, Uncilo. You know I would never work with him. You know that is a lie!"
"I'm sorry, Captain Theo, he has presented his evidence and the people's voices have called for your trials," Uncilo shook his head, still nothing but a stoic presentation.
"Whatever fabricated evidence he has is bullshit," Theo spat back.
"Fabricated? Hardly," Fletching laughed and ignored Uncilo's arm in his way, stepping around it to come just behind the four men aiming to capture her and her crew, "Seize them and bring me the girl, I'll show you all just how solid my evidence is."
Fletching pointed at Ava and Theo wasted no time in stepping in front of her, pushing Ava behind her and keeping her sword held up. Theo was confused, but she had acted quickly enough that the guards couldn't make a move unless they wanted to engage in a fight with Theo.
"Theo, I'm sorry," Ava said from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Theo shook off worrying about whatever that meant in favor of fixing the guards with the most threatening face she could.
"I said I would drop you in a second if you moved. Come any closer and I will have no choice," Theo warned.
"Captain Theo," Uncilo said, "put away your weapon, and allow the men to approach you."
"I won't be arrested for something I didn't do!" Theo shouted back, eyes set on the man trying to move towards Ava.
"You may plead your case when you take the stand at your trial," Uncilo was unwavering in the coolness of his words, "it will only do you harm to lash out now, Captain."
"Theo," she felt a hand on her shoulder and spared a glance to Xyra next to her. Xyra's expression was calm, contrasting from the panic Theo felt in her gut, "he's right. Fighting will get us nowhere."
Theo looked around at the group of people, trying to formulate an escape or a way out. The seconds were passing and she had nothing. Against every ounce of will she had, she sheathed her sword and held her hands up, being grabbed by two guards and having her hands shackled behind her back. Theo looked over to see her crew stepping back from them as Xyra, Cooker, and Ava were grabbed. Ava was the only one left without shackles as two men took hold of her and walked her to Fletching.
Ava was thrashing and kicking her legs out, not cooperating with their efforts to get her to walk. Once she was put in front of him, Fletching walked around her then lifted up her chin and Theo pushed forward out of instinct but the guards held her back. It didn't stop her from fighting, trying to yank her arms free and get Ava away from Fletching's rotten touch.
He turned her around, so Ava was facing the crew and had her back to the crowd. Fletching reached forward and ripped the back of her shirt open.
"Get your fucking hands off her!" Theo kicked one guard in the shin hard enough to make him drop his hold on her. She yanked free from the other man and began to run towards Ava but the chains she was shackled to were tugged back and she stumbled backward into the guards' embrace.
Fletching had a sadistic grin on his face as he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a scroll. Theo looked over at Xyra and Cooker for any shred of a plan, any indication that they knew how to get out of whatever Fletching had done. Xyra looked not angry or shocked but resigned. Theo watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Cooker looked just as panicked as Theo felt. Fletching unrolled the scroll and at the sound of his voice, Theo's head snapped back towards him.
"Born during the 2nd length of the 42nd classification, on the 7th sun of the 19th cycle, Avery Vaith was born to Lord Umbar Vaith and Lady Hilena Vaith. To be distinguished from other nobility by her red hair and from her siblings by the three spots above her right shoulder, which form a triangle."
Theo didn't need to have a line of sight on Ava's back to know that the triangle was there. She had vivid memories of Ava on her stomach, with Theo tracing the small pattern over and over again. Theo felt like she couldn't breathe. There would be no way to fabricate that scroll or that information on it. The final confirmation for the validity of Fletching's claim came when she locked eyes with Ava. The other girl's eyes were full of tears, her chest was moving like it was keeping in sobs. Theo felt time slow down. Ava was shaking her head while staring straight at her, a look on her face that could only be described as remorse or regret. Theo's ears began to ring and she looked away from Ava. It wasn't Ava though, it was Avery. Theo felt the wind knocked out of her.
Any sort of struggle or tension in her body that she was keeping to give the guards a hard time fled from her body. Within a minute, Fletching had called into question Theo's legitimacy as a pirate and ruined whatever relationship she had with the girl she loved. Both in business and in personal, Fletching had always found a way to fuck with her.
She tried to shake the feeling of hollowness but it wasn't leaving. She could feel her pulse, feel her breaths rack through her body, the ringing in her ears shrill and overbearing. She could feel the crowd's anger, she knew it was there just beyond her own wall of confusion. The screams and hollers in their direction were obvious but Theo was blocking it all out. The reality of what was said refusing to set in. Numbness took root instead.
"As you can now see, I have not lied when I said your dear Captain Theo is behind this mess," Fletching addressed the crowd, "all along, we had Avery here feeding her father information that Theo gave her."
"I do not work for my father!" Avery yelled, "I do not hold any allegiance to the Vaith family or any other person with a last name!"
"Lies!" a person from the crowd called out.
"And no one on the ship knew who I was!" Avery added on, "they are not guilty of any crimes against Corinspe."
"We are supposed to believe that your romantic partner has no idea that you are a Vaith?" Fletching laughed, "because I find that hard to believe. How about everyone else?"
Fletching had such a command over the crowd, not all of them but a good portion, yet Theo couldn't bring herself to care. She was stuck, frozen in place with a lump in her throat.
"I believe it!" a voice called out, Captain Blue, "look at her! Look at Captain Theo! She's in shock! She had no idea. She is innocent."
"Captain Uncilo, I have done more than my due diligence to prove my claims and no one who has come back from Captain Theo's wild goose chase has come up with any other solid evidence," Fletching turned to face Uncilo, "give the final order for their trials."
Theo pulled her blank stare away from what was happening in front of her and turned to look at Xyra and Cooker. Cooker was bewildered, not shocked, but panicked. Xyra's face had not changed, like Uncilo's, it portrayed very little but the surrender on it was clear. There was no anger at the mention of who they had been dealing with that whole time, no fire for revenge or answers. Theo tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she ignored what was happening around her.
"Xy," Theo said, she could hear the strain in her own voice.
Xyra's head jerked over but didn't face her. A hesitation was there. Finally, she fully turned her head towards Theo. With just a look, Theo knew that Xyra had known. It didn't hit her though, the pain, the betrayal, the hurt. Theo just looked away, brows still knit together, trying to figure out how to get past the numbness.
"Their trials will begin in the morning. They will be kept in the jail until their trials conclude," Uncilo commanded, "it will commence at 8 in the morning."
With a nod of his head, he moved the guards into gear. Theo felt the hands grab her again and she began to be dragged. She should have done more, she should have fought but her head was empty. Devoid of any strategy or plan. Theo managed to spare one glance back at her crew, who looked just as dumbfounded as she felt. Many of them showed anger in their faces but not towards Theo's direction, it was towards Avery.
Theo dug her heels into the ground, trying to stop herself and get more of a look at her crew. The guards were tugging her forward but she held off for as long as she could. Tuni, who had been looking frantically between all of them locked eyes with her. Theo shook her head, trying to communicate something to her. Tuni pushed past Morgana who was standing in front of her as protection and began to chase after Theo. She ran as far as she could before the crowd stopped her.
"I didn't know," Theo managed to get out, it was the only thing she thought to say, "Fortune, tell them I didn't know!"
"Captain!" Tuni yelled and held her hand out as if that would do anything to help.
Theo's feet gave out and she was pulled away without being able to say anything else to Tuni. With nothing left to do, she turned to one of the guards.
"Let me go and I'll tell you where my treasure is buried," Theo found herself only half-joking. It seemed to work, one pirate faltered just a bit but when Theo let out a humorless chuckle, they kept moving; calling her bluff. Theo had snapped a bit more into herself but her head was spinning so fast she was useless. The only thing she could do was be dead weight and a nuisance; which she did. Only a few hours before, she was opening presents and dreaming of life after the current crisis. All of that seemed like a lifetime away and Theo knew that it would be a while before anything even resembled normalcy again.