Manuel, Yunara, and Kailu stood at the deck of the ship as men ran to an fro barking at each other in Arabic. Out in on the water was a daunting ship much bigger than theirs, with black, torn up sails on the masts that made it look like a ghost ship. It advanced towards them at an impeccable speed, and Youssef's crew was in chaos.
Youssef came up behind them. "Here's the plan. We have to let him chase us, or he'll suspect something's wrong. Then when he boards we'll try to explain everything as soon as possible."
"While they raid us?" Kailu questioned dubiously.
Youssef shrugged. "Yes, while they raid us."
Then the cannons started. Behind them, Valentini's ship was catching up. Yunara wasn't sure how long Youssef was planning for the chase to last, but it didn't look like it was going to last long. Water exploded at their sides as cannons missed them and struck water. For now.
Youssef went to address his crew, ropes being pulling and loosened all around.
Yunara tried to keep herself calm, but she hadn't been doing well since the attack with Nevres. She tried not to let it show, but she couldn't deny she was losing her nerve. The Aracs were relentless. There was not a moment they weren't being followed by them. And every time, they brought Dark Ones. So far they'd been lucky. But not even the King and Queen of Ecencia were able to avoid their fate. What made Yunara any better than them?
The flashes were threatening to come back again. Keep it together, Yunara. You can't do this now, she thought to herself. She clenched her fist so tight her nails left dents in her palms. The repeated message in her mind managed to pull her from the depths in her that threatened to pull her in.
The ship started picking up speed, but not nearly enough. Valentini's vessel was built for chase, and the blasts from the ship was coming closer. The ship shuddered and lurched to the side as a cannon ball grazed the side, sending splintery wood flying.
Valentini's ship sided theirs, the name of the bark etched in silver on its side, Fantasma. The pirates were close enough to shout taunts to them in Italian. Their ship came in even closer, and the raid had begun.
Pirates swung onto their ship on ropes, armed with swords and pistols.
"Our weapons!" Manuel shouted. He was right. Their weapons were in their rooms.
Without another word needing to be spoken, they ran down to their cabins. Yunara had barely entered her room when a pirate came running in after them.
Manuel emerged from his room first, his sword at his side. He clashed with the pirate in the hallway, the sound of metal ringing filling the air. The pirate he fought against held a scabbard in his hairy knuckles, a playful smirk on his stubbled face. He wore his blouse with the top buttons undone, hair visible from his chest and showing a sturdy build.
Yunara grabbed her canteen of water, making the water inside of it flow out into the shape of a block over the pirate's head. The pirate looked up in confusion a moment before it turned blue as she solidified it and made it come crashing down on his head. The man slunked to the ground. Manuel looked at her, impressed.
Kailu had grabbed her sword instead of water. "So what do we do now? Do we join the fight or look for cover?"
That was a good question. They needed to look for Valentini. But they wouldn't be able to do that if Valentini's crew killed them first.
"I say we try to help Youssef's crew," Manuel said. "Otherwise, we'll never be able to talk to Valentini."
"I think I agree," Yunara had to admit. "It's what we came for, after all."
"The Ancient Ones couldn't have chosen someone a little less complicated to find?" Kailu complained.
Not one of them disagreed to the sentiment, but all surfaced from below the deck to join the fight.
Then suddenly everything happened at once. A pair of pirates that had been lying in wait appeared at either side as they came up the stairs to the deck. One seized Yunara's arms from behind, roughly putting them behind her back, a scratchy rope being pulled tightly around her wrists until they chafed. She couldn't use her water without her hands. She was helpless.
To her sides, Manuel and Kailu were captured along with her, their arms forced behind their backs and their weapons taken from them. The taste of dirty cloth invaded Yunara's senses as a rag was forced into her mouth and tied around her head.
The pirates laughed and mocked them in Italian, as all around them, youssef's crew was losing. The Italians outnumbered the Moroccans, holding them at gunpoint. The sound of fighting still went out, but it was fruitless. A thud went out as someone kicked down the door to Youssef's office from the inside, laughing as Youssef stumbled out, tied up and gagged. As quickly as the raid started, it was over.
All of Youssef's crew was lined up at the deck, and the pirates stood around as finally their their captain boarded the ship.
Luca Valentini sized them all up with a sly smirk on his face. He was definitely the captain by how the crew parted for him when he entered, his demeanour demanding respect. He couldn't have been a day over 25. He wore a clean white blouse that he wore tucked into his black trousers. A sword and a pistol hung at his belt, his boots clicking against the floor as he evaluated them with smug satisfaction. His olive skin was tanned, and his wavy charcoal hair reached his shoulders, parted in the middle and tucked behind his ears.
He had an exchange with his comrades in their native tongue, then turned to Youssef's crew with displeasure twisting his face. He made comments to them, though no one understood what he was saying.
Valentini strode up to Youssef and took the gag from his mouth. Yunara could at least tell that he had switched to Spanish. Youssef spat in his face in response, receiving a swift punch to the gut for it.
Valentini cantered over to Yunara, leaving Youssef doubled over behind him, looking at her up and down, Yunara feeling her face flush as she felt him look her over a few more times before speaking. He said something to her in Spanish, as he took the gag from her mouth. But she didn't understand what was being said to her at all. Yunara simply shrugged, not knowing what else to do.
"No hablas español?" Valentini asked.
Yunara shook her head.
"Que habla usted?" What did she speak, Yunara understood.
"Ingles," she responded as best she could.
"Ah. And what is a delicate flower like you doing so far from home?" he asked with almost no accent.
"You speak English," Yunara said, astounded.
"What can I say? I have many talents. I speak 5 different languages fluently, English being one of them. But patience, you see, has never been one of my strong suits," he said, his tone turning more serious. "I tried asking that oaf over there, you saw how he answered me. But maybe you'll be more of help. Why would a ship this pathetic dare to trespass my waters? I've met Youssef before. He's escaped me multiple times by the skin of his teeth, and he knows me well. He knows better than anyone to come here, so why did he do it? Perhaps you'll illuminate the mystery for me. What exactly are you doing here?"
Youssef sent a look in her direction. Now was the time, though Yunara had no idea what to say. They were talking with Valentini at least, though not under the circumstances she'd have wanted. But would he believe what she had to say? Lorenn said that the Ancient Ones had already spoken with him. Maybe she should focus on trying to confirm what they may have already told him.
"You were Chosen by the Ancients," she blurted out, her throat dry. She convinced herself to just spit out what she had to say before she could think twice about it. So she continued despite the bewildered look on Valentini's face. "They brought us here so that you can come with us. Me, Manuel, and Kailu. We've been chosen as well. Once you come with us, we'll only be missing one. We have to unite because there's a threat coming to this world that Humans neither understand or can be prepared for. And we need your help."
When Yunara finished, the ship was left in silence. The only noise heard was the lapping sea waves against the vessel, and the creak of the rotting wood.
"Do you take me for an idiot, or something?" Valentini demanded, his face so close Yunara felt his spittle flying from his mouth as he spoke. "Take these people away, they're crazy." he translated his order to his men, and instantly they went to work, taking everyone they had captured away. Two men appeared at Yunara's sides and grabbed her by the arms. Valentini held up a hand, and they waited before towing her away.
"Just so you know, I've ordered them to take you all to my brig. And once you're down there a while and dreaming of sunlight and potable water, maybe you'll tell me why you're really here, vixen."
He waved her off, and the men holding her took her and the rest of them away.
Within the brig of the Fantasma, their ropes and gags were removed, and Yunara and Kailu were placed in a cell together, Manuel placed in one across from them. The entire brig was filled with Youssef's crew, Youssef himself placed towards the end of the room. Yunara and Kailu's cell, like all the others, was vacant except for a mug and a plate. The mug was full of what Yunara thought was water, but upon tasting it found that it was bitterly salty. The plate held nothing more than a stale piece of bread that the moist environment had already produced mold on.
Kailu grasped the bars of the cell. "Let us out of here!" she shouted, her voice falling flat in the silent space. She cursed under her breath and slammed the bars, falling into a sitting position on the floor. "Now what? He thinks we're mad. And who knows how long he's planning on leaving us here?"
"Well, shouting isn't going to get us anywhere," Manuel said, looking up from his folded arms as he sat on the floor, dryness in his voice.
"And what do you suppose we do?" she countered.
"Keep our voices in tact at least is a start. Conserve our energy is another. As you said, who knows how long we'll be down here."
Kailu didn't respond to his comment. She stared into the distance, supporting her elbow on her raised knee and her head on her hand.
Yunara sat down with her back to everyone else and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to keep the panic away from her thoughts. Would Valentini leave them here for long? Was there any options for them if he did? As much as she tried to keep from her thoughts reaching the worse case scenario, she couldn't help it. Her fingers kept going through her hair, almost yanking at it. She was starting to find herself short of breath, her heart racing suddenly.
The prison seemed to close in on her. She couldn't help but think of being under the dead king and queen's bed in this moist and dark atmosphere. The humid and smelly air reminded her of the smell of their blood as she hid under their deathbed. Cadri was depending on her. Ecencia was in shambles now. The Aracs had advanced more onto Spain now. They could be coming for them at any minute. They were constantly followed by them. They somehow found them every time they got away. First it was in Ecencia that those creatures came after Cadri, thinking she was Yunara. Then in Revett, when those Dark Ones came for Kailu. Then it was Nevres at Lucia's party, and who knows what happened to Julio.
Yunara yanked at her hair more, her breath becoming ragged. She never asked for this! She never wanted this huge responsibility on her shoulders. Cadri was a princess. Yunara was her maid. She was no hero. Why was she caught up in this mess with all these expectations on her that she couldn't possibly fulfil?
Suddenly her mind was filled with flashes of the King and Queen's bloody bodies again. They were gone now. Cadri was gone. Her home was crumbling away, piece by piece. And those creatures, Nexa and Pitrious. Their horrific faces filled her mind.
"Yunara?" came Kailu's voice.
Yunara could barely hear her. Everything was spinning. Panic clawed at her mind in a dark embrace and paralyzed her. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. It was like her horrors held her captive just like the bars that surrounded her. There was no escape. No exit.
"Yunara, are you okay?"
"What's going on?" Manuel asked.
"Something's wrong with Yunara," Kailu told him, her voice shaking, not sure what was happening to her.
Yunara looked like she didn't even realize they were there. Her senses shut down, her mind locked on the horrors she'd seen in the castle of Ecencia. She couldn't stop shaking, and her breath was coming in raggedly.
"Yunara, snap out of it!" Yunara was vaguely aware of Kailu touching her shoulder. She thought she started shaking her. She couldn't tell. Kailu's voice became distant, like she was hearing it down a long tunnel.
"Don't shake her, Kailu, you might make it worse."
"Then what do I do?"
"Let me try to calm her down. Yunara, it's going to be alright. You have to get a grip. We need you to get control of yourself." Manuel spoke in a smooth and strong voice, trying to send a lifeline. It called Yunara's attention, but she soon drifted back, losing sight of his calling, unable to move past her fears that had her in a strangle hold.
"It's not working," Kailu said.
--
O.O
This is definitely one of Yunara's darkest moments. I think we've all hit rock bottom at some point in time. Can you relate?