Calista sought out Captain Gi-gan once they got back, offering Shin-ah a reassuring smile before she headed off. He didn't stray from her side at first, and it wasn't until she convinced him that she was alright now that he finally let her go, making his way over to the others for some dinner.
The hearty, seafood stew Yoon had made was wafting through the air in a tantalizing aroma, drawing quite a crowd. Pairing how much Shin-ah loved food along with his large appetite, Calista was quite sure that there was nothing else he wanted at the moment.
Hak was teasing Yona, and the sight of the fiery princess pushing back against her bodyguard twice as hard caused laughter to erupt from her chest.
"Go, go," Calista giggled, nudging Shin-ah towards the direction of their friends. The way Hani was trying to help Yoon was both hilarious and heartwarming as her little arms stretched high above her head to serve the food. "I'll be there in a minute, I promise."
He reluctantly joined the others, taking a seat next to Kija. His dragon brother gave him a big helping, before his face turned pale as something abnormal bobbed in his bowl.
"W-What kind of bug is this?!?!" He blubbered, sweating profusely as he picked up a strange looking claw with his chopsticks.
Jae-ha overheard his cry, smirking smugly when he saw what Kija was holding up, the latter's hand trembling in fear.
"It's a lobster." Yoon told him dryly, with a roll of his eyes. "You should follow Shin-ah's lead and eat whatever's in front of you."
Hearing that, Calista's gaze grew dark at the underlying message, spinning on her heel to find the absent captain.
As long as I'm around, to the best of my ability, none of them will ever go hungry again. I swear it.
Captain Gi-gan was hidden in the corner of the boat, towards the back, out of sight from most of her crew. The lighting here wasn't the best, but the soft glow from one of the torches casted a dancing shadow on the wood. Upon approaching the captain, Calista bowed respectfully, asking for her forgiveness for her earlier reaction.
Captain Gi-gan looked down on her, studying her closely. "I thought I told you that you didn't do anything wrong." She exhaled smoke, turning her head so that it would drift out over the calm water. "How long have you been like this, girl?"
Calista was unable to meet her eyes all of the sudden. "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."
Her feet scuffed the deck anxiously, gaze darting around to analyze their surroundings. Her body was wound up tight, like a coil ready to lash out at anything that moved.
Captain Gi-gan recognized her attempt to deflect all too well. "That's exactly what I mean. You're from the underground, aren't you?"
The raven-haired assassin froze. There was no way she could've known about that. She was sure she was being careful enough to hide the scarring on her forearm. But that wasn't what gave it away.
"There's a fighting spirit in your eyes, girl." Judging by the younger's silence, she hit the nail on the head. Captain Gi-gan tapped her pipe against her shoulder. "Take the senjusou. Have the boy apply it to your wounds."
Calista had no choice, but to bow her head and accept her graciousness. The captain had granted her valuable resources, and she would be a fool to let it go to waste after all of that.
The assassin crossed an arm over her chest in a salute. "I will be there to help in any way that I can. I promise to be someone you can depend on."
Suddenly, Hani rushed into their hiding spot, bubbly laughter escaping her as Captain Gi-gan scooped her up, tickling her on the stomach. Calista stepped out of the shadows to see the pirates decked out around the ship, Yoon in the center of it all, finishing up dishing out dinner for all of them.
Hak gestured for his sister to join them, Yona and Kija on either side of him. Not a second after she sat down across from them, Shin-ah was beside her, offering up a bowl full of seafood stew.
All of their eyes were on her, the hope in their eyes made her heart twinge in pain. She hadn't realized how much she was worrying them.
Reluctantly, she opened her mouth the slightest bit, and Shin-ah blew on it to cool it down before letting her eat a spoonful.
The flavor exploded in her mouth, Yoon had really outdone himself this time. It was delicious!
I promise to pay it back. Calista vowed to herself as she greedily accepted another bite, politely refusing any more after.
You don't deserve any more.
Shut up, I don't need you to tell me that.
The two warring sides of her mind quieted as she saw Yona pick up another helping of stew from Yoon, carrying it over to Captain Gi-gan, who had a playful, blonde girl resting on her hip. The captain set Hani down, and the little one scampered over to the crew, disappearing in a split second.
Calista was too busy looking for her to make sure she was alright, that she failed to notice that someone was trying to get her attention, until she heard a shout.
"Oy, Bat-Ears!" She sat up, startled, looking at her brother who had a hand cupped over his mouth to amplify his voice so that it rose above the rowdy conversation filling the air. "Yoon wants to chop your hands off."
"Yah, Thunder Beast!! That's not what I said!!"
Calista chucked under her breath, rocking onto her knees and pushing herself up with practiced ease. She was starting to get the hang of it. Yoon was tapping his foot impatiently by the time she finally got to him through the band of pirates that had formed around him. He had only been applying the senjusou liberally to her hands for a few minutes when Shin-ah's soft voice reached her ears.
"Boats... boats have gathered at the harbor."
Captain Gi-gan and Jae-ha shared a lot of alarm. "How many?" The captain demanded.
"7..." Came the quiet answer.
Captain Gi-gan cursed, then instructed Jae-ha to round everyone up. Yona's hand flew to cover her mouth in shock, mirroring what Calista was feeling internally. That many ships meant trouble.
It looked like this battle wouldn't be as easy as they were hoping.
Ten minutes later, they were all scattered around a room below deck. Hak was right by the princess's side with his arms crossed over his chest, a bored look on his face; and Kija was not too far away from them. Shin-ah and Yoon got swept up to the front, near the captain's table while everyone else clustered around them. Calista opted to sit on the floor in the corner, with a sleepy Hani in her lap.
The little one was playing hide-and-seek with the pirates, thoroughly puzzled when everyone stopped having fun. But now that they were all down here, the exhaustion that came from all her running was catching up with her.
Calista played with her hair idly while the captain talked, only half listening to them, up until a certain term caught her undivided attention.
Human trafficking.
It wasn't anything new, since Jing first told them about Kum-ji being the one responsible, but it still made her skin crawl.
"What?" She hissed through clenched teeth, somehow reaching the captain's ear. "He's doing this when?!"
"We aren't sure, but it will be soon." Captain Gi-gan informed her. Although her tone was even, it had an ice-like quality to it that sent a chill through the air.
Calista quietly encouraged Hani up, letting Yona take her before she rose to her feet, pushing through the crowd to command the attention of the room.
"Those girls will be terrified." Her silver eyes flashed at their ignorance. "You can't go in there, slashing openly at the enemy. Those girls won't leave the cargo hold, they'll be chained by their own fear. The repercussions if they're caught are too high!!"
Calista had reduced everyone to silence as her words hit them.
One of the pirates scratched his head in confusion. "How do you know so much about their operations?"
Calista swallowed thickly, forcing herself to maintain eye contact with the captain. "I was down there once."
It seemed like so long ago. But the memory hadn't faded. She remembered each lash vividly.
"Those scars on your back..." Captain Gi-gan muttered lowly as the puzzle pieces started to come together as her crew's jaws all dropped open in shock. "They were from him, weren't they?"
Calista nodded, jumping in surprise when a hand slammed down on the table, startling everyone around it.
"That was him?!?!" Hak growled, absolutely livid.
She nodded again, much more timidly this time. Even though she knew that the anger wasn't directed at her, the aggressive display still sent her heart racing with the fight or flight mode. Her brother must've recognized the panic in her eyes, because he drew back, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Yona placed a hand on her bodyguard's arm, trying to soothe him even though her own eyes burned with rage.
"Captain Gi-gan." Hak shouted, channeling the lingering anger into his thundering voice. "This battle is personal for everyone here. We will do whatever it takes to take him down."
Calista shook as one by one, her friends all stepped up. Kija's dragon hand curled into a fist, his gaze unusually serious. Yoon actually looked mad, body stiff in an effort to prevent himself from saying some choice words. She couldn't tell what Shin-ah was thinking exactly, but his mouth was pressed into a hard line, and his hands were hidden behind his back.
Hak was right, it was personal for all of them.
Everyone turned their attention back to Captain Gi-gan as she began to speak. "Kum-ji is probably planning to go through with a large-scale trafficking deal soon."
"Then we'll need to act quickly." Yoon stated, calculating the odds in his head.
"Why is that?" Kija tilted his head, perplexed. He didn't understand battle tactics or the strategy. He thought they were just going to kill the man who came after Calista.
Hani was reaching for the assassin, squirming in Yona's arms until the princess handed her over. Calista was able to support the little girl's weight in her arms, something she wouldn't have been able to do earlier that day. The senjusou really worked fast.
"If shots are fired at the harbor, the people living in the area will end up getting hurt, so we will attack Kum-ji's boat instead." Captain Gi-gan stated, clearing up Kija's confusion.
Calista did her best not to react as she heard his name, but judging by the way Hani's emerald eyes transfixed on her, she wasn't entirely successful. She gave her a comforting pat on the head, easing her worries.
Hani doesn't know he's the man who is responsible for her kidnapping. It's probably best if she didn't know, she's only a child...
"The problem is, we don't know when it'll be carried out, and we don't know which boat the girls will be on." Jae-ha interjected, voice low, but clear enough to reach everyone in the room.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the pirates tense collectively. Upon closer look, for the first time she noticed how scared they looked. Fear was always prevalent even in the best of fighters, but these guys, they didn't want to fight. They didn't ask for this. Nonetheless, they were all here to fight for Awa's freedom.
That was something she could definitely respect.
"That's right," Captain Gi-gan agreed, "Kum-ji will have people at the dealing that can be used as hostages. If we recklessly attack the boats, the people being sold will get mixed up in the fight."
Smoke curled in the air from the captain's pipe. "On the other hand, the girls will be taken to the Kai Empire if we stand by and do nothing."
Calista thought about it silently, meeting Hak's gaze once she reached her conclusion. Yona's brow was scrunched together, but she was just as lost as she was when they first walked into the room.
"Is there another way to ensure the safety of those women?" Captain Gi-gan addressed the crowd around her, opening up the floor to ideas.
One of the pirates pointed out that because it's such an important deal, there was a high chance of Kum-ji being there, and with their new allies, things should go much smoother than they were originally expecting.
But Calista warned them not to get too confident. "You can't think like that just because we're here to help." She inserted carefully, not wanting to come off the wrong way. "We won't be invincible."
They all fell silent at that. Hak shot her a side glance, wondering where she was coming from. She sounded like she was speaking from experience, but now wasn't the right time to relive the past.
"The girl's right... We still need a little more information." The captain's determined voice rose above everyone else's. "We will restore freedom to this town."
The sound of steel splintering wood rang clear across the room as Captain Gi-gan stabbed the table with a dagger, eyes burning with resolve. "This time, I too will take up my blades. Follow me until the very end, you brats!"
Her crew let out a deafening cheer, raising their fists high in the air in determination. Yona came over to Calista to collect a tired Hani from her arms. Captain Gi-gan offered to let them bunk on the ship for the night, since it was already so late, and none of them could find it in them to refuse her generous offer.
The boys were crammed into one room, and the girls in another. Captain Gi-gan made sure that they were all comfortable before buckling down for the night. Strangely, Hani wished to stay with the captain, and while Yona didn't have a problem with it, Calista was a bit more apprehensive.
She didn't entirely trust the captain. They had just met her a day ago.
It didn't end up mattering anyway, since Hani fell asleep in the captain's quarters, in Yona's arms. The two were curled up in her bed, with Captain Gi-gan nowhere in sight. Calista slipped out of bed after she was sure they were asleep, padding the hall silently. Opening the door, fresh ocean mist wafted in the breeze, swaying around her in an invisible blanket.
She closed it quietly behind her as she stepped out onto the deck, immediately going over the railing. Resting her forearms on the weather-worn wood, she was surprised to see how stark the scars lacerating her skin were. Usually, her daggers hid most of them from sight, but now that they weren't there, the lines almost seemed angry in the moonlight.
Unshed blood claims. Debts paid. Lives both saved and lost.
Calista closed her eyes as the notion washed over her. She needed to do it soon, before it was too late. The timing had to be perfect if she was going to save them all.
I need to warn Hak...
But then, images of that night flashed through her memory, and she grimaced as she subconsciously reached up a hand to brush over the scar on her neck. The one he had given her.
I forgive you, Hak... and she did. But that didn't make the reality of it any easier to swallow. Her brother, though unknowing, had still betrayed her. At least, that's what it felt like.
Calista gritted her teeth. I need to sort this out, or else someone will end up getting killed because of my lack of control.
Her snapped to the side as she heard footsteps echo from underneath her. Someone was coming. She narrowed her eyes in concentration as she spun out of sight, holding her breath as the door leading to the cabins opened, light flooding into the night.
Calista closed her eyes in relief as she recognized the figure. Stepping out of the shadows, she was met face to face with an inquisitive gaze. The assassin grinned guiltily, caught red-handed.
"What are you doing out here at this hour, girl?"
The raven-haired assassin leaned against the rail, gazing up at the stars. They were so bright tonight, and she smiled when she saw the luminescent light of the moon. It fondly reminded her of the blue dragon sleeping below deck.
"I prefer to be out under the stars. Forgive me, I didn't mean to reject your hospitality. I'm very grateful that you've let us stay here tonight."
Her cryptic answer piped intrigue in the elderly woman, who came to stand across from her.
"What are you thinking about, exactly?"
Calista straightened her shoulders.
The mission. My mission. Everyone he's hurt. Everyone I've hurt. I really am no better than him, am I?
It didn't matter anymore. What's done is done.
"Please allow me to kill him."
Calista didn't shy away this time, looking the captain dead in the eye so that she could see the strength burning in her eyes.
Captain Gi-gan admired her dedication, but she also saw another emotion that threatened to overtake it: revenge.
"You can't be the one to kill him. You're too close to this."
Calista mulled over her words, jaw clenching as she saw the truth in them. Deep down, she had a feeling that the wise captain would say that to her.
"You wouldn't kill him, you would torture him. Draw it out until you were satisfied that he had paid for everything he had put you through." Captain Gi-gan continued without pausing. "He needs to be killed. Without question. You cannot be the one to do that."
Calista raised her head up defiantly, nodding it once in begrudging acceptance. It was an order of some sense, even if it didn't come from Yona, so she would have to abide by it.
"Don't waste your life by holding onto that anger." Captain Gi-gan warned, seeing the signs of how it was already affecting the young girl before her. "You may not see it now, but it will—"
"Eat away at my soul? Yeah, believe me, Captain, I know." Calista finished, gripping the railing weakly. She still didn't have the full extent of her motor control in her fingers. "But when they hurt others, I want to hurt them. I want to make them pay. I want them to suffer every day for the rest of their life with the same kind of pain they've inflicted on others without remorse. And I'd do it all happily."
Captain Gi-gan tapped her pipe against her shoulder thoughtfully, watching the way Calista fidgeted across from her. Her feet were frisking, wearing a hole in the wood beneath her nervously.
"Is there something else you want to tell me, girl?"
Calista's mind hummed with the different possibilities, scenarios and outcomes. This mission wouldn't be an easy win. If anything, they would barely win with everyone on their team. All the dragons and Hak did was make the playing field more even between the pirates and Kum-ji. The number of mercenaries or hired guards they would fight would be absolutely overwhelming.
There was only one thing to ensure their success. This mission required finesse and discretion, not just pure strength. She couldn't tell the captain about it yet, too much would be in jeopardy if she couldn't pull it off, and that was assuming the underground took the first step.
Too much was riding on it, and she would be the only one who could do it.
Her hair swayed in the wind as she bowed her head one last time. "No. Nothing at all."