"Oh... My lord..." You mumble under your breath, eyes widened as you look around and realize that Ren is the only one holding a light smirk.
‘How cruel is this world? This innocent girl is the daughter of the cruelest man the world has seen... Believing it seems like trying to move a wall...’
" REALLY?!" You screech and Ren and Elise flinch beside you but you were in too much of a shock to notice.
"It is what it is..." Seonghwa says as he sighs and continues eating his meal. You too just nod, trying to come in par with the new information as you realize it to be rather extreme at this point.
The rest of the dinner went as usual, small talk, loud chatterings, and stuff kept erupting, and soon, you joined in on them too.
It was finally time to leave. You grab the dishes and walk over to Yunho, wanting to help him as everyone finally leaves.
You tap Yunho's shoulder to get his attention but he jolts dramatically and almost breaks a dish in the process.
"Woah! Calm down Yunh-" You get cut off by him flailing his arms around.
"It's okay I'll do it myself!' He half-yells and you just stand there baffled by his actions. Elise who had just brought over some dishes looked confused too.
The rest of the crew had already left the kitchen after the meal so it was just you, Elise, and weird Yunho here.
" What's the problem? Why are you being so awkward all of a sudden?" You ask, staring intently at him and he just scrubs the dishes more aggressively. But you weren't giving up anytime soon.
He glances at you from the corner of his eyes a couple of times before finally sighing.
"I- uh..." He trails off and you poke at him. Now realizing that Elise had already fled the cringy, confusing scene.
"You?"
"I...HeardWhatYouSaidAboutMe-" He quickly ends his sentence before slapping his wet palms over his burning cheeks and you look confused.
"Wha-"
And then it hits you.
"Oh... My God..." Your face twists into that of amusement as you realize what he was talking about.
"Is it because I said you were really cute?" You ask, an embarrassed blush now slightly creeping up on your own face even though it was you who was teasing him.
"...mhm..."
"I really meant it though, you are adorable." You smile at him, as honest words roll off your tongue and his hands fall to his sides. And now, he was cringing and blushing at the same time.
You couldn't handle it anymore, a loud laugh leaves your throat and he just smiles at you. Soon joining in on the laughing fit you were going through.
Somehow, you felt yourself building stronger bonds with them... No matter how small your interactions may be. This crew really did feel like a big, goofy family.
...
You step out of the kitchen with a sigh. Yunho said he didn't want any help and kicked you out, even though you did half of the dishes by the time.
‘ Man am I stubborn!’
From the distance, you see Ren raising her hand and you wave back, making your way towards the ship's railing.
"All done?" She asks and you shrug with a grin. You really were tired though.
"Let's talk in my room.." You suggest, but don't wait for an answer from her as you grab her hand and start climbing down the wooden steps. Leaving her dumbfounded.
The other cells you pass by had turned their lights off, probably asleep by the time so you make sure to be stealthy as you enter your own room.
Ren walks in and immediately plops down on your bed and you join her, letting your legs dangle by the side as she crosses them.
"So..." You start and Ren just raises an eyebrow at you, asking you to continue.
"What are we going to do with her?" You ask, turning to face Ren with honest concern etched on your face, causing her to sigh.
Both of you knew how much of a serious issue it was. The young girl whom you had on board with you was the daughter of one of the most feared people on earth's face. And to keep her would mean that you were becoming a wanted prey for them.
"We are going to have to keep her with us for a while..."
"Of course... She was running from her father's people when we found her right?" You shrug slightly and she nods.
"There must be some reason for her to have run away from her father, but we don't know what it is..." She trails off in thought.
"We should talk more to he-" Your voice is suddenly interrupted by the sound of something crashing onto the wooden planks right outside your door. You glance at Ren once and you both rush over to the door, opening it to see what caused the commotion.
And there she is...
Face planted on the floor, trying to get up and you wonder just what the hell she was doing.
You help her up as she rubs her nose in pain and you check if it's bleeding. Luckily, it wasn't. Or else you would've had to take her to the sickbay where Mingi might be conducting love rituals on Hongjoongs wanted poster.
Sweat runs down your temple at the thought but you were more curious about Elise at the moment.
Not wasting another moment, you pull Elise and Renèe, who was standing like a pillar with a poker face, into your room before shutting the door. Hoping that no one else had heard the commotion and woken up from their slumbers.
"What the hell happened?" You whisper-yell at Elise and she just chuckles nervously.
"I... Tripped..."
"..."
"You're bad at walking to-" you slap a hand over Ren's mouth to keep her from talking, causing her to roll her eyes and pull your palm off with a sigh.
"It's fine... Let's talk anyways!" You cheer as you pull her and Ren to your bed before making yourselves comfortable.
Elise looks shy, and Ren just eyes her like she's some stranger that asked her for money.
"Anyways, where the hell were you going to? Wasn't Seonghwa supposed to show you around?"
"Uh... I got lost actually. Seonghwa did show me around the ship and also my room but I forgot where it was and went searching for it." She scratches her neck awkwardly and you facepalm with a chuckle.
"It's fine, you can search for it later... Let's talk a bit before that." You say smiling at the girl and she nods, returning the gesture.
That's when you realized that Renèe was just sitting there, eyes wide as if something had clicked in her mind.
"Your... Room?" She growls, trying her best not to intimidate the young girl in our presence. A cold sweat runs down your spine, wondering just what the hell was wrong.
And then it clicked-
‘ Ren doesn't have a room yet-’
You cringe so badly when she gets off of the bed and walks out of the room with heavy steps- literally.
The loud slamming of the door to your room was the cue for you to let out a breath and look over at Elise's confused face.
"Don't worry, our captain's the one in trouble. We are safe..." You sigh and she just tilts her head in confusion.
' she looks so innocent I-’
"Uh... She didn't get a room for herself yet so..." You trail off, hoping she gets it. And she nods, with a tiny "oh...".
...
A few moments of awkward silence pass as you run your question several times through your mind. Trying to make it sound as gentle and subtle as possible.
‘ Maybe I shouldn't ask her right now...’
‘ Oh! The gift!’
" I'll be right back..." You announce before rushing out of the room and towards the gangplank, near where you had hidden your gift for her.
You skid to a stop next to the wooden crates, grab the gift covered in a cloth, and rush back to your room. All in a single sprint.
"Hey-" you pant loudly, resting your palms on your knees from the run as you hide the gift behind your back.
She just smiles at you as you walk over to her. Presenting the long item in front of her and she gladly takes it. Observing it slightly before removing the cloth from over its frame.
The golden curves of the bow inside left a glow in her eyes as she stared at it in awe. You just stood there, grinning at her, feeling proud about yourself as she turns the bow over and over again, not believing her own eyes.
"Y-You b-bought this for me?!" She stutters, blushing shyly as she looks at me as I sit down beside her.
"Mhm! Do you like it?!" You ask joyously and her eyes light up even more.
"Yes! In fact, I Love It!!!" She cheers as she raises the bow and pumps her fist in the air along with it, making you giggle at her and she looks back at you.
"Thank you so mu-" you cut her off as you raise your hand.
"My pleasure..." You smile and her eyes become glossy.
‘ Did I really make her that happy or is it-’
"I've... Never really gotten such good gifts..." She mumbles as a tear drops down onto the bow in her arms and she sits down. Wiping the tears frantically.
"Why so?" You ask, wanting to know more about this little angel.
"... I didn't really have anyone that cared enough to give me gifts..." She mutters, her eyes flickering down to the floor and you immediately feel as though you had stepped on shards of glass.
And now the fact that she was still smiling for you made you feel guiltier all of a sudden.
She stands up from the bed and you come out of your thoughts.
"Thank you so much for this! And yeah I'll leave now, you need to rest too." She says, waving and you feel the need to smile for her.
"Okay!" Was all that came out of your lips that were morphed into a grin, even then, the sad glint in your eyes never faded as she left your room. Now leaving you in isolation with the flickering lights from the lamps around your bed.
A sigh leaves your lips as you too get off the wooden bed, walking over to the mirror by the corner. Taking off your shirt, leaving you in your corset that stopped right above your belly-button.
A sad smile pulls up on your lips as you slightly pull down the corset from the top, just enough to reveal the strange marking on your left chest. It stayed as a souvenir to you, tying both yours and his soul and mind into a bind that would last for eternity.
It looked like two white wings, not too small not too big. A simple outlining that is.
You don't remember how it got there, or when it did or even why it was there- surely a connection between you and him- but why?
Heck, you didn't even know how you realized that it was that this marking shines when he is ecstatic.
Suddenly, you feel a slight burn on your left chest, pulling you out of your thoughts. And there it was, the two white wings marked on your chest, shining brilliantly.
The light bouncing off the mirror lands on your eyes and you twist your head away before covering the mark back up with your corset.
And just then,
"Hey!!!"
"Wha-" You frantically wrap your arms around yourself, mouth agape as San stands at the doorway, mouth, and eyes wide open.
"KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER ASSHOLE!" You grab your scythe from beside and hurl it at him in fury.
He shuts the door right before it could pierce through his head and the scythe hits the door, stabbing it before falling down from its own weight.
"SORRY NEZZZ!!!" you hear from the other side of the door and you just sigh, feeling more furious than embarrassed.
"Guess what?! It is NOT FINE!, ILL HAVE YOU LICK MA SHOES CLEAN AS AN APOLOGY!" You tell at the top of your lungs and you could swear you heard his maniacal laugh from the other side.
"And yeah, did something happen? I saw Renèe leaving..." He asks and you quickly open the door for him, not minding being in a corset and pants anymore.
His eyes widen but he just shrugs it off and enters the room.
"Did you ask where she was going?" You ask frantically, grabbing his broad shoulders and he just shrugs.
"Yeah, an attitude was all I got back..." He mumbles and you just shrug.
"She needs her own space sometimes..."
"It's FREAKING raining outside Ines!"
"She'll be fine, besides, if she does get sick, I would LOVE to take care of her!!!" You giggle and San just scoffs before making his leave.
"Good night, crack-head..." He whisper-yells, standing at the doorway.
"Good night to you too dumbass..."
The sound of footsteps fading away was your cue to plop back down. A quick sigh leaves your lips as you take off your boots and plop back down on your bed- shirtless of course- but your corset was covering almost the entirety of your torso so it didn't matter.
And as you watched the flickering lights of the lamps slowly blur and vanish, you realize that maybe. Just maybe, you could get some more clue back in this dark place called dreams.
Because you had already run out of patience.
'Where are you now?... My king...'
The question lingers in the back of your mind as the darkness engulfs you, automatically starting the opening of a series of memories.