Just as she stepped foot onto the deck, she let out an inevitable gasp as her eyes scanned the spacious wooden area; it was utterly beautiful. It was nothing like she had imagined, nor like how literature portrayed it to be. The ship had detailed, glamorous hand carvings on its railings and on the barrels; that probably contained essential materials or gunpowder, that laid around in the open. She observed the crewmates, doing their usual tasks; some up on the masts and others on the deck, with her.
The huge masts had many ropes attached to them, holding up the white sails; that helped the cruise of the ship. She turned her head to the side as her eyes met with the forecastle deck that stretched out to the bowsprit. Mesmerized, she couldn't help but let out a quiet 'wow', her eyes sparkled as they mirrored the vast blue ocean that surrounded the ship.
She heaved a relieved sigh. The path ahead of her was going to include many mysteries, unbeknown to her naive self of the present, many secrets were to be disclosed in the process.
The people on the ship, curiously eyed her, but she was too focused on admiring the surroundings to notice it, that is, until the same authoritative male voice snapped her out of it.
"Alright, listen up!" The platinum-blonde haired, commanded with a clap as all of the people who were aboard the ship, stopped their tasks and paid their full attention towards him.
"We have a guest. She will be with us until we reach the next island." He gestured towards Mido. "However, I want no-one to interact with her as we cannot blindly trust outsiders." He shot a glare at the girl. "No matter how much they pay us." His words were mocking her previous actions.
The hazel haired girl couldn't but think why did he even agree to helping her, if he was going to be such a douche about it. Money-hungry brat.
"If I catch anyone going over my words, you lot know the consequences, right?" He raised an eyebrow, finalizing his speech.
Mido noticed how fearful the crewmates were; they gulped before they nodded, their pupils shaking. She, too, didn't want to know about these 'consequences' after seeing such a reaction. Getting on his bad side probably was worse than a death sentence, if that was even possible.
"Great! Any questions?" He questioned, this time with a sweet smile, as if he did a full 180° personality turn.
She stared at him, incredulous. She definitely didn't expect this quick of a change in attitude.
'Is this man bipolar or something?' She thought to herself, as she judged him, wholeheartedly.
Her eyes diverted towards a crewmate who had, rather timidly, raised his hand. The platinum-blonde haired nodded at him, encouraging him to speak.
"What if she wanted to go to the bathroom for her necessities, Captain?"
"Good question. I will assign someone to escort her, when she needs to use it or they could show her the way when she settles in." The captain replied, calmly.
Mido wasn't surprised when she got to know that the platinum-blonde haired was the captain. She had guessed it from the aura he radiated and everyone around here obeyed him, meticulously.
She knew she was going to sleep on the deck but; those last words of his; made it seem as if she was going to live in luxury, just the way she was at the palace.
"If there aren't any further questions, you all may continue to carry on with your tasks. Also, get ready to sail because we need to leave this island within this evening." The captain stated, as loud responses erupted from the ship, making Mido flinch, slightly.
"Yes, captain!"
"Good!" The platinum-blonde haired said, as a slight grin decorated his face. All of them turned away as they resumed their tasks. The captain turned his head to his younger mate as he called out to him.
"Jongho, can you show her the way to the restroom, so that she could use it-" He glared at the girl as he commanded. "Only, when it is, absolutely, necessary." He brought a lot of emphasis onto the word 'absolutely'.
Jongho turned towards him as he answered, nonchalantly:
"Sure"
"Great, I'll leave her to you." The captain concluded. With a final glance towards Mido, he walked away towards, what she assumed to be, his cabin.
The hazel haired was staring at the, now, retreating back of the platinum-blonde haired man, when her attention suddenly shifted to the black haired young man with an undercut, as he started to speak.
"Should we...?" He questioned, as he wanted to get this over with soon.
"Ah, yes." Mido answered as they started to walk.
An awkward silence floated in the air, between them. Other than the chatter and the noises from the crewmates, the chirps of the birds that flew above them and the noise of the occasional waves that crashed onto the ship, no other sounds were uttered. However, the midnight haired man didn't seem to mind the silence as much as she did; he continued to guide her to where the restroom was.
The hazel haired cleared her throat as she tried to start a conversation.
"Um, you look like my age."
"Good." He answered, instantly, without turning to look at her.
She was left dumbfounded as she didn't expect such a short answer from him, easily ending their premature conversation. But, nevertheless, she tried again.
"Do you read books?"
"Yes." He answered, simply, to which words Mido cheered internally as she was successful in obtaining an answer for a leading question.
"What genre?" She inquired.
"Mystery and crime." He stated.
'Well, that's ironic.' Mido thought to herself; a criminal that read crime novels, how interesting. Her thoughts were halted as he surprisingly continued to talk.
"Especially unsolved crime. I read a recent book where the predator lures their prey to a secluded area." He said just as they entered a narrow hallway; making Mido's panic alarms go off.
"The predator was a realtor, so it was very easy for him. He struck when the prey least expected it, when they were admiring the building. His way of killing was pretty brutal too. He would grab their hair and slam their faces onto the brick wall, until they were no longer recognizable. However, he didn't like to kill them instantly, he prefered to painstakingly inflict more and more pain- oh, by the way, this is the restroom." He said with his emotionless expression, as he turned around to face her.
She stood there frozen, her breath stuck in her throat. As she processed his words, inside her mind, she could only pinpoint the similarities between the situation unfolding before her and that terrifying story. Jongho was, indeed, the person showing her around the unknown place; they were now in a secluded area too. She gulped.
'What does he mean by 'pretty' brutal. That is absolutely brutal!' Mido panicked internally, her hand instinctively grabbing her bag. She didn't feel safe, but as she slid her hand into her bag, feeling the knife, the only weapon in her possession, the feeling subdued.
"Do you need to use it, right now or can we go back outside?" He inquired.
"We can go back out." The hazel haired let out a strained reply, both from the fear and the uncertainty of that unpredictable situation.
She definitely didn't want to stay, alone with him, any longer.
They walked back in silence, this time around, Mido didn't make an effort to even utter anything. Her gaze stayed fixed on the ground as the midnight haired leaded her to the deck.
As they stepped outside; the sudden change of lighting made her raise her head back up. She saw the crewmembers busily run around the space as some shouted commands, others already getting prepared to raise the anchor to start sailing.
Jongho and Mido continued to stride, that is, until the man abruptly halted his steps, making the hazel haired girl almost bump onto his body. Thankfully, she prevented that from happening, in time. She didn't want to imagine what would have happened to her, with any confrontation with that man; would he have been savage enough to kill her out in the open? But there weren't any walls that he could smash her face onto; would he have used the railing or the masts? She really didn't want to know the answer to that.
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.
"You will be sleeping and staying here for the entirety of the journey." He said as he turned around to face her. "The captain took this decision because it would have been easier for us to keep an eye on you. So don't even think of trying anything funny, okay?" He deadpanned.
"Of course, I won't." The hazel haired said as she chuckled, nervously. She brought her hand up to scratch the back of her head. "But... Wouldn't it be cold at night?"
"And so?" His eyes were unforgivingly indifferent. "If you have any complaints, take them directly to the captain. You heard it yourself; he forbade us from interacting with you. And I, sure as hell, don't want to get on his bad side. Especially, not, because of someone as insignificant as you."
Mido's eyes started to tremble, as the man in front of her scared the living life out of her. Also, talking to the captain? That's practically asking for the death penalty. No, thank you.
"Oh, by the way; don't think you'll be alone on the deck, we aren't that dumb. You are still a stranger and, most importantly, a criminal." He added, sternly. "Although less in number, some crew-members still remain on the deck, even at night. And of course, our trusted lookout will be there too. You will be surveilled at all times."
Mido gulped down the lump that was forming inside her throat, she felt so helpless and afraid. She felt as if her life was taking such a horrible turn and she couldn't do anything about it.
She lowered her head as she muttered, an almost inaudible, 'fine'.
She expected the midnight haired man to leave immediately after his speech, therefore, she was baffled as to why he was still standing there. She looked up at him.
"You are not going to leave?"
It was an instant. An instant of him being flustered by her question. She blinked and he had already regained his composure.
"I thought you had more questions." He cleared his throat, averting his eyes from her, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"I think I've understood everything..." She flushed him an anxious smile. How could she possibly ask more questions when he had completely shattered all the courage in her.
He stared at her, silently, with an unreadable expression, for about a minute, before walking off.
Her gaze lingered on his figure, as she watched it disappear behind a corner. She let out a breath of relief as she turned back around to look at the sea. She stood at the forecastle deck, allowing her to admire its beautiful colours upclose.
She stepped closer to the railing and let herself be mesmerized by the view in front of her. The clear sky that merged with the deep blue ocean, the waves that were clashing into each other and the wind that brushed through her hair, almost comfortingly, like a warm caress. The smell of salt hung in the air as she saw birds fly freely among the clouds.
It was all a new experience to her; although her escape was arguably unpleasant, she still appreciated seeing these novelties. She wouldn't have been able to see such things back at the palace. She was allowed to only explore limited regions outside the castle, but even so, she was always trailed by guards. She didn't know what freedom felt like, but, perhaps, the unknown feeling that was developing inside of her might have been it.
Her legs ached for rest; after all that torture they had to endure. She let out a sigh as she finally gave in to her body's protests. She plopped down onto the wooden floor. She crossed her legs and massaged them, in an effort to subside the pain.
Mido ignored the chatter as she continued to admire the scenery. Memories from her childhood resurfaced in her mind; the time she had first read about a ship. She remembered how much she earned to go on one and how Yikyung had promised her that he would have made it happen. He promised her that they would have gone on many journeys together. An immense feeling of despair spread through her; her eyes became teary. 'Yikyung, I'm on a ship... but where are you...' Those words crossed her mind.
With a frustrated sigh, Mido turned her head away from the view, trying not to think back to the sad events that ensued in the past few months. Her eyes, unintentionally, searched for the lookout. Logically, he would have been in the crows-nest. Her curiosity made her look up the mast behind her, which stretched into the sky.
Even though she couldn't see the person, due to the height distance, she could definitely recognize the infamous blonde mob of hair.
A scowl decorated her face as she grimaced and turned back to look at the view. It was all that jerk's fault that she ended up in this mess. She was the one who needed to get compensated by him; so why on earth was it her that had to pay him, instead?
Mido sighed for the nth time of the day as she laid down on the deck. The cool temperature that emanated from the wood seeped through her clothes which made her relax, as she stared straight at the sky.
Various types of birds flew above her as they chirped and rustled their wings. The slow paced fluffy clouds made her eyes droopy, as she fought off the exhaustion that tried to overtake her. The beautiful cerulean sky looked peaceful, as the background of the moving clouds, it portrayed a perfectly matching colour palette.
The hazel haired couldn't suppress her yawn as her eyes became progressively heavier. She finally gave in as she closed her eyes and drifted off to dreamland.
----------------------------------------
Mido woke up from the slumber as she slowly opened her eyes. She was quick to notice that a blanket was laid on top of her; it was thick enough to shield her from the cold night breeze. It was soft under her touch and had a comforting floral smell; freesia.
Confused, she pondered on who could have given her the blanket. She couldn't really pinpoint who it could have been. Was there even someone that could be as kind-hearted, to go out of their way, to do such a gesture for her, on that ship? Nevertheless, she was grateful to whoever it was for not letting her suffer in the cold.
The now indigo coloured sky displayed a gallery of brightly shining stars; which were reflected on the calm waters. Everything around her was pitch black; if not for the mellow and radiant light that poured from the argent-silver gleaming orb, the moon.
Differently from the daytime; the deck was deprived of any people; the area being enveloped in quietness, her ears only being able to pick the sounds of the flowing of the languorous waves. She saw how the ship was completely surrounded by the lapis water; the land had disappeared with no trace; making it evident that they had sailed quite far, already.
The hazel haired wanted to go back to sleep, as that was, honestly, the only thing that she had no restrictions on. But, as if her life loved pushing her into potential trouble, all the time; her stomach let out a loud growl. She felt an unbearable sense of hunger; she hadn't had anything to eat for three straight days. She internally cursed at herself for not eating the dinner that had been prepared for her, the day of her escape. Maybe then, she wouldn't have resorted to almost risking her life for a piece of bread.
She let out an exasperated sigh as she was, yet again, about to make a reckless decision. At this point, her brain had given up knocking sense into her.
She stood up, stretching her arms and stiff legs. Her gaze directed itself and landed on the entrance to the cabin area; it was just some food; it wouldn't anger them much, would it? Also, it wasn't stealing; she just didn't want to disturb their sleep, she surely wouldn't have wanted to wake them up, only to tell them she was hungry, she didn't want to be rude. And, honestly, she paid 50 gold coins; hell, she should have been given a feast.
She was going to quietly get something to eat, comeback and act as if nothing happened. No-one would even know.
She had taken one step towards her planned destination, when suddenly the thought of the lookout, who she thought had been keeping an eye on her every move, might have already figured her out. She quickly looked up to the crows-nest; already fearing the eyes of the blonde man, only to see nobody. Had he gone inside to sleep too? But could a lookout even do that?
Mido shook off those unnecessary thoughts as she was in no position to worry about others; she could only care about herself, but clearly she wasn't doing a good job at that either.
She walked to and entered the cabin area of the ship; nervously making her way towards the kitchen; realizing only then that she had no clue where it was. Her heart thumped relentlessly hard against her chest as she nibbled on her lower lip, scanning her surroundings, repeatedly. The utter darkness that surrounded her made it even more difficult to find her way.
She somehow reached a flight of stairs that led her down to a corridor which included numerous doors, at each side of it. She was prevented from inspecting their insides as loud snores resonated from them; they were the bedrooms of the pirates.
She continued to walk along the corridor, finally reaching its end. She came face to face with a rather large, wooden door. She stepped closer to it, tilting her head to the side and leaning her ear against it. She tried to pick up any possible sound from the other side; all she heard was silence. She could, at least, guess that the room wasn't occupied by anyone.
She slowly pushed open the door; peeking into it. It took a little time for her eyes to focus, in the darkness, but as soon as they did, she saw all the kitchen equipment. Relief spread across her whole body, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she was lucky enough to find the room on her first try.
She entered, making sure to, carefully, close the door behind her. She walked further inside and spotted what looked like a window. She stepped closer to it, slightly moving its curtain away, allowing the kitchen to get illuminated by the moonlight, ever so lightly. This aided her in finding her way easily around the space.
She opened the wooden cupboards and rummaged through its shelves; a carton of milk and a loaf of bread being her immediate findings.
Her hunger took over her whole body; she couldn't control herself anymore. She stood there, munching on the bread and occasionally sipping on the milk. She couldn't help but let out a content hum as she savoured. She never thought that such simple food could have tasted that good. Perhaps, while being a princess and getting to feast on all those delicacies; she was missing out on the actual good food.
Just when she had put down the, now, empty milk carton on the table in front of her; she heard the door creak open as she felt the outside cold seep into the room and hit her back, making her shudder as goosebumps rose.
Mido froze instantly; her pupils trembled as her mind and heart started to race hundred miles per second, simultaneously. She clicked her tongue, incredulous to how she could get busted so easily.
She didn't really know how to get out of that situation; all she could hope was to not be noticed, if she stood there immobile. Perhaps, the darkness was an advantage.
What she didn't know was that the person who had stepped into the room was none other than the captain; Hongjoong. He had come into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He didn't bring a lamp with him as he knew the entire ship as the back of his hand, therefore, being able to easily navigate through it, even in the dark.
He rubbed his eye as he was still half asleep, making his way towards the water barrel that was placed on top of the table.
However, as he got closer to the table, his eyes started to focus on what, to him, looked like a shadow. This sight made him jolt, his steps stopping abruptly.
He was wide awake now. He squinted his eyes, trying to concentrate his vision; what exactly was that? The shadow got clearer; revealing a person. It was further made obvious as his eyes focused on the fabric of their clothing. Hongjoong became extremely alert as the thought of them being an intruder was the first, in his mind.
He was perplexed at how the person had not moved a muscle, for the entirety of the time he had been staring at them. As he was not able to figure the intruder's intentions out, it only made him feel even more threatened.
He took cautious steps towards them.
Mido's heart dropped to her stomach, when she heard the footsteps nearing her.
Her breath hitched as she felt an arm being wrapped around her neck, pulling her back against their chest as the heat from their body radiated into hers. His warm breath caressed the skin of her ear, due to his close proximity, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. All she felt was dread, complete and utter dread.
In the heat of the moment, as immense panic spread all throughout her, her survival instincts were awakened. Without any thought, she elbowed her attacker, as hard as she could, hitting his ribcage. The person immediately let go of her, falling onto the ground, groaning in pain.
She took this chance to turn around and grab the closest thing to her, to use as a weapon. Her hand got a hold of a wooden chair; it was a combination of the tremendous amount of adrenaline running through her and the sound of her heart beating loudly, in her ears, that completely erased any trace of composure left in her. She lifted the chair up with the clear intention of smashing the skull of whoever tried to assault her.
However; she was petrified as she finally locked eyes with the person in front of her.
"You." He stated with the most menacing tone. She saw how he still grimaced in pain due to her attack.
'What on earth have I done.' She thought to herself, utterly fearful.
She slowly lowered the chair that she was holding up, placing it down on the floor. She furrowed her eyebrows in concern as she looked at the man.
"I only-" The hazel haired tried to explain herself, only to get interrupted.
"I should have known. I should have known you were up to no good!" He exclaimed, enraged.
"But I-" Her words were interrupted yet again; this time not by his words but by his strong hand grabbing her arm, as he suddenly stood up.
He turned her around, violently, holding both of her hands, behind her back. He used one of his hands to tear off the border of his own shirt, to use the piece of cloth as a rope to tie up her hands.
"P-Please let me explain-" Mido pleaded, desperately.
"Not another word." He commanded, firmly.
She was held by her elbow as he dragged her out, aggressively. The man walked fast across the corridor, the previous snores that emanated from the bedrooms were now replaced by silence; the other members were probably woken up by the commotion, the two of them had made. He continued to pull her through the stairs, not caring or stopping whenever she tripped on the steps; her legs were definitely going to be all bruised.
When they finally reached the deck, he shoved her body to the ground, before him. The girl fell onto the ground on her knees. She turned around to look at him; her eyes silently begging him to spare her life. But his eyes burned with wrath; cold-hearted and unforgiving; the epitome of a pirate.
She felt utterly hopeless; she had no idea what to do or say. Or was she even allowed to do so? She needed to explain herself, otherwise, she could only imagine the worst happening.
"Captain!" A male voice called out.
Both of their heads snapped towards the voice; it was the blonde man, the lookout. He panted as if he had been running around and he looked very distressed.
His eyes widened, shocked as he saw the hazel haired.
"I-I had closed my eyes for literally one second and she-" He tried to give his captain a reasonable motive; fearing the consequences for his carelessness.
"Wooyoung. Get the plank ready." His words interrupted his subordinate's.
The horror of her immediate reality doomed upon her; was this really the end?