FicWad

Chapter 16
"An offer you can't refuse."

The Delphinus rushed through the sky high above the North Ocean, its afterburner working at maximum. The destination was Crescent Isle. They had done everything they had to in Ixa'taka. Giovanni had now started his lifetime sentence in prison. Aika and the others had attended the interrogation. She was still disgusted with the answers he had given./ "It was his own choice.", "It's all a part of business.", "If he had said it from the beginning, nothing would've happen."/ Had Aika been alone with him, she would've broken his neck. Instead, she had settled for just spit Giovanni in the face. Not very like her, but she had been angry beyond limits.

The medicine man had declared Esteban's condition as stable. All he would need was rest. Carefully, they had brought him aboard the Delphinus and now he rested in a soft bed in one of the better quarters. Aika had stayed with him ever since. She sat on a chair just next to him, his hand in hers, watching him sleep. He had such an innocence look on his face, so different from his usual emotionless expression. If anyone saw him now, it would be hard to guess he was a mercenary. They had only "known" each other for a very short time, but Aika cared so much for him. He may try to act indifferent, but he had inner qualities that could make him such a wonderful person, if he ever could let go if his... what? Was it sadness, anger, guilt? All three? What could've happen to him? But no, the only thing he tried to do was to shield himself from others. He was never mean on purpose, never mean at all actually, but he did his best to make sure no one would appreciate him. If she only knew what he was thinking. She wanted to help him.

A knock on the door interrupted Aika's thoughts. She sighed and went up to open it. Behind the door stood Fina.

"Is he getting any better?" Fina asked, not sounding all that hopeful.

"Not yet. He seemed to wake up just a while ago, but it was just a bad dream. I mean, he had a bad dream."

Fina nodded, being all too aware on how is dreams would be. She looked past Aika at the sleeping figure. The scars were all too visible. Esteban had gone into all that just for her sake. Fina did not think she could put up with Esteban's ordeal for so long time. She hoped that she would be able to thank him.

"We've almost reached Crescent Isle," she said. "We just need a little help with the disconnecting-part, then you can come back here."

A natural awakening would be better than a rude awakening. With one last look at Esteban, the two friends started to walk up to the bridge.

xXx

"Estie!"

I am standing in an old environment. Familiar, but long gone. I know all too well who these shady figures are. I say:

"Why are you here?"

"Don't do this against yourself."

"..."

"Estie?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Don't escape your old self."

"I am who I am!"

"You know it isn't true."

"... Not from your view." They can't understand any of this. Narrow-minded fools as they are. They speak again:

"You have changed a lot over the years, but we've never stopped caring about you. Are you really happy with your choice?"

"..."

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life living like this?"

"... It is the only way."

"Then you must realize you are condemned!"

"Leave me alone!!"

"No, you/ will leave them alone! It's for the best, for them all."/

xXx

The vision slowly faded away into total darkness, only a small glowing white sphere remained. It changed to grey, then gradually expanded until it covered everything. Subconsciously, I knew I was in the borderland between dreams and reality. This was a place I wanted to remain in. A complete stillness. Calm and safe. Of course it wouldn't last forever, and soon the grey mist started to lift. I slowly opened my eyes.

"Esteban."

I turned my head slightly to the left. After some blinking, I saw it was Aika. My left hand felt much thicker. Had it swollen, or was it bandaged? I looked at it and saw it was Aika who held it. In other cases, I would've quickly pulled my hand away, but right now I didn't care about it.

"Finally you're awake," she said, relieved.

"Where am I?" I could hear that my voice sounded a bit strange. "I didn't fall asleep here."

"Always observant, are you? You're aboard the/ Delphinus /. And yes, you passed out when we had brought you out of the base. Right now, we're docked at Crescent Isle."

That was quick. Or was it? How much time had passed?

"How long have I been gone?"

"Well, we got you out this morning. And then you were gone for the rest of the day. It's late evening now."

I'd been sleeping like the dead. And that was damn near what could've actually happened. My body still ached quite a bit, as a reminder of what had taken place.

"What happened to everyone else?" I asked.

"Who do you mean?"

Big mistake.

"I meant the Black Pirates," I lied.

"They're all locked up in Ixa'taka. Especially their leader." Here I noticed that she made a disgusted face, and I felt she squeezed my hand just a bit harder, if only for a moment. "And I hope he'll remain there for a long time. For all that he did to you."

"What exactly did he do?"

She looked a bit puzzled.

"You mean you don't remember?"

"No. I know all too well what I went through. But is there something that will have long-term consequences?"

So here I was, not awake for more than one minute and already coldly calculating. Way to go.

"We did take you to a doctor. He said you'll be OK. There are no internal wounds. Only on your body. Nothing that won't heal on its own. Now I've got to ask you something: How do you feel?"

My head was spinning, my throat felt like a branch of Nasr, my chest hurt every time I took a breath, and Aika had suddenly become twins.

"Fine, I guess."

"I meant... within."

That was an easy question, however a bit silly.

"You said there were no internal wounds, so I..."

She suddenly slammed her fist in the bed and she frowned.

"Mentally, psychologically, within!"

"Just another scar."

Just as the words had left my mouth, I realized it was the most stupid thing I could've said. Aika immediately looked up. There was no way I could talk it into meaning a physical scar.

"Another what?"

"... nothing."

I was still a bit drowsy. If I didn't watch my mouth, I might say something worse.

"If you want, we can talk about it later," she said. "Now then, I bet you're quite hungry?"

As far I could remember, I hadn't eaten anything for a long time. The stomachache was actually from hunger. I nodded.

"We are going to have a late dinner. In fact, you woke just in time for it."

I could feel that I wore pyjamas, so I pulled the blanket aside and stood up. My legs felt a bit numb, but they would get better. Now first, I looked around the room. If I hadn't known I was aboard a ship, I would believe it was in the old imperial palace or something like that. It was very extravagant. I recalled that they had once said that this ship was built for Valua's prince. At the foot of the bed, someone had put a new change of clothes.

"You go ahead," I said. "I'll be right out."

"See you at the tavern," Aika said and walked to the door. "I'll tell the others you're awake." Then she walked out, and closed the door.

A minor sadness crept into my mind. Aika and her friends had broken into the pirates' base, risking their lives. For what? Me. Their compassion was totally wasted on someone like me. And why did it bother me? That dream hadn't helped much either. But this was the path I had chosen, and I would walk it through. I had to.

As I started to unbutton the black pyjama shirt, a sudden and horrible thought arose in my aching head. I quickly pushed it aside, but the blush remained. No, I did NOT want to know where my old clothes were or how I had got this pyjama on me! But I could feel I wore boxers underneath the trousers, so at least it wasn't that catastrophic.

This is not the right time to be prudish! I thought angrily for myself.

With the last button undone, the shirt fell to the floor, revealing my bare skin. When I bent down to pick up the new clothes, I lowered my gaze and then I saw it. Red lines, thin and thick, crossed my upper body. My skin was coloured red and blue from all the torture. It was easy to visualize the tools that had been used. Whips, knuckle-dusters, even knifes! I couldn't help it, a sudden shriek escaped my mouth. A few seconds after that, the door burst open. It was Aika again.

"What happened?" she asked, in the same tone that she would use if the armada laid on siege.

"Nothing," I said, my back turned towards the door. "I just saw the scars, and I got surprised."

"Fortunately, they look worse than they are," she said. "They'll fade away in time. But just to let you know, you've got some really bad marks on your back as well. And on your forehead. So you're prepared for it."

In the corner of the room, just to the right of the bed, I saw a mirror. I thought about it, but decided to wait. It had been a horrible sight.

With Aika gone, I removed of the rest of the pyjamas and got dressed in my own clothes. With one last look at the mirror, I went out, making sure my legs didn't shiver that much. I didn't want sympathy.

The Delphinus was a quite big ship, and Aika hadn't thought to tell me the way out. I started to walk, and soon found the exit that led to the docks. I went down the gangplank that led to the floor, and started to head towards the stairs. At the top, I saw the tunnel that led to the isle itself. It looked like a big black eye, staring right at me. I had just passed the kitchen when the eye suddenly got an iris, a white one. Then I saw it was Fina. She looked down at the floor and saw me. There was no point in pretending I hadn't noticed her, so I continued towards the stairs, my gaze slightly turned down, knowing what would come. She quickly hurried down the stairs, and soon we stood in front of each other.

"Aika told me you had woken up," she said. "How do you feel?"

Fina had an expression of both concern and relief across her face. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn't used to this.

/Save it for someone else/, I thought.

"Better, I guess."

"I'm glad to hear to it," Fina answered, she sounded like she really had meant it. "I never got a chance to say it before; Thank you so much for rescuing me. I thought it was all over."

It was easy to see that she had meant every word. All her appearance shone with sincere happiness and thankfulness. And it was all targeted at me. That's it, I couldn't take this anymore!

"Alright, so you're happy you got away!" I said, my voice carried all the surliness I could master, I felt a deep frown between my eyes. "Doesn't take much of a genius to figure that out. Anything else!?"

Fina took a quick step back, she almost looked frightened, and a bit sad and hurt. I saw that my words had achieved exactly what I had hoped for, but I didn't feel accomplished. In fact, I felt awful. But it didn't take long before her smile returned.

"The doctor said you would have mood swings," she said mildly. "But as long as you're alright, I'm glad. Now, will you join us for dinner?"

I nodded. Damn it! Fina had only shown honest compassion and concern about my health, and for that I had to get angry with her. And I couldn't apologise myself either. I hadn't chosen the happiest path in life, but I had to follow it.

Without further words, we walked out of the docks and aimed our steps towards the tavern. It was indeed night. The stars shone. I had thought I would never see them again. It was a nice sight, although I wasn't a night person. No matter what happened, the stars would continue to gaze down on the world, even if there was no one to see them. They would always be there, like they always had been. Looking at the stars always made me feel so small. No matter what I achieved in life, it wouldn't mean much in the big plan, if there was any such thing.

Thus; I was free to live my life as I saw fit. And I would.

We entered the tavern and found Vyse standing at the stove, the smell of light cooking told that dinner would soon be ready. He turned his head when he heard the door open. Immediately, his face lightened up.

"Esteban," he said. "Glad to see you're up. How do you feel?"
That was the third time I had to answer that question. Three times in one day, they had broken the earlier record three times in a row by now.

"Just fine," I said, making sure to not crack another harsh comment. "Isn't Aika here?"

I heard the sound of running feet behind me, then it stopped, and then something hit the ground next to me. It was Aika. She had probably made a running jump from the door and landed next to me, her braid almost touching my head.

"Now I am," she said. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," said Vyse. "In fact, you're right on time."

Then it was time for the food. The dinner consisted of fried kite ray, potatoes, fresh baked bread and salad. The latter was mostly for me, since I hadn't got much nutrition. And lots of beverages, of course, to cover the lack of water. I hadn't eaten or drunk in the last days, so I had a quite big appetite, but I tried not to show it. I appreciated that they actually gave a damn about me, but I didn't want to be considered weak. There was nothing wrong with me, was there?

"Thinkin' of something?" said Aika.

Was I really that easy to read?

"Not really," I said. But since I was already talking I might as well... "Thank you for rescuing me, by the way."

Yes. Really "by the way", so don't think we're friends just because of that!

"No problem," Vyse smiled. "We only did what we wanted to do. And for what you did for Fina. We're all very thankful."

All I had said was a short "thank you", I didn't want to get praised like some damn hero. I quickly changed topic.

"Talking about that, when did it happen?"

"It was the day before yesterday," said Fina. "We're sorry it took so long. To get you out, I mean."

"We had to call in reinforcements," said Aika. "The whole Ixa'takan navy actually. We managed to get the Black Pirates as well."

What had she just said?

"... 'The whole navy'?"

"Yep. The Ixa'takans were also hoping to kick some Black Pirates, so we helped them in exchange for luring away their fleet. And after we got you out, the Delphinus gave everybody who wanted a one-way ticket to the world's bottom."

This was like the last encounter with Fina multiplied many times over. Had they dragged up a whole fleet just for my sake? This was insane! But fortunately, the worst seemed to be over and we gave the food most of our attention, or at least I did. It had been a rough mission, but at least I had got a big reward for it... The diamonds! I had almost forgotten about them! I was just about to ask Vyse about it when he raised a question himself, which made us speak at the same time.

"OK, you first." Vyse grinned.

"What happened to the treasure we pillaged? Did they take it?"

"Don't worry, we got it all stored in our little treasure chamber."

Had it been a bit earlier, I would've asked to split it up at once, get this all over with. But I didn't want to sail during the night. It could be dangerous.

"OK, Vyse," said Aika. "Your turn."

"Right." He looked at me, I felt this could be rough. "Do you have any jobs or so planned in the near future?" he asked simply.

Did I? Oh yes, a certain wench who was the top leader for a mighty syndicate, who would make sure I was one head shorter if I revealed anything about her or her disgusting organisation had just happened to make me busy.

"No."

"OK. The thing is, this event really made us realize there are too few of us for the /Delphinus/. We have decided to start looking for a new crew."

"So you want to hire me to look out for potential crewmembers? I could keep my eyes open, of course."

"If you know someone who seems fitting, it would be great. But we had hoped that maybe you would like to join us."

What the hell was /this/? Was he lying? Was he really serious? Had he actually asked me to join him and his friends? This couldn't be for real! But they all looked serious, their gazes turned at me, waiting for my answer.

"You want me to join your crew?"

"Yes, if you want. In exchange for your services onboard, you'll get free stay at the base, and an equal share in all treasures we ever raid. Are you in?"

An inner voice reminded me of my rules. It was for occasions like this they had been made. Now, I would unkindly and very decisively tell Vyse where I thought he should put up his offer.

But another inner voice started to whisper. It had been quite talkative ever since I met this happy blue trio. "Do it," it said. "This is your chance."

It didn't get much further than that until the first inner voice started to talk again. It did not whisper, actually it stood there with broad legs, arms at its side, wondering what the hell I was thinking about! Why did I even consider the offer? Now, would I be so kind and ask Vyse to go to a warmer place, and it wasn't Nasr.

"Let me think about it," I said, finally.

"OK," Vyse nodded. "Don't rush it. Make sure it's really your decision. But it would be great if you said yes."

I knew completely what my answer would be. I had to protect myself, thus my answer would be "No". But at least I could wait until tomorrow.