Treasure rewrite - Chapter 5
Jun. 16th, 2007 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrAbout half of this will be familiar, as I did post it once before. Added bunches more.
Chapter Five
The loud clanging of the ship’s bell woke Taka with a start. He sat up clumsily and fell out of bed with the next jolt. “Storms take it!” he swore, attempting to gain his footing but only crashing to the floor again. “Is it too much to ask for this storming ship to hold still for just one moment?”
A soft chuckle was his only reply, as Raiden suddenly appeared at his side and helped him up. The ship jarred and rocked again, sending Taka stumbling into Raiden, and only the fact that he didn’t want to encounter the floor again kept him from protesting the arm that settled firmly around his waist, keeping him pressed up against Raiden’s broad chest.
Storms take it, what was going on? The bell clanged, loud and sharp and jarring. Taka struggled free of Raiden’s grip and only wound up crashing to the floor as the ship gave another rough jolt.
Outside he could hear Kindan bellowing orders, the sailors shouting to each other.
“Steady, Taka,” Raiden said, still holding him tightly, his other hand holding the ship itself, keeping them upright.
“What in the Storms’ names is going on?” Taka said. “A storm?” That should be impossible, unless Nankyo had somehow lost control of his powers…
Raiden frowned. “No…I believe we have company, but Kin will not thank me for going on deck to make certain and not even I will cross him in this.”
Taka fell silent, more worried than he liked by the idea that there was a situation in which Raiden would behave. Two weeks at sea now and he’d seen Kindan come very close to dumping Raiden overboard on more than one occasion. If he had not known the men were friends, he would have thought them enemies. “I need to make certain Nankyo is all right.”
“I’m sure his Highness will be fine,” Raiden replied. “He has less to fear from the sea than anyone else onboard, surely.”
To that, Taka could make no reply. He could not very well say that Kyo had more reason to hate the sea than anyone else. Not that he did. Kyo loved the ocean.
Shaking off his distracted thoughts, Taka attempted to wrest free of Raiden’s grip, but his struggles combined with a hard jolt only sent them both crashing to the ground, and he swore to find himself splayed across Raiden’s lap – and an all-too familiar smirk on the storming bastard’s face.
“One word,” Taka said, “and you will regret it. Sorely.”
Raiden laughed. “When have I ever said just one word? ‘I rather like you this way’ is six words.”
Taka made certain to elbow and knee all that he could as he struggled to regain his footing, quickly stumbling floundering his way to the cabin door, ignoring Raiden coming up behind him. He threw open the door – and stopped short.
The ship was chaos – sailors and water and—
Taka stared.
Women. Naked women. He thought. Maybe he was seeing things, or still asleep. Though he would never be drinking that particular wine again if this was a result.
His mind tried to tell him what he was seeing, but Taka could not believe it.
Mermaids didn’t exist. They were long dead and gone, assuming they’d existed in the first place.
“What…?” he asked, shaking his head in wonder.
Raiden’s arm slipped around his waist again. “Stay here. It will do Kin more harm than good for us to get in his way.”
“I don’t even see him,” Taka muttered – but then suddenly he did, as Kin came crashing down right in front of them from where he’d apparently been on the poop deck.
Taka stared, instinctively recoiling, for once not begrudging the steady, unmovable man behind him.
Kin looked…wild. He’d always been moody, short-tempered, but overall Taka had been impressed with the man. When it came to his ship, his duties, he gave no quarter – he was Captain and did it well.
This man before him now was nearly a stranger. His clothing was torn, sash little more but shredded fabric barely hanging on his hips, pale hair going every which way, rain sluicing blood from one arm and a scrape on his cheek.
“Get back inside," Kin snarled, moving as though to give them a shove himself – but in the next moment a woman with dark blue hair, wearing a thick belt made of shells and pearls, nails looking more like claws, screamed and attacked Kin, drawing his attention away.
Taka stared, unable to look away, fascinated even as he was horrified and terrified. He was used to the violence exhibited between Nankyo and his brothers, the brutality of all nobles…this was something else. Wild. Angry. Cold and cruel. He knew hate when he saw it…but he’d never seen it at this level.
Kin threw off the woman who’d attacked him, looking without remorse as she lay bleeding on the deck. He took out a knife, and Taka looked away as Kin stooped down to slit her throat. When he finally looked back, Kin had thrown the woman overboard.
The chaos continued, Kin and his men fighting against the brutal women attacking them.
A flash of ocean blue caught Taka’s eye, and he saw Nankyo come to join them, seemingly unaffected by all that was going on around them – though Taka could see that his eyes were unusually dark, a sure sign that Kyo was upset.
“Mermaids,” Nankyo said as he reached them.
“We need to get back inside,” Raiden said, and tried once more to drag them back into the cabin.
Nankyo nodded in agreement and made to follow them, but his eyes moved to Kin, still wrestling against the women who seemed determined to kill every last person onboard.
A snarling shout was their only warning before a shadow came crashing down from the poop deck, must like Kin had earlier. Taka screamed in dismay as the woman tackled Nankyo, the two of them tangling together in silk and shells. “Nankyo!”
Raiden snatched him back, and Taka struggled uselessly against his greater strength, desperate to reach Nankyo.
Everything was happening so quickly, and Taka wished vaguely that he was still asleep, or just arguing with Raiden and Nankyo instead—
Then with a snarl more vicious than anything he’d heard from the mermaids Kindan was there, pale skin lurid and bright in the moonlight, his tunic torn to the point it was nothing but shreds hanging around his waist, leaving his chest bare.
He gave another one of those eerie snarls and hauled the mermaid up, snapping her neck as though it were nothing more than a stick, heaving her body over the railing. Then he stooped down and hauled Nankyo up. “You storming fool! I would think a royal would know better than to walk straight into danger! If you want to die, then find somewhere other than my ship to do it! Get inside!” With a last snarl, Kin threw Nankyo at Taka and Raiden, sending all three reeling back, and pulled the door shut.
“I told you not to make him mad,” Raiden finally said.
“Yes, quite,” Nankyo said dryly. “Though in my defense, I wanted to see if it was something with which I might assist. I probably still could…”
Raiden shook his head. “Kin can deal with the mermaids. Were you wounded at all, Highness?”
“No, I do not believe so,” Nankyo said slowly, carefully standing and adjusting his robes, combing back his wet hair. “A few nicks and scratches perhaps.”
“That could be a problem,” Raiden said with a frown. “Mermaids cover their shells and all with poison. To the best of my knowledge only Kindan is immune to it.”
Nankyo lifted one delicate brow. “Would that be because he is half mermaid?”
Raiden threw his head back and laughed.
Taka glared. “What in the Storms’ names are you talking about, Nankyo?”
“However did you figure it out?” Raiden asked.
Nankyo smirked, but his answer was cut off as the door flew open again to admit Kindan, looking much like a storm come to life, stalking angrily into the cabin, pants and hair plastered to his skin, shreds of fabric hanging about his hips, the black pearl a lurid mark against the white of his skin, streaming water onto the cabin floor.
“Raiden, what in storming blazes were you thinking!” Kin roared. “You know to stay inside! If you ever act so stupidly again I will feed you to the mermaids myself!” Not bothering to wait for a reply, Kin turned sharply away and glared at Nankyo. “You, Highness – I know royals are all idiots but even a fool should know to stay in his cabin when the ship is being rocked about.” He snarled when Nankyo tried to speak. “Shut up. If I thought it would do any good I would confine you to quarters for the duration of our journey.”
Snarling any time someone tried to speak, Kindan stalked across the cabin to his sea chest, throwing it open and pulling out a new tunic and sash. The tunic was a deep green, his sash an equally dark blue with shells embroidered in yellow thread. Then he strode to the desk and pulled a flask from a drawer, downing the contents straight from it, eschewing a glass.
After several more minutes of stark silence had passed, Nankyo at last dared to speak. “For what reason did they attack?”
Taka’s temper finally snapped. “Storms drown that!” He said, shoving away from the hold Raiden still had on him. “What in the Storms’ names just happened here? Mermaids died a long time ago. Why were they attacking us? And by the dragons why does Nankyo think you are half mermaid!”
A stark, cold silence fell at his words. Kin slowly stood, his icy glare fastened on Nankyo. “What I may or may not be is none of your business, Highness.” He shot a nasty look at Raiden. “Do tell how he found that out.”
Nankyo smiled in that challenging way of his, and Taka was torn between wanting to strangle him for always goading Kindan and letting it be so his questions might get answered…because for all Nankyo's methods were infuriating, they always got results. “I hardly needed Raiden to figure it out. You are a sailor and yet you’ve skin whiter than the twits in the palace who never step outside. You anticipate the sea to a degree no sailor, even one with four times your years, ever could. They also attacked you with a particular…enthusiasm? All the old legends say mermaids do not tolerate their male counterparts, though the reasons have been lost.”
Kindan glared and made no reply.
“He has you, Kin,” Raiden said with a grin, settling down on the bed beside Taka, ignoring his warning look. “I will say I was surprised by the voracity of this particular attack. I thought they had learned to leave well enough alone.”
Grunting, Kindan capped his flask and returned it to the desk. “We found the wreckage of a ship they’d just destroyed, and rescued the one survivor we found – but the mermaids were not as gone as we’d thought, and they didn’t like us taking the survivor aboard.” He glared darkly at the absent mermaids. “Not that they need much of an excuse.”
Nankyo lifted one delicate brow. “Is it wise to have someone so hated as Captain? I can’t think that’s good for business.”
“Kindan is the best, even if he comes with the occasional fight,” Raiden said firmly, cutting off Kindan’s angry retort. “Where is this survivor?”
“We put him below to protect him,” Kindan answered. “The men are bringing him up now.” Even as he finished speaking, there came a sharp rap on the door, and at Kin’s call it opened to admit two sailors dragging the unconscious man between them.
Taka let out a startled cry, and heard Nankyo do the same, both of them bolting to take the man from the sailors. “Is it really…Storms be merciful…”
Nankyo sat on the floor of the cabin, seemingly oblivious to the further damage saltwater was causing to his fine robes, showing a peculiar gentleness as he cradled the unconscious man in his arms, almost tenderly brushing back his short-cropped, dark gray hair, smoothing his fingers over the thick bandages wrapped around the man’s eyes.
Kindan’s boots clipped loudly on the floor as he stalked over to join them, kneeling beside Nankyo, frowning at the man in his arms. “Was he badly injured previous to the mermaid attack? Though I can’t help but think it was a good thing he could not see what happened to the crew…”
“No,” Nankyo said, hugging the man close. “He’s not injured. Thank the Storms no one was stupid enough to remove the bandages. This is Prince Culebra of Piedre.”
Raiden gave a startled gasp. “Prince Culebra? The Basilisk Prince? That is truly he?”
Kindan looked at Nankyo. “You are telling me it’s true what they say about his eyes?”
“Yes,” Nankyo said softly. “The Basilisk Prince can kill with a glance, and so spends his life in darkness. If his ship was the one attacked, then he must have been on his way to or from Pozhar…” He bit his lip, and looked up at Taka.
Taka nodded grimly in silent agreement with Nankyo's unspoken thoughts.
A royal ship had been destroyed, the most important figure in Piedre nearly killed…and there was no telling who else had been aboard. Storms, he hoped no Pozharian guests had been aboard, that would double the tragedy and problems. “I will write letters at once.”
“To Pozhar, Piedre, and Kundou. This will change our journey drastically, as now we have no choice but to stop in Pozhar and make our presence known. I will return shortly to review them."
Taka nodded and immediately stood to go to Raiden’s desk and begin work. “Of course.”
“Captain,” Nankyo said, his usual taunting tone absent, “I would like Culebra to stay in my quarters. After all that has passed, he will need company.”
Kindan nodded stiffly and motioned for the lingering sailors to take the unconscious prince to Nankyo’s quarters.
Before they could, however, Culebra woke with a low groan. Taka looked up sharply at the sound, and abandoned the desk to return to Culebra’s side. “Granito?”
“No, Culebra,” Nankyo said softly, and under normal circumstances Taka would have laughed at the expressions of shock on the faces of Raiden and Kindan, knowing they were astonished Nankyo could sound so…not the prince to whom people were accustomed. “It is Nankyokukai. You are aboard the Fuujin.”
Culebra shuddered. “Screams. Death. I couldn’t…is anyone…?”
“I’m sorry, Culebra, you are the only survivor.”
“No. Granito…everyone…” A rough sob escaped Culebra, and then he buried his head against Nankyo’s chest.
Everyone was silent, sharing grim looks. Taka stood to get to work on the letters and leave Culebra in Nankyo's care.
A startled cry from Raiden brought his head back up.
Kindan’s hand flashed out, and a second later Taka saw he was holding a dark brown and gold snake carefully by the head so that it could not bite.
“Do not hurt her!” Culebra said sharply, stirred from his sobbing, reaching a hand out unsteadily, pale fingers – just as pale as Kindan, possibly even paler – landing on Kin’s hand, carefully moving up to stroke the snake’s head. “Let her go. She will not hurt anyone but the rats. Please.”
“Let it go,” Nankyo snapped.
Kindan obeyed, but anger clouded his face. “I heard the prince the first time, Highness! How was I to know he is friendly with a snake whose venom could leave even a grown man paralyzed? To the best of my knowledge, men do not like to have such deadly creatures wrapped around their necks and hidden in their clothes.”
Culebra gave a shaky, unsteady laugh, as though he wanted badly to be amused but simply could not muster his humor. His fingers moved to pet the snake as it once more wrapped itself around him. “Snakes are fond of me. Never fear, Captain. They will obey me without fail. I suppose the rest did not survive.” He again started to cry, letting himself be tugged to rest against Nankyo’s chest once more.
“Culebra, we are going to take you to my cabin now,” Nankyo said quietly after a few minutes had passed. “We will get you warm and dry, and perhaps later you will eat.”
“I doubt it,” Culebra replied, but obediently let himself be taken away, Nankyo following on the sailors’ heels, reprimanding them sharply whenever they so much as twitched incorrectly.
Kindan snarled. “I am going to tend my ship,” he said, slamming the door behind him.
“Well,” Raiden said into the sudden silence. “This has been a night.”
“Yes,” Takara said wearily. “I hope never to repeat it.” He moved to Raiden's desk and made a face at the mess cluttering it, half of it now strewn on the floor after the violent rocking of the ship.
“Taka, you’re soaking wet and shivering. The letters can wait until you’re warm and dry – and fed. By this point, I’m certain everyone has given up on sleeping. The bells have already signaled morning.”
“I’m fine,” Taka replied.
He heard Raiden move a split second before he was roughly turned around.
“You are not getting sick, you storming secretary,” Raiden replied. “Change clothes or I shall change them for you.”
Taka glared, but did not challenge Raiden on that point – knowing all too well that Raiden very much would follow through with it. “You are not my nursemaid.”
“I seriously doubt you want me to tell you what I am,” Raiden said with a grin, and Taka was suddenly furiously annoyed by the fact that while the rest of them looked a mess after the chaos created by the mermaids, Raiden looked only slightly affected.
His hair was for once not caught back beneath a kerchief, but spilled over his shoulders, the dark blue strands like the finest of inks, shining in the lamplight. He wore a simple dark gray robe, most of the top fastenings left undone, baring just a hint of muscular chest. A dark blue sash decorated with silver clouds clung to his hips, and his hands were for once empty of their myriad rings.
Under ordinary circumstances, Taka would have thought the man very fine indeed, especially those broad shoulders and fine chest, and it wasn’t wholly unappealing the way the man seemed to tower over nearly everyone.
Except, he reminded himself, the man was an arrogant, presumptuous, infuriating bastard who’d not only taken the necklace Taka had wanted but then had the temerity to demand him in exchange for passage.
“Go fetch food while I change,” Taka conceded ungraciously.
“Here I thought I’d get to watch,” Raiden said with an exaggerated sigh.
Taka glowered and pointed toward the door. “Not if the world depended upon it,” he hissed.
No matter how storming attractive the man might be. Taka wasn’t something to be purchased. Nankyo had good reasons for his actions, but those didn’t excuse Raiden’s behavior.
Swearing, wishing this entire trip was unnecessary – for a variety of reasons – Taka dug out fresh clothes and then went to help himself to the brandy he knew Raiden kept in the desk.
The brandy warmed and calmed him, and by the time Raiden returned with an overburdened tray of food, he was feeling much better. Returning the brandy to the drawer, he once more made a face at the disorganized piles littering the desk. "How in the Dragons' names do you get any work done?"
"I avoid it at all costs," Raiden replied cheerfully, setting the food down and helping himself as he took a seat at the other table in the cabin.
"How do you maintain your records? Keep track of what you trade, sell, purchase?"
Raiden tapped his forehead. "It's all up here."
Feeling a headache coming on, Takara shot Raiden a disgusted look and then set to work making some sort of order out of all the chaos. He'd just finished organizing the expenditure sheets – storms Raiden made a lot of money – when Kindan stalked back into the cabin.
Stalking was certainly the word for it. The man looked as though he were on the hunt with every intention of killing his prey upon sighting.
Half mermaid…was it really true?
Takara could not wrap his mind around the notion. Mermaids were myth…though of course given the nature of their journey, he really should know better than to think of anything as merely myth now…
Still. He gave the Captain another surreptitious look while organizing various import permits, absently impressed by them. In the deep green tunic and dark blue sash, he looked much as Takara was used to seeing – hard, composed, with sharp eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
Except now he could see the underlying edge that hinted at the ferocity he'd displayed when fighting off the mermaids. Almost a…savagery. Was that the result of life at sea? Or part of his heritage? It certainly gave him a whole new respect for the good Captain.
Takara shook his head and focused, finally clearing away enough of the mess that he could move on with his own work. Setting several sheaves of parchment close to hand, he prepared his writing implements and neatly set them out, then stood and crossed to the bed. From one of the drawers beneath it he pulled out the leather case which held his spectacles. Sliding them on his face, he strode back to the desk and began writing.
Across the cabin Kindan and Raiden spoke in low tones; to judge from the occasional word he caught, they were discussing the recent battle.
He'd just finished penning the third letter when the door opened once more, this time admitting Nankyo. His hair was still damp from the recent chaos, and Taka saw that a small bruise marred one cheek, likely from when he'd been attacked by the mermaid. He'd changed into a midnight blue robe, cinched with a plain silver and white sash.
Taka's brow rose as he saw that Nankyo carried the Book of Storms.
"Have you the letters, Taka?" Nankyo asked, the soft linen of his robes swishing faintly, slippers making his tread soundless. He tucked a strand of hair behind one ear as he picked up the nearest of the three letters. "Hmm…" he murmured softly, fingers moving to his sash.
Then he paused, grimacing. Reaching out, he gently pulled Takara's spectacles off, then slid them onto his own face. Lamp light glinted on the silver frames, and Taka noticed suddenly that the conversation on the opposite side of the cabin had broken off.
Nankyo bent over the desk and reached for the quill, quickly scratching out several words, jotting others on the side in a neat, elegant hand. To anyone else, his words would have been nonsense. The two of them had long ago developed their own shorthand.
Setting aside the corrected letter, Nankyo picked up the next and repeated the process, this time making only one correction. With the third he merely nodded, then signed his name to the bottom. "Bring me the others when they're corrected.
Takara nodded and set promptly to work, though he paused to frown in curiosity as Nankyo once again picked up the Book of Storms and moved to the table where Kindan and Raiden sat. Storms take it, what was he up to now?
"Highness," Raiden greeted congenially. "Would you care for some refreshment? Is Prince Culebra settled?"
Nankyo nodded as he took a seat directly opposite Kindan. Takara almost groaned aloud. He didn't know what Nankyo was up to, but it was obvious he was up to something.
"If there is tea, I would be most grateful," Nankyo murmured. "I gave Culebra something to help him sleep; I think it is the best thing for him right now."
Kindan grunted. "I do not like the mermaids are getting bolder in their attacks. There is no sense in it; they would do much better keeping their attacks less frequent and to lesser ships."
"Perhaps they sense something in the air which displeases them," Raiden said.
"As to that," Nankyo said, "I am hoping to prevent future such attacks. I have no wish to die in such a fashion."
Kindan nearly vibrated with anger. Even from a distance, Taka noted, it was impossible to miss. "I will not let harm come to my passengers – at least so long as they listen to me! Had you obeyed me—Storms, if you had shown some sense, there would not be a single bruise upon your person. You will not die of mermaid attacks or of anything else while I hold command of this ship."
"Indeed," Nankyo said with one of his smirks designed to infuriate – and unfortunately for Kindan, Takara knew, Nankyo already knew precisely how to infuriate the Captain. Why he seemed so intent upon doing it, beyond amusement's sake, Takara did not know.
He abandoned his letters to watch the storm.
Nankyo continued speaking, impervious to Kindan's cold glare. "However, I would prefer to prevent them altogether."
"How do you propose to do that?" Kindan demanded.
Tossing another smirk, Nankyo set his book down and delicately flipped it open. He turned the pages idly. "By warding against them, of course."
Kindan grimaced. "Magic. I might have known."
"You dislike magic, Captain?" Nankyo asked.
"I do not need it," Kindan snapped. "I rely upon my own strength. Nor do I need you doing my job for me."
Nankyo regarded him coolly. "I am paying for this voyage, Captain, I will do it my way. Moreover, you are not responsible for not only myself but also Culebra and he must be protected at all costs. I doubt the mermaids have given up entirely…"
"They are persistent," Raiden broke in before Kindan could begin shouting, shooting him a quelling glance. "However, Highness, I respectfully protest. Kindan has never failed to protect us. Magic is not necessary…and if I might ask a question…perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought the royal magic could not be used beyond the bound of Kundou?"
"Something like that," Nankyo said quietly. He looked down at his book, fingers tracing lightly over the brittle pages. "Anyway, given present company, I am not entirely convinced I can ward against the mermaids." He tossed his head and smirked again at Kindan. "We might ward against our good Captain in the process. Tell me, Captain, do you know why the mermaids hate you so?"
Kindan barely unclenched his teeth to reply. "As your Highness earlier stated, the exact reasons for their hatred have been lost. Not that it is any of your business, but they often accuse me of betrayal."
"Yes," Nankyo said, then suddenly leaned forward and spun the book around, sliding it toward Kindan. He still wore Taka's spectacles, the rims glinting, his eyes a deep ocean-blue behind them. "Kundou's greatest myth is tied to its greatest taboo, though no one knows it." He motioned to the book. "It is all here, written by Taiseiyou I."
"Gibberish," Kindan said.
Takara often felt the same, whenever he chanced to see the old, intricate language in which the book was written. The complicated calligraphy often seemed, to him, to be reason enough to stop using the old language.
Except when he saw Nankyo reading it, listened as he softly murmured the words. After his father had permitted him to keep it, Nankyo had read it obsessively. Still he read it obsessively, as if hoping to see something new. It was painful to watch, but Takara knew better than to try and stop him.
Raiden leaned forward, shoving the tray of food aside to better see the book. "The old language," he said softly. "No one speaks it anymore. All the old languages are dead; even Pozhar uses theirs only for the casting of magic and that requires only a small handful of words."
"You are knowledgeable," Nankyo said approvingly, flicking his eyes to Raiden.
"I am well-traveled, Highness," Raiden sad with a shrug. "Merchants acquire information as easily and often as silk and silver."
Kindan snorted softly, looking briefly torn between amusement and exasperation. He shared a brief look with Raiden, some silent exchange going on.
Taka frowned, briefly annoyed though he couldn't say why. They reminded him much of himself and Nankyo, really, to communicate so easily without exchanging a single word.
Aggravated with himself, he attempted to go back to his work, but Nankyo's voice once more cut into his concentration.
"Ages ago, it's believed," Nankyo said, "a pair of twins betrayed the dragons and caused them to try and destroy the land they created. Only because my noble ancestor Taiseiyou I managed to stop them does Kundou still exist…"
Kindan shifted impatiently. "Yes, Highness, we are all well aware of the twin taboo. If you ask me, it is a cruel superstition."
"Yes," Raiden agreed solemnly. "I am glad that in the past few years the practice of killing one or both twins has started to fall off."
Nankyo nodded. "Yes," he said, "I am pleased as well. It is cruel and unreasonable." His eyes flicked to Kindan, and Takara stifled a sigh. He wondered why Nankyo was particularly determined to provoke Kindan. "What most do not know…one of the things this book mentions…" He rose slightly in his chair and leaned over the book, fingers lightly tracing a page, face only inches from Kindan's. His hair slid forward to fall across his cheeks and Nankyo absently tucked them back. "Is that the twins were the offspring of a mermaid and a human. Once, such things were common. When they betrayed the Storm Dragons, the enraged mermaids killed all the half-lings and vanished into the sea."
A sudden fell at his words, and Takara could only watch apprehensively at the way Kindan glared so fiercely at Nankyo, who stared implacably back.
"What are you trying to say, Highness?" Kindan finally asked, glare never wavering.
"Nothing at all," Nankyo said replied with a faint smirk.
The liar. Takara rolled his eyes and quickly finished penning the letters, then stood and crossed the room, setting them down beside Nankyo.
Shooting him a brief look for interfering, because Nankyo was well aware Takara had just purposely cut him off, he slowly sat back down in his seat and picked up the letters. "Yes," he said after a moment. "These will do." Taking the quill Takara held out, he quickly signed both and handed them back. "Seal them and send them off." He slid a silver ring from his left hand and handed it to Takara.
Accepting the ring, which he would use to stamp Kyo's crest into the sealing wax, Takara gathered up the letters and returned to the desk.
He looked up at the sound of a book snapping shut in time to Kyo gather up the Book of Storms and murmur a farewell before he simply departed.
"Storms drown the man!" Kindan said, the words exploding from him. "Dragons' teeth, what was the point of all that? He comes in here first to insult my ability to defend my own ship and then tells me why precisely the mermaids hate me? Confound him, it is no wonder all declare him a brat!" He stood up with enough force that his chair fell over.
Snarling several colorful expletives, Kindan righted the chair and then stomped from the cabin.
Raiden chuckled softly. "I admit his Highness's motives for his actions seem rather incomprehensible to me."
Takara shrugged. "I am not going to spend the entirety of this journey explaining Nankyo to the rest of you. I learned to understand him, to follow his thinking, so can you and your Captain."
"So what was he doing, then, oh wise one?"
"As I said, figure it out," Takara replied, then looked up, anger slipping out. "Unless, of course, that's an order from my new master which must be obeyed."
An unhappy frown overtook Raiden's face. He stood up and crossed the cabin.
Takara looked away, glowering at the desk as he finished setting it to rights. Picking up the letters, he stood and attempted to shove past the looming Raiden.
Instead, he found himself suddenly pressed up against the desk, wrists loosely pinned to it. He heard the rustle of paper as the letters dropped the cabin floor, wood slide against wood as Raiden shoved his chair out of the way.
"You do not belong to me, Taka," Raiden said, dark eyes somber as he met Takara's.
Takara narrowed his. "And yet you requested me as payment like I'm a thing to be bought and sold, and hold my contract." He struggled against Raiden's hold, somewhat surprised by the strength of it, anger increasing was he realized he was going nowhere until Raiden let him. Storming bastard.
"I'm sorry," Raiden said. "It was an impulse. I tend not to think as…clearly as I should when certain things are involved."
"Certain things?" Taka demanded. "What certain things? Amusements?"
"Treasures," Raiden said, still meeting his gaze.
Taka again struggled. "You took the only treasure involved, you storming bastard, or did you forget that you took the necklace I wanted? If you're going to feed me lies, then come up with a better one!"
"No," Raiden said sharply, moving close enough their bodies just barely brushed. His dark hair spilled over one shoulder, the rich deep blue seeming to drink in the lamplight. "You are the treasure I sought. I saw you in the auction house, and when I realized you wanted the necklace I thought if I obtained it I might have a way to properly meet you. Alas, it did not work the way I wanted."
Takara frowned, struggling to say something but not quite certain what he wanted to say. "So you thought to purchase me?" he finally managed, anger overriding the unsettled feeling that being called a treasure had stirred.
"It was an impulse. I saw a chance to stake a claim, to keep you for myself, and took it."
"You're a storming idiot," Taka snapped. "The next time you have an interest to express, try not being an arrogant, infuriating, presuming, storming bastard. You would encounter fewer storms. Let me go."
Instead of letting him go, Raiden only smiled in sudden triumph. "So if I had behaved differently, you would be receptive to my attentions. There is a mutual interest then."
Takara snapped his mouth shut, furious at what he'd so stupidly let slip. "Let. Me. Go."
Grinning, Raiden instead closed the last remaining space between them and covered Takara's mouth with his own, using his advantage of surprise to deepen it.
Bold. Presumptuous. That under any other circumstances Takara would have been more than happy to ask for more of what seemed a very fine kiss was entirely beside the point. He bit down hard on Raiden's lip, gaining some small sliver of satisfaction from the soft grunt of pain it extracted. "Let me go right now or you will sorely regret it."
Raiden laughed and let him go, stepping well back out of his way.
Glaring at him, Takara slowly stooped and retrieved the dropped letters. Tossing Raiden one last glare, he stalked from the cabin, stubbornly ignoring that he could still feel the stolen kiss on his lips.
Chapter Five
The loud clanging of the ship’s bell woke Taka with a start. He sat up clumsily and fell out of bed with the next jolt. “Storms take it!” he swore, attempting to gain his footing but only crashing to the floor again. “Is it too much to ask for this storming ship to hold still for just one moment?”
A soft chuckle was his only reply, as Raiden suddenly appeared at his side and helped him up. The ship jarred and rocked again, sending Taka stumbling into Raiden, and only the fact that he didn’t want to encounter the floor again kept him from protesting the arm that settled firmly around his waist, keeping him pressed up against Raiden’s broad chest.
Storms take it, what was going on? The bell clanged, loud and sharp and jarring. Taka struggled free of Raiden’s grip and only wound up crashing to the floor as the ship gave another rough jolt.
Outside he could hear Kindan bellowing orders, the sailors shouting to each other.
“Steady, Taka,” Raiden said, still holding him tightly, his other hand holding the ship itself, keeping them upright.
“What in the Storms’ names is going on?” Taka said. “A storm?” That should be impossible, unless Nankyo had somehow lost control of his powers…
Raiden frowned. “No…I believe we have company, but Kin will not thank me for going on deck to make certain and not even I will cross him in this.”
Taka fell silent, more worried than he liked by the idea that there was a situation in which Raiden would behave. Two weeks at sea now and he’d seen Kindan come very close to dumping Raiden overboard on more than one occasion. If he had not known the men were friends, he would have thought them enemies. “I need to make certain Nankyo is all right.”
“I’m sure his Highness will be fine,” Raiden replied. “He has less to fear from the sea than anyone else onboard, surely.”
To that, Taka could make no reply. He could not very well say that Kyo had more reason to hate the sea than anyone else. Not that he did. Kyo loved the ocean.
Shaking off his distracted thoughts, Taka attempted to wrest free of Raiden’s grip, but his struggles combined with a hard jolt only sent them both crashing to the ground, and he swore to find himself splayed across Raiden’s lap – and an all-too familiar smirk on the storming bastard’s face.
“One word,” Taka said, “and you will regret it. Sorely.”
Raiden laughed. “When have I ever said just one word? ‘I rather like you this way’ is six words.”
Taka made certain to elbow and knee all that he could as he struggled to regain his footing, quickly stumbling floundering his way to the cabin door, ignoring Raiden coming up behind him. He threw open the door – and stopped short.
The ship was chaos – sailors and water and—
Taka stared.
Women. Naked women. He thought. Maybe he was seeing things, or still asleep. Though he would never be drinking that particular wine again if this was a result.
His mind tried to tell him what he was seeing, but Taka could not believe it.
Mermaids didn’t exist. They were long dead and gone, assuming they’d existed in the first place.
“What…?” he asked, shaking his head in wonder.
Raiden’s arm slipped around his waist again. “Stay here. It will do Kin more harm than good for us to get in his way.”
“I don’t even see him,” Taka muttered – but then suddenly he did, as Kin came crashing down right in front of them from where he’d apparently been on the poop deck.
Taka stared, instinctively recoiling, for once not begrudging the steady, unmovable man behind him.
Kin looked…wild. He’d always been moody, short-tempered, but overall Taka had been impressed with the man. When it came to his ship, his duties, he gave no quarter – he was Captain and did it well.
This man before him now was nearly a stranger. His clothing was torn, sash little more but shredded fabric barely hanging on his hips, pale hair going every which way, rain sluicing blood from one arm and a scrape on his cheek.
“Get back inside," Kin snarled, moving as though to give them a shove himself – but in the next moment a woman with dark blue hair, wearing a thick belt made of shells and pearls, nails looking more like claws, screamed and attacked Kin, drawing his attention away.
Taka stared, unable to look away, fascinated even as he was horrified and terrified. He was used to the violence exhibited between Nankyo and his brothers, the brutality of all nobles…this was something else. Wild. Angry. Cold and cruel. He knew hate when he saw it…but he’d never seen it at this level.
Kin threw off the woman who’d attacked him, looking without remorse as she lay bleeding on the deck. He took out a knife, and Taka looked away as Kin stooped down to slit her throat. When he finally looked back, Kin had thrown the woman overboard.
The chaos continued, Kin and his men fighting against the brutal women attacking them.
A flash of ocean blue caught Taka’s eye, and he saw Nankyo come to join them, seemingly unaffected by all that was going on around them – though Taka could see that his eyes were unusually dark, a sure sign that Kyo was upset.
“Mermaids,” Nankyo said as he reached them.
“We need to get back inside,” Raiden said, and tried once more to drag them back into the cabin.
Nankyo nodded in agreement and made to follow them, but his eyes moved to Kin, still wrestling against the women who seemed determined to kill every last person onboard.
A snarling shout was their only warning before a shadow came crashing down from the poop deck, must like Kin had earlier. Taka screamed in dismay as the woman tackled Nankyo, the two of them tangling together in silk and shells. “Nankyo!”
Raiden snatched him back, and Taka struggled uselessly against his greater strength, desperate to reach Nankyo.
Everything was happening so quickly, and Taka wished vaguely that he was still asleep, or just arguing with Raiden and Nankyo instead—
Then with a snarl more vicious than anything he’d heard from the mermaids Kindan was there, pale skin lurid and bright in the moonlight, his tunic torn to the point it was nothing but shreds hanging around his waist, leaving his chest bare.
He gave another one of those eerie snarls and hauled the mermaid up, snapping her neck as though it were nothing more than a stick, heaving her body over the railing. Then he stooped down and hauled Nankyo up. “You storming fool! I would think a royal would know better than to walk straight into danger! If you want to die, then find somewhere other than my ship to do it! Get inside!” With a last snarl, Kin threw Nankyo at Taka and Raiden, sending all three reeling back, and pulled the door shut.
“I told you not to make him mad,” Raiden finally said.
“Yes, quite,” Nankyo said dryly. “Though in my defense, I wanted to see if it was something with which I might assist. I probably still could…”
Raiden shook his head. “Kin can deal with the mermaids. Were you wounded at all, Highness?”
“No, I do not believe so,” Nankyo said slowly, carefully standing and adjusting his robes, combing back his wet hair. “A few nicks and scratches perhaps.”
“That could be a problem,” Raiden said with a frown. “Mermaids cover their shells and all with poison. To the best of my knowledge only Kindan is immune to it.”
Nankyo lifted one delicate brow. “Would that be because he is half mermaid?”
Raiden threw his head back and laughed.
Taka glared. “What in the Storms’ names are you talking about, Nankyo?”
“However did you figure it out?” Raiden asked.
Nankyo smirked, but his answer was cut off as the door flew open again to admit Kindan, looking much like a storm come to life, stalking angrily into the cabin, pants and hair plastered to his skin, shreds of fabric hanging about his hips, the black pearl a lurid mark against the white of his skin, streaming water onto the cabin floor.
“Raiden, what in storming blazes were you thinking!” Kin roared. “You know to stay inside! If you ever act so stupidly again I will feed you to the mermaids myself!” Not bothering to wait for a reply, Kin turned sharply away and glared at Nankyo. “You, Highness – I know royals are all idiots but even a fool should know to stay in his cabin when the ship is being rocked about.” He snarled when Nankyo tried to speak. “Shut up. If I thought it would do any good I would confine you to quarters for the duration of our journey.”
Snarling any time someone tried to speak, Kindan stalked across the cabin to his sea chest, throwing it open and pulling out a new tunic and sash. The tunic was a deep green, his sash an equally dark blue with shells embroidered in yellow thread. Then he strode to the desk and pulled a flask from a drawer, downing the contents straight from it, eschewing a glass.
After several more minutes of stark silence had passed, Nankyo at last dared to speak. “For what reason did they attack?”
Taka’s temper finally snapped. “Storms drown that!” He said, shoving away from the hold Raiden still had on him. “What in the Storms’ names just happened here? Mermaids died a long time ago. Why were they attacking us? And by the dragons why does Nankyo think you are half mermaid!”
A stark, cold silence fell at his words. Kin slowly stood, his icy glare fastened on Nankyo. “What I may or may not be is none of your business, Highness.” He shot a nasty look at Raiden. “Do tell how he found that out.”
Nankyo smiled in that challenging way of his, and Taka was torn between wanting to strangle him for always goading Kindan and letting it be so his questions might get answered…because for all Nankyo's methods were infuriating, they always got results. “I hardly needed Raiden to figure it out. You are a sailor and yet you’ve skin whiter than the twits in the palace who never step outside. You anticipate the sea to a degree no sailor, even one with four times your years, ever could. They also attacked you with a particular…enthusiasm? All the old legends say mermaids do not tolerate their male counterparts, though the reasons have been lost.”
Kindan glared and made no reply.
“He has you, Kin,” Raiden said with a grin, settling down on the bed beside Taka, ignoring his warning look. “I will say I was surprised by the voracity of this particular attack. I thought they had learned to leave well enough alone.”
Grunting, Kindan capped his flask and returned it to the desk. “We found the wreckage of a ship they’d just destroyed, and rescued the one survivor we found – but the mermaids were not as gone as we’d thought, and they didn’t like us taking the survivor aboard.” He glared darkly at the absent mermaids. “Not that they need much of an excuse.”
Nankyo lifted one delicate brow. “Is it wise to have someone so hated as Captain? I can’t think that’s good for business.”
“Kindan is the best, even if he comes with the occasional fight,” Raiden said firmly, cutting off Kindan’s angry retort. “Where is this survivor?”
“We put him below to protect him,” Kindan answered. “The men are bringing him up now.” Even as he finished speaking, there came a sharp rap on the door, and at Kin’s call it opened to admit two sailors dragging the unconscious man between them.
Taka let out a startled cry, and heard Nankyo do the same, both of them bolting to take the man from the sailors. “Is it really…Storms be merciful…”
Nankyo sat on the floor of the cabin, seemingly oblivious to the further damage saltwater was causing to his fine robes, showing a peculiar gentleness as he cradled the unconscious man in his arms, almost tenderly brushing back his short-cropped, dark gray hair, smoothing his fingers over the thick bandages wrapped around the man’s eyes.
Kindan’s boots clipped loudly on the floor as he stalked over to join them, kneeling beside Nankyo, frowning at the man in his arms. “Was he badly injured previous to the mermaid attack? Though I can’t help but think it was a good thing he could not see what happened to the crew…”
“No,” Nankyo said, hugging the man close. “He’s not injured. Thank the Storms no one was stupid enough to remove the bandages. This is Prince Culebra of Piedre.”
Raiden gave a startled gasp. “Prince Culebra? The Basilisk Prince? That is truly he?”
Kindan looked at Nankyo. “You are telling me it’s true what they say about his eyes?”
“Yes,” Nankyo said softly. “The Basilisk Prince can kill with a glance, and so spends his life in darkness. If his ship was the one attacked, then he must have been on his way to or from Pozhar…” He bit his lip, and looked up at Taka.
Taka nodded grimly in silent agreement with Nankyo's unspoken thoughts.
A royal ship had been destroyed, the most important figure in Piedre nearly killed…and there was no telling who else had been aboard. Storms, he hoped no Pozharian guests had been aboard, that would double the tragedy and problems. “I will write letters at once.”
“To Pozhar, Piedre, and Kundou. This will change our journey drastically, as now we have no choice but to stop in Pozhar and make our presence known. I will return shortly to review them."
Taka nodded and immediately stood to go to Raiden’s desk and begin work. “Of course.”
“Captain,” Nankyo said, his usual taunting tone absent, “I would like Culebra to stay in my quarters. After all that has passed, he will need company.”
Kindan nodded stiffly and motioned for the lingering sailors to take the unconscious prince to Nankyo’s quarters.
Before they could, however, Culebra woke with a low groan. Taka looked up sharply at the sound, and abandoned the desk to return to Culebra’s side. “Granito?”
“No, Culebra,” Nankyo said softly, and under normal circumstances Taka would have laughed at the expressions of shock on the faces of Raiden and Kindan, knowing they were astonished Nankyo could sound so…not the prince to whom people were accustomed. “It is Nankyokukai. You are aboard the Fuujin.”
Culebra shuddered. “Screams. Death. I couldn’t…is anyone…?”
“I’m sorry, Culebra, you are the only survivor.”
“No. Granito…everyone…” A rough sob escaped Culebra, and then he buried his head against Nankyo’s chest.
Everyone was silent, sharing grim looks. Taka stood to get to work on the letters and leave Culebra in Nankyo's care.
A startled cry from Raiden brought his head back up.
Kindan’s hand flashed out, and a second later Taka saw he was holding a dark brown and gold snake carefully by the head so that it could not bite.
“Do not hurt her!” Culebra said sharply, stirred from his sobbing, reaching a hand out unsteadily, pale fingers – just as pale as Kindan, possibly even paler – landing on Kin’s hand, carefully moving up to stroke the snake’s head. “Let her go. She will not hurt anyone but the rats. Please.”
“Let it go,” Nankyo snapped.
Kindan obeyed, but anger clouded his face. “I heard the prince the first time, Highness! How was I to know he is friendly with a snake whose venom could leave even a grown man paralyzed? To the best of my knowledge, men do not like to have such deadly creatures wrapped around their necks and hidden in their clothes.”
Culebra gave a shaky, unsteady laugh, as though he wanted badly to be amused but simply could not muster his humor. His fingers moved to pet the snake as it once more wrapped itself around him. “Snakes are fond of me. Never fear, Captain. They will obey me without fail. I suppose the rest did not survive.” He again started to cry, letting himself be tugged to rest against Nankyo’s chest once more.
“Culebra, we are going to take you to my cabin now,” Nankyo said quietly after a few minutes had passed. “We will get you warm and dry, and perhaps later you will eat.”
“I doubt it,” Culebra replied, but obediently let himself be taken away, Nankyo following on the sailors’ heels, reprimanding them sharply whenever they so much as twitched incorrectly.
Kindan snarled. “I am going to tend my ship,” he said, slamming the door behind him.
“Well,” Raiden said into the sudden silence. “This has been a night.”
“Yes,” Takara said wearily. “I hope never to repeat it.” He moved to Raiden's desk and made a face at the mess cluttering it, half of it now strewn on the floor after the violent rocking of the ship.
“Taka, you’re soaking wet and shivering. The letters can wait until you’re warm and dry – and fed. By this point, I’m certain everyone has given up on sleeping. The bells have already signaled morning.”
“I’m fine,” Taka replied.
He heard Raiden move a split second before he was roughly turned around.
“You are not getting sick, you storming secretary,” Raiden replied. “Change clothes or I shall change them for you.”
Taka glared, but did not challenge Raiden on that point – knowing all too well that Raiden very much would follow through with it. “You are not my nursemaid.”
“I seriously doubt you want me to tell you what I am,” Raiden said with a grin, and Taka was suddenly furiously annoyed by the fact that while the rest of them looked a mess after the chaos created by the mermaids, Raiden looked only slightly affected.
His hair was for once not caught back beneath a kerchief, but spilled over his shoulders, the dark blue strands like the finest of inks, shining in the lamplight. He wore a simple dark gray robe, most of the top fastenings left undone, baring just a hint of muscular chest. A dark blue sash decorated with silver clouds clung to his hips, and his hands were for once empty of their myriad rings.
Under ordinary circumstances, Taka would have thought the man very fine indeed, especially those broad shoulders and fine chest, and it wasn’t wholly unappealing the way the man seemed to tower over nearly everyone.
Except, he reminded himself, the man was an arrogant, presumptuous, infuriating bastard who’d not only taken the necklace Taka had wanted but then had the temerity to demand him in exchange for passage.
“Go fetch food while I change,” Taka conceded ungraciously.
“Here I thought I’d get to watch,” Raiden said with an exaggerated sigh.
Taka glowered and pointed toward the door. “Not if the world depended upon it,” he hissed.
No matter how storming attractive the man might be. Taka wasn’t something to be purchased. Nankyo had good reasons for his actions, but those didn’t excuse Raiden’s behavior.
Swearing, wishing this entire trip was unnecessary – for a variety of reasons – Taka dug out fresh clothes and then went to help himself to the brandy he knew Raiden kept in the desk.
The brandy warmed and calmed him, and by the time Raiden returned with an overburdened tray of food, he was feeling much better. Returning the brandy to the drawer, he once more made a face at the disorganized piles littering the desk. "How in the Dragons' names do you get any work done?"
"I avoid it at all costs," Raiden replied cheerfully, setting the food down and helping himself as he took a seat at the other table in the cabin.
"How do you maintain your records? Keep track of what you trade, sell, purchase?"
Raiden tapped his forehead. "It's all up here."
Feeling a headache coming on, Takara shot Raiden a disgusted look and then set to work making some sort of order out of all the chaos. He'd just finished organizing the expenditure sheets – storms Raiden made a lot of money – when Kindan stalked back into the cabin.
Stalking was certainly the word for it. The man looked as though he were on the hunt with every intention of killing his prey upon sighting.
Half mermaid…was it really true?
Takara could not wrap his mind around the notion. Mermaids were myth…though of course given the nature of their journey, he really should know better than to think of anything as merely myth now…
Still. He gave the Captain another surreptitious look while organizing various import permits, absently impressed by them. In the deep green tunic and dark blue sash, he looked much as Takara was used to seeing – hard, composed, with sharp eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
Except now he could see the underlying edge that hinted at the ferocity he'd displayed when fighting off the mermaids. Almost a…savagery. Was that the result of life at sea? Or part of his heritage? It certainly gave him a whole new respect for the good Captain.
Takara shook his head and focused, finally clearing away enough of the mess that he could move on with his own work. Setting several sheaves of parchment close to hand, he prepared his writing implements and neatly set them out, then stood and crossed to the bed. From one of the drawers beneath it he pulled out the leather case which held his spectacles. Sliding them on his face, he strode back to the desk and began writing.
Across the cabin Kindan and Raiden spoke in low tones; to judge from the occasional word he caught, they were discussing the recent battle.
He'd just finished penning the third letter when the door opened once more, this time admitting Nankyo. His hair was still damp from the recent chaos, and Taka saw that a small bruise marred one cheek, likely from when he'd been attacked by the mermaid. He'd changed into a midnight blue robe, cinched with a plain silver and white sash.
Taka's brow rose as he saw that Nankyo carried the Book of Storms.
"Have you the letters, Taka?" Nankyo asked, the soft linen of his robes swishing faintly, slippers making his tread soundless. He tucked a strand of hair behind one ear as he picked up the nearest of the three letters. "Hmm…" he murmured softly, fingers moving to his sash.
Then he paused, grimacing. Reaching out, he gently pulled Takara's spectacles off, then slid them onto his own face. Lamp light glinted on the silver frames, and Taka noticed suddenly that the conversation on the opposite side of the cabin had broken off.
Nankyo bent over the desk and reached for the quill, quickly scratching out several words, jotting others on the side in a neat, elegant hand. To anyone else, his words would have been nonsense. The two of them had long ago developed their own shorthand.
Setting aside the corrected letter, Nankyo picked up the next and repeated the process, this time making only one correction. With the third he merely nodded, then signed his name to the bottom. "Bring me the others when they're corrected.
Takara nodded and set promptly to work, though he paused to frown in curiosity as Nankyo once again picked up the Book of Storms and moved to the table where Kindan and Raiden sat. Storms take it, what was he up to now?
"Highness," Raiden greeted congenially. "Would you care for some refreshment? Is Prince Culebra settled?"
Nankyo nodded as he took a seat directly opposite Kindan. Takara almost groaned aloud. He didn't know what Nankyo was up to, but it was obvious he was up to something.
"If there is tea, I would be most grateful," Nankyo murmured. "I gave Culebra something to help him sleep; I think it is the best thing for him right now."
Kindan grunted. "I do not like the mermaids are getting bolder in their attacks. There is no sense in it; they would do much better keeping their attacks less frequent and to lesser ships."
"Perhaps they sense something in the air which displeases them," Raiden said.
"As to that," Nankyo said, "I am hoping to prevent future such attacks. I have no wish to die in such a fashion."
Kindan nearly vibrated with anger. Even from a distance, Taka noted, it was impossible to miss. "I will not let harm come to my passengers – at least so long as they listen to me! Had you obeyed me—Storms, if you had shown some sense, there would not be a single bruise upon your person. You will not die of mermaid attacks or of anything else while I hold command of this ship."
"Indeed," Nankyo said with one of his smirks designed to infuriate – and unfortunately for Kindan, Takara knew, Nankyo already knew precisely how to infuriate the Captain. Why he seemed so intent upon doing it, beyond amusement's sake, Takara did not know.
He abandoned his letters to watch the storm.
Nankyo continued speaking, impervious to Kindan's cold glare. "However, I would prefer to prevent them altogether."
"How do you propose to do that?" Kindan demanded.
Tossing another smirk, Nankyo set his book down and delicately flipped it open. He turned the pages idly. "By warding against them, of course."
Kindan grimaced. "Magic. I might have known."
"You dislike magic, Captain?" Nankyo asked.
"I do not need it," Kindan snapped. "I rely upon my own strength. Nor do I need you doing my job for me."
Nankyo regarded him coolly. "I am paying for this voyage, Captain, I will do it my way. Moreover, you are not responsible for not only myself but also Culebra and he must be protected at all costs. I doubt the mermaids have given up entirely…"
"They are persistent," Raiden broke in before Kindan could begin shouting, shooting him a quelling glance. "However, Highness, I respectfully protest. Kindan has never failed to protect us. Magic is not necessary…and if I might ask a question…perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought the royal magic could not be used beyond the bound of Kundou?"
"Something like that," Nankyo said quietly. He looked down at his book, fingers tracing lightly over the brittle pages. "Anyway, given present company, I am not entirely convinced I can ward against the mermaids." He tossed his head and smirked again at Kindan. "We might ward against our good Captain in the process. Tell me, Captain, do you know why the mermaids hate you so?"
Kindan barely unclenched his teeth to reply. "As your Highness earlier stated, the exact reasons for their hatred have been lost. Not that it is any of your business, but they often accuse me of betrayal."
"Yes," Nankyo said, then suddenly leaned forward and spun the book around, sliding it toward Kindan. He still wore Taka's spectacles, the rims glinting, his eyes a deep ocean-blue behind them. "Kundou's greatest myth is tied to its greatest taboo, though no one knows it." He motioned to the book. "It is all here, written by Taiseiyou I."
"Gibberish," Kindan said.
Takara often felt the same, whenever he chanced to see the old, intricate language in which the book was written. The complicated calligraphy often seemed, to him, to be reason enough to stop using the old language.
Except when he saw Nankyo reading it, listened as he softly murmured the words. After his father had permitted him to keep it, Nankyo had read it obsessively. Still he read it obsessively, as if hoping to see something new. It was painful to watch, but Takara knew better than to try and stop him.
Raiden leaned forward, shoving the tray of food aside to better see the book. "The old language," he said softly. "No one speaks it anymore. All the old languages are dead; even Pozhar uses theirs only for the casting of magic and that requires only a small handful of words."
"You are knowledgeable," Nankyo said approvingly, flicking his eyes to Raiden.
"I am well-traveled, Highness," Raiden sad with a shrug. "Merchants acquire information as easily and often as silk and silver."
Kindan snorted softly, looking briefly torn between amusement and exasperation. He shared a brief look with Raiden, some silent exchange going on.
Taka frowned, briefly annoyed though he couldn't say why. They reminded him much of himself and Nankyo, really, to communicate so easily without exchanging a single word.
Aggravated with himself, he attempted to go back to his work, but Nankyo's voice once more cut into his concentration.
"Ages ago, it's believed," Nankyo said, "a pair of twins betrayed the dragons and caused them to try and destroy the land they created. Only because my noble ancestor Taiseiyou I managed to stop them does Kundou still exist…"
Kindan shifted impatiently. "Yes, Highness, we are all well aware of the twin taboo. If you ask me, it is a cruel superstition."
"Yes," Raiden agreed solemnly. "I am glad that in the past few years the practice of killing one or both twins has started to fall off."
Nankyo nodded. "Yes," he said, "I am pleased as well. It is cruel and unreasonable." His eyes flicked to Kindan, and Takara stifled a sigh. He wondered why Nankyo was particularly determined to provoke Kindan. "What most do not know…one of the things this book mentions…" He rose slightly in his chair and leaned over the book, fingers lightly tracing a page, face only inches from Kindan's. His hair slid forward to fall across his cheeks and Nankyo absently tucked them back. "Is that the twins were the offspring of a mermaid and a human. Once, such things were common. When they betrayed the Storm Dragons, the enraged mermaids killed all the half-lings and vanished into the sea."
A sudden fell at his words, and Takara could only watch apprehensively at the way Kindan glared so fiercely at Nankyo, who stared implacably back.
"What are you trying to say, Highness?" Kindan finally asked, glare never wavering.
"Nothing at all," Nankyo said replied with a faint smirk.
The liar. Takara rolled his eyes and quickly finished penning the letters, then stood and crossed the room, setting them down beside Nankyo.
Shooting him a brief look for interfering, because Nankyo was well aware Takara had just purposely cut him off, he slowly sat back down in his seat and picked up the letters. "Yes," he said after a moment. "These will do." Taking the quill Takara held out, he quickly signed both and handed them back. "Seal them and send them off." He slid a silver ring from his left hand and handed it to Takara.
Accepting the ring, which he would use to stamp Kyo's crest into the sealing wax, Takara gathered up the letters and returned to the desk.
He looked up at the sound of a book snapping shut in time to Kyo gather up the Book of Storms and murmur a farewell before he simply departed.
"Storms drown the man!" Kindan said, the words exploding from him. "Dragons' teeth, what was the point of all that? He comes in here first to insult my ability to defend my own ship and then tells me why precisely the mermaids hate me? Confound him, it is no wonder all declare him a brat!" He stood up with enough force that his chair fell over.
Snarling several colorful expletives, Kindan righted the chair and then stomped from the cabin.
Raiden chuckled softly. "I admit his Highness's motives for his actions seem rather incomprehensible to me."
Takara shrugged. "I am not going to spend the entirety of this journey explaining Nankyo to the rest of you. I learned to understand him, to follow his thinking, so can you and your Captain."
"So what was he doing, then, oh wise one?"
"As I said, figure it out," Takara replied, then looked up, anger slipping out. "Unless, of course, that's an order from my new master which must be obeyed."
An unhappy frown overtook Raiden's face. He stood up and crossed the cabin.
Takara looked away, glowering at the desk as he finished setting it to rights. Picking up the letters, he stood and attempted to shove past the looming Raiden.
Instead, he found himself suddenly pressed up against the desk, wrists loosely pinned to it. He heard the rustle of paper as the letters dropped the cabin floor, wood slide against wood as Raiden shoved his chair out of the way.
"You do not belong to me, Taka," Raiden said, dark eyes somber as he met Takara's.
Takara narrowed his. "And yet you requested me as payment like I'm a thing to be bought and sold, and hold my contract." He struggled against Raiden's hold, somewhat surprised by the strength of it, anger increasing was he realized he was going nowhere until Raiden let him. Storming bastard.
"I'm sorry," Raiden said. "It was an impulse. I tend not to think as…clearly as I should when certain things are involved."
"Certain things?" Taka demanded. "What certain things? Amusements?"
"Treasures," Raiden said, still meeting his gaze.
Taka again struggled. "You took the only treasure involved, you storming bastard, or did you forget that you took the necklace I wanted? If you're going to feed me lies, then come up with a better one!"
"No," Raiden said sharply, moving close enough their bodies just barely brushed. His dark hair spilled over one shoulder, the rich deep blue seeming to drink in the lamplight. "You are the treasure I sought. I saw you in the auction house, and when I realized you wanted the necklace I thought if I obtained it I might have a way to properly meet you. Alas, it did not work the way I wanted."
Takara frowned, struggling to say something but not quite certain what he wanted to say. "So you thought to purchase me?" he finally managed, anger overriding the unsettled feeling that being called a treasure had stirred.
"It was an impulse. I saw a chance to stake a claim, to keep you for myself, and took it."
"You're a storming idiot," Taka snapped. "The next time you have an interest to express, try not being an arrogant, infuriating, presuming, storming bastard. You would encounter fewer storms. Let me go."
Instead of letting him go, Raiden only smiled in sudden triumph. "So if I had behaved differently, you would be receptive to my attentions. There is a mutual interest then."
Takara snapped his mouth shut, furious at what he'd so stupidly let slip. "Let. Me. Go."
Grinning, Raiden instead closed the last remaining space between them and covered Takara's mouth with his own, using his advantage of surprise to deepen it.
Bold. Presumptuous. That under any other circumstances Takara would have been more than happy to ask for more of what seemed a very fine kiss was entirely beside the point. He bit down hard on Raiden's lip, gaining some small sliver of satisfaction from the soft grunt of pain it extracted. "Let me go right now or you will sorely regret it."
Raiden laughed and let him go, stepping well back out of his way.
Glaring at him, Takara slowly stooped and retrieved the dropped letters. Tossing Raiden one last glare, he stalked from the cabin, stubbornly ignoring that he could still feel the stolen kiss on his lips.
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Date: 2007-06-17 02:44 am (UTC)You make me happy. So damn happy.
I forgot how much I loved Raiden and Taka <3333 until I read your rewrite.
You rock :3
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:00 am (UTC)I also love how you tied in the mermaids and the twins into the prophecy. That was seriously kickass. ^__________^!! *tackle glomps*
I still want to cuddle snuggle Culebra to death, poor guy. I love too, that the way Kyo treats him kind of shocks Raiden and Kin. XD
And Taka and Raiden? *tackle glomp hearts* Oh so LOVE the interaction between those two. *bounces* I love that Taka refuses to let Raiden just have his way, and I like the hints that it's not the man he objects to, but the methods. I love watching them do that little dance. *hearts* (Guh! The way Taka bit his lip? *____*)
And I love the way that Kyo can't seem to resist nettling Kin. I also love all the foreshadowing that you do with the things he's saying and doing. It's just teh yum. *________*!
*tackle hearts* You rock. Muchly. ^_^
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:44 am (UTC)i was wrong.
admittedly, this probably wasn't the favoritest of mine of the series, if only because the plot wasn't as twisty as some (cough*poision*cough) but it was still really well written.
but now the relationships are making a lot more sense-- especially raiden and taka's- now it seems like there's more development of the relationship, instead of taka just giving up one day.
plus, using nankyo as a way to flesh out more of the legends and stuff is also pretty genius.
thankee!
=3
Date: 2007-06-17 04:04 am (UTC)Treasure
Date: 2007-06-17 04:45 am (UTC)Re: Treasure
Date: 2007-06-17 11:14 am (UTC)They weren't killed; they weren't even here this time ^^;; Have not forgotten Shio and Shinju, trust me. I like them too much ^_^
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Date: 2007-06-17 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 03:34 pm (UTC)HIS HEART BELONG 2 KOORI!! He carved it in his ship and everything; It says 'Kinni <3 Koori 4ever' all over his cabin.
True love, yo. True love.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 03:43 pm (UTC)*groans* You two are not hijacking my journal AGAIN to discuss the fuckability factor of Kyo's ass and why Kin is resisting it. STOP RIGHT NOW.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:46 pm (UTC)Smudges plots to make me draw Beldon and Jade in beauty pageant fighting over crown. Warn Kitty. SAVE ME.no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 03:50 pm (UTC)Oh, no. You need to learn to tell smudges no.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:54 pm (UTC)Can do.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:56 pm (UTC)I can certainly never write a certain General ever again if you do it.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:58 pm (UTC)what if it was evil!Debutante Jade who plotted the deaths of the other contestants?
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:00 pm (UTC)Just remember you reap what you sow, my dear.
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:08 pm (UTC)That is a 'do as you will' but revenge will be had.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:50 pm (UTC)SNARK SNARL GRR I HATE YOU STOOOOOOPID PRINCE RAWR and then as soon as He Kyo admits He's Koori He's like I WUUUUUUUUUV YOOOOOOOOU~!
I guess He has a one-tracked mind, and He only wants Koori.
TRUE WUV. <3 --Or fan-girlism. Kin seems like he'd be a good fan-girl.....
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:01 pm (UTC)VILE BETRAYER YOU'RE JOINING THEM!!!!!!
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:07 pm (UTC)I cannot believe my beloved secretary has sided against me with the troublemaking hijackers. The knife, it burns where it is lodged in my back.
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:15 pm (UTC)too late, backstabber, too late.
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:16 pm (UTC)Oh, it's too late to get yourself out of trouble now.
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:04 pm (UTC)you will never take my krian barbarian away from me. NEVER.no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:07 pm (UTC)Oh, it's war now.
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Date: 2007-06-17 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:49 pm (UTC)Oh, do please. I am nothing if not a glutton for punishment, and you're already up on charges of conspiring to abuse innocent characters.
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Date: 2007-06-17 05:20 pm (UTC)Magical Girl Deiter-chan it is, then.
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Date: 2007-06-18 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:00 pm (UTC)Kin? Ultimate fangirl. Right down to the obsessive behavioral patterns.
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Date: 2007-06-17 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:42 pm (UTC)*starts singing the doomed song*
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Date: 2007-06-17 08:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 11:13 am (UTC)I love Kyo and Kini, they’re so... sweet!?!
And I always just want to give Kyo a hug.
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Date: 2007-06-18 05:14 pm (UTC)