Scarlet Song

Chapter 21

I wish I could say we had some pleasant awakening from our slumber the next morning but, we didn't. Arlemis had to rope who he could to pull us in to port and this current port was alive and loud over something. Aerys had fallen asleep in the hammock not far from me and I tucked her skirt of her dress up into the hammock with her before I headed up to the deck to see. Moira hands me my hat and scans the crowd cautiously, My sisters are already wide awake and helping scan toward the nearby ships as well as the water. We we're more out of element than normal in this crowded of an area and how angry everyone was getting. I look to the stairs below deck and back to Moira before sighing. "I'm heading ashore and Moira is coming with me. We are some of the smallest frames here and will get through the crowds much quicker and we can both handle our own." I pull my coat together and refasten it before brushing myself off and putting my hat on. Arlemis wraps up their goodbyes with a kiss on Moira's forehead and she tails close behind me as I begin to traverse the crowds. As we travel deeper, we can hear that much of the ruckus is that a greedy noble in the area had just been robbed of some of his treasures and that much of the ships at port were already being accused of it. We were fine so long as we could prove we'd only made it to port when we did. I trusted that Arlemis had all of that handled for us and would do what he needed to do. We found a opening in the crowds where no one seemed to be grouping which was the fountain and stop for a moment. I look to Moira and keep my eyes glued to the people passing and yelling. "We have to gain some sort of idea of where we are and where we need to go from here and this rioting is making that more difficult than--". Before I can finish my sentence, Moira is crashed into and knocked to the ground by someone in a mask. The features of the mask suggested it was crafted from the skull of a wolf and covered only the top half of his face. Rather than continuing to scamper away, he looks down at her and offers her a gloved hand to get back up. She cautiously stared at his hand and to me. not taking it. I lower to her level and wrap my arm around her and help her up, knowing she didn't typically trust humans outside of Arlemis. I kept my eyes trained on him as we stood up and he looked around him before throwing his hand down in frustration and taking off again. Moira tugs on my sleeve and points to a nearby tavern and I know exactly what she is thinking. If anywhere is gonna have information, it would be there. Once we'd cut through the crowd to the tavern, we talked to several patrons to find out where we were and where we needed to go. We were in a fishing village called Loriene. We had several days before the port we were looking for but, we were much closer than we were before. The owner was nice enough to show us to the back door into the alleyways and a warm hearty laugh. He told us inside that we'd make it back much quicker if we took the back ways for as we could so we started walking back when I hear what sounded like a child's cry at first around another corner and I sneak ahead quietly to peek at what's going on and see him, the man that crashed into Moira earlier and a child that was maybe 9 or 10 in front of him. She was sobbing but, it was happy tears as she looked in her hand and was holding a pendant that took up most her palm. A ruby was nestled into the center and it looked out of place in her hands. I could over hear her as she thanked him with a gentle hug around his leg and running off and stopping only long enough to stop and toss a light bag of coins to him and they clatter to the ground as she runs off. I could hear him mutter under his breath as I walked closer. "Dammit, you weren't supposed to get a chance to pay me." He picks up the coins and the pouch, rolling it in his hand and peeking the way she ran. I resist at first but, I signal to Moira to stick behind briefly as I appear next to him and offer my hand for the pouch. "Let me take it back to her. I can catch up with her and make sure she doesn't even know she has the pouch back. He jumps a little at first before locking eyes with me and pulling his hand back a little, looking apprehensive. "I highly doubt that, miss. Even if you could, how do I know you won't run off with it?" I shake my head and before he can react more, I take the pouch from him, walking to the end of the alleyway and shake myself off as my glamour causes my image to change. I make myself look less suspicious and take on the image of a village woman, chocolate curls falling around my face and I appear next to a nearby cart with bread on it that the owner was asleep at and grabbed a loaf for the girl and leave coins for the owner of the bread. I appear several paces behind her and yell for her. "Little girl, I bought this bread and appear to have bought too much for myself, please. take this. It would warm my heart if I could help a child eat, especially with how crazy it is out there." She nods and takes the bread and I brush her back gently as she hugs my leg and that when I hook he purse back to her apron so that it fell only once she went to remove her apron. After she ran off again, I appear back in the alleyway and walk past him, Moira peeking around some crates. "Captain, I can see the ship from here. If I must, I'll return to the ship at once and let Arlemis know what we learned today.: I think it over for a minute before nodding and watching as she leaves before I look over at him. "So, are you the one who robbed the noble that everyone is talking about?" He lets out a chuckle and shakes his head. "You're standing in front of me, asking me all these questions while you just shapeshifted in front of me and stole her coins from me to take them back to her. No, who and what are you? And you're a Captain?" I put my hands up in a surrender and release my glamour, reverting back to normal. "I, dear, am a siren as well as other things. My name is Indrid LaCrue or Captain LaCrue, at least one of them that is. I can change my shape at will to suit my needs or wants. Luck for you, it was merely for the sake of that little girl getting her coin back from you. Now are you going to answer my question?" He looks me over before sighing and peeking out of the alleway searching for the guards that we're after him. "Maybe, maybe not. I might just like running through a crowded village to return a necklace to that little girl. It was her mother's and it was taken from their home when her father was slain in cold blood by that same noble. I don't know where you're from but, he's done such heinous things the least he deserved was losing a bloody necklace. Not that I didn't make off with more just for a fee for having to take something back that wasn't his." I nod, not wanting to cast more judgement on him for what he did for the girl. "That's why you crashed into Moira. Well, you owe me two favors now for what I just did and that. Count yourself lucky that I'm not vindictive nor will I have any reason to cash those in." He sighs and chuckles, startling at the familiar sound of the guards boots again the stones on the ground. Before either of us could take the time to think, I take his hand and pull him with me towards the wall of the alleyway and he takes the signal but runs with it. I shift back to the brunette girl again and he removes his mask and presses his lips to mine until the guards pass. I stay still but push him away after they pass and shake my head. "I was trying to help you blend in, not make out with you." He offers his hand and smirks a little. "I meant no ill-will by doing that aside from that I just wanted to and it made it more believable, did it not?" I shake off the glamour and raise a finger to argue but sigh and growl under my breath. "I-It did but, just--don't do that again." He nods and brings his hand a bit closer to offer it to me again. "Let me repay at least one of those by walking you back to your ship, Captain. Moira if I remember right said that your ship wasn't far." I take his hand reluctantly and roll me eyes as he kisses the back of my knuckles and lets go of my hand. "Not a word to my wife or you will be dinner. That means wiping that smirk off your face, too." He does a playful halo gesture above his head as we start walking towards the ship. Moira and Arlemis are watching us as we walk up but, my heart sinks and the scales raise on the back of my neck when I hear a familiar voice from on deck. It's Aerys and she comes running down to meet me and kisses me on the lips before turning to see the man with me and nearly trips and falls before running over and squealing like a child, looking him over. "Can it be? Grym? How?" He looks befuddled as he glances between us and she giggles. "You wouldn't recognize me as I am now. You knew me as Voltair before. It's Aerys now." He shakes his head at first before looking her over once more and muttering. "Really? I'm fairly sure at this point, I'm running out of how many times I can ask how this happened but, who am I to question it." He looks back over at me and chuckles. "A-Aerys and I knew each other from before. I sailed with her for several years while she searched for some woman she'd met, which I assume is you. I branched off to pursue my own life and now my own crew. I have to say, even as a male before, she was interesting to be around intoxicated nonetheless. We had to hid in her cabin for two days just for her to be willing to walk out in the daylight and--well, I may have indulged her a little in my own drunken stupor." If my cheeks could still flush like before, they would've and he knew that based on how he was looking at me and acting. I try to avert the attention to other factors just so that I don't have to indulge his games and sigh. "So, you're a Captain as well? To what crew? You can barely walk right on land." He gestures towards another ship clad in black and red. His crew was hard at work and actually played the part of unsuspecting crew pretty well. That night, after plenty of talking, he left for his own ship and bowed as he left, smirking. You ladies have a pleasant night if I'm not here come morning." I roll my eyes and walk into our cabin with Aerys. She was smiles and laughter and I couldn't help but pull her into my arms and kiss her. "I'm glad to see you so happy to see an old friend, love." She looks at me and her ears twitch slightly as she smiles warmly at me. "As am I. It's good to have somehow found our ways back together." We both start to undress for the night and she sits down at my vanity to look over herself like she had been the last few nights other than last night. I settled in behind the table and looking over the maps now that I knew where we were. She glanced at me in the reflection before speaking and smirking. "He told me what happened in the alleyway. He seems to really like you, my love. He is sorry that he did it but, doesn't regret it. If you were to pursue him, you'd hear no objections from me, at least." I accidentally knock over the lantern on the table and some of my own notes and I become flustered trying to make sure nothing catches on the flame but burn my own hand with wax. "F-fuck! That hurt. W-What do you mean by that, Aerys? I'm loyal to you." She comes over and works on my hand, peeling the wax away. "I know you are, dear. But, we are beings who's moments are full lives for some people. I know you love me but, I also know you have a big heart that will love others as much you love me. Not like you wouldn't deserve at least one chance with him after that night me and him had." She giggles and leans down to kiss my cheek. My hand heals pretty soon after and I watch her as she walks back to the bed and waves me over. I smile and sigh as I crawl into bed with her for the night. I woke with the same thoughts swimming around in my head and I walk outside in the crisp, morning air. Arlemis is starting to prepare for the ship to leave dock and join the rest of the fleet.