Pirate; The Seavey Pendant

4. An Unpleasant Surprise

Note: I will make a sudden change in perspective sometime in this chapter.  If you feel that the hint that it changed was too subtle and left you confused, please let me know and I'll see if I can make it clearer.  Thanks!  Enjoy!

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The sun had just risen above the horizon when Cinnia found herself staring in to John Scully's house through a second-story window.  The Midnight Marauder had docked just twenty minutes ago, and Cinnia had raced off as quickly as possible.  Before she had left, Gambara warned her about Old John's servant, who was surely already up and about.  When she'd asked about the whereabouts of the master himself, Gambara had just waved it off, once again claiming that John would have his hands tied up with something else.  That fact left a feeling of unease nagging at her from the back of her mind.  Why would the master of a house be running errands at this ungodly hour when he had servants to do it for him?  Maybe they were giving Cinnia an easier chance by distracting Scully...She shook the thoughts from her mind.  She had to focus.

Cinnia found the window slightly ajar, much to her delight.  She balanced out on the sturdy tree branch and pushed the window open further, giving herself just enough room to slip inside silently.  She could almost hear her heart beat speed up as she landed with an audible thud on the wooden floor.  The room she'd came in through appeared to be a bathroom, but it was like no bathroom Cinnia had ever seen.  A porecelain bathtub stood pushed up against the wall on delicate-looking brass lion feet.  A painted sunset hung within a heavy, golden frame on one wall.  Cinnia allowed herself to marvel at the wealth of the man until she once again realized that she was distracted.

After carefully checking and listening to the hallway outside the bathroom, she decided it was safe to move.  She peeked into every room she passed, making sure it wasn't occupied. Though every room had a measure of grandeur features, none seemed grandeur enough to serve as John's room.

The servant was nowhere to be found, where could he be?  With her heartbeat in her throat, she padded along silently to the spiralled stair case at the end of the hallway.  The apprehensive air was disturbed by the joyful tune of whistling and running water that came from somewhere downstairs.  Kitchens...Cinnia thought.  John Scully's room must be up the stairs then, she decided, and continued on.

She immediately stepped into what must have been Scully's room.  Luxuries items, far more impressive than the others in the house, decorated the large room.  Two large windows lined the right wall, allowing for natural light to stream in.  The largest bed Cinnia had ever laid eyes on stood against the far wall.  Several, large canvasas leaned against the left wall.  A desk carved out of polished wood stood near the windows, covered in papers and ink bottles.  An exotic brass-and-wood box stood in the far corner, overflowing with rolls of paper.

After having looked at a few of the rolls, it became apparent that they were all stolen information from several organizations, mainly from the Royal Armada.  Cinnia stopped digging for rolls suddenly.  Why had this been so easy?  There had to be a catch.  She had had nothing but fortune since she approached the house.  An open window, empty hallway, easily-found scrolls...It had been too easy.  She knew she had to get out there as quickly as possible.

She found four scrolls documented from 1521 to 1525 and pressed them all into a secure hold between her body and her left arm.  With her heart threatening to beat out of her mouth, she rushed towards the stairs as quickly and quietly that her feet allowed her to.  Reaching the hallway below the stairs, she realized something.  The whistling had stopped.  In its place lingered an eerie, tense silence and pushed at Cinnia.  Something was about to happen.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could swear she saw something moving.