SEASICK

5 ☠︎ 𝔼𝕪𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝔻𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕟 ☠︎︎

[[ I do NOT own any art or music in this chapter. Please enjoy, I humbly beg of you]]

Leopoldo quickly grabbed the back of Alana's neck pushing her down so they both dodge the swing. He easily maneuvered both him and the girl to twirl behind the man. Without warning, Leopoldo pushed Alana out of the room with a shove, though it was a harsh action it was to get her out of reach of any harm. She stumbled backward before finally falling on her butt, her back hit against the wall. The man spun wide, swinging at Leopoldo again, but again Leopoldo dodged swiftly. Alana was amazed, she had never seen a real fight before. She often saw Silas and Mamoru train with each other, but it was never a serious fight, as the friends were not looking to actually kill each other. But Leo did not look like he was in serious danger, on the contrary, he looked quite bored.
"You're using the sword as if it was a club, it's not very effective, don't you agree?" Leopoldo taunted the man who just swung and missed again. The way Leopoldo moved was incredible to Alana, he moved so effortlessly like he was performing a beautiful dance.
"Would you like to see how a real swordsman wields his weapon?" Leopoldo asked slipping past the man again. The stranger was staggering and breathing heavier, he was growing angry and tired, but he hacked again.
"Very well," Leopoldo smirked, "Dear Alana, close your eyes for me." He peered over to the young woman watching with wide eyes, she quickly nodded her head and covered her eyes with no protest. Leopoldo smiled, "Good girl," he whispered as he gripped the handle of this katana and steadied himself in his stance. Before the husky man could make another sloppy attack, Leopoldo unsheathed his blade and one swift motion sliced the man his shoulders to his stomach, faster than the man could see it coming. The last sight the man saw before he died was the glimmer of red swirling in the eyes of his executioner.

--

What felt several minutes went by and Alana still had her hands slapped over eyes. Leopoldo had not told her she could take them off, and a fraction of her feared it was because he was dead. When she finally had the courage to uncover her eyes, she peeked them open to view two ocean blue orbs staring just millimeters away. She jumped at first but quickly realized they were not a threat.
"Why are you just sitting here?" Leven ridiculed in his usual dissatisfied tone. He had been squatting in front of her for a little over thirty seconds, and she was too concerned about Leo to notice his presence.
"Leven!" The girl threw her arms around his neck, making the young man blush crazily, quite obvious on his extremely pale skin.
"W-w-what?" Leven raised his hands, not hugging her back, but not knowing what to do with them.
"I'm so glad you're okay! But-" Alana let go of the boy to look behind him, to see if Leo was all right. She managed to catch a glimpse of legs slipping out her window in a harsh motion, she could barely make out the boots before it disappeared. By the window stood Leopoldo smiling and waving coolly. Alana breathed out a sigh, happy her friend was safe.
"I apologize I didn't tell you it was okay to uncover your eyes; I was curious to see how long you would remain like that," Leopoldo confessed with a soft chuckle.
"I was worried something had happened to you." Alana smiled, standing up.
"He was a simple opponent; you had no reason to worry." Leo walked out of her room, glancing at his younger brother, who was still tinted a dark pink.
Leven and Leopoldo had a bond that ran deep, they had always been together, and not once had Leo seen his brother so flustered.
"Are you coming down with a fever, brother?" Leo put his hand up to Leven's forehead. "You're a bit red." He teased, and Leven pushed his hand away with a huff. Before Alana could also express concern Ivo and Kazumi rounded the corner. The narrow hallway was becoming quite packed.
"Leopoldo, Leven, I need you two to lead a crew over to the enemy ship to collect any valuables," Kazumi ordered. Leo bowed his head, patted Alana on her head, then squeezed past his comrades, his brother quickly followed. Alana looked the two new arrivals up and down looking for any injuries, trusting they were okay too. Both were covered in blood, and she realized so was Leven, but it did not seem to belong to them, even their clothes didn't have so much as a tear in them.
"Are you okay?" Kazumi's smooth voice pulled Alana from her inspection.
"Oh," She smiled. "Yes, Leopoldo protected me from-" She looked to see if the man was still there, finally noticing the blood that covered her floor and walls, trailing to her window. She shuddered.
"Good," Kazumi also placed a hand on her head, more to get her to look away from the sight that was obviously troubling her. "I will have a crew member come to clean up the mess, unfortunately, everyone is preoccupied for the rest of the night cleaning the deck. For tonight, you will stay in Ivo's cabin." The girl quickly looked to Ivo worried she was going to be a burden to the man, but he was smiling, though Alana knew it was fake. Alana could spot a fake smile from a mile away, after all, she often wore one herself at the palace.
"I can clean it..." The girl said looking back to the captain. She really did not want to bother Ivo.
"No," Kazumi said flatly. "I don't want that filth's blood on your hands." His words made her blush, and she was once again thankful her complexion made it hard to tell.
"Okay," Alana quietly agreed. Kazumi nodded once and walked past her to his own room to change out his blood-soaked clothes. That left Alana and Ivo alone in the silent hallway, the awkward tension was starting to weigh her down.
"I will find somewhere else to sleep, don't worry." Alana finally broke the silence.
"Oh, you'd go against your captain's orders?" Ivo took a step closer, causing Alana to shrink back. Of course, he is upset he has to share his room. Alana thought as her skin prickled with nerves. She stared down at the tip of her brown boots
"N-no, well, it-it's just that," Alana began to trip on her words, which was a rare occasion, she was usually carefree and sure of everything she said. Ivo placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his.
"Just what?" He said sternly, which did not help her nerves.
"I know you aren't happy with it; I don't want to be a burden to you." She shamefully confessed.
Ivo thought about her words, taken aback. "A burden?" He questioned. "I have never felt a beautiful woman in my room all night to be a burden." Alana's face heated, she was never really complimented before. Silas was always very serious, and most of the servants feared her because of her parents so a compliment was a new and rare gift to her. Not to say she was not deserving of such a thing. She was indeed a beautiful girl. The girl had caramel tan skin, which was smooth and even. Her figure was a tempting slight hourglass, with the perfect shape of generous curves, and she was taller than most women, standing at five-eleven, adding to her head-turning looks. But her face, her face took the breath of many people. She was a striking beauty, her brown eyes were big, with a shield of dark, thick lashes, and mesmerizing natural plump and full lips. But even Alana did not know her own beauty.
"Are you sure I won't be a burden?" She asked.
"Quite," Ivo smirked removing his finger heading to his own room, when Alana made no moves to follow, he turned slightly. "Come." He commanded. She stepped forward and followed him into his room.