Chapter Text
The next day, Sinbad got up feeling better than she had for a while. She already knew Ja’far would keep Allie’s death to himself, and it made her feel so much better. She quickly changed her bandages and smiled into the mirror. She had no bags under her eye for once.
She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to start anything too extreme when adventuring yet, though. As her usual morning routine, she stretched and did her hair - she had never been so thankful that her hair didn’t knot easily as she was at that very moment.
Sinbad prepared herself to apologise for being so selfish and locking herself up in her room after promising so much. She took one more deep breath before opening the door, wincing as the bright sunlight that hit her eye the moment she did. She saw heads turn towards her and flushed slightly. Holding onto the doorframe slightly, she smiled and spoke shakily, “H-Hi…?”
“Sinbad! Glad you’re finally out, we were getting kinda worried, ya know?” Vittel smiled walking over to the table with a wooden tray.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I guess I just panicked a little and went overboard with backup plans - though I’m plenty sure we won’t need them, not with you all as my allies, as my friends!” Sinbad smiled brightly, ignoring the way her body ached from the lack of movement. Carlos and Charlie ran up to her and hugged her legs, she reacted by petting their hair.
“Sorry, you two. I completely forgot about my duties as a mother… can you ever forgive me?” Sinbad asked, guilt clear in her voice as she kneeled down to their height.
“Of course we do, Mommy!” Charlie smiled brightly, just happy with her mother being there again.
“Yeah, Rurumu looked after us, too! She’s really fun, like you!” Carlos grinned, and Sinbad had to bite back a bristle of jealousy. She looked at Rurumu with a soft smile.
“Thank you for looking after them while I hauled myself up. I want to apologise for doing something so irrational,” Sinbad bowed her head, pushing the thought that she deserved to do that, that it wasn’t irrational, to the back of her mind, where it would collect dust and eventually be forgotten.
“It’s not a problem. I’m glad to have such a prepared leader,” Rurumu bowed back, a soft smile resting on her lips.
“Thank you. Just remember, I may be the leader, but here we are all equals,” Sinbad stated, standing up and regaining her lost confidence. “Let’s get going, shall we? The boat isn’t gonna steer itself!”
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Once Sinbad had emerged from her room, everyone had brightened considerably. Hinahoho went back to playing with the kids, who had only been playing with Rurumu because she reminded them of their mom. The ex-assassins went back to chatting happily, and Ja’far stuck closely to Sinbad. In short, everyone was happy, and ready for the world.
The group waved to the Immchukks watching as the boat floated away, everyone yelling their goodbyes with large smiles. The wind picked up, and before long, the icy expanses of Immchuckk was hidden beneath thick layers of fog. Sinbad watched the fleeting sight for a while longer, letting out a contented sigh.
“Sinbad, come over here, would you?” A soft voice asked from behind her. Sinbad turned around and smiled.
“Coming, Rurumu!” She walked over quickly, hopping and jumping over things in her way. She didn’t need to, there was a clear path right next to her, but she felt like showing off.
“Sinbad, it’s not ladylike to run around like that, you know. You nearly fell on Vettel,” Rurumu scolded.
“I’m only fourteen, let me have my fun!” Sinbad whined pitifully, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.
“Sinbad…”
“Okay, okay! I’m sorry…” Sinbad pouted, walking over and sitting next to Ja’far. Hinahoho chuckled at Sinbad’s expense, but stopped when his wife glared at him.
“Ja’far, why don’t you show Sinbad what I taught you?” Rurumu asked, even though she obviously wasn’t giving the white-haired boy an option.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this… Sin, make fun of me, and I will kill you,” Ja’far growled, glaring at Sinbad. Sinbad raised her hands to the corresponding side of her chest in an act of surrender.
“Nope!” Sinbad shrieked fearfully. She cared for him a lot, but she was also fully aware that Ja’far was not one to be babied. She knew he would not hesitate to skin her alive . Yeah, she’d prefer to keep her head attached to her body, thanks.
“Ugh…” Ja’far took a deep breath and clasped his hands together, intertwining his fingers and resting the back of his hands on his right cheek. “It’s truly a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ja’far, and I’m what you call a merchant. We’d be honored if you would stock our products at your lovely store!”
Sinbad looked at Ja’far as he hit his head against the table and couldn’t hold back her snort at the other’s embarrassment. She immediately regretted the act, because Ja’far turned to her with a blank expression and fired gaze. “Did you laugh, Sinbad?”
“I- Um, uh… no?” Sinbad squeaked, leaning backwards slightly. ‘Oh god, I’m gonna die, oh dear. Mother, Father, I am so sorry. I failed. I’m a failure. May my children have a good life,’ she thought with a dramatic tear rolling down her cheek.
“I’m gonna kill you! ” Ja’far cried out as he leapt onto Sinbad’s body, clinging on to her twisting body with ease.
“Jaffy, stop! Rurumu! Help me!” Sinbad pleaded as Rurumu chuckled. She was joined quickly by Hinahoho, who was laughing loudly at the two tumbling teens. “Hinahoho!”
“You brought this upon yourself, Sin. You can deal with the consequences,” Rurumu bit back a laugh as Ja’far pulled Sinbad’s hair childishly. Sinbad yelped and whined about how hard her hair was to brush in the mornings, and that she’d have to do it again. The two Immchukks just watched as the two fought playfully, happy to finally have their confident leader back.
______________
As the days passed, Rurumu sent the crew (mainly Sinbad and Ja’far, the two most uneducated) though more and more how-to-merchant tests, and Sinbad realised her soft, melodic voice did not match up with her fiery personality as she harshly reprimanded them.
They were forced through lessons of posture - where Sinbad had to walk with books and scrolls on her head, she didn’t enjoy it at all - literature, mathematics, culture and geography. She got her head around geography and culture pretty well, but mathematics made her head burn.
Ja’far and Sinbad ended up on the floor, leaning against the side of the boat holding each other so they wouldn’t fall over. Their muscles ached from practicing posture - Rurumu didn’t do warm-ups, and even someone as skilled as Ja’far was exhausted after the hour of the ridiculous exercise.
When Rurumu called for lunch, Sinbad and Ja’far shot towards the table, joined at the hip, and immediately picked up their knives and forks, but pausing before digging in. They quickly had it knocked into them to be well mannered or get the infamous Rurumu Chop. The teens shivered at the memory.
Carlos and Charlie, however, both got off easy because Rurumu had a soft spot for them. Sinbad never thought she’d be jealous of her children, but here she is, silently seething at them over food . Though, said food did cause both her and Ja’far to vow to never disobey Rurumu, so it was reasonable.
When nighttime finally rolled around, everyone went to sleep on the deck of the ship, cushioned and covered by cream-white blankets. Sinbad lay between Hinahoho and Ja’far, tired but too scared to let herself fall into the blissful unconsciousness of slumber.
She feared her nightmares dreams would follow her there.
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When Ja’far awoke, he had expected to be the first - being an assassin, he had his sleeping hours well rehearsed, always the first to rise - but was surprised when he saw familiar purple hair flowing gracefully in the soft breeze. He walked up to her silently, surprised when she turned around before he had said anything.
“Good morning, Ja’far. Did you sleep well?” She asked, looking back at the vast expanses of ocean that seemed to glow with a pinky-yellow hue.
“Yes, actually. You?” Ja’far replied, looking over the side of the boat and cursing his lack of height.
“...” Sinbad didn’t respond to Ja’far’s question. Just as he was about to express his concerns, Sinbad cut him off, “the view's quite nice, isn’t it? We’re lucky to see it.”
“...Yeah. I guess we are,” Ja’far replied, his voice barely a whisper. He hated how well Sinbad would hide her exhaustion from her friends, from him . As much as he wanted to say he could read the motherly teen like a book, he knew he couldn’t. He only knew because she had told him. And it concerned him, the fact that he couldn’t detect a hint of mistruth or distress in her perfectly made expression.
_______________
The ship slowly pulled into the dock, shaking slightly as it softly bumped against the wooden posts. People gathered around at the unfamiliar ship, looking and pointing with awed expressions and excited shouts. Sinbad made her way up to the top of the ship, holding onto the side of the main mast and looking down at the bustling town below with glee. “We… we really made it! The Reim Empire!”
The Reim Empire is a powerful nation with the world's largest territory. Napolia is the most populated business municipality, located right next to the capital, Remano. The scale of its economy surpasses even that of Balbadd - Sinbad’s birthplace. The Empire is a prominent financial center of the world's economy.
Sinbad looked down at the people to Reim, her expression as neutral as Rurumu had taught her. She thought back to who she had to thank for sparking her interest in adventure.
‘The world is full of unfamiliar and beautiful things, you know,’ the blonde man said with a smile. He pet her head softly, letting her chubby little hands wrap around his wrist.
‘M-Mister Darius?’ Sinbad asked softly, her voice squeaking as Darius began to tickle her softly. An unwilling laugh was ripped out of her as large fingers ghosted over her tummy.
‘Yes, Sinbad?’ Darius responded, letting his hands fall back into his lap as he looked at the child who admired him and his stories.
‘When I get older, could you show me around these places? Reim too!’ Sinbad’s happy giggle echoed in Darius’ ears, and the man forced a smile.
‘Maybe, little one.’
Sinbad breathed out a soft sigh at the memory. Darius, no matter what he had done, would always take up a spot in her heart. He had sparked her love for adventuring, after all. She wouldn’t be where she was now if he hadn’t washed up on the shore when he did.
“We finally reached the Reim Empire,” Sinbad said, her voice even and serious, maybe even a little dark, as she looked down at the crowd below her. She turned back to her crew and a smile washed over her features, her tone switching into something more light-hearted. “Alight! There’s no time to waste, so let’s get down to business!”
The shop was set up impossibly quickly, thanks to all the practice they had on water, and quickly they began to sell their products, people feeling curious about the newly imported goods.
A few people looked at the merchandise, curious as to if they were genuine. Ja’far showed the Immchukk-approved contract to an older man, and Sinbad walked over to the younger woman, forever thankful for her own androgynous appearance and flat chest.
She took the woman’s hand lovingly and locked her own golden eye with the stranger’s soft purple ones. “Please, relax, put your mind at ease. You have my word that I would never sell anything that would put you at a loss. After all, who could ever try to swindle someone as beautiful and lovely as you?”
“O-Oh… I appreciate it, but… I don’t really like men, flirting doesn’t work on me, sir,” She said, smiling with an embarrassed smile. Sinbad smiled contentedly, her eyes softening.
“May I have your name, ma’am?” Sinbad smiled warmly, the other woman feeling her asexuality quaver. Even with the obvious black eyepatch, this man was becoming unsettlingly alluring.
“A-Amethyst, sir,” She stuttered out, beginning to wonder if the man before her was actually a man.
“Amethyst… my, your name matches your eyes. My name is Sinbad, it is truly a pleasure to get to know you,” Sinbad grinned, the seductive glimmer in her eyes gone and replaced with pure admiration. “I’m glad you’re not interested in men, by the way, because that diminishes half the competition,”
“Oh my! I am so sorry, ma’am, I shouldn’t have assumed your gender-,” Sinbad cut Amethyst off with a light touch of her shoulder.
“It’s fine, really. And please, call me Sin,” Sinbad smiled. Amethyst felt her heart melt at the genuineness of Sinbad’s voice.
“Thank you, Sin…” Amethyst paused, deciding whether or not she should finish her sentence, deciding with a determined smile, “and your not so bad yourself.”
Sinbad couldn’t battle the blush that rose to her cheeks from the complement and chuckled. So, rather than doing anything about it, she let it sit there as she sold the goods to Amethyst.
After seeing Amethyst leave with a smile and the new jewels in hand, more girls (a few boys, too) gathered around Sinbad, positively drowning her in affection. Surrounded by happy people looking into buying, Sinbad didn’t see Amethyst retreating into an alleyway with a sad smile, clinging onto the jewels tightly.
Sinbad had truly touched her ever-cold heart.
______________
About ten minutes later, patrolling guards walked over the small shop and interrupted the small group who were in the middle of selling a rose quartz necklace. Ja’far quickly sold it and the client thanked him and quickly shuffled off, fearing the figures of authority.
Sinbad knelt down in the corner, where Charlie and Carlos were playing. “Hide,” She whispered. She knew the guards in Reim were nothing like the ones back in Partevia, but the scars on her neck made sure she stayed cautious. She stood up and walked over to the guards, making sure her stance was just as proper as Rurumu had taught.
“Hello, sirs, how are you?” Sinbad asked, trying to start a conversation but failing miserably.
“Ma’am, we need to speak to the proprietor. Your friends here aren’t approved to sell here in Reim,” the guard said, pushing past Sinbad and heading towards Hinahoho. Sinbad’s ‘hey!’ was purposefully ignored by the guards, who stood in front of the Immchuckk warrior with as much courage as he could muster. “You are the owner of this trade, correct?”
“Ah, no. The owner would be Sinbad-,”
“And where is this Sinbad? He is not allowed to set up shop here.”
“Um, she,” Sinbad corrected, poking the guard’s side. He frowned and looked at the purple-haired offender.
“Well, do you know where this ‘Sinbad’ is, then?” The guard growled. This child was annoying him.
“You’re looking at her,” Sinbad smirked cockily, amused by the disbelieving face of the once egotistical guard. He stuttered a bit before his partner pushed him away.
“Sorry about him, he’s a little… okay, a lot sexist. Anyway, Sinbad, right?” The other guard asked. Sinbad nodded, and he continued, “I am Diarus, a guard here at Reim.”
“D-Darius?” Sinbad stuttered, noting the similar build and hair.
“No, Diarus,” Diarus corrected nonchalantly, oblivious to Sinbad’s internal panic - it makes sense, since no one at all realised she was.
“Ah, okay then. Diarus, what do you need me for?” Sinbad asked, mentally shaking off the memories the almost-familiar name brought to the forefront of her mind.
“Do you have permission to set up shop here?” Diarus asked. Sinbad tilted her head, confused. “If you don’t, I’m afraid you can’t sell anything. You need to be approved by the Union.”
“Oh, sorry about that. Where can I get approved for this Union?”
“You don’t know about selling in Reim?” The guard gaped as Sinbad shook her head with a shrug. “All commercial transactions need to go through the Reim Merchant Union, they manage and control everything. Only those approved by the Union are allowed to do business. Sorry, but you must leave until you’re approved.”
The other guard came up and began aggressively shouting at onlookers to leave as well. Diarus facepalmed, letting out a disappointed sigh directed towards his comrade as everyone began to walk away.
“See you later, Sinbad. Well, maybe not. Bye!” Diarus waved as he walked away, pulling his partner by his ear like an angry mother, and Sinbad couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.
“Damnit, this is all my fault! Those dumb old books didn’t have anything about a stupid Union!” Ja’far growled, his hands clenching so hard at his sides that he could feel his neatly-trimmed nails dig into his pale skin.
A blonde figure wearing a large, hooded, royal blue robe walked over to Sinbad, tapping softly on her shoulder. Sinbad turned around, slowly as to not startle the stranger, but staying on guard anyway.
“Hello, sir, may I help you?” She asked, looking at him properly now that she could see him. With but a glance, she could tell he was wealthy - that colour of blue is as expensive as it is beautiful.
“Actually, I was wondering if I could buy everything you have,” he said, pointing to the shop.
“Wha? Really? But, isn’t that against the law right now? I appreciate it, but I’d rather not break a law like that,” Sinbad smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Well, that is half-true. Non-Union members aren’t allowed to sell to the general public, however - I am affiliated with the Union, so there’s no problem whatsoever with me purchasing from you,” he said, his tone even and syrupy sweet. Sinbad knew there was an ulterior motive, but it would be rude to say no. Plus, money!
“Ah, I see,” Sinbad replied, her tone just as even as his. She saw him hesitate, but he leaned down nonetheless and whispered in her ear.
“You’ve travelled a long way to get to Reim, wouldn’t it be such a waste to come back with almost everything you left with?”
Sinbad smiled softly and began to answer, but before she could get the first word out, Ja’far interrupted her. “Of course, we’d love to do business with you!”
“Thank you. Now, here is the contract,” the man said, handing Ja’far a scroll - who handed it straight to Sinbad - before walking off, “I’ll retrieve the men who will carry the goods.”
Sinbad zoned out as she read the writing. All goods bought will fall under ownership of the buyer. Unless specifically stated in the contract, the buyer has all rights to the items. Something about the way it was worded made Sinbad feel a little bit more suspicious of the man, but rolled it up and placed it under her arm anyway.
______________
When Sinbad saw what used to be her goods, she realised she hadn’t thought it through. She should’ve charged more.
“They’re selling our goods for three… no, ten times their original price!” Ja’far gasped as he stared.
“We’ve been deceived… that jerk took advantage of us!” Hinahoho growled softly. Sinbad took in her teammates’ reactions and sighed contentedly.
“He makes money off of others’ goods that he has purchased,” Sinbad stated, looking back at the contract she had received. “That said, he looks as though he plays it safe by buying from non-Union merchants like us.”
The group gasped at the new knowledge they had gotten, and at how calm Sinbad was about it - didn’t she feel betrayed or taken advantage of?
Before they knew it, Sinbad had led the group back to the alleyway where Rurumu and the other children lay in wait for their return. Before long, Sinbad had told Rurumu all about what had happened.
“I… see,” Rurumu mumbled with a frown.
“It’s so unfair…” Ja’far grumbled, looking at his lap with agitation.
“Let me have it, Sin, how much did we lose to him?” Hinahoho asked. Sinbad looked up from the contract.
“Lose? Who said we lost anything?” Sinbad asked, realising she’d have to lighten up the mood before her teammates fell into a state of depression she was familiar with. “This is the first time we’ve done this, of course something’s gonna go wrong. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that we’re going to have to join the Union if we’re to do business here in Reim.”
“There’s no point arguing about the resale. We may be amateurs now, but so was every other business person in the entire world! Isn’t that the fun of it?” Sinbad stood, throwing away the contract in her hand, “there’s a reason why I respect merchants as much as I do - if you asked me, I’d say they’re the shrewdest people to have ever lived!”
Sinbad walked backwards a few steps. “The world revolves around money - money is moved by merchants. They hold their fingers on the pulse of the world and have a great grasp on society - it helps them make astute and accurate predictions. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration for me to say that merchants move the world!”
“Just think about it, you guys!” Sinbad smiled, enthusiasm almost bleeding from her, “We get to compete with people of that caliber!”
Sinbad’s charisma made her excitement contagious. Hinahoho rubbed his forehead. “I can’t believe we’re letting you talk us into this…”
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The next day, everyone - save for Sinbad - loaded themselves onto the ship. “Sinbad… are you sure?” Hinahoho’s tired, but worried voice spoke in the chilly morning air.
“Of course I am! Get back to Immchuckk as fast as you can and restock as soon as possible,” Sinbad said, looking up at the worried warrior from the dock. “Hopefully, by the time you return, hopefully I will have settled things with the Union.”
“...Alright,” Hinahoho sighed in defeat - there was no arguing with women sometimes, something that, as a married man, he knew all too well. “We’re counting on you, Sinbad.”
Sinbad smiled as the ship sailed away, enjoying the view until her stomach growled. She had a single bronze coin left, which she efficiently dropped the moment she got near a food stall. It rolled away until it was met with familiar fingers.
Her last client.