Chapter Text
For each gold in the chest
A month in which ye will lay to rest
A heart that seeks nothing more than greed and hunger
is a heart not fit for love.
A heart that deserves to rot away,
unless it can understand the importance of love and companionship,
to learn to cherish what it has instead of hunger for what it doesn't.
-
Beidou laid down. Her head was spinning and she was coughing violently. Her vision was a little blurry, but she could make out the shapes of her crew. Her beloved crew. Damn this curse. Brought upon her five months ago, she wondered how much time she had left now…
-
~Five Months Ago~
Five mora. That is all that is left in the chest. Beidou shifts the coins in her other hand, the words on the parchment swarming her vision. She closed her eye and thought for a moment. “Heart deserves to rot away?” So… she was going to die? There was also the mora left in the chest. “For each gold in the chest, a month in which ye will lay to rest?“ Five mora… Five months? She had five months left? She would dodge death five times? What did this mean? "Well," she reasoned, "There are definitely worse times to have a literature nerd on board."
-
“Captain, ho!” Shouted Xu Liushi from the crows nest. Kazuha looked over from his spot on the battlements. Sure enough, here came the captain in her bright red outfit from the tree line. She had insisted on going alone, saying it would be a good practice for her skills and she would be fine on her own. She was the most capable person on board, but obviously everyone had reservations about letting the respected captain out on her own. But, she was the boss, so she went anyway. Everyone had been anxious about her leaving, because they all knew. No matter how capable you were, there was always that small chance of something going wrong. So needless to say cheers were heard all over the boat.
Kazuha hopped down and leaned over the side facing her. Sure enough, not a scratch on her. She was already climbing up the side rope of the ship. With a flourish she stepped up on the railing and held up a grand total of…
“Five mora? What are we going to do with FIVE MORA?” Said Mora Grubber, already stressing about finances. “That is exponentially less than what it takes to keep us afloat, let alone food and beer and docking and-“
“Well? Do you not want it?” Beidou said. She tossed Mora Grubber her personal mora pouch and pulled out another one. She flipped each of the five pieces into it and cinched it shut. She then clipped it to her waist belt, just above her vision. “Now, Kazuha, follow me. I found something that might interest you.”
-
Kazuha read the letter with intensity and worry in his red eyes, and he saw Beidou sat across from him, looking just as worried. Well, almost.
“What does it mean? I'm reading the words but I can’t make any sense of them.” She said, swinging her legs up to the arm of her chair. They were in the Captain’s quarters, which was more akin to an office than a bedroom, but there was a bed, so it counted. Kazuha was sitting on the bed, directly across from Beidou. The gentle lull of the waves rocking them back and forth.
Kazuha shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes watering a little. “Um, Beidou… You… I think based on the nature of this prophecy, if it can be believed, unless you can find true love, you’ll…” Kazuha sniffed. His eyes pricked. “You’ll- you’ll die.” He heard Beidou inhale sharply. Kazuha rubbed his eyes. “According to this… You have five months.” This is a joke, right? Kazuha thought to himself. She- She can’t die, right? I’m not done owing her for helping me! Kazuha hugs his knees up to his chest, making himself as small as possible. He heard the clicking of heels, and then felt himself in a strong embrace. Beidou’s hugs were always the best, and he immediately returned it. How could someone so kind, so caring, end up in a death trap for someone greedy and awful? She cared about her crew mates! She was strong and smart and everyone adored her! She was the one dying and she still comforted Kazuha about it.
“We’ll get through this kiddo. We’re making these the best five months this crew will ever see. I promise.”