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“Boom About!”
The crash as the boom came around with the turn of the ship was nigh-on deafening, but it still didn’t drown out the screams of the men caught off guard by the abrupt shift.
“Man overboard!”
“We’ve got fire on the mizzen!”
Martha looked up, stunned, at the flames chewing their largest mast from the top down. If they’d lit the mast… the rest of the ship couldn’t be far behind. They were a beacon to that ship now, and running was entirely off the table.
She cursed, and turned for the captain’s cabin. She should have known better than to get on this ship, but after her family had passed, the best chance she had to make a life for herself with her words and not with her body was in the colonies. Captain Whitaker’s frigate had never been hit by pirates. He always avoided the shipping lanes that the pirates frequented, which is why she risked the trip at all.
“Captain Whitaker!” She called, pushing open the door to his cabin only to see the captain slumped over his desk, pistol in hand… Oh Lord. The Captain’s dead.
Martha turned away from the splash of red against the wall, hand over her mouth in an effort to keep herself from being sick.
“Damnit, wench, get out of the way! We need the captain to—“ The first mate pushed her out of the way and swore upon seeing the scene, turning back immediately. “Get below, we’ll be fine as long as we can get out of here.”
Martha turned to do as she was told, only to be knocked off of her feet as a cannonball ripped through the ship in front of her.
“Belay that.” He said, grabbing the back of her dress and hauling her to her feet. She winced as she heard the fabric tear, but that was the least of her worries. “Get to the lifeboats, lass, we’re abandoning ship.”
He shoved her in the direction of the longboats, as the sharp sound of swords clashing, the roar of fire, and the bang of boots on the deck drowned out whatever else he was trying to say to her. She made it only a few steps before a pirate swung in to land just in front of her. She slid to a stop as he shook his white-blonde hair out of his face, the pink tips lending him a boyish air even as the darkness in his mint-green eyes shook her to her core. The low growl of his voice was the last thing she heard before she passed out.
“Oh, pet. You’ll do perfectly.”
“State of the wreckage suggests another attack by The Magenta.”
“We won’t find any survivors then. Mint Eye pressgangs the crews of their conquests.”
“You say that, Sir, but…”
“Whoa! A lady?!”
“Seven, keep it down.”
“But, she…”
Martha opened her eyes slowly, carefully. They didn’t sound like the pirates, but… The faces of the people around her swam in her vision, and she squeezed her eyes shut again.
“Are you awake, miss?”
She whimpered, their voices too loud with the way her head was pounding.
She felt more than saw one of them crouch next to her, and leaned her head over to crack her eyes open. The face that swam in front of her eyes was familiar and she panicked, trying to back away from the visage of the pirate with the mint eyes. “No, please.”
The panic was too much, and she succumbed once again to the blackness.
“Has she yet woken, Yoosung?”
“Not yet. She was in a rough way, Sir.”
Martha focused on keeping her breathing even and her eyes closed. She didn’t know where she was or what these people wanted of her. This was the first information she’d gotten since she’d first actually woken, when the young blonde doctor was asleep at her bedside. His name was Yoosung, apparently. And this voice, this ‘Sir’ was one of the ones who’d been there when they’d found the wreckage of the Anna Sofia, and her amid it.
“Do we know why she reacted to Seven that way, yet? Does he know her?”
“No, he doesn’t. He knows something, though, because any time we ask him about it he mentions needing to talk to V.”
“Alright, Jumin. I’ll… see if she’ll tell me anything once she wakes.”
The sound of footsteps, and then silence reigned in the room for some time, before the doctor’s voice, much quieter, startled her.
“I know you’re awake, miss. I don’t know why you’re afraid, but I promise I won’t hurt you.”
He sounded kind… and he knew she was awake…
Martha gave in, and opened her eyes. “Hhh.” She bit her lip. Her throat was too dry and tight to manage words.
The doctor sat her up a little bit, and helped her drink some water. “There you go.”
She tried to smile at him, but she was worried. “What gave me away?”
“You breathe differently when you’re asleep.”
That wasn’t creepy at all. “Oh. I’m sorry, I’m just… the crew… did they…?”
The doctor sighed. “You were the only survivor, miss. If anyone else lived, Mint Eye would have taken them. The fact that you were still in the wreckage…” he winced. “It’s suspicious, at best, miss.”
Martha sighed. So she was suspect of something then. Of course. “My name is Martha Crowe. I left the mainland for the island colonies with promise of a position working as a letterpress assistant at the local paper. But honestly, I’m just happy to be alive. Ask me what you will, and I will answer.”
“…Crowe? Hm. Stay right here.” He stood and left the room, and Martha looked around. She could barely talk, or move, where was she going to go?
After some time, he returned with one of the most beautiful people Martha had ever seen - the portraits in her sister’s office did his face no justice.
“Mr. Ryu?” She said, hoarsely.
“Ah, it is you, Miss Crowe. Your sister used to tell me such stories about your antics. Call me Zen.” The silver-haired man took her hand gently. “I am so sorry, you should have been safe on the Anna Sofia. She’s never been even targeted by the Mint Eye, let alone the Magenta herself.”
“The job…”
“Ah. Your position with me is not in jeopardy. You just focus on recovering, alright?”
Martha nodded, and the man swanned out of the room again.
The doctor turned to shut the door, but an energetic red-haired man practically burst through it. “You said she’s awake?”
Martha looked up at him and blinked a few times. “You look just like…”
“That’s what I want to ask you about!!” He hopped up on the side of her bed like an old friend. “I’m Seven. We’ve never met. You think I look familiar. Can you tell me why?”
Martha took a deep breath, and then asked the stupidest question she could think of.
“Are you a pirate?”
“Absolutely not. Do I look like one?”
Martha nodded, then shook her head. “You look like a pirate… but his hair was white… and his eyes were green…”
“Classic Mint Eye. Don’t know how they do it, getting all their crews to have those eerie eyes.” Yoosung said with a shudder.
“It’s the grog.” The ginger said. “It’s laced with something that changes them. Some say they’re cursed, but it’s just drugs.”
Martha nodded, but felt herself drifting off again.
“There she goes again.” She heard the doctor, Yoosung, say as her eyes fluttered shut.
“You go, I’ll watch over her.” The bed shifted as the ginger moved from it, and after that, she heard nothing.
Days later, Martha was able to leave the clinic and go visit the paper. The ginger - he said his name was Seven - was a constant presence in her life, bringing her meals, walking her places. She could hardly move without him appearing. Finally she had to know.
“Are you my babysitter?” She asked, impulsively, when he appeared next to her.
“Of a sort.” He said, sheepishly. “The governor’s son believes that you were left behind for a reason, and the Governor himself believes it was simply lucky happenstance, but either way the Magenta has never left a survivor behind, so you’re to be protected until we understand why.” He grinned brightly at her.
“And kept from fomenting any kind of mischief in the meantime?” She couldn’t help but smirk, the man’s smiles were contagious.
“With words like ‘fomenting’ in your vocabulary? I don’t think I could stop you if I tried. I’m just here to protect you.”
Martha laughed and impulsively nudged him with her elbow. “You’re going to learn all kinds of big words if you stick around, you know.”
“I never said I didn’t know the word!!” Seven defended himself.
They shared a laugh, but Martha couldn’t help but worry about what he’d say if he knew about the key on the cord around her neck. The key that wasn’t there before she’d met his pirate doppelganger.