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Graecie walked towards Ros’ room at the Nightingale’s base, staring at the letter that they just received this morning. She kept reading it over and over until she got the letter memorized. Well, as much as she could memorize the words and the topic.
The letter came straight from the Herons, more specifically, it came from their member, Water. According to the letter, Water was requesting Ros to lend them her castle for her wedding with Jeffery, the local town’s bard. When Graecie first read the letter, she couldn’t believe that someone was getting married at all, and if someone was indeed getting married, they would have suspected it would be Aimsey and Guqqie, the Kite and the Kestrel making their relationship very obvious to other pirates even when they did it behind barrels.
Graecie also found multiple letters addressing her and the other members of the Nightingales, all of which shared the same information except the request for Ros’ castle. The letters announced the incoming wedding of Water and Jeffery, saying to expect a second letter for details regarding where and when the wedding would take place at. In which Graecie already knew from the request that it would take place at their fellow pirate’s castle.
Graecie reached the door that led to Ros’ room, though she noticed that it was slightly open as it left an open line to watch past the doorframe. Graecie raised her eyebrow, not liking the sight at all. Carefully, she approached the door and softly knocked on it despite the door being opened. “Ros? Ros, are you there?” Graecie didn’t know whether or not Ros was inside, and didn’t want another accident like the one she had with Aimsey and Guqqie when she was in official business meeting the Kestrel.
Graecie shivered at the accident, though she refocused quickly when she heard no response from behind the door. “Ros? Ros, I’m coming in.” Graecie pushed past the door and entered into her purple-haired friend’s room. The room was unoccupied and empty, with no sights of Ros anywhere. She looked around the room to make sure she didn’t miss her, and once she confirmed that Ros wasn’t here, she was about to leave until her eye spotted something.
It was right under Ros’ bed, and it was slightly sticking out from under the shadow that the bed casted out. Graecie went to check what it was out of curiosity and pulled it out, her eye widened when she quickly recognized the items in her hands. It was a pair of sabers, sheathed by purple colored leather sheaths. When Graecie pulled out one of the sabers, her eye stared in amazement at the beautiful look that the sword had.
The saber alone was made out of a shiny steely metal, with the hilt wrapped around purple fabrics. The sword was shockingly light-weighted and easy to move around, and on its blade was a word engraved on the surface of the steel. When Graecie squinted her eye to read the word more closely, it widened in shock as it was a name that was carved on the blade.
“Ros”
~~~
“Ah, morning Apo! Morning Acho!” Will greeted his fellow Nightingales as they walked back to the base, finding them chatting with each other.
“Oh, morning Will!” Acho responded back as Apo was holding on to something.
“What’d you get there, Apo?” Will asked upon seeing the Nightingale fidgeting with something.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Apo said as he showed it was just a nautilus shell. “Just… another incredible adventure with great rewards!” Apo’s tone couldn’t have been more sarcastic than that.
Will chuckled. “I mean, that is a nautilus shell. Quite rare to find, you know.” Will peered past Apo as he spotted Graecie coming out from the Nightingale’s sleeping quarters, carrying something on her arms. “Ah, Graecie! Good mor…” Will’s sentence slowly died down as his face contorted into one of worry and confusion.
Apo and Acho, upon seeing his face, turned to face Graecie, and their faces joined Will’s expression as they discovered Graecie was walking up to them, carrying a pair of sabers on her arms, her face filled with worry and panic.
“Uh, Graecie?” Acho said as they noted the sabers on her arms. “Why are you carrying sabers?”
“Wow, those look nice!” Apo’s expression was leaning more into an amazed one unlike the other two. “Where’d you get those from?”
“From Ros’ room,” Graecie said as the three Nightingales’ eyes widened in shock and surprise. “I–I found them right under her bed when I went looking for her. I… I don’t know why she has sabers right under her–”
“Guys!” Graecie quickly hid the sables behind her back as Ros was running towards them, with Cruppy following behind her. The two legged sea urchin creature had what appeared to be a satchel that was carefully wrapped around its spiky body. “Hey, did you know? Water and Jeffery are about to get married!”
“Oh, yeah!” Graecie excitedly said, trying to hide her nervousness underneath. “I actually got some letters from Water requesting you to lend her your castle to her. I think that’s where they are planning their wedding to happen.”
“Really?!” Ros exclaimed in joy. “Wow, I–I don’t know… Yes. Yes! They can have my castle. Where’s the letter?”
Graecie went to retrieve the letter from her pocket, which turned out to be a big mistake since one of the sabers fell off from her hands and clattered to the ground. Graecie froze in fear and panic, looking up at Ros’ face.
Ros’ face faltered into one of shock and horror as she saw the sable on the ground, her expression paling with each second. “Graecie. What… Why… Why do you have that?”
Graecie looked behind her shoulder, looking desperately for help. Apo was carefully examining the nautilus shell as if it was the biggest treasure in the world. Acho shook his head with a disapproving face. Will gave Graecie a reassuring smile.
“Graecie,” Graecie flinched as she returned her attention to Ros, who was now standing closer to her and an ominous presence was surrounding her. “Why do you have my sabers?” It was at that point that Graecie realized she turned her back, allowing the other saber to be exposed to Ros’ attention.
Gracie mumbled nervously, never seen nor heard their fellow Nightingale so… so… threateningly. Graecie literally felt so small and the boys could feel her pressure as they were slowly and steadily walking back just in case.
“Graecie,” Ros repeated, her voice measured and controlled. “Please. Tell me why you have my sabers.”
Graecie cracked. “I’m sorry! I found them by accident! I just wanted to tell you you received that letter from Water! Please don’t get mad at me!” Graecie quickly picked the fallen saber from the ground and extended her arms towards Ros, the pair of swords ready to be handed out to her.
Ros looked at the swords before looking back at Graecie, her face filled with worry and guilt. Looking past her, Apo looked terrified and shocked, Acho was examining her as if she wasn’t herself, and Will just seemed to be absolutely shocked and worried, whether or not it was her or Graecie or the both of them.
Ros sighed deeply as she took the sabers off Graecie’s hands. “Graecie. I’m… I’m sorry. I… I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” Ros examined the sabers, noting that they were still in conditioning with no physical damage on them.
Graecie looked at Ros, her uneasiness still there but she was still willing to place a hand on Ros’ shoulder. “Ros. I–It’s ok, I…” Graecie didn’t know what to say.
“Why do you have sabers?” Apo suddenly asked, deciding that it was the right time to obtain some answers. “And why did you have them hiding under your bed?”
“Apo,” Acho reprimanded them. “Don’t just ask–”
“No, it’s fine,” Ros said, cutting Acho off. Ros then walked towards the Nightingale’s’ tavern, with her friends and fellow mates following her. Cruppy looked at them with curiosity as they followed the Nightingales to the tavern, completely forgetting that they were supposed to be spreading letters out to the other factions regarding Water and Jeffery’s wedding.
~~~
“So let me get this straight,” Michela said after Jojo finished her story. “You got kidnapped by cultists, which is what led you, Callum, and Eret to come to the Faction Isles after being rescued.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Jojo said as a matter of fact, completely unnerving Michela since the soundly terrifying tale was being told so casually by the pink-glassed girl.
Michela would ask a question until she spotted the rest of the Nightingales walking into the tavern. Marnie was out for the day and so she and Jojo were the only ones inside the building. Michela waved at them, with Jojo following moments later. However, when the two of them saw Ros carrying a pair of sabers and the grim expressions that all of them were carrying, they just knew something was wrong.
“Eh, Ros?” Jojo said as she, Apo, Graecie, Acho, and Will took their own seats, closely to Ros’. “Hey, is something wrong?”
“Why are you carrying sabers with you?” Michela asked, not liking the situation that was displayed to her.
Ros looked at each and every one of her fellow pirates, with Cruppy kicking a seat in place and later jumping on to join the group, adorably sitting expectantly. Ros took a deep breath before responding. “Yeah. These are my sabers.”
Michela and Jojo’s eyes widened in surprise while Graecie, Will, and Acho looked worried. Apo seemed to be very interested and the only one with a somewhat happy smile. “Yours? Those are really yours?” He asked them.
“Yeah,” Ros replied as she unsheathed one of the sabers and displayed the blade to the pirates, making sure they could see her name engraved on it. “I… I…”
~~~
Used to fight?
Used to kill monsters?
Used to be a monster hunter?
Used to be on a previous pirate crew?
Ros words were all getting tangled inside her head, and she didn’t know how to respond to her friends. Ros knew she should have hidden her sabers better than just keeping them under her bed, but her time on the Faction Isles have completely taken her attention away just like she wanted it to. And now, here she was, trying to explain to her friends who she held dearly why she had sabers with her name on them and why she was being so secretive about it.
“Ros,” Graecie said as she gently placed a hand on her leg, getting her attention. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” She softly smiled at her with reassurance.
“Though I really want to know,” Apo suddenly said, earning disapproving glances from the other Nightingales. “I mean, does that mean you know how to fight? Like, were you like a Kite before joining the Nightingales just like how Acho was a Heron–”
Acho, annoyed and provoked, decided to kick Apo’s chair off its place, causing the boy to fall to the ground. Acho then looked at Ros with a reassuring and supportive smile, much to her delightment. “Yeah. Actually Apo, I do know how to fight.” Ros gripped the hilt of her unsheathed saber tightly. “Though not anymore.”
“So were you a Kite before?” Jojo asked, her curiosity increasing.
“I’m sure I would have seen her if that was the case,” Will reassured Jojo on the contrary. “When Ros joined the Nightingales, it was clear she wasn’t from the Isles, so she’s not a Kite.”
“So, do you really know how to fight?” Apo asked as he set his chair back up, only for Acho to kick it away. “Hey! Stop that!”
“Then you stop it,” Acho snapped back. Apo huffed, though that didn’t stop him from looking at Ros and expecting an answer from her.
Ros sighed as she knew how persistent Apo was. “Want a demonstration?” Ros suddenly walked outside of the tavern, her friends plus Cruppy following her as she unsheathed her remaining saber and strapped both sheaths to her skirt.
‘Can I do this?’ Ros thought as she hasn’t really used her sabers in a long time nor she had fought in a while. ‘I mean, self-defense counts, right?’
Ros stood outside, trying to relax her body as she gripped her sabers tightly. She looked past her shoulder towards her friends. They all supportively gave her thumbs up and grins while Cruppy was just sitting on the floor, no expression visibly on their purple face.
Ros chuckled as her confidence started to rise up.
~~~
“Thanks for accompanying me, Kuervo!” Water said gratefully as the two of them were walking towards the Nightingales base.
“Anytime, Water,” Kuervo said as he looked at his friend with happiness. It was nice to be walking with Water, and it was even nicer with how excited she was.
Today, they were going to meet up with the Nightingales, more specifically, with Ros. Water, despite having sent the purple-haired pirate a letter requesting the usage of her castle for her wedding, couldn’t help but feel anxious and worried that something wrong could happen, even more so when she sent out Cruppy to deliver letters to every known pirate on the Isles.
“I still can’t believe our wedding is going to happen!” Water excitedly said as they kept walking down the road. “I can almost imagine it, Kuervo. Rows of benches filled with guests, me and Jeffery declaring our love, the kiss, eh!”
Kuervo chuckled at her rather current childish behavior. Seeing his friend so happy like that made him–
SWISH! SWING! SWISH!
Kuervo’s ears quickly picked up the distant sound of swords being swung just as he and Water were getting nearer to the Nightingale’s base. Kuervo quickly placed his hand onto the hilt of his sword as he stopped Water from walking further ahead. Water looked at Kuervo with surprise before noticing his serious expression. “Kuervo, what’s wrong?”
“Shh,” Kuervo said as the two of them cautiously and silently walked ahead to the Nightingale base, the sound of swords being swung became louder and clearer. Water could now hear the sound as Kuervo stood in front of her, not liking the situation at all.
‘What is this? An attack?’ What are those cultists from before? The ones that kidnapped Jojo, Callum, and Eret? Speaking of Eret, word got out that the pirate got banished from the Herons after presumably taking on a bounty on a fellow Heron, supposedly Owen. Kuervo wanted to talk to Eret himself and see what the story was about… right after figuring out what was going on at the Nightingales base.
Kuervo and Water hid under some bushes as they peaked over them to see what was going on.
It wasn’t an attack as Kuervo was hoping for…
But it sure was damn amazing to watch.
All by herself, Ros was effortlessly and graciously swinging a pair of sabers on her hands. Her body was moving fluently according to her swings, parries, and slashes, never standing on the same spot for too long as her legs were carrying her through the ground. Ros’ muscles were relaxed yet composed and firm, making her arm movements more easier to carry out as she spun her sabers with accuracy, only letting the sword purposely fly out of her hand for her to chase after and maneuver through the air to reclaim them.
“Wow,” Water said in awe, something that Kuervo agreed on mentally. “I… I didn’t know Ros could sword dance. That's sword dancing, right?”
Kuervo honestly didn’t know. Ros was mainly known as the Nightingale who helped others no matter what. Heck, that one time that he asked her to help him claim a bounty on a runaway pirate on a highsea chase required her to be a capable fighter, something she herself claimed she wasn’t yet here she was, displaying perfectly delivered fighting moves and expert swordsmanship as if she has trained for years.
Ros then would stand still, her sabers stretched to her sides. Kuervo and Water, as well as the Nightingales that were watching her from the tavern’s entrance, stared at her in confusion as she suddenly threw the sabers up into the sky above her, the blades soaring up and up until they suddenly started coming down right at her, the blades perilous aimed at her.
“Ros!” The Nightingales screamed in horror. Water was about to run to save her with Kuervo following her, leaving their hiding spot.
Though they abruptly stopped on their tracks when Ros did a backflip at the last moment when the blades were close to landing on her, her legs kicked the swords away from her body as they spun in the air. While landing on her feet, Ros quickly grabbed the hilts of the still spinning sabers with deadly accuracy and timing, finishing her stunt with a final backflip spinning jump before kneeling on one knee, backhanding her sabers and letting out a confident smile on her face.
Kuervo and Water had their mouths wide open, just like the Nightingales as Ros simply dusted off her clothes, carefully not cutting herself with her sabers as she walked back to her fellow pirates, who moments later erupted into shouts of compliment and questions. The purple-haired pirate now looked utterly embarrassed as the compliment became more common and Apo decided to sit her on his shoulders as if she just won some kind of big competition.
Kuervo and Water stared at each other, nodded in agreement, and started to walk away from the Nightingales, too shocked with amazement to formulate and clarify what they just witnessed with their own eyes.
Cruppy, noticing them from a distance, quickly remembered that they had a job to do and quickly sprinted towards the other factions' bases, still having letters to deliver out.