Drifting
– Part Two: Sold
Aamalie: Avast, ye scurvy scum! :) Here be
we with the second chapter! -cha cha slides-
Corisu: -smirks- Witness the next chapter,
for we are the awesome! cries Now I have to go... do things... Onward!
Aamalie: That’s right! She shall write Lies
now. -slave drives-
---
"Wake up, little
missy," a gruff voice said, and Sango felt a slight push to her shoulder.
Her eyes still closed, she tried to organize her thoughts. Slowly, the facts
came back to her: she was stuck at sea with a gang of filthy pirates who, as
they put it, ‘had plans for her’. Oh, yeah.
Opening her eyes, Sango
immediately noticed that her inferences were obviously incorrect; her
environment looked more like a cabin than a ship’s brig.
"Ah, yer awake,"
the pirate remarked, grinning and showing his rotten teeth. "Good. Ya
know, I can’t see what the cap’n told us. I think yer pretty enough without the
stuff."
Sango wrinkled her nose at
the man and sat up. "Where have you taken me?" she demanded, speaking
to the wall instead of to the man. He was much too foul for direct
conversation.
"
"Now, we can’t have
you tryin’ to hurt our gals, can we?" he leered as the first pirate tied
Sango’s hands together, making it so tight that the rope bit into her skin. She
grimaced, but refused to make a sound.
The second pirate, a
pointy-nosed one with an eye-patch, then knelt to bind Sango’s feet as well.
Almost as a reflex, she jerked both feet up and slammed them into his face.
Because of her unbalanced state, she tottered and fell off of the low cot onto
the floor. Eye-Patch shouted in pain and clapped his hand to his nose.
"Trollop!" he spat, snatching his knife from his waist.
He leaned over Sango,
pressing the grimy blade to her throat. "You’ll pay for that, you
will," he said malevolently.
The first pirate called,
"Hold it, Dervin! The cap’n won’t be too pleased if you kill ‘er." He
didn’t make a move as if to stop him, however; he merely stood and watched,
looking like a child that was waiting for someone to do something wrong to have
something to go tattle about.
"I don’t care,"
Dervin snarled, pressing the blade more firmly against Sango’s neck. She was
frozen, not daring to move for fear that the knife would break the skin. There
was a moment of tense silence, then the door to the cabin opened with a bang.
A huge man stood framed in
the doorway, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was excessively hairy; his
long mane was arranged into a very thick braid and his face and arms were
covered in hair. He wore a large hat, cocked slightly to the side and adorned
with a single, shaggy-looking feather. "Leave her be, ya scoundrel,"
he growled, stepping into the cabin, his large, heavy-looking boots making his
footfalls loud and slightly intimidating. Dervin complied immediately, stuffing
his knife back into his belt and scowling bitterly as a thin trickle of blood
flowed from his right nostril. "Get the lady up, Berkiss."
The pirate who had been
watching Sango be menaced nodded and grabbed her by the arm with one callused
hand, dragging her to her feet and pushing her into a seated position on the
cot. "Ain’t she a pearl, cap’n?" he said, almost nervously.
The pirate captain didn’t
even glance at Sango. "Enough of a beaut, I’m sure," he replied, then
moved his bulk aside, revealing two old women standing in the doorway, each
clutching a rawhide bag and simpering.
"Ya know what ta do,
ladies," the captain said simply. "Berk, Derv, get your arses out of
there before I take a sword to both of your hides!" The two lesser pirates
filed out of the room rather quickly, and the captain spared a glance at Sango.
"Good day, lady," he said mockingly, tipping his hat. "Don’t go
lashin’ out at me girls, now."
He withdrew from the
cabin, allowed the women to enter, then slammed the door forcefully behind him.
"Such a pretty
thing," one woman said, putting the bag on the cot beside Sango. She was
rail-thin like a waif, her nails long and unkempt. Her stringy gray hair was in
no discernable style, strewing itself around her scalp at will. She used one of
her skinny hands to grab Sango’s chin. Since her hands were bound, Sango was
unable to react physically. She could probably jerk away, but that would most
likely land her back on the floor.
She decided on verbal
retaliation. "Unhand me, you vagrant!" she said angrily, shaking her
head to try and free the woman’s hand. The waif responded by tightening her
grasp, surprisingly strong for her seeming weakness.
"Now, now, calm down.
Dear sister, I think she thinks lowly of us," she said, mocking Sango’s
proper way of speech. "Well, dearie, yer on the same level as us now, so
get used to it!"
The other woman was a
little heavier than her sister, but not by much. Her sharp cheekbones were very
prominent and made her look like a bird. Leaning down, she used her wrinkled
hand to brush the bangs from Sango’s face. "Us two was sent to pretty you
up some," she declared. "So much we could do on a pretty young thing
like you..." She reached for her bag and pulled out a cheap-looking silver
tin.
"Oh, yes, sister,
that’s perfect!" the thin one exclaimed joyously, maintaining her tight
grip on Sango’s chin.
Sango had been looking
from one woman to the other in confusion for a few seconds, but now, a look of
comprehension crossed her face. ‘They were sent to... beautify me?’ Oh,
the irony.
As the second sister pried
the top from the tin, dipped her fingers in, and smeared a slimy blue gunk that
smelled of seaweed on her face, Sango had a sudden realization. ‘Makeup. I. Hate.
Makeup."
-
It seemed like ages of
pure torture before the beautification was complete, if you could call it that.
Looking into the cracked mirror that she had been momentarily shoved in front
of, Sango could never think of a time when she looked more like what she
imagined a brothel woman looked like. Seeing the horrors that had been
inflicted onto her face in a filthy mirror provided by the sisters, she was
suddenly very satisfied that she had managed to bite the waif-like wretch when
she had first tried to spread a disgustingly red paint across her lips. That
woman had disappeared soon afterwards, leaving her sister to complete their
job.
It was then that the frail
woman returned, a slithery sort of man trailing after her, though he bypassed
her the moment he saw Sango. He paced around her, beady eyes examining her
every feature critically. Sango felt annoyance and anger begin to boil within
her; she was getting sick of being eyed like something to be purchased.
“Eh... Is this the girl
then?” he asked the sisters nasally. “Not bad... A fair catch to be had, in
fact, such that I am impressed. I see now why your captain was so insistent
that my original offer was shorting him...” He let out a short whistle, and two
rather burly men entered. “Take her in and set her to be up next. Tell Ned to
start at five.”
One of the men, a
Spaniard, looked surprised. “Only five?”
“It’ll go up fast.”
The Spaniard gave a grunt
of agreement before both he and the other lackey grabbed a very confused Sango
by the arms and pulled her away.
-
Within an hour, it all
added up into a good lot of sense.
Sango was to be auctioned
off to whichever drooling, desperate old pirate fool was willing to fork over
the most money for her. And the best part? There weren’t exactly laws that
they’d be required to conform to, save for the Articles that they were sworn to
as a member of a crew. But, those rules varied from ship to ship, and there
were some men there that were not currently bound by contract.
It was those men who Sango
feared, though she’d be hard pressed to admit it.
So, instead of letting her
nerves and worry be known, she kept up a cool front and a dark glare as she was
pushed out onto the stage. All eyes turned to her, both of the crowd and the
auctioneer. It was the latter that made quick to speak first.
“Avast, lads! Look sharp!
Here be a lass who may easily be worth your pesos and pence.” He took her by
the arm, her wrists still bound, pulling her closer to the edge of the stage,
and therefore, closer to the leering crowd. Needless to say, Sango was less
than pleased, and showed her displeasure by turning her face and spitting on
the auctioneer’s face.
He didn’t seem to mind at
all.
“Lookie there! She’s a
feisty one! What’ya say boys? Let’s start her off at six pounds!”
Six pounds? What the---
Sango most assuredly was worth more than a measly six pounds!
“Seven!”
“Eight pounds!”
“Twelve!”
“Twenty!”
...Okay. That was more
like it. Sort of.
Right. Back to being
unhappy with the entire situation.
“Let go of me!” she
insisted, trying to yank away from the auctioneer. He paid her no attention,
focusing on the bids that were gradually slowing down. Finally, no one else
spoke, though there were murmurs of disappointment.
"Ah! Is that all then?
Two and thirty pounds it is then! Going once, twice, and... Well, I say!"
While he had been closing
the auction, a brown object had flown over the crowd towards the stage. It
landed near Sango’s feet, causing her to jump back reflexively as its contents spilled
out. The object was a purse, overflowing with foreign coins and even a few
jewels.
“That there should equate
to about double the price,” came the calm comment that made all eyes turn to
the speaker. He grinned. “I believe this is where the word, ‘sold’, finds its
way in?”
The auctioneer quickly
obliged, pushing Sango off to the side to be led away before she could properly
see her purchaser.
Oh well. She could be
patient. But really, Sango couldn’t wait to meet him.
She really wanted to give
him a bloody nose.
-
Sango was led around the
back of the auction arena by the same men who had brought her there to a small,
rickety building painted a vivid, peeling red. After being pushed through the
door, she didn’t find the inside to be much better; particularly when she was
shoved into a splintery chair. In fact, the whole ordeal just made her want to
hurt something as soon as the binds were loosened from her wrists. (She would
have kicked something, but she wasn’t too fond off losing her balance and falling.)
Instead, she contented
herself with muttering various obscenities about pirates, enjoying the angered
expressions that began to develop on her guards. She was being petty, if not
childlike. So what? She couldn’t do much else at the moment... There weren’t
any sharp objects to be found nearby- not even on the guards! Sango couldn’t
even see any guns on them, and that was frustrating.
Her quiet insults were
steadily getting worse, until the door opened, and a young man strolled on in.
He was the perfect image
of almost any gentlemen Sango had ever encountered in
“Ah, so this is the lady?”
the man said cheerily, removing his hat to reveal a mess of black hair that was
pulled back at the neck. His interested lavender-gray eyes swept over Sango,
not nearly as intrusively as the other recent once-overs had been. It was more
polite, as though he were just sizing her up as anyone would upon making a new
acquaintance. He nodded to the other two men, gesturing that they could leave.
“Thank you, gents. I can handle her from here.”
Both snorted, shooting
Sango one last angered glare, before they left.
Sango was now alone...with
a man of questionable motives.
Great.
“Now then, don’t be shy!”
the pirate said, “Do stand up.”
Sango gave him a long,
baleful stare. He raised an eyebrow, before shrugging.
“All right... If you want
to stay tied up, that’s fine.”
He had hit the target on
the mark. Sango only hesitated a second more before she struggled to her feet,
her balance disgustingly off. The pirate smiled at her, pulling a small knife
from the inside of his jacket and sauntering closer. He lowered the blade to
the rope, before he paused to look her in the eye.
“You’re tense... Thinking
about hitting me?”
“What if I am?” Sango snapped.
He looked bemused.
“That’s fine. Just
remember... If you knock me out and run away, you’re running out into a city
full of outlaws that are probably a lot less friendly than me. So, if you think
it’s the best course of action, by all means, swing away.”
And then he cut the ropes
away.
Much to her frustration,
Sango found that the strange man was right. Even if she did manage to get away
from him, where would she go? She’d have to bide her time, until some
opportunity arose.
“So you’re not going to
hit me? That’s good. I tend to dislike bruises. Now, m’dear, do tell me your
name,” the pirate said, taking her gently by the elbow and leading her out of
the old building. Sango wasn’t sure what he was up to, but she most definitely
wasn’t going to tell him her name.
“Isn’t that a bit
presumptuous to ask me that when you haven’t even introduced yourself?” she
said curtly, noting with distaste that she was still in her nightdress. Between
that and the ugly mask that had been painted onto her face, she knew she had to
look downright ridiculous. It didn’t help her mood at all. She tugged her elbow
from his grasp, scowling slightly, and began to rub gingerly at the red welts
on her wrists.
“My apologies then. They
call me Miroku. Now, please, your name?”
Sango refused to look at
him. “No surname then?”
“Not until you tell me
your first one.” The pirate- Miroku- didn’t seem at all surprised at her lofty
evasiveness. In fact, it sounded as though it amused him.
“Very well. My name is...”
Sango paused for half a second, before a false name came to her. “Emma. I’m
Emma,” she repeated, as though reassuring herself.
That’s when she heard
Ayumi’s voice call out a single word.
“Sango!”
---
Aamalie: :P Poor Sango. She never gets a
break, does she? Hee. And I’m doing the responses, btw. -smiles-
-
Alex- Glad you liked it. I wasn’t too
sure of it myself, but that’s a first chapter for you. XD And we’re trying to
avoid dullness, so, whoot!
Andy Quinn- (Cori says: Aki, thou hast
problems. -takes drag of invisible joint- Good shit, this is! xD Yup, there'll
be Pirate!Sesshy! Get drool buckets ready...)
Starofhades- Yay! Giggling is good. I hope you
laughed some more with this chapter.
Ebony black- x.x Plot? Ha! What plot? Plot will
be rare until we get through the relationship mush, methinks.
Kip- Dude, chica! Where’ve you been?
;.; I never see you online anymore...
Dea Mariella- uh... no email. And your address
got cut off. X.x
Defafaeth Mechqua- And back to the smilies. For
shame.
Flaming Red Fox- I-Ka is overdone... And we’re trying
to make so Sango isn’t really a D.I.D. And we're also trying to make this a
more original pirate fic. Blah. You’ll see.
Amethyst Fluff- Yes. It’s the same Ayumi, for lack
of anyone else. X.x;
-
And, per usual... Remember
to review.
We like big numbers.