“You don’t know what pancakes are? That won’t do!”
Having recovered from his initial disappointment, Lawkey quickly adjusted his posture and resumed his attempt at cheering the girl up.
This time, the smile on his face was completely genuine as opposed to the last one.
“Listen here! Pancakes are the most delicious thing you can ever eat! When they’re hot off the pan, dipped in that sweet and sugary syrup… and covered in melted butter…”
The more he spoke, the clearer the image in their minds became.
Even though his body was lacking all the moisture, both his mouth and the girl’s were dripping with saliva the more they tried to imagine themselves tasting that kind of delicacy.
“That’s it! That’s the face, you totally got the right energy now!” Having noticed his new partner in crime, Lawkey pointed at her expression with his shackled hands.
“...” The girl, realizing her sudden change, quickly looked down in embarrassment. It didn’t take her long to bite down on her lip out of guilt.
“Now reach down slowly and throw me those keys so we can get out of here and eat some pancakes! What do you say?!” Not noticing her quick mood change, Lawkey pressed on with full excitement, gesturing to the corner between them.
“Keys…?” The girl responded as she looked to her right and noticed the keys, but she didn’t linger on them and turned her head back down, “B-but… but Sana was given away…”
As soon as her words left her lips, her vision became blurry as tears quickly formed and trickled down her face.
“... I see.” Lawkey narrowed his eyes, “So, you don’t have any place to go back to?”
SNIFF! SNIFF!
“Auntie… Auntie would’ve protected me!” She muttered through snot and tears.
Lawkey relaxed his face and wore a relieved expression.
At least, there is still someone who still cares for her… Is it that siren from those fake memories? He pondered for a moment and then turned back to the girl who referred to herself as Sana.
“Good, I’m sure your auntie is worried about you. Let’s get out of here and go find her!” Lawkey said with a confident tone.
“Mhm…” Sana, feeling the shackles of her mind shattering, began to rub her face on her shoulders in an attempt to wipe away her tears.
As soon as her vision became clearer, she turned to the keys again and began to stretch her right leg towards them.
Although Lawkey was too far away from the corner, Sana was luckily right next to it on the other side.
“Yeah! That’s it!” Watching her get closer and closer to reaching them, Lawkey began to cheer her on, “You’ve almost got them!”
THUD!
A loud noise from above deck suddenly interrupted them and forced the two to immediately cast their eyes upwards towards the ceiling.
We better hurry up; something is going on up there… Lawkey thought to himself before cheering Sana back on.
**👑**
On the deck of the Galleon Ship Ariada, under the rebellious shimmering lights of the moon, the wooden floor was painted red.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The captain and his new rookie stood in utter shock after just coming out from their respective sleeping quarters.
Sudden noises of fighting had woken them up from their peaceful slumber, so they expected a Cetus to have showed up. Never in their right minds did they expect to witness a horrific scene in front of them instead.
“Y-you!! How dare you attack us?!” The Captain quickly recovered and shouted at the invader in front of him.
She stood in front of countless corpses, their bodies laid across the floor all around her. The moonlight reflecting the red liquid was but a minor detail in comparison to the gleaming effect it gave her long turquoise hair. It flowed in the wind as she stood firm with her back to her new enemies.
As the siren held the spear to the side and looked up at the sky in a second of calmness, the scene almost looked like something out of a dream, as much as that did not fit the massacre around her.
While it would have been a dazzling dream for some, right now, it was a total horrific nightmare for the first-hand witnesses present.
“Y-your entire clan will pay for this treason, siren!” The captain shouted again, unable to hold on to his nervousness any longer.
He took a quick fighting stance, and began to activate his Sign, but he quickly regretted his words.
“!”
In front of him, the Siren suddenly turned her head and glared at him from over her shoulders, her light crimson eyes sending shivers into his back.
THUD!
The rookie behind couldn’t support his knees and fell backwards on his behind again.
“Clan be damned if they’re okay with this!!” Riana twisted her ankles and turned around in a flourish. She swung her spear to the side and then continued glaring at the few enemies she had left, “I’m killing you and taking her back, come rain or mist!”
In a split second, she had already disappeared from her position, having kicked the ground at a tremendous speed.
**👑**
Beneath the deck, Lawkey and Sana had just managed to free themselves.
After studying the blue wooden shackles for a moment, Lawkey quickly threw them away along with the chains that were binding him and the little girl.
They’re really not made of steel or any metal, just some wood. After testing my Sign with and without touching the shackles, it’s clear to me that they somehow block the usage of Signs… Lawkey theorized, how weird… to think something like that exists…
“Uncle… what’s that?” The little girl beside him pulled on his pants and looked up at him with innocent eyes.
She was pointing at Lawkey’s left chest, specifically the black markings that looked like some scattered lightning. They even combined with the butterfly imprint on the left side of his neck, as if they appeared together from the very start.
However, that could not have been further from the truth. While the butterfly imprint was something that popped up after the incident with the Undying Elder, the other markings were…
“Oh, this? Don’t worry about it. I got a bit sick when I was around your age, but nothing Pancakes couldn’t fix!” He bent down slightly and flexed his muscles in an exaggerated pose like a kid showing off.
“Woah!! Sana wants some pancakes too, uncle!”
“That’s the spirit! But stop calling me that, I’m not your uncle!”
“Dad then?”
“Definitely not! I’m no one’s dad!”
Lawkey crouched down and patted the girl on the head with a smile, “You’re Sana, then? I’m Lawkey!”
“Dad!” She said with a pout.
“There is no convincing you, huh?” Lawkey sighed as he looked around one more time.
He passed Sana and sauntered over to the small empty cage, or at least what seemed like an empty one.
“You made them forget about all the keys and yet, didn’t ask me to free you from this wooden cage too…” Lawkey said as he inserted a key into the cage’s lock.
“...?” Sana from behind him tilted her head slightly, questioning his intentions. From her perspective, he just looked like he was opening a cage for no apparent reason.
“If you can still get out of her by yourself, go ahead.” Lawkey said as he opened the cage, “but do me one last favor before you go…”
Sana took a step forward to try and listen in, but she couldn’t satisfy her curiosity as nothing entered her ears.
Just when she was going to take another step closer, Lawkey suddenly turned around to face her.
“Are you ready? For now, you go to sleep and get some rest.” He said with a smile forming on his face, “I’ll make sure to take you out of her safely.”
“Uncle…?” That’s all Sana could mutter before her eyes gave out and she began to fall to the side.
PLUP!
Lawkey caught her sleeping body in his arms.
“I knew you could put her to sleep.” He muttered as he looked towards the ceiling, “It’s best she doesn’t see what’s out there.”
He took a step towards the exit.
“I know this feeling all too well.”
“It’s a bloodbath.”
**👑**
After walking through the inside of the ship and trying to find his way out, Lawkey managed to come across another storage room where he found his pouch and beloved sword, Eclipsed Dawn.
He resisted the urge to celebrate the reunion by holding it tight and simply tied it around his waist with a long scarf. Seeing as he couldn’t find his clothes, he grabbed a cloak that was hanging neatly on a rack all on its own and put it on for now.
Having stolen some gulps of water and bites of bread, he picked up Sana again and began to make his way outside.
He knew something was going on up there, but he couldn’t figure out the level of danger to them no matter what he tried. All he could do was make sure he was prepared for everything.
“But seriously, where did they put my clothes? I really hope no one is just wearing them…” He mumbled to himself.
“Cowards!! Come back here!”
“!!” Lawkey was taken aback by the sudden shout as soon as he stepped out.
Although he had been on high alert, he hadn’t sensed any immediate danger just yet.
“I’ll hunt you down once I’m done! Just you wait!!” The voice continued to spread across the ship.
Just when he made out where it was coming from, the source quickly turned around to face him as if sensing his presence behind her.
His eyes widened as he came across the scene spread all around. While she was covered in blood and bruises, surrounded by all the corpses, the moonlight still gave her a gleam that seemed almost magical.
However, yet again, it did not quite fit her tone.
“YOU!!!!” Riana’s face twisted into an expression of pure rage, “Let her go now or die a horrible death!!”
“Eh?” Was all Lawkey could utter in response.
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]