CHAPTER 12 - RETURN OF THE PIRATES
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Eneas remained listening. Her sight did not help her, but her hearing didn’t betray her. She had ended up in a strange situation, and the only thing she could do was stand still to avoid being caught and to avoid accidentally entering or touching anything. She was deep inside the main offices.
She could have simply retraced her steps to leave, she knew that, it wasn’t the first time she had been without her glasses. But something inside her, a visceral feeling in her chest, told her to stay and listen. Something she could even call supernatural in her head forced her to remain.
She then heard the militia captain, General Rinoria, speaking with another officer.
«"Sir."» The officer protested. «"This sounds like a questionable plan. We are still giving our soldiers to the pirates."»
Hearing that, Eneas’s legs straightened, but she forced them to stay where they were.
«"You’re right, Lieutenant, but I think it’s a fair exchange, and we aren’t losing any of our own. Right?"» Listening, Eneas was desperate for some context, which she luckily received right away.
«"Captain, I don’t fully understand the plan. The problem remains that we must give our young men to the pirates as a gift."»
«"It’s not a gift; it would be an insult if it were..."» The captain’s tone, even though Eneas couldn’t see his expression, grew darker.
«"It’s a necessary sacrifice for our safety. The great pirate Algalunga, head of the criminal pirate council, has been invading our seas for some time now, disrupting our expeditions. And although we’ve tried to fight him, it’s clear that his crew, along with the others on the council, poses a threat to our safety, outnumbering our forces. If we directly face their army, we’re doomed."»
Eneas reflected with her simple, frightened mind: if they were outnumbered and clearly disadvantaged, what was the point of all this? Needless to say, by now, her body instinctively trembled. Her legs had long been screaming for her to flee, but she remained in place with sheer willpower. Even though every small movement was a struggle due to the amount of shaking in her body.
She continued to listen more intently.
«"But we’ve fortunately managed to negotiate a much more comfortable agreement for both parties, the agreement of which you and all other officers are aware."»
«"Yes, sir."»
«"We’ll find the best recruits and send them on an expedition, but we’ll ensure they are ambushed, and we’ll sell them in exchange for our freedom."»
«"But sir... this seems like an extremely drastic measure."»
«"I don’t want any further discussion. It’s for the safety of our people. These pirates have been a plague for too long, and I won’t allow the empress’s refusal to help us to somehow sabotage the security of our isla—"»
Before he could finish, a sound drew the attention of both officers: the half-closed office door was suddenly slammed shut, and, following that abrupt move, rapid footsteps could be heard fading into the background, signaling someone fleeing.
The militia captain rose from the chair where he had been sitting, glaring at the door.
«"Spies! Someone overheard our conversation! Call the guards! There’s a spy in this building!"»
«"Yes, sir!"» And the officer with him immediately ran towards another room to inform the guards, ordering them to find the spy as soon as possible.
Eneas was running like she had never run before. Despite her inability to see, she had memorized the path, recognizing the few corridors she had accidentally taken to enter the office. She had also heard the captain’s shouts and, unfortunately, was aware that someone was chasing after her.
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Her legs, which had been begging her to move earlier, were now performing miracles, sprinting forward in a terrifying burst of speed, taking exaggerated strides for someone her height.
As she ran, she trembled and cried, just like she used to when she had her vision, but her goal this time was to warn the only people who might listen to her.
«"Pirates! Pirates! The pirates are behind all of this! Help!"» She shouted continuously as she ran, ironically giving away her position to the authorities.
Needless to say, her below-average height and her tendency to panic worked in her favor. As soon as she exited, she immediately recognized the change in air and understood she was outside. Moreover, from a distance, she could hear the soldiers marching out. She wasn’t initially sure whether to trust them or not, but she heard a familiar voice from afar.
Monomia raised his arms, waving them, and shouted, «"Eneas! We’re here! Can you see us?"»
Natirra, next to him, gave him a light nudge. «"She can’t see, don’t you remember?"»
«"That’s right!"» Almost taking credit for it, Igre smiled in agreement.
This slightly annoyed Natirra; she was really starting to hate Igre.
Eneas recognized the voices and ran towards them. She dashed with such unnatural speed that it ended when she collided directly with Monomia’s leg, falling to the ground.
Everyone moved slowly, and the group of Natirra, Riaca, Monomia, and Igre stood still, observing Eneas’s strange behavior, though they were somewhat used to it by now.
Eneas suddenly got up, her face pale. In the background, some guards emerged from the office, confused, scanning the area, but none of them seemed to focus on the group. After all, they hadn’t seen enough of Eneas to recognize her.
«"Wow, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,"» Monomia commented, trying to lighten the mood.
Riaca grew curious. «"What happened? Did she hear about pirates again? We should’ve watched her. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to take her glasses away."»
«"Hey, what do you mean? She wouldn’t have stopped whining,"» Igre replied, continuing to defend his idea.
«"Eneas, what’s wrong?"» Natirra asked with genuine curiosity.
Eneas turned her face towards her. Her vocal cords struggled to work, and the constant trembling of her jaw made her response almost inaudible. The terror in her eyes was real, so real it didn’t seem like the usual paranoia the group had witnessed before, but as if she had seen something concrete.
She tried her best to get a response out. «"T-the... T-the... T-the..."»
«"The…?"» The group asked.
«"T-the pirates! The pirates! The pirates are behind all of this!"»
Igre laughed with a doubtful smile. «"Well, we knew it, it’s just her usual scare."»
«"Hey, let’s at least hear her out."»
«"The pirates... the pirates! It’s all a pirate plan! They want to kidnap us, they want to sell us to the pirates!"» And despite her best efforts to explain things to her group, they all looked at each other with an awkward silence, and Eneas realized that none of them would believe her. But she didn’t give up. She kept desperately spilling out everything she had heard, but the looks from the others, while showing genuine concern and theories that she might have gone mad, didn’t reflect trust in her words.
«"It must be stress,"» Monomia commented, trying to provide some explanation.
«"Hey, maybe she’s lost it,"» Igre added.
«"No, no! I swear it’s true! It’s all true! Listen to me!"»
Riaca observed the group of soldiers. They had all moved on by now. «"Guys, we’d better follow them and head back to the tent."»
Monomia grabbed Eneas by the arm, who was still in the middle of her hysterical outburst.
«"This time, I’m not losing you,"» he said.
They all began to walk away, but among them, Natirra noticed something. She observed the guards quickly leaving the office, securing the area, and saw one of the generals stepping out, scolding them for not having found anyone. For a moment, she grew suspicious too. And watching Eneas’s distress, she concluded that, yes, she had probably overreacted, but maybe there was some truth, different perhaps from her idea of pirates, to what she was saying.
To put it simply, Natirra was probably the only person who placed a shred of trust in Eneas. But if not out of genuine belief in her theories, it was also mainly out of a desire to find an escape from the situation she was in and had yet to accept.
After all, she had signed the papers (and even for Eneas).
Now it was just as well to return to the tent. She followed her friends, but she decided she would find some time to question Eneas. Even though the matter wasn’t really that simple, as she was still unaware of the program she would have to face the next day.
Nevertheless, her decision was made. She hurried to catch up with the others and returned to the tent as well.