The Book Of Flowers
Captain Alice (2)
-- 17 years ago, Year 245 of the Freedom Calendar --
...
...
The two small eyes opened under the dazzling light of the lantern. The child who had just woken up immediately rubbed his eyes
But, he immediately panicked, remembering that he had not prepared and had a bath. He jumped down from the bed, but suddenly stopped
He remembered something. Something made him pause on the wooden floor
"It... Not a horse stable"
He was used to waking up that morning. Without the slightest bit of refreshing his mind first, he immediately surged out of the mattress so that the owner used to not get angry
He still remembered the cold of the water in the place of slavery. Her body was shivering, and her clothes were to be dried when wet, in order to always look neat. But, it was all also done in the hope of getting out of that terrible place
He's out of that place now. He just slept on a soft mattress, with a clean, neat shirt out of nowhere. Next to his bed, a still-warm soup lay in a clean bowl. The smell intrigued the boy, but he still wanted to stay focused on figuring out where he was right now
The child's room door suddenly opened. He was shocked by it, as well as the person who entered his room
"Oh!? It's awake apparently!"
Women skinned as sweet as brown, with hair straight and beautiful apple red. His blue-colored eyes were filled with burning spirit flames. That person also immediately appeared before the child in a loud voice
That lady... It was the man who beat him up yesterday...
The memory instantly made the child beware of the woman
"Did? Why are you putting yourself up like a cat to fight like that?" The woman asked confusedly
"Who are you!? Why would aunts like you take me to a place like this?!" The boy called back
"H-Huh!? Your auntie when?! Nevermind, forget. The point is, I already bought you from that slave-seller master. So, from now on you have to follow my orders"
"Huh? How can I trust i-"
Before the boy could finish speaking, the woman thrust an official slave-buying letter into his face
"This is proof. So, get ready and change your clothes. You already have a job"
"... What job?"
The woman only grinned widely, then thrust out a sailor's distinctive suit
"Prepared soon. We'll all be sailing in a minute"
The boy's question remains unanswered. Although hesitant, he was forced to follow the orders of the woman so that all questions can be answered
......................
-- A while later, the lower floor of the shop of Nuit, the town of Blouse, Cassiopeia --
The atmosphere is very crowded. Chants could be heard throughout the room filled with people acting wild. They danced in unison and some sipped their beers like there was no tomorrow
All of those people look scary to the kid. I don't know what would happen if one of them realized his existence. So, he just hid behind the shadows while monitoring the safe escape route, out of the place
"Oh! That's it!" Someone shouted
All eyes were instantly fixed on the child sitting crouching behind the staircase barrier. The child must have been terrified, especially when the atmosphere changed because everyone there stopped whatever it was they were doing
"Son! Come here!"
The woman who entered his room earlier, clapped her hands loudly and signaled for him to come closer
But, as the woman sat among the men who looked rude, the child hesitated to approach
"Hey! No need to hesitate! Yum!!"
A squinty-eyed person suddenly put down his glass, then immediately beratraction by jumping through the poles, and landed right near the boy
"I'm not saying you should show off!" The woman called
The narrow-eyed man ignored him, then picked up the boy and brought him back down
"Take me off!"
But it's too late. When the man let go, the boy was already right in the middle of the crowd, and right in front of the woman
The woman took apart the folds of her legs, then brought her face closer to the boy
The boy only gulped with nervousness and fear, coupled with all the eyes that were on him right now as if dozens of tigers were ready to pounce on him
The woman kept looking at him for a while. Go on, and on....
"... I liked the way you fought back then" The woman said later
"... Huh uh?" The boy was shocked
"You want to join my pirate crew?"
...
"That's an offer for me?"
"Who else is it for?"
The boy was silent. What the woman sitting in front of him had just said, he had no idea
But...
"What... You're not gonna do anything to me after that?"
...
Everyone laughs. Even the woman in front of him at that moment
Their laughter all made the child startled, even though he had already started to feel the atmosphere turning warmer
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't think you were so innocent" The woman said, then laughed again
"T- Please just answer!"
Everyone slowly stopped laughing, although some were still small giggles
"none. It's just that, you might barely see any more inhabited land" The woman finally replied
...
"K-why are you asking me that?" The boy asked again
"... I told you I liked the way you fought back then, didn't I?"
"...!?"
"That's not enough, is it?"
Not not enough. It's just... The boy was still hesitant to believe it or not the hand that stuck out to him
"Yes?"
"I'm not going to force you. You can leave now if you don't want to"
...
A female subordinate was immediately seen wanting to protest because they had already taken out 2 pieces of gold to pay for the child. But, before the subordinate could speak, his actions were instantly cut off with just a gesture from the woman
The woman was still waiting for the answer of the child sitting before her. His eyes were even fixed, not the slightest bit of him doing anything while waiting for the child to speak
"... L'm... Wanted to be free" The boy finally replied
Everyone immediately looked disappointed. Although they try to hide it, others can immediately realize it. Even the woman immediately closed her eyes with great disappointment
"But I want to try sometimes... Sailing on a ship"
...
Everyone laughed out loud again, and it certainly made the child more confused while looking around
"It's going round and round?!"
A large-bodied man suddenly lifted the boy onto his shoulder, as everyone cheered happily towards the two of them
"Welcome to Black Hunt! You are officially one of the best pirates in the world! My name is Broke, so please cooperate!" The man exclaimed, then laughed out loud
The woman just looked at the child with a happy look while still laughing softly in the midst of the excited cheers of all her friends
Suddenly, the woman seemed to remember something
"If I'm not mistaken, your name is Cyan Keith isn't it?" The woman said later
The boy immediately gasped and lowered his face without answering
"Maybe... You should make your pirate's name too. Cyan Keith hm...?"
The boy raised his face again, looking at the woman
"ah! Maybe Cyth could be a good name. 'Cy' of Cyan and his 'th' of Keith" The woman exclaimed after pinching a finger
...
"I don't like it...." The boy said with an irritated face
"Heh!? Why!?" The lady was shocked
"The call is so ugly, that's the reason!" The boy added
"Captain as usual was not creative at all making a name" a crew member commented
"Whisper!"
"I don't like it..."
"Hey boy-!"
They all laughed again as they saw their captain and the boy arguing
The shop was immediately filled with a very warm atmosphere, coming from a pirate gang that was supposed to be a villain in someone's eyes
A gang of criminals who make everyone who sees them feel warm to see the incident alone
...
Their visit to the store was over. According to one member's report, the royal army had already started to rush towards the city to capture them
In the middle of that night, they had to hurry away before any royal troops came
"This is how we want to move. Once we can stop by too, we have to be very careful"
"... Why are you being chased by this royal army?"
"Because we don't follow the rules"
"... That means you're criminals or something?"
...
"We're not criminals. We just don't want to follow rules that are as complicated as that. Unfortunately, no one in the world likes a disobedient person like us" she replied to Cyth, staring into the city
Cyth looked at the woman's fist that was starting to tighten
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, Cyth reached the captain's hand
"Come on, we'll go" Cyth said
The woman smiled, then took her hand with Cyth
"My pirate name is Alice. Call me Captain Alice from now on"
"All right, captain"
The two of them smiled, then started walking towards their ship parked in the city harbor. A black painted ship and a golden fringe, with a very large size. Naturally as many people as that can be accommodated by a pirate crew on this one
Cyth goes to the deck of the ship with Alice. He noticed all the crew members working on preparing the ship
"Prepare, son"
Cyth just nodded slowly as he looked at Alice looking towards the horizon
Cyth's first voyage began not long after. The ship took off from the port, and everyone immediately looked happy, diving into each other's work
The ship was moving slowly at first. But the longer, the wind that blew the ship was getting louder. The cold wind of the night penetrated Cyth's body and made him shiver for a moment
But, that shivering feeling...
It was different from when he was in slavery. That shivering feeling, actually made him even more excited
The ship was speeding up fast because of some people who used wind magic so that the ship could speed up immediately. Cyth was immediately amazed by all that, especially when he saw the sea water being eroded by the side of the ship
"Captain! We sail!" Cyth said happily
Alice simply shook her head, then stroked Cyth's head
"Direct ships to the Lao continent! Let's go hunt for gold there!" Alice exclaimed
Everyone immediately responded in agreement, and hurried to do as he ordered
"Consider this sea breeze Cyth! He will be your friend as long as you live!" Alice said again, then laughed out loud
Cyth's eyes twinkled as he continued to look at the walking ship. The first day he sailed, he was immediately excited to become a pirate
Together with very great people. People who do not care about the rules, but can still be friendly and kind
His first voyage began as a future pirate, along with the captain standing beside him
The captain who will change his destiny and bring him into the middle of all this chaos
