Arc 8-41
“...yeah, no.”
I gape at the pirate, beyond confused at the indifference on her face. What does she an no? I just offered her a once-in-a-lifeti chance! I offered to sweep away all her troubles at no cost other than her cooperation with sothing she can’t avoid anyway! What am I missing?
“Why not?!” I demand.
“Eh.” She shrugs. Actually shrugs. “Seems like witchery to an’ that never ends well, ya know.”
“But…but…who cares what it is?!”
“Ya stupid or sothing? Ya don’t get involved in witchery.”
“Are you stupid?!” I cover my eyes with a hand, unable to look at her. What is actually happening right now? “You’ve got to explain this one to . What, do you prefer money?”
“Ah don’t need yer money!”
“Then what do you need? I don’t understand. You’re miserable but you’re refusing help because of a superstition.”
“Oi! Who said ah was miserable?”
“You did! When you were yelling at the things trying to wear your skin. Unless you enjoy being a worm host.”
“Who would enjoy that?”
“You, apparently!”
“Ah don’t!”
“You could have fooled !”
Rey runs a frustrated hand through her hair, turning away as she scowls. “Saints’ hairy asses woman. What do ya want from ? Ah guess it’s good yer trying to be a decent lady boss and all but ah don’t trust no land witching. Seas, ah don’t trust sea witches either but at least ah know what to expect from ‘em.”
“Who cares about trust? We’re offering to change you, to make you the woman you’ve always wanted to be.”
“And ah’m telling ya ah don’t need changing!”
“...you’re kidding right?” My gaze goes over her, taking in her over-sized jaw, her scarlet hand, and her unnaturally moving shoulders. “Rey, you’re…” What’s a polite way to say monstrous?
“Ah know what ah am.” The pirate clicks her tongue.
“Don’t you want to get better?”
“What we want ain’t always good. So things ya just gotta accept.”
Is she refusing because she’s just accepted she’s going to be like that forever? Sigh. She’s an idiot, isn’t she? She has to be.
But maybe there’s still a way to reach her.
“Don’t you want to look good for Maxine?”
That gets her attention. Her head snaps up, eyes narrowing as she stares at . The glare does nothing to stop . “You like her, right? Well, the bug teeth on your back aren’t going to make it easier to woo her.”
I can see the mont her conviction wavers…but then it hardens. “Don’t need no witchery fer that.”
“Really? I guess I missed your favorite rchant suddenly falling for you. When’s the wedding?”
Rey scowls but doesn’t say anything.
“I could make her heart stop when she sees you but you’re refusing because you don’t trust ? Hah! How many people do you trust, fully? I’d bet a hundred gold that you can’t use all your fingers to count them.” Saints know I can't. “But fine. Have it your way. I’ll cut you open and send you on your way without so much as a backward glance. Then you and your worms can watch the girl you like get swept off her feet by soone who isn’t scared of every—”
She lunges at with a hiss. It’s pitifully easy to catch the fist aid at my face. I grin as her star-shaped pupils widen and squirm, but, again, she isn’t one to be stopped by good sense. Her other hand moves to strike . I catch that one too, still grinning.
“If you kick , I’m going to hit back.”
“Stupidly strong annoying woman,” the pirate grumbles.
“You’re the one who made this physical.”
“‘Cause bastards like ya need to be punched. Ya strut around, throwing how much better yer are in my face. Offering to turn inside out and expecting to thank ya fer it. If ah don’t punch ya now, yer going to turn into one of the bad ones. Captains like whales, just opening their mouths and swallowing everything.”
“Better I be overbearing while offering solutions and gifts rather than an overbearing tyrant taking what little you have.” I throw her backward, the pirate tripping over her feet but managing to stay upright. “You’re right. I’m a villain. But I’ve got rules. I…consider people. I…care. Even about annoying idiots like you. You’re not going to convince that I’m like the scum of this kingdom because I’ve seen them. I’ve been under their boots and I know I’m nothing like them.”
“...yeah, fine. Yer still a bitch though.”
A bark of a laugh escapes . “Saints damn you too.”
“Ya really an it? When ya said…” Incredibly, the brazen woman blushes. It’s actually kind of cute, with the way she nervously twirls a lock of hair and hunches her shoulders. “Ya can make …pretty?”
“Whatever you want to be, Rey,” I promise, trying to infuse sincerity into my voice.
“And you’ll take the worms out? Ah’ll never hear them again?”
“I’ll try my best to do so and protect you. I’m going to be honest, we don’t know what we’re dealing with, not for sure. But if anyone can do this, it’s us.”
Rey jerks her head in a shaky nod. “...okay. Then yeah. Ah an, uh, thanks lady boss. Ah’ll take yer deal.”
“Thank the saints. You're not a complete idiot.”
“Nah, ah am. If ah could beat ya, ah’d have beaten ya into the ground and forgot all ‘bout this. But yer strong so ah have to think. And thinking ‘bout it, it doesn’t make sense to fight it. It’s just…my ma told that ah’d always have the sea in and she’s the strongest witch on the coast. She knows ‘bout these things, way more than so mudlegs who's never stepped onto a boat. Ah still don’t believe ya, not really, but…” She shrugs. “Might as well gamble, yeah?”
“Might as well,” I agree. I thought she was being stubborn but I think she might be scared. But of what? Is she afraid of ? That I’ll fail? Or that I’ll succeed?
“And ya know ‘bout this stuff. About making Maxie fall for .” The blush doesn’t show strongly on her tan skin but my eyes can spot it easily. It’s spread all the way to her ears. “Ah an, you’ve got a bunch of won so…”
“I wouldn’t say a bunch.” Three isn’t a bunch, right? I’d say it's rather ta compared to the harems so noblen keep in and outside their estates. “I’ll help you with Max, but all I can only help with the looks. There’s more to love than that.” Though I can't deny a face like mine is a significant advantage.
“Bah! Ah’ve got that. She likes , ah think. We, uh, spend a lot of ti together. Talking.”
Aw. There really is a maiden under that gruff exterior. “That’s a good start.”
“Yeah. Figure ah look more like ya and that’s that.”
“Well, I’m not going to give you my face.” Saints, that’d be strange. “The goal is to make you a better you.”
“That ain’t gonna work. Yer the one she likes so ah need to look like ya.”
…what?
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Hey, not like ah get it either but that’s what she said.”
I’m not the humblest woman in the kingdom. Saints, I’m pretty sure I’m tempting to most people, n and won. But I know Maxine isn’t interested in , not like that. I can literally sll such things and she’s never been interested. I don’t know if it’s a matter of preference for n or that she’s loath to get involved with a business asset, but Rey is working under a huge misunderstanding.
Why would she say sothing like that? I can’t–oh. Oh no. I’m picturing it; the overbearing and thoughtlessly violent pirate confessing to the mild and ek rchant. Saints have rcy on her, Max was probably terrified. I…can’t say with confidence that Rey would take rejection well. Who am I kidding? Of course she wouldn’t. Even if she didn’t attack Maxine, I can clearly see her taking out her frustrations out on others.
To avoid that, I guess the rchant gave her a target for her dissatisfaction. Soone that could take her anger head-on without consequences.
Sigh. That sneaky rchant owes .
I appear next to the pirate, chuckling as she jumps in surprise, her eyes unable to follow my speed. I throw an arm over her shoulders before she can step away. “We’ll talk about it. The important thing is that you like the way you look, okay? And there’s a world of options out there.”
“Ah guess.”
“Co on.” I pull her with as I head for the house.
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