Servant's Pride

4. The Enemy O' The Depths

The crew barely minded Cabezon and his new position. Their dedication to their tasks only seemed to intensify whenever they passed his bound body.

Hongjoong overlooked them at first, to make sure that none of them would go against his order of leaving the man alone. He didn't need them to poke fun at the grumpy admiral, and neither did he need inappropriate fights to break out because of their disagreements.

He had quite a few troublemakers in his group who wouldn't hesitate to abuse the commander's predicament for petty attacks. His standing guard assured them right away that there would be no fooleries going on this time.

On the day that they reached their destined island, the commander had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep. Out of pity, Yunho had given him a barrel to sit on, so the naval captain spent his hours in a weak doze while hugging the mast. As Hongjoong divided the roles of who would go on land and who would remain to guard the ship, he made sure to leave trustful men. None of those who stuck around would make trouble for the man.

Aside from Yunho who needed to rest his shoulder, Yeosang and San would stay back. Hongjoong had received a long list of supplies that his surgeon needed, and Wooyoung got tasked with spending San's money on a fresh pair of boots. As Hongjoong left, he met the commander's eyes fleetingly. Icy contempt passed between the two of them before Hongjoong marched down his ship first. He had both hands on his belt, pushing his coat back cockily as he turned to face his men.

"Wooyoung, Mingi an' Jongho, ye be comin' with me. The rest o' ye may go an' 'ave a jolly time."

Cheerful, the other handful of men that Hongjoong called his crew sped off into the port town. Wooyoung stepped up to Hongjoong with the little hand-drawn map he had made. Even if he and the captain could read, it was always easier to just look at things than try to find their way around complicated letters that only took up time to decipher.

"The mate we be searchin' lives further out o' the village. Shall Jongho an' I take care o' the provisions while ye two go?" Wooyoung handed the map over to Hongjoong. The man checked it with his compass that hung from his belt on a golden chain at all times and turned into the direction that he had to search in.

"Aye. Mingi, with me."

They parted and Wooyoung and Jongho began the trek up into the town. At every step, Mingi's sword hit against his leg with the flat side.

"'Ow be the ship doin'?"

"She be quite jolly. The jack tar did nay 'ave much time to wreck 'er." Mingi's grin was boyish as he pushed out his chest. His skill was undoubtedly one of the best Hongjoong had ever laid his eyes on. No wonder that he had wanted the man to join him.

"E'en though I 'ave to say that I be surprised. I did nay expect ye to take prisoners. Usually, ye avoid 'avin' enemies on board."

Hongjoong grimly gritted his teeth. A bunch of wandering women with baskets on their hips gave them a wide berth as they passed them. Mingi winked at one of them and she hid her flustered blush behind her hair.

"'E an' I go way aft. I knew 'im before I knew Yunho."

Hongjoong hadn't shared this story of his past with his crew. He had never seen the need to. They all had gone through bad times, some even wandered to hell and back. In the time on the ship, they learnt about each other's irks and quirks and how to deal with them. But if there was no need to tell, they didn't. Maybe Cabezon's appearance would force Hongjoong to give up some of his mysteriousness.

"I told ye that what we be searchin' fer killed me old crew an' sent 'em all to Davy Jones' locker," Hongjoong began slowly. They were steering towards the nearby edge of the forest. A dark forest full of pine trees with their dark needles. Looming, it waited for them to enter it and possibly lose their way.