ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇɪʟᴇᴅ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ

Chapter III: A deal is made

Yet again there was no time given for Sylvia Aradove to explain herself. The strong woman grabbed her and brought her up to the surface level of the ship, all while the unlucky woman tried to plead for help and forgiveness. The woman let go of Sylvia before pulling out a sword and threatening her with it, Sylvia gulped at the sight of the sharp weapon.

"Who are you and what are you doing on our ship, hm?" she demanded answers in a secure voice.

"Now, now. Calm down Lorraine, I'm sure the elf means no harm." an older and much lower voice came from behind Sylvia, but she was too frozen to look back.

"Wait, elf?" the woman, apparently named Lorraine, raised her eyebrow before taking a closer look at Sylvia, a smirk growing on her face as she noticed her longer ears.

Lorraine walked up to where the older man was and Sylvia turned around to see what she had just gotten herself into. In front of her were all kinds of people: men and women, old and young. They were dressed like pirates. Sylvia's eyes widened upon the realization. The low-voiced man, who was in his mid-forties and what Sylvia suspected to be the captain, began speaking.

"I believe I know how you ended up on my ship, but do go ahead and explain yourself, girl."

"I, uh.." Sylvia took a while to gather her thoughts while inspecting the members some more.

"..I was imprisoned in the king's palace, but ran away and thought to hide. I didn't come here with any clear intentions, I just picked one ship. I apologize, will you please let me stay here until dark? I promise not to cause any trouble." she begged the man, clear distress glimmering in her eyes. The captain hummed at her answer.

"You do know there's a bounty for you out there, child? I wouldn't mind just giving you out to the king in exchange for some coin."

Sylvia feared she was cornered yet again, however now a different voice spoke out. It was a young man. His dirty blond hair was put up in a small messy bun and he had a few scars across his face. He leaned in to the older man.

"Father, if I may say we cannot exactly go on the mainland to turn her in, we're also criminals." he spoke in a soft voice as his father stared at him, thinking about what he said.

"That is true, it's a risk for us to give you to the royalty. But I can't keep you here, child. There's nothing in it for me and we must go back to the sea today."

Sylvia thought about it. She had to keep herself away from Spaudan for a while.

"Wait! I'm an elven healer. I can come with you to the sea and be of assistance for as long as you need. In exchange, I'll be safe and can return to my country once the guards aren't actively looking for me anymore. Please?" she firmly stared the captain into his eyes.

"Fine, then. Show me your skills, girl." He spoke, also holding strong eye contact and Sylvia smiled.

She decided to move her hair away from where she was earlier hit to make unconscious, revealing her wound. The man, the captain's son, slightly groaned at the sight. Sylvia brought up her left palm, hovering it over her injury before closing her eyes and starting to chant her prayers, the familiar, warm light covering up the wound. Some of the crew gasped, others only stared in silence. My goodness, I feel so much better. Why didn't I heal myself earlier? Sylvia thought to herself. Once she was done, she looked up at the captain with a confident smile.

"I have to say I'm impressed, you'll be useful to us. You can stay." he said, offering his hand for a handshake in order to seal the deal and Sylvia gratefully accepted it.

"But elf, can you handle being half a month only at sea? Have you ever even been to unknown waters?" Lorraine asked, a bit teasing.

"I haven't. As you know, Agrela is landlocked, but I've always dreamt of it."