The Mermaid Pirate

Chapter Twenty-Six: Damn Gypsies

Oh goodness.. I think this might be the one of the last 3-5 chapters of this book. 

-to my super enthusastic fan ;) 

Julia's POV

I hold my skirts close to me and above the filthy ground. Nate walks impossibly fast and Howell stays protectively behind me. We pass the first group of women who swoon and sigh over Nate, begging him to take one of them. They all have so much powder on their faces that they're unnaturally white with thick red lipstick and bright pink cheeks. Nate briefly eyes one of the women's breasts, giving her a smirk to which the woman over dramatically moans.

My stomach twists with jealousy which suddenly vanishes when the women give me looks of distaste. Each of them scoffing when I walk past, whispering amongst themselves how small and petite I am... how I must be french! Howell noticed my displeasure and before I could whirl around to give them a piece of my mind, he gently bumps me forward. 

Nate quickly turns down a narrow and musky smelling alley, squeezing past two drunken slobs. I shrink back against Howell but make it pass without any comment from the men. The music and laughter starts to fade away when Nate turns down a wider alley but the smell does not improve. 

My slippers are completely wet now from the muddly puddles I was unable to avoid. Annoyed that once finally clean, I am only to get dirty right away all over again! I only hope the puddles were just water... nothing else. 

Almost no light shines into the alleys that Nate chooses to go through and many questionable people stand in front or towards the middle, giving threatening looks. We also pass by a couple, or a man and one of those women, deeply locked in their love making thankfully still clothed. I hear Nate chuckle when I make a noise of disgust. 

The three of us walk futher and futher away from the town's central plaza but I do not feel releved. Much more disgusting men and women are among here, hiding in the shadows while others sell trinkets, claiming to have magic. Focused on one of the stands, an old woman with a missing eye and pure white hair leaps in front of me taking my skirt in her hands. 

I gasp in horror when I notice she is skin and bones, wearing only a sack as clothes. "Gimme your dress will ya? Mighty fine price for it! Give you this charm, make all men love ya. Just for the dress." The woman cackles madly, tugging on my dress. 

Howell leaps into action, slapping the poor old woman hands away. The woman cries out and shrinks back into the shadow but Howell tosses her two gold coins. She lunges for the coins, hissing at me to stay away from her gold and I walk faster. 

Nate paused, waiting for us to catch up but didn't bother to ask what had happened before continuing on. We walk undistrubed for the next ten minutes before finally stopping. 

"This is it." Nate announces. We stand in front of a worn down shack with many glass orbs hanging from the door way. Many colorful shells, all shapes and sizes are scattered around the home and some are on strings swaying gently from the breeze. 

Nate walks forward to knock on the old home but three men from our left emerge with greedy grins amongst their faces. All three have missing teeth while their others are rotting away. One of the men is different from the other two, being bald and having no beard. But his head and neck is covered with dark tattoos and hes dressed head to toe in black leather. 

The other two look like twins, a mirror image of each other! Both with dirty orange hair and dark beards that hangs to their belly. Neither of them wear a shirt but they both have dual swords strapped to their backs. 

"Now we see you have a bit of coin on ya." The bald man speaks darkly. "Couldn't help notice 'ow you threw those gold coins at that old whore." The two other men laugh loudly, as if something was funny.