The Five [EDITING]

Chapter Nineteen: Stories

RITCH

   "Loryn, thank you. Really." Alie said after having finally woken up. She was curled up on her side using Geacob's thigh as a pillow, still too tired to move, but awake nonetheless and with our food spoiled most of what was in our bags ruined to us, we had to get going now more than ever but the heat that surrounded us still was stealing too much of our energy so we were delaying as best we could.
   "Aye, Loryn." Venny said and made a grin at Hark. "It'll make a fine spot in the story."
   Loryn grimaced. "It isn't very much of royal behaviour."
   "A'course it is!" Hark said cheerily. "You're juss like Mon'ka, Queen of the pirates."
   I snorted. "There's no queen of the pirates."
   "Oh, but there is, aye. She had t'die ta be named it, mind, but she was." He took a drink then leaned forward and instantly, we all knew it was story time again. His voice changed; went deeper and huskier as if telling a secret, one we leaned in to hear.
   "Started off as a slave she did. Mon'ka from across the seas. Was trav'lin' on a trade ship, chained b'low deck with a hundred others that were to be sold. It was on this ship that her life both ended and began and so this is where we'll start her tale.
   "The chains dug into her wrists and ankles until they bled and scarred and bled again, but she felt no pain she didna. Since she was a babe, no pain did she feel. They said the gods gifted her, but she would say it'was a curse, for men broke her bones for bets and cut her nipples f'r jests. Not an inch of her wouldna scared or deformed 'cept her face. None dared touch her face, they said, cuz her face was so beautiful, it had to have been sculpted by one of the Gods themselves.
   "The traders ship she was hidd'n on was crossin' the Bitter Sea when the pirates spotted her. A great chase they lead, one that makes a story itself, but I be leavin' that for another day. F'r now, all yous need ta know is the traders was caught and each one of um was tossed inta the sea as a gift ta then gods.
   "Cap'n Harpon was the name of the pirate. Cap'n Harpy, they called him, cause he lured in the greatest of treasures. His booty was rich and full and for this reason, he needed none of the slaves and so one-by-one they was brought up and tossed inta the sea despite their worth on the market.
   "Mon'ka was the last, she was. The crew grimaced and gagged at her deformed body covered in scars as she walked along the deck. Her head was down and her stringy hair hid her face like a tangled mass of oiled weeds.
   "But the cap'n, oi, no, he was fascinated by the pain this one endured, an' he was quick ta intercede her steps.
   "'What be the name, lass?' He asked of her.
   "At that, she looked up and he was struck by the perfection of her face. Fierce and angry she was, but no fear, nay; for who would fear death when they feels not the pain of dyin'?
   "'I be Mon'ka' she said. Her voice was clear and so perfect that it had men fallin' ta their knees, it did. 'And if ye tosses me off board, I be sure ta tell the Gods it was ye who did so and they'd favor ya for it, for I have suffered long enough.' She told him, and aye, she meant every word.
   "But the cap'n, harpy that he was, saw each scar as a badge of bravery and her face as one gods wished ta be seen, an' he thought his prayers be answered. So he lured her in with sweet words and promised treasure until she agreed ta stay aboard an---"
   Hark abruptly began coughing violently, hacking up blood and doubling over until he vomited up a river of it. Alie leaped to her feet and Venny knelt by his side, but Hark pushed him away and crawled to the water, splashing his face until he stopped coughing, then drank from it while the rest of us were frozen in anxious worry.
   This is it. I thought with terror. This is it. He's dead now.
   But I was wrong. It was a long time before he gained the strength to stand on his own. When he turned to us, his face was drawn in pain but his eyes were determined. "Best finish the story later." He said. "I'll be damned if I dies b'fore seein' a dragon."
   "Perhaps..." Venny had to swallow before he could speak. "Maybe ye should rest---"
   "I'll rest when I'm dead, Venny my friend, though likely not b'fore it." He waved us up. "Let's get to it then."
   So we did.