Slave's Love (Pirate!Spamano)

Capítulo 2 (dos)

Antonio's PoV:

Roma's sudden change of behaviour sent my nerves on the edge and not knowing the reason only made the alarm in my head louder. Ever since the walk around Mallorca with Agueda, the boy has been down and a bit harsher to everyone than per usual. When I found him curled up on the bed, my heart ached and I couldn't help myself but to try my best in comforting him. My attempt of talking to him the next day was sent directly into a failure and he has been giving me a cold shoulder ever since.

The fact we were just one day from east bays of my homeland wasn't keeping me at ease, either. There was one advantage and one disadvantage of this; the good part of it was we were near Barcelona, a city I aimed for. Yet, on the other hand, most ships anchored there, as it had one of the biggest harbours in Spain. If we were to sail to the west side of the land, it'd be safer for us to travel but time-consuming and in moments like these, time was everything; minutes, seconds even, could decide of one's faith.

Either way, we were in death danger and most of my crew called me insane for listening to Romano's words; I would've never admitted it, but for the first time in my life, I was afraid of them betraying me as I grew less and less strict and was a rather easy target to hit then. All of those troubling, annoying thoughts made pain spring into my head, a sigh escaping me as my thumbs started to massage each side.

My legs on the table shook as something hit the wooden furniture, my eyes opening into a glare to gaze around the room for the intruder only to find out it was my Italian boy who has been (surprisingly) quiet as he swept the floor. I hissed at him under my breath but said nothing as my mind was soon overtaken by those agitate thoughts again.

Even with them filling my head and my eyes closed, I could sense each and every move around the cabin, yet was taken aback when the salty smell of sea hung over the room. My eyes snapped open, sharpening but were softened when I noticed Romano's hazel ones on me, an anxious look being sent my way. Another sigh escaped me and I narrowed my gaze away from his; I could only see more and more bad outcomes in those big, deep orbs – my men being killed or taken to prison was the worst above all.

I've never cared for my own life; I didn't become the captain for proving someone wrong and making myself feel better as I had power in my hands. Not at all; I decided to rebel in an attempt of saving other people's lives, as ironic as it sounds. Thanks to me being taught about this world at palace, I knew damn well what would happen to those who disobeyed a law. Yet, I also knew a way of saving them; if the prisoners were to work on a ship for the kingdom's sake, their time would lengthened.

When I found out all of this, I understood they would grow greedy for money and the payment there was half-hearted. After abandoning my duties, a new weight has fallen upon my shoulders as I've taken lives of many to my side, promising them wealth and other desires being fulfilled. By all means, trust was given to me and I could not just play with it as I wanted; if their lives fell into danger, I'd be the first one to blame.

So, the risks of us coming to the old continent were eating me up from the inside as I had to protect not only me, but others as well. Mainly a certain boy's life bothered me as he was the youngest and losing such thing was more drastic than a death of another.

By the time I've thought of everything, my head was about to burst from pain and I didn't almost notice the sudden appearance of someone's hands on me, trailing up and down my stiff shoulders. My breath hitched and my whole body tensed, my hand grabbed for my sword but was only met with air. However, a hiss escaped my lips when fingers dug into me.

"You're as stiff as an old man," the Italian behind me muttered as his hands smoothened the fabric of my shirt. "Pathetic." I couldn't help but let a low growl slip from me, "Shut up and don't touch me then." And as if taking my bitter comment seriously, his hands disappeared just as suddenly as they appeared.