Unforgiven Swords: Chapter 11

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 Grave held the tea-pot’s cable and filled his cup slowly.

 He then proceeded to take the cup to his lips, feeling the hot liquid to go down through his throat. He smiled, feeling the sweet flavor of lemon tea with honey and sipped again, for a long time.

 Meanwhile, all of the RedClaw Pirates stared him with impatient eyes.

 Grave: Tea is so delicious, don’t you think?

 The pirates leaned to the revolutionary’s direction. His smiling mouth was open, as if he was going to say something, after half an hour of silence.

 Instead, he just touched his lips on the cup’s border once again.

 Grave: (filling the cup again) My mom makes tea like no one else… I really missed these flavors!

 … And he drank again.

 Naishi punched his forehead, containing a scream. Next to him, Jon somehow managed to sleep on the tight space of that couch, while Diarmuid played with his face, slowly touching his index finger on the navigator’s nose. Karen, her legs crossed, simply maintained the dull expression she had before. Macabre followed his niece’s example and remained with his arms crossed over his chest.

 Karen: (whispering) Alina was so lucky to get out of here…

 Macabre: (whispering) Someone needed to stay on watch anyway… It’s just a matter of time until the Marines or the Unforgiven Swords start to look for us.

 Grave: Oh, yes, I just remembered…

 They leaned again.

 Grave: I didn’t offer you anything…

 Naishi: Argh! Did you forget why we went here in the first place???

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Of course not! But I always take a time every day to drink a pot of tea…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre, Naishi and Karen: ( stands up and surrounds Ainer with a dark gaze in their eyes) Let’s. Just. Talk!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> The revolutionary captain grinned and filled his cup with the hot drink once more.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: (shouting) Mom! Could you bring us more tea?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre, Naishi and Karen: Us???

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: You are getting to much excited, my friends… There is time to discussion, but there’s also time for tea!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Both of the RedClaw present on the house had to hold Naishi when he exploded.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Calm down, Naishi!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: It won’t lead to anything! Although I would like…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: This is not helping, Karen!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: (calming down and heavily breathing) Alright, I’ll stop! Tell me, Grave, how did someone like you ended being a captain of a revolutionary unit?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: That’s a good question… I always liked working undercover, and I am pretty strong, so…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Can’t we just talk about our situation?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Ainer didn’t remove his smile, although it certainly recollected a little.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> He took the tea-pot from his mother’s hand, saying he was grateful, and filled his cup.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Those who are pursuing you… They are the Unforgiven Swords, as you already know. Have any of you heard about their reputation?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> None answered. Diarmuid slept alongside Treach by that point, and they were hugging each other.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: I thought so… Although you, Macabre, may have met their captain, Locke Wolff.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: He says I did, once, a long time ago, and he used another name.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Indeed… (stops smiling) He used to be called Wolfe Hazard.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Wolfe…? Do you mean Date’s right hand man? This is not good…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: He is the smallest of your problems, as hard as it may seem. That scar, crossing his right eye, he won it when he rebelled against Vladimir RedClaw with…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: “Vladimir”? Who is that, uncle? Is he a distant relative?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre turned his blue eyes to the revolutionary. Grave, looking somewhere else and whistling, pretended he hadn’t noticed.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: (sigh) We’ll talk about Vlad later, Karen… All you need to know right now is that he is your eldest uncle, and that he is not a very nice person… That’s why you probably don’t remember him; Date and Valen barely let him see you.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: Was he a Marine, along with uncle Date?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Yes, but we’ll talk later. Wolff is our primary problem right now. Continue, Ainer.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> He nodded, and filled the cup with tea.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Where was I? Yes, well, he got that scar along a few other wounds, so he is not as strong as he used to be. The others are the problem.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi cursed and murmured something to himself. Of course, he was thinking of Hound.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: They hunt down any pirate, no matter how big…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: I know that part. Wolff doesn’t like the idea of the Government dealing with the criminals such as us. So, he does the job himself… the right way.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Yes. And they do it very, very well. The Swords have a large reputation among bounty hunters, a deserved one… (sips the tea) Wolff’s son and daughter, Lura and Grainne, I don’t know how exactly they can be a threat to you, but they will be.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: Grainne is the redhead one? (closes her fists)

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Yes.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: Right…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: They have a martial artist, Aman Freel…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: He’s already beaten by me.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Ainer stopped and looked surprised to the first mate. He then laughed out loud, grinning with pleasure.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Hohoho! You pirates always find a new way to amaze me! Then, Freel is not a problem. Next, we have Hiruna Kanpare Nu. She’s a sadistic Devil Fruit user that wraps people up in boa feathers… Don’t ask me, okay? The world is far more crazier than that… At last, there is the Dishonored Assassin, the Red Hound, of unknown origin.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: Apparently he hates it.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: What?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: His origin… and his face. He got very angry when I messed his bandages, only a little bit.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Oh, yes, he said so on the little confrontation we had a while ago… He also said he’s from Iga, which doesn’t mean good things for you, because Iga is the best place to raise an assassin… That’s it, I said them all.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: I’d really wish to avoid confront if possible. Is there a way to leave the island quietly?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Yes, but the Pose will just adjust after about three months.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> They all shouted “what?” at the same time, making Jon and the bard to wake up scared.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Diarmuid: Were you hugging me?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Jon: Were you hugging me?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Ainer Grave filled the cup again.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: And that lead us to our next problem: you can’t just leave like that, or else you’d be lost. I can manage to find for you an Eternal Pose to somewhere, but as the Marines found out about me, it will take a while to do so… This means I need to find you a safe place to hide.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Naishi: There’s no need to help us…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: But I will. That’s the way I am, nothing can change that… Luckily, the island is big and I have a few contacts still here, so the hiding place isn’t exactly a problem. I’ll also find a way to hide your ship for you, so you don’t need to worry… Now, Macabre, can I speak to you alone?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre looked to his crewmates. They nodded and went away.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: What is it?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: If, by any chance, the Unforgiven Swords, the Marines, or both of them find you or me, I ask your permission to declare war.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Huh? War?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grave: Yes. I’ll be declaring mine and yours official alliance, and we’ll not hold back fighting against any opponent until we both go away. (Stands his hand) What do you say?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: I don’t think I can say no to that… (Shakes Ainer’s hand) but if it happens, I want you to share some of your tea, partner.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Grave: (grinning) Hohohohoho! Never, RedClaw, never!

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Wolff: (angry) I want those pirates, no matter the cost! We won’t be leaving until we find them, alright?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> They all met inside their ship. Lura was being specially reprehended, although Grainne also had received her amount of screams from her father.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Wolff: … and that revolutionary helping them… Hound, you take care of him?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hound: If you wish me to do it, master.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Wolff: Yes… But before, we need to find out where they are. Ver-Ashtra is a big island, so you and I start looking first thing tonight. Kanpare, discover what you can by the city… as for my son and daughter… You stay here; you two will only help when I ask.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> The captain and his Hound both bluntly turned around and left the ship.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hiruna: You don’t mind him, Grainne. He’s been like that ever since he rebelled against the RedClaw.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grainne: I know that… Once in a while I always wonder if he’s right about his philosophy.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hiruna: Me too. Then I remember I’m here only about the money.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Hiruna never really seemed interested in anything anyone said. That case wasn’t any different.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Grainne looked to her brother. He was so drunk he wouldn’t say anything that made sense, so she just left them and went to her room.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> There, Grainne once more wondered why, why did Loke Wolff act like that? He refused to serve the Government, but also didn’t turn to piracy, and went on a rampage killing pirates, don’t minding the money… He had the spirit of an honest officer of the law, but chose to live unhappy, due to the disbelief he had on the ones he used to serve.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Why to submit to all of that suffering, when he could simply leave it all, was what Grainne really couldn’t understand.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> The White Wolf, to the contrary, could perfectly understand all of it.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre, even though all he knew about Locke Wolff were his ideals, was somehow aware of how the pressure of serving under someone like Vladimir was. Thus, he knew how he, Date and Wolff himself were close to each other.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Now, I guess it’s a good moment for me to tell my motivations… It’s best for me to talk to you alone firstly, Karen, because it’s far more important to you than to them. Are you ready?

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> They both were alone in Macabre’s room, inside the hiding place Ainer had found them. It was a little humid, but he couldn’t complain.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: Vladimir RedClaw was the second of the RedClaw brother to be born, before me, Date and only after your father, Charles…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Karen: Are you fine, uncle? If you don’t feel fine telling, I don’t mind…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre: No. It is about time…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> Macabre knew. He knew that both he and the Unforgiven Sword, not mentioning Date, were men fighting for the things they believed in. However, none of them, differently from Date RedClaw, backed down and ignored their goals judging them to be in vain. They decided that they would follow their objectives until the bitter end, so that, only then, they would be able to have the lives they really wanted for themselves.

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> What differenced them, in essence, was that Locke Wolff, and Macabre could see it by the cold and melancholic eyes of the bounty hunter, kept his burden and his sorrow to himself…

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left">

<p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left"> For he knew that, the White Wolf told his niece about his revenge.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Next Chapter