The Island With No Parallel

Torches and Pitchforks in France (part 1)

It took them nearly a week to reach Cannes, France. Yunara was in no mood to humor Manuel, and avoided him at every chance she could find. Instead, she found solace in the company of Kailu and even Valentini, whom she helped treat along with the crew member acting as his medic. Well, perhaps not Valentini. She still couldn't bring herself to be comfortable in the presence of the pirate captain, despite his urgings that she relax in his company.

"So what will we be doing when we reach the Elves, anyway? Cast a spell on this... what was his name? Shi... Shi-something."

"Shi'ran," Yunara supplied as she prepared a wet cloth for the crewman, whose name she learned was Matteo, and handed it to him. Gentle dabbings were applied to the pirate's abdomen with much care. She had to appreciate Matteo's work. Despite the doctor in the family being his brother, it was obvious he learned a lot from him. The stitching done on Valentini were neat and even as well, a truly masterful feat indeed given the amount of screaming and cursing Valentini did in every language he could muster when it was being done, even once put into a drunken stupor for the procedure.

"Right. Shi'ran. So are you to lay a curse on him so that he does our bidding, or how does this work?"

"The same that we did with you. We try and convince him to help us, and tell him that it is his destiny to do so. I laid no spell on you, Valentini, so we won't do so with Shi'ran either."

"I wouldn't say that," he said as a sly upturn played on his lips. "And please, call me Luca."

Yunara turned so that he wouldn't see the red burning in her cheeks and pretended to be concerned with washing the bloodied bandages Matteo was handing her, dipping them in a bucket beside his bed.

"I'm only kidding, Yunara" Luca assured her. "I know that Moor has his sights on you, I shall keep my distance."

Yunara frowned at the word, not having heard it in use before in Caorfi. "Moor?"

"Yes, I'm horrible with names. Manuel, I mean. A Moor is what you call someone of your color."

"Well, I don't like being called it," she retorted, her hands clenching around the cloth between her fingers. Some days she couldn't decide whether to like Luca or loath him for his constantly cheeky attitude. Bedridden or not, she wanted to throttle him sometimes.

"Well, I don't mean to be offensive, but I hardly mean to discriminate. Being a pirate doesn't exactly put me in the place to do so. The only two requirements for working under me are to be a vagabond and ruthless. I don't particularly care what color a man is so long as he is those two things when he comes to work on the Fantasma. Regardless, I only meant to say that it is obvious whose heart you have stolen, nothing more. A blind man could see how he vies for your attention every day."

Matteo uttered something to her in Italian, and Valentini translated, "He's asking you to hand him the clean bandage in the drawer so he can finish wrapping me up."

"Ah," she muttered, obeying the request and trying to ignore his last comment.

"You two are involved, aren't you?" Valentini pursued, an eyebrow raised.

"No, we're not," she put simply and rising from her chair beside Matteo. "Was there anything else either of you needed?"

"Not anymore." he sat up slowly, his smile spreading as his black eyes glinted. "Thank you for everything, il mio fiore. I feel recovered already."

Yunara left the room with her cheeks burning, not feeling quite comfortable being in the center of so much attention. One a stubborn and arrogant Baron and the other a scantless pirate. And she was stuck on a ship with the both of them for another week before they reached Cannes. What marvelous luck.

She decided to turn to Kailu, hoping they could just sit and talk in her room for a while to get her mind off of her distress.

"What is it?" Kailu asked upon opening the door, reading Yunara's face.

"Men are pigs, that's what."

Kailu chuckled, inviting Yunara to sit on her bed with a gesture before joining her. "What happened?"

Yunara fell back into the bed with her hands covering her face, still warm to the touch. "I don't think I feel comfortable helping Matteo treat Luca's wound anymore. I think he too, has taken a liking to me and I don't know what to do about it."

"But what is so piggish about taking a liking to you?" Kailu laughed again, leaning back to be equal to Yunara.

"This isn't funny. I just want to lock myself in my room until we arrive to Cannes. I don't want to face either of them."

"Either?" Her ears perked up. "Who's the other?"

Yunara sighed as she realized there was no avoiding telling her now. "Manuel."

Her eyes widened. Then she erupted into laughter. "The Spanish Baron is in love with a Naiad maid? Now I've seen it all! You need to loosen up. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a little competition between men, even if you aren't interested in either of them. It's still entertaining."

"Kailu!" Yunara remarked, sitting up straight to look her dead on.

Kailu only smirked. "All's fair in love and war, they say. Besides, there's no possibility of any commitment, anyway. Who's to say where we'll be in a week's time, two week's time, a month, even? None of us knows. By the time we all return to our normal lives, the both of them may find interest in another."

"True," she said. It was just as she thought, as well. Once all of this was all over, the five of the Chosen would all go their separate ways. It was an unavoidable part of their journey, that frankly, Yunara looked forward to. The faster she could put Manuel behind her, the better.

"So stop stressing about it and have fun. It won't turn into anything serious unless you let it, anyway. So enjoy the attention," she said with a shrug.

Yunara chuckled. "I'm not the kind. But I do think you're right. It couldn't last long. Luca's a pirate, after all. He probably falls in love at least a few times in a week."

"Precisely. And you would have stressed yourself over nothing when he finds the next one. The same goes for Manuel. Wait until it blows over. It isn't as if Lords of his caliber stay interested in the help for very long, anyway."

That was the reality that Yunara didn't even think Manuel was willing to see, but was a painfully true fact to weigh into the equation. He had a reputation that would be perfectly ruined by their being together, and despite the fact that he was willing to pretend it didn't bother him, she knew it would eventually. He would chose his good name over her, someday. And she wouldn't be sticking around to wait for it. She may have been just a servant, but she didn't deserve that kind of relationship. Not with anyone.

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Okay, okay, but I can't help it. I'm holding a vote on Twitter today-only! Are you team #Manuara or #Yunuca? I love them both soooo much XD

If you missed the Twitter post, comment below your answer!