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"Qui dedit beneficium taceat ; narrat qui accepit"

- let him who has done a good deed be silent ; let him who has received it tell it

☾ ☾ 

The nine men stared at the unconscious figure lying on their ship.

Her eyes were closed, the cut that run across her arm now covered with a bandage - courtesy of the doctor - while the pale skin now gained some colour as she stirred.

Eyes blinking rapidly as she saw the edge of the deck, sideways for that matter, as she yelped in surprise, stumbling into a upright position against the pillar behind her back before noticing the boys in front of her. 

Her hands were tied back with a rope, a blindfold that was supposed to cover her face now covered her neck as her carefully tied ponytail now lay open, her hair falling over her shoulders in slight curls as she exhaled softly. 

One, observe your surroundings

Aeris was on a ship. 

The rocking of the waves beneath her feet and the open expanse of water in front of her guaranteed it. 

So did the nine, dressed in the most bizzare assortment of clothes that made her wish she could take them to a parlour, maybe even to some dressing lessons. 

That is not the right concern to have right now. 

They looked at her inquisitively, following her as she made even the slightest of gestures or noise and reaching for their weapons when she opened her mouth, swallowing before the words left her mouth, as rough as the stones that lined the shores and gruff as the soldiers at the castle gates. 

"What have you done?" 

"Us!" The lilac haired boy exclaimed, raising a hand to his chest as his high pitched voice made her wince "shouldn't we be asking you that, possessed lady?" 

"hey thats rude!" a blonde replied, glaring at the other before pausings "it is true though" 

Possessed ?

"I - I dont know what you are talking about"

Lies

Her fingers pulled at the knots behind her back, fumbling against the ties and feeling them loosen as her arms sagged against the hull. 

She felt oddly calm, her mind seeming to not have registered what was happening.
Her heart continued to beat at an even pace, her breathing its normal way and her mind surprisingly silent.

"Thats not true" 

Aeris looked at the speaker, hiding behind a black haired boy, his voice low as he looked straight at her. 

he was young, obviously the youngest of the lot.
His eyes shone with curiosity and - she was pleased to see - a little terror that he tried to cover, his hands trembled as she tilted her head, quirking her eyebrow in his direction, the unspoken question reaching him in full understanding as he shifted uncomfortably. 

"you know what we're talking about"

They know mistress

Shut up

"Don't play dumb darling" a familiar red haired grinned at her, waving his hand and looking down at her, as she shifted slightly, covering the motion of her hand with the help of the mast, 

Treasure | AteezWhere stories live. Discover now