Other Fan Fiction ❯ The Treasure of Oritemp ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

She went straight to the bed and lay down, trying to ignore the pain in her stomach.

“He's such an ass,” she grumbled to herself, her arms around her stomach.

Sirius, about half an hour later, came into the cabin, placed a bowl of warm soup on the bedside table and walked over to his desk without a word. She didn't move for some time before slowly uncurling herself and sat up, taking the soup and eating it silently. Arianna didn't even spare him a glance once she was done; she set the bowl down and then lies back down, trying to fall asleep. Sirius was mumbling to himself about the treasure again, papers rustling on his desk as he searched his maps restlessly.

“Thank you,” she grumbled.

She just laid there and figured she'd just doze off eventually.

“Yeah…” Sirius mutters.

“If you don't like the sword, I can take it back… or give it to someone else.”

“No… I like it… It's unique…”

“I'm… I'm glad you like it.”

She slowly started to doze off and eventually fell asleep. She woke up around midnight, cold and shivering uncontrollably. She tried to find something to cover up with that was thick enough, but to no avail.

“Sirius?” she asks softly, not sure if he was asleep or not, “Do you have anything I could use as a blanket?”

Sirius, still in his chair, looked to be asleep. He had his arms crossed on his desk and a bottle of rum in one hand. His head was rested on one of his arms. She frowned and finally found something, only to slowly walk up to him and cover him up with it. He shifts with the sudden additional weight but doesn't wake up. She smiled slightly and curled up in a corner of the bed, pulling a coat over her shoulders that she had found. It seemed to dwarf her as she curled up under it and fell asleep.

The next morning came, and Sirius woke, his head banging from the alcohol he consumed. He sits up and curses as he tries to stand. The cover that was over him fell to the floor and he stared at it, not remembering using it. He looks over to the bed, seeing Arianna asleep on the bed. With a sigh, he picks up the blanket and throws it over her, softly enough not to wake her up. She shifts slightly, his jacket slipping slightly as she snuggles under the blanket even more. Sirius takes his bottle of rum and takes a small sip before placing it back in the cabinet. After that, he walks to the kitchen.

“I want the girl to have a warm breakfast when she wakes up,” he says to the cook.

The cook looks at him a brief moment before nodding.

“Ay captain,” he says.

An hour later, Arianna comes out of the room and goes into the dinning area.

“Excuse me,” she says to the cook, “Could I please get something to eat before I go to work?”

The cook smirks and nods.

“Of course, as requested by the captain,” he says.

She tilted her head to the side, obviously confused by what he said.

“The Captain?” she asked, “Um… okay, thank you.”

“What would you like?” the cook asks.

“Something warm please.”

The cook nods and begins frying a few pieces of pork and a couple of eggs he had in the ice tub. She still had Sirius's coat over her shoulders and she huddled into it, not liking the cold morning air in the least. At this point, she couldn't wait to eat and get to work by the fires. Someone came up behind her and she stayed still, not knowing who it was exactly.

“What are ya doin' with te' Captain's coat lass?” a male asks.

“I'm cold,” she replied softly, “I couldn't find anything.”

The moment a hand came down on the back of her neck, she stiffened and her reaction was immediate. She grabbed the male's arm and flipped him over her back and into a table, breaking it in half. The cook pulls a knife from the counter as this was going on and a few of the other men who were in the dinning area all stood up as well. All the talking and whispering came to an abrupt halt as Sirius came down the stairs into the dinning area.

“What's all this then?” he says, his tone darker than she had heard before.

“I… he touched the back of my neck and I… it was instinct,” she replies.

She looked at the ground and waited.

Sirius walks up to her and looks her up and down before looking to two men from the other side of the room.

“Take this waste to the brig,” he says. The two men go to grab Arianna, but Sirius stops them. “Not her, him,” he adds, gesturing to the man on the floor.

Startled, she pulled the coat tighter around her and watched as the two men grab the other guy before caring him off. She was a bit shaken, but she managed to look at Sirius.

“I… I broke the table,” she said, “I'm sorry.”

“Go get to work. We'll talk about this later,” Sirius says as he walks away.

She watched him go and waited for her food to get done before going down to her work station. Hours passed as she did her work, eventually, Sirius walks up to her and taps her shoulder.

“Come to my cabin,” he says, leaving as quickly as he came.

She puts out the fire and sets up the shots that she was working with before taking a rag and wiping her face. A moment later, she grabbed the coat and went to the cabin like she was instructed. Sirius was sitting at his desk, facing away from her.

“What, exactly happened on my ship today?” he says, his tone holding authority.

“I was waiting for my breakfast and that guy came up behind me,” she starts, “He… he came up behind me and asked me why I was… uh… wearing your coat. I told him that I was cold and he placed his hand on the back of my neck.”

“My men are loyal to me and you are an outsider on my ship. I would also like to know why you have my coat.”

“I… I was cold last night and I just wanted something to keep me warm.”

She took it off her shoulders and placed it on his desk.

“I'm sorry,” she murmurs.

Sirius finally looks up at her, his expression blank.

“If you need more to help you sleep, I will take care of it. Just ensure that this does not happen again,” he says.

“Right,” she states before turning to leave the room.

When she left the cabin, she went hunting for somewhere that was secluded and she sat on the floor. She took off her locket and looked at the picture inside, which only made her depressed.

“Guess I'm just going to have to work my way out of here,” she murmured, “Right Mom?”

She leaned her head back and held the locket and key in her hand tightly. Before long, the old man from before stumbled upon her, he looks down at her and crosses his arms.

“In all my years, I've never seen a blacksmith, even a female blacksmith, in tears,” he says.

Arianna quickly wipes her eyes and looks away from him, swiftly stuffing the necklace in her pocket.

“I don't know what to do with myself,” she says, her voice shaky, “I only seem to get in the way.”

The old man sits down next to her and sighs.

“This is a place you don't belong. It's only normal that you feel out of place here. We are pirates and you are just a girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he says soothingly.

“Why did he even bother having me on board?” she chokes out, her face now hiding in her hands, “Why would he bother?”

“You have a skill that we can use. Swords aren't easy for us to get a hold of, neither are shots. He keeps you for that reason… or so he says.”

“He didn't even know that before I said anything! I don't like being around so many men… I taught myself self-defense so I wouldn't ever be weak compared to them but, I just can't seem to stand up to him and I hate it!”

“He's a man who carries authority like a sword. He can wield it at any time and better than any man I've ever known. He is, as I've come to know, impossible to deny.”

“I think… you may be the closest thing to a friend I have on this ship.”

She took out the locket and looked down at it.

“At least… since my mom passed I guess… if she's even dead.”

“I think that-” The old man cut himself off as he saw the design of the locket. “Where did you get that?” he asks.

“My mom gave it to me before I was sent to study under a smith… and before she passed away from a bad case of pneumonia.”

“And where did she get it?!”

She flinched back and looked down for a moment.

“My father, he was taken hostage by a group of low level pirates and he found it in the cell of the ship. When he was finally free, he gave it to my mother, and then she gave it to me so I'd have something to remember her by.”

The old man suddenly gets to his feet.

“That locket bears the symbol of the Treasure of Oritemp, the treasure the Captain is seeking,” he says in a hurry.

“He can't have it,” she says quickly, “This is one thing I will not let him have.”

“He will take it if he has to. He will stop at nothing to find that treasure.”

She clung to it even tighter.

“NO!” she shouts, “I WON'T LET HIM HAVE IT!”

The old man places a hand over her mouth.

“Quiet!” he nearly shouts himself. “Just listen. Show him the locket. I'll do my best to insure that he does not take it from you. But if he finds out you have it and didn't tell him about it willingly, he'll think you're trying to keep him from the treasure.”

She looks as if she was about to cry but she nodded her head and seems to just relax.

The old man sighs.

“Good. Let's go talk to the captain,” he says.

Arianna hesitated when she got to the door and slowly opened it.

“S-Sirius?” she questions softly, the locket clutched tightly in her hand.

Sirius was sitting at his desk, the same place he was when she saw him last.

“Come in, both of you,” he says, not looking up from his maps.

She walked up to his desk and hesitantly put the locket on it, hating the fact that she had to part with it, even if it was only for a moment. Sirius was quiet for what felt like eternity before he finally spoke.

“At last… I knew it. I knew I would get a least one step closer!” he nearly shouts, getting to his feet.

“I… I was hoping that I could… get it back,” she said, “When you were… done…”

Sirius didn't seem to hear her as he walked over to the old man and grips his shoulders.

“Do you know what this means Argus? We are close, so close I can taste it!” He looked to be in the best mood she had ever seen him in.

She watched him in silence and quietly receded into a corner, watching him and the old man, who she now knew was Argus.

“But… sir, where does this lead us? I don't understand,” Argus says.

“Don't you see? This one little piece is what I've been waiting for! The girl had the locket in that port town we picked her up in! It must be there as we thought before,” Sirius replies in excitement.

“I don't think it's there,” Arianna says, finally speaking up, “My Father found that when he was in the north, in a pirate's ship that sunk.”

“On a ship? What ship? Where!?”

“I… I don't know completely… I think it was by New Zealand or something… I don't know the name.”

Sirius shouts and pounds a hand on his desk.

“DAMNIT!” he shouts. “Then we're back to nowhere!”

She jumped and covered her head, as if she were afraid of getting hit.

“Iron… Iron something… I don't know the rest…”

“Sir, even if we don't know where it came from, we can go to the one place that can help us figure it out,” Argus says.

Sirius's anger seemed to disappear.

“Of course! You're a genius. Go tell the crew that we're charting a course for The Black Island,” Sirius says, and Argus was quick to go off.

Arianna slowly inched towards Sirius's desk so she could grab her locket and she went to reach out for it. Sirius grabs it quickly before she could.

“No way. Until we get to the Black Island, this stays with me,” he says.

She looks down and put her hands together in front of her.

“Can I at least… have it with me while I'm in here?” she asks, “It's… the only thing I have of my father and mother.”

“No. For all I know, you'll jump ship as soon as we make port. I'll not risk that. At least I know if I have this, you won't go anywhere.”

Her hands balled into fists and she had to restrain herself from trying to hit him.

“Screw you,” she snaps before turning and leaving the cabin and going down to her make shift smithy.

Sirius snorts and stuffs the locket in his pocket.

Stupid girl… getting upset over a stupid locket he thinks to himself.