Wilhelm found himself pushed to his knees as Lorena lowered herself to a
crouching position, but the movement had given him enough time to slip
out from underneath Lorena's arm. The woman's high pitched screams
continued to echo with whoever it was that entered his room shouting at
her to shut up. He was still draped under Lorena's cloak, still hidden
from sight, but at least now, he could see the man who was standing at
his doorway from between the folds of the cloak.
The man was
thin and short, far from a over built muscled, single-eyed pirate that
he always read about. His face was gaunt, his worn clothes hanging
loosely on his thin frame. He had the look of an animal driven into a
panic in his dark eyes. In fact, he seemed to be one of the least
threatening pirates he had ever seen! Even from here, Wilhelm could tell
that the sheen of red on his blade was too bright to be real blood.
The
man took a step closer, a movement that made Wilhelm unconsciously
shrink back. A blade was still a blade, it cut regardless of what
decorations covered its surface. And no matter how frantic the pirate
seemed, Wilhelm was still just a boy who hadn't the faintest clue of how
to fight. If he had a weapon of his own maybe. And that was when it
dawned on him. His eyes flashed over toward the wall, but Lorena's cloak
blocked out the desk that sat there. His suitcase! It was sitting there
in the open, just screaming to be taken! And everything on his desk?
The Watcher's horn was still there, he hadn't even thought to pocket the
thing, he was far too occupied with trying to get back on deck!
"I
said shut up, woman! I ain't gonna hurt you if you shut up!" The man
was only a few feet away from him and Lorena, and Wilhelm started to
even question whether or not the woman could fight. At least, the pirate
didn't seem to notice Wilhelm's things yet, but it would only be a
matter of time. "Stop screamin' wench!"
"Lorena..." Wilhelm
hissed. He needed her to act before his things were stolen, but his word
had gone unnoticed underneath Lorena's screeching.
Her body
tensed over him, and Wilhelm realized; she was waiting for an opportune
moment to strike. Her weapons were far too short for her to attack when
he was still too far away, but if she waited any longer no doubt the man
would notice Wilhelm's closet, notice the Watcher's horn!
And as
if the man had heard Wilhelm's thoughts, his face turned toward the
wall. Wilhelm froze, and so did Lorena even. She had stopped screaming,
her thoughts matching his. "Don't move a muscle!" the man snapped and he
disappeared from Wilhelm's vision.
Panic began to seize
Wilhelm. The man was a thief, a pirate, and he was going to take
everything that Wilhelm worked for. His legs were screaming to burst out
from underneath Lorena's cloak, take the man from behind. Wilhelm was
sure he could knock the man over at least, might break some of his
glasswares, but nothing that he couldn't replace. But chance the
pirate's reflexes? Chance Wilhelm's safety here? Wilhelm wouldn't be
able to defend himself if the pirate turned on him! Would Lorena back
him up? Wilhelm stayed poised underneath Lorena, eyes peeled wide, ears
listening to the sounds of his tools and invaluable creations sweeped
from the table. Would he wait here while the pirate stole everything?
Lorena acted before Wilhelm. In a woosh
of fabric, Lorena had swept her arm over Wilhelm, stretched it forward
in a throwing motion, and a glint of silver streaked through the air.
The pirate acted faster than Wilhelm had expected; he jerked to the side
before the dagger hit it's mark, letting the weapon bite the wall with a
solid shunk. "Take anything you want!"
Wilhelm
took the opportunity to slip around Lorena, getting out of her way. He
half-ran, half-crawled his way toward the bed where his coat and hat
still lay, hands fumbling within the folds of the coat for a weapon
fastened on the inside. He whipped his head toward the fight, his heart
beating rapidly in his chest.
Lorena pulled with one arm and the
dagger lodged into the wall halfway across the room jerked out of it's
place, sweeping the air to the pirate. Wilhelm didn't have time to
wonder how Lorena was doing it; the pirate jerked backward just out of
the reach of the weapon as it grazed his chest. His eyes were wider than
they were before. "What the hell is this?!"
The surprise in his
face disappeared quickly, replaced with the adrenaline of a fight. The
pirate moved toward the wall as Lorena brought her dagger around once
more, the blade whipping toward his neck. He ducked at the last second,
and at the sound of her dagger striking the wooden wall, he lunged
forward, weapon poised for an upward strike.