Back to ze past

"And the people, the cutlure, the beauty." Yuki said whistfully. "All of it is beautiful. The way the women dress, the way a man fights, everything is a dance. Its a wonderful sight. The snow is always the purest white and the flowers falling in the springtime...."
Elizabeth smiled, she liked the sound of this. "Would you teach me to fight?" She asked Yuki

At this Shade paused, glancing over to consider Yuki carefully. He may have seemed open and friendly, but was carefully watching the way this stranger and possible threat acted.

"Fight?" Yuki asked, a small smile on his features. "No, I think not."
Elizabeth pouted. "Oh please teach me." She begged. "I wish for nothing more then to know the ways of your culture."
Yuki stood by his first answer and when she pouted he replied simply with a, "A lady should never pout. Its ugly and shows how spoilt she truely is."
The girl sat there dumbfounded.

Shade chortled. "There you go, what I've tried telling you when you're degraded to cleaning" He joked. "Here," He said to Taro, tossing him a small jar. "Do us all a favour and take care of yourself" He said, replacing his bag with a nod at the fool's brusies.

"And Elizabeth," He said turning back to her. "Maybe you should catch some sleep. Tomorrow may be trying, I doubt the crew is impressed with rufus" He said and cracked a grin. "It's not even late night anymore." He grumbled. His sudden dissembly of their chatter was obviously his way of stopping the two 'youngsters' having an argument. He didn't know anything of Yuki's culture, but if he was used to women that didn't have the princess syndrome... He was in for a suprise.

Yuki stood and nudged Elizabeth with his foot. "SHoo, shoo!" He hissed, sending the girl off to her own room.
Yuki then looked to the older man of the group. "So old man, you realise her feelings no?"

"Huh. If I said yes i'd be worthy of a hanging." He said with a ruefull grin. "And defying anything I've ever heard of master to apprentice codelines". Taro juggled the jar, an apple he'd smuggled aboard and one of his surviving juggling balls, admiring the roof.

Yuki smirked. "SO you ignore it..."

"I don't want either me or her dead, upstart" He said and stretched, closing off the discussion point. Mid-stretch, he caught a glimpse of Taro's side before he dropped his shirt back down. A mass of blue and red. Shade caught the jar and stowed it away into his bag, looking rather disgusted.

"Are we there yet?" Taro commented, feigning sudden exaustion as he yawned loudly. Shade reluctantly accepted the new train of thought. "We'll get there when we get there" He said and folded his shirt, hopping onto the hammock and pulling up the single blanket each person recieved.

"Night" He said gruffly, rolling onto his left side. Taro sniggered. "Don't let the weevils bite"

"Weevils?" Yuki asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Taro said, grinning and winking at yuki. "be sue that you don't bite them eith-"
"Oh be quiet" Shade grumbled.

"What are weevils?" Yuki asked again, getting into his hammock.

"A grub. And, like it or not, before long they'll be half way through our food supply." he said.
"'tie the woe of all, any self-respecting cooks bane!" proclaimed taro from his tightly curled bundle of blankets. Shade snorted .

"Okayyy." Yuki commented

The next morning, Taro was already up and out. Shade was sitting on the edge of his hammock, waiting for Elizabeth to emerge from her room.

Yuki woke up and groaned. "Hate this part of the day." he commented. "Where is everyone?"

The fool's on deck, testing the patience of the sailors I think. I'm assuming Elizabeth's not up yet." He said. "You have a choice of porridge or apples."

"Apple." Yuki commented.

Shade tossed Yuki one. "Hey, no time for beauty sleeping this morning!" He called, turning to Elizabeth's room.

Yuki took the apple and walked up onto the dock.

----

Elizabeth rolled over and groaned at the intruding voice.

Up on the deck, Taro was suspended in the air near the mast, hanging onto a ropeline. He had changed from his fool's motley of blue and red to a loose white shirt and black pants, obviously clothes he'd wrangled from the tailer's spares cupboard before he left. He grinned madly when he saw Yuki and flipped down from his position, coming to land at Yuki's feet. He bowed extravagently.
"Not one for the morning?"

-----------

"Come on" Shade smiled. "And we need a name for you while we're travelling. I don't think 'Queen-in-waiting-Elizabeth' will work in this company"

Yuki just cast a look to the fool before walking over to the side of the ship.

---

Elizabeth opened her door and glared. "You for one are never to use that title for me again." She hissed. "I will never be a queen, nor will I be a queen in waiting."

"So, how far away is this wonderous home of yours?" He asked, using a line to swing around in front of Yuki.

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"Not with that attitude you won't" He laughed. "Come now, you need a name. You won't pass as a man if we address you as 'Elizabeth".

"A couple of weeks, if we're lucky." Yuki told him.

---

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip in thought. "David?"

Beaming, taro moved back to the deck. "Not long at all. I'm certainly looking forwards to learn about the different people living there" He said and gave Yuki an innocent grin. Demons to Taro weren't exactly commonplace.

-----------

"That'll suffice. And I'm Rufus. Don't forget that" He said and stood up. "Careful too. I trust them to get us there, but I'm not sure how long my reputation and the captain's orders will keep us guarded,"
He shrugged. "Apple?"

"You know more than you let on." Yuki said, leaning on the side.

---

Elizabeth reached out and grabbed the apple. "Rufus, reckon you could cut my hair?"