Sally slapped Jane across the face.

"Get up you toad!" Sally commanded.

Jane burst up from her bed to see Sally standing above her. Jane quickly looked around at the small dingy room on the top floor of the inn.

 "Come on, Scarlet and the rest of the crew are waiting on you we have to get going!" Sally informed

After a minute or two Sally and Jane ran out of the tavern to see Yasac and Chives on their horses.

"Come on already! Scarlet and every bloody one else went on ahead cause the carriage is slower than horses, so we should be able to catch up if you two are done fooling around," Chives shouted impatiently

It was bright morning with very few clouds in the sky. There was a balmy wind that egged the crew on, reminding them of the sea and the hope of regaining the Mañana.

Sally jumped on Yasac's horse and Jane hopped on Chives' horse and off they went.

"So what is Scarlet's plan?" Jane asked.

"Well she found some information on the brigands who stole our ship, she said they will be in England and we have about a day to get to the barge that takes us to London." Yasac answered

"So where did Scarlet go anyway Chives?" Sally inquired.

"Well to her family actually. Her family owns a tavern in Paris it's where I first met her." Chives said without his usual gruffness in his voice.

"Where you first met her?" Sally continued.

"Yeah I took a job as some emissary's body guard from England to France. Scarlet helped me out when a couple thugs tried to jump me, she saved me life that day and so I swore my loyalty to Scarlet until she lets me go." Chives spoke now with the normal gruff voice of his.

"What happened to the emissary?" Jane asked

"Eh I killed him." Chives said loosely

"Oh! That's a bit harsh, why?" Jane responded surprised.

"Well he annoyed me while I was working for him and since I worked for Scarlet its not like he could pay me anymore"

"Oh ok I guess that makes sense" Jane says a bit scared

The two horses continue up the road without stopping. After a few hours they catch up with the carriage. Tradon sat behind Legacy atop the carriage.

Ceaselessly they fly across the French countryside, Hope had been restored for they would be back on the Mañana soon enough.

The sun had fallen and the crew was near Calais a small port on the channel.

"Where to from here?" Yasac shouted to Scarlet who was in carriage.

Scarlet opened the carriage door and looks around. It was fairly dark out nearing midnight. Revloc and Ayafre were fast asleep in the carriage and Jane slept soundly on Chives shoulder atop the horse. Scarlet removed a map from her pocket; she unfolded the map and began to study it.

"We won't be able to go much further on horse we may have been able to eat on the way but these horses have had it." Yasac informed.

"Animals, no match for a good ship, but never fear the barge is close but it's not in Calais as you may think. A little hidden pirate port is near here but it's been awhile since I have been there you see," Scarlet responded while reading her map.

"So were you a pirate before you got the Mañana too?" Tradon asked.

"No, not really. As a child I would usually accompany my father on his visits to the port to sell his wares. It was my favorite place to go, where one could taste the sea in the very air," Scarlet recalled.

The crew then make their final trek to the barge. When they arrive, they sell the horses for a barge of their own to London. The eight all board the barge and make their way to England.

The sun began to rise behind them. The barge was nearing London now, as they could see the English coast. However Yasac soon spotted two ships in the distance.

"Hey, those don't look like patrols," Revloc pointed out.

"Yer right, English have bigger craft then that," Chives stated.

"By Joe! Do you think that's the Mañana with them?" Sally said excitedly.

"Blast I can't tell, it's behind the other ship and its still quite dark." Yasac responded.

Yasac squinted to see people on the first ship tieing up their sails while the smaller ship speeds on ahead.

"What are they up to? They wouldn't be all frenzy even if they saw the barge would they?" Yasac inquired with a more answerable question.

Scarlet began to answer "Well if...wait I think that is the Mañana!"

Suddenly a bang sounded in the distance, and a small speck was seen in the air.

"Cannon fire! Get this barge moving!" Scarlet ordered "It's them they have the Mañana!"

"Oh bloody hell! How did they know it was us?" Chives shouted angrily as more cannon fire sounded across the water.

"Don't be a fool im quite sure they don't know we are the owners of the Mañana, Smokey said they are ruthless. No doubt they think we are some wealthy merchants traveling to London,"

Yasac grimaced hoping she was right.

A cannon ball fell into the water dangerously close to the barge. The crew continued closer to the ship, dodging cannon fire. Just as the barge got fairly close to the ship, a cannon ball rocketed into the hull of the barge, throwing Scarlet, Yasac, Ayafre, and Chives off into the sea. The Legacy scrambled to throw a rope, but more cannon fire splashed the barge around.

 Scarlet yelled as she tried to keep her head above water. "Catch the... whatever you do to make it to the Mañana! I'm..."

Scarlet sunk into the channel as a cannon ball hits the water next to her.

Reluctantly the Legacy and the rest of the crew continued on to England, but the enemy ship began to pursue them.

Scarlet and the other three swam up to the enemy ship but the wake was pushing them back. Yasac swam fiercely to the hull through the wake. He sprung up and stabbed his saber into the side. Yasac hung above the water holding onto his sword. Scarlet saw this and sprung up and grabbed his legs. Chives followed and grabbed Scarlet's legs which were dangling in the water. As Chives held onto Scarlet's legs to keep his head above water, Ayafre struggled to swim up to the ship. She narrowly made it and secured herself onto Chives' legs. Ayafre hung on for dear life as her entire body was submerged save her head at critical times.

"Yasac! Quickly, bring us up, Ayafre's going to drown!" Scarlet yelled.

But a wind picked up and the ship increased speed. Scarlet, Ayafre, and Chives clung hard. Yasac was stretched to his limit between the sword and his parasites. Yasac as fast as possible pulled out his other saber from his belt jabbed it into the ship, but this time slightly higher. Yasac then clung to the two swords. Yasac looked over his shoulder to see Ayafre still struggling in the water. Yasac painfully held on with one hand once more and snapped his wrist allowing a blade to emerge out. Yasac stabbed high into the hull with his sleeve blade and then he did the same with his other blade from his left arm.

Ayafre was lifted out of the water. Yasac clung to his two hidden blades, which did not have very good grips on the hilt, Yasac felt his fingers slip.

"Good job! She's safe I have my sword to lend to this ladder" Scarlet announces to Yasac

"Arg! Actually you could make it easier for me if you just stab that into the hull so I don't have to hold so much weight" Yasac said as he struggles to breathe while holding his enormous weight.

Scarlet realized Yasac is not going to be able to hold on much longer with all of them on his legs.

"Ayafre! I'm sorry child but hold your breath!" Scarlet ordered.

"What are you kidding me!" Ayafre screamed enraged.

Scarlet without response, held onto Yasac with one hand and with the other she unsheathes her sword and stabs it into the hull. She let go of Yasac to hold on to her sword forcing Ayafre once again into the water at the whim of Chives' boot straps.

Yasac who was now free of his burden pulled out his sword from the back of his belt and stabbed it above his last blade. Scarlet with her load swings from handle to handle and catches up to Yasac.

Ayafre who was out of the water once more shouted.

"Yasac just how many blades do you have on your person?"

"Uhh let's see I havn't counted in a while my two sabers Geshank and Liger a cutlass at my belt, no wait I lost my cutlass, oh my dear St. Job how I miss you so. Two daggers in the back of my belt named Jack and Jill. I have my wonderful Godfinger my katana on belt instead of my back because it's now replacing my cutlass. Another favorite is my curved Middle Eastern blade named Phobos which I have sitting horizontally on my lower back. A fine blade in each of my sleeves that I are attached to a mechanism my cousin made, it allows be to keep them there and fall into my grasp with a flick of a wrist. I have knife or two in a hidden pocket inside my coat that's where my pistol is too. Oh and how could I forget, I have a specially made rapier named Kingbane that can fit into a small sleeve inside my coat. Uh sometimes I'll have a few more in my outside pockets but that's only on special occasions. So what about twelve right now?" Yasac answered eagerly while hanging on to his hilt.

"Too much information! I'm slipping ya git!" Chives roared.

Yasac pulled out a dagger from behind his belt and stabs that one above and then with his other dagger he does the same.

"Almost there!" Yasac yelled.

He finally unsheathed his katana and stabbed it above his dagger, right below a cannon window.

          Scarlet was now free of Ayafre and Chives who were holding onto hilts instead of feet. Scarlet followed Yasac up the ladder of blades while Yasac leapt off his katana and grasped the edge of the window and squeezed past the cannon. Ayafre and Chives followed Scarlet up the ladder till Scarlet reached the katana.

After pulling the cannon away from the window. Yasac reached down to Scarlet and pull her up threw the window onto the cannon deck, and then the same with the other two.

          The four all slump to the deck in exhaustion. It was very dark in the cannon deck. The lanterns had been put out and it appeared that no one was around.

          "How long do you think till they realize we are here?" Ayafre said between gasps for air.

          "Well considering no one is on the cannon deck anymore I don't think that's really the question you should be asking." Yasac said threw heavy breathing.

Yasac stood up from his crouched stance after catching his breath. Yasac returned to the cannon hole that the four crawled through. He popped his head out the window and stared down at his many blades in the hull. Yasac whimpered aloud as he sees them being hit with tarnishing salty waves.

          "Yasac come on! Let get topside the rest of the crew may be in trouble!" Scarlet called.

"But...my blades..." Yasac whined.

"Yasac we can get you some new ones or something, just grab your katana and let's go." Ayafre suggested without patience.

Yasac's jaw dropped horrified at the very suggestion of leaving his blades behind.

"I'll be...just a second." Yasac whispered.

"Yasac! Yasac! Get down!" Ayafre yelled as quiet as possible.

But it was too late. Yasac had leaned his torso out the window. Scarlet Chives and Ayafre all run after Yasac to pull him back from his suicidal attempt to rescue his blades. Yasac ignored them and hopped out and perched on his sturdy katana stuck deep in the hull. Yasac moaned as he eyes all his blades getting soaked in sea water. Just as the other three reach out to pull him back in, Yasac crawls down the blade ladder head first like a monkey. With impressive balance and agility he reached the bottom and held on tight as he is hit by a wave. He then struggled to remove his saber. He is hit by another wave, this time Yasac nearly slipped off. Yasac then lifted his right foot and shook it. The other three look on in ultimate befuddlement. Yasac finally shook his leg enough that his boot slipped off and fell into the sea. He then does the same with his left boot. Seeing this, the other three begin to question Yasac's sanity. After Yasac had removed his footwear, Yasac turned around on his perch and lets his toes grasp the hilt he was currently perched. Yasac then lies down on the second saber in the ladder and then whilst upside down, Yasac worked hard on removing the saber as he was hit again by another wave. Yasac finally removed the saber and sheathed it. Yasac carefully placed his hands on the blade he was laying on barely avoiding getting his fingers sliced off. He crawls up the ladder feet first, chest in the air. Yasac continues this process until he finally reached his katana which he simply crawls into the cannon hole and pulled it out. Yasac hopped back onto the cannon deck and sheathed his katana.

          "Are you quite finished? Ayafre asked, most annoyed.

"I may need to go back for my boots."

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Keyword: Yasac Maņana Ship

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