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kaihuntrr · 6 months ago

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part five: retellings.

Martyn goes to the castle.

It had only been a few hours since Martyn had last seen Shelby, but he hadn’t forgotten how furious she’d been before she left. And how cold she seemed when she had left.

Martyn decided to linger in the port town, spending time in The Golden Apple to restabilize himself and nurse his stinging heart.

If only Scott was here, Martyn thought to himself. Maybe he could’ve spoken some sense into Shelby.

Martyn leaned against one of the tavern’s wooden columns while staring hard at the bar. He shouldn’t be drinking, but maybe a shot wouldn’t hurt…? It could help him clear his head, at least. Besides, he hadn’t drank anything ever since he came home. And it wasn’t like there was some creepy witch waiting to ambush him should Martyn ever take a shot.

As soon as Martyn took a step forward, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Not another step,” the voice startled Martyn, but as soon as he registered Cleo’s jovial tone, he relaxed. “You know this stuff’s bad for you.”

“It’s not that bad, Cleo,” Martyn turned and gave his crewmate a sheepish smile, only to see Cleo rolling their eyes in return. “It’s good to see you, though.”

“Same here,” Cleo replied, taking her hand off Martyn’s shoulder and putting it on her waist. “Joel said you were looking for me?”

“Y- Yeah,” Martyn nodded. “It’s important.”

“You have my attention. We can talk in here if you want, but Grian’s waiting outside.”

Grian? Martyn tilted his head. Oh! Cleo and Grian must’ve been out running errands together then. “Outside’s fine.”

Cleo motioned for him to follow and Martyn did, taking note of the pair of beer bottles Cleo held in her fingers. Martyn scowled. That was so rude, drinking after denying him getting any!

“Oh. Hey Martyn,” Grian waved at the two as they stepped out, Martyn closing the door behind him. Grian turned to Cleo and raised an eyebrow, “How did you know you’d find him there?”

Cleo chuckled, handing one of the beers over to Grian. “Let’s just call it instinct.” Cleo turned to Martyn and gestured at Grian and themself, “Grian and I were heading to the shooting range over at Greenpoint.” Cleo tilted their head. “I want to test my guns out a little more. Wanna come?”

“Sure! I’d love to,” Martyn nodded. “It’d give us some privacy if we have it to ourselves this time….”

“Privacy for what?” Grian asked.

“There’s one thing I haven’t really mentioned yet…, about the island,” Martyn said, beginning to lower his voice as his hand gripped the strap of his satchel, “and about Katherine. And maybe Pearl, too.”

Martyn was too busy staring at his satchel to notice the look that Grian and Cleo shared.

“...Ah,” Grian said after a short pause. “Yeah, we should definitely discuss this,” he jerked his head, gesturing for them to start walking, “Maybe when we’re a little farther from prying eyes and ears.”

—————

Martyn came clean to the two of them, telling them everything he could remember about the stranger that saved him, about Pearl's outburst, about Katherine's cryptic warnings, about the knife, and finally, about Shelby's strange mood. The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, taking their time to absorb everything he’d said.

Martyn saw the shifting looks of understanding and confusion as he told them everything. There were to be no secrets between him and the Canaries. There just couldn’t be.

Well, except for maybe his weird feelings towards Blue, but that was it. Those weren’t important, just weird lingering dreams….

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Martyn shook his head, baffled. “How come both Katherine and Shelby know about the knife? Who was that person that gave it to me?”

“Do you think…,” Cleo’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, Martyn glancing over to her as she placed a hand on her chin. “Do you think that if you showed Scott this, he’d have a similar reaction?”

“Why- why would Scott know?” Martyn asked, even though he could already follow the logic.

If… if Shelby knew something about this blade, and she was close with Scott, would Scott know something about it too? No– surely not, right? If anything, it made sense that Shelby knew about the knife, considering that she and Katherine were girlfriends. Why would Scott know anything? Scott was- normal. Scott didn’t even know much about the beasts, if he had any knowledge at all. Martyn remembered the time Scott tried to argue that leaving the beasts alone would solve all their problems. Scott was normal, in no way entangled in this- this whatever it was.

“I don’t know,” Martyn shook his head. “But there’s so… so much to wrap my head around.”

“Definitely,” Grian sighed, leaning back against a fence post. “We got ourselves wrapped up in one big mystery.”

“Well, they’re sea princes,” Martyn shrugged. “They’re not like your average beast.”

“You can say that again,” Cleo hummed, crossing their arms. “I think I’m more concerned about Pearl than anything else on that island, though….”

Martyn winced at the image of the witch that flashed through his mind. “I feel you there, Cleo,” Martyn sighed, “Pearl is… an anomaly, for sure.”

Probably more than an anomaly. She just isn’t human, Martyn thought to himself. Parts of her just didn’t add up– brutish strength, her ability to summon mist, her loud, thunderous voice….

But that wouldn’t make sense. Those sea princes looked human, but they weren’t human.

It was probably a trick to get Martyn to feel some sort of way. Maybe the way he felt about Blue was one elaborate trick to get Martyn waltzing right into the beast’s jaws. He remembered Mumbo mentioning once or twice that some deep sea beasts hypnotized their prey to lure it in. But still… something felt off about that.

Something… that Martyn decided to keep at the back of his mind.

There were more important things to worry about after all, like the knife, and the corals, and just living out his days, safe on the Crown Isles.

Martyn could hear Cleo and Grian talk some more, soon shifting the conversation to something else, and he focused on nailing his shots on the targets in front of him.

—————

“Ugh- finally,” Cleo sighed in relief, staring up at the castle gate before them. Their eyes glazed over the majesty of the looming castle, the great building casting a protective shadow over the entire kingdom. She stretched her arms above her head, arching her back to get a crick out of her spine. Martyn cracked his neck, nudging Grian’s crossed ankles with his foot to wake him up.

One of the knights stationed at the foot of the entrance stairs approached the carriage and opened the door, saluting the hunters. Martyn saluted back, following Grian and Cleo out of the carriage.

“This is where we leave you, Martyn,” Cleo hummed, giving him a two fingered wave.

“Have fun with the royals,” Grian said. He jerked his head, motioning to the general direction of the castletown in front of them, a blur of people and carts swarming around the walls of the castle. “Let’s meet up at the Green Hearts Club later.”

“Got it,” Martyn nodded. Then he turned to Cleo, “Hope you get those guns of yours the upgrade they deserve, Cleo.”

Cleo hummed, their hands coming to rest on the guns secured in their holster, “False is an expert in her craft, she’s gonna do great.” Of course False was amazing– she was the one who created Scar’s legs, and they were so cool! As they waved the carriage driver off, Cleo turned to Martyn with a smile on her face. “We’ll see you later, Martyn.”

“See you later!” Martyn watched his two crewmates enter the castletown, discussing Cleo’s guns and the current state of weapons on the ship. He turned around to stare up at the castle gate, then took a breath before he began climbing the steps.

Martyn approached the two knights at the gate, greeting them with a nod. “Sir Cellbit, Dame Jaiden,” he addressed the knights with a smile. “I’ve been summoned by the Prince and Princess.”

“So we heard,” Jaiden replied, stepping aside in sync with Cellbit as she gave Martyn a salute. “Welcome back, hunter.” She raised her weapon, signaling to the knights in the tower to raise the gate. As the gate opened, she motioned Martyn to follow her and Cellbit. “The royals should be aware about your arrival by now, follow us.”

The trio passed through the courtyard with the statues and through the halls of the castle, their footsteps echoing. “It’s unusual that the captains arrived without you yesterday,” Cellbit said, glancing over to Martyn. “What happened?”

“Nothing too serious, I promise,” Martyn forced a small smile, “Just a bit of land-sickness.” He wasn’t super close to either of them, so they had no business knowing what had really happened. Martyn opted to change the subject. “How have the kids been?”

“Richas and Bobby are getting along,” Cellbit said, but gave Jaiden a knowing look. “But Bobby can get a little annoyed at his younger siblings.”

“You think he’d be fine after his playdates with Tilin….” Jaiden chuckled softly, a warm smile tracing her lips at the thought of her son. Martyn knew a bit of their situation, a mixed family of co-parents and kids all stuffed under one roof. Prince Chayanne and Princess Tallulah were raised alongside the knights’ kids too, if he remembered correctly.

“Your home sure is lively.” Martyn remarked, getting a small laugh out of the knights.

“Extremely.” Cellbit sighed, a tired yet fond look in his eyes as they continued through the castle halls.

Martyn followed the two knights through the maze of a castle. He’d seen a few of the many rooms within it, but he’d never gotten used to how vast the insides would be. Who would need this many rooms? Martyn was fine with a simple bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. Extravagance exuded off of everything within the castle.

Eventually, they stopped at two large wooden doors with blue stained glass on its side. Sunlight peeked through the glass, illuminating the hallways with its glow, making the hall look like it was underwater. Jaiden and Cellbit each took hold of a door handle and pulled the doors open, sunlight flooding the hall as Martyn could hear the distant laughs of the royal children.

The garden was on the leftmost side of the castle, secluded from the busier wings of the palace. Vibrant flowers grew plentiful within, the most of them being roses. There was a small fountain at the entrance of the garden, with a large pavilion standing tall in the middle, roses curled along the pillars. Martyn could see hummingbirds of all different colors flit around the place in an almost calming matter. The entire garden was housed beneath an elaborately detailed glass dome, allowing whomever to visit from the sunniest days to the rainiest evenings.

Chayanne and Tallulah sat on the pavilion stairs, Chayanne brandishing a wooden sword while Tallulah strummed her ukulele. They were too far away for Martyn to hear their conversation, but it warmed Martyn’s heart to see them so happy.

Chayanne was the first to notice the sounds of the doors opening. “Martyn!!” He dropped his sword and ran immediately to the hunter. He threw himself at Martyn, wrapping his arms around his waist and beaming up at him. “You’re here!”

“Your hair’s a mess, Your Highness.” Martyn said with a chuckle, ruffling the prince’s blonde hair.

“I know that! It’s like that on purpose!” Chayanne exclaimed, giggling as he moved Martyn’s hand away from his hair. He turned and waved at Tallulah, “Lullah! Get over here!”

Tallulah rolled her eyes as she made her way to them, though a little slower. “Chay–!” she chided, only for Chayanne to give her a wide grin. She huffed at her brother, but smiled up at Jaiden and Cellbit, giving them a small curtsy, “Thank you for bringing him here, Tio Cellbit and Tia Jaiden!” Then she finally turned to look at Martyn, a childish joy breaking through her carefully controlled royal facade. “Hi First Mate Martyn!”

Martyn nodded at the princess, as close to a bow as he could with the young prince’s head crushed against his stomach. Martyn thought Tallulah’s constant use of honorifics was so sweet. Despite her outranking him in terms of hierarchical standing, she’d never stop using honorifics with him or anybody else. It was endearing.

Jaiden crouched down for Tallulah to give her a warm hug. “Of course, Tallulah.”

“Don’t give First Mate Martyn a bad time, okay?” Cellbit laughed as he reached over to ruffle Chayanne’s hair. “He and his friends just came back from a very tiring trip.”

“We know that, Tio Cellbit,” Tallulah said, raising her chin and tucking her arms behind her back. “The other captains arrived yesterday!”

“You’re right. My apologies,” Cellbit said with a chuckle, then he turned to Jaiden. “Time to go?”

Jaiden nodded. “We’ll be standing guard outside,” she said to the three of them, motioning to the door. Martyn was trusted enough to spend time with the royals, but that didn’t mean those two wouldn’t have guards. “Have fun!”

Martyn waved at the two knights as they left, and as the doors clicked shut, he looked at the royal siblings. “So, how were you two while I was away?”

“Papa’s been a lot more quiet lately,” Tallulah mumbled, tugging at her sleeves. “I’m not sure why….”

“But we’ve been having a lot of fun!” Chayanne said happily, pointing at the wooden sword. “Tio Cellbit’s been teaching me some sword techniques!”

“Oho?” Martyn raised an eyebrow with a smug smile on his face. Chayanne was always the little fighter, and Martyn could see the young prince grow into a valiant hunter king if he trained enough for it. “Why don’t you show me, little warrior?”

“Oh I will!” Chayanne giggled, running his way to the pavilion. “Come on!”

Martyn was about to follow Chayanne but a light tug pulled at his sleeve. He looked down to see Tallulah looking at him. “Can we not run, please?” she asked, reaching up to hold Martyn’s hand.

“Sure thing, Tallulah.” He held her hand as they walked to Chayanne, the prince waving his reclaimed wooden sword around excitedly.

Martyn followed Tallulah’s slow pace, not that he minded. He took the time to really take in the surroundings, feeling the warm sun on his skin. The gardens and courtyards were so well maintained and beautiful, Martyn could see why the kids would want to spend their time here, but it would have been pretty lonely if it was just the two of them playing around in the castle….

“Is sailing fun?” Tallulah asked, staring up at him with a curious look in her eyes. Tallulah was the more inquisitive of the duo, always asking questions that made Martyn think a little harder about his life as a hunter. A hunter’s life is easy to describe, so any question from Chayanne can be simple to answer, but Tallulah had questions outside of it that had Martyn do a double take.

…Much like a certain bartender he cared about.

“Yeah, but it’s a little scary,” Martyn looked away, scratching the back of his head. “Sometimes a monster will rise from the water and try to eat you.”

“But you can scare off the monsters so they won’t hurt you anymore,” Tallulah replied, tilting her head. “They’re more scared of you than you are of them, like bugs.”

Are they? Martyn wasn’t too sure about that. Monsters came to kill them, and hunters retaliated against it. The only things that came close to feeling anything were those sea princes, but even then he couldn’t understand them. It had to be some sick game, some weird predator sense for them to play with their food before eating them. Or… well one ship full of hunters surely wasn’t enough for their stomachs, so it had to be something other than food.

Martyn blinked and shook his head. Now was not the time to dive into those thoughts. “You’re too smart for your own good, you know that?” he said with a smile, ruffling the princess’ hair as they approached the young prince. “So, how’s your fighting skills, Chayanne?”

“I’m really good at it! Watch–!” Chayanne swung his sword around, attempting to mimic the forms the knights had taught him. Martyn stifled a light chuckle as the young boy’s enthusiasm seeped into his swings. The young prince definitely had heart, even if the forms weren’t perfect. Chayanne grinned as Tallulah clapped at his swordsmanship. “Well, I’m getting better! Dad said one day I’ll be as great as Technoblade!”

“You’re definitely getting better! You’ve already improved since I last saw you use that sword,” Martyn patted Chayanne’s back and sat on one of the pavilion stairs. He gave the prince a teasing smirk as he continued, “But there are other forms of combat, maybe one of those might aid you better than your sword skills.”

“No they won’t!” Chayanne huffed. “I’ll be such a good sword fighter I won’t need to pick up a gun or anything like that! Just like Techno!”

“I’m sure you will,” Martyn smiled. His admiration for the late Prince Technoblade was heartwarming. While Chayanne never met his late elder brother, Techno, and his older brother Tommy was usually busy with settling negotiations with his father, he held both of them to such a high regard. Martyn still remembered the day Techno’s passing was announced, and he could only imagine what kind of impact those two would’ve left on Tallulah and Chayanne. He was glad, at least, those two were growing up to be good kids. “So, I heard from Grian and Joel that you wanted a story?”

“Yeah!” Chayanne nodded excitedly, plopping down next to Martyn with his eyes wide and full of wonder. “You owe us!”

Martyn raised an eyebrow, “Since when have I owed you a story?”

Chayanne looked away. “Uh… since–....” He grew quiet for a moment, pressing his pointer fingers together in thought. Then his eyes went wide again, grinning at Martyn like he had the best idea in the whole world. “As your prince, you owe me a story!”

“As His Highness commands,” Martyn chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. “What story do you want to hear?”

“What about the story of the Ocean Cursed?” Tallulah asked. Martyn was a little surprised to hear that suggestion come from her. Chayanne was more the type to ask for scarier stories.

“Are you sure?” Martyn asked. “That old tale gives a lot of kids nightmares.” Including him. Martyn remembered when his parents had told him the story for the first time, he hadn’t slept properly for a whole week afterwards. Though Martyn liked telling scary stories, he didn’t want an angry king coming for him because Martyn had made his children cry.

Chayanne nodded immediately. “We’re sure! Lullah and I are old enough!”

Martyn sighed, but shrugged. If that was what his audience wanted, that’s what they’d get. He didn’t mind telling a sweeter story after, if only so the tale wouldn’t plague the kids’ minds too much.

“Alright, now where do I begin….”

Martyn adjusted himself to get comfortable, taking in a deep breath as Chayanne and Tallulah leaned closer to him, eager to hear the tale.

“Many generations ago, the world was shrouded in an eternal storm, nothing but roaring thunder and howling winds could be heard across the sky. The sun had long been swallowed by ink blotted clouds, and no one had ever seen the clear blue sky for centuries….” Martyn gestured towards the sky and balled his fist, attempting to capture the moment with his movements. With the glitter in the kids’ eyes, Martyn knew he was doing a good job.

So, he continued.

“The rain was so heavy it allowed the monsters of the deep to crawl onto land as if it was part of the ocean. The people hid themselves away to escape from the vicious monsters tearing and destroying everything in their path, looking to fill their stomachs with fresh human blood….” Martyn leaned in close, faking an evil grin at Chayanne and Tallulah as his voice became a whisper. “And they hungered for royal blood the most, for it was the tastiest of all.”

Chayanne moved his head so close that Martyn thought he was going to headbutt him. Martyn leaned back as Chyanne bared his teeth. “That’s why we’re not allowed by the water right?! So we don’t get eaten….” Tallulah suddenly looked concerned.

Martyn raised his hands in surrender, trying to ease the young prince’s temper. “It’s alright, Chayanne! It- it’s just part of the story. It’s why hunters swear themselves to protecting the royal family. It’s fiction as much as truth.”

“What’s the real reason then?!” Chayanne retorted, eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to make a face that was both angry and commanding. It didn’t work, as his blonde unkempt hair flopped over his skull mask and covered his eyes a small bit, making him look like he’d been rolling around on the ground. “If that’s not the real reason why then why do hunters swear to protect us?”

“Because we believe in your family. Your family built this kingdom, made it prosperous. I know I swore my loyalty to your father because I believed in him, and… I believe in the two of you. I believe you’ll do your best to protect the people of this kingdom, just like I believed your father would when I took my oath,” Martyn said softly, laying his hand over his heart. He sighed internally as Chayanne’s shoulders relaxed and he nodded.

“Princess?” Martyn asked weakly, noticing Tallulah’s pensive expression. She didn’t react for a moment, only to blink rapidly and shake her head.

“N-nothing… Can you continue the story, please?”

Martyn furrowed his eyebrows in concern, but did as she asked. “If you say so.” Martyn lightly tapped his cheeks to get back in the mood. Where was he again? Dark storms, evil monsters, wanting to eat the royals… ah. “The people were desperate, pleading for the king to find a way to clear the storm. So, the king set out to find a way to clear the storm. He spoke to the wizard who lived at the very edge of the kingdom, and received a warning….”

Martyn straightened his back, pausing for a moment for all the good tension to rise from it.

“‘The storm and monsters may be banished back to the sea, but as the tide washes out, something of value shall be lost with it.’ But the king was desperate, and made the deal. The wizard cast the spell and for the first time in centuries the sky cleared. But what the king and the people didn't know was the price that the sea took as the storm vanished. Ten royals infected with a curse; ten souls to writhe in pain as they were made to become hungry beasts, forced to consume their fellow man all for a cruel, sadistic sense of power–”

Martyn immediately stopped as Tallulah looked stricken. She made a small sound, looking down at the ground. Chayanne looked at her, then towards Martyn uncertainty. He raised a hand towards her shoulder.

“Tallulah…?” Martyn asked quietly, slowly reaching his hand out to her. He stopped as she recoiled back instead, biting her lip. “I’m sorry Tallulah, I didn’t mean to scare you….”

“I– I’m not scared,” Tallulah mumbled, her voice trembling. “I just… that’s so horrible….” Her head bent forward, staring at her shoes, “They didn’t even agree to it…. It wasn’t a noble sacrifice, just unfair….”

Chayanne wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hugged his sister tight, squishing their cheeks together. “It’s okay, Lullah, they’re not human anymore!” his voice had a fire in it, Martyn could hear it. “It’s sad, yeah, but that was a long time ago. And those sea princes have been hurting people ever since!”

Martyn nodded at Chayanne and placed his hand on Tallulah’s arm reassuringly. “The whole kingdom will protect you, Tallulah, I promise. The sea princes will never get their hands on you.”

Tallulah gave him a dry smile at that, pressing against her brother’s side and tapping Martyn’s hand. “But…,” her smile wavered as she looked Martyn in the eyes. “Who’ll protect you?”

For the longest time, Martyn had believed himself to be unkillable, he’d been taught his whole life that hunters voyaged the seas and returned home–

But that wasn’t true, was it? Hunters died all the time. There was just a never ending supply of new ones to take their place. And he couldn’t say he was unkillable after being so narrowly spared from the jaws of death twice, both times from a sea prince that could’ve snapped his life away in just one second.

He hoped to never have a third encounter.

Martyn bit the inside of his lip and steeled himself. He did not want the kids to see him so… distressed? Tired? He had to be strong in front of them, anything but weak. “Hunters can protect themselves, it’s what we signed up for, right? And I have my crew too. They protect me.”

Tallulah smiled at Martyn weakly. “You’re very brave….”

I try to be.

He had to be.

“Only the bravest to protect you, Your Highness.”

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