It was the morning of the crew's docking. For their next stop, it was Nice, France.
The reasoning behind the trip was to get supplies, Milk, Flour, Cheeses, Spices, and other such delectable foods.
William had assigned Opal and Thassilon to team up for this run of supplies, the reasoning? Thassilon could teach Opal about France and about their heritage.
Soon enough, everyone else was paired up more or less as usual.
Opal purred as she powered her face, sitting in front of her vanity mirror.
"Oh Thassilon, dearest brother. This will be so wonderful!"
Thassilon nodded and fidgeted with his vest button,
"Oui, it certainly will be..I will teach you as much as I can."
"Dearest brother, why are you not doing your makeup as well?" She blinked
He shook his head, pausing to look at her. The lanky French man smiled softly, his eyes lighting up.
"Oui, yes, today of all days I cannot forget that.."
" I wonder if they know our blood family"
"I don't know if zhe word would have traveled zhis far."
Opal paused, she batted her long black lashes, the wheels turning in her head.
"Where is the BelleRose line from?" She looked up at him from her makeup dresser.
"Rouen my fleur.." Thassilon muttered, bending over to view himself in the mirror, applying a bit of eyeliner and rouge. Now Ms. Opal was hooked, she looked up at him and leaned up against her arm.
"Anddd where is that...?" She purred and made room for him. .
“ North West of Paris.."
" My dearest brother, teach me the ways of a French woman!"
~
Meanwhile, on the deck, Thomas was rather well dressed, all things considered, he nuzzled up against Cin’s side. His hair was pulled back into a neat bun, he smelt like honey and musk, instead of the usual brim, salt, and gunpowder. Cin nodded as her riding clothes, slick black pants, her black hair neatly braided, she was just happy to wear pants
The large Danish woman smirked, looking over Thomas,
" Mhm, we're not meeting the Queen.'
Thomas blushed, "Is’a nice town.."
"Dress down, they are-"
She blinked as Thomas cut her off with a statement that had caught her off guard.
"Help meh chose somethin’…?
As Thomas walked with his wife back to their room to change.
While Thassilon and Opal chatted to each other, the Frenchman powdered his slim freckled cheeks with a cotton puff that had a generous amount of rogue. He nodded to her, coughing a bit as Opal repeated the motion with great force.
“Be gentle with the rouge.." he demonstrated on himself once again.
She blushed and batted her lashes" Oh...yes...of course."
"You do not need to be shy about how much you use."
Mrs. Hamilton purred and fitted her dress out, her dress was a lovely salmon reddish pink with flowers and beaded strawberries on it. Thassilon stood back from the vanity mirror. His mismatched eyes looking over his young sister. With a heart-swelling full of pride, he remarked,
"You look stunning ma fleur."
Opal loudly purred," You think so?"
She spun in her new dress, the dress puffing out as she spun around. The glass beaded strawberries and flowers gleamed in the sunlight. Thassilon cooed and stood, straightening out her dress.
"You look just marvelous ma fleur, all the heads will turn to look at you."
He kissed her cheeks and beamed at her.
Opal purred at her older brother praising her, she flapped her arms and squeaked loudly. The 28-year-old woman stimmed excited that her older brother approved of her appearance. He beamed to her, kissing her head,
"Are you ready my flower?" He beamed to her, his fingers fidgeting with his vest buttons. The smooth mint velvet gliding over his fingertips. The blonde busty woman nodded and took his arm as they strolled onto the deck.
~
The rest of the crew was dressed as if they were to have a family outing, very casual but flattering. Captain Holmes nodded as everyone circled up.
"Now then. Do we all remember what we have to do today?”
Opal answered excitedly, her airy voice booming out," But of course my favorite reason why we port!! New ingredients!!"
William nodded to her, "Precisely. As we know Opal and Thassilon are the primary deciders.....However, if any of you would like to add a selection of your own, you may do so while we are at port. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you please. Do not cause issues."
He gave a pointed look to Leo. The Captain’s calculating eyes seemed to pierce through the short writer. Mr. Hamilton grumbled and looked to him.
"I was not planning to cause any trouble, captain."
Cin cracked a smile at Leo, crossing her buff arms as the Good Doctor, Jonathan came out of the room, panting as he skidded to a halt next to his husband,
" Apologizes. I woke up late!" He paused," Oh Opal, Thassilon...you two look lovely! You look like dolls.!"
Thassilon beamed an almost cocky smile. Flicking a golden lock from his shoulder, his nose tilted to the blue skies,
"The height of the French fashion trends."
Mr. Hamilton huffed and rolled his eyes a bit at Thassilion’s seemingly needless dramatic display of a thank you. Opal took a bow as well, she cooed,
" It’s ravishing isn’t it!?" She winked at Leo and swayed in place
Leo’s attention then turned to his wife. Biting his lip, a shiver ran down his spine.
"Absolutely ravishing..." He couldn't keep his eyes from raking over her.
Cin growled at him and huffed," I will be keeping Leo and the children with Thomas and I."
The short writer was rudely torn from his daydreaming, looking up at Cin with an almost offended expression.
"I was planning to go with my wife..?"
“Nay lad, if ye'd been listening ye would've known ye're tah come with us."
Thomas cleared his throat, setting a hand on the Italian's shoulder. Opal leaned over and kissed him. Gingerly, she played with a strand of his dark chestnut hair.
" Not this time my love, blondes only." She purred and giggled.
"Mmmm fine.."
Thomas looked to him, "It'll nay be tha bad."
The forgemaster nodded, agreeing with her husband.
" I expect you to behave." She warned Leo, her tone closer to a wolf snarling.
Begrudging, Leo looked at her as he held his tongue. He only growled and nodded. Opal draped herself onto Alexander’s shoulder,
"Oh it will be fun! I promise you that!" She held his arm.
John nodded, his tutted his tongue as Cin moved past to help Captain William lower the boarding plank down to dock. Once the plank was lowered with a loud thud, Captain Holmes turned to his crew and gave a very bird-like bow.
” Now we depart, come.”
With a sharp turn and flick of his black coat, he stalked off.
Mr. Leo went with Cin and Thomas, the Hamilton and Holmes children followed behind like little ducks. Lastly, the siblings followed behind.
Newt walked along with his father, humming loudly as he looked at the dried sunflowers planted at the dock. The boy reached out to touch the sunflowers, he marveled at how big they were. Some were as tall as he was, he turn to his brother and commented on the flowers,
“Pip, what do you think makes them so big?”
His brother, Philip was not too terribly interested in the giant plants. He turned to face Newt with a shrug and a mildly annoyed reply.
“I don’t know Newt, maybe we’re just short…”
Not satisfied with his twin’s answer, Newt pressed on with his theories and questions to Philip. Philip just nodded along to humor his brother, his interests lay in getting to taste authentic French food and seeing the street artists.
Jonathan was in excellent spirits. He had caught wind of a famous medical vendor being there. Captain William looked to him, it made him joyful to see his husband gleam with such youthful excitement.
"Looking forward to finally meeting him?"
The doctor nodded along to his husband, smiling softly,
" Oh yes, I'm looking forward to picking his brain- not literally of course.'
William beamed to him and nodded, "I'm sure it will be enlightening."
As the crew walked the pathway of the docks, navigating where to go, little Billie looked to her older brother and squinted. Her tiny shoes making a tippy tappy on the wooden boards below her.
“Pip, this fench?
Pip nodded, "Yea, this is France."
"Why we here?" Billie mussed and looked around at the other ships that were docking.
The curly brown haired 8-year-old shrugged, "Supplies I think.."
" More Fench..'
"Lots of French yeah….”
The goblin child huffed, she was getting nowhere with her brother. She turned to her father and looked up at him as he walked.
"Why it fench?"
Leo sighed, annoyance stained his tone. He corrected his child’s grammar.
"Why is it French, Billie.."
"Fench."
"Frrreeennncchhh.”
"Fench.”
Cin smirked, picking Billie and Kit up," Fench?” She repeated to push Leo’s buttons.
"Cin...She needs to learn to speak properly”
Cin smirked and looked at Leo," Fench.” She held a giggling Billie.
Leo growled lowly, he was getting very annoyed. His green eyes flaring with flames to the Danish woman.Newt frowned,"Billie, no it’s French with an r."
Billie shrugged,"Fench.”
Leo nodded to Newt, "Exactly"
Cin growled to Leo," You need to take that-" she paused seeing Thomas glare at her. "Billie is a mere 3-year-old.”
Leo nodded to her, "Three or not she needs to learn how to speak.."
"Let her live. She speaks good." Cin snarled.
Toby whined and stopped them both from fighting,
" We're almost there..”
He pushed his mother and Mr. Hamilton away, Toby looked to the town.
~
The town was a gorgeous burst of colour and light. Nice’s streets were decorated with people of all shapes and sizes. Flowers and ivy decorated the buildings of the bustling French city. Pastel yellow coloured buildings and shops dotted the streets. Vendors of many trades littered the streets, selling just about anything and everything one could imagine.
Heavenly scents came from bakeries and soap shops. The Crew stood there in amazement at the picture-perfect town. Jaws dropped to the floor, they all just stared at the painted town that was laid out in front of them.
Newt gasped and smiled, the boy nearly dropped the sunflowers he grabbed. His stomach growled loudly, he sniffed the air and exclaimed.
” Whoa! It smells good!"
Leo nodded to him, hugging his tallest son to his side and ruffling his hair. Even the typically stoic Cin was marveling at Nice and its beauty, her light cyan blue eyes flicked back and forth rapidly taking all of the sights in.
Thomas looked around as well and took a deep whiff in of the heavily scented air, he glanced to Leo and Cin,
“Aye...tat smells like someone’s been bakin’....aye Opal, Thass, ye gotta-”
He turned to face his older children and paused, they were nowhere to be seen. Neither the Captain nor the Good Doctor.
~
Opal gasped and mewled," This...this is so lovely!" She looked at the farmer's market on the other side of town, where her husband and parents were. Her arms wrapped around Thassilion’s arm, like a small child would do to their parent.
"Mmm my flower what do you zink…?’
"Why...it's gorgeous!" Mrs. Hamilton loudly cooed and looked to him with such wonder in her eyes. Opal took his hand and squealed very excitedly, very much in good spirits and a lust of adventure.
"Let us go!"
Both bound into the town, the short lively woman damn nearly dragged her tall lanky brother as long, her hair becoming a bit loose from her low bun. As the siblings ducked and weaved around the crowd, a Frenchman called out with a mocking tone.
"Dame sexy où vas-tu!"
Opal blinked, coming to a complete halt. Her brown chestnut eyes looked up at Thassilon.
"What does he say?!" She purred excitedly.
, "He...My flower you do not want to know..”
She frowned and walked with her brother quickly away from the stall that the man was at. Thassilon ushered her away and huffed softly.
"The nerve.."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the scenic French village; Cin was helping Thomas pick up more candles, matches, and such. Mr. Thomas stayed close to her as a passing man shouted angrily from his horse and buggy.
"Gros homme au cul!"
The very large danish woman growled and bore her teeth.
"Watch yourself and our little ones, Mr. Thomas.”
Thomas nodded slightly and pulled Kit and Toby close to his hip. The Welshman was in a daze as the brightness of the bustling French town overtook his senses.
Leo took action after his father in-law, he had Billie, Pip, and Newt. Mr. Hamilton looked over to his children, figuring that it was time for a snack, plus it would keep the children distracted from any naughty things that Billie was planning. Deciding that this was the best route to take, Leo took his children and excused himself to the other side of the street.
Toby watched Pip and Newt be led away by their father, he frowned slightly at this. He looked at Thomas and cleared his throat, deciding that now was a good time to ask.
"So so so pa, I know I've talked to you about about being my own man and and and getting to go off on my own."
"Aye ye ‘ave been talking with me about it..."
"Can can can I take Kit and go to the cheese shop?"
“'ow far are ye plannin on going from us?"
" Just down the street. I'm almost 12! Please...?"
Thomas raised a brow, considering this. He really did not want Toby to wander off by himself, however he reasoned that; At Toby’s age, he was running around muddy Wales doing errands for his father.
"Aye yer tah come righ' back ta us."
Thomas raised a brow, Toby grinned and nodded," ok!" He grabbed Kit's hand," C'mon!"
The Hamiltons' peered at the sweet pastries into the glass, as Leo bounced Oliver in his arms. The children’s eyes widened and marveled over all of the handcrafted baked goods, some looking too pretty to eat. Leo hummed softly to his youngest child and nodded gently, internally wishing they would choose a bit faster.
The baby was very relaxed, he just laid there staring at a group of women at the right side of the shop as they chatter amongst themselves. He clapped his hands a bit trying to get their attention, the flowers, feather, and jewels on their hats enchanted the tiny baby’s young blue eyes.
The tiny baby looked back at Leo and clapped his hands again wanting him to look at the women’s hats. Leo smiled a little at this and nodded slightly, lowering him down so he could see as well. Oliver's eyes widened as he looked to the bright colours of the strawberries and mint.
Leo smiled, "Like the colours huh?"
Oliver kicked a little, drooling slowly gliding down his chin as he looked back to his siblings. Mr. Hamilton held him close and looked to his older children, "Have we all chosen?"
They all nodded, the clerk waited for them to pay.
Pushing up his glasses, he grabbed; 1 Peanut Butter Soft Biscuit, 1 Strawberries and Cream Pound Cake, and 1 Sugary Lemon Bon Bon.
All the Hamilton children made grabby hands to their respected pastries as each one was passed down to them. With a course of thank yous, Mr. Hamilton paid for the treats and exited the shop, back onto the busy streets, deciding that they would now meet up with Cin and Thomas.
As they passed by the stalls of the vendors, Oliver reached for a stall they passed by. It was decorated with green and yellow tapestries, to resemble more of a tent than a stall. Woolen blankets and wire wrapped pendants. Leo looked to the stall, his eyes wandering the different trinkets briefly as Oliver cried to his father and squirmed.
There was an old woman sitting there, she looked impossibly old. Tiny in stature however, menacing in aura.
Leo sighed softly at the baby’s wails, bouncing him a little,
"Alright alright... c'mon let's choose one.." he nudged the other children to follow him.
Almost immediately, Oliver reached for a green one with a knitted little cat’s head and arms poking out. Once Mr. Hamilton took the blanket in his free hand, he jumped seeing the owner of the shop’s wide unsettling smile, her brittle hand shot out and took a hold of Leo’s wrist.
"The wool is from the shores of Ireland, blessed by a high priestess….”
Leo nodded gently, his heart thudding out from his chest, caught by surprise. He quickly muttered.
"There are others in our family who..Uh.. Practice.”
She nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then held a thin boney finger up. Her voice like the creak" I sense that your line is troubled...I have just the thing, dear..'
Leo paused and blinked, watching his dig through her bag.
"Ahm...Well thank you."
She nodded, grabbing his hand and set a trinket in his palm. It was a fire agate craved into a small feather, through a drilled hole was a waxy leather strap.
Mr. Hamilton looked at the craving, he nodded gently, being utterly drawn to the pendant.
"How much do I owe you..?"
"Mhmm... 4 gold and we will call it even.'
Leo nodded and paid her for the blanket and the pendant, mumbling a soft Thank You.
Oliver squealed in delight, holding his new wool blanket and sucking on the head of the cat. He cuddled into his father, gently falling back asleep.
Leo hummed softly and stepped back out with the rest of his brood, "Back to Grandpa and Grandma now."
Just next door to the bakery the Hamiltons' were previously in, Toby and Kit entered into the cheese shop. Large wheels of cheese were displayed, a cooler of sliced cheeses and flowers seemed to be the crowned center piece of the shop. Toby smiled to Kit and nodded at the shop, his stomach grumbling.
" Let's load up on the cheese here, I'm hungry."
Kit nodded to him and looked around with big eyes. The small girl wandered the shop, her big brown eyes peering over all of the cheeses. Wheels stacked upon each other, stamped with a date and a name. Kit suspected the name was what the cheese was called.
"What type of cheese do you want?"
"There's a lot.."
The older ginger haired boy nodded, padding his sister’s head," Yeah.., you gotta choose one though. Ok?”
"Which one are you gonna get?"
Toby peered over the ice chest, lighting up and picking up a paper wrapped triangle. It was marked with an illustration of a raspberry.
" Mhm.. I like the raspberry ones...they taste good."
Kit nodded, "I'm gonna try the Cranberry one."
Toby blinked," Have you had a cranberry?”
"No.."
"They're tart, Kit. Like sour.” He huffed.
Kit paused, setting the cranberry one down and shook her head. She mewled and tugged her brother’s arm to another little package.
"What about the e….eeee.pressooooo one??"
"You're two."
Toby frowned, setting the very caffeinated cheese back down. He sighed as he held Kit up to get a better look at the cheese.
Toby shivered, he felt a presence behind him, the boy turn to look behind him.
There stood a very large man, he smelted of leather, rum, and frankincense. He was a large barrel of man, dressed in a black coat stained with dirt and other unidentifiable stains. A shimmering blue lined the rim of his coat, silvery white embroidered blue bells dotted the blue lining of the coat. Leather boot coated in mud, steel bits protected the tips of the man’s toes. Around his waist dangled a pink, silver, and blue scarf as more of a decorative piece. A tan vest with a white billowy shirt exposing his hairy chest. A large wide brimmed hat adorn with peacock feathers and a yellow and blue ostrich feathers.
Kit squeaked and looked up at him. Her little eyes traveling up to meet the man’s eyes. She gave a gentle wave and almost whispered.
"Uh uh hi.."
The bear of a man looked down at the child, his eyes were as clear blue as sea water. This man looked like the embodiment of the ocean. His eyes flicked over to Toby, staring him down as well.
" Apologizes." He grunted and took a step towards the counter to pay.
A younger clean shaved man stood next to the pirate. He dressed in a colour scheme of dusty rose pink. He was clad in a vest and cream shirt. His hair hung in brown ringlets, curly long hair tucked neatly into a ponytail, a sun hat crowning his head. The young man held a wicker basket and looked to the children curiously.
Kit furrowed her brows, her eyes flicking between the two men. She gasped, coming to a revelation.
"You you know...Freckles and Curly!"
Toby chuckled softly, setting a hand on Kit’s arm as the large man stared him down.
"I'm sorry... curly and freckles are her uhh... Imaginary friends…”
"They're not imaginary..!"
Bending down, the man with the straw sun hat smiled gently to her.
"Of course they're not little one. I would bet they're as real as you and I."
Toby chuckled very awkwardly, he began sweating as he was loomed over.
" I i i think I hear my father calling..." Still holding the unpaid cheese, Toby ran off with Kit as the little girl squeaked out a goodbye.
Captain Bailey of the Bluebell blinked watching the children run away as the shopkeep screamed at them. As the children did not stop, the shopkeep hopped the counter and grabbed the broom. He gave chase to the Holmes children, wielding a branch and straw broom as his weapon of choice.
Viktor stumbled back as he was nearly toppled over, he huffed, clutching the basket close to his chest. He turned and fixed his hat, muttering to himself.
"I didn't mean to frighten the boy.."
The 7ft man clapped his cabin boy's back. "It was not you. I can have that effect on people..”
Viktor looked up to him, "Nonsense my Captain...The little girl reminded me of one of the children I used to teach."
He nodded and huffed, "Come." He left the shop
The owner of the shop
chased after them, ducking and weaving around people and stalls. He howled out to them.
"Thieves! Stop them!"
Kit shook her head, "No!! Run fast, Toby!”
Kit and Toby dodged through the crowd, crawling under tables and ducking around.
Cin and Thomas had been looking at the type of leathers that a particular standee was selling. First, Thomas had noticed the commotion. He furrowed his brows, taking his attention away from looking at his wife. Nudging Cin, the Welshman muttered
"Di ye hear tat?"
Cin frowned and looked around, she panicked not seeing her little ones. The large Danish woman turned to her husband sharply, snarling like a dog.
" Where are Toby and Kit?"
“I let ‘em go te a shop just a few dow’..I thought Tob’ could be responsible."
In Cin’s piercing blue eyes was a cool and untamed fire of anger. She didn’t bother saying anything and nearly knocked the other people surrounding her over in her pursuit to get to her children. Thomas followed behind her, he turned to Leo and his children.
“Aye, Leo lad! Get yer wee ones and Stay here, Cin’ an’ I’ll be back!”
Leo paused, he decided not to fight Thomas on the matter. He turned to his children and muttered.
” Alright, we’re going to stay here until your grandfather and grandmother get back, alright?”
The children merely nodded, frightened by how fast and intense their grandparents had moved away. Mr. Hamilton bit his lip, leaning on the tips of his toes to try and see what was going on.
As Toby and Kit ran, Toby tripped over the pointed heels of some French nobles. He landed on the dirt ground with a thud and the wind knocked from his chest. He winced and then yelled in panic seeing the shop keep grab his little sister up. Another man that was with the shopkeep, roughly grabbed Toby off of the ground. Both screaming children were dragged away by the two men trying to get them to pay.
Thomas was the first one to spot the scene, without fear, he ran after them.
"Aye! Thas mah wee ones!"
Both men stopped at the Welsh man barking at them, they had a look of confusion on their faces. Finally the main shopkeep spoke up.
" Vos enfants sont des voleurs!"
"Ahm sorry? I dinna speak French.."
A woman tugged on his shirt," He is telling you that your children are thieves.'
"Nay, nay teres gotta be a..A misunderstanding of some sort.."
Toby was trembling violently, he clutched the cheeses in his hands. Poor boy looked frozen in fear, like a deer caught in lantern light.
Thomas looked to him, after ripping Kit away from the presuming second shopkeep. He held the trembling girl in his arm. He growled for the owner of the cheese shop to let his son go. Thomas bent down to his son’s height with a huff and frowned.
"Toby wha happened tah ye both...Tell yer Pa.."
"I I I I ran out... And and and he was chasing chasing Kit and I...'
"Aye... Why'd ye run ou..?"
Kit piped up, "cause cause a tall man and and a pink man started talking to us."
Toby nodded," Yeah! The man was huge! He was standing right behind us!!"
"He was taller than mama.."
"So ye got scared aye?"
Thomas blinked, furrowing his brows and thinking to himself about what sort of man would scare Toby. Mr. Hamilton finally caught a glimpse of Thomas, he decided to head over and make sure that no one was hurt. He took his children, beginning to push through the growing crowd to him.
Panting, the ginger haired boy nodded,” A Lot taller!" His blue eyes widened as a shadow engulfed them. He gasped, nearly stumbling backwards.
"Shit! There he is!" He pointed to the pirate captain.
Thomas looked to him, seeing the fear in the boy’s eyes. He whispered softly to him.
"Listen, let yer pa get ya both out of trouble first.."
Mr. Thomas had begun to rise to his feet, he then rudely turned on his heels to face the shopkeeper, the man was furious, holding his hand out as he tapped his foot. .
Thomas looked to the shopkeeper in confusion, he started digging in his pocket for his pouch.
"Aye damn tings in ere somewhere.."
Cin pushed by her husband, handing the thin brunette shopkeep 4 gold and 2 silver, snarling deeply, taking her family under her wing more or less. Leo, being short, got stuck between people and grumbled to himself about this. He sighed impatiently seeing that Cin got to Thomas before he could.
Toby whined, moving back from the crowd, scared of the dreaded captain. Cin clutched his hand.
" No. You will run away again-"
Seeing the fear on Toby’s face, Thomas grew angry. Turning to face the man who terrorized his children, he was met face to face with this giant of a human. Bailey huffed, his stature such as an angry bull blowing steam out from his nostrils.
Both men stared at each intensely, Thomas reaching for his pistol. Cin paused seeing Bailey, she blinked, looking at him again. Once it clicked who this was in front of her, Cin bursted out laughing loudly. Thomas picked Toby and Kit up, moving away from Cin.
"Yer pa's gotye.."
The Pirate Captain’s hard face softened up, twisting into a wide toothy grin. Captain Bailey’s loud booming voice rang out.
"Cin!"
The cabin boy next to him blinked and looked up to Bailey.
"My Captain, you know her..?"
Bailey nodded and hugged Cin, ruffling her long silky black hair.
"Aye! She's William's girl!"
He turned to face the danish woman.
"I haven't seen ye’ since yer were a little lass!"
Cin laughed, brushing hair from her face. She cleared her throat, cracking a smirk to him.
"Captain Bailey, that was nearly 5 years ago.'
She paused and arched a brow down at the short skinny cabin boy," Is that a new pet?"
Viktor blushed hard and looked up to her, his dusty violet like eyes flicking between his Captain and this large woman. Captain Bailey nodded letting his eyes rest on the young man.
" Aye boy, don't be shy now pup."
Viktor stepped up and smiled to her a bit. His creamy soft British voice greeted her with a; "Hello.."
Thomas kissed his son’s head, whispering gently to him.
"Aye see both of ye? 'e knows Cin.."
Cin’s attention returned back to her conversion, after she stared at her family. She nodded and muttered a similar greeting. The black haired Captain clapped Viktor's back.
" My boy's 23, Englishman as well."
He looked over Viktor and cleared his throat, using a more stern tone with him now.
' Introduce yourself, boy."
The Cabin Boy’s demeter shifted as he straightened up and introduced himself, bowing with his hat off.
"Hello, I'm Viktor Rosewood.....Oh! I'm the cabin boy for my Captain…...Yes he takes the most excellent care of me" he looked up at Bailey with puppy eyes.
Cin smirked, letting an amused huff out, she looked Viktor over.
“Ja, cabin boy?"
"Aye ma'm, I am.."
Nodding slightly, Mrs. Holmes held her paw of a hand out to the young man.
" Jä, any friend of Baileys is a friend of the Baker's." She winked," Especially his pets.”
Viktor shook her hand, collapsing both his delicate hands around hers. He smiled brightly to her.
"It's lovely to meet you then."
She held his hand in her crushing grip, forgetting to let go. Viktor winced as she turn to Bailey
"Join my husband and I for an early lunch, the little ones are starting to get-" she looked back," Grumpy.'
Thomas spoke up, he cleared his voice and looked to his wife.
"Aye speakin of... Where's Leo an' his wee ones.."
Cin took a moment to look around for Leo, she furrowed her brows and grunted.
" I will be back." She took off into the crowd, like a wolf on a scent.
Captain Bailey swallowed, he felt bad for frightening the children. He cleared his throat, looking to Thomas.
"Your children, what are their names? Where are your little blonde ones?" He asked in the gentlest voice he could muster.
"Mm oh aye...I've go two of tem righ' now. These are Kit and Toby..." The Welshman furrowed his brows, he grimaced and muttered,” Aye, I dunno where Opal and her broth’eh are. Both are n’aw ‘dults...Nay, I dinna know where they are…”
~
Across the way, Opal and Thassilon walked the floral district. From a group of boys, one called out after Opal, gesturing to his pelvis.
"Pourquoi tu ne me montre pas ce que ces lèvres peuvent faire?!"
Thassilon growled lowly, he flicked a golden lock over his shoulder, and called back sharply.
"Pousse ton pénis dans ton propre cul!"
Opal mewled as her and her brother walked into a flower shop, the bell swinging and ringing as the door was pushed open. Thassilon huffed to her, tutting his tongue as he patted her hand.
"Your brother will protect you my flower...No disgusting man will say those sorts of things to you.”
Thassilon took a quick survey of the shop and nodded a little, "Oui...Let us look at flowers.."
She bounded over to the Gourdon Flowers and smiled.
"They're lovely, Thassilon! They almost remind me of the Bluebells in Scotland!”
"Oui, we made port at ze perfect time of year.."
"Oh! They have black Dahlias here-!"
"Oh oui! Zey are a local flower”
The florists all laughed at him and one woman from behind the counter snorted.
"Les iris sont les fleurs locales, les dahlias sont des aztèques."
Thassilon paused, a deep blush set across the bridge of his nose and cheeks. Timidly, he cleared his throat.
"Du moins, chez moi, c'est ce que les fleuristes m'ont dit. My flower, our family was.. Particular about the flowers we had around.."
The same woman blinked, leaning over the counter, looking at Thassilon with interest.
"Quel était le nom de votre famille, monsieur?"
Thassilon looked to her with unease, he gripped Opal’s hand in his hand, "Bellerose." He nodded, "Nous habitions au nord de Paris”
"Le bellerose?! Oh mon dieu, ta famille a organisé les fêtes les plus somptueuses! Le mot voyage vite .."
She winked, twirling her hair with her finger. She batted her lashes at Thassilon and bit her lip. Thassilon nodded gently, he didn’t notice her flirting. He let go of Opal’s hand slightly. He muttered and straightened himself out.
"Oui, oui, nous l'avons fait ... Ces jours sont pourtant révolus depuis longtemps. Maintenant je voyage avec ma chère sœur Opal. "
"C'est aussi un Bellerose, n'est-ce pas? C'est presque Midsomer, vous devriez envisager d'organiser une grande fête!"
"Lui qui?" Thassilin looked around in confusion, looking behind his shoulder. Finally, it clicked in his head as to what the two women were alluding to. He shook his head and muttered quickly, nearly in a panicked tone.
“C'est juste ma sœur et moi… nous le considérerons madame." Thassilon shook
his head a bit,
"My flower..Come come, get your uh uh uh florals and let us go. Mhm?”
Opal saddled up and smiled to Thassilon, she had a bundle mixed of Irises, Black Dahlias, Red Roses, Honeysuckles, and Sweet Peas. Thassilon smiled to her and kissed her cheek.
"My flower...Let us pay and step out, oui?"
Opal nodded, feeling the velvety petals against her finger tips.
" I can make floral crowns for you and I." She paused for a moment and then looked to him, “Brother dear...would you tell me of our family…? We just seem to be so well known...why?”
Thassilon paused and nodded slightly, “Ah, oui of course mon fleur…”
He chewed on his lip nervously as he tried to think about how to explain their family without upsetting Opal too badly.
“Oui one zing zat we were known for was of course ze parties we would host...Balls as some might zay.”
Seeing that Opal was satisfied with this answer, Thassilion gave a gentle nod to himself. Hoping that Opal would not ask such questions for the time being. Once paying for the flowers, both Thassilon and Opal stepped out of the shop and were immediately spotted by Cin and her sharp eyes. Soon enough, the siblings joined the rest of their family.
The small group walked towards the pub, Bailey and Viktor walking behind them. Mrs. Hamilton and her brother catching up and meeting with them. Opal nodded, listening to Captain Bailey and Cin’s conversation, she paused smiling softly.
“Look! I see the captain and dear doctor!"
At this, Opal bounced over to William and John.
"Grandfather John! Grandfather William!"
"Ah, love..It would seem Opal has spotted us."
Jonathan flagged her down and smiled after his husband.
"Ah, the natives! Opal, Thassilon dears, come join us!"
Opal tugged Thassilon along as she greeted their Captain, breaking away from their parents to join the Captain and the Good Doctor. Thassilon stumbled after Opal and growled retorts to passers by that were catcalling Opal. The doctor smiled softly to the siblings, rubbing Opal’s arm.
"It's good to see some familiar smiles..."
William nodded, looking over the rest of his crew, a smile threatening to betray William’s stoic expression.
"Indeed that it is..What mischief have you too gotten up to?”
Captain Holmes then turn his attention towards Thassilion, what he saw from Thassilon indicated to him that they had indeed been facing troubles, whether Opal was aware of it or not.
"Well! We've picked a few jars of jam up, oh oh and honey as well!" Opal rummaged through her basket.
Another particularly slimy looking individual walked by and shouted,
"Tu vas avoir un quatuor avec cette pute?!"
Thassilon growled and turned to him.
"La seule activité comme celle que nous ferions est dans votre cadavre!!"
He huffed softly at the crude nature of the man who had just said such a statement to his younger sister. The nerve of some of the people was absolutely abhorrent.
Jonathan looked to William and raised a brow to him, “What has that individual said?”
William blinked, processing the scene that had just happened before them. While Thassilons response was very commendable, he couldn’t help but find himself wondering if they had been dealing with this all day.
"Thassilon, have you and Opal been addressed like this all day?"
"Oui...Unfortunately zat is ze case."
With this Thassilon gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his face. As much as he loved his home country, he would be quick to admit that it was far from perfect.
Opal nodded quickly, she was completely lost as to what these people were saying and why it was bothering her elder brother; however she knew that it must be something bad for how quickly he snapped back at them.
“Yes! It's been upsetting Thassilon all day…”
Thassilon sighed huffed, this sort of treatment towards his younger sister was absolutely unacceptable in his eyes. He was practically shaking with anger at all the people they had run into today.
"The nerve of zees people.."
Jonathan frowned, he was not fluent in french and the captain had yet to tell him what was said. The doctor set those worries aside for the moment and nodded to them all, coming up with a way to diffuse the tension.
"Ah, why don't we take a luncheon break, yes?”
~~
Everyone had gathered on the outskirts of the city to reconvene and head back to the ship
Billie and Kit were fast asleep against Thomas's chest.
Opal looked to Leo and swooned as she swung her basket to a frow.
" Oh, it was so lovely! Dear brother has taught me so much about our... Uh- heritage!"
"Yeah? Well, that sounds very nice...why don’t ya’ tell me a bit more?”
" Well, I now know that the flower of France is the Iris."
The crew trotted past a small band of men singing and playing the fiddle on the outskirts of town.
Thomas nodded gently as he listened to his eldest daughter speak of all she had learned that day about the Bellerose family. While he couldn’t say he knew too terribly much about French culture beyond their visits to ports, he had gathered the basics. The blonde woman stopped and watched the musicians, she found their music absolutely enchanting and the folk style played into her ears lightly. The picture perfect close to a good day in France.
"Oh, this is so lovely, Captain, pray, may we stay until they finish their song?"
She batted her eyes at the captain and purred softly. Putting on her most convincing puppy eyes as she gazed up to him pleadingly. William nodded gently as he considered this proposition for a moment, then he hummed, deciding to relent on this to provide Opal with the peaceful close to the day.
"Mmm let us wait."
The old man sang out with the band of young men, it was an old French whaler's song. The music was homey, familiar in a sense, yet also so rustic.
William nodded gently and smiled a little, he quite enjoyed a good whaling song now and again, this one was no exception. Even where he not fluent in French, he would be quite enjoying the music that they were playing. He even caught himself humming along softly to the tune.
Thomas kept an eye on his children, making sure they didn’t grow impatient and go running off. Pip looked like he was gonna fall asleep any second, leaning against Leo as he dozed slightly, having had such an eventful day.
The old man stopped his music abruptly and stared at Thassilon. It took a moment but Thassilons differently coloured eyes registered in this mans mind and tipped him off as to who he was looking at.
Leo noticed the shift in the old man’s attitude and held Pip close to him. He couldn't help but sense that something was about to happen, and that it would be the farthest thing from good.
Thassilon blinked to the older man, not recognizing him, as last time he would have seen the singer would have certainly been when he was a child.
Opal grabbed Thassilion's arm as the old man approached him. The pale older man ad his gaze locked on Thassilon as he approached and then spoke to him.
"Louis c'est toi? ça fait tellement longtemps...."
Thassilon blinked and shook his head, he had never been mistaken for his father before, and he was not entirely sure how to respond to such a sentence, short of honesty.
"Non non, Louis était mon père."
The very old man wheezed out a laugh and clasped a hand on Thassilon’s back,
”Vous lui ressemblez! Quand Louis était jeune, lui et sa famille passaient souvent des vacances ici. quel drôle de petit garçon il était.."
Cin growled to William, keeping her eyes glued onto her oldest son. She did not like the way this man approached her family so openly and without concern or care. He did not seem like a threat, but his companions could cause trouble.
“What does the old dog say?"
William leaned to Cin, speaking in a hushed tone so as not to be overheard he explained.
"In essence that Thassilon looks like his blood father Louis, and that the Louis family used to vacation here.."
Thassilon nodded gently,
"Oui, merci .. je montrais ma sœur et mes beaux-parents."
Cin growled very deeply as she watched them very closely. The small tidbit of information did nothing to ease her mind about this current situation.
He smiled and looked Opal over, "Belle fille."
The old man looked around and frowned,
“Où sont tes parents? Vos parents sont très gentils, je voudrais leur dire bonjour et leur dire à quel point leurs enfants sont comme eux.."
William whispered to Cin, "He's saying he wants to speak with Thassilon’s blood parents because they were very nice to him."
This made Cin's blood boiling, she gripped the basket in her hand almost breaking it. She was aware of how cruel Thassilion and Opal’s blood parents had been to the poor man. Countless nights of Thassilion flinching in fear and wailing, terrorized that he was about to be stricken across the face.
Thassilon felt his entire body tense slightly but kept up his diplomacy. He never enjoyed speaking of his blood parents, but this older man didn’t know that.
"Ils ont tous deux été tués pendant la révolution ... et je vous assure, ils n'étaient pas aussi gentils qu'ils le paraissaient."
He scrunched his face up, a mixture of anger, sorrow, and shock passed over him, the elderly gentleman nearly spat these words out as if they were a wine that had gone sour.
"Révolution? Garçon, c'était un meurtre. vous ne pouviez pas garder vos pauvres sous contrôle."
Opal frowned, sensing the senior’s rising negative emotions. Her fingers dug deeper into Thassilion’s arm as she whispered up into his ear.
"Thassilon, what is this man going on about..?"
William shook his head, setting his hand on the cook’s back for comfort.
"He is speaking about your blood parents."
He spoke up now, fairly sure that the old man in front of them did not know English, at least not well enough to decipher what he had said without much effort.
Thassilon crossed his arms, now understanding the path this conversation was following, and quickly coming to the conclusion that he did not like the direction it was headed in.
"Ce n'était pas mon choix de faire tuer mes parents pendant les combats! Ils ont été décapités pour le bien de tous. Et compte tenu de la façon dont ils ont traité ma sœur et moi comme des enfants, je dirais presque qu'ils le méritent."
Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Hamilton began to try and get Thassilon to come back with them, Leo was being surprisingly gentler then he normally would be. Thassilon’s sister and brother in law could tell that this would dissolve into a fight if one of them wasn’t moved away. Given that they knew Thassilon, he became their target to diffuse the situation.
The man trembled and grabbed a bottle of wine and threw it at Thassilon, the glass shattering at his feet,
"Tiens ta langue, garcon!"
Opal gasped and yanked Thassilon away from the old man who had just tried to assault him. The tables had turned and now came Opal’s time to protect Thassilon. A wild flame lit in her eyes as she barked out.
"How dare you treat my brother like that! You rude wrinkly ass!"
Thassilon huffed, a fire had sparked in his eyes from this conflict and he crossed his arms towards the old man.
"Opal, he is an ignorant man..He refuses to see past the act our blood parents put on."
A few young men ran over, taking the old man away, one of them spoke to the entire crew in English, having put it together that they all spoke the language.
"I- I am sorry for my grandfather's actions, he is unwell.”
Thassilon shook his head slightly, keeping his anger in check. He took a few unstable deep breaths before speaking again.
"He merely fell for ze same illusion most everyone did. I do not blame him for zat.."
Cin growled as they began to head back to the ship and she then barked to her son to get his focus from the people that were bothering him
"Thassilon, come."
Thassilon shook his head and followed the rest of the crew to the ship.
Opal walked next to Thassilon, she was incredibly concerned for her brother. He seemed to be very very upset that someone had been talking about their parents.
“I am sorry...are you ok?" She asked, trying to touch his shoulder.
He nodded, and picked up his walking speed. He was almost desperate to return to the ship, away from the confrontation he had just faced down.
"Oui I will be fine my flower...Do not let this ruin the rest of our lovely day…”
"It's nearly sun down-"
Opal frowned as he shrugged her off and trudged forward. This was very much unlike her brother to behave in this fashion. Her worries only mounting further.
"Ze time we spent in town was still good no?"
"Yes..! Yes still good, where are you off to?"
She went after him as the sun set. She had to hurry rather quickly now as her brother went walking off even faster. The blond Frenchman was now at what most would consider to be the beginnings of a sprint.
"We are going back to ze ship? Non?"
"Yes! But you are walking rather quickly!"
"Oui I am eager to return."
Jonathan furrowed his brows, "Captain..”
William looked to him and raised a brow, "Yes..?"
"Does, Thassilon, seem a tad bit... Uh.. Well..." He nodded to the young Frenchmen.
William blinked, "Upset?"
"Yes." He sighed watching the Frenchmen practically run back. Opal tried to keep with him, pleading for him to slow back. William nodded, his eyes surveyed the crew and then he nodded.
"Someone should speak with him……...Leo!"
Jonathan rose a brow, worry written across the elderly doctor’s face.
" They hate each other-"
"Leo can relate in a...Unique way. I believe."
"I suppose."
"and...I believe our dear Opal could be overwhelming for him at the moment.."
He paused and watched Opal. The blonde woman was swarming him with questions and tugs to the coat.
"Perhaps we could distract her?" He raised a brow to Jonathan. The Captain walked his husband walk briskly over to the young blonde woman. William nodded gently to himself, walking over to Leo and stopping him.
"Leo. As Captain...I order you to speak with Thassilon..See if you can...Assist him."
"Are you sure I'm the best person-"
Captain Holmes hardly gave Mr. Hamilton time to answer as he cut him off, "Yes." There was a tone of finality to his voice.
"Go on. Once he's on board."
~~
The crew walked the rest of the length back to the docks, with only Doctor Jonathan and Ms. Opal speaking. Cin and Thomas took Toby and Kit away to the nursery, with Opal and her children following closely behind.
Thassilon went into his room and barred the door.
Leo walked after him and gently knocked on the door, his tone was surprisingly gentle
"Thassilon...I..I wanted to try to talk with you.."
"I'd like to be alone, zhank you, Leo."
“I'm not gonna leave until you let me talk to you..I know you're upset I can hear it from here.."
Thassilion gripped his hairbrush as he roughly brushed through his hair. He nearly tugged a chunk of hair out from his scalp, he pressed his tongue up against his palette and winced. Leo started messing with the door to try to get it open, using a piece of thin metal he kept on him at all times.
"Thass, I want to have a heart to heart.."
The french man stared into the mirror. A mixture of anger and hopelessness washed over him, his eyes beginning to glow a sickly yellow. All was quiet as Thassilon stared at himself in the mirror.
The flame went out in his room and the mirror shattered
Leo frowned, jumping back a bit at hearing the loud crash. He called out, nearly hesitant for a moment.
"Thass that didn't sound good! Are you okay??
More sound came out from the room, the dresser and chair had flipped over. All of Thassilion’s expensive creams and lotions were scattered and broken on the wooden floor below. There was loud clang and crash, Thassilon sat there, shaking and panting, looking at his hands. Leo forced the door open and looked to him.
"Thass what...? Never mind..Are you okay..?"
He looked up, sitting in the middle of the floor with broken mirror shards around him. Leo lit the lamp in his room again and looked to him gently and very carefully made his way to Thassilon, in shock at the mess.
"Here let's get you away from the glass..."
The frenchman sat there, trembling just staring at his blood soaked fingertips, hands raised to his face. Leo licked his finger and wiped the blood off.
"Are you bleeding anywhere else?"
" Non...non...I am fine, I do not know what came over me..”
"Let's talk about what happened back there, if you're up to."
He seemed to just nod his head mechanically as he mumbled.
" Sure.”
"Alright...And I decided to talk to you cause I figured, I have some ah..Family issues as well”
Thassilon perked a brow at him and watched the short Scottish-Italian man walk around in front of him, hands behind his back. His mismatched eyes flickered, the frenchman’s foot bouncing, his fingers lightly scratching at the fabric stretched over his knees.
"You are uh making me nervous, Sit.'
Leo paused, looking at the anxious man, he sighed sitting down.
"I don't talk about this very often, forgive me...Anyways my parents weren't...Well..My father wasn't a good person. My mother did her best but..There was only so much she could do.."
Mr. Hamilton looked to his brother in-law, watching him closely. Thassilon seemed to look right through him, as if he was invisible. Leo shivered at the eerie sight, he had not seen Thassilion act like this in quite some time.
"But…. people thought my father was a good man...They thought he did his best, I don't know what he told them when he abandoned us, but they still thought he was a good man..."
Thassilon gripped hard on his own arm, thinking about his own parents. Flashes of when he was a child played through his mind. He furrowed his brows as Leo talked.
"The point of this is.." he tried to gently pry Thassilon’s hand off his arm, "That I...Can at least grasp where your coming from...And I wanted you to know that I'm here to listen if you ever want to talk.."
Thassilon nodded slowly, rising to his feet and walking to the door of his room. The man was acting as if he was in a trance, his movements almost seemed rehearsed. Leo went after him, setting his hand roughly on Thassilion’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze.
"Thass I know we have our differences, but I do honestly care about you"
He looked at him with a dead stare, only a singular swaying oil wick lamp illuminating the two men.
" I want to be alone.” The blonde man nearly whispered as the last rays of light were snuffed out plunging him and his brother in-law in utter darkness. Thassilion shifted out of his grip and made his way the stairs and out onto the deck, hands in his pockets.
"Thass I...Well I'm here if you ever want to talk..” Leo called out from the bottom of the stairs, his tone a wavering sadness.
Thassilon sat there, at the edge of the ship, dangling his feet off of the side. The sky seemed to be void of stars. The summer night grew a bit colder, a deep darkness seemed to engulf Thassilion as he sat there staring at his reflection.
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