Klave jerked awake, not having been aware that he had fallen asleep. Bright light streamed through the wooden bars that held them inside the wagon. Men were shouting, and the salty smell of the ocean wafted into their noses. Klave looked around for Jilk, and found him still sleeping, though he was twisted around quite a bit. Klave shook Jilk's shoulder with rope-bound hands, and he woke up almost instantly.
"Wha... argh." Jilk looked around and took it all in for a few moments, then tears began to build up. "Where are we? How far away are we from home?" Panic- true, no fooling panic- fluttered around Klave's gut. The sea was miles and miles away! Will I ever get back? These are people who captured us! They won't let us go. Then the lock on the wooden door rattled, and opened up.
The twist-nosed man stood there, with his earing glinting in the sunlight. Behind him, a dock went out briefly to the sea, then stopped with a huge ship with grey-white sails. The other bandits and thieves seemed to be loading up the ship. "Right, now. You two'll be getting aboard, no funny business. Out." Klave and Jilk stumbled out of the wagon, their legs and back cramped from the lack of movement. More fear pressed the boys, and the Twist-Nosed Man walked behind them with his curved sword out. "Right up the ramp. Don't even think about making a run for it." Klave didn't think he was brave enough for something like that, he could barely move his feet. But, though a tad slow in progress, they walked up the loading ramp and were ushered across the deck. The main mast stood tall like a giant oak, with branches that had huge leaves. Not even bandits could dampen his imagination, even if it was only slight.
The Twisted-Nosed Man opened a door leading below-decks, and pushed them through it. The boys walked down a few levels, and came to the bottom most level. It was full of metal-barred cells. A brig.
After tossing them into the nearest one, Klave and Jilk sobbed on the wet floor for what felt like forever. How on Urthan would they get back now? Where was ship going? What was his mother and father thinking right now? They all bore down upon Klave, and he gave up and just lay there.
Klave collected himself eventually, and Jilk simmered down too. But they heard more crying, even though they had stopped. They listened to where the noise had come from, and both of their eyes fell to the cell next to them. Klave squinted, and he made out a curled up figure, against the wall.
"H-hello?" Klave asked, almost afraid of the answer. But, to his surprise, a girl's voice echoed out.
"Who are you? Are you another p-pirate?" The figure shifted, and a girl came into the light of the single candle. She had dark blond hair, with light blue eyes. "Who are you?" she repeated.
"I'm Klave, and this is my friend, Jilk." Jilk was frozen, his eyes staring at the girl. But he noticed they were both looking at him, and he glanced away.
"I'm Jane. I've only been here a night. They say the meanest things, and they locked me up."
