Garden Of Poison-Chapter 225: From pan to fire

Before the rays of the morning sun could touch the island that had been home to the second princess of Versailles for two weeks, Niyasa awoke with her eyelids heavy with sleep upon feeling the ground beneath her rumble. Once a heavy sleeper, she had become easily awakened after narrowly escaping having her leg almost chomped by one of the island’s crocodiles.

Niyasa surveyed her surroundings, but not seeing any crocodiles nearby, she closed her eyes once more, only to be abruptly jolted awake by a loud horn that reverberated across the island. Recognising the noise as somewhat familiar, she quickly rose to her feet and made her way towards the water in the darkness. Her eyes lit up with the reflection of distant fire.

At the water’s edge stood a small boat, with a larger ship anchored not far behind it.

Finally, she was going to be rescued! She knew her family wouldn’t leave her stranded on this wretched island forever, knowing her importance as a member of the Blackthorn family. She made her way towards the figures carrying torches, ready to open her mouth to alert them that the person they were searching for was right here.

"...!" Niyasa’s eyes widened when she gained a clearer view of the people who had arrived on the island.

These weren’t rescuers from Versailles. She whispered, "These are damn pirates!"

Niyasa gritted her teeth, doubting she could endure another day of solitude on this island. The ship was right there within her reach, and she felt tempted to board it. Feeling a sudden itch on her leg, she bent down to scratch it while watching the pirates as they ventured into the forest, seemingly in search of food or water.

"We should go to the South," she heard one of the pirates say. "The East isn’t safe because of the storms that come from the Storm Sea. They would wreck our ship."

"What’s there in the South? Versailles isn’t safe to set foot on, especially after what happened to the Bandit Wolves! All slaughtered by the Blackthorn king," said another pirate. "If we’re headed to Taub, we’ll have to pass through Versailles."

The princess felt a nudge against the side of her leg, and in irritation, she kicked it, only to feel a warm breath. When she turned, her heart momentarily stopped at the sight of her foot nearly inside the crocodile’s mouth.

"AHHH!" Niyasa screeched in terror, realising she had come perilously close to losing a limb once more.

However, her scream also startled the pirates, causing them to halt in their tracks on their way to fetch water from the pond.

"What was that?!" one of the pirates inquired, as the echo of the scream left the island in silence once more, save for the sound of waves lapping at the shore.

"The island must be haunted!" someone else whispered, casting a dubious glance at their surroundings.

"Haunted my foot! There must be someone here apart from us," said another pirate, turning in the direction the scream had come from. The torch he carried swayed as he walked before his eyes fell on something on the ground. Bending down, he picked up a scrap of fabric and declared, "Some of you come with me to scout the island."

Meanwhile, Niyasa glared at the crocodile. She recognised this one! Always approaching her as if it were her pet. She scolded it in a hushed whisper, saying, "What did I tell you about not coming near me?!" She inched away from it, but it slowly crept towards her, reducing the gap she created.

Niyasa turned around and began to run, and to her dismay, the crocodile picked up its pace as well, as if not wanting to part from her. She felt like pulling her hair in frustration, but the last time she had done so, some of her hair had come loose.

The reptile chased Niyasa in the direction that brought her closer to where the pirates were searching. She finally managed to find a hiding spot behind a tree, successfully concealing herself from both the crocodile and the pirates, and let out a relieved sigh. If she had known that getting on the ship to the Storm Kingdom would lead her to this situation, she would have never left the palace.

"The island is too big; what are we even looking for?" Niyasa heard one of the pirates ask, and she noticed the flickering of a torch, which helped her pinpoint their location.

"Look there, bananas!" one of them exclaimed. "We should gather all the fruits from here. It should last us for a week or two."

And let her starve to death? Niyasa quietly glared at the pirates. These damn pirates were so selfish, taking everything as if it belonged to them, she thought to herself. Perhaps she could hide in their ship and find her way to the nearest land? As the gears in her mind began to turn, her thoughts drifted to the lonely boat waiting at the shore.

While the pirates continued to fill their flasks with water and scout the island, Niyasa quietly tiptoed towards the boat. She didn’t feel bad for stealing their means of transportation, and she muttered to herself,

"They have each other for a few hours, and there are crocodiles for company too." What mattered most was her survival, and it wasn’t like she was stealing from virtuous individuals. With a soft huff at the thought, she used her hands to push the boat away from the shore and deeper into the water.

And as fast as her cunning mind had worked to steal the boat, she just as quickly realised that she had never operated one before and didn’t know how to get it moving. Her eyes fell on the paddles, and she picked one up before attempting to row the boat away, which took a good three minutes. As the boat began to move, her mood started to elevate with hope. She was leaving this damn island and would soon be heading back home!

"Idiots," Niyasa whispered under her breath, keeping her eyes on the island as she continued to paddle. She then noticed the torches glowing brighter as the pirates made their way to where they had left the boat earlier. "Faster!" She urgently plunged the paddle into the water, creating sharp splashes as it struck the boat’s sides with each stroke.

"Where is the boat?!" one of the pirates exclaimed, and the others ran to the edge of the shore to discover it missing.

"Look there!" The pirates turned their attention to the water and caught sight of their precious boat floating away. "Someone’s out there! Catch them!"

Niyasa’s eyes widened as she watched two men jump into the water, while another blew a horn to alert the thieves to the theft. She cursed,

"You already have a big ship; why do you want this one? Why are they swimming so fast?!" She panicked, her grip on the paddle slipping and causing it to fall into the water. "Shit!" Thankfully, there was another paddle, and she quickly grabbed it before desperately trying to row away.

"WHO IS THAT? CATCH THAT MAN!" someone from the ship shouted, alerting every pirate to Niyasa’s escape attempt.

The sky had begun to change colour, shifting from midnight blue to inviting shades of pink and lilac, gradually brightening the surroundings.

"Why is it not moving any faster?!" Niyasa questioned her lack of paddling skills, and she could feel her shoulders beginning to ache from the effort. And though the princess gave it her all in the hopes of evading capture, the pirate ship was large and swift. Before she could get too far, a huge net was thrown over her and the boat, making it impossible to move as she struggled to break free.

As alarm bells rang in her head, Niyasa fervently prayed, "Please take me back to Versailles! Let me vanish from here and land anywhere else!" She had heard enough stories about the pirates to know she didn’t want to spend any time with them.

"Hoist the boat and the thief who tried to steal from us!"

"AYE!" echoed a chorus from the pirates, and before she could resist further, Niyasa found herself forcibly brought aboard the pirate ship.

With the boat retrieved and the net pulled away, the pirates on the island swam to the ship and climbed aboard.

"Huh? It’s a woman."

"I told you there was someone on the island! This little bitch thought she could steal from us. Us pirates," a bald man asserted as he glared at her.

Niyasa cursed at her luck. She thought that being the daughter of a concubine was bad enough, but this situation had taken a turn for the worse, and her future looked even bleaker than when she was on the island. The pirates stared at her with greedy, scavenger-like eyes, and she tried to hide herself from their prying gazes.

What if they found out that she was a princess? Things would soon go south, and not South in the direction of her home. But they would find out the truth soon enough: she was a strikingly beautiful woman, and she always stood out compared to other women. Her beauty was bound to get her into trou—

"Looks like a pig’s child," one of the pirates remarked, and a chorus of laughter echoed throughout the ship while Niyasa’s face fell.

P—pig? Never had she been insulted with such a comparison! But it was only because she had spent too much time under the sun, either running from crocodiles or hunting for food. She hadn’t taken a bath for a while, and her hair, once smooth and luscious, wasn’t just matted but was on the verge of turning into dreadlocks.

"What shall we do with her?" one of them asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The captain of the pirates stepped forward. He was as tall as a giant, his belly round, and his trousers were held up with a rope. He looked Niyasa up and down, then declared as he stood before her,

"We need a maid on our ship. Keep her shackled when she’s done." His gaunt eyes bore into her, and he warned her, "Steal again, and we’ll break your bones."

Niyasa bit her tongue to stop herself from retorting back, and she noticed the sleazy glance the pirate captain gave her before dismissing her. She observed the men, many of them holding weapons, as sunlight began to bathe them all with its glow. Before long, a forceful push from behind caused her to stagger.

"Take this." Someone roughly shoved something into her hand. It was a mop. "Clean the deck. You have one hour. Then there’s utensils to clean." And just like that, the little freedom Niyasa had gained was confined to the pirate ship, and her status was demoted to that of a measly servant.

Far away from where one of the Blackthorn princesses was stuck with pirates, another princess back in the Storm Castle had only just awakened to a quiet morning after the raging hailstorm had passed.

For a moment, Emily felt disoriented as she took in the unfamiliar room before remembering that she had moved here the previous night. Recollecting last night’s discussion, she muttered,

"Idiot archdemon."

After getting ready, she stepped out of the room and heard another door unlock. Upon turning, she noticed Raylen, dressed and wearing a black coat, as if he was preparing to go somewhere.

"Good morning, Princess. Dreamt anything new?" Raylen teased as Emily walked towards him, her maid leaving them alone.

"Good morning," Emily greeted him. "It was a dreamless sleep. A good one," she added, not wanting to mention her dream about stabbing him, as it would only lead to him teasing her.

Raylen’s lips twisted into a quiet smile, and he stated, "You heard the story of my dear dead cat, saw my dear father’s skeleton, and slept well. Looks like we aren’t that different after all."