The young man closed the door, walked up to the window and slammed it. He then heaved a sigh of a person exhausted from an exciting day and headed towards the bed. He halted in midway and stared at Violet much in curiosity and confusion.

"I am at your disposal, Master_"

Violet's speech was cut for she sneezed from the cold. She wiped off her last tears and wanted to resume her talk when the young man's arm held out the black coat he had always worn hanging on his shoulders.

"You'll catch a cold if you remain in those thin robes. It's often freezing in Cyberia at night, due to the desert climate".

She clutched the coat with a trembling hand and wrapped herself into it. Instantly, the utmost warmth embraced her.

"Thank you, Master_"

"Captain".

"Captain... Sorry".

"No issue. Don't you have any warmer clothes?"

"I have only this one. I_"

"Talk about travelling light," the captain walked to a Crimson Wood wardrobe and began rummaging through. "I do remember I had something here... Ah, there!" he pulled out a purple warm dress with sleeves and fur, and threw it on the bed before her: "There you go".

"Huh?"

"Take it. It's yours".

"W... What?"

None of her previous masters had ever gifted her anything before. Yet this guy, the pirate emperor – that bloodthirsty Young Captain – was giving her such an expensive dress so casually?

"Am I not being clear? Sinbad said you spoke fifty-one languages".

"Ah, no, that's not it! I just_"

"Then take it, duh!"

Violet hesitantly grabbed the dress, folded it neatly and placed it on the bed beside her.

"Yeah, take that side of the bed since you're already sitting there. Use drawers of that bedside table over there, it's empty. Tomorrow morning I want to set sails for my next journey with the original Shark Tooth of mine. You can come since your cousin and Prince Zehu are both coming. They're your friends... at least so they state. I'm not saying you're obliged though. Tell me how you prefer. Anyway, what's your name? Violet Hawthorne, I think?"

He hastily fussed around, throwing his slouch hat on a hook in a corner, adjusting his bed, then suddenly remembering he had left night-robes to a washing robot, then, finally retrieving them back neat and clean, realising he had forgotten to pack an important item in his bag for tomorrow, then, while rummaging through drawers and cursing under his breath of where he had put it, tripping over the same bag he had clumsily left on his path.

"Great Hermin's curse, who the hell put this here? Oh, wait, it was me... So what did you say your name was?"

But I never said anything... This man is like nothing I've seen before. None of my masters, not even Captain Sinbad, were so... extraordinary.

"I... I am Violet Hawthorne, that's right..."

"Muhmuh, Hermin's curse can I hear like that? Speak up, duh!"

"Sorry. Yes, I am Viol_"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. Pleasure," he began beating the bag with his foot since he had a hard time closing it, "Dang, why the hell can't you clos_"

"Master, that bag is on voice command," a robot servant cut in.

"Huh? Ah, yes, I forgot... Anyway, you take care of this, Rumuh, I'm really not in the mood of this rotten crystal of a job!" thus, cursing the bag of valuables with the most exclusive words he possessed in his lexicon and putting it in his robot servant Rumuh's disposal, he finally heaved a sigh of relief, stretched, yawned, and dropped onto the bed beside Violet. "So, a blue flower of Aidan fields, eh?"

"What?"

"Violets grow in Baxus' maternal land, don't they?" his eyes sparkled vicious and sly like those of Zehu when this latter's lust for mind-games kicked in.

"Oh, yes, they do. H... How do you know?"

"I've been on Earth. I've actually been in all the Seven Universes like Sinbad. His ship too, is my belonging, after all".

"Wow, amazing!"

"Yes, truly. Let's go to sleep now because tomorrow I'm going to... get up early... Hermin's curse I hate it so much but, eh..." he yawned and covered himself with the scarlet blankets. "You had better go to bed too".

Violet, much surprised that he so casually permitted her to sleep in a bed – in his bed, changed into her night-dress and timidly lay beside him, already used to lying beside alien males after voyaging with Sinbad on his ship.

"Can you tell me your story? I love hearing stories of others".

"Y... Yes, Captain".

She began to retell him of her beautiful and happy life on Earth together with mother, father, and tiny sister, hiding away from wars that had engulfed their home planet; her abduction, ten bitter years of slavery and humiliation, then getting taken by Sinbad's crew, her adventures with Baxus and Zehu, and finally, Sinbad's betrayal and how she ended up where she was now. She still couldn't understand why this young man – the bloody pirate emperor – was so casually interested in her past when no other person except her cousin Baxus and her friend Zehu had ever asked her about it, or how she felt, or what she experienced, how hard it had been for her... Nobody cared but a cousin and a friend. Now, this man whom she had barely met inquired of it so out of the blue and with such shimmering eyes of a passionate child waiting for their bedtime tale. When she finished, he watched her silently as if studying her, and smiled:

"Your adventures sure are interesting, Violet. Thanks for sharing. Oh, wait, I haven't even told you my name yet! I'm Arubah Arruroe. It is a pleasure to know you!"

"Arruroe?! Are you perchance something to Yuuh Arruroe?"

"You know about that Mind-Book writer? Don't tell me you can read those books too? You've guessed correctly – he was my grandfather".

"Really? So you're a Daluma?"

"Kind of, yes".

"Kind of?"

"Well, I'm three in one – quarter Daluma, quarter Herminoid, and half-human".

"Half-human?! Daluma and Herminoid? Just what are you?"

This last question was pointless – the young man had already gone asleep, his face sunken into a scarlet pillow.

Damn, that was fast! I wasn't wrong – this man truly is extraordinary.

She turned aside and fell into thoughts, brooding over the possibilities of how such a hybrid could ever be born. However, soon, the exhaustion overwhelmed her. She dived into a deep sleep, with a decision to ask details to the Young Captain the next day.

This decision of Violet was never meant to be fulfilled: as soon as the sun rose, Captain Arubah Arruroe woke up and took charge of the final preparations before their ship would launch, while she, worn out from much space travels and heartbreaks the previous day, was still fast asleep, breathing serenely like a little child. Her shoulders were left wide open and her thin, frayed white night-dress was visible. Arubah easily noticed these details. He tiptoed towards her side, grabbed the edge of her blanket and covered her shoulders so it wouldn't waste the warmth she needed. Then he left the chamber at his robot servant Rumuh's disposal. 

***

After some long hours, Violet finally managed to raise her tired eyelids. The robot walked up to her side:

"Are you awake, my lady?"

My lady? Since when am I a lady? Wasn't I a slave here? She noticed how the golden handcuffs the pirates had put on her the previous day, had now been taken off. Huh? I'm free?

"Master said you were invited for breakfast on the ship since they're going to launch soon and there's no time to be lounging here. "Tell her to get her butt up and put the dress on, and lead her out to the main dock," are his exact words".

Violet put on the dress Arubah had gifted her the previous night and walked after Rumuh into the harbour. She could already behold an enormous vessel of the Crimson Wood, silver metal engine working on the blue fire, and shark-bone masts with blue glowing sails and the Cyber Sammy flags. On the highest mast, there shone a crimson diamond.

This ship is even bigger than Sinbad's one!

"Violet, you're up! Come on, we're launching soon. Zehu and Captain are waiting for us in this latter's cabin for breakfast".

"Baxus!"

She heartily ran after her beloved cousin, whom she thought the closest friend in these malevolent universes, along with Zehu. He led her aboard, yelled at some lounging alien pirates that he'd "blow them up", and rushed into the captain's cabin.

It was brighter in this cabin than in Captain Sinbad's one. There were a royal bed and some Crimson Wood furniture placed. Many books and scrolls overwhelmed the bookshelves just like back in Young Captain's room in the palace. There were three people – Young Captain Arubah and Zehu just like Baxus had informed, and one more – one of the two men present in the Pirate Emperor's working-room the previous day when Sinbad brought Violet in. This man had green hair like many Daluma but held laser-swords, unlike the Daluma who mostly relied on their psychic abilities.

"Oh, finally managed to get up? Welcome," Arubah grinned once saw Baxus pull the timid girl in and slam the door behind. "Thanks for your work, Bax".

"Heh, it was nothing. She's my cousin, after all," Baxus dragged Violet to the table and put her in between himself and Zehu, while the green-haired man and Arubah sat oppositely to them. "Violet, this swordsman is Jedha Mahut, a Daluma like Zehu. He's Captain's second-mate, operating as the first-mate whenever I'm gone".

"I'm nowhere near His Glowing Excellency Prince Zehu, don't say such nonsense".

"Ah, it's a pleasure," Violet smiled as courteously as she could, but her voice trembled and gave out her fear. "Wait, you said Prince Zehu?"

"Yeah, Zehu's a Daluman Prince, didn't you know?" Baxus raised an eyebrow. "He's the youngest son of the Daluman chiefess, Ethna Vaagard".

"I didn't figure him to be a prince. It sounds more like a royalty".

"Well, chiefesses are royalties on our asteroid, so it's no surprise," Jedha shrugged. "It's a pleasure for me to meet you too, Violet Hawthorne".

"Goodie, we all are happy to know each other. Now dig in!"

Arubah grabbed a giant piece of unicorn meat and bit on it with delight. The others laughed and helped themselves. As for Violet, she followed their example, though a little timidly and fearfully, since she still couldn't quite understand her position on the ship – was she a slave, a crew member, or something else? She was yet to find out.

The boys seemed in a rather pleasant mood, joking around and laughing together. Baxus and Zehu often tried to include Violet in the fun, in order not to let her feel alone. She indeed needed that sort of support, since she did feel low-level and lonely in the company, intimidated by all the mighty species surrounding her, all of whom were each other's life-long friends, while she was just a newcomer and not a guest but a property of the captain, whom she barely knew.

When the friends finished breakfast, the ship gave out a signal of the launch. Baxus, Zehu, and Jedha left for the deck to guide and supervise the process.

Violet remained alone in the cabin with her new master, Young Captain Arubah Arruroe – the man most feared throughout all the universes, also known by his rogue name 'Blood Diamond', whose true meaning Violet did not yet know. Nevertheless, it sent shudders down her spine – the kindness of yesterday night, true, but still, a pirate captain with such gruesome epithets, he shouldn't be a good person overall... Remembering Captain Sinbad's vile words, how she believed in him and how he betrayed her, was enough of an example that she shouldn't trust these pirates so blindly.

"Human, I am a captain of the Shark Tooth Pirates causing havoc to the Seven Universes. Did you sincerely believe I was not cruel?"

Those words belonged to Sinbad. Now to compare to this new master of hers – Sinbad was respectful in front of him even though he was a hybrid of not just Herminese but Daluman and human blood; Sinbad operated under his wing, shortly – not just any pirate captain, but the very Emperor of the Galaxy Pirates. Watching him calmly draw on the golden pipe he had made appear out of nowhere, new words formed in her mind:

Violet, this guy is the Emperor of the Galaxy Pirates causing havoc to the Seven Universes. Do you truly think he's not cruel? 'Cruel' might even be a mild notion...

"Violet, what is it you want the most in this life?"

"W... What?"

"I asked," Arubah calmly exhaled some blue smoke and glanced at her with glittering black eyes, "what do you live for?"

"I don't under_"

"Think well. Depending on your answer, I shall decide what to do with you".

"What to do with me?"

"Yes. Treat you like a worm as a Herminoid, a dog as a Daluma, or a sister as a human?"

His voice was as ferocious as the previous day when she first saw him. Indeed, this man was more than met the eye.

"P... Please give me some time to think, my lor_ I mean Captain".

"One day, in Earthly measurement".