0. The Pirate King

No one:

Absolutely no one:

Not one single fucking soul:

Me: I wanna write a pirate novel

Lol so here we are

Please note: this book is going to be pretty damn gory, just keep that in mind

And I mean gore galore

Don’t say I didn’t warn you

This book will also have a playlist that I will be updating as I write, you can find this continuously updated track on Spotify

Titled: The Pirate King

Under my user: Wambui Muiruri

For this next first chapter, lets kick things off with some Smokey Bastard - Cheer Up Love

Anyways,

Enjoy, lovelies!!

••

The Playlist

1. Smokey Bastard - Cheer Up Love (Worst Things Happen at Sea), Pt 3

2. Firkin - Awaken The Iron

3. Three Days Graces - Riot

4. Paddy And The Rats - Ghost From The Barrow

5. Firkin - Your Odyssey

6. The High Kings - Step It Out Mary

7. Firkin - Into The Night

8. Todrick Hall - No Place Like Home

9. Hozier - Blood Upon The Snow

10. Poor Man’s Poison - Feed The Machine

11. A Thousand Faces, Mick Schultz, KAMAUU - Tumble

12. Jacob Banks - Chainsmoking

13. Abby Anderson - Heart On Fire In Mexico

14. Steven Rodriguez - Touch

15. Keith Power - We All Lift Together

16. Adele - Million Years Ago

17. Poor Man’s Poison - Change

18. Miracle Of Sound - Ode To Fury

19. Poor Man’s Poison - Give And Take

20. Mehro -Pirate Song

21. Poor Man’s Poison - Let’s Go!

22. Blessings From Heavenly Officials - The City Is Full Of Flowers

花满城-《天官赐福》动画配乐

23. Home Free - Skull And Bones

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/3d38ed53da1350b51f3199aee60c93a54ef1fe58/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f674d444b49744d4f6b3866564f773d3d2d313431373836353430352e313762333735323466643262643766663331323131383331313030352e6a7067)               

1. Blood Red Sails

THE PIRATE KING

••

When the winds shift west

And the sun soon sets

Steady those vessels, pull in your nets

If blood soaked red

Sails soon appear

Make peace with Death, The Pirate King is near

••

Alistair

“Mercy! Please! “

A blood curdling scream rang through the harsh, piercing clash of metal swords, a screeching sound that could bring ringing to your ears if it wasn’t all somewhat muddied by the raging sea testing strength against both ships.

That wretched scream didn’t last long. Not many had tonight.

“ Ah ,“ I sighed, readjusting the fasten for my blade that had come loose around my waist, as that sweet harmonic melody of death filled my ears. “You think this bloodshed will bring the men enough peace tonight?”

“I believe so.” Cael returned, raising his voice for me to hear over the continued sounds of balanced metal meeting its weaker foe, followed by the agonizing last cries of men that weren’t mine. My men had boarded the vessel only moments ago and yet I knew the fight wouldn’t go on for much longer. The ship we boarded was nothing more than mere cargo, transported by merchants journeying around the sectioned off piece of Azul.

That tropical coast was home to many businesses that had only expanded in years due to its convenient location right on water. Little did they know the sea was my territory.

This rich trade had made for easy pickings, and though I knew our men didn’t need the food that this ship carried, I had pushed them too long at sea without a single fight. And my men were not men you should let get bored, the deadly game of dice they played throughout the night had proved that.

I wasn’t sure how to explain to these bastards that if they all killed each other, there’s be no one left to actually run the fucking ship.

Which meant that if blood was to be spilt again tonight, it wouldn’t be from my crew.

“I can confirm we lost three men to that dice game last night.”

“ Lovely .“ I sighed more to myself. “Oh how I wish some of them would pick up a book. I’m tiring from cleaning these floorboards-”

“You haven’t scrubbed these floorboards in years.”

“Well I’m tiring of constantly giving others the order to.” I clarified. Cael scoffed. Before he could answer, I heard the signal from one of my men. A clear piercing whistle that cut through the dying cries of merchant who’d fallen to the sword.

Cael and I each cut one of the sail ropes, using them to hoist ourselves across our latched on ship to the merchants vessel. My men had already started to clean up, dragging the dead men into piles on the main deck. My feet hit the wooden planks with a loud thud, cracking the ledge boards before Cael landed much more gracefully close beside me. The noise brought my men’s attention over to us at the edge of the ship.

“Aye, good work!” I counted ten up here on the now blood soaked main deck. “Any alive?”

Snips answered me first as he wiped his blood dripping blade on his black linen shirt. He then sheathed that sharp blade, before bringing the edge of his shirt up to his face. He was covered in blood splatter and human remains, but the great smile that was stretched wide across his face let me know that he had enjoyed himself. Greatly.

Good , I thought. Most of my men shared that same boisterous smile. I won’t be throwing any bodies overboard tomorrow morning.

“We count seven. We’re bringing them up from down below now.”

And Snips’s timing could not have been more perfect. I heard the steps of my men from below as they forced a group of merchants up above deck in a single line.

It was nighttime, the darkness of its beauty masking our thievery, yet making our only light on this ship the lights the merchants had kept on through the outskirts of their above deck quarters. I watched as each surviving merchant was shoved forward towards me, before being made to kneel. There was a older man who struggled to lower himself to his knees, but Snip didn’t deem the man worthy of wasting time on.

A a swift kick to the back of the old man’s leg did it, snapping the leg at the knee cap before sending the man soaring straight to the bloody floor. The sound of his agonizing screams echoed through the otherwise now quiet night, but I chose to ignore them.

Instead I approached the first survivor closest to me. It was much younger man than the one who just lost his leg, which interested me some. I wondered if my men wanted more slaves. They loved to get out of their responsibilities whenever they could.

The man was shaking as he knelt, his head faced towards the blood stained floorboards. I crouched down, reaching out to tip his head up towards me. Each men’s hands were bound in front of them, but that wouldn’t have been necessary. None were escaping tonight.

The whole lot seemed spoiled as I studied them. Barely any meat on their bones to begin with. Then I had to be mindful of the extra mouths to feed.

This man was scrawnier than I thought. It would take a few meals to get him ready for any of my ships work, and that would cost money. And energy. Energy I didn’t care to spend.

Plus, his eyes. He was frozen in fear, not managing to meet my gaze. That was when I drew a short blade from my waist, and brought it to his neck. I wasn’t sure, but I think the man soiled himself once I did. Liquid began pooling near his knees, and once Snip noticed, he let out a harsh amused laugh.

“You sure do know how to treat us, Captain.”

I turned my head, giving Snips one sinister smile. “You lot earned it.” My attention then went back to the young man I was still holding the knife against the throat of. “Tell me,” I spoke, watching as his eyes very very slowly shifted to mine. “Would you like to live?”

All color had left his face now, rather all the color I could see from these shit burning torches, yet I watched as he nodded. “Y-Yes— p-please-”

“Why? Why should I,” my free hand gestured to my able body, “let you,” I then gestured to this piss poor excuse of one, “live?”

The man’s hands were trembling now, as he took a moment before answering. “We don’t- w-we don’t want any trouble— please, ju-”

The man’s eyes grew wide at me. I watched as his hands slowly reached up in disbelief to feel the cut I had made while he was still speaking, but it was useless. I had almost cut deep enough to take his head clean off, guaranteeing I at least severed that voice of his. I watched as the last of life left his eyes, and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. This made the other merchants start to cry, but all I did was motivate me on to the next.

Unfortunately the next was the old man who was still on the floor screaming out from the pain of the snapped leg. I decided this one was as good as spoilt fruit, and there was no reason to question him. Instead, the dagger still in my hand came down quickly, piercing through his chest cavity before I yanked down. Blood pooled at the slash immediately, before the old man took his final laboured breathes.

Then there were five. We were making good time , I thought to myself.

The next merchant couldn’t even answer my question, he was crying so desperately. I made his death more painful, disgusted that a man would face death with such fear as my blade pierced through his torso. I then dragged that knife up his body, gutting him open like a swine. I watched as his insides spilled out onto the deck with ease, further dirtying the floors.

Four.

The next merchant seemed to learn from his previous crew mate. He immediately told me he had a family, to which I still slit his throat. It was quick, a merciful killing for a man who both held his tears, and thought of family when at deaths door. Honorable, if nothing else.

Three .

The one after him learnt absolutely nothing, sobbed incoherently to my question and eventually received four quick stabs to his vital organs.

When I reached the second to last merchant, I found myself crouching down to his eye level. I wanted to get a better view of the man who’s hair color told me his years must surpass my own, yet stature surprised even myself. His shoulders were broad.

When I got a good look at him, he was just staring on straight ahead to the edge of the ship. He didn’t have that gaze cast to the floor in fear like the others. There were no tears. No begging. No… no nothing .

I studied him a little closer, memorizing those sharp yet elegant features, before I examined his build as a whole. He was strong. Young. Clearly used to some sort of labor, and yet…

I gave his body a once over again. “What’s your name?”

The man’s eyes didn’t meet mine, he just continued to stare on ahead in this almost daze. Or trance. “Caspian.”

His voice was deep. Rough. Like he hadn’t spoken a word in months. “You don’t look like a merchant.” I wiped the blood drenched blade against my thick black coat, noticing how coated in blood and bits of flesh the fabric was now. I hadn’t even fought tonight and yet I still managed to get this filthy.

“I am.” The man replied. That made my brows furrow in both confusion, and interest.

“Caspian is not a merchant name.”

The man said nothing, those light almost grey eyes maintaining their fixated gaze on something that wasn’t me.

“Tell me, Caspian. Would you like to live?” I kept my blade at my side as I asked, this time more interested in this answer than just a frivolous kill.

“No.” Caspian replied with no hesitation.

“Caspian!” The last merchant next to him hissed, quickly looking over in his direction. This one was older.

“You.” I said, pointing my dagger straight at that last merchant, who’s body tensed up immediately when confronted with the punishing end of the blade. “You keep quiet. Another word and I’ll slowly skin you piece by piece in front of my men.” I turned back to Caspian. “Now you,” I pointed my dagger straight at this very strange man. “What do you mean by that?”

That was when this man’s gaze finally shifted to mine.

“I’d like to die.”

My head tipped to the side ever so slightly. This was definitely a first . This other merchant seemed like he was struggling to hold his tongue, but he didn’t dare speak out of turn again.

“And why is that?” I asked. The man’s gaze didn’t falter.

“I believe I’ve already put my best efforts forward. Now I just want to rest.” He replied.

“ Christ , this is depressing.“ Snips muttered under his breath. “Could we get back to the killing part? If the guy wants to be axed, I’d say we give him wha—” I raised my hand, cutting Snips off.

“The man is right.” Caspian spoke, tipping his head back slightly to expose more of his neck. “I won’t challenge you.”

I was even more surprised now. My eyes never left his as I attempted to get a better understanding of this man. There was this dullness to those eyes, something I hadn’t seen in the many years I sailed these seas. Something that pulled at my curiosity like nothing had within those many many years.

There was no fear in his eyes. I’d argue the look he was giving me was begging me to kill him… but… no.

“I’m not going to kill you.” I decided, straightening myself out before I took a step away from the man. He looked up at me now. “You’re not?” Both Caspian and the other merchant spoke at the exact same time.

“Aye, you’re not?” Snips added.

I shook my head. “I can’t kill a man who wants to die.”

“You can’t?” Caspian and the merchant spoke.

“Aye, you can’t?” Snips added. I gave him a look telling him to keep him mouth shut, to which he immediately cast his gaze to his blood stained boots.

“No,” I shook my head again. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken a slave. I think you’ll do well.”

For the first time since my eyes landed on his, I saw something flash through that grey dullness.

“I really rather die.” He told me honestly, to which I felt myself burst into sharp unexpected laughter.

“Yes. I know. That’s precisely why I won’t kill you.” I explained. Caspian was clearly confused, but I didn’t allow him to further press this decision. “Take him aboard, men.”

Snips was the first to obey my orders, yanking the man to his feet now, to which he willingly complied.

“What- what about me? Caspian!” The older merchant looked to the younger man for some assistance, and that very man looked to me.

“Can he live?” He asked, that same dullness had returned again. How unfortunate.

“No.” I told him honestly, to which the young man nodded. Then he turned to the now hopeless merchant and shrugged. “I’m sorry.” Those were the last words he managed to get in before Snips started dragging him towards the ship.

“Wait! Wait!” I was already stepping closer to the frail kneeling man, ready to end this night.

“I do have a question before I take your life.” I crouched down, pulling out the same stained dagger that had ended the five other merchants lives. “Who is that man?” My dagger pointed in the direction my men were taking Caspian. The merchant looked back in that same direction as well.

“I-” the merchant paused a moment. “I- I don’t know, our paths crossed for the first time on this voyage, I swear it!”

My gaze pierced through this man’s with a sharp intensity, reading every mannerism he displayed. His face was taught, and yet something told me he was lying.

“Wait wait!” The man rushed out again. “I… I want to die! Yes! Yes I definitely do, there is nothing mo-”

My blade stabbed through his skin, piercing his stomach easily. “ Good ,“ I whispered with a sinister smile. The very last thing this merchant would see before Death met him. “Then this should be quick.”

••

2. Chew The Fat

What are we thinking so far lovelies??

I’m too fucking excited about this one, oml

Enjoy!!

xoxo

Chew The Fat: To talk/discuss/converse

Alistair

“You don’t usually take a slave.” Cael noted beside me, watching with me as my crew worked down below, from our station aboard the top near the starboard and stern. This was where the steering board was located, but Cael knew that wasn’t really what steered this ship.

Caspian was sitting against a wooden post for one of the sails down below, his restraints still keeping those hands bound tight in front of him. He hadn’t moved an inch since we left the now burned down merchant boat. I thought back to our conversation on that boat…

Merchant my fucking arse.

The man was too elegant to be one. Not enough callous on his fingers to justify his supposed life at sea. His sturdy build would work for helping around the ship, but then again I was starting to wonder how much he actually knew about the ship. Hell, any ship, let alone mine.

Snips was getting the sleeping quarters besides mine ready for our guest of honor, then we’d have dinner in my chambers. I was planning on learning more about what his merchant business entailed especially around these parts, and just how long he’d been out at sea for.

Maybe he was worth something on land. Dead or alive, it still couldn’t hurt looking into.

“Yes well this one’s different. This one didn’t belong on that ship, and I’d like to know why. He’s also clearly got at least one maybe two screws completely loose up there.” I pointed to my skull.

Cael nodded. “I can’t argue with that. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone tell you no to wanting to live. Not when faced with your blade, the deadly end anyways.”

“Aye,” I agreed. “He’s very well built, almost my stature. At the very least, let’s get some free labour out of this while I learn more.” Cael nodded again. I watched as his hands ran through his scruffy thick black beard, the curl texture matching his shoulder length braided hair. Night time made his sun touched skin darker to the common eye, creating an even more alluring demeanor than he already had.

With him at my side, many wouldn’t guess that he was our Navigator. It was deceptive on his part, for though he preferred to look to the stars, his mind was very much here at sea. I didn’t know my who could fight like Cael, he just preferred not to.

I allowed that hesitancy because he was one damn good Navigator.

“I don’t think he’s a merchant, but then again, it’s challenging to tell. He could’ve just made it out to sea.” Cael’s arms relaxed at his side now. “Try to get as much as you can out of him tonight, and I’ll start to see if there’s any bounty out on him around these parts. Maybe he’s a shipwreck survivor or something of the sorts. A cash reward would be nice considering all those other merchants were too worthless to even take. As was most of their cargo.”

“Aye, let me know what you find.”

“Get up.” I spoke to Caspian, kicking him in the leg rather lightly considering. He was still seated in the same position my men had left him in once his body slumped to the floorboards hours ago. I watched him slowly rise to his feet, doing his best to dust off the dirt on his already very filthy rags for clothes. Clearly the merchant business hadn’t been all that generous with him.

I didn’t wait to see if he was following as I started climbing up to the top cabin area. It was my private quarters, a place I spent far less time in than I wished to.

Caspian steps were light behind me, I barely noticed he was following so close until I pulled open the door for both of us to walk through.

Inside was an open spacious room, filled with a sitting area, my personal dining, and an open washtub located towards the back. On the farthest right were two rooms that now held a bed in each. One was my study before Snips moved those items down below this evening. “You will be sleeping through there.” I pointed through one of the archways. “My chambers are adjacent.”

I turned to look back at Caspian who was staring ahead at where I was pointing. He slowly nodded, allowing more of his long surprisingly kept hair to fall forward.

“We’ll have dinner in private tonight. Go change into something that isn’t… well, that.”

Caspian glanced down as his tattered long sleeved shirt and faded linen trousers, before he nodded again and slowly made his way to his quarters.

I let out one long sigh, feeling the tension of the night slowly leave my body. I hadn’t even drawn my sword this night, and yet the fight had drained me. I glanced down at my hands, the blood now dry but staining my beige skin a dark red.

It didn’t use to be like this , I thought to myself.

By the time Caspian had finished changing, dinner was ready. Finn, our cook, had brought the food directly up to my chambers as directed. The hunger I was feeling tonight almost made me impatient to wait on Caspian, but I forced myself to. My fingers unclassped the front of my long coat, allowing myself to sit more comfortably at the table. I needed out of these filthy clothes soon.

Once Caspian emerged from his room, I gave his change of attire a once over before nodding to myself. I approved of the fresh grey linen sleeved shirt paired with black trousers. The material was specifically for resting in, however anything was an improvement from his previous appearance. And neither of us would be leaving these quarters tonight. “Have a seat.” I gestured to the chair across from me. Caspian hesitantly sat down.

I reached across to grab a Turkey leg from the large platter Finn had also been instructed to make, and bring. Caspian followed in suit, selecting some breads and meats from the many plates displayed on the large circular wooden table.

“You find everything you need?” I asked him. His gaze finally tore itself away from his plate to meet mine, yet all he did was nod.

It appeared that coercing information out of this man was proving to be far more difficult than I anticipated tonight. It didn’t help that my immediate solution to most problems resorted with me threatening a life. And that was clearly not a threat to him at all considering how little regard he had for his own.

I could torture him, but there was just something about those eyes. Something that told me he’d allow me to beat him to death easily without a second thought.

This was one interesting situation to be in. Can’t say I had ever found myself here before.

“Tell me about your merchant business.” I told the man.

There was absolutely nothing there behind his pale blue eyes when he answered vaguely with “we move products. Food mostly.”

Okay.

Maybe just a little torture wouldn’t hurt…

“How long have you been at sea?”

There was a pause as Caspian started to cut his food with a fork and knife. Merchant my fucking arse.

“No longer than one moon. I just received directions for the voyage a fortnight ago.”

I took a large bite out of the Turkey leg, choosing to then wash it down with some wine Finn poured. The deep red reminded me of the dry blood I was still very much covered in.

“Who was that other merchant?”

“Someone who also took this job around the same time I did.”

This man was incredibly skilled at lying, but that merchant was not.

“Can I ask what your name is?” He then asked, pulling me from my brief thoughts. That question alone was wildly unexpected, and almost made me forget my line of questioning.

“You… you don’t know which ship you’ve boarded?”

Caspian slowly shook his head no.

Well , I thought. This was… new . “Where were you when my men found you on that merchant ship?”

“I was sleeping down below.”

Sleeping? Through all that? I wondered, remembering the ear piercing screams flooding the sea while my men enjoyed themselves. I studied Caspian a moment, taking in his features more clearly now. This man wasn’t all there, that was a given. I’d never see a man remain so calm whilst the last of his crew were being slaughtered right in front of him.

Whoever that merchant was, didn’t seem to mean much to him either, though strangely enough this man seemed rather important to the merchant. Caspian hadn’t even tried to convince me to spare his life.

“Why haven’t you just taken your own life?” I asked.

Caspian waited a moment to respond. “I… can’t.” He settled on.

I felt my brows slightly crease in bewilderment.“Do you lack the courage or something?”

Caspian slowly nodded. “Something to that effect.”

Interesting , I thought. This man didn’t seem like he lacked the courage to. He seemed rather determined to cut his life short by almost any means necessary, so there had to be more to that.

“So then… what’s your name?” He asked again, taking his first few bites of food. He was bold, yet I had to remind myself that the object of his desire was death itself. How testing.

“Alistair.” I replied. “But Captain to you, and everyone else on this vessel.”

Caspian nodded yet said nothing as he continued to eat. I could tell the food was likely far above the standards the merchants were accustomed to, especially out on sea, however Caspian paced himself as he ate. It was the refined etiquette that further interested me. Nothing like the men who spent time on the water.

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Alistair- or I mean, Captain.”

I chuckled a bit unexpectedly. It’s nice to make your acquaintance …

No one has ever uttered those words a moment before in their entire existence when addressing me. I promise you that. There was nothing nice about what we did here, or who these men including myself, were.

“Well I guess it would’ve been more of a pleasure had you actually killed me tonight.”

His comment kept my smile there. “That would’ve been too simple. I don’t like simple.” My hands reached for another Turkey leg. Caspian continued to work through what he had on his own plate, but he paused a moment to ask another question. I couldn’t remember who was supposed to be gaining information here anymore. It felt like I was losing the winds favor.

“Are you going to kill me eventually?”

I leant back in my chair, bringing the almost done first leg to my mouth for another bite, before tossing it back on the plate.

“Possibly. If you hold your own out here, I may keep you aboard.” It was impossible to miss the disappointment on Caspian’s face at my words.

“So… the more useless I am, the better chance I have at death?”

My eyes narrowed at the man. “If you intentionally prove yourself useless, I will chain you to the post below deck and allow your body to wither away naturally— however long it takes.”

Caspian had a tinge of something flash through his eyes again before he glanced away from me. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear it was fear. Genuine fear.

Good.

“So this is slavery.”

I broke out into laughter abruptly at that, finding the sudden realization to be just perfect. This man was something.

Once I finally got my unexpected outburst managed, my eyes narrowed at Caspian again. “I’m not an entirely unreasonable man. You’ll be kept near me at all times, my men won’t dare touch my property. And as you can see, I gestured around the well kept room, “you’ve got the best room aboard.”

Caspian turned his head some to study the long wall of bookshelves. There was a metal strip stretching across the length of each shelf to keep the books in place when the waters got rough. I had collected… well, stolen quite a bit over the years, which resulted in a collection I took great pride in. Especially during this age, where the people on land had more of a tendency to burn these things.

Books about science. And magic.

We were entering the age of Purity as the people of Azul liked to call it. Yet all it was was dictating. And a complete strip of freedom. Of rights. This was why the sea would never conform, not so long as my heart beat.

“Do you know anything about working a ship? You’ll be expected to start in on stations by daybreak.”

Caspian’s eyes found mine, but he waited a moment before eventually shaking his head no.

Lovely. What a fucking waste.

“Snips will show you the ropes tomorrow. He’s the ships boatswain, he knows almost every inch of her, and under instruction, will have you start to log repairs. We have about a two moons journey ahead before we dock off the coast of Azul for a supply party again, so you two will lead.”

Caspian nodded slowly once more, but the confusion in his eyes irritated me.

“Do you know what a boatswain is?”

Caspian shook his head no.

Maybe I should just kill him.

“He keeps every inch of this ship ready for battle. From the ropes, to the canvas, to the wood itself. He’s the quickest way to learn about this ship, but keep in mind Snips is short tempered. It’s best you learn quick.”

Caspian nodded again.

He was a quiet one.

In an effort to steer this conversation somewhere, Caspian had managed to successfully deflect most questions. When I asked about where he was born, he told me Gatvia, a small self governed island far off the coast of Azul. I knew that wasn’t the truth because Caspian wasn’t a name from Gatvia. The island was so small, most shared similar names because they were named after their forefathers, and those before them.

I knew this because one of my men came from there. We traveled back often to gift his family a portion of our loot.

The immense exhaustion from the night stopped me from pressing further. There were many more dinners to come before we reached Azul again, and by then I was certain I would know who this man was.

So instead, I released him after dinner to his chambers. The sun would emerge from the waters soon, engulfing the sky with daylight, and we would all need our rest before then.

••

3. Part Of The Crew, Part Of The Ship

I added a new song to the playlist, just fyi!

Might be uploading through the weekend cause I simply cannot wait to get this lore off the ground

Enjoy, lovelies!!

xoxo

Caspian

How on the sword of King Daedron himself did I now find myself here?

I stared up at the wood panels that formed the ceiling of this bed chamber. The pattern they made spanned across the entirety of the room.

The bed was comfortable.

It was far better than the cots on the merchant ship. As was the food.

And the air, surprisingly. When I boarded this ship, I felt it almost instantly. The air felt somehow clearer on this vessel. My stomach didn’t turn with almost damaging discomfort once my feet hit the floorboards, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

All of it.

I wasn’t sure what to make of its Captain either. He was…

Most definitely mentally deranged. That wasn’t debatable.

My mind traveled back to that sinister smile of his first, then everything else seemed to materialize around it. He wore a black eyepatch covering his left eye, which hid the majority of a scar you could see peeking through the top and bottom of the fabric.

That patch matched his all black collared coat that draped so low it slightly dragged against the floorboards as he walked. He wore a flute around his neck which at first puzzled me, but I quickly learned that was the least of my worry. His face was a thing of nightmares, but not in a monstrous way, he actually faired quite handsomely. His features were just very… very rigid. It made the hair on my arms stand to attention whenever that one eye found mine.

Then there was his stature. It was the thing that drew my attention first when he knelt down in front of me on that merchant ship. I knew then that he could certainly do it.

He could kill me.

Little did I know the man was absolutely insane. Had I known that, I would’ve begged for my life in hopes he’d end it. I thought about Lemont. How he had begged for his.

I should’ve given more effort in keeping him alive, I thought, but considering my own efforts with trying to die, I thought it best we said our fair wells on that merchant ship. It had been a good long eleven years of running, something I’d forever be grateful to Lemont for accompanying me on. Not that he had much of a decision in the matter.

But it was time for us now to both rest. I was tired of running, and he should’ve been, even if he wasn’t.

His demise came just a little sooner than I had predicted. I was quickly learning that Alistair wasn’t a predictable man in the slightest, and it was inherently my fault for assuming he was to begin with. Somehow I was now this man’s slave.

A shiver ran through me at his very real threat the night before— choosing to leave me bound below deck.

That was something I would need to avoid at all costs. If that meant I had to learn how to work this ship, then so be it. I would adjust…

Alistair .

That name had sounded familiar when he said it, but I couldn’t place why. I didn’t know much about the sea, or piracy for that matter, but something told me I’d soon need to learn if I was to survive here. Had Lemont mentioned that name before? Maybe something we heard in passing over our years of travel , I thought to myself.

Or could it have been…

No, I shook my heard, clearing that thought immediately. I wasn’t at the castle long to learn about the sea. All that experience had come after …

I took a moment to clear that thought as well.

Instead, I started to count the wood paneled ceiling, hoping that would help me find some sleep.

The unfortunate outcome was that it hadn’t.

The entire crew was up at the first sight of daylight. My body was already sore from the inventory both myself and the other merchants had done shortly before our ship was ambushed. I had only just gotten to sleep when a man had yanked me from my cot and bound my hands in front of me, forcing me above deck with the rest of the men.

In that moment, it felt like a blessing from the gods.

I looked over at Alistair who was talking to the man that had dragged me onto this ship. How wrong I was about this being a blessing. So very, very wrong.

“You!” The man besides Alistair pointed to me. “Come here.”

I did as I was told, taking a few strides towards them on the main deck.

“This is Snips.” Alistair spoke, his entire presence doing the same it had last night. It made me weary. “He’s our boatswain, the position I was explaining to you before. You’ll keep to him like his shadow, allowing him to instruct you on what’s expected each daybreak to nightfall. If you are to question something not pertaining to a learning opportunity, may I suggest you keep it to your fucking self. Snips otherwise prefers quiet when he works.”

I glance back over at the man. Snips. He had a grin on his face that made my skin itch. He was also the one enjoying the bloodshed most during the massacre the night before, if I remembered correctly.

I really needed to learn what ship I was on.

I gave Alistair a nod, before Snips immediately turned sharply on his heel and stalked off. I kept my strides brief to keep pace with this shorter man as he led us towards the heart of the ship, where the inner poles were tied to.

“First we check these here.” Snips pointed to a cluster of knotted ropes that were anchored to a perpendicular wooden pole. I gave him another nod, peering past him closely as he untied each knot. I noticed a thick coating on each end of the rope, and after much deliberating amongst myself, I decided this question couldn’t be nonsensical enough to be killed over.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the white coat. Snips looked closer at the ropes.

“It’s binding wax.” He explained, turning back to me. “This ship is… different. It’s imperative each rope is as secure as possible before battle, so we bind them.” I slowly nodded, trying my best to understand what this man meant by that. By this ship being different. “Interesting.” Snips’s voice cut through my thoughts. “A question with sense from a man of little words. Maybe this won’t be as mind splitting an experience after all.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I chose not to.

And as went our day. My quiet nature proved more fitting for Snips, who took me off guard with how well an instructor he was. As we moved through the ship, Snips made a list of items needed off the coast of Azultia. I noticed he hadn’t written anything down, which only further surprised me.

This entire crew was full of surprises in all honesty. When I asked Snips who the man that kept himself near the Captain was, he told me his name was Cael.

Something about him didn’t mirror the rest of the crew, or Alistair himself. Cael was large, about the same stature as Alistair, yet he carried that great build differently. His steps were light when he walked across the deck, much like my own. It was a contrast to his patterned tattoos that lined every part of his arms. That darker skin glistened when the sun touched it, and I couldn’t help but observe his movements through the moving sun itself.

Snips also mentioned the man was one of the best fighters of the crew, and that made my curiosity grow. Would I see him fight during my time here? Would I see the Captain?

Considering how effortlessly our merchant ship was overtaken, I had my doubts. According to Snips, the Captain hadn’t even boarded until almost all the merchants were slaughtered, and Cael raised no weapon during the entirety of the night. Yet the way he spoke of both men’s abilities, it made me question what was to come, if it were to come.

I had asked what Cael did, but Snips hit me over the head hard with a piece of scrap wood, almost knocking me off my feet, and told me to focus. He had cut skin with that blow but I forced myself to ignore it. In some disgusting twist of fate, I had to focus on my survival just long enough to formulate an escape.

So I could then figure out how to die.

This dying ordeal was starting to grow with complications.

Alistair didn’t spend much time with his crew through the day. Rather I had only seen him once or twice more since daybreak, which took me by surprise as well. He had kept out of his crews path whilst they completed their tasks, which they all seemed to appreciate as they worked below the scorching sun.

It was very clear every man here feared him. Immensely .

I was starting to fear him myself, which was far from what I imagined this would be when I was first forced to kneel on that blood stained deck.

It couldn’t really be this complicated to die, could it? This was only adding to the hatred I had for my bloodline. For who’s blood ran through me.

As the sun buried herself back into the water, the Captain reappeared on his ship like he had been here all along. Somehow, he knew exactly what work had been completed and what work hadn’t, I could hear his evaluation of the work from across the deck. This was when I noticed how clean this ships floorboards were. For a man who clearly didn’t shy away from spilling blood, he seemed to avoid it on his ship whenever possible.

The first moment my eyes caught sight of him tonight, he was breaking up a dispute amongst his men. I expected him to thrive in this beknownst chaos, and yet this ship was nothing else if not orderly.

I really did need to work out what ship I had somehow found myself on.

As the sky grew darker, Snips informed me he and I were finally done for the evening, and I finally felt my muscles release some tension. He told me to find the Captain, to which I started my aimless wandering, assuring myself he must’ve still been on the main deck.

I felt a sudden breeze pass through the open deck, forcing my eyes closed as I stilled for just a moment. The sea felt different on this boat. It felt… it felt beautiful, almost. I noticed the night had started to fog some, but the entirety of the ship was crystal clear. It was like this ship was and wasn’t apart of the sea. Like it did and didn’t conform.

I couldn’t explain it, but something was different here.

“Are you done for for the day?” A voice asked from somewhere behind me. I turned quickly, taken back by how close Alistair had managed to get to me without me noticing. His steps were usually heavy, almost demanding on the wood.

I gave him a nod.

“Good. Let’s have dinner.”

I let him guide us around to the front of the main deck, before heading up those wooden stairs to his quarters. Exhaustion spread through my arms and legs from the labourous work from the day, coupled with the very little sleep I had found. All I wanted to do was rest my legs but I forced myself to continue.

Alistair didn’t wait a moment once we entered the quarters with him heading straight to the dining, and I must say the smell from the food coerced me there myself.

The food was much better than the merchant ship.

“How was today? I don’t see any open wounds so Snips must’ve taken some liking to you.”

I wasn’t sure if I would say that exactly , I thought to myself, keeping my hands at my sides regardless of the sudden urge to touch the cut on my head Snips had definitely inflicted.

“It went well.” I replied.

Alistair nodded approvingly, before he helped himself to a large cut of ham.

“Good. Tomorrow you’ll work with Coop, he’s our Cooper.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion before I could stop myself, and the irritation that flashed across Alistair’s hard face made my already growing uncertainty even more uncertain. His sigh was dripping with anger, and fully directed at me.

“A Cooper is the person in charge of barrel making.”

That only made my confusion worse.

“It’s one of the most important jobs on a ship.” Alistair continued. “Cooper keeps all our rum packaged and ready for each voyage. He also maintains the integrity of the barrels for drinking water, but the rum is far far more important.”

My lips curled up into a slight smile, surprising both Alistair and even myself.

When was the last time I smiled?

There hadn’t been much to be jolly over given these last years, and this captivity should’ve proven no different for me, yet…

This man— Alistair, he was beyond the scope of rational understanding, yet he was unapologetically that way. He was fully demented, yet also intriguingly alluring.

He lacked all manners when he ate which made me wonder what he himself had done today to stir up such an appetite, but I held my tongue. It was his men that had tended to the ship all day, not him.

“You look like shit.” Alistair added after swallowing his last bite of food. It was as harsh as any other word he directed towards me.

And I didn’t doubt those words. I felt like shit. I had for a long time. It was an odd feeling- living in a body you knew would now die, but not knowing when. I wanted it all to be over and done with now. I didn’t want to play this waiting game.

“Sleep didn’t find me last night.” I replied with.

“Did you look for her?” He asked.

I studied him a moment, digesting his words. Had I? I wondered.

No

, my body answered me. So I shook my head, displaying that honesty.

“Tonight, you must. You won’t last till daybreak at this rate, and the work Coop does is far more labourous than Snips’s duties. If you’re to fall behind…”

“I won’t.” I told this Captain with every shroud of sincerity I could muster.

“Good,” he nodded again, “for there’s a post down below with your name etched into it if you do. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes.” I nodded, working on loading my own plate with dinner now. Alistair wasn’t one to wait, and something told me that if I didn’t eat now, there’d be no food again until the next evening. There was no room for me to complain however, us merchants were accustomed to one meal a day and it was nothing this lavish.

Meat was hard to come by for any common man, let alone those who fell into the merchant business to feed others, like their family as opposed to themselves.

Here, it seemed there was no shortage of anything. Especially alcohol, Alistair managed to handle drink after drink with his food.

Alcohol was poison to my own blood, which forced me not to take any. It couldn’t kill me, but it would make me wish it could. It felt like gunpowder running through my veins.

Alistair kept this dinner brief. I didn’t quite understand why, especially given how actively he was working to uncover who I was. He couldn’t understand this now, but the discovering of my identity would not only hinder all of my future plans… which pretty much consisted of dying, it would surely sending this Captain to his own death.

This was part of why Lemont had to die. The more who took my secret to their grave with them, the safer everyone was.

As I laid in bed now, sleep almost claiming me whole, my mind traveled back to the very thing that troubled my dreams most nights. The very thing that had started it all really.

It was the night Azultia caught fire. The night I called upon something I knew would shatter my immortality entirely, and yet the cries of my dying mother overshadowed all of that. The cries of my family as they were slaughtered… my immortality was a price I was too willing to sacrifice in order to save them, and yet it did nothing. I had saved none.

Life took pity on no one, it seemed. Not even my bloodline.

I hadn’t remembered when sleep finally found me, or I her. The dreams I had of Azultia were tumultuous, a thing of nightmares, but I forced myself through it. My body was nothing if it couldn’t have a moments rest, and I had deprived myself of those moments for too many long years.

But this ship demanded more, and I soon learned that when I heard a voice cut through my nightmare like a hot sword cutting skin. I awakened in a panicked state, unsure of where or when I was. The only voice I registered was Alistair’s when I blinked the drowsiness away from my eyes.

He was telling me to get up.

Now

.

Though he stood at the entryway to my chambers, I found myself glancing back out the window to my chambers, at the still night sky.

My confusion was later answered by the first scream that shattered through the night, awakening its demons.

••

4. Run A Shot Across The Bow

I updated the playlist just fyi!

Can’t sleep, so why not hit y’all with another upload lol

I’ll edit later today

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Run A Shot Across The Bow: To send off a warning shot

Caspian

Alistair didn’t grant me any time to change. Instead, he made quick strides out of his quarters, forcing me onto the top deck behind him, where Cael was already overlooking the main deck down below.

The ship was clear, but the air around us was thick with fog now. So thick in fact, I couldn’t see anything past the very front of the vessel.

Something had made the hair on my arms stand to attention again, and it wasn’t Alistair’s presence this time, though his demeanor tonight was more terrifying than it was during dinner mere hours ago. Something had happened since then… or was about to. I could feel it.

The men below were scurrying, but there was order to their movements. It was the farthest from directionless, every man knew exactly what was expected of them right now. Snips was pouring something over the knots on the ropes, which reminded me of what he said earlier in the day— about how the binding wax came right before a battle.

“Who was hit?” Alistair asked Cael.

“Coop.”

Alistair inhaled sharply, sending my uneasiness further off course.

“Don’t worry, he’ll live.”

“Can he work?”

Cael turned his head, giving Alistair a look. “At least give the man a few days. Right now, your rum supply is the least of our concern. Whoever it is, is trying to board us.”

Alistair’s brows raised slightly at that. “ Interesting . They must not know which ship they’re trying to board.“

“Something tells me they do.” Cael returned with. If Alistair had heard that, he chose to ignore it. Instead, he took a step forward to the wooden rail of the top deck, overlooking his busy crew.

“ Men! “ His voice bellowed out to the men, halting all preparation efforts down below quite suddenly. “How long has it been since this vessel has been boarded?” A long silence fell amongst the crew. I found myself taking a few steps more to the right to get a better view of the Captain. I didn’t understand how his voice could carry like this, it practically rattled the ship.

When I could finally see his face, a smile was starting to form on those lips of his.

“Exactly.” Some of the men had started to share that same sinister smile now, I could see them clearly from up here. “That merchant ship was a bit too simple, was it not?”

“Aye!” Snips was the first to agree, before the rest of the men followed suit. That smile was now a grin, shared amongst all the men like a sickness spreading through a camp.

“And I’ve never been one for simple… Savvy?” Alistair himself was grinning, and I suddenly felt it. The slight shift in the winds, the change in their direction. Something was coming. “So men, what say ye?”

Praise erupted from the give or take thirty terrifying men. “Aye!” Every single one agreed, no hesitation in that response to their Captain. I turned to Cael, and yet the only expression I could clearly read on his face was irritation. He didn’t look to agree with Alistair’s decision at all. But the men down there… they surely did.

Alistair turned back to us now, still grinning wide. “A captain is nothing without his crew.” He gestured to himself, then down below to the men who had started continuing the preparations for battle again. I noticed they were moving with even more energy, like they all managed a nights rest right before this.

I felt like I could lay down and find sleep right here on the top deck if I tried. My body felt like I had been stoned all day.

But it was something about Alistair and his words that cut through to his men like a kept sword. The longer I spent on this ship, the less I understood how.

“What about the floorboards?” Cael questioned.

“I’ll make an exception tonight for my men.” Alistair replied with, to which Cael surprisingly nodded. I wasn’t sure what either of them meant about the floorboards.

“I’m not fighting, regardless of how complicated the night gets. Remember that this was your decision.” Cael added.

Alistair smiled again. “I would never ask you to, my friend.”

Cael gave him a look, one I couldn’t decipher. Then he passed between us, leaning against the right side of the top deck’s rail near the stairs leading down. It gave him a better view of the men, to which I found to be imperative very soon.

I heard the loud snap of wood above us, as another large wooden beam connected with one of ours. It emerged from the fog out of thin air, as did the first rope carrying a man across to our ship.

He didn’t get very far however, something flew from a post on another tall wooden pole above us. Way up there, I noticed there was a pirate bound with an anchoring rope. He had thrown a dagger, slicing the rope the man was attached to, causing him to fall right onto the edge of the ship and snapping his body in half. He died instantly, however only the bottom half of his body actually made it into the water.

His top part still remained on the edge of the ship.

And the very next thing to follow that otherwise gratuitous splat we all just heard , was the sound of Alistair’s laughter. It pierced through the otherwise quiet night. “Let’s see how many make it.”

It took twelve dead men before the enemy’s crew finally boarded. They seemed to have given up on the rope theory entirely, instead managing to latch on on our left side. The first board that hit the edge of this ship made my body jump slightly. It was the sound of wood snapping against wood.

Sure, the combative skills of these men interested me. But rest interested me so much more right now. I didn’t want to experience combat for the first time in this almost deliriously tired state. When I looked to Alistair, he didn’t seem like he was planning on fighting either, he was watching from the front of the top deck with that smile spread ear to ear.

This felt like a game for these men. Nothing more than nightly entertainment. And that made a shiver run down my spine.

When the first man finally touched the floorboards of the main deck, he was immediately cut down. The men that followed proved to at least put forth more of a fight, engaging in actual combat with Alistair’s men who lived up to the aura of death they all seemed to produce. They were absolutely ruthless with their swords, none following any code as metal started to clash against metal.

I could feel my heartbeat quicken while the sounds grew louder. The screams of death soon filled the night, drowning out the raging sea below us. The clear air on this ship was something this enemy blatantly hadn’t been prepared for. Though the ship they were boarding from was masked by fog, delivering a swift amount of secrecy and protection, the battle here could be seen as clear as daylight itself.

Snips was the one who led most of the brutality with his sword, I watched as he pierced through the two opposing pirates with ease, their blood coating his white linen shirt. He too must’ve been awoken suddenly for this fight judging by what he was fighting in, yet the look on his face told me he was completely ready for it. He was enjoying it, as were the rest of the men.

They weren’t just killing, they were slaughtering. Even if a pirate’s neck was open for a quick death, these men plunged their swords into their stomach, yanking up to spill their insides onto the open deck. There was no mercy bestowed on this vessel, and I felt its men feed off that chaos like a starving man over a feast.

Another round of pirates boarded the ship soon after, to which Cael’s eyebrows furrowed some. “This is starting to get a bit excessive.”

Alistair nodded in agreement. “An ambush? Interesting . If there was ever a night to, this would be a good one.”

I shifted just a little closer to Cael, trying to get a better view down below. And he was right, more men continued to board, to which Alistair glanced at Cael.

“Absolutely not.” Cael replied. “What did we literally just agree on?”

Alistair turned back to his men again. “I didn’t think I’d actually have to fight.” He more or less muttered, yet somehow his voice always managed to carry through the ship regardless of where he stood.

“I’m sure you didn’t. Think , that is.” Cael responded with. Alistair sighed heavily, like this whole ordeal was suddenly one great inconvenience for him. I watched as he took a few steps towards the stairs before turning back to me slightly.

“Come on then.” Alistair ordered, not waiting to see if I’d follow as he started his descent down the steps. I followed hesitantly, unsure what I could do to get out of this now. Surely Alistair didn’t expect me to fi- “if you can’t hold your own on this ship, you’re as good as dead to me.” Alistair was wrapping something on each of his wrists but I couldn’t see very well with his back to me, and face towards the raging battle in front of us.

He then did something that would soon change the entire trajectory of this fight. The entire trajectory of this night.

He unsheathed his sword.

I could hear the metal as it was unsheathed, before I actually saw it. My ears perked up at the sound. I knew this metal. When I finally saw the sword itself, my eyeballs almost dislodged themselves fully from their sockets. I knew that curved sword— well, knew of it. But the most important questions were first: how did it still exist? and second: how did Alistair find his way to it?

At least, those were what I thought the immediate questions should’ve been. But then I felt it. The shift in the winds again. The breeze pushing through the blood red sails. “So I’ve been called to the fight, is that right?” He asked the enemy pirates who were just climbing off the extended wooden boards, setting foot on this ship for the first time. They made us officially outnumbered, but that didn’t stop Alistair’s men.

In fact, as soon as they caught sight of the Captain down here below with them, something shifted in them all once again. Snips especially, he was now grinning so wide it was starting to frighten the pirates who had made the horrible decision to board this ship.

“I won’t ask if any of you lot want to live…” the grip Alistair had on that sword tightened as he drew that massive balanced blade in front of him. I didn’t recognize the stance he took, but then again, I never faired well with my sword training. “Because if you’ve boarded my ship,” Alistair continued, “you’ve already set a time with Death. And I have no plans on delaying you.”

Then I saw something that made my eyes blink repeatedly. Alistair charged forward towards the group of maybe five or six pirates, with speeds that almost took my heightened vision to see. I can’t use that here, I thought to myself, forcing my natural eyes to keep up with Alistair’s animal like fighting style. The first pirate tried to block Alistair’s strike with his own sword, but that sword Alistair possessed… it cut through the smaller pirates thinner blade easily, before slicing his body completely in half.

I watched as each half of him fell to either side of Alistair, but the Captain didn’t wait to launch his second attack. I watched as Alistair managed to dodge the edge of the second pirates sword, leaning back before his arm came forward with that very word to slice the man’s head clean off. Alistair’s sword had a reach that no other pirate’s had, making this fight immediately one sided.

There was no one out there that was matching his build, his speed, regardless of how many men boarded. And the look in the third and fourth pirates eyes as Alistair immediately cut them down, further confirmed that. Even from his one position, it was like he could see the entirety of the fight. Where every man was positioned. I watched him pull out a dagger with his free hand, before he launched it across the main deck, striking a pirate who had crept up behind Snips, trying to catch the shorter man off guard.

The look Snips gave Alistair once he noticed what had happened, was surprisingly genuine. This was the happiest I had seen the man in all honesty, granted it had only been two days with me on this ship. All Alistair did was nod once before he went back to fighting.

If you could even call this that.

I should’ve known his men’s fighting styles must’ve come from somewhere. Watching Alistair split a man down in half from his head down to his groin, made me realize that I was wrong about my initial assessment.

This man was absolutely a fucking monster.

That smile that stretched across his face as blood splattered all over him and the main deck, it was a smile that quickly struck fear into the remaining men surrounding him. His aura had shifted drastically now, the heat of the fight changing him once more on this bloody deck. I felt a shiver run through my own body, because whatever was striking these pirates down with this degree of ferociousness could not simply be a man.

He flung himself easily up over the next two pirates, positioning himself behind them before realization settled in for them, to whisper something in each their ears. Whatever he whispered made their eyes grow large in fear, before his sword slit both their necks with one swift strike from the sharp curve.

I’d been so focused on watching Alistair fight, I had failed to notice a group of pirates advancing me on my right side now. They were charging towards me, more than likely hoping to get past me to the broadside. If they could reach the steering, the ship would be theirs. At least that’s what Lemont once explained when he was trying to discuss the vicious acts of piracy against us merchants.

He’d really fallen into the whole merchant lifestyle, even though it was just a job for now, as was most of the work we took. I thought about how he was killed up on that deck. He may not have deserved to die that way, but at least it was more merciful than the other merchants’s deaths.

The old man, I believe his name was Fergal. He had had his knees shattered by Snips before any of the final slaughtering had even begun. So the way I saw it, Lemont got off with a lighter sentencing.

This all wouldn’t matter if I didn’t think quickly now, though.

“Pick up that sword.”

I heard a voice cut through my thoughts— Alistair’s. When I looked over to my left, he was still engaged in the heat of combat, moving through pirate after pirate like their lives were nothing more than wild livestock for him. Some pirates had chosen to jump from the ship, deducing that the water would show them more mercy than Alistair ever would.

And they were probably correct with those assumptions. Alistair had just pierced his sword straight through another pirates skull, shattering the bone. His blood curdling screams joined the others, and that’s all I could hear now. The screams coming from men who weren’t Alistair’s.

“Pick up that fucking sword.”

Okay , I thought to myself. It was definitely Alistair.

I wasn’t sure how his voice was reaching me, but given the severity of our current situation, I did as I was told. I reached the sword easily before the pirates made it to me, but as soon as I lifted the discarded weapon, my face scrunched up in immediate disgust. I hated swords.

“If you die on me ,” the voice whispered, “ I will retrieve your soul from the depths of fucking hell itself and yank it back into the land of the living with my own bare fucking hands.“

My body froze entirely at those particular words. Such a preposterous claim shouldn’t have been taken seriously, but the way Alistair said it… I wasn’t sure why there was a part of me, a small part nonetheless, that genuinely believed him. He clearly walked that line with Death so closely, maybe he could actually cross over it.

Yet still…

I glanced down at the sword, feeling my time to decide what to do, slowly slipping away from me.

I could let myself die here, regardless of how real a threat Alistair’s words held. It would take some time, sure. My body was still close to indestructible, but with enough stabs and slashes I’m sure they could cut my lifeline down before my body could heal.

How long would it take , I wondered. And would the fight even last that long? Not at the pace the Captain was going.

I glanced back down at the sword, taking just one more stolen moment before I made my almost insane decision.

The blade made a ringing sound when it fell back to the ground, striking the floorboards.

And Alistair’s wrath was felt not a moment too soon after.

••

5. Dead Men Tell No Tales

Another weird sleeping schedule soooo here ya go, lovelies :)

Enjoy!

Also P.S.— watching y’all brainstorm theories with this story is too much fun lol, keep them coming!

xoxo

Alistair

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/213ac1a1ba33e951362a34ae59f04dec3c963630/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7162477051396d4671614a5058773d3d2d313432333937333835372e313762346636303661353634353634313136353836323232343932382e6a7067)               

Now he had to die.

I shifted the heavy weighted blade in my right hand, pushing it back to slice easily through the flesh of the last men near me. They were all piss excuses for fighters, none worthy of the blade that soon struck them down. Once I had cleared a path to the edge of this vessel, I raised my left foot and kicked the wood board off the edge of my fucking ship.

The last of the men still walking across it all fell into the deep ice cold water, as did the wooden piece itself. I did the same thing to the second and final board, sending it and its filthy men into the sea.

When I turned around, my eyes found Caspian again. The sword I had told him to pick up was still laying on the floor, and his hands had stretched across his chest to hold his upper arms in an odd way. Almost like he was cowering.

I felt my rage only grow. Did he… did he catch a fucking shiver?

At a time like

this? My feet started to carry me towards him, thinking of the ways in which I was going to skin him alive once I got my hands on him. How much pain I wanted to inflict, first jamming my fingers directly into this fish chum landlubber-

Those very same steps then slowed to a stop only a few more quick strides away from this infuriating slave, stopping myself from going any further as soon as Caspian took another step towards the now gathering enemy pirates. His hands slowly slid down his arms, before they tucked themselves into his long sleeves. “How many?” He asked, turning his head slightly over towards me.

Those dull eyes weren’t quite as dull anymore. “Hmm?” I answered.

“How many must I kill to rest my head for a moment? Uninterrupted? “

I stared at him blankly, studying his face. I swear I saw a flash of pain for just an instant when his hands reached further up to grip his upper arms tighter, but it was gone soon after. Was he serious? I wondered. He had no weapon, and he looked like he was one sudden strong gust of wind away from toppling right over.

Yet, that question— he seemed awfully serious.

“Kill them all.” I told him, my lips tugging up into a slight smile. This was at the very least going to be interesting. And that could work for me.

I watched as his arms slowly fell back to his sides, that sudden chill he felt, gone.

Then I felt it.

Right before I heard or even saw it, I felt it.

The cracking of the floorboards as metal sunk itself deep into the refined wood. I heard chains rusting against each other, before my eyes finally registered what had just put two gaping holes in my fucking ship.

Caspian had suddenly released a large heavy dagger from each arm, connected to metal linked chains going up into his sleeves. When they pierced through the wood, they cut the floorboards up completely. I found myself blinking a few times, questioning if I needed to remove this eye patch to be sure I was seeing things fully.

There was absolutely no way he had concealed those thick chains and a dagger around each arm like that. I wasn’t sure where they had come from, but something was very… not right .

I couldn’t even see where on his barely covered arms the chains were anchored to, and my questions only grew when his hands snapped up, using the chains like a whip to send those daggers cutting through my fucking wooden floorboards. Soon after, the daggers shot into the air. Then he yanked them down, bringing the handles of those daggers directly into his surprisingly strong hands. They had to be, to handle that amount of force from the handle.

I watched his body drop a bit lower, his right foot pushing back slightly to take a stance that looked familiar. I think. Or rather some of it did , I thought to myself. Some of it I didn’t recognize at all, like the way he held those daggers out in front of him, shielding his face.

I expected him to leap forward, closing the distance quickly between him and the other pirates for a closer engaged combat. That was both the blessing and curse of using daggers instead of a sword. How close you needed to come to your enemy.

But I was wrong.

Pleasantly surprised , I’d say rather.

Caspian cast the dagger forward out of his right hand with incredible speed, piercing through the clear air to stab the pirate directly in front of him, right in the middle of his chest whilst that chain kept it tethered. I watched the blade exit through the man’s back. Caspian then grabbed the taut chain with his left hand to anchor it with his right, and he yanked that hand to his right side, snapping the chain back with unimaginable force.

The recoil on those links were indescribable. That dagger sliced through the pirate it was anchored into, and three more pirates directly to the right of him, gutting them all open. Before any of these remaining pirates could understand what had just happened, Caspian yanked that chain in, returning his now bloody dagger back to his right hand.

That’s when he finally leapt forward, using that vicious element of surprise to bring the combat right to the remaining men. None of the pirates could strike their sword in time, before Caspian’s hand cut forward, easing his hold on the dagger and allowing the chain to extend his reach as much as he needed, as he slit each of their throats with those short blades.

All I could do was watch as blood quickly stained his white as snow hair and clothes, but he didn’t give it a moments rest before using his left dagger to strike forward again through the air, wrapping itself around another pirates neck, I watched him snap down on the chain, and that dagger slit that pirate’s neck right open like a guillotine, before returning to Caspian’s left hand.

He then moved forward swiftly, so swiftly, I found myself suddenly dropping to a knee. My hands gently placed themselves on the bloody wood.

His feet were barely making contact with the floorboards as he ran.

His dagger cut through the air at speeds I was having difficulty tracking with my common eye, but I saw the bloodshed. All of it. The floor ran red by the time Caspian quickly cut down each man in his path, finding his way to the largest pirate who boarded our ship before most of the now dead pirates could even process what had happened to them.

This last pirate was taller than I was, but awfully slow during battle. I believe that’s why he had kept his distance from me since the fight had started. I noticed he managed to smash one of my men’s face open just moments ago, so I wondered how he’d fair against Caspian.

His strength rivaled my own, I’ll give him that.

I watched as Caspian’s now completely blood coated left dagger was sent forward once more, wrapping itself around the pirates neck before the pirate could react, much like Caspian had done to the others, and creating a secure anchor…

But the larger pirate quickly grabbed hold of that thick chain before Caspian could, and he yanked it forward with his calloused fingers hard.

Caspian jolted forward, his balance thrown off immediately. The force demanded his feet to stumble towards the looming pirate, to which I thought this smaller man was surely dead by now. It was the pivot of Caspian’s right foot that made my eyes widen slightly, surprising me yet again. He used that larger man’s momentum to launch his body up over the him and onto his shoulders, before wrapping his legs securely around this larger man’s neck.

No one, not even myself had fully understood what Caspian was doing next, until I saw him recoil his chains, snapping them forward to bring his daggers back to his large hands.

Then he jammed each devilishly sharp dagger directly through the ears of the larger pirate, shattering his skull.

My heartbeat stopped a moment when I caught sight of Caspian’s face.

The pirate’s eyes grew wide with horror, his body somewhat finally understanding what had just happened. He managed to throw Caspian off his shoulders in front of him immediately, but those daggers were still lodged deep into his skull, and when Caspian fell, he rolled, crossing the chains with his arms a few time before he landed on a knee.

All myself and my men could do was watch as Caspian snapped those chains quickly again, causing the daggers to recoil, and the larger pirate’s head to completely combust.

A river of blood coated every nearby pirate, and Caspian himself who was now struggling slightly to stand from that knee. Once he finally did, we all still watched on as the pirate’s lifeless body fell to the deck’s floor in front of him. It practically rocked the ship when it did. I looked around at the men behind Caspian. The men he had killed— no, massacred . There was at least twenty dead by his hands alone, and the remaining few had long since tested their fates with the sea.

This left us with a deck full of bodies.

I heard the snapping of wood above my men as the enemy’s ship tried to suddenly dislodge, to which Snips quickly called out to me. “What say ye, Captain!”

I wasted not a second with my harsh, bold answer “Scuttle that Scurvy Dog!”

“Aye!” My men shouted, quick to make their post. “Ready the cannons!”

“Ready the cannons!”

I wasn’t letting this enemy slip through my fingers. Not now. Our sails ran blood red for a reason. We left no survivors, for dead men tell no tales.

I heard my Master Gunners prepare the cannons down below, moving those heavy metal launchers across the ship now that they had a clear image of where to aim. The Destroyer had cannon holes on both sides, both an advantage to a shorter and longer range, which was what made her the perfect ship for battle. Any battle. And the perfect vessel to hold my soul.

When I felt those cannons load, I couldn’t help but smile. My eyes glanced back to Caspian, he was finishing wrapping those chains up around his arms inside those long sleeves.

I didn’t have time to begin to comprehend how that weapon worked yet because I heard my men give the orders to fire down below, sending cannons launching straight across, pass the deep fog, to the enemies ship right besides us.

The sound of metal splitting wood was immediate, with cries of terror soon following for those few still on board.  A smile formed spread across my lips as I walked back closer to the stairs, towards the top deck. I wanted to feel that ship touch the sea floor, with its men not far behind it.

Caspian had started to walk back towards us himself. He moved much slower than he had before the fight, something I didn’t think to be possible. I saw his hand reach for his left shoulder before he forcibly pushed it back in. As I suspected, that massive pirate must’ve dislodged it when he yanked that chain forward like that, forcing Caspian’s hand.

And yet I still didn’t understand what had anchored those chains to begin with. It was like they were a part of his arm or something.

Caspian slowed even more to clear his throat a moment, before I heard him say “I’m going… to go lay down.” He passed by me, his long blood red hair sticking to his drenched shirt. He looked like he had been submerged in war for days, with some of the men’s bits of innards still all over him. Before he could get his left foot up on that first step, my right hand reached back, snatching up a large clump of his stained red hair and yanking his entire body off the steps.

“ Like fucking hell you are .“ I whispered to him, my voice carrying over the sound of cannon fire as I dragged him by his hair around the deck towards my study, it was located closer to the back end of the ship.

I could feel his hand struggling desperately against my death grip but I didn’t dare let go until I had him through the door and sitting at the far end of the desk.

“What the hell was that?” I barked at him, my voice tight with anger as I pointed past my study doors to the aftermath of this fight.

Caspian was still giving me this irritatingly puzzling look. A look I wanted to knock the shit out of.

“ What the hell are you? “ I seethed.

He still held my intense gaze, looking up at me from where I stood leaning against the desk. “I’m a mer-”

My hand reached forward, grabbing another clump of Caspian’s hair before slamming his face into the wooden table. Hard. I heard the break in his nose immediately, but just in case I was going to choose to ignore it, blood starting gushing out moments later.

“ Shit .“ I hissed, reaching into my own blood soaked coat to hand Caspian a somewhat clean cloth. He very hesitantly accepted it, to which I didn’t exactly fault him. “If you say you’re a merchant again, I’ll snap your bloody neck.”

“I’m perfectly okay with that.”

I looked down at this absolutely mentally deranged human. Actually I still hadn’t quite determined whether he was human.

He looked like he could barely hold himself upright at the moment. His eyes held not a shred of energy in them, though they seldom ever did. He was now completely filthy, and as I studied him upper arms, even through the long sleeves of his shirt, I realized there was no way he could conceal that weapon there. Caspian slowly leant his head forward into his hands that were resting on the table, keeping the cloth against his broken nose as he did.

I pushed myself away from the table to take a look out through this room’s window. Out to my ship. The almost ear deafening sounds of cannon fire were starting to slow below us, which meant that we had hit our target past the salvage point. Good .

My men had fought well tonight, we’d only lost two. But him…

I turned back to Caspian who still had his head rested in his hands, but his eyes had drifted closed now. For a split second, panic overtook me as I approached him, moving my hand near his mouth to confirm that he was in fact still breathing. His soft breathes were warm against my rigid cold skin. I was going to awaken him, but I stopped myself.

If I was nothing else, I was at least a man of my word. Caspian had followed orders, direct orders , so for now, he could rest.

Instead, I left the man to sleep in my study, heading back out into the clearing chilly air to find Cael. He was still just where I had left him before the battle began, on that top deck watching over the crew. Once I joined him, again, my dear friend finally turned to me.

“What the hell was that?”

I shook my head at that question. One I couldn’t quite answer. “That’s something I’d very much like to know myself.”

Cael took a moment before he asked me “what did he say?”

My eyes scanned the deck for any clear damage besides what Caspian’s daggers had done to the wood. Snips wouldn’t be happy about that. “He didn’t say much. He’s resting now.”

Cael’s head snapped in my direction.

“Sleeping!” I clarified. Good lords.

“He took out all of them.” Cael was looking back out to the sea of dead bodies still on our main deck. The men were starting to clean up the bloodbath that was the last few moments of this fight, but instead of the usual upbeat spirits, I noticed a weariness within the crew.

Tonight hadn’t exactly gone as planned, even though everyone had followed my direct orders. That’s what had made things so… interesting.

“Did you see it?” Cael turned his head to me. “Him?” I slowly nodded, not bothering to meet his gaze. Instead, my eyes remained on my men and the work they busied themselves with.

“Yes.”

“That look on his face.”

“Aye. I know.” I nodded, eventually turning to face Cael. “For now, we’ll keep him aboard. This can prove to be beneficial for us if calculated correctly. And I’m addition,” I added, leaning a bit closer to Cael, “no one wins a war raged against The Pirate King. There is nothing you need to trouble yourself with.”

Cael scoffed at my confidence. “I’m going to see if we can’t locate one living pirate to question about the ambush.”

I just nodded to Cael, allowing him to leave me at the top deck alone. I scanned over the countless decapitated and sliced up bodies, my soul already tiring from the thought of how long it would take to clean all this.

Regardless of the countless battles I’ve fought in, none had resulted in this much bloodshed so quickly, not even the easier pickings. At least seventy to eighty bodies would be sent overboard to feed the fish by daybreak.

And that look , I thought to myself. The smile on Caspian’s face as he stabbed those daggers straight through that pirate’s skull. It was a smile that terrified Cael most, for it was a smile that mirrored my own.

Unpredictability came with that smile.

I was starting to believe that this man and mine’s paths may have been fated to cross, but I just wasn’t sure why yet.

••

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6. The Stars And The Sea

Playlist has been updated!

The comments on this work have been absolutely amazing, like I can’t put into words how grateful I am for you guys!

Please keep the feedback and theories coming, it’s got me on cloud fucking nine.

Thank you!!

Aaand, enjoy lovelies :)

Alistair

“That fog was quite strange.”

I turned my head to Snips, giving him a nod in acknowledgment as he cleared the last few steps and joined me on the top deck tonight. The air was getting warmer, its colors painting the sky beautifully for the sun to rise into. I hadn’t found sleep tonight. I hadn’t even bothered to look for her.

Instead I had stayed up, watching as my men piled body after body on top of each other, creating piles of the deceased that would be easier for disposing come morning. I released them shortly ago, allowing the crew to return to their previously interrupted sleep. The bodies would be here for them come sunrise, there was no rush now.

“Aye.” I told one of my most loyal. “I believe someone may have been tracking the whereabouts of this ship. Cael is working on uncovering more.”

Snips nodded, stretching his arms out to the wooden rail in front of us as he did. “Did you place a concealment spell on the ship?” He asked. I nodded in return.

“The crew need rest now. Come sunrise, we’ll start with the bodies, then move to the bloody floorboards.”

Snips nodded again, but he had this far off look in his eyes as he peered ahead. Like he was only partially present for this conversation.

“The men,” I heard him start, “they’re… they’re a bit uneasy tonight. Many haven’t found rest yet.”

I turned my head to Snips again, but he was still looking on ahead as he spoke. He rarely ever failed to meet my gaze. “I’ve spent the better half of this night assuring them that whatever that slave is, proves no threat… but Captain-”

“I know.” I nodded to him. My men were starting to fear something they hadn’t in a long time, other than in regards to me. It was fear itself. Something my men wouldn’t fair well with.

“You’re the only one. The only one we’ve ever seen use magic like that.”

“I know.” I nodded once more, justifying the things Snips was too hesitant to fully say to me.

“But I’ve…” Snips trailed off, not finishing that thought as he sat with his words a moment. “Well, I’ve spent the day with the man, and I don’t think he bears any threat to anyone besides himself. Even tonight…”

Snips was still looking on ahead. I allowed his mind to process whatever was next, because Snips was almost never this specific with his words.

“I agree,” I told him, watching as he finally turned to me. “Cael and I are working to uncover who he is, I give you my word. If he really can use magic, that just makes whatever potential bounty that’s out there for him, all the more plentiful .”

Snips nodded agin, agreeing with Cael and I’s line of thought when it came to this unexpected situation we’ve now found ourselves in.

Anyone who didn’t know this ship may assume that Snips was our loose cannon. A man who couldn’t be restrained. The most blood thirsty of us all. And while that assumption held some weight, especially when his lips stretched to his ears at the sheer feel of warm blood coating his skin, Snips meant so much more to me than that.

He was the bridge between me and my men. The first person who followed me blindly into the depths of hell, making a similar sinister deal with the devil himself. And the first to convince my men of my leadership if they were to join me as he had. We were naive young pirates back then, those now twenty something years ago, when I thought that the price of the sea would be my heart.

Not my soul .

Not my men’s either.

It was a price I was willing to pay— my heart, that was. Yet I should’ve known better. I should’ve known that for a man to gain this power at that magnitude, it would ask for something that scrapes one bare. That hollows a soul out.

Now my crew were caught in a whirlwind of chaos, something they were drawn to like a moth to a flame once they joined me. Or rather, like a shark to blood.

We were all cursed with an unquenchable thirst for violence. The need to spill blood, and the want for ear deafening screams. Cries. Desperation as we strung the enemy’s last life to a string, and played it like a fiddle. The only man who fully accepted this unfortunate curse was Snips, and my respect could never be more profound for him.

“Do you regret it?” I asked suddenly into the cool air, producing a question I never once asked him before. Not even as he and I both conquered death itself, waking up to realize that there were still some who refused to let me walk through anything alone. Snips eyes narrowed at me.

“For every sacrifice you think I’ve made, keep in mind that I know all the ones you did. The sacrifices you still make, then pretend as if you didn’t. And the men know it too. They always have.” Snips took a shallow breath. “I would gladly follow you into the depths of hell itself, Captain.”

I felt my lips curl up into a smile. A genuine one. One I more often kept for this man, for he was the one person on this ship who had known me the longest.

“I’ve already asked you to do such a thing.”

Snips returned that smile with a genuine one of his own. “And when the next moment presents itself Captain, you won’t need to… Ask, that is.”

I felt my own smile grow, before my gaze cast from his back on to the few men who were making their way up on deck. “I thought I told you lot to rest?” I looked to Snips again, who had slipped a wrapped roll of cloth out from his trousers pockets. 

“Some of us,” Snips replied, unrolling the fabric with his thick, worked fingers, before slowly wrapping his hands for the dirtying task soon at hand. “Some us prefer to keep our Captain company. Regardless of whether we’ve been ordered to or not.”

Before I could reply to Snips, I felt the floorboards stir again. Cael emerged from the back end of the ship down below, turning the corner before ascending up the wooden steps. Snips glanced down at Cael, then back over to me, offering me another smile.

“The sky is clear enough to read, if only for a little while longer. And it takes a crew to run a ship, does it not?”

I felt my own smile widen at Snip’s words “Aye.” I nodded.

“Then let’s start breakfast for the fishes a little early.” I watched him takes those steps quickly, passing Cael as he joined the other men that hastily took on the tedious task of throwing bodies overboard.

Cael managed to make it to my side not too long after, replacing where Snips stood.

“I thought you were taking rest.” I told him.

“When was the last time you did?” He countered. I refused to meet his gaze with those words.

“You know we are not made of the same.”

Cael laughed immediately after, his voice bringing a smile to my own lips. “And yet our minds are. Made of the same, that is.”

I refused to let Cael gain so many high winds on this night.

“You look to the stars.” I reminded him, watching as his dark skin mirrored the beauty of the slowly brightening sky.

“And you look to the sea.” He reminded me. “Are they not alike?”

My eyebrows furrowed a bit. “How so?”

Cael pointed to the clearing above us. “The stars tell a story. A repetitive one, sure. One that holds very little variances.” Then Cael’s hand slowly fell, pointing past my ship to the crashing waves. “As does the tides. Both worlds lead to land.”

I watched as the tumultuous waves smashed against the wooden vessel, feeling the air engulf in the sails, pulling us forward.

“I may read the stars, but you’ve mastered the wind.” Cael added. “There is no shore you cannot find. No tide you do not will.”

I sighed a slow deep sigh, feeling that same breeze pass between both myself and my Navigator. “I suppose.” I said finally. “What has got your mind stirring tonight then?”

Cael’s large hands nestled in the wooden rail as he leant forward. “I gathered enough information from one of the dying pirates before he passed.”

My head turned back to Cael.

“Anything of use?”

Cael chuckled a moment. “Sounds like you’ve got a bit of competition on the sea. His captain used some amateur magic to conjure the fog. I was surprised to uncover that they didn’t even know exactly what you are. They pursued us in hopes of improving their reputation at sea. All they heard was that you were a big fish on these waters.”

“Well,” I turned back to my ship. “Times sure are changing.”

Cael laughed lightly at that. “The most unfortunate of information was learning that their captain wasn’t even on the ship you blew to smithereens.”

My lip twitched slightly in disgust. “A fucking coward. Who sends their men to battle without its men’s own leadership aboard?”

Cael nodded. “A suicide mission, had he known more. Or really anything at all.”

“Did you find his location?” My hands stretched forward, grabbing the same wooden rail Cael had. He gave me another nod.

“The man didn’t say much, besides the fact that his men and their captain parted ways near Gatvia, another close island called Sicoria. I wanted to see what the stars had to say tonight considering that fog ruined most of my clarity.”

I gave Cael a nod, watching as his deep brown eyes grew darker as he studied the wonders above us. Those tattoos across and down his broad arms started to glow white slightly, which always pulled my attention there. To the art that covered his body. It was the ink of a legendary giant squid that flowed through each tattoo of his, amplifying his own extraordinary power.

“I say we start there. Coop would most likely appreciate visiting his family in Gatvia. Especially with his newfound injury.”

My fingers lightly tapped the wooden rail, urging me to think a moment about this. On one hand, this would derail our expectancy for arrival in Azul… yet on the other, Coop’s job went hand in hand with my own. And my happiness, given the rum. A favor such as this could have him overlook the fact that he was hit by the enemy’s warning shot.

“Aye,” I nodded. “I’ll set us on course for Gatvia and Sicoria. Inform Coop we’ll be docking there.”

This worked out in our favor— or at the very least mine, considering Gatvia made some incredible rum. And Coop’s family always had my men in good spirits after. He had about twelve sisters, all of which at least one of my men had fallen madly in love with over the years, and they’re only moment to see these fine ladies was whenever we docked.

That didn’t happen often considering our ties to the sea.

Coop’s family always welcomed us with open hands, especially due in fact to our more mannered skills while on land. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that practically every last one of their daughters had, too, fallen madly in love with a blood thirsty pirate of mine. Coop’s mother and father were knocking on deaths door regardless, there was no reason to further stress them.

“How is he?” I asked Cael.

“Well,” the large man replied, “it’s quite safe to say that we more than likely needed a surgeon over two moons ago, but Von is doing his best.”

“Our poor dear carpenter.” I chuckled. Von was going to chew my ear off about this come daybreak. “Surgeons are hard to come by at the moment.” I found myself further explaining, to which Cael nodded in agreeance.

“Aye. My assumption is you want to foster this one organically.”

I nodded at his words. “A surgeon as a slave is complicated business. I would like one to willingly follow me. To pledge their allegiance. I don’t have the time for negotiations during the heat of a battle, or when one of my men’s life is hanging in the balance.”

“Aye.” Cael agreed, further encouraging my own thoughts. This man didn’t dictate my choices, but he too fell into the same predicament that Snips and the rest of my men had. He was now on my ship, and I valued his stance on anything as I did the rest of my men. Whenever he and I agreed, I knew I had somehow found myself on the right side of the discussion.

I just wished I found myself there more often.

“Coop visiting home should improve his spirits, as will the rest of the men. They’re—”

“Unsettled?” I offered, remembering Snips’s words. Cael nodded.

“I think you should work out a way to explain Caspian to them. This will require you to actually figure out who this man is, however.”

“And what of you?” I countered.

“I’m still occupied with trying to work out who wants you dead. The list is forever lengthening itself.”

That coerced a chuckle from me. He wasn’t wrong.

“Did you check on Caspian earlier?” I asked him.

“Aye,” Cael replied. “You fucked up his nose. I awoke him a moment to help straighten it, before his head melted back into his hands, and he rested his head on the table. I left him there.”

The ship swayed slightly, correcting the force of the sea. Cael and I held the wooden rail tight to steady ourselves.

“Thank you.” I found myself replying with. Cael was good at cleaning the messes I constantly managed to overlook, which were many.

“I’ll treasure those words as long as you can promise me that rage of yours can be managed. You may just find yourself granting this man’s very wishes, which is death itself.”

“Aye.” I agreed, keeping my eyes set on the sea.

I wanted that bounty, whatever it was set as.

••

7. Your Odyssey

Playlist is updated :)

Just a reminder, you can find it under my full name on Spotify or the growing list on the first chapter (chapter 0)

It’s a list of music I’ve honestly been vibing with while writing, very pirate coded.

Also thank y’all so so SO much for the insane push on this book?! Like wtf I love y’all.

Also also, welcome aboard to all the new readers!

I cannot tell you guys enough how much I appreciate every reader that gives my work a chance, but fuck it imma try

For now, enjoy lovelies! :)

Beware the spelling errors, lol

Caspian

“Caspian!” I heard my brother’s voice cry out through the raging fire. It was raspy from the suffocating smoke, but I could still recognize him.

The air was thick with the black smoke that flooded the otherwise burning castle. I could hear them, the Holy Men down the hall clashing swords with our own defenses. It wouldn’t be long until they found us, regardless of how hard my father fought alongside our guards.

He had rushed both myself, my older brother, and my mother into one of our secret passageways built throughout the palace, telling us to make it to his and my mothers chambers located on the highest level, and tucked away towards the back of the castle itself.

We had made it here just moments ago, but the fire was spreading faster than our feet could carry us. My mother was closest to the now guarded door, and she spoke to the advisors that had safely followed my family here. I couldn’t hear what she said as she spoke, but her pale skin was tight, those fading blue eyes holding nothing but fear in them. A look I wasn’t the slightest familiar with.

I didn’t know what to do, but Hodrus, my brother joined my side a moment later, wrapping his arms hard around me.

“It’s going to be okay.” I had heard him say, but I knew from the way he said those words that not even he himself believed them.

The Holy Men had breached the doors.

The castle was on engulfed with flames.

And our father hadn’t returned.

Nothing was going to be okay, not since this night and every night since after. I could hear the enemy’s men gaining speed, nearing the floor near this bedroom chamber. If they had reached this part of the castle, that meant our forces had failed…

That my father had failed.

“Quickly, boys.” My mother spoke, beckoning both Hodrus and I towards her. She had a hard, closed off look in her eyes now, a look I had never seen before. A look so uncharacteristic to my mother’s gentle, nurturing nature. “There isn’t much time, so I need you two to listen, and listen very closely.”

Hodrus was coughing up a storm, his slightly weaker lungs struggling to pull oxygen from this harsh smoke. He woukdn’t last much longer here.

“There is a tunnel that runs directly below the foundation of this castle. A path your grandfather carved during the Ten Years of Unrest.”

I felt my eyebrows furrow slightly at that, unable to grasp my mother’s words.

Hodrus and I had walked these halls, both hidden and not, all our lives. Granted it had only been fifteen years for me, and eighteen for my brother, yet during that time we had never once discovered what my mother was here now describing.

“I have tasked Lemont and Dreska as each of your personal protectors and advisors. They can pass through the seals your grandfather placed on those tunnels, much like you can-”

“And what of you?” Hodrus asked, interrupting our mother.

Given any other circumstance, Hodrus would’ve been punished severely… but considering the men who would’ve dealt this punishment were either fighting or already dead, something told me my mother wouldn’t hold on to this particular blatant display of disrespect towards her.

She only confirmed what I already knew deep down to be true. “I cannot join you.” I heard my mother say.

Hodrus took a sharp inhale, the language his body spoke was riddled with agony. “Why?” He wasted no time asking.

It was a senseless question, but I held my tongue.

Hodrus was pulling from a place of emotion now, not logic. And given everything our family had experienced tonight, he had every right to. I could hear the fear visible in his voice as he spoke.

“I must stay and defend this place,” my mother replied, her own tone remained strong. “Defend our home.” The screams were growing nearer around this room, reminding us all of just how little time we truly had. “I need you two to live.”

That was the last thing she said to us, before both Hodrus and myself were grabbed by our advisors, Lemont locking his fingers tightly around my arm as he dragged me towards my parents armoire nestled in the back of their chambers. Dreska had done the same, grabbing hold of Hodrus a bit more roughly than Lamont had done with me.

I was sure Dreska felt what we all did. That Hodrus wouldn’t leave willingly. It had been a miracle for this man to have survived as long as he did, and if he stayed another moment with our mother, his fate would be the same as hers.

Dreska moved quickly, throwing open the doors to the cabinet before he thrust Hodrus through. The last I saw were Dreska’s bright green eyes as they locked with mine. He gave me brief nod, something I took for encouragement at the time. Telling me we’d see each other again shortly.

What I knew now was that it was a goodbye.

I turned to my mother again, listening as the footsteps grew heavier. That door would be breached in no time, with only two guards to defend it at my mothers side. My eyes then found Lemont’s, and the look he gave me was knowing.

I expected nothing less from the man who had taught me since my birth itself.

“You cannot save her.” He told me honestly, his voice mirroring Hodrus’s. This man knew my heart. Sometimes better than I did.

But before I could even start to argue my reasoning, the door to my parents chambers were suddenly forced open.

The guards protecting my mother reacted immediately with the same fierceness. They were hand selected by my father if things were to ever progress to the state it had tonight. The tension between the Lockeheart family and the Holy Men stretched for years, meaning Azultia had been divided for as long as I had been alive, but this unsuspecting attack was something my family hadn’t thought possible for The Holy Men.

Something we hadn’t dare thought they’d attempt.

The Lockeheart family prided themselves on their secrets, which was put in place and fundamental for our people’s existence. My ancestors had built this nation brick by brick, forging it around those very secrets.

And the people outside these castle walls assumed every Lockeheart was born with the same immense powers, something no one would dare rival…

But that wasn’t the case. It never had been.

Our family, our power, it was not granted. It was inherited. The strongest of us all was my father, who’s power was shared with my mother the night they consummated their marriage. This wasn’t necessarily her power to hold however, my mother was not born a Lockeheart. Her body wasn’t made for it. This meant that the power which coursed through her, the power that turned her hazel eyes the same color as all who shared our bloodline, that power wasn’t hers to keep.

With each son she bore, first Hodrus, then myself, the power transferred from my father had left her, and was then passed onto us.

This kept my mother close to defenseless now as she stared straight into the eyes of the enemy. Their bright golden armour had no place in this castle, and yet they paraded around in it as if this was their home. It made my own royal blood boil with disgust.

My mothers guards acted first, not pausing to strike down the first man, and every man thereafter that had set their sights on my mother’s throat. I watched them fight with every ounce of ferociousness my father had told me was in them, though I was too young to believe him at the time. Too naive.

I just never had the pleasure, or rather the unfortunate circumstances in which I’d seen either of them forced to take up a sword.

And had this been a fair fight… Had this enemy fought fairly, their stains of men would’ve never made it to our chambers. Never questioned these guards, nor their willingness to fight. But alas, that wasn’t the case. I saw man after man enter this room, ready to challenge our guards who had so clearly spent the better of their night keeping all who they could, alive.

This was when I forced my arm out of Lemont’s hold, and against his better judgement, charged forward.

I felt the familiar burning sensation across the skin of my upper arms, only covered by my uniform. It was the tattoos I had had done when no more than eight years had passed since my birth. The markings that worked differently from any enchanted tattoo known to man, for it was my blood that gave it purpose. Not the ink.

It produced the weapons given to me by our oracle. The weapons she had told me would aide in reclaiming my birthright. Was this what she meant, I wondered, yet my hands moved forward, allowing those dagger

s

to drop comfortably into them.

Lemont could do nothing but keep his distance now. He knew not to engage, and I wanted to tell him to just go. To run. But the orders given by my mother were unwavering. Absolute. It was not to be questioned.

And my mother hadn’t noticed me staying to fight until one of my daggers soared right past her eyes, piercing the heart of the one of the Holy Men that had tried to catch her off guard to her right. When her eyes turned to me, I saw nothing but pain etched in them.

She didn’t approve of what I had done.

The decision I had made against her better judgement.

But if her life could be spared. Saved…. The son who’d stayed behind was the only one of us two who could do it.

I whipped that chain back, allowing my daggers metal to anchor and mesh with the man’s heart before I ripped through his chest cavity and yanked the beating thing straight out of him. My mother’s eyes widened in complete horror, the blood of my kill coating her long elegant dress that wrapped around one shoulder and hung slightly off the other.

“Caspilius!” She called to me, her voice dripping in contempt as she used my birth given name, but I chose to ignore it. There was no time.

Instead, that same bloody dagger whipped around me, sending the first man’s beating heart into the second, who had since drawn his sword.

This was the first real battle I had ever been in, the first where I was allowed to draw blood on the

enemy

, and the feeling I got when those daggers pierced through skin, terrified even myself.

There was a shift in my vision as I fought. Not physically, but more or less mentally. I had charged into this fight, yet as the fight grew in bloodshed, my vision of my mother was lost to the thickening smoke. For a moment, I couldn’t locate where she was in this now burning room. I had found my footing, but I couldn’t find hers amongst the stone floor.

It was the ear shattering scream that called my attention somewhere to my right. I had used my daggers like a spinning blade, holding on to those growing chains tight as every man who approached was slit straight through their stomach, forcing their insides out onto the cold ground.

My feet carried me before my eyes could map where I was going. When the burning air around us subsided some, all my vision registered was my mother.

She had been stabbed by a Holy Man, the sword still buried deep into the slight fold of her stomach as she stumbled back against the wall closest to her. It was near the chambers bed.

My body reacted before my mind could as both my daggers flew forward. Each hit their intended target easily, cutting down the men who had advanced my mother during my moments of blindness, before I could close the distance between her and myself.

“Mum!” I found myself almost hissing, doing my best not to draw too much attention to us amidst this thick fog, as the last remaining guard of ours defending us with his life itself. He kept a field of protection around my mother and I, giving me time to grab hold of he before she slumped quickly to the floor.

“Caspian,” I heard her voice speak with an edge I never knew my mother could have. Her face was hard, but those eyes were broken. “This may not make much sense now, my son, but this is

not

your fight.“ Her voice was strained as she spoke, that hand of hers still holding the place where the blade had cut through.

She was loosing too much blood. If I were to pull the knife out now, it wouldn’t matter. This wound was fatal.

“Please,” I practically whispered. “Please.” My voice was unrecognizable as the weight of the situation finally presented itself to the more emotionally parts of me. Not the logical.

My mothers hand placed more pressure on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was still no use. Blood was pooling on the stone ground below both her and myself. I felt my own pale blue uniform seep with warmth as her blood covered me too.

“What do I do?” I begged her quietly.I could hear more men ascending the palace steps, but their steps told me that not many were approaching.

“My d-dear.” I heard her voice shake slightly. Even through the last moments of her life, my mothers beauty still startled me. That kind smile never left it

s

charm. Though she knew her weaknesses, she didn’t see them as such. Not tonight.

“What am I to do?” I asked again, my voice breaking as I realized that this moment- this particular one right here, were our goodbyes.

“Do you remember what the oracle said?” She asked in return.

My mind couldn’t process that. This. Process the unpleasant road she was choosing to take this conversation down. Yet I still found myself nodding to those words, because I did. I remembered them.

“There will come a time for you, my sweet beautiful son, to become something you never saw fit for yourself.” Her face was tight with agony, but I felt as her muscles began to relax into my arms. She wasn’t fighting death anymore, regardless of how much I wished she still would.

For who was I, without her?

Who was I meant to become, without her guidance?

Without her wisdom?

Without her heart?

“But now,” she continued, the very last moments of her life leaving her with each broken word she spoke to me. “Now… you must find your brother.”

Even with her injury, I still watched as she managed the energy to remove the bloody hand she had placed desperately on her wound, and bring those fingertips gently to my cheek. I felt the warmth of her blood there now, too.

“Now… now I need you to be strong.” I watched as blood came up with each new cough she took. She was fading, much like her eyes. “I need you to find your brother,” she continued, repeating her words to me in hopes that it would cut through the bloodlust that was currently coursing through my veins. “And my dear Caspian,” she instructed me, “Caspilius Lockeheart The Second… I need you to

run

.“

Those were the very last words my mother spoke before her body relaxed into me lifelessly, as the light in her eyes finally faded entirely. My hands reached up to close those pale blue eyes. The same eyes that were the first thing I had awoken to every morning since she brought me into this life. And in that moment, I wished to say that all I felt was broken. All I heard was the sound of my own heart shattering…

But something else came to me in that same moment. Something that fed off my bloodthirsty spirit like none other.

I heard it call to me. Asking me what it was I desired most. What it was that my heart was willing to overlook, to appease that obsolete need.

And one of the last things I remembered from that night was my vision blackening with hate. My own veins glowing—

burning

, from the ancient blood running through me. The chains that hung below my daggers which kept them tethered to my being, strengthened in both power and size as a blue hue surrounded the metal.

It was something any other young man my age would cripple themselves under— the pain that was coursing through me now.

But that was the unfortunate thing about hatred. It had you overlooking the pain that proved as a warning to what was to come. And maybe the voice inside me knew that. Maybe that was why it called to me, shattering everything my mother wished me to be. Shattering the very thing that was meant to save my people…

My immortality.

My father may have taught me to fight…

But my bloodline had instilled in me the urge to kill. Something my mother lost the time to train my for, the night our home burned.

I awoke from that vicious nightmare in a panic. My body had thrown itself back so quickly, I almost toppled off the chair I was sitting in. Still sitting in.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the room around me. I had remained in the study where Alistair and Cael had left me, yet at a first glance, I didn’t recognize it at all. My feet pushed me back into the wooden chair, stretching out my back and legs before even attempting to stand.

It was daylight outside. I could see the sun shining through the study’s windows, which only forced my eyes to further adjust.

I’m still on the ship, I reminded myself. Not in the past. Not anymore.

And yet as I sat on this sea obeying vessel, I realized that there was more of my past starting to bleed through. Even here, where I thought my life on land would disappear just as the shores did when a ship set sail…

This was what fueled it. That never ending need for an eternal rest.

The one thing in which my power hung in front of me, like fish chum to sharks.

••

8. Bring A Spring Upon’er

Hi y’all!

My apologies this took so long to get up. I’ve been working a lot of OT at work (50-60hr weeks) during our audit this last week, then I got one horrid migraine that landed me in the ER yesterday morning

But we’re good now I think! (Hopefully the chapter still flows well cause my brain still feels a little fried)

Lol, so here we go

Also, should I include a little definition if I use pirate lingo/terminology for the chapter names? Lemme know :)

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Bring A Spring Upon’er: To turn a ship in another direction

Caspian

“The plan was that you’d work alongside Coop today.”

I nodded over at Snips as I steadied the last of the rope he’d securely tied off, with my bare hands. This wind had picked up some since I had joined him on the main deck, and it felt good feeing that heavy breeze ease through my loose fitted linen clothes, to my now somewhat well rested bones.

That sleep had done me good.

“However, after everything that commenced last night, Coop isn’t in the best state for work. Von, our carpenter, had to dig the bullet out of his arm.” Snips then leaned forward, carefully pouring the hot wax over the rope and fusing the tight knots together. I watched his every movement, making a mental note of his skilled pour so I could mirror it in the future. “He was scaling the lengths of one of those wooden poles connecting the sails, when the warning shot was let off. The fog had concealed their ship from his vantage point and they had fired off aimlessly.”

I found myself slowly nodding, my hand reaching up to lightly touch the bridge of my nose as I followed closely behind the man who was zipping us through our tasks.

The broken bone had starting to heal already, much of that thanks to Cael who managed to set it back in place before he, too, left me alone in the study. It would be fully healed come nightfall.

Snips was leading us down below deck to a part of the ship that I hadn’t yet seen, which felt strange regardless of how short it had been that I was aboard for. Somehow these last few days had felt like years either added to my life, or cut clean off. I couldn’t decide which yet.

He and I passed through the crew’s main quarters which were surprisingly clean for a cluster of rogue bloodthirsty men out at sea, and I was grateful the fresh air above deck seemed to flow through below the deck as well. I didn’t know how, but it somehow did.

Most of the men were above us, tending to the bloody floorboards from last nights gruesome battle. I could hear the sound of bristles against wood as they worked to scrub the red stains out.

From the looks the crew had given me once I finally made my way out of that study, I couldn’t tell if they hated me or feared me. It could have been a bit of both, if I had to wager, but it was still more attention drawn to me than I had wanted.

Alistair wasn’t anywhere to be seen once again, and neither was Cael. I wanted to ask Snips about it, but I was hesitant to ask this man anything that wasn’t pertaining to our direct orders.

I wasn’t afraid of him striking me in the head again. Rather, I was afraid of the questions he might ask in return. The ones I knew he had held his tongue with, which led me to believe that maybe he had been ordered to.

To not question me.

Alistair had tried, I thought . And though I found the decision I had made to reveal some of my magic to him and the crew, absolutely abysmal , I had no other choice.

It was only a matter of time now before Alistair worked out more about me. Who I was. About the life I could only ever truly escape once death became me.

There was something about it. That voice of his. What I heard last night. Whatever magic he had was strong enough to channel through to me, something that had never happened to me before. He stripped me of my thoughts when he told me to pick up that sword. The threat he had followed with… I wasn’t sure why I believed it.

Why I believed him.

“The sword. The one A— Captain keeps sheathed to his waist. Where did he come across it?” I asked Snips. He had led us towards the very back of the ship below deck, to a room where barrels upon barrels had been stacked and secured by rope strapped and tied to the wall.

Seeing as we were on a ship, I didn’t find the extra precautions all that bizarre, but I was starting to notice just how secured down everything was. The time I spent on that merchant ship may had been few, but we had never strapped our cargo quite like this. We had never needed to.

Snips undid the tight ropes, allowing them to fall to the floor planks below us before he lifted and set the first barrel down.

That was when he finally turned back to me, and in all honesty I half expected him to hit me.

Instead, his lids lowered some as he peered up over at me.

“ Why? “ He asked.

It was a question I should’ve been prepared for, yet Snips roughness with it threw my anticipation off course.

“Well,” I took a brief pause to further collect myself, “after the events of last night, and seeing him fight, I grew curious.”

The look on Snips face told me I’d need to do better than that if I wanted to funnel information from him. And I was now starting to understand how this ship ran so well. The men here used their savagery and their bloodthirst as nothing more than a ploy for their masked intelligence. And it was starting to make me wish I had boarded a ship fully ran by imbeciles.

At least death would’ve found me quicker there.

“Well,” I continued, “he handles it well. The steel I mean, it’s incredibly durable. It looks weighted, but he wields it with such ease.”

“And you would know something about that,” Snips countered, “about the steel.” His gaze didn’t leave mine when he said those words. He was studying me to find a reaction, yet that was the one thing I was now putting in great effort to conceal. I thought it was just my ears that noticed the sound of Alistair’s blade, but it was my own foolishness for thinking so.

These men had fought alongside each other for a length of time I didn’t even know. If I could recognize the material of Alistair’s weapon, maybe they had done the same with mine. My assumptions were confirmed by this shorter man only a moment later.

“I heard the clash of your daggers against those enemy pirates’s swords. The same sharpness. Whatever yours and his weapons are, are the same.”

I was now starting to realize I should’ve kept this conversation strictly to the barrels. How utterly foolish on my part. This was far more dangerous than any physical blow Snips could inflict on me.

And thus was my reasoning for pivoting the conversation entirely. All I could hope was that this man didn’t return to it. “Alistair and Cael… do they not assist with the maintenance of the ship?”

I watched as anger darted fast across Snips face, however he managed to reel it in with incredible speed before I could fully register the offense I gave.

“You’ve really never heard of this ship before, have you?”

I slowly shook my head no. I was already bracing myself for the hit he would surely deliver over my head from all these questions, but it never came. Instead, Snips let out an abrupt fit of laugher, the gold caps that covered the most dagger like teeth in his mouth were now on full display.

“Well the first thing you should know is that if we see the Captain before sundown, one of us has wagered a price we simply cannot pay. As in, there is a problem afoot amongst the crew that only he can redirect.”

Snips had some disgust in his voice towards me directly, which I expected at this point, yet there was something else stirred in. I could hear it clear as day now when he spoke about the Captain in particular, yet I struggled to understand why I hadn’t before.

This crew respected Alistair greatly. In every sense of the word. And it wasn’t something to vocally question, given their blatant disregard for human life including my own… yet I found myself with more questions than answers. I couldn’t understand how Alistair had somehow won the hearts of men who would willingly stab a knife into anyone else’s? I couldn’t imagine that to be an easy feat.

“However,” I heard this shorter man continue. “He does usually make a very brief appearance whenever he feels it necessary. We’re redirecting sails today to port in the next few days, so the Captain and Cael are working on our new routes.”

My eyebrows finally furrowed a bit in confusion. “Porting?” I asked. Alistair hadn’t mentioned anything about a stop this soon.

“Aye,” Snips nodded. “To Gatvia. Coop’s home.”

I felt my body still completely… thanking the gods that Snips had started to busy himself with the barrels again and was no longer paying me any mind.

We’re setting sail for Gatvia.

This wasn’t good.

I distinctly remembered telling Alistair that Gatvia was my own home. The look on his face over supper told me that he hadn’t much believed me then, yet now we were heading to the very place that wouldn’t take more than a days time to confirm my lie.

“Why to Gatvia?” I asked. Snips was starting to unseal some of the barrels, taking a look inside each one to inspect the contents. I got a good whiff of the rum stored inside it once the hatchets were undone and the lid came off.

“Captain is hunting down the man responsible for the unexpected ambush last night.” The shorter pirate explained.

That only deepened my confusion, though I did my best not to outwardly react as such.

“I thought the Captain sunk their ship?”

“He did.” Snips started to seal off the inspected barrels before moving forward. “Their captain wasn’t on the ship. I know only what Cael disclosed to the crew come sunrise, but the neighboring island, Sicoria, is where their captain was last docked. Captain wants that man’s head.”

I found myself slowly nodding, trying to understand all that I missed during my rest. Apparently it had been a great deal.

“And as I mentioned, it’s Coop’s home. Considering how critical his job is for Captain’s happiness in regards to the rum, and our own health in regards to the water barrels…. The Captain likes to keep Coop happy. Bringing him home while he heals from his injury would do just that.”

I moved forward, helping Snips set the checked barrels back into the straps that held them right against the ships wall. I kept the rope steady while snips finished tying them off. This really wasn’t good.

“Coop’s family is welcoming. After checking these, you and I will take stock of our loot. Captain wants to put together a tribute of our appreciation for them and their hospitality. And I should have you know now, whatever women you see, you stay the farthest from. Some of these men will cut the hands off of anyone who touches a sister of Coop’s that they’ve been courting. That history goes far back, so It’s best you keep those dagger wielding hands to yourself.”

I finished tying off the string on my side, securing it to the hooks built into the walls the barrels were strapped to. I had no idea what Snips had meant by that.

But nevertheless I nodded. There was absolutely no reason for the man to worry about my interest in a sister. I had no interest in pursuing anything romantically with anyone or anything but death itself.

And though I thought I had been the most clear on this, maybe I hadn’t.

“You fought well.” Snips added, catching me off guard once more. “During the night. I didn’t expect that from you.”

I followed Snips closely. He was starting to lead us away from the back of the ship, and towards the left side, still below deck. “I didn’t quite expect that from me either.” I replied honestly.

“What made you fight?” Snips asked. He had turned his head slightly back towards me, acknowledging the question and myself even if for just a moment.

“The Captain didn’t give me a choice. And I had a very short window before my body would collapse of exhaustion.” I tried to explain. It was clear that Alistair had no plans of letting me rest during the battle.

“Your fighting style didn’t show any signs of fatigue.” He countered. I felt my shoulders raise a bit nonchalantly, buts Snips back was still turned to me, guiding us forward.

“My body stores energy… differently. I can generally determine how long I can fight for before I might collapse. The quicker and cleaner the kills, the shorter my intervals are for tapping into that preserved energy.”

In other words, Alistair and I seemed to fight completely differently. He seemed to have nothing but stamina and time. I had neither.

Snips steps slowed a moment in front of me, causing my own to slow to his pace. I made sure not to stumble into his back.

“Interesting,” I heard him say, before those steps picked up again. The room we were now entering had stacks and stacks of preserved food, bags of grains and rice piled high to the ceiling.

The place was not the most organized, and given my previous work in the merchant business, I saw areas for improvement immediately. I just didn’t voice any of my concerns because Snips would now surely resort to violence if I did. He seemed to have reached a limit of sorts.

“You’re an interesting man, Caspian.” This shorter man turned back to me before he pointed to the ropes that held most of the food together. I moved to undo the strapped rope closest to my side.

“I’m just a merchant.” I tried to tell him, much like I was trying to tell Alistair. And possibly everyone else on this bloody ship. Snips gave me the same look Alistair had, the two practically mirroring each other.

“I’ve met many merchants in my days. Slayed many of which who crossed my blade. Bed a few of their own wives, and yet… of the thousands who’s fate met mine, close to none have ever killed with such skill.”

Snips unfastened the rope quicker than I could, but he managed to catch the product that came loose with ease.

“And none,” the wild pirate continued, “have ever drawn attention to the Captain’s sword. None would ever think to.”

I let the rope on my side fall, before I started pulling product from the contained bundle myself. That comment about Alistair’s sword should’ve never left my mouth in the company of Snips.

“You may have concealed your interests now, but I saw the look in your eyes last night.” The look in Snips’s eyes  now was what was concerning me. “You recognized the sound of the metal. Something no average merchant could ever do.”

It was a dangerous game, yes. But my curiosity never left. Even while Snips’s grew.

See, I wanted to know how …

How the sword of King Daedron himself had somehow found its way into the hands of a bloody pirate.

Into the hands of Alistair, nonetheless.

••

What are we thinking so far, lovelies?? In the age of getting exposition dumps, I hope y’all are cool with learning more about the story as the characters themselves do. I rather do some showing than some telling, ya feel me?

I promise it’ll all come together though :)

xoxo

9. Set Sail For Gatvia

Hi lovelies!! So I’m in the process of moving into my new spot this week so just fyi my upload schedule between last week, this week, and next week all finna look questionable as fuck

As always though, I love y’all

Enjoy!

xoxo

Alistair

“Are you looking forward to seeing your family?” I asked Caspian, watching as he loaded pig rib after pig rib onto his plate. Today must’ve required more energy from him because I hadn’t seen him gain such an appetite like this before.

It was either that, or he was doing everything in his power to keep his mouth further occupied. He had started to fidget, busying himself with his utensils as soon as I brought up our travels to Gatvia. Snips had told me he had mentioned our destination to our guest during their work day, which made me all the more intrigued to see how Caspian would react when I spoke of it.

His dead eyes finally found mine for the first time since we sat down in my private quarters. His gaze rarely ever held anyone’s on this ship, but when we were alone, I noticed he was far less reserved. Tonight, however, was different.

“My family is all dead.” He practically deadpanned, succeeding in something men rarely ever did. Surprise me. His voice held absolutely no emotion with what should’ve been some emotionally heavy words. And I suppose that should’ve been expected considering he seemed to rarely ever react to anything at all. But those eyes…

Even if just for a moment, I saw something in his eyes that I wasn’t expecting, even from a man who’s only objective in this here life was to die. It was something that made his features entirely… shift , one could say.

He no longer conveyed disinterest. Those eyes instead held an unfathomable amount of sadness. Something that didn’t match his usual unamusement.

And in the most unbelievable twist of fate, and maybe for the first time since I’ve prodded for answers about his family, I actually believed him. I believed those words in their entirety. I may have not believed he had even a single family member who was raised in Gatvia… but those words about his family being long gone held an absolute complete level of truth about them.

I then found myself doing something I’ve possibly never done with anyone who wasn’t my crew. I felt that rigid, cold exterior of mine soften. Not by much, but enough to warrant something dashing across Caspian’s clear eyes. I saw it flicker for a second, only caught by the warm lit candles around us keeping light throughout my chambers, and the moonlight behind my seat that cast through the room’s open windows. I felt the sea breeze through my long strands of drawn back hair, which made my body relax more in my seat.

He was the first to break our gaze, looking down at the plate of food he had now surely overloaded. I could see it in his eyes, the realization that he had bitten off more than he could chew.

This wasn’t a feeling I had often, nor was this a choice I made often, but I decided not to press the conversation about his family any further. At least for now.

His discomfort was causing me discomfort and the day had already been long enough. Nothing needed to be added to it.

“Snips said you’ve taking a liking to my sword.” I continued, tapping the handle of the large metal blade that was sheathed at my side.

That question didn’t do much to improve Caspian’s mood. Instead, he took a few large bites of dinner, forcing me to wait until he fully chewed and swallowed. I instead helped myself to a large swig of rum. After the work Cael and myself put in today, I felt like doing nothing but drinking.

Caspian was chewing slowly deliberately and yet all that did was make me smile. This man was still struggling to grasp what his newfound captivity meant for him, but he’d soon understand that on this ship we’d have nothing but time.

While he worked on chewing through the tough yet well spiced meat, I decided to take more of his appearance in.

It was abundantly clear that this man needed rest to physically function properly. He was far more alert than our previous dinner, to the point that I almost wouldn’t recognize him if it wasn’t for that same usual uninterested appearance on his face that could possibly never leave him.

He had changed into nightwear, his usual long sleeve shirt now replaced with sleeves that cut themselves short right above his elbow. I could see his large veins running down his intriguingly toned yet slender arms. My attention was drawn there further when his hand slid up his sleeve to scratch his upper arm.

It pushed up some of that linen material, revealing, if for only a moment, the edge of a tattoo.

I noticed it was some sort of chain, and I could’ve sworn the tip of a dagger showed too, but I couldn’t be certain before the material fell back down again.

Interesting , I thought. An enchanted tattoo of some sort.

Now I could somewhat understood how he was able to pull his weapons out of what appeared to be thin air. That sleeve fell past the markings again, covering his upper arm up, which pulled my attention back to those dead eyes.

“If you tell me more about your enchanted tattoo, I’ll tell you more about this blade of mine.” I tapped the hand of the large sword still strapped at my side, before gesturing to his covered upper arms. That brought Caspian’s attention back to me as he swallowed the last few bites of his food. It must’ve taken us both by surprise with how much he managed to stomach tonight.

He didn’t say anything to that right away, but I could visibly see him thinking. I was no stranger to enchanted ink, and yet there was something in particular that intrigued me. It was something Snips had noticed and debriefed to me on shortly after his and Caspian’s tasks were completed for the day. He, too, had picked up on the similar sounding metal between this blade at my side, and the daggers etched into Caspian’s arms.

“It’s…” Caspian started, setting the fork down on his almost empty plate. “It’s not enchanted.”

That made my eyebrows furrow some, deciphering whatever he could mean by that, but luckily the man wasn’t done explaining.

“It appears like an enchanted tattoo and works like one, but it not enchanted ink.”

That only made my eyebrows furrow deeper.

“It’s my blood that makes the tattoo come to life.” His eyes looked up from his plate towards mine again.

That made those same eyebrows of mine raise slightly in both surprise and curiosity.

Interesting , I though to myself. I once crossed paths with a man who spoke of this. The abilities of his blood. He was madness encompassed, and yet, I was starting to see some similarities between the man that pulled me to the bottom of the ocean, and the man sitting before me.

As my gaze held Caspian’s, I couldn’t help but wonder. Some would say I allowed my mind to. He should’ve been a merchant no different from the rest my men slaughtered on that ship nights ago, and yet this man was the farthest from it.

Somehow I was now starting to find similarities between himself, and the mad man I had struck a sinister deal with in the depths of hell itself. Which rightfully so worried me.

This man made less sense the more I uncovered. That was a similarity all in itself.

“Your blood you say?” I asked Caspian to which he slowly nodded.  He was on his very last bite now with no excuse to keep that mouth of his busy any longer, and we both knew it. He had no space left in that stomach of his either.

“The art was carved into my skin at a young age. The ink mixed with my blood is what conjures the daggers, lifting them from the engraved art itself to do my bidding.” I watched as he then finished off his last bites.

I brought the cold metal chalice to my lips, enjoying the slight sweetness of the rum as it slowly traveled down my throat before filling my stomach with warmth. A pleasant contrast to the thick clothing and cool breeze. I noticed Caspian didn’t drink at all, on any night, but nothing compelled me to question him on it.

This just meant there was more rum for me and my men.

“Does it hurt?” I asked him once I finished the sip of my drink. Most enchanted tattoos didn’t, but I was now recalling how Caspian looked right before I saw those daggers appear. How he was gripping his upper arms in what I thought was a shiver.

I watched as Caspian loaded just a little more food onto his plate, going for the healthier options which was the fresh fruit Finn cut up in addition to the plethora of meats. He most likely assumed this would take less space in that stomach of his.

I had meant to eat with my crew tonight. I was asked, as I was every night. And I wanted to get some understanding on how everything was with them, which was what dinner with those men consistently provided. Insight.

My men never complained, but they did usually get a great deal of chatter in once the food hit the table, and that rum was well flowing in their system. I was interested in knowing exactly what they thought about our guest on this ship.

My gaze fell briefly past Caspian’s eyes to his lips. His tongue slid out ever so slightly to lick up some of the juices that dropped from the vibrant green grapes he popped into his mouth. Then I watched as his head slowly nodded. This man was… interesting, to say the least.

“Yes. Not as much as when I was younger, but it increases the less I call upon the weapons. As you can see, I don’t necessarily prefer to fight.”

That made some abrupt laughter push past my lips. “Now you sound like Cael.” I told this slightly shorter man.

It was Caspian’s turn to look back over at me, his gaze holding some confusion. “Snips had mentioned that both you and Cael are strong fighters, but the other night…” the man trailed off a moment. “Does Cael choose not to fight as well? Like myself?”

I nodded, thinking back to the words Cael had said to me that night in front of Caspian, but then I slowly shook my head. “He’s the only man I give that option to.” I clarified.

“How come?” Caspian asked, causing the edges of my lips to twitch up into a slight smile. Who knew taking this particular slave would lead to such an uncalled for dynamic. My visceral reaction was to slit the throat of anyone who questioned me… and yet, I found myself more intrigued than offended. This was becoming a pattern with Caspian.

“Cael is gifted. Very very gifted. Him coming aboard my ship was already a gift within itself, and he came with only one clear rule. He chooses when and who he kills.”

Caspian held this gaze, his attention no longer on the fruit he had loaded onto his plate. “Why do you grant him such mercy?”

It was a question that was both valid and offensive to myself personally. I looked at the man who had only truly contributed to the wellness of this ship less times than I could count on one hand, and wondered where he had found this sudden urge to dictate how I organized my men.

“What have you discovered since being on this ship?” I asked this man, my anger forcing itself not to cut through my words much like my sword wanted to cut through his skin. Caspian seemed to realize the overstep he took, to which he slowly shook his head.

“I mean no offense,” he started, “…I’m just simply trying to understand.”

My eyes peered over at him, neither of us interested in the food and drink before us any longer.

“My question stands.” I reiterated. My voice had far less bite this time. There was still something inside me however, that curiosity, that wanted to hear his answer to my question.

I knew this man wanted to die, and yet something made him call upon those daggers. Something made him slaughter all those men. I just didn’t understand what.

Caspian, much like with every other question I uttered, took his time before replying. He clearly wasn’t hungry however he managed to use that fruit on his plate as a distraction. If I hadn’t of known he was buying time, he would’ve been killed right here right now for wasting this delicious fruit. As a merchant, he should know what it took to have something this fresh so far off the coast.

“Well,” I heard him start finally, finishing the last of his sliced apple chunks. “You… your men… it’s not what I imagined.”

“What have you heard?” I continued.

“About pirates?” He countered. “Not much. I just expected more… discourse?” He settled on finally. That made my lips curl up into a smile.

“My men,” I myself countered, “they do not blindly follow. I may give them orders, however with every tide we pass, every order is on the table for negotiation. It can be contested. I make sure my men’s voices feel and are heard.”

Caspian’s eyes widened slightly at my words, but not much else of him changed.

“I do not rule this ship, Caspian.” I continued. “I am it’s Captain. I am my crew’s Captain, and I care for nothing more than they’re happiness and their willingness to let me guide them across seas- seas that would otherwise swallow a ship whole.”

There was something there again, something the ran across his face so different than his usual deadpanned responses.

“I can tell this crew has nothing but adoration for you.” He stated, to which my smile widened.

“Imagine what it takes to build such a trust.” I replied.

My eyes could only watch as the edges of Caspian’s lips twitched up into the slightest smile.

“I don’t think I could.” He answered honestly, to which my smile widened more.

I think he was finally starting to understand.

“You’re men…” I heard his voice trail off. “why… why don’t you join them for their chores? Or dinner?”

Now I couldn’t help but question whether my men had put him up to ask such a question. Not in regards to their daily tasks, but more so the dinner.

“Because,” I replied, “i have my own obligations during the day, and I only join for supper when it’s asked of me.”

That made Caspian’s eyebrows crease. “Have you never been asked?”

His response made me chuckle. “No of course I have. My crew asks me every night as soon as their obligations are completed and tasks get done… Yet you haven’t. Been asked, that is.”

Caspian looked bewildered, accepting, yet slightly offended. I chose to both accept and appreciate all three.

“Why do you insist on having dinner with me each night when you could be with your crew?”

That made my grin widen to a laugh. “Because you are my slave. You go where I go, as is the same for me with you. And I want to see whether my crew will accept you as that.” I replied. “If they don’t, you’re as good as useless weighted cargo.”

••

10. Before Nightfall

A little short chapter cause ya girl has spent all the free time here moving into my new place! It’s been a wild start to 2024 but we’re getting back into the swing of things now.

(I had to move a couch, a boxing bag, and a grand piano… so you can imagine the stress levels I had going on lol).

As always, I love y’all so so so much

I hope you’re taking good care of yourselves <3

I cannot waiiiiitttttt to get to the next few chapters, cause the lore is about to go crazy :)

Anywhoo,

Enjoy

lovelies!

xoxo

Caspian

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“You look like death.” Snips noted to me, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead onto the shirt sleeve covering his upper arm, as the bright sun beamed down right above us. It was signaling high noon to the sea and it’s inhabitants.

My hands were gripping the wooden pole we were moving with unnecessary strength, and Snips felt it when he tried to pull the pole from me and lift it into its standing position. The look he gave me confirmed it, paired seamlessly with his flippant irritance.

We were tightening the support of one of the beams when I started to fall victim to my own thoughts. Something that was dangerous to do around Snips seeing as he didn’t favor any distractions as we worked.

With every current that pushed this large vessel forward, we were drawing nearer to the shores of Gatvia. Alistair had already given the orders to prepare to dock before nightfall, and my uncertainty would only grow from here on.

I hadn’t lied to him about my family being dead. But I did lie about Gatvia. My feet had never touched its soil, and a man as smart as Alistair already knew that. Even if he hadn’t figured out who I was, he was making impressive strides to. There wasn’t any telling though what he had planned to do with this information once he confirmed the lie, or what would happen to me then.

I couldn’t tell him who I really was even if I knew he had no desire to kill me… and the words he had spoken the evening before over supper- about me being as good as useless cargo if the men didn’t accept me as his property. Those words had terrified me.

This crew would never accept me as anything without knowing who I was. They especially wouldn’t once Alistair confirmed his suspicious of me not being from Gatvia. Yet if they knew exactly who I was, who my family was, this hostility would go from unacceptance to something else entirely.

And then there was that other threat. The one about Alistair tying me down below until my body fell succumb to the natural process of things. I knew how long that could take, and my mind would break before my body ever did.

So none of this was good.

It wasn’t ideal before, but now it really wasn’t good.

“I can already smell it.” Snips added once he got the pole steadied into the notch we created, before taking a deep inhale. “The rivers… the mountains…the food… the women .” Snips had a genuine smile on his face as he slowly closed his eyes, faulting me to do the same.

And I smelt it to. Somewhat. I could at least sense land nearing us.

“How long will we port?” I asked Snips, to which he shrugged.

“Maybe a few days, nothing near a fortnight. We’ve got a man to track down in Sicoria and that’s something the Captain won’t put off for no one.”

I gave this shorter man a nod, following his movements as we went to grab the next wooden beam stacked high against the side of the ship. Even the timber on this ship felt heavier than anything I had ever lifted before. My legs almost buckled under the weight of the next beam. I was admittedly exhausted, and the conversation with Alistair the previous night had done nothing to help me find sleep after supper. The crews time to rise also felt like it was getting earlier and earlier with each passing day I stayed on this retched ship.

“You’ll like it.” He insisted, which inadvertently answered the question of whether or not Alistair had admitted to the rest of these men that I claimed to be from Gatvia. Snips wouldn’t have reassured me had he thought that was my place of birth.

The hot tempered man treated the situation as if I’d never been there before and I was grateful to Alistair to say the least. He hadn’t said anything. I rather the crew think I’m capable of withholding truth, than flat out lying. That felt safer… at least for now.

I didn’t answer the man I strangely found myself growing used to. Snips was… complicated at his best, but the more work we did together, the less differences I could find between he and I. We were both meticulous with how we did things.

A strong whack to my back with a piece of loose ply board quickly reminded me of who was a crew member here, and who was a slave.

I can’t get comfortable , I told myself. Nor did I want to. If Alistair found use for me, he’d never free me. And if he didn’t, he’d still never free me.

I thought about Gatvia. It was wishful thinking on my part, but it was also the first patch of land I’d be seeing in at least a moon. And granted trying to escape Alistair on an island would be like trying to run out of a latched room with barred windows, but what choices did I have?

Snips seemed sure of us not staying in Gatvia long which meant I would have to act quickly. The next moment I got away from Alistair , I thought to myself. I had managed to slip away from many places, which led me to believe that escaping his clutches couldn’t be that much more difficult…

That was the lie I told myself the remainder of the afternoon to keep my spirits high.

“Land!”

That shattering yell came up above from Coop, who against the crews and it’s Captain’s better wishes, had climbed back up to his post on one of the high beams. He was insistent on being the first to lay eyes on his homeland, and though Alistair immediately chastised him once his feet made it safely back onto the floorboards of the ship, I could see a slight smile playing on the large Captain’s sly lips.

It was nighttime now, the only thing visible to the men on deck being the ship itself… but as I looked out into the darkness of the settling sea before us, I started to notice lights on the horizon. With each tide that brought us closer, more lights appeared in the near distance.

My eyes found themselves slowly drifting closed much like they had with Snips’s earlier in the day. This time, however, I smelt it. The land. The people. The food.

Then I heard it.

The music .

Coop’s hand readjusted the bandages that had come loose once he started climbing down. He was already readying the ropes to port.

Alistair had appeared on deck for the first time today, not long before nightfall, disappearing for most of the daylight as he routinely did. Him and Cael had taken position on the top deck, and when my eyes drifted open, looking back from the turbulent sea to find his gaze- that one eye not concealed by the black patch strapped around his head, he raised his left hand to beckon me over.

Men were scurrying left and right preparing the ship, so I was careful to keep out of their way as I made my way across the main deck and up the wooden stairs. The Captain was wearing a long dark leather trench coat, similar to the one he’d worn the last few days, yet this one looked more… extravagant. Less worn . The gold detail made his onyx black hair more visible against the similar colored material.

His long hair was pulled back as it usually was, but it looked brushed, with some soft strands slipping from the tie and falling towards his sharp face. I tried not to allow my eyes to linger, yet it was almost impossible not to. This was the first night, I realized, that Alistair was without blood or soot anywhere on him.

He had freshened up, and freshened up well at that.

“We’re docking soon.” He told me, his eyes eyeing my own attire which made me feel something I didn’t expect to feel. Especially not around a bunch of bloody pirates. I felt like I needed to change. Like I was underdressed for whatever occasion was about to befall upon us.

I gave this well dressed man a nod, forcing my eyes to remain on his gaze. To overlook the long black coat being open, revealing a white undershirt that exposed his broad chest. I could see the start of a tattoo there but the rest was concealed by the fabric.

“You are not to leave my side unless those orders come directly from me.” Alistair spoke, his voice and strong and as raw as it usually was, not failing to make the hairs on my arms stand.

I gave the Captain another nod.

“And you are not to speak unless spoken to.”

Yet another nod followed those words. There wasn’t much else I could do now but agree. I was at his complete mercy.

“Aye?” He confirmed, his brow creasing slightly.

I almost nodded again, but stopped myself. “Aye.” I spoke instead. My eyes glanced past Alistair briefly to Cael, who’s lips curled up in a slight smile as he looked over to me. Then he cast his gaze back to the men on the deck down below, continuing to watch them work.

“Good. Now go bathe. You’re a poor representation of this ship, and my crew.”

I found Alistair’s orders to be quite frivolous as I left both men at the top deck and made my way to our private chambers. Considering the dirt and wax all over my hands and shirt were directly related to the work on his ship, the look of distaste as his eyes lingered over each bit of filth somewhat irritated me.

Nonetheless, I found myself entering the empty chambers, pulling the soiled clothes from my sweaty skin, and drawing a bath.

And as soon as I lowered my naked self into the tub, I had a startling realization overcome me. I didn’t remember the last time I had washed myself.

The water ran brown with what had to be weeks worth of filth and sweat as I began to scrub. On the merchant ship, it was difficult to find time to wash yourself when every other man forwent that same luxury. The men on this ship however seemed to favor cleanliness to a degree that was still surprising me. I didn’t understand how Snips and I had done the same amount of work, yet he looked as if he had just gotten dressed.

I, on the other hand, managed to dirty almost every part of me.

I watched as the filth washed itself away from my light hair, doing my best to run my fingers through the strands to detangle them. I took better care to clean parts of me I would’ve otherwise ignored, before I finally pulled myself out of the warm murky water.

The sound of chatter on the ship outside of these private quarters was what made me hurry to dress, rifling through clothes Alistair had provided and brought to my private room, until I found something somewhat fitting. Nothing would come close to the crisp attire Alistair had chosen for himself this evening, but I did my best to look presentable.

That quick scurry proved more fruitful than not as the sounds of men on the ship grew louder.

I felt the stillness now, a stark difference to the mercy we were at on sea. The ship was no longer moving, which meant we had finally docked.

And all I felt then was the clear indication that I was unfortunately still alive. It was the feeling of my heartbeat quickening.

••

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11. Go On Account

Alrighty I’m backkkk, baby

xoxo

Go On Account: A phrase pirates use to say they are turning into a pirate

Alistair

Coop was the first to reach the shores, sprinting forward and jumping from the ship before I could react in time to snatch him back aboard. His arm was in no shape to wade through the dark waters reflecting the night sky, but the distance between him and land shrunk with every passing moment he swam. He caught a powerful stride with his good arm, managing to keep his head above the water as he neared the shore.

Not even moments later, he had made it to the waters that was shallow enough for him to stand in. The other men were concerned at first with his sudden rash decision, but once they caught sight of what I did, his steady unwavering strides, we all let the man do what his heart desired.

There was light coming to the shores of the beach, a cluster of people walking towards us with brightly lit torches held above and in front of them. That light illuminated the face of a women who led the group, someone I recognized. It had been almost three years since we ported here last, and yet her face looked no different than it had those few years ago. The golden brown eyes an exact match for her son’s.

Eyes that brought everyone, including myself, an almost eerie amount of comfort.

She had pushed out an exact replica of her beauty a few times over the many years she’d been alive for, her long sandy brown hair passed on to some of her daughters who had joined her on the beach this night. Coop was the youngest of the family, making the difference in age between him and his mother quite great.

Her gaze found mine as she walked, her feet bare and dragging against the sand beneath them out of choice. Once she finally noticed the drenched figure emerging from the black water, her pace slowed to a stop.

Coop wasted no time pulling himself up, his feet carrying his weight and that of the water as he pushed through the wet sand and hard into his mother’s arms. The older woman was so taken back she almost dropped the torch in her hand.

“Cooper.” I saw her lips form to his name, which the man reacted by tightening his arms around her frailer short body. He went rigid a moment, most likely remembering the gaping hole he very much still had in his upper arm. It would’ve been on fire now by the salt of the sea’s water.

His mother, Gaia, turned from her son back to my ship. Snips was starting to tie us off, which was what signaled me to jump from this vessel myself. I beckoned Caspian and Cael in after me whilst my men finished up, to which they both reluctantly did.

A little water wouldn’t harm them, and by the look Gaia was giving me as I made my way through the bitter cold water towards shore, I had some explaining to do.

The first words that came from this aged woman was “why is there a hole in my child?”

Her eyes were warm, but that was the only welcoming thing about her tonight. The tight lipped frown that sank creases further into her face told me everything I needed to know. So the first thing I did, was give my respect with a slight bow.

“Casualties of life at sea.” Coop came to my defense immediately. He had since let go of his embrace with his mother, who was now inspecting his wounded arm.

“You made a promise.” Gaia reminded me, to which I nodded.

“And I intend to keep it.” I told her, watching Cael from the corner of my eye as he too bowed, before yanking Caspian’s head down to follow his. Cael had felt the tension much like I had. “My promise brought me here, with my eyes set to Sicoria.

Gaia’s face grew colder. She did not favor that neighboring island, yet I knew she, too, wasn’t surprised that the man I wanted dead had ties there. “Then you’re not docking here long, I presume?” She asked, to which I slowly nodded.

“Aye. Only a few days. I suspected Coop would appreciate the stop.”

Coop gave me a large, gold toothed grin, to which his mother smacked his injured arm for. She never appreciated the devotion her son had for me and my crew, to which I could never blame her for.

I had done everything in my power to keep him safe, but he was still her youngest. Her baby. Her only son. A man who ran away to join my crew before he even reached adulthood. This wise beyond years of a woman made me promise her many things. And I had danced upon that line she drew… unintentionally , might I add.

No one could predict Coop being hit with a warning shot.

“My home welcomes you, but for now, I do not. You were to take in a surgeon years ago, Alastair.”

“Aye.” I nodded, keeping my gaze leveled with hers. Her stature was small, especially against my taller broader frame, and yet that was exactly how Gatvia had maintained its power. Every person who stood against this woman was taught a lesson. One brutal one, myself included. “You know the difficulties that poses. For now, I’ve brought him where he can receive the best care out of both sea and land. Home .”

That reminder had caught Gaia a moment. There was this dance we did between each other, always testing whether either of us were making decisions out of genuine care, or opportunity. Gaia favored the former, while I, the latter.

This decision had been both, whether she cared to acknowledge it or not. I cared deeply for her son, and the almost two decades we had since spent at sea together proved that. Out of respect, I allowed this woman to believe whatever she wanted to. Once the sun set on our final day, she knew Coop wouldn’t stay back. For all the years we returned, he never had.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Cael.” Her soft yet judgmental eyes shifted that from mine to my right hand man. Cael gave her a smile in return. A genuine one.

“The pleasure is always mine, Ms. Gaia.”

Though Gatvia was a beloved location for most of my crew, Cael appreciated this island for everything my other men didn’t. Couldn’t , rather.

Cael once described this place as being favored highly by the gods. It was the first thing he said once he stepped foot on this island ready to pillage it of all its worth. Had I of listened to him then, I probably wouldn’t have lost as many men as I did once Gaia and her people retaliated.

It had something to do with the stars. I was sure of it, seeing how most things did when it came to Cael. He had managed to slip past Gaia’s family as we were held hostage on this island, and I immediately assumed he was going to get additional weapons on our ship to free us all.

Imagine my complete shock when he returned to myself and the men in captivity, laughing with the fucking enemy. Him and Gaia had a look on each of their faces that troubled me, but we were freed by the next nightfall.

Cael, with his horseshit diplomatic tendencies, had managed to draft a peace treaty between us and the island of Gatvia. Initially stipulated that both parties would never cross again, but then not more than a fortnight later, I had discovered her last born upon my ship, already tides off the coast.

It was safe to say that once I returned said son a couple years later, an entirely different understanding had to be met. In order to save the lives of myself and my crew, I offered Gaia and Gatvia protection they couldn’t offer themselves. I protected the near waters and shores, keeping Sicorian men with thoughts of taking over this rich land, at bay.

I also gave this woman my word that her son would have my protection. And if were something to happen, I would avenge him.

Luckily Coop had managed to keep himself out of harms way until now, picking up sword practice from myself and Snips to secure his spot on my ship, though I had made it clear that as long as my rum and water supply was maintained, he’d never be asked to leave this ship.

“Now this one,” Gaia pointed her finger towards Caspian, moving the blazing torch from her dominant hand to her other in order to do so. Caspian’s head hung low, but he was far too tall to avoid contact with Gaia as she walked right up to him. Her own slightly sun-touched skin was a stark different to the paleness of Caspian’s, yet I did make note that it paired well with the darker attire he had chosen for the night.

He had only just joined us on the main deck again, before Coop made that sudden decision to jump, so I hadn’t noticed much of his better washed appearance.

The bath was needed.

“This one, I do not recognize.” She took yet another step closer to the man. “ or maybe I do …“ that last whisper caught Caspian’s attention, his eyes flickering up from the sand to finally meet hers.

They just seemed to stare at each other for a moment, neither one saying anything more. This had to be the first time I couldn’t read the look of either individual at all. Something about their expressions went still, before Gaia’s rich deep brown eyebrows slowly lowered.

“A new crew member?” That question was directed at me, but her eyes never once left Caspian’s, who also held that gaze with an unpredictable amount of concentration. For a man with very few interests it seems like, something had grabbed his attention with Gaia.

Maybe he fancied her looks , I thought. She was a bit old, now approaching what I assumed was her seventieth year. I didn’t exactly know how old Gaia was, but Coop had only spent seventeen years breathing this air before he invited himself onto my ship, and to add another twenty at sea, sixty…something sounded right.

She was still very beautiful however, as was Coop and her daughters. She had given birth to twelve daughters before having a son, all of which had different fathers. They passed down nothing of themselves to their daughters, so their voices around the home were really more accustomed to that of noise in the backroom of a pub.

Gaia didn’t seem to fancy any of them anymore. It was interesting, to say the least.

When my feet first touched the soil of this island, I believed I sensed something. Or rather, something could sense me. Like something tried to touch my soul that wasn’t there, and I could feel its handprint still lingering.

That should’ve been my first reason to turn right back around and board my men again, but that naive, young, fresh power running through my having just died body, pushed me to do things that almost lost me everything.

Gaia had known exactly who I was, having managed to ambush me as soon as my feet touched land. I didn’t know the extent of my hallowed soul, and she was quick to show me.

Now almost twenty years have passed, and I still didn’t know what soul I was looking at when I stared into her warm eyes. I wasn’t sure if I sensed a soul at all.

“He’s my slave.” I replied to the shorter, barefoot women. The rest of her family were still further back a few steps, offer us a warm smile as my crew quickly made it onto land. I noticed the large swords strapped to the men, however there were now swords strapped to the women as well. Gaia mentioned something about training, but that was during the early hours of the morning during our last visit, when I was piss drunk and ready for rest.

I watched as the older woman straightened herself out a bit, her gaze finding mine again.

“Slave?” She asked a bit incredulously, to which I nodded. “This is no slave, Alistair. I shouldn’t have to confess that to you.”

Gaia wasn’t the kindest with her words, but my eyes caught sight of Caspian as his body grew rigid. Gaia’s words were expected, Caspian’s reaction was not.

“Our agreement is a complicated one.” I explained a bit slowly, my eye still eying Caspian. His body seemed to relax some at my words.

“ Interesting .“ I heard Gaia whisper under her breath. “I tend to waiver expectations of all things, but you, Alistair Melek, are incredibly consistent in falling into holes you shouldn’t. We need to find whatever rope you’re tethered to and sever it.”

This made Cael chuckle unexpectedly beside me, to which I drew all my attention to. He was a different man on this island.

“Unless you have plans to drain the sea, you’re shit out of luck Ms. Gaia.”

••

12. Eyes Wide Shut

Might be a double upload today, we shall see what the work day brings me;)

I’ll also update the playlist later today with a few new songs to catch us up

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Caspian

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It took everything in me to will my body to move.

One foot in front of the other, Caspian .

Regardless of the cool breeze that flowed between the dense trees branches. The fresh smell of the land broken through the middle of the sea. The well walked path that brought us deeper onto the island as this mysterious women guided us through it. I kept my eyes to the floor of the forest, not wanting to draw anymore attention to myself than I already inevitably had.

This woman… the one who met us on the shore. The ones who’s feet I watched as they kept the pace of Alistair’s thick leather boots in front of me. The one who’s eyes weren’t right when they first found mine.

Rather, nothing about her was right.

Her bare feet moved against the rough terrain with grace, as did her people’s who were following closely behind myself, Cael, Alistair, and the rest of his men.

There was tension still drifting off both Alistair and Gaia, however his men and her people were heard amongst themselves behind us, laughing as they each spoke of their own experiences these last few years. The women that joined us, the ones who favoured Gaia’s features who I presumed were her daughters, they all stuck particularly close to some of the pirates, walking with their arms linked around the men who had taken a bit more care than usual with their appearance tonight.

I did what Snips had recommended, however. I kept to myself, following silently behind Cael who also seemed to be a bit… different.

Granted I didn’t see much of him during the days at sea, with both him and Alistair taking their leave to do only the gods knew what. I could tell though, that something had shifted. Something had changed once our feet hit soil, and somehow it had the complete opposite affect on the other men than it had me.

There wasn’t a second since we trudged ashore where I felt any sort of comfort, and when I gazed into the eyes that should’ve held warmth but really felt like a hallowed out pit, that uncertainty quickly turned to that of horror.

There was no way she could’ve recognized me. I wasn’t even sure how she could, Gatvia was far from Azultia. It was a self ruled island, something that to my understanding they fought through flesh and blood for. To my knowledge, my family and the old ways of Azultia shouldn’t have reached these waters.

I needed to remind myself to call that place what it had come to be known as now.

Azul.

It was no longer the beautiful, rich with magic land it once was. It wasn’t my home anymore. It was now a barren, soulless, wasteland… and that was attributed to the rise of The Holy Men, and their imposed beliefs. Their lack of understanding hidden behind unjustified brutality that they so humbly concealed behind a word they called Purification.

Azul had the largest militant units of all surrounding territory spanning months and months of travel. It was the region with the highest trades due to its convenient location. Though this Purification had kept its reach around Azul’s boarders only, I knew some tensions were rising in other neighboring areas like Diaris, the region who had both fair trade and a prominent militant force, yet nothing to the tune of Azul’s and their power. These other surrounding nations knew that it could only be a matter of time before The Holy Men wanted more land to spread their lies. Before more innocent families are slaughtered, much like mine had been.

I wondered what nations would survive if any, when that fateful day eventually came. I didn’t plan to stay alive for it, I’d already drained all the fight I had left in me. Paid the ultimate price by the hands of the people my family once protected.

Every soul that still walked this disgusting earth could now burn for all eternity, and it wouldn’t trouble my sleep in the slightest.

The sound of laughter and music grew louder, yanking me from my own self destructive thoughts, yet it wasn’t coming from the pirates and Gatvians enjoying themselves a few short strides behind us, it came from what was ahead of us.

What this forest would eventually open up to… which was an entire, fully structured city.

With the darkness of the night, I couldn’t tell where off in the distance the town ended, and the forest started again, but I could see burning torches and oil lamps hung on each building. The graveled roads weaving in and out of different corners of the town, connecting it all together. I watched as people still busied themselves, even at this late an hour. They all had the soles of their feet exposed to the ground under them, which riddled me with questions but I forced myself to remain silent.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but something told me to avoid another gaze into that woman’s eyes. She’d somehow seen more than she was supposed to on that beach, I was growing more sure of it with each moment that passed.

“Well, your men must be hung…” My head whipped over from Gaia’s voice, to Alistair and Gaia, almost forgetting that they were still standing at the entrance besides us looking out to the town much like I had been. As I turned even further around, I noticed that most of the men where already walking down into the city.

Or rather, they were being dragged down by the admittedly beautiful Gatvian women who had met us at the shore. The smiles they bore stretched ear to ear, mirroring the gold filled teethy grins of the pirates who seemed more than happy to be whisked away.

“I think my men have an appetite for something else.” Alistair replied, the edges of his lips twitching up into a grin at Gaia, who’s tight lips of her own made him suddenly straighten his.

“First you seduce my son, then your men seduce my daughters. Those women have no business getting tangled in your piracy.”

“But they are women, are they not? Of age and mind, aye? From where I stand, I do not think it’s clear on who exactly seduced who.”

Gaia only looked further irritated with the Captain.

“Then its off to each respective quarters. We’ll take our first meal together come sunrise.” Gaia spoke as she walked us the remainder of the way towards the first building in this town. “Cael, I assume you’ll join me in my chambers for the duration of this stay?”

Cael nodded besides me, taking a few steps forward towards Gaia and separating himself from Alistair and myself. “Your slave is more than welcome to join.” She added with her gaze finally falling on myself again. “My bed is more than spacious.” My eyes quickly cast back to the ground in hopes to avoid her eyes, but it was Alistair’s sudden response that pulled my attention from the gravel and grass, to him.

“He’s to stay in my quarters with me.”

Gaia’s eyebrows raised slightly at that. Hell, even my own had. If Alistair planned to keep his eyes set this closely on me, the possibilities of escaping were dire at best. But as I dared my gaze to fall on Gaia’s, even for a moment, I found myself doing something I thought I’d never be pushed to do.

I decided on Alistair as the safer option, regardless of how both that man and the word safe should never be associated together.

At least with him, I knew more. However little that most likely was.

“So you’ve taken him as both a slave, and a servicer?” Gaia continued. “That’s very… unlike you.”

“It isn’t like that,” Alistair insisted immediately, but there was something there in his voice that was awfully unlike the Alistair I was used to hearing. It sounded almost like a child being teased by his mother.

“Well all our available quarters have one bed. We’ve been blessed by the gods with many fruitful women these last few seasons, the rooms that can hold two or more have all been since occupied by the new mothers.”

“Caspian would be more than grateful to take the floor.” Alistair replied with zero hesitancy. I almost didn’t stop myself from the look I was about to give him, but still being in the company of Gaia made me hold my tongue. This arrogant, pompous, blood thirsty pirate was still somehow the safer option.

So to this, I found myself nodding when Gaia turned from Alistair to me. The way she looked at me then, only confirmed I had made the right decision. The look she gave me somehow questioned whether I were to truly, willingly take the floor. And that wasn’t a question she would have unless she believed it was somehow below me.

She’d seen more than she should have on that shore.

“Well… then that settles it, I suppose. I prepared your usual room down at the old stead. Nalia now runs the small Inn, she’ll serve you but she may have since taken to her own chambers for the night, so do your best not to disturb her until she wakes come sunrise.”

Alistair nodded at Gaia’s words, already starting to walk ahead in a direction he clearly knew. I wasted no time following closely behind him, yet turned back only to catch the last glimpse of Gaia and Cael as they disappeared into a small cottage home towards the entrance of the city.

I wanted to ask Alistair about Cael and Gaia, but I held my tongue. It wasn’t any business of mine what their relationship was, regardless of how odd the pairing was. Alistair didn’t seem to care at all, so I forced myself not to.

We walked in silence as we went further into town. The building he brought us to was another large brick built establishment, with an Inn sign hanging above the front doors. Alistair pushed past the unlocked door first with me following closely behind. Once we entered, I was surprised to see how spacious it was inside. The oil burning lanterns were still on in the main dining hall, but not a soul was around. The smell from the remnants of dinner made my stomach growl.

I felt my feet slow as I took in the old yet fashionable design of the place. One of the walls held a beautiful painted mural of a forest that mirrored the one we had walked through to get here.

Alistair was the one who forced me to keep moving, his own pace not bothering to slow as he approached a door near the back of the large room. This opened to a tight wounding staircase that curved up towards a different story. This then led us down another hall, one with only three doors. Alistair chose the farthest door at the end of the corridor. This door, like the others we’d walked through, was also unlocked.

And the inside was yet another stunning display.

There was a large framed bed in the middle of the room, with an amour to the furthest right of it with the wood color matching the color of the bedframe. The sheets looked soft to touch, like that of cotton. It was different than the common linen material found on ships, and used for cheap merchant clothing.

Alistair didn’t wait a moment before he slid that massive sword out from his fitted waist strap, and removed his large black leathered trench coat. The sword was then rested against a small table next to the bed, before he started removing his other weapons.

I watched on in complete disbelief still near the entrance of the room, watching as daggers, anchors, and knifes were all pulled from places damn near invisible to the eye. There was never a situation one could find themselves in where this many weapons were needed to win, and if there was, I’d think it best to just accept death at that point.

He then pulled a sheet and a pillow from the ready-made bed, tossing them onto the floor opposite the side he looked to be adjusting for himself. I closed the door to room, before slowly making my way towards the tossed sheet. Alistair looked ready for sleep to find him.

At least he had spared a pillow, I thought. It was my last piss poor last attempt at making light of the situation I was now in.

Only hours earlier, I had thought this place to be my refuge. My escape. I had been thinking, conjuring ways I could slip out of the iron clutches of this mad pirate. From how Snips had spoke of this place, It didn’t seem like a bad island to disappear on…

That was until I met that women. Until her eyes found mine.

She was all I could think about now as I spread the clean sheet over the cement floors, placing the soft pillow above it.

The men agreed they’re bring the cargo needed off the boat, come sunrise. Once they caught sight of the women on shore, many chose to abandon the remaining tasks of offloading. This had meant that I had only the clothes on my back to sleep in. As did Alistair, who chose to rest in his white inner shirt, and black cargo pants.

Now, upon meeting Gaia, I wanted off this island completely. I wished for nothing more than to feel the floorboards of Alistair’s ship beneath my boots again. To breathe and witness that sun touched salty sea as the only thing on the horizon.

This was how I knew that something seriously wasn’t right here.

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13. Splitting Hairs

Back at itttt and it’s looking like a double upload today :)

Also I swear I’m updating the playlist today lol, I completely forgot to with the last upload

Enjoy, lovelies!

Caspian

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I awoke before the sun had. I could tell by the darkness of the room, but as the light outside slowly grew through the small window across the bedroom chambers, as did my vision. It took a few moments to pull myself up into a sitting position, adjusting my back from the stiffness of resting on the floor, before I glanced over to Alistair.

My eyes shut a moment, then opened again… but I was still staring at an empty bed already made.

I hadn’t heard any shuffling all night. No creaks in the floorboards. Not the sound of the doors hinges as it was being opened. Nothing.

He was just… gone .

I found myself finally getting up, pushing those aching joints till I was on my feet, then I hesitated. Less than a day ago, I would’ve seen this as a perfect opportunity to make my escape, but now… now I was terrified to even leave this room without Alistair at my side.

There was a slight muffled sound coming from below, it sounded like metal clashing, but not the metal I was used to. Not the sound of swords, and against all better judgement, I decided to investigate it. For all I knew, it could’ve been Alistair himself doing who knows what in the dining hall, but as I straightened myself out, folded up the sheet I slept on with the pillow placed on top, and headed downstairs, I was met with eyes I didn’t recognize.

There was a young woman moving through the dining hall, making her way in and out of the kitchen area with impressive speed, and even better coordination as she carried pots and pans around. I hadn’t noticed she hadn’t noticed my presence, so when my leg accidentally collided with the leg of one of the dining’s chairs, I watched as she unexpectedly jumped.

The noise that soon followed was a loud crashing sound, with the pots that were once in her hand, now scattered across the floor.

Before my mind could react, my body did, and its immediate response was to help. I found myself crouching down next to the young beautiful women, her face now clearer to me. Her hair was long and black, very different from Gaia’s family and the rest of the people on this island. I had noticed most of their hair was lighter in shades, much like Gaia’s.

There was something else about this women, her brown doe-like eyes staring back at me with something I instinctively noticed as fear. She accepted the pots and pans gratefully as I helped set them on the nearest table for her, but she still had that weary look mixed in with her otherwise sharp features.

“My apologies.” I spoke first, keeping my voice low and a bit more comforting in an effort not to scare the woman further.

“N-No that was my mistake-” she started, but I didn’t allow her to continue.

“No,” I insisted, “I should’ve made my presence known. It’s still early, isn’t it.”

That earned me a small smile from the woman, to which I returned.

“You must be Alistair’s companion then?” She asked me. She had started to move the pots she was holding back to the kitchen, which was another room only separated from the large dining area by an open archway otherwise conjoining to two. I followed closely behind her with the remaining pots regardless of the gestures she gave me for her to do it herself.

“Companion is putting it kindly.” I mumbled back before I could stop myself. I head her laugh ahead of me, then she turned back slightly to offer me another slight smile.

“I don’t like the word slave. Companion is kinder.” She explained.

“But is it honest, is the real question.”

Her hands paused over the pots she had since set on a table in the kitchen, and I found myself just about to apologize, but stopped when her head slowly nodded.

“You’re right. It’s not honest.” She replied with a small smile.

Oh the gods . Had I really lost the ability to even feign a bit of joy? Sure there was nothing joyous about being a slave, but this woman wasn’t treating me as one now. Maybe in her eyes, companion was honest because she didn’t see me as a slave.

I decided to abandon this conversation entirely. “Has Alistair gone somewhere?” I asked the woman, to which she slowly nodded her head again.

“He’s out back. He must’ve noticed we were low on firewood, because I heard him say something about it shortly before he left through that door.” She pointed to a door at the back of the kitchen that I hadn’t noticed earlier. It blended in well with the wall itself. I gave her a nod, thanking her before I left the same way Alistair had.

From how the woman in the Inn described it, I expected to find Alistair just a few steps away from the building, but instead the sound of wood chopping was coming from a few hundred steps deeper into the forest. I followed the sound as it brought me further and further away from the Inn, and before I knew it I was back in the forest again.

Alistair had settled himself in a clearing spacious enough to chop freely. I noticed the piles of logs to one side of him, then split wood on the other, and in his hand he held something that made my eyes grow wide.

I had never seen an axe as big as this. The blade was almost the size of the Captain’s head, which was only proven true when he swung it back over his shoulder.

My eyes then slowly drifted from the axe, to his shoulders. His bare ones. Somewhere along the way, Alistair had discarded his shirt, opting to do this strenuous activity in the earliest moments of the day, without any shirt. Whatever inked marks I could barely see under that white shirt, were now completely visible. I found myself stilled, watching each muscle move against the skulls tattooed on his upper arms and chest. Those very muscles were almost unreal to fully comprehend, I didn’t understand how any human could be built like this.

Like a god.

His long black hair was spread across his darker now glistening skin in ease, with only the top tied back to keep strands from his eye. He still wore the patch on his left side, which made me wonder whether he had worn it to bed.

I wanted to know what had happened to him, yet considering the list of questions I had, it was an awfully low priority in comparison.

There was a sudden snapping of a branch that cut through the otherwise quiet forest, and all my thoughts. I spun around immediately to see what had made that sound behind me. That noise must’ve caught Alistair’s attention too, because before I knew it, I heard my name.

“Caspian?” Alistair asked. My eyes still scanned the forest, looking for whatever could’ve made that noise, but with minimal light from the sky, it was hard to tell. I wasn’t even sure how Alistair had found this place, I didn’t see any torches or lamps near him in the clearing.

My feet eventually spun me back around to face a man that was almost half way to me by now. As he drew nearer, I found myself forcing to keep my gaze on his. To not let them…

That thought was interrupted when he lifted his free hand that wasn’t holding the axe, to his right shoulder, massaging the joints there. This caused his entire body to tense from his muscles, and I couldn’t quite look away from the movements of it all. I knew by the way he carried that sword, he must’ve been strong, but nothing could prepare me for how completely menacing his stature was, especially when he drew close enough for his height to overtake my own.

“You’re finally up.” He spoke to me, forcing my eyes back up to his one.

I was still so taken back, I couldn’t even process the correct response for that, so I found myself simply nodding.

“I thought you were dead. You didn’t even stir when I left.”

“Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.” I quipped back, to which Alistair’s lips turned up into a slight smile.

“Pity. For you. Since you’re here, here .” The next thing I knew, Alistair moved that massive arm holding the even more massive axe forward, before he shoved the wooden handle into my chest. “Chop that while I load the chopped wood up.” I followed his finger which was pointing to the remaining pile of wood logs. I then glanced down at the axe that weighed more than any blade I’ve ever wielded. Quite possibly all of them combined.

Alistair had already started walking towards the unchopped pile, and I thought it was to give me more direction, but that wasn’t the case. Behind the pile was a large woven basket, something that the pile of logs kept hidden. He then moved it over to the chopped wood, and once he started loading pieces, I realized that was all the direction I was getting.

He was right, I thought to myself. Waking up was a pity . And had I known he was going to force me into labour, I would’ve left Alistair to wander off on his own the whole fucking day.

It didn’t help that I wasn’t the greatest at splitting wood, and it definitely didn’t help that the axe I was using to do so, could probably send my whole body toppling backwards if I even attempted to raise it over my head.

There was no understanding when it came to Alistair however, and the look he gave me when he noticed no wood had been split yet, was a very strong reminder of that.

So I reached forward, grabbing a short piece of log before standing it up firmly on the stump Alistair had used as a flat surface. The axe felt like it was connected to bags of sand, and when it came time to swing the thick metal back over my head, I found myself whispering a small prayer.

A prayer that did nothing, unless it was there to answer my other wish of wanting to die…

Because once I swung that thing back, and my fingers unexpectedly lost their grip on the handle, nothing could’ve prepared me for just how close I had come to unintentionally driving that axe straight through Alistair himself.

When his and mine’s eyes met, we each received a very clear visual of what the other was thinking. My face displayed pure shock, while his was tight with irritation. The axe was lodged into the tree Alistair once stood beside before he had to quite literally dropped to the forest floor in an effort to avoid the blade.

Well , I thought to myself. Maybe death would come sooner after all . I could feel the anger radiating from Alistair, yet he said nothing as his hand grabbed the metal of the stuck axe, and yanked it free. The move was so forceful, he took off chunks of the tree when freeing the blade.

“

You fucking imbecile.

“

He had done that thing again. Where I heard him, but I didn’t see his lips move as he took long menacing strides towards me. This particular scenario was not how I envisioned myself dying, especially by the hands of Alistair, but nevertheless I welcomed it. Imagine my suprise when my body was met with the blunt end of the axe instead of the sharp one, as he thrust the handle back into my chest. This time much harder, so much so I found myself stumbling back a bit.

“Take it.” His voice was a low hoarse demand riddled with nothing but threats, which only forced my hand further as I finally gripped that wooden handle again. The weight of the blade made my arm drop almost instantly. “Turn around.” Alistair continued his demands, to which I complied, turning my back on the man that looked like he wanted to burn me alive, then facing the short log still standing right where I left it.

The next thing Alistair did made my entire being grow rigid. I felt cold, rough, callous ridden fingers scrape against my temples lightly, before they dragged themselves into my hair, pulling the long strands that had fallen into my face, back.

It was the only part of him that had touched me, and yet my entire body felt his presence. It was almost an inexplicable feeling I had never experienced before, something that more or less frightened me.

He had used a tie to tie those strands back, which admittedly did help with my vision. Now I could see the wood I wasn’t anywhere near closer to splitting, much more clearly. Great .

“ Your hair is well kept .“ I heard him whisper, sending an indirect shiver straight down my spine. I half expected him to yank on those soft strands like he had days ago, but he was careful as he wrapped the tie around, binding everything. I then thought he would take a step away, but instead I felt a swift kicked to my right foot, nudging it forward and out more.

“Your stance is shit.” He continued the insults. At this point, if his direction could get this blade up over my head, I was begrudgingly willing to listen. So I kept my mouth shut when his leg kicked my other one out. He was only using enough force to move them a few inches.

Next, his hands reached out to my hips, something I also wasn’t expecting, which caused my whole body to flinch before he turned me slightly. It was brief, and yet I still felt it somehow all over me. It felt like he was touching more than just there.

Those thoughts were quickly overridden when I felt Alistair grab an unoccupied part of the axe’s handle. He helped me lift it up with his right hand, until the handle itself was rested back on my right shoulder.

“You don’t have to swing it back far, use your shoulder to anchor its weight like this…”

I heard him near my left ear, most likely keeping his distance since i was going to swing back on the right side. He tipped the handle back a bit more to give me a longer swing, then he finally put some space between us, taking a few steps back to watch.

I told myself to ignore everything else, including the inexplicable way Alistair’s touch felt to me, and focused solely on this fucking axe. When I swung it down onto the wood, my eyes grew wide with how seamless it was. The wood split instantly, sending the sharp, thick blade straight through it and slightly into the stump underneath.

I looked over at Alistair on my left with a slight grin on my face that surprised even myself… but Alistair didn’t mind returning it.

“Not bad.” He spoke, before pointing to the next log on the pile. “Again.”

••

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14. Drinking The Piss

lol okay so I’m just a bit late with that supposed second chapter for the double upload lolol, but here it is

(I also added two new songs to the Spotify Playlist)

Enjoy, m’loves!

xoxo

Alistair

Caspian had to be one of the most useless beings to currently walk this very earth.

I didn’t care how good his combat skills were, nothing could’ve prepared me for almost getting my head split open by his sheer fucking stupidity. All before the sun had even bared its despicable face yet.

My senses weren’t as strong on land, which meant that I had just narrowly ducked in time before Caspian unknowingly put my body six feet under, and sent my soul straight to the very depths of the sea. The sheer panic on his face had told me it was every bit an accident, but my anger still stood.

Who the hell was this little shit, anyway? A merchant at sea who didn’t know anything about the damn sea. One who can’t even wield an axe . I found myself communicating before I could get my anger under control, letting Caspian know just how utterly fucking impaired his mind must be to swing an axe back like that. He kept quiet, more than likely choosing the path with least resistance.

And it angered me even more.

Forcing myself not to slit this man’s throat when he did something so completely as dumbfounded as this, was making my blood boil. And knowing that was all he wanted, was damn near a tipping point for me.

Maybe that was why I somehow found myself helping to correct his form instead. The axe was a heavy one, yes, but it was still wieldable, and Caspian had the muscle for it. He just lacked any and all coordination.

I glanced down at my rough hands, my fingers rubbing against each other, feeling the roughness of the callous. The sea itself had done right on its promise. It had kept my face young… but my hands showed my age. I felt all forty-something of the years I’d been alive for, with many of those years devoted to the harsh labour that came with the sea. I’d become so numb to the work itself, I didn’t have much feeling left in these hands, or at least I thought I didn’t…

But when I touched Caspian, I felt that in its entirety. I felt each every single strand of hair that passed through my fingers. The fine, soft, almost moon white strands that flowed down to his waist. He was the only other man I had met in all these years with hair that long, a style that most men didn’t choose for a life at sea, which made me all the more surprised when I felt just how soft it was.

I hadn’t noticed before, but then again, the only other time I had touched it was when I was dragging him across my ship by the clumps. I wasn’t paying much attention then.

But I was now. Paying attention, that is.

“The air is clear here.” Cael spoke besides me, pulling me out completely from my thoughts. He and I were standing near the farthest wall of the empty dining hall in this Inn. Gaia mentioned this was now owned by Nalia, which I found to be interesting. The small dark hair brown eyed girl I once sawing running around all those years ago, had aged.

She was still very skittish around my men and I, and I didn’t blame her for it. Before she found this island, she was a young slave to another brutal pirate. One who didn’t last very long on this island. Or on this earth, once he stepped foot on this island. Some men didn’t value the notion of being conceived into this world, and Gaia would never miss an opportunity to teach them a very mortal lesson about death.

It was my humble opinion that that monster of a pirate deserved much more than what was dealt. Had our paths been fated to cross, I would’ve done worse than what Gaia had…  and she had boiled his blood while it was still inside of him, till his flesh melted in on itself. She didn’t take kindly to his treatment of the little girl.

Nalia was here when my men first stepped foot on this island, and it was safe to say we hadn’t left the best first impression. If it wasn’t for Coop, she wouldn’t spend any time around any of us at all. Most of the men had already picked up on it, but Nalia had a bit of a longing for Coop. Gaia would never allowed it, but that didn’t stop the young woman from trying to find any reason to be with him during our stays here.

I found it sweet. Coop had been with me so long, I felt like his father, and if their fate was in my hands, I’d give my graces.

“ The air is clearer on my ship .“ I grumbled begrudgingly back, to which Cael mustered a dry chuckle. He still eventually nodded.

“Maybe so. Still, nothing can beat eating an apple freshly picked right from a tree. Or the feel of the soft grass blades beneath your bare feet after they’ve been bathing in the sun. There’s a lot of beauty here.”

I returned with a dry chuckle of my own. “The food is good, I’ll give you that… but it’s the rocking of the sea that my heart beats to, not the vibrations of dirt. That’s Gaia’s territory.”

Cael glanced back to the empty dining hall at my words. I didn’t question his connection to Gaia, as far as I was concerned, I only cared about staying in her good graces and Cael was that rope that tethered us. He also found himself in good graces with Nalia, which made both Caspian and myself staying here a little simpler.

Gaia was the previous owner of the Inn, and in preparation for tonight’s feast, was currently running around the place helping Nalia get things in order.

My men had busied themselves in the small town, allowed by Gaia’s men to assist in their daily combat training, whilst simultaneously showing off for the women. They were all waiting on the food and drink this evening promised, ordered by Gaia herself to starve until then. She wouldn’t admit it, but she favored the high praises my men had for her cooking. And they took no issue with building the anticipation.

Caspian was someone I admittedly hadn’t kept the best mark on after high noon. Against his own wishes, I had told him to explore the town. Something I thought he’d take kind to considering it was the first bit of freedom I had granted him since we slaughtered everyone on that merchant ship and took him aboard.

Surprisingly, he seemed to take such an issue with it, I scaled it down in size and told him to explore the Inn instead, assuring him that Cael and I would remain close for whatever reason. It was, after all, a fucking island. Cael and I just had private matters to discuss.

I believe Caspian must’ve found the Inn’s study by now, an interesting room that held most of the general history of Gatvia. Books would probably do that rapidly deteriorating mind of his some good.

“When we port in Sicoria, I’ll be pooling information about Caspian. See if we can’t figure out a possible bounty.” Cael’s voice was a bit lower, making sure it could not be overheard by the women in the kitchen.

I slowly nodded. “My first course of action is to find, and string that enemy vessel’s captain up on the main beams of my ship. By his intestines . All else will follow after that.” Cael found himself nodding as well. There were larges pieces at play here now. And it wouldn’t hurt to have a killer like Caspian amidst our own pieces. If only for a little while longer.

“Once we’re back in Azul, we should know for certain what he’s worth.” Cael continued. “I don’t believe we should stay there long, however. You know well we’re generally met with our usual less than inviting welcome. Just as you’ve been busy at sea, The Holy Men have been busy on land. We’ve kept the peace with minimal amounts of paths crossed, let’s not captain’s jig on their pompous toes.”

That earned an abrupt laugh out of me, cutting through the otherwise relative quiet.

“ Aye . We only stay for however long Snips needs to gather up material and cargo. The discourse on land is for the men with large egos and small cocks, Azul would do well to keep it there.“

Cael’s lips turned up with a smile. “You should also probably inquire about a surgeon-”

“Oh, not you too.” I groaned. Only one night had passed and Gaia had already sunken those talon like claws deep into my Navigator’s back.

“I’ve been singing this tune for longer than that, don’t you start.” He bit back. “Gaia didn’t sit well with Coop’s injuries.”

I scoffed at those words. “That women owns the personality of someone with a broom handle shoved so far up their own asshole, I’m sure she couldn’t sit right with anything for the unnatural life of her.”

The look Cael gave me was that of disapproval, to which I scoffed again at.

“You truly are the worst with any type of peacekeeping.”

“I’m getting too old to bend the knee. These joints don’t work like they used to.”

Cael tried hard to mask the sudden smile threatening to break through his original disappointment towards me. Eventually, he had to look away.

But it was nothing but honesty.

The years were passing, and I had many more to go whether I still cared for them or not. I didn’t have the patience for tolerance any longer, and though some would brand me a monster, these more calculated steps kept my head leveled for my men. They were my priority. And Gaia would never forgive me for having her son as one of them, peace treaties and kind pleasantries be fucked.

“You think Azul is the right place for us to find a surgeon?” I asked Cael honestly. “The people have started to drink the piss, savvy?”

“ Aye , the situation has seemingly changed from what we learned with our last port,“ Cael explained, “tensions are still high but there has been more resistance. So much so, The Holy Men are set to hold a council to appoint an elder. I think our odds of finding someone still accustomed to the old ways is fair.”

I slowly nodded, watching as Nalia began to set the tables. The dining hall would be filled to the brim tonight with all our men and Gaia’s large family, so Nalia went to table after table laying dishes and glasses down to accommodate.

Coop assured me the rum was well stocked, which was really all I cared to hear about. Our last visit almost dried up the entire island.

Nalia and I made brief eye contact as she worked, to which I gave her a nod and she offered me the slightest smile in return before continuing on. Gaia had made many piss poor decisions in my unhumbled opinion, but saving that little girl hadn’t been one of them. I just wondered whether this young woman had any longing for the sea again. After all she’d been through at only twelve, I found it to be no surprise she made Gatvia home at the first opportunity. Gaia could protect her, much like her people hadn’t.

And now she owns this Inn , I thought. Another thing to keep her here. Coop and her couldn’t have had any further aspirations from one another, and yet they were still sweet on each other.

It made me realize she probably liked me even less regarding Coop getting shot. Great .

“Caspian has been overtly alert since we arrived.” Cael noted, rerouting the conversation. “He doesn’t seem to take well to Gaia.”

“I do not blame him.” I replied. “The circumstances presented around his situation isn’t fitting. That, and Gaia might have as many screws loose as he does. The deranged can often recognize the deranged.”

Cael chuckled “Now you’re just spewing nonsense.” He spoke dismissively.

I countered that with “It makes every bit of sense to me.”

And that was how he and I left things.

There were many reasons Caspian was more tense than usual, but something told me it was Gaia. She had said something that caught Caspian’s attention immediately on that shore, something not even the sharp edge of my dagger could do.

I decided after the festivities of the night, with our bellies full and rum in spirits, I would see what more Gaia possibly knew. Her information always came at a price, but with some drinks in her, it would also come with fewer insults.

••

15. A Familiar Set Of Eyes

Honestly might be another double upload cause the loreeeee babyyyyy, it’s hitting fr

I tend to write by the seat of my pants so whenever things fall into place, the motivation goes crazy

Anywhoooo, enjoy lovelies!

And let me know what y’all are brainstorming, the comments on the last chapter were everything <3

love y’all so so so much

xoxo

Caspian

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Alistair had left me to wander on my own for the rest of the day.

The irony of this otherwise being yet another grand opportunity to escape, didn’t go unnoticed, but Alistair was clearly starting to pick up on my hesitancy with the people here, and somewhere in his path of reasoning he decided he had nothing to worry about.

It sickened me to know he was right.

Under his direct orders, I started to walk the corridors of the Inn. The sun from high noon was bright, pushing light through the open windows on both ends of the hall I stood in, illuminating these brick walls.

I hadn’t noticed the prior night, or at the first touch of sunlight this morning when I went looking for Alistair, but the walls in every hall were lined with large gold-framed paintings. Beautiful works, some looking much older than maybe even the Inn itself. I could tell by the fading of the paint, it resembled the art that once hung throughout my palace walls.

I allowed myself to walk slowly as I admired the still-life art. The paintings of beautiful flowers in vases. Some of the land itself, much like the wall-length painted mural that stood a floor below. There wasn’t anyone occupying the rooms up here this afternoon, which helped put some of my uncomfortableness aside while admiring each piece.

Alistair mentioned there was a study on the first floor, and after a few more moments up here on my own, I decided I had quite honestly nothing better to do with my time. I didn’t have the courage to walk through town on my own yet, so all that left was this Inn.

The door leading to the stairwell was easily located at the end of the last hall. The Inn’s corridors essentially created a square within the building, allowing rooms on either side of the walls, with one stairwell running through the back right side of the building. There were only two levels in total. As I pulled open the door, and started my way down the tight winding steps, I didn’t think much of the first few steps I took. My hand reached out to hold the surprisingly warm wooden rail that curved with the steps themselves, making this decent easier.

It was when I realized those steps had become three… then six.. then nine… then twelve-

I stopped a moment, looking out in front of me at the dark stone walls. They were only lit in this otherwise enclosed space, by a sparing amount of torches fastened against the wall itself. This has been too many steps, I told myself. I should’ve reached the first floor by now . The steps I took next were more hesitant, moving slowly lower until I finally saw a door emerging from the slight darkness below me. Once my foot rested on the final, flat platform, I reached for the handle of the wooden door and gently pushed it open.

The first thing I felt was a sudden gust of wind being released from inside. The smell that immediately bombarded my senses was old… musky.

The only light in this room was a single burning lantern propped up on a large wooden desk in this otherwise rubbish filled room. I couldn’t make out what was inside, but there were many crates and baskets almost completely covering the desk and floors. I looked around slowly, keeping my heartbeat level as my eyes adjusted to the otherwise darkness.

There were rows and rows of bookshelves that lined every wall in the room. With the thickest layer of dust over most of the books, this couldn’t possibly be the study Alistair spoke of. I took a few more careful steps inside.

Someone had to have visited here recently, the oil from the lamp hadn’t finished burning yet, but the room itself didn’t mirror that. It looked and smelt like someone had forgotten this room existed ages ago. I approached the lantern, picking it up by its handle to use as light for the rest of the room. It had been placed over a pile of very old papers, I could tell by the patchy coloring the paper had faded into, but I didn’t pay it much mind.

Instead, I approached the first set of books nearest to the door, using the light to read the dust covered bindings as best I could. I noticed most of these were knowledge books. I believe the scholars called them encyclopedias, and I could’ve sworn I had seem some in my family’s study when I was young, but they weren’t apart of my studies.

Or maybe I hadn’t lived in that home long enough for them to be.

My fingers gently swiped at some of the dust, revealing more of the book’s titles. Everything in this collection was about this world. The plants. The animals. A section on the bottom shelf of this case was solely dedicated to medicinal plants, many of which seemed to grow lavishly here in Gatvia according to some of the text inside.

I made sure to carefully set each book I pulled, back in their rightful place, before moving on to the next. There were a few things I found peculiar about some of the books I passed. For one, the handwriting in the books centered around Gatvia all looked very similar, if not identical… but there was no author listed on either the spine, the cover, or the front page inside.

I flipped through more pages, seemingly noticing more of the same handwriting. There were drawings too, to illustrate the type of leaf or plant the text was explaining, and those illustrations looked to be done by the same person as well.

It took me longer than I thought to work my way through the second set of books. The writing was enticing, now stemming from the wildlife, towards topics of philosophy. My hands froze as they passed over something that caught my eye’s attention. This book was different… it was older than the ones I had flipped through, but the emblem etched onto the spine was really what made my body still.

I crouched down to get a better view of the spine, before my fingers slowly freed the faded deep blue cover from the other more neutrally colored spines.

The book read “The Dawn of The Pureblood”

I almost dropped the text entirely as I flipped the first page open. My fingers then tightened their grip when I saw the handwriting in this book. So tight, the pages were shaking now within my grasp. Or… no … My hands had started to shake as soon as I saw that emblem. They were now trembling by the handwritten words scrawled on each page.

“Looks like someone has finally woken up.” A voice spoke from behind me, causing the book to leap from my already unsteady hands, but I caught it before it could tumble down towards the dust ridden floors. I knew who it was just from her presence, but the voice was as distinct as those eyes of hers.

“Gaia.” I found myself whispering, unsure of what to say or do. I needed to set this book down before this woman paid it any attention, but as her eyes slowly drifted from mine down to what was in my hands, the look on her face told me she now knew even more than before.

“I should’ve known you’d find this place easily.” She didn’t keep her gaze on the book long, instead opting to have a good look around this run down room.

I felt my eyebrows furrowing at that. I knew fear should’ve been my natural response to this, to her, but that feeling of being the least intelligent one in this room was bringing out more irritation than fear. “This,” I asked, raising the small blue book slightly. “Where did you get this?”

Gaia’s lips twisted up into an amused smile. “From the author himself.” she responded, which only made my eyelids narrow. I stopped myself before I could say the words I wanted to. I didn’t know how much Gaia knew exactly, and I didn’t want to reveal more about myself than she honestly needed to know.

“That’s impossible.” I finally settled on. “This book is… the text is from the old age. All this was burned-”

“In the fire?” Gaia offered. “The one that engulfed the Palace of Azultia?”

I felt my eyes slowly grow wider. My blood was still. Cold. What exactly did she know?

“I heard all this old text was either destroyed then, or burned after what was left in the palace was scrounged together.” I tried to keep my voice calm and collected when I spoke. I didn’t want to give way to anything else.

“You recognize that exact text from the palace?”

I slowly nodded my head. “I had briefly seen the royal family’s library when I was younger. My family created weapons for the Lockeheart’s constituents.”

Gaia’s eyes narrowed a moment, pondering my words before she spoke. “Is it that… or is it because it would be difficult for a son not to recognize his own father’s handwriting?”

Every single part of my being froze at those words. Even the parts that were once responsible for forming sentences. I had no words for Gaia’s revelation, and frankly, my next line of action was now figuring out whether I would have to kill her. Whether I even had the abilities to. I still didn’t know what she was, just that she wasn’t human.

“H-How-” I started, before stopping again. I couldn’t have been more careful in the words I chose next, and yet still, they didn’t sound right. “How do you have this?”

That made Gaia’s eyes soften some. She looked relieved that I hadn’t tried to deny my fathers work.

“Like I said, your father gave this to me.”

I shook my head at that. “No he couldn’t, he’s never- he doesn’t- didn’t know… he’d never even been-”

“ Here?… Don’t you remember, Caspilius?“ She asked as she took a step into this room. I slowly shook my head no, taking a small step back of my own towards the wooden desk.

She had called me by a name only family knew. This… it wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right here. I needed to leave. Now .

“Not only has your father been to this island before. You have as well, Your Highness-”

“Don’t call me that.” I heard a bitter voice I could barely recognize as my own, spit back. An almost immediate reaction to that title being used after all these years. It felt like my head was starting to spin. Like the waves had rocked it a little too harshly for just a little too long. I felt my insides threatening to come up, as vague memories slipped back into my mind. Memories I hadn’t ever called upon before today, and the night my mother died in my arms.

“This you might remember…” I heard this woman say, but her voice was lower now. So low, it forced me to listen closely to what she would say next, but words weren’t what she had been referring to.

I saw it happen right before my very own eyes. The color starting at her small black pupils, stretching until bright green hues spread across the entirety of her irises, changing that warm golden color to a bright, unnatural green. Next it was the bones in her face, I could see them shifting underneath her taught richly colored skin, forcing complete jolts of shivers up my arms and down my legs.

Realization settled in like a thief forcing their way into a home. Those green eyes alone were enough, but the change in her facial structure had sealed it.

She was right.

Not just now, but back on the shore… when she had told me she recognized me…

I had been here before. I had seen her before.

“Y-You.” I found myself whispering shakily under a sharply drawn breath.

“There once was a prince born into a family of wonders. A family with the deepest understanding for all the mysteries most men of worldly value could never comprehend.” As Gaia spoke, she took another step towards me. This time, I didn’t take one back, nor one forward. I remained here, allowing her to meet me where I was. “And well, it is a tale as old as time for a man to fear what they do not know.”

I found myself slowly setting the book onto the desk behind me, not wanting to damage the fine material with my tightly pressed fingers.

“Luckily for the prince, his father, the king, knew that too. He knew there’d be a day where the new age overran the old and all it’s mysteries, massacring the only family that knew of things the people didn’t.” My hands were sweating with her words, but I forced myself to remain quiet. To not let my surfacing emotions overtake my still somewhat rational mind. “And so he brought his sons to the only other person that knew more than his family did. The only other person who could see what they couldn’t.”

Everything had settled into place with this revelation. I knew who-… what she was now.

There was a block placed on the memory, but I was starting to unravel it. To push past to the memories that must’ve been wiped. I didn’t remember our journey at sea from Azultia to Gatvia, but I remembered that feeling last evening. When my feet first touched this soil again. When her hand first touched my soul.

The uneasiness… when I looked into Gaia’s bright green eyes now, I remembered. There was no soul behind those eyes, for an Oracle couldn’t have one. I had felt that when I looked into those very eyes over two decades ago, joined then by my mother and father. I was no older than seven years then, but I could still feel it.

“You’ve grown.” I heard Gaia note, pulling me from my thoughts. “I no longer recognize your face, but I can never forget a smell. The smell of your blood in particular, that of Pureblood-” Gaia gestured towards the book on the desk. “Your father used some of his very own blood to bind some of what’s in there. That is what led you here, and your blood is what passed you through this hidden passage.”

I glanced down at the old book again. It didn’t feel like I was being led anywhere, let along by my dead father… but something had allowed me through. This door hadn’t been here when Alistair and I went up these steps the night before, or when I had gone down them this morning to find him. 

I felt shiver after shiver course through me as Gaia’s face became more and more recognizable. She was the first person I had met since that night that claimed my family, who knew of my family beyond the realms of their reign. My mother wouldn’t have brought me outside our regions borders, to see someone she didn’t trust.

And my father… he wouldn’t have given any of his personal works over to just anyone, let alone one of the few books that goes into great detail the powers of our blood. Of our bloodline.

“Did you tell Alistair?” I asked a bit unevenly, to which Gaia immediately shook her head.

“I would never do anything to put you in harms way. I had a feeling that both you and your brother managed to escape when your bodies weren’t recovered from the fire, but the again… so many years have passed…”

“Does Alistair know about… well-… does he know what you are?” I heard my voice quiet down more with that question, as if others could be listening in to this room that technically shouldn’t exist.

Gaia shook her head no again. “Both yours and my own secret… the balance of things require they stay that way for now. You have nothing to fear with Alistair finding out during your stay here… but I cannot promise the same once that blood thirsty ship sets sail again.”

I slowly nodded, grateful at those words.

“For now, I think it’s best you don’t spend time here unless I tell you it’s safe to do so,” she continued. “Come,” her hand slowly stretched out to mine, distracting me momentarily as her face began to change back into that of the woman I first met near the ship. “I could use some help with supper.”

••

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16. Name Your Price

Might be another upload today, we’ll see ;)

I’m so happy y’all are fucking with the lore omg, this has been a blast to brainstorm and write

So without further ado

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Alistair

I sat next to Gaia, hearing the low music spread amongst the hums of men as her husbands were forced to play my drunkard crew another tune. The older rough looking men were beyond words exhausted, having been forced to play throughout most of the night, but that didn’t stop the music my men were still demanding as daylight was close to breaking through the sky.

Caspian had retired for the evening, which by now I was drunk enough to admit I was the direct cause of. Coming to my own defense, the man could barely keep his eyes open regardless of how desperately he tried. He hadn’t had a drop of liquor, so those spirits weren’t keeping him alert like it had the rest of the crew.

I didn’t understand what had shifted between him and Gaia after high noon, especially after hearing the laughter of them both, coming from the kitchen as Nalia finished setting the dining hall.

They were much more at ease around each other, which just made myself all the more uneasy. He helped the two women pour serving after serving as my men filled in famished and ready for a heavy meal. I was also drunk enough to now admit that the food this evening was incredible. Truly fucking incredible.

Which then of course angered me even more.

Caspian seemed to keep near Gaia throughout dinner and that made it difficult for me to get her alone, so I found myself ordering him up to our room to prepare my bed and his place on the floor. I needed time alone with this woman, especially after seeing how quick a bond she was able to create with Caspian in such a short amount of time. I wanted to know how… and why …

After a few more rounds of drinks, the only person I had my eyes set on chewing the fat with was Gaia. She seemed more inviting with the liquor coursing through her, her hand holding a very full chalice of wine as she sat near to the entrance of the kitchen.

“This was quite the welcoming.” I noted. Gaia stretched her arms out across the wooden table, before her right hand carefully placed the chalice down.

“It’s been a few years since you last visited. And you’re quite the unkillable insect.”

Well , I thought to myself… my assumptions of the wine coming with less insults was dead wrong.

“I am very thankful.” I replied as an attempt at keeping the peace.

“As you should be.” She countered

“What can you tell me about Caspian?” I asked her more directly. I had opted to eliminate the small talk, seeing as it was getting us nowhere, to which Gaia’s arms crossed tightly over her shoulders.

“Not much at all.” She countered.

“And if I were to wager for information,” I continued, “what would be the price?” I watched as Gaia shifted her weight back in her seat, leaning her left shoulder against the stone walls now to steady her slightly swaying self.

“My son.” I heard her voice say evenly a moment later. I scoffed, chastising myself for not having predicted that answer, but that still didn’t stop me from giving her a firm no.

“Your son is not captive on my ship.” I told this woman. “He never was.” I found myself responding with a slight bit of aggression, which probably wasn’t helping me with my request, but Gaia’s own request had struck something in me. “I do not wager a man’s free will, I have and will only ever give them a choice. And every time my ship drags against the sandy shores of this island, that’s me giving him an opportunity to stay. Might do you good to ask yourself less of what what is is that cannot keep him here, and more about what it is that calls to him out there.”

I knew I had struck that same chord in her that she had in me, by the way her face immediately tightened. Even in her drunken state, I knew I had crossed a line I couldn’t come back from.

Maybe that’s what gave myself this much courage to add “this island is beautiful, Gaia. I can admit to that much… but never underestimate the wonders of the sea. The very thing you yourself are surrounded by. Could you really hold blame against your son for wanting to dip his toes into those very waters?”

Gaia looked at me a moment, her lids lower from the drink, but those eyes were still as attentive as they always were. “I don’t like the way you challenge me.” She spoke plainly, to which I chuckled.

“You don’t like that I challenge you at all.” I replied. I was the only one on this island that seemed to.

“What made you take Caspian as a slave?” Her question was steering us back in a favorable direction for me, which I couldn’t be more grateful for.

“He wanted to die… And you should know I’ve never been one to grant the request of a common merchant.”

“But you don’t believe him to be a merchant.” She countered, to which I found myself slowly nodding.

“Anyone with eyes and a few tight screws can tell that man is no merchant. The callus on his hands are from work someone was forced into, not born into. His style of hair alone could give that away, but his lack of knowledge on entry level work only solidifies it. He’s about as useless as he looks.” I explained. Gaia didn’t take kindly to those words, however, which somewhat surprised me.

“Then why do you keep him? Is that not more work for you than reward?”

“Time itself will reveal that.” I replied, to which Gaia’s eyes narrowed further. I didn’t understand what had drawn her to Caspian so suddenly. Why she seemed to actually care what I did with my own slave.

“You plan to sell him then?”

I found myself shrugging my shoulders slightly. “Cael and I have plans to inquire about his bounty, yes. We still do not know who he is, but Sicoria would be the nearest region that would give us some kind of information before we make our way back to Azul.” I leant forward, grabbing the almost empty canteen of rum, before I poured myself another drink I truly didn’t need.

“Hmm.” I heard her hum quietly to herself, before she took another sip of her wine. It left a slight tint on her lips, but I watched as her tongue slid out to lick the residue off. “I can wager a different price for information on who that man is.”

I studied her a moment, marinating on those words before eventually replying “name your price.”

I watched as the edges of her lips twisted up into a slight smile. “My price is Caspian.”

The look she gave me was calculated. This whole preposition was calculated, and at a meticulous rate at that. “So your wager for information on Caspian, is that I allow him to stay here?” I clarified a bit uselessly. We both knew what she wanted.

“Well how desperately do you want that information?”

I laughed dryly, and a bit abruptly at that counter request. “That would defeat the purpose of me gathering that information.”

All Gaia did was shrug. “Then I guess you aren’t curious enough.”

Drinking or not, nothing seemed to dull this women’s sharpness enough. I wanted to knock that wine out of her hand and hand her the bottle of rum. Maybe something stronger would do it.

“I’ll find that information out on my own.” I was quick to remind her.

“And I’m sure you will,” she countered, taking another sip, “I guess time will tell.”

Our eyes held each others gaze a moment, with every bit of me finding it challenging not to respect this woman who’d managed to wedge me between a ship and its rudder. If the wager for this information was this high, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Gaia had made this decision logically, or empathetically. Whether she was doing this for her gain or Caspian’s… yet still, I found myself shaking my head no.

“Caspian isn’t currency-”

“Yet he is property?” she cut in, to which I found myself pulling my gaze from hers, and looking down instead at the glass half filled with the nectar of the gods. She had cornered me once again.

“If I were to trade him, wouldn’t that make him your property?”

Gaia laughed at that. “I could never claim a soul as a slave. I know just how non-complacent  a soul can be, and it wasn’t meant to wear shackles… was it, Alistair?”

I took a sip of the once favoured drink which now felt like I was swallowing hot coal whole, burning my throat as it went down. Gaia’s words had cut deeper than I thought possible, and revealed more of what she knew about my own soul. Things she shouldn’t know.

“You’re a hard one to break.” I mumbled more to myself, but Gaia easily heard it.

“Your first mistake was thinking I had anything breakable in me.” She replied.

That was what told me that this conversation- this request for information, whatever it was, was finished. I wasn’t sure what transpired between her and Caspian, but I knew it must’ve been something great. Something that Gaia wasn’t willing to disclose, unless I could give her my word Caspian would remain on this island.

And that was something I simply wasn’t going to do. His bounty meant more than my own curiosity… and Gaia knew I had other ways to figure him out. Her confidence just told me that this information wasn’t going to come easy, and how she knew that, was still a mystery. She herself was still a mystery, which forced me to remind myself that whatever dance I chose to partake in with this woman, meant that I would never know her footing.

I could never have the upper hand if I didn’t truly know what height she was playing this dangerous game from.

“I guess it’s time to retire the night then.” I spoke finally, pushing myself away from the wooden table. I wondered if Caspian had still kept himself awake, but the way he had been dosing off, resting against one of the Inn’s walls which made him look as if he was only taking a moment to gather himself, made me doubt that. My men thought that he had drank too much, but only I had known he hadn’t drunk anything at all.

I had watched as he refused drink after drink as the night continued, only accepting the tea Gaia had brought out to him without him requesting. This was then when I understood that that there was an understanding between them that I hadn’t been let in on. An understanding I hadn’t seen plant itself, but was bombarded by how it blossomed as the night progressed.

Gaia made no protest when I excused myself, with me reminding my many remaining men who were still partaking in the festivities, that tomorrow would be a day spent on the ship. I didn’t want to hear any protests come sunrise, when we were all tasked with getting the vessel ready for yet another long voyage. Our stop in Sicoria would be as brief as we could possibly make it. We weren’t necessarily welcome there either.

I passed more of my men as I made my way towards the back stairwell, all of them conversing deeply with either another one of my crew, or one of Gaia’s daughters. That was part of my reasoning for letting my men grow a connection with Gaia’s direct lineage… they were well educated… and nothing could motivate a man more than intelligence attached to their own sexual urges.

It was good for them, and they of course knew how to respect her daughters. I found it weak to take advantage of anyone not willing to meet you with the same amount of ferociousness that you were, and I instilled these same principles with those who were an extension of myself. Of my ship.

Being complacent didn’t sit well with my soul either, which may have contributed to why I kept Caspian aboard.

He was too complacent with death.

I found the stairwell with ease, using it to bring myself onto the second floor of this Inn. Some rooms had since been closed, revealing those few who retired early for the night, and that made me find our room even easier.

As soon as my hand pushed that door further open, I was met with a sight I wasn’t expecting, which was rich considering this night had been full of unexpectedness. Laying in my bed was Caspian himself, with his position clearly giving way to the fact that he had fallen asleep unintentionally.

My mouth moved at first, these vocal chords fully ready to tell him to get up, but I caught myself at the last moment before the first word managed its way out. I wasn’t sure if it was his position so close to the edge, so ready to stir himself awake if it was needed… or the way his left arm wrapped under the fluffed pillow he had laid his head on, creating  a sight I hadn’t seen on Caspian’s face yet. It was the look of stillness. Peace, really, if I were to go so far… and it settled into his features like it belonged there.

I looked from him, to the floor beside the bed. It was made, but it held no occupants…

Well fuck me , I thought to myself, imagining the unthinkable as I approached the thin sheet laid out on the floor. There was no way… and yet…

I couldn’t bring myself to wake this man. Instead I found my feet skirting the perimeter of the sheet laid on the ground, before I finally bent a knee, adjusting myself to the false comfort beneath.

This night was full of surprises , I thought again, readjusting until I found a position that didn’t feel like I was sleeping on fucking floorboards.

••

17. Avast Ye, This Unfound Memory

How y’all liking the frequent uploads this week? :)

I’m back at my 40 hrs this week for work so ya girls been having time to actually do shit after work. Here is the product of that <3

I also updated the playlist, so check that out if you’d like!

Enjoy, lovelies!!

Caspian

I could heard the rustling of the ground below me as I followed closely behind my mother. She had kept us in a straight line as we walked, my brother following my steps while she trailed behind my father, and him behind the woman in a cloak.

We had been walking for some time now, I could feel the soreness in my legs with each step… but I had no memory before this moment. I did not know how I made it here into this forest. All I knew was that this woman had been leading us somewhere.

“Just a bit further.” I heard the woman whisper, her voice hoarse and cold with the current of the wind. My parents had said nothing to acknowledge that voice as we continued walking. I didn’t know what she looked like, but I could tell she was shorter than my mother, and she was leading us deeper into the forest, not out of it. I knew by the roughness of the path we took, if you could call it a path.

Once we had finally reached a small clearing, all I felt was confusion, especially when my mother ordered Hodrus and I to take a seat on the forest floor, right above a scattered layer of dry leaves.

I watched as Hodrus first complied, then I followed, not questioning my mother and father as the shorter woman took a seat in front of us.

She was eye level to me now, and for the first time this evening, I could see her. My gaze focused in on her eyes.

I could feel my body still completely at how they burned. Pure emerald green… an unnatural color.

Some of her hair was visible through the cloak, yet it was difficult to see its color with such minimal light. the only thing lighting our path was the torch she carried, before she passed that off to my mother to hold when she took a seat across from me and my brother.

My mother and father kept their distance near the edge of the clearing, only watching as this woman’s eyes bore straight through my own. I didn’t know what this feeling was, but I had suddenly felt something, a handprint on a place inside of me. Something no human should be able to touch. A feeling that felt somehow familiar though I knew I had never experienced it before.

I was so distracted by the color of her eyes, by this awfully hallowing sensation, I didn’t notice the darkening of her veins until a bony hand reached out through the crisp night air towards me, her stone cold fingers lightly grazing my forehead. Those black thin streams were mirroring the pattern of her veins, slowly spread up her arms, but I only caught a glimpse of it before my vision completely darkened, matching the color of the night sky.

At first I thought I had awoken from this dream, yet that wasn’t the case. I could hear whispers now, whispers from those who had long past. Whispers from my mother and father, coming somewhere from the clearing in this forest. I could still feel the brittle twigs and branches below me. I was definitely still on this forest floor.

“What do you see?” I heard my mother ask, to which my father told her to remain quiet.

The woman heard my mother’s ask however, and was willing to answer her. “This one…” her voice was quiet, almost indistinguishable as she spoke. “This one’s soul… it’s been touched before.”

I couldn’t see anything besides the darkness of this abyss my sight had fallen into. I wasn’t able to see my parents face… or those vibrant green eyes from this unnatural woman.

“That’s impossible.” I heard my father whisper, to which the fingers that were placed light against my forehead, intensified some with pressure.

“Someone, or something else has linked his fate. They’ve set him on a different path. One I cannot fully see.” This was the shorter woman’s response, to which both my father and mother responded with murmurs. Murmurs I couldn’t decipher. Murmurs not meant for my ears. When the oracle spoke next, those murmurs ceased entirely. “Whatever path he’s been set on, its reach will be great. He’s destined to take path only one before him has, shapen by nothing but challenges.”

I could hear more murmurs, and yet the words weren’t clear. None of this was. The noise first quieted before I regained any vision, looking back now into the eyes of the woman who sat across from me, the hood of the thick woolen cloak had fallen back against her shoulders, revealing long black hair with some strands long enough to pass through the blades of tall grass as the wind directed it…

That was the very last thing I remembered before my body stirred awake, reminding me of where this useless vessel had laid itself to rest when I almost found myself tumbling off the bed.

My feet found their footing before I crashed to the floor, but I held my tongue on the curse that had threatened to spill. It took everything in me to gather these surprisingly well rested bones, to remember exactly where I was now before I fell into that dream.

Memory , I corrected myself. That was no dream. That had been a memory of the night I thought I once remembered well, but something wasn’t right with it. What I initially remembered from that night was distorted by something, and it felt like that something had woken me up before the memory could continue.

The sun beaming through the window to the left of me gave me a more accurate understanding of how long it had been since sleep found me. The man snoring obnoxiously to my right was what pulled me from the rest of that dream entirely.

I forced myself to blink once. Then twice. Then thrice, before I could willingly accept the fact that Alistair was actually asleep on the floor.

The rum , I immediately nodded to myself. It was the only explanation. Maybe the only thing to win in a fight against Alistair and live to tell the tale, for there was quite simply no other reason for this man to accept the floor as his final place of rest for the remainder of the night.

As in, I was sure he would choose death first if he were sober.

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the bed, but the night had consumed all of my energy. I didn’t understand how Alistair and his men could take drink after drink and stay awake like it was nothing, while my eyelids barely kept themselves open on nothing but water and tea.

The tea was actually quite nice, a more soothing choice offered by Gaia whilst Alistair kept the rum flowing. As I slowly made my way over to where he now slept, I found myself hesitating a moment. He had drunkenly told me over supper, to make sure he was up before his men were once the sun rose, but I wondered if he himself even remembered that… and if he’d take kindly to me upholding those orders.

Nevertheless, I slowly crouched down besides the man who was now laying on his stomach, his face buried deep into the pillow which muffled those snores. His hair was untied, keeping his long thick black strands scattered wildly across the pillow and his clothes. My hand hesitantly reached out to Alistair’s back to give it a slight shake. I approached it like one would when approaching a venomous snake.

“Alistair…” I spoke, my voice rough as I said his name. He was still wearing the clothes he had chosen for supper, a black linen shirt cut short at the sleeves with matching black trousers, all of which his black hair seamlessly blended in with. I also noticed that his eye patch remained perfectly positioned on his face even as his head suddenly turned in my direction.

The next thing he did was completely unexpected. His hand jolted forward, then up, connecting with the front collar of my shirt without even looking, before he bunched up the soft material and yanked it down to the floor next to him.

That of course meant that my body unwillingly followed, hitting the ground next to him far from gracefully. I didn’t even mange a word out before Alistair spoke. “Has anyone died?”

His voice was low and hoarse, still riddled with sleep, and his one visible eye didn’t even bother opening to register my existence, yet his hand remained attached to the front of my shirt. My eyebrows furrowed immediately when I actually registered what he had asked. “Ah-” I cleared my throat. “Not… not to my knowledge?”

Alistair’s grip tightened a bit, keeping me pinned down on my side next to him. The position was uncomfortable at best.

“Is anyone currently in the state of dying?”

I was about to shake my head no, before I realized Alistair still had his eyes closed. I took this moment to study his face a bit more freely than I otherwise could, noticing some stubble coming through across his chin. The short, bold, black hair matched his long flowing locks that looked smooth and rich to the touch. I slowly moved my hand from my side, wondering if he was even cognitive enough to notice-

Whatever thoughts I had just then, were immediately interrupted when Alistair finally looked over at me, causing my hand to snap back to my side immediately. I decided it was safer to assume the texture of his hair, rather than see for myself.

“Is someone dying?” He reiterated, to which I paused yet another moment.

“I don’t think so.” Hell, I had retired for the night before he had. If anyone was to know the current state of his crew, one would think it to be Alistair.

That was when his grip slowly loosened on the shirt fabric until the material was left to unfold itself. His hand then moved up some, further surprising me when I felt his thumb slowly grazing the edge of my jawline. The callus from his finger had scraped against my own stubble. It was for only a moment, as he pushed back some of the hair that had fallen forward towards my face when he pinned me to the ground. That same hand then retreated back to him, plopping itself back onto the pillow Alistair rested his head on like it had served its purpose for the day or something.

“Then let me rest.”

Those were his final words to me as he closed his eyes again, effectively ending this conversation.

Well , I thought, slowly bringing myself to my feet. I… guess that was that . He hadn’t even attempted to remove himself from the floor, and once I heard the low vibrations of his snores again, I decided there was no point trying to convince him to.

Instead, I found myself making my way back down to the main floor of the Inn. The winding steps hadn’t brought me to the hidden room again like it had the prior day, and I decided this was a good opportunity to ask Gaia more about how it worked, especially considering Alistair clearly had no plans of a productive morning.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Gaia in the Inn’s kitchen this morning, with Nalia working on cleaning the dining hall after the long festivity that was supper. I gave her a polite good morning before I joined Gaia in the kitchen.

“Wow,” was her first word to me. “You look well rested.”

I offered her a small smile, my eyes breaking contact with hers as I remembered how comfortable that bed had been. “I am.” I admitted.

“ Interesting ,“ she nodded. “So then Alistair invited you to bed with him?

That question just about knocked the air out of my lungs, forcing me to choke as each cough worked to clear the sudden irregularity.

“Uh- no, no… absolutely not, no. More like he invited himself to the floor. I had mistakenly fallen asleep on the bed while making it.” That made Gaia laugh so abruptly hard, she paused what it was she was currently doing, which was peeling a bowl of potatoes. I noticed there was a lot of vegetables and fruits scattered across the table positioned in the middle of the room, which led me to believe another large meal would be served soon.

From the looks of Alistair’s state alone, I was starting to believe everyone would benefit from something filling.

“ Interesting …“ Gaia reiterated, more to herself as she continued on with peeling the potatoes.

“I wanted to speak to you about something,” I found myself redirecting this conversation. “It’s about a dream I had last night, a memory really, about my time on this island… it was the night you spoke of my prophecy.”

Gaia’s eyes glanced up from the perfect peel she had carved away from the vegetable, to catch my gaze. “I remember it well. What of it?” she asked.

That question made me stop a moment to actually formulate the correct words. It was hard to put into words. “There’s an issue with the memory. A blockage of sorts, something preventing me from recalling all events of that night. Was that… was that your doing?”

Gaia’s eyebrows furrowed curiously at that question, before she slowly shook her head no. “I thought he told you…” her voice trailed off.

“Who?” I asked almost immediately, but Gaia didn’t have the chance to answer. Instead, her eyes quickly darted past me to the entrance of the kitchen directly behind where I stood. The voice that cut through our conversation was deep and familiar.

“Where’s Alistair?” Cael asked, causing me to turn sharply on my heel in his direction.

He was, unsurprisingly, the most on alert person I had seen since waking up this morning. Even Gaia seemed to be moving a bit slower after such a long night, and Nalia looked completely overworked by the number of men she had to serve, even with my aide.

His gaze was on Gaia, but it soon pivoted to me when I found myself pointing to the ceiling above us. “Still resting.” I explained.

The irritation on Cael’s face was the purest emotion I’d seen on him ever. It made me wonder what troubles this morning had already presented itself, that Alistair was currently sleeping through. The speed at which Cael left Gaia and I heightened that curiosity, but made myself more on edge. It was no longer safe to have this conversation with Gaia here, but I found myself asking just one last thing before we let the conversation go entirely.

“Is this block being lifted? Is that why my memories are changing?” My voice was a cautious low whisper, to which Gaia took some time to respond to.

“Do you remember anything after your prophecy?” she asked with that same hushed tone.

I slowly shook my head no.

“Then no, Caspian. That block wasn’t lifted. And all I can tell you in regards to it, is that it can’t be lifted now. The person who placed it is dead.”

••

18. Crack Jenny’s Teacup

Just a lil sumtin sumtin to hold yall over till I can get home to finish up the second upload

Enjoy, lovelies! :)

xoxo

Crack Jenny’s Teacup - Spend the night with a prostitute

Alistair

The first thing my mind could recall from the day, was a swift kick to my stomach.

“Get up.” Cael grunted, to which my body reacted before my scrambled, pounding brain caught on. I found myself quickly pushing this rigid body into a sitting position on the floor, with my sore joints practically on fire as I did.

“The hostility is unwarranted.” I muttered, attempting to wipe the remnants of sleep from my good eye.

“Unwarranted, ye say? Hmm, well I’d say that me working on your ship for the last hour alone , was unwarranted.” Cael was quick to reply with, not even registering the fact that I was still on the ground. In his defense, I guess he had seen me in worse states.

“ Fuck ,“ I grumbled, forcing myself off the ground until I stood close to eye level with Cael. His face quickly scrunched up in disgust.

“You reek of rum.”

“You’re lucky that’s all I reek of.” I countered but continued to move, first walking around the bed to the amour where I had kept a few clothes for this stay, including my long black leather coat. Next was the large sword still resting against the wooden bedside table, right where I had left it. “Not a single man made it?”

Cael shook his head no. “Not even Snips.”

I would’ve been surprised if I didn’t see how drunk the man got the night before and into the early hours before daybreak. The fact that none of my men made it to the ship however, did surprise me.

“Do you know what destination their drunken minds chose through the night?”

“Some are in the homes of Gaia’s daughters, surely enjoying their time there, while the rest most likely found their way to a brothel.”

I turned to Cael just as I finished fastening my sword at my side, before pulling the jacket’s side flap forward and concealing some of the sheathed blade.

“Go visit Gaia’s daughter’s homes, Caspian and I will stop by the brothel on our way to the ship. I don’t care what shape they’re in, get them up. The only one allowed to rest is Coop and that is for no other reason besides the fact that my head is pounding far too ferociously for me to manage a protest from Gaia.”

Cael slowly nodded, stepping aside slightly as he followed me out into the corridor and closed the door behind him. I led us down the back stairwell till we reached the dining hall, first welcomed by the smell of food, before I caught sight of Nalia. She was walking a few bowls out of the kitchen to set on one of the many now clean tables.

When she caught sight of Cael, she gave him a large smile and a nod. As her eyes panned from his to mine, I saw that smile shrink into oblivion… but she still mustered a nod, to which I politely returned. Cael approached her but I instead made my way to the kitchen.

Sure enough, Gaia and Caspian were both standing next to each other in the well lit room, only their sides visible to me as they cut vegetables together. They were discussing what sounded like the process of the harvesting season here, with Caspian asking about the rainfall on the island. I noticed he was also wearing the same clothes he was in the night before. A white shirt with long sleeves that he had now rolled up to his elbows as he cut the peeled potatoes into smaller pieces. I assumed they were to be fried. He paired that with black linen trousers that I noticed he had rolled up his calves, and a pair of sandals.

Caspian sensed me first, stopping mid sentence when his head turned left to look over at me.

“Alistair.” He noted in his usual mundane voice. A tone he didn’t seem to use as often with Gaia anymore.

Gaia peaked out further from next to him to get a good look at me herself. “Look who’s finally awoken.”

“Let’s go, Caspian.” I spoke directly, not troubling myself with the pleasantries. My fingers then rose to the sides of my forehead and pushed down slightly in an effort to relieve some of the aches and tension. A direct casualty from all the drinking.

“Where to?” Caspian asked. He wasn’t moving quickly enough for my liking, but nevertheless he did manage to rinse his hands off in a bowl of water before drying them on a spare towel, and making his way towards me.

“The ship.” I replied. Caspian took a moment to think on that answer before he eventually nodded. I said nothing else as I turned, and headed towards the entrance of the Inn, not even bothering with an hello or goodbye in regards to Gaia. Cael had finished up his own conversation with Nalia, passing by myself and Caspian as he made his way towards the kitchen. I assumed he was going to need to ask Gaia where some of her daughters now stayed. Things had changed since we last ported here.

Caspian soon had questions of his own. Most were probably in relation to me leading us from the Inn, towards the brothel.

“I thought the ship was docked slightly due west?” I heard his voice pass through the wind from behind me.

“It is.” I explained, keeping our pace on this bright sunny day, brisk. Fuck the gods , it hurt to even think . “We need to gather my men first. The drink had led many, it seems, to crack jenny’s teacup.”

The silence from behind me indicated Caspian understood absolutely none of that. Luckily for him, the sign on the brothel’s metal window brackets above us easily explained what I failed to. I heard a quiet “ o-oh “ behind me that made my lips twitch up into a slight smile, before my hands reached for the front wooden flap doors.

It was quiet inside, a complete change from how loud this place could get as the night progressed. Not much had changed to the layout since our last port, with the front doors spilling right into the front lobby, displaying a large winding staircase leading to the more… private rooms on the second floor.

I didn’t bother with those stairs, however. Instead, my hand reached out to my right side and placed itself against the stone wall directly beside myself, as Caspian slowly inched in behind me. “ Men ,“ I spoke, my voice penetrating the cast stone. I could feel it travel through these walls, taking the space of each imperfect crack, and winding up to the second floor, before it filled every room in this establishment. “ Get the fuck up .“

It wasn’t long after before I started hearing things drop and break upstairs, glasses carelessly tossed around as my crew scrambled to gather themselves. The first one to the top of the stairs was another pirate named Twigs. His legs barely carried that lanky body of his as he attempted to make it down the winding steps. I could tell that he was definitely still drunk.

“Cap’n” he nodded to me as soon as he was absolutely certain both feet had made it to the first floor safely. I could smell the wine on him when he drew nearer. “You’re up early.” His words were also still slightly slurred, making my aching head worse as I struggled to understand him.

“No,” I countered, “it’s almost high noon.”

Another pirate came flying out of a room on the second level, before practically tumbling down the steps. His energy at the start gave me hope some of my men were still cognitive, but that tumble said otherwise.

Great .

A few more pirates joined us, beckoning some of their women companions for the evening to follow in suit. I could see the irritation visible on the women’s youthful faces, most likely wondering what it was that could possibly take these well paying clients away before they bled my men’s salary dry, but once they caught sight of me down below, that irritation quickly disappeared with speeds that matched what was used to retreat back to their private quarters.

“How did you-” Caspian spoke but the rest of his words were drowned out by my own as I addressed my men.

“Ahoy you scallywag, piss bucket, poor excuses for men. We have a vessel to service.”

The groans were immediate, and loud, but all I did was step aside before gesturing to the flap doors. The complaints didn’t subside as each pirate, still reeking of some sort of liquor, did a walk of shame out of this whore house. Caspian’s gaze finally fell on mine once we were the only two left in the brothel’s lobby, but I gestured for him to follow the men out as well, to which he did.

“I’m going to be sick.” Snips whined, directing his complaining my way as he passed me by on the main deck with thick logs of wood in hand.

“This work won’t do itself.” I reminded him, to which all he responded with before getting back to work, was:

“I feel like if we thought hard about it, we could figure out a way where it could.”

I laughed at his approach. At least it didn’t slow his work, which was a reflection of the rest of my men who looked as if they had been pounding on deaths door the majority of the day.

The only one who hadn’t thrown up their insides yet was Caspian, and that was including myself. Even I couldn’t escape the nausea from the rocking of the ship, mixed with the salty sea air, and had found myself dashing to the edge of this vessel to clear my own insides out.

“Now ask yourself,” Cael started, to which I felt my body almost immediately recoiled with. He was fully leaning into one of his lecturing moods. “What did we actually achieve by your little ploy to ply Gaia full with liquor?”

Ah, and he was leaning even further into direct line of questioning. The joys. I didn’t have the mental fortitude for this.

“Well I learnt that she knows more than she first let on.” I tried my reasoning.

“And?” Cael encouraged.

“She’ll tell me if I promise Caspian can stay.”

That unexpectedly made Cael laugh, leaning further against the rail leading down to the main desk as I pushed more of my own weight onto the side of the ship. It was practically holding me up. It  was also in the interest of everyone that I stay close to the edge, offering a place for my vomit to go that wasn’t the deck my crew was currently still trying to clean.

“That’s in favor with the Gaia we know.” I heard him say between bouts of laughter.

“Unfortunately so,” I replied, my voice holding far less enthusiasm than his.

“I’m sure we’ll know more once we port in Sicoria. I often side with Gaia’s reasoning on things, however if that man is working this hard to die, he might be worth something great to someone who wants him alive.”

My arm slowly pushed my body away from the edge of the ship, before I joined Cael where he stood, right behind the top deck’s rail. We were keeping each other company up here as my men finished up their duties, Cael refusing to touch another thing on this ship after all the work he did alone this morning, and me being too sick to even hold myself up correctly.

We made for one grand duo.

At least my men moved swiftly with the promise of another meal. Gaia had told Cael to return to the Inn shortly before the sun started to fall, which would be soon.

These days moved a little too swiftly for my liking. We would be leaving Gatvia come sunrise, and though it didn’t feel so, this short trip did prove fruitful.

The men had a moment to rest. To eat. To fuck.

Those three things would always make for a clearer mind. Especially with my crew.

“We should return again soon.” Cael spoke, to which I turned my head in his direction.

“Why?” I asked… to which Cael glanced over at me with an equally questionable look.

“You might not like it here, but your men do, and that’s what matters. I’m also stronger here. This island feeds into my talents, as does Gaia.”

“I truly do not want to know what you and Gaia partake in with your personal time.” I reminded him.

“I could tell you one million times that it is nothing of sexual nature, but your mind has been made.” Cael sighed, shaking his head my way.

“You share the same bed.” I reminded him. “I wish to know nothing more than that.”

Cael’s look on his face read as nothing but annoyance with my ignorance, but I didn’t care. He was the only man on this ship that I would never question, and yet he chose not to take advantage of that.

It sickened me.

“There will be a day where you and Gaia reach an understanding. She may not fully know you, Alistair, but she knows what you are. She might be able to give you some instruction on your power.”

I scoffed at that. “First, that day only exists in hell. Second, I trust no advice coming from that woman.”

“She’s made me a better Navigator.” He told me.

I was quick to respond with “and she makes me question whether or not I should blow this whole island to smithereens. Do you see the difference?”

“As clear as the water itself.” Cael replied with a laugh.

I understood his angle, but hell would turn to ice itself before I even considered having Gaia touch any of my powers. I knew she knew that I was getting stronger. If she knew more of who I was, the person beneath these powers, there’s no way she’d do anything to strengthen what I am.

She’d use it to destroy me.

And I surprisingly respected her for that. Cael was just too infatuated with Gaia to see it. And I didn’t blame him for that either. It was simpler to lay blame on Gaia, as it always was.

••

19. The Clarity Of The Stars

I meant to get like two chapters out yesterday lol, that’s on me y’all

It can be a pain to get these longer chapters cranked out, but I think

they fit

the flow of the story much better. Lemme know what you beautiful souls think :)

I’ll also probably update the playlist with the next upload. I’ve been rewatching samurai champloo though and was listening to the song above when writing this (it’s the ending theme song). I’m just not sure it fits the rest of the pirate playlist vibe to add it there too…

Anyways

for now, enjoy lovelies!

xoxo

Caspian

I had seen very many things over the relatively short time this world has tortured me by forcing my existence in, however the ways in which Alistair’s men managed to gather themselves for work on the ship, only to then gain more energy after a hearty meal…

Well, I was quite impressed with their regeneration. This lot fascinated me.

Alistair ordered me to remain at his side as the men enjoyed the meal well into the day, then eventually past sun down. This unfortunately meant that I was subjected to the brain rottening conversation of the pirates that surrounded us, which mostly consisted of sex and loot. It also meant that any time I would have with Gaia alone, was nonexistent. This Captain seemed to intentionally make it that way all through the day, which troubled me.

What troubled me further was what Alistair had done today… more specifically, once we had reached the brothel. He had seemingly managed to speak to his men, but he spoke to them through the stone foundations of the building. I could feel the rumblings of his voice carry through the sandals I wore, below the soles of my feet. It made me wonder what privacy I really had in his presence, with powers like those, or even when he was nearby. I

t was something I had never seen anyone do before. Something I’d never read about during my time in Azultia.

With each day progressing, I was learning more about his unique gifts. Learning things that put me on a higher alert than finding the sword of King Daedron in his hands already had.

If I were to ask Gaia what he was, I wondered if she’d tell me.

Then I thought about it… why hadn’t I asked Alistair myself?

The man was the farthest from conservative with his powers… but even if he told me, there wasn’t a bone in his body that could convince him to tell me the whole truth. That, I was sure of. At least with Gaia, she was a bit more honest-

I paused a moment, fixing my rash thoughts. No , I heard that inner voice speak for me. It didn’t matter what Alistair was, because I didn’t plan to stay on this ship long. And regardless of what abilities he possessed, he was still a man. He was escapable, I was sure of it. I had fled from things more complicated than him.

Some of the men managed to sober up just enough to start drinking again, once the light began to fade from the sky. I could see the somewhat cognitive mind the men worked hard to regain while working on the ship, slowly slip with each drink they accepted. Alistair was the only one who kept that devils piss away from him.

Apparently the lessons he learned today were enough. Instead he was enjoying a bowl of freshly picked cranberries.

Gaia had brought me a drink closer to the end of the evening, to which she made sure to assure me that this wouldn’t affect my blood. She couldn’t say this aloud considering Alistair was still seated right besides me, indulging in a conversation with Cael, but they way she held my gaze as she set the drink down allowed me to understand.

Alistair’s own gaze shifted from his men to the cup as soon as it was set down. Once Gaia left and I started to reach for the ceramic myself, Alistair beat me to it. “I thought you said-” he started, wrapping his fingers around the dirt tinted clay, before his grip relaxed and he released it. “Oh,” I heard him murmur. “Just tea.”

That then called my own attention to the drink, and as soon as my fingers madr contact with the cup, I felt the heat seeping through. Alistair was right, it seemed to be some sort of hot brew.

I wanted to ask Gaia what it was, but she had busied herself most of the evening, using any and all free moments to curse all of her husbands out thoroughly. Apparently I had helped this morning with work they were supposed to do, and Gaia didn’t take well to that. All I could hear from the otherwise deafening room, was words sprouting from her fiery mouth with accusations of them overdrinking.

I was fairly sure it was the sleep deprivation that resulted in their late start to the day, but this wasn’t a situation I cared to involve myself in.

After a few sips of the drink Gaia offered, I noticed my body start to relax. My muscled rested comfortably into this hard wooden chair I was in which made me first notice the affects of whatever she gave me, because finding comfort in seating like this was practically impossible to obtain. The words Alistair offered as he turned to me, forced my at ease mind to concentrate on.

“Let’s step outside.” He spoke in more of a demand, and less of a request. Regardless, I followed helplessly as Alistair pushed himself away from the empty dishes filled table to stand. Cael paid it no mind when I followed this larger man out of the dining hall, then eventually outside, finding surprise as my lungs inhaled fresh air for the first time in what felt like ages. It was incredible, the perfect weather, the fresh, crisp, cool air.

I almost felt grateful to Alistair for whisking us away from the filled dining hall. I wasn’t sure how much rot my brain fell victim to at the hands of his crews chosen topics to discuss, but maybe some parts of it was still salvageable. I truly didn’t care to hear how well a lay the men had the night before, and with whom.

Alistair had seemingly also grown tired with the conversation.

He took lead, positioning me to follow his larger stature through the town with long strides as we neared the edge of the forest. He didn’t say a word while we walked, which prompted me to keep my own mouth shut. There was a hilly field further west of the Inn, right at the edge of the forest, that was covered in rich green grass. Alistair must’ve decided it to be our final resting place for this walk, I watched as he unexpectedly shrunk to the grassy ground below both our feet… and I hesitantly did the same.

After the work I had done on the ship, it wasn’t like these clothes could get any more filthy anyway.

With us being further from the town, the light here was minimal. Darkness had swallowed the night whole, but I could still see Alistair’s sharp features through the corner of my eye as we laid next to each other, still keeping comfortable room in between us. He was staring up at the wonders above, and so I did the same.

The stars were as visible as I had ever seen them, tonight. The air itself felt peacefully clear, the same clarity as on Alistair’s ship, but without the salty breeze of the sea.

“This island is special.” I found myself whispering aloud. I almost didn’t notice I had, but Alistair did.

“Not you too.” He grumbled irritatingly. I turned my head to look at him, allowing my body to adjust to the firm ground and soft grass beneath it as I did.

“I just- I meant the air is clear here.” I tried to explain. The firmness on Alistair’s face didn’t ease. I had most definitely offended him.

“It’s different.” He replied, refusing to meet my gaze, so I cast it back to the stars above.

Then silence fell between he and I for some time. I could hear my own steady breathing fall in line with that of the consistent breeze. My hands went from where they rested on my stomach, to my sides. My fingers could feel each individual blade of graze below them, the blades still holding heat from the burning of the sun that came with high noon.

I wasn’t sure how to put it into words.

I wasn’t sure whether words existed to describe this feeling…

But when I touched the ground, it was like I touched something burning. Not like a fire, not something hot to touch… it was like I touched something with enormous power that had been tightly bound. Something with roots that went deeper than any of the trees that grew so high on this island, they seemed to touch the sky.

No, when I touched this land’s soil, it was like I touched a core of something. And it felt familiar.

“It is clear, I’ll reason with you on that.” Alistair spoke again, and this time when I turned my head to his, his gaze was already on me. His long black hair was worn down this evening, and it covered a portion of his face, making his features all the more alluring. I found my gaze quickly shifting back to the night sky again.

“I’ve never seen the stars this clear.” I wasn’t expecting that response from Alistair, and these were the only words that came to mind. “This island just feels different.” I was almost to say ‘much like your ship’ but I stopped myself just in time. The larger pirate clearly didn’t fancy these comparisons.

I heard Alistair chuckle roughly. “The clarity of the stars follow Cael wherever he goes.” His deep, rigid voice paused a moment, “but you’re correct. This island makes his talents as a Navigator stronger.”

I turned my head only slightly to catch Alistair’s gaze, but his was back on the night’s abyss again.

I tried to find the patterns my father spoke of in the stars. The shapes that he told me at a young age could lead a man anywhere. I didn’t understand then, but at the time, my family had our own astronomer. I made the foolish adolescent decision of leaving all that potential knowledge I could have learned, to him. A decision I made so frequently back then, that I had spent the last eleven years doing absolutely nothing but paying for.

And paying with my life itself. I was now a slave to my own previously held ignorance.

“Even the warrior is present.” Alistair added, which prompted me to study those stars again. Those burning stones bearing only small glimmers of light to the darkness surrounding it.

“Where?” I whispered quietly, turning back to Alistair again on my left. I couldn’t see what he did.

His good eye found mine as both our heads turned to each other, the other still hidden behind his dark leather patch.

I wondered if that was why it was so difficult to see past this man’s hardened features. To read his expressions as seamlessly as I could others. My mother always told me how special a person’s set of eyes were. More specifically, how important mine were. She would tell me how they are doors to your soul, or whatever sits in its place.

I wondered if that was why I was finding it so difficult. Because I could only see half of him.

Alistair didn’t say anything to me. Instead, he shifted his body closer to mine. My almost immediate reaction was to shy away, but I forced myself to remain still. Alistair’s proximity was something I’d probably never grow used to.. not that I planned to stay around him long enough to.

I felt him force through the comfortable space between us until his shoulder was almost touching mine. My gaze never left his, regardless of my confusion on whether I should’ve been looking to him, or the stars.

“Look.” He spoke besides me. His voice was much lower now, it forced my hearing to isolate it. To fully digest it. The sounds of the wildlife rustling around us. The sounds of the leaves rustling against the wind… it had all started to fade itself out, and I wasn’t sure whether that was his doing… or my own.

I watched as he lifted his finger to the sky, beckoning me to shift my gaze from his to the dark opening directly above us. I  could smell the tinge of sweetness from the cranberries he had been grazing on this evening, as he spoke, which I dedicated my sudden distractions to. Regardless, I still tried to follow his finger, tracing the patterns he drew into the sky with my eyes.

“Do you see?” He whispered. The roughness in those words called my attention to him, instead to the tip of his finger. I still couldn’t see what he did.

“Close one eye.” He instructed, which made all my discombobulated thoughts pause a moment. Nevertheless, I did as I was told, lifting my right arm and using my hand to cover my right eye. The eye I kept visible was the one closest to him.

“I-” I started, unsure of what I had meant to say next. My voice stopped when I saw his arm fall, but this time it grabbed my left hand that was still rested comfortably within the blades of grass. I flinched at that feeling. The roughness of his skin, but the surprised gentleness on the hold he had as he stretched my arm out with his. This time, it forced all my focus on our hands. I straightened my second finger out for him, allowing him to guide it as he slowly traced patterns into the darkness.

He connected the burning stars I didn’t. Couldn’t .

I saw the shape of man now through my left eye. The bow he was holding in his hand was pointed forward leading back to the town. The edges of my lips curled up into a slight unexpected smile when I finally understood the picture as a whole.

I always assumed that Alistair must’ve had a partial view of the world with that patch covering half his vision… but maybe I was wrong , I thought.

Maybe seeing everything with both eyes possibly held the inevitability of missing something you could’ve otherwise found with the scope of one eye. Like a telescope. Maybe the world was meant to be viewed through the lens of a one-eyed pirate.

“You see it now?” He whispered next to me, his hand still holding mine above us as it warmed my cold fingers. His voice still so close, I could feel it the against skin that wasn’t even exposed to him. My head hesitantly turned to the larger man on my left, my one uncovered eye finally meeting his… Then I found myself slowly nodding.

I did.

••

20. Set Sail For Sicoria

Hitting y’all with a bit of a longer chapter

Enjoy, lovelies!!

xoxo

Alistair

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Our departure from Gatvia left my crew in various emotions. The eagerness to get back to the sea was clear- that was just who myself and my men were now. However, the disappointment of leaving the more leisured days didn’t fall on deaf ears.

It was Caspian who actually surprised me. He was the first to drop the ropes of the sails as the sun slowly rose above the water. Most of the men were still awakening from their slumber, most parting from Gaia’s daughter’s homes with somber farewells in tow, but even from sunrise, Caspian had been quick to get to work.

My thoughts traveled to the previous night. I had only meant to gain some fresh air, to leave the congested conversation my men had nestled into, and yet… night had long since captured the day by the time Caspian and myself found our way back to the Inn.

I could tell he was more relaxed than he usually carried himself as. It was… interesting. It made me wish for one thing that I didn’t think I’ve ever willingly expressed disdain of my own actions for… and that was not listening as closely as I should’ve when Cael spoke freely about the stars.

The look on Caspian’s face as his pale eyes stared up at the bright lights above us, was inexplicable. He had seemingly done the impossible- made me look to the world above with almost more adoration than what I could see right out in front me.

The validation Cael would feel right now if he could hear my thoughts, sickened me to my core. I couldn’t give him that satisfaction.

Yet I also couldn’t stop that jolt of interest I felt when Caspian’s eyes found mine. When that awfully rare smile of his appeared, stretching ear to ear as I showed him yet another constellation that was visible this season.

I knew Gaia had given him something because there was no possibility that Caspian felt comfortable enough for me to remain that close to him. Especially for the length of time we remained on that grass plain for. At least not without his entire body maintaining a certain amount of rigidness.

I was used to the affects my presence had. Not many understood how just the hard steps of my metal plated boots upon these floorboards could make the hair on the most vicious man’s arms, stand to attention.

They could feel that unsettling aura spread through the exterior and interior of their useless bodies, but many didn’t understand why.

Caspian and the rest who were unfortunately fated with the events of crossing paths with me might not have seen it this way, but I was doing a surprisingly good job of masking my true presence. The mask was invisible to the eye, however people like Gaia could see it. People like Gaia could break through it even.

I guess I was using that phrase too freely , I thought to myself. I was positive I had never crossed paths with anyone like Gaia before, and I still didn’t know exactly what the hell

she was.

We had left Gatvia by the first glimpses of daylight, and had been at sea for three full days since. We were now approaching nightfall, and Sicoria would soon welcome us come morning, its location conveniently close to Gatvia which made for a shorter journey. The men had started to grow restless again, that bloodthirsty need which lay buried just below the surface of man, was only amplified by the thoughts of what trouble Sicoria would bring. My men had been ordered to maintain a certain balance of peace… but we could all feel some bloodshed on the horizon. This was why I took my time at sea preparing my men, as opposed to rushing towards the island.

In addition, making a Sicorian man bleed dry would be a perfect start to any day. Gaia was lucky I hated that island more than I hated hers.

Caspian had spent these last few days we were back at sea, surprising me. That was becoming a pattern with this man, yet one could argue that the tendency first presented itself on that merchant ship the night he chose to not beg for his life. That could be why I found his gradual dedication to the ship’s work, surprising.

I was positive it had been some time since I last threatened him. I wondered what changed.

He was also spending more time with Snips, who had seemed to take a liking to the tall, broad shouldered imbecile. As did Coop, though I suspected Gaia’s kindness to Caspian influenced whatever opinion he previously had on the man.

This general acceptance actually seemed to bleed throughout the entire crew, something Cael himself also picked up on. He made sure it was the first thing he mentioned when he entered my study this evening.

“The crew’s coming around to your usually unusual, disinterested slave.” Cael noted, dragging the wooden chair against the floorboards of the main deck as he pulled it out to take a seat. My fingers tightened their grip on the small wooden piece, before I struck the red tip of the match against the textured paper attached to the match holder. Golden embers ignited immediately just inches away from my fingers, to which I brought its burning flame down to the wick of the candle that was rested on the study’s desk.

“You say that like it’s a good thing.” I found myself noting aloud, rather than to myself.

“Is it not?” He asked me. That question forced my gaze to find his, his dark rich oak colored eyes against his pigmented skin narrowed themselves at me.

“Well, I don’t want the crew to get accustomed to something we plan to sell.” I reminded him, completely contradicting the instructions I gave Caspian. I had told him my crew would need to accept him, but that was rather a ploy to force his commitment to this work. Now my plan was being correctly executed, better than expected really, and all it did was bring me more weariness.

The look Cael was currently giving me however, made me question my own motivations.

“We’re pirates.” The large man reminded me. Even as he sat, Cael stature was still mightily impressive. “The men will always choose the money over a man. In addition, the man in question is your slave. Your property. There is nothing for them to protest to, for you are to do with Caspian as you wish per the pirate code.”

I thought about that for what felt like an entire night, though only moments passed between Cael and myself before I found myself eventually nodding.

“The only thing the men might take issue with, is the workload that will fall back on them once we collect our bounty. That, and the combat skills Caspian has are irrefutable. I’m sure the men currently enjoy the additional deadly asset assigned to this ship, slave or not.”

I thought about that, too. Cael and I agreed we would use him while we could… but I knew we hadn’t even seen enough of his fighting ability to know his true extent… and I wanted to see that. I wanted to see just how far that blood thirsty smile of his stretched, when he felt the cut of his daggers piercing through flesh.

“Once we reach Sicoria, I’ll mask my face as I head deeper into the city to meet with a bounty appraiser. We don’t need to draw any attention to ourselves. I say we drop anchor on the outskirts, and row a small party in. Your sails are never welcome on their shores, but something tells me the hostility will be more than usual.”

I gave Cael a nod, agreeing with his more hesitant approach. We weren’t looking for an all out war- we still had a particular captain’s throat to catch up with, then slit open. I preferred my floorboards clean, but I would willingly paint them red with that cowardly captain’s insides if fate willed it.

“Aye,” I nodded in return. “Finnik doesn’t care much for me to begin with. I’m sure he’d appreciate we keep our presence hidden to aide in keeping the secrets he himself harbours on that island.” I thought about the web of connections that existed right under the barbaric Sicorian noses. “An Azultian in Sicoria is dangerous as is, if they discovered his smuggling tendencies to help the free thinkers of Azultia, it would be his head. Or his genitals.” I paused a moment. “Perhaps both. It been some time since I refreshed myself on their governing practices, all I know is something’s getting chopped off.”

Cael reached for a blank piece of paper atop a stack of books, before he pulled my small container of ink and a quill closer to him. He was starting to pen a letter, but he continued the conversation as he wrote.

“Don’t do anything to anger him.” Cael practically scolded. “The information he gives us could sour, and I don’t particularly want to be involved in another ambush.”

“Were you really even involved in the last one?” I grumbled, muttering that more to myself than him, but when his firm eyes glanced up from the paper slightly to catch my gaze, I knew he’d heard it. “Fine,” I sighed. “Consider my quick tongue severed. I’ll make sure to keep the conversation jolly-”

“Don’t do that either,” Cael’s abrupt words followed by a chuckle, brought my attention away from the sword I was cleaning on my desk, and to him. “You being jolly is… equally, if not more terrifying than your anger. Why don’t you bring Caspian along, perhaps he could show you a thing or two about the art of disinterest.”

I wanted to take offense, but Cael was right. Disinterest was hilariously the best angle to approach with when it came to Finnik and that fucking island. The less you wanted something, the lower the price got.

“And what if someone is to recognize him in Sicoria?” I asked. My intentions were to leave Caspian on the ship until Cael, myself, Snips, and about two to three other well trained pirates returned. “We are after all docking to uncover who he is. I don’t want to show our hand.”

Cael slowly shook his head. “I don’t think leaving him on the ship would do any good. That, and my bounty appraiser may need a good look at him somewhere on this island if he doesn’t recognize Caspian’s name… because Captain, if I may bear a shred of honesty, I have little faith in the information Caspian has shared with us about himself. His name included… Savvy?”

There was even more honesty to that. “Aye,” I agreed. “We’ll need to cover ourselves completely then. His stark white hair will draw enough attention, let alone those dead looking eyes.” I thought about the people of Sicoria, their deeper skin resembling the people of Gatvia, but just a few shades richer from the intensity of the sun over their incredibly vast island.

Caspian was the complete opposite of that, with his own hair color only emphasizing the paleness of his skin. He looked like he had chosen to maintain an unhealthy distance from the sun his entire existence.

We would be discovered as soon as we first stepped foot onto those sandy beaches.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden glow that pulled me from my work with cleaning this blade. Cael’s ink, the tribal patterns etched up his muscle dense arms, before feeding into a chest that was mostly exposed by his partially buttoned shirt, they started to glow. That soft white color, almost blueish in hues, contrasted against his dark skin, and otherwise illuminated a room only partially visible by the burning candles.

This was something I was used to, however Cael and I were not currently planning a route. His skills had been brought on unprovoked, causing my brows to furrow as I watched my Navigators eyes brighten to the color of his tattoos.

“Cael?” I found myself questioning, but kept my tone calm. When Cael entered this state, in a way, I was no longer speaking to my companion on this ship…

I was speaking to the projections of the stars themselves, like a moon reflecting on the darkness of water, which only mimicked the night sky. One endless cycle. And he spoke like that too- just a bunch of jumbled, philosophical nonsense. He did, however, make accurate predictions of the alignment of land, so I held my tongue and entertained it.

Cael’s gaze was still angled towards the paper, his hand continuing to write that letter but with speeds that didn’t resemble the pace we held as we spoke earlier. He was writing faster than his burning eyes could follow.

“I sense something.” I heard him whisper. His voice in this state remained the same- it was like a blanket of velvet wrapping each word. A sense of smoothness in the cadence of his tone, and something that could soothe a troubled spirit.

“What is it?” I continued.

The burning of his tattoo’s should’ve been familiar to my naked eye, however I couldn’t shake the feeling that his glow had intensified since I last saw it. He looked… well, he looked unnatural… but in an almost sentient sort of way. Was this what he had meant? I wondered silently to myself. What he had meant about the island- Gatvia, about it changing him.

“I’m not sure.” His voice sounded like comfort.

Yet mine held none when I asked “is it dangerous?”

There was a possibility that my eyes deceived me. That perhaps Cael had meant to shake his head all along, but for a moment, I saw conflict in his eyes. And I didn’t know how, considering they were burning the same hue as the patterns in his skin.

“No,” he whispered slowly. “but I sense… well…” his voice trailed off, to which I noticed his hand had finally slowed on the letter he was still very much crafting. “Something has… changed.”

The look I was giving Cael probably wasn’t the most welcoming considering all he’d done was give me exclusive insight into what was equivalent to that of an empty crate, but I held my tongue as I noticed the brightness of those patterns etched along his smooth skin, starting to dim. I didn’t know what to say, let alone how to say it.

“I’m sorry,” Cael whispered. His finger held my quill hovered slightly above the pad. “It isn’t much, but I’m still learning.”

I set the wet rag I was holding, filled with flakes of dry blood I had scrubbed off the metal, down on the wooden desk. “So this is what Gaia was teaching you?” I asked. Cael nodded once more.

“My powers have benefitted me in the past because I held the ability to call upon it when needed.” he explained. I watched as he finally set the ink coated quill down next to the ink’s container. “My skin has always acted as a smoke signal for the world above us, a call to them to do my bidding… but I’m starting to understand more.”

The glow continued to lessen with each word this man spoke, and all I could do was watch as the Cael I knew without that power returned.

“Gaia had somehow slit into my frequency with the stars. She bestowed upon me the wisdom of understanding that this skill- this power, it may work as less of a pigeon flying home, and more of a… a conversation. A connection linking both worlds.” My body remained still, listening intently to Cael’s words. “She’s been teaching me to learn how to listen.”

••

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21. After Nightfall, Before Dawn

My bday is tomorrow or whatevahhh, so y’all might just get a few uploads today before and after I meal prep ;)

My family is also flying in from Kenya tomorrow so this week might be slow on uploads after today.

Stay tuned till the end for a little update to the fucktard that stole my work off Wattpad and published it on Amazon word for word at the beginning of this month…

But for now, enjoy lovelies!!

xoxo

(P.S. lemme know if you see any errors, I’ll get that fixed with the second upload today:) )

Caspian

“I’m not doing that, Alistair-”

“ Captain .“ Alistair corrected as he hurled another garment of clothing my way. It shot through the air, thumping into my chest with an impressive amount of force that almost made me lose my footing.

“ Captain .“ The urge to roll my eyes to the back of my head was strong, but Alistair’s irritations coupled with how early in the day it still was, kept my own annoyance contained.

He had woken me before light even thought of touching the sky, ordering me to leave my private room and enter his own. I could still feel the swaying of the sea below my feet as soon as I swung them off the bed and they hit the floorboards, which only intensified my own confusion.

We hadn’t ported yet, the sea was too rough to mimic waves along a coast… and yet we weren’t exactly moving. It felt like an anchor had been dropped.

I didn’t have much time to ask questions on why that was, because Alistair was quite literally throwing clothes my way with an urgent order for me to change. The comment that finally made me halt the conversation and Alistair’s actions entirely, was when Alistair suddenly suggested that I put ashes of charcoal in my hair.

“ Captain ,“ I corrected myself, adding just a smidge of irritance. “Why do you want me to put charcoal in it?”

This was the first time I saw Alistair’s body still since he awoke me. Sleep hadn’t quite left my eyes, yet his were more than on alert. He finally turned from his large open armoire to look directly at me as he spoke. “You’re joining us in Sicoria.” He replied, to which my eyebrows furrowed practically immediately.

Alistair had spoke briefly about the stop on this island, over supper the first night we were back on the ship, and according to him, I was to remain on said ship until he and Cael returned.

At the time, I felt my heart sink with yet another missed opportunity to get away from Alistair and his crew. Now… well, now I was more concerned about what made Alistair change his mind.

“Why would I need to put charcoal in my hair?” I reiterated. Maybe I myself was still partially asleep and just wasn’t understanding his thought process correctly, but I doubted it.

Alistair was holding yet another black garment in his hands as he held my gaze. “Your white hair will give us away.”

I felt my eyes narrowing before I could control my own emotions. I attributed this to the dazed state I was still in as I responded once more with a “ no .“

There wasn’t much I could say I was proud of in this torturous life, however my hair fell into an exception. Asking me to mask the unique color that was held of royal blood alone, was a despicable act to my bloodline. Alistair didn’t own the right to ask that of me. The insult of it struck every working nerve in this good as dead shell of a body, regardless of what Alistair did and didn’t know to be true about who I was.

The look he was giving me was one I couldn’t discern. He didn’t immediately resort to anger as I expected him to. Instead, he looked, dare I say it, conflicted, before I saw that piece of clothing leave his hand with speeds that took me physical concentration to catch.

“ Fine . Put this on, and tuck your hair back.“

The material was heavy, the black leather causing my hands to believe they caught a bullet instead of a garment as I straightened the cloak out.

Great , I thought. As if the sun wasn’t scorching this earth enough, I prepared myself for the treacherous position I was being put in by wearing this thick cloak in this heat. My stubbornness would truly have its limits tested, and yet I wasn’t willing to budge. Not on this. Not when it came to what little was left of my family which included my hair. And so I found my fingers fumbling with the buttons of my top shirt, quickly exposing more of my upper body to Alistair as I worked to change into these clothes before this unpredictable being of a man changed his damn mind again.

His gaze didn’t leave my exposed skin. Him not even bothering to turn himself around as I quickly pulled the soft shirt I slept in, up over my face, before setting it on the bed. Alistair had thrown so many things my way, most had ended up on the mattress. I stretched each piece out, desperately trying to understand what I was going to pull over this pale skin first. There has a black undershirt that was slightly too large for my frame, as was most his wardrobe, but I decided not to question it nor push my luck as I slipped it over my head.

Next were trousers, and while I could acknowledge my ignorance earlier, there was no missing how centered in the color black this man’s armoire was filled with.

I straightened out the charcoal colored trousers he had set out for me, then started to fiddle with the tied strap around my waist that held my own white trousers comfortably at my waist. Alistair’s body suddenly jolting to life, turning back to his armoire with his back facing me again as he started to select clothing that looked to be for himself.

Granted, Alistair’s current attire resembled what he usually wore around the ship. It left me with nothing but more intrigue as I watch him strip himself of his signature leather jacket.

My own fingers finally got the tied knot free from the waistband, before I allowed the material to drop to the floor. With Alistair’s back still towards me, I quickly pulled on the pants he chose, over my naked bottom half. This complete black attire was an interesting choice to say the least, because the color against my own skin and hair looked like night and day.

And yet, once I pulled the cloak over me, I understood what Alistair’s approach was. The hood offered me the same concealment as the cloak Gaia was wearing the night she read my prophecy, had.

My gaze glanced up against my own better judgement as Alistair yanked the undershirt he was wearing, clean off. His back was still to me, however that did nothing when I attempted to avert my gaze.

The definition in his body was simply indescribable. My gaze followed as every muscle seemed to activate with each movement his arm made. I watched as his tattoos followed in suit, like his skin was created and bonded around the art itself, and yet he still willed each design and their movements.

He kept his pants on, the solid black material complimenting his own black cloak he slipped over those broad shoulders. At this point, I assumed we’d fall victim to the sun before falling victim to any of his enemies. Nevertheless, I still held my tongue as I watched him finish dressing himself. Silence was the best choice with the mood this man was in.

And to imagine that I assumed this part of the morning would be my most eventful moment all day, felt like a distant memory. The next thing Alistair did once he and I had finished changing and strapping weaponry, was to bring both myself, Snips, Cael, and two other men I now recognized as Hobbs and Gilly to the main deck. Light still hadn’t touched the sky yet as we made it out to the clearing.

I had to mention both Hobbs and Gilly perceived their more childish nicknames- they were some of the most skilled swordsmen I’d seen since my days in the palace, only showcasing their incredible talent when I watched a bit of their sparring with Gaia’s men in Gatvia.

Cael jumped onto the ledge of the ship, using a loose rope that was anchored to one of the sails beams above, to lower himself down into what I first thought was water.

As I looked closer past the side of the ship, and into the darkness that was the sea, I realized there was a small boat already lowered into the water. It bobbed violently against the waves of the sea.

I heard as Cael’s thick, sturdy built boots hit the bottom of the boat after he jumped. Snips was right behind him, using the same rope that snapped back against the side of the ship, to lower himself. He was a bit less graceful with this than Cael, because I was sure the sound of his body smacking against the side of the ship when he failed to let go of the rope in time, was something everyone heard.

He did eventually make it to the boat with the help of Cael who stood easily on the rocking vessel to intercept him once he noticed the man’s path was heading towards the water’s surface.

Alistair gestured for me to go next once that rope snapped back once more, so I grabbed ahold of it and slowly lowered myself past the side of the large ship, and onto the bottom of the smaller paddle boat. Snips had shifted to the front, making space for me to sit down next to Cael.

Hobbs and Gilly followed with ease, though the impact of each one dropping his body in was felt on. And as Alistair lowered himself in last, I realized this boat was definitely at maximum capacity. Alistair’s crew’s build still managed to surprise me, even Snips whose stature was smaller than the others. They all made this boat look like a piece of shipwrecked debris.

Luckily with this many men paddling, it didn’t take long to bring the boat closer to the shores. We had dropped the anchor and stilled the boat behind a massive formation of stone due west off the coast of the island. The stone that was in almost mountainous height, managed to conceal the ship entirely as this smaller party of men mad for the shallow southern coast.

The darkness of the sky concealed us, but it wouldn’t be long before daylight cut through, brightening the land, and we needed to be deep into the capital by then.

Alistair spoke quietly of the plan as we rowed. Hobbs and Gilly would join Alistair and myself to track down a man named Finnik. To my understanding, he was the one capable of giving us more information on the captain Alistair was hunting down.

He then ordered Snips to join Cael, to which Cael looked annoyed but agreed to. It was Snips who had an immediate objection.

The very first words out of his mouth were “I want to slit throats. This man,” Snips jerked his thumb in Carl’s direction, “likes to pray for fun. Our definitions of joy are entirely different.”

To which Alistair chuckled lightly, keeping his own voice hushed as he replied with “I promise there is reasoning to this split.”

And that seemed to be where Snips accepted his fate. We didn’t have much time, nor volume capacity, to continue into a disagreement.

Once the boat reached shallow enough waters, it was just light enough for us all to jump out and drag the heavy wooden heap up the sandy ground and away from the water.

We moved this boat up past the vacant shoreline and further towards the thick forest lining this side of the island. Cael managed to build a good cover for it with large branches and shrubbery that lined the ground of the entry to the forest. We would be leaving before the next daybreak, however Cael still took the time to make sure our means of passage back couldn’t be spotted by the common eye.

We all then followed Alistair deep into the forest. The sounds of our wet boots squishing against the soft ground below was all that could be heard, each pirate choosing to remain quiet as more light cut through a the thinning forest. This border wasn’t nearly as thick as it had been in Gatvia, which meant the outskirts of a town very soon appeared through the openings of the trees.

Sicoria didn’t have a hilly landscape like Gatvia had, so it was difficult to see how far this city stretched across the island. There was a large stoned perimeter separating most of it from the surrounding forest, but Alistair led us to the west side where the wall finished, and the farmland began.

We still had awfully minimal light. So much so, I wasn’t sure how Alistair could see so well through the darkness, but I didn’t question it. I didn’t say a word, mirroring the other pirates.

Past the wall, there were homes and buildings as far out as I could see. Lights from burning lanterns kept the paved cobblestone streets dimly lit, while very few people still wandered on them.

Alistair had tucked us away against the edge of the wall where it stopped, before whispering “Cael, you and Snips will meet us here before the sun cuts through the sky again.” Cael shifted closer to seemingly hear Alistair’s words better. “Keep to yourselves, and if you must find refuge for any reason, find the library owned by a man named Kiras and tell him exactly who you are. I’ll be alerted to you there and will join you as soon as I can recalculate our next order.”

Cael slowly nodded to Alistair, his own rich deep brown skin hidden by most of the darkness, but the whites of his eyes still visible by the light from the full moon above us. I could already see that sky start to lighten, turning the blackness into a deep blue.

“Aye,” Cael and Snips both spoke as they nodded.

I watched the two men waste no time as they made haste through the dark open field, sprinting towards the first buildings nearest us before they found themselves on an open, empty, vacant path. Each man pulled their own cloaks over their heads, concealing most of them as they seamlessly mixed in with a the few drunk men stumbling out of a building, and out onto the street.

I had first assumed that these long cloaks would be more suspicious than not, however the few men that roamed the entrance to the town were also wearing thicker clothing, regardless of the warmth brought on with the season. Alistair must’ve known , I reminded myself.

All that were left now were Alistair, myself, Hobbs, and Gilly. I hadn’t had the opportunity to ask why Cael and Snips were separating from the group, and before I could find the right words to question Alistair with, he turned swiftly on his heel before he himself took off into a sprint.

Hobbs and Gilly reacted with impeccable timing, as they too took off behind him. I, on the other hand, had a shaky start. Our boots were still wet, so trying to run against the fresh grass in them almost made me slide into Gilly’s back when he stopped abruptly. I realized soon after that it was Alistair who had.

He had stopped us near the first building into the city. It was an Inn, however from the looks of it, it hadn’t been operating for at least a few years. The sign was barely still hanging onto the front.

“Gilly, come here.” Alistair gestured for the pirate to move closer to where he stood, by the large stone wall connected to the Inn. This wall still kept us somewhat hidden from the town. I watched as the large captain bent down slightly to whisper something into the man’s ear, to which Gilly gave the captain a short nod.

“Hobbs,” Gilly then whispered, gesturing for himself and Hobbs to move forward. “Let’s go.”

The interaction had been so brief, I barely managed to register that now it was just Alistair and myself, until I heard him clear his throat in annoyance. He had done so quietly to keep our voices down, but I noticed he was already taking more steps towards a more offbeat path that curved to the east side of the city.

“Move.” He practically hissed, and that chilling voice forced my sea soaked boots forward.

••

Update:

Thank you to everyone for all the love and well wishes while I was dealing with that dickhead that published my CEO’s Trilogy on Amazon. Everything has been taken down now, and I’m still working the back end for pursuing further legal action.

I just wanted to say thank y’all…

And I also wanted to reiterate that I meant the shit I said in an A/N at the end of Chapter 47 in The CEO’s Kryptonite:

The CEO’s Trilogy will always be here for free.

If you ever see those books published elsewhere as well, they will be promoted by me with fully edited and bonus content so it justifies you spending any amount of money on something you can already find here for free.

I will never, EVER charge you to read my drafts, and maybe I just needed this little full circle moment considering this year marks ten years in the game since I published my first story here on Wattpad… but I’ll continue to fight for that.

When I said I started on Wattpad because I appreciated the free platform, and it brought me genuine happiness to have my work accessible to everyone, I meant it.

I believe in every word I put down to pad. I believe in every message I put into my work, and I believe every reader, especially those that can’t escape the toxic saturated market of relationships in books… I genuinely believe that the stories I tell help readers. And I believe that to be true because I

know

that the stories I’ve wrote have helped me.

Helped me both through the best of times, and the worst.

My father always told me that a true artist is one who can find joy in giving their work away, because touching even one person with my art has, is, and will always be the goal.

I’ve turned down many deals with that trilogy to keep it here free, so if you ever get the idiotic idea that you have any right to place

any

monetary value on MY work that

I

determined I wanted accessible to the general public with no paywall, let’s just say I hope you’ve got the stamina for the legal proceedings because I’ll make sure you never write again.

Yet then again, you probably copied my work word for word because you yourself can’t write at all.

Pitiful, really.

Anyways that’s all I got to say on that fuck shit, and I love you guys so so so much! Also specific shoutout to the amazing reader who emailed me about these books being on Amazon in the first place, not sure if you’re reading this George but you’ve got one absolutely fantastic soul <3

And I got more Derek art that I’ll be updating that book with this week :) Thank you to everyone who’s been submitting art, I genuinely have the most amazing readers on this shit show of an orbiting rock. Love you folks to bits, then a million little pieces

xoxo

22. Sicoria, Part One

A day may come where I fix this horrid sleep schedule… but it is not this day lol

Enjoy!

xoxo

Alistair

The city had changed some since our last visit.

It was as if all the Sicorian’s gathered to determine exactly what it would take to make this city a bloody labyrinth… and then they took it further, as they usually did with most things. I was only walking with confidence because Caspian was following closely behind, allowing me to lead.

The more unfortunate fact was that light would soon flood the sky, and we needed to reach Finnik before that happened. He could at the very least provide some shelter to keep us off the roads.

Sicoria had their own protection that would roam the streets come sunrise. Caspian would surprisingly blend in well with the civilians now that he was wearing a cloak, especially considering his pale skin and paler hair, however all that would prove useless if we were to be stopped for any reason. The natives of Sicoria were required to provide their residency paperwork if stopped by Sicorian guards, and if you were to travel on this land, an official document was required for processing and officiation.

Safe to say both myself and my men were barred from ever acquiring said documentation, which meant our stop on this land could never be welcomed by its people. That was to be expected, given the state I left their largest pirate fleet in… at the very bottom of the sea, along with a good deal of their very best pirates. And to think this whole issue was escalated due to their inability to understand that even the sea has territorial lines you do not cross, and once you left the black sandy shores of Sicoria, I owned you and anything you came with.

We’ve since reached and established an understanding. When they see my blood red sails, they immediately turn back. No pillage was worth the fatalities my men were sure to deliver at the hands of their insatiable blood lust.

I did my best to keep things organized because Caspian didn’t know that, and I didn’t need him anymore on edge. His rection to the black sandy shores was enough a reason to know his path had never once crossed with a Sicorian man before. And that just added to the growing lore of this man.

I led us further into the city, passing by businesses that had since switched their indoor lighting on, with its staff now preparing for the early morning crowd. It was the group of three men turning onto the main cobblestone road that drew my attention and kept it there. I noticed the bright red emblem on the front of their cloaks immediately, an emblem difficult and truthfully not worth the replication as it stood out against the otherwise black material, however I wasn’t expecting the Sicorian guards to discharge this early in the morning.

The city must’ve been experiencing an increase of rowdiness that required an earlier patrol, because Sicorian guards were known to be a lot of things, however an early riser didn’t make the long and growing list.

It took me a moment to  decide how best to divert their attention from Caspian and myself considering we were the only others traveling up this same street. My initial hopes were that the men were still waking up, and the grogginess would buy us some time.

I noticed another turn in shortly before Caspian and I would reach the three men who were merely a few strides ahead of us. They had seemed occupied enough to not notice when I swiftly turned onto the intersecting street on our left, my right hand reaching out to yank Caspian towards me before he could continue walking.

I hadn’t meant to force him back onto the wall of the building we were now tucked away to the side of, however the carrying sound of the Sicorian men made me react faster than I could think. I felt my body pin his against that brick wall, my larger frame masking his from any wandering eyes as my arms rested comfortably against the stone behind him, their position damn near parallel to his shoulders… and I mistakenly thought this might of been enough.

The first thing I heard was the sharpest inhale from Caspian as his body adjusted to my sudden proximity. I felt his warmth from underneath me, seeping through both our thick material. I could easily hear his heartbeat and its heightened rhythm as I rested my head rather gently against his left shoulder.

The next thing I heard was the slowing of footsteps when the Sicorian men finally made it to the opening where the turn in to this street was. I heard one of the men clear their throat, which only forced myself closer to Caspian, pushing him harder against this wall.

My larger frame was flush with his now, my head nuzzling even further into the crook of his neck. Every bit of what would’ve been exposed skin, was concealed by this massive cloak, and yet it felt like my touch penetrated through this thick material. Something I knew to be otherwise impossible.

“A-Alist-” I head Caspian whisper softly, his voice mixed in with unsurety. One of my hands left to the cold stone to grab hold of his waist. It was my attempt at steadying him, and yet it just made his body more rigid.

All I could answer with was a dangerously quiet “shh” as my nose slowly dragged against the curve of his neck through the cloak. I felt his hands grip at the front of my own cloak, but he didn’t push me away when I unintentionally repositioned my leg between his own.

“W-Wai-“Capsian started, yet this time he stopped himself before I could.

For a split second I contemplated knocking my head against his to knock him unconscious because of how ridiculously loud he was being, while I was just trying to keep us alive, but he had finally heard the guards just steps away that were the reason for all this. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he couldn’t have seen them in front of us before I yanked him onto this street, and now he had the opportunity to correct himself by shutting the fuck up.

One of the men had crassly yelled “take it off the streets!” our way, before those heavy, metal weighted boots continued down the cobblestone path. I waited until this footsteps faded before I took a sharp inhale.

I couldn’t stop the sigh of relief that slipped past my lips as my leg slowly shifted further away from Caspian’s. I hadn’t realized just how flush I made my body against his until my upper thigh brushed against something of his that was entirely unexpected.

Entirely .

I heard his desperate attempt at muffling the sound that slipped past his own lips but he hadn’t fully caught himself in time. I clearly heard the distorted moan before his hands separated themselves from the front of my cloak. He had gripped the material tighter than I thought once I noticed the wrinkles. It felt like he had almost pushed me away when my hand finally fell from his waist, however I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t even recall the last time anyone had put their hands on me, let alone with enough proximity to push me back.

I didn’t believe Caspian would’ve dared, yet still…

“W-Who were they?” Caspian whispered to me. His hands reached for the hood of his cape before they pulled that material down further. His dead eyes refused to meet my own as he spoke.

“Sicorian guards.” I explained in the same hushed tone, yet only slightly louder, and that was attributed to the safer nature I felt as we continued down this side street that surely didn’t exist just a few years ago. I fucking hated this city.

At this point I should’ve requested Finnik to let off a bloody smoke signal so he could aide us in help finding his shop. He owned this pawn shop as a false sense of legitimacy for his illegal smuggling, which I tried to explain to him was a horrible idea as a disguise, but he didn’t heed those words. His argument was he hadn’t been found out yet, and well… he wasn’t wrong. Finnik had… interesting perspectives, and they were paired dangerously with a courageous, ambitious personality. Still, this city was working on the last of my fucking nerves.

It made me wonder how Cael, Snips, Hobbs, and Gilly were all fairing. My guess was not well. Cael had this sense of direction that would be described as unnatural if I didn’t know what natual looked like on him. He was most likely leading Snips through the town after hearing Snips claim he knew where the hell he was going for the umpteenth time, when he in fact surely didn’t. That I would put money on.

I did feel slightly wrong about pairing those two together considering I promised Snips that he could soak Sicoria’s black sand red with blood. Truthfully, Cael wanted us to maintain an even lower presence than what we spoke of, and there was none better to control the outcome of confrontation, than Cael. That was just a given.

Hobbs and Gilly had been sent off on their own less pressing mission. There were a few men I had the interest of getting rid of, and those two were silent yet deadly. The exact precision needed to take care of some old men who didn’t understand the concept of dead men telling no tales.

The only thing I hated more than a stupid man, was one who took it upon himself to shape a story to his liking.

If one so desperately wanted to feel the wrath of my men for themselves, this was a wish I bore no issue with fulfilling. It was also something Caspian didn’t need to involve himself with. Cael didn’t even know of this side quest with fear he would immediately protest it, which he would.

My goal was to inflict as much damage as quietly as we could, before we took our leave. I had no plans on returning to Sicoria after this for years, and the paranoia my infiltration would have on the Sicorian guards for years to come after this little visit, warmed my blackened heart to completion.

Their guards would more than likely be required to awaken even earlier for their patrol and there was just something so sweet about being the first thing on these bastards minds as soon as their duties required them to rise. It was so kind and thoughtful.

Caspian had no response to my answer. Instead he continued to trail closely behind me as I led us even further into the city. We had made a few circles which Caspian still didn’t speak a word about, yet given the unsettling silence that fell between us, I had no doubt I wouldn’t hear another word from him unless something or someone was burning.

Hell, I myself didn’t know what to say to him.  I didn’t quite know what to make of his sudden arousal, and I found it even more challenging to move past it when he wore it with enough embarrassment to make his once pale stricken face, as vibrant as a ripely picked tomato.

With the hood of his cloak pulled forward as far as possible to the point where he could barely still see, even his chin was a vibrant shade of red. I noticed when I turned back slightly to make sure he was still following me. He was so silent, it was difficult to tell.

Luckily, once we passed by one of Sicoria’s whorehouses, I realized exactly where we were. The questioning of where we were heading was building up with Caspian and I could feel it, which made this victory all the more rewarding. Finnik’s pawn shop’s store front appeared around the next corner we took, releasing a sigh of relief from me.

We’d finally made it. And just in time, I realized as the first vibrant rays of gold scattered across the dark blue sky. It was a beautiful sunrise, but they always were on the island of Sicoria. Such beauty wasted on men who couldn’t recognize let alone appreciate the painting the sun painted for us unworthy pirates each morning.

Many things were wasted on this island.

Like oxygen, for example.

Regardless, that relief was treasured as my hands reached for the door handle to Finnik’s shop.

It was the blanket of comfort and safety that I was all too willing to accept, not paying much regard for the difficult man that came with it.

••

23. Sicoria, Part Two

Another upload cause this story has fr been doing so damn well omgg

Thank y’all so so much for the comments, the votes, and literally just taking the time to read this one

It seriously has made me so much more confident to write (rather upload, cause best believe I’ve got some drafts written lol) more fantasy based books

So thank you thank you thank you!!

I love yall so damn much <3

xoxo

P.S. I don’t mind the corrections for the spelling errors, it absolutely helps when I do another run through and edit

Caspian

I wasn’t sure what I expected with Finnik. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Yet once my body finally subsided from the jarring intensity of whatever the hell Alistair had done to it mere moments ago, I realized I didn’t know what to expect from anyone on this damn island anymore. Even with Alistair and his men, but most specifically with Alistair.

For example, my body reacted to the Captain’s touch like it was branded by a metal sword that was held to a live flame from sun up till sundown. I was wearing quite possibly the thickest material to exist, and yet no amount of clothing could make me feel any less exposed than I did then… and subsequently did now.

Everything was on fire. Including the rate of my once almost dead heartbeat, and something told me Alistair could somehow hear it. I wasn’t sure how, but if it was loud enough to drown out damn near all sound from my own ears, it was loud enough to reach his.

I still felt where his hand had touched my waist, pulling me further into him. I had no control, no willpower against his touch, and that alone terrified me.

He avoided glancing back in my direction as he pushed open the doors to what looked like an antique shoppe, and allowed me to follow him in. The doors weren’t latched shut yet there were no lights on to signal anyone was inside.

Alistair didn’t say anything, instead he continued further into the shop, moving around the dark, cluttered, and must scented space before we made it to a door in the very back. My nose immediately grew sensitive to the layers of dust that coated almost every item visible to the eye, but I did my best to ignore both it and the pungent smell that accompanied it.

Instead of reaching for its handle, Alistair raised his hand and knocked against the dark wood four consecutive times. There was no rhythm or pattern to this knock, yet Alistair didn’t say one word to announce who he was.

I heard a latch unfastened itself on the other side of the door before it was finally swung open. The rusted hinges ground against each other releasing this sharp horrid sound, and revealing more of their unkept age.

I couldn’t see anything past Alistair’s large frame besides the fact that this room was well lit. Once I followed him inside, I got a better view of an enormous study, and a very short man that occupied it. He very well may have been the shortest man I’d ever seen, not measuring any higher than my hip. This study was lined with bookshelves and glass encasements holding relics my common eye couldn’t process…

There was an aura to this room, one that should’ve demanded my immediate attention and observation. Yet all that attention was drawn to the short man that offered us a polite nod.

“Finn.” Alistair nodded to the man who stood next to the entrance, beckoning us further in before he closed the door that was placed behind us now. He was an older gentlemen, maybe in his sixties or so, yet his face held youth like the waters of immortality held in a palm. He had the shade of skin that matched the light scrap wood located in the the crews quarters of Alistair’s ship, which in return drew my gaze there. It made some of his grey hairs growing from the edges of his scalp, all the more noticeable against that far from fair skin.

I did my best not to stare, but it was difficult not to. Every part of him was almost shrunk down to a child’s proportions, and yet Alistair treated this as if it were common. As if his abnormality was.

Perhaps it was , I thought to myself. Perhaps I was the uneducated one in this scenario.

For every world my eyes had fastened their gaze upon, Alistair’s had seen tenfold. Between the two of us, what I knew of the world was very well a drop in the sea he’d claimed for years.

And so I did what I do rather well.. I kept my mouth shut, taking a seat next to Alistair in one of the two wooden chairs facing the desk, and allowed the men to continue their banter.

“Ali.” Finnik nodded before he took a seat at the desk across from us. “Punctual as always.”

Those words made the edges of Alistair’s lips tug up into a smile as he positioned his massive sword against himself and the side of his seat.

“There’s someone I want dead. And when have I been known to delay a meeting with those that wronged me, and death itself?” He countered. His deep voice felt different in this closed room, yet I didn’t understand why. Nothing had shifted from its place, and yet it felt like the air itself was shaking with each word. It made the hairs on my arms stand to immediate attention.

Finnik chuckled, his own lips tugging up into a smile I found surprisingly gentle. “Must they wrong you to feel your wrath? I haven’t known that to ever be true.”

Alistair’s own slightly deranged smile widened. “Crossing paths with me and my men is a wrongdoing all in itself. A disastrous mistake I make no effort to hide the consequences of. And I stand firm in my decisions to do so. You let one man live, you may as well let them all.”

My brows furrowed slightly at those words. Alistair had let me live after all… and yet… my gaze shifted down to my lower half still planted firmly in this wooden chair.

He had only done so because I wanted to die. I wanted the very thing he liked to take, not give . Perhaps I was starting to understand the conflictions that plagued Alistair. I had subsequently taken the fun out of killing for him.

Finnik nodded to Alistair, his gaze very rarely ever shifting from his towards me which I gladly welcomed.

“It looks like you let one live.” Finnik’s hand gestured in my direction, and I realized I may have spoken too soon. Finnik clearly knew more of what I was to Alistair than I thought. It made me question what else he knew. And what else he could reveal to Alistair.

All this Captain did was toss his shoulders up nonchalantly. “The man is built for work, and it was due time that I took a slave to assist my crew.”

“ Mm .“ I heard Fin hum more to himself. “So to what do I owe this pleasure? You wouldn’t risk a journey to Sicoria for just anything. I believe the last words you said to me was that it would take a war to pull you back to these decrepit shores… and I haven’t heard of any war yet. At least not one you’d care to join.”

Alistair stretched his long legs out, shifting his weight in the chair to better position himself before he replied. “Azul and The Holy Men can eat shit and bathe in piss the rest of their lives and it wouldn’t disturb a single current in my waters.”

Finnik chuckled, his shorter arms reaching for his desk before he leant forward against it. “Alistair… both the living and the dead and well aware of that. Whose soul are you hunting?”

“A captain.” Alistair replied. That deranged smile of his had lessened some as the conversation took a more serious turn.

“Dead or alive?” Finnik questioned a bit coyly, to which Alistair’s eyes immediately narrowed at the man.

“A smart tongue like that serves better severed.”

My head damn near snapped itself off with how quickly it panned in Alistair’s direction. His words dripped with malice.

“Gentle,” Finnik replied, though I noticed his body had grown more rigid to that awfully serious threat. “Whose secrets could I pass on then?” This whole conversation had now made me wish I had fought to stay on that ship. This whole visit to this island was not what I was expecting, and with every passing moment here, I realized I had no desire to try and stay in hopes of separating myself from Alistair.

Something told me that if I did, I may be exchanging one prison for another.

“And to defend my reasoning, the last man you came looking for was dead. That was information I told you I knew to be true, and yet you didn’t believe me.”

The look Alistair had firmly set on Finnik, didn’t change any.

“To defend my reasoning, the man had blown a massive hole through Ol’ Bess.”

“Yes, then a Sicoria pirate blew a hole straight through him as ramifications for what him and his crew had done to your vessel. The debt was settled.”

“Not by my standards.” Alistair countered.

“And so your grand plan was to what? Dig his dead body up just so you could further disfigure a corpse? You can’t kill the dead, Alistair.”

Alistair’s lips curled up into a somewhat sinister smile again, making my skin crawl immediately. “And you don’t know nearly enough about me nor the sea to make a claim such as that.”

All my eyes could do was dart back and forth between the two men as they conversed intensely, wondering who was it that had the upper hand here… Alistair, or Finnik?

“It’s been some time since we last sat face to face. What makes you think I haven’t learned?”

Alistair’s smile widened with Finnik’s question. “The same amount of time has passed for us both, has it not? I do not doubt that the mysteries of land and sea have presented themselves to you with each item you’ve managed to steal, and yet… do you not feel that? “

The easiness of Finnik’s own smile had finally started to fade some, distancing itself from his face. “All who’ve felt your presence knows the radiance of your powers, Alistair.” The shorter man spoke with less ease.

“The air has not shifted by my doing. It would do you well to learn about those shiny objects your sticky hands like to come attached to. For certain things can hold a soul, the most dangerous thing to wager… and all magic comes at a price.”

Finnik still didn’t look like he fully understood. Granted, I didn’t understand any of this at all, but luckily Alistair had no issue educating us both.

“The air hasn’t shifted by my doing. The relics you’ve acquired since my last visit… they’re what is responsible for this. What you should see when you look around at the riches that surround you, is the souls of many that have been shackled by my own hands. And what you feel… what makes the hairs on your body come to life with each word I speak, is their own pleas, their own cries for mercy as they pray that I haven’t come to collect.”

The look in Finnik’s eyes shifted drastically at that as he looked around this once comfortable yet large study with a new sense dread. I, myself, followed his gaze to the many items held in those glass cases. Some daggers. Some pendants. Some armor.

“Then did you dig his body up?” The short man asked, to which Alistair chuckled.

“I took what was still owed to me. And the men that witnessed it, now understand that a debt isn’t settled until I settle it.”

My hairs stood at attention again now, however it wasn’t due to these relics Finnik had collected. No… what I felt was absolute fucking terror.

It had reminded me of the threat Alistair spoke of. When he had spoke to me during the heat of that ambush.

“If you die on me ,” the voice had whispered, “ I will retrieve your soul from the depths of fucking hell itself and yank it back into the land of the living with my own bare fucking hands.“

Every part of me felt his sincerity in those words then… but hearing him now, I was starting to realize he may not have told a single lie.

“A captain then?” Finnik finally spoke. His voice had an edge to it, however it sounded like it was trying to balance itself with the slight fear that meshed into this old man’s wrinkles on his face.

“Aye.” Alistair nodded. He had finally melted a bit of that wicked smile off his own face, causing my own heart rate to steady again. At least for now, he no longer looked ready to kill. “His men wore a red skull emblem on their leather coats, the same emblem engraved in the handle of their swords.”

Finnik nodded slowly, taking a second to think. “That be Gaelick and his crew. I heard stirrings about one of his largest fleets being buried at the bottom of the sea. My assumptions are that was your doing?”

My head whipped back to Alistair a bit unintentionally. I knew that that ship had been met with canon fire as a direct order from Alistair that night, however I somehow assumed that a ship of that magnitude would be discovered stalled at sea.

“Aye.” Alistair nodded. “And now I want the captain’s head.”

Finnik took yet another pause before he answered that. “You sought out the right location, however Gaelick left these shores by sundown this previous night. He had his eyes set for Azul in an attempt to recuperate the damage from the loss of all those men. You stayed true to your word of leaving no survivors.”

“Incorrect,” Alistair interjected. “That Captain is a survivor as far as I’m concerned, and as long as he still breathes, no ship was genuinely sunk.”

“Perhaps it was a misunderstanding? Gaelick hasn’t been at sea long. Not in comparison to you.” Finnik suggested, to which Alistair outwardly and harshly laughed at.

“There was no misunderstanding. The message sent and received was as clear as the air on my ship. And I’m not looking to chew the fat with him, the only conversation had will be between swords, and I’m inclined to make that man awfully well acquainted with the edge of mine.”

••

24. Sicoria, Part Three

This app is by far the jankiest shit to be released into this world ever. Just fucking ghetto

Wattpad, I don’t want to hear jack fucking shit about this book circulating into an all ages category because I have marked it as mature like 60 times and it keeps reverting.

So I don’t want to fucking hear shit, on god.

Anyways, enjoy lovelies!

xoxo

Alistair

Great.

The bloody pirate wasn’t even on this shit island anymore.

Just perfect.

And from the looks of things, Cael and I would need to leave by nightfall if we were to reach him in time. Not dawn.

Just fucking great .

“Finnik, I need to ask a favour of you.” I spoke to the man who still sat across from both Caspian and myself. The look he gave me was expected. It was the look of astonishment at my bold audacity to even ask this after having insulted him.

“You really must have some screws loose.” Finnik replied, to which I outwardly laughed at.

“Name your price.” I wagered.

He started to say something that looked to be in alignment with telling me to fuck right on off, but then he stopped himself. Finnik was usually a fairly easy man to discern, he didn’t mask his emotion on his face like my men and I could… but in this moment, I couldn’t see his mind like it was usually presented to me. I couldn’t tell what this man was thinking.

“There’s another ship that left Sicorian ports at sundown, its captain being a man named Jirah. On his ship he carries something of mine. Well, genrally speaking it is his, however I was meant to commandeer it before his men left these shores. Something or someone got to him before I could, alerting him of the potential theft, and I wasn’t able to get my sticky hands on it in time.”

The tone of his voice as he repeated my own accusations towards him, did not go unnoticed. The fact that he still harbored any amount of pride while he openly admitted to his own wrong doings in the same breath, also did not go unnoticed.

“What is it you want me to steal back… or rather, steal, considering it was never in your possession to begin with?”

“No need to dip my open wounds in sea water, Alistair. I’m doing you a favour, or do you not recall?”

It took more in me than I expected not to roll my eyes to back of my head at Finnik’s response. All of Cael’s heeding words were quickly leaving me.

“And what is that favour?” He continued.

“I need you to get my men here before the sun disappears back into the ground. I have two men hunting down three: Sirius Cuolt, Rhys Gandarian, and Daenir Targar. These men are more than likely dead by now given the precision of Hobbs and Gilly’s work, however my men were directed to take refuge with Kiras to keep them off the guard infested streets while the sun still bares its face.”

Finnik reached forward, his arms barely long enough to grab hold of a quill in the middle of his desk, and a small container of ink located in one of the desks drawers on his side. He began to hastily write as I continued with my request.

“Cael and Snips will be looking for an appraiser. I do not know which one, however there are very few who’d hold extensive information on any outstanding bounties. I’m sure you can narrow that list of names down.”

Finnik gave me a firm nod, not bothering to look up from his paper as he continued to write.

“We need off this island by nightfall if we are to reach Gaelick. He will not make it to the ports of Azul, rest assured, however Cael would not approve of us bringing a fight so close to their borders. Our relationship with Azul is a difficult one at best.”

“As is your relationship with every other governing island.” Finnik replied with a decent amount of crass. I chose to ignore it.

“Then what of your request?” I asked. “What is it that I’m to commandeer from Jirah’s ship?”

Finnik’s hand finally rested, setting the ink dripping quill on its stand before he reached down to pull something else out from that very same drawer. This was a piece of tattered, worn cloth, yet as he gently straightened it out on the desk, a painted image started to take shape.

“It’s called The Eye Of The Sea.” Finnik spoke, but I recognized that black ink painting long before he could say exactly what it was. And once I had, the laughter I let out was so abrupt it made Caspian’s entire body suddenly jolt in his seat beside me.

“You were-” My lungs gasped for air once more. “You were trying to steal The Eye Of The Sea?” I struggled to get this sentence past my lips between the bouts of laughter.

Finnik’s face scrunched up in disdain for my sudden outburst, yet he found himself slowly nodding.

“ And you think I’ve lost

my

mind ,“ I more or less muttered to myself. There was no plan that existed in any world where Finnik would have successfully obtained that pendant. None whatsoever. Yet I held my tongue from accusing him of soaring too close to the sun with his lint structured wings.

“This would have been successful had he not departed so soon.”

I looked at Finnik as if he had finally lost those last bits of wits about him. The only success this man would’ve surely seen, was the success of getting himself killed. “Have I crossed paths with this Jirah before? My assumptions are no, considering he still breathes.”

It was now Finnik’s turn to surprise me with his own abrupt laughter, something that immediately irritated me. “Oh bless the seas. If you had, you more than likely wouldn’t have known. To the governing islands, and the seas between, he’s known as The Chameleon.”

Finnik had started to fold the piece of paper he had written on, having allowed the ink to dry some before doing so.

“I would exercise the most precaution on his ship. He harbors items with more mystery than anything found in my shop, and you know more than most how mischievous magic can be. I only want the pendant.”

I could feel the edges of my lips starting to turn up into a smile with every word Finnik spoke, but I did my best to hold it in.

Oh, I knew of The Chameleon.

A man with abilities to take the face of another… and though I wouldn’t admit this to Finnik given the disparity of this negotiation, I would have willingly hunted that man down at no additional charge.

I also held my tongue due to the realization that this would momentarily delay our original objective, which was to hunt down Gaelick. I needed Finnik to think that I was the one harboring the most misfortune with this trade, even if my blade burned with the thought of being the one to cut down The Chameleon.

“That will set me back days.” I told the shorter man, to which he immediately scoffed at.

“You have the fastest vessel on sea. The Destroyer will easily reach Gaelick before he reaches Azul.”

Finnik told no lie, yet still I maintained my look of weariness to really sell this distress. 

“Fine.” He sighed irritably. “You may also take something from this shop to assist you. I will give you a moment here to choose while I go gather your men. It will take some time considering the sun has risen now, and Sicorian guards will be on every street, but your pirates will reach these antique shop doors before nightfall, I give you my word.”

I nodded to Finnik, watching as he pushed himself off his own chair. Once those fleeted planted on these cement floors, I was reminded of his height once more.

“Keep the front doors to the shop latched, with no lights on. I will place a closed sign on the front window as I leave.” Finnik added, to which I myself finally pushed my tired joints up from this uncomfortable chair. A decent nights rest would have done my body some good, but I felt my own stubbornness overtaking that need.

We’d rest better with the head of Gaelick on the table near my bed. That, I was sure of.

Caspian slowly rose himself, standing next to me as we watched Finnik busy himself with a few more things around the study before he finally took his leave.

And as much as I didn’t care to leave the lives of my men in this short man’s even tinier hands, I realized fairly quickly that he would blend in far better than myself could, let alone Caspian. And my men deserved their best chances of making it through this dangerous city.

I watched as Caspian moved closer to the desk, examining the painted piece of cloth.

“This looks familiar…” I heard him whisper to himself. His hands slowly rose to the hood of his cloak before he pushed the large, thick material back. I could see his face clearly now, along with the skin that had since returned to its inherit paleness. Whatever discomfort he once wore was now gone, and replaced with curiosity.

I didn’t understand what he had meant by that. This pendant hadn’t been seen for many years, surely more years than this man had lived. Whoever possessed it now had done everything to keep it in his possession, and now knowing that man was none other than The Chameleon, I was sure Caspian had never laid eyes on this before. I wasn’t even sure how Finnik had found a painting of it, for only those who knew of the oldest tales knew of it.

Caspian must’ve been mistaken , I thought. And with the way his eyebrows furrowed deeper in thought, I was even more sure of it.

As he stared at the tattered cloth, I found myself approaching some of the items Finnik had on display in this room.

My trickery with Finnik had earned me a gift, yet had he known my intentions with said gift, he would’ve cut his own tongue off before ever offering such a thing. But that wasn’t a problem of mine. He’d soon learn.

I felt the pull of all the items still tethered to my power. First was the Dagger of King Sorin, the sixth leader to a nation that barely existed now, very far from here. It was called Osiris. An item of extreme rarity… and one that had a past with The Pirate King. One very bloody past.

The man who owned this power before me was one who had lived many many years before my time. I did not know much of what this power would bring once inherited, but with each journey… with each raid, and pillage, and loot, I began to feel this pull towards items that called to me. That cried to me in something I could only explain as absolute terror.

I did not know what this mad man had done to these relics, or how he had discovered they held powers of their own that he could wager, but what I did know was that it made for one very odd first few years as I grew accustomed to being a dead man walking amongst the living.

It was even more difficult to understand that the power they held, I owned every right to. If only this curse came with instructions of some kind.

I could sense that this dagger was amongst one of the oldest items in Finnik’s collection. Something he must’ve considered a great value and treasure, which made what I was about to do next all the more comforting.

My hands reached forward, pulling the top glass cover up and off of the dark, wooden platform the dagger stood against a stand on. The short silver metal blade was met at its base with blood red rubies coating the handle. I could see the shimmering of the jewels even with such limited light, feeling the call to men that distorted the minds of those once righteous, as it had King Sorin who went on to lead his nation with an iron fist.

I could smell the bloodshed that once oozed from the blade, could see the faces of many reflected in the gems. Once my hand wrapped itself around that handle, I heard the piercing cries of all who died at its and King Sorin’s hands. Of all the once clean souls that had been poisoned by its and his hatred.

And to think Finnik would so easily harbor something of this magnitude is… well, it was actually very much so something that ambitious half-wit would do.

I felt all that hatred and visceral seep through my right hand which was holding the blade. Its powers returning to its rightful owner. I felt the surgent of my own strength, the addictive burning sensation that had turned the blue veins running up my hand, now a rich, deep, blood red.

And that was when it happened. Starting with the tip of the blade, I watched with solace as the metals started to crumble, falling like ash from a raging forest fire, onto the wooden platter below. It was a level of satisfaction I realized I hadn’t felt in some time, the entire dagger eventually disintegrating before my very eyes, before the handle had begun to do the same.

These blood red jewels turned black as they too joined the pile of ash, until all I was left with in my hand were its powdery remnants. My body, in its place, flowed with its rage.

Finnik wouldn’t understand this now, but I was the one who had done him the favour. Perhaps saved his life, because this short man was far too stubborn to understand that not every relic was one worth owning.

••

25. Cursed Weapons

Well, well, well. Would you look at that. My book is back to the mature rating it should’ve been set to in the first goddamn place.

Wattpad, on my soul y’all make it mad fucking hard to continue to support y’all. And let’s be clear, you put ads on

my

shit so yes that’s me supporting you with the work that I don’t even get paid to run ads on you cheap whores.

That’s all I got for today with dragging y’all for utter filth, but seriously, do better or I’ll look for better

Anyways, enjoy lovelies!

xoxo

Caspian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/64ba4f9bf89512b57452ce96261a39d63207770a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4f3946755334567574614a5249673d3d2d313435313739323637362e313764373139393738316531656639333932323730333836313539352e6a7067)               

My mind was so engrossed in the image of the pendant Finnik had pulled out and placed on his desk, I wasn’t paying Alistair any mind until I heard it. Well, rather I felt it before I actually heard it. When my eyes darted from this dark mahogany desk over to where Alistair stood in the back of the study, I caught just the final glimpse of what he had done.

In his hand was only the handle of what was a dagger, and it was quickly disintegrating the rest of the way before his and my own very eyes. I watched as the ash fell, taking with it the acoustic of echoed voices that sounded like blood curdling cries pounding against the drums of my ears.

I felt this chilling feeling soon wash over me, causing my blood to run cold regardless of the heat this heavy cloak had provided… and yet Alistair bore no reaction whatsoever.

There wasn’t much I was sure of, however I was confident that this wasn’t what Finnik had meant when he offered Alistair a pick of his weapon of choice to aide in our additional quest.

And well, all I could do was pray that this wouldn’t hinder Finnik’s decision to help get us out of this city. Alistair had a real gift for finding exactly what it took to push someone past the realms of reasonable patience… and then he doubled it.

This bloody pirate said nothing, instead gently tossing his hands together to get rid of the residue still on them, before he turned and walked back to the chair Finnik had once sat in. One that relatively looked more comfortable than the chairs we had chosen upon entering the room. He wasted no time rummaging through the man’s drawers, while I myself went back to the seat I originally claimed.

The painting of the pendant was still on the desk, beckoning my gaze there once more whether or not I willed it.

I wasn’t sure why it looked familiar. I wasn’t sure how it could either. From what I could see in this shop and study, along with how Finnik spoke of the item, it didn’t sound like it was common knowledge. This cloth that it was painted in black ink on showing the hexagon shaped encasement with what looked to be a jewel inside, somehow reminded me of something I did my best to avoid thinking of entirely.

Home.

It was something nothing like this could’ve possibly triggered, and yet it did.

What troubled me even further was the man who owned it, The Chameleon, I’d heard of him before believe it or not. This was possibly five or so journeys around the sun ago, while myself and Lemont were doing contracted work located on the very outskirts of Azul.

We had been tasked with building crates for the merchant ships that both myself and Lemont eventually were hired onto. Had I known this work would soon land me in a dangerous city with an even more dangerous pirate hellbent on angering every man he made contact with, I would’ve kept to crate making. Now I was reaping the consequences of having the audacity to venture out for higher wages.

There was a ship that ported close to the shores we were working on, but once its Captain stepped foot on the white, scorching sand, I felt a hand latch itself onto my forearm, pulling me back into the forested area that surrounded the west bank.

When my eyes found Lemont, I saw fear in his. Something I had grown accustomed to seeing for most of my days walking this earth, considering our circumstances, however the way his face paled drew my attention.

“What is it?” I asked the shorter man.

“His face.” Lemont responded, his aged wrinkles only creasing further in that space between his eyebrows. “It isn’t right.” That response made my own eyebrows furrow in confusion, but Lemont continued with his explanation. “I believe he’s known as The Chameleon. It’s best we keep our distance until he leaves the shoreline.”

This captain had since pulled the hood of his cloak up, blocking my vision, but I still recalled the face he wore then on that beach. His features young, with skin only fairly touched by the sun. We were still quite the distance away, even on the sandy shores, so the distance Lemont created for us by pulling me further towards the forest made it impossible for me to see.

I didn’t understand what Lemont had meant by that then, but the way Finnik had described him mere moments ago, I think I understood Lemont’s weariness. I heard that same tone in Finnik’s voice when he spoke of the magic that man possessed.

Alistair had a slight smile playing on his lips as he rummaged through papers he had pulled from Finnik’s desk. The agreement to hunt down Jirah seemed to irritate him when he was speaking with Finnik, yet now he looked to be in a rather jolly mood. Which only left me more weary myself. It was a constant battle between whether I thought this man was intelligent… or only held together like a door off its hinges.

The lack of stability was truly an enigma.

Then there was the other thing I still didn’t fully understand- what was Cael and Snips meeting an appraiser for? Given I still knew very little about the workings of Alistair’s ship, I found it diffucult not to try to further understand why Alistair would split his men like this in a city that clearly had no reason to welcome both him and his crew.

I dind’t even question why that was at this point. Alistair very well could’ve murdered their ruler for all I know and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest, especially at the stage we were at in our journey.

I wasn’t sure what compelled me to ask the Captain anything, but considering we now had nothing on our hands except time while Finnik was out delivering on his side of the agreement, I decided I didn’t have much else to better occupy me. So I found myself asking “what was that dagger? And what did you do to it?”

Alistair looked up from the papers he was very freely rummaging through, to meet my gaze. My hands reached for the hood of the cloak, before they pushed the material back away from the roots of my hair and onto my shoulders. We were alone now with no reason to hide my lighter features.

“I could’ve sworn you were present for this conversation with Finnik. I know he paid you no mind, but that doesn’t excuse you from your lack of listening skills.”

I almost outwardly sighed. Now I wished I had kept my mouth shut.

“You spoke of these items being tethered to you. Are they cursed?” I asked a bit boldly.

Alistair didn’t look nearly as annoyed as how he sounded which confused me, especially regarding the bite in his tone. He managed to reply with slightly less challenging words when he nodded, and said “yes. And as I mentioned to Finnik, I own the right to collect on their debt.”

It was safe to say I was far more confused now than I was mere moments ago.

“So you cursed these objects?”

Alistair briefly shook his head. “The one before me did.”

I forced my face to remain stoic because if if this flippant pirate got a glimmer of the confusion I felt, his irritation would indisputably grow.

“And who was that?” I continued. I couldn’t tell what Alistair had meant by that. Was he speaking of his father?

“I do not know.” he replied with, which did absolutely positively fuck all nothing for my confusion. And now I was doing less and less well at hiding my lack of understanding. “All that I know of, is what has been passed on to me. I don’t know who it was that did so, and after he had, he never presented himself to me again.”

I stared at Alistair, watching as his left hand reached up to readjust his eye patch, before he went back to tussling sheets of papers around.

“Then this man…” I started, working to fit together these peices. “He’s the one who cursed these objects?”

Alistair had since turned his gaze back to whatever documents that seemed to really grip his attention, however he didn’t abandon nor shy away from my line of questioning when he answered with an “aye.”

“Why?” I countered a bit too suddenly, which momentarily pulled Alistair’s gaze back from the slightly tattered pages to me.

“Why not?” he countered, to which my eyebrows furrowed even further. Had I known the mental acrobats I would be doing by starting this conversation, I would’ve left Alistair to rummage through all of Finnik’s belongings in peace.

Yet there was a part of me that was desperate to understand more. To understand Alistair more. And that was the part of myself that was now working harder than it very well may ever have, to follow this insane man’s explanation. He was generous enough to elaborate on his poor response.

“Any weapon can be cursed. Of course, one must possess the ability to do so, but it is possible.” I was surprised when Alistair dwindled his attention towards the items in Finnik’s drawers, so he could direct it towards me. “What many do not know, or fail to realize, is that the origins of the weapon itself is critical to be known beforehand. Not every curse is inherently evil, however if the weapon in question you are venturing to curse was constructed for evil, the soul it develops once the curse is placed may very well reflect that.”

I felt myself leaning further forward in this uncomfortable chair with each word. I had known of cursed objects before, however Lemont hadn’t explained it in great detail. Not like this.

“So a cursed object can serve for good?” I questioned, to which Alistair nodded.

“Many have. And many subsequently haven’t. I do not know much about where my own piece of the puzzle fits with these curses and their cries to me, however, I can feel the pain and anguish each one has caused. A dark soul with a curse has the ability to pull on the fated path of the living, coercing their hand to do the weapons bidding. Their power then grows in the bloodshed committed at their doing.”

My eyebrows raised slowly in pure bewilderment. My knowledge of what a cursed weapon once was, was proving to be close to useless when faced with reality.

“So what you did just now… with the blade breaking away into almost nothing-”

“I absorbed the power that’s been pooling in the weapon during its tyranny.” Alistair responded, cutting me short once he anticipated my next question. “And this is why souls tethered will cry for mercy in my presence. They can sense and recognize the magic I hold. They feel the ability I have to end any ties they have to this world or the next, with no second thought. And their fear is rightfully placed.”

This information only further solidified my thoughts on how wrong some of my teachings may have been. Or rather, how limited my life in Azultia very well was.

Those screams I heard… now understanding what they were, I understood why Alistair had done what he did.

My only question left was why? Alistair had never hesitated to cut a man down, and yet he spoke of this actual good service he had done to this world and its people.

Leave it to Alistair to clear any fogginess in my thoughts with his own words. “That absorption acts as a power surge to my abilities. It allows me longer stamina in the heat of a battle, among many other enhancements. Finnik requested I choose something to aide in our detour, and I very well did. My methods of how I went about it may not have been the most appropriate, but Finnik didn’t place any stipulations.”

The edges of my lips curled up into a slight grin before I could stop them, because if this monster of a man was nothing else, he was consistently thinking further ahead. And it was difficult to hate a man who was unapologetically this unpredictable. He reminded me of someone I once knew.

••

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26. The Night Azultia Became Azul

Thank y’all so so so much for all the sweet comments!! I’ve been itching to get us to the romance so y’all are getting hit with hella chapters rn lol

It’s coming though, I swear! I’m glad you guys don’t mind that this one’s a slow burn, although in hindsight, pretty much all my books could be considered slow burners in comparison to wtf gets pushed out on this app lol

I just like to write stories that are realistic to me, and I’m a slow burn girly. Especially when I have a type of relationship between two characters in a book that I really want to develop, so when we then hit the steamy stuff it has far more of an impact ;)

Also just fyi, I updated the playlist cause Blood Upon The Snow by Hozier came on when I was writing and it was simply chefs kiss. I added it above as well

Anywhooo, enjoy lovelies!

xoxo

Alistair

Caspian had many questions in him this day. Sure, we had until nightfall to move freely around this shop, however I expected this man to be still and quiet. As he usually was, up until these past few days.

Instead I somehow found myself moving through item by item in this shop, explaining to Caspian the curses I could, and the ones I recognized. I had told a white lie to Finnik when I said I placed these curses myself, so my honesty with Caspian surprised even I.

I had revealed so much of who I was already, that giving him this piece of information felt unsettlingly natural. Hopefully by the time Cael and Snips reached this shop, I would know more about Caspian too. Enough to justify this rare honesty.

“So this is cursed as well?” He pointed to another knife Finnik had on display, to which I nodded. Caspian could hear the cries much clearer than I suspected. Him being whatever he was, put him much farther in tune with this magic than Finnik.

“Aye.” I nodded, following closely beside Caspian as we made our way through Finnik’s study.

“The cries are much less loud than the dagger you destroyed.” He noted more to himself, bending down further to get a closer look as his hands pushed a few loose white strands of his hair back behind his ears.

I still recalled the feeling of those strands against the tips of my fingers.

“That dagger had caused the most bloodshed.” I replied, inching a bit closer to Caspian and the blade. He had pulled his hood off completely, which gave myself a clear view of his relatively handsome face and dead looking eyes… yet I saw a glimmer of curiosity in those features. He looked to be genuinely enjoying learning more about these curses, and I was finding myself genuinely caring enough to educate him.

I was surprising myself again with how much I knew about the items Finnik had managed to find and steal. It put into perspective the life I’ve lived these past twenty or so years. The things I learned through its people and actions, not from text alone.

I believed now that Caspian gathered his knowledge from books, which depending on the intelligence of the writer, could either further you in this world, or remove you from it completely. The texts I owned on my ship were ancient, and yet still, most secrets pass through time unwritten. Relics are held by generations that only those generations understand.

This was why I found the war waged by The Holy Men to be utterly ridiculous.

You could not eliminate magic from this world, because everything down past the ground into its very own core, is magic. How do you expel something that has the ability to run through one’s blood, in rhythm with one’s heart?

Cael didn’t believe The Holy Men would reach to this extent, but I stood firm on my beliefs that this dangerous line of thought would eventually lead to a mass purging. A genocide, if you may.

The burning of the Azultian palace was just the beginning. Azultia then became Azul. Just a speck in the deep waters of what once stood.

I had been at sea at that time, only hearing from a raven of what happened. Yet I was facing my own oppositions then as I continued my purging of the sea. The many captains who ruled before me didn’t bend the knee at will. Most were cut down with the sword bestowed to me, a sword with metal so vicious it cut through any weapon the other captains had gathered and perfected, then relinquished to me over time.

That was, I believe, eleven years before today. When the world began to age me.

I must applaud the timing of my conquest, for if I hadn’t built such a dangerous reputation for myself so quickly, negotiations with my porting on the land now known as Azul, would’ve been far less pleasant.

They still harbored deep hatred for me and my men, they just kept those discussions at their supper tables with their loved ones, for they knew they needed the sea to survive, and I was now its Keeper.

The mass killing of the royal family and their loyal guards didn’t affect me nearly as greatly as the burning of the palace. When I thought of all the secrets lost to the flames, it upset every single working part of me.

That library had been a safe haven for all magic. It’s family holding secrets even I couldn’t touch. And oh how terribly I wanted to . I had just started plans with my men for a land raid, which granted, knowing what I know to be true now, was an ambitious, ridiculously idiotic decision. Truthfully, had we acted on it, I would have gotten both my men and myself killed.

For many reasons, including my lessening of power on land.

Another was in part due to how protected that library was. The Holy Men couldn’t even breach the right passageways to enter, so they burned everything. It was such an ignorant decision to make, it still baffled me that it was made by the hands of men and not children.

But I wanted at what the Lockeheart family kept hidden. That palace was one of the oldest buildings still standing in this world, its secrets dating back generations before. No one knew of the secret passageways besides the Lockehearts themselves, and the public rarely ever saw any of them.

Decisions were made in secret, then spread to the people of Azultia. This practice spanned across many of those generations, yet The Holy Men had formed from those who started to question it.

That had always made very little sense to me considering the nation had flourished for hundreds of years, yet if nothing else, one could always rely on men to destroy something functional out of spite.

Because the public rarely ever caught even a glimpse of the Lockehearts, it was simple for The Holy Men to spread lies. Gain the hearts of the men who never deserved the beautiful, peaceful ruling the Lockehearts created. Their ancestors had lost many in a war over one thousand years ago in order to protect the peace of its people, and this was how its people treated the hand that placed food on their supper table consistently for both them, and their own families before them.

This was why I would never join the war on land.

It was started by people without a single working mind, to rule over more with similar useless minds. And now discourse with the leadership of The Holy Men was spreading because those senseless, worthless, idiots have finally awoken the fuck out of their ridiculously long slumber to realize that what they once had was a fucking utopia in comparison to now.

The irony of how the people once yearned to see the faces of this secretly kept family, and now even a glimpse of The Holy Men’s gold uniform immediately turns damn near every citizen’s mood foul, was not lost on me in the slightest.

None of them deserved my aide for what they’d done, and they’d sure as the rising sun never get it. Azultia deserved its life, and the beauty it brought this undeserving world. Azul was damned from its creation, by its creation, and touched by death itself.

The secrets that could’ve aided The Holy Men were idiotically destroyed by them . Lord Caspilius, his wife Armoria, and their two sons were the only ones who could keep the Azultian borders safe with what they knew, and now they were all dead. Burnt down with the palace, its ash falling on the city like snow.

It was fitting that Azul would soon follow.

Caspian moved himself to the next item on display, as did I. He leant down once more to take a closer look at the double edged blade. This one wasn’t a cursed weapon, Caspian was just genuinely curious about it.

He was careful not to touch anything, which was the complete opposite of what I had been doing since Finnik left us. I didn’t give a damn about Finnik’s privacy, for this man harbored the same sentiments towards others privacy.

He made a lifestyle of thievery, using his contacts to find things buried by accident and with intent. This was why I sought him out to determine the whereabouts of that Captain, because he above all else would know.

Bear in mind, Finnik already knew a great deal about who I was. If he didn’t want his items rummaged through, he would have never left us here alone.

Then there was the fact that I didn’t even find anything of use. This old painting of The Eye Of The Sea had raised my hopes that something of equal or greater value may also be buried in these drawers, yet all I found was fraudulent paperwork for his shop.

I knew them to be fraudulent because almost all the items in his store front were here with my last visit. I could’ve explained to Finnik how utterly idiotic that was, especially considering he was using this store to conceal the illegal sales he partook in, but I didn’t care enough to.

He had the dagger of King Sorin displayed in his study like it was a necklace in a jewelry shop. There was no saving that stupid mind of his now, and it was less work to let him be his own demise.

The remainder of the time spent waiting continued much like this. I joined Caspian for each thing he studied, some items he recognized which surprised me. I had made many… many cracks at his intelligence, but he was surprisingly well read. Another thing that conflicted with this merchant bullshit he was still trying to convince us all of.

The relic he recognized was actually something I was a bit taken back to see. It was the mesh armor from one of the old Azultian guards. Something that should’ve perished when they were all slaughtered years ago.

Caspian didn’t say much about it, however he did linger there a moment before he continued on to the next thing. I, myself, wondered what Finnik must’ve paid for it. When The Holy Men took over, they forced this manufacturing only for their men, refusing to allow its sale anywhere else.

I understood why, considering just how well made they were, but it was still a cunt of a decision according to me. Much of the way The Holy Men made decisions was.

By the time Caspian had made it through the entire room, only turning to me to ask questions on the things he couldn’t recognize, or the cursed weapons he could hear, the sun had begun to set again.

Once I heard the sound of the front door opening, my eyes darted to Caspian who was seated across from me again, and I signaled for him to flip his hood up. I followed his actions, flipping my own over my head but keeping it pushed back enough to have clear sight of Finnik’s door to the study.

I could feel multiple footsteps against the paved floor, the energy taken from that dagger allowing me to hear even more clearly the low murmurs of men, regardless of my position on land.

Once the door opened, the first person I saw was Snips. He looked nothing but irritated as he immediately started with “well what a waste of fucking time.”

Cael followed in behind him, the men clearly breathing a sigh of relief as each one caught my gaze. They all filtered into the study, Snips, Cael, Hobbs, Gilly, with Finnik last to follow them in. His short stature looked hilarious compared to almost all my men, however it was a bit startling to see that Snips wasn’t that much taller.

Once Hobbs and Gilly drew close enough, I noticed their black cloaks were soaked. They reeked of Sicorian blood. With the nod they each gave me, they confirmed their work had been successfully accomplished.

Not a complete waste of time then , I thought.

My gaze shifted to Cael next, who gave me a short head shake no, signaling to me that he wasn’t as successful with his task.

Lovely , I thought to myself. Then there was no justification for my honestly. Caspian now knew more, for better or for worse.

Finnik was next to address me personally, he had moved quickly through his study, taking a personal assessment of every item to make sure nothing had gone missing. Once he reached the section of a table where the dagger was once displayed on, I heard him call out my name.

“Aye.” I replied, looking over past my to where he stood.

“Where is the dagger of King Sorin?”

“You’re looking at it now.”

His head turned, casting his gaze in my direction before he looked back down at the empty display with its remnants inside.

“All I see is ash.”

“Exactly.”

When his gaze slowly found mine again, anger was etched deeply in his face, yet that was soon coupled by the realization of what he’d done. The door he’d opened when he made that offer.

Surely the slight smirk playing on my lips didn’t do much besides run sea water on his open wounds, but that didn’t stop it from forming.

Eventually, Finn would learn. Death might just get to him first, however.

And none of that was a concern of mine. All that concerned me now was getting my men off this despicable island with all their body parts still intact.

••

27. Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen

Longer chapter cause I love y’all <3

(Let me know if you see any errors, I zipped through this one to get to meal prepping lol)

Enjoy, lovelies!

Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen: an order to the crew to pull up the anchor and get the ship sailing

Caspian

Making our way out of this city was by far the most treacherous experience I had the unfortunate fate of living through. One could argue I shared the same sentiments for each day I arose successfully, however this one was particularly horrid.

Finnik had led us through an underground passage that he used to pass through the borders of the city, to the forest, and then shoreline of the island. It was a path he swore by to conduct his business, and it involved a lot of cramped spaces to crawl through, that neither myself nor Alistair and his men could easily fit.

It seemed as if Finnik didn’t take into account the difference in height between both he and us, and by the time we reached the shore, Alistair looked to be physically restraining himself from going for Finnik’s throat with his sword. The large vein that travelled up the right side of Alistair’s own neck was now visible, pulsating, and that was something I hadn’t seen before. Not even in the heat of battle.

The shorter man had a slight smile visible on his face, alerting me to the fact that he had found at least a bit of enjoyment out of this.

I guess it made the whole misunderstanding with the now destroyed dagger more fair, however that blame should’ve been directed at Alistair and Alistair alone. We all didn’t deserve to suffer from his rash actions.

Cael had managed to find the boat we had hidden upon arrival, however Finnik suggested we go a little further east were there weren’t any Sicorian guards, and start rowing our way back from there. It was a longer distance, but Alistair reluctantly agreed. Snips looked like he was itching for a fight yet he, too, eventually sided with his Captain.

And Finnik was right. This area of the shore was clear, and with darkness now spreading throughout the sky, we had a good amount of cover to row out successfully undetected.

I was positive I wasn’t contributing anything to the rowing due to how purely exhausted I was, and that could’ve been why it took us even longer to reach the ship. By the time we ported the boat near the side, and a rope was cast down by one of the men, I found myself damn near begging my arms to do just this one last thing.

I went very last as I was the final man to grab hold of the thick rope. I first used it to toe it to a hook on the small boat so it could be pulled up, before using my hands and my feet to hoist myself up. I had chosen to go last because every other man on this boat looked less exhausted and more willing to move swiftly.

I would have been lucky if I made it up there at all. The thought of laying down right in the boat for the night crossed my mind for a moment, allowing the dangers of death to follow it hand in hand, but I knew Alistair wouldn’t allow that.

By the graces, I somehow found my way to the main deck. I almost rolled myself onto it, but my feet forced those worn limbs to stand and follow Alistair as he made his way across the deck up to our chambers. There was only one order he gave his men as we walked, which was “Weigh Anchor and Hoist the Mizzen!”

I truly did not know much of what that meant, nor did I care. I was dreaming of the softness of the mattress once my body laid itself on it finally. So much so, that it almost moved me to tears.

Alistair had stopped me before I could finally slip away to my own room, and it took the last of my strength to turn and face him in this corridor connecting both our rooms.

“I’m going to meet with Cael now to see about our navigations. My assumptions are that you are going to try and find sleep then, aye?”

“Aye.” I nodded, mumbling it almost incoherently to the man before I turned back around and walked toward sleep itself. Alistair may have wished me a good night, or he may have hurled insults my way, but my body and mind were too far gone to register any of it.

So that was the last thing I said to him and anyone for that matter, before sleep soon welcomed me with open arms.

“And what if I don’t want to?” I looked over and up at my father, my hands fastening themselves onto my hips in protest.

My father looked over and down at me, his gaze alone uncurling my fingers from their fists before they eventually fell into my lap. He was leaning against his large, deep chestnut colored wood desk, holding a book on the laws of Azultia steady in his left hand. I was sitting on his desk to his right, my smaller body of no older than eight years had managed to fit perfectly there. “Hodrus is suitable enough.”

That made my father chuckle, strands of his own white shoulder length hair fell forward to frame the shape of his face. His smile was handsome, and something that complimented his sharp features so well. I had started growing out my hair myself to resemble him, however it had now surpassed his length by now.

He requested I do not cut it, for it reminded him of his father, so I didn’t.

He was wearing his usual light blue robe, the attire of the royals with a blue that matched the banner of the Lockheart household. The same colors that lined many of the walls in this palace. Those sharp silver accents that accompanied this soft, peaceful color, made my father look even more beautiful with his white hair. That smile was just a part of one whole handsomely painted picture.

My father wore beauty like a garment, and I wanted for nothing else than to be just like him when I grew older.

“This nation needs the both of you. I know he was brought into this world three years ahead, and his pride being housed in that simple fact hinders him from admitting it now, but a time will come where he will need you. Just as you will need him.”

I looked up at my father skeptically. I was awfully doubtful of that, and yet my father looked assured. He had faith in those words of his, even if I didn’t.

“A time will come where you’ll understand… But for now, just focus on your studies. Focus on growing stronger. It is hard to see now while your view is leveled so low, but as you grow, as will it. You will soon realize that you, Caspian, you’re destined for more than what’s been determined for me.”

He had set the book he was holding, down now. This conversation had deemed itself important enough to.

“And it’s only when you’ve grown tall enough to look another man directly into his eye, will you then fully understand the extent of both your will, and its power. You are my second born, and yet you bare my name. Don’t let the weight of that importance fall on deaf ears.”

I gave my father a slow nod, not quite understanding what he had meant then, but deciding it wasn’t worth arguing with him about. He would be busy with a council meeting before nightfall and I wouldn’t have more time to spend with him. I didn’t want to spend this little time we did have, arguing… for these moments alone with him were awfully rare as they stood.

“How are your markings healing?” He asked me.

I glanced down, but the sleeves of my royal robe reached down to my wrists, covering the bandaged skin. Once he drew attention there, that’s when I felt some slight stinging from the wounds.

“It hurts, but it’s healing… although much slower than any other injury I’ve obtained.”

My father nodded, glancing up from my arms as his hand reached out to ruffling the strands on the top of my head with his thick, callus ridden fingers. It forced enough strands forward which momentarily blocked my vision, and I let out a youthful giggle as I pushed the strands of hair back again. When my eyes caught his once more, the warmth that flowed through his gaze made my smile widen.

“I know, my son. It’ll be done soon… then we can start your training.”

I awoke from that dream very suddenly. My eyes snapping open to a dark room, with the only light coming from a candle I had forgotten to blow out before sleep overtook me; it stood in its holder on a table near my bed, next to an empty glass that once held water.

This hadn’t been a nightmare, and yet my body awoke like it was. Suddenly . The feeling of seeing my father, looking into his hauntingly familiar eyes that paired well with his beautifully welcoming smile… it lingered, not subsiding even a fraction like these dreams usually had once that memory had ended.

I missed him , I couldn’t help but think. Feel .

I missed

them

.

The room shifted again a bit harshly, forcing me to now believe that the rocky seas were really what jolted me awake from that melancholy dream. Luckily the candle holder was bolted to the table, which was bolted to the floors along with the bed and remaining furniture, but the empty glass was not.

My gaze darted back to it just in time before it could topple off the table, and I decided for myself in that moment that maybe some more water would assist in my attempt to find sleep again. Especially during these turbulent waves.

I rolled over slowly, working to plant myself firmly on the shifting ground, yet I stumbled some as my feet hesitantly gained their footing. I had experienced many strong tides since setting sail as a merchant, but nothing had jolted my body awake quite like this. Whatever storm we had found ourselves in was raging.

I did my best to navigate my way out of my own barely lit quarters to the main room that connected both Alistair and myself, but I hadn’t noticed the more proficient lighting until I began my walk through the corridor that unified everything. Once I reached the end, opening up to this main room, my eyes caught sight of something I was the farthest from expecting.

On the furthest right side of the room was Alistair, his body only illuminated by the few candles on the tables around him, and his hands were occupied with a book nestled comfortably in them, as he sat in the filled metal bathtub reading.

His hair was let down now, those long charcoal colored thick strands pooling onto the surface of the water that reached a comfortable level at his exposed chest. He was still wearing his eye patch that covered the left eye… but that was the only thing he wore judging by what the little amount of light from the candles had no shame revealing.

Water suddenly didn’t seem all that dire anymore.

As soon as that thought even began to cross my mind, Alistair spoke. “You’re either coming in or not. Which is it.”

I saw Alistair’s lips move, but he didn’t look up from the text. I, however, was completely taken back. My steps had been light, and yet… I was once again wondering just how much this man could see by what he heard. How much more I was actually exposed to him than I could possibly imagine.

Regardless, I found my feet taking a step into the room. And then another. And another.

“I just-” I started, my gaze refusing to meet Alistair’s as I instead made my way towards the barrel of water on a table located in the left back of the main room. Each step felt like it could be my last with the rocking of the ship, and yet somehow Alistair was comfortably soaking. I hadn’t seen even a drop of water on the floorboards near him. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

I heard Alistair chuckle dryly, but my back was to him now, so I couldn’t see the irritation on his face that would surely be followed with an even more irritated response.

“Too late.” I heard his voice from behind me which almost made me roll my eyes back in annoyance of my own.

This man must’ve held onto that feeling of irritation until it very well became him because I had no other explanation for his continuous annoyance.

And yet … I turned back slightly, catching a glimpse of Alistair. His irritation was there, but somehow this was still the most peaceful I had seen the man. His handsome features were more prominent with his hair down, and the free strands molding with his sharp collarbones that melted into those broad shoulders were damn near mesmerizing.

When his gaze shifted from his book to meet me, I found my head snapping back to the barrel in front of my now unnerving body, and I refocused my attention there. Its nozzle was easy to unfasten, with a stream of fresh water following moments later before it fell into the empty cup held under it by my right hand.

“Another nightmare?” Alistair asked suddenly again, to which I almost dropped the damned cup. My left hand reached up to close the nozzle once I realized that if I filled it any further, the rocking of the ship would more than likely spill it out.

That made my mind travel to the metal tub again, and subsequently so, the unreasonably attractive man still inside it.

I didn’t understand how the water that filled it was still. How he was still.

“No,” I shook my head, now staring at the half full cup of water in my hand with newfound interest. “I think the waves stirred me awake.” There was some slight rusting of noise which, against better judgement, pulled my gaze there once again. Alistair had shut the book he was reading and he had now reached over the tub, extending more of his unearthly defined torso to set it a safe distance away on the floor.

When he pulled his upper body back into the tub, I could see more of the muscles that were lost with his once relaxed state, and that forced my gaze back on this half empty cup again like clockwork.

“The waters will only grow more turbulent. There’s a storm brewing north of us, its anger trickling south with these violent waves as its testimony.”

Alistair’s words had only made me more weary of where the remainder of this night would go. I needed sleep before we found Jirah, otherwise I’d be useless in any battle, let alone with someone who once forced fear from Lemont so easily, yet the beating this ship was taking by these tides made that absolutely impossible.

I brought the edge of the glass to my lips to take a sip, thoroughly enjoying the fact that Alistair had put much care into Coop, his cooper, for the quality of these barrels were incredible. The water flowed down my throat with a feeling of freshness we could’ve never dreamt to have on the merchant ship Alistair took me from.

It was Alistair’s next choice of words that made this once refreshing sip of water, turn to thick tar.

“Join me in my bed tonight.”

The reaction to those words were immediate, so immediate I almost coughed up into the cup the water I just tried swallowing. My whole body turned to face Alistair now who was sitting up further in the tub. This made more of his hair cling to more of that exposed chest. Every tattoo visible was nothing shy of masterpieces on his body, and it made me wonder who he sought out to complete them.

His eye was already on me, studying me far more intently than what I was expecting when my gaze met his own.

“My presence stills these floorboards during harsher tides. The soul of this ship wills it. I can offer you a peaceful sleep.”

The quickening of my heartbeat was almost instant, its pounding only strengthening against my ears. There was absolutely no way I could-

“No.” I shook my head, cutting my own thoughts short. “I’ll be fine. I assure you.”

Alistair looked at me like I was a clueless child in need of one distinct, pointed lecture when he answered with “you’ve already fallen victim to your nightmares in the past. I can assure you, no sleep will find you by the tides this ship will cut through shortly.”

His body suddenly rose from the tub, with me cutting the tension of our gaze by my own hand as I broke the connection immediately.

This half filled cup of water needed the supervision , I convinced myself, for that was where my focus returned to yet again. It could spill over at any moment.

“And shall I remind you of your inability to function without rest? You yearned for it so terribly, you damn near took out an entire fleet of men to have just a sliver of it.”

I didn’t even have a more justified response to the truth held in Alistair’s words. The sounds of water subsided, leading me to believe Alistair had fully removed himself from the tub now, and yet my intense focus on this cup didn’t waiver.

“Look at me.” Alistair ordered.

His voice alone spoke to my bones first, forcing his bidding upon them before my mind could contest.

Alistair was next to the tub now, with a cloth draped loosely around his lower half before it was twisted to a tie at his waist. “You yourself have told me of your inadequacy with no energy. Lay next to me tonight, and you’ll find sleep. You have my word that that is all you’ll find, nothing more.”

I couldn’t even confirm how I was looking at Alistair now, however I knew what I was feeling, and that was an array of things. Fear was likely the most prominent, as it was when it came to most things that were associated with chaotic man.

“I-” I found myself starting to form words, but then I stopped. What words would even follow? What words could?

“And let me be entirely clear,” the tall, broad man continued, his body now starting to dry itself of the water. I noticed that the thick clumped strands of hair no longer hugged each other so dearly, instead they separated themself from the other damp strands and the skin itself, only to drop droplets of water onto its smooth surface. Onto his shoulders, and chest, and torso… “that wasn’t a request,” he continued, snapping my gaze back to his as soon as I noticed it had too freely wandered. Dangerously wandered.

I wasn’t prepared for the absolute division his next set of words would bring my mind, and because it was Alistair, I knew he didn’t care.

“That was an order,” he finished.

••

28. A Shift In Tides

Enjoyyyy, lovelies!

xoxo

Old Salt: An experienced Pirate or Sailor

Alistair

When I awoke next, I knew daybreak would soon be upon us before I even opened my right eye.

I had worn the eye patch again in hopes that what it was concealing wouldn’t further startle Caspian. I could already hear the pounding of his heartbeat the previous night when he had eventually yet reluctantly followed me to my chambers, there was no reason to cause his heart to fail entirely.

He knew he had no choice in the matter, and yet as soon as he had set the now empty glass of water on a table near my bedside, and climbed onto the mattress, I saw the seduction of sleep soon coerce that fear straight out of him. He had dramatically positioned himself on the right side of the very edge of my bed, so close that I debated releasing the hold I had on these floorboards, and allowing the waves to force him off it as a lesson…

But I held my own entertaining thoughts at bay.

I first had pulled some light trousers on to further convince Caspian that this request was not what it sounded like, before I, myself, climbed onto and nestled into the left side of the mattress.

Caspian’s back had been turned to me, his hair pulled back and laying against the soft padding in alignment with the curve of his spine, while a few strands coated his shoulders. I wanted to question why he was sleeping in so many clothes, but that wasn’t quite the question to ask a man who surely thought my intentions were less than pure.

Instead I left him be, allowing his body to slowly relax into the stillness my soul brought this room, before eventually, his heavier breathes became lighter and softer.

Most nights I would spend reading the books conjured by the thoughts of others, or finding solace within my own very thoughts, but I decided it would be quite hypocritical of me not to treat my own recuperation of energy as importantly as I was treating Caspian’s.

So when my body stirred awake as the sky itself began to wake the following morning, I found myself feeling more rejuvenated than I possibly had since my early days as a pirate. Before I became an old salt. This sleep had been peaceful, more so than I expected any amount of sleep could bring me.

I had awoken laying on my left side, and was expecting to see the back of Caspian towards me with his long white hair shielding most of him, much like it had when sleep eventually found these aching joints of mine, but instead I was facing Caspian now. Or rather, he was facing me.

His heartbeat was still steady. So steady, it called my attention there first. Called my attention to the fact that Caspian had magic running through him, something that acted as almost second nature to guard one’s own heartbeat, or at least mask it… and yet it wasn’t. Whatever state Caspian was in now, he felt comfortable enough to lower that shield.

With how relaxed his features were, it led me to believe that this may have been one of the better nights he’d found sleep. His lightly tinted lashes were so long, they gently brushed against his face whenever his eyelids twitched lightly, yet his heart beat maintained that same simple rhythm. He was deeply intermingled with eternal rest itself, it felt like. His sharp features all the more beautiful if anything.

My left arm remained stretched out slightly on the bed, exactly how I’d fallen asleep, and just a few inches away from Caspian’s head. He had his head resting comfortably on a pillow besides my own. His hair was no longer as tamed as the style I had grown accustomed to while I drifted off to sleep. Strands of pure white were now scattered all around the soft head rest, down his shoulder, and then past his chest.

Against my own better judgement, and frankly my own conscious actions, my right arm detached itself from my side, before reaching up slowly to the few strands that had crossed the very obvious border Caspian had created between us.

Just as I remembered, those strands felt like spun gold against my otherwise once numb fingers. The fine softness of each strand wanted me to feel more of him and it, yet I only spared myself a moment or two to touch him. I didn’t want to stir his resting state.

Those thoughts may have very well been spoken too soon, because as he moved against the calm beating of his heart, Caspian slowly shifted his left arm that was tucked into his chest. He stretched it out against his conscious will, his body still not stirring when his left hand gently rested itself into the palm of my own.

My body remained practically frozen at the touch. His touch. His fingers felt cold in my open outstretched hand, and that mixed all too well with the warmth of my skin. So much so, I felt Caspian press his fingers more firmly into it. And all this while sleep still kept him captive.

This was… something I had no words for… yet somehow, I allowed it.

I allowed us to lay like this for a degree of time I couldn’t possibly measure, nor did I attempt to. The bed was still, and yet I felt my ship fighting back against the tides right outside my chambers perimeters. Caspian would be well rested once the sun fully rose, but my men however? Not nearly. I was already preparing myself for the complaints I would hear as soon as my first foot stepped past these private quarters, and on to the main deck.

I watched as Caspian gently nestled the side of his head further into that soft pillow. I wasn’t sure when my fingers had found the spaces between his, but I watched as they curled up slightly to loosely interlock them. I hadn’t even realized my own heartbeat, but as soon as I had, I ordered my body to get ahold of itself.

It had been some time since I had touched another like this. I didn’t know when I had last felt anything with these same hands… let alone this . My body felt him all too strongly, for the yearning it had, would now never subside. This curse had made many things unquenchable, and it was many years ago when I decided the bloodshed was something I could manage. My heightened sexual urges were not, especially when I couldn’t feel what most wanted me to.

Cael loved to use this as an excuse for why I could never choose peace. Why my heart was always stirring, never settled… but I explained to him that after having given all pursuits my best efforts, both men and women alike, my only real love could only ever be the sea. I had no soul to bare to another, for these turbulent waters had ripped it from me all those years ago.

I had nothing of substance that another could want either. And this hollowness now made me who I am.

Much like my predictions, even this moment of tranquility between myself and Caspian couldn’t last long. The pleasant moments rarely ever did, as they were destined to fall victim to my chaos. I watched as his eyes slowly drifted open, the light from the window only growing brighter with the rising sun, and allowing me the perfect view of those pale eyes… except they didn’t look nearly as void of life like they usually had. Like I had almost grown accustomed to by now.

Instead, I saw something else there. Even if it was just a moment. Something that was lost to his features as the days stretched, and something that felt almost secretive to see now. That glimmer of life spread from his pupils through to his irises. He was staring straight back at me, his heart beat still beating to a rhythm startlingly close to my own.

I wasn’t sure if it was the grogginess that had made him so slow to react. He hadn’t said a single word, with his eyes fixated on mine, but when I felt the hand that was holding his, twitch slightly from a muscle that went against my exact orders of stillness, Caspian’s gaze slowly shifted from mine, to there.

I watched in this very present moment as Caspian registered what he was looking at, and yet it took reflexive skills that surprised even myself, to tighten its hold on Caspian’s hand and yank him towards me before he managed to violently throw his large frame off the side of the bed… which he had been in the very process of doing.

Throughout the entirety of this night, he hadn’t even made a slight effort to move further from the edge, regardless of the comfort he had found with me in my bed. His stubbornness could rival my own.

I yanked him towards me, my right hand grabbing at his hip suddenly to steady him before he could fully crash into my own body. I was holding his hand that was still interlocked with mine, to my bare chest now, and the pale shade Caspian’s skin usually wore like porcelain, had since abandoned its solidarity with its lack of color. I first noticed his cheeks turning a bright shade of red, especially once he tried to pull his hand away and my grip tightened.

“A-Al-” Caspian started, to which his voice trailed off again. My gaze never left his, never left those pale blue eyes as my right hand remained on his left hip, and his arm now grew further entangled with my own. I was surprised by how well Caspian held my gaze, but granted with this proximity, there was no where else for him to look. “W-What are you doing?” He asked me. His voice did its best to maintain a very dumbfounded tone.

A brow that curved above my exposed right eye, arched itself in surprise.

“I could ask you the same.” I countered, and yet my voice… the very first words that fell past my lips this morning, they were coated in this hoarse roughness that told me this game I was playing was dangerous. Potentially far more to myself, than him.

“Why are you touching me?” The man countered, and it should’ve been treated as an insult, the words meant to be biting, and yet the way Caspian’s teeth pulled his bottom lip in directly afterwards as my hold on his hip shifted, acting as if this would save him from saying another word or uttering another sound he himself didn’t approve of, I realized this wasn’t the hostility I expected.

Caspian was holding himself back from something, and doing so with such ferocity, I could literally feel the unnatural tension flowing through his already quite unnatural self.

“This is your doing.” I spoke, signaling with a gentle squeeze to his hand what I had meant. Once realization arrived, his eyes grew even larger at that, and yet somewhere within this conversation, Caspian had stopped yanking back on the hand I now held close to me.

The hand I still had on his hip had since eased my fingers into the softness there, massaging the tautness of his bones and muscle as I worked to dissolve whatever had moved his body to such an edge. Such rigidness.

“That…” the first time Caspian had broken the concentration of our gaze on one another, was when his eyelid slightly fluttered closed for just a fleeting moment. His whole face was damn near growing flushed. “I… I hadn’t meant to I just- I haven’t shared a bed-”

This nervousness, yet this direct response to my touch, brought back the memory of our time in Sicoria. When I had brushed against something I hadn’t expected from Caspian.

Until this moment I thought he viewed my touch to be sheer repulsion against him, and yet maybe now I understood more of his inflictions. Inflictions I felt nearly compelled to test the waters of in this moment.

The thumb of the hand still interlocking Caspian’s close to my bare chest, had now begun tracing a series of patterns against the back of his palm. The hand that rested on his hip dared to pull him even further into me, for whatever space had been left at the beginning of the night, was now no longer.

Both figuratively and literally.

I found my hand bringing the back of Caspian’s up to my lips, before I laid a soft kiss there. Surely I had always been know to lean into the tease, especially at the expense of others comfortability, however this wasn’t that. When Caspian’s eyes drifted close again, I understood now that my touch affected him. Most likely more than he would possibly ever choose to outwardly admit.

His tongue slipped out past his lips to dampen the dry skin there, yet all that did was command my own attention to it. Once Caspian’s eyes slowly opened again, I knew he had lost whatever internal battle he was fighting. The look he gave me firmly solidified it as his eyes lids hung slightly low in this almost trance like state. This look he was now giving me was downright tantalizing. Once those lids revealed those pale blue eyes, it made me realize they really weren’t all that pale after all.

A hue of a deep, rich blue burned somewhere in there. And it was something I wanted to see more of.

Before neither this man, nor myself, could make the decision that went against everything our intelligence told us would be less than favoring, especially to our current understanding, I heard a knocking on my door that made me release Caspian almost immediately.

So immediately, I damn near launched myself off the bloody mattress, and I wasn’t nearly as close to the other edge.

I knew it was Cael by the way he knocked, and above all else, the last person I needed judgement from at this very moment, was his disgustingly noble self.

I didn’t want his commentary nor his influence on how the tides were now shifting between Caspian and myself.

••

29. Batten Down The Hatches

Enjoy, lovelies!

Also, fyi

The whole next chapter after this one is going to be an entire fight lol, probs gunna be a long chapter, so enjoy this little calm before the storm

Also I’ve been jamming to a song that’ll really bring this next fight to life like none other, I can’t waittt <3

(will add to playlist when I upload next, as well as above)

xoxo

Batten Down The Hatches: Tie everything down and put things away, especially for a storm

Caspian

There was nothing more irritating to me than an arrogant man that was right.

I could never admit this to Alistair, however the sleep I found in accordance with his very own hand, had left me in the most alive state I had felt in quite some time.

I couldn’t explain it, but it felt like I had slept amongst the clouds. My joints were well rested, enough so that I was willing to swear on any man that I had a few good fights fostered in me before my body would eventually collapse again.

Now as for how I awoke, that was an entirely different scenario. One that felt practically implanted in my thoughts, in my memory, and refused to leave me as I did everything I could to avoid Alistair on this day. Luckily for me, Cael had requested the Captain to his study as soon as the sun just started its coup d’état of the sky, and the only order he gave me before he left me to the solitude of his room, was to join Snips and the crew on the main deck in preparation for our fight. He assured me we would reach Jirah shortly before night befell us.

I was still caught in such an unrecognizable daze, I barely registered those orders until the voice of Snips from outside of our quarters jolted me both to life, and out of Alistair’s room immediately.

Alistair hadn’t even let Cael in when he knocked. Cael just requested through the closed door that he meet the taller man in the study, then we heard his footsteps start to fade, and that was when Alistair quickly sprung from the mattress to hastily pull his working clothes on. He slipped a black inner shirt over his once exposed torso and back, before fitting his leather coat above it.

I watched in silence as his strong arms strapped his fasten around his waist with ease, before he slipped the connecting strap of his massive sword through its belt like loop, and glided the once royal metal, through.

At this point, after having heard the extensive knowledge Alistair had on ancient items, I was starting to wonder if he knew what this sword was, and who it belonged to. I also wondered whether he had stolen it, I mean surely he had right? But how? And from who? The man who owned it… forged it, rather… he was no longer. He hadn’t been for many years now.

But none of these questions dared to leave my mouth. Silence was the only correct response to the feelings that were left after how he had touched me. Or perhaps he felt the same, for all he said was “dress for battle” before he left me to his private chamber.

And even now, as I aided Snips in once again securing the holds on the ships items, my mind traveled there again. To the way my skin still burned from where his touched. The surge in my heightened sense when his hand grabbed my hip with sudden firmness, pulling me closer. The way his-

I felt a hard, sudden whack on my head, to which I turned immediately towards the culprit in question. Snips, who was still standing behind me, was now holding a piece of ply wood in his hand.

“Pull your mind from the clouds and tether it to this bloody fucking ship. You’re spilling wax onto the floorboards.”

I shifted my gaze back to the ropes we were pouring wax over, only for me to realized I had missed the knot entirely with the last pour. Snips looked irritated, yet not as irritated as he had the first few days we had worked together.

If anything, the expression etched into his face was a look of disappointment. Like he was a father looking at his child who had ruined something this very same child had done correctly thousandths of times before. And dare I say, that stung a little more than both the injury and the irritation.

Every man was on deck preparing. No able bodied pirate ranking below Alistair was wasted, and so I knew I needed to hold my own weight if this night were to go correctly.

“My apologies,” I nodded to the shorter man, before I repositioned my angle on the pour for more accuracy. The hot wax that left the metal pitcher I was holding, oozed through the crevices of the knots and further strengthened the hold of the beams.

To my surprise, the pirate replied beside me with a sigh, before he said “I’ve witnessed worse. Just fix it.”

And this was essentially how this day had gone. I kept close to Snips, yet I noticed as more and more pirates assisted with our long list of tasks. Hobbs and Gilly had come to my aide as I struggled to lift a massive beam into  the notches we had created through the floorboards, and once they had approached us, a few other pirates followed.

Coop, against all other pirates better judgement, demanded his post back on the beams that stretched to the sky. They called this the crows nest.

Snips had told him that Alistair wouldn’t approve, to which Coop replied “I’ve got the best sight in the sky. Lest I all remind you that the shot fired out was a warning, not meant to hit any target. The tides were on their side with that amount of luck.”

And well, it seemed like Snips pretty much had given up after that, allowing this young man to his naivety.

I finally noticed nearing sun down, the speed in which this ship was starting to cut through the waters. There was no man at the helm, and yet this ship moved as if it was on a hunt. The directions shifted, taking us first due north before we veered north east.

I did not know how Alistair and his ship could locate Jirah’s exact location, but as the sun finally bid adieu, taking with it the light from the sky, a word rang through the open deck of men who stood at their post, waiting. It came from Coop above us, nestled back into a post of his own with a telescope in one hand, a dagger in the other.

“S

ail, Ho

!“ I heard him call which pulled every man’s attention first up towards him, before out towards the dark sea. Sure enough, just a few thousand steps directly in front of us, were lights illuminating from another massive ship.

I could tell from where I stood at the front of the main deck, that the pace this ship was traveling at was no where near the speeds The Destroyer was. The lights grew brighter and bolder with each passing moment, revealing more of the architecture of the ship. I recognized the massive underbelly used to store cargo, much like my merchant ship had, and yet there were many gunports lining the sides.

My first thoughts were deciding on how Alistair and his men planned to port, considering the exchange of canons between the two would already prove lethal, however a voice from behind me silenced both my thoughts and answered my question all in one.

“Snuff out the lights.” Alistair spoke…

But also didn’t.

Instead of this order invading my eardrums, much like all Alistair’s bellowed orders had, I felt this direct order through every single beam fastened to this ship. Through every floorboard. Hell, through every plank of wood both loose and hammered in.

I couldn’t explain it, yet the men moved with no regard to the way this message was relayed. Instead, they moved swiftly to kill any lantern that exposed even on piece of wood on this vessel, let alone a pirate. My eyes darted to my left around the ship in an attempt to find Alistair before our vision worsened with darkness, however as soon as I turned back, Alistair was standing right next to me on my right, him staring out into the night sky with his vision set on the vessel directly in front of us, while I couldn’t look anywhere else but at him.

I would lose sleep at this point working to understand how Alistair could move about this ship so freely, so in this moment I decided to just accept that this was part of what he was, whatever that was.

He was barely visible from the now settling darkness, yet I found myself forcing my vision past that of the common man.

His hair had been pulled back by a tie, ready for battle. I couldn’t tell which style I fancied more, for his hair pulled back revealed those features only a monster of a man could wear so handsomely, yet it still struck fear in everyone including myself.

When his hair was let down, however-

“We will be boarding soon.” He whispered those words to me, with me not necessarily understanding why he had whispered, until I finally heard it. I felt it creep up on my senses in such a startling away, I didn’t say anything in fear the night would hear me too well.

It was the complete silence that rang out across his ship. No chatters, no shifting of feet against the floorboards, I couldn’t even hear the creaking of the wood as it withstood blow after blow from the strong tides. Everything had gone completely silent besides the sounds of the waves.

My head slowly turned back to the deck that was once full of life and light just moments ago. Now all I saw was darkness spanning across the open space. It took the slight reflection from the barely crescent moon, to see the outer lining of shapes. With the darkness coating each man, I could feel my heartbeat quicken. They looked like the nightmares mothers and fathers would tell their young of.

Every pirate had a stance low to the ground, their larger weapons still tucked away besides those few who wielded daggers. The look of this would terrify anyone, let alone the enemy. My head slowly turned back to Alistair, who for a sudden change, did not have a slight smile playing on his lips. Instead, he looked more focused than I had probably ever seen him.

“I want you near me.” He continued, to which he finally turned his gaze from what was in front of him, to what was beside him.

“I-” I started, stopping myself shortly after. I could barely hold said gaze. These were the first words I had said to him since sunrise. Since this morning… “I’m well rested,” I found myself assuring him. “I will handle my own.”

This was when the edges of Alistair’s lips finally circled up into a smile. Not even the darkness itself could hide his sinister yet beautiful face.

“Had I questioned that you could?” He asked, which forced me to bury my irritation deep inside me, for anyone would say that it was more or less implied. “I have given you rest-”

As soon as I heard those words, every part of me vehemently denied them. What Alistair had given me was a mind splitting headache trying to understand what this was. What he was. And why I could not find control when faced with his presence.

“In order for me to provide sleep like that again, you must prove your skills to be worthy of it. I want to see you at your most rested, when the heat of a battle and its turn in outcome is not reliant on your recuperation.”

I found myself replying with “I rather not fight if I must not.”

To which Alistair didn’t even wait to respond to. “Is it because you respect the man who doesn’t pick up a sword… or is it because you fear the man you become when you do?”

I felt my already completely still body, still even further.

“That smile on your face when you first fought on my ship…” his voice was still a whisper, a volume I attempted to keep my own voice at, especially as we were close to rearing around Jirah’s ship. Alistair was bringing us up against its rear side, more than likely in an effort to protect his own ship from canon fire that was sure to drown out all other noise as this night continued.

“I hadn’t…” that almost recognizable voice of mine found itself fading, refusing to work to put into words some justification for the sheer enjoyment that could overtake my softer features during the heat of a battle. I had no excuse for it.

“I would never judge you for your bloodlust. Killing isn’t always inherently evil.”

My eyebrows raised at him against my better judgement. Heeding those words from a pirate nonetheless, would be a fools folly. But Alistair wasn’t done.

“You may deny your love for such chaos, yet it is a look I recognized all too well. The smile eluding to the sheer thrill of the battle.” Alistair had taken a small step towards me, and yet regardless at how outwardly I almost yelled for my body to move, it remained firm, accepting Alistair’s closer proximity.

One could say it almost welcomed it.

“I want to see the man with once white features, soaked deep in the crimson red blood of our enemies. To smell their stench of death on you. I wish to see that thrill appear once more, and for that alone, I order you to remain at my side. To fight alongside me.”

There was a deep sea breeze pushing through Alistair’s ship, and yet I found my body growing heated with that burning sensation again. That feeling so loud, it drowned out all other reason, much like it had when he ordered me to his chambers the previous night.

His voice was a siren call to my weapons, those chains burning like hot coals against my skin as they separated themself from me.

“And Caspian?” Alistair spoke, indicating he wasn’t quite finished with his requests. “If you die…”

A smile pulled at my own lips before I could stop it. Even as we neared the rear end of the ship so closely that the first fleet of Alistair’s men moved slowly in silence against the darkness, bracing themselves as the first to board, the seriousness yet hilarity of the situation didn’t pass me by. I watched as his men neared the front left of his ship, before I turned back to Alistair.

“You’ll resurrect me from the dead just to kill me yourself.” I finished, to which nothing could’ve prepared me when our gaze caught each others again, and his smile only widened.

“If I am nothing else, Caspian. I am thorough. Very thorough.” I could only watch from the corner of my eye as Alistair fastened his waist strap even tighter against him, hugging that massive blade close, because the way he was looking at me now allowed me eyes to wander nowhere else. “And I leave nothing unfinished. Not even you .”

If it wasn’t for the next blood curdling cry flowing from the enemy ship right up beside us, I would’ve forgotten what exactly it was we were in the middle of.

For the look in Alistair’s eye painted an entirely different picture from the one we had boldly found ourselves walking into.

••

30. Feed The Machine

Well well well, 3

500

words.

Enjoy, m’loves!

I’ll edit tomorrow cause I’m so tired I can’t see straight lol

xoxo

P.S. I updated the playlist

with

the song I was listening to while writing,

and added it above

Alistair

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/a11f1a989dd4307c17af859bbb5ac471631e2e56/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f316b2d4d4b5652696832414130673d3d2d313435333338343031322e313764393161616136373238643235393730363630393635313438322e6a7067)               

The enemy had finally spotted us, yet at that point, it had been too late.

For them at least.

And judging by the ear piercing cry that ran out through the darkened sky, whoever was in the crows nest of the soon to be boarded ship, had also reacted far too late. The scream turning to a gurgling noise, then eventual silence, let me know that Coop wasted little time killing the only man who would’ve been parallel to his sight up where he was perched. The man responsible for warning his crew of an enemy approaching, much like Coop was.

I hadn’t approved of him taking to the same location he had been almost shot out of, and yet I also knew that Coop would somehow find a way to convince me. He was one of the few in my crew that harbored such leverage. He knew his importance on this ship, and more so, the importance of my rum.

To pull around the side and attach my ship to the enemies, I had to maneuver the tight turn we had just done that tipped us enough in its position for Coop to run across our perpendicular beams and onto the enemies.

In his hands he bore a coated rope, one he could use to quickly fasten us once our beams started to split straight through theirs. I could see the green sails that had now become infamous around these waters, merging with the blood red sails of our own. Somehow Jirah had managed to evade me and my men for many years, even with a vessel the size of this one.

But I knew a fair amount about this man. Of his ability to mask more than just his face. As did Cael.

When I entered my study this morning, Cael had something waiting for me that could possibly even the fairness of a fight when a trickster was afoot. Something that brought a sinister smile to my then tightly pressed lips.

Gaia had been a great help to my Navigator after all.

Once those two main beams made contact, Coop immediately released ropes down to the main deck, ropes that he himself had fastened to yet another horizontal wooden beam during the day in preparation for this.

The first two ropes tossed down from what looked like the heavens with the darkness that surrounded us, reached both Caspian and myself before it reached my first line of pirates. I took this as a sign, handing Caspian his own rope to hoist himself across with.

Imagine my fucking surprise when Caspian looked back at me with absolutely nothing but confusion. Not a thought behind those dead eyes. It took me a moment to realize that the last battle this man participated in took place on my own bloody ship. He’d probably never boarded one before.

The more complicated realization was that I didn’t have the time to explain to Caspian how to board another ship.

Instead I found my right hand reaching for the waist of his black fitted trousers before yanking him towards me. In one fluid motion, my left hand grabbed hold of that textured rope while my right flushed Caspian’s body right against mine as tight as I could. I wrapped that very same arm around his slender waist before I hoisted us up onto the edge of my ship, and jumped.

I was positive Caspian was spewing nothing but protests, yet as soon as our bodies were flown swiftly across the dark abyss below, the grip his own hands had on the front of my leather jacket became almost lethal. He didn’t let go until I had safely landed us on the edge of Jirah’s vessel, with both our feet planting firmly onto the plywood.

It was only then that I allowed myself to physically turn to him again. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but once I released my hold on his waist, I noticed he didn’t look nearly as angry as my expectations were preparing me for.

In fact, his almost startling ability to pivot himself practically immediately into an offense stance directly besides me, nearly threw my own battle orientated mind completely off course. If it wasn’t for his metal daggers suddenly falling from his arms and straight into these floorboards, those familiar metal chains grinding against themselves at his will as they slid down his otherwise concealed arms, I would’ve almost forgot that the deafening scream that still ran through this ship only a moment ago.

The rest of Jirah’s men would soon appear.

If my memory held true, the first few pirates who gathered their footing on the main deck from down below reminded me we were about to enter the heat of the battle. And once the first few pirates caught sight of just who it was that boarded their ship, all color soon left their face.

Well done, Cael , I thought to myself as I unsheathed my sword. He had earned his right not to lift a single sword tonight.

Caspian was even quicker with his daggers, sending them forward as about three of the seven pirates that first emerged, immediately charged. They soon realized that whatever power propelled the weapons attached to his arms, had no weakness. Caspian sent his dagger through the closest men, and I could do was watch as each man’s chest was ripped completely open by their force.

I had almost forgotten the complete savagery Caspian’s fighting style was capable of displaying, but the blood that spilled all over both himself and this deck quickly reminded me of that. However, regardless of how adept Caspian was proving to be tonight, I refused to let him have all the fun.

More pirates stormed up to the main deck from down below, their feet carrying heavy against the floorboards, yet as each pirate caught sight of Caspian, then myself, fear flashed across their faces immediately.

That didn’t stop them from charging forward, one foot in front of another. The first pirate to make it past Caspian towards me did not have an ounce of confidence in him, and I knew that with how he held his sword out in front of him. It looked like he was praying, to which I immediately answered his wishes… by bringing him closer to his lord. The closest, dare I say, as my longer, sharper blade slashed across, cutting straight through both his sword and him.

I found no issue with sending every man on this wretched ship, back to their maker.

And when I felt the warmth of his blood splash against my face, it felt just as I expected. Marvelous .

Caspian cut the second man down before he could reach me, so I returned that thoughtful favor by drawing a dagger from my waist, and shooting it right past Caspian’s face. The dagger cut through a man that had surprisingly drawn closer to Caspian than I thought to be possible, before it exited out the back of his head and pierced the next pirate directly behind him. Caspian turned in slight surprise to look at me, before giving me a small nod.

The screams of Jirah’s men drowned out all other noise this night, and yet it felt like I could hear Caspian’s steadying heart beat. His slow breathes. The terror etched into those cries only further solidified how off course we had thrown this crew with our surprise attack, and yet I barely register the noise.

Some men had barely gotten their boots on before they charged into this battle, yet Caspian and myself found ourselves next to each other, our backs facing as we managed to maintain a clear full view of every angle these men could approach with.

“Come on men! They cant kill us a-” the enemy’s pirate had started to say, but Caspian launched a dagger forward, forcing his metal straight through, and shattering the man’s skull. Whatever words that pirate said quickly turned to screams once Caspian recoiled that chain, taking with the dagger parts of his skull and brain. The remnants splashed across Caspian’s own dark black collared jacket, a similar design to mine tonight, and something I had placed in his own amour from my collection. It was large on him, but not by much. I preferred it on him.

Caspian paid that mess no mind. Instead, he wiped the blade against the thick material, allowing what was left of that man to fall to the now blood red floorboards.

The pirate that made the foolish choice to charge me whilst I glanced back at Caspian, caught an upward swipe from my much sharper sword before I even looked at him, the force of my hand splitting him from his genitals up through to his stomach. He took maybe one or two more steps before he toppled over, joining the pile of bodies Caspian and myself were now creating.

And as even more of Jirah’s men joined the main deck, I could see the men attempting to call upon any ounce of courage… But my men must’ve sensed it, because the next wave of my crew that landed on this deck, made the first few pirates near us who could see it, halt to a complete stop.

They were the only ones who hesitated, for my men sure hadn’t. I watched Hobbs and Gilly pass by Caspian and myself, their quickness surprising even I, let alone their target, which was every man of Jirah’s who dared to advance this deck next.

I felt the weight of Caspian against my back a moment, pulling my vision back behind my shoulder to catch just the last glimpse of Caspian’s boot smashing straight through a pirate’s head who had accidentally stumbled forward during his charge. If this bloodthirsty, dagger wielding man wasn’t the embodiment of a nightmare before, the now crimson red soaked hair of his made him look like a creature of the night itself.  Something no natural mind could even conjure on paper.

And as his lips tugged up into that all too familiar smile… as did mine.

I hadn’t noticed just that slight distraction until I felt a light slash on my my chest. Another pirate had managed to get close, surprisingly so, but that didn’t matter. As this short yet bold pirate had attempted to bring that blade down again, my hand caught the sharpened edge with ease, before snapping it in half. And that was when whatever confidence the man once had, quickly died in those light brown eyes of his.

My empty left hand reached out, grabbing the man by his neck, and every other emotion in those eyes were now replaced by fear. I lifted this man up and watched as his hands now struggled against a grip he could never fight off.

Then I threw that same feeble body down, smashing his entire self through the main deck’s floorboards, and watching as his body split against the wood before he fell straight through.

My vision slowly rose from the ground to the next pirate, but he began to slowly back away. The thing that stopped him completely, was the dagger connected to chain that shot right past the left side of my head, piercing this man straight through his throat. The man’s eyes grew large in realization, but I felt what was coming next, and lifted my sword. Once his body was yanked forward by the metal chains, his neck now gushing with blood, my sword easily pierced through his upper chest as he was pulled right into it, and it shattered his chest cavity right open. I dislodged both our weapons from this soon to be dead man with a swift kick to his abdomen, sending him right through the hole I just created on this ship.

Snips was the next to board, and by then, the look etched into every one of Jirah’s pirates faces was an understanding I was hoping we’d reach soon.

They were all damned.

The first pirates that tried to run towards the edge of the ship in an attempt to jump, were caught, each in succession by a dagger of Snips tunneling straight through the back of their heads. If only they had known how desperately Snips yearned for this very night. He had boarded the ship with a smile already on his face, which only struck more fear into a group of men that still had sleep in their eyes.

This was no longer a battle. It was a massacre.

And I was more than comfortable sending them all to hell.

Some men did make it over the side of the ship before my men could reach them, yet the sound of the men bleeding out after getting caught under my own ships rudders, only made Snips’s intense smile widen.

The pirates that did make it past Hobbs and Gilly charged towards Caspian. I could see that they had all set their eyes on one man, trying to eliminate a pirate with weapons that operated regardless of the distance, but all it felt like was a lesson that needed to be learnt the more difficult way. I turned towards Caspian now who he, himself, had turned back to face his own opponents only moments after helping me eliminate some of mine.

I placed a hand on Caspian’s shoulder which forced his gaze there, then at me, that beautiful smile only faltering slight as he glanced over at me, but I was just using that shoulder as an anchor for what I was to do next.

As I flipped my wrist, the sharp long curved blade turned away from the ships floor, and towards the direction of my enemies. The tip of my blade broke through the floorboards with ease, and using a great deal of force, something Caspian’s body supported, I dragged my blade through the floor before forcing my wrist up.

The wood split without any hesitation with a sound damn near ear deafening, to which Caspian’s gaze followed closely as the floor cut through the remaining men advancing us, some falling through the massive crack to a sure death.

The wood that shot up from the path I had torn through the ship, killed the remainder of Jirah’s men still standing there almost immediately. More tried to take their chances with the sea, but my eyes caught a glimmer of a blade piercing down from the sky, then another, and another, before they each hit those remaining men with ease. Coop had started raining daggers down from his unseen post on one of our beams, killing what was left of these last men attempting to escape.

Bodies were in piles upon this deck that ran completely red now. The blood had started to pool as it overran, before flowing through the shattered floorboards to the chambers down below. As far as my eyes could see on this main deck, every man had either been removed from this earth by my men, or by the sea itself.

Hobbs and Gilly had already started to pile the dead bodies, signaling this fight was over, with Snips joining in by gathering the dead that never made it past the ledge to the sea.

I stepped forward, avoiding the damage I had done to the ship itself as I followed the trail of bodies towards the entrance to below the deck. The surprise I felt when I heard just one set of boots against the stairs leading up, didn’t stop me from drawing my sword forward.

I was sure none had been left.

It was the cries of someone yelling “Wait! Stop! Our Captain isn’t on board!” That further surprised me.

And those words made my sword halt for the first time since this ambush started. All I felt was my smile quickly fading. What the hell was with Captains sending their crew out without them? To do their bidding?

The man that emerged was scrawny, barely a man, let alone a pirate. He wore nothing but his nightwear, wielding no weapon in his bare boney hands. I could still see the sleep in those eyes.

“Please!” the young man with dark green irises pleaded to us, his desperate gaze holding my now very irritated one. “I can tell you where he is if that is who you’re hunting…. Just please, no more bloodshed! We surrender!”

I looked around at all the dead men that surrounded my crew, questioning just who exactly was we . The man drew another few hesitant steps towards myself and Caspian, and I watched from the corner of my eye as Caspian shifted from behind me, more towards my side. He seemingly wanted to get a better look at the man.

When this final survivor diverted his gaze from mine, past mine, I saw something shift in him instantly. The fear on his face morphed first into that of confusion, then complete astonishment.

“You…” I heard him whisper to something past me. Rather, someone. “It can’t-”

Just as I was turning to look back at Caspian, the man this pirate had so suddenly latched his gaze onto, something shot right past my eyes. It was so close, it almost slit my nose, but the accuracy Caspian had with these chained daggers wasn’t something to question.

What was something to question was why one of those same daggers was now lodged directly through the small man’s mouth. Seemingly the only man who could tell us where Jirah was in exchange for his life. A wager I truly had no intentions of upholding, but would entertain.

All I could do was watch as Caspian recoiled that metal chain. This smaller pirate had no chance surviving the gaping hole Caspian both created and left in his mouth, and all we heard was gurgling as blood filled his throat. His hands tried to reach behind him at the hole you could see the back of the ship through, and he attempted a few shaky steps forward before eventually collapsing to the ground.

My gaze then snapped to Caspian, ready to demand why the hell he had done that. To demand what it was that this man saw when his eyes landed on Caspian, yet all Caspian did as his response, was point to the collapsed body in front of us.

I looked back down myself at what was once a scrawny looking man, but he was that no longer, I was now staring at a man face down in a pool of his own blood, his stature much larger. Much like my men. As I crouched down, grabbing locks of the man’s now golden hair to lift his face up, I dropped it immediately once I realized who this was.

Then I took a moment to access the situation as a whole, before my gaze shifted up to Caspian who was now finishing the concealment of his chains, pushing the daggers under his long sleeves.

“How did you…” I found my voice trailing off, to which Caspian looked over at me, took a few steps back, and then he turned around. He had started to move from dead pile to dead pile across the ship, picking up the lifeless mangled bodies with little care, before dropping them back into the piles created by my men.

When he had finally found who it was he was looking for, he glanced over at me, beckoning me towards him. I did my best to maneuver through around my own chaos wreaked on these now dismantled floorboards, before finally reaching where he stood towards the front edge of the ship.

I glanced down at the severed head Caspian was holding up, and though it took some effort to recognize the face covered in blood and other bodily parts, I saw what he too had seen at one point in this night. The face of a scrawny man that had no business being a pirate.

Then I glanced over at the man that still laid lifeless near the entrance to the lower chambers. The man that wasn’t this man.

“I do not know much of Jirah’s power, but I assume he can only take the face of a man his eyes have studied.” Caspian explained, dropping the severed head back onto the pile of bodies. More blood dripped onto his now soaked jacket, but Caspian just did his best to dust off the pieces of wet flesh that accompanied it. “Intelligent really, taking the face of a seemingly disarmable pirate.”

I watched as his blood coated hands pulled the strands clumped together by a tie, apart, in a hopes that it would tighten the bond the tie had on his hair. Many strands had come loose during the heat of the battle, and now I was finding myself preferring it this way.

“The only mistake was that he took the face of one of his.”

••

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31. She’s Taken A Liking To You

Yuhhh, your girl got up and wrote another 3k words lol

Enjoy!

xoxo

Also yet another playlist update, and the song I wrote a particular scene in relation to, is included above (once you get to that point in this chapter, you’ll get it)

Caspian

“Don’t touch anything that doesn’t look like it could hold that pendant.” Alistair had instructed with every bit of seriousness in his voice, as he and I continued to rummage through Jirah’s collection down below deck.

Most of the crates and antiques were now fully soaked in the blood of Jirah and his men thanks to Alistair, who had simply done something I had never seen before.

I could still hear the almost deafening cracking of the wood when Alistair fully tore the floorboards of this ship apart with just the tip of his sword.

In the many years I had learned about the sword of King Daedron, a weapon forged by him himself before he perished, not one text had spoken of the sword being used like this. With such…
ferociousness . At least not to my knowledge.

But I held my tongue this night. I had already experienced one near encounter with the Jirah, and the face he took, I had no longing to experience another.

Had he not taken the face of a man I had cut down, there would have been no valid explanation for the kill. And what he had said… well, I was sure Alistair had heard. Luck couldn’t even begin to explain what that was tonight, and so I decided not to further test it.

Alistair pried open yet another small, blood soaked crate, one of many in this cramped underbelly of the ship. At least Hobbs and Gilly managed to clear out the dead men Alistair had so easily sent below, before we started our search. I still didn’t quite manage to grasp how he had slammed a man through the bloody floorboards themselves, but once again silence was proving to be the safest for me right now.

And speechless was how that hole in the ceiling above us left me, whenever I found myself glancing up at it again to the open sky above.

“Do you remember the face of every man you’ve seen?” Alistair asked, yet he didn’t look my way as he spoke. He still kept focus, attempting to find this pendant so we could get the hell off this vessel. I believed he and I both felt whatever strange magic occupied this room, and we wanted no parts, besides that pendent- The Eye Of The Sea.

I found myself slowly shaking my head, before I realized Alistair’s back was to me, so I spoke instead. “Only the faces of the men I’ve struck down.”

That had made him finally turn to me, if only for just a moment, before he went back to the more pressing task at hand.

“That’s impressive.” I heard him say.

“No,” I, myself, returned with. “I do not fully remember the whole face, but I’ll never forget a set of eyes.” They would forever be imprinted on my memory, the soul of the eyes fading as each man finally met death at his door. It was more of a curse, if anything.

As soon as I had stepped from behind Alistair to see the very last man who advanced this deck, begging for mercy, I realized immediately who he was. Who he had to be.

I just hadn’t expected him to recognize me too.

Alistair tossed the seemingly useless opened crate onto the pile he had created, before he reached for the next. I moved closer to the man, helping him pull this larger one down from the top shelf in this room, however what the both of us had failed to realize, was what was resting right above it, just out of Alistair and my own’s sight.

As the crate tipped towards us, so did the the small jar sitting on it. And when the lid of that jar hit the wood as it toppled over, the lid popped off, pouring its contents onto both Alistair and myself.

Our reflexes mirrored one another as we both tried to jump out of this shimmery dusts path, but it was no use. Whatever Jirah and his men had kept in that jar had coated us from our bloody hair, to our steel toed boots.

“Shit!” I heard Alistair hiss, which only heightened my own concerns. I had not an inkling what exactly we had poured on ourselves, but judging by Alistair’s reaction, it wasn’t good.

I did my best to dust the dust off my already soaked clothing, but the fine substance clung to the dampness of the material, infusing with the blood. The only parts Alistair and I could properly remove the dust from, was our face and some of our hair.

“What is this?” I asked Alistair.

“Nothing good.” Alistair replied, turning to me again. Yet once his gaze glanced down to his trousers to try another attempt at brushing whatever this was, off, Alistair paused a moment. He slowly reached down to grab something that was buried in the dust on the floor. Once he rose again, raising his hand for me to see what he had in his hand, a large smile spread across his face. “Let’s get the bloody hell out of here.”

Alistair has slipped the pendant attached to a thin leather strap, into one of his jacket pockets, before he ordered his crew off this ship.

Hobbs and Gilly had shown interest in staying to pillage more resources, but Alistair insisted we needed to go. Whatever he and I felt in that room was not worth the hassle that could come with it, and so they set fire to the ship itself and used a plank fastened between this vessel and ours to bring the men back aboard.

I was grateful for this because that last thing I wanted was to have to swing across again. I could feel my heart quicken at the thought of it. How Alistair had grabbed hold of me before I could even process what he was about to do.

My feet landing safely on this ship felt like a miracle all in itself, yet the confidence on Alistair’s face forced me to realized that he was inherently far more experienced with this than I was. And judging by how hard Snips had hit the side of the ship when he himself hadn’t let go of the rope in time to land safely on that small boat, all this so close to the shores of Sicoria, it made me realize Alistair was more than likely the best man to pull me across.

Once we had safely boarded Alistair’s vessel, and dropped the plank connecting both ships, I felt the release of the beams from above. It immediately snapped our ship back into a standing position as opposed to the tilt Coop used to bind us.

Cael was the first to approach Alistair and I, his first words being “what the hell happened to you two?” His face then scrunched up in disgust. “You reek of strange magic.”

Alistair was the first to answer with “If I could tell you, I’d be far less weary.” That made Cael’s brows furrow, but he didn’t press it further. At least not in the company of myself. An the revelation that not even Alistair knew, made my worry grow.

Instead, Alistair ordered me to remain on the main deck here near the ship, as he gave orders to his men to move what little we had safely and successfully pillaged, down below.

I watched as his men navigated about the open vessel with energy I hadn’t seen before… Or maybe I had? It felt a lot like the night his men raided and pillaged my own merchant ship, but this was… the energy amongst his men was far more charged this night.

Cael spoke with Alistair as they moved about, before the man separated himself from the Captain to make his way towards the top deck. That was when Alistair finally approached me again.

“Go wash your face.” He ordered, his eye raking itself over my current appearance. I was surprised he’d only requested me to clean my face. One could say he didn’t look much better than I, but his clothes hadn’t gotten nearly as dirty as my own. I had to wipe the remnants of the pirates still attached to my daggers and chains, on my clothing in order to maintain the equally distributed weight of my weapons.

I didn’t question it however as I felt my feet start to carry me towards our chambers, but Alistair spoke again, stopping those strides before I left him.

“Supper will be served soon with my men. They’ve extended an invitation this night, and I have accepted on both our behalf.”

I felt my eyes grow larger at those unexpected words, and yet I found a small smile making its way to my lips as I gave Alistair a nod.

“You did well.” was the last thing the Captain said to me, before he took his leave, moving towards the entrance that led back below the deck.

And so I forced my steps forward, but they moved quicker than expected.

Alistair had only ordered me to wash my face, yet I decided to at the very least change my inner shirt and trousers. I kept the long coat the Captain had given me, on, for the inner lining felt like smooth silk against my bare skin. A feeling I had grown too quickly to appreciate. The material was thick, and yet that inner lining was cooling.

Once I made my way below the deck, I could hear the music before I could see the men playing it.

All of Alistair’s crew had gather into a large room filled with long tables and chairs. I had only taken a short while to change, and yet somehow each man had made their way to a drink. None had bothered with their clothing, and only some had made an attempt to wipe the blood from their face. That coupled with the ear to ear grin of every man, made this lot look like a group of men only whispered in tales.

Tales to forever deter you from stepping foot off land.

The last I had seen of bloodshed in this magnitude was the night the Azultian palace burned, and yet this… this was far from that.

Alistair was sitting towards the front right of the room, his men surrounding him and the men who played in the very middle of the room, but once his eye caught mine, he beckoned me towards him. Snips, who was sitting on his right, shifted immediately into the chair next to him to create space for me at Alistair’s table.

I maneuvered around the men who had since picked up string instruments, playing a tune I did not recognize but found to be exhilarating.

That was the only word I could use for the energy felt from Alistair’s men. The energy that coursed through this full room filled with strong men downing even stronger drinks.

Exhilarating .

I took a seat besides Alistair who I noticed had his hair down again. He had most likely attempted to brush the remnants of that dust, like I had, but I had pulled my hair back from my face againwith a tie once I realized that was no use.

Alistair pushed a glass from in front of him, to me, and I hesitated at first before Alistair insisted with “drink it. Finn has squeezed oranges for you, a sweet treat in replacement of our usual choice of drink. Something earned.”

I stared down at the orange liquid, the cup feeling cool to touch as my fingers wrapped around it, before bringing it to my lips.

A smile followed that sip a moment later, which Alistair returned with one of his own before he took a sip from his own glass. I didn’t have to question him to know it was rum.

Suddenly, I felt a hand come down on my right shoulder, pulling me from Alistair before I could thank him, and when I looked over to Snips, he was holding his own cup up.

The smile I first found utterly bone chilling the night I was taken aboard, somehow didn’t look all that chilling. “Cheers.” he said, his gaze shifting to the cup in my hand. I willingly raised it, clinking the ceramic material together, to which Snips’s smile only widened. “For you, my dear Caspian, continue to surprise us.”

I hadn’t even noticed the smile already etched into my face, but I found it widening myself.

There wasn’t much I was sure of, however I was positive this had been the most I had smiled in years.

Maybe since before the fire…

“Coop!” Snips snapped his head in the Cooper’s direction, who I now noticed was part of the men in the middle clearing of the room, playing along with a few other pirates. The music in Gatvia was beautiful, a melodic tune if you may… but this? This felt like a jig. The tune these men kept was something that matched the tempo of a heart rate during the heat of battle.

Snips stood once that rhythm picked up in speed, him being the first to join the men playing in the middle, yet he didn’t bring with him an instrument. Instead, he brought with him his feet, those large boots keeping the tempo of the music perfectly as he started to dance around the men who played.

That smile hadn’t waivered from my lips; I watched as another pirate, Gildan, joined Snips, and he kept the same tempo as both their feet moved with miraculous speeds. They soon after linked their arms, keeping their energy contained while they spun each other around.

“ Join them if you’d like .“ I heard Alistair’s voice whisper close to my left ear, the sound and proximity of it sending a shiver straight through me. I turned to the slightly larger man again.

“I-” I started, before deciding on more point words. “I don’t know the dance they’re doing.”

That made Alistair’s eyebrows furrow a bit, before some realization eased his features. He was about to say some seemingly chosen words of his own, but the sudden pull at my right upper arm forced my gaze to my right once more. Snips yanked me to my feet before I could begin to protest, and pushed me towards both the men playing music and the man that had joined in on this dance.

“Like this,” Snips pointed to his legs as he put a foot in front of another. He struggled to keep his pace slow enough for me to follow, while maintaining the beat his feet refused to fall out of synchronization with.

And I did my best to follow, but it looked more like I was drunk if anything. That got a good laugh out of Alistair’s men, which I couldn’t help but join in with. I looked like a fool.

It was Alistair’s voice that cut through the loud music, and his even louder men, as he called out “Simon, ring a tune more haunting!”

Simon, the pirate that was sitting in the far back of the room, suddenly stood. His height separated him from the sitting men. In his hand, he held a string instrument I couldn’t recognize, but another pirate got up from the middle of the room to give Simon his seat.

When I heard the first few pulls from the string, accompanied by his and two other men’s voices, my body stilled a moment. This music wasn’t familiar, however the tempo was. It was something my feet could more easily follow, to which they did before I could direct them to.

It was as if they moved against my will, listening to the music produced by Simon and those two other pirates. The only description for their voices was that which Alistair requested. Haunting .

I had gotten so lost in the music, it took me far longer than it should have to notice it had started to slow. The room itself had somehow started to slow, as did the pirates surrounding me on all sides. This sudden shift felt like magic, but I didn’t understand how, or why.

As I looked away from the pirates whose movements had slowly started to fade from my vision, back towards Alistair’s table, I saw the large man making his way past his men to me. He was the only other one here still moving at the same speed I was, and that only made my face tighten further in confusion.

Once he finally reached me, I could feel something. It was a thumping that matched the slower tempo of the drowned out music, yet it wasn’t coming from any instrument near us.

It was coming from the floorboards themselves.

Alistair was close enough now for me to reach out and touch, and the words that flowed from him without his mouth moving as his eye bore into mine, was something that made my own heartbeat quicken against the heartbeat of these floor boards.

“She’s taken a liking to you.”

Somehow, I hadn’t needed to ask him who. Or what, rather. I could feel her heartbeat flow through each plank of wood. Each nail hammered in, now pulsating with the moving boards themselves.

It was the beating heart of his ship.

And I had no chance to respond to the man, for the tempo of the music began to grow. The movement of his pirates slowly returning to their natural form. And as Alistair reached for something tucked in his shirt before bringing it to his lips, I watched his own feet start to move. He had started to mimic the movement of my feet perfectly, the dance I’d learned from my father when I was younger. His boots were in synch with both those instruments, and my own steps.

Once I heard the sound of his flute, I felt my gaze cementing itself on him if it hadn’t already, unable to look away. His eye had closed slightly as he played, somehow connecting whatever world he had suddenly pulled me into, back to the present, with the melody of that instrument. Back to his men, and their music.

Mesmerized didn’t even feel like the correct word to describe what he had done to me…

But I knew I could no longer look away.

••

32. All Magic Comes With A Price

I’m so happy to hear yall are loving this so far! lol we’ve got some ground to cover soon, but let’s have a little fun first

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Also, Blu KKochi, if you’re here, I emailed you back about the fan art ;)

Bilge-Sucking

:

and insulting expression of disdain

Alistair

I awoke the following morning feeling touched by death.

And though I had been known to be somewhat exaggerant after a night with my men, drinking, I knew that this wasn’t that.

I had been sober enough to walk Caspian up to the main deck when he decided he needed to retire himself for the night. He’d spent most of the evening attempting to learn the jig that Snips became more hellbent on teaching him with every drink the shorter man had.

I was about to pull him away from Caspian, but the smile Caspian looked back at me with, stopped me. He was enjoying himself, as were my men, yet I could feel whenever his eyes would find mine. I could hear those questions he so clearly had for what I had done.

I had granted Ol’ Bess one wish for her performing so well during this fight, and that was that I allowed her a moment to reveal herself to Caspian. I could feel her affection towards him, yet one would argue Ol’ Bess was drawn to any man who’s strength was capable of even slightly rivaling my own. The last man with that power and then some, was the one who gave her heart to me. The one who made me who I was. The same mad man that dragged me down to the very bottom of the sea.

Instead of Caspian moving from the main deck, to our chambers, I watched him approach the very front of my ship. I had meant to head back down and continue dinner with my men, but instead I found myself following this man, watching as he approached and leant forward against the ledge. His gaze looked up towards the sky, the stars now visible again.

I found myself turning, leaning my back against the ledge as I glanced up from the sky, to Caspian. He hadn’t had a single drink, yet his face was flushed from all the dancing. And it would be a lie not to admit his feet carried him well. Perhaps not with the dance my men were used to, but his body moved with fluidity when he decided to do something he knew. Something I found my own enjoyment following to.

The first words that left his lips were “your ship has a heart.”

I couldn’t stop the abrupt laugh that broke past my lips, to which Caspian turned his head my way. He bore a more expectant look. “Well, yes. I supposed she does.”

“How is that possible?” Caspian continued. His curiosity never seized to amaze me.

“All ships do. They just don’t beat like mine does.”

Caspian held my gaze, his eyes looking far more alluring, yet I couldn’t tell if it was the light reflection of the stars in them. The stars Cael had since revealed once more to the common eye now that our fight had been finished. We no longer needed the coverage of darkness we was able to paint against the sky, then reflect upon our ship.

This was why Jirah nor his men could see us until it was too late. It was something Gaia was teaching him.

“I don’t understand you, Alistair.” That was more of whisper if anything as it fell past Caspian’s lips, and yet I heard it.

“I could say the same about you, Caspian.” I replied. His cheeks blushed light crimson at those words, and it was only then that he broke our gaze to cast his back up to the night sky. My sight still remained on him. On those eyes of his.

“I’m simply a merchant.” He replied, though there was a slight smile playing on his lips. I found myself smiling at that now hilarious statement.

“You’re quite attached to that story, aren’t you?” I asked.

He turned to me again when he replied with “that’s the safest option.” And there was honesty in his eyes. “And it’s true. You boarded a merchant ship, did you not?”

I chose to ignore Caspian’s question when I then asked “Is death still the safest option for you?”

It took Caspian a while to reply to those words. I watched as he looked out towards the rough seas instead. “The easiest, I suppose.”

I gave the slightly shorter man a nod before I shifted my own gaze to the sky again.

“Nothing about the work on my ship has been easy, and yet you seem to be fairing. Enjoying yourself, even.” I slid my right hand that was bent back, holding the wooden ledge, further across the ledge until it was touching Caspian’s. I expected him to pull away immediately when his eyes snapped to mine, but he didn’t. “You say death is the easiest, and perhaps that is the case… however you seem to find the most enjoyment when you don’t grant it that wish. You should ask yourself if that is what you truly want… or rather, what you think you deserve.”

And this was the last conversation Caspian and I had before he retired to his private room, and I joined my men down below, yet I chose not to take another drink after that.

So yes, it came with great surprise when I awoke the following morning feeling like my body was kissed by death. The room I was in was dark, but as I slowly looked around, adjusting to the darkness, I realized this wasn’t my personal room. I was in Caspian’s.

What the hell , I thought, turning to my side to see if I had somehow found myself in Caspian’s bed with him. When I caught sight of those white long strands, I felt even further confusion…

Until I realized those strands moved as I turned my head again.

My hands immediately shot out to my hair, but they didn’t need to. The paler skin reflecting against the smallest light feeding into this room, stilled my whole body completely.

What. The. Bloody hell .

I damn near fell off the mattress scrambling to get myself off this bed, and as soon as I did, I almost fell to the ground from the complete lack of gravity this body had. It felt like I was still drunk as I stumbled from Caspian’s room to my own.

And just as I suspected, once I threw my door open, I was looking at none other than myself laying in my bed, partially naked. I was still fast asleep. Or rather, he was.

“Caspian!” I called out to the man I was assuming was in my body, if I had somehow awoken in his. I watched myself stir a moment, my visible eye blinking a few times before it looked over, through the slight darkness, at me. The candle that was burning as I found sleep the previous night, was still lit, illuminated most of this room. I watched a face I knew too well, scrunch slightly in confusion before Caspian whispered “A dream” and nestled back into my tailored pillows.

“Caspian!” I shouted louder, using a volume I had never heard Caspian raise his own voice to before.

That snapped Caspian out of it, his body, or rather mine, springing up into a sitting position as he stared at me… or rather himself.

I had only experienced whatever this was for such a short period of time, and I was already giving myself a headache.

“What…” I heard my voice trail off, yet it was Caspian’s words leaving my mouth.

As my body felt to be true, whatever was on Jirah’s ship had done something. Something purely awful, and immensely inconvenient.

“You?…” Caspian continued. Sleep was still visible on his, rather my face, and that only irritated me further.

This body of Caspian’s felt like he hadn’t had a good nights rest since his time in his mother’s womb, regardless of the sleep I had supposedly just awoken from.

All we did, all we could do, was stare at each other… well, ourselves … in complete silence.

Then Caspian slowly looked down at the body he was in, and his- my eye, only grew wider.

“What… happened?” He settled on finally, pulling up more of the beds sheet to cover the exposed chest I usually found comfort sleeping like. Now was not the time to worry about modesty when this skin I was now in felt two seconds away from starting to decompose.

“Jirah.” Was all I said. There was no other explanation for it.

“Why do I feel… aroused?” Caspian spoke, his mind putting things into words before he spent much time pondering them.

“Forget arousal, why do I feel touched by death?”

We had both gestured to each other’s bodies before looking up at each other again.

And perhaps the severity of the situation finally presented itself to Caspian, because he shot up from my bed immediately. “We must fix this. Now .” He had already started to look for a shirt to cover himself. And though I felt like mocking his very obvious statement, I didn’t have the time to.

I instead heard the familiar steps of a man making his way here. Not as well as I could’ve heard them had I been in my own body, but I knew Cael too well not to know when he approached.

Once his body appeared down the hall of my chambers, I stepped aside to allow him further into my room.

“Why is Caspian shouting?” Cael asked. He was holding a glass of water, which he approached my body with before setting it on the table near the bed. He was used to doing this after a long night spent with my men. It was his peace offering before spewing responsibilities at my still recovering self, and on any other morning I would’ve accepted such offering, however this morning I wasn’t in the position, nor the body, to do such.

“Cael!” I snapped, forcing his attention towards this body immediately. My, rather Caspian’s bony finger pointed towards my own body that was starting to slip a buttoned shirt over my shoulders. “That is not me.”

Cael first looked taken back by the sudden tone in this voice, before he glanced over at my body, then the body I was in now.

“Yes… I can see that.”

My irritation rose to unprecedented levels.

“No,” I attempted to clarify, “That is Caspian.”

Cael looked back at my original body, before his brows eventually furrowed completely. His next question was directed at my body. “Alistair, has Caspian finally lost it?”

“ No ,“ at this point, we were all hearing strain in Caspian’s voice that had simply never presented itself to neither me nor my crew before, and that caught Cael’s attention. “That is Caspian in my body.”

Whatever Cael had expected for this morning, the look on his face had told me this was the farthest thing from it.

He looked to be genuinely struggling to understand, before he finally gave up. “I know not what you mean.” He admitted with every shred of honesty.

“Something happened on Jirah’s ship-” I started, however once Cael’s eyes suddenly grew wider, I saw the realization quickly spread across his face.

“The pungent magic.” He spoke lower, to which I nodded. Caspian was just finishing buttoning his shirt before he too looked over at Cael now from across the room. He had found the shirt in my amour.

“I had told you not to touch anything,” Cael immediately scold me, forcing more irritation on my already agitated self.

“I can assure you, my dear Cael, this was not done willingly.”

Cael still looked like he was gathering his final bearings on this as a whole.

“Well what exactly did you touch against your will?” Cael pondered with much skepticism laced in his words. Had I been in my own body, my hands would be around his neck by now. Had Caspian’s body held any energy at all, I would’ve done it in this one.

“There was this dust that the pendant was kept in. It fell onto us as we were searching for the bloody thing.”

Cael grew silent a moment in thought, more or less trying to understand this. I hadn’t heard of this magic before, which left me with little faith that Cael had, and he only confirmed my suspicions moments later.

“I need to do some reading. There’s very little reason to believe this is permanent, for that type of magic would take more than just the substance of dust, yet I’ll still see what I can learn.” Cael’s finger rose to his dark lips, tapping lightly on them as he usually had when a serious problem presented itself.

I did my best to choose my next choice of words carefully, however before I could speak, Caspian very openly questioned “then what are we to do in the meantime?”

My eyes snapped from Cael to my own body, before pointing that bony finger in his direction again. “ You are to go nowhere.“ I ordered. “My men cannot know of this.”

Caspian left a confused look on my face, however Cael was the one who spoke next.

“Your crew will expect you presence, especially after the destruction of The Chameleon and his crew. We are looking to hunt that captain, remember? And there is not much time before we reach him if we are to hold Finnik’s words to the light of truth.”

These same bony fingers rose to massage the bridge of Caspian’s nose. I couldn’t tell if this headache was related to Caspian’s body as a whole, or this situation in particular, but it was crippling.

“Just carry on things as they were. This shouldn’t last long, and this magic will leave your system well before we find Gaelick. You and Caspian will not be able to use each others magic because you do not know how with the body you’ve now found yourselves in, meaning this ship will have to travel naturally. I don’t believe we will reach Gaelick until the following night at the earliest.

Lovely, I thought to myself. Just fucking

lovely .

“I also suggest neither of you find yourself in a position where you die before then. That is the only thing I can think to make this permanent. Granted, you both seem awfully hard to kill, but I thought I should still mention it.”

Dying in this body would be one thing, but living in it would drive me to take my own life immediately. I think I was starting to understand just why Caspian wanted to die so desperately. I didn’t understand how he lived with this looming feeling each day.

I watched as Caspian started to reach for my eye patch, yet both Cael and I stopped him in unison.

“Keep that on.” I ordered with every bit of seriousness in my tone, which Caspian only seemed to react to with confusion. Luckily, Cael was willing to explain.

“You do not know nearly enough of the body you are now in. I suggest that in the interest of the lives of everyone both on this ship, and those at sea, you keep that patch on.”

Caspian clearly didn’t understand, however he did nod, accepting that one vital piece of advise both Cael and I couldn’t stress enough was crucial to follow.

For all I knew, Caspian could accidentally send every single ship on these waters to the bottom of the fucking sea without knowing…

Including my own.

••

33. Aye

Stay tuned till the end for some amazing fan art by an even more freaking amazing and absolutely talented artist and reader!

They requested anonymity but m’love, you reach out at any time and I will HAPPILY give you all the credit I believe you deserve <3

Thank you, beautiful!

And enjoy, lovelies!

You have this incredible artist to thank for the steaminess in the next chapter, for the inspiration went crazyyy. So much so, I was delayed with uploading this one because I fully rewrote that one

xoxo

P.S. my biz email is in my bio if you ever want to send some art in, or reach out and just say hi :)

Caspian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/f3e2904dfe5466eb6f65bf70c8b3581639b7726d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f322d7471496f42314a4e784b37513d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436306163633161313338393338373231393938313230372e6a7067)               

Alistair’s body felt like an animal in heat.

Constantly.

And when I say constantly, I meant it.

I was pacing around the open room of our chambers, trying to decide how I would approach his crew if they were to come to me with any issues. I still knew such a minimal amount about his leadership, and though I was learning quickly, I wasn’t learning quickly enough. At least not with this current predicament that presented itself.

Luckily they wouldn’t expect me present for most of the day, however Cael did insist that at some point I would need to make rounds. While I wanted Cael’s assistance with this, he was busy scouring every book in his personal library, and the study, to figure out what this was.

I, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how Alistair both lived like this, and did nothing about it. At least.. well… I felt my face heating a bit when I thought of how little I knew about that too. I knew I had shared a room with him each night in Gatvia, and he hadn’t brought anyone to his private quarters for the duration of the trip.

For a moment, I contemplated finding relief myself, but then that somehow felt like an invasion of his own privacy… to touch mys- well, to touch Alistair. This was by far the strangest course of events to ever occur to me, and now I didn’t know what to do.

Cael was correct about us not knowing how to use each others magic, and yet Alistair felt different. It felt like he was magic. Like magic itself had attached and held on to every molecule in his body. I had never seen this before, let alone felt it. A piece of me understood Alistair now, and in ways I didn’t think I could.

For all the times I assumed he was fighting with every bit of him, I now realized that he was holding back. To have magic as strong as this, that it could become you… it was almost unfathomable.

He was so in tune with his ship, I could feel her heartbeat much clearer. Even with this patch, my vision wasn’t blocked in the slightest. I could almost sense where things were without seeing them, and if this was what even a fraction of Alistair’s body could do, I couldn’t imagine what he was when his mind was in the right vessel.

This patch was something I was struggling to understand. The only reason my finger stayed the farthest from it, was due to the look of sheer panic on both Alistair and Cael’s face when I went to remove it. Whatever warning Cael specifically gave, I was willing to heed. I may not have felt this way the night I was captured, however I now wished no wrongdoing on Alistair’s men.

I didn’t want to put them in anymore harms way, for my decision making skills as I pretended to be Alistair would most likely do enough damage.

There was also another feeling I felt by being in this body, and it was unique to even I, someone who had been kissed by death itself. Someone who shattered their immortality, with no way of regaining it… and all for nothing.

That feeling was hollowness. Pure hollowness .

Alistair had lost something too, something that wasn’t only only taken, but carved out of him. Something that in its wake, left nothing but a chiseled empty pit. This feeling felt like it should bring me to tears, and yet Alistair’s body wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t force those salty drops to fall, even if I felt something so chilling, crying felt like it should’ve been second nature. This body held my mind and my emotions, yet somehow I still felt like I was the one that was being held captive.

I hadn’t asked the Captain about what this was because I didn’t have the slightest idea myself. That, and frankly I didn’t want Alistair to ask any more questions of his own.

He could feel the shattering of my immortality, yet he hadn’t known what it was. I had lived in my own body for so long, its affects no longer shackled me… yet I still recalled the devastation of the night it was shattered. I still recalled the choices I had made that horrifically proved to be of no help. Of no use. I still recalled my regrettable actions.

And my heart ached for Alistair, and that familiar feeling now being cast onto him. No living soul deserved to feel the damnation of my own.

And thus, this was a terrible position for the both of us to be in.

The Captain had left me alone to attend to the duties that I were to do myself had I woken up in the right body, and judging by his demeanor shortly before he left, he wasn’t the most joyous about it.

Cael had insisted he make his rounds as I eventually would mine. Neither pirate wanted to raise any suspicion, to which I understood. This taking place right before our next battle was the worst of timing.

And so I found myself here, pacing the floorboards of our private chambers.

And then, without any warning, I found myself at the ledge of the top deck, staring out onto the main deck down below as Alistair’s crew continued their work.

My hands reached forwards to brace myself, yet whatever had just happened was fluid. It moved the plankwood below my feet, however more damage was done to my heart.. rather Alistair’s, as fear quickly took over.

“Captain!” Snips called. I was still trying to figure out how I had made it from Alistair’s chambers to the top deck, but as Snips quickly approached, climbing the wooden stairs from the main deck, I realized I had a lot more to worry about than just this sudden teleportation.    

I had no where to turn to but Snips, and so that was what I did.

“The ship has slowed.” Snips noted. I truly had no good response to that, so I found myself nodding. “I’m positive you know more than I, I just assumed we’d be ready to reach Gaelick as soon as possible.”

I looked out from our position on the top deck, down below to Alistair’s men. I was trying to mimic the stance Alistair had rested himself into whenever he was overlooking his crew, however I didn’t feel anywhere near as convincing. I was just looking for a moment to decide how I would answer Snips, yet all that fell past my lips was “Aye.”

I could already hear the complaint from Alistair once he found out about this conversation. And I would subsequently never hear the end of it, knowing that man.

“Finn wants to build another counter because apparently the large open kitchen doesn’t have enough leveled space. Do you approve?”

Oh shit , I thought to myself. He was still speaking. And I had heard none of it because I was still trying to decide how Alistair leaned against the top deck’s rail whenever he looked to be pondering something.

“I-… uh, aye?” The look from Snips as we finally locked eyes again, told me that whatever I agreed to was probably not good. I should’ve known that this was likely what Alistair’s interactions with his crew would be like, considering he was the Captain and all, but I was utterly damned if any others asked me even a shred of a question pertaining to this bloody ship.

To my surprise, Snips had no lip to give, instead he nodded his head in acceptance. The words that fell past his own lips however, made me realize just how closely this man’s crew knew him.

“Caspian is growing on me, Cap, as he surely is you, however you might be spending just a little too much time with him Your mannerisms are starting to resemble his.”

I damn near froze at those words, but I attempted to ease my stress, giving Snips a smile as he started to take his leave. If you were to ask me, I could not promise enough that I thought heavily about my response, and yet the only thing that could fall past my lips was “aye.”

Alistair was surely going to kill me now, but it was too late to take those words back. Instead, all I could do was breathe a heavy sigh of relief when Snips started his descension to the main floor again. Whatever damage that had been done, was done.

My eyes found Alistair who had been helping Coop set up a few beams. He was pouring sweat from the heat of the now setting sun, but he looked to be carrying casual conversations with his men, and all supposedly without them knowing it was him. I had tried to make my way quietly down from the top deck, but once Alistair’s body- well, my body turned, and his- rather my eyes found his, I knew it was too late.

The look Alistair gave me as he quickly cut across the main deck towards me, said it all.

I had promised him I wouldn’t wander, yet I didn’t know how to explain to him that this was his doing. His body’s. And it didn’t help that whenever I saw Alistair, my body- his body, reacted. I felt flushed, a feeling that was all too fucking bizarre to feel for my own build.

I needed out of his now.

All I could pray was that Cael was right about this being temporary.

“What are you doing out here?” He demanded as he approached my position against the wooden rail of the top deck. “I told you to stay put.”

I did my very best not to grow with irritation, for if these last few moments taught me anything, it was that Alistair’s body was as predictable as a sudden storm. Anger might bring me to the bottom of the fucking ocean, there was no telling with it.

“Had I known my whereabouts weren’t completely up to my own decisions, I wouldn’t have agreed to such an order.” The irritation in Alistair’s voice as my words fell past his lips, almost felt natural.

I wanted to laugh at how second nature agitation must’ve been for it to slip through so easily, but I held that to myself. That would’ve been the final straw for the man that was forced into my own death defiance of a body, only to do my tasks out of necessity of keeping whatever had occurred between him and I, secret.

He’d surely throw me over the edge of this damn ship.

His- my eyes still held some anger, but I watched as they softened slightly with my words.

“I thought that wouldn’t affect you, considering you barely know anything of my magic.”

I felt my own demeanor soften some. “Well I’m not sure there is much I can explain correctly, however these feet were firmly planted in our private chambers mere moments ago. The next thing I knew, I was out here.”

Alistair pondered that moment, as his hands brought the hem of his shirt up to his forehead to wipe the sweat. I finally decided that if I were to fully process this switching of bodies, I would need to disassociate myself completely from that being my body.

At this point, it was technically his until this magic ran itself through.

And once again, that simple action made me hard below the belt, something so unnaturally wrong for far too many reasons.

“How do you live like this?”

I was more or less voicing my concerns to the clear air itself, however Alistair quickly returned that with “I can very well ask you the same.”

My gaze finally broke from his, this body forcing unholy thoughts on a mind that had no business thinking them. Was this how Alistair’s body always reacted when he saw me? And what sorcery could he possibly have, to be able to ignore it all so well?

“When was the last time you bed someone?”

This question had been quite invasive, however I so desperately needed to know. It felt like Alistair hadn’t attended to himself for years.

“When was the last time you had?” Alistair countered. I knew that was just his genuine curiosity because my body did not react like this. More often than not, I didn’t find any attraction with anyone, let alone another man.

“That is none of your concern. The situation at hand is in relation to your body and its inability to go soft… down… well, down there .”

That made Alistair laugh abruptly, which only further infuriated me, yet the sound of my laughter also further stimulated me. I needed to put as much space between my body and his, yet that plan immediately fell through once I noticed Snips had started climbing these steps again, bringing with him information Alistair would very soon not take kindly to.

“Caspian.” Snips gave who he thought was I, a brief nod, to which Alistair returned it as me. “I came to discuss final plans for the additional counter in the kitchen.”

As soon as those words left his lips, Alistair’s eyes darted to mine, disapproval laced in every crevice of the look he was giving me.

Shit .

“I uh-” I started, to which Alistair cut in, forcing Snips gaze back towards him. “I have agreed to assist Alistair and Cael with potential new routes. Why don’t you and the Captain continue this conversation after?” He suggested, to which Snips calmly nodded at.

“Aye,” he spoke, giving myself a nod as well. “I’ll come find you shortly before supper. I take it you two will be joining us?”

I hadn’t looked to Alistair in time to see he was clearly telling me to decline this request with his eyes, however something inside me couldn’t bring myself to. I could tell Snips was genuinely excited to have his Captain there, and so I found myself completing this conversation with one last “aye.”

Once Snips had finally taken his leave, Alistair immediately grabbed hold of my arm, forcing me down the top deck’s stairs towards our chambers.

“Where- what are you-”

“We’re going to straighten a few things out before you agree to any more nonsense I’ll surely find hard to get myself out of.” Was all that Alistair replied with, before he continued to pull me towards the direction of privacy.

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/d3d083d509dbd00a1064dc43900281e50111c2ba/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3267424f42513361515730665a513d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436303363646432626134623436333037333837323030322e6a7067)               

And now for some art that literally made my jaw freaking drop

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/348585d36bbe78ebf80e84d3caee927c9fb24863/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f2d56436345705079357070764d413d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436346362386164373665643233373734343239313738322e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/312b6398650dfe39d144d7b28748dddd34da77f4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f73507a4272777938754a623062413d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436346530623632373064343635303833333533323236382e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/7ab1c30247abe715bbf5e570c55db9d655a08328/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4a536f42485739506571313055773d3d2d313435343235303030342e3137646164363466346133353666633737333734343737353838372e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/156da7e227f9f57b978513e65984c66bc9d3374d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47664b56357375785669774b47513d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436623462626561346462373738383633333830303139302e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/fb5b922e14b3c19244e06fc156ec53558b7283ff/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e684a6b4b485667364368396e513d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436623539383439366436333135373339383739393734362e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/61cc5b318f84c9ebe17733812fbf97a1c70c5265/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f506f6777566235523364686d6c773d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436623664376364333039343932363136353032333133342e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/997c8e2a064c64f28aa6a8335b1eb04fe4619cf2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f544e784f366634717555754336773d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436623762663133623666663636323733363338333130362e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/2cea9e57ad38b87b3d8b647cd0c8fdaed789f37c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f36745661317768735f6c555931513d3d2d313435343235303030342e313764616436623862666265646130353931303332353833313933312e6a7067)               

Mark my words, if this book ever makes it big, a collaboration will absolutely be in the works to get prints made for anyone who wants them if the artist is okay with me buying stock… because these are bloody spectacular. F that, I might just make one a new book cover if the artist allows it. I cannot wait to support more of your work,

m’

love. You’re incredible through and through xoxo

34. I Know What I Like

Y’all might be getting hit with some back to back chapters today…

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Also…

Warning: Explicit Content

(I pray to the gods this chapter makes sense lol. What a trippy one to write)

Alistair

“Finn has redone that kitchen a total of six times now. He’s reached his limit for both this lifetime, and the next three.” I explained. Caspian had taken a seat on my mattress whilst I rummaged through my amour to find something to change into.

I had already sweat through his own clothes, which made me question just how much work I had actually done on his behalf.

If Snips didn’t know something was askew before, he certainly did now. I knew he would refuse to believe this man’s work ethic had grown so exponentially overnight.

And if not, I was more concerned he may expect this type of work ethic of Caspian in the future. Something he surely couldn’t give for many, many more moons. He didn’t know my ship nearly as well as I did, nor did I think I did enough, to showcase that inexperience.

How could I? I had perfected every man’s rounds who joined my crew, long before they had.

“Finn also makes this request at least once each day. You need to grow more accustomed to saying no.” I added. I had since slipped the short sleeved linen shirt off my- Caspian’s shoulders, before pulling a black buttoned shirt on. It was large considering it was mine, but the material was better than anything Caspian owned.

The day was now coming to a close, and with his quite unfortunate agreeance for our attendance to supper another night, I was doing my best to find something more presentable for my men. Something that would distract them from the sure oddity that would come with Caspian and I’s dynamic this night

Considering most of this day was spent in these very chambers for Caspian, he had decided to keep what he had chosen on wearing came dawn, the rest of the days entirety.

“And Hobbs will request we stock whiskey instead of rum. To that, ignore him entirely.” I continued, finally turning back to Caspian. I knew my body wasn’t faring well for him, especially due to his bold questions of how I managed the extreme sexual urges. “Just to encompass what we spoke of, if Simon is to ask of a position change to this crews musician, what are you to say?”

“No.” Caspian confirmed.

“Aye.” I nodded.

“Aye?” he questioned.

“No… Savvy?”

The look of sheer confusion on Caspian’s face, well rather my own, brought these bony fingers to the bridge of his own nose in agony. This was to be written in history as the longest day I had truly ever experienced and had the unfortunate opportunity to live through. I could see Caspian was trying, and granted my body was no easy feat to live in without the mental fortitude that came with years of growing accustomed to it, yet I couldn’t possibly imagine he would lack all leadership with how poorly he allowed me men to get their ridiculous requests across.

I had to remind myself that he and I were not the same. Even I found it difficult how Caspian mustered any energy at all on this ship if he didn’t allow his body to rest. It was a deep realization that this man was perhaps not exaggerating his frequent fatigue in the slightest. Work truly did drain him, yet I was more concerned about what clearly troubled his sleep so greatly. Why it felt as if he could never find a peaceful rest.

I didn’t understand what had happened. Why his vessel constantly feel so spent, yet I decided whatever feeling this was was enough to to dread living through. If he requested rest, I would feel far more inclined to agree to it, especially with what his potential was when fully rested.

“Just- what requests my men bring to you, request to visit that request again with them come next daybreak.”

I think that was the best direction I could send Caspian in, without me returning to my crew come dawn with seven new adjacent quests Caspian had foolishly accepted.

I was a man of my word, which had now meant Finn would be getting that expansion. Something that would make our stop in Azul slightly longer as Snips would need to collect the right material.

Cael wouldn’t approve of this willingly, though he knew that it was either we explain to the men what happened, or we carry out the agreement that fell past my lips whether they were my own words or not.

Caspian was still sat at the edge of the bed, yet he had been running his hands through his hair- well mine, as he attempted to pull it back the same way I usually wore it. After I had finished dressing, then watching his last few failed attempts, I drew closer to him, standing now directly in front of him.

His head tilted up towards me, giving me a better view of my own good eye. The eye that held the deep color of the sea. Caspian seemed to heed Cael and I’s warning about keeping the patch on, which I appreciated considering he had already created his fair share of problems on my boat without it.

I reached Caspian’s pale fingers forward, rubbing against the sides of my more rich skin as I would do to myself each morning, until I pulled the thick black strands back away from my face. It was interesting being this close to study myself, for the mannerisms of Caspian meshed with mine in an interesting way. When I looked at me, I saw him… which made me question just how many of my men he actually successfully fooled this day.

I watched as my face grew more flushed when I bent down closer to it, bringing Caspian’s face past my own so I could tie the front strands that otherwise framed my face, back behind me. It was a particular style, one that complimented my particular looks… yet I couldn’t help but feel Caspian pushing past those distinctions. For starters, I wasn’t one to blush. My breathing also rarely ever hitched like this, but I felt Caspian fighting against what my body would always crave.

“You- you’re…” His voice was a whisper, something that sounded like my voice but it lacked all directness I usually had in my tone. “ This body is killing me. “ I heard those words close to my left ear as I finished tying off this tie, but it was Caspian’s body now that reacted against my mind. I felt a shiver run down the curve of his spine, causing me only to slightly pull away.

We were at eye level now, to which Caspian looked as if he wanted to put the length of a ship between us… but he didn’t create any further distance between us.

“You’ve been insufferable all day. Let me take care of this particular issue.”

I lifted Caspian’s hand, pushing him and my body further onto the bed, to which a series of incoherent protests suddenly stumbled past my lips and Caspian’s words spoke “w-wait, what-”

Even with Caspian’s slightly smaller build, it was easy to push my own body flushed against my back on this mattress. I could hear the heaviness of my breathes, but that didn’t stop me from dipping Caspian’s head to my left ear and resting his forehead now against the mattress below it.

“It’s been some time so this shouldn’t take long.” I explained quietly, yet my confidence mixed with Caspian’s voice sounded foreign. The left hand of Caspian’s body had already separated itself from my hair, but he clearly hadn’t expected that same hand to dip past the hem of the trousers he had chosen this morning. I felt the massiveness of my hands as Caspian brought them to his body’s upper arms, but he didn’t push his vessel back like I had expected.

I was right in my assumptions that he didn’t have the plausible reasons to fight the physical urges coursing through my body. Once the hand of Caspian wrapped around the firmness of myself below the belt, I felt Caspian dip my head further into the shoulders of his. His moans were immediate, yet he was fighting to get words through until I heard the faintness of a sentence. “ We shouldn’t- I don’t think- “

The lips of Caspian was still right next to my body’s ear as I replied. “ You won’t touch me, so allow me to. Keep that eye closed to help with the uncomfortableness, you have my word this shouldn’t take long. “ The beating of Caspian’s own heart had quickened slightly when I added “ I know what I like .“

Another moan slipped past my lips by Caspian, something I’m sure was in alignment with my body’s urges, and he didn’t deny it nor me. Instead, I felt my body react to this, it pulling Caspian’s further against it as my strokes of his manhood slowly grew longer.

I hadn’t told a single lie to Caspian. It had been long since I last touched myself. Last cared to… and granted the circumstances, I didn’t suspect this would take long. It would also alleviate Caspian’s stress in my body as we were now going to join my men for supper. Something I would soon remind him through the course of this night who was to blame for. We would’ve been just fine had we remained in these chambers.

When I moved Caspian’s thumb against the sensitive part of my tip, he molded into it completely, his grip on this shirt only intensifying, and pulling me closer. I could feel the strength of my body started to show, to which Caspian’s body reacted in a way I was not expecting.

I could feel it growing hard below the belt. Something I couldn’t stop the slight smile from forming to, as it started to play on the lips of Caspian. This was… unexpected .

The pants falling past my own lips from Caspian himself were getting heavier. Even less controlled. His vice grip with my hands on his own body intensified to the point I thought he’d rip his shirt, but instead of the somewhat familiar climax I had once grown accustomed to, ripping through my own body, that feeling of death lingering in Caspian’s body started to subside completely.

I no longer felt the exhaustion I had felt being in this body throughout the day. I no longer felt that feeling of depleted energy.

Instead, when I opened my eyes again… or rather eye, I was looking up at the ceiling instead of feeling the mattress against the forehead of Caspian’s body.

I was in my own vessel now… and it was on fire.

“Cas-” I started, feeling exactly what he had felt mere moment before, yet now it was Caspian back in his own body too. And against all valid reasoning, he hadn’t stopped touching me.

I didn’t know how many years it had been since anyone had done this, let alone myself, but what I did know was that this was… different. The hands that were once latched onto the shoulders of Caspian were in my control now, and I used one to reach around to the tie at the back of his own head, before I forcibly tilted it to the side. Then I buried my face into the soft crevice of his neck, biting gently at the tempting skin there, before comforting it lightly with my tongue.

The first muffled sounds I heard against my ear as Caspian’s head was forcing into the mattress, was starting to bring me over the edge. He didn’t have the physical call to me like I had to him, and yet I felt his hand slowly pick up in speed. I dragged my teeth up against the delicacy of his neck a bit rougher, unable to control whatever it was I felt when he touched me and I him, even with all the years I could in the past.

Through the muffled noises, I could hear my name on his tongue. It drowned out all my other senses, which was yet another experience I hadn’t felt before.

I didn’t understand what this was, but I was at the mercy of Caspian’s hand. His touch. The sounds he made. He’d never touched me like this before, and yet he understood how. Understood what it was that could send me so far off the wooden plank.

And it did.

The soft, struggling moans he was making near my left ear, my name the only coherent thing I could make out on the tongue of his own melodic voice, coupled with the way he touched me, made me release against him immediately after. I felt the warm liquid pooling my trousers and lower stomach, but before my mind could process the intensity of that climax that ripped through the body I thought I once knew, I found my free hand reaching down to slip past the hem of Caspian’s trousers.

My body was reacting faster than I could contemplate.

His own body stilled a moment, unsure of this, but I didn’t wait. I didn’t want to. I instead wanted to hear what he, himself sounded like slipping over that same edge.

If it was anything like how it had done me a few moments ago, this night was now nowhere near over.

Once I felt him, felt just how hard he actually was within my firm grasp, my grip in his hair forcibly tightened, coercing an uncontrolled groan from him which only made my movements more immediate. The orgasm I had felt just moments ago almost altered my vision for a moment, and yet I was far more focused on this now. On him.

And subsequently how quickly he fell apart above me when his manhood was in my palm.

He had started to stroke my hardening self again, his own hand still in my trousers, meshing with the stickiness of my seed, and this feeling was starting to become damn near inexplicable.

I wanted more from him. More of him. And so much more.

It was that sudden desire that drowned out all else I was usually privy to, including my surroundings, and the footsteps quickly approaching our private quarters.

As soon as my name was called from across the corridor to our main room, Caspian detached himself from me completely and with speeds so sudden he practically launched himself backwards off the mattress.

I barely still had enough wits about me to recognize that that voice was Cael’s, before there was a knock on my door.

••

35. Ol’ Bess The Clipper

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Alright so I already bitched about this on my page but I cannot for the life of me get these stories edited without Wattpad crashing tf out, so I’m sorry if there’s some errors and images not loading. I just wanted to give yall something. I’m trying to edit the next one as we speak (I had 3 chapters lined up for today before this bullshit) but man do I hate this goddamn website and app.

Anyways that’s it, that’s all lol

love yall!

Clipper: Fast-Moving boat or ship

Caspian

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I had barely pulled myself both up off the ground and against the nearest wall before I heard Alistair tell Cael to enter.

Somehow he had managed to compose himself during the moments I was still figuring out what had just happened and how I had managed to find myself on the floor, and yet none of that mattered once Cael entered. He turned immediately towards I, the one growing incredibly flustered at what partook moments earlier, and said “you let Caspian agree to yet another expansion for Finn?”

All I could do was stare up at the now menacing man, my eyes damn near quaking in regards to his own as my body worked desperately to control itself.

I didn’t… I hadn’t meant to… right?

Not even my mind could conjure up a single clear thought, and every disjointed one now surrounded the moments that took place shortly before Cael called Alistair’s name.

“I- I’m not-” I started, doing my best to explain, however it was Alistair’s far more together demeanor that pulled our attention back towards where he sat at the edge of his bed.

“We’ve since switched back.” Alistair explained, to which Cael first looked over at him surprised… then that initial surprise slowly morphed into the clearest of confusion.

“What… what do you mean you’ve since switched back?”

It was difficult to discern exactly what Cael was thinking, however his pure disbelief wasn’t anything near comforting.

“Shortly before you approached. It looks like this magic sorted itself out.”

Alistair was too collected for my thoughts. I didn’t understand his ability to switch so quickly, like a snap of a finger, and it left me even further perplexed when my mind travelled back to how it felt to be in that body to begin with.

How did he have that much control? How could anyone, putting it simply?

“Yes well… that’s not exactly how that works.” Cael responded with. “And you should know that.”

I was far too distracted to notice at first, but when Cael raised his hand, he presented a book that he was supposedly holding in it all along.

“According to this text, this should last at least a moon. I came here to inform you of the horrid news, but…” hearing Cael’s voice trail off in such bewilderment was something I’d never experienced quite like this before. “What exactly do you mean you’ve switched back?”

“Well,” Alistair sighed, irritation dripping from his voice now with such familiarity in tone, it only further solidified that this was him. “One minute I was in that pathetic body, and the next I found myself back in mine.” He explained.

I would think we could all agree the word pathetic was unnecessary, however judging by how jarring it must’ve been for him to enter my own death defiant self, I let the anger that quickly built, go.

“Well you sure sound like your ol’ jolly good self.” Cael more or less muttered with his own irritation trickling through. He had his pointer finger bookmarking a page in the book he was holding, to which he flipped the book open to that page again to read it once more to himself. Judging by how his eyes managed to dart across through each sentence, he was rereading this with impressive speed. “Have you two… well, did you do something accelerate it?”

“No!” I shot out quickly, too quickly, clarifying with a level of urgency I hadn’t thought through quite yet. My eyes caught a glimmer of Alistair as his lips tugged up into a slight smile, before they refocused themselves on Cael.

The tall, richly dark skinned pirate was looking at me with another expression of bewilderment, before he turned back to Alistair…. Then he glanced back in my direction another moment, however his eyes soon dipped past mine towards my neck.

My left hand immediately shot up to the places Alistair had done more than I cared to admit right now. The places I could still feel his lips… the ridged edges of his teeth… the warm softness of his tongue…

Cael’s right eyebrow arched slightly before turning back to Alistair.

Alistair retained the most stoic, stone cold expression. Something I clearly couldn’t mimic, to which Cael turned to me once more. I watched as his mouth opened slightly as if he was going to say something, but he closed it a moment later. The silence was deafening.

My hand had tried to push as much of my hair forward as I could in an effort to hide whatever marks Alistair left, but I had just drawn more attention from Cael there.

Once his gaze left mine, and he turned to Alistair the final time, all he said was “So are we getting this ship sailing at her usual speeds again?”

Alistair gave Cael a firm nod. He was at least able to hold that judging gaze when he responded with “the men will come to hate me as I readjust our speed to resume our chase. It will be nauseating, however I want to reached Gaelick before three days time. You and I have much to discuss about our approach.”

Cael nodded to his Captain before agreeing with “aye. Then let us head for the study before the men gather for supper. Caspian, we’ll see you then.”

That was the last thing Cael said, turning to me as he directed his goodbye my way, before taking leave. The lingering of his gaze as it cast down to my now covered neck, did not go unnoticed.

It was something both men had realized, for before Alistair left his private room along with me in it, his feet froze a moment near both myself and the doorway. He turned to me briefly as Cael had, that familiar smirk making its way back onto his lips when he left me with his own last sounding advice. It was “I’d recommend a high collar coat for tonight.”

Supper went about as well as no one could’ve predicted… besides Alistair and Cael of course.

I watched next to Alistair as every man that occupied the dining room, struggled with each spoon they filled with food from their bowl. Even I was finding it difficult to think of stomaching anything with how harshly Alistair’s ship was cutting through these rough waters. This man had not trailed far from the truth when he said his ambitious goals of regaining the time we lost, and at all accounts.

I just wondered at what cost as my stomach churned for the umpteenth time. This was the most difficult supper I had seen anyone, let alone this many men get through, however sitting next to Alistair had done wonders to calm a bit of the speed the boat had quickly taken. He had not told a single lie about his presence being able to steady the floorboards of his ship.

The only issue with that was I absolutely refused to engage past what was necessary, as I sat beside him.

I didn’t want to talk about anything that occurred while we had managed to switch bodies. And I definitely didn’t want to discuss what happened once we switched back, or why we did for that matter.

If Alistair threatened eternal damnation, I just might take it over having to put any of that into words.

He had turned to me at one point during supper, and luckily it was one of the very few times considering he and Snips were in a deep discussion on why the ship had slowed in the first place, but when he did finally redirect his attention my way, he asked if we could take dinner privately the following evening.

I looked back out at the men who were only held up by the tables their heads were laid down against. There was music, but even the musicians kept a tune that just barely kept them from throwing up their insides.

And so, the look Alistair gave me when I told him I’d like to join his men again, did not go unnoticed. It was a look he gave me often, which questioned my mental state and capabilities… but I insisted, to which he eventually agreed.

I even got a few spoonful’s of the soup Finn had cooked, down to further convince him. The soup was fantastic actually, potato and chowder, it was perhaps just a bit too heavy on the now delicate stomachs of these pirates.

I had eventually excused myself to our quarters for the remainder of the night while Alistair remained with his men. I think he partially agreed to my request of another night with them, to share a meal with them out of guilt, for technically the ship slowing was not part of any plan he was now trying to convince his crew of.

The difficulty came when I finally took to my bed, attempting something I knew would be close to impossible…

Sleep .

This ship would toss and turn my already exhausted bones, only adding to the growing nauseation, and yet I forced myself to remain in my private room. There was no way I was to join Alistair again, not after…

Well, my best assumptions after that first night was that Alistair may not have made it to his own quarters. When I awoke for work after the very little sleep I seemed to manage, got dressed, and met the crew down on the main deck, I caught just the last moment when Alistair and Cael had slipped below towards their study.

“Mornin, Cas.” Snips nodded, his face wearing the wear and tear of his own restless night as I noticed deep dark marks under his eyes, and creases of exhaustion across his forehead. “After your exemplary work the day before, I expected to work you like a dog, yet even I lack the strength nor comprehension to care… so just try and make rounds. At least look busy.”

I couldn’t even argue with the shorter man, for even his work shirt wasn’t correctly buttoned on this morning, so all I did was nod.

And Snips was not alone, I did my best to assist the crew that took most of this day to adjust to the speed. Snips had called this ship a Clipper, which he explained as a term for one of the fastest ships on these seas. Once the sun had finally risen enough to see the waters below us, it was only then did I realize just how fast this ship was. As Snips would say, clipping through them.

Alistair was not taking any chances with letting this other captain port Azul before he reached him. Everyone knew that would make things far more complicated, especially with no way of knowing how long the other captain, Gaelick , how long he planned to make port.

By the time supper had come to reach its time again, I did notice that there were more men willing to eat. I also noticed that Finn had prepared a light chicken soup in light of the potato’s and chowder.

Everyone was quite grateful for that, including myself who managed to actually finish my own bowl.

A predicament did not fall against these exhausted shoulders of mine from supper itself. The men even managed a few heartier tunes to which no man had a stomach settled enough for dancing, but they kept the rhythm strong with the stomping of a foot, or their clapping of hands.

What made this night a complicated one, was when I excused myself early from supper as I usually had, and Alistair joined.

I had no oppositions I could propose. No good excuse to say to this Captain he wasn’t allowed to leave so soon. He had told his men before he saw us out, that this would be the final night before Ol’ Bess would reach her target, and he recommended they all retire early, not just he and I, to which they agreed.

So I helplessly allowed Alistair to lead us to our chambers, making this the first time privacy had found us since we had finally thwarted whatever magic switched our minds around.

I had been hoping to slip past him towards my room, but the sound of my name falling past Alistair’s lips before I could make it, made my feet slow to a halt. I slowly turned around, my gaze meeting Alistair’s as the light from his own open room illuminated his features. We now stood in the corridor connecting our rooms.

“Aye?” I answered him, yet I had to force to keep my gaze on his eye, and not the tongue that slid out to moisten his lips before he spoke again.

“Go change, then join me in my room.”

I could already feel my heartbeat quicken in pace. A request that I knew was not a request.

“You’ve barely slept, and I can see it. Lest you’ve forgotten I’ve since been inside you-” Alistair cut himself off before correcting himself “I mean, inside that body- vessel-”

I was doing my best to maintain my stature, but I could feel my face starting to warm. Something that completely contradicted the surprisingly cold chill that ran through the ship this night.

“Sleep is once again all you’ll find.” He assured me, to which I responded in the only way I could. The only way that would realistically make the most sense if Alistair expected me to pick up any sort of weapon tomorrow.

I found myself nodding before I turned back to my room, my sights now set on finding undergarments to sleep in.

I settled on a loose fitting low cut shirt, and loose trousers that bunched just below the knee before they cut off. The temperatures had continued to drop, yet I wouldn’t realize to what extent until later in the night. For now, Alistair’s room somehow felt slightly warmer than my own, much like he himself was.

He was already in his bed once I entered, before the door closed behind me. It closed on its own accord yet I knew that was something of his doing.

He favored the right side of his bed, and so I took to the left. There was a book in his hand, which I noticed he only glanced up from once in acknowledgment towards me, before he continued with reading.

Once I looked a little closer, the candle on Alistair’s side helping me see, I noticed it was the same book that was in Cael’s hands before. The book he had used to educate himself on what exactly had happened between his Captain and I.

I hadn’t had time to ask Alistair or Cael what it was that we were dowsed in on Jirah’s ship, however tonight would not be that night.

Instead, I found myself settling in the same spot I had before, right at the edge of his soft mattress, before the steadiness of his presence eventually brought with it the most sound sleep I had had in ages.

••

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36. My Jolly Sailor Bold

If you’re reading this, I woke up to use the bathroom and had to kill a goddamn centipede.

Safe to say I’m up now, so I’ve worked tirelessly yet again to try and get this uploaded.

Images are probably still all fucked up but it’s whatever at this point lol.

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

My Heart is pierced by Cupid

I disdain all glittering gold

There is nothing can console me

But My Jolly Sailor Bold

Alistair

I awoke to a sudden jolt of someone stirring beside me. My instincts reacted before my eye could even adjust to the dim lighting surrounding it, and I found my arm quickly reaching out to wrap itself around Caspian, yanking him towards me just before he managed to find himself on the floor yet again.

At this point, he must’ve preferred it over every other surface with how willing he was to throw himself there.

I hadn’t meant to bring him so close to me, yet again I didn’t exactly understand what had led to this. Led to him so suddenly stirring like that. He hadn’t awoken fully like he did whenever he had a tainted dream. I could hear him in his room next to mine most nights, regardless of how quiet he attempted to be shortly after waking.

The shirt he was wearing was soft to touch as my fingers gripped hold of it, a material that felt nice against inner side of my bare arm, yet I could feel him shivering slightly once my arm secured itself around his waist. He was cold to the touch.

The temperature must’ve dropped again, I thought to myself. It was difficult for me to notice since my blood ran so warm. Because of this, I decided on that to be the most reasonable reason for why I didn’t pull my arm from him right away. As his body grew more rigid against me however, it more or less registering my now sudden proximity, I began to think that perhaps it was for the best we weren’t this close. Regardless of the chill that now openly ran through my ship, beckoning him even closer.

Once my right arm slowly started to move from his upper stomach, retracting itself back towards my side, I felt his own right arm that has tucked up close to his chest, just under his chin, abruptly shift. He gently slid it down his still shivering body until his hand touched mine, which made mine freeze in its place entirely.

And I had only expected this. Accepted this, rather. That perhaps this was the furthest he was willing to go. The farthest his body would allow in regards to touch.

I hadn’t expected his hand to hesitantly yet slowly lift and rest itself over my own, his fingers finally finding the spaces between mine. I instinctively locked them before he even had the opportunity to… or to think not to… but when he moved back slightly further into me, into the warmth I brought with me, I took a slight sharp inhale.

His hair was now occupying some of my pillow. His scent invading all my senses. Those strands felt like unwoven silk against my face and its bare skin, and when the curves  of his lower half unexpectedly reached mine, the grip around him tightened.

If he moved any further, I’d break my promise. That, I was now almost startlingly sure of.

“ Go to sleep. “ I whispered to him, my voice traveling directly to his ear without my lips even having to part. He wasn’t fully awake, but I knew a part of him had stirred. And I felt it against me immediately after, it was the shiver that ran through him from the proximity of my voice, but I closed my eye once more in an effort to focus. In an effort to calm myself back to a beating rhythm that my own heart could finally recognize again.

Sleep soon took that as an invitation, to which I gratefully welcomed it once more for the both of us.

He and I would need it for what was to come.

When I awoke again somewhere within the night, Caspian was still in my arms…

Yet I didn’t feel that soft material below them.

Instead I felt it above my arm, brushing against the hairs that were now raised towards the worn cotton as the soft rise and fall of Caspian’s bare chest meshed with my own skin, was what I felt below. He had brought me even closer to him, pulling both his hand and mine underneath the material of his shirt as he curled further into it.

He was using my arm as a bit of warmth, his body curled into me as if he was afraid to ask for more… and so I shifted closer, bringing his back even further flushed against the front of me. I welcomed the hold he had on my arm as he allowed the rest of himself to melt against heat. His body fit here well. Perfectly , rather.

I had meant to pull myself awake now. I could feel the threats of the sun as she would soon emerge from the horizon, and yet this feeling of Caspian against me yanked at the initial plans of my departure with such ease, it terrified even myself.

The soft rise and fall of his heartbeat as my hand rested directly above it. His soft yet firm skin warming with every place I touched, as it acted as the only barrier between I and his heart.

There was comfort in this embrace, one that soon seduced me, lulling me back to the great depths of slumber for the second time now, and against my own will once more… yet one could say I allowed it. Welcomed both it, and him…

When I awoke for the third time, it was the internal clock in me that forced me awake.

Yet it was the position Caspian had turned to that further questioned my reasoning for rising before the sun had.

Once my eye adjusted once more to the dim lighting, I was staring right at Caspian.

He had moved so close, his head was now sharing the pillow with mine. I was still sleeping on my left side with my left arm stretched under the soft plush material, so I hadn’t noticed the added weight till now.

Instead of our once interlocked fingers, my right arm was still securely around him, holding him close by the small curve of his lover back. I was tempted to trail that same hand just a little lower, to feel just a bit more of him, but the slight shift of Caspian stopped myself. And that was when I noticed where his hands had now found themselves.

He had tucked them up under my shirt this time, pulling up the material with them until it was scrunched against his chin and  lower jaw. I felt my own jaw lock as I looked down at him with part of my attire tucked up under him like that. My sight couldn’t comprehend how peaceful he seemed… and how almost unnecessarily beautiful he was this night in particular.

My teeth pulled at the inner lining of my cheek, biting down to keep whatever things I was feeling and tempted to act on, to myself. I didn’t want to stir him… and yet I was so close, it would only take a slight lean forward to connect my lips to his. Those slightly red tinted ones.

And yet…

I finally glance past Caspian to the window behind him. The sun itself was the threat now, in which it would bear with it lack of preparation if I didn’t wake myself now. Cael would also most likely take it upon himself to wake me himself if I failed to soon, and and I was growing tired of having these private moments so consistently interrupted.

I glanced back to Caspian, his features nothing more than a hairs length away from mine. Even if I only allowed myself another brief moment, I studied those features of his. And I studied them well. His light eyebrows that paired themselves with his long white hair, only to then pour into the sharp bridge of his nose. I watched as he curled his lower lip up into itself, dampening it before his teeth released it back into this world.

And I wanted to capture it with mine instead. I wanted nothing more than to touch him, yet I settled on the one thing I figured would break the promise I made the least.

My head tilted up slightly, before I hesitantly leant forward closer to him and allowed my lips to lightly graze his forehead, placing just the whispering of a kiss there. Nothing near firm enough to wake him. Then I began the treacherous process of removing this surprisingly strong grip he had secured on my shirt for his comfort.

The last thing I had done after separating myself from the man, and quickly dressing, was the hand I placed on the doorway before I shut the door. “Keep him warm.” I whispered to my ship. I could just make out the hatches of my room’s window locking shut before the door closed behind me.

The first thing Cael noted as I entered the study was “you look well rested.”

I shot him a look, daring him to act coy at an early time such as this one, especially after the comfort I had just left, yet he threw his hands up in a defensive stance.

“That was the truth, I swear it. You genuinely look rested.”

With all the shit this man had given me in private for the… well, the progression with Caspian and I, I didn’t take a single compliment of his seriously. The comment he has snuck in over supper two nights earlier was “I’ve only known you to mark the dead. Look at you venturing out.”

He almost lost a tooth that evening. Perhaps all 32 if I was feeling generous. Luckily Caspian had been to distracted with the misery of my men over supper itself, to not hear it said.

“Well it will be needed for what I have planned.”

“Shall I remind you how utterly idiotic said plan is?” Cael asked.

“You relentlessly have been over the last two days, why stop now? I applaud the consistency.”

The look Cael gave me made it seem like he was gearing to knock a few of my own teeth out.

“And if you are to gain nothing by this?”

I scoffed at that, setting the book I had borrowed from Cael back on the desk in front of him, before I took a seat across from him myself. “Give a man security and time, and he will tell his truths whether he knows it or not. A simple flaw with every human is their inability to hide their hand when faced with the opportunity of admiration. It is how the best of kings fall.”

Cael nodding as he took the book from the table, before he tucked it under his left arm.

“And what are the crew to think of this?”

I sat with that question a moment, pondering Cael’s words. “They won’t like it.” I finally admitted, and with a great deal of honesty too. “However, I’ve just pulled them half across the sea in two days time. I don’t think my men are in the greatest position to fight regardless.”

It was Cael now who sat with that a moment. I knew he would never bless this, therefore I knew not to ask.

There were many things Cael also knew. Such as, this couldn’t be no ordinary pirate that just went on account. It took skill to execute even a slightly successful surprise attack on my vessel and my crew. And there was no pirate alive who would risk it on his own accord, which was why I assumed Gaelick had distanced himself from his own ship for this very reason. No captain would throw such a crew away like that unless he was ordered to.

I wanted to know who had sent him. Who dared to wage war with The Pirate King… or at least, who was senseless enough to try.

Cael could feel what my blood was starting to burn with. What the tips of my fingertips itched to touch. He knew that this was more than just about Gaelick, and though I had spent many years wreaking mayhem, any man bold enough to attempt this meant I simply hadn’t done enough.

And to that, my only response would be Aye. Perhaps it was time to remind the seas and those who inhabit it, of what exactly it was my soul was tethered to. And what exactly owned it.

“You know Alistair, our pairing is an odd one. I think of war and my heart grows weary, whereas I can practically feel the harsh beating of yours filled to the brim with excitement. All I ask if that you approach this with reason-”

“I appreciate you find that my decisions have the potential for reason, however I must remind you Cael that to the outside world looking out at the sea, they see me as a mad man.”

“No,” Cael corrected, “they see you as a mercenary. I see you as a mad man. Savvy?”

That made the edges of my lips slowly curl up into a smile before a few dry chuckles slipped past them.

“Aye.” I nodded.

“So please,” Cael continued, practically groveling by now. “The entire world doesn’t need to burn at the hands of a few spent men.”

My eyebrow raised some at that line of thinking. “Maybe not the entire world… Theirs, however? Theirs will surely find nothing but comfort in the ashes they’ll soon burn to, for they’ll know they’ve reached both their final form and their place of rest. That I can assure you of.”

••

37. The Colors Of Surrender

Welp, still can’t add images so my apologies on behalf of Wattpad for ruining the aesthetic, but I still wanted to bless yall :)

Enjoy, lovelies!

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Caspian

I awoke to an empty bed.

An empty room actually, which was… different, to say the least.

And judging by how high the sun was as it now shined through Alistair’s window, I had slept for far too long.

The crew was already heavily at work by the time I managed to dress and make it down to the main deck, whilst Alistair and Cael were nowhere in sight. We were accustomed to it, and this would’ve felt like any other working day had I not immediately noticed how drastically this ship had slowed down during my slumber.

“We’re nearing up on them now,” Snips spoke as his first words to me before he handed me a wrap of thick rope. “ Thank the gods .“ I heard him add quietly under his breath.

The rest of the crew looked better than they had, yet there was some weary shared amongst a few of their faces.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked Snips, hoisting the rope over my shoulder as I started to follow him closely across the main deck of the ship, to its side.

“Aye.” He nodded, looking back slightly to me with his response.

“Then why does everyone seem most uncertain?”

Snips slowed slightly so we could continue our brisk walk side by side. I still couldn’t understand how his shorter legs managed to carry himself so swiftly, so much so that my longer strides struggled to maintain his pace.

“The Captain has another less appealing plan once we do reach them.”

Before Snips could continue, we heard the sounds of his name being called, cutting across the ship’s clear air from where in which it came from. Once our gaze had turned in its direction, I could see now that it was Finn.

“ Damn it. I need to take measurements for this utterly ridiculous expansion. Just- uh, adjust these three beams here, and see if you can’t have Hobbs show you how to cross stitch that torn sail there. Coop might actually be a more fitting expert if you can find him.“

I nodded to Snips, watching as he set his own wound up rope down next to where I stood, before turning and making his way over to our cook.

I still felt fairly awful about that request I had foolishly agreed to, yet I was more surprised to find that Alistair had decided to keep his-… well technically my word.

When I thought about that, all it did was remind me of everything else that had transpired since. I had a faint recollection of the night before, yet the last thing I could remember was Alistair requesting me to go back to sleep. He had felt… well… it was very nice, I settled on, which I know it shouldn’t have been, however…

“Go to sleep.”

I felt my face getting warmer than it should’ve recalling those words and the way he had said them, specially with the cool front upon both it and this ship has a whole.

And that was the exact moment when I forced work on myself as a distraction. In an effort to keep my mind off this, I mindlessly completed both Snips and my own tasks, which was single-handedly the most work I had done in a day since forcefully boarding this ship. I attributed much of this success to the cool day this cold front had created. My clothes were, for the first time, not drenched with sweat.

Once the sun had started her grand descent, that was when we heard the first calls from Coop in his position up above. He called it the crows nest.

“Sail, Ho!”

I looked ahead immediately, my eyes narrowing as I just made the outline of a ship up ahead of us. It was the sound of Alistair’s voice that quickly pulled my gaze away from what was in front of me, to what was behind me.

“Hoist the colors!” He commanded to his crew, his voice spreading throughout the ship as they began to unbind the ropes holding those blood red sails in place. Instead, I watched as Alistair’s men threaded a white sheet through the secured holes, pulling that same thick rope through before stringing it up where the first red sail had been.

I hadn’t been on these seas long, but all merchants knew the color of surrender.

At first glance, the material looked like any other sail, but once I got a closer look, I realized it was nothing but. The light from the sun shining through it so easily had proved just the case.

“Why does that-” I started, speaking more of less to myself as I assumed none other was close enough to hear, but a voice from beside me startled even myself.

“It’s a bedsheet.” Snips explained. That pulled my attention from the makeshift sail, towards the short man. He hadn’t waited to continue explaining this time. “This is the first this ship has ever raised the colors of surrender.” He explained.

That only left me even further perplexed, but I didn’t have much time to dwell on that.

That ship was now moving closer into our view, and all I could do was watch as Alistair made his rounds, perhaps assuring his men as he went. Not a single one seemed the most approving of flying that flag of surrender, including myself. I didn’t understand what Alistair had planned, but if even his crew didn’t feel comforted about it, I found it even harder for myself to.

Yet there was something there. Something that still trusted this mad man, and his even madder ideologies.

He had spoken to every pirate as he made his way towards the right side of his ship, which was starting to position itself to the left face of the enemy’s. We were drawing near enough now to see the men on this ship, and once I caught sight of the magnitude of pirates that surrounded the main deck, my uneasiness only further multiplied.

Alistair’s voice was what pulled me back towards him now, as he approached both Snips and myself.

“Have Coop cast a rope above for the enemy’s messenger to board. Per pirate code, they will be forced to engage in the treaty pertaining to the act of surrender.” Alistair ordered Snips, to which Snips quickly agreed… however the disdain of this decision remained on his face, refusing to fully accept whatever plan Alistair had decided to enact on this day.

Once Snips had hurried off to relay this very request to Coop, Alistair turned to me finally. He and I were now left about as alone as could be, considering our position on the main deck.

And the first words that stumbled past my lips were “we’re surrendering?”

There were many reactions I expected to my sudden words, anger being the most prominent, and yet the edges of Alistair’s lips twitched up again. I now realized that if Alistair would do nothing else, he’d find enjoyment in the most dire of situations. This realization should’ve come sooner.

“There isn’t much time to explain my reasoning. I just need you to trust both I, and my wits about me.”

I couldn’t help but think that was almost impossible to do. Alistair was as wild and unpredictable as the sea itself.

“I’ll be back before the nightfall. Before the next nightfall at the latest.” He added, to which I felt immediate dread wash over me once again. That had been even longer than I expected.

“And if they are to kill you?” I asked him.

“Unfortunately,” Alistair replied with an even more sinister smile, “I’m fairly difficult to kill.”

Alistair’s words held truth, and deep down inside me I knew that to be true, yet somewhere even deeper inside me held a feeling a weary that weighed heavier on my heart than I could’ve expected. My sentiments were only further solidified by the hesitancy with his crew. Perhaps they felt what I know I did- that feeling of being unprepared.

“Such an unfortunate reality.” I heard Cael say as he soon after joined Alistair and I where we stood. “However, I’m choosing to put just a glimmer of faith into his assessment of this situation. Alistair doesn’t have the time now, but I assure you that in due time, I will explain everything.”

My gaze had held his now, his face holding far more assurance than the other men, and so I found myself nodding.

Alistair’s lips didn’t utter another word to me. Once he had turned on his heel to leave, I finally saw the orders from Alistair himself, come to fruition. A large rope was tossed across the sea from our ship to Gaelick’s. Considering neither of us knew what this ship’s captain looked like, I accepted that none of this could end well.

As if my initial fears weren’t enough, the second one of Gaelick’s men finally anchored themselves to the rope tossed, using it to come across the turbulent sea to our vessel, the look on Alistair’s face and the smile playing at his lips let me know this would be no simple surrender.

Once the pirate was close enough to boarding this ship, I noticed it was a shorter pirate, much the same build as Snips, but his hair was short and almost as black as Alistair’s. As I looked closer, I noticed that in his hand he bore a white piece of paper. The rope had almost brought his feet safely to the floorboards of the Captain’s… but before he could sink his feet onto the ledge of Alistair’s vessel, there was a sudden gust of wind that practically stopped his momentum mid stride.

All I could do was watch as the enemy pirate who once looked all too confident in his efforts, turn to that of horror as he soon realized his body was barely going to make it to the side of this ship. The sound his body made when it in returned smacked itself hard against the side, was rather bone chilling. I watched as the enemy’s pirate grasped against the edge of the ship in desperation, with that piece of paper still wenched between his fingers.

When Alistair approached the shorter man, whatever hope this man once had of survival should’ve left him… yet this just further proved that Gaelick didn’t quite understand who it was he was hunting.

Alistair slightly bent down, offering what looked to be assistance, but instead of pulling this man up over the ledge, Alistair snatched the piece of papers out of his hand so quickly, the man lost his grasp.

Both Alistair’s crew and Gaelick’s could do nothing but watch as the pirate fell down to the sea below, his screams following him there. There would be no recovery once the current swept him under our rudders.

Alistair paid this sudden death no mind as he read the note this men was holding. Instead, I watched as Cael passed both a quill and ink to the mad Captain, before he scrawled a letter of his own on that same white paper.

Once whatever he had scrawled out on that paper was complete, I watched him pass this note to Snips, who willingly took it before he started his ascent up one of the tallest beams. He was climbing towards Coop who was still nestles in his crows nest.

The actions that were quickly unfolding on this ship now had made me realize that I might have been the least knowledgeable on what exactly Alistair had planned. My eyes followed that letter closely, watching as Snips maintained a strong grip on it as he climbed. Once he reached Coop, he passed this paper on successfully before he himself started to climb down.

I couldn’t understand why this letter had made its way from Alistair to Coop, until I looked closely. Coop had stabbed the paper to the end of his dagger, and before my mind processed exactly what Alistair had ordered, that same dagger went soaring through the air with speeds only I could trail by the glimmer on sunlight reflecting heavily against the metal.

Once that dagger hit its intended target, one of the many pirates that had now gathered on the deck of Gaelick’s ship, I felt my breathing hitch. The dagger had flown straight through the left eye of one of Gaelick’s men, killing him instantly.

As the now angry faces of these enemy’s pirates found themselves facing Alistair’s, I watched as our Captain feigned surprise…

As if he hadn’t meant to send the first enemy pirate straight for the sea, and the other straight to the enemy’s floorboards.

There was unpredictable… then there was this bloody pirate.

I expected Gaelick’s men to immediately reply with canon fire, or some sort of militant engagement, but one of the many pirates just approached the now dead man with both a note and a dagger sticking from his shattered eye socket, before they unfolded its bloodstained remnants and read Alistair’s proposal.

They must have now known that any additional messengers they sent forward would most likely not make it back onto their ship, for as opposed to sending men, Gaelick’s men first wrote out something on that very same piece of paper, before their ship returned Alistair’s request with a raven.

Imagine my surprise when Coop shot yet another dagger through the air, killing the bird mid flight before it could even reach Alistair. We all watched at the raven fell to our main deck like dead weight, smacking against the wooden floorboards before Hobbs retrieved the note from its bloody beak, and handed it to Alistair.

Once Alistair spread open this now fairly bloody and wrinkled paper to read the contents of the note, I watched as that sinister smile widened.

His glance casted back to this enemy ship and its men, their hard faces far less than welcoming, and yet that hadn’t troubled Alistair in the slightest. Once he gave that ship and its men a nod, one of their crew members released a rope from their own beams, casting it across the sea to our ship, which Alistair managed to grab with ease.

Before he could steady himself on that rope, Cael had approached him, beckoning the Captain’s ear towards his. The tall dark skinned man had said something to which Alistair lightly laughed at, yet whatever he returned with had done nothing to put Cael’s slight weariness to rest. Instead, he looked more worried now than he had.

But alas, no pirate could do anything once Alistair hoisted himself onto the ledge of his ship.

His head turned slightly once more to his crew, yet somehow, even from across the ship to where I stood towards the front, his eyes found mine. His lips never parted but I heard him clear as day when his final words assured me with…

“I’ll return to you soon.”

••

38. Plant A Seed

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Alistair

So there may have been perhaps a few things I hadn’t taken into account with this plan.

Well really rather one.

As I sat on the barren floors against a wooden pillar of Gaelick’s ship, my hands now bound behind my back, I realized that this pirate had done a little more inquiring than I initially thought.

What bound my hands tightly behind this wooden beam centered in the middle of this cargo compartment, was the chains of Kilaidreon. Something so ancient, I was surprised by how this enemy had even found such a thing.

Last I heard, it was lost to the burning of Azultia.

While my powers were not completely contained to these spell bound chains, I couldn’t break free of them myself. Not many things could break this metal. And as I looked up to the tall captain, his sandy colored hair brushing his broad shoulders as he slipped brass casings onto the knuckles of his left hand, I realized this man was far more interwoven with my own fate than I once thought to be true.

He wore all black much like myself, yet his stature didn’t come near to my own. Neither did his demeanor. I could see it now when I saw the great deal of weariness flash across his bland yet hardened face every time my body repositioned itself.

“So this is what you call a negotiation?” I asked this man, to which his dull brown eyes found mine as they cast down to the floor below him.

“You chose to board this ship. You should’ve known your fate, possibly better than I.” His voice was rough and slightly uncertain, like he wasn’t used to asserting a shred of dominance over his men.

As I stared at this lanky man, his less than impressive demeanor, I genuinely questioned who would be willing to follow him into battle. Any battle.

Not I, that I was certain of.

Even his blows were weak, I thought to myself, though regardless of what my heart begged for, I didn’t say those words aloud. He still had well over a hundred men walking above us on that main deck. An entire fleet, which I passed as I was forced down below. They sounded like a stampede of animals as they paced, sending clouds of dust down through the spaces in the floorboards, below to me and the few men who surrounded my slightly battered self.

“I cannot even say to who I’ve found myself surrendering to.” I replied with, doing my best to move this conversation along quickly. There was no window in this room, the only light was produced by the torches attached to the wooden paneled walls, yet I didn’t need to see the sun to know she had long since taken her leave.

I may have been down here long enough that she could soon reappear above the waters again.

Gaelick had successfully skewed my perception of time, but not by enough. My feet knew when the decks of my ship called to them, and they were waiting for my to return. As were my crew. And Caspian.

I thought of what I had told that white haired man. How I had assured him that I would return before this nightfall, or the next. The rash, less thought provoking part of me was wishing this to be done by now, yet my more intelligent half knew that not to be reality. I still had no further information on who had sent Gaelick, and I wasn’t leaving without something so crucial.

This ship wreaked of uselessness, from the abundance of pirates he had above deck, to the shitty work his men had done down below. The men’s cargo wasn’t even correctly tied down, something my men would’ve gone without supper to fix at any given notice. And I assure you, no notice would’ve needed to be given. My men understood their work.

His floorboards didn’t smell of soap and blood like mine had. Instead, all that ambushed my senses was vomit, piss, and shit. The only thing worth any coin spent, was the canons this ship harbored. All I could do now was pray my men exercised enough patience to spare Ol’ Bess any damage, much like I had told them to do so shortly before surrendering.

The only thing I wanted from this rubbish pirate and his more pitiful crew, was information. Engaging meant we would sacrifice a piece of the puzzle that meant more to me than a victorious battle.

“You killed two of mine.” I heard this flimsy pirate say.

I wasted not a single breath responding with “your men fired a warning shot at one of mine. As far as I’m concerned, this feels fair.”

“How?” This captain asked. It pained me to even address him as such, for he was the farthest thing from a captain. It brought me a glimmer of joy to know that he was living up to the lowest of potential I had wagered his existence to be initially.

“That man of yours that fell to the sea should’ve calculated his distance better.”

That earned me a swift yet hard kick to the abdomen, forcing my body to hunch over from the impact in the same place which withstood much of Gaelick’s abuse as is.

If this captain was nothing else, which was another wager I was willing to put money on, he was thorough with the target of his hits. At least someone here could aim, for the man who fired blindly into the night sky, hitting Coop, surely didn’t.

“And yet here you are. Tied to a post, and taking a beating.” Gaelick replied to which I had to almost physically tell myself not to smile at. What Gaelick hadn’t understood, was that we could continue this until the sun itself ceased to exist.

“And taking it well.” I couldn’t stop myself adding, which earned me the first hit to my jawbone with the metal encasements on Gaelick’s knuckles. It may have almost dislodged a tooth from my gums, yet the sound of the metal covering cracking was heard by us all. Even his surrounding men who were willing and ready to take their best attempt at my life if I decided to do something unexpected.

When was the last time I allowed myself to be beaten like this , I wondered. And more importantly, when did I welcome such a beating this greatly?

When I looked back up at Gaelick, I quickly understood. The amusement of seeing his head perched upon on a tall, thick, wooden spike, was going to make this even sweeter.

“He told me this would be more difficult, and yet the great Pirate King has dwindled down to nothing. He now beaten and bruised on the floor of my ship… those shackles have worked better than I could’ve ever imagined.”

I didn’t even try to test the restraints, for any pressure I applied would double tenfold when they tightened themselves in response. This was the magic forged into the metal. Escaping would prove to be futile, but escape hadn’t been on my mind just yet.

“Who is he?” I asked, to which Gaelick scoffed.

“You really don’t know who wants you dead?”

My gaze shifted from the floor towards this pirate again, his men watching me closely as my eye found his dull brown ones.

“According to my Navigator, this list is endlessly growing.” I replied. Gaelick must not of appreciated my response, for another swift kick to my abdomen was delivered with his steel toed boot. I buckled over again, this time coughing up some blood.

The crimson red liquid splattered across these filthy floorboards, to which I immediately frowned at. These floorboards didn’t deserve a droplet of my blood.

“Well let’s just say I’ve been sent to remove you from your reign and terror of the sea.”

I kept my eye cast down to the floorboards, but this time it was to mask the smile I couldn’t stop from spreading.

It was quite the challenge really, when faced with someone so challenged themselves. Both mentally and physically.

Whatever annoyance I felt could often be entertained when coupled with a phrase so utterly stupid, it touched a part of me that should’ve otherwise been taken back by the sheer amount of audacity.

I was sure of many things, but one thing written in stone, one thing so unwavering, was the sacrifice needed to release me from the sea… and no man was willing to make it. Not even the worst of my enemies.

“And so your plans are to kill me?” I asked, finally looking up at Gaelick again once I was positive I no longer had such a large smile stretched across my face.

“Aye.” Gaelick nodded. “However we hadn’t prepared for you to come upon us, sailing a white flag none the less.”

That made my lips twitch up into another smile, which received a hard strike by the back of Gaelick’s palm.

How did this man even become a pirate, let alone a captain?

The last time I struck someone, I dislocated their neck.

In all honesty, I had been hit harder by a woman than this weakling. And for much less.

“I had agreed to a negotiation.” I reminded Gaelick as he tried to hide the pain his hand was now surely in. He and his men may not of caught it, but I heard a few bones break once that very hand connected with my jawbone.

“And what negotiations could you possibly think I would be open to?” He countered.

I showed physical restrain to keep this next grin at bay as I responded with “you tell me who’s willing to go to this extent to eliminate me, and I’ll allow your men to live.”

The laughter Gaelick and his men erupted into made me feel a little more safe to crack a grin of my own, but that earned me yet another kick to my stomach. It was clear Gaelick has settled on the steeled toes being his best option. He sure as all hell wasn’t going to attempt another strike with his hand, I knew that for certain.

More blood coughed up onto my now bloody shirt, yet the black color of the material made it impossible for my enemies to know how much.

“Let my men live, say you?”

“Aye,” I nodded, barely phased by this mans brutality. “Your men shot at mine, yet I have no quarrels with them. Especially now witnessing for myself just who they were forced to turn to for guidance-” I paused a moment, giving this a second thought before more words dripped in hatred spewed past my lips. “Actually, they had no captain to turn to. He wasn’t even on the fucking ship.”

It may have been for just for a moment, but as my gaze moved from Gaelick to his men, I noticed the look of uneasiness on a handful of their faces. Gaelick only further proved both my point, and my suspicion, with his next choice of words.

“My men serve powers higher than I. They would gladly lay their lives down for that purpose.”

“And yet you wouldn’t lay yours?” I countered. A few of his men took their eyes off me for the first time, to look at their captain.

“My time hasn’t come yet.”

And to that, I full on laughed. Gaelick seemed to be far too taken back by the sudden outburst, to think of silencing me with his foot again. “Those are the words of every man faced by death. A real captain, or any really worth a damn, would know that your time is directly tied to your ship and crew. You go down with them… and since you haven’t yet, consider this time borrowed .”

Gaelick must’ve finally remembered he still had legs, for another swift kick was delivered, but this one was to my face. I felt a tooth dislodge itself immediately from the metal, but I barely paid it any mind when I spit the bloody thing out on the floorboards.

“My men have purpose. You lack any.” Gaelick spoke, yet his words were somewhat wavering. He was still unsure of the words falling past his lips, and it was something his men had also picked up on. I could see it on their faces. “You live for the world, while we live for a cause.”

It took almost everything left in me not to laugh. The race of men would never fail to disappoint me.

“You are correct.” I told this captain, watching as his dark brows shifted slightly higher in surprise by my honest admission. “I live for this world… and all the beauty it holds. The movement of the currents as they’re led by the winds.  The high tides brough upon by a full moon. I even live for the burning that comes from the salt of sea water once it splashes against a fresh cut, or open wound. And how no amount of blood shed, neither above water, nor below it, can take away from its mesmerizing blue hue.”

The look on Gaelick’s pitiful face told me he hadn’t quite expected this answer. And from the look of the faces surrounding us, neither had his men.

“I am the sea’s keeper not by force, but by choice. As is my men’s decision to follow me. To let me captain them. My cause is my men. My purpose is the sea itself… For I knew better than to live for the race of men. To live for the very thing responsible for the destruction of both this world and all its beauty.”

My eye narrowed at Gaelick when I spoke these final words.

“Now ask yourself… Why would I find purpose in a race of men that cannot save themselves from themselves, nor save themselves from death itself? To devote myself to something so easily swayed, and with a life span so easily shortened?” I watched as more of Gaelick’s men slowly cast their gaze from I, to their captain once more. “Then perhaps I’d invite you to question why you yourself would. Why you should.”

That was the last thing I remembered saying before one last swift kick sent my body crashing to the floor.

And yet the questioning anger in Gaelick’s eyes right before his foot connected with my face once more, made it all the worth it. As did the provocation in his men’s. The questioning look on their own hardened faces.

I had planted a seed in them only I knew how to reap.

And something told me it would prove itself fruitful.

••

39. Do What You Can To Live, Before You Choose To Die

Well well well, we meet again;)

Thank you so so so much for all the love on this book omg, all I will say is I have every chapter planned out until the very end, and I can’t wait to see y’all’s reactions

3300 words, so without further adieu…

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Shipshape: a managed and clean ship

Poop Deck: part of the ship above the captains headquarters at the farthest point back

Caspian

I never considered myself to be a pacer.

In fact, there wasn’t enough emphasis I placed on living to create such distress.

And yet, with each passing moment Alistair stayed on that damn ship, I grew more and more restless.

His crew had continued their work as they usually did, yet I noticed soon that the sun had long since set, and not one man had returned to their quarters.

They all remained on the main deck of the ship, some choosing to create a space to rest their eyes that still gave them a clear view of the enemy’s vessel. I hadn’t meant to join them this night, however my feet couldn’t bring me to return to Alistair and I’s otherwise empty chambers. It didn’t feel right.

Some men carried light conversation to keep their spirits high, however most pirates sat in silence, their eyes fixated on that ship, and ready to move at any given moment should an opportunity present itself.

Snips and I sat next to each other with our backs leaning against the side of the ship farthest from the enemies, so we too had a clear viewing of anything that might happen, and at any given moment.

He was sipping a bottle of rum while I alternated between sitting beside him, and getting up to walk the length of the ship itself. Sleep was struggling to find any of us, her efforts falling upon unwilling souls…

Including my own.

By the time I finally found a sliver of it, the sun was already beginning her ascent again, pushing past the horizon, and bringing with it daylight. My joints felt like sandpaper wedged between them when I moved, but I forced myself to stand. Snips had already started his rounds, much earlier than we usually had. And I understood his restless energy.

“He’s been there longer than he predicted.” I heard the shorter man say as he passed me a full canteen of water. I gratefully took it, taking a long swig that felt like oil rubbing into rusting metal as it slid down my dry throat.

“Aye.” I nodded before handing the now almost empty canteen back to him. In exchange for it, he pasted me a pot of hot wax, and we made our way towards the first set of knotted ropes holding the tall wooden beams in place.

“It’s making me uneasy.” He admitted honestly, yet those words could be echoed as sentiments throughout this entire ship. Even Cael had joined us for our rounds, refusing to allow Gaelick’s vessel to leave his sight.

I had thought I understood the extent of Alistair’s relationship with his men, but watching this all unfold had clearly taught me otherwise. They loved this man. Dearly .

“I say we ready our cannons.” Snips continued, but Hobbs interjected, appearing from the tail end of the ship to join us around the left side.

“Alistair will have our necks if we engage now. All we can do is wait.”

My eyes glanced over to the main deck of the enemy. Their own men filtering onto that very deck in hoards as they too began their rounds for the day. I didn’t understand what ship could possibly need this many men, and perhaps that was what troubled me more. I knew that Alistair could hold his own, but there was no telling the condition he was in now.

The day quickly grew hot, almost brutally so, which was vastly different from just a day ago. It felt like everything about where we were now, anchored in place next to this ship, had somehow shifted. Like something was starting to almost brew here both below and above the sea, and yet I didn’t know what. It was difficult to explain.

The men had still remained on the main deck, some finally finding a bit of sleep with the setting sun, whilst most worked harder than I had possibly ever seen before. With the infatuation Alistair had about these floorboards, I knew he’d be proud of his men for how utterly spotless they were now. Apparently we all operated the same once our emotions were tested, and that was to throw ourselves into our work. Yet that didn’t negate from the shipshape we now found this vessel in.

I had taken it so far, that I soon found myself cleaning Alistair and I’s private quarters. It was when my hand reached again for the damp rag to clean the shelves of the book cases, that I finally stopped myself.

Through the light feeding in to this now spotless open room, I knew it wouldn’t be long before night befell us again, bringing Alistair’s estimated time of return to an end, with still no Alistair in sight.

And what had been nagging away at my soul throughout the day, finally snapped somewhere inside me.

Alistair had made very irrational decisions right from when the first time my eyes found his on that merchant boat. I thought he was a mad man, especially once he had refused to kill me. Understanding him now was understanding that your enemy could never find their footing if you were constantly pulling the rug out from underneath them. He was the right amount of jarring, just enough to confuse his enemies.

And maybe that was what fueled me to make this decision. A decision so utterly insane, that if it didn’t get me killed, Alistair would more than likely finish the job. And he’d do so with glee in his heart.

But I couldn’t just wait here. I couldn’t sit and be still knowing Alistair had boarded a ship with this many men. Even he must have his limits, aye?

I moved quickly from the open room, to Alistair’s. It felt familiar now once I entered, and as longing a gaze my eyes held when I glanced to his bed, I knew sleep could never find me while my mind was still so active that it willed my body to move.

In Alistair’s amour, I found what I was looking for. A thin white shirt with material that was more water resistant than the cotton and linen I owned. My hands moved with urgency as I quickly dressed, pulling the larger shirt over my smaller frame before taking my leave. This time, however, I didn’t walk down the main deck the more common way, instead my feet carried me along the back end of the ship which Snips had called the poop deck, and slightly around the left side that was still left unattended.

No man of Alistair’s would allow me to do what I was going to, and yet the voice I heard from a man who came the same way I had, startled me completely. I hadn’t even heard Cael approach, his feet practically as light as Alistair’s as he made himself known.

“Do you think you’re strong enough?” He asked quietly, forcing me to turn towards him almost immediately. He was still in the attire he had been in for the day, which was something he didn’t usually wear, because work on the ship was something he didn’t usually do. Alistair had claimed his as his Navigator, and a Navigator only. This day had actually quite surprised me by how well Cael knew the others work, and could lend a very generous helping hand.

“I’ll have to be,” I found myself responding with. “Otherwise I’ll die in the midst of my efforts.”

Cael brought his thumb to his dark, full bottom lip, his mind more than likely racing and yet his demeanor remained as calm as it always had.

“I would help you if I could.” He spoke with more honesty laced into his tone than I expected. His voice was still hushed in efforts the other men wouldn’t hear. Luckily the main hulk of the ship concealed us some.

“You must remain here with the crew.” I replied, though all I had done was vocalize what was otherwise known, but not said by Cael himself. “Besides… I’m the only one here willing to welcome death with open arms.”

That brought a slight smile out of Cael. Maybe the first smile any pirate had displayed since Alistair waived the flag of surrender. Besides Alistair himself, of course.

“I suppose so.” He nodded. “I’ve seen you fight… but that ship… it’s filled to capacity with pirates.”

We had both glanced over in the direction of the ship, catching just the tail end from our position at the back of our own.

“The sea is calm this evening. Not an echo of a wind in sight, so you should be able to swim across with ease. If this is to work, they cannot know of your position until your feet touch that main deck, and even then, you won’t have much time before the cannons are readied in retaliation. Do you understand?”

I glanced back out to the now darkening waters, its color reflected only by the darkening of the sky itself. “Aye.” I nodded, returning my gaze to Cael. I didn’t have the time to explain to him that these waters couldn’t kill me. Not if I jumped of my own accord…

For I had already tried that countless times.

“I’ll do what I can to conceal much of you with the darkness above, but I can only do so much. Once you board that ship, you’re on your own.”

I nodded again, but this time I had lowered myself to a knee to tightly lace the boots I was wearing. I made sure they were both secure before straightening myself upright and walking towards the very edge of the ship.

“And Cas?” Cael added, beckoning my gaze to him for the final time. This time, there was more of a smile playing at his lips. “Do what you can to live, before you choose to die. Alistair would never forgive me for this otherwise.”

I gave the man a final nod, digesting his words best I could before I hoisted myself up into the ledge of the ship. I had stared down into the waters from a position much like this one, too many times to count, praying to anything listening to take my life from me. I found nothing but irony in Cael’s words now when I realized for the first time since the burning of my home, I was going to attempt something utterly fatal in hopes that I live.

And that was the last thing I thought before I dove head first into the bone chilling water.

As soon as my body hit the sea, it felt like falling from the highest beam, straight onto the deck, but that feeling was all too familiar by now. It didn’t even phase me once my bones snapped themselves back into place almost immediately, forcing my arms to start the long, treacherously chilling strides around the end of the boat and towards Gaelick’s.

The water felt like ice, its unforgiving temperatures causing my body to shake as I swam, but it didn’t take long for me to reach the side of the ship that not even Alistair’s men could see.

I had since determined that would be the best place to climb from, considering Gaelick’s men were paying us every bit of attention that we were, them.

My hands shivered at my sides, but I was able to call upon my weapons with ease, and I felt as the daggers found their way to each hand even while they were fully submerged in water.

By the time I managed to pierce that first dagger through the bottom of this now clearly massive vessel, the regret was immediate.

I hadn’t regretted what I decided to do, no … I regretted using so much of my energy to clean Alistair’s fucking ship.

The second dagger pierced through slightly higher above the first, and I used it to pull my once almost fully submerged body, up. Then I continued this process again with the first dagger held in my right hand, reaching to pierce higher than the last, before using the distance to hoist my body up further.

The deafening sounds of the crashing waves masked this otherwise loud process well, and since I had started my decent from the back left of Gaelick’s ship, I wasn’t at risk of wandering eyes. What I was at risk of however, was possibly falling from how much strength it was taking me to climb.

From Alistair’s ship, this distance didn’t seem all that great. As I now looked up at the wall of a ship that seemed to stretch as high as the heavens itself, it took very little time for me to calculate what strength I would be left with when I finally pulled myself aboard.

“ You’re capable .“ I found myself whispering. Those words of affirmations had given me at least somewhat of a resurgence to continue, yet the thought of wanting to fall back into this sea and let the current sweep my body away, never left.

Not when I reached halfway point.

Not even when I passed it.

And surely not once I noticed I only had a few more steps before I reached the ledge. At that point, I had pulled both my own body weight, and the weight of these drenched clothes, up hundreds of feet. My heart was hammering against my chest, almost begging me to lay this outrageous mission to rest… and yet I couldn’t.

As I peered my head above the ledge, scanning the main deck of this ship for any pirates making rounds, I quickly determined I was in the clear. And if I were to be truthful, it took practically the last of my energy to hoist myself up onto, and over that ledge.

I had the gods to thank for the moment of rest I received once my feet touched the first flat and leveled piece of floor. It was the first I had felt since I pushed the balls of my feet off the ledge of Alistair’s ship.

It almost moved me to tears… but there was no time for emotions. Instead, I kept my body close to the ledge as I slowly approached the massive group of pirates still working above deck. The first thing I noticed was that they were not carrying on with usual rounds. The amount of weapons hauled to and from different stations on the main deck immediately alerted me.

Gaelick’s ship was getting ready to either board, or be boarded. They were in the preparations for battle.

I kept the daggers gripped tight in the palms of my wet hands, my body forcing my own heart beat to slow as I slowly approached these men. There was no turning back now, and as Cael had said. I had a very finite amount of time to kill as many as I could, before they’d soon prepare for their own retaliation.

And maybe this was the heat of adrenaline forcing these thoughts upon me, but I wasn’t worried about the repercussions Alistair would enact over my own choices if they were to ready the cannons.

I instead found myself attached to his ship in a way. Ol’ Bess. Now that I had heard her heartbeat, I almost felt it with every step upon her floorboards. I now understood Alistair’s attachment- or rather, his love for his vessel. And I wouldn’t forgive myself if I brought her any harm.

And as I approached the unreasonable large gathering of pirates, my white hair drenched and molded against my body from the cold water, whilst the wet clothing I wore only mirrored its color, I watched as the very first pirate who was now bringing weapons towards the far end of the ship and moving towards me, dropped everything he was holding immediately.

His golden eyes widened, those same hands now dropping to the floorboards as he reached for one of the weapons he had so carelessly let go of, any weapon really, but he wasn’t quick enough.

My right hand immediately launched forward, sending the once held dagger through both him, and the other man right behind this one who had his back towards us.

The ear piercing scream was somewhat immediate, yet it didn’t come until after that recoil. Until after my dagger pierced through their rib cages, puncturing each heart before bringing the bloody organs towards me. I immediately dislodged them with my hand, watching something once beating, hit the floorboards with ease.

Those screams alerted the next surrounding group of pirates, however by then it was too late. I had already sent my daggers forward once again, shifting the weight of my feet from my left to my right, as that same foot pushed back behind me.

This gave me enough of an anchor to cut through the next three men’s throats, and dislodge their heads from their bodies in one quick jerk of my right hand.

I had cleared five pirates so far in the matter of seconds, and yet I knew it wouldn’t be enough. I knew that this strength, whatever was left in me, could not be enough. It simply wouldn’t. Gaelick’s men were large. Strong. I had to anchor myself firmly in order to rip through the stockiness of their necks, and even then, one of those three pirates almost arose again from the deck even after his head had been slit off.

This… this wasn’t going to be enough , I settled on finally, watching as more pirates began to charge towards me.

What will be? I heard a voice answer. Whisper .

It had propositioned my simple answer with a question of its own.

And the sound of it…

The recognition of what it was…

I felt my whole body still.

This was… this had been…

The first thing I remembered was the look in my mother’s eyes. The sheer pain, when her eyes found mine through the thickening smoke.

Is this what you need most? The voice asked. What your heart is willing to overlook to appease your need?

There was no beating of my heart that could mirror what it was doing now… for even for just a moment, I felt the agony of what had happened all those years ago… and I felt the imprint of the blood it stained my soul with.

However, what I wanted most was somewhere on this ship. And if I listened close enough , I thought, allowing these daggers to pierce straight into the floorboards of Gaelick’s ship. If I listened closely, I could hear his heartbeat.

For it only beat in rhythm to one thing. Ol’ Bess.

And I was growing to learn the sound of both their hearts. The beauty of their circadian rhythms.

The last thing I could remember from this fight was that same burning feeling. The glow of my veins through this otherwise porcelain skin as the power of my bloodline, the imprint of my ancestors coursed through these once dormant veins.

I felt my eyes close a moment, feeling those irises morph into something I both recognized, but also did not. And closing those very eyes would otherwise be considered outrageous a choice whilst Gaelick’s men now nearly reached me…

But when I opened them again, I saw it.

I saw it all .

And these now stronger chains recoiled back to the palms of my hands with an entirely new purpose.

••

40. Do You Fear Death?

Yeah baby

Back again… LUDA!

lol I hope someone got this reference

Anyhoo,

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. I updated the playlist, and added the song up above. Same song I was listening to whilst writing this :)

Alistair

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/302f824630b4f2a817a6b5c5aa4739cebfe845f7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4e45456943397a5544634a4c38673d3d2d313435373533323133362e313764643761636464363362343564323437323938363432383036392e6a7067)               

My body stirred me awake much to my own dismay. I could already feel it healing itself, forcing regenerating energy through my veins regardless of what torture Gaelick had spent an unnatural amount of time on. And that was an insane statement coming from myself, though granted, he was trying to kill me.

What was torture for I, was his best attempts at taking my life.

“ Why won’t you die? “ Gaelick cursed as soon as my eye opened and I straightened myself upright, adjusting the chains that bound my hands behind my back. As my eyesight adjusted to the darkness, I noticed we were still in the very same room with the very same pirates, looking at that very same horribly strapped cargo.

Lovely .

“Try a little harder.” I muttered, spitting out more blood that was now being forced out of my punctured organs, as they healed themselves. I had ceased to care how aggravated I made this lanky captain for this was my last ditch effort to get him to reveal just who it was that sent him, and much to my surprise, it was starting to work on Gaelick.

“He hadn’t told me it would be like this.”

“That’s because whoever you serve is an idiot.”

That earned me yet another swift kick to a ribcage that was already mending itself. It was indeed the most painful of this process, and this man had just set me back perhaps another day to fully heal.

Just lovely .

“The one I serve will be the next ruler of The Holy Men. Watch that tongue before I cut it out.”

I pondered on that a moment, genuinely questioning why he hadn’t yet tried to cut my tongue out. Perhaps he liked the sound of my voice.

It took me even longer to understand just what he had said right before that.

“What do you mean the next ruler? The Holy Men are council-” I stopped myself short. Cael had mentioned something about someone being appointed… something of the sorts. I honestly didn’t care enough about land or the things that took place on that land in particular, to store any of that information as memory.

They could appoint a shoreline pebble to lead them for all I gave a damn.

“Surely you’ve heard of the selection? The Great Zirion Khan has been appointed to lead the council.”

See… I had already forgotten that name. It was easier to think of The Holy Men as a group of imbeciles. I couldn’t care enough in the slightest to start naming individuals.

“ Good for him .“ I muttered sarcastically, which earned me yet another kick. My ribcage was shouting at my mouth to keep it shut. If only I knew how .

“You really don’t know?” Gaelick asked in almost disbelief.

“Do you know what will happen once Azul perishes?” I countered, asking this feeble captain as I looked up at him with a simple question. He took his time contemplating whether or not he even wanted to engage in the direction this conversation was going.

“What?” He finally spoke, taking the bait as he held my gaze.

“Absolutely fucking nothing.” I replied, to which I noticed a few of Gaelick’s men turn their faces to hide their slight amusement. As this brutally long process progressed, these men had grown less and less serious.

I believe it was my stellar good looks and wits about me that was breaking them down. Either that, or they finally saw their captain for what he truly was when all else was stripped away.

A directionless idiot.

“The sun that’s long since disappeared outside this cargo hold, will still rise come morning, taking the place of the moon. Trees will still grow. Air will still be breathable. Your world may shatter, but the one I live in will go relatively unaffected… so the answer as to whether I know of this, is yes. The answer as to whether I care, will forever remain as a resound fuck no.”

I swore a heard a snicker from one of the pirates that stood around the perimeter of this room. They’d long since stopped watching my every movement like a hawk. I hadn’t made a single attempt to escape anyways.

“Zirion will never let that happen.” Gaelick replied, though it sounded as if he himself needed that convincing more than I. “Besides, you won’t be alive long enough for anything to affect you.”

Ah, right. My death or whatever.

“And my crew?” I asked, already contemplating his answer.

“We’ll blow them to the ground-” Gaelick had started, explaining his sure to fail plan for my men’s demise, however the distinct clashing of metal above us stopped him dead in his tracks.

We all faced the ceiling of this cargo hold as more dust fell through there horribly laid floorboards. Especially floorboards right above cargo. I wasn’t sure how they moved any product that wasn’t spoilt, yet if they served The Holy Men, this was truly an incident of the blind leading the blind.

The shuffling of all bajillion of the men Gaelick had on this bloody ship, sounded almost ear deafening, and so I laid my head back against this wooden beam, closing my eye again.

There was just enough space with these chains to allow my hands to firmly place themselves on the floorboards below me, and that was thanks to the lack of attempts I had made on breaking them.

It took me a moment to connect with this ship, for the powers I had were currently focusing on mending my shattered ribs, but I was quickly gaining strength again, and soon…. Soon I could hear it.

The dragging of those sharp daggers against the floorboards. The distinct rustling of chains.

Had my men boarded?

No , I thought. None would go against my direct orders.

Well… none, besides…

I felt the edges of my lips twitch up into a smile I simply couldn’t hold back, opening the cut on my bottom lip that was desperately trying to close itself. The sound of a battle taking place above us, drowned out almost all other noise, and so I forced myself to focus. I couldn’t feel his feet against the floorboards, yet I heard that metal. I couldn’t understand what was taking place on the main deck, but if I couldn’t feel Caspian’s feet, he must’ve been fighting either from a vantage point on a high beam, or in the fucking air itself.

All I could make out was that familiar sound of his metal weapons, and the ear shattering cries that was quickly followed by the silence of death itself.

The first drop of blood to make its way through the gaps in the wood, fell onto my cheek, and it forced my eye open again.

“It looks like your men are being slaughtered up there.” Gaelick noted, but I paid this particular idiot no mind. Instead, I stuck my tongue out for the next drop of blood. As soon as it fell, and the taste alerted my senses, I spit it out immediately.

Gaelick’s face was scrunched up in disgust when I looked up at him again to say “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

All the pirates cast their gaze back up to the ceiling that was quickly turning red with blood, spilling droplets onto this floor, and hitting a few pirates on its way down. I couldn’t tell how long this fight was, but the silence that slowly spread through the main deck above us, had told me it would be done soon.

Gaelick’s disgust quickly turned into triumph as the clashing of metal eventually came to a halt, that silence fully taking over. “It seems it’s just you now.” He spoke to me, stretching his leg back to deliver yet another kick, one I’m sure he was praying to be fatal, but my words stopped his foot in mid air.

“Good grief, shut the fuck up. “ I finally snapped at the man. His voice was cutting through my concentration. “I know this may be a newfound concept for you, but there is beauty in being fucking quiet. For once, I mean truly for once in your life, cut your mindless yapping and listen.”

Gaelick looked at me like I had just chopped off his manhood, but as silence fell upon this room too, the only sounds being the drops of blood that were quickly pooling on this very floor, the men finally heard what I did.

Or rather didn’t .

We no longer heard that stampede of boots against the floorboards.

Instead, there was only one set of feet.

And they were accompanied by the sharp sounds of wood splitting. Those daggers cutting through whatever the blade touched.

The more damning thing that made the faces of every pirate grow as white as the face they would soon come to see for themselves, was that whoever this was, was descending the steps down to the cargo hold.

Those necks that had once craned Gaelick’s men to look towards the ceiling, soon fell on the opening that led into this room.

The sounds of those chains. The piercing of those daggers… they only grew louder.

And the man that slowly emerged from the darkness we were looking into, made my smile widen. The lighting in this room should have made it difficult to see, but his all white clothing now completely drenched in the bright crimson blood of Gaelick’s men, was utterly unmissable.

As were the chains and daggers attached to his arms.

They were glowing a light blue, those chains and daggers themselves much larger in size than I remembered.

And when those eyes finally appeared, finding mine immediately, I felt my own eye widen.

They were glowing a piercing blue. The beautiful color of the sea itself.

“ What …“ Gaelick whispered to himself. “How…”

Even his men were too stunned to say a single thing. Caspian looked like he had just dipped himself in a river of blood… but those eyes… they demanded all attention there.

“You’ll just have to forgive me later.” Was the first words he said to me as his gaze held mine. It was like he hadn’t even registered another living soul in this cargo ship. His eyes only saw me. And that just made my smile widen even further, opening my cut once more.

“Consider yourself forgiven now.” I replied. My voice had grown gentle for the first time since I boarded this ship.

It was the quick recoil of his daggers that finally woke Gaelick and his men out of the trance like state they had somehow fallen into. The first men closest to the opening of this room drew their swords, charging for Caspian, but he didn’t flinch. He didn’t even send the blades that were now in his hands, forward.

I watched in pure shock as Caspian moved swiftly, avoiding the direct paths of their swords before, with a single swipe, his daggers cut both men’s swords clean in half.

I wasn’t sure what I was forcing my common eye to focus on now. His speed. His strength. Everything was entirely different. He was different.

I watched as he slit those two pirate’s throats himself, before either of them could register what he had done to their weapons. And before their bodies could even hit the ground, those daggers were finally sent forward, his right hand releasing it from the strong hold he had on it, and piercing through the next two pirates on his right who had only just turned towards him.

I watched as that dagger shot through both them and the wall behind them, sending the metal straight through it. I expected him to recoil that chain again, cutting their bodies wide open, however my eyebrows only raised further when the dagger returned to his right hand back through the wall itself with another opening it created, anchoring those two pirates to each other and the wall behind them with their very own hearts.

That dagger barely made it back to his right hand before he released the other with his left, piercing two more men directly in front of me. He had done the same, sending that metal through them and the wall directly behind, before the metal made another opening, returning itself to his left hand.

In a matter of seconds, Caspian had killed two men, and trapped four in something I could only describe as a web. But made of chains. These four hadn’t even had time to draw their swords, and judging by the paleness their skin further turned to, as the looked down at the massive chain running straight through their body, they were just now registering what was happening.

The seventh pirate did manage to draw his sword, but with both daggers back in Caspian’s hands, the attempt was futile. Caspian sent the dagger from his right hand again, pulling on the chains of the two men connected to the wall still, and their ear deafening screams flooding this relatively small room. That dagger went straight through the seventh pirate, forcing my eyes to the right of me as I watched it nearly miss Gaelick who was already stumbling closer towards the opening.

Once it went through the wall farthest away from Caspian, the blade remained there, completing whatever sort of web this white haired man had created, with pirates for prey.

And there were only two pirates of Gaelick left, to which he was now yelling orders to do something. Anything. To kill Caspian, or ready the cannons…

But all I could do was smile as we all watched those two pirates briefly turn to Gaelick, before their eyes found Caspian’s once more and they slowly eased themselves onto the now blood filled floor. The once tall standing men were now on their knees.

“No.” On of the pirates said to Gaelick who had finally managed to reach the entrance. Caspian didn’t pay the captain much mind. That nitwit didn’t even have a weapon on him. Instead, Caspian was far more intrigued with these two pirates sudden surrender.

“No?” Gaelick questioned incredulously. “What do you mean no ?”

“We mean no.” The second one spoke, though his eyes never left Caspian’s either. Neither men even looked in Gaelick’s direction again regardless of what words they said. Their eyes were as fixated on the same man mine were. The same burning eyes that held something inside them I couldn’t explain. Something that could make a man bend the knee.

“He’ll kill you!” Gaelick practically shouted to his men.

Well, I’m not sure I could still call them his anymore.

“Aye.” The first spoke. “But we are enough of men to admit that Alistair is right. We’ve seemingly found ourselves on the wrong side this time.”

Gaelick’s dull brown eyes looked like they were about to pop themselves out of their damn sockets with how wide they got, but he couldn’t even get his next words out.

Instead, the person who spoke next was the one in the heart of this web. And his next choices of words made me feel something inexplicable. It was a question that was a reflection of the question I had first asked him on that merchant ship.

“ Do you two fear death? “ He asked the men that hadn’t once looked away from him.

“Aye.” The first one spoke, to which the second nodded in agreement.

“But we also welcome it.” That second pirate replied as he added to the sentiments of the first.

Caspian looked to be processing something before he himself eventually nodded.

And what came next was even more inexplicable.

He suddenly yanked hard on those chains, the one wedged into the wall returning to his right hand before the chains themselves cut through every single pirate that had been attached, coating this entire room in a river of flowing blood.

Gaelick had managed to slip out of the room as the clarity of everything was temporarily red, but as my eyes adjusted, I noticed Caspian had somehow made his way from the front of the room, to the two men kneeling. And as I looked closer, I noticed the incredibly clean slits across both their necks, right before each body toppled completely to the floor.

A merciful kill.

Once he stood to his feet, he finally made his way to me, and as he drew closer, his entire aura was unnaturally different. His presence made the hairs on my arms stand to attention. Those glowing eyes focusing as he knelt down, before his right hand took that dagger and sliced through these chains like they were made of paper.

All I could do was stare at this man.

How beautiful he looked, even showered in the blood of Gaelick’s men. The representation of what he had just done for me.

“Can you walk?” He asked me unevenly. I hadn’t noticed it till now, but behind those crystal blue eyes, there was worry.

“It looks worse than it is.” I tried to ease his troubled mind, cracking a grin, but still allowed him to slip an arm under my shoulder as he helped me to my feet.

I had been in that position for too long, the first few steps almost brought me to the floor if it wasn’t for Caspian.

He did his best to avoid the body parts scattered across the room as we finally made our way out of this cargo hold. I was already welcoming the air that didn’t smell like shit, piss, and vomit. Honestly, Caspian had done good to wash the floors, even if it was washed with blood.

The corridor we walked through was short, but I stopped Caspian a moment, leaning back against one of the walls to gather myself. He took this moment of rest himself as I watched him lean against the wall opposite to mine. He was wrapping his weapons back up his arms, most likely to keep them out of the way for even he knew this wasn’t done. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Gaelick off this damn ship.

My right hand reached across to my left shoulder, and I used the wall behind me to anchor myself as I forcefully shoved my shoulder back into its socket. The popping sound made Caspian tip his head up to me, that look of worry easing back into those eyes that were slowly starting to dim again. When he approached me, his now free hands wiping some of that blood off his face, I could see those paler eyes eyeing every injury visible on my body.

I wanted to reassure him again, but I remained quiet. Just watching him.

He didn’t say a word as he drew even closer than what Caspian would ever dare to… so close, that all I could see now was him. Nothing else. Just those pale eyes.

Then he did something I couldn’t never have predicted, even if I possessed the powers of a damn oracle myself.

He raised himself up slightly onto the balls of his feet, and closed the distance between us. Between my bloody lips and his.

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/fe8ca5360f5a5845f1a5c0dbc3ebccb3a89c404d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f68366b4a597a64397150503756773d3d2d313435373533323133362e313764643763633731643032363136393238303635353434353230372e6a7067)               

41. Your Time Has Come

Gooood morning!

Top of the mornin, top of the mornin, top of the mornin lol

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Also I left a comment in one of the previous chapters, but after this one y’all are getting two chapters of smut

My equivalent of “here, damn!” lol

But all jokes aside, it’s going to be good ;)

Also also I updated the playlist again, and added the song up above. If you’ll believe it, this very song was what made me start writing this book lol. I’ve had this very chapter playing over and over again in my head for months, so give it a listen if you’d like :)

It doesn’t really pertain to the story, but the paralleled vibes are immaculate, I promise

Caspian

I wasn’t sure what had come over me.

Maybe it was the surge in adrenaline… the high left from the power something had lent me through this fight, as it started to finally leave my veins.

Or perhaps it was that feeling that engulfed my body as soon as I had cut those chains.

The feeling of relief .

Regardless, somehow, my lips had found Alistair’s… and as I started to pull away, realizing the insanity of what I had just done, I felt a hand grab hold of the waistband of my soaked and drenched in blood trousers, before it yanked me towards him.

When my lips touched his again, this kiss was far from gentle. Far from what my intentions had been.

Alistair had shoved both our bodies back until I felt the familiar wall I was just leaning against, flush against my backside once more. His one hand remained on my waistband, whilst the other reached for my chin, tilting my head upwards to allow him more access to me.

And I all too happily obliged.

The first moan to escape my lips was his doing. I had tried to be gentle, feeling the open wound on his bottom lip, but Alistair wasn’t having any of that. He took my bottom lip in his own, and grazed his teeth along the surface of it, asking for entrance. And when his tongue slipped past those very lips, I felt whatever fight I had left in me, simply slip away.

My arms wrapped themselves around Alistair’s neck in a desperate attempt to pull him even closer. To feel more of him that in this moment, he had given me access to.

And when his leg slid between mine, brushing up against something that was quickly growing hard by his touch, and his touch alone, yet another moan slipped past my lips.

I could practically feel Alistair’s intentions. In this moment, he and I seemed to forget where we were, and what it was we were doing shortly before all of this. In this moment, all I could think about was him. All I felt was him…

And then my body forcibly reminded me the cost I would need to pay for the power I just borrowed.

I had tried to do so lightly, but it was more of a shove as I pushed Alistair away from me. I didn’t need to look into that eye to know it held confusion, but that quickly shifted to worry as my body bent over immediately to force up the remnants of that power. It came in only what I could describe as black goop, spilling past my lips and onto the floorboards below.

Alistair’s hands immediately moved to my hair, as he held the white strands that had come loose from my hair tie, back.

I was grateful, for my own hands busied themselves by wrapping around and holding onto my waist. This felt like poison coming up, burning the back of my throat as it went. I didn’t remember this part of using that power, yet then again, my memory had been lost the night Azultia burned.

And Lemont refused to put together those pieces for me.

All I knew was that we had made it out. That was all that mattered, according to my advisor.

“What is that?” Alistair asked. He removed a hand from my hair, to help me straighten my body up once I was done.

“I wish I knew myself.” I spoke honestly. When my eyes found his again, it faced more concern than I thought possible for Alistair to ever hold. Somehow we had started with I helping him off this ship, but as an arm of his slid under my shoulder, he began to help me the rest of the way out.

I could feel it now. The exhaustion of the fight taking over. I wasn’t sure who it was that would kill Gaelick, but I knew I couldn’t call upon these weapons again. My body was beyond the realms of spent.

Even the stairs leading up to the main deck felt like work. Alistair and I had to step over the countless bodies I had ripped in half, for I couldn’t have let a single pirate make it below deck. I didn’t allow a single one to alert their captain, for Cael was right. This opportunity was small and quickly fleeting as soon as my soaked boots touched these floorboards.

“You did all this?” Alistair asked, turning slightly to me as he helped me up these blood stained steps. I found myself nodding, unable to say anything as more of my brutality quickly came into view.

And Alistair soon saw that too.

The sea of dead bodies scattered across the main deck.

The only man still living was Gaelick, and the look on his face showed us that that realization was just now crossing him too.

He stood in the midst of this horror that not even the night could conceal, his mouth agape as he stared down at the cut down bodies of his men. I felt Alistair’s hand slowly slip from under my shoulder when he was sure enough that I had found my footing. The look on his face however… well it made my heart practically cease to exist.

“ You did well .“ He spoke with a smile on his lips. There was no amount of blood on me that could cover how flushed my face had gotten.

Seeing my own capabilities… seeing my own destruction… it made even I fear me.

But Alistair didn’t. He didn’t fear me. Or this.

Instead, he raised his right hand to push a few fallen strands of hair away from my face, before he said a sentence that made me feel like I had been whacked in the head by a piece of plywood.

“I suppose it’s time I, myself, finally get serious.”

My gaze held his in pure bewilderment and shock.

What exactly had he been doing the last two fucking days?

“Stay here.” He ordered, but he didn’t add his usual nonchalant flair to this order. He was serious. He had in fact kept to his word, and gotten serious. If only I knew just how serious…

And all I could do was watch as Alistair neared the middle of the main deck. The only clearing available, considering the hundreds of now dead bodies that were piled around us. Had I registered how much of a mess I had made, I would’ve tried to pile them like his men did after a battle. At the time, all I could think about was this mad pirate, and his crew who needed him.

I moved around the top of the stairs to lean against the partial wall on its right. It helped me hold my body up, for whatever Alistair was about to do, I surely wasn’t going to be able to help with. I still didn’t understand how he was able to carry himself now, when I just saw him pop his left shoulder back into its socket moments ago.

This man was… well, I wasn’t sure a word existed to describe him.

“Gaelick!” His words carried through this cool night’s breeze like it owned it. I felt my entire body shudder at his use of tone. That simple name coming from his lips commanded this captain’s attention immediately. “ You seem to have found me in a giving mood. “ This next sentence came in a whisper, but the winds that had started to grow around us, carried it across every deck this ship held. “ So allow me to teach you two lessons. “

Alistair then did something I had never seen him do before.

First, he took a knee.

And the second that left knee connected with the floorboards of this ship, a sudden gust of wind flew out across us, shaking these very floorboards, and forcing both myself and Gaelick’s body back. My left hand was forced to reach over and grab hold of the stair’s wooden banister to keep me upright, but Gaelick wasn’t so luckily.

He was tossed back onto a pile of his dead men.

“ The first being, “ Alistair continued in that carried whisper, as he moved to do yet another thing I had never seen him do before. His left hand reached up to his face, pushing the leather black patch that covered his left eye, upwards. “ I’m going to show you what it truly means to harbor the responsibility as a captain… A decent one, anyways .“

He was still a distance too far to make out every feature, especially through this wind that created almost a dust cloud around him. It had started to circle him like a tycoon, but even through the chaos, I didn’t miss the burning of it.

The fire of his left eye that glowed crimson red. The color of both his sails, and of blood itself.

“ And lastly, Gaelick of Azul ,“ he added, staring this now terrified man down. “ I’m going to show you what it means to go down with both your crew, and your ship . If you don’t want to die honorably, I’ll thrust honor upon you myself.“

The hairs on my entire body stood to attention. Whatever man I had grown to know over the moons we spent together- this one… this was who I felt in his proximity. This was who my body felt when I was near him, though my eyes couldn’t see it. This wasn’t just Alistair and Ol’ Bess.

This was The Pirate King, who sailed a ship known as The Destroyer.

And when both his hands laid themselves flat against these floorboards, the sudden gust of wind released threw me straight onto my back. I had to force myself up against this weather to catch what Alistair was to do next, and yet his final words spoken weren’t to Gaelick, who by now had been thrust backwards onto his dead men yet again. No…

These words were to this ship. And they were spoken with such gentleness, I thought I may have heard him wrong.

“ I release you. “ He whispered.

When he said those words, I thought I could feel my own heartbeat. But I was mistaken. What I felt now was the ships.

Whatever Alistair had done, had brought this ship to life. Or rather, revealed its heart to the living.

Gaelick by now was still struggling to stand, and another gust of wind, one particularly directed towards him, knocked him down once again.

Alistair had indeed gotten serious.

I could feel each floorboard shifting from underneath me as I myself tried to stand, but the sound of footsteps quickly cut through the chaos of the wind. My eyes slowly rose to meet the man at the center of it all. His deep blue and red eyes staring down at me through the wind that followed him, before he extended his right hand.

“ It’s time to go, love .“ He whispered to me. Everything about him, about this, it all rendered me utterly speechless… and yet I found myself raising my right hand until it fit perfectly in his. He pulled me to my feet with such ease, keeping my hand still in his before turning to guide us towards the edge of this ship.

I could see his crew now lined up against the side of Ol’ Bess. Even from here, I bore witness to every single pirate that had a smile so wide, it spanned the length of their face. He didn’t even have to ask, for a rope was thrown from his ship to this one immediately.

Alistair then finally let go of my hand, but that very hand grabbed hold of my waistband and yanked me towards him. My arms found their way around his shoulders instinctively as his left hand grabbed the rope with ease.

I could already feel it right below my very feet.

Alistair was right. It was time to go. This ship was starting to dismantle itself floorboard by floorboard, nail by nail. The breaking of wood was loud, but the strong wind drowned it out some.

We heard one final desperate cry from Gaelick as it pierced through these strong winds, but Alistair just looked past me to the desperate captain.

“ I believe your time has come. “ He spoke, those words carrying back through the winds with ease. “ I suggest you do as those who were once your men did. Die with honor. For all those who touch these waters know of when the winds shift west and the sun soon sets. You should’ve taken heed to avoid these blood red sails. “

And I suppose those were the last words Alistair was willing to give to the man, for he wrapped his arm tight around my waist, pulling us up onto the ledge of this ship, and jumped.

I found myself starting to close my eyes with fear, but the secure hold Alistair had on me kept them open. And the gaze of Alistair’s unique eyes never leaving mine, kept mine there. At him. He had a slight smile of his face now as he studied mine. I realized that this was the first that eye had gazed upon me, and I wondered what he saw.

Especially when his smile slowly widened…

The impact of touching the floorboards of Alistair’s ship was what finally broke whatever trance he had put me in, and if it wasn’t for Alistair’s sturdy build, we would’ve more than likely stumbled to the ground. Instead, I felt my back hit one of his wooden beams, which he managed to soften the blow of by holding me now flush against his body, and using his left arm to absorb most of the impact.

I could feel every bit of him now as that red eye of his burned even brighter. Stronger.

The sound of Cael clearing his throat was what reminded the both of us where exactly we were, but Alistair didn’t pull his gaze from mine just yet.

“Go run a bath.” He spoke to me and only me, his words making my heart beat all the harder as he laced it with undertones of what was to come. “I’ll join you shortly.”

••

42. But For You, I’ll Learn

Someone asked whether it was too much to request a double upload.

To that, I will say yes

But I also carry the burden of being a people pleaser,

so enjoy, lovelies ;)

xoxo

Might have some errors but I’ll go edit later lol

Warning: Explicit Content

Alistair

I pulled the eye patch back over my left eye before turning to face Cael. He had given Caspian a solid pat on the shoulders as the man quickly made his way to our private quarters, which immediately told me that Cael had known about what Caspian had done.

“Good to see you.” Cael nodded to me. The last two days had seeming aged him ten years, which only further cemented in stone the fact that Cael would most likely choose death before he ever had to stand in during my absence again. He had probably already drafted up a contract stipulating just that.

“Aye, and me, you. I’m also happy to see no new holes in Ol’ Bess. And spotless floorboards.”

“Well,” Cael sighed, running his hand through his braided hair, “there wasn’t much for us to do while you were gone. I’m guessing you found out who’s hunting you? You were on that ship long enough.”

“Aye. Gaelick loves- well, loved to talk. Took entirely too long just to find out it’s someone from The Holy Men.” I replied. I could’ve probably guessed that myself, but still… sending someone for me was a rash decision.

“Who?” Cael asked. A question that would very quickly prove to be more complicated to answer.

“Uh-” I started. “I think him name started with a Z. Or perhaps an S?”

…

The silence between us was absolutely deafening.

And the look on Cael’s face was beyond deadly.

“Let me…” he started, before stopping himself shortly after. “Just to make sure I haven’t missed anything here… you surrendered yourself to the enemy, aye?”

“Aye.” I nodded.

“Something we have simply put, never done before. Aye?”

“Aye.” I nodded again.

“Allowed yourself to be tortured for days, aye?”

Technically those spell bound chains were what made things more complicated, but if Cael found out about them, that would only further worry him. So I found myself repeating an “Aye.”

“All this to discover the name of your enemy… and you can’t even be bothered to remember it?”

I paused a moment before answering that one because Cael looked like he was ready to break my nose.

“Whoever is to be appointed next. That’s who sent Gaelick.”

I was quite proud of that quick answer, because instead of his left hand connecting with my nose, he brought two fingers to the bridge of his own in utter, sheer annoyance.

Then he just turned around to leave me.

“Where are you off to?” I asked the backside of Cael, and without even turning around again, he answered.

“To get some rest. Something both myself and your crew have been robbed of these last two days thanks to you.”

I took a few long strides to catch up with my Navigator, before I reached for his arm. He was already preparing for the long list of insults to give me when I forcibly turned him around, but once I brought him into my arms, none came.

“ My apologies for leaving you in charge. And thank you for letting Caspian come. “ I whispered near his right ear. My arm eased its hold on the man, but he lifted his right hand to the back of my neck, before pulling me close to rest his forehead against mine.

“Don’t ever do that again.” Was all he said, before eventually letting me go. “And welcome home, Captain.”

Even through all that anger, he couldn’t hide his smile, before he turned back to leave me.

It took longer than expected to make it to Caspian because I had to deal with Snips and his overly dramatic welcome. One would’ve thought I left these men for two moons instead of two days.

Once I did finally make my way to our chambers and entered, Caspian was already in the bath. Judging by the clearness of the water, he must’ve wiped most of the blood and other body remnants off him before getting in. Even his hair had since just about returned to that same white color I had grown used to.

He eyed me carefully as I stripped, pulling off the clothes I was forced to wear for days. My body still hurt, but there was relief that came with knowing I could now focus on healing. A soak would also aide with the bruises, which I hadn’t known were bad until I heard Caspian inhale sharply at the sight of them. He was chewing the side of his mouth hard, more than likely silencing the words he looked desperate to let out.

His eyes only left my body once I pulled my trousers down, and stepped out of them. Then I went through the grueling process of easing my naked body into this tub, Caspian’s gaze only falling back onto me once my lower half was submerged and partially hidden.

“ This feels so good it might move me to tears. “ I murmured, closing my eye a moment to allow the hot water over my bruised skin.

“I won’t tell your men if you do.” Caspian answered, which immediately turned the edges of my lips up into a smile. This man was quickly becoming my peace, and I still wasn’t sure how we found ourselves here.

“They wouldn’t believe you regardless.” I replied with, which earned me a rare chuckle from Caspian. That was what forced my eye open, and back on him.

The tub was large, but with both Caspian and my height, there was no way to avoid my legs brushing against his. I watched him lower himself further into the water until just his chin touched the surface, those pale eyes of his never leaving mine.

And that was when I asked a question that weighed a bit heavily on me. “Do my eyes scare you?”

I had seen the way he looked at me once that eyepatch was pushed back, and though this eye of mine had never bothered me before, I was understanding now that Caspian wasn’t my men. He didn’t know of me the way they had.

To my surprise, Caspian immediately shook his head, creating small ripples in the hot water when he did.

I found my left hand reaching up to pull the leather thing off, and tossed it on the ground near us. With both my eyes, I got to see Caspian again. Truly see him, and in a way the rest of the world couldn’t. He had the very same bluish hue to him that his chains and daggers had when he fought Gaelick’s men. This special eye could see the magic of a person as an aura, but I had never see this before. I’d never seen anything like his.

“Do…” Caspian started, before taking a moment to think his next choice of words thoroughly. “Do my eyes scare you?”

I felt my own eyes narrow at the man, already irritated that he could find fault in anything so beautiful… but I swallowed that anger, before shaking my head. “They could never, regardless of what color they take.”

Caspian finally broke the gaze we held as his face flushed from my words, but there was a smile playing on his lips which he couldn’t mask.

Instead, I watched as his right hand reached for the wash cloth that was laid neatly on the side of the tub. When he finally turned my way, his next question made my heartbeat involuntarily quicken.

“May I?” He asked, gesturing with the wash cloth towards me, to which I nodded. I rested both legs against either side of the tub, allowing him room to move closer through this water in between them, and he willingly accepted the invitation.

The way his eyes dipped from mine to my body almost broke me. It was as if my injuries physically pained him too, and he wasn’t sure where to start… so my left hand reached for his right, and I brought both it and the washcloth to my chest. Right above my heart.

He was incredible gentle once I let go, but I sort of enjoyed it. He treated my skin like it was porcelain.

“Does your body heal itself?” He asked me. I was so focused on him. On his movements as he gently washed my chest, that I almost didn’t register that he had asked a question.

“Aye.” I nodded finally. “Does yours?”

It was a question I had been thinking about. The whole reasoning behind Caspian wanting to die but not being able to. There was a part of him that was much like myself, even if our magic wasn’t the same.

“Aye.” He nodded, his response more of a whisper.

Caspian was close, but not close enough… and so I found my hands reaching for his bare waist, before I bent and slid my legs between his which kneeling ones, then I yanked him forward until he was straddling me like one would saddle a horse.

Caspian looked startled, but he didn’t protest. What I could now feel was his manhood resting against mine, and this position looked more comfortable for him too as he continued to wash me. His upper half was now just inches away.

His gaze alternating between my chest, and my eyes. And I loved seeing him with my full vision.

He was even more beautiful.

“Have you been with a man before?” I asked, my right hand moved to push some strand of his white hair away, and yet I found my fingers starting to mindlessly play with those very strands. I didn’t understand why I could feel him, all of him, so greatly, but I had long since decided that Caspian would reveal more of who he was when he was ready to. Perhaps then, I would understand.

I just appreciated who I got to see now.

He slowly shook his head, his gaze holding mine a bit longer.

“That’s okay. It is different, but can also be a bit like being with a woman.” That sentence made Caspian’s gaze cut away from mine, which raised my eyebrows some. “Have you been with a woman?”

The silence before Caspian responded was already telling, but I still waited patiently before he eventually shook his head no.

No wonder he took being in my body so terribly. My urges must have terrified the living hell out of him.

“That’s okay.” I found myself nodding, pushing more of his hair back as his hand, still holding that washcloth, moved from my chest to my left shoulder.

“I would… I would like to be with you, though.” He didn’t hold my gaze when he said that. I knew he couldn’t, but I still tipped his head up slight by his chin, forcing his gaze back on me.

“I haven’t been known to be gentle.” My hand slipped around to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. I wanted to touch more of him again. To taste his lips against my own. “But for you, I’ll learn.” Then my lips finally found his, the cut that was once occupying my bottom had since healed itself, and I could finally focus on the softness of his.

Caspian tried to muffle a moan, but it was no use as my fingers massaged the back of his neck deeply. When my own manhood twitched with need, Caspian had finally realized what his was rested against, and another soft moan fell past his otherwise occupied lips.

Immediately after our lips had connected, Caspian forgot about the rag completely, and when a hand grabbed his bare waist, grinding my hard cock against his, those quiet moans grew louder. His hands had a vice grin on my shoulders, but he very soon felt comfortable enough to softly touch my cheek leading down to the edge of my jaw. Especially once I deepened this kiss. His hands were shaking slightly, but I didn’t mind.

I could hear his heartbeat now, and for how fast it was beating, he was doing well with composing himself.

That hand that was on his waist, slid its way to his arse, squeezing his soft skin there a bit roughly before it went off in search of his entrance, whilst my teeth took his bottom lip in between them, much like I had on Gaelick’s ship.

There wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t want to thrust myself into him now, but I had given my word and I had no plans of breaking it.

I would learn to be gentle this night. I wanted Caspian’s first night with anyone, let alone I, to be what he was deserving of. Pure pleasure. He’d handled enough pain for the night.

Once a finger found his entrance, Caspian full on shuddered against me. His kisses were a reflection of his unravel once I slid a digit inside of him, feeling the tightness of his walls all around me. I went slow, painstakingly so as he adjusted to the feeling. He broke the kiss to muffle a louder moan, but I took this as an opportunity to move from his lips to his neck.

I could already see that the marks I left there had started to fade, so I went back over them with my now swollen lips, and my sharp teeth. With the way Caspian’s heartbeat was hammering against his chest, I knew this was a lot for him, but to physically feel his heartbeat as my tongue trailed the length of the largest vein on his neck… it made me feel connected to him in an entirely different way.

I couldn’t recall a single partner, man nor woman, who I had been with quite like this.

“ Alistair …“ I heard him whisper. My name sounded like poetry when it left his lips. I was so used to my men calling me Captain, sometimes I forgot I had one. And to the world past Ol’ Bess… well they just knew me as The Pirate King.

But to Caspian, I was Alistair… regardless of how many times I had told him otherwise.

His moments of defiance was what set him from the rest of my men… and it terrified even I to admit that I was starting to fall in love with it. Perhaps, with him.

Once I inserted a second finger, Caspian gripped my shoulders tighter, but that just forced my hard manhood against his, pulling yet another struggled moan past his lips. I didn’t know how long I could wait, but I knew I would be reaching a limit soon. This feeling of need was something I had spent many many years repressing, but what Caspian and I had done while in each others bodies had triggered something.

I lacked control as soon as he touched me. Hell, perhaps as soon as his eyes found mine. And that was what made my two fingers slip from inside Caspian, before holding him closer against me by his arse, and standing. Instinctively he wrapped his legs around my waist, but this forced yet another moan from Caspian. He buried his head into my neck to mask it before I heard him mumble “what are you doing?”

His lips against my neck made me grip his arse harder, but I forced myself to focus on getting out of the tub and safely onto these floorboards. Then I started to carry him from our main room to my bedroom, not bothering to answer his question as we went.

He’d find out soon enough.

The first protest that fell from his lips was when I set his back onto my bed.

“Wait- Alistair, I’m still wet-”

I bent down to silence him with my lips. A short, sweet lingering kiss that alluded to so much fucking more. “And I simply do not care.”

••

43. No

A whole chapter of smut so ion wanna hear shit else. Here, damn! Lol

Also just updated the playlist, and added the song above. This one got me in the spicy mood ;)

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

May have some errors but we’re going back to edit after I meal prep cause adulting stays curb stomping my ass

Warning: Explicit Content

Caspian

I was discovering many things about myself this night.

For instance, it was in fact possible for my heart to beat at a million beats per second, and not fail itself. Who could’ve known.

Once Alistair’s lips returned to my own, his wet long hair gently caressing the bareness of my chest, he proved simply just that. I was essentially melting against his touch. Against those lips that had grown less and less polite as his hand tipped my chin further up to gain complete access of me.

His lips were rough, a feeling that I welcomed all too greatly against my soft ones, and when he pulled my bottom lip between his, I could no longer muffle the moans I found myself shamefully releasing.

He kissed me like this may be our first and perhaps our last night spent together, and when my hands found their way into the roots of his soft yet thick strands of charcoal colored hair, he released a groan against me that sent shivers through every single part of my body. His hand slowly moved from my chin to my neck, then across my shoulders down to my chest. I hadn’t expected what he did next, which was taking the tautness of my hardened nipples between his thickly callused fingers.

The unexpected gasp I let out was what finally broke this impassioned kiss, but he didn’t stop his conquest there. Instead I felt the trail of gently placed kisses that moved from my lips, to the edge of my jawline, and further down my neck.

I didn’t know how to explain it, but his kisses touched a part of me that felt like a bundle of nerves. I felt him in a way I didn’t think I could feel anything. And a part of me wanted to contribute this to never having been touched this way before, but I couldn’t. This was… it was different… when he looked up from the kisses he was laying on my bare chest now, his upper body brushing against the hardness of my manhood when those simply beautiful eyes found mine, I found myself growing startlingly close to completion.

I had to almost physically remind myself that it was too soon… but the way he looked at me, even as he took that very taught, hard bulb between his lips… it was like not a single thing mattered besides this. Besides he and I. “A-Alister-” I tried to whisper as my eyes slowly closed, but his response quickly forced them open again.

“I want you to look.” He whispered, those words slightly muffled by his otherwise occupied mouth. His teeth grazed against the sensitive bulb and forced my gaze back on him. Forced myself to bear witness to just how skilled this man was.

I wanted to feel the natural nervousness that should’ve come with being so inexperienced, but with Alistair, I knew he didn’t care. All he seemed to want in this moment was me, whatever condition this parcel came in.

“ You’re so goddamn beautiful. “ He whispered against my skin, to which I had no control as my eyes temporarily drifted closed once more. He’d continued these kisses down my chest and stomach, but every so often he’d slow himself to fixate on a spot.

And every spot he chose made me shiver with almost unnatural want.

Need , rather. I had never needed something like this so desperately, yet in this moment, I wanted Alistair to fill me in a way that I never thought I’d ask for. When his lips finally made their way to my manhood, my hands found their way to these sheets, and I bunched the dampened linen material tight between my now trembling fingers.

There was no warning when he slipped me inside him, forcing my head further back into one of Alistair’s pillows.

This was… I truly had no fucking words.

All I had were the moans I had very much since forgot to muffle, nor did I even necessarily care to any longer. Alistair already knew all this was new to me, and he hadn’t shied away from it. From me.

I want to touch his hair again, but I kept these shaking fingers clenched tight around these sheets, for I didn’t trust the control that was already quickly fleeing me, especially when he took all of me to the very back of his throat.

My breathing had become pants now, this feeling sending bolts of pleasure straight through me. His mouth was warm and soft as he created a pace that brought me to the edge, but didn’t send me over. And he made sure of it, watching me closely as he took me in and out of his mouth.

I wasn’t sure how he expected me to hold this gaze of his. I wasn’t sure how I could. Those eyes were absolutely breathtaking… And when he released me from this slow torture, just to push my lower half further upwards, I wasn’t prepared for the feeling of his tongue soon against my sensitive entrance.

It practically sent my physical body into an entirely different realm. And my heart straight to hell itself.

My grip on these sheets tightened, but it was no use. Nothing could anchor me to this- to what he was now doing as his warm tongue slid in and out of me. I felt my parted legs start to shake with pleasure, but my body forced my eyes upon that beautiful set of his. I didn’t want to look away as this man practically devoured me.

His right hand moved from the various places he had touched me, to the very place that now controlled my need, and as his hand stroked the length of me, there was nothing cognitive flowing past these lips any longer. Just the rawness of my moans, and the incoherent words that followed.

How could anything feel so inexplicably good? How could he?

He watched with such intent, his tongue pushing past my tightness, and I felt whatever magic coursing through my veins start to almost burn.

My hands reached forward, daring to slip these trembling hands into the root of his hair once more before I pulled him away from my entrance.

Alistair’s eye were gentle as he quietly asked “ did you not like it? “

I found myself quickly shaking my head, my face flushed as the words I embarrassingly responded to him with were “I’m… I’m close.”

That, in return, brought a breathtaking smile to Alistair’s lips. One that made me question whether anyone could look at someone this tenderly. He was keeping to his word. He was being gentle.

“I just…” I attempted through heavier pants. “I want more of you.”

And that only made his heart thumping smile widen.

Bless the gods, this man may be the end of me . This wasn’t what I was expecting when I once sought to welcome death by his hands. I had envisioned something far more gruesome.

Alistair pushed himself further up the bed, hovering over my still damp body with his own as he exposed just what was hidden before.

His own immense arousal. I could feel it now rubbing against mine.

“ If I hurt you ,“ he whispered, lowering himself fully until his lips grazed against my left ear. “ Say so .“

The way he said those words silenced my own. All I could see fit to do was nod, allowing as he raised his right hand and dampened the tips of his fingers with his mouth. When he returned them to the tip of his manhood, I braced myself for what was to come. For the discomfort that would surely follow himself entering I…

But yet again, he was gentle . His fingers moved delicately against my entrance, his index and middle digit slowly preparing me for the size and length of his own manhood. And my hands moved from these sheets to his shoulders as an attempt to pull himself even further against me. Whatever space was between us felt like far too much.

“ You’re too eager .“ I heard him whisper against my ear. “ If I fill you now, it’ll hurt… and that’s the farthest from my intentions. “

My grasp on his shoulders only tightened from his words. I was grateful Alistair couldn’t see me now, for I didn’t know how to hide the redness rapidly spreading across my face.

Nothing helped, especially not when he inserted that third finger, reminding me of the size he was stretching me to. I tried to keep my nails from digging into his skin but I couldn’t help it.

“ It’s okay ,“ those two words fell past my lips to Alistair’s left ear, but the way he suddenly curled those three fingers inside me made me forget what I was to say next. Had I even had anything else? I wondered.

“No.” Alistair replied, his tone forcing my toes to curl as my legs remained parted around his larger frame. I hadn’t the energy to argue with him, for the way he worked his fingers inside me was something only he could do. He clearly knew much more about this than I.

Somehow, it felt like he knew more about me than I. Like he knew every strength and limitation, yet used it to bring me something more than simply just pleasure. Fulfillment .

And as those fingers continued the grueling process, I found myself nearing that edge again. It was him fully removing each one, before replacing them with something even more enticing, that finally pulled me back to his actions at hand. I braced myself for his first thrust, something his body must’ve been screaming for, for now knew the desires he had, and yet he entered me slowly.

“A-Alis-” I started, my voice having since been lost to me by the sheer raspiness of it. “P-Pleas-”

“ No .“ He whispered again into my ear, and whatever reason I still had about me was completely thrown out. In that moment, I let go completely, finally allowing him to show me fully, what he had meant by being gentle.

There was no pain. No discomfort. As he slowly eased into me, and even with the long string of curses that left his lips as he did, he didn’t take me like he may have wanted. Like he was used to.

Instead, I felt every bit of his length enter me. I felt the pressure as I slowly adjusted, allowing the almost death defiant grip he placed on my hips to keep me in place. I once had thought to believe that there was no part of me that he hadn’t touched this very night, yet the places he was touching now… I didn’t know they could be felt.

I pulled him down even further against me, adoring the intimacy I felt in this moment. Alistair had slowly pulled himself away from my ear until those very lips touched mine once more. Until he started to silence these moans with both his lips and his own.

More of him eased his way in… More of his length pushed past my tightness until I felt him completely inside of me… and the almost animalistic grunts he had made against my lips had made me realize just how much control this was taking of him. From him.

“ You’re so fucking tight .“ He murmured against my swollen skin. That alone coerced me to deepen this kiss. To take his bottom lip between my own, yet gently, even if I could no longer feel the cut that was once there.

“Please…” I found myself saying to this utterly beautiful man. “ Please move more .“ My voice was almost a whimper now as I begged. I had been so close, and my almost feral want for more was overtaking the last of my lingering senses.

When he slowly pulled himself out before thrusting into me, I felt myself tense in slight pain, almost a dull pain at my core, but my legs wrapped themselves around Alistair’s waist to hold him even closer to me. I was worried he would stop.

“ You’re going to make me lose myself .“ Alistair’s words cut like the sharpest blade against my lips… and I had never felt like I did just now.

“ That’s okay. “ I muttered against his. Truthfully, I was just hoping I still made a lick of sense. Words weren’t coming the easiest to me now.

And Alistair didn’t wait another moment for direction. When he thrust into me again, every part of my being molded against him. His kisses grew rougher, as did his thrusts, yet nothing about it hurt now. All I felt was pleasure, the kind that made me forget the volume of my own moans.

He had started to thrust into me with a rhythm that was working me to completion. And when the words “ touch yourself “ fell past his lips against mine, the ones he was ravaging, one hand finally removed itself from his shoulder to the length of my hardened shaft.

It was Alistair’s fingers now digging into my hips that made me start hard with those strokes. There was no coming back from this any longer. “I-I’m close” I found myself attempting to admit through his lips. Through these kisses that were turning me raw with need.

That was when I felt one of his hands remove themself from my hip, and he whispered against my lips “ allow me“ before relieving my own hand of its current position. Once he started to stroke me, matching his thrusts with both speed and rhythm, I felt the last of my resolve go.

My eyes clutched themselves closed, whilst my hand reached back for Alistair’s shoulders. I didn’t even recognize the sounds that left my body, but I knew I couldn’t stop them, as Alistair brought this spent self to completion.

His strokes against my length, and his pounding into me, it all brought him to the very same climax it had myself. I hadn’t ever heard the long sentence of curse words that fell past his lips, but the rich, guttery grunts as his warm seed spilled into me… it almost sent me towards another orgasm.

I didn’t understand how someone could sound so ethereal. And how someone could look it too. I didn’t understand how Alistair could touch me quite like this.

But he had. And he did.

Then his lips found mine once more as his thrusts finally slowed, and this sudden impending doom settled into its pleasure-driven wake.

It was the realization of something I didn’t quite understand till now…

That I was falling, and falling horribly quick for this very mad man.

Someone I truly had absolutely not a shred of reason to fall for… yet my arms only tightened themselves further around his larger frame as they pulled him even closer against me.

••

44. I Will Find A Way To Kill You Myself

Well, well, well… I went to bed early so I was up early enough to give yall another lil sumtin sumtin ;)

Enjoyyy, lovelies!

xoxo

And just an fyi, the playlist is on Spotify under my full name Wambui Muiruri titled:

The Pirate King

Warning: Explicit Content

Alistair

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I awoke to Caspian tangled comfortably in my arms at my side, both his hands resting on my naked chest as he laid against me. My left arm was tucked under the pillow both his and my own head slept on, whilst my right held his bare waist.

I hadn’t known what time it was, but darkness had still engulfed the vast majority of this room, eluding to the earliness of dawn.

My right hand slowly touched his soft skin, dragging my rough fingers up the indent of his spine, before slowly dragging it down that curve until they reached his soft arse. It took nothing for my arousal to build again, just the feeling of his skin against mine, and whilst I didn’t want to wake the man who was sleeping so soundly, just the feeling of his own manhood starting to grow, pushing against mine, begged for me to relinquish whatever control I possibly still had.

When my fingers dipped between that crease, I felt the wetness of my seed still dripping from his entrance. And when my first finger entered his swollen, tight hole, Caspian’s eyes finally drew themselves open.

There was just enough light left in this room to capture his immensely handsome features. Just enough to see the flushing of his face as I curled that finger into him, feeling more of my liquid inside him. And his first word to me was the softest moan. “ A-Alist

ai

r .“ I heard him whisper. His voice was still overcome with the raspiness from sleep, but all it did was further entice my already burning need.

A simple thought of what we had done the night before. Of how I had filled him completely, urged a second finger into him now, and his hands gripped at my bare chest from that feeling. I could hear his heartbeat, how it had quickened immediately and with no prior warnings, much like my actions this very morning.

“ I hadn’t meant to wake you .“ I found myself murmuring to this beautiful man.

“For some reason,” he replied with heavier pants, some fanning the face of my chin, “I don’t believe that.”

The chuckle I responded with came out far more hoarse than I intended, causing Caspian’s body to shiver against me. His eyes slowly closed a moment before he curled his bottom lip in, attempting to muffle another moan. I wanted to hear him, however. And so my left arm slipped down from under that pillow and forced that bottom lip out with my thumb.

Then I brought those same lips to mine, allowing whatever moans that fell past his lips to be silenced with my own. His cock pushed against mine harder as his own arousal started to take flight. That third finger which slowly buried itself into him was a promise we’d find no sleep again. That, I was sure of.

“A-Alist-” a fraction of my name was all he managed to get out against my lips before I deepened this kiss, pushing damn near all of me against him. His now shaking hands slid up from my chest to my neck as he gently held me, kissing me back with his building, growing need. The only time he separated this kiss was when this drowning became all too much for him, and he had to come up for air.

Then he asked me a question… well, sort of.

“C-Can we-”

“ Yes .“ I whispered back immediately.

His soft chuckle made my body grow even warmer than what I had grown so used to. Then another less polite moan fell past his lips as my fingers continued to work him, stretching him. “You…” he started, pausing in an attempt to gather himself. “You didn’t let me finish.”

“I don’t care.” My head dipped lower for run the tip of my nose against the bridge of his before I concluded with “the answer is yes.”

That made Caspian’s already eloquent features, flush an even deeper red. In such a small amount of time, he had brought so much color to his otherwise pale skin. Seeing him like this… I buried my fingers in even deeper.

And that was when I felt his hands slip back to my chest, and he started to push me back. I didn’t understand what he was doing until he had me flush against my back, before slowly climbing on top of me. My fingers refused to pull themselves out of him, which resulted in feeling more of my liquid start to drip from him and back onto my own cock that was now positioned near his entrance.

He struggled to hold my darkening gaze, a gaze I knew was only to intensify, and did once I caught sight of the marks left on his naked body. For a man who was apparently as quick to heal as myself, these ones had somehow remained. And they pulled one devilish smile across my lips.

His long, now dry hair fell against his gorgeous frame, and I longed to run my hands through those white strands, but they had otherwise been sent on tasks of their own. One still had three fingers inside him, while the other gripped the living hell out of that waist of his.

Using one hand against my chest to steady his large frame, he used his other to reach behind him before taking hold of the length of me, and for a moment that simple action forced my eyes closed.

I had finally slipped my three fingers out of him to make room for something else, allowing more of my seed to drip from him, to which his body shuddered against me. The tip of his own solid manhood was starting to leak onto my bare stomach. Another simple action that forced my eyes closed again.

He was painstakingly slow as he very gently eased me past his unbelievably taut entrance, but I forced myself to exercise some patience. He was more than likely sore from my actions of the previous night. When his eyes found mine however, and he pushed me all the way in, my grip on his waist intensified. Both hands were at either side of him now, questioning what this man’s limits were. And just how far I could possibly push them.

“Can I-”

“Yes.” Caspian nodded with more eagerness than I was expecting, forcing my smile to widen as his eyelids grew heavier.

Good

fucking

grief, this man was utterly stunning.

I slid my length out only slightly before I slowly thrust back through his tight entrance. I could feel the clenching of his walls. My seed working as lubrication to slip more of myself out, before thrusting into him again.

My hands were creating marks on his waist from how hard in place I held him, but I had to. This was to keep myself from taking more from him than I intended to. I didn’t want to hurt him in that way.

Both his hands were planted firmly, palm down on my chest, yet it was he who escalated this once he started to meet my thrusts, pushing back against them and burying me so deep inside him, my cock could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat pounding against his inner walls.

“Caspian-” I found my voice cutting through the low grunts I couldn’t help but release. This was the most alive my body had felt in some time, the most any part of me could physically feel in quite some time. It was like he had touched something no one had, or could, since I stepped foot on the shores of Gatvia for the first time.

Somehow he was touching the hollowness left from the harrowing of my soul, and he was doing the opposite of what one should if they were to ever touch that part of me. He wasn’t running.

My thrusts became harder, for I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t hold my needs at bay any longer, and judging by the lack of control with the sounds that fell past Caspian’s lips, he had long since given up his own control. When he bent down to capture my lips, angling his body, I felt my manhood hit something inside him that forced his hands from my chest to these sheets below us.

The shaking, struggled moan he let out against my lips forced a thrust from my lower half that coerced another equally as primal. And the. another.

“A-Alistair-” he struggled to get out. “T-There-”

There was no further direction needed after that as I began to pound into him, hitting that same spot with bold accuracy every time. All I could hear was his beautiful sounds against the slapping of our skin, his body no longer capable of focusing on this kiss as he unraveled above me.

Instead, in the interest of not shattering any of his bones, my hands moved from his waist to his neck, pulling his face also slightly away as I continued the ravishing of his body, until his eyes found mine again.

His face was the most delicate I had ever seen it.

His lids forcing themselves open, and behind them were eyes I recognized. They were now a brighter blue, like they’d been on Gaelick’s ship. Like that of the sea. The hue of color surrounding his body was stronger. Bolder. I didn’t believe in a god, and yet this was how I imagined one would look like…

Which was what set my own body completely ablaze. It was what made my almost impossibly rough thrusts even rougher, to the point that the words that fell past Caspian’s lips made entirely no sense at all.

He was reaching his limit. And it was absolutely breathtaking to see.

Then I felt confident enough to push him past that limit, and the shakes his body encompassed as he suddenly spilled himself onto my stomach, wrapped themselves tightly around my manhood, gripping it while still inside him. I pushed as deep as I would go, burying my now burning, spilling seed inside him as my hands tightened around his neck, holding his entire body completely still.

I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but I could feel my burning eye burn even brighter. For a moment, I felt energy course through me that in all twenty years of being who I was now. Who that mad man made me… I had never felt this before. Of all those orgasms I experienced from my newfound needs, this one ripped through each vein that connected my magic to my core.

Caspian’s body practically collapsed into mine, completely spent, to which I willingly welcomed. My arms wrapped around his still slightly convulsing vessel, holding him tight and steady as he rode out his own pleasure. All I could feel was warmth and tightness as his walls continued to clench down on me, almost begging me to continue.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t .

Caspian had expelled everything he had in him, the pounding of his heartbeat keeping rhythm like a fast chantey my men would carry a tune to.

He had taken me so

unbelievably

well , I thought, my hands finally free enough to push the strands of his long hair away from the face that rested itself between my collarbone and the crevice of my neck. I tilted my head up before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. There was now a shimmer of sweat there, much like the light coating covering both our bodies. I hadn’t even noticed before now.

“ Was that okay? “ I whispered to him.

Hell, I didn’t even recognize my own voice any longer, but I heard the same rawness of his own as he answered with “ that was beyond

okay .“

My lips pulled up into another smile, one that echoed the feeling coursing through me.

“ I want you

just

like this. Every night and every morning. “

Those words forced another shiver through Caspian, but I felt his head against me as he eventually slowly nodded.

If we didn’t have duties of our own, I’d take him like this all day.

And that was when I finally remembered we did, in fact, have duties of our own. Duties that moments like this couldn’t stop time for, regardless of how desperately I wished they could.

“I need to join Cael in the study this morning, before the sun fully takes hold of the sky.” It almost physically pained me to have to separate myself from this man after that. After what we had just done. “Whilst the thought of my seed dripping from you through the day does things to me, it’s best you clean up for your duties. I’ll start with getting dressed.”

I felt that same disappointment radiating from Caspian as he found himself agreeing.

By the time I actually made it out of our private chambers and down to the study, my mood had soured like aged milk.

And the look on Cael’s face, his arms crossed tightly across his broad chest as he stood in the very middle of this room, only further spoilt it.

“You look to be in great spirits.” I replied sarcastically, to which Cael’s distaste with myself greatly intensified.

“Your insanity has cost myself and your men many sleepless night these last few days, and this is how you repay my generosity?”

My eyebrows furrowed deeply at that. My mind was admittedly still back in the room with Caspian, regardless of where my feet had carried me.

“Do you feel these floorboards?” He practically demanded, to which, for the first time since my night with that white haired man, I finally did. Once my feet focused on where they stood, there was a vibration that ran through each piece of wood that was my ship, and to that, embarrassment quickly crept upon my face.

Whatever Caspian and I had done, had awoken Ol’ Bess. And I had accidentally revealed the pounding of both her heartbeat and my own to my men.

“For all the countless times I have told you to gather yourself, heed these words and hold them very fucking near when I say: I will find a way to kill you myself if this happens again.”

I forced myself to keep a straight face, for Cael would without fail, slice my throat open if I now cracked a grin…

His threats were simply threats however, for he and I knew the actual price for my life, and it was one he’d never be willing to pay.

Cael would take his own life before he ever thought of shouldering the responsibilities for the sea itself. He was perfectly content with night sky being his domain, as the sea was mine.

••

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45. A Debt To Settle

Another upload, and probably many more to come tomorrow cause I don’t have a damn thing planned for the 4th of July.

And you know what? Rightfully so.

There’s not a single celebrating bone in me for this shit country after recalling the sheer

stupidity

of that presidential debate.

I simply fell out when someone said to call the home, for this had to be grounds for elderly abuse

That’s it, that’s all lol

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Caspian

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There wasn’t much I was sure of as my days on this earth continued to somewhat unfortunately progress…

But I was sure that once I got my hands on Alistair, it would be a clear, sudden, and quick death. I wasn’t positive on how I was going to go about killing a man who seemingly had both the appearance, and powers of a god…

But it simply had to be done.

The entirety of Alistair’s crew’s wandering eyes had only fallen on myself the second my feet touched that main deck come daybreak. And the first words that slipped past Snips’s lips I approached him, his eyes now sunken with the clear evident lack of sleep, were as follows:

“Had you not taken out that entire fleet of Gaelick’s men, I’d kill you myself.”

This may have been the first time I would rather have accepted a whack to the back of my head with a piece of plywood, for it was a quick way to settle the growing embarrassment, and lay it to rest.

I didn’t need to pry for any amount of information from these men to know that Alistair had done something. Rather, Alistair and I doing something, had done something to both his crew and their sleep. I wasn’t positive of what, but even I felt the unrest energy through the floorboards of Alistair’s ship… and the embarrassment of it all felt like a public stoning.

In fact, it seems as if what I had done on Gaelick’s ship was the only thing saving my skin from a thorough beating by any and all of these men.

And because of said actions, I felt even more responsibility to carry the bulk of all our duties this day. Something I couldn’t even defend myself against, for every crewmen on this massive vessel looked like the dead risen in comparison to myself and the perfect sleep I had gotten. Them knowing why I’d slept so well, well it made it all the worse.

“My blame lies with Alistair.” Hobbs muttered, helping to tighten the ropes I was enforcing and anchoring to this ship, as he himself wiped more sleep from his eyes. He too was struggling to barely hold himself upright. “First the sea sickness, then surrendering… and now this. “

I couldn’t even look him in the eye as we worked. The shame was too strong, and more importantly, Alistair wasn’t even present to share in this blame. Whatever had been done must’ve been his doing, for I didn’t have any ties to this ship like he had. To Ol’ Bess, and the heartbeat that mirrored his.

What troubled me more was that Alistair wasn’t one to lose control in this way. That much was clear by the good amount of men whose murmurs were soon carried through the calm winds, eventually reaching my ears by when the sun had settled the highest in this clear blue sky. Some had been rocked from the mattresses of their own beds by the pounding floorboards of Ol’ Bess.

I was just growing more and more grateful that whatever I had done on Gaelick’s ship was still enough to overshadow what Alistair and I had done after our return from it.

And though I told myself that even the simple thought of said actions was almost blasphemous to think of, especially while I was surrounded by this lot of men who had lost sleep at the expense of mine and their captain’s pleasure… there was no erasing those acts from my thoughts. No erasing Alistair and his touch from my memory. He’d branded himself upon my skin like an iron brand cast in a fire too long, until the metal turned a color of burning embers.

“ I want you just like this. Every night and every morning. “

I had agreed to that direct order his words packaged in a form of request when he spoke them to me, but upon seeing the consequences of our actions, there was simply no way I was upholding that demand. This immense shame was already too much, so much so that Alistair would need to prove himself capable of control before I ever let him touch me on this living vessel again.

I couldn’t keep killing their enemies to justify our devious actions. Just the simple thought of all that work wore me down.

Then my mind betrayed myself, vividly recalling to this reactive body just how he had touched me. How unimaginably gentle he really had been… and I knew I had just told myself a lie, for it was I who lacked all control with him. The way he looked at me. The way he spoke to me…

My mind forcibly traveled back to the work at hand as I tried to pull myself away from the tenderness of Alistair this morning. There was still much to do, for every pirate was moving at a pace we would all consider to be slow, and not nearly by choices of their own.

Once I saw Cael board this deck, his once warm but now cold eyes never leaving mine as he cut straight across the main deck to where I, Snips, and Hobbs all stood working, I knew that there was no amount of work I could catapult myself into that would erase what was felt by the men throughout the night. Especially with the anger etched onto Cael’s face.

Yet his first words to me didn’t hold nearly as much malice, as he ordered my feet to carry themselves with just two words.

“Follow me.” I heard him order. It was possibly the first direct order Cael had given me, and so kindly so considering the most surely irritated mood he was in, so that was what forced these very feet forward, following closely behind him as he led us towards the study.

Once his hand reached for the handle of that wooden door and he thrust it open, the first thing my eyes laid themselves upon was that mad man who now wore an eyepatch. He was sitting at his desk drawing something that looked like routes onto an old, withering map.

When his eye glanced up to find mine, I felt my mind fall into an almost cognitive dissonance. I knew how my body reacted to him could not be rational, and yet my heartbeat quickened at the simple smile that started to play at his lips. I found myself forcing my gaze away almost immediately, unsure of how I would react next.

Luckily it was Cael’s words that ripped my mind up from the turbulent waves it had found itself in, and planted me firmly back on this ship. It took one glance between both Alistair and I before the words that slipped past his own lips were “you two disgust me.”

And perhaps from the outside looking in, one may have thought he was referring to the unnatural relationship between Alistair and I. Between two men. But I still recalled what Alistair had asked me, about being with a man before he. While I may have not, he clearly had, and the animosity I felt from his men had nothing to do with Alistair and I being of the same. In fact, it didn’t even have anything to do with the fact that I was still Alistair’s slave.

The only thing that had sent them over the edge was the disturbance of their sleep. To which, I could fully accept as reasonable. I had seen how their eyes barely ever left Gaelick’s ship once their Captain boarded. They needed the rest we unintentionally took from them.

“I’ve already formally apologized.” Alistair mumbled, but Cael’s biting response to that was quick.

“You could barely get the words out without smiling.” He shot back at his Captain… which this mad man was just deranged enough to smile through yet again.

I was now understanding Cael’s raw irritation. Whilst I had seemingly taken a whole new profession on on this day, that being profusely apologizing to his men on behalf of Alistair and I, even if they did solely blamed their Captain, he was occupying his own time antagonizing Cael.

“Thank you.” I found myself saying to the tall sun-touched man, and the stark difference of my words and theirs pulled both their attention towards myself, but my eyes remained on Cael as I explained “for your concealment of the waters as I swam for Gaelick’s ship. I haven’t yet had a moment to thank you.”

Cael’s irritation immediately softened some with those words, him giving me a firm nod of approval, before the fire returned back with ease when he faced Alistair again.

“Do you see the ridiculous differences between his tone, and your supposedly genuine one?”

Alistair was quick with his own response as he replied “I was tortured for days. Forgive me if I see my sacrifices as enough.”

Cael looked ready to do something I had still yet to see. Draw his sword. And on his own Captain, nonetheless.

“Reason with me Alistair, for I would wager my life savings that your lip made that torture far more enticing. I have no doubts you spent your time antagonizing Gaelick and his men.”

Alistair didn’t seem to deny it. Instead, he replied with “there was no other way to break that man.”

I could’ve sworn Cael would be quick with an answer of his own, but I found him pausing a moment. Realization took its time to settle, until I understood why Cael chose his next words carefully.

He hadn’t been on that ship himself. He couldn’t have known what it took, therefore all he had was Alistair’s words.

Instead, he turned to me. And that just made me nervous, for I wanted to stay as far away from this particular bickering they found themselves adhering to. I didn’t think both men would draw their sword, but the exhaustion on Cael’s face made me believe he was very seriously contemplating it.

“Besides,” Alistair continued, “there was no way I could have possibly known this would happen.” He then gestured for myself to take a seat across from his desk, to which I hesitantly did. Cael was still standing near the side of it, watching us both.

“Had you known, would you have still?”

Alistair looked up from myself to the tall dark skinned man, before saying words that made me want to jump across this wooden desk and cut his throat myself.

“You want the truth? For I must warn you, you won’t like it.”

Why was this man like this?

Cael’s look to his Captain echoed my very thoughts.

“You’re essentially asking if I regret it,” Alistair said to his Navigator, before his eyes found mine again “and that answer would never be a yes .”

“Cael,” I interjected before this conflict could grow any further. “I apologize on behalf of Alistair and myself. You have my word this won’t happen again.”

Alistair’s eyes didn’t leave mine as I spoke those words. And his lips never moved when I heard his voice whisper to me in return.

“ Our actions of this last night will absolutely be happening again. You just have my word I’ll be more careful. “

All I could do now was release the heaviest sigh at words that were never truly spoken. This fight was a losing battle to a mad man who simply didn’t care.

The way Cael looked to me as he cast his gaze back on mine, told me that he too had given up. I genuinely believed he lacked the energy for even a verbal confrontation with this even more exhausting man, let alone one that could turn physical. Instead, his next choice of words surprised me.

“At the very least, it looks like consent was given…. Which it indeed was, aye?”

I immediately nodded to him, for whatever he thought of Alistair now shouldn’t have been associated with those thought. “Aye.” I further confirmed.

“ Very .“ Alistair added with a playful tone, to which my eyes first cast a glare towards him, then immediately diverted their gaze. “And regardless of Caspian’s position on this ship, you know my principles. My unwavering values.”

Cael studied my face a moment before he seemed content with my answer. Then he turned back to his Captain. “Aye.” I watched him give a firm nod, “and yet no man is that kind of man until he is that kind of man. Caspian-”

“Caspian is someone my men now respect.” Alistair finished. “Though this sleepless night may not reflect it, the good standing opinion of my men matters more to me than often times my own. Their fondness of Caspian is as clear as the sky is now. I wouldn’t make ill of their wishes.”

Cael raised an eyebrow to that, allowing his face to relax into some of his natural, calming, and quite beautiful features.

“And of our business in Azul?” Cael countered, which made my eyebrows furrow slightly.

Alistair first looked to his Navigator… then to I… then back to his Navigator.

“In regards to the bounty? I’ve since abandoned the thought.”

That made my eyebrows furrow even more deeply. “Was I…” I found myself interrupting. “Was I to be sold?”

Alistair was firm with his current stance as he replied “not anymore.”

My eyes shifted from Alistair to Cael, yet all Cael did was answer with one word that honestly explained more than it probably needed to. “Pirates.” He reminded me.

Right .

“Instead, as we approach Azul, I have entirely different business to attend to there. We shall still dock, allowing Snips to recover materials needed for both this ship and the additions to Finn’s kitchen, however I now have a debt to settle with The Holy Men.”

“You can’t even name which one.” Cael muttered, but Alistair ignored it.

“What do you plan to do?” I asked this Captain. This was first I had heard of our plans to even approach The Holy Men, yet with each word Alistair spoke, malice was laced in them. I remembered what Alistair had called Gaelick on that ship. Gaelick of Azul . Had the holy men sent him?

I had been all too occupied with first killing all I could, then breaking Alistair’s chains, to ask him what he had learnt. And by the time we returned to his ship… well… he had kept me occupied in other ways. Fully occupied , at that.

“You see,” Alistair started as his body leaned further forward until his forearms rested across each other,  against his desk. “Azul and I have held an unspoken agreement for as long as I’ve ruled the seas. They kept their business on land, while I kept mine at sea.” The concentration he held my gaze with made me want to break it. It now made the hairs on my arms stand to attention with something I could only describe as the nature of his aura.

A glimpse of the man I saw on Gaelick’s ship when his power commanded the ship itself.

“Yet as you may have now reached this conclusion, that The Holy Men did indeed send Gaelick for me, you must also reach another: an arrangement only works when both sides give and take. And if I could be so honest, I’ve been adhering to one of a very giving nature.”

His only visible eye was studying my face, yet somehow, I felt the presence of the eyes still hidden by that patch. It was the feeling I couldn’t describe, yet I felt an emotion very evident… and that was pure anger.

“So now,” his voice dipped dangerously low, echoing that of a blood thirsty pirate eagerly willing to engage. “Now it’s time to take .”

••

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46. My Word Will Always Be My Bond

Just got up, so let’s get this party starteddd!

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Alistair

It took us another five days to reach Azul.

And within those five days, Caspian insisted I keep my hands to myself. To which I did.

In a way.

“We’ll be porting soon.” I whispered to Caspian, pulling his body closer to mine if it were even possible to.

What he responded with was incoherent, yet I still felt the vibration of his words against the crook of my neck as he nuzzled his head further into it. The sun had only just begun to rise but Caspian refused to acknowledge it. He was still content with his place of rest. My bed. Where I provided warmth he had quickly grown attached to.

I had requested he join me in my room from now on, to which he eventually obliged, however he had added stipulations of his own to my request.

One being I wasn’t to bed him until after we reached Azul. He insisted my men needed the rest, especially for what was to come. I insisted my men would be fine considering they were my men , but he wasn’t hearing it. He had grown fond of them much like they quickly had, him. And I was finding it difficult to argue with this man, them, and Cael all at the same time.

So much so that I willingly slowed our pace to give my crew some additional rest.

“We’ll be porting at a more deserted shore to ensure my men can move about uninterrupted.” I continued. The hand Caspian had rested on my bare chest, slowly slid its way up around my neck, pulling me closer to him. All I felt was the slight nod of his head still nestled into me. His heartbeat at peace, as was mine.

I found it surreal how he and I had somehow found ourselves here. Molded together, with our bodies complimenting each other down to the very temperatures of our skin. His body kept mine cooled whilst mine provided warmth for him through this otherwise staggering fluctuation of the cold winds.

I found my arms tightening themselves around his shoulder and waist, welcoming the weight of him as he entangled the majority of his body against me. I wanted to touch him in the ways that made his skin flush with warmth, and his heart accelerate to beats I almost couldn’t track, but I kept my urges at bay. I was content with this if this was all he was willing to offer for now.

Content with his naked body against my own.

My mind pondered for a moment on what I did know about this white haired man. His merchant ship was dispatched from Azul, which meant he was at the very least somewhat familiar with this land. I wanted to see if I could find out more about him once we docked, but I was also troubled with what it was I might find, and the additional eyes that could be on Caspian in search of a bounty if they caught wind of my inquiry.

He may have been my property, but he was also mine in ways that fully surpassed that. And with my ship and crew now understanding and very freely accepting the nature of our relationship, I didn’t want his feet touching any land I wasn’t sure of.

He could clearly hold his own, but his naivety would surely find him in the path of danger. The thought of it was something that didn’t sit correctly with my heart.

My left hand raised past his exposed shoulders to gently run the fingers of it through his long, freely flowing hair. I heard a soft moan melt into the skin of my neck, urging me to continue.

“ You here like this making sounds like that just makes me want you more. “ I murmured to him, to which the first coherent word uttered back past his lips this morning, and against my neck, was a resounding no .

And so I respected his ridiculous wishes, still combing my fingers through the soft strands of hair. White strands I had long since found comfort of my own with being able to feel on the tips of my fingers.

The marks I had left on his body were still there, urging me to ponder what it was about them that kept the natural state of the healing process. Everything about us somehow felt linked to each other, even if I hadn’t buried myself deep inside him for days. Whatever it was we had done, had done something .

Even Ol’ Bess now seemed to have more of a mind of her own than she already had, forcing myself to cut the speeds in which she urged me to sail her with, down to a reasonable pace. My men were still working on forgiving me for the sea sickness I had caused them whilst hunting Gaelick.

Cael was a lot of things, but he had also been correct, siding with Caspian. The crew deserved some rest after everything.

Very shortly we would first have to focus on the haul needed to restock, and secondly on the supplies needed for the body of Ol’ Bess. Simon had irritated me with requests of these new stringed instruments that had made it to the nation of Azul, to the point that I finally gave in, allowing him to leave the ship once we reached that shore to search for them.

Under the instructions of Cael, we were only to stay one night before setting sail again. In addition to our common less than kind welcoming every time we ported this land, the fact that The Holy Men had been daring enough to send Gaelick for us made him weary. Cael insisted we leave as quickly as we came.

It took some convincing to finally wake Caspian. I was forced to explain to him that no man was excluded from their duties regardless of their rank, or their relationship to me. Every man carried their weight if they were to board and sail Ol’ Bess, to which this white haired man eventually agreed. He wouldn’t dare admit to it to me, but I could see it on his face as he worked with my men.

He was growing to enjoy it. They had even started to teach him some of the chantey’s they sung as they worked.

I offered him a hooded cloak from my armoire for him to eventually put on once we reached Azul, for if he and I were to walk these streets freely, it was best we wear something that concealed us, much like in Sicoria.

I got dressed myself, allowing Caspian to return to his private room in efforts to finish preparing for his duties, while I made my way out of our chambers and back down to the study to meet with Cael.

We had been working on our next course of action after Azul. First we’d need to return to Sicoria to bring The Eye of The Sea to Finnik. His information had in fact led me to Gaelick, which meant that just as he had upheld his side of the bargain, I would uphold mine.

Did I want to thoroughly beat that tiny man into oblivion for not knowing just what that pendant was stored in?

Aye .

Would I refrain myself from doing so?

Aye, unfortunately.

There was only so much that short man could possibly know from his position. A position so close to the ground, may I add.

What I would be discussing with that man however, was whether or not he had known Gaelick’s intentions for his men attacking mine. For if he had, I would be deserving of at least one hit. That paled in comparison to the torture I myself endured to discover this information on my own.

“We’re porting soon.” Cael informed me as I soon joined him in the study. He was already sitting in the chair I usually sat in, continuing to draw the roots I had started to map the night prior. “Coop called for land shortly before your arrival.” I nodded to the man who had now since seemingly forgiven me. He looked well rested, I noted, as did the men I passed who greeted me on my way down here.

“Aye,” I nodded, “I assume the men have created a list of things for themselves?”

“Aye.” Cael nodded. “Those who will leave the ship are as follows: you and I, Snips, Finn, Hobbs, Gilly, and Caspian. Oh, I suppose Simon now too.”

I nodded to him as his eyes glanced up briefly from the old map to meet mine.

“Simon seems a bit excessive.” He added with just a touch of annoyance in his voice.

“Well I sure as hell will not be scouring the streets of Azul looking for a bloody instrument. Was this your offer to?”

Cael scoffed in return. “Fine. We only stay for one night, however. And everyone returns to the ship by nightfall. I know we’ve paid owners of the Inn’s in the past to maintain their silence, but we’ll be visiting during a tense time with the selection, and the ceremony that will follow. Since The Holy Men have decided you a threat worth pursuing, I say it’s best we keep to the ship for when it’s time to lay our heads.”

I nodded again, watching as Cael continued to draw lines across the paintings of a sea he had started to know exceptionally well, even without the lending of his magic. And I was proud of him.

“Caspian and I will make a few rounds. I have interest in some items that were generally housed in Azul’s markets. There’s also an old antique shop that below the floors, conceals a shop of ancient relics. The Holy Men may have found it by now, but it’s worth looking into.”

“Aye,” Cael nodded, “below the shop named Paria, owned by Dyneras?”

“Aye.” I replied. “It was one of the last few shops that once withstood their mass purging. I want to see if Dyneras is both, well, still alive, and still in business.”

What I hadn’t mentioned to Cael, for I had still failed to detail it in the recounts of my time aboard Gaelick’s ship, were the chains Gaelick had managed to possess. The chains of Kilaidreon, that should have otherwise perished in the fires with the rest of Azultia, and the palace itself.

I wanted to know if there were other things perhaps collected amongst the ashes. If that was the case, there could be something there that still had ties to the old ways. Something that could prove itself useful against The Holy Men if they had weapons of their own that held that kind of magic. Old magic.

“So be it,” Cael nodded. “After Sicoria, I say we make west. There are still some self governed islands we could port to give us time to work on the ship uninterrupted. Patch her holes. Polish the floorboards. The men would also most likely appreciate some place warm considering the weather this fortnight has been as consistent as your actions. Forever shifting, and uncomfortably so.”

I ignored that sly comment he had slipped into his analogy, however Cael was right. The cold fronts brought upon us as we made north for Azul, caused for a chilling journey. The weather in Azul would prove beneficial however, considering most of my men would be in thick, charcoal colored cloaks to hide their pirate attire.

Sicorian heat had made that decision horrible to live through, but we had no choice then.

Now at least our clothing would match what would be commonly worn by the people of Azul to avoid this cold.

There were some of my men who didn’t need to conceal themselves much, such as Simon. He was a good musician, and a decent pirate… but he definitely favoured the attire of a musician over a pirate. And I paid both it and him not a single thought.

I told him he could clean these floorboards naked for all he wanted, to which he gave me a genuine smile, and we had since left things at that.

Hobbs on the other hand needed to be fully covered. Both him and Gilly both bore scars on their faces and across their arms and legs from their life before joining my crew. I hadn’t bothered to pry for information, for it simply wasn’t my business to. When they joined my crew, I explained to them that the life they lived before did not carry over to the life they’d now have at sea. All my men received a clean slate, for I knew it would be hypocritical for me not to do so.

And when most of these men followed me into the depths of hell itself, they made another choice then too. Another wiping of the slate by my hand, as they were propositioned to either leave or stay with me.

Not a single one chose the former option… which brought me back to the words Snips had spoken the night Gaelick’s men had tried to attack. Those few moons ago now.

I had asked him if he had regretted it. Regretted following me to the depths of hell itself. And when I thought of his response, I found a smile slowly spreading across my lips. He had known me the best, for he had known me the longest. And he was the only man who truly understood what I accepted that fateful day. What all my men had.

We had changed, as had my ship. Her beating heart revealed to me with the magic forced into these veins.

And perhaps it would’ve been been best in the sense of rationality, to dig deeper into the lives of these men before then, but in that moment, with the sacrifices they were willing to make, and for I nonetheless, I didn’t care.

They had proven their loyalty, something I gave them my word I would spend as long as the sea allows it, protecting.

Some twenty years later, surrounded now by every man who accepted me that fateful day, and the men that had joined since… I had never wavered with the word I had given, and kept.

For my word had, and would always be my bond.

A bond solidified in blood itself.

A bond tied to my soul that was kept, but not by I.

And a bond I hadn’t yet known would soon come to be tested as we dropped our anchor on the shores of Azul.

••

47. The Long Forgotten Song

Another one, cause I stayed true to my word by not doing jack shit this holiday lol

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. I updated the playlist and added the song up above. This was the song being whistled, once you get to that part in the chapter :)

P.P.S. Lemme know if you find any errors (this mf is long), I’m going to edit after lunch then probably hit y’all with one more upload before the day ends

Caspian

Once Alistair’s ship had pulled alongside one of the many open docks, ported, and dropped its anchor, the group of men who would unboard had quickly become apparent to both myself and Snips.

Hobbs and Gilly were the first who returned to the main deck to greet Snips and I, their cloaks pulled over their heads, covering their faces like Snips and mine now were. The next who joined us were Cael and Alistair, they had emerged from the study, a place I know knew they usually disappeared into while the crew carried out their duties. This was what had told the rest of the men that it was time.

And the last two to join were Simon and Finn.

Finn had clothes that resembled that of a merchant, clothes he usually tended to cook in, and the commonness of both him and his features was what told me that he didn’t need a cloak. The same was for Simon who wore what he generally wore around the ship. He carried the same more indistinct features that Finn had, which practically made both men look like citizens of Azul at first glance.

Once we stepped off that main deck and onto the ledge of the ship, before hoisting ourselves on the dock that was flush against the right side of the ship itself, Alistair was the first to get us tied up to the dock’s post.

I had watched many men tie a ship up, but the strength in which Alistair pulled on those ropes made me question whether any of those men had ever done it correctly before. For this ship would have had to be ripped away from the waters by another ship tied to it in order to part from this dock. And even then, I had my doubts.

Alistair, once done, finally turned to all of us, ready to give orders. “Snips, you’ll join Cael-”

Snips immediately let out a defeated sigh at that. It was no secret now how annoyed Cael’s lack of confrontation was to this shorter man, but he didn’t protest his Captain however when Alistair’s eyes peered over at him.

“Hobbs and Gilly, I have no tasks assigned to you but yet you requested to join us, so all I ask is that you do what it is you’re good at. Moving with low visibility.”

Hobbs and Gilly gave a firm nod to their Captain, before turning to make their way down the dock.

“Don’t forget-” Alistair started, but Gilly turned back to him a moment.

“By nightfall. Aye?”

Alistair gave the stronger pair of his crew members a firm nod. “Aye.”

Then the Captain turned his attention back to Cael and Snips. “The same goes for you two in terms of nightfall. You’ll carry out orders pertaining to the ships repairs.” There was no more protests from Snips with that. Then he turned to Simon and Finn. “You lot will carry out orders pertaining to the kitchen and the men aboard. Please do try to find whatever items they’ve listed, I cannot defend you after the amount of time we’ve been at sea.”

Both two groups of men gave Alistair a firm nod, Cael and Snips starting their way down this dock before Alistair finally turned to me. The last remaining man beside he himself.

“What are we tasked to do?” I asked him, expecting quick instructions like he had given the others.

“A various degree of things.” The man answered, his features shaded by his hood, yet his height allowed me to see a bit more of what was otherwise well hidden. He was far more vague than I was expecting, and when he gave me a smile to which I couldn’t help but return, I allowed him to lead us down the same way his men went.

Our ship was docked at a deserted port, Alistair’s vessel being the only boat as far as the eye could see. Whilst we had found something with good coverage and none others around, this had meant there was a distance to travel to before we made it to the busy shoreline of the main docks.

I didn’t mind, however, allowing Alistair to guide as the familiarity of this air soon flooded my senses. It wasn’t home. It wasn’t Azultia… it was what stood above the ashes of my home.

And I absolutely hated the smell of it.

Alistair first led us through the path that cut through what was left of the lands forestation. Just the simple thought of how lush the forests that surrounded most of Azultia… of Azul now, had once been, forced more sudden emotion from me than I had expected. I remained silent behind Alistair for the majority of this tedious walk, for I was worried of the unevenness my voice could take if I spoke now.

There was no regulation in Azul. None to care about the land my father, and my father’s fathers before him had built. What were once the roots of Oakrids, trees that grew as one, originating from what my father told me was the first magical seed planted, and baring replicas of that same tree that were all connected by one massive root below the dirt… most had been reduced to stumps. Even in such a short amount of time I had been at sea, they had ruined more of this land.

More of the things my family had worked to build. Worked to grow, and nurture with their own hands. Their own magic.

I felt the biting sting as my eyes started to well, water much like the sea blurring the vision ahead of me, but I held those tears back. Alistair could turn around at any moment, and I wouldn’t know how to explain to him what had stirred my emotions. How deep this hurt had suddenly cut through me. And more specifically, why .

All I could do was follow this man, my hopes that we would soon find the clearing that opened up to the many roads of the city.

And eventually we did. We seemingly joined the other people of Azul that used these roads to travel by foot and by horse. Some even by horse driven carriages. Alistair continued to lead, yet he kept his pace directly in line with mine. It was like he knew exactly where I was behind him, even if he hadn’t looked back once.

We continued down the dirt roads until more of the busy ports could be seen coming into view. I watched as people also dressed in heavier clothes moved rather silently, and as we continued to pass through larger crowds, I started to realize that the people were still here, yet the noise wasn’t. The chatter. The business. Barely anyone was carrying conversation as they moved swiftly from one destination to the next.

This silence wasn’t natural.

The first time Alistair finally looked back was when his left arm shifted to the outskirts of him, nudging me further behind him so we could make space for a large carriage approaching.

I wanted to reach out and grab hold of that hand, however something was telling me that Alistair was doing his best for us to blend in as seamlessly as we could. Our height already separated us from most of Azul’s citizens.

I made sure to follow him closely, but I allowed my eyes that were partially concealed by this hood, to look out to our right at the homes that started to multiple as our feet drew us nearer to the shore. The same shore that brought in the most cargo for the city.

I could see the many ships now through the scarce trees, what had to be about thirty or so vessels lined up all along that coast. Some ships were large, almost the size of Alistair’s, while others varied from smaller merchant ships, to dinghy’s rowed up against their larger counterparts.

I had expected us to draw nearer, but with the direction Alistair was going, I quickly realized that we were heading towards the markets that were right after the docks and offload sites. More and more people were filtering up and down these roads, until we reached the main road that led right down to the markets themselves. That was when Alistair slowed, before stepping aside slightly to allow me to walk side by side with him.

“The people are awfully quiet today.” He noted, whispering down to me.

“Aye.” I nodded, but made sure not to tip my face too far up towards him, something that would reveal more of my features to the countless faces we were now passing. I had at least made sure to tuck my hair back, and not because anyone could recognize who I was, the people of Azul had long since forgotten about my family, and their distinct features. Barely any had ever laid their eyes on neither my brother nor I.

I had done this to ensure that I wouldn’t bring any attention to Alistair, for something told me his reputation here preceded himself.

This winding roads towards the market had started to thin with people, which perhaps had Alistair feeling more confident to ask me another question without so many wandering eyes that could find us. It was just that the question he asked as he looked slightly over to his right and down, the side I took beside him as we walked and the side closer to the fields than to the opposite side of the road… well that question took me by surprise.

“Did you like the juice from the oranges Finn had prepared for our first supper together with my crew?”

It took me by such surprise, I found myself directly looking up at him as we continued on down this path.

“Uh-.. Aye. Yes, it was really good.”

That made Alistair’s lips tug up into a slight smile. “Once we reach the markets, why don’t you go look for a bag? I forgot to detail it in Finn’s list of items, and according to Simon, I believe they’ll be looking for those instruments first. Judging by the amount of ported ships, I think you’ll find riper bags before my men do.”

I felt the edges of my own lips tugging up before I registered I was smiling. I knew how seriously this man took his rum. I didn’t think he cared to think about anything else to drink aboard that ship.

But the smile quickly started to lower itself when I realized something.

“I… I don’t have any cu-”

“Check your pockets.” Alistair replied. I found my brows creasing with confusion, yet my hands reached into both the pockets I believed to be empty.

Sure enough, in my left pocket was a pouch. When my hands fumbled with the soft linen material inside the pocket, I realized that Alistair had put a considerable amount in there for me.

“I’ve been so preoccupied with making sure my men both got their requests in order, and over to Finn and Simon, I had failed to see what it was you wanted.”

Alistair’s right hand reached out to gently push me a little further behind him as we made way for a few horses that carried on heading in the direction we had come from. He lowered our heads some, allowing the cloaks to mask our faces until the two men and their horses had passed.

Once they had, Alistair slowed again so I could walk side by side with him once more. We were almost to the entrance of the markets now. I could already see the many stands stretching as far as any eye could see, filled with anything one could think of. Fruits. Vegetables. Jewelry. Militant weaponry.

When my eyes returned to his, I found myself saying “I don’t wish for anything really.”

Alistair replied to my words with “that not very much in line with the spirit of a pirate.”

This made that smile of mine return, and perhaps return tenfold. “I don’t- I’ve never had the opportunity to fill any void of mine with things.” Not anymore, I had thought to myself.

“Well you’ve long since earned the right to find whatever it is that can. Whatever it is that you want. My men have already received their loot of our pillage, so what I set in your pocket is yours. Completely yours. Spend it how you like, or don’t spend it at all. Whatever you choose. The distribution remains even for all my men.”

And that made my smile widen.

I think I was starting to see the true appeal of piracy.

“Would you like anything?” I asked him.

His own smile widened. “I’d force you to return anything you bought for me with the coin that’s yours. Aye?”

“Aye.” I nodded, now forcing myself to look away for whatever words Alistair was saying to me was making my face flush. That would bring even more attention to my otherwise pale features.

We’d now reached the entrance of the markets, and Alistair stepped aside further to let me walk ahead of him. “I’ll come find you in a moment. Don’t stray far.” He ordered, to which I nodded, obliging.

I started to walk ahead, continuing on the main road that ran through the beginning stands, whilst Alistair seemed to disappear down an adjacent road that ran parallel to this one through another series of stands.

My eyes looked past the people busying themselves at each stand, to the stands themselves, as I searched for fresh oranges. The smell of herbs, spices, and everything in between flowed through the streets, enticing more of my senses. I had tried to stray away from picking up any other food for whatever Finn stocked his kitchen with was more than enough for my taste.

We’d been at sea long, so the food he served at supper when my merchant ship first got ambushed, in comparison to what we had eaten this last fortnight, allowed myself a better picture of how well developed Finn’s palette was. He was just working with dwindling fresh inventory as the time had progressed.

I trusted that he had most of anything I could crave on that list of his, most likely oranges included, but I still followed Alistair’s orders- request , I corrected myself, to find a bag.

There was a stand that stood only a few steps ahead, its stand only occupied by a few customers, yet the crates piled high on top of each other displayed the most vibrant oranges I had simply ever seen. Alistair had been right about the quality being at its best now, and so I found my feet quickening their pace to move me faster towards those bags of ripe fruit.

The quietness even through the market still surprised me, as did the rather solemn look most faces I passed had carried. The man who operated the stand barely showed any interest as I approached. He didn’t even pay attention to the now only other customer who too was looking for a ripe bag, their back turned towards me.

My feet carried me nearer to both men, but as I heard it, I felt my once hastened pace slowly start to slow.

The tune of the man whose back was turned to me, carried it with a whistle.

A tune I recognized all too quickly.

It made my feet slow to a complete stop, the distance between who this was and I only merely a step or so away from each other. I found my hand slowly reaching up against its very own will, moving against all my mind clearly warmed it of, to tap the shoulder of the man I could only see the long tied black hair of, but I didn’t manage to touch him.

Instead, I heard Alistair’s voice somewhere behind me, calling to me rather quietly.

“Cas!” I heard him say, his voice not nearly loud enough to draw attention to him, but loud enough for I to hear. I turned around from the stranger, to his direction, my eyes locking with Alistair who was holding something that looked like small bag of wound up string. Or perhaps laces?

I didn’t have time to conclude what exactly it was in his hand that he was waving to me, because I felt something hit my right shoulder from behind me. Once I turned back again, I realized the other customer had turned in the same direction that I had, and the open bag of oranges in his hand had accidentally spilled a few to the ground below our feet.

“My apologies.” I mumbled in embarrassment quickly, as I crouched down to catch the few released before they could roll away.

Once I straightened myself, handing the man the balls of fruit with now a bit of brushed dirt on them, I found myself telling the customer “just a bit of washing and they should be fine.” As soon as he reached for the first orange in my hand, his eyes finally peered up enough to catch a glimmer of my face past the lowness of the hood.

And when my eyes caught his, my whole body stilled completely. My hand let go of the orange it was just about to pass to this man, barely registering it rolling past the both of us.

I was staring down into bright green eyes now…

Bright green eyes that shouldn’t be.

And they were attached to a man that shouldn’t be.

The years had aged him, yet there was no test of time that could erase those eyes, nor his features, from my memory…

For I had looked up into these emerald irises my entire childhood.

And when that same realization settled on his face, I watched his fair skin turn ghastly white. He whispered a word, a name I hadn’t heard said, and in his voice nonetheless, in quite some time.

“ Caspilius .“

To which I returned with a name I hadn’t spoke aloud since that night. Since the fire, and the burning of the palace.

Since he said his final goodbye to me.

“ Dreska .“ I found myself whispering to a living ghost.

A man that couldn’t possibly be.

••

48. Dance With Jack Ketch

Just like… eight hours late cause I took a whole nap lol

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. I’ll edit tomorrow cause these damn fireworks that woke me up and are still going off at 2 fucking A.M. has me dazed and awfully fucking confused

Especially granted it’s been storming and rainy all goddamn day in Minneapolis.

Like just hang it up and celebrate tomorrow night, Jesus fucking Christ

You’re going to let these whores off well into July anyways, cause the Midwest has an infatuation with dropping a whole paycheck on fireworks

Dance With Jack Ketch: a hangman, meaning to hang

Alistair

As soon as I laid my eyes on thick wicked laces, I knew I needed to get them for Caspian.

The laces of his own boots had a tendency to come undone, and frankly while there was much I was willing to now forgive when it came to this man, I’d shoot his bloody head off myself if his laces were what cost him a fight.

I had already purchased what was needed for myself, finding the stand in question quickly before I asked the merchant to hold my items aside until nightfall. So when I made my way to Caspian, and spotted the man solely by the type of cloak he wore, I called to him to make certain it was he who I was quickly approaching.

As he turned around towards me, just a small distance away, his eyebrows were furrowed. He knew it was me, and yet he didn’t seem to quite register me as I drew nearer. That was when my vision expanded itself further past this man.

There was a man standing behind him who turned as he had, but I noticed he had accidentally hit Caspian with the open bags of oranges as he had, clearly not anticipating the proximity between him and Caspian as a few oranges rolled out and onto the ground.

Caspian was quick to reach down to help him collect them once he turned back in that direction. They seemed to have perhaps exchanged pleasantries then… yet none of that soon proved to be exactly true as both men started to look at each other. Just… look at each other. The orange in Caspian’s hand was quickly let go again, his eyes fixated on this shorter man, which forced my feet forward rather quickly.

There was something exchanged between them again from what I could see as I sprinted towards them, not paying nearly enough mind to how low my hood should’ve sat upon my head to conceal the most of my identity.

Instead, the first thing my body reacted to was the hand that this man placed on Caspian’s forearm once Caspian had started to back away.

This stranger hadn’t even registered my abrupt charge until I was close enough that my arm came down on the hand that held Caspian, and the words that fell past my lips surprised even I by its utter deadly tone.

“Let go,” I started, my hand tightening on the strangers arm hard enough for him to finally break his gaze from Caspian, and look at me. His eyes grew wide as he finally registered my presence. “ Or I’ll break it clean off .“

“Wait!” It was Caspian’s voice that broke my concentration, as he suddenly came to this man’s defense. Once the man in question caught a better look at who it was that held that forearm of his, his eyes catching more of my features than I had expected to show, he let go of Caspian immediately.

The urge to still snap this arm, the arm of someone who saw it fit enough to touch any part of Caspian, was quite strong. It was Caspian’s second, and silent plea as his eyes shifted from this man to I, that forced my own hand to finally let go.

For the look on Caspian’s face was something I’d never seen before, even with his hood still covering much of him.

He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

“We need to get off these streets. Now .” The man in front of us urged. His eyes finally landed back on Caspian as he said those words.

I turned back to Caspian when he remained silent a moment, before he finally nodded in agreeance. Who the hell was this man? I asked myself, and yet the look on both their faces told me it wouldn’t be wise to question this here. Instead, all I asked Caspian was one simple question.

“Is he safe?”

To which when Caspian’s eyes found mine once more, he simply nodded to me.

And well, as of now that had to be enough.

I kept myself between this white haired man of mine, and this short dark haired man with fair skin and green eyes, not even allowing his glances back to reach Caspian as he paid for his bag of oranges, picked up the basket of other items he seemingly already paid for, then started back up the road. He was leading us back up the way we came.

We were walking the path that led us away from the markets, however this shorter man’s pace started to slow as we took an off beaten path towards the homes that stretched scarcely on the outskirts of the major port.

These homes were newer. Or at least rather new to me since I had last touched foot in Azul. He was quick with this pace, so much so that Caspian and I had struggled to keep it until we reached the path leading up to the front steps of what I assumed to be his home.

I watched him slide a key into the lock, before it clicked open, and whilst Caspian looked to trust whoever this was, my right hand under my cloak had long since reached for the handle of my sword strapped to and hidden at my side.

I wasn’t willing to take any chances. Not on this shit land, and surely not with the shit people that had run it over.

But once we entered this small cottage, I grew more confused than anything else.

The home was small, with just enough space through the door for a dining table and chairs, before an open hall led to the kitchen, and another down a corridor. The man in question gestured for us to fully come in before he locked the door behind us. I noticed three additional latches on that door, and he fastened all three securely.

“Please,” he gestured again towards the dining table that stood in the middle of the open main room. “Please have a seat.”

Caspian turned to look back at me, before he eventually took to one of the four chairs, the one closest to the kitchen and hallway. I took the seat right beside his, closest to the door.

The man who had invited us in had made his way towards the kitchen with his basket, yet all he did was set his items down on one of the counters before he soon joined us again. He chose the seat across the table from Caspian’s.

“Who are you?” I asked as soon as his arse touched the surface of that wooden fucking chair. He turned from Caspian to I.

“I do not owe you an answer. For I know who you are.”

Those bold words of his made an eyebrow of mine raise slightly. I now regretted not snapping his arm clean in half, regardless of Caspian’s pleas.

Caspian was the one who surprisingly tried to ease this quickly growing tension between a man I could so easily kill, and I.

“Please Dreska, trust in him as he’s just trusted you.”

My eyes cast from Dreska’s to Caspian, surprised by his words but I remained quiet. In addition, he didn’t need to know that I had already calculated every possible way to both kill the man that was sitting in front of us, and leaving this home undetected.

Some more than likely wouldn’t call that trust, but I allowed this white haired man to continue.

“What exactly are you doing in the company of The Pirate King, your highness?” Dreska whispered more quietly, more personably to Caspian, and yet his tone had a degree of respect-

I cut my own thoughts short once I fully processed his words.

What the hell did he mean by your highness?

“Dreska, stop. He doesn’t-”

As my eyes shifted from Dreska’s to Caspian’s, his pale eyes shifted to mine. I found my very eyes narrowing at his, daring both him and this short man to continue, for I had already heard that title spoken.

“Do you know who he is?” Dreska asked, paying my own growing uneasiness no mind.

“I-” Caspian started. There was something about this conversation that was pulling emotion from him that made that uneasiness even greater. It was something I had simply never seen him bear before.

What had this man meant by your highness?

“Yes.” Caspian settled on finally. “I know who he is.”

“And yet you keep his company?” Dreska continued. There was anger creeping upon his face, but his eyes never left Caspian’s.

“It’s… it’s complicated. He’s my-”

“He’s mine.” I finished finally. I may have started to grow irritated with my own agitation, yet the unevenness in Caspian’s voice was simply something I wouldn’t willingly hear. This wasn’t him.

I leant back in this uncomfortable wooden chair as my arms found themselves tightly across my chest.

Dreska finally pulled his eyes away from Caspian to mine. “Do you know who it is you’re supposedly claiming?”

I felt my eyelid lowering slightly, my eye piercing through this short man’s as I responded with two simple words. “ Enlighten me .“

“Wait!” Caspian interrupted, to which this sharp, piercing gaze of mine cast itself from Dreska to Caspian, shutting this white haired man up. I knew he could feel it now as he grew silent from this look. If any man, either he or Dreska, chose less careful words, I was going to draw my sword.

When this gaze returned to the man it was really intended for, Dreska had a look of his own etched into his aged features. “This is Caspilius Lockeheart The Second, and you would do well to mind that tongue of yours. Even you, Alistair Melek, The Demon of The Sea, the one we call The Shadow, will address him as such.”

That piercing gaze slowly released itself as I processed the name he just laid claim to. The name he had just revealed.

“Even you don’t hold enough weight to address him as anything less.”

The arms crossed tightly across my chest started to loosen themselves, as my gaze slowly returned to Caspian. The look in his eyes held nothing but pain at the revelation of Dreska.

No … I thought quietly to myself. This must’ve been a trick. Something someone had-

But as my gaze shifted between Caspian and Dreska, I realized there was not a single smile playing at their lips. Between these two, there was no trickery that seemed to be afoot. No veil they intentionally cast over my eyes. And so, the next word that slipped past my lips was just a simple word.

“ Caspian ,“ I whispered quietly.

Those uneasy eyes shifted to Dreska again. “It wasn’t your place-”

“Like hell it wasn’t.” Dreska cut in. “Do you not know the soil in which your feet carry you? This is your land.”

Regardless of what words fell past Dreska, my eyes never left Caspian’s.

This man… he couldn’t possibly…

I wasn’t sure what my next course of action could possibly be. I wanted to bring this sharp blade of mine to Dreska’s throat for his arrogance alone, yet if what he spoke was to be held to the light of truth, I had much larger issues at hand. Much, much larger.

“What has become of Lemont?” I heard Dreska ask, to which Caspian cast his eyes towards the kitchen, refusing to meet either of our gaze now.

“He’s…” Caspian trailed off a moment, yet I couldn’t see his eyes. I didn’t know what emotion he held as he settled on “he’s gone.”

My gaze then shifted to Dreska, and the look in his eyes took me even further back. The pain in those emerald green irises made my uneasiness grow even further, for certain things had started to fall into place. Things I couldn’t be sure of besides the feeling it left me with.

“We had…” Caspian started. Still refusing to meet either of our gaze. “We were ambushed by some pirates.”

And that was when my breathing hitched, taking the sharpest of an inhale.

Shit .

Caspian hadn’t said what ship. He hadn’t named its captain… and yet he didn’t have to.

For I knew it to be my own.

That merchant , I thought to myself. The one I had questioned Caspian about the night I killed the rest of his men. The one I had given my own line of questioning to, shortly before…

The anger now clearly evident on Dreska’s face only solidified the lie I knew Caspian had told me when he said they had only just met.

I still remembered the look in that merchant’s eyes right before I killed him. The smile on my own as my dagger pierced through his stomach with ease.

It was the action that had once brought me joy, as many killings had, but now all it left was a deepening sickness in my stomach. Had I known…

“And yet you take the company of just that,” Dreska continued as his words held a harshness in its tone. “The company of a pirate. Hell, the pirate of all pirates.”

That finally pulled Caspian’s gaze away from the kitchen as it returned to Dreska.

“You speak on my life as if you’ve lived it.”

And I found my own eyebrows raising in slight surprise. I had known Caspian- well, clearly not as well as I thought I had, but in the time we had spent together, the piercing tone of his voice now was unrecognizable.

It brought me back to that merchant ship, and how little Caspian had really fought for that man’s life. If Caspian was who Dreska said he was, this had meant that Lemont had to have followed him from the palace. That would make their time together spanned over ten years… and yet, that defeat in his eyes as he so humbly welcomed death…

Dreska was the one to cast his gaze towards the kitchen now, the look of slight shame very evident on his face by the voice of Caspian. The voice of supposed royalty.

“Lemont and I were tasked with the same purpose. Our loyalty is to the Lockehearts… therefore I believe whatever choices that were made in regards to Lemont’s life must’ve been necessary.” He settled on finally.

I wasn’t sure what his definition of necessary was, but I chose to do something I often refrained from doing. I chose not to speak. Whatever had happened between Caspian and Lemont leading up to his death, was something I was not apart of.

And if everything Dreska had just spoken was true, it was something I wouldn’t like to include myself in. I was still trying to process just how much shit I was already in, granted I had taken the next rightful heir to Azultia as a slave.

And now… well… more than a slave.

Everything I had done would be seen as punishable by a Dance With Jack Ketch.

“What has brought you back to these shores?” Dreska asked. “This is the worst possible moment you could’ve returned. The selection process will begin soon, to which in just a moment I must leave you to deliver items to the Council’s coliseum for. Why would you risk your life to walk these streets so openly?”

That was when Caspian’s brows furrowed slightly. “I’ve been living this life just as openly. None have recognized me yet besides yourself.”

But those words alone triggered the memory of something. It was the look on Jirah’s face, well the face of the man he stole, when his eyes found Caspian’s on the deck of his ship.

Very few had seen the faces of Lord Caspilius and Armoria. Even less had gazed their eyes upon their children. Their two sons. And so, it made me wonder how Jirah had known. What features he himself saw that he recognized in Caspian.

“There are still some.” Dreska spoke, rising from this table now. “Whatever you do, you must steer clear of The Holy Men.”

I found myself scoffing at his ridiculous heed. “Those men are just the reflection of ash. A pitiful demonstration of what once stood here. You lay too much importance on the lot.”

That was when Dreska finally turned to me. “Considering the revelations you’ve had this day, let me leave you both with one more. The man selected to lead that reflection of ash is the Great Zirion Khan.”

Ah , I almost nodded to myself.

That’s what his name was.

If only Cael had been here to remember it for me.

“And though you may not recognize the face he’s taken,” these words were directed to Caspian now as Dreska shifted his gaze from me, to the white haired man. “You will recognize that set of eyes. The bloodline of the Lockehearts… and the hollowed gaze of your brother.”

••

49. Come Here

Ain’t gon lie, this chapter had me in stitches y’all omg

I wish I could say I spent much time editing but I got shit to do today. I can’t be this cut up

I’ll double back on it later, lol

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. I have had the entire ending laid out for like a month now, so y’all guessing in these comments brings me pure joy. Put on that Sherlock hat and sleuth away, lovelies. Nancy Drew tf outta this one

P.P.S. I just updated the playlist again and added the song above. I know I done already made y’all cry but like… let’s cry even more together (I’m sorry)

But Adele did her big one with this

Caspian

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Alistair and I sat in silence in this otherwise now empty home.

Words had far since escaped me, for I was still trying to process what exactly Dreska had revealed right before he was forced to take his leave.

I was still attempting to understand that not only had Hodrus lived… but he had joined the very thing responsible for the slaughtering of our family.

Our own mother and father… our bloodline… let alone the burning of what we once called our home.

I couldn’t determine what emotions were coursing through me any longer. I didn’t know how or what I should feel now, for I had just discovered that my only living family had sought comfort in the very thing that betrayed everything once held beautiful about the Lockehearts. And the Lockehearts themselves. He shared part in the responsibility for destroying the very land our family had built themselves, and for us nonetheless. For our children’s children, and the children they would bare.

He had contributed to the destruction of this nations future. Of its peoples own tranquility and peace, the only thing our father and mother wanted for the citizens of Azultia.

At first I simply couldn’t believe it. The only question I had for Dreska as he prepared the items he needed to bring to the coliseum for the selection ceremony, was simply… why .

Every last shred of me begged for there to be a reason. Any reason. Something that could make Hodrus turn like this, and that could fill that once curious mind with so much hate.

Yet even I knew by the look on Dreska’s face, by the sheer pain held in his eyes, that whatever reason Hodrus had for turning… it was not something that could justify this. It couldn’t justify what The Holy Men had done to both our parents and our home. Dreska promised he would explain more once he returned, which he assured us wouldn’t be long, before he eventually took his leave, and so this is where he left Alistair and I.

Sitting next to each other in complete silence as our gazes fixated themselves forward towards nothing in particular. Just the plain stone wall that was looking back at us.

Then of course there was Alistair, I thought to myself. Not only had he learned about my true identity, he had just been told that it was my own brother that wanted him dead.

I didn’t even have the words to start a conversation for that. What would I say? What could I possibly say, when even I myself couldn’t find an explanation for it? For this. For Hodrus.

I wasn’t sure how long we had sat in silence like this, with my mind spiraling itself straight into oblivion, but it took me by surprise when the first words to break this silence came from Alistair. And the two words he spoke made me turn to face him completely.

“Come here.” He spoke, stretching his left hand out to me.

I looked over at him, my eyes quickly finding his, before they cast down to the hand outstretched to me… then raised up to find his one once more.

In response to that, he only stretched his hand further, beckoning me to take it.

And well, my mind was already so broken, I eventually found my own hand stretching to his. As soon as my right hand placed itself into his, he yanked it forward, forcing me out of this seat, before I stumbled far from gracefully into him. He was quick to separate these wobbling legs until I was forced into his lap, both legs bent and resting on either side of his, with them wedged right against his and the arm rest of the chair.

“A-Alis-” his name started to fall past my very lips in surprise. I wanted to tell him no, that whatever this was surely wasn’t the time, but when one hand found itself at the small of my back, and the other slipped around to the nape of my neck, he gently nudged my head into the crook of his. That very familiar space connecting his head to his shoulders.

I could hear his heartbeat now, I could feel its pounding against the bridge of my nose.

It was the calmness of it against the raging of my own as he held me, that took me further by surprise. And he was doing just that. Holding me. Nothing else.

“Let’s just sit like this a moment while I think.”

Even through all this.

Through revelation after revelation of information that had practically broken me to shattered, scattered pieces… this man still made it possible for me to draw from my lips a slight smile. I thought sitting and thinking were what we had been doing for the countless amount of time we both stared at that stone wall, but apparently it was not.

My body acted before my mind could command it, wrapping my arms around his neck and broad shoulders as I welcomed the steady calmness of him. Of his heartbeat. Of everything down to the slow breathes he took in comparison to my short ones.

“ I’m sor- “ I found myself starting to whisper into the softness of his neck, but Alistair gently hushed me.

He had meant it when he said we were to sit quietly like this he could think, and so that’s just what we did. Every single breath he took started to somehow calm my own. His heartbeat beating against the veins that ran the length of his neck, started to slow my own.

My world had so suddenly gone to shit, falling apart in front of my very eyes from just a simple tune I had recognized at that market. A lullaby my mother used to hum to both my brother and I… yet whatever reaction I was to expect from Alistair, this one hadn’t even begun to cross my mind.

Alistair had never been this calm before. So much so that I wondered if I should be more terrified than I was. Or rather, terrified at all… because I wasn’t.

The next choice of words he decided upon, the ones he whispered close to my right ear, made my arms around his broad shoulders and neck slightly tighten.

“ How old were you? “ He asked me. “ When Azult-… when your home burned? “

His question brought my mind back to that chaos, but his arms kept my body tethered here. To him. It made that emerging memory, and that pain that always quickly followed it, less terrifying.

“ Fifteen years. “

I felt the hold Alistair had around the small of my back, and the nape of my neck, tighten itself at those words.

“ I’m sorry. “ He whispered, to which I felt that familiar sting return. The threatening promise of salt water that had already started to push against the barriers of my eyelids.

“ Please -“ I caught myself a moment as my voice had started to waver. “ Please don’t apologize. I was the one who lied. “

Alistair shifted himself slightly to push more of me against him. For a position such as this one, I didn’t understand how I could find so much comfort. It felt like we were back on his ship again. In the privacy of our chambers again. In his bed again.

“ Did you? “ He asked me, forcing my head to turn slightly in the crevice of his neck to hear him better. “ As I recount every word you’ve ever spoken to me, I’m struggling to find more of the lies that I thought were once there when I heard the words of Dreska. “ The hand still holding the back of my neck had used its fingers to gently start to massage the delicate skin there, slipping those hands slightly upwards towards the start of my scalp.

I drank his hushed words slowly, truly hearing everything he was saying now. These words were so hushed, I wasn’t sure whether his lips were moving at all as he said them. It felt like he was speaking directly to me.

“ When asked about your family, you told me the truth. I didn’t know you were a Lockeheart, for you didn’t reveal your true identity then, yet you were honest with me by revealing something you didn’t have to. There was truth to your words when you said they were all dead. That pain you held in your eyes was real. You didn’t know your brother was alive at the time, therefore that wasn’t a lie. Omission of some truth, sure, but not a lie. “

Even through this thick cloak, I felt the hand on the small of my back gently start to move itself up and down, soothing me further.

“ And perhaps you did lie about your family having been from Gatvia, but something about that island has ties to you. Gaia may not have confirmed what it was, but she knew who you were. And she was willing to make a deal with the devil himself to keep you there. To keep you safe. “

I felt myself pulling back, the words Alistair was saying had taken me by surprise, but his hands held their place firm, keeping me against him. Tucked into him, for he wasn’t done yet.

“ I’m starting to understand something so utterly gut wrenching, I wish I never took us to this shit land to begin with .“ The tone in his voice made my heartbeat quicken again. It held a type of rawness I’ve never heard from Alistair before. “ That unsurety in your eyes. The hesitancy with your magic… I had spent so much time wondering who it was you were, that I’d never once stopped to think that I may know you. That I may know more about you than you did. At only fifteen years living, this world… your own people… they had fed you to the wolves.“

He took a pause before he spoke these next words directly to me.

“And If I had lived through what you had. Seen the beauty of your family and home stripped away like it was nothing. Like it meant nothing… I would have very willingly welcomed death myself .”

I held Alistair even tighter, those words of his seeping through me as the salty water threatening to breakaway finally did. I was sure he could feel my tears pushing past the material of the thin shirt he wore under this thick cloak, but his hold never eased itself on me.

“ And so for that, “ he continued. “ For that, I never want to hear an apology fall past your lips again. “

Alistair’s shirt was quickly growing more wet, these tears now falling all too freely, but I couldn’t move. And I didn’t quite think I wanted to anymore.

“ Now as for your brother, I have no qualms about him. No outstanding wrongs needing to be righted with Hodrus Lockeheart. The man I’m hunting down is Zirion Khan… and I’m going to leave it for you to decide who now owns that soul you once knew as your brother’s. I want you to look at him with not just your eyes, and tell me whether or not you recognize the blood you once knew. With your answer, I’ll act accordingly.“

His words had… well there was no words to explain his.

He had left this decision to me.

He would spare my only living blood, if I could determine that the blood coursing through a man I once knew as my bother, was still mine. Was still worthy of the Lockeheart name. That within Zirion, Hodrus still lived. Even with what Zirion had done to Alistair… Even with the revenge I knew this Captain’s bloodthirsty heart yearned for, Alistair was willing to spare this man if he was the only thing I had left. If he was still the brother I once loved.

“ There is however one lie I will not forgive, if it is to be true. To be disingenuous .“ Alistair continued. “ And that is where exactly your heart truly lies with me. Where it lies with my men. I know what my own heart believes, but I need to hear it come from you. “ I felt that strong hold he had on my neck start to ease itself, allowing me to finally lift my head from where he had tucked it.

And I slowly did, finally forcing myself to face a man I didn’t feel deserving of. I didn’t believe this world deserved him either, and perhaps that was why his arrogance was always so strong. So imminent.

Perhaps he knew this too.

“I know-” I spoke a bit shakily when my gaze found his. My eyes must’ve been red and irritated from my tears, as I could still feel the wetness on my cheeks, but I forced my eyes to hold his gaze. Even while this close to him. Close enough to see those ethereal features, with an eye that held a look that should’ve been hardened, but wasn’t. It seemed to rarely ever be with me these days. “You may not believe me to be dishonest, but even omitting the truth felt like a lie for me.”

I was being truthful now. Alistair may have been willing to overlook certain things, but I wasn’t. Not now. Not with how I felt about him now.

“I just wish I had been the one to be honest with you finally. For the truth of how I feel about you now, it leaves the lies I once told, all the more bitter a taste in my mouth.” I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek once I felt the familiar stinging return. I needed to get through this with no additional tears, for the words were hard to find as is.

I didn’t need to add the blurriness from the welling of salty water, to it.

“Death once tasted just as sweet as that juice from fresh oranges.” I explained softly. “I truly didn’t fear it. I didn’t fear its pain, nor its finality… for I wanted nothing more than to see my family again.” Alistair’s gaze softened at that, forcing me to pause a moment to collect myself. This was the first time I had admitted these words aloud, and they were cutting through me. “But when I’m with you. When I’m working or fighting alongside you and your men… I don’t think I’ve ever felt the farthest from death. It’s you and your men that are responsible for turning something as sweet as I once thought death to be, into something so bitter a taste, it mirrors the bitterness left from the lies I told you.”

Alistair slowly slid his hand from the back of my neck, to the edge of my jawline, then further up the left side of my cheek. I felt him wipe away tears I hadn’t even noticed were falling.

“Well then , “ he whispered to me, his words being the only thing he forced me to focus on as these ones did fall past his lips “why don’t we worry less of what it is I didn’t know about you then, and more of what it is I do know now.”

And those were the last words he said at all before he gently traced his fingers down my cheek again. My eyes drifted closed a moment at the feeling of his touch, the feeling of the places his words touched without them falling past his lips, and the places they touched when they did, before he eventually returned that very hand to nape of my neck and nudged me forward, bringing my own lips down to his.

All I could do was wrap my arms even more tightly around him, allowing this as I felt the roughness of him move gently against me. Allowing it, and him.

••

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50. There’s A Change Coming

Sorry I’m late y’all, I had one gnarly return to the work week lol

But enjoy

, lovelies!

xoxo

(Another unedited one just fyi cause y’all deserved a lil sumtin sumtin

… so let me know if you see errors)

P.S. playlist is updated and the song is added above

Alistair

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This one day had added just about ten or so years to my already immortal life.

There wasn’t really anything that had ever called me to end my life at sea before, but if being with Caspian was going be anything like our first day in Azul together, I had maybe forty or so more years of my youth before I might have to retire this life for good.

I still wasn’t sure how I had found the words to talk through this with him, nor the gall to still touch someone of such royal blood, but we had already done so much more with each other that at this point, whoever wanted to carry that burden and lay down the punishment for my actions, I welcomed them to try. I’d even help them tie the noose.

My lips found his again with such ease, especially after the words he spoke to me. I wanted him to understand that some of us… some of us were old enough to remember. Some of us would never forget the night Azultia became Azul. And now knowing just what Caspian had to sacrifice… if he wanted to claim a life of a simple merchant, I would let him. Gladly.

He could be whoever he desired to be with me.

Caspian hadn’t pushed against me, nor against the claim I made on his lips. He simply pulled me closer to him, meshing the skin of my dry cheeks against his damp ones, and all I thought was that if I could dry those tears completely, I would. And if I could promise he would never shed them again, I would.

My hands reached for his legs, slipping under his thighs before I raised him up along with myself, and placed him gently back onto the empty table in front of us. My lips never once left his as his back arched off the surface slowly, welcoming more of me against him once his back grew flushed against the wood.

I wasn’t sure whether it was the sheer feeling of his vulnerability, and the way he welcomed me to it, however the front door unlocking hadn’t even found its way to my ears… Caspian’s heartbeat occupied every bit of it.

As soon as it did open, I was the first to pull away from this man whose lips had now grown swollen due to mine.

I was starting to mind my own actions on this land, for enough things had taken me by surprise, however due to the entire basket Dreska had dropped at the entrance to his home, more revelations were in store… for him.

He scrambled to collect the items he had since allowed to tumble to the floor, while both myself and Caspian scrambled to collect ourselves. As soon as that door closed behind him, I watched him lock every lock with spirit.

His head whipped around to mine first, but I had no answers for him.

Whatever he felt about this, he was going to have to walk his own self through it. I didn’t care enough to do the work.

When his eyes cast to Caspian who was now taking a seat in the very chair I had pulled him from, his eyes refused to meet Dreska’s.

I watched this short man open his mouth, before he close it a moment later… only to open it again a moment after that.

“When you said-”

“ He’s mine .“ I clarified, not bothering to conceal whatever this was any longer.

Dreska remained quiet as he brought the remainder of the fruit in his basket, to his kitchen. The silence that hung in the air now was more deafening than the silence between Caspian and I as we had sat quietly, staring at the stone wall ahead.

Once Dreska returned from the kitchen, he took a seat where he originally had, which was across the table from Caspian and slightly diagonal to me.

“Are you aware of who he-” Dreska started, but Caspian silenced him.

“I’m very aware.” He told this man…

To which I added “Incredibly aware. More aware than you.”

That earned me a swift, cutting glare from the shorter man. His green eyes looked to be on fire as they attempted to stare me down. The attempt, however, was futile.

“Alistair Melek don’t flatter yourself. Caspian may be too young to understand just what he’s doing-”

“Too young?” My words cut back with a startling amount of hostility. “Too young was what he was when his parents were slaughtered, and home was burnt. Respectfully, you don’t know a single thing about what he’s experienced since then. Don’t insult his intelligence like that.” Caspian’s gaze shifted to mine a moment at this sudden threat in my tone, yet I wasn’t finished when I found myself continuing. “I already harbor no respect for you, for you’ve done nothing to earn it. But if you’re so hellbent on having me show you just how little I respect you, that’s a wish I’ll happily comply to.”

“Alistair,” Caspian started, already sensing where this was heading. I allowed the anger to seep through me too easily.

In my defense, I had thought myself to be quite civil, especially considering everything I had just learnt about this white haired man and the unprecedented suffering he had been forced to weed himself through… if anyone wanted to further push these limits of mine, I’d handle it accordingly.

“This is who he is,” Dreska insisted, but I just watched as Caspian slowly shook his head.

“I’ve seen who he is. And I promise you this… no amount of years gained or learned could ever give you, Dreska, an accurate depiction of this man. I know you want the best for me, but hear me when I say that this is. He is.”

“If Lemont was here-”

“If Lemont was still alive, he would repeat the very words he somehow always found the energy to. The words instilled into you both by the crown.” Caspian cut in again. His own words were taking an edge that was slowly starting to lift the edges of my lips into a slight smile.

There was something about the way he spoke to this palace’s advisor, that felt like something I had seen before. A change in tone that I had heard before.

It was that touch of an authoritarian tone that pulled to me. The same way he spoke when he addressed the two pirates left on Gaelick’s ship besides Gaelick himself. That tone that carried the orders of a man who knew he could influence them.

I found it to be rather alluring, and the fact that it was further angering Dreska in the process only made his confidence all the more beautiful.

I hadn’t realized how little Caspian carried confidence until I was starting to be exposed to the moments when he felt more sure of himself.

“Do you think it to be a coincidence?” Dreska pleaded. “Both you and your brother living?”

I watched Caspian closely now, attempting to read those features as if they’d allude to what his next words were… however the words he spoke next surprised even I.

“No,” he slowly shook his head. “I don’t believe a single thing that happened to my family was a coincidence. Everything that has unfolded since has felt tied to this string. Perhaps one threaded like the stories you and Lemont once told us. The stories of three sisters, and the bidding they did using the strings connecting souls.”

That only made my smile further widen.

I liked hearing of this side to this white haired man. He couldn’t have told me anything about his life at the palace before, but now that he no longer needed to hide with me, I wanted to hear him speak more of it. To speak more of his family. I had inadvertently removed the only person who he could have spoken freely with about it, that being his advisor Lemont, but now I questioned how free he really felt he could’ve been with the man.

As his eyes glanced over to meet my own, I realized that if nothing else, I wanted to create that space where this man could speak with no heavily sifted filtrations. The gods know I did. I wouldn’t hold him to duties I believe no man in their right mind would devote themselves to now, especially not after how his very people were the ones who brought this upon themselves.

Whatever reasoning Dreska was trying to call upon in this moment, it made me realize just what ridiculously idiotic pressures may have weighed on Caspian all these years. His loyalty to the throne should’ve been shattered the night his once loyal citizens burnt that too.

“But hear me when I say… I’m done being threaded along. I wanted death itself to find me for so long, that I would do all that longing a grave disservice if I were to finally choose life, and live it as if isn’t my own. As if it was something I couldn’t decide for myself.”

Dreska listened as this royal blood spoke, and what it sounded like was that this was the first time he truly spoken his mind regarding this. Regarding his fate.

“I understand,” Dreska nodded, “but you must understand something too. If anyone is to reach your bother, it’s you. There isn’t anyone else that could sway his spoilt judgement.”

I remained silent now as I digested each of these men’s words. I, myself, took the side Caspian was on completely. I wanted to tell him that he was not his brother’s keeper… but then I knew it also wasn’t my place to. This wasn’t my home that was destroyed, nor my family that was killed. My family was long gone now, a thing of the past that had ran its course, regardless of how much I didn’t want it to be true at the time.

I wondered how Caspian would see things. If he were to meet his brother again, would he see him for what he was? Regardless of whether or not what he found was good. Could he really make such a decision once faced with the only family he had left?

The decision was difficult, yet it had to be one he made. Regardless of whether I wanted to put his brothers face in molten hot coals… Caspian resenting a decision I made that wasn’t of his control was not something I was willing to compromise on for my own revenge.

“Is it possible for me to see him?” Caspian asked Dreska, to which Dreska slowly, eventually nodded.

“I could arrange something, but it would have to be well into the night. It will not be safe for either of you if The Holy Men are still patrolling, but they do not carry through the night. The unrest amongst the citizens have made a nightly patrol dangerous for The Holy Men themselves.”

Interesting , I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure exactly what I had felt once Caspian I were forced to adjust to the silence on this land, but I believe I was now starting to understand. Something had changed.

“Caspian,” I turned to this white haired man who’s eyes found mine almost immediately. “Why don’t you stay here tonight. I must return to the ship as promised, but if you feel safe here, I’ll allow it.”

Caspian didn’t necessarily feel the most ecstatic about this idea, I could see the uneasiness in his features as he took a moment to respond, but he eventually nodded. My left hand stretched out beside me to him again, and the look he gave it as he ripped his gaze away from mine to acknowledge it, looked even more wearily. In his defense, the last time I took his hand in mine, it led to the discoverance of our true relationship by Dreska.

Now that this short man knew however, I didn’t care to conceal it any longer.

And when Caspian finally slid his right hand into it, I surprised him by bringing the back of that hand gently to my lips. His face grew flushed almost immediately, whilst Dreska withdrew his gaze from us completely.

Once I finally let go, that was when I stood. “Dreska,” I turned to the man that was practically forcing his eyes to find mine. “Show me out.”

I could see the protest forming on his tongue with ease, but he held it. Instead he rose from this table as well, choosing to lead as he walked me towards the door. I followed him as he unlocked every single unnecessary lock and stepped outside, welcoming the now setting sun into our view, but before I could leave him fully, I turned to him.

“I assume you have still maintained your title as Hodrus’s advisor.”

Dreska’s eyes diverted their gaze from mine, but he nodded. “I can assure you, Hodrus becoming Zirion was not of my own doing. I didn’t advise this chaos.”

I slowly nodded at the man myself, choosing my next words carefully. “And if you were forced to weigh your loyalty between Caspian and his brother, who would you favor?”

“I-” Dreska started to say something, but stopped himself. This was no trick question, yet the answer he gave would question his purpose. What direct orders he was given by who I assumed to be Caspian’s mother and father. “My loyalty lies with the throne and its people.” He decided on finally. “I would not choose a side.”

I brought my left thumb up to my bottom lip, scraping it against the surface as I thought a moment of his own answer. “And what if, for the good of the people of Azul… of Azultia … what if their well being was brought upon directly by that throne remaining vacant? Who would you serve then?”

This question took Dreska even longer to answer. I could see the weight of his answer- I could feel it, before he spoke any words. And when he did, that wavering look in his eyes had told me all I needed. I knew now where his heart really laid whether he would choose to be honest with me or not.

“I would serve the people of Azultia, as the Lockehearts did… until the very end.”

“ Aye “ I nodded, my feet slowly starting to carry myself further and further away from this little cottage, and this even littler man. I couldn’t spend long here. Cael would already be questioning my return.

That answer had served him well… and it would do him good in good time , I thought as I felt the winds slowly starting to pick up. Dependent on the answer from Caspian, Dreska’s words may be tested. Whether he cared for them to or not…

For there was a change coming, and it rested just upon that burning horizon.

••

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51. Ode To Fury

Got another lil sumtin sumtin for y’all lol

Also I swear I’m horrible with getting back to each comment, but I do read and try to drop a like on each one y’all leave cause y’all are absolutely an amazing lot of readers

Thank you, as always, for all the love on this one

Oh and new readers, karibu karibu (means welcome, a hospitable greeting in my native tongue Swahili)

This one’s a longgg one (and an only slightly edited one but I’ll get back to it lol),

so per usual, grab a seat, pour a drink, spark a j, and…

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. the song that this chapter is named after is referenced above and updated on the Spotify playlist. I think no song has ever encompassed Caspian better tbh so give it a listen if you’d like :)

Caspian

I could feel the night befalling us.

The noise outside Dreska’s home closer to the shoreline and the markets themselves, had grown louder. I could hear the people now, whereas when Alistair and I had first walked down that very path that should have been bustling with townsfolk, we could see the people, but we sure as hell hadn’t heard anything that matched the volume of Azul’s citizens.

I thought of what Dreska had said about the night, and how it wasn’t safe for The Holy Men. After Alistair had taken his leave, I had spent more time speaking a bit more freely with Dreska of just what had happened to this land.

I knew of the turmoil between the citizens and this group of purification believers, however since my time at sea, and simply moving through ports as nothing more than a merchant, I didn’t believe things could get this tense.

Dreska explained that with this selection ceremony, the people of Azul had felt like the last of their intelligence was being tested. The Holy Men had only gained the access they were now losing to Azul, with the promise to the people that there would be no longer a monarchy. Kings and Queens wouldn’t be chosen by their bloodline…

Well now these very same men had somehow found themselves from an hagiarchy back to the same pattern of the hierarchy they had worked so tirelessly to burn.

“I still don’t understand how Hodrus has found himself here. On such the wrong side of the pendulum. He had never been the most intelligent, however a decision such as this one should take no pondering. Have you seen what they’ve since done to the Oakrids?”

My eye’s found Dreska’s who was standing just an arms length away. He was helping me fasten a broach below the button that held this cloak together, in hopes it could keep the thick material securely on my larger build whilst we navigated the night.

He had explained to me that where I was to meet Hodrus, was where he went every evening. It was the clearing of a small lake near where our palace once stood, but the arena for the councilmen stood in its place.

I was trying to understand the purpose behind it for him. The sentiments this place must’ve gave… but when I thought of a man who had joined The Holy Men still visiting a place that sacred to the Lockehearts, it made my blood boil. I was conflicted, not knowing how to view my brother now. All I could do was simply wait for him to show me.

“Yes,” Dreska nodded as he stepped away slightly, finishing the tedious task of getting the pin’s needle through this thick material. “It’s… It’s-

“Abhorrent.” I finished for this man, though even that word felt like a drop in the sea for all the tarnishing The Holy Men had once done to such a beautiful landscape. I knew Dreska had kept his orders to remain by Hodrus’s side… but at what cost? At what expense did he then determine his own duties were better upheld, then the very land that had served its people plentifully for many years?

I tried to contain this anger, fury, for I knew that whatever a reunion Dreska may have once hoped for… this had been the farthest from it.

I allowed him to first take all the precautions needed as he looked through his window for any citizens who may have wandered past the path and into this otherwise secluded stretch of cottages. Once he was sure it was safe to leave, he made sure all his lights were off before he led us out into the darkness.

This cloak successfully concealed the stark white hair that would’ve otherwise flowed well past my shoulders, making Dreska and I’s figures one with the night sky itself. We quietly slipped past any main path lit with torches, keeping to the less traveled trails as Dreska led us deeper into the more forested area. It ran parallel to the way Alistair and I had come.

I still knew where this clearing was, yet the paths Dreska took had confused my focus until we reached a section of the forest where these trees grew much larger than those around them. As this clearing came to view, I noticed there was a man sitting in the darkness, staring out to the glistening lake as he sat perched on a large rock nearby.

“Hodrus!” Dreska whispered to the man quietly yet sharply, beckoning his gaze towards us. I couldn’t tell whether he had been too lost in his thoughts to not hear us approaching, or whether my brother still hadn’t attended to what should’ve been sharper instincts for a Lockeheart.

He slowly turned around as Dreska and I approached.

“Dreska.” I heard the man say. Even with age and whatever else he had done, I could hear my brother’s voice clearly. “I told you not to address me as such. Not around anyone, nor in the comfort of privacy.” He had slowly stood to his feet now.

“The person I’ve brought to meet you knows of your name before the one you carry now.”

But Hodrus had already spotted me behind this shorter man. I found my hands slowly raising to the hood of this cloak before I gently pushed it back, revealing my face to him. As he stepped further into the smallest light the moon provided through curved length of these tree branches, I saw his too.

Or rather… I saw what Dreska had tried to describe to me. A face I did not recognize.

He had dark brown hair now, having stripped himself of the prideful color of our family. That alone had made him almost completely unrecognizable, however there was one thing he didn’t give. Perhaps one thing they couldn’t take… and that was the paleness of his eyes.

Once those eyes found mine, Hodrus stepped past Dreska to me.

“ Caspian? “ He whispered quietly. “How… What is this? “

That question had been for Dreska, however I was the one who answered it. “One could say the same when met with the sight of you.”

Hodrus hadn’t even registered the biting tongue of my voice, the disapproving tone as I stared at his features in utter disbelief. His brown short hair. He could never grow his hair to the length of mine, or even our fathers, so that wasn’t what caused immediate hesitancy. It was that he had it in him to strip him of that white, pure color.

The thing that made us a Lockeheart, besides the blood running through us.

Instead, Hodrus reached forward to quickly pull my taller frame into his, his large arms wrapping themselves around me as he held me to him, and for a moment, when my eyes couldn’t see the man he’d become, I felt the man he once was. The man I was forced to say goodbye to… and I found my hands wrapping themselves around my older brother in return.

“ This can’t be. “ He whispered into the air as his voice easily reached my ears. “ This can’t be .“ He found himself whispering again before he eventually pulled himself away.

Once the sight of him returned to me, I found it difficult to merge the man he looked like now, with the young man he once was.

“I thought you to be dead.”

I slowly shook my head, giving myself a moment to collect my thoughts. Rather, to gather the emotion running through me.

“I-” I started, but Hodrus reached out to pull me in for yet another hug, this time with his hands wrapping around me much more tightly. I welcomed the hug and held him just as tight before he found himself eventually letting go again.

“I thought the same of you.” I was finally able to admit to him. “I thought you and Dreska had perished after that night.”

Hodrus had turned now to lead us back to the stone he sat on, but Dreska stopped me before I could join him.

“I will leave you two to talk. When you are finished, come find me again towards the first path that led us to the entrance of this forest. Hodrus will show you the way if you do not remember.”

I nodded quietly to him, allowing him to take his leave from this clearing as I soon after joined my brother.

“Dreska and I managed to make it to the shoreline. We had taken the opportunity to use a spare boat discarded there, whilst The Holy Men further occupied the palace.”

Occupied , I thought to myself, turning away from my brother to the small lake in front of us. That wasn’t the first word I would use when I thought of what The Holy Men had done to the palace. To our home. That would would never leave my lips if ever asked to describe the horrors of that night.

“You and Lemont then? You made it out as well?”

I almost found myself answering with aye, but I caught that word before it was spoken. “Yes,” I nodded to him. “I don’t remember how, but Lemont had safely taken me from the fires. We had remained in the woods until we were sure it was safe to depart to the small town just past our borders. Tulsend.”

Hodrus nodded to me. I caught it through the corner of my eye, yet my gaze remained on this still water. There was no right way to explain how Lemont and I found safety, for so much of that night had been lost to my memory.

“We spent many years working in and around Azul, before we finally took to the sea as merchants.”

I watched as the corners of Hodrus’s lips turned up into a slight smile. “Lemont must be completely taken back to discover-”

“He’s dead.” I interrupted my brother.

It lacked a gentler tone I meant to carry in my words, however I couldn’t let Hodrus go on. I found it easier to take the wrap off that wound and allow the natural air to heal it faster.

Hodrus kept his gaze on me, but I still kept my gaze ahead, refusing to look at him.

“I’m sorry, Caspian.” He spoke.

“Just the natural process of things.” I replied. “He had served me, and served me well… right up until.”

Hodrus nodded at that, before he finally ripped his gaze from my exposed face, and followed where mine was, cast towards this very same water. I noticed now that the water was different from what I had once remembered. Less clear, even in the moonlight.

“You…” I heard him say before he trailed off a moment. “This face… I know it is different.”

“Are you?” I had asked that so suddenly, I was sure I had cut off some additional words Hodrus had meant to say. “When I look at you,” I continued, “I see a man who’s lost everything sacred but those eyes. A man who’s shed away every part of him he could.”

“If I could change these eyes, I would.” Hodrus replied, which made the hands that had slid themselves into the pockets of this cloak, close into a fist. “I still haven’t touched magic like you have. My weapons couldn’t conjure themselves as well as yours could then, and they still can’t now. This face was changed by a surgeon, therefore they couldn’t take the eyes.”

There was anger returning to my heart once more. “The fact that you would give them up at all, disgusts me.” I found my words bitter, yet they only echoed the bitter taste left in my mouth by the very words he spoke.

“ Caspian ,“ I heard my brothers voice soften some as he turned to look at me again. “You must know that that world is long behind us now. It no longer exists.”

That finally forced my gaze to his. To this man I knew was my brother, but as my eyes truly studied him, I realized I knew even less of who he was now than I thought to be true. Hell, than I thought could be true.

“This is not the same brother who was ready to fight for our home that night. You are no longer the man Dreska was forced to drag out of that palace in an effort to keep you alive.”

Hodrus placed a hand briefly on my thigh, before he brought it back to his own. “That’s because I’m not the same man, Caspian. In order for Dreska and I to live, I had to become something else. Someone else.”

My gaze separated from his, before I focused again on this still water. With each moment I looked to him, and with each word he freely spoke, my fury was growing. I could feel my face remain composed, but my eyes felt like they were on fire.

“You become the very thing that ruined us.” I told him.

“I became the very thing that held power.” He replied with, to which I scoffed.

“Look around us, brother,” I beckoned this slightly older man, “Look at the tress. Breathe in this thick air. Even this lake we once knew so well has been muddied with the soot from your men’s work in these forests. They’ve stripped away everything natural about the land itself.”

And my brother’s next choices of words made my heart almost completely shatter.

“To build, is to destroy, Cas. To improve is to let go.”

Those words drew my eyes back on his. Back on the very thing I should’ve recognized, and yet I now understood what Dreska had meant. There was no life behind those eyes. No purpose. I knew because those eyes reflected my own when I found myself knocking on death’s door.

“No.” my words held nothing but firmness as they contested my brothers. “To grow is to pull from the past, and adapt. To let go of it completely and willingly, is disjointed thinking that leads to the repetitions of the past itself. What The Holy Men did-”

“They did it in the interest of the people.” Hodrus insisted.

“ No ,“ I found myself standing even firmer on these words, “they did it in the interest of themselves. The selection process has proven that to be the most true.”

Those words flared something behind Hodrus’s dead eyes, yet he dared not act on it. Instead, he tried to take the path of reason. A path that didn’t exist here.

“I am about to be in a position that holds real power, Caspian. Imagine the good we can do. Imagine the greatness you and I could accomplish together? The public’s opinion of The Holy Men may be skewed for now, but this selection process is for their benefit. They will now have one leader who walks these streets amongst them, not a family that hides inside that palace.”

“The only thing you’ve convinced me of, brother,” I felt my gaze sharpened towards his, “Is that you did not know of the diplomacy our father and mother carried then, and you surely do not know of it now.”

Those words had angered him. I could see it in the other features that were not of his own. “Father carried on the work of his own that came before him, and mother didn’t know the first thing of magic. She didn’t know how to correctly raise us.”

That drew fire in my own eyes, to which I watched as Hodrus shifted back slightly at. “Caspian, your eyes-”

“I held our dying mother in my own hands. Her blood seeping through the uniform of our nation’s colors.” I could see her now. I recalled the memory so painful, it released something inside me. “Her last wish to me was to find you… those were the last words she spoke before she took her final breath, and this is how you repay that love? This is how you treat the own being who gave you life?”

“Your eyes, Caspian.” Hodrus whispered with slight fear now laced into the word of his own. “You’ve… you’ve touched a different kind of magic.”

I shifted my gaze to the lake in front of us once more in an effort to calm my raging heart.

“You come before me with magic, and yet you have the gall to defend a woman so helpless? One who couldn’t even defend herself with magic of her own? At least I’ve grown strong- earned my power, whether it be of the Lockehearts or of The Holy Men.”

“No,” I spit out harshly. “But defending a woman who stayed to fight knowing what her fate would be. That is a woman I will defend until I take the last breath of my own.”

This anger… this

fury … it wasn’t subsiding. I could feel the burning of my chains now against my covered arms, as they begged to be released.

“When we were younger, I once thought you to be uninterested. I thought that mind was perhaps too curious, that it longed for something else behind those palace walls.” I found my feet pushing me to stand with orders I would soon have to obey. I couldn’t stay here with my brother any longer, for I knew not what I would do to him if I did. And I was even less sure of what I would remember. “Now,” I continued, turning to the man who still remained perched on this rock. “Now I realize that that wasn’t uninterest. Now I realize that was willing stupidity.”

Those words alone pushed Hodrus to his feet, his eyes coming to life with that anger though his body forced himself a moment of calm. Neither one of us wanted to hurt the other, but he knew that if I drew my chains, he would not win.

“You think the edge you need comes from the magic you don’t posses. From the same magic that you would will, had your blood revealed it to you, as a weapon against the people we swore to protect.” I took a small step back to create more space between me and this slightly shorter man. “What you fail to realize is that I could still cut you down without it. That skill came from the countless hours I trained with our father. The countless books I wasted no time of mine discarding, much like you had.”

My feet carried me another step back towards the way in which Dreska and I had come.

“But there is one lesson I want you to heed. One that you spent years failing to understand, but will soon learn this night.” I hadn’t even known where my feet were taking me, but I knew I needed to leave both this place and this man.

“And what is that?” Hodrus spat at me with words that mirrored his true anger. It mirrored the blackness of what his heart had become… or perhaps the darkness that lived there all along with the light of my family once blinding me from it.

“Our father instilled the art of war in me… yet as I spare you now, I want you to know that this decision was made with none other than the humility taught by our mother. Something she had tried so desperately to teach you too, and now I can clearly see it was something you lacked the depth to learn.”

I finally turned my back to my brother as I started to leave this clearing completely. I knew he would not have a response to my teachings on this night. It angered him, but not enough to see who I’d become if my own fury got the better of me.

“Wait!” Hodrus called out quietly yet urgently as he watched me slowly disappear back into this darkness, my hands having already pulled the hood of this cloak over my head, and most of my face. “Dreska had asked me to guide you back… These forests are no longer carved the way they once were.”

I hadn’t bothered to turn again to the man I thought I once knew when words slipped past my lips.

“I know that all too well now.” I replied. “They aren’t what they once were. Just a speck of paint left from the portrait of something so beautiful… so now I need some time apart from you and Dreska. Some time to reflect on the decisions of you both that led us here.”

My mind hadn’t even known in which direction I should go, but my feet carried this tired body with bold determination. The determination to spare my brother before it was too late to save myself from who I’d become.

“Hodrus… Zirion… whichever name you’ve chosen to take in light of the one I once knew… I suggest you take the time to do the same.”

And those were the last words I left with the man I may have never recognized, before I left this clearing entirely.

The burning in my eyes didn’t subside until I had found myself deep into the forests we both once knew, and I could no longer feel that stranger I once called home near my now changed soul.

••

52. What Say Ye

Gahhhdayum, another long one cause now I’m just tryna get this ending all in there. I think 57 chapters has been my lucky number right?

Also I know I’ve been consistently alternating between Alistair and Caspian…

But I feel like the ending will flow better if I switch that up a bit again. I hope y’all rock with it

Also also it’s like 2am so I’m sorry if we got errors in this mf lol

Words were starting to look like hieroglyphics at a certain point.

Anyways,

Enjoy lovelies!

xoxo

Alistair

“So he’s…”

“Aye.”

…

“And we…”

“Aye.”

…

“And now you two are…”

“Aye.” I nodded once more to Cael, whose large fingers had been deeply massaging the indents of his temples so terribly hard for too long, that I believed he was making those slight indents larger.

“This is…”

“Unexpected.” I nodded.

“ Absolutely horrendously bad .“ Cael corrected, to which I released one awfully unexpected chuckle. The look Cael sent me made that chuckle dry out quickly.

“Alistair, you took the rightful heir to the throne as your slave .”

I let out a deep sigh of my own. “The alternative was death, which he so happily welcomed at the time. I’d like to think I saved the rightful heir to the throne.”

Cael was just about ready to draw his sword. “There are people, you-… I hear whispers, Alistair. There are many now who long for the old ways, and what they were. What they had done for these people. And now you just…”

I glanced past Cael and his mindless yapping, to the window of our study, analyzing the darkness that would soon bear light as daybreak steadily approached us.

I hadn’t slept well this night… or really rather at all. When the crew saw that I had returned without Caspian, the uneasiness quickly settled amongst my men. I could still hear many now, working their tasks much earlier than needed as they found something to fill the restless time that sleep couldn’t.

After perhaps my fourth round around the main deck, Cael requested I join him in the study. He looked like he had fought his way to sleep, and yet she still wouldn’t openly embrace him… and so I used this time we had as we waiting for the morning to settle, to discuss just what I had discovered about Caspian.

I decided not to tell my crew just yet, however Cael was an exception. Considering he had put in the effort to both place an inquiry on this white haired man, and pull it once I decided we wouldn’t sell Caspian, he deserve to know why we could never inquire about the identity of him again.

Ever .

That was for Caspian’s protection.

“How is it,” Cael sighed, pausing a moment to collect himself. “How is it you manage to find the worst pieces of trouble, and still seek out to collect them like rubies?”

I cast my gaze from the window back to my Navigator who sat in the seat I usually sat in, across from me. The direction of our conversations could usually be tied to who occupied that very seat. Tonight, Cael was leading this inquisition.

“Trouble finds me.” I put it simply, though those words had brought me back to the words Gaia had said to me back on that island…

“You, Alistair Melek, are incredibly consistent in falling into holes you shouldn’t.”

…Perhaps she was right.

Perhaps I was.

I once thought it was I who intentionally jumped right into those holes upon having gauged the depth of them completely… but this one? Well, for this one I had irrevocably fallen head first into its deep abyss. And perhaps I was still falling.

“Well tell it to go apply for work elsewhere because the consistency in which you give me a headache from all this unexpectedness is causing me to lose my mind.” Cael grumbled in return. “How is it I lose sleep when you and Caspian are together… and now I’m losing sleep when you two are for once apart? You are, with no doubt in my mind, the devil reincarnated.”

I couldn’t stop the laughter that slipped past my lips at that, although Cael’s continued glare brought that down to a smirk playing at these very same lips. “I couldn’t sleep either.” I reminded him.

“Something I’m sure you’ll come to regret later. We have a long trip back to Sicoria. One that still involves a stop for the ship’s maintenance.”

That made my smile disappear completely. “I have half the heart to let Finnik wait a little longer. Sicoria is such a tedious task to both port and set sail from, I don’t necessarily want to do that again any time soon.”

“You gave your word,” Cael reminded me. “And I’m sure he could meet us somewhere on the shoreline.”

Will he though is the real question , I thought to myself.

That awfully short man seemed a little too excited to force myself and my men into his small, cramped little tunnel. He wouldn’t pass up on the thought to do it again, should the situation present itself.

And this was indeed a situation that had indeed presented itself.

Cale and I sat across from each other, discussing the situation we had since found ourselves in. And we sat like this until the first signs of daylight shined through that very same window.

I had told Cael that I was to return to Dreska come dawn. He asked me if I needed any assistance, to which at first I had said no… but then my mind pondered it a moment, and I eventually requested Hobbs and Gilly.

These two men had returned to my ship the night before practically soaked in blood shortly after I had, but I didn’t ask any questions. Whatever business they attended to was their own, and I knew these two men well enough now to know that nothing would lead back to us. Nothing with them ever had, unless I sent them out myself and requested our mark be known.

That was the beauty of their efficiency.

Finn and Simon had returned with essentially everything the rest of my pirates had requested, which I thanked and paid them heftily for. Simon had even found those ridiculous instruments he spoke of, to which he had promised I wouldn’t find to be such as ridiculous once he mastered their tune.

Whatever pleased my men, pleased me. And they loved a good chantey, so all I did was nod to him as he loaded up more cargo onto this ship. I was personally excited about the food Finn had found and brought aboard.

My cook looked to me funny when I returned with oranges, which I didn’t understand until he retrieved from a crate he brought aboard, a fresh bag of his own. My smile only widened when he soon after admitted he had kept Caspian in mind while at the markets, regardless of the list he brought. I believe his exact words were “I finally have someone aboard with working tastebuds.” An insult I let go given the circumstances, for he had picked up on Caspian’s tastes much like I had.

Snips and Cael even proved fruitful working together. They retrieved everything needed for the maintenance of Ol’ Bess, whilst having made sure we kept reasonably within budget. I wasn’t one to hound my men about our spending, but there were things I still wanted to acquire on this journey. Things that came with a price that would dip into our reservoir.

And more importantly, things I couldn’t steal.

When I finally returned to Dreska’s home with Hobbs and Gilly following closely behind me, I was surprised to find just Dreska there.

“Where’s Caspian?” I asked the man. He was still wiping sleep from his eyes, which only irritated me further once I heard his shit reply.

“He didn’t return to me.” Dreska said. “I believe he and Hodrus had a disagreement.”

My men had found no sleep at the absence of Caspian, and yet this groggy imbecile had. Once he caught sight of the men that had accompanied me, I watched as he took a step back through his doorway.

“Who are these two?” He asked me, even though his eyes remained on them. His uneasiness lessened my irritation.

“They’re what I like to call my efficiency.” I responded with, stepping back to allow these two men to stand at either side of me. The look of Hobbs and Gilly terrified almost all who cast their gave upon them, and yet I somehow found it comforting how little Caspian cared. As time progressed, he had pulled more words from these two than I believe they had ever shared on deck. “I asked you a question before I took my leave, and I’m here to see whether you still understood it.”

That made Dreska’s black as night brows furrow against his slightly sun touched skin.

“You asked me quite a few.” He replied with. I chuckled at that response. He wasn’t wrong.

“The one in question is when I asked you who you’d serve. Who you would be loyal to when the time came to decide what the people of Azul truly needed… and where your loyalist laid if it was proven that no leader should lead this land.” Dreska’s face held confusion, and yet his eyes hardened some at my words. He now understood. “These men are here to see to it that you really are a man of your word.”

And those were the last words I left Dreska with before I stepped further back away from my men, allowing them to push past Dreska much to the short man’s protest and enter his small home.

My journey back to the ship felt longer without Hobbs and Gilly at my side. They spoke such little words to both each other, and I, but the information I had relayed to them had brought smiles to their own faces. I had apologized to them for I knew they hadn’t found sleep either, but they assured me that of all the tasks I could’ve sent them on, this one was worth the additional lack of sleep.

I followed the same path we had took, to return to my ship. I kept my hood down to cover practically all of my face, but I noticed as I walked down this busy street, that even less faces looked my way. The people had been even quieter and more reserved after the selection process that happened the previous day. Zirion was officially declared the lead advisor of The Holy Men so I was told, which made this whole debacle all the more humorous having understood more of who this man was thanks to Caspian.

The Holy Men were in for one long, turbulent few years ahead of them. And I was to make sure of it if I was given the go ahead by Caspian. If he felt my actions to be justified.

By the time I returned to the ship however, Caspian still hadn’t arrived.

“Do you think him to be lost?” Cael asked, separating his hand from mine after he hoisted me up into the ship from the otherwise vacant dock we had since ported.

“I’m not sure,” I replied with. “I don’t know if he has chosen to stay… or really how his meeting with his brother went as a whole. I’ve since developed a new task for Hobbs and Gilly which occupied the time I would’ve otherwise spent interrogating Dreska of what he perhaps knows.”

“You’re worried,” Cael noted practically immediately, “and yet you still returned to this ship. I would’ve thought you to burn this entire land in an effort to find that man.”

I dusted off my long black trench coat once my feet touched these sweet familiar floorboards, before I finally looked to my Navigator again. “You’ve seen him fight, have you not?”

Cael slowly nodded once my words were somewhat understood. It wasn’t the question he was expecting.

“I have faith that even against his own brother, Caspian can hold his own. He has a leverage on both The Holy Men, and his brother himself. Zirion would never jeopardize his newly found power if it was power he’s truly sought out… and Caspian doesn’t just hold the key to his demise… he is the key. The Holy Men are even more a pillar built on straws than I had once thought them to be.”

Cael studied me a moment further before he found himself nodding again.

“We must set sail soon, however.”  He reminded me.

“And we will.” I assured him. “However Caspian is old enough to make his own decisions. Upon seeing the way Dreska belittled his growth, I refuse to do the same.”

That made Cael’s eyebrows arch slightly. “Are you prepared to lose him if he wants to stay?” It was the very question that had inadvertently kept me up this very night.

I felt the edges of my lips pull up into a slight smile when my final thoughts fully developed themselves into words. “I’m prepared to do whatever it is that makes that man happy. I would’ve preferred a formal goodbye, however I promised that man life. If this is what he sees fit to appease that vacancy buried so deeply inside of him, I would do our union a disservice, however fleeting it had felt, to attest it.”

Cael looked taken back by my response, but I watched as his lips curled up into a smile himself. “You really truly do want the best for him.” Those words were nothing but genuine.

“ Aye ,“ I nodded in response. “And only he knows what that is.”

And so Cael allowed it as my men prepared to set sail.

This ship was already strapped down and ready for whatever winds hit it, for the work most of my men had carried on during the night, had prepared her long before we’d need to pull in our anchor and unstrap the ship from the dock itself.

I found myself doing my final rounds with my crew, but as each moment passed with no Caspian in sight, their own high spirits had quickly started to dwindle.

“We can’t leave him.” Snips spoke to me, to which all I could do was offer a small smile.

“We don’t own him either. I could never love someone who I equated to as that of a piece on a chessboard. He has his own reasons, Snips.”

This fiery shorter pirate of mine understood my words, but that didn’t put his own wariness to rest. I was quickly beginning to understand that it wasn’t just I who would have preferred a more formal goodbye.

It was my men, too.

Their own sentiments didn’t fall upon deaf ears for they simply didn’t allow it to. I felt their detest of our current situation.

I was just ready to untie this rope that was now the only thing still keeping us to its dock, yet before I could. I heard Coop call from his nest up above that he spotted the rest of my men. I by this time only expected to see Hobbs and Gilly, for this was in due time for the task I sent them on… yet it was who they led behind them that made my feet swiftly carry themselves from the top deck to the side of the ship that remained ported. I could see three men in thick hooded cloaks quickly approaching this vessel.

Hobbs was the first to push his thick hood back and reveal that scarred face. There was no blood on any of them from what I could tell, which brought me even greater joy. Once Hobbs was close to the side of the ship, I anchored myself off the side with my left hand, and used my right to stretch outwards to him. The darker skin of his own hand connected with mine, before I hoisted him up onto the main deck.

Then I stretched my hand again, doing the same for Gilly who hadn’t been too far behind. He took the hand offered to him gratefully before I pulled him onto this vessel to join his brother.

The man that approached me last, the very same man that had finally pushed his hood back to reveal his pale features, and paler hair, didn’t move with as much speed as Gilly and Hobbs had. I found myself hesitating before I could so willingly extended that same hand.

“My apologies for my tardiness.” Was the very first thing he said to me when his eyes met mine. I saw the tiredness in them immediately.

“All is forgiven,” I replied with a gentle care to my tone. “I wasn’t sure if you had decided to stay.”

Caspian’s eyes held mine, his face growing a tad bit flushed as he asked “would you have let me?”

That forced a smile upon my lips. One that was genuine as I found myself saying aye . “It’s not too late, either.” I reminded him. “As of now, you are no longer property of mine. You can choose what life you see fit to live past this dock, whether that be towards the sea, or towards the place you once called home.”

I watched as Caspian’s clearly exhausted features spread the emotion of surprise across them. Whatever this night had brought upon, had kept him awake perhaps as long as it did both my ship and my crew.

“If I am…” Caspian trailed off slowly. His words had sounded so delicate, I imagined he would choose these next ones carefully. “If I am not to board this ship again as a slave, then what am I to board it as?”

That question alone only made my smile widen further, for it brought warmth to places of myself that had all too swiftly grown accustomed to the cold. I find my right hand stretching down to him finally.

“You would board this ship as a pirate,” I explained to this white haired man. “And I will grant you the same clean slate I have granted any man who chooses to sail with me beneath these blood red sails.”

That question made Caspian’s brows crease in some confusion, but I made sure my words were clear this time. The most clear enough for him to understand.

“The life you led before is now behind you. I will do no further questioning. I will make no additional inquiries. All I ask is your loyalty. Loyalty to both the direction in which I captain this ship… and to the loyalty of the men that once accepted this very oath before you.”

Caspian’s eyes had slowly widened to those words. These were the very words I had asked my own men when faced with this very same proposition.

“What say ye?” I asked suddenly, turning my head to my meddling crew who were now trying to find something, anything , to keep themselves on this main deck, and near to this conversation at hand. In unison, I heard the cries of my men answer as they turned their gaze up from their tasks to I.

“Aye!”

That word rung across the main deck with glee. My men had given their final answer, and it was something I was willing to heed when I finally turned to Caspian again.

“And what say you?” I had asked… but I felt Caspian slip his hand into mine before he answered with a word that only echoed that of my crew.

“ Aye .“ He slowly nodded, clasping those strong fingers around my own. And to that, I pulled him up, bringing his body aboard this ship then to mine with ease.

••

53. Give And Take

I bestow upon you all a double update today lol. Yesterday was my dad’s two year memorial for his passing so that was why I didn’t get a chapter out. It was also my gma’s bday so the family stuff was familying fr

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. song referenced in this chapter and what the chapter is named after, is above, and updated in the playlist!

“Give and Take only works when both sides really give and take.”

Alistair

Caspian stumbled into me from the force I had yanked him up with, however this very same hand immediately left his to wrap itself around the man’s waist. My body couldn’t deny how good it felt to have him near me again, and I didn’t suppress it either.

The sound of Cael clearing his throat was what stopped me from fully losing myself to this man on the very exposed deck of this ship.

“It’s time to go.” He rememinded the both of us as my eye kept its gaze of Caspian’s now slightly bluer ones. Whatever had happened with Hodrus had changed him.

“Have you decided?” I asked Caspian quietly. “Did you recognize him?”

Caspian took a moment before he slowly shook his head up at me, however his answer surprised me.

“I’m… well, I’m not too sure I ever really did.”

I had understood those words in somewhat completion, and yet the sadness soaked in them made my arm tighten around that firm waist, forcing his body even more flush against mine. “ Aye ,“ I spoke in return. There was a pause I gave myself to think on those very words of his, before I finally turned to Cael. “Bring her ’round to the main docks.”

Cael’s gaze found mine immediately once that order left my lips, to which I held it. Whatever distaste Cael was to have about this next decision of mine, was one he would simply need to find the strength to overcome.

For my mind had now been made. And the direction I gave was a direct order.

Something that, at the very least, Cael understood. There would be no attesting this.

When he turned to my men who had now began to abandon the ridiculous tasks they had made for themselves to appease their eavesdropping spirit, he relayed my words fully. “Aye! You heard our Cap’in, pull in the ropes and bring her ’round to the main ports!”

That order got my men moving immediately and with quick speeds, but I noticed not only had they already been smiling, that order only made their smiles widen. There was no ill feelings towards the possibility of destruction, and my men had sailed these seas long enough with me to know when a bloodbath would soon follow.

“What are you to do?” Caspian asked, still in my arms. It called my attention back down to him while Ol’ Bess had jolted herself back to life, but the floorboards beneath both mine and Caspian’s feet remained still.

“You’ll see.” Was all I told the man before my arm eventually loosened itself around Caspian’s waist. Instead, my hand found its way to Caspian’s, interlocking our fingers, and I found myself leading him across the main deck towards the very front of the ship.

We watched here together in silence, looking towards the horizon as my crew moved quickly around this vessel. They were preparing Ol’ Bess for whatever I was planning next, but I wanted to give Caspian the most perfect view of what was to come.

In actuality, I intended to give them all a perfect view.

There was a lesson to be learnt this high noon. One even the people of Azul would soon have drilled into those thick fucking skulls of theirs.

Caspian turned his attention from the busy ports of this land that were quickly coming into view, towards me again, before he asked “do you intend to kill him?”

I turned my head to this slightly shorter man before I replied “I intend to end him.”

Judging by the confusion clearly displayed on Caspian’s face, he didn’t quite understand what I had meant. And that was okay, for I was a hands on learner myself.

As my ships approached the about twenty of so vessels docked on this side of Azul, she slowed herself to a stop only a few hundred feet away.

And as soon as the first few citizens scattered across the shore, moving products to and from the boats of the merchants docked there, saw my blood red sails, they stopped themselves dead in their tracks. Some had even dropped the crates of merchandise they had been offloading and loading. That was when my hand finally slipped out of Caspian’s and joined my other as both hands rested flat on the ledge of the very point of my ship.

I could hear the rusting of thick chains as our anchor was dropped through the water by my men, and that was my signal that it was time to begin.

My eye close a moment, listening to the beating of my ship. Her beat in rhythm with my own.

She and I were both ready to begin.

“ Citizens of Azul, “ I whispered into the winds, watching carefully as more people on that shore had stopped all work at my voice. Even those in the market had quickly started to make their way down those busy paths to the shoreline once my voice had reached everyone on this side of the land. “ I hear there’s a man here looking for me. Zirion Khan. It would be a pity to leave this shithole without meeting that who called my name by cho

ice

. One who dared to. “

Even from where my ship stood, it was difficult to miss the paleness that had befallen so many faces gathering at the shore.

These people now knew that I had already walked these streets amongst them with not one noticing, and that this call to me came from the mouth of none other than that who they had just appointed.

“ Now I’m a reasonable man… however if you keep me waiting, I will show you just what my patience will cost you .“

I could see some of The Holy Men had already started to make their way towards where their people gathered. The white robes they wore stood out, and must’ve been in association with the celebration that was to be held today. The celebration I was now interrupting.

One of the men had since taken past the shore line to walk towards the edge of a deck located closer to the middle of these lines ships.

“You do not speak to our appointed councilman!” He called out to me. “If you wish to speak to anyone, you may address u-”

My right had eased itself slightly off my ship for only a moment, and with a flick of my wrist, I ripped that dock completely off its steadied pillars that had been stationed into the water, and I sent both the dock, and the man once standing on it, flying into the next ship on my left. The sound was deafening, yet the only sound I heard was the sharp inhale from Caspian besides me.

“ What did I

just

say about my patience? “ My voice carried to this now almost filled shoreline, although many of its citizens and those that had only simply ported for a sale, had taken very large steps back away from both the docks and the waters they were built into.

I could hear the sounds of crying merchants once that dock tore through the boat that wasn’t nearly large enough to withstand the impact, but I made sure my words cut straight through to the ears of those in range to listen.

“ Bring your appointed councilman to me.

Now

.“

The Holy Men had all stood in place, watching the now clear water in disbelief as they soon registered that that dock was no longer there. It took them a moment, but once they finally understood that, two men quickly left the now five Holy Men that I counted on this shore, to go fetch the thing they should’ve done so as soon as they saw these blood red sails.

“You…” Caspian whispered to me. “How did you…. I thought you… docks don’t have a heartbeat, do they?”

I turned to this handsome man with a smile. He was taking my already heightened delight, and making it all the more sweeter.

“No,” I shook my head. “But anything that touches these waters is mine. Azul would’ve done themselves some good to remember that, but I will very soon remind them.” Then my eyes returned to the shore once again…

And we began the wait.

Zirion had done himself and his people overwhelming good by making haste. I knew who he was as he and his men sprinted across the sandy beach, by the gold emblem of The Holy Men on his white robe and his alone. He approached these shores with the two Holy Men that had taken off to get him, and three additional guards. They all kept as close to him as possible when the sea of people parted to allow him through.

He was starting to walk towards the next dock on my right, but a guard’s hand quickly came down on his shoulder hard. He turned to that man but the man only shook his head slowly. He was one of the two that saw what I had done shortly before their departure. None would take another chance like that. Not like the first of them had.

Then Zirion’s pale eyes returned to the sea. Returned to me… for a brief moment anyways. They almost immediately shifted to Caspian who stood right beside me, and the pale reflection of the enemy’s face went stark white with realization.

“ Caspian .“ I heard him whisper, but I was the only one who could. I expected Caspian’s expressions to change, to soften once he saw his brother, but it only grew harder. And that encouraged me to continue this collection of debt.

“ Zirion Khan of Azul.“ I almost laughed to myself at the ridiculous name he had chosen to take . “Whispers across these waters tell me you’ve been looking for me. Hunting me, rather. Well I like to think I to be quite hospitable, and what manners would I have if I didn’t properly introduce myself?”

“Alistair!” He called through the air almost immediately after my words. “What is it you want with this protected land?”

My eyebrows furrowed at that answer of his. For he really couldn’t have been that stupid. I turned to Caspian who now had his fingers massaging the bridge of his nose, his eyes cast to the floor in clear shame.

Aye , I thought to myself, perhaps he really was just that stupid.

This would’ve felt like robbing a child if I hadn’t seen first hand the decisions he and his men had made, and the effects those orders had on both this land and its people. A debt would certainly still need to be collected.

“ Well ,“ I started, not sure how to put this. “ First you can stop yelling. Very soon you will not want those words of yours to reach your people. Very soon you won’t want mine to either. “

That made most of the now hundred or so people of Azul who gathered, turn to their new leader.

And the look on Zirion’s face was utterly fucking priceless to me. Fear was starting to creep upon him. As his eyes shifted from mine to Caspian’s once more, that only confirmed it. Caspian may have been the key to his demise… but I now held that very key in the palm of my hand, begging him to make me use it.

“ Next order of business, “ I continued. “ A lesson on some history… for a little raven once told me you didn’t care to pay attention in your classes. Luckily for you, I’m an excellent teacher. “

The people of Azul kept their eyes darting back and forth between myself and Zirion, hearing my words echo through the edge of their land straight to their very ears, but Zirion’s eyes could only shift between Caspian and I.

“ Once upon a time, there was an unspoken law passed between the sea and the land .“ As soon as those words left my lips, that very same right hand lifted it off my ship’s ledge ever so slightly, and with another quick flick of my wrist, I swiped the very pillars of the next three docks to my right, ripping them from the fastenings of the dock, and sinking both them, and that walking boards, straight down to the bottom of the sea itself.

I had now destroyed any efforts of escape from eight of the twenty or so ships. Well, seven, considering the ship that was now ruined by the dock I had thrown into it. The men that were boarded on that ship were still wailing ear piercing cries for help, but not a single person on land came to their aid. None still dared to step foot in these waters.

When my eye returned to Zirion, his face was hard, fixed with anger… but I could see well past it. I could hear his heartbeat even from here, and it beat with nothing but fear. Whereas for mine? Well it beat in tune to the drums of war.

I cleared my throat before I continued. “ This unspoken law was one both parties understood. Sea and land would act in partisan with one another. This was to keep the peace. Neither party would meddle with what took place in the others domain .“

That very hand raised itself again, this time sending one of the few remaining docks straight through the main deck of the ship next to it, who’s men were now trying to unboard in an attempt to flee.

I didn’t like to be interrupted.

And escaping these waters now was not possible for any man still on their merchant vessels. Those vessels touched the sea itself, therefore they were mine.

“ You, Zirion Khan of Azul, and the men who so ceremoniously stand beside you… you made a fateful decision to cross your domain. And while I have left you to run amuck through this once beautiful land, you took that as a sign of weakness… Something I do not take kindly to .“

More screams from that now destroyed ship echoed through air, flames starting to burn from the oil they surely once carried aboard. Only a moment passed before there was another deafening boom, and the entire main deck exploded before all our eyes. That cause Caspian to jump, but he didn’t back away.

He didn’t leave his position here beside me.

“ I believe a beneficial relationship works when both parties give and take. I have given you my patience, dear Zirion… I have given you the space to do to this land as you wish… but now? Just as you have overstepped, allow me to join you in this dance. For you called upon The Pirate King, and now it’s time to take .“

I watched those pale eyes of his widen in horror as they looked at towards the sea… but those eyes were cast in quite the wrong direction…

For as soon as I had uttered those very words, there was a sound that came from land that drowned out all the screams and cries of agony from the men on water.

It was the sound of a serious of explosions all in quick succession with one another, the ear drum shattering sounds as massive clouds of smoke soon filled the air towards inland. There was no escaping that sound. The sounds of stone being blown apart. Wood snapping so easily like one could snap a twig. The citizens turned their heads immediately to it as they cried out in pure shock, moving towards the waters without them even realizing, to escape whatever I had just done on land. This included Zirion himself, and his men.

The Holy Men Could only watch as that smoke quickly grew larger, stretching over the once clear blue skies much like I imagined they had the night Azultia burned.

“ This destruction on your ports, “ I spoke to Zirion and his people, beckoning their now terrified expressions my way again. “ This is for being as so bold enough to send a man like Gaelick. After I, nonetheless. “

“Wait!” One of The Holy Men shouted, but I fully ignored his cry.

“ And that, “ I raised my right hand again which sent emotions through every being watching. I could see it now… true fear. They knew not what I was to do next. They were no longer safe neither in these waters, or on the land. In which their feet were planted on “ What I’ve just done to your precious councilmen’s place of home…

Well that was for none other than the Lockehearts, and what your men did to theirs.“

Caspian ripped his gaze away from his land immediately to look up at me. I turned my head towards him slightly with a smirk that had never quite left my lips since he boarded, but the look he had given me made that smirk turn to a genuine smile.

“How?” He asked me quietly. I allowed him to pause a moment to think, before realization soon spread across his face. “ Dreska .“ He whispered.

My smile slowly widened further.

“There are some still willing to right their wrongs.” I told this beautiful, white haired man. “That, and well, I can be rather convincing when the time calls for it.”

That had made the edges of Caspian’s lips tug up into a genuine smile of his own. Even with the growing cries of agony building around us. The screams from Zirion’s men now as some cried out for mercy… even through all this chaos I had just created, the only thing I cared to listen to was his heartbeat.

The only face I cared to study was his.

My hands removed themselves from the edge of my ship, before I raise my right one to the skin that covered Caspian’s sharp jawline. I then tilted his head up some towards me before speaking these words to him and him alone.

“It’s about time I get serious, isn’t it?” I asked this man.

His eyes grew the widest I think I’ve ever seen them, but he found himself slowly nodding. Understanding. Then I took this opportunity to bend down slightly, closing my eyes as my lips found his with ease, and brushed gently against them.

Before I pulled myself away from this chastened, stolen kiss, I whispered to him softly.

“ It will all be over soon .“

Caspian didn’t have any time to react as I pulled away and straightened myself out. Then I placed my hands firmly back on the ledge of that ship and hoisted this large body onto it with ease. I took a knee, allowing my right hand to steady me as it rested palm facing down, flat against the very tip of my ship, whilst my left slowly brought itself up to this leather eye patch concealing my harsher truth. 

Caspian’s heartbeat quickened when I pushed the material further up to reveal my left eye.

And as both eyes finally laid themselves on Zirion, seeing him clearly now, he looked as if he was having a heart attack. His body still standing told me that he was still alive, to which I found great joy and impending sadness all in one.

Seeing him die from witnessing the kiss I just laid on his brother would have brought a particular amount of warmth to my heart that I was sure I hadn’t felt before, but alas, this only meant more fun.

I couldn’t remember the last time something like this had felt so… exhilarating .

These next words I spoke were for Zirion’s ears and his alone. “ Hodrus Lockeheart, “ I whispered to him, watching as he took a few sudden staggering steps back. “ You’ve overstepped your purpose, which may have very well been worth nothing to begin with. You may think you built yourself from ash, but when I see you now… all I see is the blood of your family that you have since drenched yourself in. “

Both my eyes focused on the enemy whose magic I could see but couldn’t feel. He was a mere speck of what his brother was. What his brother was forced to become.

This small man wasn’t deserving of this royal blood.

“ I was going to kill you… but as you may already know… As your brother very well knows, “ I shifted my gaze slightly to the only other man who could hear me. And the intent gaze of his breathtaking eyes were on nothing but myself. “ Death is too easy, isn’t it?“

The look Caspian was giving me was inexplicable, yet I forced my focus back on the idiot that still stood on that beach. Him frozen in place along with his men.

“ And so, “ I continued, “ I’ve decided to grant you the very same opportunity I have given your brother. “ I could feel the beating of my ship, and my heart, accelerating further. I felt past her deep rich wood to the waters below, my reach of the sea starting to both strengthen and stretch itself. “ The gift of living .“

Caspian’s own heartbeat had quickened once more when he felt the energy I was coursing through both these floorboards, and well past them. The sea’s waves were starting to stir in rythm with my ship. They were moving at her and I’s command.

The sounds of the harsher winds cut through my blood red sails, mirroring the rage I had pushed into the sea.

“ Yet yours won’t be spent like his. After this day… you’re going to wish I had stayed, perhaps carved the time out of my tight schedule, to finish you off completely. “

I could feel my left eye burning redder, the power I was about to call upon was now cursing through my veins in waves, turning the veins themselves from a muffled blue to a glowing red… and when I finally shifted my attention down to the ledge of my ship, watching as my body prepared itself for what was to come, I whispered my few final words.

These words weren’t meant for the people of Azul, nor Zirion himself, but they had surely heard them… for these words fell upon the thing they’d also soon learn to fear.

The sea itself.

“ To every vessel that dares to touch these waters of mine …

I release you all. “

••

54. A Chantey

Well hellooooo there m’loves!

Just popping in to first say thank you for all the condolences and well wishes…

You all seriously make this writing shit worth it.

Anyways, back it again with another upload

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. I might confuse y’all with this but the song referenced in this chapter is one I added before. You’ll know which chapter/song to check out when you get there lol, sorry for the homework

The song above is the overall vibe of this chapter and is simply chefs kiss

A little recommendation from a fellow reader

Thanks, love <3 this one got me goinggg with writing

P.P.S. I got some more fan art from the same amazing reader and artist after the chapter for ya!

One of them is… well… you’ll have to give your own thanks to the artist when you see it;) cause babyyyyyyyyy they did they big one

Privateer:

A

n armed ship

or captain commissioned by the government or sovereign that legally exerts their right to pillage

(Gaelick, also Barbossa in POTC On Stranger Tides, which lock me up but I loved lol)

Caspian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/a5651dd7d8a17d4a83b1dcc1df31b338a444448a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4b4b39686c785164356f36594e773d3d2d313435393730343234312e313765316362663831346234616230643533323933393731373033322e6a7067)               

I felt the vibration of the floor boards right beneath my feet as this vessel really came to life. The beating of Ol’ Bess’s heart felt like drums of war against me, which only mirrored the man that Alistair had now become.

No , I thought. Not a man. Something else.

His veins were starting to glow a bright red, like fire under his skin spreading across his entire body. The black cloak he wore was blown back by the wind, only held together at his neck with the silver broach he wore, securing it. Those thick strands of rich charcoal hair melted against the blowing fabric, tossed back into this growing storm.

I couldn’t tell whether I even felt my own heartbeat anymore. Not over the pounding sounds of his and Ol’ Bess’s. Or perhaps they all held the same rhythm.

The hand he had connected to the ledge had placed so much pressure onto the wood, it had started to cave against the print of his hand, but Ol’ Bess kept it contained. His power. It was flowing through her down to the sea itself, I could feel it connecting with mine in a way I hadn’t felt before as the ink on my arm began to burn. It was like he had somehow linked every man whose feet touched any part of this vessel, to the ship itself, fastening the grip of our boots against the floorboards.

…I release you all.

Those simple words had awoken something within the sea. And I could feel its cold rage spread below us, though none of my skin had been directly touching these waters.

I hadn’t noticed it until now, but as I looked past Alistair to the shores ahead, and closer at every ship still standing, they too had began to stir. Every single piece of wood connecting themselves to the very build of their vessels, had begun to rattle. The sound flowing into the cries of agony. The people on shore had tried to move, but they couldn’t. I watched as their feet physically fought against what their mind must have been screaming to them.

There was something Alistair had done. Something that now kept them on these shores, and held them here against their will.

“

Men

,“ I heard Alistair’s voice whisper across the entirety of his ship, but when I turned to him again, his lips didn’t move this time. “

What say ye?

“

I didn’t hear any words at first, none from his crew.

Just the grinding sounds of metal slashing, scraping against themselves as the crew began to unsheathe their swords. As my head slowly turned from Alistair to the rest of the deck behind us, I found myself completely stunned into silence.

Each men had slowly begun to lower themselves into to a stance closer to the floor, drawing their swords and daggers close to them. The expressions on each of their faces… it was the terror that full echoed that of their Captain. And it sent deep shivers through my already unnerved senses.

I recognized this stance before, from when we came upon Jirah’s ship. They were preparing themselves for a battle. Or rather, a bloodbath.

My eyes slowly moved from pirate to pirate, those deadly smiles now spreading across each of their hardened faces. Their was a glimmer in their eyes that I had never seen before. In any of them, nor anyone. But when my eyes finally found themselves to Cael, they stopped at him entirely.

His right hand had wrapped itself along the handle of the sword I had never laid my eyes on before.

For since the time I had first boarded this ship, he had never unsheathed it.

That strong hand pulled against its handle, yanking it from its hold, and the sound of the blade ringing harshly against my ears was something of which I didn’t know. I hadn’t heard this metal before. And when that long sword appeared, the blade was surely the longest I had ever seen anyone capable of wielding. He wrapped his other hand around the handle, bringing his steadied weapon forward until it was directly in front of him.

When his eyes found mine from where he stood towards the front, I watched as he pushed his left foot back, dragging against the floorboards before he lowered himself to match the same stance as the rest of his men. To my certainly surprised expression, he then offered me a smile. One that mirrored some of the terror this ship was quickly gearing to inflict.

I saw him mouth something through that smile however, but I couldn’t hear him over the chaos behind me.

“What-” I found myself starting to whisper, yet it was Alistair’s words that made me understand.

“ Part of the crew, part of the ship. “ He whispered, which pulled my head towards him again. “ That’s his reasoning to fight. You.“

I simply stared at Alistair a moment.

I didn’t even know what to say to that. I don’t think I had the words to.

The look Cael had given me… he had known more now. I felt the edges of my own lips turning up into a slight smile, and it only grew as did this energy from Alistair. It was multiplying.

Cael knew who I was, and still he was willing to fight. Not because of who I was- a Lockeheart. But because of who I was once I boarded this ship again. A pirate. One choosing to sail under these blood red sails willingly… and now a part of this crew.

“

Men

,“ Alistair’s voice whispered through the growing winds again, sweeping across each deck of this vessel. “

What say ye?

“

“ Aye .“ His men’s own whisper sounded haunting as the winds quickly dispersed those voices across these decks, and beyond the ship itself. I turned back to Alistair just as he looked my way again. He had remained silent with his burning eyes on mine now, his skin on fire, waiting for my answer.

And it was like the word slipped past my tongue with no knowledge of my own. “ Aye .“ I found myself slowly nodding.

“

Well then,“

His whispers grew suddenly, spreading deep into the very floorboards themselves. There was no part of this ship that he wasn’t connected to, and yet it felt like in this moment, there was no part of the sea that wasn’t at his beckon. At his mercy.

“

Cael…“

his voice whispered through the ship itself to his Navigator.

“…cut down the sky

.“

My head yanked itself back to the crew again. To those sudden orders Alistair had given, and to Cael himself.

This day had already bestowed many wonders within this ship and its crew, however what I was about to see, left me completely frozen in place.

He drew his long sword further out in front of him, drawing his eyes closed for a moment…

But when they slowly opened once more, those eyes were no longer his.

They were something more, as they now glowed a bright white light. The entire eye itself, contrasting sharply against his dark skin.

That very same light spread, starting to flow from his eyes under his skin much like Alistair’s magic had, but the stream of light didn’t linger in his veins like Alistair’s, it was like the light from a shooting star slowly moving through him until it reached the ink on his neck, illuminating the once black and intricate patterns down his chest and arms. Those patterns that covered what were exposed of his broad chest and further, glowed a bright permanent white now, as bright as his eyes, and it stretched down to his hands.

The only way I could explain it, was if the stars themselves somehow lived under Cael’s skin. He had somehow become the embodiment of night.

But the light hadn’t stopped itself there. I could feel it now, this ethereal feeling quickly sweeping through the ship. This magic gave Cael’s massive sword a white hueish glow that lit his long blade completely. And as he slowly passed the blade downward, closer to the floor, I didn’t quite understand what it was he was doing…

Until my eyes shifted from his, to what had suddenly clouded some of the sky above us.

What was starting to form as a thick, black, cloud-like slit against the brightness of day, slowly began to stretch further out across the sky itself, and it quickly grew. That once bright blue of high noon was now being engulfed by this black cloud, as that slit grew longer across the heavens and widened itself out.

I watched the world above us before my very eyes as it was cut open, spreading this blackness across like a night sky, over both Azul and as far and as wide as we all could see.

What was once day, had now become night above us.

And the horrid gasps from the citizens of Azul still planted firmly on the shore, rang out in almost unison, that ghastly sound having been heard over the cries of their own, and those unlucky to dock in Azul on this here day.

The slight chilling chuckle from Alistair brought my attention back to him. I was still standing beside him amidst these winds. The waves were now crashing against each vessel that touched them, forcing more of the citizens to try to move those feet of theirs. To step further away from the water, but the burning of the councilmen’s home had also terrified them. There was no safety in front, nor behind where they stood… for they knew not what next Alistair had planned next.

Even I did not know.

…This is for the Lockehearts, and what you did to theirs.

That very line had made me feel something I couldn’t quite put to words once Alistair had said them. The way he had chosen to spare my brother even after I had revealed to him the truth.

Well…

As my gaze fixed itself on Alistair and the sinister smile he now bore, the winds since blowing back his hood and hair, revealing the coldness of his features to all. I realized that I actually wasn’t quite sure what Alistair was going to do next. I never was. And to make the gift of living sound like the most terrifying a threat… I realized Alistair may not have actually spared Hodrus at all.

I watched this Captain’s lips start to move, thinking he would whisper something else out to the people of Azul. They were still struggling against whatever forces kept their feet in place, as the burning ships and now burning docks created bright embers against the darkness of this land. The merchants still boarded on every ship that now rattled with promises of breaking apart completely, were scrambling to find their own source of light.

Alistair had done something to their ships, something I hadn’t yet quite understood, and with minimal light aboard their vessels, more panic only ensued.

This burning ship next to us gave Alistair and his men all the clarity we needed. He was making sure we saw every single face of these terrified people, as they could see us.

But when his lips moved, I noticed soon after that he was letting out a different sound- a whistle.

My eyes grew wide at it.

Never had I heard such a sound cut through every single turbulent wind before. Every single blood curdling cry. I heard that tune damn near through my whole body, and once the familiarity of it came to me, I could only stare at Alistair.

How did he know this?

Had he heard Dreska at the market?

No, I thought…

But my thoughts were silenced once I hear what followed that whistle. And it was the low hums of his men behind me. Hums that spread throughout the winds of the sea, carry through what sounded like the entirety of Azul.

The first cry that made it through the wind was muffled, but the second came to my ears. Then the third, and the fourth. Those same words uttered in succession of each other past this ship, and aboard the merchants.

“ Hoist the colours! “

“ Hoist the colours!“

“ Hoist the fucking colours you rotten imbeciles! Move!“

I couldn’t even fully understand what that meant until I started to see what the men on the remaining merchant ships had now busied themselves with.

Each man had started to work together, their hands tightening against the whipping ropes from the winds, as they pulled hard to lower the beige sails that signified the ship of a merchant. The men on these vessels were scrambling to thread different sails through those very ropes, in hopes of finding the strength to then hoist them up amidst the storm.

This, this tune, however… the one that overtook the air above the sea.

It was the lullaby from my mother. The very tune that had led me to Dreska.

I didn’t understand how they-… how they all-

“

Cold!

“ Alistair’s voice cut straight through everything. The ships. The sea itself. The cries from the merchants ship still standing, and those now burning. Simply everything..

“ The air and water flowing… “ His man sung low, forcing my eyes to widen even further as I turned yet again back to them.

“

Hard!

“ I felt the hair covering the entirety of my body, start to stand to attention, nipping away at the fabric catching on to them under this thick cloak.

“ The land we call our home… “

These words… they were words I had never heard before. Words I hadn’t known existed to the song my mother would help me find sleep with.

“

Push!

“

“ To keep the dark from coming… Feel the weight of what we owe. “

The sea was raging now, and with an anger I had never seen before. Felt before. An anger I hadn’t thought possible to come from anything before. Until now.

“

This!

“

“ The song of sons and daughters.. .“

“

Hide!

“

“ The heart of who we are…“

“

Making peace to build our future… strong, united, working till we fall.

“ Alistair joined his men. Their voices seemed to be growing louder and louder… until I heard it.

The sound. This song.

It wasn’t just coming from this ship.

As I looked out again to the shore, to the ships still standing, I saw now that the sails flown from these remaining few weren’t just any sails. They were the sails of rebellion. The sails of piracy. The sails once flown by those before they became a privateer, a pirate merchant protected under The Holy Men and the power that held Azul.

Had Alistair known… I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure how he could, but then again I also wasn’t sure how any of this could be. How any of this was .

“ And we all lift

And we’re all adrift together, together

Through the cold mist

’Til we’re lifeless together, together.“

I finally realized as the words of these pirates echoed through the winds with strength, that this… this song they sang.

It wasn’t what I once thought. It was no lullaby.

It was a chantey.

I had been so distracted by the sky. By the ships, and their flags, I hadn’t noticed the water itself until the glimmering finally caught my eye, and I cast my gaze from the ships around us, lower to the waters below.

Below the very waters of Alistair’s ship, the sea had started to take on an almost slightly shimmery glow. I leant myself closer over the very tip’s ledge of the vessel to get a better look, but Alistair’s words spoke to me quickly. His words carried over the signing of his men and the men of those that had turned, joining his crew.

“Don’t venture too close. However, don’t be frightened either… They aren’t here for us.”

My eyes peered back to the blackness of the water mirroring the night sky above us, and though it took me a moment, I could see what those glimmers of light really were below the surface.

They were the reflections of scales.

I watched as more and more long tails swam slowly through these crashing waves. Tails that were longer than any fish I knew, the deep golden and blue hues of the scales being the only thing I could see through the water, but as the first thing slowly appeared above, I felt myself draw further back from the ledge immediately.

All I could see was long black hair flowing from what looked like a woman’s head, she was turned from us facing towards the shore, therefore I could see nothing else.

Another head then soon appeared to the far right of the ship, revealing more of a face I could see, and it was in fact human. A woman. Her skin as white as ash, with deep brown hair coating the waters surrounding her at the level of her delicate neck. I watched those pale lips of hers part slightly, but the sound I soon heard was something nothing could describe. A melancholic yet haunting tune.

More heads began to slowly emerge from the dark waters all around Alistair’s vessel, joining that woman soon in a tune that fell in line with Alistair’s men and the men at sea, yet it had somehow also started to form this slight mist right above the water itself. It made it difficult to see how many of these things there were, but the glimmering of the waters below from those scales hadn’t subsided.

I watched as more swam past Alistair’s ship.

“ Sirens .“ I whispered to myself in complete and utter disbelief.

The creatures of myths. Purely tales…

And yet they were here. Right before my very eyes.

It was the commotion that started ashore which brought my gaze up past these creatures, to the creatures in their own right who still stood standing on the sandy coast. I watched as Zirion reached desperately for one of The Holy Men that had started to leave his councilmen, however his feet weren’t drawing him closer inland, they were bringing him closer to us. Towards these waters.

“Quil!” Zirion shouted, but the man did not care to listen. I watched him take those first few steps from the lowest point of the shore where the waters met land, right into the sea itself. As he waded his thick white cloak through the blackness, I noticed there was something off. His body was in almost a trance like state, carrying him deeper and deeper into the water with no expressions visible, as he started to swim out to Alistair’s boat.

Rather, to the creatures that were now spread all around it… calling to him as they waited.

…They’re not here for us.

What Alistair had said… those world rang through me again as the man soon disappeared into the misty water, his scream ringing out only once across the sea before it was silenced.

“Wait!” Zirion shouted, though his feet couldn’t move him as another Holy Man left his side, slowly dragging his own obedient feet against the white sand before he soon followed his comrade past the false security of land, and into the dark, cold waters itself. “Wait!” Zirion cried out again in desperation, but it was no use.

Whatever Alistair had done… whatever he called upon this day. This night, now.

It was no use.

And now I was beginning to understand what Alistair had meant. The only life he would spare was my brothers. Only his. This was what he meant when he has said he was to end him.

Each of The Holy Men slowly followed, one after the other, answering the call of these creatures, and the sirens started to move closer to the men who were soon to join them. I could see one Holy Man had reached a siren still in my sight towards the left side of the ship, his hands reaching up through the water to her face as he forced a kiss upon her.

When her own hands came above the dark water, she tangled those pale white fingers into the stands of his cold hair, before pulling him down suddenly below the darkness of the sea.

If the stories told of these creatures were to be held to truth, that man had lost his life the second he stepped foot into these now infested waters. And sure enough, I did not see him nor that siren return again.

“Alistair!” Zirion called out through the crashing of the waves. The desperate cries for help from the people of Azul all flowed together so perfectly with the chantey that his men, the men of those who turned, the sirens this Captain had since called upon, and the sea itself all carried the tune of.

The chantey I could feel against the sea itself, as every pirate whose vessel touched these waters were now in union with this song.

“ Do you finally understand? “ Alistair’s words cut straight through this chaos, directly to my brother who now stood alone with none but the citizens of Azul at his side. There were no other Holy Men left.

Just he.

“ Zirion ,“ Alistair whispered, his voice chilling through this very air. “… Hodrus . There is no name you can take that can aide in your escape from neither I… nor yourself.

“And I hereon bind you to it. To live out the immortality of your forsaken namesake, with that simple truth.

“With knowing you should’ve begged for death when you still possessed the chance.”

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/e5d8972885a2cbb6e75f5598b139a4f3d6a306ee/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f546169664c43516f755f497672673d3d2d313435393730343234312e3137653163626363626538393262356234303838323332363431322e6a7067)               

Okay so now for some more incredible fan art that literally continue to blow my socks clean tf off <3

Thank you so so much, lovely!!

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/3f5cdbfe7dcbc89b0fc891289925fa289d3fbd22/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f573654506d6f7048527a69486a773d3d2d313435393730343234312e313765316362653865643935373465353237383430313330383938322e6a7067)               

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/a9f91a8430ffa723add7e05f8ad2cd3985c93bca/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f674b6c4473416e6c3141684333513d3d2d313435393730343234312e313765316362653966616638636562393830353530373039313434392e6a7067)               

At this point I’m just screaming take my money

55. Way Down We Go

Hello there lovelies!

Work has been kicking my ass but I’m back in the saddle now

Enjoy!

xoxo

P.S. Wattpad flagged that last fan art image as mature content… so I guess I can write erotica but any visuals is a no go… which I have my own opinions about but I’m too tired to fight these mfs lol

P.P.S. I’ve had a stressful high emotions last week so I haven’t been as engaging and approachable in the comments as I should be. I’m doing/improving that today though cause y’all deserve better.

As always, I love yall <3

Also I’ve decided we’re going to end at 58 chapters instead of 57… cause I’m not ready to say goodbye just yet either

Alistair

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/f3a108b9e923c3187b96b9dd87085f9657c56b94/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3279687238356e512d73797734673d3d2d313435393730343238372e313765323833663936376432396131373531353033393333333035372e6a7067)               

I could feel my hold on the sea slowly absorbing back into me as the mist that once covered the surface of the water had since started to disperse.

The heads of those creatures began lowering themselves back below the dark waters, and their shimmery tales still glistened below the surface, pulling Caspian’s gaze there again.

He was very much still trying to understand everything that had just occurred, and I didn’t lay blame on him for it. My complete reputation may have reached a good majority of Azul’s older citizens, but it hadn’t yet reached Caspian. He didn’t yet understand the sea like I did or they once had, but this was as perfect a learning opportunity for him as it was them. I watched as Caspian kept his gaze on each mystical being returning to the depths of the sea from which I called upon them from, and I found myself smiling again. His eyes were fixated on the water below with the same clear interest he had in Finnik’s shop.

One siren hadn’t chosen to disappear below the waters just yet however. I recognized her as she drew nearer to the front edge of my ship. Her long black hair was difficult now to discern where it ended, and the waters began.

She didn’t say anything when she looked up at Caspian and myself. Her lips only slightly parted, before a large, unnatural smile spread across that ghostly pale skin, stretching almost ear to ear. I heard Caspian take a sharp inhale beside me when he saw her teeth. The dagger like canines that lined the top and bottom of her mouth much like a piranha’s, forcing Caspian to see her for what she really was.

Caspian may have found this terrifying, but it was a signal of respect from her. Something that took me slightly by surprise.

All I did was give her a slow nod, holding the line between their world and this one just a little longer until she too dipped below the waters, and I was sure all the sirens had since left this shore completely.

And that was when I finally broke it, finding it safe now to severe our bond. To close that door between their world, and this one.

It was the merchants first who felt it. The release of my hold. And though these men immediately jumped into action to get their ships as far away from these ports as physically possible, they knew they wouldn’t be leaving fully unarmed. I had released the soul of each ship, meaning those vessels were now under my control. At any moment, if I so wished to, I could dismantle each ship without a second thought, allowing that soul to return to the depths of the sea.

And as for the people on land. The people of Azultia…

While some chose to ran as soon as their feet would finally allow it, others sank themselves to the sandy ground, utterly speechless. One of those being the great Zirion Khan who had since fallen to his own knees, just staring straight out to the destroyed ports with an expression that now mirrored his eyes.

Emptiness.

The citizens finally understood now, given the morbid performance I had just presented. I could’ve killed them all had I wished to. And if Caspian wasn’t at my side, I may have… but for now, they were safe. For now, I had rid them of The Holy Men, but it was their burden to sort themselves out.

I just made sure to imprint something in their memory. And that was the wrath I was willing to unleash if they were to make the same nonsensical mistake they had eleven years ago, again.

I had little faith, however. The race of man was consistent with allowing history to repeat itself. And I sought blame out in the simple fact that their willful ignorance was what will always drive them. It was easier to forget, wasn’t it?

Especially when accountability came with the pain of remembering.

My right hand finally released itself from this ledge, before both hands helped push me off it entirely. Once my feet rested again on the floorboard of my ship that still hummed with my magic, I finally turned completely to Caspian.

“Not so terrible, aye? I told you it wouldn’t last long.”

Caspian just looked at me with a look I could only describe as horror and astonishment mixed in one. “How did you-” he started, but both our eyes cast to the sky quickly, looking just past the horizon at what drew our attention there.

Light was starting to return to the sky, and as my head turned to the main deck, I watched as Cael slowly raised that lit sword back up from the floorboards, towards him, reversing the cut he had placed into the sky itself.

I found myself chuckling lightly as I watched his magic reverse itself, thinking back to what Dreska and the people of Azul had referred to me as.

The Shadow.

It wasn’t what I was… it was what I possessed.

I watched as Cael’s skin slowly began to dim with light as he closed his eyes, absorbing the excess energy that still coursed throughout my ship.

Or rather , I thought to myself, it was who I possessed that had earned me that name. The man who was my shadow, for the darkness of night he brought with him .

The darkness slowly faded, allowing the light of day to push through once more, and Cael didn’t sheathe that sword again until the slit he made had been mended by the blue skies completely.

With the light now exposing what was once blinded to those on the merchant ships and shore, the sun engulfing the sky showed the aftermath of the horrors below. The thick mass of blood covering most of the shoreline that had turned the blue waters to a deep red. The blood of The Holy Men who had found a brutal death below the waters by those hungry creatures.

I had went against that mad man’s wishes when I called upon the sirens, but I had decided that in this instance, I would kill two birds with one stone. Appease their hunger by feeding them The Holy Men under my protection, all whilst mending what was once broken between both them, and the mad man himself.

Whatever the hell that was. All I knew was that it was before my time.

Caspian looked like he was to ask me another question, however Cael approaching distracted us both.

The first words uttered however took both Cael and I by surprise. For it wasn’t either of us.

“Thank you.” Caspian spoke, to which Cael drew his eyes from I to the white haired man. Cael looked at a loss for words to that, so instead he only nodded.

“I believe we’re still doing well for time. We should get going.” I told Cael as my left hand raised itself to pull my eyepatch down back over my left eye. Releasing power like that should’ve drained me, and yet it hadn’t. Tethering myself to the sea in that way had almost seemed to unlock something new within me. It had altered my energy source.

Like a key I didn’t know could be made to a door I never knew existed.

“Aye.” Cael nodded, him too not seemingly affected by the amount of power he used as he turned to direct orders to my men.

Perhaps we were growing stronger… And that alone made me question what limits we really had.

“I’m at a loss for words.” Caspian admitted quietly, drawing my attention to him again.

“There’ll be time for me to explain,” I spoke, moving closer to him as my hand slipped itself into the pockets of my trousers. “For now,” I continued, wrapping my fingers around the item I was in search of before pulling it out in front of me. “For now, we’ll focus on leaving these ports to make our way towards Sicoria.”

My fingers allowed the pendant to sip past them until I caught the leather string it was attached to with ease. I slipped both knot adjustments closer to each other to lengthen the string before I lifted both hands and placed it over Caspian’s head. The string was just long enough to fit over his hair until the pendant rested comfortably again the front of Caspian’s cloak.

“For now, I’ll entrust this little thing with you. For while there’s a good chance I may misplace this, I find it impossible to think I’d misplace you.”

Those words alone made Caspian’s face flare with redness, and it only deepened as I took another small step closer to him, my hands reached further behind him, slowly lifting his hair over the string to have it resting against Caspian’s bare neck. I then pulled on those two knot adjustments to shorten the string itself so it would fit Caspian better.

Admitting to myself that this pendant looked beautiful on this white haired man, the color of it reflecting of those eyes Caspian was starting to show more and more of… admitting that was risky business. I still had my word to uphold with Finnik by returning it to him. Eventually , I couldn’t help but think.

Caspian’s pale hand reached for the pendant as he bent his head to look at it closely. A blue Azurite stone encased in glass and molded to a silver backing. Something rare and old.

His fingers grazed slowly against that glass, admiring the stone, and for a moment, I swore Caspian’s eyes shimmered with its color again. Perhaps that was the reflection too , I reminded myself.

“Is this it, then?” Caspian more or less whispered to me even though his gaze never left the pendant.

He hadn’t said much, and yet I understood what he was referring to.

“I’m not too keen on making the affairs of Azul past this day, a direct burden of mine. Are you?”

Caspian’s gaze finally found mine as he shook his head no. “Not particularly.”

I nodded in return. “Then let’s leave the people of Azul to try again. I have reaffirmed my position of the sea, and collected my debts for the burning of Azultia- your home .” I corrected myself. “I’d say this task had been successfully fulfilled, wouldn’t you?” I asked this as my right hand raised itself to graze against the left side of Caspian’s cheek. He leant into that touch with intent as his eyes immediately closed a moment, but when he opened them again, instead of looking to me, he turned his eyes quickly to the sea in front of us.

I shied my hand away, thinking he may have rejected the touch… that was until I felt it too.

Beneath the floorboards of my ship, I could feel it. The rumblings of the ground the sea itself rested upon. The storm I created had long since passed. The creatures I called upon had long since left. Even most of the merchants had managed to set sail again, abandoning all cargo they either hadn’t loaded or unloaded, as they attempted to put as much distance possible between them and this land.

And yet…

The waters below us had started to darken, but the sky above was as clear as a still pond. When I looked back to the main deck, my eyes quickly found Cael’s. He had slowed giving orders to my men, to stop and feel what I and Caspian had.

“ Something’s coming. “ He whispered to me, those words of his reaching me from his position across the deck, as they reminded me of what he had said once before.

Below these waters, that rumbling grew, but there was something else there too. Some familiar about it…

Which was what sent my body into immediate action.

“Men!” I called out to the main deck with direct urgency in my voice. Something my crew rarely heard. “Strap the top deck cargo! Tightened the ropes and shorten the sails!” I made sure my voice carried through every part of the ship, alerting those few that had went below to the lower deck to fetch some barrels of rum. My men were in a celebratory mood, however that would all very soon change.

“Alistair?” Caspian called, following shortly behind, but I didn’t pay him nearly as much mind as I would’ve wanted. Right now, we didn’t have the time for it.

“Strap it all!” I called to my men who had since started sprinting across the decks, readying themselves for what was next… though we all knew there was nothing that could.

“ You must be taking the piss .“ Cael hissed in clear irritation as his stronger build was helping Snips strap down the remaining loose ropes connected to our sails.

“ Oh the gods do I wish I was, “ I muttered back to him as I grabbed the last rope connected to this beam and anchored it to the floorboards myself. “Forget the rest!” I found myself ordering my crew as I finalized the last knot. “Strap yourselves down!”

“Alistair!” Caspian finally spoke through to me, reaching for my right arm as I stood again. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough? I mean, what more-”

My hand left hand lifted his off my right before I grabbed it, guiding us quickly to one of the centered beams in the middle of the ship. Then I pushed Caspian up against it, his back soon becoming flush with the wood. Cael tossed me a wrapped length of rope with ease as he was doing to the other men, to which I started to wrap this rope tight around both of us, and the beam behind Cas.

“A-Alistair-” Caspian tried to get out as I tied us tight together, no part of his front escaping from mine when I soon meshed our bodies together. I moved quickly, but decided I could explain some things whilst I did.

“In a mere few moments from now, you’re going to feel a pull into the sea. When I tell you to, I want you to take the deepest breath in and hold it.”

My words to Caspian only made him more confused. “Why would you-” to which I silenced him by bending down to bring my lips to his. The sudden kiss had worked well to still that thought before I pulled away slowly, and answered him truthfully.

“This isn’t my doing.” My eyes held his a moment now.

And those words alone made Caspian’s eyes widen.

My hands tied off the final tie, securing this man and I, before I did a quick pan across the deck of my ship to make certain my crew had done the same. Once assured that each man was now tied down to something sturdy, that was when I finally turned to Caspian again.

Before I could utter another word however, something shot up on the left side of my ship, cutting through the surface of the sea. It pierced through the air, sending a gust of wind across the main deck, before its massiveness wrapped itself around the top of the beam Caspian and I were tied to. The tallest beam on the ship. I could hear the suction of its appendage latching onto the wood with a terrifying grip, yet Ol’ Bess held her position, not allowing this wood to shatter under the pressure.

Caspian’s eyes cast to it but I forced his gaze back on me.

“Now, love… I need you to take that deep breath we just discussed,” to which Caspian looked like he was about to attest to. There was not a shred of understanding present on that beautifully confused face of his. And in any other given moment, I would’ve happily explained myself further, but for now we simply didn’t have time.

And so, I took a deep breath for the both of us, before I bent down, bringing my lips to his again.

There was no time to protest this kiss either, before he finally felt what I attempted to describe.

The hard pull from the Kraken’s massive tentacle… before my ship was swiftly brought under.

••

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56. Davy Jones

Well hello there lovelies!

Back at it again with another uploaddd

And just a heads up, I took PTO this Friday so I can really take my time on getting y’all one of the most hyped endings I personally think I’ve ever written

This chapter might have errors cause I’ve been writing on my breaks at my day job, so just lemme know if you find any

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. song above is 100% the suspenseful vibe… you’ll understand the lyrics better between this chapter and the next lol. Playlist is updated with it too!

Davy Jones’ Locker: A mystical fable about an evil spirit from the bottom of the ocean that draws pirates or sailors down to their death

Caspian

Before I felt the strong pull of whatever had dragged us to the very bottom of the sea, that coldness of the water engulfing the deck in its entirety as it swept all unstrapped cargo away with it… I first felt Alistair’s lips against my own.

The only difference with this kiss was that I could barely register it as the bone chilling waters quickly devoured us whole.

I soon trembled against the only man who seemed strong enough to hold us both still against the strong currents. I didn’t dare open my eyes for the saltiness of the sea would almost blind them, however once I felt a gust of air enter my mouth from Alistair, I breathed it in thankfully and held it. This was what he had meant when he told me to take a deep breath in, and I now chastised myself for not just trusting him… Regardless of how utterly bizarre a scenario this was.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what shot out from the sea shortly before we went under. That large tentacle thing wrapping itself around the highest beam. It all happened so quickly, I didn’t understand how I was the only one that seemed to be reacting appropriately… In complete and utter disbelief.

My hearing was fully muffled from the sounds of water flooding it, and if it weren’t for the strongest knot Alistair had tied to keep us strapped down to his vessel, I didn’t know what would’ve happened to me.

It was his strong arms wrapped around me and this wooden pole, his lips remaining attached to my own as if his oxygen was a tap on a barrel, seemingly willing to give more. I tried not to deplete his own oxygen, even though wherever I could feel us being dragged towards felt like hell itself. Air had to be the least of our worries.

The only noise I could hear through the blockage of water, was the sound of Ol’ Bess standing her ground as she was forcibly mangled by both the water, and this octopus like creature that had since claimed Alistair’s ship. The bending of the wood echoing through the thick currents, but nothing snapped.

The thing that had shattered more of my perception on what it was I had currently found myself in, was the crisper sounds of items suddenly crashing against the floorboards. Something I realized couldn’t happen underwater…

Before I then realized that we were no longer under water.

At least, I didn’t think we were.

The first thing to confirm it was when my now drenched hair finally fell forward towards my shoulders, the water no longer suspending it all around me. Alistair separating his lips from mine to finally breathe deep heavy breathes only further solidified it. I felt one of his hands grip the wooden beam forcibly behind me as he struggled to gasp for air. And I immediately felt my own stupidity overcome me once again.

I should’ve listened to him when there was still time to. Whatever air he had given me, hadn’t left him with any at all.

My hands reached for where I assumed Alistair’s shoulders were, for we were now standing in complete darkness, yet his own hands slowly slipped into mine and he brought them down from his shoulders to his chest. He was still coughing, working to clear his passageways of sea water that had slipped through.

“ That fucking heathen ,“ Alistair more or less rasped out before his breathing regulated itself. That was when he finally spoke to me. “I’m sorry-” he started to whisper, to which I swiftly shook my head regardless of whether he could see it or not. Alistair had indisputably kept me alive. And though I knew there was many a times I wish this sea could take my shattered immortality, something told me that whatever this was that pulled Alistair’s ship under, any death I found during it would be permanent. I didn’t know how I knew this, but I just did.

Whatever this was, was stronger than Alistair. And that was simply one terrifying thought to think of.

“Are you okay?” I whispered to the man, realizing now that while we both stood in a place with air we could breathe, I really couldn’t see any bit of him. We had found ourselves in eternal darkness.

“Whatever happens,” he whispered to me, “I want you to remain on this shi-”

“ No .“ I countered almost immediately. The last time I left this man to go on his own, I then had to go retrieve him. “Either we approach together, or we don’t approach at all.”

I heard Alistair sigh deeply… before a slow chuckle eventually followed. I felt that tension between us both now, the entire front of me flush against his, however the tautness slowly loosened before it I heard the rope fall to the soaked floorboards completely.

“Men!” He called out to the rest of his crew, yet his words didn’t carry through the floorboards like they had above the waters. “Remain aboard. We won’t be long.”

“We can’t see a single thing,” Cael replied almost instantly, “So I’m not sure where exactly you’d expect us to go.”

Even with a situation seemingly as dire as this one, Cael refused to forfeit that sharp personality. And strangely enough, It worked well to calm my otherwise growing weariness.

“ Come on then ,“ he whispered to me as his hand slipped completely into my own. I couldn’t see a single thing in this darkness, and yet I allowed Alistair to lead me across this main deck. He somehow found a path that was clear amidst the chaos I was sure the waters had left this main deck in the state of. With my position behind him, it took me a moment to realize that he had pushed that eye patch up to use his left eye.

And I only noticed once he turned back to me, for it was the only thing I could see in this darkness. The glowing red that offered just enough light for some of his handsome features to be displayed.

His hands had suddenly wrapped tightly around my torso before he lifted me over what I expected to be the ledge of the ship. I could feel myself panicking once I realized how deep this drop would be if he were to let me go over the side, yet I reminded myself to trust him, and found my legs buckling back in surprise when my feet landed onto a soft ground only a few feet below the ledge.

I… I wasn’t sure how to explain the ground we were now standing on.

I wasn’t too sure if it was really ground at all.

And the smell of this place? It reeked of chum. Of the disgusting aged fish one would throw over a fisherman’s boat for the sharks to feast on.

Because of the surface, I hadn’t even heard Alistair jump until I felt his hand slip into mine again. “ Walk carefully, “ he whispered, which forced me to watch each step as I equated this experience to that of walking on the softest mattress.

“What is this?” I whispered amidst the complete darkness to him.

“Its throat.” Alistair replied… as if that would ever be an appropriate answer for any question ever asked. Ever .

“W-What?” I found myself now practically begging this man for any hopes of a clarification.

“We’ve been swallowed whole.” He explained, to which I had since struggled completely to understand any of this. Not like I was thriving before, but now…

We’ve been… swallowed?

My fingers tightened their grip on Alistair’s hand unintentionally, however he affirmed that grip with his own once I tried to loosen it, and we continued down this abyss of darkness.

In a mere day, I had now seen one mythical creature fully annihilate an entire group of men, and another had… well, it had eaten us.

When Alistair had threatened me with life itself all those moons ago, I had assumed the worst would be the scrubbing of his floorboards. Never would I have wagered that this man would be guiding me through a creatures throat that I could only think to be one thing. The Kraken. I had read about its tales in the same mythical book that contained stories of the sirens, and their call to sailors.

Upon now facing the real face of one, and being swallowed whole by the other, I realized that whoever had created these stories had really left some critical, important details out.

I had only read about the Kraken pulling ships down to sea, not fully devouring them.

Then I finally thought about all this through a lens that wasn’t my own. Alistair had told his crew he would be back soon. He knew to strap both the cargo items, and ourselves down long before this creature had breached the surface of the water. Though I assumed his eye provided us clarity through this darkness, he even must of known where it was we were heading.

This had happened before . And the simple thought of that left me completely at a loss for words.

I allowed Alistair to continue to lead me, however the walk itself felt like it took far longer considering the unevenness of the ground below our feet. With each step, my foot would sink lower into whatever made up the throat of this thing.

It was only when I felt like we had been walking for almost half a days time, the ground below us had started to grow more firm, and there was light around us started to form. I hadn’t realized how large of a space we had found ourselves in, until the walls around us slowly lit up. It was a light blue colour that that seemed to disperse, the light spreading through what looked like vein’s within the otherwise pinkish flesh walls. Alistair slowed our pace, allowing me to catch up to him before we further slowed to a stop.

I turned my head to look slightly up at this man.

“This place is-”

“ Shh .“ Alistair whispered quietly to me as he brought a finger to his lips.

And considering we were now inside the Kraken, I decided I would follow every order this man gave me until we were safely outside of it. That was something both my mind and my body were quick to agree upon.

As soon as I drew silent, I allowed myself to really listen. And once I did… I could hear it now. A faint beating of a heart. A heart I assumed to be the creatures, until Alistair’s hand suddenly tensed and he slowly let go of mine.

Something was coming.

“Well well well,” A voice spoke through the otherwise silence, pulling my attention to the dimly lit opening in front of us. There was someone walking further towards us now, its figure seemingly appearing out of thin air. “It’s been some time Alistair. Or should I refer to you by the name you’ve built for yourself.

The Pirate King

. “

As my eyes darted from this emerging figure to look at Alistair, for the first time since I had laid eyes on this man, Alistair looked rather unsure. I wasn’t sure of what, but that uneasiness brought my own to great new heights. Whoever this man was, Alistair didn’t have any hold over. And it was as if I could feel it. The disparity in power.

“Alistair is perfectly fine.” Captain spoke, taking a step towards the figure. Everything in me told me to remain exactly where I stood, but I soon recalled the words I spoke to Alistair while we were still on his ship. We would approach together … regardless of the feeling so deep inside me that told me to listen to my fear.

I heard this figure laugh as I followed closely behind Alistair. He had shifted himself somewhat in front of my path, putting himself between I and whoever this man was.

“You’ve been wreaking havoc in these seas for many years… and yet, through it all, I’ve never seen you go to war with the men on land.” The figures voice was deep and raspy. Like words themselves rarely ever drew past his lips.

I had to peer past Alistair’s broad shoulders to get a glimpse of a man whose appearance was slowly starting to come to the light.

The man that approached was tall. His height I’d reckon about the same as Cael’s. I could see his long black hair that looked awfully similar to Alistair’s, however this man’s wasn’t quite as long. What took me by surprise was his paleness.

Then again, if he lived inside this thing, the sun would be nonexistent at this depth. Perhaps his skin only reflected that. And considering my own paleness, it would be rash of me to cast the first stone.

“I had a debt to settle.” Alistair explained, slowing us now to a stop again as this figure continued towards us. I couldn’t tell whether it was the lighting, or whether this man truly had eyes as black as his hair. The hairs that stood to attention across both my arms made me believe the latter. And the drenched fabric of this cloak didn’t help, as cold shivers ran down my spine.

He was close enough now to really take his entire appearance in. He was someone I had never seen before, and considering how much energy I could now feel almost bursting through him, I was grateful to my core that this was not a face I recognized.

…

However …

Before I could see it, I heard it.

His steps were barely audible considering the ground in which we all found ourselves walking upon, however there was a slight variance in his step. Once my eyes peered more carefully over Alistair’s shoulder to the man ahead, I found myself slowly moving from behind Alistair to the side of him instead.

There was no way, I thought to myself. Simply no way.. .

And yet I did recognize this. The way he walked.

It was distinct.

I knew what formalities existed, and how I should address this man if he were to be who I thought he was. While there was no rational explanation for how King Daedron himself could be both alive, and inside the mythical creature of the Kraken, I still found myself daring to take a step further. One step past where Alistair stood.

I had meant to address this man by his royal title if my assumptions were correct. To address him as I knew… however the word that slipped past my lips was as informal as it came. It encompassed the more private moments that made me recall that walk of his.

Something I could never forget.

“…Grandfather?” I found myself whispering.

••

57. Mend What’s Broken, Part One

Hello there lovelies!

Soooo, I decided on a few things… lol

1. This chapter will be two parts

2. I’m almost certain we’ll be ending the book at chapter 59, but this could potentially be 60 chapters at most

It honestly depends on how the next chapter after this one goes cause there’s A LOT to get through

Anywhoooo, thank you all so much for such sweet comments on the last one! I’ve been talking a whole lot of shit about how imma put my entire foot in this ending, and I only hope to deliver on that word

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. it’s almost 2am right now so imma edit this in the morning lol. Beware the errors

Caspian

Alistair’s hand quickly grabbed for my left forearm, holding me back by it before I could take another step forward.

The man in front of us came to a sudden halt when those black eyes shifted from Alistair to myself.

He just held our gaze for what felt like eternity, not saying a word to me as his eyes took in my stature. This then forced all our hands into an eerie, uncomfortable silence, one neither Alistair nor myself willingly chose to break. Not even once I saw a smile slowly creep upon this man’s pale lips.

He immediately after raised his left hand out in front of him, the palm facing towards him as he guided it slowly across the front of his appearance, and all we could do was watch in clear astonishment as that charcoal black hair slowly began to turn to white.

It began to turn to the length and colour of my own now.

His features were morphing to something of beauty, somewhat elegant like my father’s, but there was a hardness there too. A rigidness that left him presenting scars I still simply could not see. Something that had kept him living in the past, for he still looked exactly how I remembered over 15 years ago.

And his eyes…

As they shifted from the beady blackness they once were, I saw the color they swiftly changed to clear as day. It was the color mine took whenever a power I still didn’t quite understand presented itself to me. Whenever I had needed additional strength from whatever had snapped my immortality in half all those years ago. I felt familiarity when I looked into them… and I felt home when they stared back.

His presence alone reminded me of the palace.

“ Shit .“ Alistair whispered under his breath once he too saw who it was this man had since revealed to us to be.

“So this was who called.” My grandfather finally spoke.

“Called?” Alistair asked immediately after, taking a few steps forward to place himself at my side again. His hand hadn’t left my arm however, in fact I was rather sure his fingers had tightened their hold on it.

Daedron pointed over towards my chest, before he brought that same finger to his own. I hadn’t noticed just how crisp his floor length black trench coat was, but now that he was only just a few steps away, I took more of his appearance in. His all black attire had once gotten lost with his darker features, that black hair and dark eyes… but now that his features had changed completely, everything he wore stood out to my common eyes far more.

My eyes shifted from his down to the pendant resting on my chest. My fingers slowly reached for it, looking more closely through the glass.

“The Eye of The Sea?” Alistair questioned. “ I should’ve known… “ his voice immediately faded as he muttered that last bit. He was hesitant with Daedron, I could hear it clearly in his voice. It didn’t sound right coming from Alistair.

“You found it on Jirah’s ship I presume?” My grandfather asked.

“Aye.” I turned back to Alistair just in time to catch him nodding to the man in return.

That caused Daedron’s lips to stretch wide with a smile as his next words turned my gaze to him again. “Good riddance I presume?” Alistair nodded again at those words. “Good.” Daedron confirmed. “The man was a fucking nuisance. That, and the only thing of mine I’d ever willingly allow him to hold, is my own shit.”

Both Alistair and I suddenly and quite abruptly smiled at that, not expecting those words in the slightest. Well, rather, I wasn’t expecting them. I had forgotten how… eccentric he was in comparison to the rest of the Lockehearts.

And perhaps I was now starting to understand why my father had told me this mad man had passed… for there was absolutely no chance I would’ve believed them had they told me my grandfather now lived inside a mythical creature.

“Besides, if anyone is to own this pendant, it’s found itself in the most capable hands. In the hands of a Lockeheart.”

Alistair withdrew a sharp breath at those words. “See… now about that… well technically I had given a smuggler in the land of Sicoria my word that I would return this to him. He was the one who helped me hunt down the captain of a ship that attempted an ambush.”

Daedron’s clearest blue eyes narrowed at Alistair.

“Did he take it out of Jirah’s possession at any point?”

Alistair paused with those words, thinking for a moment to himself before he eventually shook his head no.

“Then I don’t see how you could be returning anything. As I stated, this pendant is to stay with Caspian.”

It felt like all my head could do was turn as I looked back and forth between my grandfather and my Captain.

“I gave my word.” Alistair insisted.

“Break it.” My grandfather reasoned simply… if one could even call this reasoning.

“That’s not how this works.” Alistair was quick to respond with.

“Saith who?“Daedron countered.

“ I .“ Alistair snipped back, to which my grandfather tilted his head back slightly to laugh at.

“Then change it.” He soon after countered. Alistair release a sigh so deep, it only mirrored the emotion of irritation clearly visible on him now. “Or find something else he’d like if your word means this much to you. I don’t care how you go about settling it for I truly do have faith in your ability to negotiate.”

As my head turned back to Alistair for what felt like the fortieth time during this entire exchange, he looked even more irritated by those words.

“But I’ll leave that for you to decide. For now, I need to clear up a particular… stench .” My grandfather took another step forward before his eyes found mine again. “Caspilius, come here.” He beckoned his hand towards him, signaling for I to approach, but Alistair’s hold didn’t ease up on me in the slightest.

I finally turned my head back again to the man whose visceral reaction to protect me was starting to get the better of him. “ It’s okay. “ I whispered to him. I kept my voice low, yet I was positive King Daedron could still hear. “ He won’t hurt me. “

The look on Alistair’s face told me he didn’t trust that, however I watched as his eyes slowly softened. That one brightly burning red iris was still mesmerizing to the sight when I took in his full gaze, pulling me into a light trance as I felt his fingers slowly loosened themselves around me until he allowed his arm to finally drop to his side.

My lips tugged into a slight smile, to which his did the same… for while I appreciated how seriously he took my safety, this was someone I once knew. And knew well. It was also now the only other relative besides my brother who still walked this earth, and between the two, I currently harbored far less resentment for my grandfather.

I turned again, forcing my eyes away from Alistair and allowing my feet to carry me further forward towards this man. Once I finally stood in front of King Daedron, his hands reach up for my neck so quickly I had no time to react.

This wasn’t a strike however like I initially thought, his fingers instead gripped my jaw tightly as they tipped my head up towards his. “ Caspilius Lockeheart The Second …“ he spoke, “your magic reeks.”

For the first time possibly ever, I gave my grandfather a look that questioned whether or not he was joking. Considering my senses had only just adjusted to the actual assault of the fish chum odor that lined these very walls, I seriously questioned what footing he had to stand on when it came to speaking on smells.

Instead, I forced myself to hold my tongue in that regard. I found myself answering instead “I don’t quite understand.”

My grandfather twisted my face roughly first to the right, then to the left, allowing himself to get a very good look at me from every angle available.

“Do you feel the touch of death at your core?” Daedron asked, to which both myself and Alistair found ourselves answering with an ‘aye.’ That earned Alistair one long, good look as my grandfathers eyes peered past me a moment to just stare at him. I could feel my cheeks growing flush before I could stop them, to which I was sure my grandfather also saw. His face has only about an arms length away from mine now.

I felt King Daedron then shift my head upwards with that same amount of roughness.

“That night… your memories… it’s like someone has damned your soul to a good Ol’ Keelhaul.”

My eyebrows only furrowed further as I now struggled to understand what he meant by that, to which Daedron was kind enough to further elaborate on.

“It’s when a Captain drags someone side to side under their ship, allowing both the barnacles and planks to tear them apart.” My grandfather explained. That made my eyes widen. “Not only has there been too many cooks in the kitchen up here,” his grip released on my jaw bone, yet I felt both hands now rest their fingers on each side of my head. “They’ve all fondled things they didn’t quite understand. You are not just any Lockeheart, Caspilius. That much I’m sure your father must’ve known.”

I… I didn’t understand what he had meant by that. And I was positive my father hadn’t told me anything along this lines. The only purpose I knew of, was to take his position once it was his time to step down.

“This power of yours. The one you called upon during that night. The night your family was slaughtered… That was where your father had misstepped. You were not to have had access to such power until he explained exactly what it was that resides in you. With you.”

There was something about the tips of his fingers as they lightly applied pressure against the sides of my head. I wasn’t sure whether I could correctly explain it, but it felt like his touch had seeped through my skin into the skull and brain tissue itself. He was accessing parts of me I didn’t know existed.

“The night you answered that call first, now has your mind looking like a once ripe assortment of fruit that’s since been smashed all into the platter. And when you used the power you were entitled to, your body didn’t understand how to welcome that power home. To interweave that into the very fibers of your being as something this power could latch itself onto and find comfort.”

There was something that was surging through me now. Something that felt like fingers trying to pick apart a tightly bound knot. It wasn’t all that gentle, but I could feel the determination. The need to unravel this mess.

I believe I felt what he now saw. I didn’t understand how I could see it so clearly, but his thoughts had been correct. My mind had been almost… almost separated by this knot that kept different channels of it from speaking to one another.

“ That feeling ,“ my grandfathers voice lowered itself as I felt him speak to just me. Something I thought only Alistair had possessed the ability to do. “ The feeling of death, my beautiful grandchild… the thing that’s made you question your immortality in its entirety… that wasn’t a curse . It was no punishment.“

There was something about his touch that began to trigger something inside me. I could hear it now, that whisper. The voice that had asked me before what it was I truly desired. The words it spoke were incoherent to me  in this moment but I could hear it. That voice alone was too distinct.

“ You accepted something you didn’t quite understand. And for that, your being itself was split in two. What you’ve been feeling dear Caspilius, is not death. It’s you energy decaying with no real home to go to. For you did not know to create one.“

I felt my eyes widen as I stared at my grandfather.

“ You answered the call of something old. Something your father had meant to prepare you for before his untimely sacrifice. “

Sacrifice? I questioned.

I could feel my eyebrows creasing with a need for more of an explanation. More than what was given at the least.

“ It was his duty to reveal to you the true Lockeheart passage. The one that wasn’t hidden within walls of a palace, or tunnels below the ground… but one rather kept away within the walls of our mind. Within the walls of those strong enough to possess such power .“

I could feel my heartbeat quicken as my grandfather deepened his touch, forcing me to the soft ground as I found myself now taking a knee.

“You’ve let too many touch this now shattered mind. My only advice to that is that you start learning to say no .” I heard my grandfather chuckle slightly, those words no longer reaching just my ears. This vision of him as he stood above me however, his fingers still gripping the sides of my head, it had started to fade. The world around me had started to quickly darken.

The only thing my body could register amidst this growing darkness, was the voice of my grandfather.

“You’ve blamed yourself for this crack in your immortality, yet it was no crack that allowed death to seep in. It was the excess magic your body did not know how to absorb nor discard, for it also did not know how to house it either. This blame lies only on those who came before you, myself included… However I do find it more fitting to blame my child. He knew better.”

I still hadn’t quite understood this, yet I felt it. I felt what I could only describe as a shut window finally opening, letting out the air trapped inside. Just as a stale breath was released, a fresh one was inhaled.

“I regret to inform you that whilst your father would’ve handled this more gently, my powers cannot spare you from the pain now that you are well past the age of understanding. I will fix what both your father and Gaia have done to you, but it will be painful… is this something you want? “ My grandfathers voice now turned to a whisper as he asked that final question.

And in regards to his question, I found myself whispering in return. “ Aye .“ I nodded slowly. There was no pain I could possibly fear after all I had bore witness to… or so I thought.

That was when I felt my head jerk back at the sudden surgence of King Daedron’s power as he funneled it into me. It felt like shocks of electricity crossing through the nerves connecting every bit of my brain, before that once darkened vision began to lighten itself once more.

The black turned to white, which then turned to a crisp blue, spanning across all of my vision as I suddenly felt the winds of the sea picking up all around me. I was in the air. My point of view being of something small that took flight, and as I turned, I could see the black feathers of my wings move as they shifted course, taking my direction from the blue sky up above to the rich waters down below.

Or rather, to the massive ship that was sailing on the waters down below.

Before my vision could sharpen, I heard the slight hums of a song that made the now racing heartbeat of this bird only accelerate. That familiar song echoed quietly against the seas of what looked to be reflecting high noon.

This view, the one I looked through as the bird I found myself possessing swooped lower towards the ginormous ship, it allowed me to see these men aboard more clearly. The men that ran the ship which was currently cutting swiftly through the sea itself. Something had beckoned me to the man I saw now standing at the rail of the top deck. The one I instantly recognized as my grandfather for his face hadn’t changed at all, and as I neared, he raised his left hand for me to land safely onto.

As these beady black eyes of my own looked to him, his crystal blue eyes showing the reflection of the black bird my grandfather had since put my soul into, I noticed the pendant he wore around his neck. The pendant that was indeed a reflection of those eyes of his.

“ Little raven, “ his words whispered to me. “ I wish to now show you our life before land. Before we made Azultia what it once was. Before we found land once worthy of ever claiming. “

I could still hear it. The hums that spread across the deck. The quiet words these people had started to sing a bit louder.

As I turned to the massive extension of this ship’s main deck, I realized now who these people were… their stark white hair representing of different lengths. Those pale familiar eyes. It was the clothing that finally triggered more memories within me… for they all wore nothing other than the royal color of blue. The colour of the Lockehearts.

“Strong, united, working till we fall…”

These people. This song…

It wasn’t just any chantey.

It was ours . The song of my people.

And before they had found land, they were one with these very waters…

For they were pirates.

“ Welcome home. “ My grandfathers voice whispered quietly to me.

••

58. Mend What’s Broken, Part Two

Long ass chapter fr fr (4200 words) but we had a whole lotta ground to cover

So of course this means errors are probs present, just let me know if you find any otherwise I’ll double back around to edit this monstrosity of a chapter in a few hours

Just gotta prep some stuff for a potluck bday shindig I got later today

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

P.S. Playlist is updated with the song I think fits this chapter absolutely perfectly. It’s from Heaven Official’s Blessing donghua which iykyk. The song is also above, and I highly recommend a listen

(

I’m currently learning it on the piano and violin

). The English title is: The City Is Full of Flowers

Caspian

“We’ll be docking soon then, aye?”

The head of this raven turned as I looked past my grandfathers right shoulder to the man that approached us on the top deck. I recognized his voice immediately.

“Aye, of the sorts. We’ll drop the anchor close to shore and row in. The wood I’m looking for is from a tree that grows further inland, but just in case this island we’re in search of does indeed have settlers, I prefer we keep our distance between it and our ship. It sits far too close to Bristol Cove for my liking.”

I watched as my father nodded. His face was young here, perhaps he was not much older than I, yet it was difficult to say with our immortality. My father had aged very gracefully.

The chantey continued throughout the main deck as I watched my family work. They were doing the tasks I’d now come to understand with being on Alistair’s ship, making me wonder whether all that muscle memory had been lost to me from my bloodline.

My vision started to darkened again around me, forcing the vibrant light from the high risen sun to lose the clarity it brought, until I was left with nothing. Just darkness.

There was suddenly a jolt of pain that coursed through my head, forcing the body I knew still existed somewhere in that Kraken, to convulse a moment. I could have sworn I had heard the faint call of my name from a voice that sounded like Alistair’s, but it was as if the eyes of this raven blinked close again, for when I opened them, it was now nighttime.

As opposed to the ship, I was now perched upon my grandfathers left shoulder as he and a few men rowed this smaller boat through the darkness quickly towards land. “Make haste.” King Daedron ordered, each men climbing out from the boat and into the water. to drag the small vessel the rest of the way onto the sandy shore.

I noticed three men remained near my grandfather, however my father, the last man that came on this boat to this island, he separated himself slightly from the crew once on the shoreline.

“Keep to the perimeter, see if there has been other ports built along the west end.” My grandfather ordered, to which my father gave him one firm nod. Only the moon provided light for us now, however the pale complexions of my family stood out against that sharp white light, granting me a better sight of them.

King Daedron had started his own quest up towards the thick forest, whilst my father continued further down the shore.

Before he could enter the forest however, I heard my grandfathers first words directly to me this night. “ Follow him .“ He whispered.

And I felt these wings almost start to guide me, sending me out onto the shore before I drew higher into the sky. I circled my father far above him now, watching and following closely as he continued with his own task at hand.

From this aerial view, I could see more than my father could. I could see the shipwrecks he soon passed by, watching as he moved quickly. He would soon discover there were no ports on this side of the island’s shoreline, that much I could see, but I did watch closely as he slowed a moment, crouching down to the sandy shore to examine something that was difficult to determine from this distance..

As he picked the material up a bit off the sand, it looked like some sort of sheer white scalely thing. His hand then dropped it suddenly after, as if the material was scorching to the touch.

I had been so consumed by getting a better visual on whatever that was, that I didn’t see my father near the rocky edge of the west coast until I heard a clear audible gasp leave his lips, cutting through the quiet night. These black wings drew me further to him, looking past what was behind a large rock my father was examining, before I saw a pair of bare legs peeking from around it.

My final resting place was upon a large wooden beam of a shipwreck, and I watched as my father slowly bent down to pick up the body of a woman. Her modesty only covered from a sheer wet dress now stained in some blood as her body molded lifelessly into his arms. I noticed now that she was bleeding from a wound to the side of her head.

It was only when he began to walk back the way he came with this woman in his hand, did I finally realize who it was he was carrying in his arms. That distinct brow hair and soft features.

It was my mother.

My vision slowly began to fade again, however hard I now fought against it. I had wanted to stay here longer with my father and mother, to see what is was my father had done next…

But that was soon answered when I opened my eyes again.

This time, I was back on the ship of the Lockehearts. These thin feet were perched against the outer ledge of a small window, looking through to one of the cargo rooms as I stared past the reflection of this raven that was facing me from the glass of this window.

There was a woman resting on blankets sprawled out on the floorboards, her back now held upright by the wall behind it.

“Stay here,” my father had whispered, kneeling down to wrap a second blanket around her shivering body. “I’ll be back soon. I need to bring the boat back around to the shore for the rest of my men, then I will return to see to your injuries.”

I noticed now that there was a wrap around my mother’s head. Her face was young. Beautiful. Beauty that rivaled my father’s, even while half that face was covered in a bandage.

And perhaps that was what kept my claws firmly planted on this ledge as each day began to fade in and out. Night and day following in succession of each other, just moments apart, whilst time moved with unnatural speeds.

I watched as my father continued to visit my mother here, keeping her hidden away in this seemingly abandoned cargo hold. And I watched as my mother slowly began to regain strength with each day my family spent on the waters, nearing further and further from the place my father had found my mother. Those days had quickly stretched to a moon’s time.

“Each day I spend on this ship, it further curses yours.” She had whispered to my father one night in particular. The night he had brought her some tea to help with the restless nights brought on by stronger waves. “I can hear them. Their calls growing louder. They question where I’ve now found myself.”

My father sat beside my mother on the floor. They remain side by side, yet I could see his hands twitching nervously in his lap. My mother had made my father an entirely different person when he was around her.

“You cannot return.” He replied quietly. “You cannot survive inside that Cove.”

My mother slowly nodded. “There is a price I could pay that would mend what’s broken. That could merge these legs of mine permanently, turning me into that of them.”

“Is that what you want?” My father asked, to which my mother shook her head. She then soon after rested that very head against my father’s shoulder, turning his face the color of crimson. I could practically hear that heartbeat of his from here. “Then you will never have to return. I’ll make sure of it.”

I watched as this memory faded again, and I partially expected to awaken still on this ledge, watching as my mother and father fell deeper for each other. It was a love story I wished my family had spoken more of, and one I found beautiful to watch blossom.

That wasn’t the case however.

After another painful jolt soared through my head, my vision regained itself on the top deck, over looking the last of the men to finish their rounds as night had since befallen them.

I was resting on my grandfathers left shoulder again, however the fair sound that slowly flooded my hearing, made this small raven’s body tense completely.

Before I could even fully distinguish this ethereal sound I had heard only once before, and that was on the shores of Azul soon after Alistair had called upon those creatures, one simply word slipped past King Daedron’s lips once his eyes snapped open.

“ Shit .“

He closed his eyes again, however this time his hands reached for the top deck’s wooden rail. He hadn’t spoken a word to me, which only further confirmed that these reactions now were as raw as this memory. I was experiencing things exactly as he had.

“ One extra heartbeat .“ I heard him whisper before his feet turned him swiftly. My talons kept a firm grip on the thick material of his trench coat as he flew down the stairs of the top deck to the main floor.

Once I realized where my grandfather was moving with speed towards, I tried to uproot my feet from his shoulder. I tried to distract him from the discovery he was to make, but the hold my grandfather now had on my mind held me back. He didn’t allow any interference with this memory.

The man hadn’t bothered with the door to the cargo hold. He had turned its handle so hard he broke the lock completely before pushing that door open.

And once he caught sight of my father… his son , and the woman he held in his arms as they sat on the floor, my grandfather quickly closed the door behind him, using his body to keep the now broken thing shut.

“ Caspilius Lockeheart, you rebellious fucking child. “

My father had sprung to his feet immediately, to which my startled mother had joined closely behind. She had long been nursed back to full health by my father now, I took note of.

“Come hold this door.” King Daedron ordered his son harshly, to which my father had no choice but to comply. He took the position my grandfather once stood in, his back against the wood, before allowing both my grandfather and myself to approach my mother.

This was my first time seeing her closely now. Those doe-like eyes of hers staring back at us. I felt the ache I knew would come once I looked into those eyes. I could feel her warmth, even now.

King Daedron shifted closer to her, before he did something wildly unexpected.

He began to sniff my mother.

I watched as she stood there unsure of what to do. Her eyes cast back and forth between my grandfather’s and my father’s in hopes one would explain.

“What are you?” King Daedron asked suddenly. It took my mother a strong moment to reply.

“I’m… well…” another pause was warranted before she continued. “I am that of a siren. But I am also that of a man.” She whispered quietly.

I felt my heartbeat, rather the heartbeat of this raven, quicken at that revelation. She had been…

“I can see that…” my grandfather muttered more to himself as he continued his inspection of her. “I hear the call of your people. The sirens that call for you are of importance to your creatures hierarchy. Do you know the burden you bring just by being on this ship?”

“I-” my mother started. “My apologies, truly, this wasn’t my intent-”

“If you are to blame anyone, blame I.” My father cut in, finally pulling his father’s face from my mother to him. I watched as my grandfather’s gaze narrowed to his son.

“You have broken a plethora of rules set by this family. I assure you, blame has already been cast your way. No need to beg for it.”

That caused my father to break the gaze held with his own… but he didn’t forfeit his position just yet.

“I have given her my word of protection. She is under my care now.”

King Daedron brought two fingers to the bridge of his nose, massaging the bone. “ Have a son , they advised. He’ll be nothing but a blessing , they insisted. Oh how you’ve proven to test those very words with every breath you take.“

That made my father’s face flush slightly in embarrassment.

“Please,” I heard him say, pleading with his own father. “I will ask you for nothing more. Nothing else. Please just grant me this only thing.”

That forced an eyebrow of my grandfathers to arch in slight surprise, studying his son, before turning to my mother. His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he turned to face his only child once again.

“Aye.” I heard him finally agree. “I will agree to this… but know, you are now in debt to me for the discourse you’ve now caused between the Lockehearts and the sirens. And there may come a day where I ask this very same request of you.” My grandfather slowly approached my father, before signally for him to move from the door. “And I expect you to lay down like a dog and accept it. As I have this night.”

Those were the last words spoken before my vision faded to that blackness again.

And of course, before it could return, I felt yet another jolt of pure pain enter my mind. This forced the body my grandfather was still mending, to jerk forward, but I felt my grandfather maintain a hold that kept me steady. I hadn’t toppled to the ground just yet.

As I blinked, opening my eyes again, familiar shores soon flooded my vision.

The ports hadn’t been built yet, but I watched as my family began to move wood and supplies to and from the ship, working to lay foundations down.

We were now on the island of Azultia. Before it became Azul.

I allowed these wings to carry me past the shore, inland, my gaze now mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this land and all it once was. The rich green grass stretching on and on, with no homes yet built to inhabit it. But I drew nearer to the one building that had since finished its construction. A building I knew all too well.

The palace.

My home.

It stood in its entirety now, completely finished. There was a man that drew my wings to him, a man I now recognized as my grandfather as he allowed me to perch myself against his shoulder, staring out at the massive structure as he sprinted up the marbled steps and through the palace’s open doors.

“King Daedron!” A voice cheered out, yet I felt the impact of the small child running into my grandfather before I could see them.

I hadn’t needed to see them, however. I had recognized the voice as my own. As a younger me, no older than possibly seven or so. My pale eyes had stared up into his. The color I now realized as I lived through this memory, that my grandfather possessed the ability to change.

His eyes were pale now, the color of the Lockehearts as he glanced down to me with a smile. Those arms of his were quick to scoop me up for a brief spin before he set my now giggling self back down.

“Your visits are few and far between.” My father spoke suddenly. That drew both my grandfather’s and my own attention up towards the man that was entering the front hall to the palace. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

My grandfather just offered his son a small smile, one that passed some level of communication over to my father before he gave his father a nod, and began to make his way down a corridor. He was guiding my grandfather and he towards one of his studies located in the east wing.

Both men made sure they had made it safely into the private room, with the door closed and locked behind them, before my grandfather felt free enough to speak his mind..

“This will be my last visit to your family.” I heard him say. My father’s eyes quickly grew wide at that.

“What do you mean?” He asked suddenly.

“Just what I’ve said.” King Daedron replied. “I know every part of you will want to attest this, however you knew this day would come. You just chose to bury this inevitability deep down inside you, my son.”

My father stumbled back a bit before he found something sturdy behind him, then he leant himself against his large desk. He allowed himself time to digest his father’s words, something I realized was a quality my father had since learned through these years.

“The children-”

“ Are beautiful ,“ my grandfather interrupted, “you and Armoria have made two incredible children. Two strong sons…”

Those words alone made my father’s eyes soften.

“And so, my work here with you has reached its magnificent end. You have succeeded in every possible way, every avenue I could’ve imagined, bringing more honor to the Lockehearts with this land you are creating for both yourself, your beautiful family, and these once lost citizens.”

My father finally broke the gaze he held with my grandfather, choosing to turn his face away in hopes it wouldn’t show the pride my grandfathers words had made him feel.

“And just as you have found this home for your children to grow. To prosper, to learn from… I must return to my own. The call to the sea is not something I can ignore any longer.”

My father’s gaze still remained on the shelves of books that lined this room, refusing to meet King Daedron’s until these last few words slipped from his lips.

“I will ask nothing more of you. Nothing else. Please just grant me this one thing.”

My father’s eyes finally found his father’s, the pain I saw behind them now cutting through me in ways I didn’t expect. This goodbye had been far more gut wrenching than I could’ve possibly imagined as I watched my father slowly nod his head yes. There was no will to fight him behind those sorrowful eyes…

For he had made that wager all those years ago, and my grandfather had only come to collect on the debt.

I was fighting my vision now, willing to try and force myself to remain here. In this memory. I wanted for nothing more than to see my family together again. Even for just a moment.

Even if it was just a memory of the past.

However my mind spared no expense, not even the expense of my own, when it sent me the final memory.

This one hadn’t placed me in the body of a raven this time, no.

As my eyes blinked open, adjusting to the corridor I now stood in, the first thing I felt was burning. It was the burning of my eyes and lungs from the thick smoke that overtook all fresh air.

The thick clouds of it had almost masked the entirety of this place, yet I knew I was still in the palace. My burning eyes glanced down suddenly to the once blue robe that was since soaked in blood, yet my body didn’t move to the will of my own now.

It moved to the will of this memory. My memory.

And this was the memory that was once lost to me. I glanced back to the chambers of my father and mother. The entire room now engulfed in flames, however the heaping pile of dead Holy Men scattered right inside had told me all I needed to know.

I had killed every man that advanced this chamber once I  had awoken this power. Once I had called upon it, and accepted its wager. These changed eyes were what were now helping me see past the thick smoke.

My feet carried me forward regardless of how terribly I wanted to go back into that room. To try and recover the body my mother for a proper burial. Instead I was sprinting down this corridor now with the sound of my name being called from somewhere behind me.

It was Lemont’s voice, however I had chosen to ignore his call this night. I was seemingly too focused on one thing, one thing I could now still hear the heartbeat of if I listened closely enough.

And that was my father.

As this long corridor soon stretched open to a conjunction of hallways positioned in the center of the palace, I saw what it was I had heard. My father and three guards had continued to fight, my father wielding daggers of his own, however there was no chain connecting them. And the blades in my own hands could never rival the size of his.

He had cut down the Holy Men who advanced him with such ease, that all my memory could recall as I watched him fight so ferociously, was training he and I had done together.

That alone was what called for the daggers I held tightly in my bloody hands, to drop themselves to the ground. And that sound however had stopped my father from his engaged combat immediately. It was his guards who had then cut down the remaining men, as I watched his body still, before turning to me.

When my father’s eyes found mine, his slowly widened. He was covered in blood, yet I knew the sight of everything being crimson red, from the roots of my once white hair to the steel toes of my blood coated boots, had broken something inside him.

“Caspian!” I heard Lemont call out again as he soon joined me in the conjunction. You could barely see the floor from how many Holy Men were now slaughtered on it. My father and his men had held the line, and held it well.

“Lemont,” my father spoke, forcing his eyes past me to the man behind me. “Hodrus?”

“With Dreska,” Lemont reported immediately. “I believe they’ve made it out.”

My father nodded, but his attention slowly went towards one of the hallways. We could hear more Holy Men quickly approaching.

“Armoria?” He asked, turning to Lemont again. I looked back behind me just in time to see Lemont slowly shake his head no.

“ Understood ,“ my father whispered, forcing my gaze towards him again, though that voice of his…

It felt like it echoed against these very palace walls.

“I need you to get Caspian out of here now.”

Lemont reached forward for my arm, which I was going to shake away, still willing to fight, but I noticed now that I couldn’t move any bit of me. Something had… happened. My father had down something to all my mobility.

I could only watch as he slid his blood drenched daggers back into their holdings at his side, before he slowly dropped his large stature down to a knee. My eyebrows only creased in confusion for we could all still hear more guards approaching.

“And of the library? Were you-”

“It’s safe.” My father replied to my advisor’s words. He had placed one hand on his knee to help lower himself, yet I watched as his right hand placed itself palm down onto the bloody floors themselves. “It’s near her home.”

“Understood.” Lemont nodded, his other hand had grabbed for my other arm, but he hadn’t pulled me back just yet. Instead, it felt like he was waiting for something. The steps of The Holy Men were swiftly drawing nearer, therefore I couldn’t understand what we were waiting for… until my father spoke again.

“One day you may understand dear Caspian. Caspilius Lockeheart The Second. And perhaps then, you will accept this apology of mine.”

I watched as my father’s eyes slowly closed a moment, yet when he opened them again, they now burned a pure blue. A color I had never seen my father’s eyes take on before.

“For in order to keep you safe, I must erase this place. What I will leave in its wake will devastate you, for this was your home after all. A place of security your mother and I simply wished to give you… you’ll soon understand that the love your mother and I have for you and your brother stretches far past these walls. Far past this very land itself. And I believe in you two. Your ability to find it.”

My father raised his left hand now, the one resting on his knee, and when he flicked two fingers in my direction, I felt myself falling back suddenly.

He had released his hold on my limbs, and yet that power I had called upon was quickly leaving me too. The last thing I could remember before my body stumbled back against Lemont, falling a state of unconsciousness… were three words he whispered deep into every crevice of this palace. Every stone that made it whole.

“ I release you. “

••

59. The Heart Of The Sea

Alrighty y’all sorry for such a delayed upload, this work week told me to go sit tf down somewhere lol, it had hands and beat my ass like I owed it lunch money

Anywhooooo, enjoy lovelies!

Also we will in fact be ending at 60 chapters just fyi :)

I’m working late so my apologies for any errors too, I’ll double back on this chapter tomorrow with an edit

Alistair

“That’s enough.” I spoke, my voice low as my gaze met King Daedron’s. His eyes glanced down to my right hand that had since now wrapped itself around the handle of this sword. His sword.

“Just a little lo-”

“No.” My words cut his off, before a different sound pulled his full attention towards me again. That was the sound of this very sword being unsheathed.

King Daedron paused to look at me a moment, both his hands still holding the sides of Caspian’s head as the white haired man continued to shake within that grasp. I didn’t care what blessing Caspian gave this old mad man, whatever Daedron had decided to do to him did not have my blessing. And if this man thought I was just going to stand here and watch Caspian go through something that was clearly causing him pain, he was sorely mistaken.

“You’d bode well to keep from doing anything irrational.” King Daedron warned.

“And you’d bode well to keep from giving me a reason to,” I countered, to which Daedron’s eyes widened slightly. His gaze continued to hold mine, almost testing my thoughts and whether or not I had what it took to challenge him. The convulsing Caspian’s body was now doing made me point this sword directly at this deranged man.

And that was when I finally heard words that stopped me from taking a step closer. “So be it.” Daedron muttered far from enthusiastically before I watched him slowly take a knee in front of Caspian. The white haired man’s body had begun to settle itself finally, before seizing to shake completely when Daedron gently connected his forehead to Caspian’s. He whispered something to the man, but not even I could hear it.

Instead, all I could do was watch as his fingers finally detached from Caspian’s temples, before he slowly shifted away from him. When Caspian finally opened his eyes, I had meant to release a sigh of relief, simply grateful that he had opened them at all, but when he turned back slightly to face me, that breath that was to be released found itself hitched.

His eyes were now a piercing blue.

“I’m sorry,” I heard this psychotic old man say. “Fixing you required I strip all of your mortality from you. You will no longer have control over the eyes of the Lockehearts… then again, did you ever really?”

That pulled Caspian’s gaze from mine and back to his grandfather’s.

I was still trying to stomach that this man was even his grandfather in the first place. For the only name he had been known to have was Davy Jones. The demon of the sea.

When he had first pulled my ship to the bottom of these waters, I thought I was to pay for whatever havoc my younger self had inflicted upon the seas… yet when he then posed me with a question, asking what I was willing to give to be it’s Keeper, it felt like I had already died and this was now me meeting whatever creator governed the afterlife. I thought it fitting then because there was no other way to justify the man that existed inside of the Kraken, but the feeling of having my soul soon after ripped out by said mad man, I had realized the finality of my decision.

Davy Jones was the Keeper of my soul, as I was the Keeper of these very waters. And up until this point, there wasn’t anything I had done that had summoned him again. Not until now…

Not until I managed to take his grandchild aborad my ship… as a slave.

“As I told you, mending your mind at this age of yours was quite the sensitive task. There were… blocks that I couldn’t quite lift-” Daedron stopped himself a moment to glance my way in disapproval for stopping whatever he had been doing to Caspian… but my sword was still angled directly towards him and I truly saw no issue with taking my chances. I knew and felt first hand what pain the man could infict. He lacked all grace when a problem presented itself in which he deemed himself capable of solving. “Do you understand now?”

Caspian slowly nodded.

“The palace…” I heard his quiet, wavering voice say.

“A sacrifice.” Daedron answered. “Your father knew exactly what it would take to give his children a fighting chance. And contrary to what you witnessed that night Caspilius… your father never wanted to hurt any Holy Man.”

Daedron allowed Caspian to take a few steps back towards me, which was the only thing that made me comfortable enough to sheathe my sword. He was now within an arms distance of myself.

“He never wanted to hurt The Holy Men. Why you ask? Well it was something those citizens themselves could never understand… and that was that they were still citizens. No less, citizens of a nation your father worked diligently to pour nothing but love and guidance into. He detroyed the palace- your home, the home he built for his family, in an effort to end the bloodshed. With every man he cut down, he didn’t see them as the enemy. He saw them as his neighbor. As his family.”

Those words alone had stunned me into silence. For I hadn’t known that Caspilius, Caspian’s own father, had destroyed the palace of Azultia. All this time, I had thought…

I couldn’t see Caspian’s face well while he kept his gaze directed forward, but I hadn’t missed when his hand raised itself to wipe the salty water that had slipped past those piercing blue eyes, away.

“And even with your mother, the very thing that pulled him away from the test of these waters to find something more stable like land… even when their ties to life were severed, each one had only one wish for you. Only one profound message… and that was that this fight wasn’t yours. Your father tampered with your memory to keep you safe. And your mother? Well I believe she used the last of her life energy to tell you something you may have misinterpretted all these years.”

Daedron took a step forward towards Caspian, and I almost unsheathed this sword again until I watched as his hand gently grazed the left cheek of his grandson, drying some of those tears.

“When your mother told you to refer to the words The Oracle told you… she had meant more than what you interpreted. Gaia had told you-”

My body shifted forward immediately with the mention of that name. When I had heard it before, I thought I had heard wrong… yet now, well now it was as clear as a day during high noon.

That flippant hag.

For all the years I had questioned what exactly that woman was, this revelation was not what I could’ve ever predicted. No less from the hands of King Daedron.

I now understood how exactly this woman could have such a pull on my fate. It was the simple fact that she owned the ability to see it.

“She had told you that you were touched. Destined to lead the life only one before you had… And I hope you understand now that that was the touch of your ancestors. Caspilius, you are the first of our bloodline to fully inherit not just the powers of your father, but the entire bloodline, essence, and being of your mother. You are not just the son of Caspilius Lockeheart… you are the son of Armoria Delaniora, the womb of a woman who’s bloodline altered your creation… and your father did not name you after him because of his lineage. His pride distilled in the name he gave you was a reflection of your mother’s and his unuion. Caspilius Delaniora Lockeheart The Second. A title only known to us for the safety of your mother.”

More tears had started to stream down the cheeks of Caspian, yet I forced myself not to approach. Not to interfere. Whatever he had seen, and whatever Daedron had done to him was needed. This explanation for this once lost man was critical for him to understand, that much wasn’t lost on I. And so I didn’t interfere.

“The only exception I ever made with that father of yours was on who he chose to love, and there isn’t a day that passes where I have regretted my decision. I didn’t realize then, but it was the kindness of my son, that drew out and cemented the kindness instilled in your mother. I used to believe a man’s place was to wake up and immediately be whacked in the face with the responsibilities of fatherhood… yet seeing my son… watching the joy shaping you and Hodrus brought him, well it made me realize that some men are forced into fatherhood, while others willingly choose it.”

Those words alone forced even more tears from Caspian. And all I wanted nothing more for, than was the ability to take that pain away. The way Daedron spoke of his own son pulled at my own heart… and so I couldn’t imagine the damage it inflicted on Caspian’s.

“And watching my son choose to be a pillar for you and your brother each and every day he chose to draw breath, only further solidified my choice of giving my blessing that night.” His fingers gently brushed more of those tears away. “Life is a funny thing, isn’t it? The context of any direction given, is so crucial to understanding. And I can only hope I gave you what your father didn’t. Couln’t. What he had meant to . And that’s the view from above. The perpective of the little raven.”

I watched as Caspian’s lips tugged up into a genuine, warm smile. One that his grandfather willingly returned.

“I’ve missed you.” I heard the white haired man whisper.

“That’s even more humorous,” Daedron replied, his smile widening, “For I don’t recall having ever left you. When Gaia said that there is only one you will follow in the footsteps of, who did you believe that to be?” Daedron asked.

Caspian’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at those words.

“There are some of us who have chosen land, yet there are some who’ve been called to the sea. The uknown. And you, Caspilius, were born to learn beyond the confinements of what dirt holds. Your father may have displaced you with the choices he made in your best interest… but he chose something stable… and he knew you were not alone. That you never were, and never would be.”

Daedron was gentle with Caspian now, allowing the man to openly express his emotions. He welcomed it.

“And as long as that necklace remains around your neck, you will have the sea at your disposal… for if you call for me, I will come. I owe that much to the only son of mine taken before his time. He reshaped my definition of importance after all, given the power he knew he held and still sacrificed for the only thing he ever put first. His family.”

That only made Caspian’s smile widen, forcing those tears to droplets that slowly dropped from his chin.

“And so, I will release this ship. I will release this crew and its Captain. I will release you. And finally, you may not have asked for it, but I bless your return to the sea. And your budding romance with that deranged man.” Daedron pointed past his grandson to me, to which Caspian turned his head back slightly. I would’ve cursed this mad man myself but Caspian’s face was already growing flush as he took those few steps towards me again.

When my eyes found Daedron, I uttered the very same words I had told him when he had first released my crew and ship back to the sea all those years ago. Words that sounded strange to come from my lips after he had delivered such an insult. “ Thank you. “

Daedron nodded, watching as both Caspian and myself turned away from him. I didn’t know how long I had left my crew in the dark and unintended to.

But before I could take more than a few steps, I felt something tighten suddenly around my neck, yanking me backwards.

Caspian’s gasp rang through this rank smelling air, but the soft ground beneath his feet formed quickly around those steel toed boots, trapping him in place and forcing him to remain there as I was quickly dragged back to Daedron with forces I didn’t know of.

“Grandfa-” Caspian started, to which his words were swiftly cut off.

“Remain there.” Daedron spoke, his words sounding closer until he was able to reach around and wrap his massive hand around my neck. My back had stumbled into his surprisingly firm and sturdy build, keeping me there like a wall. “Alistair and I are not quite done.”

…

Shit .

“L-Listen, I know I wreaked a bit of havoc on land-”

“Oh that’s not the understanding I will attempt to reach with thee.” This man countered as he whispered to me. I could hear his voice right against my left ear. “What you will answer to is the crimes of taking royalty, my grandson nonetheless, as a slave.”

Okay , I thought to myself. Perhaps Cael had done well to worry.

“I-I can explain!” I was quick to return that whisper with. “I didn’t know- had I known-”

“And yet you should have. The power you have is linked to his… now more so than before. Given the circumstances I’m sure I’m not fully privy to, I will allow this one exception. However, moving forward, the care of my grandchild is in your hands. You would do well to understand the weight of that.” That deep voice of his was low, and for my ears only.

The hold around my neck quickly tightened, forcing me to nod. His words had cemented themselves into my memory, however it was the panicked look from Caspian that forced me to maintain my composure. I never wanted him to see fear in my eyes.

“You may hold the soul of the sea.. but my grandchild. That man standing before you. He is the heart of the sea. And if you ever lose sight of that simple fact, I’ll strip you of all that I gave you and finally lay that stained soul of yours to rest.”

Those words alone sent chills through my entire body. I knew he felt it as I shuddered against him.

“Have we reached an accord on this matter?” He asked me, to which I knew of only one answer that would appease this settled anger of his. Of the way I once treated someone who so clearly now meant more than the world itself to this man.

And I found myself answering him with it.

“Aye.” I nodded once more.

••

60. Skull And Bones

Well helloooo there lovelies!

I’m back for one last hurrah, and boy oh boy are y’all getting fed

4600 words on this one, and stay tuned for the preview to the new book that won out the votes on my page :)

I tweaked some things on the one that won so there’s an extra element to the story I think you’ll enjoy. Judging by the first few chapters I’ve already written, this new book will be the funniest one I’ve written yet in my humble opinion :)

Enjoy, lovelies!

xoxo

Also just fyi, errors could be present but I’m so damn busy today I’ll get to it tomorrow

P.S. One last song to cap out this playlist, and it’s both above and updated on the Spotify playlist.

Enjoy!

Alistair

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/dd4580297bb4dc3b5c2aeb828453d8ae0e6c1b84/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5f707359766170356c484b5832413d3d2d313436343530343432302e313765363265383832663133663639303232323233303734373837372e6a7067)               

I was quick to snatch Caspian’s hand, freeing his boots from this fleshy floor before yanking him directly back towards the ship.

I was essentially dragging this man as I managed to make it to through the long flesh lined tunnel and to my ship much faster than his feet could carry him. We wouldn’t have much time before this beast of a thing would dislodge us from its throat, and I would very much like to be on the damn ship before that whole ordeal fucking happened.

Caspian followed, allowing me to lift and hoist him above the side of the ship, before he extended a hand to help me up. The darkness of this place was almost completely black, however Caspian’s piercing blue eyes glowed much like my red one. I wondered whether he could see better now too.

It was difficult to know for sure considering I had led us back, but once my feet landed safely on the main deck, I could see Caspian navigate the debris ridden deck freely, even amongst this darkness.

“Are we getting a safe passage back or should I make peace with death now?” Cael called to me. The men were still strapped to the beams of the ship signally their hope that I would indeed negotiate our way out of this creature.

“Aye.” I replied, my hand slipping into Caspian’s before I led us back to the beam we were once strapped to. He lined himself right up against it, his back flush with the wood as I bent down quickly to pick up the rope.

The relieved sigh release amongst my men was profound. Had I not been so focused on strapping Caspian and I down, I would’ve given them all shit for having so little faith in me.

I had gotten us out of this creature once before, therefore they should’ve been fairly confident I could do it again.

“Caspian, your ey-” Cael had started, but those words were swiftly cut short.

None of the other pirates got a single word in either, before we all immediately felt it. The rumbling. Once I got the rope tied off, I turned my head forward to Caspian who was now flush against me again, a position I very much preferred, with those beautiful eyes of his finding mine.

“Deep breath in, and close your eyes. Close them tight .” I instructed him, to which his brows creased slightly.

“Now?” He asked, unsure.

“Aye.” I replied, before I took a breath in myself. Thankfully Caspian didn’t protest this time as he did the same.

And that confusion of his was soon answered once we felt liquid quickly shoot across each open deck of the ship. All I could do was pray Caspian shut those eyes tight enough, for the liquid we felt around us wasn’t sea water.

It was the remnants of this creatures stomach.

The ship was thrust forward immediately as we felt the skin tissue of this creature move, dislodging the only thing standing between the insides of its stomach, and the sea water itself.

I only knew we had finally made it out of that creatures throat once I felt the disgusting, slime like warmth finally leave, and the cold water of the sea engulfed us instead. There were many things I had wished for over each passing of the sun… but nothing would compare to the simple wish that this sea water would rinse off the vile liquid my men and my ship had all just been submerged in.

As the ship quick rose to the top, the water now started to subside until I finally felt something I had never missed more in my entire existence.

Fresh air.

My first gasp for it once the water levels dipped lower past my neck, almost hurt my lungs with how sharp an intake it was. Caspian was next once he felt his head no longer submerged, and to that I heard him cough up a bit of water he must’ve accidentally breathed in.

At least, one could hope it was the sea water.

As my eyes panned around my now completely soaked main deck, with the sun from the day almost vanishing into the horizon of the sea, I assessed the damage.

All of the beams had remained intact besides one that had fractures in the wood. We hadn’t lost much cargo once we were swept under, which was good, and Ol’ Bess had completely sealed any windows, doors, and hatches from water leaking through.

Well done , I found myself saying to her. I felt a slight rumble below the floorboards my feet stood upon, and it made my lips tug up into a slight smile, before I reached around Caspian to the knot I had fastened off.

The rope hadn’t even hit the ground yet before Cael appeared at my side.

“Your eyes,” Cael noted immediately, pointing to Caspian’s. “Did you two fight him? Why are they glowing? What happened?”

Caspian slowly shook his head as I stepped away to give him the slightest bit of space.

“Caspian,” I spoke to the slightly shorter man instead of my insistent Navigator. “Go run us a bath. I’ll join you shortly.”

Caspian’s face immediately grew flushed when his sharp eyes found mine, but he nodded, doing his best to conceal the smile forcing its way upon his lips as he turned to leave.

“Please tell me you didn’t fight-”

“No,” I replied to my Navigator quietly, before my hand grabbed hold of his soaked shirt sleeve and tugged this man along quickly. Cael would’ve demanded that I unhand him immediately, but something told me his curiosity was overcoming his hatred for my antics. I made sure to pull us fully into the study before I closed and locked the door behind the man.

“I told you to take it easy on the coasts of Az-”

“Davy Jones is King Daedron.”

…Cael almost immediately started choking.

I could only watch as he leant himself against the large desk, now determining he needed something to rest against as he almost coughed up his own lungs.

Once that disturbance in his throat finally settled, he spoke words that I honestly shouldn’t have been as surprised about.

“I want off this ship.” He demanded. “Gaia was right, you’re tethered to something unnatural.”

I almost laughed at this considering there was nothing about me that was natural… but it took no thinking at all to know Cael’s next course of action if I did laugh, would be to cut my tongue out. Gaelick might not have thought of it, but this man surely would.

“Now hold on,” I insisted, “it isn’t all bad. Someway, somehow, I think we’ve gained an additional asset to our crew.”

Cael’s eyes peered over at me. They were slightly pink now from all the strained coughing. “Who?” He asked.

“Caspian.” I replied. His face scrunched up in confusion immediately.

“Caspian has already joined the ship and its crew.”

“Aye,” I nodded, “but this Caspian… he’s different.”

Cael still looked like he had question after question on the tip of his tongue, but as he sat with his thoughts a moment, I watched as some of that confusion started to fade.

“His eyes?” The taller man questioned, to which I nodded.

“Daedron did something to him. I can feel it when I look at him. He now has the same immortality as I, however that demented old man had to strip his mortality for it. Those once pale eyes went with it.”

The confusion that had once faded, returned to Cael’s face with a swiftness.

“I don’t quite understand.”

“Neither do I,” I insisted. “I just know that when I look at him now, I know I do not hold the capability to kill him.”

“Well that’s… good.. I suppose? Especially considering the devil himself is that man’s fucking grandfather. We’ll soon need a chart to sketch all this on if more of his family continues to fall into our path of fate. Given these last few days, I personally would prefer to never cross paths with another Lockeheart again. Ever again. This has been more than enough, hell it’s been plenty .”

I often found myself disagreeing with Cael on most things… however I echoed the same sentiments as he. I wasn’t sure if there were other Lockehearts out there, but now that Caspian and I had boarded this ship successfully, I had every plan of asking him myself.

And though I too would prefer not to find out his great-great-grandfather hung the very moon or something, I would support his wishes if they were to try and find more of his family.

We would just have to fit all this exploration into our tight schedule of looting and pillaging.

“Aye,” I nodded to this man. “And while I treasure each and every moment we spend together to discuss these things, I have a sinfully beautiful man waiting in a tub for me.” I took a step away from the man who was probably going to spend the rest of this evening in this study waiting for my return. “I smell foul and would prefer to rectify that.”

My hand reached for the handle of the door, unlocking it and turning the knob, but I did glace back at Cael before I opened it.

“I promise you a very detailed report. One that will cover all that we discovered whilst walking amongst the depth of hell.” Cael’s gaze shifted from the floor to mine with those words, breaking his concentration as he started to lose himself to his thoughts. “Then perhaps you might feel willing enough to explain a few things of your own. Like for instance, how long you have known what Gaia truly is.”

Cael’s eyebrows slowly furrowed, but it was only momentarily before I eventually saw those eyes of his widen at my words. I didn’t give him the opportunity to defend these accusations however, I instead opened that door and walked directly out of it.

Making it through my main deck took time as each pirate stopped a moment to thank me. I was still struggling to determine when it would be best to tell them about Caspian. It was something I wanted to discuss with that man first considering it wasn’t my secret to share, however I also took into consideration the fact that my men had been willing to fight for Caspian. To kill for him. I believed they deserved to know the whole truth.

I didn’t need to give commands, for my crew knew exactly where we were setting sail to now. If there was ever a time for ship repairs, we had chosen the perfect opportunity upon being swallowed then spit back up by the fucking Kraken.

I could still see a layer of that rancid slime coating my floorboards, which my men had already started to clean.

Something I was going to reward heavily, for I’m sure my men didn’t expect to be the first swallowed by the Kraken and live, let alone to test our chances twice.

My feet carried me swiftly as I made my way up to our private chambers. Once that door swung open, my eyes found the one thing I had been craving since he boarded this ship come dawn. It was bizarre to recount how much had happened, and all before nightfall.

Those bewitching blue eyes of his found mine easily. I could see him clearly now, for I hadn’t bothered to cover my left eye again after having been thrown out of the Kraken, and when his blue hues met my red one, those lips slowly twitched up into a smile.

He was submerged in the tub almost completely, much like how I had found him last time I requested a bath be drawn. The only difference now was that necklace which was fastened around his neck. And I wasted no time removing the straps to my weapons and the weapons themselves, before I started pulling off these soaking wet clothes.

Caspian’s eyes didn’t leave my body, instead I watched the blue hue in them intensify as more skin revealed itself to him… and it was almost terrifying how much I was drawn to it. To him.

Daedron, that fucking imbecile, had been right. I should’ve known this before. And I definitely felt it now.

The water was warm as I slowly lowered my naked body in. Caspian adjusted to allow my slightly bent legs in between both of his as we sat across from each other now. This warmth from the water felt absolutely spectacular after I just experienced the longest day of my existence. So much so, a content sigh was unintentionally released and it made Caspian’s smile widen.

His next choice of words that followed it, surprised me.

“Thank you.” he said.

I returned it with a smile of my own. “I should be thanking you. Even with all my wild, unfiltered thoughts, I’d never have imagined you would be the piece that could hold over a man like Davy Jones.”

“Neither had I.” Caspian admitted more openly. “There’s just… there’s just so much I don’t kn-”

Caspian’s word were cut off by the quick tug I gave his right leg, almost slipping him completely under the water.

“You’re too far from me. I can’t hear a single thing you’re saying.” I lied.

Caspian’s voice broke out into a warm chuckle, opting to roll his eyes at my comment as he lifted himself back up above the water, but I watched as he shifted himself closer. Both hands of mine went out to the outer side of both thighs and gripped the soft skin there before I pulled him onto my lap, his body now straddling me.

I could see him now. The warm light from the burning lantern’s giving this white skin of his a beautiful glow. I could see his eyes clearly again, taking note of every speck that made up such gorgeous irises.

“I was saying,” the man teased with that smile still on his lips, but his hands rested themselves on my chest, partially submerged in the water while partially exposed to the elements of air. “There is still so much I’m piecing together. So much about my family that I didn’t know.”

I nodded slowly at his words before I found myself responding. “The burning of the palace. That being your father’s sacrifice. I thought it would shift my perspective on things, but my hatred for what The Holy Men did… what they forced his hand to do… and how they reported it to the citizens of Azul…. I’m even more enraged.”

Caspian nodded, though I watched as his concentration faltered a moment when my tongue sip passed my mouth to slowly coat my bottom lip. My hands had unintentionally gripped his thighs tighter by that simple act alone.

“My father never hated them. Even right up until the very end.” Caspian whispered as he attempted to focus.

“Aye,” I nodded. “ But I’m not him. And I will willingly inherit the hatred for both he and I.“

There was nowhere Caspian could turn to hide the redness creeping upon his face.

“I like that,” he spoke quietly. “That you aren’t like him.”

I couldn’t help myself when I pulled Caspian closer now, brushing a part of me against him that had longed for his touch since it last had it. Caspian’s breathing hitched immediately, but he didn’t push me away.

“Good,” I whispered in return.  My fingers had now started to knead and massage the skin of his thighs, and I watched as it created small ripples above the surface from where they were stationed below it. “And I know your grandfather had warned us against fighting a pointless war upon land… but wherever we go after we perform maintenance on this vessel… it’s your choice. Considering this necklace won’t be making its way back to Finnick, I suggest one of our stops must involve locating something rare to offer up as penance.”

Caspian’s fingers started to move lightly against my chest, tracing the patterns of my tattoo’s as he gently grazed the soft yet firm skin there. I couldn’t tell whether it was from how distracting his touch was- how all thoughts immediately vanished when I felt him touch me… but his next question took me by surprise yet again. This man had the tendency to do that.

“What is it that you desire most?” He had asked me. And my first answer was admittedly in line with the only train of thought I could muster.

“You.” I answered freely, which only made this white haired man’s face all the more flushed.

“You’ve already laid claim to that.” He reminded me, and those words alone forced me to shift him closer again, grinding my hardened lower half into his. The softest moan that escaped those lips sent this burning sensation coursing through my veins. “There are more ways than one to have you, Caspian.” my voice lowered itself with these words. “ Ways I’d like to show you .“

That alone had turned Caspian’s face as red as my left eye, but he held this gaze shockingly well.

It was Caspian’s next words that stopped me from finally bringing his lips to mine.

“Besides that- me , what is it that you desire?”

I wanted us to pause on this conversation and get back to it after I had pleasured this man, but I stopped myself. This conversation was seemingly important if Caspian was willing to ignore his now completely hard cock to continue it. And so, I forced myself to think a moment.

It didn’t take long before I settled on it. “My soul,” I replied honestly. “When Daedron made me what I am,  he kept it as a promise. A guarantee that I would remain at sea. He should’ve known I had no reason to leave the sea, but given the power he granted me with, I understood his reasoning. I myself would have done the same.”

Caspian’s hands had applied a bit of pressure to my chest when he shifted in this position, and when I felt him unintentionally grind himself against me again, the deep guttery groan I released was something I simply couldn’t help. Caspian, however, stood his ground.

“My grandfather,” he started, forcing myself to regain composure. “He… he showed me things. Memories. There was some he couldn’t access, such as the block I have on a memory from when I first traveled to Gatvia.”

Caspian continued the patterns he was once tracing, again.

“I was very young then, and my father had instructed Gaia to read my brother’s and I’s fate. I do not remember what she spoke of to Hodrus for my father and her had done something to pull that memory… but King Daedron still managed to show me other memories. Memories of my family, and the palace the night it burned.”

I took a moment myself to process what Caspian was telling me. First, I almost reached around to pat myself on the back for having figured out that Caspian had deeper ties to that irritating fucking island than I originally assumed. But then I did wonder, much like Caspian was now, what Gaia had seen for Hodrus.

Had she seen what he would become? And had she perhaps seen what I would make him?

That old hag would be receiving another visit sooner than she anticipated…

Or perhaps she saw all this too?

“My grandfather revealed the last moments of my father’s life. Before he put me to sleep, Lemont had been there. He had asked my father a question about that which held all the Lockeheart secrets. Every scroll written, every map drawn, all of our history that I simply must’ve been too young at the time to fully understand.”

My eyes slightly widened at what I knew he was describing. “The Library of the Lockehearts.” I whispered low.

Caspian slowly nodded in return. “Aye. And when asked, my father revealed to him that he had kept it safe. He had locked it away.”

That made my eyes enlargen entirely with surprise so sudden I shifted us both up as I slightly raised myself above the water. “Are you serious?” I asked this man, to which he nodded again.

“He had hidden it somewhere he knew very very few could find. And for those who know of its whereabouts, would never dare to enter.”

My eyebrows creased slightly, not exactly loving the sound of that. “Where?” I asked.

“Bristol Cove.” Caspian replied, to which my eyeballs damned near dislodged themselves from their sockets entirely… yet absolutely nothing could have prepared me when he added “my mother’s home.”

Those words had successfully stunned me into utter complete silence.

I just stared at Caspian.

He remained quiet, waiting patiently for me to find the words, but I could see how well those eyes of his were studying me. He looked to be nervous with how I would accept this revelation.

I admittedly had known close to nothing of the sirens, but I knew of where their home was for that was how I called to them. I had pulled them from their realm in The Cove, to aide in my fight, and swiftly returned them to it. All pirates had heard of the pure mayhem and destruction those creatures caused, and considering I didn’t know at the time why the sirens did not take well to Davy Jones, I kept my distance when I could.

There was a name that Daedron spoke of- Delaniora.

He had said so much to Caspian, I hadn’t quite understood what he meant about Armoria. Her bloodline, and how it had altered Caspian somehow.

But that name… It was old. Very, very old. I couldn’t speak too freely on what shards of memory I still had, but there was a book Cael owned that had mentioned that name. And if my otherwise failing memory with names served me well, that name was related to a true blood. The first sirens created, and what the seas referred to as The Original Sin.

I realized now why I couldn’t place Caspian’s energy. I couldn’t fully decipher his magic… and that was because there was no blood exactly like his. Even Hodrus didn’t have that touch of an inexplicable aura mixed into his bloodstream. Something had happened with Caspian and his birth.

“That explains that siren’s genuine gesture to you. They smelt something in you that I couldn’t.”

Caspian’s face scrunched up in some slight confusion before he soon remembered the events following the destruction of Azul.

“Aye, I think so… and if that is the case. If they can somehow accept us, I think we can find the library. There would surely be something kept there that Finnik would accept as a replacement for this pendant.” Caspian’s gaze fell down to the pendant still secured well around his neck. The Azurrite stone was even more mesmerizing when paired with those eyes of his. “There is something else…” The man added hesitantly.

“I’m not sure how much more I can take.” I joked with him playfully, pulling a smile well past those nerves of his.

“This one you might like,” he assured me. “Once my grandfather had finished readjusting my mind, he whispered something to just me. He hadn’t only revealed memories to my mind, he had also placed something there. He locked it away rather, much like the library. And though I do not remember much about the contents of that library, there is something there that could perhaps release it.”

“And what is that?” I asked him. “What did that mad man lock away now?”

Caspian paused a moment before he continued. “Something he had, locked away before. And in my humble opinion, something I would like to return.”

Those alluring blue eyes found mine again before he spoke these last words more softly.

“Your soul… if you’ll still have it.”

The silence that immediately followed Caspian’s words was fully felt. It occupied every space of air all around us.

…I-

Well…

Caspian was really doing his best with rendering me at a complete loss for words.

I didn’t even know what to say to that. I felt my heartbeat slowly start to accelerate, and yet I couldn’t pinpoint which reason it was. The thing he had just revealed to me, or the way he looked… the way his words sounded when he did.

“Why-… why would you-” I struggled to get out, but Caspian offered me a warm smile.

“I understand my grandfathers reasoning… but as I’ve spent time with you, I’ve realized something. The sea is not a cage to you. You are not trapped here, and I don’t believe you’ve ever felt that you were. This is your home. And you deserve to feel it in its entirety, for I have never crossed paths with a man that speaks of these blue currents the way you do. You see every inch of their beauty, and not with an arial view, but with the view of what’s directly in front of you.”

My grip tightened on Caspian, yet I felt one had of mine slowly slide up the surface of his soft wet skin, feeling the curvature of his thighs and arse, before grazing up that beautiful arch of his back and finally settling on the nape of his neck.

“ You would do that for me? “ I asked this man quietly, searching through the sea of endless blue that were his eyes for any signs of doubt… but I returned empty, for there was none.

“Aye,” he whispered in return. “There is no part of this sea I wouldn’t search to try and make you whole again.”

I could hear his heartbeat now. I could feel it clearly as my thumb pressed against the skin where the edge of his jawbone met his neck.

It was beating quickly, and in synchronization with my own.

“All I ask,” Caspian added, his body drawing closer to mine. Or perhaps I was pulling him closer, I couldn’t tell anymore. “Is that we keep this from my grandfather. His opinions of you are… well… there is room for improvement there.”

I felt a slight chuckle slip past my lips when my eyes unintentionally glanced down to his.

Judging by how hard both our hearts now beat, I had an inkling Caspian was ready to put a pause on this conversation himself, but before I captured those soft lips with my own that now ached with need, I answered this handsome man.

“I’ll never be opposed to withholding information from that mad man. And to answer your question… Aye ,” I nodded slowly, pulling him even closer. “ I’ll still have it. “

My fingers massaged the nape of his neck gently, and Caspian’s eyes drifted close, unable to resist this touch any longer.

“ But right now, I’d rather have you .“

And I didn’t waste another moment, not another word, before bringing his lips down to mine, and feeling that familiar rush of energy course through me that only he had the ability to give.

In this moment, I realized I had just one more thank you to give that mentally unwell man.

When our paths were fated to cross next, I would need to thank him for choosing to take my soul all those years ago, and not my heart…

For it was seemingly promised, betrothed to another man with long white hair and striking blue eyes.

And perhaps that mad man knew it too.

Perhaps he knew all along when he first pulled me to the very bottom of the fucking sea.

Fin

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/8492d2b728a19f93e135411d2d01c4e2204d1571/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d33483771617552636e717743673d3d2d313436343530343432302e313765363331333134386136666432333439363639383534383839362e6a7067)               

AHHHH where do I start?!?

First off I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you thank you thank you so much for picking up this book and giving it a shot.

Thanks oh so very fucking much for giving it the time, commenting, voting, liking, all the works!

I say this always and I’ll never stop saying this:

y’all are the best readers a gal could ask for.

So from the very bottom of my heart, thank you <3

Okay but enough of my sappy shit cause you guys read it at the beginning of each chapter lol, it’s finally time I give you the lil intro to the next book I’ll literally either start in a few days or a few weeks

I dunno yet lol, y’all know how my work schedule can get by now

Drum roll please…

Drdrdrdrdrdr

(Idk how to write a drum roll onomatopoeia lol)

The book that won was:

DonxCarson!

And because yall know that I don’t take shit seriously, it is with great pleasure I bring to you:

I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/e928e47cefd0b0841cdcc0b32c941b853b49acef/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7758436d525554677441667478773d3d2d313436343530343432302e313765643534333464326134343638353139383539353334363630392e6a7067)               

(Cover is subject to change cause I’m a picky bitch lol)

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

The first time Don Whittaker heard those infamous words was on January 26th, 1998, when then president Bill Clinton went on national television to deliver his verbal rejection of the notion that an affair between him and Monica Lewinsky ever took place.

Never in Don’s wildest nightmares would he believe these very words could come from his own mouth…

Until one fateful September day when he opened the front door to his high rise penthouse, and he came face to face with an empty hallway… before his eyes eventually panned down to the small child staring up at him.

And his life was soon changed forever when that child spoke his very first words to a man who should’ve been a complete stranger.

“Dad?”

Carson Lee Jones had done his best to always uphold the law. Having worked in HR for most of his career, there wasn’t many who had the ability to get under his skin.

Not many, besides Don Whittaker that it.

And what had started between these two men as a disagreement over a parking spot, suddenly takes one insane turn when Carson’s sister requests he puts in temp hours at her elementary school as a guidance counselor.

Agreeing to this rather simple ask was something Carson found simple to do. He had the education background, and was great with children… That was until he met Dylan, a new transfer student to the school district.

It was in that moment Carson should’ve known that the only child who could test his usually unwavering limits, had to be the spawn of satan himself.

And to eventually find out just who spawned this heinous creature? Well, everything fit perfectly in place after that.

A story in which Don, a financial advisor for John Terry, finds himself juggling three ominous threats:

A feud over a parking spot with a man that wouldn’t go willingly.

An unexpected child he refused to believe was his regardless of their startlingly similar personalities.

And the terror of eventually finding love in both of these pain in the asses.

What do we think, lovelies? I promiseee, the amount of humor I’m throwing in here is unreal. I thought the dynamic of an unexpected child would be just chefs kiss coupled with Don’s complete innate ability to care for anything other than his work. You’ll still see guest appearances from the gang and ofc John Terry

Also P.S. I am one thousand percent on Monica Lewinsky’s side with that scandal. Let’s remember that that girl was like 22 and a White House Intern while that old ass nigga was the goddamn President of the United States and married

This book title is actually a bit layered because it’s going to show the accountability Bill Clinton’s bitch ass should’ve taken as opposed to letting Monica be absolutely crucified in the news outlets and tabloids

I just wanted to make that clear lol

Also if you reached this far, pat yourself on the back cause this whole chapter was 5400 words

A new record

Anywhoooo, I’ll see y’all soon :)

xoxo

New Book Alert!

Alright y’all, it’s finally time…

But first…

Please enjoy this beautiful gallery of fan art from my incredible readers!

The first one is the same artist who chose to remain anonymous, but has seriously delivered yet again on the most BEAUTIFUL family portrait I have simply ever seen. The fact that they got these details so spot on with chapters I had written, and literally chapters I hadn’t posted at the time they sent in the rough draft, floors me completely

Thank you, beautiful. And thank you for allowing me to share :)

Also a ginormous thank you to all who sent in work, I have the most talented readers in the world fr fr <3 (If you don’t see your art here, just make sure you’ve got the right email, but also make sure you responded to my last email because I won’t post your art until you confirm you’re okay with me doing that. I also always ask if you want to be tagged cause that’s entirely your choice too :)

I’ll update this chapter with more art hopefully before the night ends, but this is my only window to get this up now, so just bear with me por favor

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/78973132cd194e6fbf9264ec4def42172b9e1bb9/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e4a4764307354645679426877413d3d2d313436353831303736342e313765366430356665383630346231363337323032313631333633352e6a7067)               

The artist for this one has chosen to remain anonymous

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/b1b07db30849db3df30dbadabc5f2bd3ba785abd/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7a41364f54613177552d316353673d3d2d313436353831303736342e313765366430363632316331393832333734353033303032323038382e6a7067)               

Dazaiissopretty

Alright y’all, let’s get it… I present to thee

I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/5d36c117be4ab35bfa4b7ea893217f7b1ba9a629/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7734644f494b515479614c6930673d3d2d313436353831303736342e313765366430383837313261663931323833393137323636323832392e6a7067)               

Out Now! ••

Side note: y’all want a playlist for this one? Lemme know :)

(This book is on Inkitt, Wattpad removed it)

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/b1e063299ff2ac6a8a292fe2a9579e4da02e94e6/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4366496e2d5773476251564c4d773d3d2d313436353831303736342e313862386264343332656263663738623839353131303931313731332e706e67)