Ikko sighed. "To demons, drinking blood is a hungry and perverted act to satisfy a craving. To angels, drinking blood can be a way to bond as much as it is to eat. I've had this idea on how I imagined our bonding, and this was not it." A wave of blush covered my face. "I thought we weren't talking about us right now," I squeaked. Ikko was quiet for a moment. "It's hard not to." I agreed with him. I could already tell that we had a huge conversation on our hands once we got him back to normal. Right now, he had no idea how I felt and I had no idea what he felt. Hell, I didn't even know what I felt. Maybe he didn't know how he felt either. Both of us were bursting at the seams in an attempt to keep our mouths shut until this was all over.
Once we boarded the average-sized boat Cienar and Arine chose for us, we cast off into the open sea. It was a luxury for Cienar to be able to control the current so we didn't need the sails or to steer. As the sun said its last farewell under the horizon, Cienar was sitting near the helm and watching the ocean with his staff in his lap while Arine was asleep in the crow's nest. Ikko was passed out in the cabin and I decided to sleep on deck.
I was near the railing of the boat so I wasn't in the way of anyone. I had wrapped a blanket around myself and wanted to get lost in the stars while I drifted to sleep. Even though the blanket was old, it had been too long since I slept with one. That night, I had a dream that Sython was reaching for me while being pulled away by a swarm of shadows, but I walked away from him with a face containing no sympathy. I was mad at myself for having that dream. I woke up to the mist of seawater over my face and sat up to see the morning sun overhead.
I looked down at my lap and thought about what my mind had conjured for me. Why had my dreams been making me seem like I was the bad guy? I would never walk away from someone who was in trouble, even if it was the man who used me. But why are my dreams telling me he did nothing wrong? My thoughts were moved aside by Arine who approached me with a smile. "Good morning!" I returned his smile. "Morning!" We then had breakfast together and after we were done, I went up to the helm where Cienar was watching the horizon.
He was in the same place I saw him in before and he hadn't moved since last night. I then sat down next to him. "Did you sleep at all last night?" He continued to stare off into space as he responded. "I don't think I did." I blinked at his empty expression. "You don't think? What have you been doing this whole time?" He still didn't look at me. "I have to concentrate if I am to control the current. I also like to look out on the open sea. It's relaxing." I followed his gaze until my eyes rested upon the horizon. "You should get some rest. You know that there's a helm here that can do the work for you." He shook his head slowly. "And get there in double the time?"
I was about to argue with him when I saw something appear out of nowhere on the horizon. I stood up from the floor as Cienar spotted it after me. It was another ship that was heading toward us. I then walked carefully down to the deck and up to the bow.
I held the railing in front of me and saw that the ship was significantly larger than ours. As it got closer, I caught a glimpse of its flag. The battered material flapped in the wind with black dye. Its center was blotted with the image of a detailed skull and crossbones from what I could tell. My grip on the railing tightened. "Well crap," I said quietly. I saw Arine in the corner of my eye fly up to the sail to get a better look as well. I turned to look behind me just as Cienar had approached me. His eyes stayed on the other ship as he sighed. "Pirates."
My nervousness rose as he placed one hand on the railing and rested against his staff using the other. "I've seen this ship before. The brute they have for a captain calls himself The Pirate King. He has every right to, from how much territory he has accumulated." I gasped. "There's a pirate king?!" I turned in response to the sound Ikko made on his way up the stairs. "Our luck just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" I quickly walked over to him and helped him up the rest of the stairs. He groaned as he struggled to stand. "Curse this damn body!"
The ship was no longer in the distance and was closing the space between us with every second. "Is there any way you can change the current quickly enough to get away?" I pleaded with Cienar. He only looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "Not if you don't want the boat to tip over." I was shocked that his tone was so calm even now, as we were about to be robbed and killed by pirates. Arine was too high to hear me and Ikko was too busy trying to function in his new body. It looked like I was alone in trying to figure out what to do. Only, I ran out of time before I could think of something. A grappling hook crashed into the wood in front of me and tore me from my thoughts. It's heavy chain then straightened, and the hooks ripped through all the material it was wedged in until it attached itself to the railing. I jumped at the sudden action and turned to see that the ship was already at our side. I jumped again as ten more grappling hooks came flying from the deck of the enemy ship and tore up our deck until every hook was secured and our ship began to move toward theirs.
Once our ship came close enough, pirates came swinging from ropes and across wooden planks until we were surrounded by dirty thieves. They consisted of a mix between humans and inhuman species. Two of them grabbed me and another pulled Ikko from my hands. I could barely struggle after the two of them restrained my arms behind my back. They tied my wrists and ankles with hard and scratchy ropes. One of them only needed to hold Ikko up by the collar of his shirt as he flailed, hitting nothing. Arine tried to help, but he couldn't do anything without flying closer. He was lunchmeat to men like this and soon his dainty fairy wrists were tied just as mine were. I was appalled to see that Cienar had come down the easiest. He didn't struggle at all as the pirates restrained him and tied him up. I thought that he might've been planning something and held onto that hope until I realized that he'd been up all night using magic. He must've been exhausted out of his mind. My sudden worry for him was then interrupted by a gunshot. The blast cut through the noisy laughs and manly noises of all the greasy men aboard. With the sudden silence, I noticed the man who shot it. He was standing on the railing of the pirate ship with a gun in his hand. Smoke subtly left the revolver he was holding as he held the barrel upward. He then walked across the wooden plank that bridged between our ships and jumped onto our deck. Now that he was closer, I could see him more clearly. I was surprised at how different he looked compared to his men. He was cleaner and carried himself elegantly. He wore a black pirate coat with gold accents and a hat to match. His hat told me that this man was the Captain by the sight of a long red feather pinned to it that nearly filled the entire lip of his crown. The species of he bird being that of a phoenix. This fact terrified me. No one could just HAVE a phoenix feather. I could see now just how qualified this man was to be The Pirate King. His coat was open in the front and showed that he carried the holder to his gun as well as a thin pirate sword in his belt. He had the hilt of a knife sticking out of his brown knee-high boots, while his thick black pants were tucked into them.
His undershirt was white with an open collar so I could see the many necklaces he wore that had beads made from gold and shark teeth. Every one of his fingers at least had two rings on them and his ears were pierced plenty. Something threw me off guard about his ears. They were pointed, but they weren't as long as a demon's or a fairy's. I didn't know what he was, but his form was just like a human's despite a few differences. He was younger than I expected and looked to be somewhere in his twenties. His hair was short and a mesmerizing royal purple while his eyes were bright pink. Despite wearing so much clothing, it complemented his physique, and I swore that I could see his abs through his shirt.
I was stunned. 'Well... He's attractive. I'm getting scared already.' The Captain then walked up to us with a smile. "Allow me to introduce you all to your captor. Captain Johnathan Gold. Although, if you call me King I might hesitate to slit your throat." He and his men laughed before he rested one hand on his hip and put his gun away with the other. "So, tell me lads! What brings you to dare sail into the territory of The Pirate King?" Arine glared at him. "We're going to Devil's island, which isn't your territory!" Johnathan's smile became a smirk as he responded. "You're right. However, the ocean surrounding it is! Haha! And you, my dear boy, have crossed into enemy lines." He and his men laughed again and Johnathan pointed to some pirates near him.
"Search the ship for anything useful and take it to the cargo." They nodded to their Captain and then left from view. Johnathan's eyes became brighter as he noticed Cienar staring off into space as he normally did. "It appears that I'm not the only man of royalty aboard." Cienar's attention was then brought back into the moment as Johnathan approached him. "Where you be hiding your treasure? I don't think you're in any position to lie." I had to do something before they saw that the only money Cienar had with him was from Atlantis.
My thoughts raced on what to say but the time crunch forced out the first thing that came to my mouth. "He doesn't have any! His father cut him off because he used the tide to kidnap women!" The both of them then turned to look at me blankly as I realized what I had told them. 'Of all the things to say. I really threw Cienar under the carriage with that one...' Cienar then raised an eyebrow at me, horrified. "How the hell did you know that? I never told you, did I?" I blinked. 'Of course Cienar actually did that. Sometimes I don't think I know him at all!'