Women. They are a curse upon the seas.
That was Captain Killian Calnick Maverick thought as his body was engulfed by the cold unforgiving sea. A man of his status, of his reputation, a hero. To be left to die, a cold death, and in the arms of his beloved. Maverick finds it ironic. His wounds ache and the sea salt burns his eyes. He wants to die. And as the final breaths of life leave his lungs.
A voice echoes from the depths.
"You are no hero. You are nothing but a vile man and I will rip everything from you as you ripped my eye from that of my eye socket."
The voice is a threatening echo, with nothing but violent and malevolent energy. Maverick brown eyes turned crimson, and his legs painfully combed, his skin turning into scales and his feet into a fin. From the waist below his lower half becomes that of a seven-foot-long tail. With glimmer black and dark green scales, his hands become webbed, as a long black sailfish-like fin, lined his spine. Gills appeared on either side of his neck, his once short black hair becoming long.
His teeth become razor-sharp fangs, and it hurts. Blood from his transformation pollutes the small portion of the ocean. He'll blame it on her, the woman responsible for his death. For the loss of all he had.
Women are truly a curse to the sea.
I wake up with a jolt, sweat paints my skin, and my chest heaves with unsteady gasps, the fresh sea salt air does nothing to cool me down. My hands desperately shove the several blankets off my form and I'm quick to pull myself up and reach out for a cup of water that was placed on my nightstand before I drifted off into dreamland. The balcony doors are wide open and the white sheer curtains shift in the breeze as the boat rocks and sways.
It seems to be an oncoming storm and the smell of rain fills my nose.
I place the empty glass down and turn on my lamp, getting up on my feet and walking towards the balcony door, I aimlessly reach for the handle, before eyes, vibrant blood-red eyes seem to peer at me, and my body freezes, my blood runs cold and I'm unable to breathe. The creature watches me and stalks me with eyes filled with disdain and anger. I can't move.
I felt like stone as my heart beats in my ears, seconds ticked by. All my brain does is count.
1
2
3
Within a single blink and the balcony door slid closed, the creature was gone and I inhaled deeply, able to breathe again. Lord Ventura doesn't look at me, his gaze out the window, watching as the sea turns violent, as if outraged. I say nothing, able to freely move my limbs.
"It seems as if my apprehensions were correct."
"... apprehensions...?" Lord Ventura ignores me completely and closes the curtains. The boat rocks again and I nearly fall over. Ventura merely sways, indifferent to the storm, moving back to his bed.
"Go back to sleep. You will be alright for the night."
He climbs back into bed, yanking his blankets back over him and going back to sleep. I slowly lay back down, my gaze never leaving the curtains, in case the creature decided to plunge himself through the glass and into the room to get me. I hesitantly turn the lamp off and listen to the turbulent waves.
Sleep does not come back to me and I lay restlessly.
"Lord Ventura...?" I call out his name and seconds drift past before a tired 'hm' leaves his lips. I form the sentence in my head before speaking aloud. "...how did you know...?"
"…. You breathe laboriously when having a nightmare."
"You know how I breathe?"
"You are one of my possessions. Of course, I am acquainted with how you breathe. I know a lot about you." His voice is muffled and lethargic and I find myself more curious. Sleep is nowhere in my grasp.
"Do you memorize everything ab--" My voice falls flat as I listen to the sudden rustling of blankets and sheets, Lord Ventura's voice clear.
"Just come here, since you refuse to let me sleep." I fall silent, but I don't hear the rustling of blankets indicating that Ventura laid back down.
"I was not asking 12." An inaudible sigh and complaint leaves my mouth, and clambered off my bed and reached for the lamp.
"Leave the lights off."
My hands dropped to my sides and I slithered onto Lord Ventura's bed hesitantly and blindly. My hands reach out aimlessly before landing on his arm. Taking that as I sigh, I stopped moving. In my move, Ventura had laid back down.
"Lay down."
Grabbing my wrist and forcing me down beside him, I could feel his breathing on my face, my lips pressed in a sour line. Once more silence settles over us, and I shift away from Ventura, putting more space between us.
"The mere reason you are here is to ask your questions. So, ask them."
I remained silent, searching my mind for memories and questions before I landed on one specific thought. "Why do you take people's names...?" Lord Ventura falls silent. I wait patiently before another amused laugh leaves Lord Ventura's mouth.
"It is simply the fastest way to have someone submit. Formerly, only those older, who came to me would surrender their name, but as more and more children appeared, I found myself giving out numbers as names." His fingers brush against my face before pinching my cheek.
"A part of it was negligence. The other, well, as I said prior, the most effortless way to break something or someone and make them rely on you, the only person who knew who they used to be." I pull his hand away. I couldn't see him, but I could feel his gaze on my face.
"... What is your name?" The words left my lips before I could think them fully through. He doesn't seem upset as he exhales through his nose.
"My real name... I've been called Ventura for so long. My first name seems almost foreign to me."
He leaves it at that and says nothing else. I assume he fell asleep as his breath seems to even out. Exhaustion washes over me like a tsunami, and I feel drained. My eyes flutter close and I am forcefully dragged into the embrace of sleep.
I wake up before he does.
A drowsy yawn and groan leave my lips as I slowly push myself up. I'm still in Lord Ventura's bed. The balcony curtains pushed aside, somehow, allowing natural light to filter into the room. Groggy and sleepy eyes drag across the room before landing on the form of Ventura. He lies on his back; the blankets covering the lower half of his body. He wears a loose white poet shirt, his hair sprawled amongst the pillow. His chest rises and falls gently. He seems to rest harmoniously.
Without hesitation, I slowly reach my hand out. He looks beautiful, with full pale cheeks and nicely shaped eyebrows. I was mere centimeters from touching his face when a knock on the door nearly sent me flying through the ceiling.
"I'm coming in 'Tura."
The muffled sound of Lord Rhodon's voice comes through the door and my heart stops. Panicking, I didn't have time to launch my body back onto my bed. I toss my body face-first into the mattress, yanking the blanket over my form.
The door opens with a click and Lord Rhodon steps into the room. I hold my breath, facing away from him. I can feel his gaze on my form. The bed dips and Ventura lets out a deep grunt, sitting up. "Rhodon... What is it?" His voice is groggy, and he stares at Rhodon with tired, glaring eyes.
"Well. I was going to tell ya' that it's time to get up, but I can see why you're tired... Engaging in strenuous activities." Rhodon mutters the last part, and I want to pass away into the afterlife.
"What I do, and when I get up, is none of your business."
"So ya' did?"
Ventura let out an exasperated scoff, sliding off the bed with ease. "No. Rhodon, I did not. She was asking questions and struggling to sleep. I was only being charitable." I listened to the two go back and forth as Ventura quickly got dressed.
"Charitable? Sounds as if you gave her something to help her… sleep…." Rhodon lets out a laugh, speaking with clear sarcasm as he says 'sleep ', making Ventura roll his eyes. Ignoring Rhodon's speculations.
"I am hungry—And 12. I know you are awake. I expect you in the dining hall in 20 minutes." I sheepishly pulled the blanket up, sitting up quickly with an embarrassed grin. Rhodon blinked one eye at me. Before howling in laughter, Ventura nearly shoved him out of the room with a glare and closed the door behind them.