The ship moved according to the waves, the once peaceful sea awakened to the strong winds and the sudden pouring of a huge rain. It was less to be called a storm but more to be just drizzle. Yet it moved the ship, not too harsh but not too gentle. It was all in between; it gave no signs of danger and the weather continued to trample the settings with its sudden change.
The night skies had gotten darker, the sounds of winds, waves and rain dominated the ship. The upper deck was completely barren, no signs of figures even in the crow. Repeatedly, the rain touches the wooden floor and soon water flows to the bulwarks and leaves through the scuppers to come with the sea. Waves continued to rock the big ship, swaying the rudder and the stern, moving each object that sat through it.
The rest of the crew who did not join the mission sat peacefully in the galley with meats and vegetables in their plates or their mouths. The quartermaster had someone picking the supposed to be job of the now sleeping stowaway as his assistant. There are not many men to feed in the kitchen as half of them are all busy for the raid.
"Take over for me, I will take Zeki's meal to him and the stowaway too."
Elijah dismissed his job the moment he was done with all his cooking and ushered the temporary assistant to rationalize all the meals together with the hands of the unwilling navigator.
"Blimey, Elijah I want to eat in peace!"
It was clear in his face that he just wanted to eat and not do the duty but per the command of the kitchen man he was stuck handling soup as Elijah went to the sickbay with a tray of food in his hands.
It was not unusual to everyone, in contrast to the quartermaster's reputation he was naturally a kind hearted man. And even if he wouldn't admit it or at least try his best to hide any signs of his care the whole crew had seen it.
Elijah was always the one who brought food to the workaholic doctor, or to the gun master who forgot the time for his meal, or the bossy captain who preferred to eat in his chambers alone.
Nonetheless, Elijah would always deliver food, even to the stowaway whom he was slowly letting her in.
He has nothing against her anyways, his crew trusted her now and despite his constant paranoia he too wanted to trust her.
As he walked towards the halls of rooms, in his muscular arms were a tray of meal.He stopped in front of the combatant room, a swift knock was followed as he balanced the wooden tray in his one hand.
"Stowaway, I brought your meal!"
There was no answer, in the back of the door lies a sleeping stowaway. Despite her deep slumber, her body tossed and turned as the vision of her dreams dominated her subconscious.
The quartermaster heard a sound through the noisy splash of rain, her voice quivering his ears. With haste he opened the door to find a sweaty figure of the woman sleeping in one of the beds, discomfort draw in her face, both eyebrows almost knitted in together as she groaned incomprehensible words.
"Fuck is this?" Elijah looked surprised and worried, setting the tray to a nearby small table and ushered himself to her side. His hands slowly touched her body, he shook her shoulders demanding her to wake up.
She continued to cry in her sleep, words of begging and apologies screamed out of her mouth. Her head turned to the side in repeat, harsh and quick. The sweat in her forehead mixed with the tears on her cheeks as it flowed down. He had panic in his eyes as he watched him continue to writhe in her sleep. Unable to know what to do, he continuously shook her figure hoping she would wake up soon.
"Fuck, wake up."
…
"How did you know?"
Axel asked, curious of how such a man whom he never shared a talk or even met before until tonight knew of what was coming. A plan that only him and his crew knew. The raid that he planned with his men. The compass that he learned the whereabouts of just weeks ago.
[ How did he know something that was only discussed inside the ship? Where and whom did he get this from? ]
" Worry not, pirate king. No spy was in your crew." Gerald spoke seriously, seeing through the internal questions of the captain.
"How did you know?" Axel repeated, this time firmly.
"Her." He said mystically.
The wind blew coldly in the area, the leaves harshly stripped off from their trees. The harsh sound swirled to them. Suddenly the night had never felt so dark than it already was, the nimbus cloud slowly formed in the dark skies, drizzle was soon to be felt in their skins.
Axel felt the shift in the temperature, the breeze of it rotten to the core.
Her.
?
[ Was it her? ]
"Tell me exactly why you seek that land."
Gerald asked, this time he no longer bore the boast of what mayor was, or the playfulness of his words and tone as a former pirate. He looked dead serious, his eyes tried to tell Axel something but the harsh wind opted him to stop.
Harshly, it blew, the winds ushered it whispers to Gerald who stood far from his own pride. The stings of coldness burn upon his skin as a warning.
An inch for every word he utters, he knows exactly what was coming.
Her.
Even though the great warning had reached him with the weaves of zephyr, the loud rumbling of the now angry skies and the threat of hurricane above him. Enclosing his mouth could not be done, he knew what could be brought by sharing such lore yet he can't help but give in. The pirate king should not be fooled, for the king of pirates was the king of treachery and being fooled just didn't sit right on it.
And the mayor was still alive to at least share the tales.
Tales of her.
"None of your business!"
Axel gritted his teeth, he could not even look Gerald in the eyes. His secrets threatened to spill, something Gerald could see.
"Tell me who she is?"
" Ahh, curse is it? " The mayor concluded the reason for the Pirate King's journey.
Axel's eyes widened with the sudden confrontation. His eyes traveled to the combatant who was still in his calm yet deadly stance, and although at the state his ears were still open.
He felt conflicted over asking the Mayor's knowledge but Axel does not want his combatant to hear what he was hiding.
"If you're cursed by her, better stop that voyage son. She is a hoax, a rope tying you."
He warned, his mind slowly drifting to his past.
"I searched for the great treasure."
He reverted to the topic, lying in the middle not wanting Calev to hear what the mayor knew.
"Great treasure? You already got the Mad Treasure, you are already the Pirate King. What possibly be the thing you don't have that can only be seen in that mystical island."
Gerald laughed bitterly.
"A pirate's treachery does not stop until he docks permanently." Axel rebutted.
"Ah, so none of them know yet."
The mayor deeply sighed, almost sounding sad as he had come to the realization of the captain's secrets.
"None of them knew what burden you carry. I wish I could do such a noble duty. Carrying the burden alone."
"How did you know!"
Axel repeated his questions this time, louder and with frustrations in his voice.
The things that he had never voiced out to anyone, he could not see any more reason on how did a man he had never spoken before know too much about it.
"Boys, let go of your weapons. He means no harm, he is leaving." He ignored the man, instead ordered his men to let go of their armory.
Axel demanded an answer again, yet he was ignored once again.
The strong wind only answered his question, the sound of the mayor's soft laugh accompanied by his advice met his ears.
"Don't be foolish and repeat his mistake." He looked at him, and the man suddenly looked reliable.
The millions of emotions were visible in his eyes, the shaking of his hands, the quiver of his voice, to Axel he saw the man he once knew in the body of this Mayor. The memories that haunted him flashes to his eyes like a film, immediately reminding him of his past and fate.
The young captain furrowed in both anger and confusion, not understanding the Mayor's certain knowledge of his secrets and his past. The mention of it reminded him of what he was trying to erase in his memories; he was the only one alive who had remembered everything that day.
Yet this man who he had never really acquainted with foretells the story.
"How did you know!!!"
In his voice, the rage and pain goes along with his dominant tone.
Yet he was not answered.
"There is no curse son, trust not her." He offered advice that was completely rejected.
"Take that from me." He whispered with pain.
" I trust no one but my crew, I just want it gone."
He admitted, his voice never trembling with the harsh sound of the breeze.
The temperature dropping, little droplets of the soon to be harsh rain touch their skins. And with the sound of thunder and huge lighting the rain bursted from the open skies, the wind so much stronger. The whispers it brought became loud screams, chilling the mayor to the sound of it.
"Now tell me, how did you know?"
"She is here. Leave now, and go to the vast sea where she can't remember!"
The mayor now desperately said, screaming through the loud rain, however the captain ignored him when he realized that the combatant was no longer on the floor.
"FUCK!"
He cursed, trying to search the area with his eyes. Vision was blurry with the strings of water that fell to him. A loud groan was heard beside them, and to their horror a now huge man lay on the cold ground lifeless. And before he could call out Calev's name he ran across the place killing everyone on his way.
The guards started to run for their lives as the screams of terror in the harsh rain echoed to the jungle. The pirates who had been walking away heard them, it made them walk faster to avoid the collateral damage of the combatant's rage. Mantras were again heard, whispered to each drop of the rain.
"Calev!" Axel called his name, just like before.
Tugging the strings that tamed the beast, into the commanding voice of his owner. The captain shouted with such dominance and authority, that even the demon in one of his fitting rage recognized his master's voice. Showered with blood of his victim, dripping through his whole body and clothes, rain washed it slightly and stopped midway to his slaughter.
"Belay that! Or I will stop you on my own! I know you wouldn't want to perish despite Calev wanting you to"
He warned, not even sparing a glance at the combatant in his back who now let his victims crawl their way out, of course those who had survived. It's not like Axel didn't want anyone to die tonight. He didn't care who would lose their lives in the hands of his combatant.
However, he honored the pact he had with Calev–and Calev made him promise to never let the demon kill. For unknown reason, Calev has no problem killing all the enemies but he made Axel understand that he didn't want to be under the influence of his beast.
"Calev, lay down your rage."
The mayor's eyes widened in horror at the sight, his field pooling in blood, his men spread across it lifeless. He could not utter a word, too scared that the demon might hear him and he too became a dead man in his merciless hand. He had heard tales from those who were lucky enough to escape the demon.
A quiet man who boarded the mighty Mad treasure, skilled in all kinds of combats, strength and power on par with no one, honorable in his fights. Yet unhinged and dangerous when it came to the burst of his anger that no one knew the nature of.
"You have tamed the beast." He whispered.
"You sure know I could just order that man to kill you and kill everyone here so answer me!"
The captain has now taken to the edge of his anger, frustrated although in his hands was the object he wanted.
But the question lingers in his mind.
"How did you know, and who is she?!"
He screamed at his face, daggers sent from his eyes almost meeting the same rage of what the combatant emitted.
"So, she had never introduced herself to you." Gerald concluded through his low whispers.
Seeing the questions danced around the emerald eyes of the young Pirate King. The mayor however did not answer the way he wanted, instead amidst the harsh sound of rain and thunder that screams her warnings, his eerie voice cleared out the noise.
The wind almost chilled the life out him ready to shut him, the mysterious night could never get more than that. In his voice, also chilled with the coldness, lay another word of questions, and in any way he could not find an answer.
"For that I can't answer. Tongue is splattered with wires, but to you I can say. Trust it no, her o' her. Them, o' she belay. You gon search end for end. In the end there is no end. The beginning lies, you fool. Mistake therefore, continue thy man o' man. She who fooled you, stands."
His words haunted the night.
"Never trust her."
In that storm Axel was drenched.
Axel left untouched by no man, but the stings of the rain rumbled his skins as he walked through the forest with a now calmed combatant on his trails. In his hand a shining object that reflects the gleam of the lightning that comes, almost mirroring the strike of electricity in the sky.
The riddle of the man spun in his head, through the forest he came with a man soaking with blood in his back, his thoughts continued to ramble on. The crew met them through the rain at the beach, where they silently rowed their boats through the waves that threatened to crash them.
The men did not say a single word, as they watched the demon with blood in his body and the captain with horror in his eyes.