Axel gasped audibly, his chest heaving as he struggled to inhale desperately needed air to fill his aching lungs. It felt as though his body's circulation had faltered, leaving his lungs burdened and unresponsive. His gasps grew more urgent, and tears welled up in his eyes, a few escaping down his cheeks. He swiftly wiped away any signs of vulnerability and concentrated on regaining control of his breathing.
The painful memories still loomed, but this time, he managed to regain his breath. Rising from the floor where he had collapsed, he quickly composed himself and gathered his thoughts. As he glanced out of the window, he was welcomed by the morning light.
The sight of the blue sea, softly rocking the ship as they sailed along.
Unbeknownst to him, he failed to notice the man who saw everything the moment he was awoken by his dreams. The man who was timidly entering the room the moment he grasped for air like a mad man who was deprived of oxygen.
He stared at the man horrified at what he witnessed, confusion and worry all under his eyes. The scene he saw was just so disturbing to his liking, and the fact that the captain did not notice him at the door and proceeded to act like nothing happened at all as he stared like a romantic outside his window.
"You know that I saw that right?" He coughed, announcing his presence inside the room.
The captain jumped in fright not expecting someone was inside when all he thought was there was no one at all. Right beside the door with a tray of food in his hand was the quartermaster himself, looking at him like he was crazy. Both eyebrows furrowed in confusion and judgment, not moving at all from his place.
Axel gave him a look of mocked annoyance before rolling his eyes, reluctantly sitting down in his chair once again. Elijah approached him and carefully put his breakfast on the table. The man was waiting for his reply as always, eyes pierced at his whole soul.
"Just forget about it Elijah." \
Axel completely dismissed the discussion but too bad for him, Elijah decided not to listen to him this time.
"You being my captain is the main thing; I will always follow you and listen to you. But me being the eldest is another, and I demand to know if you are still suffering from any of those nightmares or are you ill."
He scolded the young captain, slamming his hand to the desk surprising the man at his actions. Dumbfounded, staring at Elijah that had towered his body, battling his eyes stupidly as he tried to comprehend his words.
"Oh, aye...Ye..er, I mean no..." Axel trailed off, finding it difficult to provide a clear and proper response.
He received a stern look from the quartermaster who did not refuse to let go of the topic. His eyes held the worried look of what seemed to be a father figure, a brother, a friend that he truly could count on. His heart felt the heaviness slowly lightened as he realized that he was surrounded by people who trusted him and cared for him.
"I am telling Doyle if you won't say anything." Elijah opted to get someone who was older than him.
Yet Axel couldn't bring himself to burden them with all the things he carried, the guilt was swallowing him whole.
"Alright!"
He surrendered, laughing as he did but no answer from the other.
"I do have dreams of it, that's true, but it's not the only thing bothering me. I'm just tired. But don't worry, I'll seek Zeki's help,"
He assured, beginning to eat the food in front of him, as if to deter the man from taking it.
"Ye best be." Elijah muttered as he glared at the man.
"By the way, the combatant is already awake and causing mayhem on the deck. You'd better hurry and put a stop to him before he manages to wreck the mast," Elijah informed.
He walked to the door ready to leave but the captain stopped him asking another question.
"And the woman?" Axel sounded, not giving the quartermaster his gaze.
"She's in the galley, already awake and moving about. Still quite frightened, but she's doing alright now. Oh, and she hasn't encountered the combatant yet, in case you were wondering," Elijah concluded before finally exiting the room.
"Why, going to scare her again?" Elijah added.
Axel sighed and nodded in response to the information he had received, and he continued to enjoy his meal in solitude. As he ate, he noticed a gleaming object on the floor, catching the rays of the sun. Reaching out, he examined the pearls that had been left overnight.
The thoughts from the previous night rushed back into his memory once more. He sighed once again, this time with a sense of defeat and weariness. Finally, he returned the pearls to the drawer, determined to keep their shine hidden away.
The upper deck was already in a state of commotion as the awakened combatant began thrashing around the mast, desperately trying to free himself from the ropes. Some of the crew who witnessed the turmoil quickly alerted the gun master and the navigator.
These two crew members acted swiftly, tightening the ropes that bound the man to the ship's main mast, rendering him immobile. Calev could only glare at all of them, the memories of the previous night were still fresh in his mind. His injuries were still taking a toll on his body and energy. To his surprise, the gunshot wound in his leg had been treated, albeit somewhat haphazardly.
It had at least given him a chance to survive by preventing excessive blood loss.
The crew on the deck remained on high alert, keeping a safe distance from the man, uncertain whether he was still consumed by rage or had finally calmed down. They were determined not to take any unnecessary risks.
While Hakim guarded him on his own as Felix left to attend all the sails and the wheel; his main duty as the sailing master of the ship. The gun master that he left in the middle of the waist risked his life under the fury of the combatant.
Despite the whole battle they had last night, the gun master never showed any type of fear or disdain at the sight of him or at the mercy of his glares. He finally recognized the man in front of him, no longer bearing the same rage from last night but today the sun had brightened the day.
"Ahoy mate, I'm sorry about the gunshot. Was only doin' it fer the safety o' all."
Hakim awkwardly apologized to the quiet man who had finally stopped from moving around.
" Nothing personal, savvy?" Despite the glare Calev emitted to the silver haired man, he knew that he was being sincere.
He understood Hakim never wanted to shoot him, in fact he was the one who told them first to never hesitate to go further on stopping him if the time comes where he could no longer be tamed.
"Understand." He grumbled softly, almost not being heard by the man.
The two seated from across each other, silence all between them but the gusting wind. Winds slapping across their face while it made their hair fly all over their faces. Following the sun rays that touched their tan skin, glowing at the sight of it.
As much as they feared Calev or what was inside him, they all felt bad for him.
"-Sorry." Calev suddenly said, too out of nowhere, that Hakim shrieked out of nowhere after seconds of processing it in his brain. Calev stared at him confused, his eyebrow raised as he frowned to the man's reaction.
"You,,, you apologized? Am I hearing correctly?" Hakim suddenly exclaimed, laughing as he did because he found it funny and cute.
"Am I not allowed to?" Calev asked genuinely.
Hakim laughed hard at how the whole situation had become a comedy to him. Just last night everyone was on the verge of death because of this man. And now, cutely as he was not aware, he made the gun master's heart flutter like how an older brother could see his youngest brother apologize for something.
Calev still held his confused look, but now mixed with annoyance and offended expression. Not certain of what was funny about it, and before he could actually throw his annoyance to the gunner the latter had finally stopped from laughing.
Shaking his head with a smile, Calev just continued to stare at him.
"No mate, I mean aye...." Hakim trailed off with his laughter that he was forced to keep by himself.
"Yes, you're allowed to, savvy?" He said, making Calev look at him with raised eyebrow not understanding the man.
"Anyways, you'll be put into the brig per the captain's order." He informed the man casually as if it was nothing.
Well for the combatant, he didn't mind at all instead he completely understood the rules and punishment that comes with breaking it. Being the most docile member of the crew, especially coming from the higher ranking members he knew what had happened and what he needed for payment.
"You are much safer in those cells if I am to be an honest man." Hakim mentioned Calev wanting to know his point.
"You almost got murdered when you slept with this big lady right here. Some buccaneers come for your beauty, claiming she is one of 'em."
Nonchalantly, Hakim spilled everything that happened that night without thinking.
"Captain was furious about the girl's identity. He kept mentioning a woman, and I suspect he is suspicious of the stowaway," Hakim explained.
"What happened?" Calev dangerously muttered.
And it was until then that Hakim noticed the shift in the look of Calev's eyes. It has gotten darker and his face has gotten rugged, just like from the beast last night-his words almost triggered another catastrophe. From that own, he wished he could take back what he said and perhaps thinks more before opening his mouth.
[ FUCK. ]
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Hakim panicked.
"She's fine, she's in the galley. Worry not!" Hakim continued to exclaim.
"Lay down your rage, Calev." He tried to tame him, even knowing he had no power to do so.
"Mate, I swear she is fine." If anyone could hear Hakim, one would mistake him a bitch for almost sobbing.
"How is she?" Calev finally asks the questions that ramble in his mind and heart.
What has been running in his head the moment he woke up, the desire inside him that drove him mad. The face of the woman crying and scared was the last thing that he saw and even in his subconscious the sight haunted him. As soon as he opens his eyes, the scenes that haunted his sleep follow. The crippling feeling in him gave him anxiety that he had never felt before. And the news he just received did not help at all.
"She is at the galley with Draco, and she is still shaken up about what happened. Poor stowaway had to witness all that."
Hakim frowned, remembering the unsightly look of the woman, the fear swarming her eyes that night.
A sigh of relief followed his response as Calev's calmed down.
Calev nodded, though he couldn't hide the growing anxiety within him. He was well-equipped with the skills to easily escape from these ropes, but the quartermaster had taken all his weapons. All he could do now was listen to the man in front of him, who was diligently recounting the events from last night. The man seemed focused on making sure he had captured every detail, from their mission at the mayor's mansion to the unexpected battle that had unfolded.
The silver haired man continued his recap, demonstrating everything with his actions as he got excited from discussing it. Like a kid talking about his fun trip with the class, and of course he added some lies that put him on credentials high.
He learned from Hakim that the stowaway was not hurt or any less, and the reasons why she was with the quartermaster. Turned out he was mistaken about all the things he saw and let his demon act on its own by seeing her cry.
When he had seen Elijah that night with her, shaken and frightened, he had quickly jumped to conclusions. The anger he had been harboring, an emotion without clear origin, fueled his reaction. The sight of the quartermaster dangerously close to the woman stirred something inside him.
In that moment, a surge of emotions took over, clouding his judgment and leading him to hurt his crewmate. He couldn't think rationally because all he felt was a fierce determination to protect the woman he felt he would risk his life for. Confusion and uncertainty reigned in him as he followed an unspoken oath, a sense of duty without knowledge of how it all began, to a woman who was practically a stranger in his life.
Yet he felt it.
That God forsaken pull.
"May I at least see her?" He muttered, hopeful eyes staring right at Hakim's blinking eyes.
Putting Hakim in a trance as he was pulled out of his long rant about how he was killing it at the fight from last night. He blinked a few more times, the words circulating in his head like mechanical gears that needed attendance.
"Well, erm, if that is not part of the punishment then I guess yes." He slowly said, not really knowing what he should respond as this was not discussed prior.
The tap of someone's shoes near them called their attention. They both turned to their left to see an unamused captain walking to their location. Calev stared at the man that held his gaze, the dominance of his rule strides with him telling him that the captain has some serious talking with him.
"You may see her, " The captain answered the confusion of the gun master, making him nod in agreement and satisfaction of his right intuition.
Clearly, he listed himself again as a rightful next captain.
"But you may not talk to her." He indicated.
Hakim's eyes widened, believing that he was in the same wavelength of the captain. Thus never thinking that Axel had a different idea about it. He questions his captain then looked over at the combatant who now looked somehow defeated.
Hakim thought about how this might be another triggering moment for Calev, and his untamed anger as Hakim wished to any god that he was wrong. He couldn't believe that his captain would be this stupid to actually do something like this. It's like not allowing a feral lion to get out of his den, it would only cause more trouble. However Calev completely understood his captain's words although he was against it, a punishment is a punishment.
"Captain!"
Hakim whispered aggressively as he stood up and stumped his feet towards the man.
"What are you thinking? Him, not talking to her, you'll only risk it!" Hakim whispered as if it's not allowed to be heard, his eyes glancing at the man tied up.
Like a child, he whined his protest. The captain rolled his eyes in annoyance, regretting that Hakim had overlooked the entire situation with Calev.
"He doesn't even talk at all." He whispered back to the gunner.
"Exactly, how is that a punishment?" Hakim queried, frustration in his voice as he aggressively threw his hands in the air.
"But he would love to talk with that woman, savvy?" Axel shot back, mockingly glaring his eyes at the taller man.
"Exactly! And we're going to risk it again! The fucking demon!"
The argument went on with each of their own comeback, forgetting that their whole conversation was clear as the sky to the perky ears of the combatant.
The man that helplessly listened to their not so whispered voice couldn't help but think how stupid he was for following such people. Seriously if he would have known that the ship of the pirate king boarded idiots he would've gang on plank a long time ago.
The sight beheld by him left him dumbfounded as the two continued on, the annoyance building in him led him to want to tear the ropes that bound him.
"Belay that! " He shouted all of a sudden, his head turning to the side as he motioned.
The people in the deck heard him, slowly turning their heads to the man. One thing was only in their heads, prayers that it's not it.
"I told you, we are risking it. I'm not fighting him anymore. " Hakim said in gritted teeth still glaring at Axel.
"Stop it you two!" Calev glared at the men, and Hakim gasped exaggeratedly as he took it personally.
"I'm alright with just seeing her captain." He turned his attention to the authority.
"How dare you, you twat foul buffoon!" Hakim couldn't hide his disappointment and offended reaction.
He couldn't believe that even after siding with him he received such harsh treatment.
"I was siding with you!"
"You were not!"
Calev protested, his body almost lunging for an attack but was stopped by the ropes. He angrily thrash around the mast and tries to tear the ropes down.
" You are just scared of me, you spineless cow!"
"You want a piece of me!" Hakim who had lost his patience stomped forward, but truth to be told the ropes were what kept him alive.
" Aye, yeah! Come at me then and untie me you fuckin arse!" He violently moved around the ropes, the harshness of the sturdiness of the knot made his skin burn.
The captain analyzed the face of the combatant scanning for a real threat, but let's be honest, Calev or the demon.
Which one of them that they face, it's always a threat.
[ How did it even get here? ]
They were just literally discussing the consequences of the latter's actions when suddenly they were up and about with their voices. Axel couldn't help but feel tired with all their bickering, almost smashing their heads together in annoyance.
Well he would have done that, considering the amount of times this has happened with anyone in the crew, especially the group of battlemasters. Being the most useful people in battle they were also a pain in his ass.
If he ever had a time to forget his profession and current job he might think he owned a daycare full of murderers and thieves.
"ENOUGH!" Axel's voice roared like thunder.
"You lots had the nerve to bicker in front of me! You , leave and I'll take care of this other shit!" He scolded the other bystanders slowly dispersing not wanting to catch the captain's temper.
"Fuck, no one appreciate me in this ship!" Hakim rolled his eyes at Calev, not forgetting to tell Calev how offended he was before leaving towards the navigation room.
"You're staying in brig for a week! No escaping this time." Axee disclosed, taking the knife in his waist to untie the man from the cruel ropes.
Calev stood up slowly, still in pain with the injury in his leg. A grimace fell in his lips as he stretched his limbs, limping as he walked. He could get use of the pain, well he was used to any pains anyways.
[ Fuck you Hakim. ]
However the amateur practice of treating the wound needed a huge supervision now that he felt it getting hotter and more not tolerable. Though he understood Hakim's actions of shooting him he couldn't help but curse him out in his mind.
"Where is she?" He asked in grimace, trying his best to hide the pain in his voice.
Axel snickered, literally snickering at what he was seeing. The demon from that night limped pathetically. His legs up in the air as he hopped like a fucking idiot as he held unto the gunwales. Dumbfounded, Axel followed the man into the hatches, walking through the crowded way of the kitchen where everyone ate for their breakfast. Few looks were given to their way, the greetings for the captain were exchanged.
It wasfunny how the the crew could easily switch the whole atmosphere as if nothing had happened last night, and with that duality its was fucking scary.
The captain jumped in surprise when the man suddenly kicked the door open and entered the galley in a rush. He reminded himself that he must scold this man thoroughly for nonchalantly destroying the ship, and the boatswain could perhaps add more lectures.
Stares were given to the door where they both stood, the food in their mouth dropping to their plates and even almost at the floor, luckily snapping right in their trance to catch it on time. Wasting food on the ship was not to be tolerated. Everyone looked at the serious face of the combatant, he however had his eyes on the only woman in the ship.
She was surprised to see him already standing and in his usual demeanor.
Brooding and stiff, ice and cold, but the kindness and softness that he had whenever he looked at her since the very day was present. The woman felt uncertain, finding it difficult to actually feel the same way for the man that saved her from her death.
Meanwhile the troubles in his running away the moment he saw her, the fear in her eyes no longer visible. With fast steps he walked towards her, not giving her any time to react. Crouching in front of her, he checked everything about her.
" Did... Did I hurt you?"
From her hands to her face, tracing any possible injuries that he could see. He might remember what happened last night but he couldn't be too sure who amongst these people that he had physically injured, and god forbid if he found out that he had hurt her.
He would lose his mind; if there was still to be lost.
Exchanges of look were suddenly thrown, even eyeing the captain who was the same as everyone looking at the sight questionably. They thought they had seen all the different sides of the combatants, from his usual self, killer, to his demon, and to his sudden obsession to the woman. And now, in their faces the sight of him deeply caring about her like she was someone who held a special place for him.
It's unbelievable how he had transformed so rapidly for a woman, a bizarre occurrence he could have never anticipated. The only joking conclusion they could draw, of course, was that she must be a witch.
She slowly withdrew her hands from his grasp, wincing as their eyes locked. His intense, narrow gaze pierced into her hazel eyes, conveying a mix of emotions, from desire to anger. As Calev rose to his feet, his confusion was palpable.
He felt hurt by her actions but didn't ask for an explanation, understanding the reasons behind her reaction. He would have pushed him away too if he could. With a satisfied nod, as though he had ensured her well-being and untouched state, Calev turned to leave, preparing to face his time in the brig.
His broad back and limping strides only deepened her feelings of guilt, but her impending actions were halted by the sight of the man in the doorway, the captain himself, who observed her with a judgmental furrow in his eyes.
The things that swam in her head the moment the two men left almost drowned her. Everything in the ship either scared her or confused her to the great point of madness. Driving her in every corner of her mind that couldn't function well for the lack of information about many things. She could never understand these pirates, these men who welcomed her but proceeded to give her a look of something not the usual.
The pirate that could act like nothing happened despite the threat of death last night, as if nothing had ever bothered them. Just nothing sits in between for her at all, the whole irony of the ship and its men puzzled her to no end.
[ I have to be careful. ]