(This Chapter has been gently edited on the 9/03/20 as there are a few themes etc in this book that were really bothering me. I appreciate you guys in understand that this first book was written back in 2011 when I was 15 — so I may not have been as tactful in understanding certain stuff as I am now!)
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Okay here you go guys!! I've been sick all weekend and Im ahead on my Chapter writing so I decided to update this one a little early, hope you like it!!!

DEDICATION IS TO GreenGirl18 who asked me to read over her Pirate story for her, it was brilliant but unfortunatly she was unable to continue with it so she suggested that I make her main Character one of the Characters in this story which I have done, so keep an eye out for Lacy in this Chapter, and thanks to GreenGirl18 for giving me a ready made Character :D
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Chapter 14 | Sea Shanties and Captivations

•

NATHANIEL

It had been four days since Circe had been taken and so far there were no signs of any perusers which meant either that no-one cared about my abrupt departure, or Circe's Father had thought up an excuse to explain my absence.

I tested the wind strength before sighing and leaning back on the side of the boat, my body weary. I should have arrived in the neighboring city of Rayne a day ago. Although the wind strength hadn't been great, I still should have at least been in sight of the City by now. I checked the compass and then looked up at the stars, confirming my bearings. I was definitely on the right track . . .

I shuffled through my supplies and cursed aloud when I saw that I had less than half a gourd of water left and only a days worth of food, three days if I rationed myself, five days if I REALLY rationed myself. For the first time I felt the slight sting of panic bite at my chest as I shook the near empty gourd, somehow hoping that it would refresh itself. What would I do if I ran out of water before I had arrived?

You could always turn back, a small voice whispered but I shook it away. Turning back just wasn't an option.

I searched through my supplies again and pulled out my fishing wire, baiting and casting the line, simply for something to do. I didn't expect to catch anything at night really, but it was better than sitting round twiddling my thumbs. I sighed and fastened the line to a small catch secured onto the main mast and settled back to wait, my eyelids drooping. I yawned and ran a weathered hand through my sea spray crusted hair, suddenly realizing how tired I was. I yawned again, shifting around to get more comfortable, the boat rocking slightly at my movement.

I'll just shut my eyes for a moment, I though drowsily, tilting my head back and letting my eyes slide closed.

___

A bump against the side of the boat woke me.

"Whaa . . .?"

I staggered to my feet rubbing at my eyes, only to fall down again at the boat tipped to one side and suddenly started moving.

"Shit!"

I struggled to stand, bracing myself against the mast. The sun was hovering just out of sight below the horizon, turning the sky a deep bloody red and promising a brilliant sunrise. A look towards the bow of the boat confirmed that yes, it was indeed moving forward, seemingly on its own, and was cutting through the water with surprising speed, small waves cresting off either side of the bow. I took a step forward, my eyes wild and promptly tripped over the taunt fishing line, face planting on the wooden panels.

"SHIT!" I rolled over clutching my nose in pain, and managed to pull myself up on the side of the boat. What was going on?!

My eyes drifted toward the fishing line and I felt a spark of excitement replace the fear. I had caught something! Quite a big something, considering it was currently dragging me off course . . .

Hurrying over to the line I pulled a knife out of my pocket and flicked it open, sawing at the line grimly. Unfortunately I would have to give up my monster catch, it would be too much of a battle to reel in. The fishing line pinged in release, the end disappearing over the side of the boat as soon as I cut through. I caught sight of a green fin slicing through the water and shuddered as the boat finally rocked to a halt. Definitely too big.

I peered over the edge of the boat, trying to catch a glimpse of the monster fish but the water was deep and dark, reflecting with a reddish tinge, the color of the sky. The sun was now sitting on the horizon, throwing shooting flames of bright orange and red light into the sky and turning the faraway waters a vibrant red, the color of fresh blood. There were no clouds in the sky, so the colors simply faded into a dusky pinkish yellow with streaks of lavender purple. The sight was so magnificent that I simply stood there for a moment, wondering if Circe could see the sunrise as well. That though made me feel the tiniest bit closer to her and I smiled before sighing and shaking my head.

The wind had picked up, and now that the danger had seemingly passed, I got to work, whistling a cheerful sea shanty that I had picked up from my time as a sailor on the battle ships, as I hoisted the main mast and prepared the boat, sorting out my supplies and absolutely certain that I would arrive in Port Rayne today.

"When I was a lad in a fishing town
My old man said to me:
"You can spend your life, your jolly life
Sailing on the sea.
You can search the world for pretty girls
Till your eyes grow weak and dim,
But don't go fishing for a mermaid, son
If you don't know how to swim""

The song, aptly named, "The Mermaid", was Circe's favorite. We used to sing it together, a duet, her sweet ringing voice the perfect harmony to my deeper tone.

"'Cause her hair was green as seaweed
Her skin was blue and pale
I loved that girl with all my heart
I only liked the upper part
I did not like the tail"

I chuckled to myself at the ridiculousness of the song as I sorted through my ropes, coiling them neatly. Everything had to be perfect if I was to sell Scarlet Lady for a good price.

"So I signed aboard of a whaling ship
And my first very day at sea
There I spied in the waves,
Reaching out for me,"

A heartbreaking beautiful voice suddenly rang out from behind me making me start before, mesmerized by the haunting tone, I turned around to see a beautiful woman holding herself up on the side of the boat, her red hair cascading down over her shoulders like a fiery waterfall. Her green catlike eyes beckoned me as she sung the next verse of my song,

""Come live with me in the sea" said she,
"Down on the ocean floor
And I'll show you many's a wondrous thing
That you've never seen before""

My mind was blank and I rubbed at my eyes as she leaned forward further, her chin resting on her crossed arms. Surely I was dreaming.

"Don't stop now," she crooned. "You have a beautiful voice, sing just one more verse for me." The boat was tilting to the side with her weight and I stumbled forwards towards her, barely noticing the green tail that flicked up behind her, showering me with icy cold droplets of water.

"So over I jumped and she pulled me down,
Down to her seaweed bed,

A pillow made of tortoise-shell,

She placed beneath my head" I managed to stumble out as she extended a hand towards me, grasping onto my fingers with my own as I fell onto my knees, my eyes locked onto hers, my hand tingling at her touch.

"She fed me shrimp and caviar
Upon a silver dish,
From her head to her waist was just to my taste
But the rest of her was a fish" I finished, and she laughed delightedly, a beautiful sound that made me think of wind chimes. I wanted her to keep laughing, I never wanted that sound to cease coming from her exquisite mouth. My eyes lingered on her full lips. Such lips, so rosy and red, what would they be like to kiss?

"Oh you are a charmer," She said, fluttering her eyelashes at me. "I see why they want you, it's almost a pity really." She leaned in closer to me, her breath caressing my face as she stared deep into my eyes, her fingers running down the front of my shirt. "Kiss me" She whispered and the words were filled with a lust that I was addicted to instantly. It shot through my body and lingered there pleasantly, leaving me craving more.

Obediently I leaned towards that mouth with an anticipation so great that I barely registered the fact that I was now so far overboard that the top half of my body was basically in the water. My lips met hers with passion as she grasped my face gently and pulled me forwards, my legs following my torso into the ocean. She didn't break the kiss as she drew me under into the icy depths, and I?

Well I was so far into heaven that I didn't realize the trouble I was in until I broke away from her lips to draw in a breath, and my lungs filled with water instead of air.

* * * * *

CIRCE

We had docked at Savannah not more than ten minutes past and I already hated everything about it. I cast a nervous glance behind me, back to the ocean where the ship was docked. The sun was sitting, swollen on the horizon, casting a savage red light over everything it touched.

A few steps ahead of me, Obsidian turned around to look in the same direction as me, his gold and silver eyes flashing as red as the sky before he snapped his head back around and strode ahead. I hurried to keep up with his menacing figure but his strides were so long that I practically had to run. I lifted up my skirts, trying not to get them muddy.

Much to my dismay, Obsidian had commanded I wear my birthday dress for our expedition with the threat that if I didn't, he would find some other woman to wear it instead.
Scowling I had had no choice but to pull the delicate fabric of my Mothers dress over my head and pray that it would not get torn. The dress was the only beautiful thing about me at the moment, I was sure. My hair was tangled and loose, spilling over my shoulders and down my back in knotted curls. I hadn't had the chance to look at my face but I was sure it was as grubby as the rest of me, however despite my unclean appearance I was still attracting attention, of the unwanted variety.

Savannah was a Pirate Port, as I had discovered practically as soon as I had set foot on the shore. The town consisted of bars, drunken music spilling from open doors, questionable shops selling questionably appropriated goods, and brothels, the scantily clad women spilling out onto the streets. It was disgusting.

As I swatted away a leering hand that attempted to grab my behind as I passed, I wished again that Cobalt was with us. Obsidian had taken great delight in delegating him to stay on the ship to watch over the crew, Captains orders. He had then commanded me to change, and as soon as we had docked, he grabbed my hand and dragged me along behind him with a warning to never let him out of my sight.

"We can't have you disappearing can we now Princess?" He had said, chuckling darkly. "It might be the last thing you ever do in this place."

A small party of crewmen including Hobbs had followed us on shore, but since they had gone a different way to us I assumed that Obsidian had already given them their own orders to for-fill.

Obsidian has let go of my hand at some point and realising that I was going to lose him completely if I didn't hurry, I attempted to walk faster. Suddenly my path was blocked as a tall figure stepped in front of me, grabbing my wrist and dragging me in the direction of a shadowed alleyway.

"Well, well, well what have we here? Such a pretty little thing as yerself shouldn't be wanderin' these streets alone," The man leered at me, revealing yellowed teeth and a wet tongue that licked his lips with delight.

"Get away from me" I gasped, attempting to knee him where it would hurt and cursing when I found my dress restricting my movements. He laughed at my pathetic attempt and jerked my chin up, pinning his legs between mine to deter any further attempts at resistance.

"No . . ." I whimpered, my breath coming faster and faster as I tried to keep my face far enough away from him.
Suddenly there was a bone chilling roar and the mans weight disappeared from my body. I fell forward gasping for air, looking up at the thunderous figure looming over the struggling body on the ground.
There was a flash of gold and then a heavy black boot thunked into the mans side and he screamed out in pain, curling into a ball as he received blow after blow. There was no doubt in my mind that he was regretting even looking at me in the first place.

"How dare you touch her you piece of filth! I'll kill you! I'll kill you right now!!" Obsidian roared, savage fury etched into the lines of his face. He bent down and yanked the man to his feet, only to send him down again with a viscous punch to the face. I tried to call out, to tell him to stop, but my breath was still eluding me as I gasped for air.

"Obsidian . . . don't-

I reached out a hand and braced myself against the side of the stall as Obsidian continued to beat the living daylights out of my attacker. A small crowd had gathered around the fight, but instead of attempting to stop it, they were shouting encouragement and I heard Obsidians furious tone rise above the ruckus.

"Get to your feet scum. I'll make you regret the day you were born!" His shoulders were heaving with exertion and I could see that the almost unconscious man had struggled to his feet in the middle of the circle while Obsidian prowled around him like a cat stalking a mouse, his eyes burning with anticipation.

"Miss are you alright?" I jumped and tore my eyes away from the scene for a second to look at a small figure that had appeared on my right. The voice was distinctly female and as I tried to choke out a reply she advance towards me. Before I could question what she was doing, she had made a fist with her hands and swiftly thunked me on the back. My eyes popped out with surprise and I coughed once before drawing in a deep breath of air.

"Th- thankyou!!" I gasped, stumbling forwards and she grasped onto my elbow, hefting my arm over her shoulder.

"You're welcome!" She said cheerfully. "Are you with him?"

"If my 'him' you mean the one that is about to murder that man, then yes, yes I am with him," I huffed. "Who are you?"

We were out of the shadows now, as she led me forwards towards the fight, and I could see that she was just a child, she couldn't be any older than fourteen years. Her clothes were questionable and a flat cap was perched jauntily on her head, a mop of tight black curls escaping from under it.

"The name is Lacy!" She replied eagerly as we reached the outside of the crowd. "Do you want me to-

I cut in before she could finish, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me Lacy, I want you to wait right here for me, okay? I'll be back in a moment, I just have to take care of this" I said, sounding more brave than I felt.

Without giving her time to answer I turned an plunged into the crowd that had doubled in size, forcing my way through to the center where Obsidian now seemed to be brawling with at least two other people. My original attacker I saw, was attempting to crawl away through the crowds while Obsidian was distracted. Unfortunately for him he was spotted. With a ferocious snarl Obsidian knocked out one of the other two men with a hit straight to the face, before he lunged for the battered man lifting him into the air by his throat. I gasped at how quickly he moved, my gaze flickering to the man that had been knocked out. He lay on the ground unmoving, surely he wasn't . . .

"Thought you would get away did you?" Obsidian snarled into the mans face, shaking him roughly. "Well you thought wrong!" He threw the terrified man away from him where he slumped on the ground, blood gushing from his nose, his arm hanging limply at his side. Obsidian strode over to him and stared down at him in disgust before pulling a long silver pistol out of his belt and pointing it down at my soon-to-be-dead attacker.

"No! Obsidian stop!" Forgetting my fear I rushed out of the crowd to stand in front of him, blocking his line of fire, my hands out, palms up. I gulped and felt my eyes widen at his immense height, he loomed over me his expression thunderous.

"Circe, get out of my way." He hissed venomously, his golden eyes flashing brighter than before. Was that a faint glimmer of pride I saw in those pools of gold? If it was, it was gone in a second.

"No," I said firmly. "You need to calm down, we have to go and . . . do whatever we were supposed to be doing. You're wasting time, he's not worth it."

"Circe," He said, his voice deadly. "I will ask you one more time before I forcibly move you out of my way. Get. Away. Now."

I shrank back a little at his tone and felt my eyes widen with fear. "No." My voice wavered a little this time, and suddenly I just felt overwhelmed. I reached out to touch his arm, my eyes pleading as I looked at him. "Please, can't we just go?" I whispered and I saw his eyes soften slightly. He reached out a long arm and snaked it around my waist, pulling me to his hard chest and tucking me into his side. I clung to him, my head at the same height as his shoulder and suddenly felt impossibly small.

"We will go Darling," he murmured lowly, and then his voice hardened. "We will go as soon as I've dealt with this bastard who dared lay his hands on you." I felt his free arm move and before I could register what was happening there was a loud bang and the sick sound of a bullet hitting flesh.

I felt Obsidians chest rumble in an almost animal like purr of satisfaction before he released me somewhat and tugged me towards the edge of the crowd that was dispersing to the nearby pubs now that the action was over. His arm was tight around me, holding me close to his side and I was almost glad. I didn't want to look back at the body that I knew was lying motionless behind me, face down in the dirt.

*