Sean held his ground as Mark turned the coldest eyes that he had only ever seen on sharks. For a moment, they only stared at each other. Neither one wanting to show weakness to the other. Before too long though, Sean told him simply. "Better make your choice soon, Captain. Are you ready to go down with her?" Mark's jaw clenched in frustration and he finally looked away to see the Man O' War getting closer. Mark's voice came out in a reluctant growl as he answered without looking at him. "How do I know you're not lying to me?" Sean proudly straightened up, stating out honestly. "I told you. I owe you a debt. This amulet means more to me and my kind, than you will ever understand. This ship means a lot to you and your crew. Now do we have an accord?" Mark's grip tightened on his arm again, his glaze meeting his once again as he told him firmly. "You save my ship and I won't cage you, nor put you in irons. On my honor. The Sea Crown, for your freedom. You get me to the Sea Crown and I'll never have a need for your kind ever again. Agreed?" 

Sean's heart lifted in excitement. He had won! He didn't think he would have, but he did! Grabbing Mark's arm in return, Sean nodded with a smile. He only promised to take him to the Sea Crown. He had no intention on helping him get in it. The odds were this murdering pirate would die long before that. He only wanted to stay aboard long enough to find out how this pirate knew so much about them. Then he'd make this pirate pay! Mark slowly released his arm, then teased out mockingly. "What do you plan to do then? Sing to them from the stern? I'm sure they will find that just lovely." Sean flashed Mark a bitter smile, commenting out dryly. "No. You're just a Captain. Not worthy of a prince's song. Just sit back and watch, Captain. You may ride the sea, but I'm part of it." Sean turned, rushing down the steps and jumping up onto the side, grabbing the rope shrouds for support. The crew gasped jumping out of his way as the Captain strolled to the steps with his pistol drawn and aimed directly at his back.

Sean gave the Captain a fearless look, then pulled one of the loose dangling mast ropes free from the shroud. Bracing his bare feet against the side of the ship, Sean held onto the rope and lowered himself down to the water. The crew leaned over the sides to watch him dip his hand into the cold dark water. Closing his eyes, he let the water tell him how fast the ship was moving through the water. He could feel the weight of the ship and how it was dragging on the left side where the pitch had not been applied. Feeling the ship coming up on them, Sean raised his hand from the water and opened his eyes. The crew gasped louder and began to whisper among themselves as a thick fog began to rush past them and thicken up like a cloud behind them. Mark ordered the crew to douse the lanterns and the crew fumbled around on deck to put out all the candle lights. Sean waited until the ship behind them was trapped in the fog, before waving his hand over the water in a swift motion.

Behind them the water surged with a small powerful wave and a loud crunching of wood echoed over the water. Sean smirked only a little. He had used the strong little wave to push the ship off course and farther into the shallows of the island, where it breeched the breach. That put a stop to them following for awhile. Keeping the fog around the Man O' War thick, Sean stuck his hand back into the water and focused on their ship. Using the water around the ship to help it pick up speed and lessen the drag. He just had to get them far enough out of the possible sight of the other ship. Give them a heads start and keep the Man O' War guessing where they had went. Sean was just thankful that the moon was out. The moon fed his amulet the power required to use this little trick without having to use his own energy for it. If it had been daylight... he wouldn't have been able to use all of these tricks at once.

The bigger the amulet, the more power it stored. The biggest amulets were those belonging only to the Merkings and Merqueens. At present, his father had the stone in his trident with enough power to bring forth a hurricane in broad daylight. While his mother had a bracelet with enough power to do the same. When they had left the Man O' War leagues behind, Sean finally stopped. His arm was tired and his head ached. He had never used so much of the amulets power for so long before. Even as he stopped, he could feel the amulet charging against his chest in the moonlight. Climbing up the rope, he listened to the excited cheers of the crew. A tall man with a warm smile leaned over the side asking for his hand. Sean took it and the man pulled him back up onto the deck. The man hugged him close, ruffling his hair as he called out to the helmsmen. "Did ya see that, Bob! This scrawny fish-boy just saved all our lives!" Bob rolled his eyes, shouting out over the cheering crew sarcastically. "No Wade, I didn't see. I was too busy driving the ship."

Sean chuckled, trying to escape Wade's long arms, but Wade held him in a firm friendly hug. Wade's hand lowered from ruffling Sean's hair to extend a hand of friendship, saying casually. "The name is Wade. You?" Sean finally managed to slip from Wade's arm, but answered nicely in return. "Sean." Wade opened his mouth to say more, when a gun went off. The crew all stopped cheering to look up at the steps, where the Captain stood with his pistol in the air and a stern expression on his face. Slowly, Mark stepped down drawing everyone's attention to the man on his knees at the foot of the steps. The man was held there by Tyler, who told everyone loud and clear. "This is the man that lead the Man O' War to us." The man shook his head, bitterly yelling over his shoulder at Tyler. "You lying fuck! I did no such thing! I didn't know that we were going into Mermaid's lagoon, until we were on the ship!"

Mark reloaded his pistol, while casually stating aloud. "This isn't about that, Sailor. The Battle Ballad doesn't venture outside of Naval waters, unless it is after someone. The only reason it would be after someone... Is if it heard about another Naval ship being attacked." Sean glanced around confused, then watched the Captain point his pistol at the mans face. The man started to shake, leaving the Captain to say in a dark unfeeling tone of voice. "Yes or No. Did you tell a brothel whore that we sank a Naval crew before docking." The man shook his head, his whole body shaking more violently by the second. Mark's eyes narrowed on the man, yelling out louder in frustration. "Yes or No, Sailor!" The man guiltily nodded with tears in his eyes and that was enough for Mark. A loud 'BANG' made the crew jump in surprise as the mans body fell to the deck lifeless. Mark slowly lowered his gun, looking over to Tyler to say much softer. "Toss him over."

Tyler got right on it, while Mark addressed the crew with a stern voice. "Thanks to Mister Spooner, we now have a Naval warship tailing us. We've managed to avoid them for now... but you mark my words. They will be back. And they won't rest till we all hang, or we all drown. Now get back to work." The crew started to separate in a hurry and Sean didn't miss the small group of men in the corner that shot him fowl looks. They slowly moved below deck, but not before Sean got the hint. Not everyone was grateful to him. Wade lightly squeezed Sean's shoulder, telling him still in that same friendly casual voice. "You know... You don't look like a Sean to me... You look like a Jack. Do ya mind if I call ya Jack?" Sean started to ask why, when the Captain cut in to say bluntly. "Fish-boy, In my cabin now. We have a few things to discuss." Wade stepped back and Sean waved to him, following the Captain into the cabin. He wondered if the Captain was going to apologize to him, or thank him. Maybe kiss his feet with gratitude. He'd try not to be too happy about seeing the Captain on his knees.

Mark closed the door to the cabin and locked in while Sean wasn't looking. Sean slowly turned to face him with a smile and Mark extended his hand out. Sean took it without a second thought. The Merman was too confident in himself. Tightening his grip, Mark quickly flipped Sean to the floor without mercy. Sean gasped for air as the impact forced the air out of his lungs. Mark grabbed Sean's throat tightly, leaning in to snarl close to his face. "You ever demean me in front of my crew again and I'll flog you against the mast, Savy?!" Sean stared up at him with confused eyes, wheezing out. "What...?" Mark pulled Sean up into a sitting position, glaring into his ocean blue eyes as he growled out. "Blackmailing me in front of my crew. Making me look so desperate and weak that I had to rely on the likes of YOU to save us! FUCK YOU! You may be a prince in the sea, but on MY ship, you are nothing but the cabin boy who will lick my boots if I command it!"

Mark threw Sean back across the floor, releasing him for a short time. Sean stayed down, rubbing his throat and taking deep breaths. Mark kicked the chair away from his desk, pointing to it as he yelled out to Sean. "Sit your ass in that chair. I think it is time you learned your place on my ship." Sean slowly climbed to his feet and Mark moved away from the chair to let Sean feel safe enough to sit. Sean rubbed his throat, straining to say in a broken voice. "I didn't... mean it... that way." Mark waited until Sean was sitting to snatch his practice knot rope off the desk and strolled over to Sean. Snatching Sean's wrists, Mark yanked them back to tie the tightest knot he knew. Sean began to jerk and scream out. "YOU LIAR! You promised you wouldn't do this!" Mark finished tying the knot, then wrapped his hand firmly around Sean's mouth to growl into his ear heatedly. "I didn't lie. I told you that I wouldn't cage you, or clap you in irons. Tying you to a chair wasn't in your little bargain."

Mark moved away to grab his rum bottle, while Sean bitterly bellowed out. "You are the lowest form of life on this planet! I never shoould have trusted you!" Mark took a swig of his rum bottle, then leaned in close to Sean to say soft and smug. "Like I could trust you? I've been lied to by far better liars than you. What did you plan to do? Take me to the Sea Crown and leave? Kill me in my sleep? Turn my crew against me? Face it little prince... You've never met a man like me. Don't try to con a con man. They already know how the game is played." Sean lowered his eyes to the floor and Mark couldn't stop himself. A devilish grin spread over his face as he leaned in to press his lips against Sean's warm ear and whisper to him teasingly. "For fucks sake... I've seen the pretty boys you hang around... Sweetheart, I'm the only man you've ever met." Mark leaned back as Sean jerked his head up to spit in his face, but Mark just chuckled in response.

Mark whipped the spit from his cheekbone and took another swig of his bottle. Already he felt a lot more relaxed now that he had gotten that off his chest. He had never been so out of control of a situation since his youth. It scared him and he refused to let some royal fish-boy think he was better than him. He was sure the crew below deck had heard the loud thud and by now the rumors were probably swirling that he had beaten the 'prisoner' for one thing or another. He couldn't afford Sean trying to bribe his crew into a mutiny. It wasn't going to happen as long as he was alive. Mark started to undress for bed, keeping only his shirt and pants on. Taking another long sip from his rum bottle, Mark sat down on his bed, telling Sean mockingly. "Get some sleep if you can. By morning, I'll have a few things you can do. You can give my ship the royal treatment she deserves." Mark let himself laugh upon seeing Sean's heated eyes.

He was about to lay down, when a soft knock on his door caused him to reluctantly get up. He unlocked his door and sat back down on his bed, watching the door open as Felix entered. Felix slipped into the room cautiously, eyeing Sean curiously. Mark gave him a shrug, asking outright. "What do you want, Felix?" Felix tore his eyes away from Sean to tell Mark just as bluntly. "I thought we'd be alone for this, but I can work with this if you can." Mark shook his head in disbelief, leaning back across the bed to rest his shoulders against the wall. Felix never ceased to amaze him with his brazen acts to seek attention. Mark watched Felix grab the hem of his shirt, pulling it slowly up over his torso. Mark loved seeing Felix's dark tattoos against his pale skin. Felix had so many now.  Though Mark's favorite was the one on Felix's right shoulder. It was of a woman dancing with a skeleton. Something about it always caught his attention. Tonight though, Mark found his eyes drifting past Felix.

Mark discreetly watched Sean look over Felix's back, while listening to Felix tell him sweetly. "We'll have to make this quick, I'm afraid. Ken isn't on night watch tonight and I'd like to get my time with him, before he starts the morning watch." Felix leaned over Mark's legs, kissing him briefly, before Mark whispering out across Felix's cheek. "If Ken is off tonight, than why are you here with me?" Felix smirked, purring out to him as he crawled up enough to straddle Mark's waist. "Because the Captain comes first." Mark tilted his head to the side to let Felix kiss his neck. To his surprise, when Sean met his eyes this time, Sean didn't blush and turn away. He could almost feel the royal pain in the ass daring him to show him how a 'real' man behaved. He was even tempted to show him, but there was a cost for watching that he wasn't sure the little prince was brave enough to pay. To Be Continued...