Without heart [open]

[James Darkwater]

Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Waves.

That was all this journey was all about. They had sailed from Enden a week ago, and now they were reaching the Forgotten Isle, an island that was labeled as a heaven on earth for pirates and scoundrels of the sea. The rain was hitting him heavily on the shoulders, his hair was plastered to his face and he was currently slightly crouching, mainly because his clothes were so wet that they had become really heavy.

He was on the wheel, the Tidemother trying to fight with all the dangers that the Sea Goddess had apparently came up with in order to test them, as thunder cracked in the sky and illuminated the cloudy night. No sign of moonlight or any other source of light. Waves were hitting the Tidemother from all sides, but there was only one person who was trying to stand tall, unafraid of the storm and the consequences it would have for his ship.

"HEAVE! HEAVE!"

James Darkwater turned the wheel to the left, trying to fight the current waves as much as he could. "You can hold it. Make me proud." he said, apparently to his ship for there was no one close to him. Everyone knew not to disturb the captain during a storm.

"HEAVE! HEAVE!"

Gregory ran up to him, slipping down the stairs at first and then regaining his composure. "CAPTAIN! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS STORM!"

"She can hold on a bit longer!" James yelled, not even looking at the man, as thunder rolled in the sky again.

"CAPTAIN, WE ARE GOING TO DIE!"

James turned to look at him, his face completely mad. "Not every story has a happy ending!" he yelled, and turned the wheel to the left again, as the waves continued to hit the Tidemother.

**********

They had finally reached the Forgotten Isle's port, but it seemed the storm had carried itself with them. James jumped to the main deck, watching every man and woman completely exhausted. "GO! Leave me and my ship alone!" he yelled.

"Capn's in a foul mood." a boy said.

"Shut up and move it."

It took them almost half an hour to abandon his ship, as James was taking a bath inside his cabin (yes, he took one every single month). After being satisfied with his scent, he got dressed, wearing a red and black shirt, a black vest, his black leather trousers and his black leather boots. He looked around his cabin, grabbed a towel and tried to dry his hair and hands. Grabbing a black book from a shelf, he opened it in the last page and started to read. His left hand opened his music box, as a soft tune started to come out of it. He closed his eyes and raised his left hand higher, as the pipe organ that used air to produce notes started to make sound, a sound that was haunting and sorrowful enough to match the tune from the music box, a sound that travelled around the ship and complemented the storm. There was no doubt about it. Captain Darkwater was in no mood for company or laughter tonight.

He continued to read the book about a person who had stabbed his own heart when his love betrayed him and got married to a powerful lord, a person who as the lore informed him turned himself into a monster that plagued Dheynor for centuries. James had always had a soft spot for villains in stories. Villains were closer to human nature, and reminded him that they had been unfortunate people out there who have succumbed to bitterness and that there was no going back to the way things were before. Villains taught him that some stories just didn't have "happily ever after"... but they could still be beautiful.

He left the book on his table and glanced around his cabin to the many paintings of all the girls he had been with, a reminder of his past. Right next to him was his diary, which he didn't dare open right now. "Oh, Killian." he muttered, as he glanced at the book. "I wish I was like you. Heartless."

His eyes fell on the enchanted rose in the vase in front of him, a rose whose pedals would never fall, and sighed. If only he had been with no heart.

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia stumbled from the tavern into the pouring rain, her vision distorted byt the vast amount of rum she had consumed. She stopped just outside the tavern doors and raised her arms to feel the rain on them before tilting back her head and opening her mouth, trying to catch the drops in her mouth. She loved the rain, she loved the way it felt when it caressed her skin, she felt like a child again, and she began the stagger back to her ship, splashing in the puddles as she went.

Her cheerful mood however deteriorated as she neared the ship though. It felt so empty without Dan. She stood staring at it, half expecting Dan to appear and laugh at how soggy she was. Slowly she sank to her knees and closed her eyes as the rain lashed down at her, soaking her to the bone. Only when she was shivering did she decide it would be a good idea to move, but it required several attempts before she managed to stand again and when she was on her feet she was swaying so dangerously she thought it was probably safer to sit back down again.

Another ship in the docks caught her eye though. And she found herself stumbling towards it, determined to get as far away from the raw memories of Dan as she could. Climbing the gang plank of the “Tidemother” was like climbing a mountain. She slipped and fell three times landing hard and almost rolling into the sea before she made it to the top. She stood there or a moment, trying to find her gravity centre, before turning and throwing up violently over the ships side.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she staggered to the door of James Darkwater’s cabin and raised her hand to knock, only her centre of gravity shifted and she fell sidewards, slamming into the deck with such force she winded herself. She lay there, struggling to breathe a small smile coming to her face as the music reached her ears.

[James Darkwater]

The sound of waves hitting the Tidemother seemed to synchronize itself with the music coming from the pipe organ, the thunder rolling in the sky giving it a much darker feel, as James moved his left hand from the right to the left and back again. It was as though several people were playing the pipe organ, not just him, many notes coming together to form a melody that James wished everyone could hear around Dheynor, a melody that he used to lament the fact that even though he had turned himself into a monster, he hated it.

His right hand made its way reluctantly to the enchanted rose, his fingers touching the pedals and his nose inhaling the sweet scent coming from it. He had promised the female mage that had enchanted the rose that he would give it to his one and only love, but the rose still remained in his cabin, and James knew deep in his heart that it would remain there for the rest of his days. No one would ever fall in love with the monster named James Darkwater. The darkness in his soul always found a way to obscure the rest that was in there, and all he showed to everyone else was a superfluous and handsome captain that only wanted to cause destruction, chaos and make a name for himself.

The unmistakeable sound of someone falling on the deck reached his ears, his right hand instantly closing the music box, and then sheltering the rose from any kind of opposition. James' face darkened, as he grabbed his cutlass sword, unsheathed it and started to make his way outside of the cabin, the pipe organ still playing. The sound of his boots synchronized with the melody as well, as James opened the door of his cabin, ready to unleash his fury on the person who disobeyed his orders and disrupted his privacy.

The door of the cabin opened, as thunder rolled in the sky, lightining coming shortly afterwards, illuminating both him and the main deck of the ship. His eyes fell on the body of the intruder, as he said through gritted teeth. "Get. out. of. my. ship."

He made his way to the intruder slowly, his sword raised. Raising an eyebrow, he realised who it was. "Black." he muttered, as he looked at her, obviously drunk. "What are you doing here?" he asked, with enough malice for the question to be considered as a threat. "GET OUT."

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia blinked as the light from James’ cabin momentarily blinded her. Blinking stupidly she propped herself up on her elbows and looked at James for a moment, the malice in his words completely lost on her. “Ifellover.” she slurred before slowly climbing to her feet and stood swaying for a moment before she stopped herself. “The words you are looking for are ‘get off, get off my ship’ can’t get out a ship, a ship is out.”

She saw his sword then and frowned at him. “What you gonna do with that?” she said with a drunken giggle. “Where’d the music go? I liked it. Made me think I was somewhere else” she paused licking her lips, her mouth was dry, she reached into her jacket and pulled out a hip flask, and brought it to her lips only to realise she had already emptied it. She looked at it her face full of sorrow, tears prickling her eyes.

“I don’t want to get off.” she said finally responding to his first demand. “Getting off means going back to my ship. My empty lonely ship. My ship without Dan. My ship without rum...because I drank it all. Which means getting sober and...” she trailed off looking at James properly for the first time seeing the anger in his eyes. “I don’t want to be sober.” she finished quietly realising that James really didn't care, he just wanted her off his ship.

Turning she walked away, zigzagging across the deck. She hit the mast and slid down it and stayed there defeated and feeling more alone than ever. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them burying her face to hide the drunken tears that began to fall. All she wanted was to be held, for someone to stroke her hair until she went to sleep, to whisper soothing things to her. To tell her that when she woke up tomorrow, everything would be easier.

She thought James would have loved that. To be able to claim Hestia gave him something more than a cold shoulder and a mocking smile. But they both had their own fake persona’s, the ones they allowed there crew to see, allowed the world to see. But no one but them knew what was underneath. Even when she drank, her crew didn't really know her, they just passed off what she was doing as being down to the alcohol.

[James Darkwater]

James had no idea what Hestia Black was doing on his ship, and he had no intention of finding out. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone, just for this night, but it seemed that everyone and everything was against him. From the storm a few days ago to Hestia, James was pretty sure that he had lost the favour of the Sea Goddess. With a silent prayer, James hoped she would reconsider. "Are you here to give me a lesson in grammar or didn't you hear my words?"

He raised an eyebrow when she started to giggle, and then his face darkened again when she spoke of the music he had been playing. "It's none of your business. The problem is, you're not somewhere else, you're on my ship, disrupting my peaceful moment." he said, coldly, before playing with his sword. "As for what I'm going to do with this, I could gut you open for disobeying a Captain's orders on his own ship. No matter your status, my queen, you've got to keep to the code."

She finally confessed why she was on his ship, and James met her gaze with apparent coldness, a clear sign that he didn't and that he wouldn't care, not in a million years. Apparently, she was still in mourning for Dan or whatever his name was. She made her way to the mast and fell, her stance telling him that she was actually crying.

James cursed, as he started to pace left and right, trying to find a way not to go there, not to comfort her. "And I don't want to be sober" he whispered, mimicking her voice, apparently angry at the thought of allowing her out of all people in his cabin. He took a step towards the door, but stopped. "Fuck it." he whispered, as he turned around, sheathed his sword and made his way to the mast.

Moving his left arm under her raised knees and his right behind her back, James raised her from the deck, whispering in her ear "If you tell anyone of what you are about to see, I will kill you in your sleep." He meant every word of his threat. Opening the door, he entered the cabin and closed it behind him with his left foot.

Making his way to the bed, James left Hestia there, pulled a blanket over her and made his way to his table, grabbing a bottle of rum and two goblets. It was then that he realised that his latest drawing had been one of hers, and that it was right next to the bed.

"Don't you dare look in that sketching board."

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia’s head dropped to James’ shoulder as he picked her up and she grinned through her tears at his threat “Everyone has their secrets.” she replied, “And all of them go to my grave.” She wasn’t lying; she never told other peoples secrets. Oh, she would use them against them, absolutely, but that was expected of every pirate and even more so of the pirate queen.

The bed was soft and warm, and it was only as James put the blanket over her that she realised just how wet she was. Sitting up she pulled off her jacks and her shirt, dropping them on the floor before pulling off her boots and trousers leaving her in her underclothes. Oblivious of what affect this might have on James she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and looked round the room, taking in the pictures of women on his wall and the rose on the table.

Slowly it began to dawn on her that James was not as cold as he claimed to be, and in fact his was quite the romantic. Her eyes fell on the book next to her and she reached out for it as James told her not to look at it. She paused, gave him a small smirk and then snatched the book from the small table “Pirate!” she reminded him and opened the book expecting to find secrets, but nothing could have prepared her for what she found.

Beautiful sketches of beautiful women, for a moment she could say nothing, she merely flicked through them marvelling at the detail, at how he had captured the life of each one on their face. “James...These are beautiful.” She slowly turned through the pages “Who are they all?” she stopped and looked at the paintings on the wall. “Did you do these as well?” she shook her head in disbelief, though wished she hadn’t as it set the world swaying again. She turned more of the pages, unable to focus on them until her vision corrected itself.

Staring back at her form James sketch was herself. She looked up at him, trying to form the questions in her mind into something that made sense. Why would James draw her? Unable to bring sense to her lips she merely reached out a hand for the rum in James hand, suddenly very aware that she was blushing and her heart was drumming so loudly in her chest she was sure he could hear it.

[James Darkwater]

James didn't realise she was getting out of her clothes before it was really late. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed in a whisper, as he tried to tear his eyes away from Hestia. On any other instance, James would have flirted with her like a fierce wolverine, a hunter that wouldn't let his prey go, but tonight, he couldn't do that to her. He wasn't even sure what the consequences would be for him, and that cocky smile appeared on his lips for a second.

And then he looked at the rose, and the smile vanished.

He wouldn't do that to her, and he wouldn't do that to himself either. This was his chance of showing someone that he was different, that he wasn't the monster he portrayed himself to be. He tried to remain calm, both physically and mentally. Needless to say, the fact that she disobeyed another order didn't make things easier.

"Oh come on!" he exclaimed in a whisper, raising his right hand in protest, as if showing someone what she was doing to get their sympathy. He shook his head, as he grabbed a bottle of rum and two goblets. His left hand snuck underneath the table and grabbed one of many vials. The transparent liquid would dissolve the alcohol, make her dizziness go away and help her clear her head a bit, a handy potion especially when a few crew members tended to get a little bit drunk on deck. Filling the goblets with rum and spikking her own with the potion, he left it on his table and made her way to her.

"Women." he replied, and shrugged carelessly. "All the women I've been with. Not been with, but women I've met." he said, making sure not to stare at her. "Yes, every drawing here is mine." He sat next to her and cursed inside his head. She took the spikked rum and James grabbed the book in her hands. "Yes, that's you, no big deal." he said, dismissing the thought. Hey, perhaps she was so drunk that she would instantly forget about it. Throwing the book away, he drank from his goblet. "My parents were very strict in my upbringing. I was taught how to talk, how to stand, how to eat, how to play the pipe organ, how to draw, how to write and how to appear happy while your father wants to marry you to one of the island's cows." he said, and raised his goblet. "So... Great childhood." He drank again.

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia’s face fell when he grabbed the book from her. “Hey!” she exclaimed, disappointed and torn between retrieving the book from him and drinking her rum. “It is a big deal.” she retorted, but fell silent to let him speak gulping her rum as her described his childhood. From Hestia’s point of view it seemed like a good upbringing. Ok so he may have had to marry someone he didn’t love but it was better than what she had.

“At least your parents cared, James. They gave you skills that allowed you to choose any life you wanted. My mother died giving birth to me and my father hated me and would have let me die if it wasn’t for Dan.” She stopped. Talking about Dan was too painful, more painful than it had been half an hour ago. She made a noise of irritation and downed the rest of her goblet, putting it down to the fact she had spent so long in the rain it had sobered her up a little.

“Not that I want to play whose childhood is worse, or anything.” She climbed from the bed still clutching the empty goblet and moved to inspect the rose on his desk. “Why did you draw me?” she asked, bringing the conversation back to his sketches. The rose was perfect, as if it had been cut fresh that day, but Hestia knew that wasn’t possible because it was too late in the year for roses. She turned to ask James about it when it dawned on her the room was no longer swaying; her vision was not longer blurred.

She looked at the goblet in her hand, then at James, and back to the goblet again, anger flickering in her her eyes. “What.” she began taking a step towards him, her eyes flashing dangerously. “Did. You. Put. In. My. Drink?”

[James Darkwater]

James laughed when she said that he had someone who had cared about him. That was far from the truth. "Cared? Oh please, Hestia, I thought you were smarter than that." he said, and smirked. "I was brought up this way to be expensive enough to ensure a good marriage to another lord's daughter." he added. "Lord James Goldenboat, stupid name, don't you think? Third son to a mediocre merchant from Adana." he said, and snorted. "Raised like a cow to be slaughtered in the altar of society's ideals. That was the reason I left and became a pirate, wanting my freedom above all else. And then you went and got that alliance, and took a shit on everything every pirate was fighting for all these years." he said.

He shook his head when she spoke of Dan. "I know how you feel." he said, somberly and shook his head again. "Only one man has cared for me, the previous Captain of this ship, the original Darkwater." he added, and cracked his fingers. "I suppose you've heard of him. Crazy man, with a soul darker than all the rest. Most people say that I'm just his other meatsuit, that I've always been the same Darkwater, an immortal monster." He laughed and raised his goblet. "To Dan and to Captain Darkwater." he said and took another sip of his rum.

He watched as she inspected his rose, as he raised himself from the bed and was about to tell her not to touch it. No one would ever touch that rose but him, he had accepted that hard truth long ago. No one would ever love a monster. Her next question made him blush for a second, and he coughed, hiding it with his left hand. "You are a woman I've met, are you not?" he said. "And you're beautiful, no one can deny that. Thought that would prove to be a nice drawing."

James smirked when she seemed to regain her composure. "Ah." he exclaimed, and raised a finger. "That would be a good old potion that helps drunk people with their drinking." he said, and moved to a closet. Opening it, he raised his eyebrow at a purple dress. "This was the High Queen's once. You wouldn't want to know how I got my hands on it." he said. "You might want to wear that till your clothes become dry, seeing your current attire" he said, and coughed. "You can thank me later. With that potion you can drink as much rum as you want. You can get drunk again, and again and again."

He turned around to look at her. "I prefer you sobre, though. I'm pretty sure Dan would hate to see you in this state." he said, and turned to look at the pipe organ. "Those who died at sea, I think they can still see us through the stars in the night sky. All we can do is make sure their deaths weren't in vain."

He scratched his beard. "The Kraken is still alive. I know it will hunt the Tidemother like a bitch."

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia snorted with laughter at the name James could have had and then clapped her hand over her mouth apologetically. But his words about the alliance made her angry. The alliance was a free choice to all pirates, she never forced anyone into it, she merely laid the option down on the table. “No one forced you to join James. Besides the alliance doesn’t make you any less free.”

How could he possibly know how she felt, she had no idea of the connection she had with Dan. Dan had been there from when she was still a babe, no one could possibly understand what she was going through. She didn’t voice this though, it was better to take peoples sympathy as it was meant to be taken rather than throw it back in their face.

She grinned as he tried to hide his blushing, and told her she was beautiful, but she couldn’t help but think there was more to it than that. Didn’t every woman wish there was more though? Irritated that she had been fed potion without her knowledge, yet feeling elated at James speaking of her beauty she was sure whether to shout at him or not. She did, however, raise an eyebrow at the dress he offered her. She looked down at herself then looked at James an alluring smile on her lips. “Why? Does my attire make you uncomfortable?” she purred moving close to him, holding his gaze until she was less than a foot from him and then looked at the purple dress.

Running her fingers over the delicate fabric she bit her lower lip and looked back at him. “I’m happy as I am thank you.” she told him, unable to keep the smile from her face as she moved away and helped herself to more rum. She laughed at his words about Dan, realising how little he knew her former first mate. “Dan spent ninety percent of his time drunk. If he wasn’t drunk he was drinking and trying to get me drunk with him. The harder things got, the deeper he’d look into a bottle.” She took a gulp from her goblet and sat back on the bed, pulling the blanket back round her. “He would praise me for following his example.” she snorted and shook her head.

James words about the Kraken made her study him carefully, trying to work out if he was insinuating what she thought he was insinuating. “The Kraken can’t be killed, James.” she told him firmly “And even if you did succeed in killing it, it is the bastard son of the sea goddess, she would drag your ship to the depths for killing her child.”

[James Darkwater]

He shook his head when he heard her words. "It does." he said, and sighed. "You don't get it, do you?" He shook his head again. "Why would the King make us attack his unused ports while he prepares a fleet large enough to conquer the whole world?" He took a deep breath and whispered, "We are being used. He masks his imminent invasion with us, he will probably tell us that there is gold in Sioure beyond our dreams, and then he will force us to join the invasion. Needless to say, we will either be killed by Sioureans, and even if we make it out alive, who's to say that he won't attack us next with his fleet?"

He gave another snort and scratched his beard. "There is a reason the High King is the High King of Enden, the trade capital of the world. He kills two birds with one stone with this alliance."

She was moving closer, and James could feel his mouth going dry. Her words made him feel uncomfortable, he had been with women wearing far less many times, though Hestia had that effect on him which would make him uncomfortable even if she was wearing the entire line of Siourean fashion. "It's not suitable for a Queen." he said, as he cleared his throat. "I mean, the benefits of seeing you like that are far too many, trust me on that, but let's face it, Hestia. All I would be to you would be a way of forgetting Dan this night, and all you would be to me would be a way of trying to make you forget it."

He sighed. "And I don't make kind actions." he said, giving her a fake cocky grin. Why did he have to lie so much about everything?

He raised an eyebrow when she started to speak of Dan, his expression one of mild interest and disappointment at the same time. "Sounds... fascinating." he said, raised his eyebrow again and drank his rum. "Though having you drink all day and night would be quite a sight, I don't think it would suit the captain of the Sea Bitch much." he said, and smirked. "Unless you want others to nickname you "The Drunk Bitch", I would say drink every now and then, but not too much."

When she spoke of the Kraken, his eyes shone with ambition. His face started to light up with that lunatic smile of his, and he started to laugh. "I'm not like others, Hestia. I think I blinded it with a dagger, imagine what I can do with my sword." he said, and then laughed again. "And even if it takes the Tidemother with it to the depths, I will be on the wheel, dragging it down with me."

He smirked. "Maybe then I will be called as the Legendary Captain James Blackwater the Kraken slayer, the best pirate that ever was or ever will be."

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia shook her head and gestured to James with her goblet. “Actually his words were, I will pay you with gold beyond your wildest dreams if you be my scapegoat. And anyway, do you think I would be stupid enough to make a deal without securing my own backstabbing plan?” There were three things on her list, first acquire one of the High Kings new ships and start her own fleet before encouraging others to do the same. Secondly, she had, with some help and by pressing gold into the right hands, discovered the secret location that was the royal vault. And thirdly, she had befriended their daughter, a very naive girl who would be incredibly easy to kidnap for ransom.

“Maybe’ it’s not suitable for a Queen, but then I’m not really a queen am I? People just call me queen because they are afraid of me and they think it will satisfy my vain appetite.” It didn’t sate her appetite, in fact it didn’t do anything but irritate her. Not that being called queen wasn’t good, but it was for all the wrong reasons, and she had nothing to show for it.

She wanted to tell James he was more than just a way of forgetting Dan, more to comfort herself than him but she knew he was right. “I don’t see the problem with that personally, but if you want to go ahead and pretend to be a gentleman then I will humour you.” Setting her goblet on the side she took the dress from him and pulled it over her head as she spoke of her drinking all the time. She laughed at him, “I’m not stupid enough to do that. The Sea Bitch is shore bound for another few days, I’m merely indulging myself while she is repaired. The moment we set sail again the bottle will be stashed away for night caps only.”

She could not keep the sorrow from her face and James’ lunacy. And she found herself standing very close to him, staring up at that smirk, seeing the lunacy in his eyes. “They won’t call you anything James, because no one will survive it to tell the tale. You will just be another lost ship. Another captain claimed by the Sea Goddess.” she paused trying to find a way to convince him against this insane venture. “Another pirate I should have gotten to know better.”

[James Darkwater]

James raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as she said she had a backstabbing plan ready. "Now that's more like it. I hear the High King has quite a few valuable gems in his vault." he said, smirking widely. "And my necklace needs a new gem." he added, and played with the necklace around his neck. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind going there now, but Apollonia has been my last stop." He scratched his beard and laughed. "I picked up the funniest rumour in Apollonia though. Rumour has it the High King has called for a meeting. Every single Endenese who dares call himself a powerful merchant will be there, and I bet my left leg it's a fake meeting to cover a military meeting. I suppose you'll be invited soon."

He put a finger on his chin as if he was in deep thought. "Now, if there was a man that could pose as a merchant with success, find his way to the locker and grab as much as he can, I would say that this meeting would be a very successful one, eh?" he said, smiling mischieviously. Her words made him laugh. "Come on now love, you and I both know that the real Queen is the Goddess of the Sea. And let's face it, you can't be a Queen without a suitable King." He winked mischieviously again.

He laughed when she called him a fake gentleman. "Oh, deep down I am, love. Take a look around you. Most people would assume I would have corpses and a torturing chamber instead of what you see. If I wasn't a gentleman, we would both be lying on that bed while you were still drunk." he said and pointed at himself. "Gentleman."

He raised an eyebrow again as he saw the sorrow in her face, and he gave her a confused look. However, it gave his place to his lunatic face once again. "But you see, there will be one person who will know the story." he said, and smirked. "You."

"Oh come on, Hestia, if you wanted to know me better, you wouldn't have denied all my advances. Furthermore, you have the privilidge of being in my cabin, you're the first out of many who have tried. You know more of me than I know myself." he said, and closed in on her. "If I were you, I would take my chances now."

[Captain Hestia Black]

Hestia shook her head and smiled “What makes you think I haven’t been invited already? Besides I already know where the vault is so I don’t need you there.” Her smile widened, she would tell him eventually but for now teasing him was far too much fun. Her smile became a smirk when he suggested himself as a King for her. The way she saw it, he had to earn that title from the other pirates first.

She registered the confusion on his face and tried to hide the sorrow in her own, but it was now good. The moment the lunacy returned she could not hide it. “I won’t tell anyone.” she whispered, it was a very bad lie. She would tell people, she wouldn’t let him die without a tale. That would be cruel even for a pirate.

“You made advances on me in public.” she retorted for her reasoning for brushing him off “I have a bitchy reputation to uphold.” then he was so close to her she could smell the soap on his skin. She wanted to run, to pretend none of this was happening, to deny that she had any feelings for this idiot, but she was totally fixed to the spot. “You took a bath.” she said weakly.

She reached up, her hand gingerly touching his face. “Don’t become another dead fool James.”

[James Darkwater]

James laughed when she said she knew of the vault and her obviously fake plan. "Sure, I'm pretty sure you can be at the meeting and steal from the vault at the same time." he said, and raised a finger. "Without raising suspicion of course, because, let's face it, who would charge a pirate with the offense of stealing?" he added, and cracked his fingers. "But if you don't want me there, then I suppose I can find other things to do." he said and shrugged carelessly. "You know, plenty of women to seduce out there."

He laughed when she denied telling anyone about it. "You lie." he said, and smirked. "I am an exceptional liar, I can tell when someone is lying." he added, and smirked yet again. "There is no way you wouldn't say that you had the chance to meet one of the few captains that fought against the Kraken."

He raised an eyebrow. "So? I have the reputation of a monster and a heart breaker to uphold, but that didn't mean I lied in my advances." he said, and smiled. "You could have given me a sign. All I got was a punch that still hurts, by the way." he said and touched his cheek in fake pain. He raised his eyebrow when she commented on him having taken a bath. "I do that quite a lot, actually, not sure why everyone is acting so surprised." he said, mostly to himself, and scratched his beard as he thought about it.

He felt her hand and remained still. Why was his heart pounding so loudly in his chest? "I was never a fool." he said, and shook his head. "If the Kraken wants to fight, I'll give it the fight of my life. It is who I am, and I will not change that part of myself."

He sighed and looked at her. "I have changed way too much already. I've denied a lot of things and accepted even more."