Evening Tales: Dark Academia Short Stories

The Pirate and the Sea

Smoke and fire hung in the air even miles from the wreck.

Boards of damned ships floated on the soft current, some carrying letters that once formed the name, Sea Siren. Nets tangled over split masts and others tangled bodies so thoroughly that those stuck within were sent to the depths. 

The woman usually enjoyed the ash and ruin, but not this night. 

Leaning against the weathered rail of her ship, the captain watched the sea. A frown split her tan face as she looked to the sky; covered in plumes of smoke rather than the expanse of stars on ebony silk. She sighed heavily. Yes, the day had been filled with treasure and the sweet melody of thrashing waves under a sinking ship, but it all felt futile when the stars went unseen. 

"They tell tales of you now," a young man chimed from behind her. 

The captain remained in her place, auburn hair ripping loose from her braid in the passing wind. "As people will," she replied.

She felt his presence at her side; so light and inexperienced compared to her dark soul.

"They tell of a captain so fierce, that not even the sea itself can overthrow her." He inched closer, a calloused hand brushing hers. 

"Do not sing praises to me. You know what I am, what the cost is." Her dark eyes turned to his, but he only smiled. The young man's honey brown skin was smooth and unmarred, unlike her own. 

Still, he continued. "They tell of a pirate queen who sold her soul to climb to the top. Of a woman who has clambered up from hell itself and unleashed her wrath upon every being who dares to come close with her." The ship rocked and creaked in response. "But they know not what I know," he whispered, his lips grazing her ear. 

"And what is it that you know?" the captain purred. 

He looked into her eyes and saw where the stars had been hidden that night. He saw into the depths of her soul, and to the adventures that had taken her to the ends of the earth. He saw the weariness and the flame there, too; that undying love for the sea, and for her crew. For him. 

"You are a soul who is trapped." He took her hand in his. "Trapped so close to what she desires, but what she can never have, never be."

"And what is that?"

He brought her close to him and began to sway. Their bodies fell into a gentle rhythm that flowed with the sea, calm and soft and unwilling to stray. 

"You desire to be one with the sea. To move from place to place with no boundaries but the land, to move with a fierceness that could destroy entire worlds." He pulled back from her. "To have the freedom that the waves whisper. To have your decrees carried on currents, your tears swept away to distant lands." 

The captain's dark eyes narrowed. "And how is it that you think you can say these things and be correct?" 

A smile warmed the young man's cheeks, and to the captain, the smoke seemed to clear from the sky. 

"I know," he began, "that you are a woman in love with the sea. You are the pirate queen who has been far and near. You are a captain who learned love not from another, but from her crew and her ship. You were given nothing, but you earned everything. You have bested sirens and things from legends. You have brought tyrants and kings alike to their knees. And in the midst of it all, you saved a young man who thought he had nothing left for him in this world, until you found him. Until you gave him hope." He placed a gentle kiss to the captain's brow. "Am I correct, Captain?"

The captain swallowed, her throat stiff and aching. 

"Perhaps," she replied. It was the only word that she could conjure. But the young man knew, and it was all that was needed. "And what is it that you desire?"

The captain was the one to search the man's eyes this time. And there, she found her answer. The plumes of smoke cleared as she turned to the sea. The word was unspoken, yet it hung between them and they both understood. 

Laughter carried on salty air made its way to the pair, and the captain smiled. Her crew celebrated the night's fortune, drinking and toasting to her name. With one final look to the sea, and up toward the bright night sky, the captain turned away. 

As the young man and the pirate queen made to join the crew, a smile lingered upon their lips. That word, silent and never put out into the world. The word that would be her undoing; the answer to her question that the young man had told her, if only with a look:

You.

The stars shone a little brighter. 

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I highly recommend finishing this soundtrack even after you have finished reading. It is what I believe to be some of the most beautiful music one could hear. 

I hope you enjoyed this short piece. It is a fragment of a story that has been tucked inside of my heart since I can remember. 

-Chamomile