deep in the sea (I give you my heart) // jenlisa

Chapter 17: Happy (Bounty) Hunting II

Lisa groaned at her aching body, trying to will herself to try and get away. But all she could do was answer the threatening question. "I told you; they're mine, you fucking prick... I got them from the Queen's Navy, when I was promoted to captain."

The brooding man glowered, his eyes narrowing. "What's your name then, Captain?"

Realizing that the man was probably part of the Navy, or some sort of military branch, Lisa decided to play along- as if she still recognized herself as a captain or even a citizen under Queen Hyuna.

"Captain Lisa Manoban of The Oryx," she answered a little more strongly, her breath starting to come back to her burning lungs. The man didn't say anything for a long moment eyes still narrowed, when suddenly he removed his sword from her chest.

"You're supposed to be dead... What are you doing here?" He raised a thick eyebrow, allowing Lisa to slowly move to sit up. She eyed Leo, who'd stopped crying and was now limp on the ground. Even from the distance Lisa was, she could see that her beloved mare was dead.

Gritting the dirt between her teeth, Lisa glared up at Leo's killer. "I was captured months ago by Captain Athena, and taken here... What the fuck are you doing here?" She stood up, brushing the dirt from her stained clothing, subtly checking for any broken bones.

"Doing the job that you've failed to do; capture Captain Athena and bring her to the queen... Name's Nichkhun Buck- and these are my men." Lisa recognized the man's name; he was a famed bounty hunter from Hyuna's Navy, known for his brutal tactics and blood thirsty nature.

Hyuna must have decided to continue with her plan of killing Jennie if she sent him to find her... But Buck's orders were different from hers, not nearly as deadly.

"Capture? Why not kill?" Lisa glanced to the cage, noticing that she could just barely see the top of Jennie's raven hair. She wasn't entirely moving, so Lisa couldn't tell if she was awake or not.

Nichkhun contemplated her for a moment, his grey eyes cold. "It's not my place to question the queen... She just paid me to bring Athena to her- even gave me some fancy collar to put on her and everything."

Lisa opened her mouth to ask about the collar, but he didn't let her speak. "So if you've been here all this time, Captain, then why is Athena still alive?... You're clearly not a prisoner, and this was some sort of rescue attempt I can only assume."

Thinking fast on her feet, Lisa decided to play a game she was reluctant to even think about; she needed to pretend that she wasn't one of the free people- that her blood was still blue.

"Have you never heard of the term 'keep your enemies closer'?... I was trying to find the right moment to kill her, but it's kind of hard when your target's immortal and incredibly untrusting."

If he had been able to hear Lisa's heart, he would have known she was lying just by how fast it was beating. But all he could see was her face, which she kept completely stoic, holding eye contact.

At first she thought he was going to push her for more detail, but instead he smiled. "Wow... Those are some cold tactics you've got there, Captain, even for me... I like you. Come—sit with me on the cart; we don't have much time before more of her followers come after us."

He gestured for Lisa to follow, sheathing his sword as he walked away. She bent to grab her own sword a few feet away, putting it back in her scabbard as she followed, limping due to her bruised hip.

Climbing onto the cart, Lisa was able to look down into the cage to see Jennie staring up at her. She had a metal collar wrapped around her throat, with thick chains holding her arms to her side. The collar had purple glowing runes on them, seemingly holding Jennie's powers back.