You Don't Want the Crown

The Story of the Hound - 5

But alas, all good things must come to an end.
We're fresh off conquering a ship and weighed down with fresh supplies, when a fleet of three navy ships flank us.
"Damn it—we are not going to outrun them," Vico says, staring through their spyglass.
"What's the plan? Fight?" Youngblood asks.
"We're not going to win—but yeah," Vico sighs.
"If most of them were off a ship, do you think you could take it?" I ask.
"What?" They frown at me.
"Leave me on the Vindice—you yourself have seen me fight twelve men at a time. Half their crew boards to capture me,—,"
"And we wait on the boats and board theirs, sailing away," Vico says, nodding, "It could work."
"But what about you?" Youngblood asks.
"I demand they take me back to Ulster! My father is a knight there, they will have to honor the law to try me in my home country. I'm trying to go back there," I say. Royal decree can pardon pirates. I am royal. I am the royal. It's literally MY country. I can pardon myself.
"I can't let you sacrifice yourself, Hound," Vico sighs.
"We'll all die anyway," I point out, "This gives us a chance."
"He's right," Youngblood conquers, "It's all we can do."
Eventually Vico concedes, the rest of the crew is a bit against it, but they agree I am most likely to be pardoned if only due to my age, they might not kill me immediately. And none of us are interested in being captured and conscripted into the Saxon Navy.
"Saxon is close enough to Ulster," I point out, "They can drop me off."
"That's—not how Saxon's work—,"
"Yeah, what are they doing so far from home anyway?"
"I mean, apparently catching pirates."
They flank us and demand a surrender. By then all of my pirates are hiding in the various boats, ready to board.
As predicted, the Saxon navy is more than happy to board our ship and try to fight me. I mean, it is fifty against one it's not really fair but I've never actually said no to a fight.
"Why are you all fighting this angry child and who gave him two swords?" The leader of the Saxons is not amused, and he doesn't even see my gremlin crew mates boarding his ship behind him.
"Eat glass, fuckwad," I spit. Two are holding me upright, they finally got my swords away.
He punches me in the gut.
I double over in pain, laughing. A storm is brewing on the horizon. They'll never catch them now.
The Saxons realize the trick just a minute too late as my crew is sailing away on their ship. I watch them go with tears in my eyes. Another family gone. Abandoned in the name of going home. And I don't even know how to get there.
The Saxons take me back aboard their ship in time for the storm. I'm tied to the mast while I mock them.
"You're a criminal."
"I'm a King and you should bow to me," I spit blood at them.
"How are you still bleeding—?"
"I bit my tongue to defile you, bastards. You will learn to fear my rage," I snarl, as thunder cracks over head.
"You'll learn to drown," their captain mutters.
"I'm no good at drowning, tried it, not for me. I'm sure you've had similar sexual experiences."
"Insolent boy."
"I sexually identify as a fucking icon," I say, "You can address me as 'gorgeous fiend'."
They quit talking to me. I get that. I live with me, so I get that I alone need to find me funny. The storm swells and the ship pitches back and forth. I'm bound to the mast so as they one by one are drawn to the waves. I am alone safe. Because of course the sirens are singing.
"Don't you listen to bedtime stories, boys? This is when the mermaids sing you to your deaths!" I laugh. The sirens keep singing their haunting melody. I too would go to the edge but I'm bound up like a tragic hero and thus spared. I'm a cheeky devil so I sing along with the sirens.
The ocean waves start pounding the ship. One by one washing the men off. I'm soaked again and again with salt water but I spit it out, laughing.
"It takes so much more to kill a king," I cry, laughing as salt water runs down my face, "I'm a god of this sea as well."
"Stop talking to them!" The captain is clinging to a mast; he's one of the few left.
"It's not my fault I'm a greater man. And I don't drown because god doesn't want to deal with me. I'll cheat death again and again and men like you will die like dogs," I say.
He dies shortly after, swept into the sea. The waves crash till they crack the ship in two. It doesn't matter. I would not have gotten free or been able to handle the ship alone. So the sea might as well swallow me.
I cut free of the mast at the last moment, it's no longer opportune to be tied up, and I kick towards what I think is the surface but everything is equally dark and the water is sucking me down. And down.
And down.
Down.
Down.
Into the depths of the heart of the sea, cold, icy blackness relentlessly swallowing me as I feel air leaving my lungs. It is the end. I was trying to get home.
Then a hand knots with mine. A cold hand, like it belongs to the ocean so smooth and cool. A girl is swimming in front of me, in a moment I realize she's a siren, dark hair like kelp floating around her head, eyes too large and bright, instead of legs a smooth fish tail curling around my feet.
She knots a hand in either of mine. And tugs me back to the surface.
I'm gasping for breath as she puts an arm around my waist, dragging us both onto the slippery deck of a ship.
I gasp, so grateful to be out of the water breathing again, as I drag myself a bit into a sitting poison.
The siren stands in front of me, now on two legs, dressed like I, as a pirate. Her green and black hair flows down her back.
"Well?" She frowns, "What do you think you are?"
"Just a Hound, my lady," I duck my head. There are other crew men around her, but in a heartbeat I realize they are not whole. They're ghosts.
"You know you're not just anything," she frowns.
"Hound, or in my native tongue, Cuan," I say.
"Kara," she says, "Is the word you can pronounce for me. It is a part of my true name."
"Why did you save me, from the waves?"
"Because I wanted your soul."
"Don't suppose I could fight you for it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"You think you can defeat me?" She laughs.
"Oh, I think I can do anything," I grin.
"Get this boy a sword," she says, going to pick up her own.
"Is that what you do? Claim souls to run your ship?" I ask.
"I save souls, everyone here died drowning. I just keep them," she says, holding her sword at ready.
"But I didn't die."
"No, you didn't. I can still take your soul though," she says, as we clash swords, "And as I saved you it's rightfully mine."
"Let me offer you a deal, let me go home first. I must ensure all is well there. And then, once that is done, you may have my soul, for eternity," I say.
"Why would you agree? No one gives their soul willingly," she frowns.
"Because I must return home, and I'm a man of my word."
"You're not a man."
"Not yet. I am trying," I say, as I hop to parry and avoid a blow.
"And where is your home, Hound?"
"Ulster, my mother waits there for me she doesn't know what became of me, and I've been gone seven years," I say, "I must ensure she is well, and avenge my father's murder. Once all that is done, then I am free to be yours."
"You must realize your soul is now forever mine, for I saved your life. I cannot just release it," she says.
"All I'm asking is the time. I swore I would return," I say, as I retreat a little down the ship. The ghosts are watching with interest. "I'll be of use to you, I'm a decent pirate, I can help you on the ship, do whatever you require on our journey back to Ulster."
"We're on the other side of the world. You realize that it'll take at least three years to return?"
"Yes, we were on our way, myself and the pirates, but we kept getting blown off course. I don't care. I have to get back. You'll be well cared for there. My family has some standing or they did when I was taken."
"You were kidnapped?"
"After a manner, I don't fully know why, but that's why I must go back," I say, as she knocks me to the ground, the sword tight in my hand. She stands over me, her sword at my throat. "Surrender, Sir Hound."
"Ah—appreciate the offer but—no thank you I don't want to," I say, and then I hook my legs around hers and throw her to the slick deck of the ship, and roll to my feet and we are off again, fighting fiercely down the ship. "But tell me, you're a siren, you barely look older than I, you could have let me drown, why didn't you?"
"I'm not a siren," she laughs.
"Oh? Do tell."
"I'm a sea witch," she says, nearly landing a blow, "And you're no ordinary pirate. Who taught you sword play?"
"Originally my father, he's a knight. More recently I've sparred with pirates," I say, as she uses some of the rigging to trap my sword arm, twisting a stray coil into a loop and neatly hooking my wrist. I neatly pass the sword to my other hand and then set about freeing myself while I defend myself. "Now, the original question, what's a sea witch want with a drowning pirate? You could have had my soul in the waters."
"The sea tells tales of you."
"Really? I thought I was the one to tell tales of it," I say.
"The waves say you sing to the moon each night, and that you greet the waves every morning, and a creature from the depths says you once freed it from a net," she says.
"Aye, I did. We were both drowning. Seemed the thing to do."
"How often do you drown?"
"Whenever I can manage. You meet the most interesting people that way," I grin as the sword is at my throat again, I slowly back up, "I'm simply not one for parties. I think we can all agree taverns are the worst. And when you're on a ship you're stuck with the same crew day after day, then there's simply no way to socialize. So every now and again I simply start drowning and see what happens. The most dreadfully interesting people pull you from the water it's quite remarkable."
"Are you always this charming, Hound?" She asks, advancing on me.
"Absolutely not. Me drowning and then immediately offering you a duel is the best part of me. My personality is much much closer to if you saw me insulting the Saxon Navy while we all drown?"
"You said you'd tell their the tale of how they screamed in terror at death, while you screwed their mothers against a wall."
"Don't remember specifically, but yes that much more, much closer to baseline of my personality, sweet lady," I get away from her by swinging on some of the rigging and dropping down back where I lost my sword. I scoop it up just in time to defend myself.
"Tell me, why do they call you Hound?" She asks.
"It's what my mother called me as a pet name, I prefer it to my real one," I say, simply. It's primarily true. She used the old tongue, but even so. I was always her little hound.
"You're remarkably stubborn," she laughs, as I yet again switch sword hands after she kicks the sword out of my right.
"Thank you," I say.
"Very well," she lowers her sword, "Sail with my crew, we'll return you to Ulster, you may bid your family farewell. Then you are mine."
"As you wish," I bow, "Thank you, my lady."
"You may call me Kara. I certainly intend to call you Hound."
I smile, "So, what do we ah—do here? Pirating? Just with ghosts?"
"Yes, our ship is silent as it's a ghost vessel. You and I are the only living things aboard. We raid other ships and free captives, destroy nation's navy's and mostly stalk fishing fleets. Welcome aboard the Flying Serpent," she smiles, extending a hand.
"Glad to sail with you," I smile, looking at my hands then picking one to shake with. She grins.