I Am The Sea || Choi San

battle

There are wounds on his wrists.

If he had his daggers and knives, he'd cut his way out of these ties. But he doesn't. Hadn't felt the need to be anywhere near his weapons that night he shared with Theo. San closes his eyes, trying not to move his arms as he leans back and stares up into the darkening sky.

He can still remember the way Theo had fit into his arms that night. How she moved beneath him, how she tasted. He can remember her with such clarity his heart aches as if someone is tearing it to pieces.

As the ship sways, San leans from side to side with it. The rope that holds him in place at the main mast of the ship is tight and thick, and it digs into his skin with ever inch he moves.

He has not spoken. Not when they dragged him across the deck, the bare skin of his chest ripping open - not when the Pirate King himself had dragged the tip of his dagger across San's right cheek, leaving a long red line in its wake, drops of blood running over his face.

The Pirate King will never get to her. San will set the world on fire before the Pirate King gets a chance to even lay a finger on Theo.

If it's the last thing he'll do...

The Pirate King's crew is busy preparing for an imminent attack. They're dragging canons across the deck, distributing weapons and munition. None of them are even paying attention to San, deemed him harmless without his weapons. They thought wrong.

With every passing minute, he is gaining more wriggle room in his ties. With every passing hour, the rope is loosening, inch by inch.

San knows Captain Hongjoong will never hand Theo over to the Pirate King or that cowardly rat, Commander Lawrence. Both men are currently conversing war tactics in the Pirate King's cabin, preparing the undoubtably coming attack.
San also knows that they would never leave him behind, knows they'll come for him. Which is also why he needs to get himself off this ship before night falls.

If San knows Captain Hongjoong and his crew will come for him, the Pirate King is counting on it as well. No doubt he is setting the trap for San's crew right this moment, surrounding the Inception with other ships from his fleet. Making it impossible for the Inception to win this fight, all alone against a fleet of ship.

San's thoughts wander back to Theo. The words she whispered to him last night run through his mind again.
"Are you scared of me now?" She had asked with such vulnerability, such fragile hope, it had almost brought him to tears.
"No," he had answered, "I've never been. And you don't need to be either."
She had traced one finger over his skin, the tip glowing gently in the darkness with the same light he had found in her eyes.
He had meant it. Theo's power is nothing to be afraid of.

But he knew, the way he knew Theo inside and out, that she could not control it. And that she was trying her hardest not to lose the hold she had over it. The Pearl's power is like a living, writhing thing beneath Theo's skin, nesting in her stomach, utilizing her body for its needs. She'd try to use it to save him, San knew, and he wondered if it would consume her the way it did the first ever child to be entrusted with the powers of the Sea Goddess.
He wondered if it was safe for Theo to unleash her power just to protect him - wondered if it was worth the risk.
What if she hurts herself? What if the power destroys her by accident?

He'd rather be held captive to the end of his days than put Theo in danger.

When he tries pulling hands out of his ties another time, the skin on his left wrist splits open. He can feel the heat of the blood as it runs down the side of his hand. He presses his jaws together to keep himself from making any kind of noise. His arm seems to be on fire. He wants to scream, wants to kick at the mast. He heaves a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but the raw and wounded skin of his chest is tight from dried blood and small wooden splinters from the deck planks.

He stares at the Inception in the distance, its white sails still so bright and clean against the darkening sky.
It's almost nightfall.

Suddenly, there are noises, coming from his left side.
A thunking and splintering, and then voices.
Panicked voices.
And screeching, splashing, writhing.
San didn't understand, but then someone yells across the deck from his left side.
"Sirens!"
Men are running across deck, collecting their weapons, as the splintering sounds continue, the cracking and clunking never stopping.
"They're breaking the hull!"

San craned his neck to catch a glimpse, but he couldn't see anything.
The men rushed to the left hand side of the ship, bending over the railing to stab at something below deck, no doubt trying to crawl up the side of the ship. Many are running below deck, trying to fix the holes the sirens are blowing into the sides of the ships with their own spears made from corals and stones and rock shards.
"Fire!"
Canons are shot, the sirens scream and screech. A heartbreaking sound, yet fiery and furious. Spears are being hurled at the men, some landing with their tips stuck in the wooden deck, some slicing through ropes and sails, striking men down in their path.

San can't take his eyes off of the men, watching with surprise many of them falling to their knees, holding blood-gushing wounds.
And then a hand placed itself over his mouth from behind him.
He thrashes against it, but then a familiar voice whispers into his ear, "Stay still. We're getting you out."

The ties around his wrists and chest fall to the ground and he turns, looking straight into Wooyoung's face.
He pulls the younger boy into a tight embrace.
"I knew you'd come," he murmurs.
"Always," Wooyoung answers and quickly loosens San's arms around his neck, "We don't have time for this. We need to go."
He takes San by his hand and pulls him across the deck, both of them ducking between running men, cannons, and barrels.
Wooyoung grabs after a rope tied around the railing, swings itself over the wooden barrier and glides down the rope with the ease of someone who grew up within a ship's rigging.

San bends over the railing. Wooyoung lands in a small boat beside the ship, both paddles held steady by Yunho.
San grabs after the rope and starts swinging himself over the siding as the door to the Pirate King's cabin swings open with a boom.
San does not take the chance to throw the man a look. He bites down on his tongue, gathering all his strength, and climbs down to the boat.
As soon as his boot tip reaches the boat, Yunho starts paddling away.
San falls onto the bench next to Wooyoung and looks up.

The Pirate King, his eyes wild with fury, stands above them, following them as they put distance between themselves and the much larger ship.
The Pirate King pulls out a musket, aiming it at the small boat.
He shoots.
The bullet hits one of the paddles, close to Yunho's hand.
"Hurry!"
Wooyoung grabs after the second pair of paddles and starts moving the ship alongside the weapon master.

"Are you okay?"
Yunho's eyes travel over San's exposed chest. The skin is raw and bloody, his wrists as well. The cut on San's right cheek has started to heal, though the blood has crusted and dried across his cheek.
"I've been better, but I've also been worse," San answers truthfully, "Thank you for coming for me."
"Thank Theo," Wooyoung says, "This is all part of her plan."

For a moment, a small smile spreads on San's lips.
"You should have seen her," Yunho says, "The way she called for the sirens. Never seen anything like it. They appeared out of the water like moths to a flame. They didn't even question her, just followed her instructions like loyal subjects."
San doesn't respond. He does, however, remember the ringlet in Theo's room. The elegant crown adorned with sea glass and seashells.
Slowly, the puzzle pieces are falling into place.

"So what is the plan, exactly?"
Yunho turns to San and grins, before nodding towards something behind him.
The Inception towers above them like a mountain, and on the railing, bending over it so far she almost falls over, is Theo.
Next to her, Mingi throws a few hooked ropes down the side of the ship and starts threading them through the wire rope hoist with the help of other crewmen.
"You should ask your girl," Wooyoung says.
They pull up the boat.
Before San can step out of the small boat and onto the deck, Theo is there.

She is there and she wraps her arms around his middle ever so gently. She presses her lips against his collarbone, whispering words of relief and love.
And for just a moment, San does not feel pain.