The Princess Of Othria

Chapter 6: Storm at Sea

"What kind of work?" Andromeda questioned, almost curious but slightly scared. She noticed Percivil struggling to undo his ties while the other pirates laughed and threw food at him. 

"Why, we have to teach you how to work the ship of course, you are going to be my wife so its only proper." The captain smiled. He stuck out his hand for her to take and she did. He took her up to the steering wheel and explained which ways to turn it, how to tell north and south apart, and how to estimate how deep the water was below them. 

Andromeda found it all interesting in all honesty. She couldn't stop looking over at Percivil. He kept groaning and yelling. She could tell that he was in a lot of pain. All she wanted to do was help him, but she didn't know how. The captain took her to the bow of the ship as the sun was setting. 

He leaned over the edge and pointed at the waves. "See them?" He said. Andromeda leaned over the edge looking at waves the bow created. Thats when she saw them. 3 girls, swimming in the water. Although they weren't exactly girls. She realized they had fish tails. They were absolutely stunning as mermaids were supposed to be.

"Mermaids? I've never seen one in person!" She exclaimed, excited to see the beautiful creatures. 

"Not mermaids, sirens. They'll drown you the moment they get a chance. Stories say they only kill men, but i've seen them in action. Crazy creatures honestly." Captain Davey said. 

"They sure are beautiful." Andromeda said, reaching her arm out. Ine of the sirens, turned and looked at her. It smiled, perfect teeth. Its eyes seemed to lure her to swim with them. She felt herself leaning down, reaching further and further. 

The captain yanked her backwards. "Woah there beautiful, they're trying to lure you in. I'm not letting you get yourself killed just yet." He smiled. The sirens face's shifted, revealing rows of sharp teeth and eyes that almost looked like a sharks. Scales sprouted all over their paces and their skin turned grey.  "Wow... they sure do switch up fast." she muttered. The sirens disappeared and Andromeda was glad she got to see them. 

"See what I can show you? I can give you so much, and we will see every land there is together. I'll get you anything you want you'll have no need for anything."  The captain turned to her. Caressing her cheek. He then leaned forward and kissed her. She was afraid to pull away, fearing he'd get mad. She didn't kiss back either. She just looked towards Percivil who had a look in his eyes. A look Andromeda couldn't explain. 

Finally, he pulled away and smiled. The sun had set, and it was officially dark. "Come, we shall attend dinner now." With that, he pulled her to the ships dining room.

Dinner was certainly something. We ate some sort of stew, it didn't taste the best but it satisfied her growing hunger. Everyone ate together. One thing Andromeda remembered the most about that night was that pirates were the most disgusting eaters. 

Food was everywhere.

Percivil was untied to eat and all he could do was glare at Andromeda. He was acting as though his was her fault. She guessed it was but she didn't understand why he was mad all of sudden. She kept looking around for ways to escape. She thought about swimming but they wouldn't be close to land for at least an hour. So she waited. After dinner, all the pirates went to sleep in their hammocks. 

Andromeda went to join them but the captain came up behind her and picked up bridal style, scaring the life out of her. 

"I thought we were going to bed?" She questioned.

"Oh we are, but I have my own room and you shall be sleeping with me." 

So he carried her off to his room, placed her on his king sized bed and jumped in him self. She turned over to face away from him. She laid there for a while, but eventually her tiredness got the best of her and she drifted into sleep. She awoke to yells and screaming.

She jerked up to see Davey doing the same thing. He jumped out of bed, Andromeda following close behind. She saw a giant storm forming giant waves. The pirates were yelling and screaming orders at each other. A giant waves crashed over the boat leaving a layer of water on the deck.

Andromeda gasped when she saw Percivil, tied to a pole gasping for air. She bolted to him and untied him as quickly as possible. He stood up and held onto her. "Water is not our friend hm?" Percivil asked. Andromeda laughed hugging him tightly. Another wave crashed knocking them both over. "We're going to die..." Andromeda cried. 

"Hey, at least we're doing it together." Percivil gently caressed her arm. Her hands made her way to his face. She gently kissed him on the cheek as they hugged. They held on to each other tightly. 

Another wave crashed over the ship, knocking the entire crew down. They moved to a spot on the ship where they could hold on tight. She watched as some of the crew fell over into the water, into the cold, dark ocean. 

She noticed a few sirens, swimming near the fallen pirates and one by one they were dragged under, most likely never to be seen again. 

A final wave crashed over, and Andromeda blacked out, still holding on to her best friend.