The Black Pirates

Five

"You're right, I don't believe you!" Hongjoong growled after I'd told him about my mother, all fourteen pirates in the captain's quarters.

"Wooyoung." I looked at First Mate Jisung then he lifted his chin some.

"Do you really believe this was your mother's soul-"

"Faeries can connect to their dead through bodies of water. I'm literally surrounded by the ocean, I'm supposedly half-Faery, and now you want to doubt that I saw my mother's soul in the water? How is it you've put this much trust in a Faery, but not a half-Human?" I asked and Captain Chan sighed.

"He has a point. I say we trust the soul of his mother." He said and looked at me.

"I have experience with soul magic, Wooyoung, and you're right. Faeries always connect to their dead the strongest through bodies of water, and they're even stronger when the water is moving. This is the ocean, it's always moving even when it looks still, so it makes sense his mother's soul-"

"But she's not a Faery-"

"She's still his family, and dead at that." Chan cut off San and I looked at him.

"Please, we need to go north. We have to find this dragon-"

"You've never met a dragon, have you?" Seonghwa asked with a slightly amused yet confused look.

"I've lived in Strickland Kingdom my entire life, we don't really get dragons."

"They're mean." Changbin said and I looked at him.

"Big, territorial, and they have a thing for Human. Took our old crewmate, Woojin, and we've never seen or heard anything since. Pretty sure that fucker is dead-"

"What he ran into was a small desert dragon. You're talking about an Ice Dragon, Wooyoung. They're known throughout the world as bigger, faster, stronger than any other dragon breed out there! There's no way-"

"Please!" I argued with Seungmin then he sighed, looking at the captains.

"And your mother's soul claimed the Faery Prince was going to kill us all?" Hongjoong asked and I nodded.

"She said he was only after me to kill me, that we were walking into a trap. Not to trust him, and I don't! You shouldn't either, especially if you've never met him face to face-"

"I hate it, Hongjoong, but he has a point." Seonghwa said and I sighed, bracing myself on the table.

"If you truly want me to lead you to the Faery capital, then do this for me! If it turns out to be a trick, we leave the second you order it!" I promised and Hongjoong sighed, looking at Chan.

"You know these waters, Chan." He said and I looked at the Western Pirate. He sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing me, then he sighed.

"We go north, find this dragon and his treasure. Let's hope your mother doesn't expect us to kill the dragon-"

"Are they hard to kill?" I asked and he smirked.

"No dragon has ever been killed by human hands, Wooyoung. Only the giants have ever succeeded in killing dragons, and that was at the cost of dozens of their kind. They only killed when the dragons threatened them, they were smart enough to not actively seek them out." He said and I nodded, looking at the map on the table.

"She said the Ice Caves." I said and Mingi sighed, pointing to a white continent on the map.

"That's here, along this shoreline. Caves made naturally due to wind and water currents. They were dubbed the Ice Caves by an adventurous sailor decades ago, and the name stuck. Trained sailors and veteran pirates know to avoid the Caves, because the Ice Dragon lives there. That's his territory, all of this water here included." He said and traced an invisible barrier on the map with his finger.

"We'll probably see him long before we get to the Caves themselves." He said and I glanced at him.

"I suppose your magic doesn't work on dragons-"

"Dragons aren't always animals, Wooyoung." Mingi said and I looked at him.

"Some are men, cursed to be a beast of legend, and some are Faeries or Giants who got too lost in their magic. To become a dragon is a curse, a prison sentence, yet they retain their original forms. Whether they be Faeries, Human, Giants, or the rare Siren, the dragon species is also known as the Shifter Species, because they can shift between dragon and their other form." He explained and I nodded.

"So, animal whispering won't work-"

"Not with these dragons, no." Mingi said and I huffed.

"Wonderful-"

"Your fire magic may work in our favor." I looked at I.N then he frowned.

"You do control your magic, right?"

"He only just learned that he even had magic." Seonghwa said and sighed.

"We can train between now and when we get there. I can attempt to wake up your magic, see why you haven't presented with it yet." He said and I sighed.

"What would stop me from presenting?" I asked and he huffed.

"Normally, one presents when they're fifteen. If you don't, it's for a number of reasons. Like no training, not being around magic, or locking spells."

"Locking spells?" I asked and he nodded.

"A locking spell is advanced, hard magic, and forbidden. The only time I have ever seen a locking spell was on a human years ago. His magic was locked away because of his father being a king against magic, and his son had a rare gene of magic." He said and I noticed a certain look in his eyes that told me exactly who this Prince was.

"And did he ever unlock his magic?" Felix asked and Seonghwa smirked.

"With the help of a pirate, yes." He said and looked at me.

"I can help you with your magic, Wooyoung, as I'm the best trainer on this boat." He said and I nodded.

"For now, we'll make our way north and keep an eye out for this dragon." Hongjoong said and we nodded, everyone turning in for the night before our long journey north.