The Sea Witch's Revenge (ON HOLD)

Chapter Fourteen

Another week passes, similar to the ones before. Burges still doesn't let up. Thessaly, Thornly, and Otto don't talk about that night. They go about their days as normal.

Aurora comes into the kitchen whilst Victoria works on peeling and finely cutting up carrots. Victoria still can't get over Aurora's delicate beauty. Everything about her is graceful and almost ethereal. She looks stunning in a delicate ivory, off-the-shoulder blouse beneath the perfectly fitted brown leather corset. Her long hair, still tied into hundreds of tight, and tiny braids, has been pulled into one single braid. Her dark skin has a slight golden shimmer to it.

"What can we do for you, Rora?" Otto asks.

"Oh, nothing much," she replies and sighs, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms.

"Do you know if we're going to go into a port any time soon?" Victoria asks.

"Not sure," Aurora replies.

"Or go past any other ships for that matter?"

Aurora shrugs. "You'll have to ask the captain. Why?"

"It just feels a little..."

"Lonely?" Aurora asks.

"Yeah," Victoria lies. Her stomach cramps painfully and her smile tightens as she tries to hide it. She needs to feed.

"You get used to it," Aurora sighs sadly.

"I have to admit, you all have quite the reputation. I thought you would have attacked and raided some sort of trade ship by now," Victoria jokes.

"Oh, back in our heyday absolutely," Aurora chuckles. "Nothing and no one was safe from us, and that was before the curse made us practically invulnerable." She smiles, her stare distant. "We owned the seas. We took what we wanted when we wanted. The world feared us."

"So what happened?" Victoria asks.

"We got tired, Vic," she says. "The first few years of the curse were amazing. We were untouchable and deadly. We thought that the price we paid for immortality and this ship was worth it. But, we lost the thrill. Going into battle is hardly exciting when you know you're going to live. Pillaging and killing got boring quickly, especially when we could hardly step foot on land to share our stories with other crews or even party with them. We became bored and isolated."

"Am I allowed to ask what the curse actually entails?" Victoria asks curiously.

"Sure," Aurora shrugs casually, not caring for the captain's orders. "I won't tell you why we are cursed, that isn't my story. Let's just say we pissed off the wrong witch." She chuckles humorlessly and shakes her head. Otto scoffs.

"We?" he asks.

"We all had a part in it, Otto," she tells him. "You know that. Yes, she was angry with the captain, but we let it go that far. We encouraged it."

Victoria frowns, confused. She doesn't interrupt though, and lets Aurora continue.

"This ship is a part of the curse. You wouldn't think so, would you?" Aurora pauses and opens the door to the food stores. "I mean, a ship that can regenerate all the delicious food you could ever need is hardly a curse, is it? Nor is a ship that can bring you fresh water through taps, or a ship with a sewage and water system that means we never have to live in squalor like many other crews that spend their lives at sea." Aurora pauses and taps the wood of the ship lovingly. "She was a beauty even before the curse, but the Sea Witch's magic made her magnificent," she whispers.

"It was all just another part of her cruelty," Otto interrupts, shaking his head.

Aurora nods her head. "The curse stripped away almost everything from us. It took away our abilities to taste, to smell, to feel..."