Young and Wild || seongjoong || ATEEZ

Chapter Nineteen : Long Live the King

Chapter warnings: heavy violence, heavy gore, temporary (!!!) character death, loss of a limb

Like a dragon creeping up on its prey from the darkness of the shadows cast by the mountain from where it came from- the great chase began.

Like the rolling and distant thunder that shook the ship plank by plank, there came to be a great power settling over the darkening world. The clouds fell to darkness and the wind howled on and on to match the way the rain poured down from the weeping heavens above them. As nature swirled around them, the heavy waves slammed up against the side of the ship in protest against what was to come in the future.

The ocean was crying and screaming with the sounds of drums sounding from the invisible horizon. The rain poured steadily as it showed no signs of stopping or slowing down. It was freezing to the touch, there was no warmth from nature as it seemed to grow restless to match the state of the world. The ocean itself was watching the chase- step by step as the gap started to close steadily.

They all could feel the power. Each pirate aboard the Destiny could feel the tense atmosphere as the heavens seemed to be speaking down loudly to them. The pounding of boots against the main deck and all throughout the lower decks as they each readied their station by order of their captain was like the cracking thunder in the sky.

Seonghwa could feel it in his chest. He could feel the vibrations of the sky and deck with each step he made. The ship was sturdy under his soaked boots- each plank was firm as he walked down the length of the mighty Destiny. He could smell the scent of gunpowder that burned at his nose all around him as the canons were untied and moved up against the railing of the ship on both sides. Even from the guns that had been thrown around- pistols and long rifles alike- their scent was heavy on the wind.

He could feel the heat from under the ship, he could even feel the way the sea was tossing the Destiny around like she was nothing more than a little woodchip. The scrapping of the metal swords echoed in his ears as the sparks flew around on each side of him. Even in the pouring rain, as the edges of the swords hit each other, light bloomed from them. The pounding that came from under the main deck from the cannons that were far heavier and larger than the ones that were lined up on each side of Seonghwa's body shook the masts and shrouds attached to them.

The shouts from all the pirates around him as they each met up with their commanding leaders in each department grew to be a sight that Seonghwa could only imagine to be what war would have looked like if he had been crowned king and eventually saw the front lines of a battle. In the army, there was balance and force. There was never a man out of place in the ranks, there was never a break in the formations even as they were shot down one by one. Seonghwa had seen the men train before they were sent off to the distant front lines- most never returned. But unlike the knights Seonghwa had watched from the balcony that overshadowed the training grounds just outside of the castle walls- these pirates moved around in chaos.

Controlled chaos.

There was a method to the madness- they all moved with urgency and swarmed around the deck like it was a hive and they were each a bee. War faces were plastered onto them- belts of explosives and sharpened yet jagged knives strapped along their waists, thighs, and chests. Others took the pistols and long swords that sparkled from the pits of fire on the main deck that were used to heat the metal and form what Seonghwa could only see to be what looked like spearheads.

They had weapons that the knights aboard the ship chasing them down would have never seen before. Perhaps that would be their only saving grace.

Seonghwa felt his heart pound over and over in his chest as the rainwater poured down from his face as he made his way down the long length of the ship to the bowsprit. He could feel the heat in his own eyes- the fear he had possessed earlier had disappeared long ago. The captain had said they would run for the length of the night and then slow the ship so they could be caught the second dawn broke. It would give them more time to prepare what they needed to, but Seonghwa knew that the truth behind their fearful display of running was that the captain liked the adrenaline high from being chased by powerful men who wanted to kill him.