𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

🌷 the boy from the black coast

The fire had burned low. Shadows danced on the walls, and outside, the sea whispered beyond the cliffs.

Nico didn't move for a long time.

Bea stayed beside him, not rushing him - just holding his hand, waiting, letting him breathe in the silence.

Then, finally, he spoke.

"I was born in a port town near the Black Coast. You wouldn't find it on a map anymore - it was raided when I was ten. Pirates. Not my crew. Not yet."

His voice was quiet, almost detached, like telling someone else's story.

"My mother died that night. My father... I never knew him. I remember the smell of burning wood. I remember screaming. I remember running."

Bea's hand tightened around his. He didn't look at her.

"I ended up stowed away on a trade ship. I didn't even care where it was going. I just wanted to keep moving. Keep surviving. A few days in, I was discovered by a man named Blackmore. Captain Blackmore. He ran the Deadly Acid. Said I could die, or I could serve."

He let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Guess which one I chose?"

Bea's eyes shimmered in the firelight.

"They taught me how to steal, how to fight, how to speak the sea's language. I was small, fast, angry - perfect for raids. I climbed up the ranks quicker than I should've. Blackmore liked me. Called me his 'little blade.' Told me I had loyalty in my blood."

He paused.

"I believed him."

"For a while, I thought maybe the crew was my family. Brutal, sure. But they kept me alive. That counted for something."

Bea was silent, letting him keep going at his own pace.

"Then we raided a coastal village. A small one - no soldiers, just people. Blackmore gave the order to torch the place. Said it'd send a message."

"One of the kids tried to fight me. He couldn't have been older than nine. I knocked him out before he could get hurt. Thought I was being merciful."

"Later that night, I found his body in the wreckage. He hadn't made it out."

Nico's jaw clenched. He finally looked up at Bea.

"That's when I knew I didn't belong there. That I was just another weapon to Blackmore. Disposable."

Bea's heart ached.

"I waited until the next port. Took some supplies. Ran. Hid. I survived off scraps, stole my way through three more cities. That's when I met you."

His voice softened.

"You were fighting back. I saw it in your eyes. You weren't going to go quietly, even if it killed you. Something about that... it woke me up."

He looked down at their hands, intertwined.

"Saving you wasn't a choice. It was instinct."

Bea whispered, "And now?"

He met her gaze.

"Now I choose to stay. With you. With them. With this."

"I've done things I can't undo, Bea. I know that. But I want to be someone better. And when you look at me like I could be - it makes me believe it."

Her eyes welled up.

Then Bea leaned forward, resting her forehead gently against his.

"You already are."

And they stayed there - no more stories, no more masks - just truth, and the quiet comfort of knowing he wasn't alone anymore.

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