Undiscovered Origins

Undiscovered Origins - Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

            It took Jade several more minutes to reach the main deck than Drake. After all, the only thing he had to put on was his pants, grab his sword and he was off. Jade didn’t have such luck for herself. It was frustrating enough to have to trace down where Drake had thrown her skirt but she also had her undergarments to find, and they didn’t seem to be with the skirt. It was now that she wished she had some leather armor or some better covering against an attack than what she wore. She made it appoint in her mind to ask Drake about such things. If he could find her cashmere and quivet, both expensive materials, then surely he could find some leather armor for her.

            After getting fully dressed, she strapped her sash and sword on her waist. At least Drake had gotten her a sash to hold her sword otherwise it would never hang from her skirt alone. She raced through the hallways of the ship, nippily getting lost as to where she was going. With adrenaline kicking in, it easily made her mind cloudy. Well, to be fair, the thing that kept her mind the most opaque was Drake. His scent and touch all over her body still gave her shivers.

            She had gotten so close to everything she held dear to herself: her virginity. She had tried so hard to wait as long as she dare, although she had never really met a man, especially one as attractive as Drake before. Everyone before him she considered a childhood crush. Some were traveling circus boys that came and went, while others were locals of areas she stayed. She always knew that she couldn’t act on her crushes because it wouldn’t last. But now, she was free and able to do as she pleased. Well, almost… she was still trapped with Drake. She might as well make the best of a bad situation she thought. She shook her head, no, that was ill thinking.

            Finally she found the stairs heading up and felt relief that she had found the way to the deck. Everything appeared chaotic. Some of the sails were shattered and holes penetrated through the sheets. Her expression turned to horror as Jade saw at least a dozen gargoyles attacking Drake and the others, and everyone had fierce bleeding scars. She grasped her sword and it shook in her hands as she looked at the fight deciding how she could help.

            Jade looked around and saw Ranielle battling three gargoyles with a large sapphire hilted sword that matched her hair. Her short dress was ruined in rips and tears with scarlet blood trickling down. Jade looked in shock at the various cuts and scrapes across the half faerie’s arms and face. It nearly brought tears to her eyes as she rushed to help.

            As she ran for Ranielle she noticed Selaras battling against five gargoyles and doing quite well for the odds. It did not negate the fact that she was in dire need of help, more so than any other she saw at the moment. She curved to her left changing paths to intercept a few of Selaras’ foes. Selaras seemed to be the bloodiest of all of them. There were deep gashes in her arms and cheeks and her entire face was covered in red. Even her scales at her waist were no longer a sparkling turquoise… but stained red. Her face was fierce and she didn’t seem to let any of the pain affect her as she swung.

            Jade immediately struck at two of the gargoyles with her scimitar causing them to turn around from the scarred mermaid. Relief seemed to come across the mermaid’s face but still she glared at Jade’s face as if silently saying she didn’t need help. Jade had expected as much from someone that didn’t like her. It did not bother her though because she was there to help no matter who needed it.

            She took a step back as she defended herself against quick attacks blocking the gargoyles sharp claws and hands from reaching her. It only worked for a short time until she received a long scratch against her left arm. Thankfully it wasn’t too deep but it still hurt and she didn’t know if she had experienced such pain before. Her left arm seemed to go numb and she fought with her right alone.