Bloodlines

Chapter Five

:V:

Valentine dragged Red to his room, throwing her onto his bed and climbing on after her. Alarmed, Red tried to move away, only to find herself pinned down. There was something dangerous in Valentine's eyes, something she couldn't understand.

"Valentine, can I change out of this dress?" Red asked. Pausing for a moment, the pirate captain nodded and let her move away. Shaking, Red stumbled out of the bed and grabbed her bag. She pulled out the clothing and quickly changed. As she pulled her loose cotton blouse on, she noticed there was a note written on thick paper folded into the fabric. She unfolded it, reading the smooth writing.

Red of name and fair of face,

Alone can be Death's saving grace.

But beware the one there before,

All depends on Lady War.

There was something eerie about those words, as if Red should understand the meaning. The first part, "Red of name" could be talking about her, seeing as she was named Red. But the stuff about death and war and a saving grace was confusing, she didn't know why it had been with her clothing. Deciding it wasn't something she should worry about, Red tucked the note into a pocket and turned back to Valentine who was watching her with cold eyes.

"You're nothing but trouble, Time Traveler. That damn necklace... Well, you're going to stir up trouble. Start a mutiny, get my men killed, cause problems for me."

As he spoke, Valentine moved closer, pulling Red against him. Shivering, the girl tried to escape but he just pulled her closer, grip tight.

"I should just rip this pretty necklace off, see what happens..." As he spoke, the pirate undid the clasp roughly, removing the necklace from Red's neck. As the pendant lost contact with her skin, Red gasped and fell to the floor, eyes wide with agony, mouth open in a silent scream.

"Please, it hurts...." She gasped out, clawing at her neck. Frowning, Valentine put the necklace back on. As soon as the opal touched her skin again, the pain left.

"What just happened?" Valentine snapped, pulling Red up roughly.

"When you took the necklace off there was pain. So much pain. It was agony, like I was being burned or stabbed, like I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."

Valentine frowned, listening to Red. "That necklace is witchcraft," he muttered. As if making a snap choice, he grabbed Red and pulled her out onto the deck. Pausing by the edge, he tilted her chin up and leaned down, kissing her roughly for several minutes. His hands gripped her hair, keeping her from leaving.

"I can't kill you, not directly. But I can't keep you. I am sorry, if things were different I would have kept you around." Before Red could protest, Valentine had pushed her into the dark sea below. His footsteps were lost in the crash of the waves.

The water was cold, icy. It choked Red as it pulled her down. She was a strong swimmer but the ocean was dangerous, deadly. Gasping for air, she felt herself being pulled under, her clothing heavy with the weight of the water. She fought against it, trying to reach the surface, but it was useless. Her lungs burning for air, Red closed her eyes and hoped the end would come quickly. She knew it was hopeless, she was going to drown. As blackness overtook her vision, something grabbed her.

Waking up, Red was confused. She was in a room of some sort, laying on a bed. But everything looked... wrong. It took her a moment to realize she was underwater. Before she could stop herself, Red gasped for breath, surprised when she found she could breathe. The fear of drowning gone, she looked around curiously.

The room was beautiful. The walls were coral, living coral as if it had grown to create the room. Furniture was made from coral covered in something soft and spongy, covered in woven seaweed blankets. It seemed to be heated by water currents, although Red wasn't quite sure how. The room itself was decorated with all sorts of trinkets, sunken treasure, pearls, combs and compacts.

Deciding it was pointless to stay where she was, Red stood up. She noticed there was a small seastar on her wrist. Maybe that was how she was breathing, or maybe it was just some sort of magic. Finding she could walk normally, the human girl left the room to explore.

"Oh, you must be the human girl Ren saved. She'll be wanting to see you, come on!" Red jumped, spinning around to find who had spoken. To her surprise, it was a young girl with wide blue eyes and long light brown hair. And she had a tail. A long, light blue tail instead of legs. This must be a mermaid, then. Red hadn't believed they were real.

"Oh! You're probably scared. I'm Seira, I'm a mermaid. What's your name?" The mermaid, Seira, moved closer, touching Red's face gently.

"I-I'm Red. Red Everly. I'm human." She stammered out. Smiling softly, Seira stroked her face gently.

"You're a pretty one. I do hope Ren lets us keep you... But come on, I suppose I should take you to her. She doesn't like sharing. Or waiting." As the gorgeous mermaid lead Red down a series of pathways, the human girl reflected on how beautiful her voice was, like rich honey. Soothing, soft, seductive. Tales of sirens drowning men at sea came to mind. Red thought she wouldn't mind drowning for that voice.

"Oh, here we are! Ren will love to see you, don't worry. Ren! The girl woke up! She's so pretty, can we keep her?" Red was barely aware of what Seira was saying, she just wanted to listen to that voice for the rest of her life.

"Seira, your voice is confusing the poor girl. Go find Nerin and Talori. I need to talk to her." Red blinked slowly, feeling the effects of Seira's voice leaving her. Blinking slowly, she noticed a gorgeous mermaid floating before her.

Her hair was long flowing ultramarine streaked with hints of violet, tangling around her but somehow still looking perfect. Her eyes were red, providing sharp contrast. Hr skin was pale, almost translucent and tinged a pale blue. And her tail... it was stunning. Mottled shades of purple, blue, indigo, violet and a million other shades. Up one side there was a sharp red scar, curving slightly. All over her bare stomach and back there were glowing white symbols. Her lips, a deep blue color, curved into a small smile.

"So you are the girl I saved... What is your name, my dear?" The mermaid, Ren Red assumed, moved forward. Her hair shifted and Red blushed, realizing the ethereal creature wasn't wearing a top of any kind.

"I'm Red," Red began slowly. Ren nodded slowly, gesturing for her to go on. Hesitantly, Red told her entire story, explaining the time travel and what happened with Valentine and the strange note. When she was done, Ren was silent.

"Oh my darling girl, I'm afraid I have quite a bit to explain..." Ren gave Red a soft smile as she spoke. "Come here and I shall do your hair while I tell you a tale of lost love and war..."

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I'm not tired so I wrote an update for you lovely people. Enjoy! Picture isn't mine, it's supposed to be what Ren looks like.