Why The F*** Are Pirates So Damn Attractive (Theyna)

I Don't Blame You

Artemis is the moon, silver and silent, impervious to all the chaos surrounding her. Thundering waves licking hungrily at the sides of the ship and cold stars watching impassively from above. Artemis is simply the moon, bright and isolated, standing against the mast, perched far above the deck. Thalia watches quietly from her own perch on the ratlines.

"Why're you up, Grace?" Artemis asks finally. Her voice is more hoarse than usual. She looks more tired than ever. Thalia sighs, letting her breath mist in the cold night air, watching it rise into the moonlight.

"Why are you?" she shoots back, but Artemis doesn't smile, nor does she frown or glare, she simply watches her with that same impassive expression. Thalia sighs, letting her head droop against the ratlines. "Tomorrow night we'll be there."

Artemis hums softly, turning her gaze back towards the moon, not quite full but too bright to hide anything in its light. Artemis is as exposed as she's ever been, vulnerable, pale, and weak. And she's beautiful, she's gorgeous, exposed and easy to take. For a second Thalia believes that she could actually kill Artemis, that a single breath breathed too hard could send her tumbling into the unforgiving sea. The dark waves would lick her skin and take her down, down, down, never to be seen again.

It's a horrible thought, one that makes Thalia wish that she could just stop thinking. Thinking about life, about death, about whether it means anything at all because for the life of her it seems that death is imminent. Approaching upon the horizon and she has no choice other than to succumb to it because Artemis is just so damn sad. She's the moon, and she's mourning, and she's beautiful. Beautiful like bloodstained glass in the sunlight. Gorgeous, but it's so damn horrible. Horrible and bloody and evil. Evil. Artemis is evil.

Thalia is evil.

She's going to give her life for the happiness of someone she barely knows. Why does that sound familiar?

"I owe you," Artemis whispers. It scarcely makes it over the wind. Thalia does not reply, simply watches the moon's reflection on the water. Artemis begins playing idly with the mast. "I owe you a choice. At the very least. You have done so much during these weeks despite both the circumstances and my initial treatment of you. I owe you so very much, but the only solace I can offer you is this, will you come quietly or fight?"

Thalia still doesn't speak. The night is cold.

"I won't think less of you for either choice."

Thalia looks down at her hands. Milky pale skin, scarred knuckles, and freckled arms. Her fingers tremble in the moonlight, ghostly in their appearance.

"Artemis. Zoë 's dead."

Artemis doesn't respond. The wind sweeps through the desolate deck. Thalia sighs.

"I've been dead. This whole time really. I can't escape it forever, can I?"

Artemis's intake of breath is sharp and so very, very human. It's a sound that could potentially fool her into letting her guard down.

"I swear to you, I will get you out of there. I owe you that much. I won't let him keep you-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Thalia's breath hurts, the words feel like acid in her mouth, burning and tearing. She can't swallow it.

"Th-"

"Artemis." When she turns to look at the goddess she's met with the most vulnerable expression she's seen from her. "I can accept my fate. But more than that, promise me that if I die, if he takes me, that you'll find Reyna, and tell her that I did it willingly. That I gave myself up because I wanted to."

Artemis's face twists into one marred by grief. The grief of a mother losing its child, or a lover losing their loved one. Thalia can't tell if it's for her or Zoë.