Celeste

23.

The sea is cold, icy, even in the hot sun. Eli kicks hard, salt stinging his eyes. Blinking it away, he grips the loose board, and kicks.

A splash behind him kicks his swimming up a notch, and a slice of land in the distance makes him speed up.

A hand grabbs a kicking leg and eli gets a mouthful of seawater as the pirate grapples with him.

It's a lot harder to fight in water then you may think, and the pirate has an advantage, using his weight to pull him under the sea. Somehow eli grabs hold of the dagger in the pirates sheath, and with a shove, stabs him in the leg.

The pirate gives a shout, and goes under when eli pushes.
Its not enough. A fist collides with the side of eli's head, and the world goes fuzzy, then black.

-------------------------

Something soft thwips against his head and eli comes too, and wishes he didn't.

Damp and bandged pirate glowers at him, flicking another card in his direction. It hits him in the ear, and eli states warily at the pirate, who twirls another card in his fingertips.

Eli feels cold metal at his wrists and ankles, and raises a brow.
"seems a bit excessive" eli says, rattling the chains that bind him to the chair.

"given you kicked me in the balls then stabbed me in the leg, you are lucky I didn't chain you to the prow of the ship. What's your name?"

It might be the head injury, but eli feels bold. "what's yours?"

He can hear the pirate grind his teeth. "fine. Blue Jay, at your service."

"Eli."

The pirate takes the picture out of his pocket, and taps it. "how do you know her?"

Eli cocks his head. "how do you?" he replies, nerves wavering.

The pirate gives a guteral sigh. "I see. I'll tell you everything I know, and you tell me everything you know, aye?"

Eli narrows his eyes. "how do I know you won't lie to me?"

The pirate leans forward with a wince, fixing eli with a bold stare. "Listen, lad. I swear on me sister's grave. Her name was jay. She snuck on board me last ship and got beaten black and blue, that's how I got me name."

"I used to save the women by dressing them as men and letting them off the next port. Celeste was on the ship by the captian orders, and he found out the ruse. 'e chucked her over. I couldn't get to her in time and I got shot, tied to a barrel and tossed over too. Luckily this ship found me, and I worked me way up from there."

Eli wasn't sure what to say. "Oh." He swallowed. "I'm, I'm sorry."

A tear slid down his cheek in the silence that followed. Was Celeste... Gone? Lost to the churning waves, eaten by the hungry waters?

Eli didn't want to cry in front of a stranger, so he reached into the arcives of his mind.
"I grew up in rosewood. Must've been only twelve when I started working as a ships crow beacause I was skinny and energetic. I met Celeste when she was waiting for her father, the captian on diva, the military ship."

The pirates fingers clenched, and a hard look appeared in his eye.
Eli was unnerved, but continued.
"Celeste was upset about something, I don't remember what, but we became friends when I came into dock. The friendship blossomed into romance, I often bought her gifts and trinkets from far away..."

"Then her father told me to stay away, that she was getting married to someone in highbrow, someone with money and a better life. We said goodbye, and parted ways. But then we found the carriage on its side, trunks looted, driver dead, horses gone. Celeste was gone too."

"Celeste's dad went crazy, looked everywhere on land and at sea. He lost his arm on a pirate ship and found her dress one night. It broke him. I haven't heard much else, he gets a short temper."

The pirate studied Eli with curiosity. "And yet you still look. Why is that?" He asked without malice, just curious.

Eli gives a big sigh, looking down. "I believe in mermaids." He says quietly into his chest.

"What?"

"Mermaids! I think she is one!" Eli snaps, suddenly angry. Why should he care what a pirate might think of him.

Blue jay shuffles closer. "Why do you think that, lad?"

Eli wavers. But if the pirate is going to kill him anyways...

"They only found her dress. It's happened before, down in Ironbridge, this man was soaked through and walking strangely. He found the house empty and left for the beach, dived in and disappeared."

He pulls up more from his mind, mildly panicked that the pirate hasn't ridiculed him.
"They spend time under the water untill they can walk on land or else they turn to seafoam. Some have singing powers and they need salt once on land or they will dehydrate! People have seen them, some have even survived sinkings!" Eli finishes.

The pirate smiles. "You've done your research."

Eli stares. "You believe in them too?"

"Believe? Lad, I've seen!" The pirate laughs. "I saw one just past the pyramid. It was sat on a rock, singing sadly. The instant it saw me it left, lad, with barely a ripple. White reflective tails and dark hair with silvery eyes. Deadly though."

Eli's mouth dropped open somewhere past 'seen'
"The Bermuda triangle?" He gasps.

The pirate claps his hands together. "The pyramid is what pirates call it, lad."

They spend the rest of the day and following night talking all things myth and legend, Eli's eyes shining. Somehow Eli is unchained from the chair and rum is bought down.

"To finding Celeste, lad." Blue jay says, bringing his bottle up.
Eli drinks greedily, rum scorching down his throat. "I wonder what she's doing right now?" He ponders.

"Most likely complaining" blue jay laughs, as the bottle clinks and a friendship is created.