BLOOD CURSE

~ NINTEEN ~

Waking that morning had been arduous. Feeling safe with Lucien in the room, Lyria had managed to catch up on her short amount of sleep without James discovering a way to ruin it. However, knowing that any interaction between the two Captains would be nothing short of awkward, Lyria wished she had the opportunity to remain asleep until Lucien had left.
But, the moment his eyes opened and his breathing became lighter, Lyria was alert. Her senses were tracking his every movement despite the fact that he had not left the bed, or even sat up.

A twitch of his foot made her nose twitch, a movement of his arm had the hairs on hers raising. The deep sigh escaping his lips had Lyria beating herself up over the hurt she had probably caused him by pushing him away, yet again.

Pulling the thin, worn blanket higher up her chest, she refused to tilt her head towards him and waited for him to get out of bed first. Listening as his loud footsteps stomped into the washroom, Lyria finally released a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.

Now that the two were connected, her body gravitated towards the blond Captain far more than it had before. A fact she failed to notice as she dressed and her feet pointed towards the washroom. Despite not understanding the true meaning behind being blood bonded, Lucien could not help but notice how his whole being gravitated towards Lyria. Even during the night, his body kept turning to face her, his fingers reaching for her even though they would never touch her smooth skin.

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Thankful to be back on her ship, the first thing she did was admire how much cleaner it now looked. Whilst the majority of her crew had immediately gone to enjoy what Puerto Muerte had to offer, a small handful had stayed behind to clean the ship. The deck was scrubbed until all you could see was sparkling wood, barrels were stacked neatly in corners as were the crates.

Entering her cabin, she noticed her bed was neatly made and the numerous sheets of paper had been stacked in neatly arranged piles. Making a note to herself to thank her wonderful, little cleaners, she toed of her boots before collapsing on the clean sheets.

Grabbing the nearest pillow, she placed it over her face and resisted the urge to scream into it. She had been so foolish to think she could've fed on him without there being consequences. So foolish when she already knew that his blood had called for her long before it had even touched her tongue.

The familiar scent of her Third entered the room as the door to her cabin opened and then gently shut again. Only Caleb took the time to close the door behind him, James usually just slammed it shut.

Kicking off his own boots, Caleb sat on the edge of the bed before slowly reclining back until he was next to his Captain. Yet another way in which he was different to his brother in arms. However, once on the battlefield, the two fought just as brutally as the other. Whereas James was all aggression and lashing out, Caleb was cruel and calculated.

"James informed me of your night." Caleb greeted, turning to face his sister.

"I wish I was more surprised." Lyria's voice was muffled by the pillow. "After Jonathan, James has the biggest mouth aboard this ship."

Caleb's chuckle was deep and real. His eyes twinkled as he laughed and Lyria could not help smiling at the delightful sound. Caleb's happiness was infectious and somehow, he always managed to managed to cheer her up, no matter her mood. Despite loving them both equally, Lyria couldn't help but feel the sometimes she was closer to Caleb than James.

"Yes, he does have a tendency to gossip."

The chuckling died down and Lyria could pinpoint the exact moment that the atmosphere in the room shifted into something far more serious.

"Did you share blood?"

Throat bobbing in shame, Lyria mumbled a yes, hoping that Caleb wouldn't be ashamed of her either - she hated disappointing her crew. However, it felt as if she was doing it far too often these days.

"You are blood bonded then." Caleb said bluntly, voice betraying none of his emotions. "His emotions are your emotions. His blood calls to you over rational thought. His scent sings to you a song for more captivating than any siren's."

"Yes."

"Well, at least if James is pissing you off, Lucien can calm you down."

And, it was at that moment, the Captain realised that Caleb wasn't angry. Some part of him was relieved that his Captain had finally found someone she wished to spend her days with; someone she believed was equal to her despite only being human. That was what the blood bonding meant to him; it meant that she had fallen in love, for the first time in her hundreds of years.

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Standing at their respective bows, the two Captains informed their crew of the events that were to take place within two days time regarding the issue of the raided ships.
Since The Crimson Rose and The Mermaid's Revenge had set off together as allies, they had come across four other ships in the exact same state as the first one they had come across. Covered in seaweed and barnacles, broken, burnt, and ransacked. The bodies mutilated and bloody, barnacles sprouting from their wounds.

Using a small vessel as bait, Lyria and Lucien had placed some of their treasure upon it, along with some men who had been willing to sacrifice themselves, they had watched as The Flying Dutchman had torn it to pieces. Sending some of her men to die had put her in a sombre mood that only starting a fight with some men in a bar could've solved. Pinning a note to the mast of the bait vessel, Lyria made sure she included the time and the land upon which Davy Jones to meet her in order to make a deal. Davy Jones could never resist a deal, especially with notorious pirates.

"You will weigh anchor on the shores of Isla de Nihil. From there, I will sail far away enough so as to not be within swimming, or shooting, distance of you. There I will wait for Davy Jones to make his appearance. Once I am done, I will signal for you to come and collect me. Now, listen closely. Under no circumstance, even if I am dying, do you come back unless signalled. Your lives matter more than you know. If you disobey my order, there will be severe punishments. Am I understood?"

"Aye, Captain!" Her crew chorused back to her.

"Together, with The Mermaid's Revenge, we will put an end to this tyranny! We will claim back the sea and pirates will be safe once more. Together, we will be victorious!"

Cries of cheer came from both ships at Lyria's speech and catching Lucien's eye, she gave him a sincere smile to which he responded with a nod.

Fear coursed through her as she looked at how much she had to lose; much more than before. Her crew, her family. Lucien's crew, Lucien, or the trust of an ally. So many things could go wrong based on Lyria's insane plan and she knew that if anyone was to die, it would rest upon her shoulders.

So many lives could be lost, so much pain could be caused just because Lyria decided that she knew best. Maybe she should've listened to James' protests about this plan. But, she knew that she would not be able to rest if she had not at least tried to save her beloved sea and the pirates who called it home.

No matter what happened, or who died, Lyria knew that she would never regret her decision to stand up to Davy Jones. Knew that she would not regret the sacrifices made if it meant saving the innocent. She would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat.