"Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage."
-Richard Lovelace
Your body was tense as you stared down at the familiar face of the man you'd wronged, the mark on your hand seeming to pull you towards him.
You clenched your jaw, quickly becoming annoyed by what the mark was beginning to do to your body and mind.
"You know the captain?" Jimin snapped at the boy, his eyes peering down mercilessly. "You must, otherwise how could you know her name?"
"Aye." Bluebeard chimed in agreement, also staring down the raven-haired boy. "What business have ye with the Pirate Queen?"
You waved them away with your hands, afraid that their questioning would cause the young siren to spill the truth.
If he was honest with you that day on the beach, he couldn't lie... and letting them in on your insurance would be foolish of you.
"Leave us." You ordered. "I will speak with him alone."
Jimin's brows furrowed at your request, his eyes glancing upwards to your figure as he lowered his voice, his hand gently gripping your upper arm.
"I am certain of your capabilities," He started, "But are you certain that you wish to be alone with this man? His appearance is..."
He paused, his eyes scanning over the jewels that seemed to be embedded into the prisoner's skin.
"Odd." He finished, looking back at you.
You nodded your head, pulling your arm out of his grip, eyes narrowing slightly.
"I am certain." You confirmed. "Go and celebrate with the men. Have two capable warriors keeping watch, though. See to it that no man drinks more than one liter of alcohol. If we are pulled into another fight, they'll need to be sober."
Jimin chuckled.
"It may be a bit too late for some of them."
You sent him a hard look, causing him to raise his hands in mock surrender.
"Aye, captain." He chuckled, his fingers grabbing a small strand of your hair, feeling it's softness for a few moments. "I'll see to it that your orders are met with nothing but obedience."
You watched as he allowed your hair to fall from his grip, winking confidently before walking back to the upper deck of the ship, Taehyung following behind him.
Bluebeard gave you a concerned look as well, patting your shoulder as he made his way out.
"We'll be just a holler away, lass," He stated, glaring back at the younger man in the cell. "If you need us, call. Aye?"
You nodded your head, offering the man a soft smile of reassurance.
You listened as he made his way up the wooden stairs, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving you all alone with the newly transformed siren.
You let out a loud huff as you reached behind you, pulling a bucket from it's place against the wall, hands flipping it over as you took a seat upon it.
Jungkook watched you expectantly, his naked form shivering in the damp coolness of the brig as his large, blue orbs took you in.
You watched him for a few moments, sighing as you took in his pathetic state.
His eyes widened as he watched you strip yourself of the oversized coat you wore, pulling it off your shoulders before extending it through the iron bars of the cell, a look of pity covering your expression.
Jungkook hesitantly grabbed the garment, wrapping it around his cold form, the warmth quickly encompassing him, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.
You leaned forward, resting your elbows on your knees as you tilted your head, staring him down.
"Are you going to explain what happened to you?"
He paused for a few moments, eyes slowly raising to meet yours.
"I-I'm not entirely sure," He started softly, gaze moving to the mark on is hand. "But I think this is the mark's doing."
You bit the inside of your cheek.
"Yes," You deadpanned. "I had been able to put that much together...I mean why were you drowning in the sea? Can't you maintain your siren form?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know." He sighed. "One moment I'm swimming alongside the ship, and the next, I'm gasping for air and I'm tripping over these feet."
You ran a hand through your hair, leaning closer, eyes inspecting his face closely.
"You look normal other than that," You observed, hand reaching through the bars to brush the cool skin of his cheek. "The scales from your face are gone...But you're still as pale and cold blooded as when I met you, not to mention your ears are pointed."
He nodded his head, trying not to lean into the warmth of your touch.
"I've never felt so cold before." He admitted, "It's freezing down here...I've survived many environments, but this is by far the cruelest."
You hummed, nodding your head.
"You don't need to worry about it," You said. "I'll just claim to know you and have you brought up to stay in my cabin with me."
His eyes widened at that, head tilting as he stared at you.
"Am I to lay with you, mate?"
You crinkled your nose at his question, quickly shaking your head.
"Absolutely not." You deadpanned, "I can't have you sleeping in the same place with the other men. They'd ask you all sorts of questions and, if you told me truthfully, you wouldn't be able to lie to them. Besides, aren't sirens cold-blooded? My cabin is the warmest spot on this ship. I can't have you getting sick or dying."
He nodded slowly in understanding, biting his lip.
You sighed heavily, moving your eyes to stare at the mark on your hand.
"This is becoming problematic."
Jungkook's tongue poked the inside of his cheek as he debated with himself inwardly, blue eyes trained on your figure as he slowly scooted closer to the bars, hands holding the coat around him securely.
"That man--The one with the ocean-colored hair," He stared. "Is he the reason you want the mark off?"
Your eyes shot up to meet his, brows furrowing at the odd question.
"Do I need a reason?" You asked coldly. "Wanting to have my own freedom isn't reason enough?"
"So he is." He breathed out. "That is why he touched you so familiarly...Back then and even now."
"I want the mark off because I don't want to be tied to you forever." You snapped. "Jimin has nothing to do with that. Stop thinking like a child."
Jungkook frowned, his blue eyes piercing your own.
"I believe he wants the mark off as well," He said. "He wishes for you to be free of me. He wishes for you to be free to make a commitment to him-"
"Of course he does," You scoffed. "Because he thinks I'll give him the box once it's removed."
The raven-haired man shook his head slowly.
"It is more than desiring a meager payment." He stated. "His heart sings for yours."
You paused for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Jungkook as your mind struggled to force his words away from your heart.
Shoulders slumping you allowed your body to relax for a brief moment.
"If this charade is going to work, you'll need to hide your ears." You stated, changing the subject, "Just keep your hair down and be cautious when others are around."
He nodded slowly, taking the hint and moving his gaze to the wooden floor.
"How is your injury?"
You almost smiled at the way he looked, his bottom lip sticking out as he pouted.
He resembled a child that had just been scolded harshly for their actions.
"I'm healing up fine, I suppose." You stated, raising your shirt to inspect the wounds. "Better than usual, actually."
Jungkook nodded again.
"You're beginning to become immortal." He observed. "The mark is slowly transforming the both of us."
You frowned at his words, eyeing him for a moment.
"And you?" You asked. "You receive all of my wounds, don't you? How are you healing?"
He shrugged, pulling back the coat to reveal his toned abdomen, the wound's almost completely healed.
"I've grown used to being injured alongside you." He mumbled. "Besides, I am immortal. You need not worry about me."
You hummed in acknowledgement of his statement.
"I have to worry about you," You stated. "We're tied together--at least for a while. If you're harmed, I'm harmed. I've got my own interests to look out for."
He chuckled coolly, nodding his head slowly.
"I had almost forgotten how truly cold you were," He said, tone lowering slightly, "I can't say I blame you, though. It must be hard--constantly carrying the world on your shoulders as you do."
You laughed, shaking your head as you stood to your feet, hands reaching for the keys that hung on a nail in the wall.
"You give me too much credit," You stated, shoving the key in the cell's door, "I am not the innocent girl you found sleeping on the beach."
Jungkook's blue eyes studied you closely as you opened the cell door, pulling the iron fixture towards you.
You extended your hand towards him, eyebrow raising as he sent you a curious look.
"Come on," You urged, waving your hand slightly. "I'll take you to my cabin and we'll get some clothes on your back and some food in your belly."
Jungkook smiled slightly at you, his hand grabbing yours.
You helped pull him from the floor, making sure that your coat wouldn't fall from his shoulders before walking towards the exit.
"If anyone asks, we met in Tortuga and you work for me," You said, "It isn't technically a lie, so you should be able to manage that."
He nodded slowly.
"And how will I explain the lack of clothing?"
You shrugged, smirking.
"That part, I leave to you."
A/N,
FINALLY AN UPDATE!
Thank you all for your patience! I am so excited for this book and the upcoming chapters!
ALSO THIS IS IMPORTANT!
As some of you know, I have been working on a WEBTOON with a close friend of mine. Well, tomorrow (March 15, 2021) we will be publishing the prologue!
I am so excited for this opportunity and I hope you will all continue to show love and support! Even if you don't want to get an account on the WEBTOON app, just reading it would be enough! I just want to get the story out there! Please share it with your friends and family!
It will be published on the WEBTOON app and the title is "The Metanoia Series".
EDIT: WE PUBLISHED IT!! THE LINK IS IN MY DESCRIPTION!
I love you all very much!
I adore you all very much!
I purple you all very much!
I am out very much!
-Max