Arthur Kirkland could not sleep. He couldn't believe how bloody uncomfortable his chair was. No matter how many positions he tried, he could not fall asleep. Sleep tugged at his eyes making him feel even worse about his current predicament.
"Bloody hell," he muttered, standing and stretching. He felt his back crack painfully and groaned.
Arthur glanced over at Sofia who was sleeping soundly in his bed. His bed. The thought angered him that he had been polite. He had given up sleep for her.
As he stared, Arthur notice gold earrings dangling from her ears delicately. He smirked to himself, creeping close. He used two fingers and slipped one from her ear. He placed a hand on the side of her head, turning it slightly. He grabbed the other in the exact same way and pulled it off smoothly. He clasped the two gold earrings in his hand lightly, examining them. "These could go fer a fair price," he muttered. Arthur stood again, throwing the earrings in a nearby empty rum bottle, leaving the room.
The sea breeze hit Arthur as soon as he reached the deck. He took a deep breath, smiling to himself. "Nothin' like the cool night air," he said to himself. He made his way to the wheel, boots clunking against the old wood floorboards of his ship. He rest a hand on the wheel lightly. His eyes closed, feeling the breeze on his skin was all he needed. Arthur stayed that way for awhile, in absolute tranquility.
Soon, he heard little footsteps walking across the deck. The footsteps were too light to be one of his men. Therefore, he could only assume that it was Sofia. Arthur cracked open an eye. Looking through the dim light, he could see a lithe figure moving along the deck quietly. It definitely looked like the princess but he couldn't be so sure.
Arthur knew about the sea women that lurked in the deep, waiting for lone ships to cross them. They then lured them into the water with beauty or song. Once they had lured the men in, they would drag them down, devouring the man.
Arthur drew his sword, trying not to make as much noise as possible. Then, he took off his boots to minimize the sound they made when he walked. The captain crept toward the figure slowly.
This figure now stood on the side at the edge of the ship, looking out on the water. Arthur stopped right beside the woman, sword raised. He wasn't taking any chances even if it was the princess. "What are ye doin' out here?" he demanded.
The woman turned to him, revealing the face of his princess. "C-captain?" Sofia asked softly.
Arthur squinted and began to lower his sword. "What are ye doin' out here, princess?" he repeated.
She watched the sword and trembled. "I-I couldn't s-sleep, Captain," she stuttered.
The captain sheathed his sword. "Don' be scared. It was just a precaution, princess," he muttered still annoyed at her.
Sofia turned her head to face the sea again. The moon illuminated the sea, shining distinctively. It was one of the many things that Arthur loved about the sea he claimed his. "It's beautiful," she said wistfully. Arthur watched her for a second then followed her gaze. "Aye. It sure is," he replied.
Sofia sighed happily and rested against him, her head on his shoulder. Arthur glanced at her again. "I love the sea, captain~," she murmured, looking up at him. "As do Ah," he muttered, looking at her curiously. Sofia wasn't acting like her usual self. He hasn't known her for long but he was sure this is not how you acted towards your captor. Arthur also knew she had not had such a pleasant experience with the sea thus far, so the statement left him perplexed.
"I love it so much. I just want to..." She paused and smiled. She quickly stripped and jumped into the water in a flash.
"OI! What the bloody hell....?!" Arthur yelled after her. He leaned over the side of the boat, panicking a little. First, women usually couldn't swim and if they could, they were probably a witch. Second, his prisoner was escaping and he couldn't let that happen.
He saw her head resurface in the water. Sofia smiled up at him, the moon's reflection resting right where she tread. "Why don't you join me, Captain~?" she yelled up at him. The princess started to swim in the direction away from the boat.
"All right! Ah will! Just stay put!" The captain stripped from his waist up and dove into the water with an ungraceful splash. He held his breath and pushed up with his legs, resurfacing.
He heard Sofia giggling and swim over. She swam in lazy, graceful circles around her captain, looking at the sky. "How will we get back onto the boat Captain?" she asked, giggling again.
"Stop playin' around lass," he growled. Arthur was annoyed that she had practically made him jump into the dark waters. Now she teased him.
Arthur reached out a hand and tried to grab her but she swam out of reach, smirking. He growled again, dog paddling to her only to have her kick water in his face and swim away. "Keep up with me old man~," she teased.
"Shut up!" he yelled, growing angrier with the girl. “Ah am not an old man!”
"Oh? Are you mad at me?" she asked, swimming close, pressing against him. "You are not fun," she whispered into his ear.
Arthur glared at the girl, ignoring the fact she was pressed up against him. "Quit playin’, lass!" he demanded. Arthur's mind raced. Why was Sofia acting like this? She would never touch him much less do it naked.
He looked into her eyes, trying to figure her out. Sofia smiled back at him innocently. He searched her eyes noticing something was off about them. They seemed to resemble more of a fish's than a human's.
Arthur glared and shoved her away. "Sea bitch," he hissed. The sea creature, realizing it had been found out, hissed back. Slowly, it turned back to its original form. It's eyes turn translucent and like a fish's, gills grew at the side of it's neck, her skin turn sort of a blue-ish color with soft looking scales, and Arthur could feel her tail swishing the water back and forth beneath them.
The sea creature pushed down on the captain's shoulders, dunking him into the water. Arthur flailed, hitting his attacker to loosen its grip. The sea witch swam down beneath him, pulling him down by his leg. The captain kicked her face and swam to the surface with all of his energy. "Damn it!" he yelled into the darkness. "HELP!" He took in deep ragged breaths.
A wet, scaly hand grabbed his ankle again, pulling him down. Arthur began to flail and fight the witch but to no avail. He screamed, water coming into his lungs. The captain had a feeling he would not survive this encounter for once. He couldn't just give up! But...he slowly felt his consciousness slipping him.
Fortunately, there was a higher power that wanted Captain Arthur Kirkland to survive that night. A rope dropped into the water just low enough for Arthur to grab it. He latched onto it and yanked, letting whoever holding the rope know he held it. The crew pulled, moving Arthur and the sea creature towards the surface. He re-surfaced, making the sea creature let go. It hissed and swam back down to the hell it came from.
The crew pulled their captain up the side of the boat and onto the deck. He was thrown aboard, men surrounding him. Arthur layed on deck, heaving trying to catch his breath.
After a few minutes, he yelled, "Help me up!" Two men grabbed his arms and pulled him up in a sitting postion against the side of the boat. He looked around, eyes unfocused. "Nngh..." Arthur saw two men holding Sofia roughly. Another man tapped his shoulder and yelled in his ear, "Can ye hear us Cap'n?!"
"Aye! Ye don' hafta bloody yell!" Arthur yelled back. The man stumbled back, muttering something of an apology.
The two men who had been holding Sofia brought her forward. "Did this girl do this to ya?" one of them asked.
"I did not do anything! I swear!" Sofia protested, struggling against their tight hold.
Arthur shook his head. "Let her be..."
The two men let her go only for Sofia to stumble forward next to Arthur. "Ow...Unnhh..." she muttered, sitting up and examining her hands for splinters.
The captain pulled her to his wet, naked chest, watching her face.
Sofia let out a little gasp. "Captain..."
"Aye?"
"You are getting me wet."
Arthur smiled slightly. "Ah was just makin' sure, love," he said wearily. He let her go, closing his eyes. Sofia threw him a confused look and stood up.
Arthur ignored her and stood as well. "Go to ye positions. Git ready fer the day, men," he commanded, glaring at all of them. They nodded quickly and shuffled away.
"Lass, git me clothes."
"I don't--"
"Do it!"
She muttered an apology and picked up his discarded clothes, holding them away from her distastefully.
"Follow me." The captain began to walk to his cabin with Sofia at heel.
"Captain... I don't mean to pry or be rude, but what happened?" she asked softly.
Arthur shook his head, opening the door to his cabin. "Ah don' wanna talk about it," he muttered. He climbed in bed, facing towards the wall.
Sofia cleared her throat. "Also,I seem to be missing my earrings. Would you know anything about that Captain?" she asked. She knew the answer already. Why even bother asking?
"Ah think ye know perfectly well who took them, lass," the captain murmured, eyes drooping closed.
"I just want to hear you admit to it."
"Fine. Ah did it. Now let me rest."
Sofia huffed in annoyance. She was glad he had admitted to it but annoyed at the fact he had pushed her away. Yet again.
She set his clothes down on the ground nearby him. She slowly walked to his desk and sat down in his chair. It was much too big for her but it was comfortable. She looked at the pirate to see if she was allowed to stay in the massive chair but he didn't notice her. She sat straight, not sure what to do. So, Sofia ended up staring at her hands.
"Nnngh..." Arthur grumbled, falling asleep for the first time in two days.