The mer, who had grabbed fabric from atop a nearby table and tied it around his waist, approached me on newly formed legs with ease. I held my blade more firmly toward him and dared him with my eyes.
His wrinkled hands held up in surrender, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Feisty, aren't you?"
"I will gut you like a fish if you take one more step!" I whispered under my breath, nervously glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone else was watching. The pirates still didn't seem to notice.
He frowned. "Would you like me to alert my crew of your presence?"
I huffed, "What will it take for your silence? Jewels?"
The mer folded his arms, his muscles glistening in the sunlight with water droplets cascading downward. The ship swayed back and forth enough for my balance to feel unsteady. I swallowed again, ignoring the fear bubbling under the surface. I was a goner if I didn't think.
"Tell me... What brings a human onto a pirate ship?"
I felt the sweat forming underneath my dagger as I adjusted my grip. "I just needed a ride to the human lands. I just want to go home. I mean no trouble."
The mer whistled and I froze in place. The ship went silent, save for the waves crashing around us. I instantly whirred around with another dagger in my opposite hand, my arms spread wide and ready to fight. My stomach twisted again at all of the gaping smiles with various missing teeth. The men each unsheathed swords or grabbed the nearest object to fight. My hands were betraying me by trembling. I looked around and around for an escape route. My only option would be to jump overboard but I knew the creatures that dwelled in these waters were much worse than a pirate. They looked at me with ravenous eyes, taking in my body from head to toe. I wrapped my cloak around me more securely and returned my daggers up high.
The sound of a rope hurling through the air grabbed my attention as a figure swung from high above in the crows nest of the ship, leaping from rope to rope swiftly. I felt my dread worsen as the skull-masked face peered down at me. The pirate had shaggy black hair curling in the wind, his loosely fitted white shirt unbuttoned to reveal a tattooed chest surrounded by dangling jewelry. The man had a lighter skin tone than the rest of the dark-skinned pirates but his complexion was still sun-kissed. His belt was loaded with various weapons and he looked more lean than the rest of the meatier folk on the ship, aside from the mer behind me. I cursed under my breath as the masked pirate dropped before me, the face of a skeleton with icy blue eyes locked in a staring contest with mine. His tattooed hands covered in rings and bracelets reached up with dark painted nails and pulled his mask off with a nose in the air. The removal of his mask revealed his pointed ears and I audibly gasped. A fae pirate? Braids and beads revealed themselves tangled within his dark curls, his eyes circled with a rim of black liner which made him all the more intimidating. The fae male squinted his eyes at me with an unreadable expression, his arms relaxed and disinterested in reaching for a weapon. He was utterly devastating. A beautiful, deadly specimen of a male.
"Reveal yourself, witch," the fae male looked bored.
I shifted uneasily and shook my head, "I mean no harm."
"Then why are you covered in a film of magic?" He tilted his head, his icy blue eyes ablaze.
The mer behind me gasped. "Not human?"
The pirate fae shook his head as he glanced to his men and held up a swaying finger with a click of his tongue, "Not a human indeed. She reeks of fae." Then his face returned to mine where he displayed a sharp grin with flawless teeth, "I will not ask again."
I took a few steps back and considered the water again. What would they do if they knew who I really was? Hold me hostage for money from the royal family? That wouldn't do them any good. Or worse... Would they want me dead? I wasn't sure if my kingdom was on civil terms with pirates or not. I had seen a pirate at court on occasion.
"You leave me no choice," the deep, smooth voice threatened as then he reached into his pocket.
I lunged and tucked into a roll, dodging the swipe of a hooked hand and bounded up a set of stairs. The sea roared around me with life, the waves swaying for as far as the eye could see. Sunlight rippled off the water and I had to squint my eyes while barreling around a drawn sword. My daggers were out and swiping, occasionally meeting with flesh as I dodged and dipped around the grabbing of hands and the swinging of weapons. I knew I would tire soon. I had to think. Think. Think.
The pirate that had been playing the harmonica nicked me with the tip of his blade against my arm, the cloak tearing slightly as I winced and imbedded a dagger into his thigh before tearing it out and continuing forward. The pirate keeled over with a groan and dropped to his knee. I didn't stay to watch the show. Just as two more lunged for me, my hands met with a rope and I was swinging. My heart fluttered as I soared over the edge of the deck, the water calling from beneath me. I glanced down only for a moment to see a large fin protrude from the water below.
I swung right into another pirate with my legs locked and ready. He toppled to the floor and took out the one behind him as he went. Then I was off again, weaving around grotesque hands and hooks. The pirates shouted and threatened all around, clouding my thoughts. For a brief moment, I glanced downward at the fae pirate. He perched himself on a chair, his legs kicked up on a table with his head rested in his hand as he watched me with a hollow expression. I cursed him under my breath for being so arrogant.
A sword came crashing down from above and I blocked it with both of my knives crossed together. Sparks flashed between the metal against metal and I held firm as the pirate towered over me. He had frizzy dark hair, dark skin, a gold tooth, and a beard full of beaded braids. His sword lifted and swung for my neck. I ducked as it whizzed above me and twisted around him. Before he could process where I had went, I kicked him downward onto the lower deck. He shouted as he fell. Then I was moving again. From rope to rope I climbed and swung, rising further into the sails. A couple of the more skilled pirates followed me upward, the rest shouting and holding weapons below. I scrambled to keep going, pushing my body to its limits as I hurled through the air to the next rope and grabbed it firmly before swinging around right into the crows nest. When one of the two men below swung from a rope, I used a dagger to cut it instantly. He crashed downward through the sails with a flailing movement.
The last pirate still after me was still a couple sails below. I kissed the handle of my blade and sent it crashing downward. It burrowed into my exact target, making a home in the climbing pirate's bicep. He wailed in agony and used one hand to slide down a rope, cursing at me along the way. When I couldn't see any other men in sight, I hunched down into the crows nest of the ship. The small wooden area cradled around me as I slid downward with the curling of my knees to my chest. I started breathing heavily, my hands trembling. My palms were raw from the ropes and my arm had a deep gash dripping in blood. I held myself together tightly and laid down to catch my breath. My entire body was trembling now, death hovering over me. One would come here for me soon. One would make the climb and end me any moment. I would never know what it felt like to be free of the crown.
Time seemed to pass by quickly. I found myself peaking over the edge to the view below, dreading that one would be close. But they never came. They carried on below as usual, as if they had forgotten about me. I rocked back and forth in the wind above the ship and felt my stomach aching for food. Hours seemed to pass. I watched as the sun made its way across the sky and the world carried on around us as I sailed closer and closer to death. I was thirsty and cold and tired. My body was shivering under my now dry cloak as I held myself together tightly.
A crow landed upon the ledge of the wood above me and peered down with a tilted head. I eyed the bird in return, trying to see if it indeed was just a bird. I stiffened and scrambled to my feet as the bird shape-shifted before me. Its wings stretched and molded into tattooed arms, its body rising to a towering height as shaggy black hair and blue eyes formed before me. Fae ears peaked through his curls. I held my dagger out.
"Are you not fae?" I straightened my shoulders and banished my fear. I was Princess of Fae and I had survived my entire 18 years of life without anyones help. I would not go down a coward.
His voice was deep and laced with a sensual confidence, "In blood only." He crossed his muscled arms across his chest and scowled at me.
Before I could react, my tiring senses betraying me, he blew a red powder in my direction. I gasped and turned away, the smell of dragons breath floating through the air. The one thing that could snuff out magic. My cloak concealed me as I hunched away. His warm hand aggressively wrapped around my arm and yanked me closer. I yelped as my body turned in his direction. His eyes were locked on me with an intensity that made me want to spontaneously combust as he flicked my hood. He froze.
"I'll be damned..." His blue eyes were ablaze, his jaw clenched.
I ripped my wrist from his hand and he did not move as I took a step back. My long red-tipped braid blew in the wind from behind my shoulder and his eyes widened. His hand went to his sword and I felt my lower spine press against the edge of the wood behind me. Glancing down once, I took in the fall. I wasn't sure if even my fae body could survive that tumble. It was awfully high up.
In an instant, the tip of his blade was lightly pressed against the flesh concealing my heart. I gripped the wood with my hands, my eyes wide and locked with his. I would not beg audibly, but my eyes did not hide my desperation. I had never been this close to death before. I could almost taste it in the air.
"Give me one reason I should not end your life now, princess," his voice was laced with venom and his eyes were hungry for my spilled blood. Utterly both fae and pirate-like.
I took a light breath before speaking, "I am willing to make a bargain."
His eyes flickered, "I'm listening."
"You know who I am. You know I will be a queen one day. A queen who owes the pirates a favor?" I was desperate.
The pirate fae chuckled, his face unbearably handsome for someone who had my life at the tip of his sword. It was agony now that I was getting a really good look at him. His hair was flowing in the wind, braids and golden rings trailing throughout. His pointed ears were covered with various gold and black piercings. He was clean-shaven and seemingly rather young for a fae. It was terrifying that he was a shapeshifter. Gods only knew how powerful of a shifter he was.
"I swear only in blood, Princess of Fae," he sneered.
I took my dagger and sliced a gash through my palm, extending my hand. He raised a brow before sheathing his sword and temporarily growing a nail to dig into his flesh. My hand retreated momentarily.
"You have to swear not to let me get killed if you want your favor. Keep me alive just long enough to get me off this ship and then I will be gone. When you hear word that I become queen, you may show up without notice to call in your favor. Do we have a bargain?"
He scoffed, "You sure know how to word your bargains, don't you?" Then he extended his hand with a subtle nod and a grimace.
I fought every urge in my body telling me to run and locked my hand into his with a couple firm shakes. Our blood fused together and the faint scent of magic lingered in the air as I felt the bargain etching itself into my back. I winced and rolled my shoulders, curious of what symbol he had picked to mark our bargain. He seemed to understand what I was wondering and turned around. Lifting his shirt up, a marking revealed itself on his back. It was a compass in the center of his spine with various symbols trailing around it. I shivered with a frown at the very pirate-like marking now embedded into my back. His shirt dropped as he hurled himself over the edge and fell downward. I gasped and ran to look down. A crow swooped through the sails with an elegant glide before landing on the deck.