8. Seductive Ways
The Captain slowly opens his eyes, his vision blurry and his whole body numb. He felt all groggy and his blood heavy as he lays there, still and patient, on the bed. As he blinks away the blurriness covering his eyes he could slowly make out Cain's unconscious figure before him. He was lying on his back, his eyes moving placidly behind his eyelids.
Groaning he rolls over on the sheets to look around the room. The door was ajar with the light streaming in from behind it. The room was dark now with all access of light behind shut off after from the jarred door. Figures walk beyond it, causing shadows to stream along the walls of the room the reflected light touched.
Slowly, the Captain sits up in bed, wiping his eyes from the weariness that starts to exit his body. His head felt heavy with the dreams that he'd been drive into from the spell and his whole body felt sort of numb and bubbly.
A soft groan from Cain sounds, drawing his attention to him next.
"Cain?" the Captain whispers into the room.
Cain only replies with a mumbled groan before he rolls over in bed. Suddenly, it was almost like he'd remembered what had been going on because he opens his eyes in a startled manner.
"Are you okay?" the Captain asks in concern.
"W-where are we?" Cain asks as he lifts his head from the pillow to glance around.
"We're in the castle," the Captain says with a confused frown.
"Castle?" Cain asks, his eyes looking wild as they look around the area.
Suddenly light has both of the boys blind. They close their eyes as the light gets turned on within the room.
"Ow!" Cain says as he shelters his eyes with his hand.
"Sorry," a boys voice sounds.
The Captain slowly blinks against the light in order to get used to the unusual sensation. His head gives a sudden throb of pain as he blinks, his mind still getting over the pain.
"I've been told to inform you about a crew member," the boy continues on without really caring about Cain and the Captain.
"A crew member?" the Captain asks.
"Yes... a lost girl," he says.
The Captain freezes from his position in getting off the bed and turns to stare up at the boy. The boy instantly goes ridged and starts to twiddle his fingers.
"Who?" the Captain urges as he gets off the bed. His feet feel shaky from the impact and he ends up flopping back against the bed for support.
"I don't know sir, I was just told to send on the message once you woke up," the boy says. Before the Captain could reply the boy nods silently and exits the room.
"No... she couldn't have... could she?" Cain asks.
The Captain looks at Cain with worried eyes. What if she had gotten off the ship?
"I don't know... but I'm going to find out," the Captain says. Cain nods.
Together they walk from the room and down the unknowing hallways. Maidens, guards and other strange people were scattered along the hallways everywhere, their curious eyes turning to steal a glance as the two boy walk down the hallway.
"I wouldn't have thought a castle would be this crowded...," Cain says as he looks around.
"Perhaps they're having a party?" the Captain asks.
It sure looked like it anyway. The people that they passed were all dressed in glamorous clothing. Girls were covered in jewels and were dripping in diamonds while the men were wearing tuxedos. Plus the maids were scampering around everywhere, looking rushed and frantic looking with trays of food in their arms.
"Excuse me," Cain says suddenly. He walks over to a couple who were walking down the hallway in the opposite direction.
"Can you tell me what is going on?"
The man stops in his tracks, his hand grasping hold of his lady. Together they stop in ridged positions, as if the sight of Cain had scared them.
"It's a party," the old man replies simply. Before Cain could ask another question the couple scuttle off down the hallway in mumbled words.
Cain scoffs with a glare directed at the couple, "Old people, they're a bunch of dim-witted unicorns who have their horns up their arse!"
The Captain couldn't help but give a laugh at the choice of Cain's words.
"Come on, we need to find Nash."
Cain turns to look at the Captain and nods silently. Together they advance down the hallway to find Nash, wherever he may be. Eventually, after numerous minutes of endless wandering, the pair come to a set of stairs which leads down to where the party was obviously being held. The Captain and Cain instantly go ridged as they take in the scene.
Girls of every age were talking, dancing or drinking their fine champagne. Men were laughing with their heads tilted back or chatting up the ladies that were for their taking. But overall the whole frontal area of the building was busy and crowded. From their view of the staircase looking down on the scene, they could see Nash in the centre of the ballroom with a lady in hand.
The Captain instantly advances towards them.
Both the Captain and Cain push and shove their way through the crowd with their eyes locked on the back of Nash. People look upon them in disgust, but shortly return back to their mindless chattering.
Above the scene was a big chandelier with diamonds glistening off the light filling the room. In the corner was a long table in which elegant seats were situated behind, making it obvious that it was for the more important people to sit at. But, out of the corner of the Captain's eye, he saw a person who was most definitely not important enough to be sitting at the table – Alaina. She was looking around the room swiftly, her curled hair cascaded down her shoulders.
"Keep moving," Cain hisses in his ear.
The Captain drags his eyes from Alaina's sitting figure and to where Nash stood, laughing and drinking champagne. Instead, the Captain scrunches up his nose and barges through the few people that stood in his way.
"Oh I understand completely," Nash was saying to the couple before him.
The Captain grabs hold of Nash from behind and forces him to swing around. Cain stands behind the Captain, onlooking the scene while Nash turns around unwillingly, his champagne splashing over the top of his glass.
"Would you like to explain to me why she is here?" the Captain says, interrupting the conversation by placing his face in front of Nash's.
Nash looks sheepish and apologises to the couple he'd been talking to. He then grabs hold of the Captain's arm and drags him through the crowd and towards the table. Cain gives a soft apologetic smile to the couple and Nash's lady, before following after retreating men.
Shortly the Captain was standing before Alaina who looks up at the Captain with feared eyes. She instantly starts fidgeting in her seat and tries to avoid his eyes.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Nash says with a smile and a pat on the back.
"What are you doing here?" the Captain says, his hands leaning on the table between them.
"I... I get lost," Alaina says in a stumble.
"She was found in the forest," Nash says calmly. "I recused her from the Meela and she said that she wanted to see you."
"So you escaped?" the Captain says, still disbelieved by the fact that she was standing before his eyes.
"Yes...," Alaina says simply. "Is that hard to believe?"
"Yes considering that you're a girl and all!" Cain says, interjecting into the conversation.
"Just because I'm a girl does not make me dysfunctional," she retorts.
"Sure it does, you're a girl which means that guys would go for you and therefore slit your throat. Or the complete opposite," Cain says.
"I'm a girl who knows how to fight."
"What I'm concerned about," the Captain says, raising his voice in order to stop the bickering between Cain and Alaina.
"Is the fact that you've escaped my ships quarters."
"So?" Alaina asks.
"Wait... she said that she was part of your crew?" Nash says.
"Hell no, why would we have a dysfunctional girl be part of the crew?" Cain asks sarcastically.
"That's what I asked myself when I saw her," Nash mumbles while crossing his arms and turning away. Alaina scowls at him.
"It was pretty easy to escape the ship, I hit your Greg guy over the head and then ran for it," Alaina explains.
"You hit Greg!?" Cain says, anger flashing over his face. "He's just an old guy! How could you?"
"He was in my way and freedom," Alaina says with gritted teeth. "So of course I was going to hit him."
"Is he dead?" Cain asks, serious.
"I-I don't know...," Alaina says. Cain, by this point in time, looked like he wanted to punch her so the Captain quickly changes the subject.
"You should've locked her up," the Captain says, turning on Nash.
"So now it's my fault is it?" Nash asks.
"No, I'm just saying that you should've locked her up. She's a pirate and you didn't even think to lock her up?"
"You two are pirates too and unless you stop harassing my guests, I suggest you leave," Nash says, his eyes daggered at them both. "This is my wedding night."
"Awh you're getting married!" Cain says sarcastically. "Congratulations."
"Thanks," Nash says with a frown and a disturbed look at Cain. "But I need you both to go and calm down so you stop bothering my guests."
The Captain and Cain exchanged glances, before the Captain looks at Alaina and stalks off. He walks off back through the crowd, turning and twisting his way to get back up the stairs. Once he was in one of the deserted hallways further into the back of the castle he leans against the wall, his hands combing through his hair.
Cain watches as the Captain walks back up the staircase and realises that he needed time to cool down.
"Do you mind if I gave a glass of champagne?"
"Sure," Nash says uneasily, eye-balling him before walking off back into the crowd.
The Captain sighs heavily with his hands in his hair before sliding his back against the wall and landing on the ground. Once he was on the ground he puts his elbows on his upright knees and rests his head in his hands. His anger had gotten out of hand once again and he could feel his muscles start to build up back there, that's why he'd had to walk off before he'd injured someone. It was something that he'd inherited from his useless father.
"Captain..."
The Captain looks up from his hands at the sound of someone calling him. He looks around the dark hallway, nothing to be seen. Big glass-less windows were blowing in cold air into the hallway that looked over the city with the full moon outside casting moonlight through the windows and down the hallway.
Eventually, after some squinting and the shifting of the clouds over the moon casting more moonlight into the hallway, the Captain was able to see Nash's sister walking down the hallway. She had on a beautiful golden gown with her long hair flowing down her straight-backed shoulders. She walks along the passageway delicately, her footsteps only softly audible in the silence.
"What do you want?" the Captain asks as he looks up at her.
"I wanted to know where you'd gotten," she says, coming to stand a metre from him. "Are you okay?"
The Captain sighs, "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"My names Enya by the way," she says, stretching out a hand for him to shake. The Captain glances at it uneasily for a few seconds before stretching out his own hand to shake it in hers.
"I'm Blade," he says.
"Captain Blade Hunter... I've heard many stories about you," Enya says with a cheeky smile. "Mostly from women."
The Captain huffs with his head leant against the wall, his arms crossed over his knees and his eyes gazing out at the dark sky between the windows. His dark hair was reflecting the ghostly moonlight across its dark surface and his eyes were showing the stars in his pupils.
"Women are... sadly, my escape," the Captain says.
"Your escape?" Enya says. "How so?"
"I use them," the Captain says. His saddened mood was bringing out the guilt he held within his heart, making him spill all of his heavy secrets.
"I'm sure you don't," Enya says, bending down before him.
The Captain moves his head slowly along the wall to look into her chocolate brown eyes. They only showed kindness and friendliness behind them, making his heart twist and clench within his chest. He'd met girls like her before, sweet, kind and seemingly gentle and all had been broken-hearted due to his attitude problems.
"Sadly, I do," he says, his eyes glancing over her facial features. Something inside him was making him driven to her, his heart was telling him no, but his mind was telling him yes – kiss her.
"Then you wouldn't mind then," she says seductively as she leans into the Captain. "If I kissed you right now?"
The Captain was mere inches from her lips, her breath hot against his cold face. His fingers were itching to comb through her long hair, his tongue wanting to adventure along her curves.
"Not at all," he says with a playful smile.
Enya takes one last look into his sea-blue eyes before crushing her lips against his. At first the kiss was gentle, salty and sweet before the Captain cups the back of her head and pulls her in. Like every first kiss, he didn't think much of it until things got hotter.
"Come with me," she says in-between a kiss.
Before he knew it he was getting pulled up and drawn into a room. Enya doesn't make it hard to tell that she wanted him, though there was something that had the Captain curious about her. Something in the pit of his stomach was telling him to stop before things got too far, but the look in her eyes wanting him was enough to make it subside.
He grabs hold of her hips with his lips crashing back against hers and kicks the door closed behind him. She moans against him as he picks her up and drops her on the bed. He makes his way onto the bed, but only after tossing his shoes and socks off.
"You're a good kisser," she says.
"Aye," the Captain says with a smile, leaning in to kiss her again. He uses his teeth to bite her lip.
"I've never gotten over them," she says after he moves on to kissing her neck. The smell of her reminds him of a rose.
Suddenly the pit in his stomach fires up again, this time it burns him and he's bending over in pain. He groans and clutches his stomach in pain and he ends up on the floor, his eyes looking up at a seductively smiling Enya.
The Captain rolls over on his back, his eyes going blurry and loosing focus of the things around him. He clutches out at anything to make the pain easier to deal with, but was unable to due to the burning in his stomach firing up.
"You really thought Enya would do this Captain?"
The Captain's eyes open up to the realisation of the whole situation and he rolls onto his back. Before he knows it she's pulling out a long dagger from underneath her dress and holding it up in the moonlight.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, Captain."
.