'Think of it as your birthday party."
Jungkook smirked as he motioned to all the men around the tables who were already getting into a heavy amount of drinking.
You frowned. "You said I wasn't a guest on this ship."
"You're not. Which is why you need to hurry up and get more alcohol for my crew."
He gave you a swift kick in the rear with his hard boot. You grunted, turning and kicking him in return, even though your kick wasn't nearly as strong as his. Unaffected, he smiled and joined the other men in their loud conversation.
You wished you were spending the evening practising sword fighting with Jimin, just to learn how to stab Jungkook, if necessary. But Jimin had been roped into event himself. He sat at the far end of the table, his eyes glazed over in deep thought as chaos continued around him.
Thinking about it, Jungkook was right. It was strange that Jimin had offered to teach you to fight. And the way he kept talking about the spirit world... was there something you were supposed to be worried about?
You went down to the kitchen.
"His royal captain demands more alcohol," you said to Taehyung as you came down the steps.
"It sounds like a party!' Taehyung said with enthusasim. "It must be because of the ceremony tomorrow."
You shuddered. "You all say it so casually. As if cutting me open means nothing to any of you. I expected you to care a little bit, Taehyung."
He chuckled, holding up your arm. He slid a fingernail down the vien in your arm that started at your wrist and traced it down to your elbow.
"It's a harmless cut," he said gently.
"That seems like an oxymoron."
"It's sincerely not dangerous. They'll take a small silver dagger, made of pearl and black ocean stone, and put a tiny nick in your arm. Right here." He tapped on the meaty part of your arm between your wrist and elbow. "Jimin will say a few words, you'll drip some blood on a candle, and the candle will explode and open up the spirit world."
"...You want to say that last part again?"
He shook his head at you. "You're a hostage, dove, but you're not in any real danger. I'll protect you. You have my word."
He threw an arm around his waist and gave a theatrical bow.
"Why don't you protect me by preventing me from getting sliced and opening up the spirit realm? I'd rather not do either, you know."
He took both your hands and shook them warmly. "I wish I could, dove. I really do."
He then picked up a few bottles of alcohol, shoving them into your arms.
"Take this up to the Captain," he said with a smile. "Let him drink his fill tonight. He may not have the chance to drink properly after tomorrow."
Taehyung turned you around and shoved you back up the stairs.
"Why does everyone keep forcing me to walk back and forth from the kitchen?" you complained. "Just tell me to go. I can walk. Both you and the Captain, I swear..."
You muttered to yourself as you went back up the stairs, handing out the bottles of alcohol. The men took them eagerly, thanking you and bantering with you as they filled their cups to the brim.
"Always good to see a bottle of rum and a pair of beautiful eyes," one of them said to you.
"I prefer the rum," another said with a cackle. "It doesn't have a pair of lips to tell me to pick up my laundry."
"Or to point out the way you smell," you added with a twisted face.
The men chuckled in response.
"Y/N!" Jungkook barked. "Come here."
You rolled your eyes and put a hand on your hip as you walked over to him. "Yes?"
He waved two fingers at you to come closer. You didn't. He waved two fingers again, sharper.
"Can I help you?" you asked, starting to lean down.
He grabbed your arm and pulled you into his lap, wrapping an arm around you. You squrimed, annoyed at the arrogant grin on his face.
"What are you doing!" you yelled in his face. "Let me go at once!"
"You still have a submission problem," he replied, not releasing you. "You're going to sit here until you understand how that works."
The men laughed as Jungkook wrapped a second arm around you, bringing you in close to him.
"Atta boy, Captain!"
"Show her who's boss!"
"Lucky bastard has all the fun!"
You put a hand in his face, pushing his greasy smile away from you. "Have some manners!" you growled.
He pulled your hand away, his arrogant smile now replaced by an irritated frown.
"Why don't you be a good girl and feed me those dried pieces of fruit on the table?"
He twisted your wrist slightly, making you wince and hiss from the pain. His fingertips in your back were a second warning.
You reached back to the table and picked up the fruit, cringing as you stuck a piece in his mouth. He chewed happily - his mouth half open - making you more and more uncomfortable with each bite.
The men continued to laugh. You looked over your shoulder, realizing that Jimin was sitting and watching you both. He glared, the anger starting to cloud his eyes once more as his hand tightened around his glass.
Jungkook put a finger to your chin and forced you to look at him. "Eyes over here, Princess. I want to watch you hate me as you do this."
"You're a terrible and vile human be--"
Taehyung's voice rang out above the crowd. "Gentlemen! Allow me to be your entertainment tonight!"
He practically sang it as he said it, jumping up on the table and using it as a walkway to greet the men. He skillfully danced along the dishes and cups, not knocking a single morsel of food from its home.
"I have a wonderous tale of adventure and intrigue," he said, "and a little danger, if it tickles your fancy. Would the captain be ever so gracious to allow my tale?"
Jungkook shrugged and nodded. Taehyung looked at you and winked.
"Then listen closely, dear men of the sea! For among the seven great seas is a terrible curse!"
The men buzzed with laughter and intrigue.
"What kind of curse?" one man shouted out to appease the storyteller.
"I'm glad you asked, good sir. Glad you asked! You need to know many things about our dear waters if you ever hope to survive them."
He sank towards his ankles, his robe brushing the plates of fruit and dried bread. He spread his hands out like fireworks as he spoke.
"Once the sea was guarded by spirits of the air and water, a harmony of beautiful protection and fair travel for the sailors that wished to find their own way."
The table went silent. Even Jungkook didn't seem as interested in torturing you for the moment, his eyes glued to Taehyung.
So Taehyung continued.
"The spirits blessed the sailors, hoping to see the humans thrive and live peacefully, in a way that brought harmony to the spirit and human realms. And for many - nay, hundreds - of years, the spirit realm and the human realm were one in the same."
You looked over to Jimin, who was now also leaning against his elbows on the table in interest.
"But!" Taehyung cried out, "the humans became greedy and arrogant. They thought they were greater than the spirits. 'They serve us!' they cried. 'We are the masters of them! Look how they worship us!'. Their hearts became proud and cold, demanding from the spirits things that were not theirs.
"As time progressed, the spirits became more and more angry. 'Look at these men!' they said. 'They worship themselves! They choose to abandon their families, betray their kings, and torment the spirit world with their boasting! We shall create demons to patrol the waters, destroying those who would bring impurity to the sea. And thus - the sirens were born."
Jungkook chuckled beside you. "Sirens? Those half-fish people?"
Taehyung clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "Those are merfolk, my dear captain. They existed long before the curse, and yes, they were turned into sea demons. Sirens, however, were demons born of the air.
They bore wings and flew over the sea, finding sailors of black hearts to bring to their deaths. Whoever escaped the sirens were killed by the merfolk. Whoever escaped the merfolk were plucked out of the sky by sirens."
Something in your stomach churned. The idea of killing men - evil or not - made everything within you shudder with fear. How could someone kill so easily?
"And under what conditions did the sirens and merfolk decide who would be destroyed and who wouldn't?" Jimin asked, breaking his silence at the table.
Taehyung put a finger to his nose. "I should have known you'd ask the philosophical questions, my dear first mate. To find the men of black hearts, a siren only has to look deep into the eyes of his victim. From that he can see every pure or blackhearted desire."
Taehyung's eyes rested on your for a long moment, the light of the moon picking up his irises in a breathtaking glow.
It wasn't until he looked away that you remembered to breathe.
"A load of bullshit," Jungkook said with a laugh. "There is no man so pure, nor a man completely evil. There's nothing to determine. And as for sirens, merfolk, the spirits and what-have-you, there is no such thing. They would have swept half these bastards off my ship."
The men laughed in agreement. Taehyung curled his fingers against his chin, a dangerous and bemused expression across his face.
"You may not laugh so much when the spirit world is opened once again," he replied.
Jungkook's head rolled back. "You and Jimin must spend too much time together. You both go on about the same things."
Jimin said nothing, his expression cold.
"You'd do well to respect the spirit world, Captain," Taehyung said, his voice serious despite the playful glow in his smile. "Just because you pay no mind to them doesn't mean they won't search your heart."
Jungkook shrugged, uninterested. "I have no concerns for my morality."
Jimin was the one to laugh at this statement, "No truer words spoken."
With a stone gaze, Jimin threw back the rest of his drink and stood from the table. He waved his hand in dismissal, then abandoned the party to go back to his room.
Jungkook watched him leave, an uncomfortable swallow sliding down his throat. You saw a flicker of something in his face - pain? He turned his face towards you, his eyes meeting yours. As if he could see you reading him, he hardened his face and his grip.
"You wanna stare closer, princess?"
He leaned in, and you shoved him away, standing to your feet. He watched you with a straight face, almost angry.
"Let's get back to the party," he said to the others, raising his glass in a toast. "To our blackened and useless hearts, gentlemen.
His eyes slid back to the way his brother had left, his shoulders slumping as he drank down his liquor.