I've finally fallen back into my routine with the crew, incredibly happy to be back on board. Back when I was sharing with the crew about my past I was so worried that they were going to shun me for it, but now I feel more connected to them all. I feel like I've been with them all of my life, caring for their wounds and messing around with them when I'm not busy.
I was currently practicing one of the tinctures Pan had taught me, from the comfort of the sickbay, when I heard knocking at my door. I get up out of my chair and open it to reveal Hongjoong standing there with a goofy smile.
"Um, hey Eye-patch. Do you need anything?" I inquire, finding it a bit suspicious that he's at my door. He never comes by to ask me something unless it is about an injury, but as I study him I don't see anything. Actually, today, he seems to be wearing a more casual outfit, throwing away his regular fox-fur coat and tricorne for a pair of leather pants and a loose-fitting cream-colored button-down with a small scarf tied around his waist in a stylish manner.
"I need you," he confidently states, which with the little context he's given me, it's leading me to unwanted assumptions.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, wait that came out wrong," he realizes, quickly taking back what he said. "What I meant was that I had promised you I would help you with your magic. Not that I— you know, need you. Not in that way at least because I do need you. A-as a friend. Don't think I meant—,"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I giggle, finding his innocent reaction charming. "Let me just clean up and I'll meet you outside." I clean up my work area, making sure that I don't leave anything out in case that a nosey Wooyoung or Mingi comes in and starts touching the wrong stuff. It's already happened twice where they've come in without my supervision and ended up getting bad rashes from touching my unfinished pastes. The worst thing is that they never learn.
Soon enough I'm out and ready to resume my magic training, crossing my fingers that it won't be anything as rigorous as San's training was. I step out into the main deck, the bright sun shining down overhead. It's barely morning, but the heat of the sun is already signaling towards a hot day. I walk across the deck towards Captain who is waiting by the mainmast with a bucket of water, a lit oil lamp, and a pot with a green plant sprouting from it. I'm confused at all the objects he's brought out, starting to question his teaching ethics.
"Uhh, What are all these things for?" I question once I'm in hearing distance of him. Eye-patch looks up at me, snapping out of his daze, giving me a small smirk before clearing his throat dramatically.
"I had promised to train you, hadn't I?" I bob my head hesitantly, still not sure why there is a plant and a bucket of water in the middle of the main deck. "You see, I can't really help you when it comes to honing all of your powers, but I can help you when it comes to elemental magic since that was my magic type. Each of the things I brought, are the elements that can be controlled." He explains and I finally understand what he means, my eyes trailing straight to the pot with one more question in mind. "Ah yes," he excuses, catching on to what I was staring at, "I may or may not have stolen one of Seonghwa's cooking herbs to do this with you." He admits which I find a bit odd but I decide to brush it off.
"Alrighty then, where do we start?" He gives me a small rundown of what we will be doing which consists of focusing on my internal powers and bringing them up on command. It's a good thing that Nadia had taught me how to concentrate on my center because without it I would be so lost right now.
"Sun-mi, I want you to focus on conjuring up your magic, and then envisioning each of these substances as a part of your body." Captain begins to walk me through his instructions. I close my eyes, focusing solely on each inhale and exhale I make. Back when I was with Nadia, she taught me to think that my powers came with an on and off button. All I had to do was learn how to switch them on and off at command. I concentrate a little longer feeling the familiar tingle of magic at the back of my head move steadily to where my seals are. "You're doing great so far," Hongjoong encourages, watching me closely.
I continue to try to direct my energy to my seal, feeling my palms warm up as they begin to glow a bright blue, the energy elemental magic manifests in. I can feel my heartbeat speed up with excitement that I've been able to accomplish the task so far that I almost lose my focus on the magic. Refocusing, I bring my magic back into my control and stabilize it when Captain decides I'm ready to move into the next step.
"You're really good, who did you say trained you again?"
"Nadia, a water nymph."
"They're still alive?" He asks, clearly confused. I nod, unsure of why he would ask that before he clears it up. "I thought the Queen got rid of them when she expelled magic, but I guess there are still some things she can't control. Wait, that's off-topic, we need to get back to training," he reminds himself. "Alright, anyways, now I want you to choose an element and transfer the energy on your palm, to it, mentally." I give him a further perplexed look, not grasping what it is he's asking for. Eye-patch rolls his eye, shuffling over to me before signaling to the elements he's placed before me.
"Eye-patch, I'm not sure what it is you're asking me to do."
"I'm asking you to connect with an element. Any. Just connect with it. Create a link between the two of you. A link that may allow you to control the element you're using. Try commanding it too." I focus once again, this time on the items in front of me and I choose the bucket of water. I train my eyes onto it, imagining an invisible chain connecting it to me. "Have you made a connection?" I nod aggressively, waiting for the next step impatiently. "Good, now control it." I close my eyes, pinching my eyebrows together, and focus on imagining the water being lifted and thinned out into a long rope-like figure.
I open one eye to peek and frown when all I see is the water messily sloshing in the bucket in front of me. Eye-patch snorts, trying to hide his giggles which he does a terrible job of. I slump my shoulders, crossing my arms while I wait for him to regain composure.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing, but— no, never mind." He makes an unconvincing apology before thinking about what the problem might be. "Sun-mi, are you familiar with Ajarik?"
"Yes, Uheria said it's an ancient language that's used to cast spells. Magic bearers can't use their magic correctly without it." Captain nods, satisfied with the answer I've given him.
"Correct! I actually know a little which would allow me to use certain spells. I learned it from my teacher, the old captain of this ship." He informs me which makes me curious as to who his old teacher was.
"Who was the old Captain?" I inquire, a smirk already playing at his lips, knowing that's what I would ask.
"Eden." The name rings a distant bell that I'm trying to bring to memory. All I can recall is one story told to me by Nana about the Enchantress and her...
"Brother," I vocalize. "Eden was the name of the last enchantress' brother. After the Queen turned against the enchantress he fled with many refugees and became a pirate. One of the most feared of his time. You're telling me that Eden was your mentor?" Eye-patch nods, a bit surprised at my extended knowledge on his mentor.
"Indeed he was. He was like a father to me. He taught me everything I needed to know about using my powers, which I'm now trying to teach you." I look at him in curiosity, wondering what it must've been like to interact with Eden. He was only ever a legend back at the castle so finding out that he truly existed came as a bit of a shock. "Hold on, we keep getting sidetracked. Look, what I was trying to tell you is that in order to use magic properly, you need to use Ajarik."
"Okay, I can do that." I declare, a new set of determination already settling in me.
"Can you?" Hongjoong inquires, quirking an eyebrow and I scoff.
"I'm the next enchantress. Of course, I can." He backs off, holding his hands up, and lets me do my thing. I conjure up my magic, easily this time after the amount of practice I've had, and focus on elemental magic. A tingly sensation runs through my body and moves towards my palms when I sense the soft flow emanating through my closed eyelids. Once again, I picture the bucket of water moving to my will when that same whispering comes up at the back of my mind. Multiple voices echo in my head, and this time instead of being afraid of them, I decide to relax into them, letting them guide me. The voices grow louder, beginning to merge into one that I can clearly hear, uttering exactly what I need to say.
I chant under my breath, surprising both Captain and myself when the water starts to bend to my command. Little by little, the water is lifted up out of the bucket, stretching out into a long line that snakes its way through the air. The clear water glistens in the sunlight, projecting a rainbow on the wood as the sunlight passes through it. I turn proudly to face Hongjoong who eyes me with amazement at my ability to adapt quickly. He smiles encouragingly and I focus back on what I was doing when he speaks up.
"That's impressive but..."
"But?"
"Can you protect yourself with it?" I don't even have time to respond before one of his fists comes flying towards my head. Instinctively, I duck just in time to hear the loud swoosh of his fist above me as he narrowly misses. "Oh, c'mon, Ms. enchantress, that can't be all you've got." He teases coming at me with kicks this time. I was caught so off guard that I can barely keep up with the kicks and punches he throws. He's able to get a couple of good ones in each time, no matter how hard I try to use the magic. He doesn't leave any room for breaths. He's absolutely worse than San!
"H-Hongjoong, wait! You're not giving me any time to--," He doesn't even allow me to finish the sentence, drawing two twin swords that were resting beside the mainmast. "Of course I'm not giving you time. In battle, your opponent won't give you time. Consider this as me being lenient, the boys have seen much worse from me." Eye-patch responds, coming at me with what seems like killing intent.
If this is him being lenient, I don't even want to imagine what the crew went through. Captain begins picking up his pace and I'm starting to get worn out and scared by what may happen if I don't push myself to keep up. He continues slashing and swiping with his blades, wielding them as if they were an extension of himself. Moving with much grace and elegance, it appears almost as if he were dancing to an unknown rhythm. He's in his nature, there's no way I can beat him unless I can throw him off.
I work with my depleting source of energy as best I can to keep up with him, thinking of any possible way to get him to pause-- even if it's for a single moment-- when I trip over the potted plant. As soon as I set my eyes on it, a plan starts to form in my head, and I decide to begin to put it into action. Hongjoong draws closer and I wait for him up until the last second, diving down just in the nick of time to avoid the sword being plunged into the wood of the mainmast I was just standing in front of. With no time to waste, as he struggles to get the sword out, I focus once again on my magic, this time focusing on my natural magic. I mirror what Uheria did last time as best I can, feeling an uncontrolled surge in my magic rise in me.
If I'm not careful I can end up hurting myself but I don't want to take the risk and end up being hurt by Captain. He continued to struggle with the sword, giving me time to make a connection with the potted plant, but I was too focused on the plant to notice that Captain had moved his attention away from the sword and was barreling towards me. I barely begin to control the plant when he shoves the butt of his other sword into my ribcage and I harshly fall backward. I fall on my back with a loud grunt, stiffening up when I see Eye-patch standing over me with a triumphant smile and his sword pointed at my neck.
"You really thought you could beat me? I ain't the Captain of this ship for no--," The cocky smirk on his face is wiped off as he looks up at someone standing by my head. Eye-patch gulps, dropping his sword to his side and clearing his throat. "*cough* Um, I mean, you did really well. You just need to touch-up on your defense." I find his sudden change in behavior a bit odd when I notice the tall, familiar shadow of the man above me. Seonghwa.
"What the hell were you doing to her?" He asks, stooping down to help me up. I flinch at the soreness of the new bruise forming over my ribs where Hongjoong smacked me. Seonghwa notices this, softly massaging the part of my rib that got hurt and getting more irate at the shorter man in front of him.
"W-We were training. Nothing more." Eye-patch explains, but the cook remains cynical, turning to me to see if Captain was lying.
"He's not lying. We were only training. I just didn't pay attention and ended up getting hurt." Seonghwa finds it a bit hard to believe me, deciding to let it slide this time.
"Alright whatever, I was looking for you because I cut myself while cutting up some apples for Wooyoung. I cleaned the wound but I was wondering if you had any bandages or anything I could use." He explains, lifting his hand for me to see. Although it wasn't a huge gash it was still relatively deep and he was still bleeding. I sigh loudly, grabbing his hands and starting to lead him to the sickbay when I hear another voice call us. I swivel around to find Yeosang standing by the door in front of Captain's cabin, calling for me, Mingi, and Hongjoong.
"Guys, I think I've located where we are! Come see!" He beckons. I have a split moment of indecision before turning back to Seonghwa to give him instructions.
"The bandages should be in a box I've stored under my cot. There's also some antibacterial pastes in the same box you can use, but whatever you do, do not touch the stuff on my desk." I instruct and he begins to protest.
"But I thought you were gonna--,"
"Yes, I know, I'm sorry, but they need me. And you're a big boy, I'm sure you manage." I begin walking away from the pouty cook who's making doggy eyes at me. I have to make an extra effort to ignore him, surprised that I arrived at the cabin without looking back at Seonghwa once. The other men who were called were already inside discussing routes when I walked in, arguing about their next stop.
"Mingi, I know it can be risky but this is the best choice we have right now. We're low on supplies and the crew needs to rest." Captain argues with the red-head but he doesn't seem to be listening.
"What's going on?" I inquire, finally reaching Captain's desk where the three other men have crowded around. There are maps spilled all over it and opened books on navigation lying everywhere. It looks like a disaster zone here. Even Yeosang looks incredibly distraught, making me wonder how hard he must've been working to pinpoint our location.
"We're discussing details about where we should dock next to stock up on supplies and rest," Mingi answers my question, turning to me with an irritated expression.
"And...?"
"And I'm saying that we should go to the Isle of the Lost, our pirate town, but Yeosang here seems to have other plans." He expounds, snapping his head in the direction of the tired navigator whose glaring daggers at him.
"Calm down, Princess Pinky." Yeosang retorts, reminding me of the bright pink underwear Mingi owns with tiaras. I try to hide my laughter, the sound coming out as mangled snorts. The quartermaster frowns, crossing his arms like a little child before blowing out his cheeks.
"I already told you, they were a gift from Yunho! And it's Princess Mingki to you!"
"Mhm, anyways. Sun-Mi, what do you think we should do?" Yeosang directs the attention towards me but I don't even know what the plans are. He's taken off his coat because of the hot weather and is sweating a bit heavily. Now that I think of it, it's terribly warm inside of the Cabin and who knows how long the poor man has been in here pouring over the navigation books.
"Well, what options do we have?"
"One option we have is to sail to the Isle of the lost to stock up on supplies and stuff. The only problem is that in the shape we are right now, we won't last long enough to make it to the Isle."
"And the second option?"
"The second option this idiot is giving us is to go to Ocleavear, which is an awfully stupid idea." Mingi butts in, cutting off the blonde navigator with a side glance.
"It's even more stupid to sail all the damn way to the Isle! If you want our men to starve and wear out, then be my guest, but we will not have enough supplies to make the whole trip!" Yeosang complains, seemingly exasperated. The red-head is about to speak again when Eye-patch cuts him off with his own reasoning.
"Yeosang's right, Mingi. Considering that we're already in Ocleavean waters, it'd make more sense to head there than to sail to the Isle. We risk tiring out our crew and supplies." The caramel-haired man reasons, pressing his lips together as he thinks things out. "But then again, we just escaped captivity. Who knows the bounty we might have on our head? We could be dead men as soon as we step foot there. And I'm not sure I'd even be welcomed." I mull over both sides that have been presented, remembering the name of the kingdom that brings faint memories along with it.
"Would this Ocleavear you speak of be the kingdom of King and Queen Kang?" I ask, trying to recall the familiar name.
"That would be correct," Yeosang confirms, fiddling with his sleeves.
"Is that why you wanna go? To see your family again?"
"What? No, no. Not at all. I mean yes I would like to see them again, but— ugh, it's complicated." He tries his best to explain it to me, giving up in the end.
"So then why do you want to go?" Mingi interrupts, asking the question I was just thinking. Yeosang pauses briefly, wiping some sweat from his brow before responding.
"As you all know, Wooyoung and I came to the crew after a raid on Woo's dad's boat. I thought that by taking him to Ocleavear, he might be able to see his dad again. I think he's still mad at me for our argument we had before getting caught at Illoriant. This is the least I can do," Hearing this from him makes me want to beat some sense into Woo. Yeosang sounds so worried and resentful about the argument they had, I can't believe him and Woo still haven't settled it.
"That's so sweet and considerate, it really is, but how are you sure we won't get captured and turned into Queen Lee?" I press on further, trying to understand Yeosang. I honestly would love to go to Ocleavear. I've heard so many stories about the underground kingdom and have wondered what Yeosang's parents are like. It could be such a cool trip.
"Frankly, I'm not quite sure, but I don't think we will run into any struggle since I wasn't chased out of my home like Seonghwa. But then again, my parents are very moody people. Depending on how they feel we could either be executed on the spot or treated like the highest members of society." Captain and I think about this thoroughly.
If we go to the Isle of the Lost, we risk tiring out our crew and starving from the lack of supplies. If we go to Ocleavear, we risk getting caught and taken to Queen Lee. But if we don't face any problems, we can stock up on supplies, rest, and even spend some time in the town. It can also help Wooyoung and Yeosang make amends for arguing.
"Alright y'know what, let's just vote on it," Captain decides, looking at me and Mingi for our approval. I nod and so does Mingi, so Hongjoong continues. "Everyone close your eyes. Are they closed? Okay. All in favor of going to Ocleavear, raise your hand." We all quietly vote with our eyes shut and Captain moves on to the next option. "All in favor of going to the Isle?" A small moment passes before Eye-patch lets us open our eyes and reveals to us the decision. "Well, you have voted and decided that Ocleavear it is. Now that it's been decided, you can go tell the rest of the crew to get ready."
"Okie Dokie," Yeosang responds happily. Mingi whines loudly, grumbling to himself about how stupid the decision was meanwhile the navigator cutely bounces in place, his fluffy hair bouncing along with him. He gives me a tiny smile with a look of gratitude before leaving to inform the others along with a reluctant Mingi, leaving me with Hongjoong.
Eye-patch stares at me mischievously before speaking out what's on his mind.
"Ready for another training session?" I cock an eyebrow in his direction, wondering if he's actually serious when I realize he is.
"Um no. I've had enough bruises for one day, thank you very much."
"Aw, c'mon! I thought you were the all-mighty enchantress?" He goads.
"No, I'm afraid of actually getting hurt since you can't seem to tell the difference between a battle and a friendly competition." I throw over my shoulder with a small grin, leaving behind a pouty Captain to his own resources.