Blood Tides (CLOSED)

[NekoMata]

Eliyade stood tall her face to the wind. The hurricane like gales tossed her long raven hair to the wind, Lightening streaked through the darkness making the metallic gold and silver strands of her hair flash. She was soaked to the bone by the driving rain, strand of hair sticking to her delicate face, stark against her porcelain pale skin. Water flowed in rivulets from hr chin and down her neck, disappearing into the damp folds of her clothes.. She blinked water from her eyes, droplets clinging to her lashes. She kept one hand on the wheel as she gazed out at the open sea. Her ship, the Arcana Dawn, was being tossed violently about on the waves. Every plank and timber trembled as the ship struggled to remain fast and not be torn apart by the violent sea. Still it all proved for naught as a large wave swept the ship skyward. It plummeted back down to the sea with the roar of the wind and sea. The main mast went first, the dark wood snapping as effortlessly as a twig and tossed into the oceans foaming maw. Then bit by bit pieces of the hull began breaking away and cargo from the ship spilled out into the sea and were swallowed up into its dark depths.

The ship was going to sink. This much was undeniable. Yet Eliyade still stood at the helm. She had relinquished her grip on the wheel and now she simply lay down on the soaked deck. Folding her hands on her stomach she looked up at the stormy skies. For a second she was in the eye if the hurricane, peering up at a sunset streaked sky. Then the waves tossed the ship back into the stormy darkness. "When will you ever learn... Not even Nature can destroy that which defies it." Eliyade mummered closing her eyes. A wave tossed the ship violently and it crashed back into the water breaking in to pieces.

The black Jolly Roger floated across the water. Tangled amongst pieces of reckage it floated across the now calm face of the sea, bearing with it the Arcanas only survivor...its Captain.

 

[musicankane]

Arcanus, the greatest place for his treasure. The lone island was little more than a small mountain with a rim of beach and jungle. Nearly a hundred nautical miles from anywhere, the dense foliage left countless places to hide anything he could ever want. Captain Evan Trogey stood on the bow of his three mast ship The Castella, staring at the island through his looking glass.

The frills of his black jacket with yellow and red fringe blew in the wind and the mists of the ocean waves made the air delicious. Kevin the first mate moved up beside Evan and said, "Shall we make shore on the far side captain?"

Evan moved the glass up and down the shoreline, checking the coast for potiental risks. "Ay.....Oh belay that." His glass locked onto a shape sprawled on the sand. He lifted the glass from his face and blinked toward the island. He lifted the glass back to his eye and stared at the shape.

"Kevin, make shore straight there." Evan ordered, pointed toward where the shape laid on the sand.

"Why Captain, this is not on our normal side?" Kevin replied.

"There is a woman on the shore, and she looks hurt." Evan replied, a slow smirk crossing his face. "A damsel in distress, Kevin. We must save the little beauty."

Kevin sighed, "Another conquest then captain?"

"Shh, Kev. We can't just leave a woman on the sand stuck on this island, she'll die out here." Evan insisted.

"Very well Captain."

Evan insisted to being on the shore party, he was the captain and it was his duty to help beautiful women....and then bed them. As the shore boat hit the sand he darted over to the crumpled woman. She was wrapped in some kind of debris and tattered remains of what looked like a sail. Evan gently knelt over the woman and pulled back a bit of debris.

He jerked back with a hiss. Kevin darted over and asked, "What's wrong Captain?"

"We must make haste. Get her to my cabin as quickly as possible. The poor thing is paler than your sister Kevin." Evan said.

"I don't have a sister Captain."

"Oh well....She's still very pale. A sexy pale. To my cabin Kevin quickly!" Evan commanded.

 

[NekoMata]

Eliyade awoke to the sound of a bustling ship. For a moment she almost allowed herself the mistaken belief that the storm last night had been a bad dream and that she was waking up in her own cabin on her beloved ship. But of course the belief didn't last long as she soon opened her eyes. With a faint fluttering of her lashes, her eyes slowly drifted open. She seemed to be laying in a bed on a ship of some kind. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand she sat up slowly. There was nothing like a shipwreck and floating in the freezing cold ocean for an unknown period of time to make a girl feel alive again.

Rolling out of the bed she rose to her feet with a languid motion. With a movement that seemed more habitual than anything else she ran her hands over her clothes, straightening her long black velvet skirt and running a hand down the abdomen area of the black and scarlet corset she wore. She must have spent some time in the sun after washing ashore, because her clothes were nearly dry. The same however could not be said for her boots or the cropped scarlet jacket she wore. Both were still heavy with moisture and oddly uncomfortable.

Sitting down on the bed once more she removed her boots. Her stockings were damp as well but not to a degree so uncomfortable that she would remove them. Her jacket soon followed her boots, leaving her shoulders bare. Her hair fell against her shoulder and she was suddenly acutely aware of how much her locks were in disarray. Rising once more she located the mirror in the cabin. Her usually wavy hair hung in tangled curls about her face and feel to her waist. Using her fingers she tried to separate the curls and manage her hair back into some sort of order. As she did so she couldn't help but wonder just whose ship she was on.

 

[musicankane]

Evan spent the afternoon moving the ship around the island to his hiding spot and together with five of his best men he buried his latest bounty. He opened a pouch he always kept on his belt and used the powder inside to bind the chest to the ground. The corrupted bone dust would only allow the person who first touched the powder to dig into the ground where the dust lay. This made sure that nobody but Evan could ever recover the chest.

Once that business was finished, Evan set his ship a sail once again. The current plan was to head for Macourt, a dingy pirate town where the girls were cheap and the ale was fantastic. Plus it was the biggest port town in Francillia, which if he couldn't make something happen with his unexpected sexy cargo, he could drop her someplace she could find her way from.

After he issues his orders to his crew, he moved downstairs to his cabin. He took a quick pause in the head and made sure his hair was perfect. Evan smiled and gave himself a wink, "Looking good Captain."

He went to his quarters and opened the door, surprised to see the girl awake and adjusting herself. He smirked and shut the door behind himself, "Oh fantastic, you are awake."

Evan unbuttoned his cloak and slipped out of it, leaving himself in his white laced shirt. He tossed the cloak on the chair at his navigation table, "You were so utterly pale when we found you I feared you would die before we got to port. Can I get you a bowl of soup?"

 

[NekoMata]

Eliyade ignored his entrance, instead she focused on completing the task of untangling her hair. With a few more strokes of her fingers her hair fell back over her shoulders. Untangled her hair was slightly longer and the colored streaks flashed all the more brightly among the wavy raven colored locks. Satisfied now with the state of her hair she turned to look at the male. From beneath her abundant lashes she gazed shrewdly at the male a look of critical assessment in her burgundy hued eyes. She folded her arms just below her bust, a small frown curling her lips.

"I'll pass on both the soup and your useless chatter... Who the hell are you...?"

Her tone was curt and her voice bore the slight traces of an accent. She moved towards one of the window, a fortunate feature of most captains cabins instead of the portholes that situated most of the rest of the rooms of a ship. Peering out of it she studied the small island they had floated near. It was Arcanus, a small island that had long been a favorite of pirates for secreting away treasure. So then it would seem that she was on pirate ship, quite a fortunate development for her.

 

[musicankane]

Evan blinked and glanced at the woman up and down. She was pretty, as he already figured out. There was a fifty-fifty chance that she would be a snappy pain in the butt. Judging from the way she folded her arms under her breasts and gave him a snide little glance. She passed on his offer of soup and moved to the window to take a peek as the ship sailed away from Arcanus.

Evan took a seat on his bed and watched her, "Well pardon me my dear I didn't not mean to upset you. I spotted you lying on the beach like a dead fish. It was a good thing I found you and brought you back here. There is nothing to live off of on Arcanus."

Evan chuckled, "Forgive me again, where are my manners?" He stood up and held out his hand toward her, "I am Captain Evan Trogey, and you are aboard my ship The Castella. I welcome you and offer you safe passage to Macourt."

 

[NekoMata]

Eliyade cast a glance back over her shoulder as the male introduced himself. She had never heard of him or his ship before; a strange thing considering that she held her pride in knowing the names of all the captains and ships of any reknown that sailed upon the open seas. Of course there might have been the vaguest rumors as there was perhaps something a bit familiar in the name of the ship. But at the moment it mattered little. She supposed she should be grateful for little blessings. Being stuck on Arcanus would have proved rather trying after a while.

Her gaze went back to the window as she watched the distance between the ship and the island grow. They seemed to be moving at a rather nice pace meaning they were catching good wind and the ship must have been a rather fleet little beauty herself. For a moment she wished she had been awake on the beach so she could study the ship from a full distance. She would have to settle for walking about it later. Of course if they were going to Macourt she would have a chance to see it in full when they came to port.

"Well then Captain... I suppose I should thank you..."

 

[musicankane]

Evan raised his other hand and shook his head, "Please. It was the least I could do and call me Evan. Only my men must call me Captain. You are neither mine nor a man I hope." He smiled offering her just the right amount of seductive teasing to it. "What is your name, I would gamble it is as beautiful as you are."

Now that he thought about it, she was far too beautiful than she should be. For a woman so pale and supposedly disheveled from collapsing on a beach...She looked incredibly beautiful. It was rather haunting and Evan found himself a little off guard with me. His heart beat faster than it should, but surely he wasn't nervous right? It the great ladies man Captain Evan.

Realizing that she wasn't taking his hand he let it drop and shrugged, "Well then. You are not hungry now that is fine. Just tell the cook whenever you would like something. We are heading back to port to restock so picking might me slim. As for quarters I insist that take my bed. I shall sleep on the floor, I've done it before and a couple of weeks will do my back good."

 

[NekoMata]

She sighed turning from the window and taking as seat along the edge of the desk. He was a bit of a chatterbox, that much was certain. It was quite a change from what she had become accustomed to on the past couple of years. None of her former crew had been this talkative...but then again neither was she. At least he appeared to be a gentleman, offering her the bed while he would take the floor. It would have perhaps been a more meaningful offer if she actually slept. She didn't bother with sleeping as it wasn't essential for her anymore. Pushing those thoughts away she thought it would be prudent to respond to his question. After all it would be rude not to introduce herself to the person who was providing her with passage back to a port.

"My name is Eliyade, Eliyade D'Cotille...'

 

[musicankane]

"Eliyade." He tested her name on his tongue, rolled it around for a bit. It felt good, a little long for his liking. Maybe he could get away with calling her Elly. Though the cold demeanor she held herself with said that she would probably bite him if he called her that. He smiled and nodded, "Well then, welcome aboard Eliyade. Feel free to wander about as you wish, though be warned some of the men haven't been around women in a very long while. And they maybe say rather distasteful things to a woman with you beauty. They will not touch you. Of that I can promise." He smirked and thought to himself about touching her himself. She had the look about her that just said she would be the best sex a man could ever hope for.

 

[NekoMata]

Eliyade remained still for a moment, staring blankly at him. Was it possible for any man to be that dumb, especially one who dared claim the title as captain of any sea faring vessel. From pirate vessel to Navy vessel alike the name Eliyade D'Cotille was known. In her many years on the sea she had built a reputation as one of the most ruthlessly efficient Captains. Her notoriety was built from her method of plundering any ship unfortunate to cross her path. Any on board were not spared from her wrath and usually found themselves food for the sharks. In fact it was how she had come to be known as the Scarlet Sea Queen, one of the 9 pirate lords of the sea. Still perhaps it would bode well for her that she was not recognized here. It would make things simpler.

"I wouldn't worry myself about that to much... Any man foolish enough to lay a hand on me will find that hand summarily removed..."

 

[musicankane]

Evan smirked and nodded, "As one would expect from the Blood Queen. Tell me, how did someone with your reputation and skill end up shipwrecked on Arcanus? Surely a Lord of the sea would know better than to play with a hurricane." He saw the change in her eyes and he laughed, "Didn't think I recognized you? Please Eliyade, I may not be a Lord of the sea. But I am a damn good pirate. I choose to keep my adventures low key. Although if I got the Lady Eliyade to join my crew I could become legend...wait for it....Dairy!"

 

[NekoMata]

"Please don't get to far ahead of yourself... Firstly the title is Scarlet Sea Queen...secondly if you knew many of the rumors you would know that I make a habit out of chasing storms..."

Eliyade gave one of her rare smiles, the action softening the already delicate features of her face and briefly flashing a hint of her unusually sharp canines. She was briefly reminiscing about her last storm chasing venture. She had spotted the hurricane long before it would have caught up with her ship but instead of trying to outrun it she had weighed anchor to wait. The storm, when it caught up with them, had been a particularly fierce one. The Arcana Dawn had held bravely against the tempest for many hours, but it seemed that luck was not on her side. Still she didn't feel to bad, the Arcana had rode through more than a fair number of storms in it's time and she could feel proud of that.

"Either way I won't join your crew... It would reflect badly on me as a pirate lord..."

 

[musicankane]

Evan gave her a look and shook his head, "And loosing your ship and crew in a storm any normal captain would have avoided utterly wont hurt your reputation?" He shrugged, "You might not gain any credit from joining my crew. But you have a reputation of fear among people in nearly every port I've ever been to. How do you intend to rebuild a crew? Nobody will join a woman that not only terrifies them, but has proven to be crazy in storms."

He spread his hands and grinned, "Here is what I propose. Since I saved you from being stranded for, let's face it, years. You join my crew, for a short while, two months or so yes? In return for saving you, I will get incredible amounts of credit in port as the one man who finally tamed Eliyada D'Cotille. Only you and I shall know the truth. If you do this, I will get reputation and maybe even become a well feared pirate myself, in return it will make you seem more humble and perhaps allow you to rebuild your own crew more easily once your service for me is up."

Evan reached into his coat and pulled out an apple and took a big bite out of it. "Surely that is a fair deal, everyone wins out and it doesn't cost either of us a thing. Hell you don't even have to do any work aboard my ship, simply being on board and sleeping in my cabin with me will cause enough rumors to spread through my men to make things happen. Deal?" He asked.

 

[NekoMata]

Eliyade laughed, the sound light and airy. She rose from her perch at the edge of the desk, moving towards him. Her gait, despite the semi-heavy skirts she wore, was so graceful it seemed more like she floated than walked. Drawing closer to him she gently trailed her fingers along the collar of his shirt. She leaned before she spoke, her voice a soft whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry about my reputation, finding a crew that will work for me is...much simpler than you think... If you know the right places... So calm yourself pretty boy and get that idea out of your head..."

She released his collar and rose back to her normal standing position. With a swift movement of her hand she plucked the apple from his grasp. She held it gently in her palm for a moment as she paced back towards the window.

"Now please quell your nonsense...before I crush your windpipe..."

As she was speaking she had been tossing the apple from hand to hand. As she finished she cast a final glance back over her shoulder at him. Catching the apple in her right hand she closed her fingers around it with what looked like little effort. There was a sharp crunching noise as the apple was crushed. Small chunks of apple and drips of juice fell from her hand.

 

[musicankane]

Evan raised an eyebrow as the apple was suddenly ripped from his grasp faster than he could blink. Apparently she had tricks up her sleeves too. She moved with such incredible confidence, it was very arousing. He wondered how she was able to do that, maybe if he was lucky he could get her to teach him that trick. Evan watched her grip tighten on the apple until it was crushed in her palm.

"So I guess I wont be finishing that apple. Good thing I wasn't that hungry." Evan said moving up behind her, "Well then since we can't come to an agreement, I guess it is time to throw your tight little ass into the drink." Reaching gently into his pocket he dipped his fingers into the magic dust. Eliyade wasn't the only one who could do tricks. Evan had a little bit of magic himself.

"Then again if you wont be part of my crew. Perhaps you'd be willing do be under me in a different fashion." Evan said carefully, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

 

[NekoMata]

"You really have a death wish don't you...?"

She chuckled slightly, her eyebrows arching in an inquisitive manner. Always attentive she saw his hand as it moved to his pocket. Perhaps he had a few tricks up his sleeve as well. But he had not seen even a fraction of what she was capable of. But she had a feeling that soon enough he would get a chance to see exactly how dangerous of a game he was playing.

 

[musicankane]

Evan smiled and stopped just before touching her. This close he could smell her sweet, coppery scent. Almost like....sugar sweet blood. There was the hint of the saltwater on her skin as well, as she had not bathed in anything but the ocean. Still he could tell that it had little effect on her, the beauty of her skin, her face, her body, could not be marred it seemed.

"What is the point of living, if you let everything worry you? Death wish? No, I have a life wish. So when I see a woman like you, it is a golden opportunity to try. If you turn me down, then at least I tried. But," he reached up and gently put a his hands on her shoulders, "what if you said yes?"