Private Tales No Jackets

[Lucius]

The shark seemed wriggle for a moment more upon the decks, shifting, and then slowly it pushed itself off the wood and fell through the gap that it had created in the market square.

There was a splash of water as the shark fell back into the sea, the odd glow in Lucius' eyes suddenly disappearing.

As soon as it was gone Lucius felt like someone had kicked him in the chest. There was no air in his lungs, his head felt woozy, and it seemed like the entire world was spinning. He heard Peyton say something, though it only half registered.

He shook his head, taking a breath as he tried to gather himself.

Slowly he took a step forward. "Peyt..."

Lucius fell over onto his face.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton frowned, about to argue back as Lucius spoke, but as she heard the clatter she turned and rushed to his side in panic to push him over onto his back.

"Luc!.. Lucius wake up.." Peyton begged and slapped repeatedly on his face with a bloody hand. "Why the fuck didn't you listen to me?.." she growled angrily, but her anger was overruled by worry and she tried to pull him up. She pulled herself to her feet, and started to drag him. They had to get out of this square before anyone else came after them, but it was a long way back for a woman of her frame to drag someone of his stature.

 

[Lucius]

Lucius felt himself move, but he wasn't moving himself. His arm was draped around something, dragging him. He could feel his feet knock against wooden boards.

Something clicked inside his head.

Eyes suddenly snapped open and a deep breath filled his lungs. His feet planted themselves on the ground, and just a corner around from the market Square the young Pirate Captain suddenly came too. His body felt like a stone, he was as tired as could be, but he was awake.

"Peyt." His voice was barely coherent. "Shit."

He looked at her, the wound on her neck, the concern on her face, the anger smoldering in her eye.

He'd fucked up. "Shit."

Lucius repeated. "I'm sorry. I...I don't know what came over me."

That rage. So much rage. So much anger. It had been all he could do to contain it.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton let go of him as he woke and she let herself fall and sit for a moment as she caught her breath. It was all a little much for her to deal with right now and she held a hand up without looking at him, dismissing his apology. She realised how close she'd come to being killed, and only now had she really started to process what had happened.

"I need you to walk away right now Luc.." she let out a breath and stared down at the splintered deck.. Her father's daggers were long gone, he'd risked both of their lives, and he'd called forth a gargantuan fucking shark from the depths to slaughter several people in front of the entire city square. She'd also killed Jacob and the shock on his face was still imprinted on her mind.

She pulled herself to her feet with a stagger and started walking.

 

[Lucius]

Lucius was still not quite sure what had happened, but he felt the anger, saw the rage.

He knew he'd made a mistake. "Peyt I..."

Teeth came down on his tongue, and he frowned for a brief moment as he realized that anything he said wasn't going to matter right now. He cast a glance back towards the market square, fingers tightening as he looked around.

Kellen and Jacob were both dead, and half of Teth had just seen a giant shark destroy the Market. He doubted anyone would be eager to come after either of them any time soon. His lips tightened.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I love you."

He couldn't have walked away without saying the words, no matter how much they stung. Slowly he turned, walking back towards the square.

 

[Peyton]

The apology was ignored again, but his love made her stop in her tracks and she turned to glare at him "You love me?!" she stormed toward him and shoved hard at his chest.. "When you love someone you don't ignore what they have to say then almost get them killed Lucius!!" she roared at him.

She lifted her fists to slam against his chest "That bastard" punch "Almost" punch "Fucking killed me!!" punch punch "Or Worse!!!" she frowned at him, trying to hammer home the reality of what'd happened and she stared at him with all of the emotion and fear she felt right now.

"You Idiot Luc!" she pushed herself away from him and turned to leave.

 

[Lucius]

Lucius took every punch.

He didn't stop her a single time, didn't even try to. Her fist struck him again, and again, and then again. Pain lanced through his chest, but her fists hurt less than the tear that ripped through his heart. He wanted to break out into sobs as she turned away from him.

"Peyt!" His voice cracked as he reached out and gently grabbed her.

She could break free easily, but he didn't want her to leave, didn't want her to walk away.

"I know...I know." His eyes cast down in shame, looking at her for a brief moment. "I know."

Why had he done it? What had he been thinking? Lucius bit his lips, tears welling in his eyes. "I'm a fool, an idiot, moron."

His voice cracked. "You could've been killed."

The thought made him want to vomit.

"I'm sorry. I lost control. You were right. I'm sorry." His chest strung from where she had struck him, bruises likely already forming. His breathing was short, clipped. All he wanted to do was fall to his knees and beg her for forgiveness.

 

[Peyton]

As he reached out for her, Peyton instantly turned and curled in against his chest to grip hold of him and her emotions overflowed and flooded her cheeks in the form of tears. She gripped him tightly as she cried against his chest..

"You scared me, Luc.." her voice broke. It'd been the first time she hadn't felt safe with him, he'd seemed lost to whatever magic had taken over him, he'd been reckless in picking a fight with nine of them when they were on their own, he hadn't considered the consequences, they hadn't had time to plan and she'd had no idea what he'd been thinking.

"We don't make stupid decisions.. And if we do we think them through first, together." her eyes closed and she tried to control her sobbing.

"We need to talk about what the fuck is going on with you...."

 

[Lucius]

"No more." He told her softly as his arms wrapped around her. "Never again."

His lips thinned, his eyes watering as he lowered his head to hers and took in a deep breath.

She was right. He had made the decision despite her, he had gone on ahead with it despite their deal. The rage had taken him, consumed him from the inside out. "It was..."

How did he put this?

"I was in it's head...or maybe it was in mine." Lucius said softly. "It could feel I...we, you and me, were in danger, there was...we wanted to protect you, stop them from coming after us. Show them we..."

Gods none of it made any sense. The shark had been a piece of him then, and as it had...Peyton had become it's own mate and there had been a drive to defend...and one to destroy. Putting it into words was almost impossible. "It's so hard to put into words."

He must have seemed like a mad man.

 

[Peyton]

She kept hold of him as he explained and tried to bury her face against his chest rather than let him see how upset she was, but he probably got the message. Her brow furrowed and her eyes closed again, allowing a pregnant silence to fall between them as she just breathed and tried to get her head back on straight.

"I'm sorry I punched you.." she murmured against him after a long moment. She was pretty feeble in comparison to him but she'd thrown a lot of anger behind her fists and they still ached from slamming into his chest.

"We should get off of the streets.. Can you walk?..." she looked up finally, the cut on her neck stinging as it pulled.. His shirt was a bloody mess, but at least she'd bought him new ones...

 

[Lucius]

"I deserved it." He said softly.

Lucius truly believed that. Whatever this magic was, whatever it was doing to him...he needed to control it better. So far it had simply slipped into him, taken control or pulled him into some strange fever dream. That wouldn't work anymore.

Not after his promise. Fingers tightened for a moment, and he nodded his head. "Aye."

He said softly, taking the first step.

His legs still felt shaky, but he knew that he could make it back to the ship. Provided there weren't anymore surprises. Before they went though he tore off a strip from his already ruined shirt, reaching up and gently tying it around her neck to staunch the bleeding.

"I'm sorry." He said one last time as he tied the makeshift bandage.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton sighed and tried not to flinch as he wrapped some of the cloth around her neck, her eyes raising to his face. She could feel how sorry he was, and she didn't wish to make him feel guilty about it any longer.. "I'm alright.." she assured, and forced a small smile. She wanted nothing more than to bathe and crawl into bed with a bottle of wine to calm her nerves.

Thankfully, there were no more surprises on the way to the ship, and Peyton kept her arm tightly wrapped around Lucius' waist as they walked slowly up the gangplank to their ship. She'd feel safer, here, with some of the crew still on board. They were met with questions and looks of concern..

"We're good.." she told Dav as he rushed over as though to help them. "Just dealing with a bit of riff raff." she winked and wore a warm smile in reassurance. Last thing she wanted was the crew thinking they'd just been beaten in public.

 

[Lucius]

"We on." Lucius said as they walked across the deck of the ship, and that statement coupled with what Peyton had said seemed to be enough for Dav.

As they made their way towards the cabin Lucius half turned back and called out to Dav.

"Vreek is going to be coming back with a golem." He told the man. "Introduce her around and uhhh...Don't question her."

It was better they not have anyone thrown overboard.

Dav only stared for a few seconds, a blank look on his face as he just nodded and decided not to wonder why his Captain had a golem coming. With that, Lucius and Peyton made for their cabin, pulling open the heavy iron door to their cozy Anirian getaway.

 

[Peyton]

"Have one of the boys bring us some food, would you Dav?.." she asked with a soft smile and the man dipped his chin, happy to oblige.

Her stress eased a little the moment the door had closed behind them, this was their space and she knew she could relax here. She let him sit on the bed and tore off the bloody jacket with a huff. Her shirt was bloody too and she proceeded to strip off entirely and step into the bath, uncaring that the water was cold. She sat in the water and scrubbed feverishly at the man's blood that stained her skin up to her elbow, her jaw clenched tightly..

She remained silent in thought for some time as she soaped and scrubbed at her skin before looking up at Lucius.. "How do you feel?..." she asked quietly..

 

[Lucius]

Lucius watched her the entire time. Not with his usual ogling, but concern. He knew that he'd fucked up, and a part of him was worried that Peyton would never truly want to forgive him after all this.

It was a quiet concern, one he decided not to voice. "Shaky."

He admitted quietly, not sure how else to put it. It was an odd feeling, almost like...almost like the exertion that the shark had put on itself had somehow ended on him. It was more than that, more complex, but he couldn't explain.

"I..." His lips thinned. "I think I can talk to fish, Peyton."

He felt so stupid saying it like that.

 

[Peyton]

She stopped scrubbing as he spoke. It did sound ridiculous, but she had thought over and over it and it certainly seemed to be true. He seemed to be able to call the creatures to do his bidding and aid him, as though he could get into their minds and control them. She'd been thinking of something else too, something she struggled to bring up and she sighed as she started scrubbing again. Her skin was bright red, but now she couldn't tell if it was still stained with blood or if it was her own blood rising to the surface in protest of her skin's mistreatment.

"You said.." she frowned, obviously searching for the right words.. "When the Concordant went down, you felt something..like you had a collar or something.." her head shook and she lifted her gaze to him and let her stinging arms fall back under the water.

"I saw that Kracken, Luc...Did you?.." she fumbled "I mean.." she huffed. "What happened?.." she squinted in confusion.

 

[Lucius]

He frowned for a brief moment, flashing back to what he could remember. He could already begin to feel his head ache, but she had asked the question and he would answer it.

Slowly Lucius shook his head. "No I didn't..."

He frowned for a brief moment, remembering that night. Slashing rains, the storm battering them, the rage...but most of all the collar. The Collar had been around his throat as he'd reached up from the depths, it had compelled him, forced him until...

Lucius suddenly vomited onto the floor.

It was so sudden and so surprising that he himself hadn't even expected it, but something within the memory triggered it.

Before Peyton could even blurt out something in surprise Lucius began to rattle off what he remembered.

"The Kraken. It was bound, something had it...had it chained. Collared. It was compelled to the surface." He looked like he was going to hurl again. "Someone was forcing it to come after the Concordant...after...after...a Black Mark."

He wanted to throw up again.

Lucius remembered the pain, the anger, the indignation of the great beast. Then he remembered breaking the collar.

 

[Peyton]

She sat suddenly upright in the tub as he vomited and she stood to rush over to him as he spoke, her brow furrowed at what he was saying.

"Fuck, Luc.." she frowned, concern on her face as she looked over him and combed his hair back from his face and tried to soothe him as he looked ready to vomit a second time. She sighed deeply, this business with his new found abilities worried her..

"What if this thing consumes you, Luc?..What if it changes you?.. I don't know what to do.." her head shook hopelessly, fearing she'd lose him to whatever this was..

Peyton had been about to open her mouth to say something else when she stopped abruptly and let go of him.. "A black mark?..." she stood up, water dripping from her skin and stippling the floor with tiny dark circles. She stared out of the window and turned her head to look back at him.

"It was coming for him.. It was coming for my father."

 

[Lucius]

"I don't think it can. It's a part of me not ta-" Lucius caught something in his throat, swallowing hard so that he didn't puke all over the floor. A breath filled his lungs. "I can control it."

He hadn't in that square, and he was sure as shit doing a poor job of it now...but this time he had called up the memory, he had dragged it forth. Not the other way around. All he needed was a little bit of practice and time.

That was it. "I ca-"

Lucius cut himself up as Peyton suddenly stood up, her gaze falling to the window, staring haplessly until she slowly turned around towards him and made the declaration. Confusion pulled over his features. "I...We don't know that."

Slowly he stood, stripping off his shirt so that he did not utterly disgust her when he stepped over towards her.

"We don't even know what a black mark is." At least he didn't.

 

[Peyton]

She frowned, panic in her eyes as she searched her memory, even to the more recent letter they'd found.. "I saw it.. I asked him what it was on his hand, he'd kept covering it up and wouldn't let me see to it. He kept avoiding my questions but I knew he was worried.."her head shook frantically and she rubbed at her brow.. "Fuck, he knew. He knew something was coming for him." she clutched at her wet hair and turned to face him fully.

"The kraken was sent after him, you got into it's head.. It was controlled by someone.." her heart was racing, and now she felt like she might be sick too.

"He led us all to our deaths."

 

[Lucius]

Lucius went pale.

Could it be true? Had the Captain known? Had he let them all sail with him while he was marked for death? His lips thinned, his stomach wrenching slightly as he saw the expression on Peyton's face. It was pure agony, hurt.

Without a second of waiting Lucius closed the gap between the two of them. His arms wrapped around her suddenly, a tight embrace. "We didn't die."

Dozens had, more maybe...but they hadn't. That didn't make it better, it didn't, but they were alive.

"Peyton." He said softly. "I...I don't know..."

Pain croaked in his voice. "I don't know why he would...I don't know why he did...but we're alive."

Gently he reached down and grabbed her face, tears welling in his eyes.

"Whatever happened." They would have to know, they would...his lips thinned. "We're alive, we found each other."

That was something, something to cling to. "We'll figure this out."

There were so many pieces missing still. So many parts.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton's mind was racing too quickly to process and she couldn't calm, tears threatened to spill over again and she clung to him, fingers anchoring to his back.

"It was nothing short of a miracle that we didn't.. But so many did, Luc. They were my family, just like you were..." she rhymed off a few names of their old crew that had never made it back to Teth, and the tears spilled out as she was overcome with guilt and anger and everything else in between.

"How could he?!" she raised her voice before he took hold of her cheeks and she stared up at him hopelessly.. "Please don't let me go." she begged, fearing she'd cause damage to something or someone if given the opportunity to do so. It felt like she'd been physically stabbed in the chest, and now she was finding it difficult to breathe.

"I have to know why, Luc.."

 

[Lucius]

"Never." Lucius answered her quickly, his arms wrapping around her even tighter as he took a deep breath.

He wished that he had answered. He wished that he could have told her exactly what she wanted to hear, but he couldn't. His lips thinned, and his fingers tightened gently on her skin. Thumbs softly stroked over her, and he took a breath.

"We'll find out." He told her softly. "We will."

Lucius had already started on that. "We find Falwin. Then we figure out what the Black Mark is. Then we figure out how he got it."

Those were the steps. That was how they would figure it out.

"We'll find out." He promised her.

 

[Peyton]

Peyton soon settled as she stood there naked against his chest, her eyes closed and her focus on the reassurance in his tone and the strong beats of his heart under her ear. Her breathing soon calmed and her pulse slowed back to normality, but silent tears continued to sneak past her lashes and drip onto his skin, racing downward until they dried up.

She watched the sun set on the horizon, the sky bursting with dark orange and then fuchsia and deep violet as time passed.

"Take me to bed.." she whispered finally, her eyes stinging as they blinked heavily.

 

[Lucius]

"Okay." Lucius whispered softly as he slowly scooped her up and off of the ground.

He still felt weak, but Peyton was small in his arms as he carried her across the room like one might a princess. He carefully avoided the clothing on the floor, eventually taking her to their large mattress.

Softly he put her down, motioning for her to wait one moment as he quickly cleaned up the mess he had made earlier. A bottle of rum and a rag that was tossed out the window did the trick, and seconds later Lucius sat himself besides where Peyton laid on the bed.

His hand gently touched her, roaming over her body. "I love you Peyt."

Lucius said softly.

"More than anything in this world." His hand slowly came up to her cheek. "I promise you."

He knew it better than he knew himself.