For a split second, I looked out at the approaching fleet. Soon, we would be surrounded and it would be all over. I quickly grabbed a dagger I kept tucked away in my boot, determined to win this fight at any cost. Atlas chuckled at my feasible attempt, finding it amusing that I thought I could defeat him with a tiny blade.
Suddenly, the tide changed, quite literally. A sweet sound arose from the depths of the ocean around us. One by one, the forms of Oceanids appeared, bobbing along the water’s surface. The song they chanted quickly changed cord, becoming dramatic and dark. Up above, storm clouds formed out of nothing and a great shadow was cast on all the ships.
The sea grew violent, turning into a fierce monster, rocking the ships and making it incredibly difficult to keep one’s footing. Atlas clung onto the wheel of his ship, the thought of fighting fleeing his mind as he watched this natural phenomenon. “What in the Heavens…” He gasped, watching wide-eyed as a large, looming wave approached his ship.
It crashed down, threatening to turn the ship over at any moment, but it managed to hold. The same couldn’t be said for some of the crew who had been swept off the deck and into the prying arms of the Oceanids down below. They dragged them deep underwater, never to be seen again.
I grinned, looking down, spotting Nixie among the midst. I was certain I could win the fight now. Confident, I walked forward, swagger in my every step. Cannonballs, bullets, and harpoons continued to fly past me, mingling with the intensifying storm.
Not too far off, a group of nymphs swam in a circle, their songs formulaic and cyclical, growing louder and louder until a whirlpool started to form between them. Slowly, Atlas’ ship was drawn toward the maelstrom. The crew tried to stop this advance, but it was hopeless. They were no match for the Oceanids’ power.
Behind me, Nixie swam up to my ship, placing a hand on it before her angelic voice conjured a song of protection. I smiled at her, knowing my men were now safe.
“Stop this madness!” Atlas had finally regained his bearings, lunging forward, brandishing his sword in my direction. I ducked out of the way, making a dash for my own sword, dislodging it from the wheel. He came at me once more, but I quickly parried. Our skills were well-matched, but I had a lot more at stake than he did. Grinning, I felt like I couldn’t lose. My overconfidence, however, made me sloppy.
Just as I was going to deliver the fatal blow, Atlas clipped me, his saber slicing through my leg. I screamed, my eyes growing wide with rage. Adrenaline rushed through my body and I thrust my blade right through The Pirate King’s neck. I had won. With a bright smile, I let my sword drop from my hand, the excruciating pain that throbbed through my leg making me fall to my knees.
At that very moment, a violent wave crashed against the side of the boat and I couldn’t stop myself from sliding off the deck. I fell overboard, my wound preventing me from floating on the water surface. I felt myself sinking. I wanted to move my limbs, but the saltwater aggravated my wound, causing me to sink deeper and deeper. A trail of red followed me in my descent.
My eyelids grew heavy and I felt myself being pulled into a deep, dark abyss.
It all felt like a dream. My body was weightless, floating through a black pool of water. I tried to swim through it, but my every effort proved fruitless. Every time I moved my arms, I stayed in the same place. When I kicked my legs, I remained stationary. What was going on?
Suddenly, a ray of light pierced through the darkness. I gravitated toward it like a moth to a flame. I smiled brightly when I saw my sweet Nixie floating there, her arms beckoning me forth.
Once I was close enough, she wrapped them around me, cradling me against her chest. All the fear and anxiety that I had felt in the dark void melted away. I looked into her beautiful aquamarine eyes, feeling my heart race like never before. An urge to kiss her overwhelmed me and I couldn’t quite stop myself from acting on impulse.
I pulled her toward me, my hands on her hips as our bodies locked together. Her lips parted with surprise at my sudden surge of desire. But what was I supposed to do when she was so tantalizingly delicious? Throwing caution to the wind, I allowed our lips to meld together. I could feel the softness of her lips against mine. They tasted divine. In that moment, I knew I would never be able to get enough of her.
I didn’t even care that none of this made sense, that we were still floating in this featureless abyss. All I cared about was her. Eagerly, my hands moved to her shapely ass, pulling her upwards and wrapping her legs around my waist as my lips remained glued to hers, my tongue making its way into her mouth. Our tongues tangled together as we kissed with a burning passion as if I were to disappear at any moment.
Her nimble fingers roamed my entire body, sending a shiver down my spine. My lips finally pulled away from hers, running down to her slender neck. Gently, I nibbled on her flesh, sucking it slowly until I left behind a hickey, marking her as mine. I held her closer, vowing to never let her go.
Fueled by an indescribable lust that threatened to overwhelm me, I started to tear away at my pants that felt all too tight around my raging member. It twitched with excitement, feeling the nymph’s sexy body pressed against my own. I rubbed against her, letting her feel the outline of my cock. A soft moan escaped her lips as she arched her back, presenting herself to me.
I didn’t waste a second, my lips traveling from her shoulders down to her lovely breasts. Carefully, I pried away the shells that covered her nipples. I was more than pleased by their size. They were already hard with arousal, looking like little buttons for me to pull and twist. Taking one into my mouth, I sucked it sweetly as one of my hands reached upwards, grabbing the other between my fingers, twisting it to and fro until she was moaning out my name.
“Slade…” Her voice was soft and pleading. I continued to tease her, already addicted to the sound. My teeth grazed against her puffy nubs, tugging on them gently, taking her to a whole new level of desire. Her fingers ran through my long dark hair, making me shudder with goosebumps. Between my legs, my cock was at full mast, ready to plunge inside of her. I ignored it for the moment, however, focusing on making her scream my name instead.
With my free hand, my fingers slid down her luscious curves, eventually prying her thighs apart. I massaged them for a moment before my fingers found their way to her already slick pussy. Immediately, they flew over her clit, rubbing it playfully until the friction threatened to drive her insane with lust. She gyrated her hips into the air, silently begging for more as she bit her bottom lip, unable to utter a coherent sentence.
I grinned, letting her nipple drop from my mouth. In a flash, I had her legs cradled over my shoulders as I held her hips with my hands. The water-like substance we were suspended in, made it easy for me to hold her in this position. With her pussy so close to my face, I took in her exquisite scent and it nearly pushed me into an animalistic frenzy. There was already a drop of pre-cum lingering on my tip, but I didn’t care.
Her juices were too sweet to ignore. Dying for a taste, I cupped her ass in my hands, tilting her toward me. My tongue flicked outward, running along her entrance. Her moans were music to my ears. Eager to please her, my tongue slithered into her pussy, searching for her sweet spot.
Her long drawn-out moans urged me on further. I dove deeper, tasting her from the source, my face pressed against her dripping pussy. My nose rubbed against the soft curls of her pubic hair as I strived to push my tongue even deeper. I twisted and curled it, hoping the grainy texture rubbing against her velvet folds would drive her insane.
“Slade!” She screamed, her fingers tangling into my hair in a desperate manner. “Slade! Please! Wake up!” Her distraught words suddenly pulled me out of my lustful fantasy. I looked up at her, but she was starting to fade from my vision.
Abruptly, I was stirred from my coma-like state. I regretted being pulled away from the heavenly dream, but as I opened my eyes I was glad to see Nixie’s face mere inches away from mine.
“Slade! Please… you can’t die.” She clun
g to me, moving forward ever so gently until our lips collided together, bringing me full circle back to the realm of reality.
My burning lungs received some relief, but the rest of my body continued to disobey. Weakly, I pressed my palm to her cheek. “I’m sorry. I have failed you…” My voice was barely a whisper. It didn’t even dawn on me that we were talking underwater just as easily if we were on the surface. Around us, there was a small glimmer of magic creating an air pocket.
“No! You cannot die! I won’t allow it! I will not let you slip away from me…” Still holding me, she slipped off the two golden bands off of her upper arms and cast them off into the depths. My eyes grew wide, knowing they were the source of her immense power.
“Nixie… you can’t.” I pleaded with her.
“I don’t care. I’ll channel my spirit into a human body and wander the land until I find you again, my husband.” With that, she slipped a golden band on my ring finger, looking me in the eye one more time. “Until we meet again, Pirate King.”
Chapter 4
I never saw Nixie after that day…
Two hundred years passed since then and at times, I questioned whether she still wandered the Earth as I did, feeling like a piece of her was missing. I sighed, picturing her in my mind as I worked on a new piece of jewelry I was designing.
My little shop was situated in a market district of modern-day London. Outside my window, people walked by, holding bags and staring at their smartphones. So much had changed in two hundred years that sometimes it boggled my mind. I shook my head, knowing it was best not to think about it. What was so smart about them anyway?
Outside, someone stopped in front of the sign that said Slade Blackstone’s Custom Jewelry. I was advertising a new sale I had going on, hoping to attract some more customers. One day, this well-dressed individual crossed the threshold, holding a briefcase in his hand. “Excuse me, do you know where I can find Slade Blackstone?”
“You’re talking to him.” I chuckled, holding out my hand. He gave me a firm handshake, his thin lips pressing into a hard line.
“My name is Dillion McKenzie and I’m your finical advisor. I’ve tried to call you several times, but you never seem to return calls. So, I decided to make a house call. I hope you don’t mind.” He paused, giving me a sly look.
“Not at all,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. My features were calm and collected, but in reality, I wanted this man out of my store as soon as possible. I didn’t need anyone to tell me how to handle my money. I had been living in the lap of luxury for the last one hundred and fifty years!
“I’ve noticed that your stock price has taken quite the dive over the last quarter and so, I decided to do a bit of research. It seems like your pirate-themed line of jewelry isn’t selling very well, but you still funnel an extraordinary amount of money into production.” He walked up to one of my display cases, looking at the jewelry with disdain. “If you ask me, it’s nothing more than tacky costume jewelry and you waste perfectly good high-end materials on making more.” He looked up at me. “Is there somewhere we can talk about this in private?”
Getting a little frustrated by this man and his arrogance, it took a lot of willpower for me to smile at him. I walked up to the front door, closing it and flipping the sign to closed. “There,” I said through gritted teeth. Things were so much better when the government didn’t require businesses to be so regulated.
“I suppose that will do.” The man commented, seemingly unsatisfied. He sat down at my workbench, pushing some things aside to put down his briefcase. I sat down across from him, my eyes narrowing as he pulled out some papers. “Now, I think it’d be in your best interest if you considered some diversity. If your jewelry already has a reputation of being high-end costume jewelry, then you might as well ride the wave, so to speak, and expand into semi-precious stones. You can get them at quite a bargain.” The advisor pointed out some graphs he had printed out. “If you do that, then I can see profits increasing by at least two hundred percent.”
I couldn’t argue with the numbers. All the math seemed to be sound and I had no quibble to exploring other fields of the jewelry market. “Sure, that works. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“Now Mr. Blackstone, I need you to take this seriously. This isn’t just some silly game. This is a business. There are people, like me, as well as the stockholders who put their faith into the success of this company and that depends on you.” He paused, shutting his briefcase with a heavy thud. “Not everyone has the benefit of being a trust fund baby like you.” His voice was nearly a hiss, accusing me. “Your parents may have been “new money,” but some of us still have to work for our living.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking his tone of voice. Still, I couldn’t help but laugh. He, like many others, believed my false identity as if it was written in stone. I nodded, being complacent. “I guess not. I’ll keep that in mind.” I tipped my head in his direction and he got up, grabbing his suitcase and leaving, letting the door slam behind him. I was glad to have him out of my store.
***
Later that night, I was even happier to be home. I had bought myself a grand house by the seaside. It was positioned precariously on the top of a cliff, but that’s how I liked it. It gave the home some character. It also provided some amazing views. Unfortunately, I wasn’t always able to take advantage of that. Most days, I was simply too tired.
Exhausted, I dove into my bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Quickly, I became submerged in the realm of nightmares.
I was back on Atlas’ ship. There was a sword in my hand, but it wasn’t mine. Already, the blade was covered in blood. I looked up, expecting to find the Pirate King in front of me, but instead, it was Nixie.
Her blue eyes were like diamonds, looking at me like I had just betrayed her. Behind her, King Atlas approached with his steps like booms of thunder. I was about to push her out of harm’s way when she collapsed to the ground. Everything seemed to stop.
To my left, a giant wave emerged, carrying a chariot pulled by elegant white steeds that seemed to gallop over the water. The wave curled, dipping down, about to crash. On its crest was Poseidon. His presence alone was enough to make the blood in my veins run cold. I stared at him in disbelief.
Suddenly, he crashed into the boat, swooping out and grabbing Nixie into his arms. “For you have harmed my sweet Queen, you’ll be eternally punished, roaming the Earth forevermore, never destined to find the love you seek.” With a surge of power, he slammed his trident into the deck and the wood cracked. The ship shattered under my feet and I found myself falling into a darkness that almost seemed to be eating me alive.
I woke up with a start, my whole body covered in sweat. I pushed my bangs out of my face and breathed hard, glaring out at the dimness of my bedroom. I half-expected to see the vengeful god grinning at me, but I was all alone. I looked down at my hand, remembering the golden ring Nixie had slipped on my finger when I was dying. Nixie was real. She had to be.
Chapter 5
The next morning, I couldn’t help myself but rush over to the bank, checking my safety deposit box. Inside, the gold ring that Nixie had given me was there. I held it in my hand, my heart skipping a beat at the thought of her. “Please… Nixie… you have to find me… just as you promised you would.”
***
That evening, I was obligated to go to a socialite party I had signed myself up for. I regretted it now, wishing I could sit on my porch with a drink and look out at the ocean. Sighing, I put on a dashing black suit and matching tie. I checked myself out in the mirror, running my fingers through my wavy black hair. Over the years, my face had not changed one bit. I still had the same chiseled jawline, semi-crooked nose, and hollowed cheeks. I ran my fingers over my well-kept facial hair. Would Nixie even recognize me if she saw me? I felt I looked the same, but at the same time, my reflection in the mirror, staring back at me, looked so alien. Wearing modern clothes, I didn’t resemble the pirate I had once bee
n.
Pushing these thoughts to the side, I left the house, getting into my Porsche. I started the engine, making my way to the function hall, situated near the hub of London. As I drove past Westminster, I could see Big Ben and the London Eye. Happy couples were walking around, holding hands and smiling. It only made me grimace. Their happiness seemed unfair. Why should they be happy when I wasn’t? A bout of depression wrapped tightly around me, making it hard to breathe. My fingers tightened on the wheel and my foot grew heavier on the accelerator until I was almost doubling the speed limit, weaving my way through traffic. Finally, as I spotted a parking space, I maneuvered into it with ease.
As I stepped inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the function was quite nice. The decorations were well-placed and the music was appropriate. I made my way over to the bar, ready to get myself a drink. I sat down, waiting for the bartender. “I’ll have some rum,” I told him, easing back in my seat. As I did, a beautiful girl sat down next to me. Her hair was a gray color that seemed to stem from her roots. It was almost unnatural. I examined it closely, trying to figure out whether it was dyed. Her eyes were a radiant shade of blue and her small face was framed by a pair of thin-rimmed glasses.
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