I.
(I was as pure as a river, but now I think I'm possessed, you put a fever inside me, and I've been cold since you left)
The expanse of the starry darkness was disturbed by a thunderous explosion of bright light. In the distance, too far to be seen from land, a large pulsing fire ate at the edges of the night sky. As the smoke blanketed the stars, loud voices clamored over the previously calm sea. The sound of shouting and metal striking itself filled the lonely air, making the ocean buzz with anticipation.
From the heat of the flames or the strike of the sword, men fell into the waters depths, succumbing to the cool tranquility. Like a breathy sigh of relief, their bodies slipped into the current to be washed up on shore an empty shell.
Though the battle raged continuously overhead, the movement down below gave none of the soon to be dead men any concern. In the dark depths, burning eyes waited.
In the faint gleam of light below the turbulent battle, a swift flash of silvery movement could be caught by a faithful watcher.
Below the wreckage of the fierce fight raging above a single being swam back and forth between the same twenty feet. The water around the agitated creature swelled, causing small pockets of air to rise to the surface unnoticed by the inhabitants above.
In impatient circles, the long beast waited underneath for a gracious offering worth more than the dirty men dropping to the depths like flies.
Though the men sinking smelled appetizing, something sweeter drifted from the air above; something so deliciously distracting.
The blood in the water was stagnant and diluted, but something above was so fresh, so pure, so untouched. As he drifted below, he grew ever so hungry.
In practiced accuracy, the sharp needle-like teeth flexed from his gums, clawed talons growing from his webbed fingers.
Poking his tongue out of his mouth, he could practically taste the soft flesh beneath his lips; he could see the crimson liquid slowly sifting through the water under the pressure of the nail-like canines scraping the inside of his mouth. The warm walls of his mouth felt like sandpaper against his tongue; painfully dry.
As time passed dreadfully long, he could smell the fresh meal coming closer, if only just barely.
His lips crawled into an eerie smile. His tail flicked as he kept waiting.
Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Lucy tenses for the next blow. The whip in his hand hangs loftily by his side as he pauses between swings. Branded into the harsh leather is her spilling blood. The crimson liquid stains the wood underneath.
As each lash grips harshly onto her fair skin she winces, stifling moans in the gag forcefully lodged in her mouth.
"Come on dearie, let me hear ye scream." Throaty, drunken laughter bursts from his lungs. The hat atop his head falls crooked, it's feather sticking limply to the fine blue velvet. His crooked smile reveals even worse yellow-stained teeth that have long since began to rot and uproot themselves from his black gums. The bloodshot eyes watch her hazily underneath greased bangs that had fallen out of place.
The scent of piss, sweat and alcohol wafted off of him like the steam from boiling water. After years at sea, the need for clean clothes disappeared, and so did any gentleness for the opposite sex.
Lucy glared at him from beneath her flattened locks. Even after long hours of beating, she still felt that Heartfilia stubbornness thumping inside of her breast. She refused to give him what he wanted, even though her body could barely take anymore. Her pulse throbbed in each wound from the constant strike of the thick leather whip.
He chuckled gleefully as he roughly grabbed the hair behind her head, lifting her up by the bleeding scalp. She dared not scream, though she desperately desired to. Her eyes squeezed painfully shut in spite of it.
"Yer a feisty one aren't ye lass? I don' think many folks will pay for such a thing, no matter how valuable ye are."
He dropped her then, her battered body slapping the hard wood loudly. Her vision bled black as a muffled groan bottled her throat. The gag slipped from her mouth as she scooted away from the filthy pirate.
"When my father gets a hold of you and this accursed ship, you'll soon wish you hadn't stolen something so valuable." Her aimed spit landed on his boots.
Spitting the contents of the whiskey he had just taken a swig of in her face, a roar of hearty laughter made him fall over.
"Now that's a right fine idear you got there missy, yer dear father will ne'er find ye out at sea. On land, he may apprehend ye fast, but out 'ere in this vast ocean, he would sooner look for ye at the bottom of Davy Jones if he knows what's good fir 'im."
Overshadowing her, he slipped the tattered skirt of her dress up to her thigh. Fumbling at his belt he leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"We'll see how valuable ye are right now befir I sell yer dead body to the fishies."
Lucy swiftly dragged herself further into the corner. "You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't sell damaged goods even if your life depended on it. Stealing the purity of a princess and then trying to sell her would be the stupidest mistake to ever be made."
He scrambled closer to her, revealing himself hungrily as he stroked his member.
"Who said ye had to be a virgin? The mer-people don't care too much about damaged goods."
Her eyes widened as his calloused hand spread her legs and delved into her clothing for the small opening between them.
"No."
Lucy squeezed her eyelids shut, willing her body to remain rigid. She felt his throbbing member rub against her opening, instinctively she retched.
She whispered a small prayer as she felt him enter her just a mere centimeter, before the door was thrown brusquely open, the swing knocking the door knob into the wall behind it. The pirate pulled away from her to glance threateningly over his shoulder.
Looking around the man overtop of her, her eyes caught on the intruders exotic pink hair. She had hardly enough time to decide if it had been a trick of the light or if it was a natural shade before the pirate blocked her view.
"I thought I told ye to not disturb my business unless extreme emergency."
Calmly the intruder answered, "I think sir, you'll find what's going on outside close enough to be counted as an emergency."
The sea captain made no move away from his prize. "It's the Royal Guard."
At this, the man rose to his feet muttering extremities under his breath. He tightened the belt around his waist.
"How did they find us? Someone on this damn ship is a snake."
Before leaving, he turned to Lucy. "We'll finish this later lass." He threw an ugly smirk her way before slamming the door behind him.
In a flurry she scrambled to the door, banging against it with her bruised fists. "Let me out, you uncultured swine! I hope you and this damned ship burns before being sunk by my father's men!"
She went unheard as sudden shouts and a burst of heat sent the ship careening, flinging her body against the opposite wall.
She screamed in pain as the sudden impact buried her vision in blinding white. Her hand reached to the back of her head, where the action had created a bursting gash on the back of her skull.
Unfocused and fading quickly, she couldn't calculate the time. It felt like agonizing hours until the door of her prison swung open. She once again came face to face with the pink-haired man, which she felt somewhat indebted to since his earlier interruption had saved her from ruin. She was confused when his lips grew into a grin. "I've never heard a woman curse so much, much less a princess."
Wobbling she lurched forward with the help of the swaying ship. "You haven't met many women then have you?"
Laughing he grasped her by the elbow. The connection from bare skin felt unusual. She had forgotten the gentle way a hand could touch her. His calloused hand felt terribly warm against her battered skin. Still dizzy, she fell onto his chest, gripping the clothing beneath her fingertips. Her nose buried into his chest. "Natsu."
His name slipped from her chapped lips in a faint whisper. A promise of safety. "I've missed you."
He chuckled, "Really? Why would you miss me? I've been here the whole time."
She groaned into his ruffled shirt. "Why didn't you save me before?"
He chuckled as his hands stroked her back in soothing circles.
"It would be a fight between me and the whole entire crew. I may be a total badass, but that's pushing it."
Another explosion rocked the ship. Her fingers dug deeper into him. He didn't miss the way she shook in his arms. "We have to get out of here, the battle is getting intense and they're waiting for us."
He pulled her trembling form from him as he dragged her forlorn body behind him. Together they watched as delicious flames chewed the edge of the skyline. "Natsu, who's waiting for us?"
Taking an inhale of the soothing air, Gray Fullbuster closed his eyes. For weary seconds he focused on the breeze tickling his bangs against his forehead and the lulling of the waves beneath his feet.
It was blessed rest for the few moments it lasted.
"Admiral, the ship has been spotted. Not too far from here, she's anchored against the rocks of Alvarez."
His black eyes flicker open in partial annoyance. He never really liked interruptions.
His piercing gaze studied the boundless stretch of blue sea, and the fading rustic orange sunset before him. For just a millisecond, he felt free. He felt bound by no chain.
If he wanted to, he could've turned this ship around and sailed to the ends of the earth. But pressing orders buried his hopes and brought him tumbling back down into reality.
Slightly turning towards his Lieutenant, he addressed the man. "So close to land? I thought the Raven Tail preferred to avoid land unless at a fairly hidden pirate post."
"Well sir, the Islands of Alvarez are known for their abundance of merfolk circulating underneath, and the Raven Tail has been known to make fair trade with them often."
The brow of his left eye rose in question. "I thought the merfolk were very welcoming and generous. Why would Raven Tail be trading with mermaids."
The man's face grew wide with terror. "No sir, not these merfolk. The merfolk of Alvarez live off of the flesh of humans."
In anger the Admiral began clutching the clothes around his body, wishing desperately to release his skin from the claustrophobic attachment. A habit he had not fully outgrown, surviving through hours of torture from his superior. She was a demon indeed. "And you left this piece of information out because?"
Gulping, the man before him shrugged "I didn't think it would be the cause of our issue here."
"So what you're telling me, is that you think that a pirate ship who has connections with flesh eating mermaids is not willing to throw Princess Lucy Heartfilia to the mermaids themselves? Did you think that they were going to treat her with the utmost respect after they kidnapped her?"
Cowering, the man began to stutter.
Gray held his hand out before him, silencing the man. For the present, he stowed away his throbbing anger.
"Nevermind that. I trust we will continue in due course. We should reach them before midnight I presume?"
"Yes Admiral."
"Excellent. You are dismissed."
Before he could receive a blow from his commanders icy fury, he slipped below deck.
Gray turned back towards the receding horizon. Everything counted on this mission. He prayed silently that he would make it in time.
A small splash brought him from his worried banter to the water below. When his eyes caught on the azure hair and the deceiving eyes, his anger dissipated into deep longing.
He watched her tail shift in the smooth current. After the many years he had confided in the woman before him, he could never get over the initial awe he had felt for the magnificence of the protruding appendage. Even in the disappearing sunlight, blue refracted from the scaly surface in gorgeous, dancing hues.
"Juvia."
Timidly, the rest of her face came above the water. Her dark eyes peered up at him underneath her lashes, digging a bigger hole into the ice wrapped around his heart. She stared at him with such pure eyes as if she was confessing love to him without using any words.
"Gray-sama, I can't go any further. The boundary between Ishgar and Alvarez is not far from here. It is extremely forbidden for me to cross it."
He couldn't help feel a little troubled about her comment. She had made the trip beside him for so long, it seemed unsettling for her relieving presence to not be there.
"I understand Juvia. I'll be careful, I promise. If anything bad happens, you get as far away from here as you can."
A group of the crew approached him, hearty laughter pricking his eardrums. It wasn't safe to be seen talking to a mermaid, most seamen believed them to be creatures of evil. He couldn't blame them, each mermaid had a natural talent for drawing humans, even though some took no pleasure in the sport.
He looked down at her one more time as she silently nodded and delved into the depths, away from watchful eyes. Gray waited there until the ripples from her departure finally faded to a smooth, calm surface. He watched as his reflection showed the twisted contours of his tired eyes, stubbled beard and clenched jaw.
Something was going to happen. He had a feeling it wasn't going to suit his desires at all.
So this happened. I've been working on it since May and I'm quite proud of it. It's the longest time I've ever spent on a chapter. I initially was not going to post this until I had completed the whole story, but I gave in.
I know I've started so many chapter fics and I'm working on them. I couldn't resist the urge, ugh.
Tell me how you feel about it.
Thank you for reading!
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~Brannasaurus Rex