"Ahoy, quartermaster!" Captain di Angelo called to me.
My head snapped up and my body whipped around, my sword clanking against my thigh as a grin spread across my face. "Ay, Captain?"
"Belay the ropes in the crows' nest, will you?" Captain di Angelo winked at me cheekily. The captain knew everything about me, including the fact that the crows' nest was my favorite place to hang out. I guess it was a given that the captain knew everything about me; Captain Bianca di Angelo was my older sister, after all, the person I had grown up and trusted my life with.
"Aye aye, Captain di Angelo!" I mock-saluted and scampered to the crows' nest, my sister's merry laughter ringing in my ears as she good-naturedly ordered the crew about. They, of course, obeyed her, not out of fear but out of respect. My sister was a likeable person, and a fair captain, admired by many but also feared as well.
I heard the sharp clicks of her heels as she marched towards the helm of the ship and gazed out to sea, sparing a glancing through her spyglass every few seconds. I observed her fondly from the crows' nest, admiring what an amazing person she'd grown into, fitting into the role of protector, sister, mother, and best friend all as she built up a reputation for herself as the most feared female pirate captain on this side of the seven seas.
She was fourteen when she had become captain after our father and mother's demise, and I twelve. We were scared young children, but Bianca had swallowed her emotions and stayed strong- for us. Letting your guard down was a sign of weakness, and weakness got you killed. Now Bianca was eighteen and I was sixteen. We were well-off pirates with luxurious lives and a good crew- but most importantly each other. Life on a rowboat would have been paradise as long as Bianca was with me. It couldn't get any better than it already was.
As I watched the captain, I saw her features harden as she studied the horizon. The hardened expression turned into one of disbelief, then fear, then horror, pure, raw horror, a horror that I hadn't seen on her face for so long, the same kind of horror I had overtaken her features as we had watched our parents get murdered in cold blood before our very eyes four years ago.
My sister tore herself away from the helm and panic was painted in its most horrible form on her face as she screamed to the crew," Sail ho, I repeat, sail ho! Turn this ship around now! Quartermaster, raise the sails and get down here right now! We're being pursued, Zoë, run a few shots across the bow and arm the starboard cannons!"
"Fire in the boom!" Three earsplitting BOOMS were heard as Zoë obeyed the commands and I frantically undid the sails. "Nico, come down now! It's not safe up there!" Bianca yelled at me. "If all else fails, abandon ship!"
A cold feeling settled itself in my gut. "What about you, Captain?" I called as I slid down to the deck, hoping my fear didn't show itself in my voice, hoping the answer I knew I would get wasn't the one she would give me.
"I? Quartermas- Nico, brother, I believe you know the answer to that one." Bianca's tone was gentle, yet firm. "If the worst occurs, a captain must go down with her ship, the way Mama and Papa would have done, given the chance."
Panic was choking me as cannons from the distance were being fired in response, missing by mere centimeters and dousing everyone on deck with sea spray.
Our flight was quick but not quick enough. The bow of another ship was visible, and with a sudden realization that felt like I had been punched in the stomach I finally understood why Bianca was so scared.
The ship chasing ours was the one that had ambushed us when Bianca and I were young children, the same ship whose crew members had taken our parents life. Cold fear gripped me as I rushed over to her at the exact moment she rushed to me.
We embraced each other, a short connection that felt like forever. "I love you." she whispered into my ear just as the first grappling hooks pierced the deck of the Lupo di Mare, the Sea Wolf, our ship.
At that moment Bianca shed the role of older sister like an old skin and metamorphosed into Captain Bianca di Angelo, slayer of the seas. She strode over to the helm of the ship to face the capturers. I followed her, my heart pounding against my ribcage. If the di Angelos were going down- well, we were going down together.
"Surrender your ship to us, Captain di Angelo." a cold, smooth voice drawled. "Surrender your ship and your lives to us so we can commit the murder of the person who robbed us of the soul of our crew in her wake."
"Surrender?" Bianca uttered the term incredulously, with venom. "You ambushed our ship, Captain Jackson. You took the lives of my parents and in return I took the life of your father. There is a reason why they call me Captain Bianca di Angelo, slayer of the seas." She unsheathed her sword and the crew approached behind us, bearing weapons as well.
My own sword felt heavy and slack in my grip, my mouth dry and adrenaline taking the rightful place of blood in my veins.
"How ironic." A new voice, a feminine voice but fierce nonetheless, was speaking. Two shadows formed in the thick mist. "The slayer of the seas slayed by the son of the seas. We have an army, and what do you have? You will go down tonight, and it will be brutally painful."
Anger bubbled up in my throat and I swept my sword forward, shouting," Nobody threatens my sister! You seem to have forgotten that us di Angelos refuse to go down without a fight, Captain Chase!"
Laughter echoed across the air, so strong it rippled the waves themselves. Bianca put a firm hand on his shoulder. He could hear her unspoken message loud and clear.
"Who's this, now? Let me see if I remember!" Captain Jackson bellowed. "Ah, yes! The young di Angelo boy, Nicholas, if I recall?"
"Nico!" I gritted my teeth and growled.
"You certainly have grown!" he mocked me. "Why, I remember when you were but a scared little twelve year old, watching your mother and father meet their dooms by the hands of my father's forces."
My breath caught in my throat and my vision swam as I had a brief but oh, so vivid flashback.
"MAMA! PAPA!" I thrashed ferociously even though I was hopelessly bound to a mast. Tears were sliding down my cheeks as my mother and father met my eyes for what would surely be the last time.
I glanced at Bianca. She was trying to grab at her dagger. The second her fingers touched the hilt of it a member of the crew snatched it, threw it into the ocean, and slapped her cheek with the end of a frayed rope.
Mama had screamed as the blow sounded across the open air. "Leave the children alone." Papa's voice was low and steady but dripping with hatred. "Let them be, they've done nothing to you!"
"They're your spawn. They've done me a crime by simply existing." The captain, Poseidon, held two knives. One at Papa's neck and one at Mama's. "They shall live long enough to see you die." he whispered.
"MAMA! PAPA!" Bianca was now the one thrashing and screaming.
"Nico, Bianca, i nostri bellissimi bambini. La nostra meravigliosa famiglia. Ti amiamo cosi tanto; Nico, Bianca, our beautiful children. Our wonderful family. We love you so much." Mama whispered hoarsely.
"Cosi tanto...; So much…" Papa repeated faintly. I hadn't had five seconds to drink in their words before metal plunged and all I could recollect for a long, long time after that was the screaming.
I hyperventilated as the crew laughed cruelly at the effect their words had on me.
"Worthless scum!" I growled. "I am Nico di Angelo, the Ghost King, Master of the Shadows, Destroyer of Light, Prince of the Lupo di Mare! You will pay for the fate you delivered to my parents. And you will pay dearly."
Suddenly, we were surrounded by cloaked figures, all equally frightening. There was a girl with choppy brown hair with feathers braided into it, a tall man with blond hair and a scar above his upper lip, another blond guy with light blue eyes and curly locks, a Roman-y warrior girl with a spear and full battle armor, an impish looking fellow with curly brown hair and a coy grin playing at his mouth, a sun kissed girl with cinnamon hair and dirty hands, a punk girl with a pixie cut, an Asian, macho looking guy, an African American girl with curly cinnamon brown hair, and dozens more. I gripped my sword tightly.
I don't know how to describe the battle, if you could call it that. We had no hope. We were easily overwhelmed. So many people who I had grown close to and who I knew Bianca had grown even closer to lay dead in a matter of minutes. Zoë, Phoebe, Naomi, Celyn, and countless others. I slashed through their forces with more and more vigor each time one of our crew fell and didn't get back up.
I was back to back with Bianca, sister and brother fighting side by side just like it happened four years ago. We fought long and we fought hard, but in the end, all our crew were dead and only Bianca and I remained. Captain Jackson and Captain Chase cornered us in the far back of the ship.
"This is how it ends- for the girl, at least." Captain Jackson looked amused and satisfied.
"What do you mean?" Bianca demanded harshly, gripping my hand.
"What I mean is, long after you are dead, your brother Nico here will- well, we'll be having our fun with him, to say the least." The captain threw his head back and laughed.
He turned around and barked to one of the people behind him," I'll take care of the captain. Reyna, take care of our little Ghost King here." Suddenly a pair of rough hands seized me and tried to tear me away from my sister. I held fast, gripping her arms and trying not to cry. They pulled us in opposite directions and I struggled and fought, screaming her name over and over.
"Don't touch my sister! BIANCA! BIANCA! BIANCA!" I kicked and shrieked and all of a sudden I was twelve years old again, watching my parents die right in front of me, the sickening realization that life would never be the same again after this settling on my shoulders. The person holding me staggered backwards and my grip broke. Bianca was shouting my name across the boat, stretching her long fingers out towards my own.
Before she was dragged out of my sight, I saw her lips form three words: I love you. I barely had time to scream them back at her before someone shoved me into a dark room. Something came into contact with my head, and my vision became blurry before it all went black.
When I came to, I was thrown roughly onto the deck of the ship, my hands bound to my sides. There were people in front of me; Captain Jackson and his whole crew.
Immediately, I yelled," You touch a hair on the captain's head and you're DEAD, Jackson!" The captain simply smirked. "You will never get away with this!" Snickers echoed across the ship.
The captain's smirk became smug. "Oh, I already have- Ghost King."
My throat became dry. "W-What do you mean?"
Jackson's mouth twisted. "What do I mean? What do I mean? Listen to this- he asks what I mean! You want to know what I mean, Ghost King?" He leaned in to tilt my chin up and his cruel sea-green eyes bore into mine. "Captain Bianca di Angelo is dead."
"No." The word left my mouth like a hopeless whisper as I was forced to stare into his eyes, not believing. "NO! She's not dead! SHE'S NOT DEAD! Not Bianca! Not my sister! It's NOT TRUE! YOU'RE LYING TO ME!" I screamed at him, wanting more than anything to connect my fist to his face.
"Oh, I don't wish I were. It's true, Ghost King. Your sister is dead, and she's never coming back, just like your poor mother and father, just like the crew of your filthy little rowboat. They're all gone. Forever."
I felt my soul shatter. In one shrill cry I somehow managed to break free from my bonds. I punched Jackson in the face and basically went psycho.
"GRACE, VALDEZ, RESTRAIN HIM!" Jackson staggered onto his feet, clutching his bloody nose. The tall blond with the scar above his lip jumped me while the curly haired, elfish brunette tackled my legs and tied my hands and feet together tightly. Really tightly. The blond shook his head at me and gave me a look of- pity, was it? I promptly spit in his face with disgust. I was shaking and trembling and screaming, trying to get away.
"Our guest needs to learn some manners. Solace, take him to the back for patching up. We'll need him healthy and strong for what we have in store for him."
The curly haired blond attempted to help me to my feet. I say attempted because I bit his hand as soon as it was close enough to my face. He just sighed and untied the bonds on my feet. I shakily rose, glaring daggers at a bloody nosed Captain Jackson.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" The blond led me to a room at the top of the stairs. I said nothing in reply. I was still shaking.
My sister is dead. My sister is dead. My sister is dead…
A lump rose in my throat and I swallowed it hard. I couldn't show weakness. Weakness got you killed.
"If it makes you feel any better-" The blond started, but I cut him off.
"What do you mean, if it makes me feel any better?! My sister, my only family, is dead. And it's your crew's fault! Nothing you could possibly say could make me feel any better."
"Listen, I'm just saying-"
"No, you listen. Can you give me back my sister, our crew, and the Lupo di Mare? Even just my sister?"
The blond said nothing.
"Exactly. You can't make me feel 'any better.' So please, let me be miserable in peace."
The blond shook his head and started to slather some paste on rope burns I didn't even know I had.
"Would you at least tell me your name?"
"No." Why should he get to know my name?
"I don't want to have to call you Ghost King, alright? Not all of us are as cruel as Captain Jackson. Not all of us wanted to see your sister and your crew die, so stop treating us like that." His voice became hard.
I was silent for a minute, considering. Then I mumbled," Nico. My name's Nico. And if you didn't want to see my sister die, why'd you let it happen? On the Lupo di Mare, every decision was determined by democracy."
"Well, Nico, you'll soon come to realize that not all boats function like the Lup-o dee Mare." He sounded out the Italian phrase so strangely I had to smile a little. Once I realized I was smiling, I quickly covered it up. "On the Argo II, what Captain Jackson wants to happen happens. None of us have a say in it."
That seemed like a screwy way to run a boat, I thought. I decided to keep it to myself.
"I'm Will, by the way. Will Solace." He looked up midway through bandaging my wrists and snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Weel Solace." The words rolled over my tongue in a funny sort of way. I didn't understand it when he burst out laughing.
"What is so funny?" I demanded.
"Y-your accent…" He wiped a tear from his eye. "It's-it's very lilting." He stopped laughing and smiled.
The door burst open at that moment. "Hey, Will, Captain wants you and the pr- Nico, out on the deck." The African-American girl smiled at him. Her eyes passed over me once, twice, flooded with sympathy.
"Hi. I'm Hazel Levesque. I'm- I'm really sorry about your sister." She walked over to me and squeezed my hand briefly. Her touch was cool and soothing, like ice on a burn. The comment about Bianca made me feel numb all over again. I was only somewhat aware of Will tying the bandages on my ankles as he pulled me to my feet.
"What does the Captain want this time?" Will asked Hazel, kind of bored.
"Something to do with him." She jerked her head towards me. "I should be going. Frank doesn't trust him that much, but we should give him a chance, right?"
Why was everyone talking about me like I couldn't hear? I staggered out the open door with Will and Hazel right behind me to face Jackson and whatever he had in store for me.
My mind felt numb as one thought pulsed like my life's blood, one thought that kept me going:
Bianca is dead. You have to avenge her. Bianca is dead. Avenge her.