A.N: This fic is not a priority fic, I want to make it clear. I was suffering from a bout of writer's block from IWMUH (my main story) so I started to write up chapters for this. It isn't my best work, I'm not afraid to admit it, and it's unbeta'd.
A special thank you to all of my reviewers, as well as the people who favourited and put this on alerts. Reviews are greatly appreciated – when I feel I have a decent amount, I'll add another chapter.
I apologise for it being like 'taking candy from a baby' :) I have something like eight chapters written (it was bad writer's block) so... hopefully that will sate you all :)
Chapter 2 – Aftershock
Once the Nomad's ship had disappeared onto the horizon, Carlisle ordered for the rum to be brought from below the deck. I sank back against the ship's mast, exhaled heavily and closed my eyes. The siren's song still reverberated through my head; the image of her ghostly face wouldn't leave my mind.
"Are you okay?" Emmett McCarthy, another fellow pirate, looked down at me unsurely. His cutlass was long, better suited to his tall and bulky frame. His robes were dark green, almost brown, and a cap was perched on his head.
"Yeah," I grunted in response, closing my eyes again. I felt drained, empty. I needed sleep, but I knew that was unlikely – at least not for a couple of hours.
I heard Emmett's footsteps fade as he moved away from me. His retreat was followed shortly by muted voices murmuring things. I opened one eye blearily, squinted as I saw the late afternoon sun fading over the horizon.
Captain Carlisle and Jasper Whitlock, another fellow pirate, were both watching me warily. Jasper knew Sirens well, knew the affects of them. He had experience with the beings, but never first hand. He'd never been charmed by the song.
"Will he be okay?" Captain Carlisle asked, turning away slightly as if my hearing had been affected by the Siren's song.
"He should be. Just a little drained. Fighting the hypnotic tendencies of the song is exceedingly difficult. I find it hard to believe that he's still alive. Nobody has ever managed it before," Jasper replied, watching me with narrowed eyes.
I closed my eyes again, exhaled heavily as the image of the Siren clouded my mind. I considered the picture in my mind for a moment.
Her hair was long, mahogany and lustrous. The eerie green glow that surrounded her skin was scary and enticing. The way that odd locks of her hair floated in the air was mysterious and interesting. Her eyes were bright, chocolate brown as she examined me. She looked interested, rather than longing for my demise.
"Edward?" somebody shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see both Emmett and Jasper looking down at me in concern. Carlisle stood between them, watching me with narrowed eyes. One of his hands rested firmly on his cutlass, as if he expected me to try and attack him.
"Yes?" I asked, looking at the sky. The sun had disappeared – it seemed that my recounting of the Siren had taken much longer than I had realized. The full moon glared down from above, the white light reflecting from the water around the ship.
"What happened?" Carlisle asked me briskly, ever the Captain. He had to worry about his ship first, and his crew second.
"Nomad was about to finish me off," I said immediately, shaking off the slumber. "My cutlass," I stopped short, remembering James sprinting to his own ship bearing my cutlass. "He was going to kill me with my own cutlass. Then the Siren rose from the water and began to sing. He ran," I finished. "And he took my cutlass."
I frowned. I'd been rather fond of the cutlass – it was light, easy to use and it fit into my hand well. The shape of the blade suited my style well. I felt defenseless with no weapon in my belt, not even a pistol or a handgun.
"That isn't a problem," Carlisle said briskly, pacing up and down before us. "We'll simply have to find you another cutlass. I'm sure there'll be one below the deck somewhere," he paused, looked at me with inquisitive eyes. "May I ask what happened with the Siren?" "She began to sing, and then she disappeared," I replied, confused as to why the Siren would do such a thing. It made little sense – she could have easily charmed me into jumping from the ship and falling to my demise, but she didn't. In fact, she saved my life and then disappeared.
"I see," Carlisle replied.
I found myself draining several cups of rum, enjoying the sting. The drink allowed me to relax, to think of something other than the ghostly creature that had saved my life earlier in the day. I eventually retired to my quarters, where I slung my belt over the chair regretfully, already noticing the absence of my cutlass.
Then, I slowly relaxed into my bed and let the night take me.
A.N: Review now?
