Ch. 2

"A jinni?"

Killian scrambled back away from the beautiful enchantress. This was a trap. It had to be!

The light surrounding her still glowed softly, illuminating her against the darkness of his ship, and the ribbons flowed precariously around her body.

"Yes, a jinni." She bowed her head subserviently.

He couldn't believe it. A jinni. Sure, he had heard of them. Tall tales of jinns were just as familiar as those of the creatures of the sea, such as mermaids and serpents. However, Killian could not believe a jinni floated before him, offering to grant his every want and whim! How had this even happened? He had awoken after a restless dream only to find his cabin awash in light. A light that seemed to emanate from the bottle, which he had forgotten in his coat. He had been fighting to open the bottle and when the top popped off she had come out of the bottle.

Come to think of it, how had she come out of the bottle?

"Is something wrong, master?" Emma asked as if sensing his distress. She peered down at him, a smile lighting her lips.

"Master?"

"Yes. Allow me to introduce myself again." Emma laughed at his dumbfounded nature while wondering of the aptitude of her new master. "My name is Emma. I am a jinni. You found me and freed me from my bottle; now you are my master. I am here to serve thee."

"Serve me?" Jinnis weren't real. This was a hoax. Some vile creature had bitten him while on that blasted island and now he was hallucinating. Or maybe she was here to lure him to his death.

"That is not true. I do not wish to harm thee, master, only to serve you." Killian startled at her words.

"Wait, are you reading my mind?"

"Indeed, I am. But I do not understand why you, Killian Jones, believe I wish to harm you. I only hope to fulfill your every heart's desire!" Emma pleaded.

"Do you really expect me to believe this?" Killian asked, angrily. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

"I would never attempt to mislead you, master. You must understand, jinnis do not tell lies under any circumstances." Killian snorted.

"Does that mean you can't even tell a tiny little lie?"

"Correct."

Killian couldn't believe it. A jinni. How would he even explain it to anyone? His crew would think he was mad. Or worse yet, once they found out she was real, they would try to take them for themselves. How was he to even explain her sudden appearance? She hadn't been on board when they had arrived at the lagoon. Could anyone else even see her?

"Of course, master. I am visible to all, now that you have freed me." Killian did a double take at her words.

"Would you please stop that?" Killian barked out. Emma flinched at his callous tone, causing him to soften.

"Stop what?"

"Reading my mind," Killian explained, trying not to sound too angry.

"I am sorry I have displeased you, master." Emma bowed her head as a sad look crossed her features.

Killian considered her words. If she was what she said she was then she would be able to prove it.

"Let's say I was to believe you. If you were really a jinni, then prove it!"

"You merely must ask for a wish." It only took a moment for him to answer.

"I wish for a chest of gold coins." He laughed at his own suggestion, not really expecting her to concoct such a thing, but there was nothing wrong with wishing!

Killian watched bewildered as her palms once again came to rest together in front of her heart. A dazzling ball of light started to glow between her palms before flashing brightly as she bowed her head.

A large chest overflowing with gold coins appeared in front of him a moment later.

The bottle top that still rested in Killian's hand fell to the ground as he gasped in shock. He picked up one of the gold coins and tested its weight before biting the gold coin. When the coin did not give way and caused his teeth the clang against the strong metal, his eyes blew wide open.

She really was a jinni!

"Did I please thee, master?" Emma asked as he ran his hand over the coins. A feral smile lit his lips as he turned his attention back to her. He leered at her, his gaze growing cold and calculated as he imagined all that he could now do.

All he could avenge!

"So how does this work? Wait, I rescued you! That means I get three wishes or something. I guess two since I just used one. Is that what jinnis do?" Killian wondered aloud.

"As I said, I am yours to command." Emma bowed deeper. "There is no limit, and as long as you hold my bottle, you are my master until you perish. I am to do your bidding, but you must remember, each wish comes with a price. And, there are a few things you cannot wish for. I cannot bring people back from the dead, I cannot make one fall in love with you, you cannot wish to be a higher being, and you cannot wish death on any living creature unless it is self-defense."

"I thought one only received three wishes." Captain Jones tented his fingers together and looked at her like she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

"That is a common fallacy, master." She smiled demurely at him.

"So, you belong to me, for the rest of my life?" Killian pondered that for a moment. When she nodded in agreement, a smile grew on his lips. "Then I wish to be immortal and you remain with me forevermore!"

"As I said master, you cannot wish to be a higher being."

He chuckled. Of course, there were limitations!

"Right, well… wait, you're a jinni! That means you can fix my ship." The smile grew wider on his lips before it faltered. But how would he explain it to his crew?

"They will not remember anything, master." Killian huffed.

"We really need to work on this." His eyes appraised her before pushing up to a standing position. "Right, let's get to work! I wish for you to fix my ship—a new mast, the rigging untangled, and the mainsail patched!"

"Will that please thee, master?"

"Very much so, love." Her cheeks colored a bright rose at the unexpected endearment.

"Then I would be happy to do those things, but I do not know what a mast is, master. Nor rigging or mainsail." She shook her head sadly, angry with herself for once again displeasing her master. If Genie knew how poorly she was doing, he would be so very disappointed. "I am sorry I do not understand, master."

A laugh escaped his lips.

"Ah, of course." For a jinni, she wasn't the brightest, though he suspected she didn't get out much. He moved toward the shelf of books in his cabin and pulled one free. He perused through it before finally finding what he was looking for. "Ahh, here!" He pointed down to a picture. "That is a mast, and this is rigging and a mainsail. That bloody storm destroyed my poor ship!"

The light began to glow between her palms a moment later. As it faded, she bowed her head and looked at her master.

Grabbing a lantern, Killian made his way toward the deck of the ship. He climbed the ladder and opened the hatch, the lantern providing the light he needed to see. As his feet hit the deck, his mouth dropped open in complete awe. Just as she had promised, a new mast stood tall in the middle of his ship. The mainsail hung proudly, waving in the wind, while the rigging was once again untangled, and in fact, tied neatly where it was supposed to.

He couldn't believe it. He had thought the gold coins were a trick, but this was beyond anything he had ever seen. Killian felt a shiver run down his spine as he realized the power he now wielded. The power that many a man would kill to possess. To have any wish. Any whim. It was more valuable than any treasure he had ever taken.

And it was his now! All his!

He pulled his flask from his pocket and took a long swallow. It seemed the tides had turned in his favor. He also realized, with a start, that any man who learned of his good fortune would slit his throat without a second thought to take Emma for himself. With the good came the bad.

"Did I please thee, master?" Emma asked earnestly. He turned, a smirk growing on his lips. Had she pleased him? Many a man would be pleased by her mere presence, yet she was wondering she had pleased him after gifting him a chest of gold coin, a new mast, and mainsail, and untangling his rigging.

"Aye, that you did, love. That you did," he said at last. Her cheeks colored at his endearment. He moved towards her and brushed this thumb over her cheek in a gentle caress, intent on repaying her for all she had done for him. In all the stories he had heard, jinnis were seductresses and temptresses.

Her breath hitched in her throat and a look of uncertainty passed over her features at his touch causing him to pause.

Sensing her discomfort, he took a step back and he smiled, a flash of white teeth in the dark of the night. Reaching for her hand, he brought it towards him, forcing her to move closer to him. He bent at the waist and brushed his lips lightly over the tips of her fingers, the soft, delicate skin caressing his own. A sense of warmth spread through his body at the contact, surprising him.

He watched as Emma suppressed a shiver at his touch. Maybe she was just as affected by his touch as he was by hers. After all, he was a dashing man, if he did say so himself. Taking a step back, he released her hand and motioned for her to follow. It was also at this time he noted that she was still floating, her dainty feet mere inches from the deck. He escorted her through the ship, his hand resting on the small of her back, as they made their way back to his cabin.

The cabin was dark; the lamps had been extinguished for the night and it was quiet except for the occasional muffled slap of the waves against the hull of his ship. Killian lay on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling with his hand behind his head and hook resting on his stomach. He should be sleeping after such a long and tiring day, but he was too excited by his great find. From the moment he had spied the elegant bottle he had known it was much more than a mere container. Still, he was stunned by the reality of his find.

Before she had disappeared into her bottle for the evening, she had stopped him with a simple question.

"Master?" He nodded in acknowledgment. "From now on, you and I will be living together, won't we?"

"Yes, it appears so, love." He flashed her a dashing smile.

"I hope every one of our days will be wonderful, master." The comment had shaken him, throwing him off his proverbial game. Still, he recovered quickly. He'd smiled widely and bowed, once again grasping her lovely hand in his and kissing it.

"Sweet dreams, my beautiful jinni."

He had decided they would make for port. For the time being, she would remain hidden in her bottle until it was safe for her to come out at night. Once they reached a port he would allege to pick her up there, bringing her aboard under the guise of having taken a companion to keep his bed warm. As captain, he had that right.

A jinni. If he tried to explain to anyone how she had materialized into his life he doubted anyone would believe him. But she was sweet, and so full of life, and not to mention, beautiful.

His mind drifted, thoughts of gold and jewels of all kind showering his coffer, all compliments of his jinni. A personal jinni to do his bidding. What more could a pirate ask for? Still, the images were quickly replaced with golden hair and emerald green eyes that shown up at him. Her slim body, snow white skin, and painted lips called to him. After all, she was a beautiful woman, who happened to call him master. The thought made him groan in discomfort, his sleep pants tightening.

He wondered, what else could he demand of his beautiful jinni?

That night, Killian dreamed of Emma. He dreamt of her small hands on his skin. Her touch was hot as fire. Every touch burned his skin as if he'd never been touched before.

And he hadn't, not like this. She touched with a certain shyness, yet the gentlest brush of her finger seared him. Her breath was like the window of the desert, the flexing of her thighs like the shifting of the mountains. Killian had looked down at her with half-lidded eyes, watching the flames burn above her as the woman kindled an even more powerful fire within him.

On his lips, he tasted the salt of her sweat. He relished in the feather-light touches of her fingers against his lips. He ached for the slow slide inside of her. Once they finally joined, he was filled with fire, as if the desert itself exhaled and breathed its life into him. Flames devoured all that he was, leaving behind a tender, raw shell of a man who had been reborn in a fire: something raw and new and free.

He awoke in his cabin, cold and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The flame that had warmed him in his dream was gone.

But her bottle was still there, sitting right next to his bunk where he had left it. He dragged a finger down the side of it, luxuriating in the feel of the cool metal, and suddenly he felt the breath of the desert warm him from within.

They would have a few days before they docked at the next port. Once he had claimed her as his companion he could let her remain free from her stuffy bottle. He wondered what it was like inside. He would have to ask her. The idea that she had to be holed up displeased him greatly.

The tides were turning, Killian could feel it. The gods had favored him. His ship was now in possession of a gorgeous jinni. After so long, he smiled, once again.