"Komugi… Komugi!" An insistent whisper penetrated the darkness in Komugi's mind and she groaned. Her head pounded as she tried to sit, and she winced, putting a hand to her temple. "Oh thank goodness you're ok." Zola said, relieved. Komugi blinked, trying to clear her vision, and looked around. She, Zola, and Aisha were sitting in a cavern lit by flickering torches. At the back of the cavern sat a caged doorway in the wall, and at the front a small grassy area with palm trees.
"Where are we?" Komugi asked, pushing herself to her feet and wandering towards the entrance. She shielded her eyes as she hit sunlight and looked around. Large, pointed rocks, like sharp fangs that curved inwards towards her surrounded the grassy patch. She looked down to find her sword wound fully healed, but her dress was still stained with blood. It was dry now, the fabric stiff and heavy from it.
"Devil's Isle, where else?" Aisha grumbled from the back of the cavern. She had wedged herself into a crevice and pouted, her arms folded over her chest.
"How did we get here?" Komugi asked mechanically, peering through a small crack between the rocks. In the far distance she could barely see a shoreline. Behind her, Aisha scoffed.
"The hell if I know." She said icily, scraping her heel on the rock and causing gravel to tumble down the cavern wall loudly. Komugi spun around quickly, her eyes wide and darting this way and that around the cavern.
"Where is everyone else? Where's Seven?" she asked shrilly, taking a few steps forward.
"Hell if I know, when I woke up we were the only ones here." Aisha grumbled, turning her head away from her to face the stone wall. "All I know is there was chaos at the camp, and all of us girls used that to our advantage to run away. Nobody tried to stop us either, it was odd. Zola and I were together hiding near these strange pillars around a pool of water when we heard something land near us. Next thing I know it's all gone black and we wake up here with you." She sighed and slumped. The strength left Komugi's legs and she slid to the cavern floor, relief and worry mixing together in her body. She sat there like that, staring into nothing, for a few minutes before standing again.
"Ok then, we just have to get out of here, no biggie. We're not in any danger right now, so all we have to do is climb those rocks and swim to shore." Komugi decided, wandering back out to the sharp rocks.
"Good luck with that, those things are rubbed smooth. Besides, the water is teeming with sharks, how are you going to propose we swim to shore with them?" Aisha scoffed, glaring at the back of Komugi's head.
"Well, it's better to try than to sit here and rot, you know? We got here, so there's got to be a way out." Komugi stated calmly, walking along the rocks. She ran her hand across their surface, checking for cracks that she could break out and create a foothold with.
"They say the Pirate King Zaken bewitched those rocks to never wither away or change." Zola said, watching. Komugi turned and gave her a puzzled look for a moment before returning to her task. Finding a foothold wide enough for her feet, she then set about a task of digging in the sand at the center of the grassy patch to look for rocks large enough for her to stand on and heft herself up to the foothold.
"Don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled as she dug. Her fingernails scraped something hard, and she began to dig eagerly.
"You don't know about the Pirate King Zaken?" Aisha asked in cynic disbelief. "Wow, you really did come from a nowhere town. Even those coming from Elmore know of him." Komugi tilted her head in puzzlement as she uncovered the top of a treasure chest.
"Would you care to enlighten me then?" she asked, not really paying attention to what was being said. She found a rung on the side of the chest and began pulling with all her might. The sand around it was loose, and allowed the chest to slide easier. Her foothold gave away as she pulled, and she fell flat on her bottom, her skirt flaring out around her as she landed.
"The Pirate King Zaken…" Zola began, hugging herself and casting a worried glance to the rusted door behind her. "…Was once the most fearsome pirate to ever sail the seas. He became obsessed with the forbidden magic of Giants and pursued tales and dead-end treasure hunts searching for it. He and his crew took slaves to dig out much of the inside of this island, searching for the treasure the Giants had left behind. His crew thought him mad from his quest, and imprisoned him in this very room, leaving him for dead." Komugi stopped pulling upon the treasure chest and looked up at Zola, who was fidgeting in worry. "He found the Giant's treasure though, and activated the forbidden magic connected with it. Humans should not use such a thing, and it turned him into a vampire. With his newfound power he slaughtered his entire crew for the mutiny they performed against him, but the magic from the Giant's Treasure would not allow them to die either. So they all still live here, Zaken and his undead crew, within the deepest recesses of the island cave. It is said that a growing clan of bandits and murderers, fashioning themselves as pirates of the now, wish to gain the powers that Zaken know, and bring sacrifices for him to feed upon." Zola ended her tale with a whisper, shaking from the fear of her own tale. Komugi stared for a moment before pushing herself up again to continue pulling on the treasure chest.
"If Zaken is such a powerful vampire, then why does he stay here? He's obviously not being imprisoned, so why doesn't he just up and leave and go hang out someplace useful, like that one ex noble up in Elmore?" She took a breath and then pulled on the chest with all of her strength. "At least people like Baium have an excuse, he's actually bewitched to his tower. Waiting here for someone to bring him food is pretty lame if you ask me." The chest came loose with her final tug, and she fell backwards onto her back, her arms splayed.
"You talk as if this thing is actually still human." Aisha stated coldly, watching her. Komugi lazily lifted a hand to wave it.
"Well he is, isn't he? He's just got a new food preference. I think it was pretty low of his crew to lock him up like that. Can't blame a guy for having a dream, even though he probably could've been better about finding it." Komugi stated airily. She let her hand fall over her eyes and sighed heavily. It was strange, she had just woken up, but she felt tired all of a sudden. Maybe it was heat stroke, as it was pretty hot out there in the sun. Plus they didn't have any water or food that she could see.
"What was that?" Zola suddenly asked, standing up. She stared across to the wall of the cavern, where a poorly made iron cage blocked the passageway beyond. Cold air blew, bringing a welcome relief to the heat.
"What was what?" Aisha asked, annoyed.
"I thought I heard something, like a person laughing." Zola replied, shivering.
"I think the heat has gone to your head." Aisha grumbled, kicking her foot again.
"Komugi, you heard it, didn't you?" Zola asked, looking towards Komugi, who still lay on the sand, the treasure chest sticking half out of the sand between her splayed legs. When she didn't answer, Zola wandered towards her cautiously. "Komugi? Are you ok?" Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she shook her head and sighed. Komugi had fallen asleep.
Komugi bolted upright as a piercing scream tore through her dreams, waking her up. She stared straight ahead for a moment, letting her brain catch up to her body. It was nighttime, and by the position of the moon, it was really late.
"Hey, what was that?" Komugi called out. When she received no answer from Zola or Aisha, she stood and wandered back into the cave, rubbing her eyes. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked. She stopped, her hand still at her eye in mid-rub, as the previously bolted door was now hanging slightly open. It creaked softly as a breeze blew from somewhere within, and Komugi thought she could hear heavy breathing of something beyond in the darkness. Pursing her lips, Komugi cautiously pushed the door open wide enough for her to poke her head through. "Zola?" she called, squinting into the gloom. A single torch flickered in the distance, illuminating a small portion of the room beyond the door. She put her hands on her hips for a moment in thought, then shrugged and walked through the gate.
The stone was ice cold under Komugi's bare feet as she walked cautiously into the darkness. The stone that made up the entirety of the small cavern room was a dark gray, and covered with sea slime. The one torch that burned ahead of her lit up chains which dangled and creaked from the ceiling. Old wooden barrels and tattered tarps littered the floor in piles, and someone had precariously piled a stack of treasure in a chest upon a ledge near the torch. She regarded it curiously, and then noticed a set of sharp spikes above it. The treasure was obviously a clever trap. She approached it slowly and stared in wonder at a large ruby, bigger than her head. Her face reflected on its many facets, and she gasped as the dried blood she had choked out when wounded was still caked to her chin. Embarrassed by herself, she stepped away and began scrubbing at her face with the hem of her dress. Another sharp scream sounded, this time closer, and Komugi whipped around quickly.
"Zola?" she called as she turned. What met her gaze wasn't either of the girls, but a skeleton wearing full chest and head armor, and holding a long pike. Komugi gasped in surprise as it smoothly cracked her on the back of her head, knocking her out.
She came to again, moments later, as the Skeleton Pikeman released her arm to let her drop to the floor where he'd dragged her. Komugi pushed herself to her feet heavily, holding the back of her head and wincing.
"You didn't have to be so rough about it." She told the Skeleton as he walked away from her. She glared at it for a moment before a light gasp caught her attention. Ahead of her, lit by ghostly blue light, was the shadowed figure of a tall man wearing a Corsair hat and crimson, richly decorated coat. He had Zola in his arms, hugged tightly against his chest, his head pressed against her neck, hiding his face. Zola stared dreamily into the air, her eyes glazed. Komugi scanned the floor quickly and grabbed a half rotted wooden plank from near her feet. "HEY! Pervert! Knock it off!" she shouted, running at him. Just as she swung her plank of wood he disappeared from before her, Zola falling limply to the ground. Komugi dropped the wood in a hurry to catch her before she hit the floor.
"N… No!" Aisha whimpered. Komugi lifted her head quickly to see the man blink into existence again behind Aisha and wrap an arm around her waist. He gently pushed her head to the side by placing a hand on her jaw. There was a soft growling noise as he lowered his head to her neck, and then the sound of skin being pierced. Aisha gasped loudly before going limp in his embrace. Komugi's eyes widened. This was Zaken?
"Ah… it was so lovely.." Zola said, her voice whispery. Komugi's attention was drawn away from Zaken and Aisha and she looked down at the girl in her arms. Her eyes widened as two puncture wounds in her neck were still bleeding, further staining Komugi's dress.
"Oh god, Zola." Komugi whimpered her voice cracking. She instinctively held a hand over the wound and willed her magic spell to come forth, but the collar was still secured tightly around her neck. She cursed and tried in vain to pull it off. "Zola, stay with me, don't fall asleep." Komugi commanded, ripping a piece of fabric from her back, where the bald man's sword had cut it. She wadded up the fabric and pressed it against her throat.
"I saw life from the very beginning…now I understand it all…" Zola whispered, her eyes slowly shutting. She had a dream-like grin on her face which stayed as her body relaxed.
"Zola, wake up! Don't do this!" Komugi commanded loudly to her, shaking her lightly. The piece of fabric she held to the wound was already completely saturated. A door creaked open behind her, and heavy footsteps walked towards her. Komugi looked up as a rotted hand reached down and snatched Zola from her lap. Behind her stood a green skinned zombie, a pirate's bandanna still tied around his partially rotted face. "No, she's not dead yet!" Komugi shouted at the Zombie, grabbing Zola's other arm and pulling. The thing's arm became dislodged with her yanking, rotted muscles snapping as the bone slid loose from it's socket as it's hand refused to release Zola. A bony hand shot out of the shadows around her and gripped her by the back of her neck, shaking her until she released Zola. The Pikeman who had brought her into the room in the first place hissed at her threateningly before dragging her along the floor by her neck. "Let go!" Komugi insisted, trying to pry the bony fingers from her flesh.
There was a whoosh, and suddenly Zaken appeared next to her, still holding Aisha's limp body in his arms. He waved his arm and a large saber shot out of nowhere and through the center of the Pikeman's body. It gasped and wheezed before exploding into dust. He dropped Aisha and lifted Komugi up by her arm.
"Oh no you don't." Komugi said, struggling against his grip. "You're not eating me…" she pulled her leg back, ready to knee him in the groin when he spun her around and pressed her back against his chest, one arm over her chest, pinning her to him.
"You know better. They are mine until they move no more." Zaken said in a voice surprisingly softer than Komugi had expected. She noted that he had a slight accent, one that she had never heard before. The zombie, and several other skeletons stood in front of him, regarding him silently. Another skeleton darted forward and grabbed Aisha, hauling her through the door after the zombie pulling Zola had passed through.
"No…" Komugi began, trying to step forward to stop them. Zaken's grip tightened over her chest, and she fell backwards onto him. They stayed like this until the last undead minion had shuffled out and the door swung shut heavily behind them. He released Komugi gently, and retreated away from her to a desk in the corner. He sat heavily and swung his booted feet around to rest on top of the desk, crossing them as he settled. Komugi stared at him cautiously as he regarded her expressionlessly.
Zaken was handsome, his face long and slender. He had slight shadows under his eyes, but it only seemed to enhance his looks, not detract, as it would most people. Long blonde hair streamed out from beneath his large corsair hat and disappeared beneath the high collar of his coat. Komugi scooted around the room, uneasy under his intense stare.
"Aren't you going to eat me too?" she asked, her voice coming out as barely more than a mumble.
"No." Zaken stated simply, folding his hands over his stomach. He tilted his head back slightly, still watching her.
"Are you going to rape and kill me then?" she asked again, her voice hard. Zaken surprised her by chuckling, although his expression did not change.
"No." he repeated.
"Can I leave then?" She inched towards the door as she asked.
"No."
"Is there anything I can do, or do I just sit here waiting for something to happen?" Komugi finally asked, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Zaken lowered his feet from his desk to sit upright in his chair. He waved a hand, and a small table flew from the shadows and settled itself in front of her. After that, a crystal flask and matching goblet placed itself on the table along with a bowl of fruit and a plate full of some kind of meat and cheese.
"You may eat. You must be hungry and thirsty." Zaken stated. Komugi's eyes bugged out at the display, and how it had magically appeared before her.
"How did you do that?" she asked quickly, looking at Zaken with wide eyes. He blinked a few times at her, surprised.
"I'm sure you've heard the stories, my power comes from the Giants." He said, watching as she poured a cup full of water and then drink it eagerly. "Such a thing was simple for them, and is now for me."
"Yeah, I've heard the stories." Komugi said with her mouth full of fruit and cheese. She avoided the meat, as she was unsure of its origin. "What would you want with immortality anyway? I'd think it would be boring to live forever. You'd run out of things to do." She swallowed half of what was in her mouth before taking a drink of water to swallow the rest. She paused to look at him, her cheek bulging out with food. "You're not going to kill me now for saying that, are you?"
"No." Zaken repeated again, and Komugi relaxed. She returned to gorging herself. "Quite simply, it was what drives any pirate." He continued, again much to her surprise. "Greed." He stood, and began pacing slowly across the back of his cabin. "To gain power. To become the strongest person there ever could be, to gain whatever my heart desired, I would embrace the forbidden magic of the Giants." He paused to raise his hand and clutch the air in a tight fist.
"Wow, so you didn't want to work for it, and instead tried to take the easy route, huh." Komugi stated more than asked, pausing in her eating. Zaken lowered his hand to look at her quickly, suddenly de-materializing from where he stood and re-appearing in front of her. He slammed his hands on the table and leaned towards her face, all in one motion.
"What would a young girl like you, who has not seen all that life has to offer, know about what it is I speak of?" His voice was a low growl, his face creased in anger. Komugi leaned away from him, but stared directly into his eyes. They were a bright blue, like the warm ocean she dreamed about often in her fantasies of love. "You have not yet begun to realize that there is no reward for hard work. There is either easy or failure for some people, and unfortunately the gods decreed I would be one of them." He backed away from her and walked to his seat, where he sat again.
"Well then…if your plan was conquest once you gained this power, why didn't you go and plunder like you planned?" She lifted an apple and bit into it loudly. "It seems like kind of a waste to stay here all this time, if you went through so much to get that forbidden magic in the first place." Zaken answered her with a short chuckle.
"After the fact, it no longer seemed worth the trouble." was all he said before disappearing into nothingness. "Use these lodgings as your own, Komugi, but do not go out the exit. You will be safe here, but I cannot guarantee your safety in the hands of my still mutinous crew." Zaken said. His voice came from all around her, its source unknown.
Komugi finished everything on the table save for a few pieces of fruit and the meat, and then began exploring her surroundings. She was in a well-furnished, large cabin that creaked and shifted as if it were on a boat. Zaken had treasures and antiques from all over Aden and Elmore, and even some that seemed to come from as far away as Gracia. A large window sat at the other end of the room, statues, books and strange elaborate boxes sitting upon its sill. Stretching, her stomach full, Komugi wandered to the window and climbed up to kneel upon its ledge. She found that she was on a pirate ship, which had somehow broken down inside of the island cavern. Below the ship, in shallow water, wandered the undead crew. Their movements were slow, and they swayed to and fro like tree boughs in the wind. She idly wondered what it was they thought of now that they were dead, or if they even realized they were dead.
Zaken moved about his crew below, shouting something and pointing towards the underside of the boat, just out of view. The zombies in sight suddenly began running in the direction he pointed, surprisingly fast for how slow they had been moving just moments ago. Their torsos swayed on their hips quicker as they ran, their limp arms moving like pendulums. Komugi pressed her forehead against the glass, trying to watch Zaken as he followed his crew at a slow walk. Something that looked like a small girl with blonde hair and wearing a red dress suddenly flew up from the water below and screeched at her. Startled, Komugi stumbled backwards from the window as the girl-creatures hands unhinged themselves, and blades shot out of the arms. She screeched again and spun at the window, scratching it with her knives. Komugi noticed she was a marionette of some sort, her arms and mouth jointed like a puppet. She scooted backwards quickly, afraid the doll would break through the glass. Her hand bumped a small round side table next to the richly covered couch in the middle of the cabin, toppling it. A small box tumbled onto the lush carpet and fell open, and a melody began to play. With the sound of the music, the doll screeched a different noise and flew upwards and out of view.
Komugi curiously crawled over to the music box and lifted it up; a pearl necklace and gold pocket watch tumbling from inside. She smiled at the melody and gathered the jewelry up as she carried the box over to a wall mirror. Another table sat against the wall underneath it, and she placed the music box upon it and began humming the tune that played. She inspected the pearls for a moment before looking into the mirror and hooking them around her neck. Still humming, she smiled at her reflection, then backed up a few steps to do a twirling dance. Her dress, still wet with Zola's blood, clung to her leg and she looked down at it with a frown. Taking a breath she shut her eyes and lifted her hands to the air, as if placing them on a partner's shoulder and hand, and then began to move in a waltz fashion. She smiled, finding that she enjoyed herself much more when she didn't have to see reminders of the night's events still clinging to the fabric of her clothes.
Her foot hit something heavy as she moved, and she paused, opening her eyes. She looked down to find a strange gray tablet by her foot, a pulsing green jewel in the center of it, and strange vein crevices criss-crossing it's surface in a bizarre pattern. The crevices glowed with the same green light as the jewel in the center. She kneeled and picked it up, and a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Holding the tablet to the side, she lifted the parchment. Upon the back was written 'Winds of Sayha, be your guide.' Making an interested noise, she flipped the paper over to find a near-realistic black and white portrait of a girl with beautiful eyes smiling. She had large wings upon her back, similar to the ones she'd seen on the statues of Einhasad in the churches about the land. Placing the portrait back on the floor, she returned to staring at the tablet. It's pulsing was hypnotic, and she ran her hand across it's surface. Where her skin touched, strange words suddenly glowed, as if activated by the heat of her hand. Eyes wide, she stared at the words as they re-arranged themselves into something she could read. Her lips parted and she took a breath, readying herself to read what was written, aloud.
"It would be wise, to not poke around in one's private possessions." Zaken suddenly said in a low voice, grabbing her hand and pulling her around to face him. He took the tablet from her hand roughly, and walked over to a portrait of himself on the far wall. It swung out to reveal a black safe behind it.
"So~rry." Komugi stated sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest. "If it's so private, why don't you put it away someplace where nobody can find it, instead of leaving it out like you did?"
"I thought you would know that, until now, I have been the only one to enter these quarters." Zaken said seriously, placing the tablet inside of the safe and then shutting it. He walked over to the music box and shut it with a loud snap, then opened again to stare at it. "Where is the necklace?"
"Oh, here. Sorry, it was pretty so I thought I'd try it on." Komugi said, reaching behind her neck to take it off. Zaken snatched it from her hand as she held it out to him. "Hey, what's your problem? You about pulled my hand off!" she said, annoyed, and held her hand protectively to her chest. Zaken shoved the necklace back into the music box and shut it quickly, placing his hand over it. His back was to, her, and he took deep, controlled breaths.
"Do not touch anything in this room unless I give you permission to." He said in a low voice. Komugi turned her head slightly and squinted. Was it just her imagination or had he just become a bit bulkier?
"Well gee, you leave someone in a room and tell them they can't leave, what did you expect me to do, sit with my thumb up my ass?" Komugi retorted, putting her hands on her hips. Zaken stood upright then, and then turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly parted in surprise. His skin moved strange on his face as he turned his head, as if it were returning back from a different form. "If you're going to keep me here, you could at least give me something interesting to do. I'm not so easily amused like my sister, she could sit for hours and just pick her nose and be entertained." Komugi frowned as Zaken stared at her with large eyes, his jaw clamped shut. The muscles in the side of his face had begun to twitch, and she lowered her eyelids at them. "What's your problem?" she challenged.
Zaken looked away from her quickly then, putting a hand on the table in front of him and leaning upon it, his other hand covering his mouth. Still frowning, Komugi wandered over to his side to look at his face. Her own eyes went large as she discovered Zaken staring at the table, his eyes tearing up and face turning pink. His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
"Are you….laughing?" Komugi asked, impressed. Zaken turned away enough to hide his face from her, one hand still placed on the table as if to support himself. "What did I say that was so funny?" she asked, walking around to his other side to look at him again. Against her better judgment, she was finding his shyness at displaying mirth a cute quality in him, and she wanted to see more. He had lost his frightening presence in that moment, and looked just as human as she.
"One's…thumb…up…one's…" he managed, his voice muffled from behind his gloved hand. He stumbled away from her and leaned upon the doorframe. "I saw it…you…sitting…" Komugi gasped as she folded her arms across her chest.
"You imagined ME with my thumb up my ass? How DARE you!" she stated loudly, planting her feet on the floor. "You really ARE a pervert! A big undead pervert! I demand you imagine something else, right now!" She stamped her foot with the final word. Zaken didn't respond to her, and instead pushed himself out of the cabin, leaving the door open. Komugi followed him as he stumbled through the large room beyond his quarters. "I mean it, you know! I'll not have some vampire pervert ruin my image by imagining me doing something disgusting!" she called after him. He didn't seem to hear her and stumbled down a hallway connected to the room at the other side. Komugi growled and spun around, slamming the door behind her. To prove that she really was angry, she flipped the lock on the door. "That'll teach you." She growled at the keyhole. She stomped angrily to the couch and plopped on it, her arms still folded across her chest.
She stared at the scratches on the window that the doll had left for a long time, her cheeks puffed out as she pouted. Growing tired, she finally let the rest of her anger out in a large sigh and fell over onto her side. The portrait of the winged girl lay at the foot of the couch, and Komugi picked it up lazily, resting her chin on an embroidered silk decorative pillow. She stared at the girl's eyes for a moment before sighing through her nose, the whoosh of air sounding loudly over the fabric of the pillow. Rolling onto her back she situated herself until she was comfortable, and stared at the portrait once more.
"I'll bet you didn't have this kind of trouble." She told it. "Did you know Zaken too, or were you just some pretty picture he picked up in a town somewhere?" She paused for a moment, trying to imagine how the girl would respond. "Why'd he keep me alive, anyway? He ate the other two girls I was with… Unless I'm being saved for a special dinner or something. Clerics must taste different." She rolled onto her side once more, curling up and holding the portrait gently to her chest.
"Sharmin…" she whimpered, tears welling up in her throat and spilling out of her eyes onto the pillow. She curled into a tight ball and finally let all the tears she'd held back since being separated from her sister come forth, fear and loneliness she never realized she felt coming out in one great rush. She then fell into a deep, restful sleep, not hearing Zaken as he entered the room again, or feeling it when he pulled a blanket over her shoulders. In her dreams, a handsome boy did the same for her, and then planted a tender kiss on her temple. The boy in her dream also sat and watched her sleep for quite some time, with a gentle look on his face. Satisfied, Komugi sighed and snuggled beneath the blanket, never once questioning if she was dreaming about reality, or if her mind had made it up.
