MA scene in this chapter, you will be warned before it begins.

Chapter 49: Kraken

[On board the Swift Victoria.]

I'm not sure why I was so afraid of falling into the water. Even if the kraken did try to attack me I could probably get away, I'm a fast swimmer. Perhaps I was just afraid of getting separated from everyone? I don't know. All I know is I had my eyes closed as I desperately tried to cling to the ship. The ship was tilting so much I was sure it was going to flip over. But, before I even knew it, the ship straightened out. The whirlpool was gone. Did the kraken just give up? Did she not have the power to maintain it? Whatever the reason it seems she was gone for good this time. In addition, the storm ended soon after and it looks like we will have clear weather for a long while. But I can't relax just yet. My job is to retrieve anyone that ends up in the sea and I'm ashamed to admit that in my panic I might not have noticed if anyone went in. I will have to do a head count.

Kelsey and all of TNA were inside so I don't have to worry about them. Una is carefully examining the damage done to the ship, it is quite a mess so she has a lot of work ahead of her. Riona appears to be heading inside to check on the state of things, I don't think it's going to be pretty. Veronica appears to be looking for something but is otherwise fine. Shame, she has been getting rather familiar with darling lately so I wouldn't mind seeing her 'leave' for a little while. Felisha and Michaela have gathered around the main mast as Spindla climbs up to see the extent of the damage.

"Well? Is there anything you can do?" Felisha shouts up to Spindla.

Spindla gives a sour grimace as she shakes her head. "It's no good. A tear or a hole is one thing but half the main sail is gone. It would take me days just to spin the amount of webbing required."

Felisha gnaws on her paws with a growl. I think she already knew this but it still stings to hear it. Seeing her distress, Michaela turns to her. "We can still sail without the main sail." She calmly stated.

"Yes, but what about our speed?!" Felisha snaps at Michaela. "That fucking bastard, we could lose a few days thanks to him."

I don't like how Felisha is bad mouthing darling. He may have damage the ship some but he did so fighting a kraken. She should consider herself lucky it wasn't worse. But speaking of darling… I don't… see him….. I am suddenly overcome with a sense of dread. Ok Merry, calm down, breathe. There is no reason to assume the kraken stopped its attack because it got to darling…. I'll ask Veronica! I may not like her pinning after my darling but she may at least know where he is.

I quickly run up to Veronica. "Do you know where…" We both spoke at the same time and interrupted each other. "Do you know where Jonathan is?" She continued before I could. "I can't find him."

She doesn't know where he is either?! Maybe he went to check on Tally once the danger was over? That's it! That has to be it! Without answering I take off for our room. I slam open the door to find the room a mess with Sis leading the others to help Tally as she recovers from the storm. Tally lays groaning in the bed until she sees me. "Big sis, where's big bro? Can you get him for me?"

They don't know where he is either?! No, no, no, no! Don't do this to me darling! I can't lose you! Not now! I open the hatch leading down and jump. I look in Una's room but the only things in there are the tools that have been scattered about in the fight. Dashing across the hall into the kitchen I find Kelsey crying as she sits in the middle of a mess of broken pots and spilled powder. "My spices. *sniff* My collection. *sniff* I haven't got the budget for this. *sniff* Whaaahhhh!"

Darling isn't here either! I dash down the hall, frantically leaping over the fallen hammocks. Please, darling! Please tell me you went down to help Riona! Please! I have to suddenly stop myself at the bottom of the stairs, I almost fell there. The rest of the ship was bad but this has to be the worst. Several crates were thrown about and broke, their contents strewn everywhere. Riona makes multiple piles as she searches through the mess. "Crate 7-3-C." Sets the item in a pile and picks up another one. "Crate 3-5-B." And another. "Crate 4-8-C" And another. "Another 7-3-C" It's an impressive skill but I don't have time for this!

He's not here! Darling is no longer here! I race back up to the deck, catching myself every time I stumble. How could I let this happen?! How did I not notice?! He means so much to me yet I didn't even see him go overboard. I finally reach the deck and shout: "Darling's gone!"

"Yeah, I know." Felisha casually states as she turns to face me. "I threw him overboard."

I stop dead in my tracks, I could not believe what I just heard. He didn't fall? She threw him?! How can she say that?! To just admit to my face that she just tossed my darling overboard like it's no big deal?! I don't even know how to respond to that! The gall that must take is unbelievable. I'm not even the only one who is pissed.

"Damn it captain!" Spindla shouts as she makes her way down. "Why did you have to throw him out just as I got him to agree to have a good time?!" I was there, he only agreed to consider it.

"You can get your booty call at the next port." Felisha retorted. "Focus on the sail."

"You didn't!" Veronica shouts as she runs up. "You couldn't have, right?!" Felisha just faces her with a stern glare, she need not repeat herself. Veronica is visibly distraught, almost as much as I am, by the realization. "No… Why would you?!"

"I had more than enough reason to." Felisha calmly stated.

"Captain!" Michaela was also upset. "How could you throw a crew member overboard?! That is not the way this ship works and I know it is not the way you work!"

"Oh not you too." Felisha turned to her second in command with a sigh. "His insubordination and reckless actions aside, which are grounds enough for me to throw him over, we would have lost the ship if he stayed. We were out of options."

"How dare you…" I can no longer contain my anger. She threw darling overboard! She disregarded how important he is to me… to TNA… to Veronica… and just threw him over! Darling is gone! Because of her! I don't care if I show my ugly side! She has to pay! "How dare you?!" With my claws bared and body covered in scales I lunge at her.

"Whoa there scaly." In my anger I forgot I don't have legs in this form and she easily sidesteps my attack. "You need to calm you pretty ass down!" Taking advantage of my instability she forces me to the ground and holds me there.

I struggle to get free but even in this form I am not strong enough to force her off me. I'm wasting time. I tried to pick a fight instead of going after darling?! Each second she could be getting further away. Each second she could be having her way with him. "Please!" In tears, the only thing I can do is apologize to the one responsible. "I'm sorry! Just please let me go after darling!"

She does not let me go, she just holds me in place. "And then what? You gonna to fight that kraken yourself?"

"If I have to… If that's what it takes… If I'm in the water I can do something. I can't just sit here and let darling get taken away from me. I can't lose him. I love him."

Felisha continues to hold me in place, listening to me sob until I stop struggling. "Would you just calm down and think for a minute?" Felisha growls as she slowly lets go. "You and that darling of yours, you seem to think I don't think these things through. That kraken went through a great deal of effort to get to him, she won't let him go that easily but she also won't let him come to any serious harm. Relax, he is safe for now."

I sit up as I wipe my tears away. "But she could be raping him."

Felisha just scoffs at that. "So? It's not like she's a succubus, he won't go into a stupor after just a few hours of rocking the boat with a new girl."

I feel a bit of my anger returning. "I don't want him to do her at all."

"I think you need to cool your gills. It will save you a lot of stress if you don't let it get to you." Felisha crosses her arms and legs as she sits down in front of me. "As long as you have that ring you can find him no matter where he goes, if you get him back what else matters?"

"…That's true." I tightly grip darlings gift to me, if he still has his I can find him. "But how did you know that?" I don't recall telling her.

"One of the imps told me." She scratches her head for a moment as she tries to remember which imp is which. "Doe I think it was, seems smarter than the others."

"So you threw darling over because you knew I could find him?"

Felisha gives a long exasperated sigh. "Had he just let me throw him over earlier the ship would have taken less damage and we could be working on a plan to get him back. But nooooo. He had to use the lightning, just had to burn the main sail, just had to piss me off!" Felisha turns her back to me. "Forget it! He can stay down there for all I care! It's your problem, not mine! He's caused us to fall far enough behind schedule!"

It seems a little petty to me. But still. "You're saying if we fix the main sail you would help me get darling back?"

Felisha scoffs again. "Hell if we could even use the main sail I might be willing to help. Half the sail is gone so the other half keeps turning the ship, it's better to not even use it."

"So it just needs a patch?" I don't know anything about sailing, but sewing is something I am familiar with.

"Not even a complete patch would be necessary." Spindla interjected as she joined us. "If we could just catch the wind on the other half of the sail and stop the boat from turning we could use the remaining half of the sail and we might only lose a day. The ship could then be repaired at port."

"Fat chance of that happening!" Felisha angrily shouts. "Where would you even get that much cloth?"

Cloth? All they need is cloth? I look down at my shirt. Does it matter what kind? I slowly find myself smiling, with their help I might get darling back. "Captain, I have an idea." I'm coming for you darling.

….

How long was I out? Has anyone come looking for me yet? I don't know. When I finally came to I was surrounded by nothing but darkness. Nothing besides the kraken who gingerly holds me in her arms that is. She has already stripped me of my clothes and tightly presses our naked bodies together, my head firmly pressed between her ample breasts.

"There, you seem to have calmed down now." She coos as she continues to entwine me in her tentacles.

Of course I panicked when I first woke up but I quickly calmed down. After all, the only thing unpleasant about this situation is that I am not in it by choice. She firmly holds me in place if I make any attempts to escape but is otherwise very gentle with me. At the very least she has not raped me yet, which is more than I can say about many other monsters if they were in her position. It also doesn't hurt that these are a lovely pair of breast to be sandwiched between.

The kraken herself is a little bigger than I am but only by a head or two. The mass of tentacles sprouting from her shapely hips are big but do not display nearly the girth that was evident during the attack, she must be able to change their size. Like me, any clothes she might have had have been discarded for the time being so there is nothing preventing contact between our naked bodies. She shares the shapely curves common among the inhabitants of this world and her pure white skin practically glows in this darkness. Her body is slightly slimy to the touch but there is nothing unpleasant about it, it makes our already close contact to feel even more intimate while at the same time gives her skin a feeling of unparalleled smoothness. Her long purple hair flows weightlessly in the water and matches her eyes that continue to look at me with both kindness and strength, her lips pulled unto a soft smile as she strokes her hard earned prize.

I try to examine my surroundings but there is nothing besides the darkness. Because there is so little else to process, all my senses seem heightened. Her white body glows in the darkness. Her soft voice rings in the silence. Even a simple touch from her is a powerful sensation in this darkness she creates. It is just me and her, nothing could make that more clear. I had heard that krakens use their ink to create this isolation, but knowing about it does nothing to prepare you for it. Becoming the only light in a seemingly endless darkness, it's not hard to see why this is an effective tactic. I really hope Merry gets here before I succumb to it. I slowly move my fingers to feel my ring that the kraken didn't bother to remove, as long as I have this I still have one more source of light.

"So, do you want to get straight to the fun or do you need more time?" The kraken softly asked as she pulled my head from her bosom.

I averted my eyes from her seductive smile. "No offence, but could you just let me go?" Worth a shot at least.

"I'm afraid not." She answered with a low giggle. "It took a lot of energy to get you, I'm not about to let you go. Just look at the state my tentacles are in."

I look down at the wriggling mass holding me to see the tips that have been cut or chewed on. Then I notice the tentacle that floats lifelessly alongside the others. I feel a tinge of guilt. My actions lost her the use of a limb, she could have died if she were unfortunate. "I'm sorry." I mutter. "I didn't want to cause you any harm but I couldn't think of any other way to drive you off." The kraken looks puzzled for a moment before examining her fried tentacle. She shakes her head with a laugh before grabbing the useless limb with her other tentacles and yanking it off. "What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry about it." She swiftly replies. "My tentacles grow back quickly enough." She moves her tentacles so she can see the full length of my torso. She playfully starts to draw circles on my chest with her finger. "What bothers me more is that you refused me. Why would you do that?"

"I already have girls that I love." I answer sincerely. "I try to be faithful if I can help it."

"Girls that you love huh?" She scoffs as her expression is saddened. "I'm just looking for love too. You have no idea how lonely it gets out here. The ocean is cold but it does nothing to sooth the burning desire we all have. Sometimes it can be difficult just to find another sea dweller out here. Nothing but empty blue water for miles and miles, can you blame me for stealing you when I had the chance?"

Her soft sad words get to me. I know that there are many in this world who are lonely, most would be lucky just to share a man. I've known about this problem for a while and I know there is little to nothing I can do about it, but that doesn't stop the thought from getting to me from time to time. "No, I can't. But…" There are those I care about. People I want to see happy even if it means someone else might be sad. "…I can't just let you have me."

"Well, if you insist you don't have to let me have you." She replies with a short giggle. "But for now why don't you just forget about everyone else. In time you will understand I am all you will ever need."

With that she coils her tentacles around me, covering me from head to toe. She covers my eyes so I cannot see what is happening and to further heighten my concentration on my sense of touch. With me firmly held she gives me a sensation I never would have expected. Her soft suction cups pulled my skin very gently before releasing. It was as if getting hundreds of kisses all over my body. Special attention was given to my sensitive parts, carefully giving the 'kisses' to the twig and berries as she gently worked the shaft. However, she does not go so far as to finish me off. It is just a ploy to make me want her. TNA would often tease me in a similar manner so I am used to it but that does not make it any less frustrating.

"You are awfully stubborn." The kraken states without stopping for a second. "You very clearly want this, why not just give in?"

"I am not controlled by my dick." Of course saying that is all well and good but I quickly find myself questioning why I even bother. It's not like I haven't ever done anyone besides Merry and TNA. TNA doesn't care and Merry should understand under the circumstances. Is it just off of principal? Seems silly to use that as a justification after everything I have been through. Besides… "Listen, I really don't want to play this card but I am technically a whore." I just have to cringe as I admit it. "If you agree to let me go afterwards we might be able to come to an agreement."

"If you want to do it you can just admit it." She chuckles.

"Whether I want to do it or not is not the issue!" I shout back, my frustration getting the better of me. "Just let me get back to my fiancé. If I can go back to her I don't care what else happens."

The kraken gives a long sigh. "You really won't let her go, will you?" With a giggle she uncovers my eyes so I can see her. "Tell you what, agree to marry me as well and I don't mind sharing. Nothing is holding me here anyway."

"Marry you?!" Don't tell me she is like Merry. I nervously laugh. "Well, I can't exactly agree to that without her permission."

"Why's that? If she refuses I'm not going to give you up, plain and simple." Slowly she unwinds me from her tentacles. "Now prove to me that you are willing to marry me. Do it of your own will and we will go discuss our relationship with that fiancé of yours."

She loosens her hold on me, giving me enough freedom to move but making sure I cannot get away. She makes her hole clearly visible, this bitch really wants me to do it myself. I really don't want to be forced to marry her. Nothing against her personally, I just wont marry someone I do not know. Unfortunately I see no way out of this situation. I have no weapon and no strength to remove the tentacles. I can't even run unless she lets me go. Could I get her to let go of me? I have an idea: if you cannot run, attack.

I reach up to her face and gently brush my fingers from her cheek down to her neck. "Foreplay, huh? I don't mind." Grabbing my head between her human hands she pulls me in for a deep and forceful kiss. Her soft lips are pressed against mine as her tongue forces its way into my mouth and wraps around my own. I just have to accept her kiss as I concentrate on what I am doing. I run my fingers down to her armpit, no reaction. Continuing down, my hands naturally find their way to her breasts. She pulls away from our kiss with a giggle. "Go ahead, enjoy them all you want." Her size is making it difficult to continue my search, I use the opportunity to take a lower position. I take her nipple into my mouth and gently suck. I carefully watch her expression but I do not use any of the tricks I have learned with TNA and Merry, they produce nice reactions but not the ones I am looking for. I gently rub her arms to no avail and a light scratching at her… ribs? I can ponder monster girl anatomy later, for now they produce no results. I continue to watch her expression as I run my fingers down her sides until she lets out a short giggle. Found it! Releasing her breast, I focus all of my attention on tickling her sides. "Gyahahaha! Stohaha whaha are youhuhu doing? Hahaha!" Having been mercilessly tickled myself, I use all my experience to force her into a laughing fit so hard she can hardly breathe. Soon enough she is forced to let go. Seeing my opportunity, I quickly swim away. It was a nice plan and I have learned to swim fairly quickly but I am still a land creature and my speed is severely limited in water. Just as I am about out of her reach the kraken grabs me by the foot with one of her tentacles and drags me back. She has to take a few deep breaths before she can speak. "I have to admit that was some unusual foreplay." She looks at me with a seductive smile as she wraps her tentacles around me again. "But it got me surprisingly in the mood."

"Y-you don't say." I stammer with a nervous laugh. I seem to have dug myself into a deeper hole.

"I'm not waiting for your consent anymore." She moves her tentacles to expose my rod and quickly brings me inside her.

(MA scene ctrl-f for 'scene end' to skip.)

She positions us in the cowgirl position, carefully wrapping me from our point of contact out to my arms and legs. She then squeezes down on my member, unlike TNA this tightness is caused by expert control of her muscles. Playfully laughing at my reaction, she begins to rhythmically tighten and loosen her muscles. It is almost as if she is stroking me with a wet hand inside her vagina, she could probably make me come without moving if she wanted to. "Now, now, you're not going to finish from just this are you?" She's just making fun of my reactions to the unusual stimulation. I have gotten enough experience so that I can hold on a while longer even with unusual stimulation. Deciding to increase the intensity, she begins to use the tentacles wrapped around my body to pull me toward and away from here to create the sensation of her bouncing on top of me even in the weightless environment. Her body indents and molds around me every time she pulls me to her, thanks to the lack of bones in her lower body, and the sticky mucous around her body gets spread around more of my body with a wet slapping noise every time we make contact. I am unable to make any movements of my own as I am forcibly used to satisfy her cardinal desires. I might as well be a dildo. I cannot stand that I can be completely ignored as she makes use of the only part that maters to her and what's more is I have no control over my body's reaction to it.

"Please…" I can only beg pitifully as she quickly etches away my endurance and I feel myself reaching climax. "… you have to let me take it out."

"Huh?" She gives me a puzzled look without pausing for a second. "Why would you say something like that?"

"You might get pregnant!" I shout as I desperately try to delay the inevitable. "I have more than I can handle as it is!"

"Oh, well you don't have to worry about that." She giggles. "The chances of getting pregnant without a blessing are slim, I would be very surprised if you managed it."

"I already have!"

She pauses for a second. I can feel my dick throbbing inside of her, on the verge or release, as she curiously looks down at me. "You already have?" An amused smile slowly crosses her cheeks. "Wow, you must have some potent stuff locked away in those balls of yours. Let's see if you can do it again."Repositioning herself a bit she brings me all the way inside her. Her flexible body compresses as she squeezes me further and further inside. Her tentacles are wrapped around my waist so tightly that it feels like the entire lower half of my body might as well be inside her. She brings me so far inside I can actually feel the entrance to her womb pressing down on my tip. The inner contact must be extremely stimulating because she quivers a bit as they press together. Her face flustered as she takes a few quick breaths, she gives me another smile. "We are going to be married soon so don't worry about a thing and give me all you've got." Without waiting for my response she works my dick with nothing but her inner muscles. Far more intense than before, even the kraken seems to be losing herself to the pleasure. My remaining resistance was shattered immediately as I explode inside the kraken, filling her womb with my seed. But she was not finished, she continues to forcibly work me until she is satisfied.

(Scene End)

I float there, out of breath and dreading the thought of having possibly inseminated another girl. The satisfied kraken loosens her grip on me enough I can pull out and even float away a bit. As the kraken rests her ink slowly loses power, I can see again! It is early morning. The sun is just beginning to penetrate the shallow sea. I contemplate the thought of trying to run away again when I hear an absolutely beautiful sound. "Darling!" It is Merry! I can see her in the distance as she makes her way toward us. I kiss my glowing ring, thankful that it acted as her beacon in the darkness.

"I'm over here honey!" I call out as I try to swim out to her, but I am quickly pulled back to the kraken.

"So that's your fiancé?" The kraken chuckles as she pulls me back into her embrace. "It's about time we told her the news, right?"

I nervously laugh as I look up at Merry. As she gets closer I notice she's naked. Why is… you know what? I have more important things to worry about. "Hey Merry, what do you think of me marring this kraken along with you?" Merry stops dead in her tracks upon hearing this. "She says she is willing to share."

Merry's reaction is exactly as I expected it to be, quivering with anger. "No way!" She shouts. "She shows up out of nowhere, nearly destroys our ride, steals you away, has her way with you, and thinks she gets to marry you just like that?! Screw her!" Rather than looking at the kraken, she glares at me. "You are coming back with me and me alone! Whether you like it or not!"

Glad I can count on your reactions Merry. I turn to face the kraken with a big grin on my face. "You heard the lady. Sorry but I am going back with her, I promise to call you though."

The kraken is not amused by my playful comment. She gives a long sigh to accompany her cold grimace. "I told you, if she refuses I will not give you up." Passing me between her tentacles, she holds me behind her as she speaks to Merry. "The man is mine now! I was going to be nice and share but I've changed my mind! You can go find another one."

Merry ignores the kraken as she addresses me. "Darling! I have a plan! But I need you to close your eyes! I don't want you to see this!"

I don't know what the plan could be but I trust Merry, I close my eyes. Moments later I hear merry let out a yell that quickly grows deeper and monstrous. "No! Stay away! He's mine!" I am suddenly adrift in the water with the tentacle still clinging to me as the kraken lets out a horrible scream. My hand is grabbed by a scaly clawed hand as I am quickly pulled through the water. Once the scaly hand turns back into the soft hands I am familiar with I assume it is safe to open my eyes. Merry has a trail of blood streaming from her mouth as she pulls me at full speed. I look back to see the kraken holding a now cut tentacle. "Give him back," she mutters before she angrily shouts "I'm going to kill you!" Her remaining tentacles all grow to gigantic size as they reach after me and Merry.

With me in tow, Merry quickly swims to the side to dodge a tentacle as it reaches for us. We quickly get out of her reach and the kraken begins to swim after us. Like a giant flower opening and closing the kraken spreads her tentacles wide before gaining a burst of speed as she closes them. Merry is a faster swimmer than the kraken but her hydromancy makes this more than just a simple race. The kraken quickly begins to spin and, with the help of her magic, corkscrews toward us. Merry manages to dodge again but is at a loss for what to do now that her speed advantage has been lost. The rapid spinning seems to cause the kraken to lose track of her surroundings for a moment, Merry uses the opportunity to hide us behind a rock. "Where are you?!" The kraken quickly looks around, the area is composed mainly of sand and rock. There are enough rocks to make it difficult to know where we are but they are far enough apart that we will be spotted if we run.

"Well, what's the plan?" I quietly asked Merry as we listen to the kraken have an angry fit.

"We just need to get to the ship." Merry answers as she cautiously peers around the rock. "Felisha and the crew will handle the rest."

"Felisha?!" After she threw me overboard my trust in her is… lacking, to say the least. "That doesn't exactly give me confidence."

"Not now darling!" Merry quickly snaps at me. "She is taking a big gamble on this plan. I can't take this kraken on by myself, be grateful." It leaves a bad taste in my mouth but I just have to agree for now.

"Get out here!" Summoning a large amount of power the kraken begins to create an underwater whirlpool that stirs up a lot of sand as the currents rush toward the kraken.

"It's now or never!" Merry rushes out of our hiding spot before the currents get too powerful for her to swim through.

"There you are!" The kraken immediately pursues us but it seems she needs a bit of time before she can use her magic again. I can see the hull of the ship in the distance as it rests in the water. The kraken's desperation only increases as our goal comes into sight. "I won't let you reach it!"

As we see the kraken warming up to corkscrew again, Merry tightens her grip on me. "This is going to be close!" The rush of water pushes hard against my face as Merry makes one final sprint for the boat. The kraken corkscrews behind us with her water magic and is quickly gaining on us. The kraken is probably only a few feet behind us as we leap out of the water.

Our momentum caries us over the side of the ship and we slam hard onto the splintered deck. A second later the kraken emerges in the same manner, only with more control by grabbing the deck with her tentacles. "Now…!" The kraken's eyes suddenly widen when she realizes she has fallen into the trap. Felisha and her crew were waiting for her. They may have no clothes at the moment but they have crossbows, armed and ready.

….

[Earlier]
"Use our clothes to mend the sail?" Felisha asked as she curiously raised her eyebrow. "Points for originality but will it even work?" She asked as she turned toward Spindla.

Spindla quickly takes off her clothes, tugging on the fabric as she looks up at the main mast. "It's not ideal but, if I use my webbing to reinforce it, it should hold." She slowly gets a smile as she thinks it over. "It might take every piece of cloth we have but it should work."

"I can even help stitch some of the smaller pieces together." Merry happily clasps her hands together as she smiles at Felisha. "So, does that mean you are going to help get darling back?"

Felisha thinks about it for a moment before getting a big grin. "Sure, I don't like the idea of someone stealing something from my ship anyway." She quickly frowns again. "However, I want you to realize we can't do anything to help you actually get 'darling' away from the kraken. It is all up to you until he is back on board."

"What happens once he is back on board?" She almost sunk the ship the first time, we can't stop her from creating another whirl pool.

"Captain!" Michaela calls out as she holds a crossbow.

Felisha smiles as she sees her second in command. "Excellent, we were thinking the same thing." With a smirk she looks back at Merry. "How desperate do you think that kraken will be to get 'darling' back from you?"

"Well… If she is anything like me I would say very."

"So desperate she will rush on board herself?" Merry's reaction is all Felisha needs to confidently take aim over the side of the boat. "That is where these come in." The tipped bolt menacingly pokes out past the end, just one of those is going to hurt. "It may seem cruel, but if you want your darling back there is no other way."

"Fire!" Felisha commands upon seeing the kraken. In an instant, five crossbow bolts pierce the kraken's soft body. The kraken remains standing for a moment, perhaps in shock, as she places her hand over one of her wounds. She looks at the blood on her hand before stretching it out towards me. The look on her face is one that will haunt me for the rest of my life. There was no anger, she was… sad. Sad and lonely, that was her last feeling before falling back into the sea.

"That face…" The kraken was not cruel. She was a little rough with the sex but she made sure to not hurt me. "…why did she have to make that face?" I wanted to get back to Merry. I wanted to see my children. I wanted to make sure I marry someone for love. But this… I did not want this! "Merry!" I hate to ask Merry to do this, but no one else can. "Please! Save her!"

"But darling…"

"I know!" It is a huge risk, if the kraken has any strength left she could kill Merry and sink the ship. But still… "Just make sure she does not die! I just don't… want… that…" The thought of that sad lonely expression brings me to the verge of tears.

"….I understand." Merry returns to her human form long enough to stand and jump back into the water.

Felisha stands next to me as she watches Merry go. "If that girl gets hurt over your pity I will kill you myself, you hear me?"

I heard her but I did not respond. I did not respond much to anything while Merry was gone. I just reran the encounter with the kraken over and over again in my head. What should I have done? How should I have acted? How could I have prevented this from happening? People say hindsight is 20/20, that saying could not be more wrong.

It does not take long for Merry to return. After what just happened, neither of us could really look at each other. "She… will live…" Merry softly stated as she holds where she cut herself.

"… thank you honey." Merry did exactly what I asked her to do but, considering she risked her life to do it, I can't bring myself to be happy about it. I just continue to sulk as Merry takes a seat next to me. For a while we just sat together in silence but this is my fiancé and I love her, if I can't talk to her then who can I? After a few false starts I slowly begin to speak. "I'm sorry I made you do that. I put you at risk, I shouldn't have." After another moment of silence, I continued. "She wasn't a bad girl. She was just lonely and I can't fault her for that." Another moment of silence. "We did something terrible to her. The thought of how she might treat the next person she meets as a result makes me feel… responsible." Another moment of silence. "I know you don't like to share me. But to kill her? It… it just does not seem worth it."

"…do you want to marry her?" Merry solemnly asked.

I slowly shake my head. "I don't even know her name. But I do find myself wondering if I have been facing this world the right way. This world and its inhabitants are very different than the one I am from but I still cling to the values I had in it. The idea of only having sex with someone you love is unusual in this world. I already have to bend in that ideal but I find myself wondering if I should hold on to it at all? With the difference in number between males and females, is it selfish of me?"

"….is it wrong for me to want you all to myself?" Merry quietly asked. "I spent so long by myself, I know what it is like to be lonely." She begins to sob. "I have friends that spend every night alone. I know that finding anyone to be with you free and willing is difficult. And yet…. And yet…." Full out crying, she continues as tears stream down her beautiful face. "I don't want to share! Any time that you spend with others is time you should be spending with me! I know it is selfish but…"

I quickly embrace Merry. "You're not selfish! You're my fiancé, you have every right to want me for yourself."

Merry hugs me back and sobs for a moment as she calms down. "Even… *sob* Even from TNA?"

"…that's a little…" At this point I don't think I can bear to part from TNA.

"I know darling." She wipes away her tears. "I would never ask you to leave them. But even if I also consider them family I would abandon them in an instant if ever you wanted to. I feel horrible that I feel that way, but I cannot help it."

I hold Merry tighter. "Don't worry, I do want to make others happy but it will not come at the cost of your happiness. You are going to be my wife, you are my top priority."

This is a problem that is not easily fixed. I hate the idea of someone being lonely but I am just one man, I cannot make everyone happy. I hate to admit it but I don't have any ideas for this one. All I can do is prioritize those close to me.