Yes. Pirates!
There was no doubt about that, Jasmine thought. Only pirates were stupid enough to want to attack Port Peace. But why? What could have driven them to come all the way out here? The stillness of the night was then disturbed by the whistling of the flaming projectiles rocketing through the sky, followed by explosions and cries of anguish and horror. More spheres of flaming pitch smashed against the beach. Amidst the chaos, landing parties rowed on small boats toward the city, swords, battle-axes, and torches to the air. They all screamed a fierce battle cry that caused a few of the town's soldiers to drop their weapons and flee.
The pirates waited for one last volley from the ships. The city was bombarded relentlessly after a chorus of war horns sounded, releasing the trebuchets. Buildings were demolished, crashing into the ground, sending columns of smoke and debris into the air. The fire they were using. It was strange. It was burning neon green, meaning sorcery was involved.
"Captain Charles," Jasmine breathed. "The Emerald Hell. It's him." She looked at the Nazaleem and caressed it with her fingers. It flashed as if telling her; well, do something. She broke into a sprint, leaving Ven behind. "Now you deal with me!"
Ven called out to her but she wouldn't listen. She didn't want to listen. She was done being a lady. She went to Duel Academy to learn how to improve her skills and master her ability to control water. You'd think her father would allow her to join the Navy in anti-piracy operations. He didn't. She'd been sitting on her ass since she came back. Well now was the time to use her new abilities. Pirates were on her turf now. And she was going to show them no mercy. As she ran down the road on the side of the cliffs, the water beside her bubbled as the Water Dragon she could summon formed. Its red eyes pierced the glassy black surface of the water. As she reached the gatehouse at the end of the road, a group of swashbuckling mercenaries wearing red armor jumped out and ambushed her.
Jasmine kept on running towards them despite they were brandishing their weapons and commanding her to stop. WHAM! SPLASH! Jasmine's Water Dragon rose out of the ocean. It snapped at the pirates then whipped its head back. The torches lighting the guardhouse were out and the bandits were gone, washed away by the dragon's wrath like dirt. As Jasmine sped down the road through the village nestled in a forest of palms, she blasted pirates away with spells conjuring hydro vulcans and spheres of boiling hot water that burned their flesh roast-red, leaving the attackers paralyzed with pain, howling and moaning on the ground, being left at the mercy of the villagers.
"So this is the power of the Nazaleem, Jasmine thought.
She crossed the bridge over the river and through the stone walls of Port Peace. The first place she went to was the temple of Aafi, where the Sisterhood of Blue Priestesses lived to practice their faith in the Water Goddess. She saw the gates torn down and most of the domed building was in flames. From the windows, she saw the girls of the convent running down the halls, screaming for their lives as they were chased by invaders looking to take them back to their ships. Jasmine jumped up a pile of wooden crates to leap over the fence into the yard. The palms were on fire and the beautiful blue fountain that stood there since the city's foundation was nothing more than a pile of rubble.
The site of this debauchery angered her. She formed rings of water around her wrists. She waited for a pirate to get into view of one of the windows. At the right second, she jumped through and pounced on him. She punched him in the face before jumping off him. Jasmine lifted him up with a whip of water, smashed him against the walls, then threw him outside.
Three pirates came running down the hall when they heard the commotion. Seeing her dressed in nothing but a nightgown, they figured her for one of the sisters. But she conjured aquatic spheres over their heads. The pirates fell to the ground, writhing in horror as they drowned in the spheres.
A girl with blue hair tied into a body-long braid stormed into the hallway to join Jasmine. Being from Riftgaard, she conjured ice spells, launching razor-sharp icicles at the pirates.
"Is that all of them?" Jasmine asked.
"Yes," said the girl.
"Lady Jasmine!" a priestess said, running downstairs with five young girls. "What are you doing here?"
"Warding off these vermin. There's a watchtower a few blocks from here. Take the girls there. Keep your heads down and stay alert. I'll deal with the pirates. You make sure they get there," she said to the ice mage.
"I can help you."
"Help them." Jasmine ran out the door toward the beach to try and stop any more landing parties.
She sprinted down the streets, littered with flaming rubble and the bodies of the dead. Some pirates spotted her and attacked her. She warded them off with whips of water that seemed to spring out of the ground like geysers. The water whips crushed their spines and tossed their bodies into the sea. At last, she made it to the beach where huge squads of pirates were loading their booty onto their boats. A pirate ran up from behind and held his cutlass towards her throat.
"Got ya, poppet!" His breath reeked of decay and rum, causing Jasmine to gag.
A strong arm wrapped around the pirate's neck and lifted him up. Crack! His neck snapped. The pirate grunted one last time before falling limp on the ground.
"Well done, Miss Hero," said Ven. "Rule number one when in battle, Ladyship. Always watch your rear. Especially if it's a nice one like yours."
"I'll be sure to slap you after this is over."
"Hey, if I kill more of these guys than you, how's about dinner by the pier. I heard you like crab."
Jasmine chuckled at his challenge, raising her hands. Water swirled and bubbled around her. "You know, I'm up for that." She clapped her hands, causing the surf to rise up and swallow the pirates close to the water.
"HEY!" shouted Ven. He gawked at the destruction she already caused. "That still only counts as one."
He jumped down the wall overlooking the beach and beat down the pirates with only his fists. Jasmine jumped down to join him. Her senses were sharp and quick. Whenever she heard the click of flintlock, she pirouetted as though she were dancing ballet. As she spun, water whipped from around her hips, striking the pirates with the force of a war hammer. Sometimes, she would have her water whips grab a pirate and toss them at Ven, who was ready with a life-ending punch.
"You Atlanteans are strong!" Jasmine said, stepping back to avoid the cutlass of a pirate. She kicked his jaw with a jump kick, then smashed him in the chest with a powerful burst of water from her fists, knocking him a hundred yards into the sea. Just then bombers found positions from the top of a cliff. They lit kegs of gunpowder and tossed them at Jasmine and Ven. One was about to fall towards Ven. She let loose a water whip, grabbed him, and pulled him to safety.
"Now we're even!" Jasmine said, letting him go at once.
"Hey, thanks a lot!" Ven said, holding up his thumb in appreciation.
He jumped high over the beach and kicked one of the kegs like a ball. It rocketed towards a group of pirates rowing toward the beach to join the fight. The keg blew up right on contact, sending limbs and splinters into the air. Two more kegs came down. Jasmine caught them with her aquatic tendrils then threw them back at the bombers. More of them were still ready to continue the battle with them. They threw more kegs until all they had left was the rum they looted from the soldiers' quarters. Jasmine gathered her strength, praying that the Nazaleem would grant her the ability to conjure her Water Dragon. It was so.
The beast rose out of the sea. The pirates screamed in horror and tried to flee. The dragon hissed and devoured them. The cliff was clear of bombers.
The pirates realized they were no match for the two kids. They dropped their weapons and started running back into the sea. They pushed and shoved to get back onto their boats, while many others just swam to get away from them.
"JASMINE!" Commodore Sidney shouted from the ramparts overlooking the beach. He had a cutlass in one hand and a pistol on the other. He ran down the spiraling steps toward the beach. When he got there, he shoved Prince Venaquas aside and slid to a stop. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around Jasmine, even though she protested that she didn't need it.
"Are you hurt? What are you doing out here — with him?" He fiercely looked over his shoulder at Ven as though he were the cause of all of this. "I expected more from a Knight of the High King's Round Table. Don't you know it's past Lady Jasmine's bedtime? Her father doesn't want her up and about at this hour. Why was she on the ground? Why were you on top of her?"
"Are you serious?!" Jasmine cried. She stood up at once, throwing Sidney's jacket at the sand. "Prince Ven just saved me. We just took out all these pirates!" She balled her fists, squaring her shoulders, throwing down her arms, and slamming her foot into the sand with rage. "Rrrrrgh! Bedtime? I'm twenty years old!"
Sidney sheathed his cutlass, his angelic face burning red as his eyes were still glued to Ven. "That matters not! You are the Baron's daughter! It's too dangerous out here. You need to go back inside the keep and remain underground with the servants."
"You can't —"
"These are orders from your father, My Lady. Do as you are told and get inside."
"I can fight!"
"No!" The Commodore yelled. He closed his eyes shut and gulped to regain his composure. "You must do this. I don't want you getting hurt. You know how much you mean to me."
He picked up the centerpiece of the Nazaleem with his fingers, stealthily brushing them against Jasmine's chest to get a feeling of her skin. "You know how much I'd give up just to have you by my side. This was supposed to be for the Empress. But I wanted you to have it. It belongs to you."
Jasmine held onto his hands. But she didn't do it out of affection. She just wanted this needless drama to end and begin slaying the fools attacking her home. "If you feel this belongs to me, then trust me. I can defend my home. Don't underestimate me. Don't! Or I'll never marry you!"
"Ouch. Trust is key in any relationship, mate," said Ven.
"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Sidney said. He looked back at Jasmine. "Very well. I've been told you are a skilled water mage."
"The correct term for that is Aquamancer," Ven interrupted.
"Whatever!" Sidney looked down at the sand. He moved his head this way and that before he kicked some sand to fight back the irritation in his chest. "Fine. Show us what you can do, My Lady."
"She better do it soon." Ven held out his palm. The cork of a canteen strapped to his belt popped open. Water slithered out of it and formed into a longsword that looked like water made into solid steel. A red tassel hung back and forth from the pommel. "Here comes the landing party."
Sidney turned at once. Dozens, if not hundreds of pirates on rowboats were heading right for them. He raised his cutlass in the air and shouted: "Perry-Aze!" Which was Imperial for Aim. On the ramparts, a squad of his best men loaded their clockwork muskets. "Ferdun!" Sidney shouted, ordering them to fire.
The soldiers fired, striking a few pirates in the landing party. Their marksmen soon stood up and started firing back. Jasmine saw four men tumbling backward as they got hit and another two tipped over the wall and fell into the surf below.
"Nice job getting him to see things your way," Ven said over all the chaos.
Jasmine replied with a shrug. "I spent four years in Duel Academy surrounded by pompous rich boys like him. Bubble your eyes and puff out your chest enough, and you can get any idiot to do anything for you."
Ven patted her on the shoulder. "Nice work. So, wanna show Sergeant Pompous and the Pumpkin Pants Club Band how it's done? I'd like to see more of your Aquamancy in action."
"Yeah. I've heard some interesting tales about your battles." With a flick of her arms, her fists were enveloped in water. "Sorry to say, I'm disappointed."
She ran towards the sands, ignoring Sidney's calls to come back. Ven and Sidney could hear the pirates whistling and hooting at Jasmine despite the distance and the roaring waves. Some were even laughing at her. But Jasmine got the last laugh. She slammed her foot against the surf, creating a fierce tidal wave that knocked over a dozen boats at once.
The pirates still came despite losing a few of their boats. Jasmine performed a quick ritualistic dance that summoned the Water Dragon she conjured before. It rose up high, standing over twenty feet tall. It summoned an even bigger tidal wave, capsizing all of the boats and drowning almost all the invaders. When the water calmed, all that remained of the landing party were upturned boats and a few stragglers screaming to be saved.
"Horakhty above!" breathed Sidney. "What power is in that stone?"
Ven, however, was growing more and more worried with each spell Jasmine cast. The Nazaleem. It was truly a very powerful gift. But Jasmine was wielding it like a child who found their father's weapon. The ocean was growing fiercer and fiercer as though a hurricane was striking Port Peace. The waves, usually smacking against the rocks in the cliffs below, were now crashing against the walls of the castle, reaching up to the banners waving on the tops of the towers. Lighting flashed in the sky, the winds blew around Jasmine, forming a twister of sand and water. Her hair waved violently in the air as she cast more spells and conjured three more Water Dragons. Her eyes starting glowing fierce blue like the Nazaleem.
"Jasmine!" Ven said in horror.
Jasmine didn't listen to him. She started laughing when the waves she created started to sink the ships in the distance. The horizon, once glowing orange with the fires of war, once again turned dark. Except for all the lighting in the sky. Jasmine didn't stop. Ships alongside the piers of the port starting crashing against one another and smashing the docks.
"JASMINE DON'T!" he shouted.
"Leave her!" Sidney shouted over the winds. "She is destroying the pirates!"
"She will also destroy herself. That is no ordinary jewel she carries."
"She carries nothing!"
"Fool! I know a Jewel of Horakhty when I see one. You must take it off her at once. She doesn't know what she's doing. She could kill us all." He sprinted toward Jasmine.
"HALT! I ORDER YOU TO HALT!"
Ven felt himself getting lifted by the vortex Jasmine created. She heard her screaming in horror as she too was lifted off the ground. She started calling for help. "JASMINE!"
"VEN! HELP! HELP!"
Ven held on for dear life, feeling his body getting tossed and turned into the darkness. The winds were deafening. He smacked hard against debris or pirates unfortunate enough to be caught in the storm.
"VEN! VEEEEEN!" Jasmine called, raising her voice with all her might so it could be heard against the storm.
Ven, using his low-light vision, was able to barely spot her flipping end over end against a ship that was slowly being ripped apart by the winds. He straightened his body, arms pointing down towards his legs, and sped toward her. He caught her and cried for her to hang on. They spun and spun. Jasmine could take it no longer. The G-Forces were too strong. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She saw flashing patterns all around her and the winds dying down before she fainted.
Sorry it took forever to upload. Life's been pretty crazy and my new job has kept me really busy. I really wish I could go back to a time when I could post these more frequently. Just sit around and do what I love to do. Well, just gotta keep on trucking.
See you. God bless and take care everyone!
-Sword