The sea was beautiful and mysterious. But she was also untrustworthy. Any mariner worth his salt knew that. And Imaginos was one such mariner. But he was also a gifted man, born with the gift of foreknowledge. And that gift had led him out to sea upon a charmed ship.
A charmed ship may be protected from storms, but that does not mean the storm will not come. Nor is the charm necessarily extended to the crew. And on this particular day in 1892, the charm was not extended to Imaginos as the Plutonia rocked and lurched and tipped nearly all the way over, the waves throwing him into the pitch black sea.
As the ship was tossed away from the hapless mariner, a second ship appeared, as if out of nowhere. Impossibly, it, too, bore the name Plutonia..At its helm stood a monstrously beautiful woman. She was taller than most women, the same height as Imaginos, with eyes the same shade of green as his and every feature matching his appearance, but more feminine.
As lovely as she was, Imaginos sensed something otherworldly about her. As if she were from Earth, but not from this Earth. He sensed a connection between himself and her, one that reached down into the very core of his heart. And he wondered if she sensed it as well.
"Who are you?" he asked her as she pulled him from the depths and onto her ship. "Your ship. Plutonia. How?"
"I am Desdinova," she replied. "As for my ship, I have ridden her upon the tides of time itself. It was my mission to save you from your fickle mistress and bring you to safety."
"My fickle mistress. I assume you mean the Sea. But how could you know this would happen?" Imaginos asked as he stumbled across the deck.
"You need sleep," Desdinova told him. "We will discuss matters in the morning. For tonight, we will share my bunk. I expect you to behave like a gentleman."
"You certainly assume much about me, Miss Desdinova," Imaginos told her.
"There is no time to find you a berth at this late hour," Desdinova explained. "My bunk will have to suffice. And besides, I know you as well as I know my own soul."
"Then you know my sins as well as my moments of cleanliness," Imaginos warned her.
"Your sins are my sins," Desdinova told him as she took his hand and led him into her cabin. "We share the same soul. Those who sent me knew of this and do not disapprove."
"Perhaps," Imaginos conceded as he stumbled once more from exhaustion. "Though others may."
Desdinova coaxed him into the bunk and slipped into it along with him, curling up against him as if were a comfortable pillow and not a man she had just met.
As Imaginos adjusted himself in his sleep, it occurred to him that from her perspective, he wasn't someone she'd just met. She had said he was a part of him, that they shared a soul. Confused by what she might mean, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and allowed sleep to claim him.