I couldn't sleep.
I was back in my room in the inn since I wasn't comfortable on the Ballista by myself any more, at least not while its docked. The bed here is OK, I had a bath, and after everything that happened with Golden Hind, I was exhausted. But I just couldn't bloody sleep, I had no idea what was wrong as I had never felt this way before. For some reason I just couldn't get Hind out of my head, her body, her voice, even the way her ooze kept sticking to me whenever she touched me...I couldn't stop thinking of her.
I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes, I just wanted to sleep but apparently I wasn't going to get any tonight. I went to the bathroom and washed my face a little, focusing on my eyes since I they were starting to sting from how tired I was. I looked up to the mirror and noticed something...I looked a little different. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but then I, literally, put my finger on it.
My skin felt smoother, I slid my finger along my cheek and it was near-immaculate with how smooth it was. I should have had some hair stubble or small cuts and bruises from my time out at sea. But they were completely gone, not ever a scar. It was the exact same everywhere else on my body, my hands and feet no longer had calluses, I had no patches of dry skin any more, even a corn that had been developing on my left big toe was gone. Feeling around I noticed my biceps were bigger, not in the bulging body builder way, but definitely more defined and toned.
I just stared down at my hands, my light skin, now perfectly healthy and smooth, not exactly a common thing for the job I did. It was then I noticed that I was a little taller. I'm not that tall to begin with at around at 5 foot 8, but looking at the mirror, I deduced that I had gained an inch in height. I looked down at found out why...my legs were slightly longer, specifically my thighs were bigger and my hips were wider thanks to bigger muscles inside them.
Great...I was already quite feminine looking even before this, with these changes if it wasn't for my angular jawline and short brown hair, I'd be pretty difficult to tell apart from a flat-chested girl, I was completely androgynous now, what the hell was this anyway? A chill ran through me as I thought back to that pact, did I miss a part that detailed I'm supposed to gender-bend? Just to be sure I looked down my pants...nope my cock was still there, so that can't be it...can it?
I shook my head and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I'm too tired to think about this stuff right now, maybe I'm just seeing and feeling things that aren't really there. I had a drink of water and went back to bed.
Next morning.
I wasn't dreaming as it turned out, I really did look different than I used to, but since I was now bonded, bind, or whatever to a Tempesta, I figured it was par for the course to end up changed somehow. I tried not to think about it as I went back to the Ballista to get it ready to leave. I had no idea where Golden Hind was, but I decided to get myself ready to go at a moments notice, hopefully this won't be considered escaping.
"Ken? Is that you?" I heard a voice call to me. I looked down from the ship's deck and found Jake looking up at me. "You seem kind of...different somehow." He commented, rubbing his chin while looking at me. I sighed as I non-nonchalantly jumped down from the deck, as I landed I noticed him giving me a look of shock.
"What?" I asked, I mean I know I look a little different now, but I should look similar enough to not warrant being stared at right?
"You just jumped from the top of the Ballista's Captain quarters! That's like 40 feet! How did you do that without breaking your legs?!" He exclaimed. I widened my eyes at that and looked up to where I jumped from, it hadn't felt that high from up there and I didn't even feel any discomfort in my legs from the fall.
"Really? I didn't even realise, the ground looked closer from up there." I commented, surveying the distance I just jumped.
"Ken? Your voice it...sounds different too." Jake pointed out.
"What!?" It was only when I shouted just now that I caught on to what he was telling me. I sound...well not like a girl exactly, but my voice definitely sounded a little high pitched now, what the hell happened?! "Oh no...what did she do to me?!" I exclaimed, now that I could hear it, I couldn't stop hearing how different my voice sounded.
Jake chuckled at me for a moment, before shaking his finger at me with a smug expression. "You crossed Golden Hind again didn't you Ken?" He said this in a tone like I was caught with my hands in a cookie tin or something. "This looks like something she'd do, you better apologise if you want this fixed, but you do be lookin' fine if I might say." He joked.
"Fuck me...where the hell is she?" I demanded.
"Oh that reminds me, she wanted me to tell you to meet with her near the Red gates, you know where that is right?" Jake told me. I chuckled a little as he spoke. The Red gates were a small collection of large rusty red rocky outcrops along the cliffs, marking the entrance to a large cove, its sheltered enough that you could hide a decent sized ship inside, but not many people outside of Thalassopolis know about it. If you didn't know what to look for, the entrance would look just like the rest of the cliff.
He then looked around for anyone listening, before leaning in closer to me. "When I told you not to make her angry, offering her your services wasn't what I had in mind Ken, but since its...kind of working out for you, let me give you a piece of advice." He beckoned me closer, so I stepped over to him to listen to him whisper to me.
"She's rich my friend, far richer than anyone you know, even your father, so if you play your cards right, you could walk away from this a very wealthy man, don't ruin this for yourself just because she's a pirate." Jake then patted me on the back and nodded his head to me with a smile. "Good luck my friend." I chuckled with him a little, seemed like old times for a moment, Jake always had fun yet wise things to say to me, he's yet to let me down yet with that kind of talk so maybe Dad was right about Hind; I could turn this to my advantage somehow.
But then he ruined it.
"So you...got any lady parts now?" He laughed to me, making me roll my eyes.
"No I do not, whatever the hell she did to me did NOT do that to me." I firmly iterated. Jake just laughed some more, but then gasped as he looked out to the other side of the docks.
"Blow me down, is that Lord Vickers's ship?" He exclaimed in disbelief. I followed his gaze and my face mirrored the surprise of Jake's expression. At the end of the dock was a massive golden galleon, bristling with cannons and many sails, The Ballista looked look a tiny fishing barge by comparison. That is the majesty of the galleon, more specifically this one; the HMS Dawn breaker.
"What's he doing here? I thought he was stationed in the New world?" I asked Jake.
"That was my assumption too lad, it seems he be needed here by the powers that be." He agreed. "Well since he's docking I'm going to be needed in my office, you take care lad." Jake then went back to his office to prepare. I was just climbing back on board the Ballista when I heard someone calling to me.
"You up there! Could I speak to you for a moment?" I looked down and saw a navy man calling up to me, much more ornate and decorated compared to the ones around Thalassopolis, he must be from the Dawn-breaker. I climbed back down to meet with him.
"Can I help you?" I replied.
"Are you Ken Robin? Captain of this ship?" He nodded to the Ballista.
"Yes, this is my ship. Who's asking?"
"Lord Vickers wishes to speak to you regarding the local pirate problem in these waters, we've had reports that your ship was the last to be seen with the notorious Tempesta; Golden Hind, please come with me."
The sailor then gestured to the Dawn-breaker as more sailors started moving past us, as we headed to the galleon I felt a knot of worry in my stomach. Oh this is bad, did they already suspect I had a pact with her? I used to look up to Vickers, one of the few naval officers who stood up to the Tempesta pirates, I always wondered how he did it since the Tempesta were kansen, with magic and superior technology on their side.
But right now I was terrified I was already rumbled somehow, hopefully that isn't the case and he just wants to know where Hind is. But if that was the case, I felt conflicted as to what to do. If I told him about the Red gates, and Hind didn't go quietly, it would be a bloodbath. If Lord Vickers had arrived before I made the pact, I wouldn't have had a second thought about telling him, but now...after Hind placed so much trust in me?
I wouldn't have much time to think about that as I was led to the captain's quarters. Where a surprisingly young looking uniformed man was waiting for me. Admiral hat on his head and white curls in his hair. He was pouring a drink of tea as I walked in with the sailor.
"Thank you for bringing him Captain, you're dismissed." His voice was calm, yet resonating with a confidant aura of authority. God this man is awesome! The Captain then left us alone and the man gestured to a chair in front of me with a smile. "Ah, you must be Kenneth Robin, is that your ship out across the dock? The Ballista?" He asked kindly.
"Yes, that's the one." I replied, trying to stay calm. I felt a little giddy, not often you meet your childhood hero! But at the same I was still worried as to the reason he called me here.
"That uses Core technology doesn't it? Allows you to sail a ship that large with no crew, an impressive feat of engineering wouldn't you agree?" He asked, placing a bowl of fruit on the table in front of us.
"Uh yeah...I'm fortunate I did well enough in my work to afford such a vessel." I agreed. He chuckled with me for a moment before looking shocked for a moment and putting his hand on his chest.
"Oh forgive me master Robin, I didn't introduce myself: I'm Lord Vickers." He held his hand out to to me and I shook it vigorously.
"Its a pleasure to meet you sir." I laughed nervously. "Sorry if I sound strange its just...you've been my hero even before your lordship, you're the one who inspired me to sail the ocean." God I sounded so lame! He chuckled down at me for a moment before sitting across from me.
"Well, its a unexpected pleasure find a friendly face here in Thalassopolis, especially considering...recent events." I noticed his gaze darken slightly as he finished his sentence. "It seems most of the people here have given up trying to secure the seas, leaving them in the clutches of a group of interest to the Royal navy, The Tempesta." As he finished, he slipped over a tray to me that had a tea pot and cup. "Thirsty?"
"Thank you." I felt glad to pour myself a drink, I could feel my nerves shredding themselves as he brought up the Tempesta pirates. He must have noticed I shaky I was since I almost spilt the tea.
"Are you alright master Robin?" I looked up and he was rasing his eyebrow at me. I took a deep breath as I put down the tea pot.
"Sorry...I uh...had a few run ins with a Tempesta myself over the last few months, I guess I'm still a little shaken up." I admitted, taking a sip of tea.
"Ah yes, Golden Hind correct? That must have been very harrowing." He guessed, probably trying to gauge my reaction. "A few of the local merchant and passenger ships have reported your ship and hers travelling together, is that true?" He wasn't being accusatory, but I could tell there was a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"No, she was chasing me." I corrected. Vickers gave a 'hmm?' in response as he sipped his own tea.
"Chasing you? Why she would do that?" He wondered out loud, again watching me as he spoke. I know enough about Vickers to know how intuitive he is, you don't become a lord by being stupid after all. I needed to tell him as much as I could without him trying to work out himself, otherwise he might realise I'm hiding something, the trick is make him think I'm either not hiding something, or mislead him into think I'm hiding something else entirely.
"She runs a toll in the waters around here, I always attempt to evade her to avoid paying, that day she got wise to how I was avoiding her and intercepted me, we almost starting shooting each other." I explained honestly.
"An illegal toll? Well that's another crime to add to her rap sheet, interesting story master Robin, how did you escape?" he asked.
"I almost didn't, she saw another ship coming towards us and turned to go for them. I think they were pirates from another faction but I didn't stay to find out, I booked it back here at full speed and didn't look back. That was about...a week ago? Maybe two?" I finished, taking a bite out of an apple.
"That roughly correlates with our current intelligence of her movements, glad you could help me shed light on that event master Robin, now that its confirmed this is where Golden Hind is currently operating, it narrows down our search area." Vickers got up and started clearing another table, spreading a map Thalassopolis out across it. But something was bothering me and I was too curious to just let it go. So I turned to the man asked him.
"Lore Vickers...how can you fight the Tempesta? You're the only one I know who has bested them in combat." Vickers turned back to me, then he looked up for a moment as if in thought, before smiling at me.
"Let me show you something." He gestured for me to follow him out the room, so I got up and did so. He led me down a deck and up to a locked door, flanked on either side by armed guards. "This is something that I found in some metal ruins on a strange looking island, too many straight lines and blocky areas to have been a natural formation." He commented as he pulled off a silver necklace he kept under his uniform, which I realised had two keys on it.
"Who built it then?" I asked as he slid one of the keys in the lock.
"No one knows, I have suspicions that others out there may know more, but for now let me show you how we stand up to the Tempesta." Vickers then pushed open the door and led me inside. The room was dark, no portholes to let in light and the walls seemed to have been reinforced with extra wooden boards and metal plates, whatever was in here was certainly well protected. In the middle of the room was a metal chest.
Vickers then switched to the other key and unlocked it, earning a clacking sound as the mechanisms of the chest allowed its lid to open. Vickers then reached inside and pulled out...a black sword? Vickers slowly swung the weapon around to show it to me from all sides. It wasn't just black, it had a faint red tinge glowing from the middle of its blade, the handle had some kind of insignia engraved on the side, it looked like a woman riding some machine with octopus tentacles, but they looked too mechanical to be like the ones Golden Hind has. The whole thing made me uneasy just looking at it.
"This master Robins, is how I fight the Tempesta: This sword is one of the few ways you can deal permanent damage to one of them, you simply take something from them, like their blood, and the Black sword's magic activates, cutting off their ability to regenerate from any injuries they sustain from it." He explained.
Blood.
Golden Hind mentioned something about blood being used to activate curses, is this sword one such example? Trying to keep myself calm I asked Vickers. "Have you...killed any of them with it?" Vickers frowned for a moment before sighing.
"Annoyingly, no." He admitted, putting the Black sword back in the chest. "I've only had one fight using the Black sword, with Golden Hind a few years ago, you ever wondered why she only has one antler?" He smirked as he pulled something else out of the chest. No...he didn't! No way! He pulled out exactly what I thought he was going to, and it still made my eyes go wide in shock and drain the colour from my face.
Golden Hind's antler!
"She was very surprised in our last battle that she wasn't regenerating from this wound, I would have had her dead to rights if her allies hadn't shown up to save her." Vickers mused as he twiddled the antler between his finger and thumb, showing it to me. "This is more than enough to keep activating the Black sword's powers for killing Golden Hind, but I still need either the blood or a body part from the other Tempesta before I can challenge them as well, but I'm confidant I will get them eventually."
I was too busy staring at the antler to register what Vickers was saying any more. Hind never seemed too bothered by the fact she was missing part of herself, then again I never asked her about it and from what Vickers had just said, it was years ago. The Black sword must be why Hind reacted so strongly to the mention of using blood to sign the pact, it was blood activated magic that took away her antler...no wonder she got so upset at that.
"Master Robin?" I jumped a little, feeling Vickers prod my shoulder. "You froze up for moment, are you alright?" He asked. I cleared my throat before replying.
"I'm fine, just...this is a lot to take in." I looked back at the Black sword in the chest, its ominous aura still making me feel uneasy as I watched it. "You sure its really wise to use something that we don't fully understand?" I asked looking back at Vickers. The Lord tossed the severed antler back into the chest before leading me out of the room.
"I understand enough master Robin, let me worry about any implications of using such a thing. In the meantime you have my thanks for assisting us in narrowing down Golden Hind's territory, I'll have my men put a small reward on your ship." He explained as we got back on deck. "I'd suggest you stay in port for the next few days as we search for her, but I'll understand if you still have errands to run. If Hind tries to bother you again, one of my ships should be in the area to save you, don't worry about putting my men in danger, they're trained for that kind of thing." Vickers assured me with a smile.
"I appreciate it Lord Vickers, thank you for your hospitality." I replied shaking his hand again. He nodded at me and gestured for me to disembark. Oh boy this is a complicated situation I'm in now! I felt even more conflicted than when I first boarded the Dawn-breaker. If I betrayed Golden Hind to Vickers and he failed to defeat her...who knows what she would do to me. But if Vickers somehow found out about my pact with Hind, I'd be branded a pirate alongside her. It wouldn't have mattered that much to most people around her, being associated with a Tempesta, but I didn't want that life, I just wanted a normal, quiet life.
Guess the universe just hates me.
A/N: Oh you thought this was just going to be a lemon fic? HA! Nope there's a real story here too people! Don't worry theres still plenty of smut to come up, but they'll be plenty of action and adventure too!