Summary: Four pirates walk into a witch's hut. What will be the punchline after they left her there years ago, "for her protection". Will she read their fortune or curse them forever?
Disclaimer: mentions of injuries and scars, poly141, mentions of violence and blood, ritual Cthulhu-esque stuff
a/n: Hiya everyone! Welcome back to the second part; sorry it took me a minute; I was busy quitting my job hahaha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the second chapter, and I cannot wait to hear your guys' feedback!
So, as always, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!
It had been three days since they touched land at Oxen Port.
The five of them worked well together, so the shopping was easy for them all to do quickly.
It was midday now, the sun shining high in the sky, and they were all off doing their own things.
She was a spiteful thing, so of course she had been ignoring them as much as she could. Even now, as she grabbed her art supplies and headed for the nest high in the sails, she was sneaking around like a dumb robber on a giant boat.
She climbed the ladder leading up to it and threw her legs inside, but fate had other ideas, and the spitefulness could not last forever.
Johnny let out a small shriek at the same time the girl gasped and almost fell out of the wooden basket. “Gods above, lass ya’ sca’erd the crap outta me.” He was holding his chest with one hand, the other clamped tightly around her ankle.
Her shoulders fell, and she looked out towards the sky. Of course, Soap would be up here as the lookout; he loved taking on the role and having time to do his wood carvings. He was doing it now, wood chips all around him, a small shape taking form in his hands. She could hear Soap sigh behind her.
She slowly looked back at him. “I know.” Her voice was quiet as well.
She jumped down from the ledge, sinking down against the side of it. “We thought it would be best for ya lassie. We just tried to protect ya.”
His head hung low, his mohawk falling over his forehead from how long his hair had been growing. He looked the same as the day they left; only his hair had grown a bit. She could see a scar on his cheek that was new, and his eyes looked lost, miserable even.
They all had that look, one she knew she was causing, and yet her spiteful nature would not allow her to just let it go like that for all of them.
“I know.” She mutters again. “I’ve missed ya.” His voice breaks, and their eyes finally meet. There are tears in his beautiful sea blue eyes, and she softly smiles at him.
“I have missed you too, Johnny.”
She is a spiteful thing, yes.
But her boys had always gotten special treatment, especially Johnny.
She leans in, and their lips meet. For a second he doesn’t move, just stays frozen, but it only lasts for just a second before he surges forward with desperation. He grabs her face with one hand, the other pulling her onto his lap to have her close.
The kiss is just like Johnny, chaotic and full of passion; he almost devours her in one go, pulling her impossibly close. Her hands wrap around his neck, tugging at his hair to gasp for breath of air before going back into their fierce kiss.
Oh, how she missed having them all like this, their warm palms on her forever-cold skin.
Johnny was like a furnace under her, warming her up so fast that she felt like she needed to get rid of layers to be able to breathe. The kiss lasted for minutes before she pulled back with a firm grip on his hair to hold him back.
They panted, staring at each other, giant smiles crossing both their faces. “How I missed this.” Is all she muttered, leaning down to bury her face in his neck.
He wrapped his arms around her back tightly, keeping her pressed against him. He rested his cheek on her head, relishing in her only answering her with a hum.
“I forgive you, Johnny.” His grip tightened more. “Thank you, birdie.” His voice cracked again.
“What about the others?” She smiled into his chest; of course he would think of the others now. “I need a bit more time for that. I’m still angry with John and Simon. Kyle is a different story, like you.”
He hummed again in response, hand petting her back.
“You are a spiteful thing.” She chuckled, lifting her head from his chest to stare at him, conflict evident on her face.
“I won’t.” She chuckles at him, knowing her so well. “Give me a week, dear; I’ll figure it all out by then.” He nods to her and pulls her back down for another much slower kiss.
“I would wait an eternity for ya, lass.” They all would.
Almost another week passes before she seeks out Kyle.
It’s on a sleepless night. She tossed and turned, but dreams would not take her, so instead she grabbed a book of hers and left the warmth of her cabin, wrapped in a long knitted cardigan over her nightgown.
Kyle was lying in the middle of the deck, staring up at the starry night sky, Nolex the traitor lying on his chest, curled up.
She tiptoed over, the cold wood seeping into her, making her shake as she gripped the cardigan tighter around herself. His eyes never leave the sky; he simply pats the space next to himself.
She lies with him, hand searching for his, grabbing hold of his, and resting their joined hands on her chest. His eyes broke from the sky, studying her profile as moonlight shone on her skin.
Kyle remembers meeting her for the first time.
They were searching for a nearby village through the woods when they saw the horror that had changed their lives forever. She had been standing on top of a bonfire, tied to a stake, hands above her head. She was struggling against her bindings, but there was no way she could get herself free.
The boys had saved her that night from being burned at the stake.
But even with the bloodshed and cruelty going around, the only real thing Kyle could remember from it was how her skin shone in the moonlight.
It had an almost sheen to it, a bluish tint that made her look deathly, magical, and ethereal.
When moonlight hits her skin, her true nature comes out. Kyle knows she can pass as a human. One glamour spell and no pointed ears or intricate tattoos, but her skin never lies; it always has a bluish-grey tint, always looks a little dead, and they cannot lie; it’s that ethereal beauty that dragged them into her orbit.
So Kyle stares openly at her. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She had put her glamour back on for the town, but once again she is her true self, slightly pointed ears adorned with earrings all over them. He traces the runes and lines over her arm before he looks back towards the sky.
He wished he could show this to his siblings. Out here at sea, the sky is super clear on warm days like these, stars shining so bright that they had to get curtains installed.
“I’m sorry for leavin’ ya behind, sweetheart.” He pulls their hands to his own chest, now closing his eyes and allowing the girl to feel his emotions radiate from him.
“I know you are.” Nolex stands on his chest, sniffing their joined hands before jumping away, strolling towards Johnny’s room.
“You’ve made up with Johnny already, haven’t ya?” She lets out a low chuckle. “He tell you that?” She is looking at him now; he can feel her intense gaze burning a hole into the side of his head.
“Nah, not directly.” He looks to her now, too. “He slept over at mine yesterday. Haven’t slept in the same bed in a year.”
Her smile drops her gaze, tearing away from his. “I thought you all would still sleep together.” He gripped her hand tightly so she could not pull it away. “We did, some days. But the guilt was too much after it, so it didn’t happen often.”
He fully turns on his side now, hand caressing her face to grab her attention. "Do not feel guilty, love. We deserved the cold nights. It does not mean we don't love each other now." She looks back to him, seeking out his warmth.
She turns to him, scoots closer, and buries herself in his arms. “I forgive you, Kyle.” She lifts her head, noses touching their so close now.
He doesn’t hesitate and surges forward, locking their lips together in a gentle kiss. It was everything Kyle ever represented in their love, gentle and warm, calm and collected.
They lay there for several minutes kissing each other and muttering gentle reassurances. Later after they lay for a few more minutes gazing at the stars again Kyle took her back to Johnny’s room and placed her between them. The scott didn’t wake but he knew two of his lovers were there and pulled them closer into his embrace.
As it had been established many times before, she was a spiteful thing; she held a grudge for a long time, and it was a difficult task to get back into her good graces.
Kyle and Johnny were the easiest of them to forgive.
The two had been crushed when they left her on the island, sobbing and gripping themselves not to go for her.
But Simon and John just watched in silence. Their cold gazes were not even turned towards her.
So she did the same to them. She started talking with the younger man in front of them. Chatting with them at breakfast, did chores with them during the day, and slept in their beds at night.
And the jealousy didn’t come in its natural form for Captain John Price and his second-in-command, Simon Riley. It came in the form of longing. In the form of silent suffering and extreme yearning.
But they bared it anyway.
Because they knew that with enough time she would come to them.
It hadn’t been on purpose when, about another week later, Simon ran into her. She had crawled out of bed; one of those rare nights of her sleeping by herself, she had woken from another dream.
As moonlight shone high above her, soft footsteps pattered towards the kitchen below deck. She rummaged through the many cupboards and pulled out the last of their milk. They landed on shore two days ago so the first thing the girl asked for was some milk.
She poured a large mug for herself and grabbed the few cookies left sitting at the small table, her legs pulled tightly to her chest to chase away the cold.
The door opened, making her freeze and stare up with wide eyes. Simon only wore his black pants and untied boots, his mask in place as always, and she couldn’t help but openly stare at him. He didn’t see her as he poured himself a glass of water, turning to lean against the counter. He spots her, then eyes widening, glass frozen mid-air almost to his lips.
He lowers it slowly, eyes darting over her to check if she was okay, he asks anyway. “You alright, sweetness?” His voice is low and soft, something most people would find weird from the giant man, but she knew this tone was only reserved for them.
“I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep.” She looks away from him, draining the last of her milk and cookies before standing up to leave.
“How long are you gonna stay mad at us?” Normally, one would get angry at such a question, but once again she knew this man just like she knew the rest of them. Simon was in pain from staying away from her.
“Don’t you think you should do something first before asking such questions?” She leaned against the table across from him, arms folded across her chest. Her tone hadn’t been harsh or accusing; she was speaking to him matter-of-factly.
“I’m sorry.” He doesn’t look at her anymore while she studies his every breath. “What we did was horrible, but we wanted to protect you from him.”
She bites her cheek but breathes through the anger she still feels from that day. “I told you many times before, I don’t need protection from him; you do.” Frustration flashes in his eyes. "See what happened to you while I was gone?"
Her voice is sad; she steps closer, now reaching her hand out to trace the slowly fading black tendrils creeping up his arms. Her hand glides across his shoulder and stops at his jaw, where the skull mask lies across his face. He let her slide it off his face, but regretted it a second later when her eyes closed, her head leaning against his chest.
The left side of his face was covered in the terrible inky black tendrils, his veins a terrible deep maroon color as the infection slowly ate him alive.
As stated before, if one thinks she is a spiteful thing, her brother would always end up being worse.
“Don’t look at me like that; I don’t deserve it, sweetness.” Simon couldn’t help himself; he was a mere man in the presence of a goddess. His hands slowly gripped her much smaller waist, steadying her against him, not letting her even a step back, basking in her cool touch.
“You should have come sooner.” Her hand slid back into place over his face, running gentle fingers over the markings marring across his features.
“Johnny wanted to; when it had gotten worse, Kyle started nagging as well, but I’ve only let Price set sail to you when the marks appeared on them.” His hand tucks a loose strand behind her ear, cupping her face.
“Of course you did, stubborn oaf.” They are now speaking in whispers, Simon hunching over to hear her words.
“We are sorry.” She nods dismissively, looking away from his golden eyes. She knew they were; she could feel the regret rolling off of them, but she couldn’t just forgive Price for leaving her like that. The only man she had ever let rule over her, betraying her trust in such a way, left a deep gash behind that none of them could understand.
“Cap’ is just as sorry, ya know.” Her head whipped back to him, anger boiling behind her eyes.
“Is he now? Maybe he should come to me and say so. You know what, Si? He should actually be begging on his knees for forgiveness from me.” The giant nods to her agreeably, hand gently running through her hair.
“We all should be, right?” She huffs an unamused laugh in answer.
“I never expected that from you; I only wanted your love.” She goes to turn away, but Simon brings her back to him, holding her face between his giant palms.
“You have all our love, sweetness. All our care and devotion; we’re just shite at showing it. Especially me.” She bumps their noses together.
“Well, you’re doing a pretty fine job right now.” The deep rumble of his laugh vibrates through her body, and before she could stop herself, her lips are slotted against his in a reverent kiss.
She could never deny Simon; ever since she boarded the 141, she had been softest on him. He was the very reason that the girl headed to wage a kind of war against her brother. The connection between them was a special kind of evil, to say the least.
Her mother, the goddess of the dead, was, to popular belief, the kindest deity there was to be. She guided those who passed into the beyond, passing punishment accordingly, but the work of a goddess like her was vast, and so she needed help; hence the first angel of death was born.
The first Angel was a cruel and pompous man who didn’t respect the dead nor the living. He made a mockery of the goddess's work, not to mention his charm that won her over.
That is how her first child was born, Philip Graves. Graves was a cruel boy even at a young age, taking after his father, and after a few years of trying to change the two to no avail, she had banished them to the human world.
That is when her father was given to her mother.
The kindest angel the gods had ever seen, he not only did his job with such favour, but he gave all of his devotion over to his goddess, and not long after their baby girl was born, the next angel in line.
When she reached the appropriate age, her father gave the title to her in order to live with his goddess for an eternity and more now. Our girl wore this title with pride; she helped those in despair and tried her best to protect humans from her brother's stupidity.
That is how she found them.
One night she awoke from a terrible nightmare, four men struggling on a ship with the blight Graves so happily passed around.
She knew what she had to do then.
She packed her things and tracked the four men down till her brother got news of her plans; he paid a hefty price for it to work. A binding spell had been created, forcing the girl's powers to mere witch potential.
Which is why those barbarian hunters could find her and try to burn her at the stake. That is when she had joined the crew, and with the help of the boys, she was almost back to her full potential.
The last thing keeping her from the sky was those damned roots, tied together in a horrible knot under the faith tree.
But with her connection still severed from her mother, there was no way for her to gain access to it, at least until now.
But with all the boys bearing his curse, she could find a way to reverse it back into the faith tree and gain access to it with the rest of her power; she just had to convince John that it would be worth the risk.
Simon pulls back from the kiss and looks at her face. "Where are ya wandering off to in that head of yours?" She pulls on his face to get his lips back onto hers.
"Just thinking ahead, never mind that now." Slowly, the two get lost in each other and end up back in her cabin, cuddled closely under her covers, Simon's giant head lying on her chest while she runs her hand along his arm in a soothing way.
She had a lot to think about before talking to John.