Nautilus

Chapter 2-Full Moon


The skies were the clearest they had been since he could remember. Not a cloud hovering in the sky above. The seas were very calm. And what a beautiful sight it was for any man, be it landlubber or sailor, to see the twinkling stars, but what either would be drawn to most was the silver moon setting an luminescent glow on anything it touched.
There was one ship in the midst where the virgin moon cast her glow, the ship known as the Flying Dutchman. It would normally be an eerie sight, but the light seemed to soften the ship's image. Not to worry though, her Captain was not hungry for blood this night. Nay, it seemed as if he worried himself over who was seeking whom. This was brought about by the very odd and out of place guest aboard. Said guest was in a soaked heap on the deck. Were it not for the obvious womanly parts, barely hidden by pieces of tattered clothing, the crew would never have guessed they had a woman aboard. They were more worried about the pair of wings attached to her.


****POV of Davy Jones*****

It was a sight I had never expected to see. A woman was aboard my ship. Not just any woman, an angel. I had sold my heart and life to end the pain and anguish of a refuted love. Now I am faced with this creature, an angel, which represented that love and cherished rubbish that I had tossed away. Is this what I have to look forward to? To be faced with what I tossed away? To deal with the pain and sorrow that I thought I had overcome? I dealt with the devil for my misgivings, but am I to face the other side for this as well?
A soft moan croaked from her mouth. I had to do something with her. As much as I liked to see her in pain, it distracted my crew. She had to go. I wanted to throw her overboard and feed her to the Kraken, for there was no other thing I could do with her.
She was of no use to me. She had no human soul in her. The ship needed men to sail her. I needed their souls to continue my part of the bargain with the devil.
There was no explanation for why I hesitated. It was always easy. This time it was not that simple. If I tossed her overboard and someone else came along and found her … that was something I could not do. She stayed, at least for now. Who better to watch over an angel than the sea devil himself?
I ordered her to be moved to my cabin. Some of the crew came forward and picked her up while the others started moving back to their posts. It was an awkward sight to see my crew wrestle a small body with heavy wings. They managed to get a grip and half dragged and half carried her to my cabin. I had not missed their cursing and superstitious mumblings about “damnation” and “hellfire”. Bloody idiots!
“Quit yer yapping or it will be a flogging for the lot of yee!”
That silenced the lot. Good. I was left alone to my own musings again.
I turned from the deck and gazed onto the sea. Thoughts filled me once more. Perhaps here is more to this than I thought.
A crooked smile graced my face as storm clouds began to gather, covering the stars and moon. How fortuitous indeed.

I entered my cabin sometime later. I made sure that everything was in order and sound. It was never a joy to be on water during a storm. I looked around for my captive and was surprised to find my crew had placed her on my bed. I sneered with disgust at their actions. They were certainly getting the wrong meaning when I said to put her in my cabin.
The storm began to pick up and waves were now rocking against the side of the ship. I paid no attention to it. My mind was on something else entirely. The creature had not moved nor stirred since I opened the door, yet I had made sure her hands and feet were bound in the slightest chance she chose to move. Satisfied, I made my way to my organ and seated myself upon the bench for another night. I began my ritual of tormenting its keys and soon found myself lost in my symphony of pain. I moved with it and felt myself lost in the swaying of notes and sounds.
As I approached the last verse of the piece, I heard a groan. Angered at being interrupted, I turned my head sharply and I looked straight at her. I had not foreseen her healing so fast, much faster than I would have liked. Only the blood lingered on her skin and tattered clothing. Her wings had disappeared as well, leaving only some scattered feathers here and there. Her eyes fluttered open now she looked around. She stopped when she rested her gaze on me. She from my claw to my chest, up and down again, and then rested on my eyes. She had an unusual eye color, glittered silver, but from a distance I could not say for sure I was not sure. We stayed like this for several moments until she decided to break the inspection. I thought of something, anything to say to her. I tried to think of something, anything to say to her. I wanted to feel anger towards her, but the previous thought I had of her interrupting me had passed. Now, I felt strangely curious. She seems to feel nothing towards me as well. Perhaps she has given up?
"I'm not supposed to be here." She had whispered.
I laughed at her declaration. "That's what they all say, Lass. Every man aboard this ship will tell ye the same thing."
"That is not what I meant."
Again, I chuckled at her. "Then, what is it? Your beloved Lord no longer loved you? Tossed ye away onto me ocean like I toss the ones who declare their love for him in their final moments? I think not. Ye were no longer useful to him. That or you committed done an act so grave, so unholy, that He himself frowned upon you
She made to move to respond.
"That’s what I thought."
She was silent for the rest of the night, her eyes closed tight and tears glistening on her cheeks.

*********

She had lain many nights and days in my cabin. It seemed as if she never wanted to be woken again. Neither a sound nor any movement came from the angel since we had spoken. One thing stayed with me more and I did not like it. It was her eyes and the look she had given me. I felt she had hidden something from me and wished not to express it. No, I did not like it one bit.
She haunted me in my dreams every night. They were vivid dreams. They were pleasant dreams. I had not dreamt like that in ages. It was a nuisance, a damned nuisance. Am I
Am I truly that condemned?! I dream of her every night. I do not need this! This is not the time! She is haunting me!
Not long after I’d found her, my fate was once again being meddled with. It had come upon the time to collect on one of my bargains with a captain by the name of "Jack Sparrow". When we first met, I assumed him to be a daft young man, willing to give anything to have what he thought, at the time, was most precious to him. He had carelessly tossed his soul away and condemned himself to serve for a hundred years on my ship in exchange for thirteen as a captain of his own.
The same man thirteen years later would not hold up his end of the bargain, and I chased him all over my own waters to find him. Now, he had the only thing that could end it all: my heart.
I stood on the upper deck of my ship and watched the stars. It was another calm night. I wondered where the heart was now. I had always sensed it nearby, but of late I hadn’t felt it at all. I crossed my arms. It was in the rare moments such as these that I quietly wished things had been different. I wished that I had not become the Captain of a cursed ship and crew or be destined to sail these waters for all eternity.
I loved the sea. I had always loved it. The riches it offered, the comfort it gave, and the freedom. In the end that love had not been enough I wanted more. I thought I had found that love in the form of a woman. In the end, she betrayed me. She had been crueler than the sea herself in a tropical storm. I had been left to wander in her wake like a drowning man in the wake of a passing ship.
I was more broken and torn than any man could have ever experienced. I made a bargain with the devil, to end the pain. I ripped out my own heart, and yet I lived, and in exchange for this service I would collect souls, and the ones I deemed worthy would serve aboard my ship until their debt was paid. The rest were sent to the next plane of existence to be judged by the Devil himself. The deal was an eternity of service to Him and in return my pain for my rejected love was dimmed and hidden away from the world and myself.
I felt a gust of wind blow and lightly filled the sails. We were anchored tonight, but the sails could not be taken down. I heard a door creak open and shut and I reacted quickly. No one should be on deck at this hour. Only a watchman, but he was on the bow. The sound came from the stern. I wondered who was stupid enough to pull a stunt like that. It was then I noticed feathers. A large gust of wind blew past me again and lifted the feathers into the night sky. I could not see anything but the color white for a few seconds, then the feathers dispersed. I growled. Had the woman escaped? And was she now loose on my ship? The harlot!
I almost stormed to my cabin, when I heard something flapping, and it was not the sails. I threw my gaze upwards and looked for the source. Then, I found her, blanket and all, sitting on top of one of the masts. Her blue-black hair and red blanket slowly fluttered in the small breeze. She almost looked like a flag. How in the seven hells . . . ?

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End of Chapter 2