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Not criminal enough.
I’ve been rotting in this cell for weeks because I’m not criminal enough to draw a crowd. I’ll be nothing but a sideshow for some out-of-control delinquent with wanted posters all over this stupid kingdom.
Hangings aren’t a punishment, they’re a show. The royalty on these islands just need a way to show off the control they have over their people. I’m not sure if coming clean would be better or worse for me. Would they just find a different way to kill me? Would I be charged with multiple crimes instead of one? Would I become the main attraction or one that needs to be hidden away?
As I was going through my daily bargaining routine, the guards came clattering into the hall of empty cells. The large barred door of my stone prison screeched open, and a young man was dropped to the floor.
Looks like I finally have a hanging partner.
Fooling the guards was hard enough. Keeping a “worthy” criminal away from me is going to bring on a whole new challenge. There’s no telling what kinds of sick and demented things he’s capable of. Then again, he doesn’t really look like a highly notorious criminal. Aside from being well dressed and seemingly young, he’s sort of…small.
His face stayed pressed to the dirty, stone floor, and his arms sprawled out to the sides of him. I’m sure the guards didn’t exactly handle him with care, but his injuries seemed worse than what they would’ve cared to inflict.
I’m going to regret this.
I pushed my own weakened body away from the wall, pulled the wrap on my head further down my face, and tapped the boy’s shoulder with my foot. “Hey, are you alright?”
He said nothing but groaned in pain as his body shifted on the floor. I could try healing him, but that seems like a risk I shouldn’t take yet. After grappling at the floor, he finally rolled over onto his back. His hair fell away from his eyes, giving me a clear view of his face.
He’s young. Young enough to be called a boy by many and a man by few. Despite the dim light of the cell, it’s easy to see that his skin has been soaked in sunshine for most of his life. And his body, despite it being damaged, has clear signs of strength characteristic of hard work.
“Can you hear me? Are you alright?” I asked again.
“Fantastic.” He said as he clutched his side.
“What happened to you? Did they do this to you?”
“They certainly didn’t help.” He let out a deep sigh, “I went overboard during a storm. Not sure how long ago. It’s just my luck I washed up on this stinky island.”
“You went overboard and you’re still alive?”
He brushed off the question as he dragged himself over to a wall and tried to prop himself up.
“Here, let me help you.” I reached for his arms, but I’m close to being just as weak as he is. “Your shackles are so much tighter than mine. They’re cutting into your skin.”
“Oh dear.” He chuckled sarcastically, “And to think I won’t look my best for the hanging next week.”
“Next week?” My voice cracked.
“I’m sorry. I thought you knew. They talked about it like it was already decided.”
“No, they were waiting for someone like you. Apparently, my low-level criminal status wasn’t entertaining enough.” I leaned against the wall next to him, as I continued. “Do you mind if I ask why they arrested you? You said you went overboard. Are you a sailor? Or…”
“Pirate.” He said with a mischievous smirk. “I’m wanted for all sorts of things. Especially on royal waters. If I had to take a guess…I’m probably in here for that time we sunk one of their artillery ships.”
“You sank a ship?”
“We sank a ship. The Matz. It took all eight of us.”
“Only eight? You must be a talented gunner.”
“Oh, no. I’m not a gunner.”
“Powder boy?”
“No.” He repeated. “I’m a cook.”
“They arrested the cook? My crimes are second to a cook?”
He seemed to perk up like he was proud of himself. “Well, why are you here?”
I pulled myself away from him again. “I’m not answering that.”
“Oh come on! I’ve only just met you and you know why I’m here. Come on. Just tell me. Murder? Treason? Did you steal a chicken?”
As he spoke he shook his hair away from his eyes. It wasn’t until now that his head and face had caught the hint of light coming from the lamps in the room.
His hair…it’s two-toned.
There are very few explanations for that sort of abnormality. I suppose he could be some sort of biological anomaly, or maybe he isn’t fully human. Although, a birthmark that developed so clean seems unlikely, and if he did have a nonhuman parent, wouldn’t there be some other indication? Could it be…
“How’d you get your hair like that?”
“Hey. I’m not telling you any more about me until you come clean.”
“Fine. But don’t strangle me in my sleep if you’re against this sort of thing. You’re the one that sank a royal ship.” He smirked again as I continued. “The use of magic and sorcery is prohibited in all royal territories…”
“You’re a mage?” He questioned ecstatically as he hopped closer to me. “What were you doing? Enchantments? Incantations?”
“Stop. It was nothing like that. I was…I was just trying to heal a dog. It’d been sick for days. Somehow a guard found out. They didn’t even see me do it.”
“Healing?” He questioned with a curious tilt of his head. “But I thought only girls could heal.”
“Oh. Well, that’s actually a myth. All magic is learned. Anyone can learn to heal. It’s just a lot less acceptable for girls to learn defense so through time we’ve been taught healing more frequently-”
“What did you just say?” He leaned in so close to me that I could feel his breath on my face. I tried to pull away but he grabbed my arm.
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
“You said we. ‘We’ve been taught healing more frequently.’”
I tried to get away but he pinned me to the ground. His shackled hands grabbed the fabric off of my head that had been concealing most of my face.
“Please don’t hurt me. Please.” I plead to my new cellmate.
“I’m not going to hurt you!” He said as his sly little smile returned to his face. “You’re a girl.”
“Keep quiet! Someone will hear you!”
“Why do you care if someone hears? Why didn’t you tell them? They won’t hang a girl.”
“Where do you think you are? Of course they will. And I’d rather hang as a mage than be crushed as a witch.”
He dramatically groaned and scoffed, “They’re still doing that here?!”
“Not to mention I would be charged with heresy for cross-dressing.”
“You’ve got a point.” He admitted defeatedly as he helped me to sit up and cover up again. “Just so you know, I don’t see anything wrong with magic users, and I think people should be able to dress however they want.”
There was nothing to do but talk to each other, so I ended up hearing an earful about my new friend Wooyoung. He's a cook on the pirate ship Matz, they’re highly successful in the realm of piracy, and his captain is an avid magic-user.
I’ve never been good at enchantments, but it's what his captain specializes in. It's the reason Wooyoung survived after floating adrift in the ocean for who knows how long, and it's how they manage to operate so successfully with only eight crew members. They all seem to be at varying levels of apprenticeship with only a few of them actively practicing magic. Wooyoung’s hair was altered using a simple transformation incantation and I’m suddenly intrigued by the uses for magic I have neglected to consider.
Wooyoung speaks as though his escape is inevitable, and as though I should assume he’ll be getting me out too. Given his status as a pirate and his obvious knack for mischief, I think it might just be possible.
Two uneventful days passed. Wooyoung continued to share stories of his life as a pirate. He seems to know more about making decent food at sea than he does about piracy.
Most of my life has been spent hiding away, alone in the forests surrounding the kingdom. As the only remaining survivor of the royal siege that claimed my home, there was nowhere within the limits of the kingdom that I could truly belong. My only knowledge of pirates comes from horror stories pushed by royal agendas. Wooyoung seems to have similar stories, but his charisma leads me to question how evil his crew could possibly be.
It took less than a day for him to win me over. As much as I resisted his attempts to break down the walls I had spent years building up, his smile and oddly chipper demeanor were too welcoming. Even in our seemingly grim situation, I’d fallen for his charms.
It wasn’t until our third day in the cramped space together that I witnessed what it means to be wanted and truly hated by royal authority.
Without warning, a guard came in and dragged Wooyoung out of the cell, scraping his knees on the crumbling floor. He was kicked and shoved until his body was pinned to the ground. And that was just the start of it.
Another guard came in with a metal rod. A livestock brand. The crest of the Northern Kingdom glowing with horrifying heat. The two men standing over Wooyoung laughed and shouted as they beat him into an even further state of submission. His shackled arms and legs occasionally moved to protect himself from the brutal blows. I was instructed to watch as the brand singed the skin of his back, fibers from his clothing binding to the wound. As the shaped metal lost heat it was pressed to various places on his body, eventually making its way to his face. Although it wasn’t nearly as hot as before, it left a dark red blister on his cheek. His skin flushed red before he was consumed with an ill paleness.
The smell of burning flesh was enough to make my own stomach twist into knots. It was a smell that was somehow specific to that of a human being. And the sight served as a reminder that the smell belonged to a specific human being I had come to adore in such a short amount of time.
The sound of the brand when it touched his skin was similar to when rain falls over an open fire, or when a pot boils over. Somehow he never cried, or screamed or whimpered. His eyes were shot with an unidentifiable agony. Or maybe it was a blend of every horrifying emotion a person can experience.
His eyes remained focused on me through the entirety of the horrific ordeal. I watched him tremble with pain as he withstood the torture. Anytime I tried to interfere he simply shook his head.
When the branding iron had finally lost every bit of heat it once held, the guards flipped Wooyoung’s body over and beat him with the metal rod until he coughed. Only stopping when one of them pointed out that he might die if they continued. He was finally thrown back to the safety of our cell, the door was slammed shut, and the guards walked away as if nothing happened.
I rushed to him, placing my hands on him in an immediate attempt to heal him, but he stopped me.
“No.” He choked out, his voice riddled with pain. “You can’t. They’ll know. Then they’ll do the same to you.”
“Wooyoung, please. You’re dying. You can’t just stay like this.”
“No. No. I-”
As he tried to speak, blood sputtered from his lips. He fell into a coughing fit, rolling on the floor and choking on the copious amount of thick blood pouring from his mouth.
“You’re bleeding internally. I can localize the healing to your lungs and anything else that's wrong with your organs.”
I placed my hands under his shirt and sent a short burst of power through his body. He gasped and took in a clean breath of air before wiping blood away from his lips. It was obvious he was still dizzy with the pain inflicted by the burns, but at least he can breathe. As he sat up I offered him my hand to hold, he squeezed it tight as the pain of sitting against the wall surged through the skin of his back. After he seemed to regain his grip on the world around him he pulled me closer to him.
“You really know your stuff. I owe you one.”
“I can heal your burns. Let them torture me too. I can’t watch you suffer like this when I know I can help.”
“And why should I be the one that watches you suffer? The answer is no.” He took another deep breath, “Just hold my hand. Ok? That’s all I want.”
The cell fell silent, I think for the first time since Wooyoung had opened his mouth. His confident smirk was gone. I’m afraid it may never return. His head sank lower and lower, on the verge of losing consciousness from the pain.
“Hey Wooyoung, when we get out of here, I’ll get rid of those scars.”
He chuckled, but with the absence of a smile. “Can I ask you something?” He asked as he rolled his head back to look at me.
“Of course.”
“My face,” he started as he ran his fingers over his burned cheek, “is…is my spot still there?”
The look on my face must have been an answer enough. He huffed out a short sigh before leaning his head on my shoulder. Is it cruel that his mole was the first thing I thought of when I watched that iron head toward his face?
“I should’ve stopped them.”
“No.” He sternly commanded. ”You shouldn’t have. Then they would’ve beat you too and there would have been no one to heal either of us.”
“I could’ve healed both of us.”
“Even so, what you did was enough. Healing me, and, being my anchor.”
“Anchor?”
“Your eyes. I got to watch them. You knew not to look away, didn’t you? Your eyes were my anchor. The thing keeping me here. Keeping me from thinking about the pain. I know it wasn’t easy. Thank you. Torture is much easier to endure when you have an anchor.”
The days that followed were almost equally as horrible. Wooyoung was in so much pain he couldn’t sleep, and I had to force him to drink water. He was already clinging to life with every hint of strength he had left. They could have left him alone. They could have left him to suffer from the injuries he already had. They could have left him to tremble in my arms. But the royal guard is as cruel as they are powerful. As they continue to oppress their people, they will always inflict pain and agony until there is no life left to cling to.
Without warning, the guards returned. They dragged Wooyoung out of the cell as they did before. Only this time he was kept standing. His shirt was removed and his hands were tied to one of the metal bars of the cell door. It wasn’t until today that I realized I was meant to be punished by these events as well. I was dragged to the edge of the cell, but not taken beyond the door. My hands were bound opposite of Wooyoung’s, so my eyes were directly across from his. He stayed focused on me as he had the time before. And again, I was instructed to watch.
He was then drenched in water, which provided him a brief moment of relief before the next fit of torture began. His jaw clenched, his hands braced against the bars, his eyes bore through my gaze, and the whip cracked against his back. Again, he hardly flinched despite the beatings being taken by his already injured skin. He muffled every whimper that tried to escape his lips. Any time I tried to speak he shook his head. Crack after crack echoed through the air as the guards stripped away his flesh. Over and over, they etched lashes into his body, until our eyes were no longer level. He had dropped to his knees when the guards finally stopped. His limp body was thrown back into the cell.
This time, there was no speaking between us. He simply rested on his stomach, his beaten and raw back exposed to the air. The burns on his back from days before were only slightly visible now. His skin being so raw that the only way to differentiate the two injuries was the depth of the raw flesh and the color of the burns that had been stripped of their scabs.
This time, I was the one clinging to his hand, hoping he would survive the night.
Morning came slower than it ever had. The day before the hanging; our last day together. Despite Wooyoung’s initial confidence that we might escape, I had lost all hope by now. He was in no condition to plan an elaborate getaway. And I for certain had no such skill.
As I held him in my arms, he stirred from his pain-induced sleep. Not having rested in days I couldn’t decide if it was good or bad that he slept. I’d concluded that the guards might have known that I could have stopped them with my minor ability to use magic, but that I knew they would only punish me further if I interfered. I knew Wooyoung was right, but that doesn’t change that they had created a new and bizarre form of torture for me.
It’s one thing to watch someone in agony and know there is nothing that could be done for them. But for me, I was forced to watch someone who I’ve grown to care about being tortured near to death, with the ability to stop all of it. I could have stopped them from hurting him. I could have healed his injuries. All the while I feel nothing but selfish for pitying myself. Wooyoung had been beaten and burned and carved with the very mark of the nation who will be his demise. And I dare have the audacity to see myself as tortured?
The familiar clattering of guards in the hall that led to the cells rang through the air. Wooyoung groaned against my skin and pulled himself away from me. What could they be here to do this time? What form of torture could they possibly use on him now?
The door swung open. The man in the doorway wasn’t one of the familiar guards, but I’d recognize him anywhere; the man that led the attack on my village. I memorized his face all those years ago when I watched him tear through the walls of my home, sending the entire village up in flames. Thanks to my early infatuation with magic I was able to hide, but all I could do was watch as he stole jewels off of bodies and raped young girls and boys. He was obviously much older now, and in much more elaborate clothing adorned with crests and vibrant colors.
“Oh I was so glad when they told me it was you, Wooyoung. You’re the one I hate most of all.”
As soon as Wooyoung saw him, he forced a smile onto his face.
“I should've known it was you behind all of this. You disgusting, rakish bastard.”
Wooyoung’s words were strained but clear and clean, nothing like what he had been displaying in his time alone with me. The man walked closer, towering over Wooyoung as he spoke.
“You’ll address me as Captain.”
The man spoke with a forced elegance. One that was easy to hear was fake and learned.
“You’re not a captain. Not of anything. There’s only one man in this world that I’ll address as captain.”
“Ah yes. You must be referring to the idiotic little boy that instructed you to sink a royal ship on royal waters.”
“You were on your way to an innocent farming colony. There were children. You would have killed them all.”
“Well, I do hope the torture you’ve endured was worth saving some strangers.”
Wooyoung jumped to his feet, his bare chest heaving with anger as he mustered the strength to combat the words of this so-called captain.
“I’d do it again, you pig. Nothing you can do would stop me.”
“Is that true? Because I’ve heard you’ve taken quite the liking to this young man who has so graciously shared a cell with you.”
Wooyoung’s eyes shot to me. I had already been staring up at the two men through the duration of their argument. Before I could interject, before anything could happen, Wooyoung shoved the man away from us.
“This doesn’t concern him. Don’t you touch him.”
“You always have been a strange one. Haven’t you, Wooyoung?” The man’s chilling voice dropped lower as he took blunt steps towards us. He grabbed Wooyoung’s chin, forcing him to look at him. “It’s no wonder you’ve already managed to fall for this one.” The man glanced down at me. There was too much fear in my body to look away.
Wooyoung scoffed, “And so what if I did?”
“You’re not ashamed? That should make this a lot easier.” The man grabbed Wooyoung’s neck and pinned him to the stone wall behind us. “You do have such a pretty face, dear boy. It’s a shame you’ve chosen piracy. You would have made an excellent lover. How beautiful you are…covered in blood. You’re so disgusting, you’ll probably enjoy this.” Wooyoung watched in shock and terror as the man pressed his lips to his burned cheek and pressed his body against him harder. “I can’t wait to watch this pretty neck of yours snap tomorrow.”
Wooyoung struggled to shove the man away from him, visibly fighting off a wave of terror. “Don’t…don’t touch me.”
“But don’t you like it?” The man asked in his forced voice of elegance before sending a blow to the side of Wooyoung’s head. As he tried to regain the stability in his legs, the man grabbed Wooyoung’s crotch and attempted to lick his face, but Wooyoung managed to escape his grip again. “Your demented little smile needs to be wiped away for good before you’re hanged.”
As he spoke he glanced back at me. Terror restricted my movements, and the utter shock of what had unfolded had claimed my ability to think. The man made his way over to me, and Wooyoung made one last attempt at stopping him.
“Don’t.” Was all his broken voice mumbled.
“Maybe it would be more torturous for you to watch me have my way with your latest infatuation. He’s oddly pretty.”
Before Wooyoung could reach us, the man pinned me to the wall by my neck as he had Wooyoung just moments before. And as he did with Wooyoung, his hand grabbed my crotch, gripping nothing but the seam of my clothing. The fear that filled my eyes must have been a combination of discomfort from the man’s touch and the realization that he had discovered my secret.
“Well, well, well.” He snickered as he fondled my chest. “You little whore. Magic use as a woman is punishable by crushing. But impersonating a man…that’s heresy. You’ll be burned for your crimes against the kingdom and all that is sacred.”
He slammed my head against the wall before dragging Wooyoung from the cell and out of the confines of the prison ward.
The night was as endless as the one before.
When morning came, I was stripped of every piece of clothing that hid my identity and was forced to wear a grim, dark-colored dress. The reasoning being that pants would protect my legs from the flames, but I knew it was nothing but a statement marking me as a witch and a heretic.
I was escorted to the brilliant scene at which I was to be executed. Seeing the setup brought me an odd sense of relief and joy. Next to the ceremonial gallows I had seen countless times before was a stake surrounded by stacked kindling.
I would still be executed next to Wooyoung. I would still see him one last time.
As I was bound to the stake, Wooyoung was escorted to the hanging platform alongside me, looking even more shattered. The man that had paid us a visit the night before had emerged to instruct the executioner on just how to carry out our punishments.
Some of the kindling beneath me was to be moved away and fed in later so that I would burn for longer without passing out from the smoke, and my legs were to be coated with animal fat. Wooyoung was to be fitted with a stronger rope in hopes that his head would sever.
I shut my eyes as the changes were made, only to open them to see Wooyoung to the side of me, now at eye level. There was a helplessly broken look on his face as he mouthed the word “anchor,” before he looked out over the gathered crowd.
I had tried to avoid the faces in the audience, but I suppose a pirate like Wooyoung might want to see the sort of turnout he managed to attract to his execution. To keep myself from glancing at the sea of eyes, I kept my head turned towards Wooyoung. Hopeful that his method of using an anchor to distract from the pain would prove effective.
The flames beneath me were ignited, but I refused to look down. My eyes were fixed on Wooyoung, who was still oddly looking over the audience. His gaze had become somewhat frantic, almost like he was searching for a specific pair of eyes that wasn’t there. As the pain started, I felt almost betrayed that he had failed to keep his promise of keeping his eyes on me. The flames ate away at my bare feet and ankles, soon consuming the bottom of my gown. Pain seared through my body, but I kept my eyes on Wooyoung. The rope now being fixed around his neck.
Just as I felt the need to look down at the flames consuming my bubbling and blistering skin, Wooyoung’s eyes shot over at me. The mischievous smirk that had disappeared from his face days ago had returned. Before I could go through the process of questioning his bizarre actions, his feet were dropped from under him, just as a knife flew through the air and cut the rope above his head.
His feet hit the ground, but I quickly lost sight of him. My anchor was gone. Pain surged through me. Fighting broke out. Two men rushed to the front of the crowd, taking hoards of guards down and weaving through gunshots. The world slowly faded from view as my grip on consciousness became harder to maintain.
The smoke obscuring my vision was replaced with rising flames just as Wooyoung’s smiling face came into view. He cut the ties that had been holding me in place, flinching at the flames as they flared around us. As quickly as he appeared, he shoved me to the ground and helped to pat the flames from my clothes.
The disorientation faded as Wooyoung grabbed my face, tapping my cheek a few times in an attempt to keep me awake. I sat up to see the two men from before protecting us from the oncoming siege. Before I could inspect the extent of my injuries, he pushed me back down.
“Don’t look. Not yet. It’ll only make it worse. We need to get out of here. Just look at me for now.”
I did as he instructed and focused on his face. But it only made my urge to get up harder to ignore. Accompanying the severe burns and wounds that I had witnessed be inflicted, there was a series of odd new bruises peppering his face and neck.
That man that came in. He took him from me last night. What did he do to him?
“Woo!” One of our rescuers shouted back at us, one with dark hair and broad shoulders. “We need to go. Now.”
“Let’s go!” He shouted back. “I can carry her.”
“Get to the dock. We’ll scatter from there. We can-”
Wooyoung jumped to his feet and my eyes shot to the man who had been speaking. A stream of blood poured from his side. The man from last night stood next to him, a blood-soaked dagger clutched tightly in his hand. He quickly sliced through the torso of Wooyoung’s other accomplice. Both men now laying on the ground as blood pooled on the ground beneath them.
Wooyoung fell into a daze of shock.
“It’s a shame your friends only showed up to die. I would have loved to have my way with all three of you.” He shoved Wooyoung to the ground and pressed his fingers down his throat. “San is dying. Yeosang is dying. And it’s all your fault. How does their blood taste? Was your disobedience worth all of this?”
If I could’ve mustered the strength to speak I would have told him not to worry about the others. I’d already started to heal them it just takes longer without contact.
Using magic to harm others is an easy way to become blinded with power. It’s ability to obliterate life with such ease could take my mind to a place that cares about nothing but revenge and the pain I’ve been put through by the Northern Kingdom. But all these years I’ve practiced magic in the shadows so I would never be as useless as I was the day I lost everything and everyone that had ever been precious to me. This man deserves to die.
Fire is unpredictable and hard to control as its own force of nature, but as a friend, its precision could be used to create art. I had so kindly been gifted a pile of flames. The men I had healed were finally on their feet again and ran to assist Wooyoung, shoving the man away from him. And as quickly as I blinked, the demented captain that had caused so much pain to me and my friends was disintegrated to ash.
The last thing I saw was the shocked eyes of my rescuers as the world faded from view.
I woke up in an eerie haze and was quickly consumed by the searing pain covering nearly my entire body. Wooyoung’s voice was the only thing keeping me from returning to a deep, dreamless sleep. My attempt to move was stopped by his gentle grip on my face.
“Don’t move.” He pressed his forehead to mine. ”Your throat is burned. You’re not breathing well. Please try to heal yourself. Please.”
He didn’t reach for my hands. Despite it being the way we had been comforting each other since we met.
It took all of the strength I had left to heal my internal injuries, but I slowly regained my ability to breathe easily. When the pain of my scorched skin became easier to withstand, I denied Wooyoung’s instruction and lifted my hands to see my blackened and blistered fingers.
I sat up, sick with the shock of seeing the cracks deforming my skin. My arms and stomach had been wrapped in bandages, with only my upper body resting on a mattress. My legs and feet that resembled a burned corpse more than my own body were resting in a small tub of water, the remnants of my singed dress resting on my blistered thighs.
Panic consumed me again, my mind suddenly incapable of thinking about anything but the pain ripping through my body. Wooyoung struggled to restrain me as his hands only ever touched my face, the only place on my body that wasn’t destroyed by the flames. He pressed his nose to my cheek and whispered against my ear, calming me to a point that I could properly use magic. The pain left almost instantaneously, I had never been so desperate to get rid of pain in my own body.
My now healed fingers tangled into his soft hair. He smiled as his hands ran down my arms and rested on my shoulders. Upon returning to a full state of sentience, I was able to recall more of what had happened and was even more relieved by Wooyoung's touch. I sat up again, this time not being stopped by excruciating pain. As I was able to realize before, my back rested on a straw mattress, but the unfamiliar surroundings only brought more confusion to my already dazed mind. Wooyoung was quick to grip my hands, his face still resting close to mine.
“You’re safe. I’ve got you.” He cooed into my ear as my eyes scanned the room. “We’re on a boat. It’s just me and you.”
The glow of the lanterns in the small space caught the raised blisters on his face left there by the branding iron. Even with such horrendous wounds, he’s as alluring as he seemed in the dark cell we shared. I put my hand on his bare shoulder, one of the only places on his body that wasn’t marked with burns or lashes.
“I’m sorry I’m not covered up.” He said as his eyes met mine. “They kept my shirt. And, well, it hurts to let anything touch my back.”
His pain tolerance is inhuman, I’m not even sure how he’s alive. I ran my hands down his chest until one was resting over a particularly bad burn. A soft flow of energy flowed between us as I healed the injury. But he pulled away before I could finish.
“Let me help you, Wooyoung. There’s no reason to stop me anymore.”
He sighed and smiled softly, “I was so afraid I wouldn’t hear your voice again. I don’t want you to heal me until your body is stronger.”
“Healing magic doesn’t work that way. I heal myself as I use it. It’s limitless.” I rested my hand on his raw and bloody back, he winced. “You’ve been like this long enough. I promise it won’t hurt me at all.”
I worked to heal him even faster than I healed myself. He took a deep breath as I finished his back and moved to his chest. There were only minor injuries on the rest of his body compared to the mess of shredded skin that had been agonizing his back. His soft tummy was soon free of scars and his chest was a beautiful and clean sunkissed color. All that was left was his face. The burns, and the new bruises on his neck and on the corners of his mouth…
“Wooyoung, what are the bruises from? What did they do to you after they separated us?”
His eyes fell away from me. He squeezed my hand as he had all those nights he needed comfort. “Please don’t make me think about it.”
I cradled his face in my hands and pulled his eyes back to mine, aware that nothing I could say would ease whatever trauma he’s fighting. “You’re safe now. I promise you’ll always be safe with me.”
I planted a soft kiss to his cheek, and with it washed away every bruise and blister that had been agonizing his delicate face. He smiled as the last bits of physical pain faded, and we were finally left alone with our odd attachment to each other.
Being wrapped up in each other’s arms was a pleasure we had yet to experience. But the nights we spent pressed against each other with shackles restricting our movement made this all the more natural. Warm blankets, Wooyoung’s arms, and the Northern Kingdom far behind us brought me comfort I hadn’t felt since I was a child.
The next morning brought clear thoughts and explanations for every question I was now able to ask. Wooyoung explained his relation to our rescuers, how they were also pirates on the Matz. I remembered that I had to heal them and feared I might not have finished but he assured me that both men are healthy on nearby boats. Our getaway was done using a method Wooyoung called “splitting,” in which guilty parties flee on small, separate, inconspicuous boats. Since boats like this one don’t usually have a lone wanted pirate stowed away in them, they’re overlooked by authorities and bounty hunters.
It wasn’t a long trip to the mainland, but he’s such a skilled sailor that he chose to get us there slower to seem less suspicious to anyone that might be watching. His true personality started to show itself after a few days on the water. Every evening, he managed to make me laugh so hard it was a struggle to eat the food he prepared.
“I really don’t understand how you can make food like this out here. I thought boat food was supposed to be horrible.”
“That’s just because pirates are lazy. So are sailors. There are a lot more foods that survive on ships than they care to consider. I’m lucky. I only have to cook for eight guys. And they all love food so a lot of our budget goes to food.”
“Your captain could probably enchant some more fresh foods to keep them from rotting. If he could keep you from dying floating on the open ocean he could probably keep some potatoes from going bad.”
“You mean he could be practicing on potatoes, and not us?”
I shrugged, “You’re alive aren’t you?”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t judge him too hard. He’s self-taught.” He took a swig from a wine bottle, “Where did you learn?”
“Oh. I’m partially self-taught. I used to have people to teach me, but…”
“They killed them all, didn’t they?”
“How did you know?”
“They do that. A magic colony seems like something they’d target.”
“We were sovereign. We were there before they were. They didn’t even try to talk to us first.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think about it.”
“It’s alright. I don’t mind thinking about it. I don’t want to forget.”
As we sat on the floor, he pulled me into his chest and offered me the bottle of wine. He pressed a kiss to my head and ran his hand down my arm while I took a few short sips.
“I wouldn’t have made it out of there without you. San and Yeosang would be dead. You had no reason to help me…”
“I didn’t need a reason. You were hurt.”
“I know. You’re sweet and kind like that. It’s not every day you get thrown in a cell just to be comforted immediately. If I’m being honest, I was terrified. The guys usually protect me. I’m more of a support when we get tangled up in things. When I realized I was completely alone, all I could do was hope one of them would show up. We’re great at what we do, but we’re not as ruthless as we seem. I would’ve cried myself to sleep that night if you hadn’t been there.”
“Well I’m very glad I did. It takes a special kind of brave to charge a flame just to save some girl you had just met.”
“Some girl…” he repeated as his eyes fell to mine, “I’ve been wanting to ask you about that. About what you are to me. We’re obviously friends. But what kind of friends?”
“There are different types of friends?”
“Sure. There are friends who love each other sort of the way families love each other. You know? Like me and the crew. We’re like brothers.” He leaned in closer, the scent of wine on his breath floating through the air. “And then, there are friends who love each other…romantically. Who want to spend all day making each other happy. Who touch each other lovingly…”
“What are you asking me, Woo?”
“I guess I’m asking…if you would like to kiss me?”
I lost myself in his embrace before I could even think through his question, but as our lips tangled together, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I wanted him. I gripped his shoulders that had been exposed since the night they whipped him. Remembering the torture he had endured, I was struck with the fear that I might trigger something from whatever trauma he endured the night we were separated.
“Wait, I want to be careful with you,” I whispered to him as I pulled away, “I don’t want to scare you. I don’t want you to feel afraid of me if I touch you a certain way or if…”
“I promise I’ll stop you if I start to feel uncomfortable. Thank you for thinking of me like that. But I know you’ll touch me with care, so please keep going.”
I know it’s not that simple. But if he wants to be touched by someone who adores him I’ll do it. And if he trusts that I’ll be cautious then I will be.
My lips pressed to his with even more care than before. I held his face gently, giving him more control over the progression of the night. But the more our hands explored each other’s skin, the more it felt like he wanted me to guide him.
I ran my tongue across his bottom lip and he quickly allowed it to press into his mouth. His tongue was soft on mine. A soft moan was pulled from his lips and his eyes fluttered the longer I lost myself in him. He tastes like wine.
I briefly broke our kiss and pressed my forehead to his with a smile, “Woo, will you lay down for me? Please.” He nodded. I helped him up from the floor. He quickly let his body relax on the mattress we had been sharing. I straddled his hips but didn’t put any weight on him. “Is this ok?”
“Yes. You can lay over me if you want. It just feels like when you hold me at night.” His hands rested on my bare thighs as his eyes looked me over. “I think I’m horrible. I love the way this burned dress looks on you.”
“Would you like to take it off of me?”
His eyes widened but eventually, he smiled, “Please. Yes.”
His hands fumbled with my clothing until I was completely naked. I pressed another kiss to his face before sucking on the soft skin of his neck. He laughed and giggled the more I nibbled on his collarbone and grinded against him.
“Would you take the rest of your clothes off?” I asked him as I took in the feeling of his skin against my fingertips.
He moved quickly to pull away the fabrics between us. In the dim light of the room the sharp contours of his chest accent his soft stomach. Our lips tangled again, his head falling back as he encouraged me to suck on his neck. When my lips were pressed to his ear, I whispered encouragement and ensured I still had consent.
“Darling? Is this moving too quickly? We don’t have to keep going. I may have gotten carried away.”
“No. No, it’s good. You can have me.”
“You’re vulnerable. I shouldn’t be-”
“You said I would always be safe with you. Didn’t you? I’m not vulnerable. I’m with you.” His hand gripped mine, “Touch me. Please. Touch me the way you always touch me. It makes me forget that anyone could ever touch me to hurt me.”
His eyes were full of an innocent desire. Like he genuinely just wanted to feel loved. Like he was a puppy who had been separated from his owner and wanted nothing more than to be pet and cuddled until the memory of being lost faded away.
I caressed his face and kissed his lips one more time before allowing my tongue to slip down his neck and over his throat. As I moved down his body, I stopped to tease a particularly sensitive spot on his chest. I resisted the urge to ask if he was ok every time I did something and instead started to watch his face. His eyes were shut but a small smile was present on his pretty lips.
I nibbled on the soft skin on his belly as my hands rested on his hips. He was already hard from everything I’d done so far. Without touching him with my hands, I took him into my mouth and started to push him as far down my throat as I could stand. He watched me with a look of shock riddled over his face as more of him fit past my lips.
A lust I’d denied since the first night I saw his face took over my every move. I want him. I want him to feel adored by me. Like he deserves nothing but what he wants from me. As I lost myself in the taste of him on my tongue, I held his hand and gently guided it to rest on the back of my head. I glanced up at him with lidded eyes to assure him that he could handle me however he wanted. After a moment of hesitation from him, he pushed me down and pulled his hips up so he was bottoming out at the back of my throat. It didn’t take long for the sounds of Wooyoung’s moans and my gagging to fill the air. Looking up to see his devilish smirk only made me work harder to please him.
After what seemed like an eternity of letting him use my mouth to chase his own high, his moans fell to uncontrollable whimpers as he tried to pull my head away from him. I swatted his hand away and gripped his hips as he filled my mouth. His smirk had turned to a shocked smile as I swallowed every last drop of the warmth that had coated my tongue.
I rested my head on his shoulder and tugged on his ear with my teeth, one of my hands still resting on his hip. “Woo, can I try something?”
He nodded, “Just please be careful with me.”
“I will, love. I promised to never hurt you. Remember?”
His voice cracked and he gripped the quilts beneath him as my hand pressed firmly to his hip. I slowly and cautiously sent soft bursts of healing magic through his body, restoring him to the state he’d been in just moments before. He whimpered and whined, “How are you…what are you doing?”
“I want more. I want to feel you inside of me. I don’t want to wait.” I gently stroked him as he was now throbbing with desperation for another release. He seemed almost incapable of speech, and his eyes seemed to be begging me for more contact. I straddled him again and lost myself in his devilish gaze coming undone underneath me. “Are you ok with this?”
“Yes. Please just…”
“I’m going to be careful with you. So I need you to tell me when you want something or if you don’t like something.”
I let my weight fall on top of him, pushing him into me quickly. My own pain was easily tolerable after the pleasure of having him deep inside of me gave me a small sense of relief. Losing myself in the feeling made it harder to focus on him. But seeing his sweet face lost in bliss reminded me of my desire to make him feel good.
He whimpered as his hips slightly bucked up. His hands ran up my thighs and rested on my hips as he pressed me down onto him. “You’re so…soft. I never thought about how soft it would feel.”
I lifted myself up to quickly drop down onto him again. This time pulling a sharp moan from my own lips. The more I moved, the more I fell apart. The look on his face just got more and more wicked.
As much as I wanted to focus on him, and bring him pleasure, my selfish desire to please myself took over. Although, I’m not sure there’s a difference. The quicker I moved, the more he threw his head back. The deeper I managed to get him, the more he whined and writhed.
He feels good. So good. His skin is so soft. His eyes are so lost. He’s been through so much. He deserves this. The frustration of all those nights I wanted to comfort him and take away his pain is finally being washed away. And in a better way than I could have imagined.
It felt so cruel to lust after him when we met, considering he was in such bad shape. But his beauty even then was undeniable. The dark hair covering the top of his head brings out the sparkle of his eyes, and the soft blonde that leads to his neck accents his sun-kissed shoulders.
I leaned down and pressed my tongue into his mouth, our chests now resting against each other. I tangled my fingers into his hair with one hand while the other kneaded the soft skin of his waist. “You know,” I started as I broke the kiss, “you’re allowed to touch me.”
“I know. I’m just…scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“You’re being so careful with me,” he said between heavy moans, “and I don't know how to be gentle with you.”
“Just because I’m being gentle with you doesn’t mean you have to be gentle with me.”
“Really? But…does that mean you’ll start being rough with me?” He pouted as he cautiously rested his hand on my neck.
“No.” I moved his hand closer to my throat. “Do whatever you want. I’ll stay gentle.”
That devilish smile is back.
He pushed me off of him, keeping his hand over my throat. He pinned me down and bit my neck. It was like I awoke the mischief inherent in his personality in a new context.
“This is just for fun. You know that right? I wouldn’t really hurt you.”
“I know. Keep going. I like it.”
He flipped me over, laid down next to me, and pulled me so my back was against his chest. One of his hands wrapped around my neck while the other held my waist and he pushed into me. He didn’t hesitate. His thrusts were hard and fast. With the grip he had on my neck he guided my head to rest on his shoulder while he pounded into me. His arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in place so that he could thrust even deeper.
His cutely maniacal laugh indicated the intense pleasure he was experiencing. His grip on my throat got tighter as he kissed my face. My eyes rolled back as I was teased with an inescapable wave of bliss. I could feel my body begging him to keep going. To help me finish what he started. But just as I was about to fall from the place he had forced me to, he pulled out of me. Twisting my head so he could watch as I fell apart from the lack of release.
He laughed as he moved my arms so they were now restrained by his arm that had been holding my waist. “Be patient. I’m going to make you fall apart for me.”
“I thought you said you weren’t ruthless.”
“I’m still a pirate. I thought you would have realized by now, I am quite naughty.”
He thrust into me again, sending me through such intense fits of pleasure that I started to tremble. I whimpered against his lips as he attempted to muffle the pathetic sounds I was producing. There’s more than one way to take care of someone, and I sure as hell enjoy the method Wooyoung has chosen for me.
Aside from being able to tell him to stop, I’m at the mercy of his actions. I knew he was a rascal, but I think this is deeper than that. He needed this. He needed to experience this level of control.
It didn’t take long for him to get me back to the bliss-filled place he had me at before he so cruelly teased it away from me. He released from our kiss and smiled wickedly at the intense moans leaving my lips. Euphoria took me to a place I had never been as I was finally released from the growing tension. My body tightened as Wooyoung finished me off with a few intense and precise thrusts.
I couldn’t control my whimpers as he continued to use me for his own pleasure. Knowing my body was bringing him some level of enjoyment was rewarding enough to make the last few moments of our lust-fueled escapade bearable, despite what my body had already been through. His teeth latched on to my neck as he pulled out of me, coating my thighs in warmth.
He released me from the tight grip he had on my waist. After we had both spent a moment catching our breath, he planted a soft kiss on the back of my neck and whispered against my ear. “I never would’ve thought the witch I met in a royal prison would let me do something like that.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you kept me around for more.”
“Is that all you want to stick around for? I thought you had fallen for my irresistible charms.” I laughed and looked away, but he turned my face back to his, “Hey. I’m being serious. You’re already coming to the mainland with me. I have no idea what’s waiting for us or how long we’ll be there. So how about you stick with me for a while?”
“You mean it?”
“Well, yea. I never meant for this to just be sex. I told you, we’re friends. Now I know we’re romantic friends.”
“That’s a cute way to put it.”
“I know. Stay with me and be kind to me. It feels so good. Come on.”
“I never said I was leaving. I just didn’t want to push myself on you.”
“Don’t even worry about that.” He cuddled up to me, warming my naked body.
Resting in his arms that night gave me the soundest night’s sleep I’d ever managed to have. My dreams were happy and bright, nothing like the terrors that usually plague my sleep. Nightmares wouldn’t dare try to reach me in Wooyoung’s arms.
The next morning, waking up on the boat was just like all the others that had come before. The only real difference was our bare skin and the smell of last night’s passion that still filled the cramped space. I got up and tried to wash up some of the evidence that had stayed on my skin. I should probably fix up my dress now that we’re getting close to docking. It didn’t matter so much when it was just me and Woo, but now that I’m going to be around strangers I can’t exactly walk around with my knees out.
When he woke up, he once again started doting over how great he thinks I am, repeatedly thanking me for the little skill I offered the day of our escape. He informed me more about what actually went down the day we got away. Apparently, no guards or even knights were interested in approaching us after the magic display I provided. The quick and elaborate getaway I had imagined was more of a quick walk to a dock with hardly anyone around to witness our departure.
“You’re so amazing. I love that you’re powerful enough to combust me at any moment but you choose not to.”
“You know, I hardly knew I could do that. It was the first time and probably the last.”
“It’s still awesome.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my neck. “Oh, it’s going to be so fun having you around! Maybe you can teach me magic and then I can impress Captain!”
“I’ll try to teach you how to improve your magic if you teach me how to cook.”