Master of Tides - Closed

Jessamine went over her mentor's journal again, probably for the hundredth time, analyzing his words for any hidden meanings that would give her an idea of where he'd gone. Right now, they were set on course for Port Range on the coast of Spain. This was the last place Calico had been seen before he disappeared. Jessamine had already searched for him that day when she had discovered a note stating that she was to leave without him, no matter what. She didn't have his journal and his map then though, and now she did. And she was determined to find him. A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she sat up straight. "Come in," she invited. A crew member, by the name of Aaron Blood, stood in her doorway. "We're here," he said grimly, and Jessamine sucked in a breath. They hadn't arrived to the Port yet, no they were far from that. But these waters were well known for the sirens that sang their deadly songs. Although Jessamine herself was unaffected, her men were not. "Fetch me Daniel," she commanded, striding out onto the main deck to stand above her men.

"Alright boys!" She said, her voice strong. Her crew began to gather below her. "We are entering siren territory. Be on guard. Do not look into the water, do not listen to their song. Put the wax I have given you into your ears and keep it in until I give the signal. I will not lose a single one of you," she commanded.

---

Aaron had been at the top of the mast, keeping lookout for the rock formation that he was looking for. He'd been here once before, as a boy, and had almost lost his life then and there. He knew that's exactly what would have happened if a crew member hadn't pushed him over in an attempt to get to the sirens quicker. He'd fallen, hitting his head on the deck, and fell unconscious. The captain, having covered his ears as soon as he saw what was happening, had steered them out of the siren infested waters and to safety. When Aaron woke up, he, the captain, and the cook were the only ones left on the ship. He would never forget that day, nor would he forget the face that he saw every day since. Although the sound of the sirens had taken him out of his right mind, he still remembered that when he had looked over the side of the ship, he had seen the face of a beautiful young siren. All the sirens had been beautiful, but her face stayed in his mind because she was the only one that wasn't singing. And yet, she was the one he was going to give himself to. That memory haunted him to this day.

As soon as he saw the rock formation in the distance, Aaron climbed down and alerted his Captain. He listened as she gave the crew her commands, and he put the wax in his ears when his Captain was finished. The ship continued towards the rock formation.

@ InfiniteCookies

It was never a typical day for Daniel Jones, the ship's first mate. Every single day it seemed like they were off to a different island in order to find the ship's original captain. Many had left the ship, believing that the life of a pirate shouldn't be spent chasing after a dead man, whereas others stuck around for the ride. His case was completely different from the rest. He practically owed his life to the new captain, Jessamine, who had saved him from being a beggar on the streets of town. Without her offering the opportunity to join them on the journey, Daniel would have rotted on the streets, stealing money from those who had as little as him. Now, he would have followed her to the edge of the world and back.

Leaning against the side of the boat, Daniel inhaled the smell of the salt from the sea. He felt a small smile appear on his face, knowing that he was home on this ship. It was no time to be reminiscing now though. Soon, they would be heading into dangerous territory - siren territory. Fortunately, Daniel had never had an experience with a siren, but he knew enough stories to never mess around with their abilities. He turned his head as a man called out his name, soon joining Jessamine's side before the crew. Daniel placed the wax inside of his ears as instructed before going around to make sure that every man had placed his wax properly. There would be no way that they would lose a man to a creature like the sirens. "Everyone, stay alert! This isn't the time to fool around, men!" Daniel reminded them, who seemed to be a little off from drinking the previous night.

--

Ashley floated around on her back in the middle of the siren territory, isolated from the rest of her siren sisters, while staring up at the clear sky. Unlike the rest of her race, she never found her ability to sing a captivating song. She could sing, of course, but it never seemed to be enough to put men in a daze. In fact, it practically did the complete opposite by snapping them back into reality. It wasn't like her voice was.. out of tune or poison to the ears, but it seemed like she didn't have the same abilities as the rest of her sister. She was complete failure and, not to mention, an utter shame to her family, who refused to even look at her. Ashley recalled that her sisters were particularly giddy today as they giggled and gossiped about. That must have meant that a ship was going to be passing by today or tomorrow. Even though they never shared an information with her anymore, she could just tell from the subtle changes in behavior that they dropped. Ashley was the most gifted intellectually of the bunch but that didn't seem to matter because she couldn't captivate a man. She wondered if her sisters would be able to grab anyone from the ship; they hadn't seen any passing ship for the past few weeks, and it was starting to bore her sisters to death. The life of a siren could only be fulfilled by capturing a male her mother would always remind her growing up, which was something that she would never be able to do.

@ InfiniteCookies

Jessamine stayed on the main deck as Daniel checked the wax in her mens' ears. She trusted Daniel with her life and with the life of her crew, which was the reason she had appointed him as First Mate. She wouldn't let her men see it, but she was extremely uneasy. She gripped the rail as the crew fell silent. The only sounds around Jessamine were the sounds of the boat, wood creaking and sails and the ocean as they cut through it. Then a splash, not one made by her boat, and more following it.

A soft hum started through the air and Jessamine stiffened, tightening her grip on the rails. It was a beautiful sound indeed. Had someone sang like this on the streets of a town, she would drop them a coin in a heartbeat. Despite that, the sirens' effect was lost on her. She did not feel an uncontrollable urge to hurl herself into the sea for these creatures. Instead, she kept a watchful eye on her men, prepared to take action if even one of them seemed to be under the spell.

---

Aaron nodded at Daniel as he came and checked the wax in his ears. After that, everything was quiet. He couldn't hear a thing, and that was an odd sensation. He felt like a piece of himself was missing with the sudden deafness. As a sailor and a human, he relied on all of his senses in a time of danger, and now he was allowing one to be willingly taken away. Albeit the loss would be brief, he still felt uneasy and kept looking around. Around him, the men began to return to work, making sure the ship sailed through the area without problem. Aaron slowly began to join them. Out of curiosity, he glanced over the side of the boat as he worked.

He felt the blood drain from his face at the dozens of sirens swimming about this side of the ship. He saw their lips moving and knew they were singing, though he couldn't hear it. Their beauty was undeniable and he began to lean forward a bit more to get a closer look at them, but a familiar face caught his attention and the surprise alone was enough to bring him out of the spell. He saw her, the face that haunted him. "You," he murmured. He wanted to talk to her, to ask her why her effect was so much stronger than all the others even though she didn't sing.

@ InfiniteCookies

Once Daniel was finished checking all the men, he watched as Jessamine went to look over the railing. It didn't take very long for the sirens to find the ship lurking in their territory; they were indeed dangerous creatures to be around. He crossed his arms over his chest while looking past the horizon of the ocean, feeling very uneasy in these waters. It would be too risky for him to behold the beautiful creatures even if his curiosity pleaded him to. From just one lethal glance, a man would jump overboard for these sirens to feast on. Even though he knew that Jessamine was immune to their effects, he couldn't help but feel the need to call out to her, believing that it would be best for her to stay away from the edge.

Now, he shifted his eyes to the men of the ship who tried to busy themselves with various tasks. It was good thing that they had assigned tasks for the men to do beforehand, so they couldn't be tempted by the other sirens. Going around, Daniel started to help out men with anything that he could do.

--

Ashley saw the rest of her sisters starting to swim off towards the boat that was in the distance and decided to follow after them. It wouldn't hurt to linger for a little while, especially if she wasn't doing any harm. Staying a few feet away, she could hear their beautiful song starting to reach her ears. None of the men started to jump off of the boat though. It seemed like this ship wasn't naive; they knew what their kind was capable of. Ashley did see two figures come up from the side of the boat to view them and looked towards them. First, she saw a lady. Who was she? It was rare to see a female captain and Ashley was impressed by the authoritative aura she gave off. Those men were loyal enough to follow her through siren waters. Moving her eyes once more, she locked eyes with a man who looked very familiar. She continued to stare at him, trying to remember where she had seen the man before. Then, it finally hit her. He had passed through their waters before on another ship. Fortunately, they had captured a few men from that previous ship and her sisters were satisfied. On the other hand, she was glad that he had gotten away though. Ashley gave him a small smile as he continued to stare at her in awe.

(I'm so sorry it's been so long, I didn't have internet in my new apartment for a while there but I finally got it all set up! Do you still want to continue this?)

@ InfiniteCookies

(It's no problem! I just started school so I will be having delayed responses as well, but I would love to continue with this :D )

@ InfiniteCookies

Jessamine watched Daniel go to work, everyone doing their part on the ship as though nothing had changed. She felt relieved to see that the wax was working and protecting her men. She strutted along the side of the ship, noticing that Aaron was looking over the side. She put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to where he couldn't see over the railing. It took a bit of effort, but Jessmine was strong and was able to force him back without much trouble. Curious, she looked over herself and was surprised at the amount of woman swimming in the ocean below them. She kept her face neutral though, not wanting to give away just how anxious she was at the sight. She continued to walk, watching over the railing as most of the sirens began to look at her with disgust and hatred. They realized that her men were not going to be jumping for them.

A cocky smile found it's way to her lips and she walked away from the railings with confidence. This was working. They needed to remain cautious, but there wasn't a need for worry. The sirens had begun to stop their singing, realizing it was futile. She returned to Daniel's side, but waited until she couldn't hear the sirens at all before she tapped her own ear twice, a signal that it was safe to take out the wax. Daniel would first, and then he would signal the rest of the men to take theirs out, just as an extra precaution.

"That was... interesting," she told him, bemused.

---

Aaron felt a hand on his shoulder as he began to lift a leg over the railing. He barely registered Jessamine pulling him back, but suddenly his line of sight with the siren was broken and so was the spell. He looked into Jessamine's eyes and he felt embarrassed. Jessamine simply patted his shoulder a few times before continuing to walk. Aaron didn't dare look over the side again, but he wanted to, just knowing she was there was almost enough to make him look again. He needed to talk to her. Curiosity was overwhelming him, he needed to know why she didn't sing. He needed to know why her pull was still so strong despite that fact.

He gripped onto the rope before him, not able to move quite yet. He feared that if he moved, he would look over the edge and nearly lose himself again. So he stood, watching Jessamine and Daniel. He saw Jessamine give the signal to Daniel, and he waited for Daniel's same signal that would give the men the all clear. When he did, Aaron took his wax out and just like before, only the sounds of the sails and the ocean could be heard. It was a relief to have his hearing back at least.

@ InfiniteCookies

Checking on the ropes of the sails, Daniel saw in his peripheral vision that Jessamine had gone over to pull Aaron away from the edge. Aaron was a hard worker and always ready to conquer a challenge, which made him a perfect addition to the crew. It seemed as though he had made the mistake of looking over the side to view the beautiful sirens and in need of assistance. It was a classic mistake that many men made while going through these waters for the first time. The curiosity always got the best of them. Luckily, Jessamine would be able to bring him back to reality and moved him away from the edge. Giving a tug at the rope once more, Daniel was pleased with the durability, especially after the rough winds that they had gone through to get to this point. Although this was fortunate, he then saw that they would have to restock on supplies in next town, making note that they were low on cannon balls and gun bullets.

Daniel returned to the main deck to merely observe the rest of the crew when the captain walked back to his side. Glancing over at her, he received the signal to finally remove the wax from his ears. He pulled out the wax with a relieved sigh, hearing the waves crash against the side of the boat once more. "Do you mind elaborating on what you mean by that, Captain?" He questioned in curiosity since it was never interesting to move through siren waters. They were interesting creatures, but the idea of losing his life overcame that curiosity.

"I am glad that we were able to move through the waters with little difficulty." He stated as the rest of the crew started to remove the wax from their ears, understanding that it was safe. It seemed that they were just as relieved as he was that they were able to hear and not fear for their lives anymore.

--

Ashley was bewildered by the fact that the man was moving over the railing, preparing to jump into the water, while the rest of the men displayed no desire to. The rest of her sisters were thrilled, because they believed it was the work of their song and lively chanted louder. Although they believed it was the work of the song, she couldn't help but notice that the eye contact between them was unbreakable, and it seemed like he was only focused on her. She continued to watch him move until the captain came up behind him, pulling him away from their trance. It disappointed her to know that her sisters were unable to pull anyone into the water. Most certainly, their mother would be furious when them when they returned home since they had a two week dry-spell of men.

When he was pulled away from the edge, she submerged into the water to return home, knowing that they had lost their only opportunity. The only thing that was bothering her was the fact that this man had been looking at her. It was no doubt that her sisters were more beautiful than her, especially since all of them could sing alluring songs. Compared to them, she was merely the failure of the family and only burden. It was a mystery as to why he had taken a possible liking to her. She needed to know why he had taken such an interest in her.