The Black Pirates

Three

I slowly woke up then hissed as my side hurt, going to sit up until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Easy, heir." I heard and slowly opened my eyes, frowning as I saw some man there.

"Let me alert the Captain you are awake." He said and stood, leaving the room with a clunk sound from his peg leg. When he was gone, I sat up and took a deep breath as I held my side, where bandages covered my ribs. I winced as I felt my side then I realized there was a dull ache in my side, where that bar maid stabbed me.

"You're awake finally." I heard and turned, frowning as I saw the six Black Pirates coming in.

"Where am I?" I asked and hissed as my side hurt.

"Easy." San said and came over, sitting in front of me on the wooden stool that the peg leg pirate had abandoned.

"Let me see." I moved my hands then he unwrapped my bandages and I frowned as I saw the stab wound. Around it were lines of black, which I realized were my veins, and the wound looked infected.

"Faery poison is working through his system-"

"Faery?" I asked and looked at San, who sighed.

"Do you know the story of the faery prince?" He asked, but I shook my head.

"Story is, he ruled the forest around Strickland." Yeosang started and I looked at him as he came over, sitting beside me.

"Before The Culling, the Prince was on good terms with the Princess of Strickland Kingdom. Their families favored a coupling between the two, but then the Princess' father died. Now without a king, the queen remarried and the new king hated the faeries. He strongly disapproved of a coupling between the humans and faeries. Except the Prince and Princess had fallen in love, and so they continued to meet in secret. From this love, an heir was born. Half-Human-"

"Half-Faery." I whispered and he nodded, looking at me.

"The night of The Culling, the Princess took her then two year old son and hid him away in the kingdom, returning for her lover. Except she was human, and the faery forest was under attack by humans. So, thinking her to be a threat, the forest attacked her and killed her. Now blinded with rage, the faery Prince swore vengeance on the humans and fled their forest, returning to their capital city. Strickland Kingdom believed they had killed out the faeries, like the Prince wanted them to, and the heir grew up in the city right under the old king's nose." He said, but I frowned.

"The reason we stayed, Wooyoung, is because we believe you're the heir-"

"Faeries have magic, pointed ears, and they're usually tall and old-"

"And yet, the heir is half-human." Sir Seonghwa said and I looked at him as San recut my side, getting the infection out.

"So? I'm not a faery, I don't have magic-"

"You don't have presented magic." He said and came over, grabbing a crystal from his pocket.

"Take this."

"What is it?" I asked, but still reached out for it. As I took the crystal, which looked like obsidian, it glowed a faint red and I frowned.

"Hmm, fire." Sir Seonghwa said and I handed him the crystal when he grabbed it.

"Fire what? Fire magic?!" I asked, but he lifted his eyebrow some.

"You really have no idea who your mother is?" He asked, but I shook my head.

"This is a picture of the Strickland Princess." Yeosang said and took a photograph from his pocket, handing it to me. It looked like it had been torn from a book, with the torn edge, but I felt my heart drop as I saw my mother's beautiful face. Her long dark hair was braided back with ornate jewels intertwined in the locks, her sharp dark eyes dull and lifeless, her smile strained, a bejeweled necklace around her neck and a dress of fine fabric covering her body.

"And this is the photo we found in your pocket." I took the photo from Yeosang then snarled as I saw it was the photo of my mother and I.

"You went through my things-"

"It fell out of your pocket when we got your jacket off." Seonghwa explained, but I held the photos next to each other and sighed, since my mother really did look like the Strickland Princess.

"If the stories are true-"

"Why are you looking for the heir?" I asked and looked at Yeosang, but he looked at the Captain, who came over.

"The faery prince hired us to search for his lost son when he realized the Princess hid his son in the kingdom. We are to take his son back to the faery capital-"

"Which is where?" I asked and Hongjoong smirked.

"To us humans? Impossible to find. To faeries? As easy as finding the sun at high noon. You're the only way we'll find the capital, that's if you're truly the heir-"

"And if I'm not? If you have the wrong person?" I asked and San snorted.

"Then we just kidnapped an innocent guy!" He mumbled, putting his hand over my cut. This time, the black in my veins was a lot smaller, not as stretched out.

"What's with my side?" I asked and San sighed.

"Ironwood poison, the only thing in the human world that can kill faeries. The fact that it nearly killed you and your body is reacting like this says you're at least half-faery." He said and I frowned.

"How-" Then I remembered the bar maid again.

"That bitch!" I growled and he smirked.

"She got you good, I'll say that. We've been at sea a week and you only just woke up. We've been worried for a long time." He said, but I cleared my throat.

"Sea?" I whispered and he nodded.

"We're on our ship, Wooyoung, The Destiny. We've just been going West at this point, as that's where we met the faery prince, but we have no idea-"

"SHIP INCOMING!" I heard and Hongjoong sighed.

"Seonghwa, see the flags. If it's them, signal to the ship." He ordered and Sir Seonghwa went upstairs, leaving me with the five others.