Totally, Completely, Eternally

It's the Closest Thing We Have to Magic

Harry awoke from his slumber to the sound of yells and crashing above him on the deck. Generally speaking that wasn't an uncommon occurrence, the crew had been growing restless after two months at sea, but this seemed different. Harry didn't recognize some of the voices that were shouting, and the more he listened the more it sounded like there was fighting. And then he heard the sound of his captain's voice thundering above it all.

"Pirates! Harold! Get your bloody useless arse up here!" Captain Cavendish bellowed.

Harry jumped out of his bunk and grabbed his sword off of its spot on the wall. "I'm coming captain!"

"They're approaching from the starboard side!"

"There's too many captain!"

"Who the fuck is it?"

"Shit! Sir it's Alday!"

Harry reached the top step just as the name of the pirate captain was said. Alday was a feared pirate who had started off as a privateer just like them, but he turned against the crown. Now he went around and raided the ships of other privateers, never leaving a survivor behind.

A scrawny looking man attacked Harry from the side and he was able to avoid him easily. Harry was the youngest privateer in the business at 20 years old, but he was a gifted fighter. That's probably why he was already made the first mate to Cavendish, despite having been in the crew for the shortest time. Harry knocked the pirate aside and pushed him down the stairs he had just come from.

Harry weaved through the onslaught of pirates quickly, aiming to at least injure each one on his way to protect his captain. Keeping his captain alive was the main priority of the first mate, and he intended to fill it. Harry looked up and saw Cavendish fighting a larger, rough looking man, with a long beard and several scars, he could only guess that it was Pirate Captain Alday.

Harry's captain was doing so good against him. Each hard strike of the pirate's sword pushed Cavendish closer and closer to edge. But then Harry spotted a small dagger behind Alday's back and he knew what the dirty pirate was going to do.

"Captain look out!"

But he was too late. Alday struck the captain in his side when he was stumbling back, and then again in his heart. Harry screamed and charged up to where they were fighting, catching Cavendish before he hit the ground.

"Captain?" Harry mumbled, heartbroken that his mentor was dying in his arms. Cavendish took one last look in Harry's eyes before breathing out and falling unconscious. Harry growled as he leapt up from the ground and pounced at the pirate, knocking the dagger out of his hand.

Alday merely smirked and fought back, but quickly found that Harry would be a lot more difficult to defeat than his much older captain. "Silly boy. Do you really think you can beat me?"

Harry didn't respond, just kept attacking using every move he could think of. Alday was putting up an arrogant front, but Harry could see it in his eyes that the old pirate captain was afraid. Harry was ferocious in his hits, never relenting and never showing any sign of giving up. Everything he did would push Alday closer to the other edge of the boat and Harry had full intentions of pushing him over the edge into the dangerous waters below.

But then Harry lost his footing and fell into the captain, missing his sword by millimeters. The captain laughed and pushed him onto his knees, yanking Harry's curly hair back so the boy had to look up at him. He shoved Harry's body over so he could see the massacre happening to his crew. Crew mates were falling, dying, left and right, and Harry could even see some of the pirates looting the cabins.

"See this kid?" Alday's gravelly voice growls in his ear. "All of that death comes with having a useless captain. Maybe you should have been captain huh? You nearly beat me, I'm not ashamed to say it." He picked up the dagger and held it to Harry's throat, hard enough to break through the skin in a very small spot; little drops of blood trickling out. "And as a tiny reward for your stupid bravery, I will let you live. I can't say the same for the rest of your precious crew though."