Scarlet Song

Chapter 7

 He gently grips at my hand and kisses it. "How are you feeling, Moone?" I roll my eyes and sink into my pillow and sigh. "Better. I still have so much pain harbored inside of me but, at least I feel like I can breathe now. We've both eaten and I think the only thing that lies ahead of us for now is your crew and ship." He crawls on top of me and traces along my jaw and down to my shoulder as he bites at my neck and smirks. "No matter how much I feed, I still find myself with another hunger for you, Moone. But, I suppose you're right. Care to join me, my love?" I blush and nod as he stands and offers me his hand to help me up and we both get dressed, I in my uniform and Voltair in his own. As I put my hat on, I turn to check on his progress and smile to myself as I see him slide his coat back on. I couldn't help but look back on all those years we were around each other. Especially that night he found me in cuffs on the Captain's ship and he found out what I really was. I wandered over to him and placed his hat on his head as we lock eyes and I sigh. "Are we ready for whatever is there? You can never take Vera at face value." He frowns as he nods. "I won't deny being afraid of what we are going to find but, of all the things I am and can be, a coward is not one of them. Just more to my list of conviction to watch Vera fall." I nod and lace my arm with his as we wander out onto the deck and I find Arlemis. "We are taking a small trip to meet our ally crew. My apologies for our lengthy hunting trip but, can you handle the ship for a while longer?" He nods and looks me over. "How did the hunting go, Captain? I hope at least your hungers are satisfied?" I look to Voltair and nod. "Both of us are taken care of and doing much better. I need you to start having the crew prepare for send off." He does a half-hearted salute as he goes to divvying out commands to the rest of the crew for me. Voltair and I walk out onto the dock as I look for the familiar sails. "Am I correct in assuming you took over his ship after his passing?" He nods and smiles. "You'll recognize the sails when you see them, even after all these years." I phase onto one of the pillars and manage to catch sight of the sails and guide him towards it. The excitement and electricity in my chest soon went sour as we approached closer and I smelled flesh and blood. Without thinking, I phased onto the deck of the ship and looked around me to see the carnage strewn across every inch. I have to stop him. He can't see this. I phase back onto the dock and tried as hard I could to stop him, even as he could smell it too. Once he realized what it was, he pushed past me and I phased by his side as he barged ahead. The light in his eyes flickered to a deep, crimson hatred as I heard that deep-pitted growl from him. He went hastily wandering to each body as he turned them over and the longer I watched in horror and stumbled back until I fell to the deck, covering my mouth sobbing. "Voltair, how is that possible? They should all be dead by now. I've been gone for over a century and I remember all of them. Oh gods, and she killed them all." After a moment of silence filled by his frustrated growls I watched as his fist went heaving through the doors of his room and he sunk to his knees next to me. "I changed all of his crew. They were the only men I could trust for the one purpose I've had." I look down at my blood covered hands and back to him. "What purpose was that? What was so important that you changed all of them?" He sighs and traces a finger gently under my chin. "You. When you left and the Captain was dead, I set myself to finding you. The men were all allowed to leave and live fruitful lives but, they chose to stay and vowed to spend eternity to find you. We all were like family and I'd grow close to every one of them. Not to mention the Captain's dying wish couldn't be fulfilled until we had you here. I couldn't bear watching them age and die as I stayed alive and had to find you alone, as I have to face when the time comes with you, LaRue. Like I said, there was no one else I trusted." I lock eyes with him, even as I can still see the hatred and anger brewing behind them. "T-they all died to find me. What did the Captain want so bad from me? I-I don't know if I'm ready for that, Vol--" he shushed me with his thumb pressed to my lips as I could see him biting back screaming. Even as he assists me up, he's gentle with me and keeps my gaze. "They died honorably for someone they loved, as I would. The Captain, though, had asked that we both took over this vessel. He died not knowing you'd left and he wanted his ship and his crew to go to us. For now, changing you isn't our current concern. Our current concern is that I'm going to string your sister up by her innards and watch her bleed out and it happens now." He goes to storm off the ship and I phase in front of him to stop him and press my hand to his chest. "Go ahead, press past me but, you're being stupid." He grabs my hand to remove it, steaming now as he gets nose to nose with me and I stand my ground. "I don't care if she's your sister. She slaughtered all of them. She slaughtered out family, LaRue. I have had enough of watching my loved ones be slaugh--", I press both hands to his face and hold it for him to look me in the eyes. "Voltair, she is not getting away with this. You will get your turn with her but, she will answer to me for this. She wants a war, now she has it. I will turn the waters crimson with her blood but, we have to be smart about it. Attacking her with no plan in mind will only bring more carnage and bloodshed," hesitantly he lifts his hands and places them over mine as he kisses my fingers and wrapped his arms around me. "I know you don't want Crone but, know that you are the strongest woman I know and you deserve it. I know you can make it your own and I will be by your side every step of the way. This ship is just as much yours as your own if you'll take it and I will stop at nothing to prevent this from ever happening again." I nod and look along the beach from when we were on our way over here and phased us both there and let us both sink down into the sand as I hold him. We wait until the sun starts to set before we get up and head for my ship. Once we're aboard, I wave Arlemis over to fill him in. "I'm going to need your help. Things went south horribly with Voltair's ship and crew. My sister slaughtered every last one of them and we are all he has now. This isn't the first time that he's been through this." With that, Voltair kisses the top of my head and wanders to my quarters without me and I sigh as I look back at Arlemis. "When Voltair was younger, he had to watch his entire family be slaughtered and for years he was alone. I met him roughly two centuries ago when we was out for revenge on a Captain I happened to be tangled with. He had motives and I had to eat and soon, our lives were tangled with that Captain's. The Captain and I, as well as his crew have been the only family he's known in a very long time. We are taking on his ship but, we have a lot to clean and fix and we owe the men on that ship a proper burial." He looks to my quarters where Voltair had just disappeared and back to be before bowing and calling some of my men together. "Of course, M'Lady. My apologies for the unfortunate circumstances." I nod and focus on guiding the men to his ship as we clean it up for him. It's well into the next day when we finish repairing it and clenaing it as we collect up the bodies. Briefly before we finished up, Arlemis asked permission to leave to do something special and I permitted him to. He had just returned when Voltair's quarters were able to closed again from him punching through the door. He waves me over and I follow curiously to find a well-fashioned raft on the beach. "I know you wanted to give the men a proper send off and judging by how many there are, this should properly fit them all and hold up for the send off. I know how you like to do things." I hug him tightly and smile wamrly. "Thank you, Arlemis. I know you and Voltair have your differences but, I know you both are good people and deserve so much better than you have. He will appreciate it and it help him be at peace. I will go retrieve him and we can do the send off before we leave." Him and the men get to work placing the bodies on the raft neatly as I wander back to my ship, snatching a bottle of rum as I made my way up the dock and back on board. I quietly open the doors to my quarters and find him behind my desk, going over my different maps and information. I walk around to be in front of him sit down in his lap and hand him the bottle of rum after I take a good swig off of it. "Come on, let's give them a proper send of, my love." He follows close behind me, not even stopping to nurse off the bottle as we make our way there. When we get back, the men have pushed the raft to wade in the water and Arlemis is standing with a lit torch for us. I look to Voltair and we both hold it as we follow the raft into the deeper water until we are up to our waists in the water. He looks me over and chuckles weakly as he sighs. "Don't think I've ever really seen you touch the water and not change, at least not for a long time." I place my hand on his shoulder and smile warmly as we both set the torch down to ignite everything and all of my men help to push it off into the water and Voltair, wraps his arms tightly around me and just buries his face in my neck.