Chapter Text
Being a pirate was awful.
No, that should be rephrased. Being a pirate was fine, it seemed no different than being on a Navy ship.
Being a pirate under Captain Ashswag was awful.
It seemed like he deliberately picked on Red, always seeing how far he could push him until he snapped. It started as little things, like ignoring his personal space or giving him extra tasks, or just making stupid comments meant to piss him off. But as Red got more comfortable, he started pushing back, and so Ash got bolder, and their little games could turn into trivial arguments in the middle of the deck.
There were a few good things, such as he was given free reign of the ship, except for a few rooms, because to quote Ash, “Where’s he going to go, the water? He looks like he can’t swim for shit.” Red wouldn’t say he was the best swimmer, he didn’t have to be an asshole about it.
He had been allowed to continue sleeping in the little storage room, (he didn’t completely trust the crew not to murder him in his sleep yet) although most nights he didn’t sleep, as he rarely needed more than a few hours every couple of days.
And Ash had eventually explained to him how the compass worked.
“Let’s just say it leads to a special family heirloom.” He had told Red with a pointed smile.
“That doesn’t explain why it required my blood.” Red had been annoyed at how he kept dancing around the topic.
“Have you ever asked your parents about your family history?”
“I’m adopted.” Ash had gone quiet, then muttered something along the lines of that makes sense. Red had acted offended and demanded to know what that meant, but Ash just switched to asking him if his hair color was natural.
“You’re lucky you’re so special,” Ash had told him once, during an argument where Red had said some not-so-nice things. “Or I would’ve thrown you into the sea like the others.”
“What others?” Red had asked, slightly taken aback.
Ash had just laughed. “You really think you’re the first person I tried to activate the compass? You were nothing more than a lucky guess. I would’ve thrown you off the ship ages ago if you turned out to be useless.”
Mid later told him that Ash didn’t throw anyone overboard, (well, not anyone who didn’t deserve it) and he would just drop them off at the nearest seaport. Regardless, it still stung and bit and served as a reminder that the pirate captain was not to be messed with.
So after a week of sailing, chores, and not getting answers from Ash, when the captain finally called for someone to drop the anchor, Red was intrigued, and though he wouldn’t say it, a bit excited.
Red was at the railing of the ship, trying to think of ways to get away from Spoke, who was rambling on to him about something or another. Ash had leaped down from his perch on the banister of the quarterdeck, calling to drop anchor. Someone had hastily stopped the ship, and Red watched as Ash and some crew members had gathered around the opposite railing of the ship, peering into the water.
Spoke had gone quiet beside him, glancing down at the water on their side of the ship. It looked normal enough. Red watched as Ash untied his hair, and then began to take off his shirt, causing Red to immediately avert his gaze because what the hell!?
When he glanced back, Ash was shirtless and halfway over the railing. Red noticed a tattoo that snaked up his spine, but couldn’t make out what it was. Spoke snickered next to him.
“Enjoying the view?”
Red’s face flushed. “What? No no, I was just…” He trailed off as Ash turned and caught his eye, giving him a sharp grin before falling backward off the edge of the ship.
Red made a move to go after him out of instinctual concern, but Spoke stopped him. “He’ll be fine. He does this all the time.”
“Jump off the side of the ship?” Red exclaimed, glancing around to see that no one seemed particularly worried.
Spoke just shrugged and began to pick up where he left off in his story. Red nodded along for a few more minutes, until he realized that Ash wasn’t returning anytime soon, and excused himself to get food.
He couldn’t find Mid, so he just ate by himself, or as by himself as he could be at a table full of people. He didn’t engage in any of the conversation, but listening in, he could tell that no one seemed concerned that their captain had dived off the edge of the ship. The only parts of conversation he caught that were related to that was excited guesses about what Ash would find. He figured that the captain had some sort of water-breathing spell.
After about somewhere close to an hour, he heard a commotion on the upper deck, and judging by the amount of people that left the dining room to go see, he guessed it was Ash returning.
Red followed a bit behind the group of people who had rushed upstairs. As he pulled himself onto the main deck, everyone was crowded around Ash.
He had put his shirt back on, but his hair was dripping wet and still fell gracefully around his face. But the point of everyone’s interest was a stone box with elvish runes that Ash had tucked under his arm.
He caught sight of Red, and motioned him over. He approached hesitantly as Ash set the box down on the deck. “Well Red, it’s time to see exactly how much you’re worth.”
“Good to know you only think of me in monetary value, Ash.” He joked as he kneeled down opposite Ash.
“It's Captain to you.” This was their usual song and dance, but Ash’s words had no bite, which was odd. With a start, Red realized the captain was in a good mood. He had a lopsided smirk, and his eye glittered in the dying sunlight. Ash reached down and pulled a dagger from his waist, looking directly at Red. “Do you trust me?”
“Not at all.” Red replied without hesitation, because he had an idea of where this was going.
“Good.” Ash reached out and grabbed his hand, turning it so his palm was facing upwards. Without any warning, he took the point of the dagger and sliced it over the pad of Red’s thumb, causing him to flinch and try to pull away, but the captain had a firm grip around his wrist.
Ash stared at the blood beading on his finger, the pupil of his uncovered eye dilating. Red felt the air catch in his throat as he realized just how close they were. It was odd, seeing this crack in the mask of carelessness and hubris that he always seemed to wear. After a moment, whatever spell the captain seemed to be under wore off, and he cleared his throat. That snapped Red out of his trance, remembering that the two of them were surrounded by other people.
Ash took his hand and pressed it to one of the runes, causing a small click to sound from the box. He finally let go of Red, who pulled his hand back to examine the damage. Everyone’s focus was on the box, which Ash slowly opened. Inside was something glowing, and as Ash lifted it up, Red noticed it was another star on a chain, like the one he’d stolen from Medusa.
The murmurs from the onlookers turned into cheers as Ash stood up. Red stood up hesitantly as the crew erupted into chaos around him. Some people were gathering to get a closer look at what the captain had, while others headed off to do something else, and a few people came up to congratulate Red.
He wandered away, a bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past few minutes. He made his way over to the front of the ship, watching the last of the sunset fade.
“So,” Red jumped as Ash spoke, having not heard him approach. “An interesting turn of events, wouldn’t you say?” He leaned on the railing next to Red.
“I guess,” He glanced at Ash, and noticed he was playing with the small glowing star between his fingers. “What is that thing anyways?”
Ash was quiet for a moment, staring at the object. “Some call it a Heart. It grants the bearer a second life, or something along those lines. There’s a price though.” He paused for a minute, but at Red’s expectant look, continued. “I’m not completely sure, but I believe it’s a life-for-a-life situation.”
“Those other pirates said something about sacrificing me.” Red recalled where he had gotten the first Heart. “How come there are multiple?”
Ash sighed. “It was probably explained in some history class I didn’t pay attention to, but I know that multiple were made and given to different species. A couple for the human leaders, some for dwarves, and luckily for you, so for the elven rulers. I don’t know much more beyond that.”
“So…” Red glanced down at his hand, at where Ash had cut him. “How does my blood fit into all of that?”
“You,” Ash tapped his arm. “Are descended from elven royalty.”
Red laughed. “Yeah right. I’m nobody, let alone royalty.”
“You opened the box, didn’t you? The one that required someone with royal blood to open?”
“Yeah, but–”
Ash cut him off. “Don’t you want to be more than just nobody, Reddoons?” He leaned closer to him, his violet eye gleaming in the lantern light.
“What, uh what exactly are you saying?” Red felt his heartbeat speed up, although he didn’t know why.
“I could make you so much more, Red.” Ash grinned at him. “Just something for you to consider. “ He then stepped back, swinging the Heart around by the chain. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” And in a blink, he was gone.
Red turned back to stare at the sea, now completely dark. Elven royalty. It was ridiculous. He was never worth anything, most of his life, especially because he was an elf.
But Ash had just offered him the ability to be something more, and even if he didn’t entirely know what that meant, he wanted it.