The Siren

We’re back out at sea and it’s Niall and my first official day as part of the crew. Niall wasn’t wrong when she said we were cut out for this life, we knew about sailing. Our father’s taught us against our mother’s wishes, encouraging us to finish reading instead.

Niall and I are sitting with some of the crew below deck, trying to avoid the sun as it was midday.

Another remarkable thing was how safe we felt here and well we got along with the crew. We were talking to Stan, one of the oldest members of the crew and one of Louis closest…friends? I still wasn’t sure what their relationship was. But Niall and I decided to question him about all of the tales about the Siren. We started asking him about all of the stories of all the people whom the dreaded Siren’s crew killed or terrorized.

He threw his head back in laughter, “We only spread those tales for fun. Whenever we raid a ship, we always wear disguises like masks, wear darker clothes, things like that. We don’t kill anyone but we damn near scare the soul out of people.”

We were just about to ask more questions, specifically about the song people would hear before they attacked, but Louis meandered over to us and threw an arm over Stan’s shoulders, “Don’t spoil it for ‘em, Stan.” She smiles then ruffles his hair.

I go quiet when I see them interact but I quickly recover by asking, “Spoiling what?”

Louis smirks, “We got information of a ship that left a day ago from India with stolen goods on it.”

“A day?” Niall questions loudly, “We’ll never catch up to them, especially if we don’t know where they’re headed.”

“Oh we will and we do.” Stan ominously replies and Louis grins at him.

Oh… I bit my lip then excused myself. I didn’t want to be around when they started making out or something like that. I went above deck, squinting at the radiance of the sun on the choppy waves. Despite the heat, the view was really beautiful, the light reflecting off the water like millions of diamonds sprinkling the surface. The sky is a spotless blue, resembling a certain set of blue eyes that I’d gotten the chance to admire more and more over the few days.

Oh shut up. You sound pathetic. Of course Louis wasn’t into women. I should’ve guessed it. That confrontation in her cabin was just for her amusement and she just wanted Niall and I to be a part of the crew purely because of our valiant characters.

“It’s a bit warm out here.” I spin around to see Louis fanning herself with her large hat.

“It’s not too bad, there’s a breeze.” I turn back to lean on the rail. I was too embarrassed to look at her or be around her but I couldn’t exactly escape this situation with ease.

She comes to stand next to me, back to the rail, leaning on her elbows, “I meant to tell you, you know.” She’s fiddling with her hat, not making eye contact with me.

Here it is. She’s gonna embarrass the shit out of me and it’s only the two of us present right now, “Tell me what?”

She looks up, “That we were going after that ship. I know that the first time you’re on a voyage it’s scary.”

Oh. I was relieved, I wasn’t ready to talk about the fact that I was attracted to Louis and she didn’t reciprocate the feeling, not now…maybe not ever. But on the other hand, I was a little disappointed that she could be naïve to the fact that I was attracted to her or she just couldn’t fess up and tell me that she was strictly into men.

“Um, yeah…I am a little scared. I mean,” I searched my thoughts to help fuel the excuse, “I’ve never had to fight anyone before. My father and I would play pretend as pirates. We’d use the baguettes from the kitchen as swords and we’d get in trouble with mother.” I smiled fondly at the memory and shielded my face from the sun as I looked at her.

“Quite the pair of troublemakers, then?” she asks

“Yeah, before he became cold towards me.” I sighed. I would always remember that shift from being best friends to near enemies.

“What happened? If you don’t mind my asking.”

I looked to her quickly, to admire how the sun beamed on her, allowing her lashes to cast a shadow over those lovely cheekbones, “I—I told him I disagreed with his stance on the less fortunate. I believed actively helping them was the right thing to do and he didn’t.”

Louis scowled and I could tell she wanted to say something insulting my father but she didn’t. Instead she placed her hat on my head and adjusted it, “There. Now your fair skin won’t be burnt by the sun.”

I smile at her. Who the hell was I kidding? There was a huge possibility that I could be developing an infatuation towards Louis. Who wouldn’t?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I was ready to be sick. When Stan announced from the crow’s nest that he could see the ship I felt my stomach clench uncomfortably and my hands began to shake. That was only five minutes ago but I was ready to pass out.

The sky was gray and the air bleak. Louis had called it a perfect day for a raid to which the crew all roared with agreement. I was currently I was frozen to the spot as everyone else bustled about to prepare. I was going through everything Louis had told me during our chat.

“We usually try not to let the raid escalate to fighting, but when it does, just hold your sword in a threatening manner.” I laughed at that, “We’ll be wearing our disguises,” she tilts her head, “I’ll help you with that.”

I must have a perplexed look on my face because she laughs a beautiful laugh, crinkling her eyes and throwing her head back, “Don’t worry it won’t be anything complicated. Just some ash and some drab clothing.”

“Oh.” I laugh softly. There’s a moment of quiet between us where we just listen to the waves lap against the side of the ship. My curiosity gets the best of me and I end up asking a question aloud, “Louis, how long have you been doing this?” she doesn’t answer right away, “It’s just that you’re quite young and—you don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.”

She giggles as she watches me get flustered, “It’s alright, Harry. But you’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

“H-how long have you been a pirate?”

“My whole life, Harry.”

The conversation ended there, Louis no longer wanting to talk about the subject and I respected her wishes. But I haven’t seen her since then and still haven’t gotten the chance to don a disguise. I decided to go find her but right as I turned to go to her cabin I ran straight into someone sending the objects in their hand scattering to the deck.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” I bent to retrieve the items, clothing and a small tin, and sprang back up to hand them back to the person.

“If you’re this clumsy all the time you might have to sit this raid out, love.” Louis is grinning at me with a raised brow. She points to the clothes in my hands, “You’ll be changing into those and,” she opens the tin to reveal a handful of black ash, “I’ll help you smudge this on.”

I nod then went to head below deck, “Where are you going?” she asks before I can get to the stairs.

“To my quarters to change.” She’s shaking her head before I can finish my sentence.

“Go ahead and change in my cabin.” She nods towards the door behind the wheel, arms crossed like a proper captain.

“Uh, alright.” I go quietly. I couldn’t argue with the stance and pose Louis was taking on. Niall happens to pass me and sends me a questioning look, I can only reply with a shrug.

I’m quick to change once I get in the room, pulling on the drab, brown trousers and putting my boots back on. I’m relieved that my corset is much easier to remove now that it is not tied as tightly but in the midst of pulling on the black blouse that Louis had provided, my hair got caught in the collar of it. I put my forearm through the collar to try to loosen the hair but I found my arm caught in a fold in the material. I was stuck.

Oh god, how did this even happen? Why did this even happen? I can’t even put my shirt on! I was trying not to panic but it was already happening and I was getting flushed. I was half naked in Louis’ cabin. I tried to remove the top, but that only made it worse, now the top was covering my face and I couldn’t see a thing. Just as I was considering crying for help I hear the door open.

“Harry, you nearly finished— Oh! Sorry!” Louis is in the room before I can react. So I do the first thing I think of and fall to the ground. I sit with my knees covering my chest as best as I can. I hear the door creaking to close but I call out.

“Louis wait!”

“I’m still here, love.” I hear her laughing and doing a terrible job of covering it up.

“I--,” I shift uncomfortably, “I’m stuck.”

“I can see that. You need help getting the shirt on?” I hear her voice right in front of me as if she crouched down to talk to me.

“I think I should take it off first…” I feel a bit ridiculous, but I know I look ridiculous.

“Alright,” I feel her warm hands on my arms, “stand up.”

“Wait!”

She startles, “What?”

If my hands were free I’d be wringing them together out of extreme nerves, “Promise not to look?”

She stifles a laugh then sighs, “Yeah, I promise.” I whisper an okay, then she’s helping me up. It’s quiet for a moment before I clear my throat, then Louis hands are guiding me to spin around. Her hands slide from the skin on my shoulders to my back and I nearly shudder at the feeling. Her fingers, which I expect to be rough from labor, are soft and smooth and glide across my skin like—

“Silk.” Louis whispers.

“What?” I nearly yell, thinking I may have said my words out loud.

“Uh, nothing.” She’s quiet and her hands quickly reach up to help extract me from the top. I feel her tugging at the strands of hair caught in the collar of the shirt and I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel the weight of the shirt gone.

Then I remember I’m half naked and my arms fly up to guard my chest. Louis is handing me the blouse over my shoulder before I can say anything.

“Thank you.” I say once I’ve carefully pulled the shirt on. I reach for my corset but Louis’ hand is circling my wrist and holding it.

“Don’t wear the corset.” She clears her throat and let’s go of my hand, “It’ll ruin the illusion.”

I nod. I feel liberated, not having to wear the lace up prison for my lungs. But at the same time I feel indecent not wearing it…

While I’m thinking, Louis wipes a thumb under my eyes but not without some kind of warm substance smudging under his thumb.

“Just putting on some scary makeup for you.” She smiles. She continues to smudge the ash under my eyes. At some point she places her thumbs at the corner of my lips then slides them down my chin, down the sides of the column of my throat, all the way down to my collarbones. My eyes have fluttered shut in the process and when her hands don’t leave my neck I open them thinking she’s watching me.

I wasn’t wrong. When I opened my eyes Louis’ gaze is on my lips. Her own are parted slightly and her eyelids are slightly hooded. I unconsciously lick my lips and I hear a sharp intake of breath. I close my eyes once again and I lean in.