Snippet #2818451

Cretas' eyes landed on Collen as he approached, and she gave him a knowing smile as he relayed his request to have her go see the Captain and offering to watch Lemnia. Setting her daughter down beside Collen, she stood up and gave Collen's shoulder a light pat as she walked by him towards the stairs leading to the upper deck. She cast a quick glance to Tora whose eyes were locked firmly on her the entire time.

As she approached the Captain, he greeted her with a smile and a light bow.

Thank ye fer accepting my invitation ta chat, miss Estallamos. Come on inside.

Cretas nodded in silence and followed him into his chambers, and Tora was quick to jog up the stairs as quietly as could be and stand beside the door with one ear planted against the wall.

"Have a seat, miss Estallamos.

"Thank you for the offer, Captain. But I'll stand."

"Suit yourself, milady." He replied as he poured a glass of wine and offered it to her, which she politely refused with a shake of her head.

"That was quite the setback we encountered, wasn't it?" he asked as he took a sip from the wine glass and sat down in his chair.

"I wouldn't call it a setback so much as a tragedy. You lost quite a few of your men, didn't you?"

"There's always more men willing to join a vessel like the Silver Moon if you know where to look."

Cretas' eyes narrowed beneath a furrowed brow.

"What did you need to see me about, again?"

"Ah, yes. I don't believe we ever settled firmly on a form of compensation for this voyage, did we?"

"I thought I laid out the terms quite clearly. We both take our place in the history books as the discoverers of a new world."

"You see," he began as he stood up from his chair and faced the sea through the window behind him. "That's nice and all, miss Estallamos. But I've never been one for history or reading. And you can probably tell that from the lack of books or paper in this room."

A cursory glance around the room proved him right. Not a book or paper to be seen other than maps of the ocean which he'd plotted from his years of sailing.

"I'd like something a bit more concrete, you see."

"Such as?"

"Something I can feel." He said, taking a sip of wine. "Something I can taste."

"Would you like some sort of drink or food named after you?"

The Captain laughed heartily as Cretas took a slow, silent step back towards the door.

"Nothing like that, miss Estallamos." He said calmly.

"Then what is it you want?"

Slowly he finished the wine and turned around to set the glass on the table.

"My men and I call the sea "home," miss Estallamos. And as you might well be able to imagine, even if we enjoy our own company in song, dance, gambling, and chat, the sea becomes a very lonely place as time passes."

Cretas silently gulped a lump gathering in her throat.

"You've a daughter to take care of. And I've seen how attached to the boy you've become as well. You're a fine maternal specimen. But you're past your prime now that you're, what, almost thirty now?"

"I'm not comfortable with where this is going, Captain."

"Your comfort isn't a requirement, miss Estallamos. Think of this as nothing but what it is. Compensation. In exchange for finishing this journey, I want you to give yourself to me and the crew for a single night on deck. Your girl and the boy can stay below deck with that troublesome lad and that robed warrior who constantly watches you all."

She felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of her neck.

"It's not asking much, miss Estallamos. You're a beautiful woman in many, many ways." He said with eyes trailing to her chest. "Neither myself nor my men who survived the journey so far have felt the warmth in over a year at least. And those who'll be joining us today likely are no different."

"Like I said, Captain. This is making me uncomfortable."

"And I'll say again, miss Estallamos. Your comfort is not required. You just need to agree to meet us all on deck tonight around midnight, get on your knees, and enjoy the festivities. I'll make sure the men know that no harm is to come to you. Just a nice night of passion to celebrate the soon-to-be discovery of a new world. You can have all the things named after your and your place in the history books. We'll take the pleasure of your company as payment. Deal?"

"I must refuse, Captain."

"It wasn't really a question nor an offer, miss Estallamos."

"I won't repeat myself, Captain Lohran. You have my answer."

"Then I'm afraid your daughter will have to do for a substitute."

Cretas' eyes exploded to the size of saucers.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"She's a bit young for me and the men. But her body is essentially the same as yours, just in a smaller package. So it's either you or-"

Cretas launched forward slamming her hands into Lohran's throat before he could react as they fell to the floor with Cretas straddling him and pushing down with all her might. Her eyes burned with fury. Her teeth bared and clenched tight. Her nails sunk into his flesh resulting in small rivulets of blood seeping to the ground against his choked gasps.

Lohran struggled beneath her. Despite being an average sized woman she held a shocking amount of strength. He couldn't get his feet into position either as she shifted her hips every time he tried to get a leg up to buck her off.

"Not... Your first... Rodeo... I see." He choked out.

Cretas only growled like a feral beast in response as she continued pushing down against him for all her worth.

However, moments later she felt a sharp pain in her left side which earned a shriek of pain. Lohran had reached for his dagger and slammed the side of the blade into her oblique. He'd held back enough for it not to be fatal or in any way crippling. But the message was clear as he turned the blade, point-first, towards the now open wound and pressed the tip into it.

"Time... To get off me... Miss Estallamos..." He choked.

Cretas refused to move.

"What would she think... If she saw you now?"

Cretas' eyes widened, and in the momentary lapse of focus Lohran finally bucked her off. As she landed on her back on the floor he flipped himself over and on top of her, blade to her throat, and his hips nestled between her legs as he used his own to force them apart.

"A little prelude to tonight, miss Estallamos." He said in a somewhat hoarse voice. "You made a wise choice. I doubt her little body would withstand our lust."

Cretas' snarl returned, but she remained still.

"Midnight, miss Estallamos. Don't be late. And keep this to yourself. Otherwise... Well... You have an imagination, don't you?"

"Desmiel will burn you for eternity, Lohran."

"Good thing I'm not the religious type then, isn't it?"

Lohran cautiously stood up and smiled down at her.

"I look forward to my payment, milady... You may leave now."

Cretas made it to her feet, keeping her eyes locked on him the entire way as she backed up towards the door and opened it. Stepping through, she snarled one last time before slamming the door and smashing it with her fist.

Tora, standing beside her, immediately knelt down by her side to inspect the wound.

"Get away from me!!" She shrieked.

Tora was taken aback, as was Cretas whose eyes once again became as wide as saucers.

"You're not... I..."

Her eyes began welling with tears as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth and nose, and Tora was instantly on his feet and calmly embraced her.

"I'm so sorry." She squeaked in a muffled tone into his chest.

Tora stroked her hair and took a deep breath.

"We need to have a chat of our own." He whispered.

Cretas nodded, gripping the lapels of his robes as she cried into the crook of his neck.