Crashing Waves (Part 4)
Pairing: Pirate San x Reader Word Count: 4.2K Genre: Fantasy AU, Slow Burn Romance Warnings: 18+, MDNI, Swearing,
I thought that I knew love. But it was just the waves crashing over us ~ Waves by The Dear Hunter
"What sort of danger?" Jongho asked, pointedly looking at his captain and friend, who until they had docked in this small port would have blindly followed until the end of time.
"In the 'myths', sea nymphs used to kill sailors that threatened their home or their mate. They are loyal above all else to the one they love and will even abandon family to remain beside their chosen mate," Hongjoong explained, carefully watching each of his crew members.
"You mean San?" Wooyoung blinked slowly, his face slowly becoming more alarmed. "You had put San in the firing line of a mythical sea creature's obsession?"
"Well, he won't care if he falls for her too," Mingi shrugged, looking less bothered than he should have.
"That doesn't explain the danger to us though." Jongho narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If we are a threat to San, then she will become a danger to us, but anything that is not a threat to him should be fine." Seonghwa continued taking over the conversation seamlessly "But this is all theoretical. If she is only half nymph or something else entirely, we may have zero issues."
"Does San know this? Have you told him anything about this?" Yeosang asked sceptically, his eyebrows rising when Hongjoong didn't meet his gaze.
Hongjoong cleared his throat "I told him that if she interests him, then he should pursue her."
Wooyoung ran his hand down his face "Captain, I will actually kill you in your sleep if this goes badly for him."
Hongjoong nodded, smirking slightly "That's acceptable."
The ship had settled back into a gentle, almost non-existent bobbing since you had been returned to the cabin. Yunho's face showed confusion and worry, but all you could really focus on was the heat radiating from San's body every time he got close to you, dunking the cloth that lay across your forehead in cool water and ringing it out before placing it back on your skin.
"I don't fully understand what is happening here," Yunho whispered, his eyes meeting San's.
"But you can help her, though? Right?" San knew his voice sounded more panicked than it should, but he didn't care; Yunho was never going to judge him for being protective of you.
"I think we need more than I can give her." Yunho swallowed, watching you close your eyes again like you were simply falling asleep, not suffering from whatever the hell had just happened in the galley. "We need an old healer who has seen more than me."
"The crone from the apothecary? She was angry last time, and we didn't have her assistant half-conscious on the ship. She will lose the plot completely if she knows she's here," San protested, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead at the suggestion.
"Or she helps us just to get her back off the ship. Either way, she needs more help than I can give her and she needs someone who understands the mythical as well as the medical." Yunho explained, already knowing that San would bang on every door in the village if it meant saving you.
San pondered Yunho's words while stroking your hair. The feeling of warmth in his chest was growing by the hour, and if it continued, he was never going to be able to leave your side. "Just don't let the captain know," he breathed, flicking his eyes to his friend, who nodded. "I'll be back as fast as I can."
San stood and grabbed the thick woollen coat that he had given to you earlier, throwing it on before striding from the room with purpose. It was going to be a rough night once he found the woman he had met in the apothecary the day he had first met you. He had managed to get off the ship before anyone had noticed, except maybe Seonghwa; he saw almost everything, and wound his way down the cobblestone roads until he reached his destination. The door was locked tight, and the candles that lit the windows had almost burnt out, meaning he had missed finding his target by a fairly large amount of time. So, steadying his racing heart, he went to the next best place to find people. The pub. The locals quietened when he stepped through the smoked-glass-pained door but started up again when they realized he was alone; a single pirate doesn't tend to cause problems unlike a crew of them, and stepped up to the bar.
"Can I help you, sir?" the publican asked, looking him over carefully.
"Hopefully, I'm looking for the woman who runs the apothecary. I'm in need of some treatment that she probably would find easy." San explained, sliding some silver coins across the stained wooden bar
"I think old Salvia wouldn't be up for helping you, sir; she doesn't really like pirates, you see." He replied, taking the offered coins, "but you can always ask her, and hope for the best." He gestured towards a booth at the far end of the bar, bathed in thick shadow; only the light of a single candle flickered on the edge closest to the room. San nodded in thanks and made his way towards the darkened seat.
"I told you before, boy, leave me be." She huffed before he had even gotten all the way across the room.
"I know, and I wouldn't ask if it were for me, but it's for someone we both know; she needs more help than our medic can give her." He pleaded, his voice low enough that only she would hear.
"What have you done!" She snapped, the candle flickering wildly as she smacked her hands on the table, the room quieting under the simmering anger in Salvia's eyes.
"Me? Nothing, but she spoke with my Captain and something strange happened. Then she became too tired to walk. Please, you have to help her; I can't get her off the ship alone." San dropped his entire coin skin onto the table; the metallic clank loud even in the crowded room.
"I don't want your money, but I will help her, only her." Salvia stood, her long shawl swishing as she moved into the light "I'll need you to tell me everything, and I'll need my supplies."
Agreeing silently, San followed her back into the cold, salt-filled air up the narrow street to Salvia's apothecary. She proceeded to fill a large, heavily worn leather medical bag, which put Yunho's supply bag to shame, with every bottle, balm and herb within reach.
"Did you want me to carry that for you?" San asked cautiously, eyeing the increasingly filling bag, then the crone of a woman filling it.
Salvia glared at him again, "Be careful with it, I won't have you ruining a week's supply of herbs and salves because you are clumsy".
"I can be very careful." San pouted sullenly as Salvia thrust the bag into his arms "I just need you to help her. If being near me, well us, makes her sick, then you need to help her."
Saliva paused for a moment, taking in the sincerity on San's face; perhaps he wasn't as bad as his captain, she mused behind her mask of indifference. Her only concern was you and why you were on that wretched captain's ship to begin with. San led the way, carrying the supplies and lending a steadying arm whenever the streets grew steep or wet until they reached the gangway of the ship, his ship.
"Will you swear to me that you will keep her safe and get her off this ship in one piece?" Salvia uttered lowly, looking up the large wooden ramp.
"I will get you and her off this ship even if it means I lose my place onboard", San swore earnestly, meeting Salvia's eyes.
"What is your name again, boy?" Salvia softened slightly, his concern for you more genuine than she had initially realized.
"San." He smiled a small smile.
“Call me Sylvia,” she muttered, taking his arm to steady herself.
San took a deep breath before helping Salvia up the ramp and onto the ship. It was still deserted when he looked around the deck, and it remained that way all the way to his cabin, where he opened the door to find you sleeping, wrapped in his sheets with Yunho nowhere to be found.
Salvia rushed to your side, beckoning San to follow and place her bag down on the floor for her. "Would it be more suspicious for you to remain in here, or should you return to your crew?" she murmured, taking out a vial of light pink liquid and popping the stopper to soak onto a rag.
"I will leave you to it and return when I can" San nodded in understanding, moving back to the door only to shut it securely behind him and come face to face with Seonghwa.
Seonghwa’s eyes narrowed, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the bulkhead. “You’re bringing strangers onto the ship now, San?”
San stiffened, forcing himself not to look back at the closed door behind him. “Her name is Syliva, she’s the healer in this village. She’s the only person who can help.”
Seonghwa glanced at the closed door, then back at San, his voice low. “We’re already drawing attention in this port. If the Hongjoong finds out…”
“I don’t care,” San cut him off. “She needs help. I don’t care if you or Hongjoong have a problem with it; she needs more help than Yunho can manage.”
Seonghwa sighed, the fight leaving his shoulders. “Just… be careful. Hongjoong doesn’t need more trouble. And keep an eye on her. If anything happens…”
“It won’t,” San replied bluntly, more confident than he felt.
Inside the cabin, Salvia pressed the damp, pink-scented rag to your lips, murmuring words you barely understood. The world felt soft around the edges, but her hands were gentle, and the fog in your mind eased with every breath. She worked quickly, methodically, her eyes occasionally darting to the door as if expecting interruption.
Moments later, she leaned back, satisfaction and exhaustion mingling in her expression. “Rest now,” she whispered. “You’ll need your strength for what’s coming.”
Sylvia sat herself on the edge of San’s bunk, her wisened hand holding yours tightly while she listened to the rise and fall of your breathing. The hush of the cabin was only broken by the muted groan of the hull and the faint and distant whisper of waves.
The soft turn of the latch forces Sylivia to look up sharply, softening only a fraction when she meets San’s worried eyes. “Bring your medic, and the one that has been lurking in the passageway” Her voice was tight and unrelenting.
“I can bring you Yunho.” San nods, turning and leaving without any further explanation.
When the latch turns again, only moments later, Sylvia pulls the small knife from her sleeve, her eyes fixed on the slowly opening door. “I knew there was someone else out there; you may as well show yourself.”
Seonghwa’s lean figure slips from the shadows outside the cabin into the light in San’s room. “You have more sense than she did when she insisted I speak to her.” His voice was smooth as he gestured to the knife.
“I have seen your kind before many times in my life, boy. You are not the first to threaten someone I love.” Sylvia’s voice dropped to chillingly low as she looked Seonghwa up and down.
San appeared in the doorway again, this time with the tall one that had appeared in her shop looking for you, “Seonghwa.” He stopped, swallowing hard, the tension in the room palpable.
Yunho glanced around the room. Surprised by how many people were in the tiny cabin. “You asked for me?” He turned to Sylvia “Is she doing better?”
“You did well, medic, but I will teach you what you need to care for her in the times to come,” Salvia says with resignation, ignoring Seonghwa completely. “You are capable at least.”
Yunho looks stunned for a moment before blinking and stepping towards Sylvia “What do you need me to learn? And how will it help her?”
Sylvia paused as Yunho moved, pulling a small stool over from under the desk and placing it in front of her, San grabbing him things to take notes with.
“Blue kelp mixed with sunroot to help her after she loses herself. Dried moonflower petals crushed with lavender and sea moss served as a tea for when the voice is too loud. Essence of abyssal moss with added tide lily for any pain she has.” Sylvia rattled off the list that should cover your largest needs. “I will leave you with a few vials of something that should only be used if she is at death’s door. Do you think you can manage that?”
Yunho writes Sylvia’s instructions down rapidly, knowing he will have to rewrite them later so he can read them clearly. “Blue kelp, sunroot, moonflower petals and lavender we already have; I will stock up on sea moss before we leave. I’ve never made abyssal moss essence but I have a recipe for it.”
“Why does she need all of that?” San frowned. “And what does when the time comes mean?”
Sylvia sighed heavily, “Your captain has not shared his wishes then?” She turned back to check on you once again, her hand brushing your forehead barely registering a response from you. “He knows the legend of Leviathan's Cradle, the treasure that is said to lie there and that only a nymph can safely touch the sands there.”
Seonghwa finally moved from where he was leaning against the rough wooden wall. “What do you know of Leviathan’s Cradle? I haven’t met another soul who remembers that name, let alone the treasure.” He studied Sylvia intently, though remained as well-mannered as ever.
“You forget, boy, that in certain places people remember for generations what others brush off as fantasy and myth. All of the stories come from somewhere; it’s those who remember them that keep them from men like you.” Syliva picked up her medical bag and began rummaging, pulling out a clump of sea moss wrapped tightly in linen, placing it in Yunho’s large hand. “Your captain wants her for her blood; he knows she can speak with the sea; that is why the first time she collapsed she was on this ship.”
San frowned, moving to the foot of his bed, standing between you and Seonghwa, the friend he had trusted for years. “What does she mean, Seonghwa?”
“The night Hongjoong met her, the sea was calm; when he spoke to her, the waves rose, and when he returned to the ship, it was calm again. He asked me to find her and bring her back to the ship; I did, and the same thing happened, only it was far more intense; you know this; you were there.” Seonghwa explained simply, keeping only to the basic facts. “After she came round again and you got her back to the docks, the water was calm at that point; he knew, and so did I, she is a sea nymph.”
San opened and closed his mouth several times before he could speak, “She can’t be a nymph; she lives on land. But why would we need a sea nymph anyway?” His questions made Seonghwa wince for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for San to understand it wasn’t something he was going to agree with.
“San has a point though; she has always lived on land. A sea nymph would die out of water for that long”. Yunho blinked, looking between Seonghwa and San.
Sylvia let out a harsh laugh, “So you did this to her, so you could use her and then what, throw her away? You can’t see what this one already feels for her?” She gestured towards San, who didn’t refute the accusation.
Seonghwa shook his head “She’s not a full nymph; my guess was half at least. She will not need to be in water full time, just some of it.”
“That doesn’t make any of this less fucked up” Yunho scowled.
San moved faster than any of them expected, shoving Seonghwa hard against the wall, his forearm against his throat. “You and the captain did this to her? Could this kill her? Do you even care if it does?” The rage rolling off of him was undeniable.
“It won’t kill her”, Sylvia answered softly, standing and placing her hand on San’s arm “She will take time getting used to the changes, but she will be fine in the end. Her ancestors all survived long enough for her to be here.”
San backed away from Seonghwa, who, if he wished to, could have had San on the floor within seconds, taking Sylvia’s spot at your side, his fingers combing through your hair tenderly.
“You must care for her now, San; she will need you.” Sylvia smiled sadly before turning to Yunho. “Help me off the ship, boy, and I will give you the rest of the ingredients you need to care for her.” Yunho offered her an arm and led Sylvia from the room, allowing her one last look at your sleeping form.
“Tell me everything, Seonghwa” San started looking at him with sharp eyes that were shadowed by betrayal “If you don’t, I will take her off this ship and never set foot on it again.”
Seonghwa sighed deeply “San, none of us would ever hurt her, Hongjoong…” he dragged his hand down his face as he moved to sit on the stool Yunho had vacated “You heard what Hongjoong said about his youth, about his family. With her help, he can rescue them, and then hopefully we will have a life where we don’t need to be pirates anymore if we don’t want to. Wouldn’t you want that? Settling down somewhere with her, where nothing can hurt her, and you can spend forever by her side?”
San’s jaw tightened, the muscles working beneath his skin as he tried to process Seonghwa’s words. “You’re telling me…” he started, voice unsteady, “that all of this, all the risks, are worth it just for a chance at something that may not even be real? You’re willing to destroy her for… nothing.”
Seonghwa met San’s gaze, his own eyes heavy with regret. “I know what it looks like.” He sighed again, almost pained, knowing that there was nothing that could take the sting of feeling betrayed away in the moment.
San shook his head, frustration evident. “He should have told me. You both should have. What else is being kept from the rest of us?” A soft, restless sound escaped you from the bed, stirring in the sheets as if the conversation pressed against the edge of your dreams.
Seonghwa looked at you and then back at San “Hongjoong had me look into several locations where there were rumours and whispers of ancient magic, little hamlets and towns where crones still had knowledge that has left the new world. This is one of the towns.” His explanation felt weak on his tongue, but Seonghwa still needed to try. “The painting, besides being worth more coin than this ship, was created using some form of old magic. Something no one left understands, but it was claimed it could awaken the blood of Sea Nymphs in those with even the weakest relation to one. She has to be at least half with the way the sea speaks to her.”
San’s brows remain creased; his eyes still dark with anger. “She has no choice now, does she? You have cursed her.
The door to the cabin opened swiftly as Yunho almost tripped over the threshold with Jongho on his heels “I’ve got more than I will hopefully ever need to help her.” The large crate stacked precariously with old books and scrolled parchments he carried prevented him from seeing what was in front of him. Jongho held a large sack over his shoulder, a wooden box which looked like a dowry chest under his other arm and a huge leather bag tied with straps.
“Old Sylvia was much more helpful once she decided that this was unavoidable and that you, San, are going to need her help.” Yunho continued unpacking a couple of the books and leaving them on the small desk. “Read these; it may be another day before she wakes, so you will have time, probably. It explains everything.”
“Where is all the other stuff going?” Jongho asked, still holding everything he carried easily.
“The sack stays here; the boxes to my cabin.” Yunho smiled, letting Jongho lead the way back out of San’s room “Oh, Seonghwa, you may want to get the captain to call a meeting; there is a lot we have to go over.”
Seonghwa managed a faint, understanding smile. “Agreed.” Before leaving San alone with you once more.
As the lantern light flickered, San leaned closer, his voice a low promise meant only for you. “I won’t let them hurt you. I swear it.”
You wake slowly, the world coming into focus in gentle, shifting waves. The air is thick with the scent of salt and something herbal, familiar, soothing. The cabin is dim except for a thin band of light sneaking through the curtains, dust swirling in its path. You blink slowly; your body still feels strange, heavier than it should, but you no longer feel as though you have been underwater.
Safe
Coming home
The voice is once again soft and less insistent than the previous night? You felt a sharp wave of panic. What time was it? You look around the cabin for something to give you a clue to how long you have slept, but you find nothing other than San is slumped on the floor beside the bed, his head pillowed awkwardly on his arm. An old, battered book lies open beside him, its pages curled from use. His breathing is deep and even, and you realize he must have kept watch for hours.
Careful not to disturb him, you reach for the blanket at the foot of his bunk and drape it over his shoulders. But the movement stirs him, and he blinks up at you, confusion softening into relief.
"You're awake," he says, voice thick with sleep and something like hope. He sits up, rubbing his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
You search your body, noticing the absence of pain. "Better. Tired, but… not like before. What happened?"
San glances at the book and then back at you. "Salvia and Yunho took care of you. It was… complicated. Yunho came back with all sorts of things from Sylvia; she thought maybe this would help." He gestures to the old book.
Your eyes widen in shock “Sylvia was here? On this ship? With Hongjoong? Each question tumbles from your tongue without warning.
San swallows audibly “Hongjoong doesn’t know she was here, but yes, she came. I went to find her when Yunho said you weren’t responding to anything he tried.”
You closed your eyes “Is she going to kill me?” you mumbled quietly.
San shook his head, the corners of his mouth falling “No, but she said that we need to look after you now, that things have changed, you are changing.”
You sat mutely for a moment, unsure if you were still dreaming until the voice spoke to you again.
You will be reborn
Reborn of salt and sea
Reborn of sand and swell
The mate will help
The mate is safe
San picked up the book again, to show you, not noticing a slip of torn parchment falling from inside the back cover. "I tried to read about Sea Nymphs, but I’m not sure I understood half of it. Did you know they can breathe underwater? Some say they can talk to the tides."
You manage a shaky smile. "I didn’t, but what is that?” You point at the fallen slip.
San picks it up, scanning it quickly before passing it to you. “It’s from Sylvia.”
You take it from his fingers, not missing the way your skin seemed to hum when it touched his, ‘Possum, I’m sorry that this will be something I should have been with you for, but I can’t. When you read this, I hope you will be able to forgive me for that. Read the books, speak with the boy Yunho and stay safe. The ocean will not lie to you. Men will. Listen to your own heart and the sea will guide you. Love Via’
“Is that one of the books I am meant to read?” Your confusion-laced voice strained.
San shrugs, the hint of a grin on his lips. "Yeah, but this one is mostly legends. Some warnings. Something about transformation being hard, but worth it, if you have people who care for you." He closes the book gently. "I care. We all do."
You reach out, squeezing his hand, the feel of his warm palm calming you in a way you don't understand. "Thank you, San. For looking after me."
He squeezes back, warmth in his gaze. "I promised I’d keep you safe. And now that you’re awake, we have to go meet with Hongjoong. He wants to see all of us."
a/n: Thank you for reading my lovelies your support is my warmth in the coldness xx
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