When his captains got the bright idea to capture the man called the ‘King of the Sea’, Angel never would have guessed it would end up being so easy.

Yet, he had sauntered right into their trap, as if he didn’t have the largest bounty on his head anyone had ever had, all because they had pretended to know his daughter. While they had run into her a few times, they were definitely not the friends Vox pretended they were.

 

He’d steered clear of where he knew they’d tied up the king up til now, confined to Valentino’s cabin for the past few days. But cabin fever was a bitch, especially when the ship had barely moved in days, no wind in their sails whatsoever, and for a moment he’d forgotten all about him. Until he’d walked over to the foremast, about to climb up it so he could get some semblance of privacy while he smoked.

There, tied to the bottom of the mast, was a tiny, blond man. His cheeks were rosy from the cold, bruises framing his face.

 

Angel stopped, measuring him up between his thumb and pointer finger. Wow. “Didn’t think the king’a the sea would be so tiny. How’d ya even conquer the seas like that?”

When the king turned his eyes toward him he was startled by just how blue they were. He’d never seen eyes seem so bright underneath the moonlight.

The king grinned.

“Have you never heard the expression ‘it's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean’? Your captain seems to have missed that one though, this ship’s wildly over-sized.”

For a moment, Angel just stared at him. “Sure I have, ya know that’s usually about sex though, right?”

“Is it?” The king tilted his head to the side, pursing his lips as he thought about it. “Expains a few of the reactions I’ve gotten before, I suppose.”

Angel choked on a laugh. He looked around, finding the deck unusually empty. With the wind having completely vanished, there were fewer hands on deck than normal.

His fingers tightened around the ratlines, before he finally let go.

 

“Y’know, you’re kinda funny.” He sank down to the deck to sit beside him, pulling out his pipe. “I bet Vox gave ya those bruises, ya seem like the shit-talkin’ type.”

“If you’re talking about the man who likes to gloat til your ears fall off, then yes. He was very mad that he needed me for extortion so he couldn't throw me overboard.”

Angel could definitely picture that. Vox was very proud of The Vee (terrible name for a ship, in Angel’s opinion), so if he’d insulted her to Vox’s face the way he did to Angel’s? That would definitely have earned him more than a few hits.

“Punchin’ ya was definitely a dream’a his, he hates your guts.”

“Why? I’ve never even met the man before!”

Angel chuckled. “He’d like that fancy title for himself, that’s why.”

The sound the king made told him that he might have encountered a person or two like that before.

 

Stuffing his pipe, he leaned forward to reach for the nearby lantern, one that he liked to steal when he climbed up the mast to have something to light his pipe with all the way up there (he hadn’t been caught yet, but he probably would be soon enough).

The light of the flame lit up their faces, casting them in a warm glow in the cold moonlight.

As Angel inhaled the tobacco, he felt himself start to relax. He could never fully do so when he was in Valentino’s cabin, but now, here, he finally started to feel his anxieties grow a little further away.

He watched the king again, who was looking up into the stars, a gentle smile on his lips. Even with a bruised face, he was pretty. He really looked nothing like he would have expected from such a feared man.

Sucking on his pipe, he watched him in silence, before finally holding it out toward him.

“Would ya like some too?”

The king’s eyes turned back to him. Did he smoke the wrong stuff or were his eyes glowing in the dark?

 

The moment he blinked, the glow was gone.

 

“Yes, please.”

Angel moved closer, spinning the pipe around in his hand so the mouthpiece faced the king. As he leaned in the rest of the way, he watched him take the lip of the pipe between his lips. He watched him suck on it, and when his eyes moved upward, they locked with the king’s.

Angel’s face flushed a bright red as the pipe slipped from his fingers, clattering against the deck.

 

He hadn’t imagined it.

His eyes really were glowing, a brightening blue light, the colour of the sea when mermaids drew near in his eyes.

He stared straight into his eyes. “Wh-what the fuck…”

 

Fingers brushed his cheek, making him jump. How the hell had he gotten loose? He’d still been tied to the mast but a second ago.

“You know,” the king started. Picking up the pipe off the deck, he stood up, offering it back to Angel with a smile. “I was going to sink this whole ship and the crew with it once I got bored, but I’ve changed my mind.”

Angel’s eyes grew wide. He would have asked him how he planned to even do such a thing in the first place, but the longer he looked at him, the more obvious it became that he wasn’t even remotely human.

He watched as the king jumped up on the railing, a hand holding on to the ratlines. He took Angel’s hand in his, leaning forward to press a kiss to the back of it. “I’ll save you a lifeboat.”

Angel stared at him in awe as the ship started to move, waves on a windless sea starting to beat against the sides of the ship. “What… what are you?”

“I’m every wave in the ocean, I’m the steam off every whale’s back.”

Angel heard the growing commotion around him, but the only thing he could see was the king, smile as bright as his glowing eyes, teeth turning razor sharp before his very eyes. He watched him spread his arms, feet steady despite how the ship rocked. It looked absolutely effortless.

“I am the sea.”

As he dropped backwards off the ship, Angel rushed to the railing to look over the edge.

 

He was gone.

 

With wide eyes he watched the waves tear one of the lifeboats off the side of the ship. Instinctively, he knew. He knew that he needed to jump, or go down with the rest of the crew.

He climbed onto the railing, his knuckles white from how tightly he held on to the ratlines next to him. He stared into the wild sea, at the unnaturally still lifeboat.

This was madness. He was trusting a madman, putting his life in his hands.

 

He let go of the ratlines, letting himself fall.

 

As he landed in the water with a splash, he felt it grow calm in an instant, gentle waves lapping at his face. As he looked around himself, the windless storm raged on around him, everywhere he looked.

When he heaved himself up and into the lifeboat, he was met by the king’s brilliant smile. His hands brushed Angel’s sleeve, then his cheek. He could feel the water evaporating out of his clothes, his hair drying in mere seconds.

“If you ever need my help, just call my name. As long as you’re on the water, I will hear you.”

Angel’s eyes were wide, fingers gripping his seat tightly. “I don’t even know what your name is. Everyone just calls ya ‘the king’.”

The king smiled. “My name is Lucifer.”

“Like the devil?”

His question made Lucifer, the king, the sea, laugh. “Like the devil, yes. My wife picked it out for me. She thought it was funny.”

 

He stood, the boat never rocking, even as he stepped up on top of the stern. “I’ll come, even if you just want to have a good time. I know where to find the best breweries in the world.” He seemed to consider his words for a moment. “Though I suppose the more intimate sort of ‘good time’ would also be open to you, should you want it.”

“All this, just because I shared my pipe with ya?”

“Yes, all this, just for that.” Lucifer leaned forward, taking his hand. He squeezed it, only for a moment. “Besides, I happen to think you’re also kind of funny.”

He let go, Angel’s hand sinking to his lap. “I thank you for a surprisingly nice evening.”

 

This time when he fell into the sea, Angel could see the transformation.

Before his eyes, he evaporated, body turning into nothing but water that rained into the sea, moving all around the lifeboat. He watched the water as it moved, reached down to touch it. It moved around his hand, a tiny whirlpool tickling his skin before it moved along the side of the boat, pushing him forward without Angel even having to pick up the oars.

 

He turned around, watching the ship he had been stuck on for the last several years, unable to step foot off it without Valentino’s permission. A ship that had brought him nothing but endless suffering.

He watched the waves tear at it without mercy, each wave picking it apart, piece by piece. The screams were deafening, the fire lighting up the night until it was nearly as bright as day, yet he hadn’t noticed it at all until he turned to face it.

With a crack loud as thunder, the ship snapped in half.

 

As the ship sank to the bottom of the cold ocean, Angel couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

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