"Hmm, you must be the man called Lux. Just Lux?” Lord Tekla watched the man, who continued to stare at the Captain's boots.

Sega shifted to take a step forward, but froze as Lord Tekla threw a sideways glance back at her. Vigo hefted the man forward, kicking him in the back of the knee to force him to kneel. Lord Tekla held the open book in one arm and smiled hauntingly down at the man before him.

"According to this, you were imprisoned for attempting a coup on that unfortunate ship." The Captain drug his finger down the page. "You succeeded in killing nearly a dozen men…" He snapped the book closed and handed it carelessly off. "Not bad. But explain why you tried to run off with those two?" He wiggled his fingers toward the woman and boy. Silence.

"Spoils of war? That one's a bit old don't you think?" Lord Tekla paced past Lux, inspected the other two and waved in an unimpressed fashion. Several of the men snickered as the woman scowled indignantly, her young son sputtering between sobs. The woman was no older than thirty, but with the dirt and grime, it was harder to tell by her face. Her son appeared to be close to ten, his blubbering cheeks still round. Sega watched them, clenching a fist at her side. Lord Tekla wrinkled his nose at the boy and strolled back to his original position before Lux. He scanned his crew.

"We had all agreed that we would spare no one. Now, if someone allowed this vermin onto our ship, do step forward. Your punishment will be minimal." He dropped his eyes down over Lux, bending slightly forward.

"However, if they managed to get here on their own…that would mean we have stow-aways." The Captain clasped his hands behind his back. The crew watched silently, the air thick with anticipation. They loved nothing more than to watch their Captain uphold the laws of their ship. A smile flickered at Lord Tekla's lips.

"No. Too many mouths to feed. Toss them."

Finally, the man at his feet jerked, his hair hiding his face. The men holding the woman and boy pushed them towards the rail, and lifted the woman up on the edge. She screamed, kicking out and pressing back against the wood. Lux managed to rise to his feet. Several men leapt forward to shove him back down.

"Wait. Captain…" Everything came to a halt. The crew parted, leaving Sega exposed on the deck. Lord Tekla turned slowly, his sharp brow raised curiously.

"With the loss of Victor, we could use another hand." Sega stood her ground as the Captain turned to face her, amusement flickered over his distorted features. At one point, he had been truly remarkable to behold. Sega remembered the face before the scar, the face of a rogue and joyous young man. But now, sharp features locked onto her, the white scarred eye stared blankly as the golden eye dared her to continue. The rest of the crew continued to shrink away from Sega. Not a single one of them would ever consider speaking against the Captain’s orders. Some glared at her, knowing full well that as First Mate she could get away with it.

"And the woman and child, they can serve in the galley. Sell them when we reach Aeros.” Sega continued.

Lord Tekla nodded slightly, then turned back to the warrior pinned to the deck.

Lord Tekla cleared his throat theatrically. "Hold him up, Vigo. Let me see him properly."

Vigo nodded, his face dark. He lifted the man to his feet. The warrior stood slightly stooped, keeping his face hidden. 

The Captain’s long fingers dug into the man's jaw and forced Lux to turn his face to him. Lux's gold eyes flashed, for a split second Lord Tekla hesitated. None too gently, he turned the man's head side to side. He released him, stepped back and scanned the rest of him.

"Have you any skills in a fight?" Lord Tekla's voice was frigid. 

Lux simply glared in response. He looked past the captain, locking eyes with Sega. She shook her head, almost imperceptibly. His eyes seemed to shine in the darkness, her mind reeled. The people born with golden eyes had long ago been eradicated, for they were once believed to a power over the monsters that haunted humanity. As far as Sega knew, Lord Tekla was the lone survivor of the Ash Chasm clan. But here before them, stood another. She glanced at the faces around her, and they all wore the same mask of suspicion.

"A mute? Did your last captain remove your tongue?" Lord Tekla glanced back at Sega, his gold eye glinting mischievously.

"I am a tracker." Lux kept his face unreadable, his tone plain.

“Hmm. No good," Lord Tekla shook his head with a wave of dismissal. "Throw him over with the others."

Faster than the eye could see, Lux ripped himself free of Vigo's grip and pulled the saber from another man’s hip. Hands bound together, he flipped the blade in the air and effortlessly cut down the two men who surged toward him. He turned towards the Captain, who smiled as he watched. Vigo slammed his elbow down on Lux's shoulder and the massive weight forced the smaller man back down to his belly.

More men came forward and pinned Lux's hands to the deck. Lord Tekla slowly approached, eyeing the blade in Lux's strangled grip. After a moment of consideration, the Captain lifted one leather boot and smashed the heel down on the back of Lux's sword hand. The bones audibly crunched, Lux did his best to stifle his yell behind gritted teeth.

Ice ran through Sega's veins, but she knew better than to move a muscle. She clenched and released her fist, hidden in the folds of her robes.

"Interesting. You seem to struggle with respecting your own mortality." Lord Tekla offered gently, voice edged with a cruel undertone. He then turned sideways so that Sega could see, raised his boot and stomped down on Lux’s other hand, gazing off into the distance. Although her wasnt looking at her, Sega knew he was daring her to so much as twitch. Lux could not hold back his cry this time.

"Take him to the brig. I can think of a more suitable punishment than a quick death." Lord Tekla nodded to the men holding Lux down.

"My Lord?" Vigo glanced up at him. "The others?"

The Captain threw a lazy gaze at the woman and boy. With a sigh, "Take them to the galley."

Vigo stepped away from Lux and the other men drug him away. They passed Sega, she couldn't look away from his hands as he clutched them to his chest. She kept her expression trained, careful not to show anything. The men dispersed, the show finally over.

"Sister." The Captain's voice murmured gently in her ear. She didn’t flinch.

"What do plan to do with him?" Sega turned to face the Captain, who stared down his nose at her.

"Hang him in Aeros. If he survives the trip home. Kind of a long ride without food, though…" Lord Tekla crossed his arms, brushing a finger past his nose. Mirth flickered over his features. 

Sega turned to leave. A hand flashed out and snatched her arm, pulling her back to face him. His grip was unyielding, like a metal vice. She shuddered, but kept her face composed. She had spent years learning to treat the Captain like a dangerous animal; if you wanted to survive, never show a glimpse of weakness.

"I fulfilled your request, they've been saved. Aren't you happy?" His voice was soft, laced with venom. Sega nodded once.

"You've never gone against my orders. Why this?" He offered a small smile, but the effort seemed to strain against the fury beneath. She felt it like the air around her was boiling. She debated whether to speak up or stare innocently at him.

"I would never go against you, My Lord." She held his gaze, her mind numb.

He stared at her for a long moment before releasing his grip on her arm. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing heavily.

"I couldn't imagine you would do such a thing to me. I would imagine, however, that if it ever did happen, yours would be the next hands I'd crush. It would be such a waste, don't you think?" Sega's boots rooted to the deck, she felt like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. 

“Yes, my Lord.” She nodded slightly. He patted the side of her head gently with a smile.

"I'm glad you agree. Now please, you know you don’t have to address me like the others.” He turned, gliding across the deck in long strides. It felt like an eternity before Sega could will her body to move again, her mind a thick sludge of terror. Of all the men she'd fought and killed, of all the monsters she's slaughtered, there was never this kind of feeling. There may have been only one thing on this earth that held a heavier weight over her, and they hadn't been seen for decades.

________

Later, the goods all stored below deck, the crew had taken to their hammocks. Sega wandered through the sleeping men, mentally counting heads. She meandered past the galley, peeking in to see the silhouetted forms of the woman and child against the oven fires. The woman wiped tears and dirt from the boy’s filthy cheeks, crooning to him quietly. 

Thunder rumbled, vibrating the ship. A bad storm was coming. Sega continued down a hallway, then came to a halt. With a quick glance around, she turned silently down an adjacent hall. 

A lone light swayed at the ceiling of the Valravn’s brig. Lux watched the shadows melt hypnotically across the smooth floorboards, a habit he’d become accustomed to in his previous living arrangement. The door creaked open and he looked up as Sega paused in the doorway, bandages tucked under one arm.

She stepped in and closed the door gently behind her. Lux sighed and looked away from her. Sega continued in, entering the cell. She knelt down in front of him and placed the bandages carefully on a cloth on the floor. She motioned for him to present his hands. 

Lux stared at her in silence. 

“If you want to hold a sword ever again, hand them over.” She motioned again. 

Lux shifted to face away from her. Sega raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress a mocking smile.

“I am the only one who can help you here, understand?” Sega bent slightly, trying to catch his eye. 

He scowled, spitting into the corner. 

“And who’s fault is it that I’m in this mess in the first place?” Lux grumbled, his eyes avoiding his swollen, bruised hands.

“And here we have an overgrown boy, throwing a fit. I told you to hide in the cargo hold.” Sega shrugged.

They glared at each other in a long silence, a smile still playing at Sega’s lips as she held in her laughter. Lux sighed, finally looking down at his ruined fingers. 

“Which is worse?” Sega motioned again for him to give her his hands. 

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” 

Sega reached out and snagged the chain attaching his manacles and yanked it towards her.

“Bloody hell!” Lux winced as the metal smashed into his wrists. They took a moment to glare at each other again. Sega broke the standoff, gently inspecting one of his hands.

“Most Captains see women on board as bad omens, is that why the last one threw your wife in the brig?” Sega pressed gently along the back of his hand, following the bones within. Lux frowned deeper.

“My wife? You mean the woman with the boy?” He winced “I don’t know them.”

Sega started to build a makeshift splint out of slivers of wood. She slowly wrapped it to his arm with a roll of gauze.

“I was trying to save them, but the Captain saw profit in them.” Lux watched her wrap a sturdier cloth over the gauze.

“Captains do as captains please.” Sega moved to the next hand. This one had fingers bent off at strange angles, she frowned at it.

“Your Captain doesn’t seem bothered by the old superstition. Then again, his first mate is her own kind of ill-omen.” Lux looked off into a far corner, waiting tensely for her to attend to the hand.

“I suppose the stories are true then.” Sega suppressed a smile. “Though I can’t image who would spread such stories, especially if we leave no survivors…”

“We all have to keep up appearances in this line of work.” Lux muttered gruffly.

Sega snorted. “Why did you try to kill your last captain?” 

“He wasn’t a good captain.” Lux shrugged nonchalantly. 

Sega unceremoniously yanked the crooked finger back into place. Lux stifled a yelp. 

“Hush, you’ll wake someone.” Sega grabbed another crooked finger, holding it in a threatening manner. “Now give me a better reason.”

“I didn’t agree with his choice of destination.”

“And where was that?” Sega stared him down.

“I had to kill the last man who asked.” Lux laced his voice with a similar threat.

Sega pressed against the broken finger. Lux’s face twitched, thoroughly aggravated. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead and he gritted his teeth. The look in his eye told her he wasn't going to give easily.

Sega yanked the finger into joint. Lux growled loudly, swallowing his shout. She went to work splinting the fingers in silence. The hand was almost wrapped when she spoke again.

“I suppose it doesn't really matter. We are all hunting things."

Lux studied Sega with his gold eyes as she focused on the wrapping. He nodded, “Hmm.” She tied off the wrap, he debated the value of honesty in this circtumstance. 

Sega gathered her supplies in the cloth and stood to leave.

"If I am to die, why go through the trouble?" He lifted his hands slightly.

Sega stopped at the door, her hand resting on the dark wood. After a long moment, she glanced back at him. A ghost of a smirk played at her lips. She didn't really know why either. 

“I’d find a way to hold onto something without straining your hands. The storm will be rough.” Sega yanked the door open to leave.

"Wait." Lux leaned after her slightly. She obliged, but didn't look back. 

"There's something that isn't in all the stories..." Lux's gold eyes bored into her. 

Without looking she asked. "And what is that?"

"Your name."

Sega snorted.

"AnHe." She spoke softly to the dark hall before her. She seldom told anyone her true name, but it had come out of her mouth before she realized it. "Sega AnHe." Without another word, she vanished through the door and closed it silently behind her.

Lux pondered, then laughed once. "Song of the Dark river." He muttered to himself. How fitting. 

________

Author's notes:

The culture of these pirates is a mix between Norse and Chinese, so their names are a mixture of the two. For instance, Saga in norse means story or legend, and An hu loosley translates to dark or underground river. In their legends, you must take a ferry down the dark river to the afterlife, and the ferryman of that boat is a bard who only speaks in song and riddles. Thus in the culture of these characters, Sega's name basically means "Bard of the River Styx" and Lux interprets her name as "Song of the Dark River".