Chapter 4: The Rescue

The moon was half full as The Shadow closed in on The Deceitful Kraken.

“Remember men, do not fire the canons. We don't know where captive is.” Xavier spoke quietly but made sure everyone heard him. They all nodded.

When The Shadow was next to The Kraken, they let arrows with ropes attached fly across the gap and used them to start attacking the crew. They were swift and silent, surprising the crew of the Kraken, many of its crew jumped off the ship when they realized, they were being attacked, hoping the water would keep them safer then being on board. Xavier’s crew let them go, knowing their leader wouldn’t like them hunting down those who have chosen to escape. Xavier flew across to land in front of the captain of The Kraken. Captain Xavier had his hat pulled low over his eyes, casting his face in shadows. The other captain drew his sword, fear was easily detected, and Xavier smirked grimly.

“Well, well, well, Captain Phillip, here with your own ship.” Xavier spoke slowly and quietly in his deep voice; He had come across Phillip many times on different ships that worked for the Royals. Now he was captain of his own, but still just as bad as ever. “Where are the prisoners?” Captain Xavier asked calmly.

“Do you think I'm afraid of you?” Phillip asked, trying to not let his fear show. Xavier drew his sabre and placed it against the other man's sword.

“You reek of fear. As well you should.” Xavier spoke quietly then flicked his sabre and knocked the sword out of Phillips hand before punching Phillip and knocking him out. If they didn't find what they were looking for, he would need to be alive to be questioned.

Xavier flipped over the balcony landing in the middle of the fight going on, on the deck of the ship.

“Ethyn, with me.” he commanded and went below the decks in search of the captive. Ethyn followed briskly.

“If there are other prisoners get them aboard The Shadow, make sure they get food, water, a wash and some clean clothes, set them up in a room for sleep. Once they have rested, we can then ask them questions, find out where they're from or where they want to go. Try to separate the males from females, get Ying and Yang to help figure out the couples.” Xavier created a torch as they slowly descended into the dark bowels of the ship, cells lined the way, Ethyn broke the locks and asked the captives for patience while they took care of the ships crew. He assured them that they would be safe on The Shadow. The name caused a mix of reactions, some were relieved, and others grew more fearful. Ethyn heated the rooms up with his magic, not causing a fire, just warming the air. As Ethyn checked on the captives Xavier continued down the corridor looking for the spark of light that would belong to The Innocent One. He found him in the last cell curled up in a ball and then he lifted his head and the bright blue eyes met Xavier’s deep green and Xavier lost his breath in surprise. This was his mate.

“Hello young one. I'm Xavier, I'm here to return you to your he- family.” Xavier inwardly cursed himself for that misspoken word, he didn't want The Innocent One to distrust him but, luckily, Dante trusted him anyways and willingly got up and went to him.

“Thank you. My name is Dante. Are you the Captain Xavier, the Rogue of the Sea?” his voice was beautiful, soft and sweet. Xavier smiled and nodded. The crew had stopped fighting and most The Krakens crew were either dead or unconscious, so Xavier was able to escort Dante safely to his ship.

“Welcome aboard The Shadow, you will be safe here. I promise you.” Dante smiled, Xavier felt like a king, that he was able to make Dante smile.

He showed Dante to his room and used his magic to create a bath filled with hot water. Dante grinned and quickly started taking off his clothes. Xavier slammed his eyes shut and had to force his body to calm down before he could concentrate enough to make a sheet hang around the bathtub so he couldn't see anything with. He then sent a message

I'll get them when I can

Xavier hoped that Alyvia would be able to get word to the rest of the herd that at least Dante was safe, even though he was unsure when they would be able to get him home. They weren’t exactly expecting other captives on that ship.

~Earlier ~

As Dante heard the fighting from above, he curled up, unsure of what was going on. He had been told that they would arrive at their destination in a few hours not long before the fighting started. When he heard steps coming into the cell’s hallway, he tried to be invisible. He heard the other doors open and people moving around and a kind voice reassuring the other prisoners that they were safe. He lifted his head when the owner of the voice grew closer and looked into the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen. At that sight, one thought went through his head, ‘home.’

“Hello young one.” The beautiful voice said, “I'm Xavier, I'm here to return you to your he- family.” Dante caught the miss-word and knew that this man was aware of what he was. But Dante trusted him anyways and willingly got up and went to him. He was home, he wasn’t Dante’s family, he wasn’t the forest he ran in with his sisters but this man in front of him was his home and that was all Dante needed to know. He followed his heart.

“Thank you. My name is Dante. Are you the Captain Xavier, the Rogue of the Sea?” he asked. The captain smiled and nodded. He escorted Dante safely to his ship.

“Welcome aboard The Shadow, you will be safe here. I promise you.” Dante smiled, he felt safe just being near Xavier. He followed Xavier to the Captains cabin and looked around the room, he almost missed Xavier conjuring up a bath and he forgot about modesty as he took off his clothes. With a moan of happiness Dante slipped into the warm water and slowly relaxed, enjoying being surrounded by water. After about 10 minutes Dante felt himself being washed and opened his eyes to look directly into Xavier's.

“Thank you. I'm really glad you came when you did, they said I was going to go to the person who bought me today. I was so terrified something bad was going to happen to me.”

Xavier cupped Dante's cheek.

“I will never let anyone hurt you. I will always protect you and if you ever get lost or stolen again, I will always find you.” Dante smiled at Xavier's words, he trusted him completely, although he didn't fully understand why. Just as he was about to reply there was a knock on the door. Xavier handed Dante the washcloth he was using. He gave Dante a kiss on the forehead. Dante smiled happy at that little sign of affection. Xavier opened the door and looked expectantly at Ethyn.

“I asked not to be disturbed.”

“I know sir, but it's one of the prisoners we rescued, he's become violent.” Ethyn replied. Xavier reassured Dante that he would be back soon and was welcome to anything in the room and that no one would come in except him. Dante nodded in agreement and continued his bath. The water grew cold, so Dante left the bath and found a towel and dried himself off and then slipped on a nearby robe. He wandered over to the bookshelf it had glass doors so he could read all the titles, he was surprised to see a few written in dragon, as that had been the first language he was taught to read in, he grabbed a book and lay down on the bed.