Choice To Make

Alric felt a series of light slaps on his face as if someone was trying to wake him up.

He wanted to sleep more... just a little more.

But... He forced his eyes open.

There, he saw that beautiful and cursed face.

A woman with long, black-red hair that fell down to her hips stood in front of him.

Her gold-like hazel eyes stared right through his soul, framed by long eyelashes, reflected light.

She had an hourglass physique and a sharp, thin beautifully carved nose.

She wore a fitted dress that seemed to be made out of dark leather; crimson patterns ran through it, making it seem as though it was shrouded in veins. The dress covered her completely. It had a hood attached to it, its edge crimson. Dark metal buckles and straps held the dress together making her seem like a huntress or a mercenary, beautiful but not someone you would want to mess with.

Alric would have blushed if not for the fact that this woman would probably kill him if he did so. Or so that was what Alric assumed.

But where was he? What was he doing here? All he remembered was the book... then nothing.

As his instincts took over, he tried to stand up and fight back but failed miserably. He was tied up to a chair with chains... yes, chains. Who was he? A titan? He couldn't even break a rope, and chains? And were they connected to the wall? 'What!' Alric shouted silently.

"Hey, kid," as he was getting a panic attack at the fact he was bound by chains of all things, the woman's voice echoed through the room. "I don't have all day, spit it out... where is the book?"

"Book?... what book?" Alric replied hesitantly.

The woman facepalmed out of frustration and let out a tiring sigh, "I am Melissa, and you?"

Alric thought for a moment whether to tell his real name or not, "I am Alric."

Melissa observed him for a while and then said, "It was a relic..."

Alric almost choked on his own saliva, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

"Wait... what!?" He shouted in Melissa's face and tried his best not to speak like a finely educated person. He knew a lot about those matters, the relics of the unknown, the Titans. And those things...

"Yes, you heard it right. It was a relic. Perhaps... you did not happen to read it by any chance?" Melissa asked, her voice demanding the answer.

Alric panicked; he was barely able to not wet himself. "Aaaa..." he carefully thought about what he would say next. "kinda did happen to do so." he decided to come clean. Sure, he was a manipulative jerk, but even he can be honest sometimes.

Melissa facepalmed again, but a little harder this time. "I knew it! I should have killed you when I saw you."

"You knew it?" Alric replied

Melissa just stared at him, "No!"

"Oh... okay," Alric muttered.

Melissa let out a tiring sigh. Then she started scratching her head aggressively and let out a muffled scream. "MMMM! I can't even kill you now!"

Alric let out a sigh of relief as he heard that. 'Wait... why am I getting happy? I'm still stuck here,' he thought inwardly.

'Am I forgetting something?' He wondered, 'Wait, wait, wait, I am a relic user now!? I am one of the users!? Why did I even get distracted from that fact!? I just consumed a relic of the unknown!? A nation-level treasure! Even the most powerful kingdoms have only a few hundred of them at most!'

Alric felt strange, as if something was wrong... and indeed, something was definitely wrong. What could be worse than waking up from a good sleep just to find out that you are kidnapped and tied up by chains of all things?

Turns out he was wrong. His situation could definitely get worse than it originally was.

"Join my crew, or die," Melissa gave him two options as he was at war with himself.

Alric stopped thinking about anything else. For most of his life, he used to think death was a blessing... but now, he had tasted freedom. He wanted to live now, to keep living and to be free.

Would he be giving up his freedom if he joined her crew? 'Her crew? Is she the captain? Guess so,' he thought, 'no, no, think about what you will choose,' he told himself.

"3rd option. Get out of here," Alric took the risk.

"I like that, boy. But too bad for you, I'm the boss here." Melissa indirectly declined him.

"Then I just don't have to be here," Alric replied to her.

"Don't act smart, boy," Melissa spoke flusteredly.

"I'm not acting, I am smart." Alric continued to make efforts.

Melissa let out a soft chuckle. "Getting cocky, huh?" she asked him. "Join or die. Join is fine... join or die? die is die is fine too... yk... die? Goodbye, bye-bye." she laughed out loud, her voice mixed with humour and mischief.

Alric cried inwardly, "Join, join, just don't kill me, please... I will join. " Alric decided to give up. He had no other choice. He wanted to live.

"Good boy." Melissa praised as she patted Alric's head.

Alric forced himself to smile but could only let out a strange and questionable smile. 'Where have I gotten myself into?' he asked himself inwardly.

He glanced around the room. It was a small cabin, not too small. The air filled with the smell of salt and fish.

Skulls and crossbones scattered across the cabin. He wondered where they were, this ship, this pirate crew. Who were these people? What were their plans? And was it just him, or there was a literal skeleton hanging on a cross in front of him?

Alric gulped silently.

He remembered the chaos on the ship. The screams and the blood spilled.

He had seen stuff he never wanted to see.

He had seen death, up close and personal. It got him scared, down to his core.

But now, he had a chance. A chance to survive, to maybe even find a way to escape. He had to be strong. He had to be cunning. He had to survive.

He closed his eyes. Focusing on his breathing, trying to calm his pumping heart.

He would not let fear take over him. He would find a way. He would survive. He would escape.

He opened his eyes, meeting Melissa's gold-like hazel eyes.

"You're more interesting than I thought," she said, her voice a low purr. "We'll see how you fare."

Alric forced a confident smile. "We s-shall see," he replied, his voice steady.

He felt that this was just the beginning of a long journey.

He was no longer just Alric Lyra, the past heir to his kingdom, the kingdom he ran away from.

He was something more.

Something… different. And he had a feeling that this was his new beginning.

A new start. A new life.