Cursed Seas Pt. 01: The Wishing Stone

Wind whistled as Captain Lash twisted around inhumanly and the whip crashed into Shella's side. Pain blossomed up Shella's ribs as the dense leather whip smashed into bone and tender gills underneath her shirt. She tumbled to the deck and rolled almost until the edge.

"You! Bitch!" Shella spat, coughing as she stood up. Already, her side tingled and healed. "I'm gonna get Lily back, you ass, and there ain't nothin' you or Davy Jones can do to stop me!"

The crew recoiled as Shella spat out that name, her words brimming with vitriol. Captain Lash made the first movements, her leather cord whipping towards Shella like a tentacle. With a frenetic jerk, Shella jumped back and off the side of the Harpy.

She hadn't meant for it to go this way! As the salty ocean water crashed into Shella's ears, all she could hear was blood pumping and her own desires. It should've been that the Stone of Wishing would've fixed everything! Now Shella was deserting the damned crew of the Harpy, all because a stupid wishing rock had a single wish left in it!

Fury filled her muscles as Shella turned and kicked away from the Harpy. Water flowed through her gills and tugged at her open shirt as she swam through the water as quick as a shark. Well, she'd get that wish, and Lily would come back and everything would be Just. Fine.

By the time her feet broke out of the white surf and onto the sandy beaches, a good portion of the Harpy's crew were rowing their way towards the island. Shading her eyes to get a good look at them, Shella tried to count who was making landfall. No, they were just too far away! It was a guarantee that Captain Lash was with them, though, and probably some nice, strong women to tie Shella down.

Acid fueled Shella's veins as she turned and stalked through the jungle. To hell with them! Shella had lived for years with this body! Those women could adapt, if they realized that Davy Jones was a sham with no hold of hope over them.

Fingers idly brushed past the dagger jammed into Shella's belt. She still had it. She didn't need it, not as long as she got to the wishing stone first. Besides, it was just something for that bastard Davy Jones to use to control her. He'd do everything in his power to prevent Shella from getting Lily back, especially if it meant adding more souls to his bloated collection!

Shella jerked the dagger out of her belt and readied to throw it into the jungle. But it was still a weapon, soul-sucking or not. There was no guarantee that she'd make it to the wishing stone alone. She may have to - and Shella shivered as she realized this - she might have to use it against the crew of the Harpy. The dagger flashed down to her belt and slid back in to its sheath.

Fine sand and dirt mingled underneath Shella's bare feet as she began to walk into the jungle. Finger-like fronds of tropical plants drooped down to stroke at her shoulders. Darkness seeped from every nook and cranny of the tropical island, the sun above unheard from the dense undergrowth. It was time to find the Wishing Stone.

And yet, she didn't even know where it was! That made Shella pause. Well, it was unlikely that De La Cruz knew where the Wishing Stone was either on this damned island. She'd have just as good a chance to find it as anyone else. The only solution was to get to the island's highest point, Shella resolved.

The island's jungle was a wild one. Trees and bushes grew however they wanted to wherever they wanted to. Shella had to pick her way through more than a few thick walls of vines as she pressed onwards. Occasionally, her foot would step on a tree branch or, more painfully, a raised stone.

However, here and there was a sign of the island's former nature. A stone block over here, grown with lichen and vines yet still obviously man-made. Over there, a patch of stone bricks broke through the layer of dirt, stubborn in its refusal of the ages. These touches of a former life were alien, but lonely. They were being obliviated by time, something that Shella was probably immune to.

It had to have been a half a day's journey into the island when Shella came upon a clearing. It was broad and almost perfectly circular. Emerald trees wavered on the edges, and golden sunlight cascaded down on it. Stone bricks broke from the dirt across the center, scattered with dead leaves and pebbles. In the center was something like a fountain.

It was circular, with a tall shaped pillar in the center flanked by playful twists of stone that bled water from holes at their front. As Shella crossed the clearing to the fountain, she realized what exactly she was looking at. The tall pillar had been that of a man once. He had stood proud in victory, but now his face melted by the eons into mush and his arms corroded off by the weather. His companions were once playful dolphins or fish, their bottle-noses erased from existence even as water still burbled forth.

Shella sat down on the fountain's edge. The water rippled from the arc of the dolphin's burbling. Decaying leaves floated on the water's surface, while errant stones had sunken to the bottom of the fountain. Something glinted at the bottom of the fountain. Shella reached inside, the refreshingly cool water going up to her shoulder as she reached for the object. Fingers closed around a small disk, and Shella pulled a coin out from the fountain.

It was about the same size as the circle made by closing the thumb and pointer finger, and made out of silver. On one side, a noble bearded face was engraved accompanied by unknown words. The other side was present with a dolphin jumping over a fishing spear. The remnants of a lost world.

Shella flipped the coin back into the fountain. It plunked as it crashed into the water's surface as the fountain still burbled on. Shella was no expert, but shouldn't this fountain have stopped working long ago? Perhaps someone had wished for it to always spill forth its clean waters. Who'd spend a wish on that? A little girl, or a king?

Besides, either way, this kingdom was long gone. Someday, this fountain would just fall apart. The trees would claim the clearing, the roots would break into the fountain's basin, and thirsty roots would drink deeply of the fountain's source. Purposeful stone would become nothing but rock, carvings washed away like sand, and the monuments of the age lost with it.

Shella would still be alive when that happened.

She would be alone.

But not if she brought Lily back.

Shella stood up and continued further into the jungle.

* * *

Eventually, Shella had to admit that she was thoroughly lost. She'd gone up hills and down them, over twists and turns, and couldn't see a damned thing through the canopy. Hopefully, she was going towards the center of the island. That'd be where the Wishing Stone was, she hoped.

Unfortunately, Shella had turned into a dead end. Leaf-choked walls rose over 20 feet on three sides, with plants and bushes coating the floor. Sunlight pierced down from above, illuminating the dead end. She couldn't see what was over the edges of the walls. It was just a mass of verdancy.

Scowling, Shella turned around. There was going to be another path. She just had to find it. She froze when she heard brush snapping above. Shella whirled her head towards the dead-end, looking for whatever made that noise. She silently drew the dagger from her belt.

"You sure we're going the right way?" A woman said from above the walls. Shella couldn't pin the voice on anybody specific, but it had to be somebody from the Harpy. She stood very still, cloaked in the shadows of the leaves.

"Of course, I'm sure! De la Cruz had hints written out in his journal!" another woman spat out. That slightly hollow jangling was definitely Jenny Ivory.

"Admit it! We're lost! We've been going in circles for hours!" Another woman cried out.

"We're not going in circles!" Jenny said.

"Told you we should've followed Shella's trail," said yet another woman.

"Oh, like that bitch has any idea of what she's doing!" Jenny snapped.

"She's had a tough time of it, okay?" another woman said, her voice very familiar. It was Gwen! Interesting that they'd bring her along. Undoubtedly, they were thinking that Gwen could talk Shella down or get her to lower her guard.

"So, you'd side with her, then? She was using you like a whore, you moron!" Jenny screeched.

A whip crack rang through the forest. "Shut up," came the authoritarian voice of Captain Lash. "We'll either find Shella or the Wishing Stone. Either way, it will all turn out well, just as long as you all stop arguing with each other! She's alone and has no way to know where the Wishing Stone is. It's only a matter of time."

Yeah, it was only a matter of time, and Shella was wasting it. She should get the hell out of there before one of them looked over the edge and spotted her.

"Well, I for one would like to find Shella," Gwen said as the leaves from above rustled. "I don't want you taking it out on her hide. She had no idea that the Wishing Stone would be good for only one wish and she's been through a loaaAHH!" Gwen suddenly broke out of a bush from above and toppled into the dead-end. She landed with a crunch among the plants face-down.

Shella jerked towards Gwen's fallen form as a few cruel laughs rang out from above. "Gwen? Gwen!" Captain Lash asked. Leaves rustled and branches cracked and shook. Shella shrank back behind a tree. The last thing she wanted was to be spotted.

Lash appeared over the edge and looked down grimly. Jenny Ivory and another grim woman appeared behind her and followed her gaze. They stood staring until the grim woman asked, "Is she dead? Should we go down and fetch her?"

"We shouldn't," Jenny Ivory said, "She's weighing us down with that dress and attitude of hers. Besides, if she so much as catches a glimpse of that bitch, she'll go leaping off into the forest for her, and if we catch Shella, she'll be pleading for us to go easy. Why did you bring her along anyways?"

Captain Lash stood thoughtfully before saying, "In case we needed her." She turned around and walked through the underbrush.

"Wait, you are leaving her there?" the grim woman asked.

"It'd take to long to go and fetch her. If she's broken anything, she's dead weight. If she's dead, we'd have to bury her. Besides, I don't want her begging at my feet to spare Shella," Captain Lash answered.

"That's what I like to hear," Jenny said quietly before her and the grim woman followed Captain Lash. The landing party from the Harpy resumed crashing through the forest's undergrowth, parading away from the dead-end.

Shella waited until she couldn't hear them any more before she stepped out from behind the tree and slowly moved towards Gwen's crumpled body. She still held her dagger.

Gwen groaned abruptly and sorely tried to get up. She looked at Shella and tumbled back, falling on her ass and scrabbling to get away. Her face was even paler than usual.

Shella tilted her head, standing stock still. Shadows and darkness covered her like a cloak, and her clothes were rumpled and dirty.

"Sh-shella?" Gwen stammered out.

Shella walked forward out of the forest's darkness into the sunlight. Gwen trembled and weakly attempted to crawl back before stopping. When Shella got to Gwen, she knelt down and asked, "Ye all righ'?"

"I-I think so? Where's Captain Lash and the others?" Gwen asked.

"They left ya. Figured ye were more trouble than ye're worth," Shella replied.

Gwen brought a hand up to her mouth. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she didn't know what to do. Shella offered her a hand. She took it, and Shella pulled her up. When Gwen got to her feet she winced and collapsed against Shella. "Ah! My leg!" she cried.

"C'mon, sit down 'n let's have a look a' that," Shella commanded. She slid the dagger back into her belt and helped Gwen sit down. "Where's it at?"

"Right leg," Gwen said.

Shella began feeling Gwen's leg. Gwen winced when Shella put her fingers to Gwen's ankle. "Wha's it feel like?"

"Like it hurts. Did I break anything?" Gwen asked.

"You're asking me? I heal from anythin'," Shella replied, holding Gwen's foot in her hand. It wasn't at any particularly weird angles. She didn't think it was broken.

"Yeah, not all of us are as lucky as you," Gwen said sadly.

"Depends on wha' ye think as luck," Shella said. "Anythin' else?"

Gwen shook her head.

"Lean on me, then. I don' wanna stand aroun' all day while they go an' get that wish," Shella said, pulling Gwen up.

"About that," Gwen said as she put an arm around Shella's shoulders for support. "Have you thought about giving up on it?"

Shella grimaced. "No way. I ain't doin' that t' her. I put her in tha' god-damned mess, 'n I'm gonna get her out of it."

They gingerly took a step forward. Gwen gasped as her foot jostled against the ground and pulled it up. From there, they began to hobble out of the clearing, making slow, slow progress.

* * *

What golden light made it through the dark green leaves turned orange, turned to red, and was turning purple as Shella and Gwen stumbled through the forest. They found a small old building, its stone sides choked with scruffy greenery and a tree growing atop its roof. The window was a rugged hole, and the empty doorway led into a dark square room. As they set foot into it, Gwen's ghostly skin began to glow a pale foamy green, like an angel in the dark.

Shella gently let Gwen down against the wall, her own strange body lit up by the foam-green light. Their walk had been mostly in silence. "Ye all righ'?" Shella asked.

Gwen rubbed her ankle. "Getting better. I can't do whatever it is that you do, but I heal faster and better than I ever would've as a human," she said.

Shella peered outside. Nothing but trees and flowers and rocks, all growing on lumps which may have been other buildings long ago, and it was nearly impossible to tell anything apart. The purple light was fading as the sun gave its last gasps.

"Can I ask you something?" Gwen asked, "Who exactly is Lily?"

A remorseful grin overtook Shella's face. "Never did tell ye much about her, did I? Well, nobody asked 'bout each other's past on th' Harpy. Too many o' us been hurt bad."

Shella sat down next to Gwen, foam green lightning up her body and clothes. "She was... somebody I met a long time ago. Some-thin', really. I can't recall when we first met. There wuz a time in me life where I don't recall a lotta things. I was nothin' more than an animal then."

"Her full name's the Sea Lilith. She's th' strangest ship ye'd ever seen. She moved by herself, thought fer herself. Dunno why. Maybe tha' ol' tale 'bout ships bein' alive was true, or maybe God just said so. Eventually, she started bein' human. Real rough at firs', like you could see the parts o' th' ship in her, but she got it all worked out. It took me forever t' figure out why she wuz doin' it."

"O' course, Lily weren't actually figurin' all this out in th' world we was in. Ye'll never believe me on this, but it was kinda this piecemeal world. We was in an ocean, but I saw strange thin', like glowin' towers n' cliffs riddled wi' windows. It weren't our world, Gwen. It was somethin' else."

"There weren't no hunger nor thirst, n' makin' kids was impossible. 'Course, that's all stuff that my body does, but I never knew then 'cause it applied t' everybody there. No maladies or injuries neither. A perfect paradise," Shella said, leaning back.

Gwen was staring at her awestruck. "This place really exists?" she asked.

"Don't feel like it now, though," Shella replied, rubbing her eyes.

"What was there to do?" Gwen asked.

"Heh, what there is always t'do. Go n' fuck someone," Shella said with a brief grin before returning to melancholy. "Anywho, it was just person after person after person. Not all women, jes' so ye know, jes' mostly women. N' it took me forever to notice Lily. Oh, god, I feel like an idiot." Shell covered her weary eyes with her palms, as if that'd help.

"So what happened? What changed?" Gwen asked.

"I got out. I was just realizin' about Lily an' how much she cared for me, since whenever it was that we first met. I coulda stayed. Hell, I shoulda stayed an' waited until we both coulda gotten out, or figured out how we could get out t'gether. But that world, Gwen, it di'int feel real! Ye could do whatever ya wanted to, 'n nobody'd disagree wi' ya. Nobody'd fight ya, nobody'd stop ya. It weren't life."

"It sounds pretty good to me," Gwen said, slumping against the wall. She was almost eerie, being the only source of light in the room.

"It was a trap, n' Lily's still stuck in it. I need that wish ta get her out of there," Shella said.

"You think that would work?" Gwen asked. Shella nodded.

"And you did say she was a boat, right?" Gwen asked again. Shella nodded. Gwen looked over at Shella and shook her head stealthily.

"I'm here for you, you know. Right here, right now, we're here," Gwen said, rolling towards Shella. Her glowing skirt was hiking itself up slowly. "And I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish, but you're making it worse for yourself. Captain Lash is really mad at you, Shella. Not the maddest I've ever seen her get, but if you steal that wish out from underneath her, she'll find every way to make your life a living hell."

Gwen was resting against Shella, her breasts pushing against Shella's arm. Nice, warm, very distracting. "I can survive wha' ever she throws a' me," Shella said.

"Please, reconsider. For my sake?" Gwen asked. She hooked a finger over the leaf-like covering on her breast and slowly teased it back. The barest glimpse of a faint pink circle, then peeling back to reveal a soft pink nub that looked perfect for sucking.

Shella shook her head. She was getting distracted and tired. She said, "I don' need this right now, Gwen. I jes need -"

Gwen interrupted her by taking her head in Gwen's hands and delivering a kiss. It was long and, though it began clumsily, Shella found herself drifting into its sweet embrace. Soft lips on soft lips, mingling. Yeah, perhaps she could indulge a little bit.

A hand came to Shella's breast, feeling it up through the cloth. She could feel the heat concentrate around the nipple, stiffening it, and the heat ignite in her core. Fingers encompassed tender flesh, squeezing and rubbing through her shirt.

They broke the kiss with a breathy gasp. Gwen's eyes were half-lidded, her eyelashes like the feathery antennae of a moth. She glowed like moonlight, a special siren of the deep. Shella's loins were hot and wanting because of her. Why shouldn't she indulge?

Because of Lily, that was why. Was this cheating, to know that Shella could free Lily yet dallied with another woman? No, it was just cruel. Lily never protested before, sometimes even watching herself. But time was being wasted. "We shouldn't," Shella protested.

"But we should, we are," Gwen said between airy kisses. Her dress had lifted to reveal the smooth skin of her thighs. Desire ran down her upper thighs. Gwen hungered for this.

Gwen tugged Shella's shirt open, baring the large, full breasts beneath. Shella hadn't even realized that her dark nipples stood erect. They were charged with tenderness, and flashes of pleasure struck Shella's mind as Gwen's hands slide around her bosom.

"You're so beautiful, so perfect!" Gwen whispered before she bent low. Her pinkish tongue slid against Shella's dark bronze skin, leaving a trail of sweet warmth behind it. As she came to Shella's aroused nipple, her lips closed on it, sucked it, pulled up just a little, and let it go. It was a dance of pure delight in Shella's body.