Words: Shipwreck, Treasure
Prompt: Island 33 wasn't Forbidden, but no one really talked about it.

The sun was hanging high in the sky warming the world resting beneath it. A few wispy clouds swam through the blue of the skies above, giving little shade or reprieve from the heat of the golden sun. Despite the warmth blanketing the land, the sandy beaches lay empty, barren of anyone who would enjoy their beautiful views. That was, all but one woman who was currently standing on the water's edge, staring out over the horizon. 

Magika Reads was her name, a well known pirate captain. However, due to being a woman she always seemed to get some form of grief from her fellow captains. 

Her emerald green eyes had locked onto an island that sat not too far off shore. An island, though small, was shrouded in complete mystery. An island that the people never talked about, yet stated that it was open to anyone who was brave enough to venture to it. To Magika, it sounded as if the people of the town were frightened of it, yet, they refused to deem it forbidden to venture upon. It had peaked the interest of the fiery red headed captain, making her wonder why people were so afraid to talk about it. What treasures did the little island hold? An island that was simply referred to as: 

Island 33.

The reason Magika was so baffled and curious over Island 33 was due to the fact it was a single rock. A rock that jutted out of the emerald blue waters, a pirates ship sitting shipwrecked upon the top of the rock. Green moss and grass of some sorts had covered both rock and ship. No animal life seemed to exist on or around the island itself, aside from the random seagull that would fly overhead, opting to find some other location to land in. 

Magika shifted her stance in the sand, her boots making yet another impression beneath her feet. If it wasn't forbidden, who was going to stop her from swimming out to the island? It wasn't too far off from shore and animals tended to stay away from it. She could be in and out before nightfall, her crew nor the people in town would never know she was even gone. 

With that very thought whipping through her mind, Magika took off her hat and tossed it onto the sand. She secured the saber that rested upon her hip and let out a heavy breath. She carefully took her first step forward, the water washing up over her boots, urging her forwards further into it's currents. Each step raised the water level, her steps becoming slower and more difficult against the dense ocean waves. They threatened to push her down, swallow her within the dark depths of the emerald waters. 

Then, without warning, she fell beneath the waters and disappeared into the deep depths.

Seconds ticked by and Magika had yet to resurface. The waters had stilled and the nearby animals had silenced, almost as if waiting for something to happen. Thirty seconds, a minute, a minute and a half all passed by before the female captain's head finally broke the surface of the water. A loud gasp escaping Magika as she gulped in whatever air she could to refill her lungs. Her arms reached as she clawed at the calm waters, kicking and pushing her way towards the small island without stopping, without anymore mishaps. A wrong step off the shelf was nothing she couldn't handle and recover easily from. 

Magika wasn't certain how long she had been swimming for, but the moment her hand touched the rock that made up the island she pulled herself up and scrambled to a higher spot. Breathing heavily, her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, she could have swore the temperature had dropped. The air felt colder, smelled saltier, seemed dimmer than when she was standing upon the shore. she hadn't swam that far, at least not that she was aware of. 

Her green orbs turned their attention to the shore, it looked darker, more shadowy than when she had left it. 

"A storm?" 

She wouldn't have put it past the sea, she was a cruel mistress and would throw anything at you. However, she also highly doubted that was the case, especially when it had been such a beautiful sunny day when she swam out. Not a storm cloud in sight. This brought her attention to the other side, the side in which the shipwreck now sat. The massive structure looking far larger and more ominous than what it had from a distance. 

Not wanting to waste anymore time sitting around, wasting what daylight she had remaining, Magika stood and moved towards the middle of the ship. It was lower there, easier to climb onto the upper deck. 

Magika carefully hoisted herself up onto the ship, surprised by how well it had held up over the past years. It appeared as if the entirety of the ship had been encased in a calcium hardened shell, preserving it upon it's final resting place. The only thing that seemed to be missing were the sails. They were probably blown away at some point after it had crashed. Eaten away by the salt, slowly dissolved by the sea that now surround her on every side. 

Her steps were slow, carefully placed so she didn't fall through the floor. With each step, Magika contemplated where to look around first. She didn't want to spend too much time on the ship, afraid it would collapse with one wrong move. One wrong step would send her toppling into the hold. Sure, she wanted to go below deck, but that was not the way she wanted to do so. Since she was already topside, Magika figured that she would start by checking out the captain's cabin. There had to be something inside that could tell her who the captain was and what had caused such a large vessel to become shipwrecked in the first place. 

If it hadn't turned to dust with the years it's sat there. 

Reaching for the handle of the door once she reached the cabin, Magika was forced to stop when an eerie creaking could be heard behind her. The sound was followed by a cracking thud that had her jumping and spinning around quickly. Her heart crashed around in her chest, eyes darting around the deck of the ship while she searched for any signs of what had made the noise seconds prior. 

A falling mast? A crumbling shroud? A railing falling into the sea? However, it was when her eyes landed upon the hatch did a curiousness suddenly wash over her. 

"Hello!?" 

She called out, her hand resting upon her saber while she took a couple of wary steps forward. She was forced to stop, her heart nearly giving out when the sight of a pair or baby blue orbs peered at her from over the hatch's rim. She had to stay calm, not wanting to get in a skirmish with anyone while her crew was on shore. So, she opted for the more friendly approach, not to seem to threatening to whoever was actually there. 

"Hello, I'm Captain Reads. Why don't you come out and we can talk." 

She flashed a small smile, but it slowly vanished as the thing rose a little higher from it's hiding place. It wasn't a thing at all, in fact, it appeared to be human. A young human girl at that. 

The girl's hair was as white as snow and her eyes as bright and blue as the sea itself. Her skin was pale, delicate looking, almost as if the girl herself had been molded from smooth porcelain. Her upper body was adorned with many different shells of all shapes and sizes and barnacles, covering her as one would with a typical shirt. She was beyond beautiful, stunning even. She had taken her breath away completely just by being in her presence. 

Magika took a step forward, hesitant though it may be, and let her hand drop from her saber. 

"Do you have a name?" 

The girl at the hatch appeared to be contemplating what she had asked. Processing her words to come up with the answer that she sought. When the girl's eyes shot back up to meet with Magika's, she stopped walking and once more waited to see what the young woman would do or say. 

"Viorica. My name. . . is Viorica."

Her name sounded as heavenly as her voice did. Like angels singing in a choir, Magika was certain she could listen to the girl speak forever. Silently she begged for her, Viorica, to speak once more. That was all, it was the only she felt she would ever need. 

"Viorica, what are you doing out here?" 

"Protecting." 

"Protecting? The ship?" 

When Viorica offered a slow shake of her head as an answer, sudden confusion washed over her. Why would a young woman be protecting a shipwreck? There was no crew, not that the crew would have needed protecting. Why protect the ship, unless. . . unless there was something upon the ship itself that was in dire need of protecting. 

"What is on this ship that needs protecting?" 

The white haired girl seemed to contemplate that very question, coming off as hesitant. 

Slowly, Viorica rested a delicate hand upon her chest. Her beautiful blue eyes never leaving Magika's emerald green ones. She was very much confused by the gesture that the white haired girl was presenting her with. 

"Yourself?" 

Shaking her head once more, Viorica reached for something that was hanging around her neck. Magika wondered how she  could have missed such a thing. 

Held delicately between Viorica's fingers was a teardrop shaped blue crystal. A golden intricately designed wire frame encased a good portion of the pointed part of the gem. A golden chain hanging it gently around her neck. Magika was just as stunned by the sapphire's beauty as she was Viorica's. 

"Oh my." 

Her words came out softly and breathy. Magika took a couple of quick steps forward to get a closer look, however, she hadn't meant to scare the girl away. 

The gasp that escaped Viorica's lips before she disappeared back into the hold had started Magika ever so slightly. So much so, she ran to the hatch and dropped down to her knees, gazing down inside the square hole that rested in the center of the deck. However, she was met with a horrifying discovery: 

The hold was filled with water all the way to the top. 

"Viorica!" 

She called, a sudden panic filling Magika when the girl never resurfaced. With a last minute thought, she threw caution to the wind and stood up. Climbing onto the edge of the hatch she stared down into the dark waters that filled it, sighing heavily at what she was about to do. This may very well be the most stupid thing she had ever done, but she hadn't gotten to where she was by being cautious. 

As her final thought drifted from her mind, Magika jumped into the flooded hold of the shipwreck. Any light that had allowed her to see vanished with the water, darkness enveloping the captain as she looked around, turning this way and that so she could get a better view. However, darkness limited her sigh and the way the salt water burned her eyes made it that much more difficult. Regardless, she kicked her feet and swam further in to search for the white haired beauty who had. . . she wasn't sure if fallen in or dove in was the correct statement to make. Either way, she needed to make sure Viorica was alright. 

Only a couple minutes had gone by, her lungs beginning to burn from her breath for too long. She needed to breath, free the air and suck in more. She knew if she did that she would drown herself and never make it back to her crew. Then again, she would be forced to do so anyways if she stayed where she was in the water. The thought had a sudden panic rising within her as she frantically looked around for the hatch's location, but the darkness was winning out. The pain her lungs becoming rather unbearable. 

Involuntarily, Magika's lips parted letting the air out, but also the water in. Bubbles rose in front of her face, the air that just escaped her lungs mocking her as they rose to the surface and popped. She attempted to swim somewhere, anywhere that would allow her to breath. However, she stopped when her attention was caught by a bright glowing blue light. Behind that light she saw strands of white and a silvery fish tail swaying behind it. Everything only becoming clearer as the light got closer and so did the creature. 

Viorica's form was coming into view stunning Magika once more. 

A smile was upon the woman's face, beautiful and just as stunning as ever. However, it was the fish tail and fins that Viorica had that shocked her the most. She must have been seeing things, her brain too oxygen deprived to make sense of what was absolutely happening. At least she could die with Viorica's angelic face being the last thing she saw. She could definitely die happy, even if it was one of the more painful ways to go. 

Viorica's delicate hands cupped her cheeks gently, her sweet smile never leaving her precious lips. 

"You're not going to die. You must live, for your life is far from over." 

The white haired angel's lips never moved as she spoke, a good indication it was just an echo within her mind. 

"Now sleep, dear Captain Reads." 

Viorica's hands never left her face while she moved ever closer to her. Her slowing heart hammered in her chest, even more so when their lips were mere inches from one another. 

"Sleep. . ." 

Murmured from Viorica's lips, she moved forward and closed the gap that lingered between them. Their lips met in the most delicate and pure kisses that Magika had ever experienced. Viorica's lips were soft and gentle, the kiss delicate as new life seemed to be breathed into her. However, she was unable to enjoy much of the sensual kiss as her eyes drifted shut and she became a slave to the darkness once more. 

"Ca. . . tain. . ." 

Someone shook her, calling for her at the same exact time. 

"Captain! Captain Reads!" 

A gasp escaped from Magika as water was dumped upon her already wet form. She bolted upright, eyes flying open and ready to attack anyone meaning her harm. She was forced to her feet before she could grasp what was going on, the man that had been calling out to her the one to do so. A dazed and confused look had planted itself upon her face, eyes glancing around to make sense as to where she was. Surprisingly, she was back upon the beach right where she had been before swimming out to the island. 

"Sorry 'bout that Cap'n, but ye weren't waken up." 

Her eyes shifted to a man about her height, graying beard and balding. He genuinely looked worried, but she knew he despised being under the command of a woman. Many pirates did, but there were those few good ones that would follow her to Davy Jones Locker if that were to ever be in their future. 

"No, it's fine. I must have fallen asleep under the sun." 

"Must have, you must have gone on quite the swim as well. You were drenched when we found ya." 

"Yeah, it was some swim for sure." 

A chuckle escaped from Magika, but it died down as she remembered her trip to Island 33. Was it all a dream? Was Viorica nothing more than a figment of her imagination? If so, why did her lips still tingle with the remnants of her kiss? She could still feel her hands upon her cheeks, their lips pressed gently together. The reminder caused her cheeks to flush and her heart to skip all of a sudden. 

"Hm, find yourself a bit of treasure while you were out?" 

The man's voice snapped her from her thoughts, forcing her to look down at whatever it was he was pointing at. Around her neck was the teardrop gem Viorica wore around her own neck. Magika slowly reached up, taking the jewel between her fingers carefully. So, it wasn't a dream after all, it had really happened. Viorica was real and out there somewhere, the beautiful angel who had stolen a kiss from her. 

"Yeah, I guess I did." 

With a smile upon her lips, Magika raised her eyes and looked back out over the emerald waters. She may have had the necklace, but Viorica was still out there somewhere. She had yet to gain the treasure she so desired and one day, she would find her.