lux | light

Baekhyun landed gracefully on the edge of the ship of the Lux Pirates and descended onto the deck. Three cannons fired cannonballs and accurately landed a hit on Chanyeol’s ship. No major harm was done to the ship, however majority of Chanyeol’s cannons had been destroyed in the process.

Suho must have sent him to save me! Cirrus cheered in her mind as she raised her head to look at her saviour. Through fluttering lids, she managed to take a glimpse of a black flag on the tallest pillar of the ship she was currently on. When she noted the white insignia of an 8-pointed star, all hope remaining in her was crushed.

Another pirate ship? Cirrus asked herself and took one last look at Baekhyun.

Then, an ever so familiar darkness enveloped her vision and consciousness.

.::.        .::.        .::.

When Cirrus awoke, she was greeted by the dripping of water droplets against her left cheek. The other side of her face was planted against the cold, wooden ground. She rose slowly, feeling extremely sore in the back.

Where am I now? Cirrus wondered as she tried to rub the sleep away from her eyes. When she looked in front of her, she saw several vertical bars that kept her caged within a small cell. She tried to let out a cry, but no sound came out. When she looked around her cell, she saw a glass of water and a slice of bread on a plate that had been placed next to her body.

Without thinking twice, Cirrus grabbed the glass and chugged the water down. The cool, refreshing taste of the drink hydrated her parched throat.

“Where am I?” she muttered to herself. The princess tried to recall all the events that had happened to her in the past day. She had been on her way back to the palace when she was abducted by the Ignis Pirates. Then, a young man with raven black hair had freed her from the Ignis Pirates, and brought her to another pirate ship.

What did Captain Ignis call him again? Cirrus tried to jog her memory.

As she was lost in thought, a door in the ceiling opened and the room was enveloped in moonlight. A figure descended down the steps and walked towards Cirrus’s cell. He stopped a metre away from her and stared her down. The same man who had taken her out of Chanyeol’s grasp was standing in front of her. His messy, black hair was now neatly combed into place and his rags had been replaced by a luxurious black jacket. His smirk however, remained the same.

Oh yeah, Baekhyun is his name.

He squatted down to meet her eyes, wearing his signature sinister grin. He twirled a key – the key to her cell, in his right hand. “You have two choices, Miss. Death, or death,” he spoke in a condescending tone.

“Excuse me?” Cirrus asked, flabbergasted but trying to hide the fear that was itching to leave .

“Either die by my hands now, or push it off to a later date. Pick your poison.”

“I, I don’t understand,” Cirrus managed to say with a stutter.

“True, where are my manners?” he asked rhetorically and stopped twirling the key. “I know all about you, princess, but I’m a stranger to you. Introductions are due, I believe. My name is Baekhyun Lux. No doubt you’ve seen my devilishly handsome face on the front of wanted posters. I’m captain of the Lux Pirates. Now, about your choice of poison. How would you like to die, princess?”

“You have a bounty of 2 million dollars,” Cirrus wondered aloud. Even in the palace, she had heard news of a notorious group of pirates led by Captain Lux. They raided villages and left the scene as quickly as they had invaded it. He had been a target of the Marines for several years, but not once had he been caught by the officials.

“Flattery will get you no where, princess. I’m only at 1.5 million, but maybe someday,” he chuckled and waved a finger at her. “Now, stop stalling.”

“I’m not stalling,” she gulped.

“That’s what they all say,” Baekhyun said as he unsheathed his rapier and pointed it above her head.

“This is about the map written in Coelum, isn’t it?” she sputtered out as she dug her fingernails into the sides of her legs.

“Ah, so you are smart,” Baekhyun replied and lowered his sword. “I believe Chanyeol has shown the map to you before, correct? There are sentences written in the dead language, and I need translations. So, you have two choices. If you refuse to cooperate, I will feed your corpse to the sharks. If you choose to obey me, then I will let you live until I claim the treasure and become King of Pirates.”

“I refuse to help you,” Cirrus declared. Her fluency in Coelum was the pride and joy of the Kingdom of Pileum, and she was not about to use it to help a lowly pirate.

“Would you like to lock in your answer for a million dollars?” he asked with a smirk and brought the tip of the rapier to her neck. He dragged the sword gently across her delicate skin, producing a small cut.

“You wouldn’t kill me. Not yet.” Cirrus stared at Baekhyun with certainty. “Not when you need me to translate the ancient text.”

All signs of amusement left the captain’s face. The two stared at each other in silence for some moments until Baekhyun sighed and withdrew his sword. “You are very smart indeed,” Baekhyun mumbled. He stood up and dangled the key in front of her. “But remember who is in charge here.”

He then turned around and walked up the stairs. The doors to the ceiling closed with a loud “thud” and Cirrus made out the fading sound of footsteps. When she was sure that she was alone, the princess sat herself against the wooden wall and hugged her knees. The clothes she had borrowed from Rose were tattered and dirty. She suddenly longed to be in her gowns, to be back in the palace and with her fiancé.

As hot tears streamed down her face and onto her knees, Cirrus envisioned the faces of all of her loved ones. The thought that she might never see them again caused her to sob harder, and her mind was soon filled with thoughts of regret. If I had known I would end up here, I’d much rather stay locked up in the palace for the rest of my life.

.::.        .::.        .::.

Cumulus had stayed in the library all day, waiting for his sister. He looked up at the moon, and silently cursed. “That maid probably forgot to tell Cirrus to meet me here,” he shook his head and sighed. “But I suppose who’s the fool here? Her for forgetting to tell my sister, or me for having waited all day for her arrival?”

The crown prince strode out of the library and made his way to Cirrus’s chambers. Although the moon was out, he knew that his book-loving sister was bound to be up reading. He knocked on her bedroom doors a couple of times. When there was no response, he knocked harder.

An unsettling feeling began to well up within Cumulus. He hated to intrude, but his instincts told him that something wasn’t right. He turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The room was dark, and Cirrus wasn’t at her bed.

She wasn’t anywhere.

Cumulus flung the door open and ran into the room. He searched through her bed, her closet, and her bathroom. His sister was no where to be found. He had been in the library all day and she hadn’t passed by once. The unsettling feeling Cumulus felt before grew ten fold, and the prince ran out of her room. The only other place he could think of where she might be was with Suho.

Yes, of course! Her beloved fiancé has just returned from sea. Of course she’d be spending time with him, Cumulus convinced himself. He ran towards the room that Suho stayed in whenever he visited the palace. He hurriedly knocked on the doors and after a few seconds, the prince was greeted with a warm smile.

“Prince Cumulus, how may I help you?” asked Suho.

“Is Cirrus with you?” Cumulus asked, trying to mask the fear welling up within him. “She is, right?”

“I’m sorry your highness, but I haven’t seen Cirrus since yesterday. I went to visit her in the evening, but a maid told me she was in a meeting with King Solis,” Suho replied.

“Come now, Suho, there’s no need to lie to me. I know Cirrus is in your room,” Cumulus chuckled amusedly.

“No your highness, she is not. Why would I lie to you?”

“Because!” Cumulus exclaimed, finally revealing the terror in his eyes. “Where else would she be if she’s not in the library or in her own room?!”

“I’m not following…” Suho asked, his tone and expression losing all traces of warmth.

“Damn it! Right under my nose too! Sound the alarms and inform everyone!” Cumulus roared, then turned to meet Suho’s eyes. “Princess Cirrus is missing!”

A/N: Ooooouuuuuu now people know she's missing! Sorry for the short chapter, guys (literally 1500 words). The chapters will get longer once the plot starts to pick up, but we first gotta set the stage for our marvelous Baekhyun, right? Stay tuned! Do leave a comment (I absolutely love reading them <3), and subscribe/upvote!

\\ xoxo