Scarlett – or better known as Scarlett the Firestorm – had a reputation as one of the most feared pirate captains in the vast Sea of the Weeping Dead. She was a ruthless woman who took what she wanted and she was so good at using a sword that it was almost impossible to outdo her; if she was pointing at you with her blade, you would undoubtedly die. She had distinguishable blazing red hair – hence the name Firestorm, and some said that her hair was so red because of all the blood she had spilled. The crew of her ship were said to be one of the cruelest men there was and it was rumored that they were actually unfortunate men possessed by devils. Being extremely loyal to Scarlett, they would rob and kill and terrorize the sea under her command. There were so many people who would like to see her dead, but so far she had managed to slip from the death's grasp.

Since she was one of the most feared, there was nothing she was afraid of. And one fine evening she was walking along the dirty streets of the town known as Town of the Damned, a rather famous pirate port that was completely devoid of sunlight, veiled in perpetual darkness – it was such a perfect place for lowlife scum to dwell. No sane person would go in there, if that could be avoided, and the place was bristling with criminals. The streets were unusually crowded that evening, and Scarlett was keeping a low profile as she marched forward, spilling muddy water since the streets were soaked because it had been raining previously that day. All sorts of grunting, laughing and angry voices filled the air as the people were giving life to their dark town. Scarlett didn't care about any of them, she was heading back to the port after meeting an old friend who had informed her some of the latest news around many corners of the world. Ah, the old man Reggie… He just was always up to date.

Scarlett made a quick turn to a narrow alley that was less traveled. She kept going forward in between cold stone walls, the black mud sticking to her boots. She passed a few abandoned barrels, but otherwise she didn't meet anything on this path. It was a nice break from the streets that were filled with drunkards and other fellows that had no patience for anyone or anything; she didn't particularly enjoy being around huge crowds.

Then she heard some commotion as she was getting near a backyard of one of the many taverns this town had. Scarlett slowed her pace a little and peeked around the corner to see what it was about, although she was well aware that drunken fights were happening constantly, all over the town. But what she was about to witness wasn't a stupid quarrel between men who had consumed way too much rum. She saw a group of three men who were harassing a lone woman – a sight that wasn't too uncommon here. Scarlett wasn't the type who would stick her nose into other people's business, but this lady here… She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen with her fair skin and gorgeous black hair and petite physique, the thin veils of her clothes really complimenting her body. If sirens were real, this woman would definitely be one. Scarlett had to interfere; she wouldn't let these pigs lay their disgusting hands on her.

The men had the woman cornered against a heartless stone, looking at her with hungry eyes. Scarlett stomped to them, but the men didn't notice her coming, their focus was entirely on the woman. Once Scarlett was standing next to one of the men, she swung her left arm towards him – her left hand had been replaced by a hook. The deadly metal got struck at the man's neck and Scarlett ripped her hook off of his flesh immediately, tearing open the neck and his blood started to flow to the mud. He was gurgling as his body fell to the ground. The two remaining men barely had time to react to the fall of their comrade when Scarlett had already pulled her sword out and stabbed the next man to his back, the bloody blade sticking out of his chest. Scarlett pulled her weapon out and kicked his back and he dropped to the mud next to the other man. The last man standing had managed to pull out his gun, but wasn't able to shoot Scarlett when she had already pierced his throat with the sword. As her weapon retreated, death descended upon the third man and his body fell to the ground to make company with his fellows. Scarlett wiped the blood from her sword to the clothes of one of the men; she didn't want their dirty body fluids to stain her weapon more than had to. Their bodies would be fed to the pigs, that was the fate the dead tended to suffer in this cursed town if their bodies weren't claimed. And Scarlett had a strong feeling that nobody would miss these rotten bastards.

As Scarlett put her sword back to its sheath, she stepped closer to the unfamiliar woman she had just saved. The woman was looking at her with curious eyes, there wasn't even the tiniest bit of terror in them, and Scarlett noted quickly how gorgeous brown they were. Scarlett put a grin on her face and leaned with her arm against the wall, staring right at the woman's eyes.

“What's your name, hun?” Scarlett asked.

“Aurelia.”

Even her voice was beautiful, she could definitely allure people with it.

“A pretty name for a pretty lady, huh?” Scarlett chuckled a little. “I'm Scarlett. Pleasure to meet you, Aurelia.”

Something seemed to sparkle in Aurelia's eyes and she looked fascinated after Scarlett had introduced herself. “Oh, you must be Scarlett the Firestorm! I have heard of you, but that probably isn't surprising, knowing your reputation.”

“Yeah, that's me”, Scarlett admitted and her gaze went down for a brief moment before she looked back at Aurelia's eyes. “Well, Aurelia, would you like to get away from here? And come to my ship?”

“I'd love to”, Aurelia said with a smile that could melt even a person like Scarlett.

Scarlett backed off a little and offered her hand and said: “Take my hand and I'll show you the way.”

Aurelia nodded slightly, grabbed her hand, noticing how strong Scarlett's grip was, and Scarlett flashed her a grin before she began to guide her through the town. They zigzagged along the narrow alleys before they got to one of the busier streets and Scarlett grasped Aurelia's hand more tightly, not wanting to lose her to the mass of people. The pirate captain confidently pushed forward as they made their way to the docks where all the ships rested before sailing away again. The muddy and soaked ground changed to the worn wood beneath their feet as they got to the quayside. Eventually Scarlett managed to lead Aurelia to her ship; the home of her and her crew, a vessel that ensured her freedom. A humble ship it was, but she was proud to show it to Aurelia.

An unusually gentle sea wind was blowing as Scarlett's ship was riding on the tame waves. The night was quiet and peaceful once the ship had managed to get away from the waters around the Town of the Damned, leaving behind its cursed zone. The darkness in the sky had shifted from the utter blackness to a natural dark veil sprinkled with shining stars. Scarlett and Aurelia were standing at the front of the ship and the pirate captain had wrapped her arm around Aurelia. They were watching at the horizon and the calm waters, staying silent for a while. Occasionally members of Scarlett's crew would appear, doing their tasks and skulking around, but they let the women have their moment and didn't bother them.

Scarlett inhaled the sea air. “You smell that? That is the scent of freedom.”

“May I ask, what made you choose this life?” Aurelia asked.

“I didn't choose it, it chose me”, Scarlett responded. “Laws of mankind never really applied to me. I became an orphan at a very young age and had to fight to survive. Once you get to know the ugly side of life, you inevitably become part of it.”

“I'm sorry that you had to struggle”, Aurelia said compassionately.

“Nah, don't be”, Scarlett assured. “I wouldn't trade this life for anything else.”

Then they went silent again for a moment. A set of heavy footsteps could be heard behind, but soon their sound faded away. There was only the sea wind and the waves.

After a while, Aurelia decided to ask another question: “How did you lose your hand? Did somebody cut it off?”

“Not exactly”, Scarlett replied and she glanced at her hook. “I had a fight with a horrible whale called Grimco. It bit my hand and ate it, but I blinded one of its eyes, so you could say we're even. But let me tell you, our fight is not over before one of us dies. I know that in the end, we will meet again. I think it has followed me for years, waiting for a perfect moment to strike and end me. Somewhere in these cursed waters, Grimco is yearning for my blood.”

“I see…”

“But that's enough about me. What is your story?” Scarlett asked.

“It's not really that interesting”, Aurelia answered. “I was raised by only my mother. I always wanted to know who my father is and my mother told me that he's a pirate. I have continuously had this strange sensation within me, that I belong to the sea, maybe because it's my heritage. Now that I'm old enough to travel alone, I wanted to find my father. So I've been looking for him for a while, I just want to know where he is or if he's alive or not. I ended up in Town of the Damned, and well, then you came along.”

“Such a pretty lady like yourself shouldn't be alone”, Scarlett blurted out. “I understand your longing for the sea. It's dark and cursed, but at the same time, it gives us life.”

And life at the sea was the best possible life for her. However, as she was standing there with Aurelia, a new kind of desire started to ignite inside of Scarlett's heart. She hadn't known Aurelia for long, but there was something unexplainable about her presence, something remarkable, something that Scarlett hadn't felt with any other person before Aurelia. She started to feel like she wanted Aurelia to be a part of her life.

So Scarlett released Aurelia from her one-arm embrace and stepped in front of her, taking a hold of her hand instead. She looked straight into Aurelia's eyes with an intense gaze and she spoke quietly: “I can offer you a life at the sea. We can do what we want, nothing will hold us back. Maybe we can even look for your father. So what do you say, Aurelia? Will you join me?”

Aurelia had such a soft look in her eyes and the sea of stars reflected from them. A tender smile appeared on her face as she responded: “I'd love that.”

Perhaps for the first time ever, there was a gentle expression on Scarlett's face. She stroked Aurelia's hair in a caring way and their faces were getting slowly closer to each other, until finally, their lips met. The kiss was a short one, but passionate and once their lips separated again, they stared at each other's eyes once more. Scarlett wrapped her arm around Aurelia yet again and they continued to watch the horizon where their shared travel was taking them.

As the days passed by, Scarlett became increasingly fond of Aurelia. She felt bliss which she hadn't felt ever before and for once something warm was filling her heart. The last time she had loved someone was back in the days when her parents had been still alive and of course, this was an entirely different type of love she felt towards Aurelia. Somehow, she had started to feel more complete, even though she had never been aware that she wasn't whole. But Aurelia had made her realize that and she had been sure to let her know this. She kept no secrets from her and had introduced her to the whole ship, even the most precious deck where most of the treasures she had robbed were stored; it was the fabled treasure of the feared pirate captain and just like there was a lot of stories about Scarlett herself, there was also many tales about the treasure. Aurelia had shown great interest in Scarlett's riches, but that was to be expected, common people usually didn't see that much wealth stored in one place.

This ship had become Aurelia's home as well and she had become accustomed to life at sea very well, which Scarlett was happy about; if the other woman hadn't been able to live gliding on the waves, their relationship probably wouldn't have lasted longer than a few days.

They had sailed around the Sea of the Weeping Dead for a long time, only occasionally making the way to the lands to refill food and water stocks. But other than that, they had spent their days solely on the waters, feeling the sea wind on their skin and enjoying the feeling of complete freedom. Often Scarlett would take Aurelia to the orlop deck to drink rum together and they would let it raise to their heads. And sometimes, that would lead to a passionate and heated moment when they both would undress and they would touch and explore each other's bodies, committing sinful things. Then they would sleep with their bodies intertwined, until the moment when it was time to wake up again and enjoy life even more.

If there was a concept of perfect life, this was it to Scarlett. Even her crew got along with Aurelia, they had accepted her well and respected her. Scarlett was actually a little surprised at how easily her crew had started to consider Aurelia as one of their own, since they were a group of people who had gone through a lot during their lives and didn't trust strangers at all. But Aurelia's presence was of a special kind, Scarlett had noticed it by the moment she had first laid her eyes on her, so maybe it had been effective on her crew too. There was also the possibility that her men were too afraid of her to do anything that would offend her and thus, had consented to have Aurelia in the ship now, but Scarlett rather not believed this option.

Everything in Scarlett's life was so wonderful now. But because of the love she felt towards Aurelia, she didn't notice at all how Aurelia's shadow was growing darker.

One night, Scarlett suddenly woke up from her sleep. She was in the captain's cabin, laying in bed together with Aurelia. Carefully Scarlett shifted her position to sit since she didn't want to wake up the other woman. Her gaze wandered to the row of windows in her cabin and she noted how unusually bright there was outside even though it was nighttime. She could feel something awaken inside her, it was like a calling. The feeling was very strange, but she decided to follow it anyway and got out of the bed as sneakily as she possibly could so Aurelia's sleep wouldn't be disturbed. Scarlett had some loose clothing wrapping her body, so she didn't have to bother dressing up before leaving the captain's cabin.

The door creaked slightly once Scarlett stepped outside. The night air welcomed her, however, it wasn't particularly a warm one. There was something odd about it, even ominous, but Scarlett couldn't figure out a reason for this. Though, maybe they were currently sailing in a cursed area, but even if that was the case, she wasn't worried, she had done it multiple times during her lifetime. Scarlett looked at the sails; the wind was still blowing and pushing the ship forward. And as she listened more closely, she could hear faint whimpers and moans in the wind. She started to become more sure that they were at a cursed place. Scarlett walked slowly to the railing and leaned on it. She glanced upwards so her gaze would meet the moon that was making the world brighter – was that a good or a bad sign?

“Did you beckon me to come here?” Scarlett muttered to the moon, even though she knew that her words would never reach it. The glowing sphere in the sky just stayed silent and continued to illuminate the world with a ghoulish light.

Suddenly Scarlett heard the familiar creak and then barely audible sounds of very light footsteps coming closer. It was easy to recognize whom those footsteps belonged to even if the creaking noise hadn't given away where this presence was coming from. Scarlett turned around to face Aurelia and a smile appeared on her face.

“Aurelia, my darling, what are you doing here? Did I wake you up? I'm sorry if I did.”

But Aurelia didn't respond. She just stared at her with cold and dull eyes, the sparks of the stars now faded from them. Scarlett was instantly aware that something was seriously wrong and her smile died, getting replaced by a serious expression. However, the longer she looked at Aurelia's eyes, the stranger her feeling became; it was like her senses stopped somewhat working as if she was under a spell of some sort.

And the next thing Scarlett knew was that she was being choked – by the hands of Aurelia. Her grasp was so strong, like the one of a sea serpent that was able to crush boats, and it was impossible to comprehend that someone so petite was capable of mustering such force. It was shocking to Scarlett, along with the fact that somebody she had adored so much was now trying to crush her throat. All the alarms in her head were demanding her to fight back, but she couldn't – something was holding her back. It wasn't just the love for this woman, there was something else, making her weak and paralyzed.

Then Aurelia let her go just as suddenly as she had attacked. Scarlett could breathe again and she coughed a little, palpating her neck. She glanced back at Aurelia and noticed that she had drawn out a sword. Still feeling the weird numbness that was constricting her senses and making her movements sluggish, Scarlett couldn't do anything when Aurelia slashed her weapon and the swift blade cut off part of the arm that was attached to her hook. Scarlett let out a yelp of pain and fell on her knees as the blood was gushing from her chopped limb. The hook had dropped on the deck and its metal was reflecting the ominous light of the moon. But soon Aurelia picked up this piece of metal and flesh that had been part of Scarlett and heartlessly just threw it to the sea.

“I know what you're thinking”, Aurelia muttered as she looked at the restless waves. “This is not easy for me, either. I really liked you.”

Scarlett couldn't fully understand what she was talking about. There was a haze in her mind, similar to if you've been drinking too much rum. All of her strength went into trying to get a grasp of the situation, she wasn't able to speak anything as her tongue felt like lead.

Aurelia started to pace around the deck, with slow and light steps she walked back and forth in front of Scarlett. “I have heard so many stories about you and your treasure. I'm not interested in you – though that sounds a little strange at this point – I just wanted to have your riches. But now I'm sure I want everything from you.”

Listening to her speaking was like somebody was hammering nails in Scarlett's head. Word after word she felt more pain. And suddenly, even through her hazy state, she could register multiple heavy footsteps getting near; it was her crew. But they weren't there to help her, she soon realized, as their skulking figures made an uneven line behind Aurelia. They were there just waiting and watching the play of betrayal and heartbreak.

Aurelia briefly looked over her shoulder and a smile appeared on her face. Then she looked back at Scarlett who was still on her knees and holding her bleeding arm. “They are at my service now. There is no one by your side, no one who cares about you. Sad, isn't it? But I'm feeling victorious! This is the day when the famous pirate captain, Scarlett the Firestorm, will finally die. So many people have waited for this day and so many have tried their best to make it happen. Failure after failure… But your luck has run out, Scarlett. It's the time of your demise. Maybe you thought it would never happen, you've been face to face with death countless times, but there is no way that you can escape from its grasp endlessly.”

Scarlett had been right. Aurelia was a siren. Her gorgeous appearance hid the hideous heart she carried inside of her. Fools could easily fall into her deception – and what a fool Scarlett had been.

“Now, my dear Scarlett, I don't want to spill more of that precious blood of yours”, Aurelia said, still smiling, but there was a hint of wickedness on her beautiful face. “Your tainted blood had stained the deck enough. Go now, jump over the rail.”

Very slowly Scarlett stood up as if in a trance, she had no control of her own body. She was like a puppet and Aurelia was the puppeteer, her words forming strings. Scarlett could do nothing as her body acted against her will and took her next to the railing. The haze in her mind was still strong, but she could feel something at the back of her head screaming, trying to break free from the spell because her whole presence was against the desire to jump into the unusually dark waves. It felt like time had stopped for a moment as Scarlett was standing at the edge that separated life and death.

Until finally, with one last nudge, her body made the decisive move and she went over the rail and started to fall, lower and lower, and it felt like forever before she hit the surface of the cold water. Scarlett was sinking deeper into the depths of the sea and as the surface became more and more distant, the mist that had clouded her mind was starting to fade away, it was like the cold sea water was clearing her head. Her numbness was lifted and the chaos of emotions got loose; she was so heartbroken, humiliated and enraged and she yearned for revenge. Her wrath and craving for vengeance surged through her body and at last she was able to take its control again. She started to swim to the surface, but couldn't make it far before she noticed something horrible.

A huge dark shadow was getting closer. Scarlett could recognize that figure anywhere: it was Grimco. From the veil of darkness it came forth and Scarlett could distinguish the marks left behind by years of fighting and surviving etched into the black whale's body; the scars and broken harpoons sticking out there and here, as well the damaged right eye which was Scarlett's own doing. Grimco had most likely smelled the scent of Scarlett's blood as Aurelia had thrown the piece of her arm to the sea… And now the whale was here to end it all. Scarlett had been right about that too, that at the final moments she would meet Grimco again. What a fitting demise this was.

Grimco showed no mercy and Scarlett didn't expect any. The great beast of the sea opened its gigantic maw and Scarlett's fate was sealed. The whale gobbled her up and crushed her body with its powerful jaws, the sharp teeth shredding her to pieces – it was a painful death, but a rather swift one. In the end, the fight that had been going on for years ended in Grimco's victory and it didn't need to follow Scarlett anymore. It could wander to new challenges, to devour poor souls for it had developed a taste for human meat. Scarlett's body digesting inside of Grimco, the whale had headed towards the east, perhaps having a craving for the flesh of the mysterious kind of people who had a strong affiliation with birds.

But at no point did Scarlett's consciousness fade. There were lots of souls below the surface of the Sea of the Weeping Dead, many of them cursed and vengeful. With the resentment that Scarlett held towards Aurelia at the time of her death, she became a vindictive spirit. She desired nothing but revenge, and she would haunt Aurelia for the rest of her days – or even for an eternity. Aurelia could have her treasure and ship, but she would never be able to get rid of Scarlett. No matter where she would go, Scarlett would follow, wandering in the dark depths of the sea as a shadow, and Aurelia's restless dreams would be filled with nightmares about her.

Even in death, Scarlett would never leave her side.