Depth of the Ocean

"What exactly was you're plan, to sink both of our ships?"

"Well I couldn't very well outsmart you…" A faint smile. "So I thought I'd try and out stupid you."

Fate.

Chance.

Or Luck.

Which one had intervened in his life to bring about that chance battle on the seas all those months ago? More importantly, why did the memories still linger like a dream, vivid and bright, burnt into his mind by a sincere smile and eyes bluer than the oceans he traversed? In the depths of the night he stood upon the deck of the Inexpugnabilis and reflected upon his sudden bout of preoccupation. It was a luxury he couldn't afford, he was Captain of the First Fleet of Kooluk, and anything that deviated his attentions from his prime objective and militarial obligations was a dangerous liability.

How unfortunate he was in love with said liability.

How inconvenient; unintentional, ill-timed, infuriating, disconcerting…

Troy frowned, ebony locks billowing in the cool salted breeze, gaze drifting upwards to watch the waning moon. A moon they'd shared not so long ago, sheltered in the blankets of his bed, lost in the rhythm of their bodies.

How exciting; invigorating, elating, surprising, satisfying, chaotic, peaceful, contenting…

She'd made him angry, because she'd made him feel, ever since setting foot upon his ship after her defeat at his hands, she'd been nothing but defiant, brusque and pig headed. There wasn't anything quite as infuriating as meeting his match. The emotions she'd awakened within him raining down like a thousand fire arrows, burning away the ice he'd layered his heart with and rekindling in him, the humanity he'd left in the streets of Gaien all those years ago.

They'd become friends of a sort, if it were at all possible considering their positions, considering that they were enemies.

General Troy, revered as the Child of the Sea God, Commander of the First Fleet of Kooluk had been undone… by a female.

Though, not any ordinary female, Flare En Kuldes, Princess of Obel, a slender petite woman with an indomitable spirit and a determination to rival his own. They'd sparred verbally and with swords, they'd played countless games of chess and cards, they'd paced the same decks and dined at the same table, shared jokes, fears and disappointments, an uncommon camaraderie given she was his captive.

It made him feel alive.

And others noticed, it was through observations of their interaction, Troy assumed, that Colton had come to see exactly what he, himself could not.

"If you're too close to a painting, you tend to miss the bigger picture." The elder man stated in his no nonsense tone "It's quite obvious that you love the girl Troy."

He found himself unable to reply, and with a horrible sinking feeling settling in his chest.

Love.

He'd only ever felt it twice, the first was for his mother and he'd buried it along with her body in Iluya. Then there was the ocean, his second, a one-sided love for its waters, dear to him because they represented possibilities, adventures and freedom from all that tried to tame him.

But to fall in love with a woman, and this woman… Troy closed his eyes and remembered their inevitable confrontation.

"Why are you avoiding me!" She demanded, radiating a restrained anger.

He offered her nothing but a blank expression and a neutral tone. "I'm not avoiding you … I've been busy."

It had been a lie, after Colton's revelation he'd brooded on the state of things, taken to dining in his quarters and spending his evenings alone. He'd even gone so far as to flirt with other women whenever they entered a port with tonight being no exception, and he'd noticed her scowling in his general direction whenever an attractive woman would whisper in his ear or touch him. Although he hadn't expected her to accost him with the accusation so quickly. He'd almost forgotten in his sudden swerve from her company that she was forever in the habit of obliterating his presumptions.

"Bullshit!"Flare barked, hair the colour of spun gold blowing in the wind. He had the most inappropriate urge to tuck the stray strands behind her ear "What has changed in the past week to explain you shunning me like a leper?"

"How many times must I repeat myself," he replied, voice neutral. "I've been busy."

"Oh yes!" She sneered, voice laced with a cocktail of scolding fury and bitter sarcasm." I've seen how very busy, with you're fawning fan club, I didn't think you were the type to sleep around Troy!" The young Princess of Obel stopped suddenly as if she'd been hit and he watched with wonder and mingled trepidation as she realised what he had only a week before. She looked up at him, emotions flickering over her face so rapidly that he couldn't decipher one from the next.

It really was obvious by her reaction that they were caught in the same intricate web. And it appeared that unlike him she'd recognised it on her own but far too late to stop the repercussions. He shivered, told himself it was the cold and reflected further.

Flare opened her mouth to speak but he grabbed her by the arms and shook her forcefully, cutting off any attempt to reply "We're enemies!" He growled, voice sharp with contained anger. As if that mere fact would explain everything..

"Who are you trying to convince?" She asked, so softly he had to strain his ears to hear her.

He didn't respond, couldn't, in fear of what the response was. Not that she'd been anticipating one, she answered for them both as she stepped forward pressing her body against his in a way that made his groin tighten. The ex Knight watched in fascination as her tongue flicked out to moisten dry lips. And he countered as only his body could, hands coming up to cup her face as he dipped in to taste her.

It began as a mere brush lips, took seconds for the twisting that started in his stomach and travelled to lower things, to escalate it into a bruising kiss. She pressed closer to him, granted him a satisfied hum as he licked the seam of her lips, a demand to grant him entry, and complied as he slid a muscled thigh between her legs, whimpering at the pool of heat it caused low in her body.

He was lost in it and propelled them back, until her spine met the hard wood of the main mast. He groaned as his slacks became increasingly tight and responded by exploring her mouth thoroughly, biting at her bottom lip as his hands travelled down her hips to cup her rear and pull her against him, to let he feel how much he wanted her. She instigated the next kiss pulling his lips back to her own as she moaned into his mouth.

And so they were both lost in it.

Troy watched as a small mist descended around him and obscured his view, and smiled at the recollection with all the knowledge a man who's claimed a woman can possess. Their first time had been passionate and frantic filled with a need to quench the hunger that had been thrumming between them for days. And he'd surrendered to it … unable to fight his physical and emotional needs, both of which had been denied far too long.

Her small oval face flushed in pleasure as he rained kisses down Flare's neck to her breasts, his hands tracing feather light circles across her midriff as his mouth moved lower, swathing his tongue in a pathway down to her hips, making small bites as she cried out and writhed under him. "Troy!" She gasped as he kissed and nipped her thighs. Her voice filled with an overwhelming passion and heated pleading. She jerked as his mouth settled on her centre, crying out to the Gods.

It had been dear to him, their first coupling, every kiss, every touch, every sound. It still enthralled him, and thinking of it only aroused him.

Flare's eyes snapped open, locking on his in a moment so intimate it was impossible to break the contact, she cried out again before closing them once more and biting down on her lip to quash the noises. His fingers quested further, relishing the sounds, wanting to hear more, he watched in satisfaction as she clenched the white cotton sheets in her fists and gnawed on her kiss swollen lips hard enough to draw blood. Troy leaned in closer, changing the angle of his deft fingers as he whispered. "Won't you let me hear you, love?" Giving her a soft kiss. "Let me hear those small sounds I revel in, yearn for." She stiffened and trembled at his last stroke, bucking off the bed as she panted and moaned her release.

He'd been so very careful, wanting to prolong the feelings, the experience, wanting to please her completely. She'd been so responsive but it was abundantly obvious, as she'd fumbled with his clothes, that she was a virgin, although every one of her blushes had been endearing and well worth the demonstrated admission.

Troy shifted above her, parting her legs further to settle between them, his erection nestled at the apex of her thighs as he swooped low for another kiss, taking his time, using lips and tongue and teeth in a gentle exploration of every contour of her mouth. He moved, sliding into her with an excruciating slowness, stretching her, and the hands resting on his shoulders griped tighter. He met the resistance and hardened the kiss, thrusting forward without any hesitation, making Flare his. Swallowing her pained whimper in the kiss, he fought to remain still, to let her adjust to his size, but the feeling of her hot and tight around him was almost too much to bear, he relinquished her lips and buried his face in her neck. Only as her grip loosened did he allow himself to rotate his hips, and look back into her face, she frowned, cringing at the small motions, still uncomfortable at the intrusion.

It's not until he heard her first gasp of pleasure that he eased from her slightly and slipped back in. Flare moaned, opening her legs wider to give him better access. He complied, pulling further out as he kisses her with all the passion and fever he felt, and thrust back in, drawing small little whimpers from her throat. And then she moved as he did trying to keep up with him and he held her in place before showing her the rhythm. Time melded into the sound of flesh on flesh, of sating an overpowering hunger, of finding that ultimate completion.

Flare's legs wrapped around his waist as his thrusts became more forceful, hips and thighs pinning her against the mattress as he moaned with her. The heady tightness as her muscles begin to clench around him, he changed the angle and thrust again. She answered with a shudder and sobbed his name as she climaxed He followed, filling her with warmth; scant minutes before he sunk into her waiting embrace, accepting her kisses as the euphoria dissipated.

Troy let his hands rest against the ship mouldings, sighing. They'd held each other for a long time in the afterglow, talking and laughing playfully, cementing this new aspect to their relationship, ignoring the outside world and the reality that would encroach on them once they left the cocoon of bed linens.

Many a night and day was spent as such, and Troy enjoyed the discoveries they shared in one another. The ways to make her yelp and plead, the way it felt to have her body above him, glowing in the candlelight as she moved against him. How he was unable to stop from touching her in public, whether it was brushing against her shoulder or patting her rear.

And sometimes he thought he might shatter from the intensity of these new emotions, so alien to him that they often threatened to break through his chest and leave him bleeding. Alien, but now they were something he couldn't live without.

Then reality came knocking.

That reality appearing in the familiar form of the Obel Flagship, she'd left his arms that night, kissing him with an insurmountable ferocity, before fleeing from his embrace and onboard her father's ship. What did he expect, she had a family and a duty, they both did, but that didn't nothing to soothe the pain he felt at her absence, a pain he knew she shared.

"I'll find you again." She promised, tears shining in her cerulean eyes.

He hugged her, kissing her forehead. "Not if I find you first."

"Commander?" A gruff voice called, snapping him from his reverie.

"What is it Colton?" He asked, sparing a glance over his shoulder.

"An important message has just arrived for you." His friend reported, his brown cloak swaying behind him.

Troy turned, casting a minute glance to the moon and bidding Flare goodnight before he followed Colton below deck and back to his responsibilities.