The Pirate's Ransom

46. A Family Found

    Caspian hissed in pain as Prim stitched up the last of his wounds. "Are you all right?" She asked quietly. Kitty was asleep in his hammock, with Benny curled up beside her.

    "Yeah." Caspian clenched his jaw briefly. "Kitty used her magic to heal the worst of my injuries. She partially healed Amos' cough."

    "Was she all right after..." Prim let her hands fall against his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder.

    Caspian kissed her hair before answering. "She was terrified. There was one point where I blacked out and she thought I was dead."

    Prim's breath shuddered. "I'm sorry. It happened because of me. I made Father angry and..."

    "No, Darling. Don't start thinking like that." Caspian turned and cupped her face with his hands. "We're all safe. That's what's important." Tears rimmed her eyes. Prim blinked them back. Caspian kissed her gently. "I'm sorry about your father."

    Anger flashed through her. "I'm not."

    "Not even a little bit?"

    Prim bit her lip, unable to answer. "I...I hope Mama and Thomas will be all right. Emilia and Coralyn too."

    "I'm sure they'll be fine." Caspian brushed his thumb across her cheek. "But will you be?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "You're a criminal now," he said with half a smile. "There will bounties on your head. If you want to go into hiding somewhere..."

    "Caspian James Flynn, after everything that just happened, you should know where I want to be."

    "Tell me."

    Prim rested her forehead against his. "I want to be right here, on this ship. With you. With Kitty. With the crew." She smirked. "Although, being a wanted criminal does put a small damper on things."

    "Darling, I've been wanted for years now. If anything, it's just an incentive to do even worse deeds." He laughed a bit. "Scarlet Minx and I once had a contest to see whose bounty would be the highest after a year's time. I won."

    "What was your bounty?"

    "250,000 gold marks. Her's was 230,000."

    "And what is your bounty now?"

    "It depends who you ask. Most would tell you they just want me dead."

    "Hm." Prim pulled him down for a kiss. "I prefer you alive."

    "I'm inclined to agree." Caspian pulled her into a hug, burying his face against her neck. "I missed you."

    "I missed you too. Never try to send me away again."

    "Never. The first thing you did was get engaged to someone."

    "That wasn't my choice!" Prim snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth. She glanced at Kitty. The young girl was still sound asleep.

    "Well, regardless, I'd like to make sure it doesn't happen again."

    "And how do you plan on doing that?" Prim raised an eyebrow.

    Caspian slid off the bed and opened one of the closets. Prim craned her neck, trying to see what he was doing. She couldn't see past his shoulders. He returned, his fist closed around something. He held his hand out and Prim saw a small ring, matching her pendant.

    She took it and held it up, letting the candlelight reflect off it. "When did you get this?"

    "The second time we left Port. While you were gathering up your things, I stopped by the marketplace before coming to the ship." Caspian smiled and took the ring back. "I didn't think I'd actually give it to you, but I wanted to have it, just in case."