The Trickster's Test {Prinxiety}

Chapter 16

Third Person

Roman did in fact remember how to pick locks, and if he could explain it as well as he could do it, then Virgil and him would have the beginning of their forming plan set.

"And if they all believe that you have the plague we won't have to worry about anyone watching the door, so we could realistically get to the deck without being spotted!" The further they got, the more hope Virgil began to have.

It was far from perfect, as most plans were, but it was better than anything else they had come up with. Virgil, with Roman's instruction, would use a couple of the pins the guard always had handy to unlock the door to their makeshift cell. From there, they would make their way up onto the deck and over to the emergency lifeboat. If something went south with that, they'd move onto their backup plan; taking Captain James Clemons hostage. With their captain in danger, the other inhabitants of The Spear couldn't do much to stop them, assuming they value his life even remotely.

"We might not even get noticed then if the skeleton crew gets distracted by, I don't know, a sail coming loose," Roman points out.

"Or a man falling overboard," Virgil adds.

"Not that shoving a mostly innocent person off the side of the ship isn't a completely viable option, but maybe we make that the backup plan?" The guard suggested, not exactly enticed by the idea of potential manslaughter.

He stared at him in disbelief, "You were the one that acted like it was the main plan, not me," While Roman attempted to come up with some defense for that, Virgil fidgeted with the hairpins the former had produced, "Would it be better to wait until nightfall or go now?"

Roman figured the answer was obvious at first. Nighttime would make it harder for the pirates to recognize them, and less of them would be awake. But, the more he thought about it, they also wouldn't be able to see very well once they were on the lifeboat. Daytime was still a poor choice though because they would get noticed almost immediately, and likely be struck down even if they made it onto the much smaller boat.

"Neither of them are great options, if I'm honest," Roman admits.

They debate for a while, going back and forth about the pros and cons. And just as Virgil started to wonder if their argument would last until nightfall, they were interrupted by a loud crash and the nearly unmistakable sound of splintering wood. Now, sailing was another thing Virgil had never attempted to master, but even he knew that no wave could have caused such a sound. At least none during weather as calm as this could.

"What the heckity heck was that?" Roman asked.

"I think that's the distraction we need to get out of here," Virgil responds unconfidently, grabbing the hairpins his protector had produced earlier, "Which means it's time for you to teach me how to pick locks."

Roman did his best to explain everything before Virgil could get too far into the process, as it helped to be able to hear the tumblers and mechanisms slide around. One of the pins snapped off, possibly jamming the whole thing up, "That's fine," He figured it best to leave the 'probably' out of his sentence for reassurance purposes, "If you keep the broken pin pressed up against that first bump, then you should be able to get the lock open if you run the other one against the top."

The one thing he could count on was that most locks followed a pattern, one that he had exploited countless times when he encountered an unfamiliar lock he needed to pick. If Virgil could learn that pattern from him, they'd get out of here much quicker than even he could've hoped for.

After hearing a quiet click that still managed to be louder than anything else in the room, Virgil turned the doorknob without meeting any resistance. Oh, how the tides turn, Roman involuntarily thought, a smile automatically forming at their small success, "Look at that, you're a natural!" He congratulates.

"I don't think that's something you should approve of," Virgil told him honestly, standing up and staring at the door, "For all you know, we'll be stranded in a foreign land and I'll end up resorting to a life of crime."

"I trust you to not use your new skills for evil," He responded calmly, "As of now though, I think we should stick to escaping," He pushed himself off the hammock.

Apparently, Roman wasn't nearly as worried about their incredibly possible deaths, nor the countless ways their plan could fall apart, because he simply pushed open the door without carefully checking if anyone was outside first. Virgil was left little choice but to follow, at the very least shutting the door to the cabin first as if that would do much should someone spot them. They silently crept up towards the deck, Roman carrying the pocket knife in his uninjured left hand, but that would be of little help unless they happened to run into someone with no weapon, or poor reaction time.

Virgil expected it to be quiet, too quiet for his liking, but he instantly decided that the shouts he could hear from the deck sounded worse. They couldn't possibly know that they were here, could they? No, that didn't make sense. There's only one way up, anyone that spotted them would have had to pass by both of them. But, if they weren't yelling about them, then what were they saying?

"Wait a minute," Roman looked at Virgil over his shoulder, "Why would they be yelling when no one's seen us?" He asked suspiciously.

"It probably has something to do with that crash we heard. The ship might be getting attacked as we speak, which could honestly end up helping us," Roman reasoned.

"Or it could get us stranded and murdered along with Clemons's crew," Virgil pointed out, more than a little concerned that the other thought this might be a good thing for them.

"That too," He admits, tapping Virgil on the chest lightheartedly, "Which is why we're going to hop on that lifeboat and get as far away from the pirates as possible, as fast as possible."

After assuring himself that there would be no more interruptions from Virgil, Roman climbed the rest of the stairs. He kept from stepping out, simply taking a minute to observe the hurried movements of the pirates. They were clearly prepared for whatever was happening, but that didn't keep the atmosphere from being tense. Despite their readiness, they were still worried, and maybe that meant Roman too should be worried, but he wouldn't himself slip into panic; he already wasn't the best at thinking critically, and terror would only make it harder.

When a small group broke apart, most of them going to the port side of the ship, Roman decided that this was the clearest path they'd have to the lifeboat, and hoped Virgil would follow on his own. He didn't have a spare, uninjured hand to drag the other with.

The first pirate to notice them, a person with dyed pink hair and the words 'they them' tattooed above each of their eyebrows, simply stared at them for a minute before deciding that attending to the shouts of their friends was more important. With them out of the way, Roman hopped into the lifeboat suspended over the side of the ship, ready to be lowered into the water by whoever happened to get to it first. And, while under normal circumstances several pirates would occupy it before lowering the vessel, today it would only hold a prince and his guard. The latter set down the knife for a moment, and turned around to offer his good hand to Virgil. He quickly took the weapon back though when Captain Clemons pulled Virgil away.

Roman hopped back onto the deck of The Spear, slicing at Clemons's sword arm. The captain had a bit more range than him, seeing as he had an actual sword, but that could easily become a hindrance if Roman could stay close enough to him as he planned. Virgil reacted accordingly, taking away his sword as Roman got behind Clemons and held the knife up to his throat, successfully disarming him.

Captain Clemons clearly didn't count on the guard having any semblance of combatual prowess with his left arm, and Roman didn't think he could feel more smug about it, "You should have been a lot more careful if you didn't want me to use any of my techniques."

They didn't get to revel in their small victory for long, or even consider shoving Clemons aside and getting in the lifeboat before the world turned on its side.

A/N: Feels like I wrote this so long ago, and I did, but I'm only on chapter 20 XD