The Pirate Queen

Chapter 33

Ariel made Eric tell her three crewmates what had happened down their stretch of the tunnel. The barrels and crates of tea were stacked around them on the rocky shore, a raging fire burning a few healthy yards away to alert the rest of the crew to come to their aid.

Already Ariel could see some of the longboats and dinghy's rowing towards them, but it would be a few more minutes until they reached them. A few more minutes for her to pull herself together so it didn't look like she was crumbling as much on the outside as she was on the inside.

Because she was. She was a rock reduced to sand, slipping through the cracks too fast to be stopped.

A fresh tear rolled down her cheek and she felt Eric's eyes on her as he told them who her biological parents were. What that meant for the war. What she could do for the war. For the pirates. For thousands of lives everywhere. All on her shoulders.

Why didn't you tell me, Edward? she questioned silently. Why did you steal me? What did you gain from this? Why, why, why?

She didn't hear the four men behind her. Didn't hear Flounder's angry denials, Seb's soothing and rational words, Jora's calm assesment. She felt nothing but empty and hollow. Of course she'd known Edward Nott wasn't her father, that she had to have come from somewhere. But to be a princess...

She'd chosen to be a King, a Captain, a pirate. She had not chosen to be a princess. Did not accept that that was her true heritage. Connected through blood to the very people she despised; the ones who riped away freedoms from others just because they had a crown on their head and decided they could.

"Ariel?" Eric stepped into her line of vision, a hand reaching out towards her but not touching. Concern lined his features as his gaze searched hers. "Do you want me to take you back to the ship? Our boat is still down the shore." He gestured back to where they'd anchored, a good ways down the rocks.

Her eyes slid to Jora watching them while Flounder and Seb moved the barrels closer to the water. "What about them?" Her voice was raspy and thick with emotion and it burned to feel this way. So confused and hurt and just so, so lost. Ariel Diamrem, Crown Princess of Farnce. She didn't understand what that really meant.

"They will catch a ride back on the other boats and stay to make sure all the cargo gets taken." His voice was firm and steady, grounding her back into the moment. They'd come here to find that siren to force her to give them answers, tell them where the tea was located. No one had expected for the answers to be far, far more complicated than just an X on a map.

Her gaze flicked back out to the approaching boats and she shook her head. She'd never been one for hiding when things got tough, but she had been one for pushing others away. And the way Eric was looking at her, treating her, was a different kind of pain she couldn't handle right now. "I will not hide from them. We stay and finish the job. Jora!" She pivoted on a heel, digging her nails into the palm of her hands to keep more tears from falling as she looked into the eyes of her longest friend.

He didn't look at her any differently than he did all those years ago they sat on the deck together learning french.Nothing could faze her Cusinier, and she loved him so dearly for it. He gave her a soft smile and stepped closer, but like Eric, didn't touch her. "Yes, Captain?"

Captain. That's who she was above all else. Not a King, not a Princess, a Captain. A leader who needed to lead. Who needed to get them the hell out before any unwanted guests showed up. "Will you go back with the first shipment to ensure everything arrives and is stored properly?"

He nodded once. "Of course."

"Eric, go with him," she demanded, not turning to look at the prince. The words she'd heard from Eric echoing into the cave on her walk back to that secluded beach repeated over and over in her head. She hadn't seen what he'd been holding, or what he slipped in his pocket, but the words had been a hot poker to her chest. She is my world. My sun, my sky, and all of my stars. Who said that about a person? How could he say that about her? Didn't he see who she was? The fraud she's turned out to be?