The Sole Prince

Be my guest. [part 1]

Tennet. From that one lunch. Was he standing in the crowd waiting for the prince to be alone? Waiting for a moment to pounce? To bite?

"I asked you a question, prisoner," Tennet says, closing the distance between himself and James. At this point, they're barely an inch apart. The prince has no choice but to nod. "That's what I thought. What's your name, handsome?" he continues, cocking his head to left. His neck moves like a snake.

"James," the prince responds in a serious tone.

"James." The name sounds dirty when the pirate says it. The prince can smell the thick scent of rum lingering his breath. "James," he says, again. "What an awfully pretty name. My name is Tennet, thanks for asking," he slurs, putting on a toxic smile, teeth like fangs. James darts his eyes to look for somewhere to go, yet no exits seem possible. There's a slight opening in the pirate's advance if the prince bolts to the left, underneath Tennet's extended arm. James tries for it, but Tennet moves his arm quickly, too quickly, and grabs the prince's neck. "Oh, not so fast, James-y boy. We've barely got to meet each other," Tennet hisses. His voice is venom boiling over in a dirty pot. His grip on James' neck is hard. Too hard. The prince tries to contort his spine to get out of it, yet Tennet's fingers don't budge.

"Don't even think about it, sweetheart," he continues, tightening his grip even more. Oxygen can barely slip down the prince's throat. "I'll have you begging for air in no time; begging for more even faster," Tennet says with a twisted smile, somehow stepping even closer to the prince. "Don't have a captain around to protect you anymore, do ya?" Tennet rattles. "Shame. Bet he would love to watch." The evil creature squares himself up with the prince. Slowly, he moves his other arm up, shoving it over the prince's mouth. "As much as I want to hear the noises you make, I'm gonna need you to shut up." His grip on James' mouth is tight enough that he can remove his hand from the prince's neck and slide it down onto the top of James' chest. A slight protest emanates from the prince's mouth, so Tennet just pushes down harder.

"I told you to shut it," he hisses. Slowly, with the same horrible smile printed on his hideous face, his teeth sharp and long, he starts to unbutton the prince's shirt. Tears start to well into James' eyes, blurring his vision, causing the crowd that's not paying attention to him to blur into a mess of figures and shadows. Tennet moves onto the second button, taking his time with the whole ordeal when he hears something from behind him.

"Supposedly, this stuff is even stronger, Serrio," a familiar voice yells from a short distance away. The prince tries to preen his neck to see the captain, but he's unable to move his head far enough to the side. "Serrio?" the captain continues. Tennet must have moved himself and the prince over. Struggling to free himself from the pirate, the prince just can't seem to break free.

"Looks like your bodyguard's back," Tennet hisses, releasing his hand from the James' mouth and shirt. "This isn't over, James," he slurs, starting to walk away from the prince. He's only able to get a few steps away, however, before a larger man is blocking his way out.

***

"Tennet?" the captain asks in shock and disappointment, expecting to be looking at the prisoner instead of the other pirate. His brain doesn't process much at first. He thinks he's just looking at a random member of his crew. But then his eye catches the prisoner standing a few feet in front of him, slumped against the wall. Catches the tears glistening in the weak candlelight of the room. Catches the shirt with two buttons sloppily pushed open, revealing the top of the prisoner's chest. That's when it finally clicks in the captain's mind. He shoves the new jug of alcohol on the table next to him before stepping closer to Tennet, towering over the man. "What are you doing here?" he asks in a firm voice, giving the man a death stare.