Astryd clutched her satchel close to her chest. Telling Kincade everything could be the end of her freedom. Telling Kincade meant giving up what little control she had left. How could she possibly trust a man she barely knew? Kincade stood in front of her with his arms folded and eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer.
She had to take a moment to mull it over in her mind. Things could go horribly wrong for her if she dared to trust someone with her past. But what other choice did she have? There wasn't another ship that would take her, not with her face plastered on every street corner.
With a huff, Astryd gave her answer. "Fine."
With a small smirk playing on his lips, Kincade motioned for Astryd to sit down on a nearby wooden stool. There was no room for luxuries on the ship. A stool was the best option to sit on. Kincade sat across from her on a barrel that stood on its end. The height of Kincade's barrel seat compared to her low sitting stool made Astryd feel even smaller, like a child being scolded.
"Where to start..." said Astryd to no one in particular. "I...sort of...did something really stupid."
"I think we established that already," Kincade remarked.
"Shut up," she snapped and then continued. "I guess I should start by saying I've lived—well, been trapped in Esterbell my whole life. But I guess that's what happens when you live on an island kingdom that has practically no enforced laws."
Kincade's expression was strangely curious. It was strange to see Kincade's authoritative façade fall. His expression seemed eager and waiting for her to continue.
"I hated it there. But I had no money and no family and no way of getting off the island. This is the part where I should probably mention I made it a regular practice to sneak into the king's castle just to spite him."
Kincade chuckled.
"He hated how I could always find a way around his guards. Bancroft is a man obsessed with power, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what drove him crazy."
"Isn't that a little dangerous, making a power-hungry king angry?" Kincade interjected.
Astryd shrugged. "I suppose. I really didn't care though. I would do anything to tick him off. But I'm not the only one. Most of the people who live in Esterbell hate his guts. But I'm getting off topic. One day, I was bored and decided to make a trip to the palace kitchens to snag some dinner."
"I thought you swore to the fact you weren't a thief." Kincade interrupted with a playful tone.
"Okay, first of all, I'm telling the story," she replied with her hand help up to Kincade's face. "Second, if a king refuses to give job opportunities and food to his subjects, does it really matter if one person takes a meager amount of food to survive?"
"Spoken like a true pirate," he said with his signature smirk returning.
Astryd ignored his last comment. "As I was saying, I stopped by the kitchens, but I decided I would stop by the king's study on my way out and see if he was there. It always drove him crazy when he caught me roaming the halls and before I disappeared. I'm sure I knew more secret passageways than the missing Prince Amir himself. But, as I was passing by, it appeared that the study was empty. So I took a risk and snuck inside.
"It seemed like the king had been there recently. He had left behind some documents on the desk. I was about to leave when one piece of parchment caught my eye. It was a document with Queen Isabel III's royal seal. As you probably know Queen Isabel died of a fatal illness when I was still young," Kincade nodded, "so it was unusual to see a document with her signature and seal on it. When I read the parchment over, I realized just how valuable it would be to the right buyer. So I picked it up and read it over again as I headed out of the room. That was a carless move because the king was heading back to his study and caught me holding the document. I quickly stashed the parchment in my satchel and made a run for it. That was the same day I ended up on your ship."
Once Astryd finished her story, they both sat in silence as Kincade let the words sink in.
"I thought I could sell the document for enough money to put Esterbell behind me for good. There's nothing left for me there," Astryd added. "The only problem is that I thought the best person to sell it to would be the missing Prince Amir. I think it's something he'd be interested in. Only I don't know how to find him." She pulled the parchment out of her satchel and handed it to Kincade. For a few minutes, he read it over.
Finally, Kincade spoke as he rolled up the document. "Well, with all that being said, I have one more condition I'd like to add."
"What? We had a deal!"
"Just hear me out," said Kincade with his hands held out defensively. "My last condition, should you choose to stay on the Crescent, is that you allow me to train you."
Astryd stared at Kincade, unable to form words to respond.
"My offer still stands," he said. "I still need a boatswain, but I don't doubt you could move up the ranks before long."
"You want me to stay?"
Astryd expected, or rather hoped, that Kincade would tolerate her presence on the ship until they made it to another port far away from Esterbell. She didn't expect this.
"There's no need to flatter yourself. I already told you once I saw your potential. Don't make me say it again," said Kincade with a smile. He held out his hand for her to shake. "Let me train you to be a real pirate, and I'll help you find your prince charming. Do we have a deal?"
Astryd reached for Kincade's hand but hesitated, her hand hovering in midair. After another moment's pause, she firmly gripped Kincade's hand and shook it. "Deal."
"I think luck has favor on you, Astryd. I actually caught wind of a man living in the Caraveil Mountains who fits the description of Esterbell's lost prince. Only no one's been able to stop him long enough to talk to him. I'd say that would be a good place to start. But for now, let's get started on your training." Kincade walked toward the cabin door and motioned for her to follow.
When she stepped out of the cabin, she immediately noticed someone standing directly to the right of the doors. It was Will, and he seemed to be observing something under the staircase that lead to the helm.
"You all right there, Will?" Kincade remarked in passing.
"Oh, y-yes. I just...found some cobwebs under the stairs I'm trying to remove," he replied.
"Not afraid of spiders, I hope," said Kincade as he made his way to the front of the ship. Astryd quickly followed behind.
"Right...Morgan!" Kincade called. Morgan walked over to Kincade and made some sort of grunt sound to acknowledge him. Morgan was one of the few men on board who was taller than Kincade, but Kincade didn't seem to pay it any mind. "A pair of spadroons, please," Kincade ordered in his authoritative tone.
Astryd didn't know what a spadroon was, but it didn't sound like a good thing.
AN:
Well, here it is! I know a lot of you have been asking for this chapter. I'm so very thankful for all of your support! Speaking of support, this story now has 2.6K views! That is so crazy! I never expected so many people to read this story. It is honestly overwhelming. I can't think of anything to say but... thank you!
Also, I'm curious, what is your guess as to what a spadroon is? Or do you already know what it is?
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New Horizons (A Pirate Story)
Adventure"How dare you bring me aboard this ship without so much as telling me what you are?" She yelled. Kincade let out a smug grin, one that infuriated Astryd even more. She took a few more steps toward him so that they were mere feet apart. He looked dow...
