Guns & Swords

Chapter 1

Rachel P.O.V.

As dark clouds began brewing under the vast ocean skies, the pirate ship Ethereal was filled with the countless pitter-patter of footsteps running throughout the wooden deck, hurrying to complete whatever task they were assigned to do by theirs truly.

I stood straight above the quarter-deck alongside the navigator of Ethereal, Jacob. My fitted black leather pants, high heeled stiletto boots, and a dirty white blouse draped over by a large red coat with scorch marks at its hem were my wardrobe for the day. Well, for the entirety of the week actually.

I stood next to Jacob all the while holding a telescope in my grasp as I looked through the eyepiece. The navigator need not an instrument to help him see what I see through the telescope for his keen eyesight is the best in the sea. No one could ever hope to top his inhumane eyesight.

The ocean breeze blew past me, automatically making my unruly crimson red hair blow back. I had to hold onto my black captain's hat to avoid it being swept away by the wind. My hair looked like fire dancing in the wind. And beneath my curtain of unkempt hair was a crimson red mask covering the upper half of my face, specifically, it covered the half up my face which hid my eyes but left my mouth bare and my cheeks to be exposed to the salty air.

I didn't bother to fix my hair in place. It would come undone sooner or later again. And I had more things occupying my mind than the disaster of a hair I have. Beyond the horizon, past only miles of ocean, appeared a large castle standing high in the distance. The island was begging to be ransacked by a band of pirates. What a coincidence.

Eduardo P.O.V.

The town square was filled with all of the villagers living in the kingdom of Vefriece. Even though it was an island, Vefriece has more territory than any other ruling domain in existence. Every villager was watching the once in a lifetime parade of the kingdom of Vefriece's Princess Lillian Stoneshire's 18th birthday. The townsfolk rarely get the chance to see the royal family in such close proximity. They wouldn't be willing to miss such a rare opportunity or anyone for that matter.

The people showered the square with flowers, confetti, and other colorful decorations as the carriage of the princess passed by them. King Joseph and Queen Helen were ahead of the princess's carriage, a good distance away, leaving me and Lillian with each other's company.

As I rode above my black stallion, I surveyed the faces of people who looked even remotely suspicious or might be in the midst of conjuring a devious plan for overthrowing the kingdom or have intentions of eliminating a member of the royal family. As I did my part, the princess continued smiling and waving to the crowd surrounding either side of the paved road.

I did have my duty as general of the royal guard to personally guard the royal family, but the beauty of the princess was blindly radiating off of her. It was no wonder she was dubbed as the most beautiful girl in all of the seven seas. Her golden hair shining under the sunlight and the very elegant emerald green dress she wore made her stood out along with the jewelry she wore to match her appearance. But all those accessories could never outshine the ring she wore on her left ring finger.

The ring on the princess's fingers shone under the sunlight and it reflected in my eyes. I did not flinch at the small assault. I looked down at the wardrobe I was wearing which was my white and navy blue general uniform adorned by several large medals, all quite astounding.

I surveyed the crowd once more until my eyes landed on a group of children playing with wooden swords, no doubt another childish play about a pirate and a soldier fighting each other to the death.

One child looked over in my direction and he immediately cowered to the folds of his mother's dress. I give off an aura of intimidation when children see me. I could care less about what children think about me. The safety of the princess comes first above all else. But it seems the princess thought so otherwise when she caught sight of the child hiding from a bird's eye view and she followed the child's frightened line of sight to my direction.