The WindFlyer

Chapter 2

I sit in my cabin and glance over some paperwork. Taxes sheets, numbers, and and complex math. Three of my least favorite things. I sigh and put the paper down as I rub my face. I have yet to decide what to do with the prince in my brig. I tap my fingers idly against the desk and I get lost in my thoughts as the sun begins to set. Sunsets over the ocean have always been my favorite thing. The ocean is my home. My life. Ever since I was a little girl. I smile as the sun sets the ocean ablaze and let that cool mask of the captain slip of only for a moment.

I turn away as the door opens and my second comes in. "Cap'n," he salutes to me. I grunt going back to my paperwork with a scowl. "The boy wants ta see ya," Andreas says. His darkened tan skin and rippling muscles radiate violence as the light plays over his tattoos.

I roll my eyes. All my encounters with royals have left me with the same taste in my mouth. They're all so demanding. "I'll dine with him," I say after running through the numbers on the page once again. I stand, tucking my simple white cotton tunic into my black pants. I adjust the lapels on my shirt to give my breasts more coverage. My crew knows better, this prince, however, I cannot be sure. I will not let anyone disrespect females in my presence and I have put people in their place before.

I gather up a few official looking documents regarding my holdings and bring them with my to my private dining room. Holdings where my wealth is stored. Holdings that hide wealth and make wealth. A spread of food has been put on a side table which I ignore for now. I lean back in my chair at the head of the table and place my feet up, crossing them over. I pick up a paper and pretend to read it as the prince is brought before me.

He enters with chains on his hands, still in the clothes he swung over to my ship in. I don't acknowledge him as the chains are removed and the two crew members bow out of the room. I don't acknowledge him as he sits at the opposite end of the table and sighs impatiently. I make him wait until I have finished scanning my paper, I place it atop the stack, and rise from my seat. I begin fixing two plates -- I may be a pirate but I am civil -- I fill them with various meats spiced heavily with cinnamon and allspice, stuffed figs, and even fresh fruits, a rarity at sea. I place the plate before the prince before returning to my own seat and slicing some of the meat. When the prince refuses to eat, watching me like a hawk as I slowly chew and swallow. Only then does he deign to eat. As if I would poison him.

After he takes a few bites he murmurs "Roltem?"

"Indeed," I say in regards to the flavors of the food.

He scoffs at me. "Do you hold a cook from Roltem hostage here too?"

I slowly place my fork down and stare across the table at the prince with a cold, dead look. "No one, aside from you, currently abroad my ship is here for any reason aside from the fact that they want to be. I don't hold slaves," I watch him gulp down a lump in his throat before going back to my food.

Again there is silence before the prince speaks again. "I was headed there -- to Roltem -- before... all this happened."

"Indeed?" My only response.

"Aye. I was to meet my betrothed there, I can only imagine what she will think when I don't arrive," he muses almost sadly. But there is another note in his tone I can detect but cannot quite place.

"Your betrothed?" I ask, tilting my head at him, the cool captains mask still in place but my sharp mind desiring more information.

"Aye. I was sailing there to fulfill the marriage contract my parents outlined."

"Betrothed to whom?" I don't bother asking if it is alright to ask seeing as he will not see another soul aside from my crew and myself again. The prince finally dares to make eye contact with me, his eyes are the color of the sea and emotions roll within them like waves. He looks amused at the question but I let nothing slip in my mask. Perhaps he thinks I will ransom him to his betrothed's family. Unlikely, but his false hope is not my problem.

"Princess Astoria Linnea Roltem," he says and I pause my fork half way to my mouth. I crease my eyebrows and narrow my eyes at him.

"Surely you cannot be serious," I say with a wave of my hand.

"I am indeed, why would I not be?" He demands.

"You mean, you truly do not know?" I ask, gauging his reaction. His expression of pure confusion is answer enough for me. "The princess, she is... she is dead."

"You lying, black-hearted wench!" He yells at me, flinging out a finger and standing in outrage. I calmly remain in my seat and finish chewing the bit of food in my mouth before speaking.

"You should remember, your life currently hangs in the good graces of this lying, black-hearted wench. Sit down boy," I spit the last words at him with cold venom before rising from my seat. The fuming prince slowly sits as I strut to the pile of... trophies in the far end of the room. I locate the chain and toss it before the prince, the heavy iron locket thudding against my table along with the clatter of the sigil ring strung along it. "I may be black-hearted and a lier, but I've not lied about this."

The prince examines both pieces before him with experience, all royals in the archipelago are taught to recognize them. The weight, the look, the engravings on it. It ensures that they know imposters when they come across them. When he sighs I know he has found it to be real. "When?" He croaks out. "Why?"

"8 years ago," I whisper. I do not regret anything I've done. I do not regret who I've hurt to keep my crew and my ship safe. "She knew too much. She saw too much."

"She was 14! Barely a girl! How? How could you?" I close my eyes and hiss out a breath, keeping a tight leash on my temper.

"She is better off sleeping with the fish than in the life she would have had with you," I ground out. The prince looks even more enraged at that. I bite my next words with such cold fire even I internally flinch. "I know how women are treated here. Born and raised to be sold off to the highest bidder and then forced into a life of slavery to the man. Bred for the children they will provide until the cycle begins anew. There is no escape from it for women."

"Better she be alive and cared for than dead!" He yells at me.

"Better to be dead but free!" I yell back, slamming my hand down on the table, that captains mask slipping for only a moment before I return to my cool composure. "You were on your way to meet a dead woman, Prince Draen Marve Alture." He looks shocked at his own name being spoken. I chuckle darkly and toss his sigil ring back to him. He catches it deftly, just now seeming to notice the weight missing. I slipped it from him when we first met.

The meal is finished in hostile silence, Draen glaring daggers at me as I finish eating. Surprisingly, he finishes his own food as well. At least he is wise enough to not starve himself, even if he is foolish enough to insult the captain of a pirate ship famed for its cruelty.

"I've yet to decide your fate, my crew will return you to the brig. You may dine with me at night or you may stay in your cell, I do not care. You will be permitted on deck under surveillance for an allotted time each day. My crew will not touch you, these are rights guaranteed by pirate code." I rise from me seat and point to the door. "Get out."

The prince rises from his seat and without saying a word stalks out of the room, leaving the dead princesses locket and ring on my table. I retrieve it and return it to the pile with gentle care. A sigh escapes my lips as I look out the window of my room. Draen, what am I going to do with you?