The ship docks at dawn.
The pirates anchor it and they hop off the ship, swords at the ready.
I smooth the wrinkles in my dress as much as possible and let Darien give me a hand off of the ship. My heeled boots hit the shore with a splash. A spray of mud splatters onto my dress as I step onto the rocks.
Darien flanks me. "What's the plan, princess?"
"We need to come up with a strategy to get into my castle. No doubt still under siege by the other half of Julius's pirates."
Darien nods. "Princess, maybe you should let us do the fighting."
I spin around and glare at him. "What?"
He clears his throat. "You are the princess, if something happens to you-"
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I'll be fine." I turn back around.
Darien steps in front of me, blocking my path. "There is no guarantee of that."
My eyes soften at the look in his. "I'll be fine," I repeat.
He bends as his eyes lock with mine. "I just-"
"Darien, what is your problem?"
He digs his boots into the sand and looks down at them.
"I don't want you to get hurt."
I close the distance between us. "Darien-"
Suddenly, an explosion erupts in the sand near us. I turn to find one of the pirates fumbling with the explosives bag.
I stomp over to them. "What the heck was that?!"
The pirate gulps.
I shoot him a glare before ripping the bag from his fingers and shoving it into the arms of a bulkier pirate.
"Do not mess up," I bark, before going back to Darien.
"Darien, we need to get to the stables. We need horses."
Darien nods before shouting a few orders at the men.
I sheath my sword and keep moving.
.....................
We've been walking for about three hours now.
"Do you have a plan for the horses?" Darien asks.
I throw him a sideways glance before my eyes focus ahead again.
"I'll take that as a no."
"I was hoping you could help me with that because you're you know..."
".....a pirate?" he finishes.
"Yeah."
"Well, I suppose I do have some knowledge that could help us."
"So, you are a good stealer then?"
He stops in front of me, at the beginning of the first road into the kingdom.
"Oh no, love. I'm not a good stealer."
He throws me a mischievous smile.
"I'm just very good at acquiring things that aren't mine."
YOU ARE READING
RULE (Completed)
Adventure"You are queen now, start acting like it." Ariana has waited her entire life to become queen and rule her country. But things prove to be much more difficult than she ever thought they would be. After the death of her beloved father, her mother sudd...
