Kings and Thieves

Chapter 2

**ok dudes i'm just going to keep posting this. feedback is appreciated.**

Chapter 2

The force of Ari's rather impulsive leap out the window nearly knocked the breath out of him as his boots sank into familiar wood that caved under his weight.

"Home sweet home," he muttered, a self-satisfied grin pulling on the ends of his mouth.

They'd landed neatly on the deck of his ship, recognizable by the tattered sails and awkwardly placed furniture. He looked around, eyes automatically flicking about to make sure everything was in place— though, truthfully, nothing was ever in place. Not on Ari's ship— the top deck was the least of it. This part of the ship, at least, was somewhat uncluttered. As for the rest of it— well, he didn't truly need all of the paintings and strange gypsy knick-knacks (that stupid fortune teller's orb wasn't even legitimate) that scattered the floor like clinging moss.

His ship was unique, he decided as he absently planted his prisoner on the deck feet first and took a moment to catch his breath. And to be unique was undoubtedly a good thing.

As he wandered over to the side of the deck he tugged his mask off with one hand and raked his fingers through his hair. The ocean spray stretched over the railing to sting his cheeks, and the wind pulled mercilessly at his skin. The view of the ocean was breathtaking enough; miles and miles of endless black ahead of them. To Ari, there was something comforting about a bottomless space. It was perpetual; steady. Reliable.

Releasing a puff of breath, Ari turned back to his ship, and the five members of his crew that had accompanied him. They were each silent, shuffling their feet as they awaited orders.

"Well?" He demanded, projecting the force of his glare onto a raggedy boy who stood awkwardly near the steering wheel. "Don't just stand there like an oaf, move!"

"Yessir!" The boy quickly moved to the task, clamping onto the wheel and vigorously heaving it to the side.

With an impressive groan, the ship slowly continued its descent down the Detache Ocean, heralded by the tropical winds and angry shouts from the saloon at the marina. The party guests that Ari and his crew had robbed had stormed out of the building and were screaming vague threats in the direction of the ship that was now somewhat smugly bobbing off into the distance.

Ari planted his hands on his hips and almost smiled, the corners of his lips twitching up in appreciation of the cool breeze. Ha.

"That went well, I believe-" he began, starting to turn around only to feel a stab of cold metal at his throat.

"Don't move," someone commanded, a glint of steel in an otherwise pleasant voice.

Ari sighed and slowly rotated around, feeling the sharp point slide faintly along his skin as he did so.

Miss Dimitri stood in her white muslin dress- it was rather muddy, now- firmly pointing one of his own swords to his neck. She took up a defensive position; one foot slightly in front of the other.

Ari obeyed her save to raise his eyebrows. "You can't be serious," he deadpanned.

Her voice hardened. "I am." A determined frown deepened her features, and there were no signs of mercy in her wide, hazel eyes. Her stance was confident and she held her sword like she knew what she was doing. Her left side was unprotected, however, and it didn't take Ari long to notice.

He moved swiftly. Taking advantage of the brief pause, he jumped backwards and out of the way. With his left hand he snatched a poker that was leaning against the railing beside them and knocked her sword to the side. Miss Dimitri was taken by surprise, and barely managed to keep her grip on her weapon as it sliced through the empty air.