Prince of Bones

1. Washed ashore

"Did you hear? In Magden there was some mighty pirate found!"

"Horrible, these criminals! Are they that close again? What is the navy doing?!"

"He did not attack or anything! Rather I think he was attacked! They say he fled the town before they could capture him but he seemed quite weak."

"Are you sure? So he is still out there without being restrained? That's even worse!"

"Good evening, ladies. What's the commotion about? Can I get you something?"

"Oh, sure, yes. The three-grain one please, yes that one. We were talking about that pirate who has been found in Magden. Rumor has it that it's the Pirate King."

"The Pirate King, huh? How far is it to Magden by horse?"

"About a day's journey, my dear. But fear not, they will capture him before he can hurt anybody."

"I'm sure of that, yes. Here you go. Well then, if you'll excuse me? Something just came up."

-

Hongjoong awoke to the indignant squawk of some crow, the noise of busy wings fluttering through the air filling his ears. He groaned, blearily blinking open his eyes against the dull grey of the cloudy sky.

Where was he?

He remembered running from the navy and getting attacked by robbers on the way. They had been strong... There had been pain. It was still throbbing all through his body, reminding him of his dilemma.

The Precious had sunken.

Hongjoong groaned, lifting his muddy hands to rub at his eyes, feeling them ache like everything else too.

He had to move. It was only a matter of time until the navy would find him again or some vultures decided to feast on him.

He rolled around, looking down at the soft earthy field he had been laying on and giving an inward apology for not staying. Its strong earthy scent was oddly calming right now and even the potato digging into his elbow could become a friend with time.

Hongjoong froze in the middle of his slow movements when he heard steps getting closer, trying to regain his senses enough to focus on them.

Where were his weapons?

Ah, right. Stolen, sunken, lost. Could he even stand right now? They had hit his head pretty badly.

Hongjoong gave a low grunt when he managed to get up on his hands and knees, getting all nauseous again. Gods, how he hated being on land.

The tickle of something sharp on his neck made him stop, all pain forgotten immediately. His muscles locked up, head clearing considerably within seconds. Coolly he stared down at the earth, waiting.

"Not the pirate I expected. But no disappointment either."

Hongjoong felt his hackles rise when the low chuckle reached his ears, getting ready to try an useless attempt of an attack. It appeared the man had come alone so he had a slim chance of taking him down and stealing that sword.

When Hongjoong lunged the other person was not prepared at all. He put all his desperation into it, the cold, hunger and frustration gnawing away at him coming together in one push. Hongjoong nearly yelped when the other man went down far too easily, worrying about having cut himself immediately. What kind of idiot-

Hongjoong's eyes found the sword wedged between them, thankfully not having cut anybody but it looked oddly familiar. The sleek blade and the ornate hilt that had some protective swirls of metal resembling thorned tendrils wrapping around the hand of its bearer. He marvelled over the noble red roses that climbed over the guard in intricate detail to wrap around the bottom of the blade and damn, he would steal that sword all over again.