Pirate Princess (35 page)

Finn sat relaxed and calm with a smile on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know something about this?” dad asked me.

I smirked. “Perhaps my skills were put to use.”

He smiled and then frowned. “He threatens you personally and you tell me. I’ll make him disappear before he puts a hand on you.”

“You don’t?” Sisko asked and then reached for the necklace Finn was wearing, but Finn grabbed his hand before it could touch him. “Then where did you get that necklace which looks exactly like one that was stolen from my boat the same day?”

“I was given this necklace as a gift,” Finn said. “How could I have set foot on your ship when I was standing on mine talking to you the entire time? You sound crazy right now, Sisko.”

Sisko yanked his hand back and said, “Two can play this game.”

“You’re in neutral waters and I won’t hesitate to punish anyone who breaks the rules here. You understand?” dad said.

“Just because you’re screwing his daughter doesn’t mean I won’t come after you,” Sisko said. I was sure he had meant to say it quietly, but everyone happened to quiet down at just that moment. Sisko looked a little shocked at how loud that had come out, but he didn’t back down.

Finn stood up and I could see how angry he was. “I’m not screwing anyone, not that it is your business, and you can try to come after me, but that will only result in your head floating down to the sea bed.”

“You might want to shut your mouth before you push this any further,” Sedgwick said with clenched fists. “There’s more than just Finn who cares for Jax and who would be willing to protect not only her, but her honor as well. You’re on another captain’s ship and trying to smudge his daughter’s honor. Do you think that’s really the smartest move?”

Sisko took a seat and smartly didn’t speak.

“I have gathered you all here to discuss something that threatens all of us and our way of life. The Kingdom of Trian has declared war against pirates and is gathering support from the other kingdoms,” dad explained.

The crowd erupted in panicked talk.

Dad raised his hands and they quieted again. “They have yet to secure all of the kingdoms, but I can’t see very many if any not agreeing. This means that as soon as a course is decided we won’t have any seas to sail in that we won’t be hunted in.”

“So what do we do?” Captain Thomas asked.

“That’s what we are here to discuss,” dad said. “It might be best if we all lowered our flags for a while until things cooled down.”

“Never!” a couple captains shouted.

“Who knows how long it would take,” Thomas said. “We can’t just give up when they could take years to decide.”

“They could have decided already and we just don’t know yet,” my dad advised.

“They could blow us all up. We can’t fight Trian without securing the other Kingdom’s to their cause either,” someone said in the back.

“Perhaps it is time to put our flags down permanently,” Sedgwick suggested.

“If you’re old and tired please feel free to leave more for the rest of us,” Michael said with a smile. Others laughed, but some scowled and said nothing.

“Isn’t there anywhere that pirates can go without the kingdoms knowing?” I asked.

“There are a few places, but I doubt it would be too long before they found those places with the incentive of killing us. If we were all gathered here it would only take one war ship to destroy the town,” dad said.

“If we lowered the flags, spread ourselves out into three or four towns, we could be perceived as simple towns instead of pirates,” I offered.

“Why should we just give up?” Sisko asked.

“Lowering the flags for a short time isn’t defeat,” I told him, “It is strategic life assurance. Is it better to be dead with your flag or alive to raise it another day?”

“You don’t understand what it means to be a pirate,” Sisko sneered. “Any pirate would rather die with his flag than live a lie.”

“Pride will kill you faster than intelligence can save you,” I muttered.

“Would it be so terrible to live in communities together without the flags raised? We could still engage in our traditions and no one would be the wiser,” Finn said.

“What about beyond our waters?” someone asked. “We could sail to an island beyond.”

“The waters beyond hold no islands,” my dad informed everyone, “We’ve sailed it many times.”

“I appreciate the notice, but I won’t lower my flag until I’m dead,” Sisko said and turned to depart.

“Your choices are your own, but how long do you think you will last alone while hundreds of military ships search for you?” dad asked.

“I’ll take my chances,” Sisko replied and then climbed down the rope ladder.

“There aren’t enough of us to mount an offensive attack against all of the kingdoms, or at least the ones who have agreed to this. So, do we hide? How can we hide within society when we are obviously not part of it?” Thomas asked.

Two hours passed and I dozed in my chair while they went back and forth with no decision. It seemed no one wanted to admit defeat, but no one wanted to die either. Finally, dad sent everyone away except for Finn and me. His crew insisted we stay and eat dinner with them and we accepted because no one turns down the King of Pirates, not even his daughter. Plus it was a free meal! His crew greeted me happily and everything was going smoothly until Cristoff arrived on the ship and scooped me up in a giant hug as he spun us in a circle and then planted a sloppy kiss on my lips. “Tilia! I didn’t think we would get to see you so soon. Did you miss me that much?”

I separated myself from him and stepped in front of Finn who was heading towards Cristoff angrily. “Actually we were on the island first and Dad bumped into us in one of the taverns in town. It seems you missed me more than I missed you I am afraid.”

“Of course I missed you more,” he said, “I don’t have anyone keeping me company to take my mind off of you.”

“Flattery of such magnitude is uncharacteristic of you,” Timothy said to Cristoff.

“It takes a special woman to earn my flattery and attention,” Cristoff said, “It is too bad you’re part of another crew. If only your father had kept you aboard, you and I would be inseparable.”

“Or she would have begged the Captain to drop her off at any nearby island to get away from you,” Finn said.

Cristoff didn’t stop smiling and just shrugged. “Possible, but we won’t know unless we give it a try. What do you say Finn? Want to lend her to us for a month or two?”

“Not a chance,” he said in barely controlled rage.

“Well then I shall cherish the time we have together tonight and continue to dream of you in my sleep,” Cristoff said and bowed to me.

“Alright that’s enough, boy. Go get some food,” my dad ordered. “He has been cooped up on the ship too much for his own good. I think he might be a little off in the head.”

Sedgwick laughed. “Oh you say that about everyone.” I looked at him with arched eyebrows and he said, “Minus you of course, princess. Nothing off about you.”

Timothy brought me a plate of food and Finn made his own. We sat on the main deck and dad told Finn and me some stories about adventures he and his crew had been on since they dropped me off in the Capitol. As I listened, I felt an increasing amount of sadness due to the fact that I had not been able to be part of these various adventures and events. Even though Cristoff was flirting with his talk about me staying, I really did wonder what my life would have been like if I had stayed on the ship. What would I be like if I had never met Esmeralda and the others? Would I act the same or would my personality be different? It would be possible that Finn and I would not get along or even like each other if I had stayed on the ship. For better or worse I could not change the past. I really hoped my future would have a silver lining as well.

“Any idea what your plan is going to be?” Dad asked Finn.

Finn sighed. “I haven’t decided yet. Part of me thinks lowering the flag and mingling with the regular people would be best, but another part of me doesn’t want to give up this life. I don’t want to put Tilia in danger, but her idea about setting up a pirate community isn’t completely out of the question. Two crews would make up enough people for a town and if we worked together we could build houses and everything and get enough supplies to last us for a while. It wouldn’t even have to be permanent.”

“Do you even have another crew you get along with?” I asked him.

He smiled. “No. I only got along with one captain and he died last year.”

“What about our crew?” Cristoff suggested. “Why not join together and that way we can ensure order in the town with the King present and no one knows for sure what he looks like so even if one of the ships docked and asked questions they wouldn’t know him from any other merchant.”

I ate my food and didn’t say anything since I agreed with Cristoff and I knew Finn would be upset and think I just wanted to spend more time with him. It would be the best of both worlds if I could live in one town with my dad and Finn. “There is an abandoned port in my kingdom that hasn’t been lived in in over three years. I’m sure the King and Queen would allow you all to live there so long as you kept in line and didn’t pillage the kingdom or those visiting. There are already buildings so the only thing needing done is restoration and houses to be built.” Plus I wouldn’t have to be away from Finn for long since we would be on the same continent.

“I’ll take it into consideration,” my dad said, “but let’s not make any rash decisions. We don’t know for sure if the kingdoms will truly do anything and I don’t like the idea of giving up my ship or having to hide it somehow.”

“I agree,” Finn said.

“Well we should head home,” I said with a yawn. I didn’t think I would be tired since I had slept so much today, but I felt weary and the worry wasn’t helping.

“I will make sure you are kept updated, Finn. We will be staying here for a bit longer though I’m not sure exactly how long,” dad said.

“Thank you, sir.” Finn said. He took my hand and we headed down the side of the ship to our lonely little boat, which was the only one left. Finn and I did not speak the rest of the night, but I supposed his mind was a little busy with all of the things discussed and as he tried to figure out his best option. I hoped he would consider my proposal, but I had no idea what he wanted to do.

Chapter Eleven

One Month Later

We spent one month exploring the island, drinking with the crew at various taverns, hanging out with my dad and his crew, trying to avoid Cristoff who was visiting me frequently especially when he knew Finn was gone, and learning about each other.

The day began like most other days on the island with sunny skies, warm temperatures, and pirates grumbling on the way to a tavern to eat. Finn and I were awake in his house when we heard a loud explosion and felt the ground shake. He leapt out of bed and ran to the door. “Get dressed!” he yelled and did so himself. “Grab your stuff.” Another explosion shook the ground and sounded closer. People began yelling and started to run passed the house.

I didn’t have much with us, but I stuffed what I did into a bag and put it over my shoulder, double checked my weapons, and ran outside after him to see what was happening. A war ship sat just out of port and was shooting cannonballs into town. The flag above the ship showed an eagle with a sword, the official seal of Trian.

Finn grabbed my hand and dragged me in the opposite direction of the town. “Where are we going?” I asked him. “We have to get the crew.”

“They know the drill. If the ship is accessible they will get it and meet us, but if not we will all rendezvous across the island on the far side to determine our plan,” he explained.

“But my dad and his crew…”

“They are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Your father is one of the smartest men I know and I didn’t even see his ship docked,” he said.

I looked back one more time and saw fires starting to burn some of the buildings and more cannonballs whizzing through the air to destroy even more buildings. How could they do this? They had to know there were innocent people here. And how had they found out about this island anyways? It was supposed to be a secret that only pirates knew.

I looked to our right and saw some other pirates from various crews running in the same general direction as us. I didn’t know if they had a plan or if they were just running in the opposite direction of the danger. We dashed through the jungle as fast as we could, but after a few miles Finn slowed and then we stopped to catch our breath. “How could they have made a decision so quickly?” I asked. “And without us knowing?”

“They could just be acting on a whim or with a knee jerk order from the King,” Finn offered.

We linked hands again as we started jogging at a maintainable pace and soon we had a group of people jogging with us. Bernard moved to the front so we could see him. “Status?” Finn asked him.

“Some of the crew went to the ship despite many of us thinking there was no chance of escape. We couldn’t talk them out of it. We have about three quarters of the crew accounted for, but some we couldn’t locate. One quarter of our crew is running through the jungle to the rendezvous point currently while half go after the ship,” Bernard reported.

Finn sighed, but said nothing. If his ship sank, all of his treasures would sink with it. I wanted to go help with the ship, but there wasn’t anything I could do. I couldn’t defeat a war ship.

I stopped dead in my tracks, jerking Finn to a stop and causing a pile up as people stopped behind me. “I need to go back,” I told Finn.

“No you don’t,” he said sternly, “I told you that your dad will be fine…”

“I can defeat the war ship,” I told him confidently.

“How can you defeat a war ship?” one of the random pirates asked.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner,” I said, “but I can turn it to ash.”

“They’ll just send more ships,” Bernard said.

“Yes, but we can escape before they get here.”

“No,” Finn said, “I’m not risking your life on the chance that you can defeat them. We can escape from here without you destroying their ship.” He pulled me behind him and the crowd pressed me forward.