Somewhere Weaknesses Are Strength

Sebastian stared at the closed door where Hayley once stood, the one Hayley left through immediately after making her statement. Sebastian hadn't even been given a chance to respond to Hayley's threat. Though she didn't know what she would have said given the chance. She hadn't been taught to reply to threats on her life made in such a manner. The only thing she could have done was stare at Hayley like one of the many gapping fish in the water's the pirate traveled in.

That rule put a major damper on Sebastian's escape plan. Death was an intimidating threat. Most in her situation would see only one solution: staying in the captain's hold. Sebastian, on the other hand, saw another. Sure, she could have been a good girl, listening to Hayley's rules and abiding them. Or she could risk her life trying to escape. Of course, it was more plausible to get rid of her silly notion of escape. All signs pointed to that option: Hayley's kind treatment of her, Hayley's faith in giving Sebastian a room to herself, the threat on her life if she did try to escape, among other things. All Sebastian was required to do was abide by the rules, like any other female would be expected to do regardless of their status.

Sebastian didn't even do that in her own country. She bent rules as far as they could go without snapping. That's what she called when she got caught or criticized on her actions. Her brothers would back her up on the assertion that she wasn't breaking any rules but simply teetering on the boundary of right or wrong. They wouldn't expect her to follow rules ever. To listen to a pirate was even more outrageous of a situation.

The princess, once heir to throne, was not following the rules now.

Getting out of Hayley's hold was her only goal. She would have to be careful and choose her timing wisely. That night would be the perfect opportunity. Hayley would get home late, as she stated earlier, likely go straight to bed due to a long day sorting through cargo, leaving Sebastian unsupervised. Sebastian would leave once Hayley was asleep. No one would know a thing till morning.

Staying up till the captain returned home and fell asleep would be an easy task. Sebastian had gotten more then enough sleep on the ship. All of that sitting around doing nothing came in handy.

Sebastian remembered seeing a path leading to the outskirts of the town on their way to Hayley's home. It wasn't far from the mansion, maybe twenty minutes walking distance. Sebastian would easily be able to find the path in the dark. She would follow the path till the sun exposed itself over the land. During the day, she would duck into the wooded area away from searching eyes, sleeping or continuing her journey. When night would fall again, Sebastian would continue her journey on the path. The cycle would continue until she was a few towns away from Hayley. She could find a way to make an honest living and stay hidden.

The plan could very well work in Sebastian's favor. There were kinks but those could be worked out as she traveled. Leaving the mansion would be the hardest part. Sebastian wasn't sure what protection Hayley had around the estate during the night. But everything after her moment of initial escape was relatively safe.

She could get out of there.

A knock on the door resonated through the room, knocking Sebastian's thoughts off balance.

"Come in," Sebastian called on subconscious nature.

She had no idea who was knocking on the door. But she reasoned it had to be part of Hayley's staff. It couldn't have been Hayley; she wouldn't knock if she were reentering the room. Besides the servants in the mansion and the pirates on the ship, no one knew about her well enough to call upon her. Plus, there were things in the house she still didn't know how to operate. Someone was supposed to show her how to at some point, even though she wasn't planning on staying much longer.

The door opened revealing a petite female with a perfect set of blonde curls, her cheeks rosy with youth. A sparkling emerald color decorated her irises. A bright smile stretched across her face.

"Can I help you?" Sebastian asked.

She didn’t know who the smiling youth in her doorway was. Hayley didn't tell her she would be having any form of visitor while the pirate was away.

"I'm Holly," the girl chirped, "I'm your handmaid. I wanted to introduce myself as soon as possible and I'm not sure if Mistress Williams got the chance to tell you about me before leaving."

This pixie-like creature was Sebastian's handmaid?

"I'm—" the princess started.

Holly cut her off, "Sebastian. I know. Mistress Williams already informed me."

"What else did she tell you?"

The handmaid knew Sebastian name. Hayley trusted the young girl, possibly the whole staff as well, with the information. It could easily be used to put the pair in danger. Yet Hayley, who was fully aware of the repercussions, allowed Holly to know Sebastian's real name. How much more was she willing to tell them?

Perhaps the staff members were as afraid of Hayley as her crew was. The crew would never cross Hayley in a way that would put their captain in danger. In return, Hayley kept them safe. It could very well have been the same way with the staff.

Or Hayley could have been too trusting.

"Your purpose in the residence and how to treat you," Holly responded.

"And that consists of?" Sebastian trailed off.

"That you're here for Mistress Williams'," Holly hesitated, "sexual needs. You are to be treated with the utmost respect but you are still below Mistress Williams' standing in the household. If you break any of the rules applied to you, we are to inform Mistress Williams. So you're basically being treated like a child in a royal household."

Hayley was making it easier for Sebastian to adapt to living in a new home. For the most part, she was being treated just as she would have at home. The rules placed on her were incredibly similar to the ones her father had over her, death threats aside.

That meant she could escape just as easily.

"Is that all she told you?" Sebastian asked.

The information Holly knew wasn't much, not enough to create any serious case against her. The only incriminating evidence of Sebastian's identity was her name. Her first name at that. Nothing more. It surely wasn’t enough to revel who she was.

"Besides my duties in regards to you? We're not allowed to ask you of your origins. Mistress Williams is afraid remembering will upset you," Holly answered.

"She gave you no indication of where I'm from?"

"Mistress Williams gave us a vague overview. Something about your island being burned and you being the only survivor. It was actually an incredibly romantic sounding story but she refused to give complete details. She just doesn't want you to be hurt if we accidentally bring it up."

Sebastian could see how each story Hayley told was made to appease the audience it was intended for. The one she told the king held insinuated sexual encounters; the one she told the staff was romantic. An island setting only added to whatever Hayley's intended audience perceived happened, which explained why Hayley made Sebastian into an island girl.

Hayley was playing the people around her better than musicians could play their appointed instruments.

"That was kind of her," Sebastian said.

Holly nodded. It was silent for a moment. Sebastian could see thoughts flashing in Holly's eyes. The younger female nibbled on her bottom lip. It seemed as though she had something to say; Sebastian felt it best to wait till Holly could order her train of thoughts.

"You're already dressed," Holly stated, breaking the silence, "and it's too early to dress you for bed. Meals won't be served for awhile, unless you're hungry. Are you hungry? I can ask one of the chefs to make you something. We have one who makes amazing sweets. It's his specialty. I could request something for you."

"I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure? Because I—"

Sebastian placed a hand over the young girl's mouth, successfully cutting off her speech. She stared at Holly, who stared back with wide eyes. Why was she so set on finding something for Sebastian to want to do? Most handmaids Sebastian had met were perfectly content if their mistress was at ease.

Then again, was Sebastian technically her mistress with Hayley running the household? Or was Sebastian simply someone Hayley instructed Holly to take care of?

Sebastian didn't want to think about it. She would be gone soon; it didn't matter.

"Have you ever been a handmaid before?" Sebastian asked.

Holly shook her head, moving Sebastian's hand with it. That explained the rambling. She must have been nervous. It was unknown to Sebastian how much she had been trained in the aspects of being a handmaid.

"Don't stress about this. The only thing you need to worry about is getting me dressed and informing me of the lord of the house's schedule, in this case mistress of the house I suppose. My entertainment is far from your problem. Relax," Sebastian took her hand from Holly's mouth.

"I just want to do a good job," Holly stated.

"It's no use worrying yourself to an early grave over it."

"But Mistress Williams is expecting me to take proper care of you. She basically put her happiness in my hands. Do you know what happens when she's angry? Bad stuff in the cellar."

Sebastian had an idea of how Hayley's tortures were executed. She had, after all, read through the captain's travel journals while on the ship.

"You're my handmaid and I'm telling you there's no point in worrying," Sebastian asserted.

Sebastian would be gone by early morning. Holly only needed to be around her till bedtime. She would never see her again after that.

"Mistress Williams handpicked me. It's important I take complete care of you, including any entertainment needs. You must be well catered to in order to fulfill Mistress Williams' desires," Holly explained.

Realization rushed Sebastian. Holly had been picked out of the number of servants in the castle. No doubt Hayley's process of sifting through her hired help was rigorous. Especially since Hayley wasn't likely to have a trained handmaid in the house already. Holly just wanted to live up to the standards Hayley held her in.

Sebastian understood now and she sympathized with the young girl. It wasn't easy trying to fill roles that were much too big. Even more so if people were in opposition of any progress that could be made.

Sebastian wasn’t going to stand in the way of Holly working to become a suitable handmaid.

"Well, why don’t you show me to the garden?" Sebastian asked.

Holly's face lit up, "Of course, Mistress."

The princess would do one good deed before leaving.