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To Yonder

Chapter Five

Paradise
“And so lying underneath those stormy skies
She’d say, ‘Oh, ohohohoh I know the sun must set to rise’”
- Coldplay

“The Capt’n said he wanted to see yer. He’s in ‘is quarters,”

Alessia had been sitting on the deck watching the waves roll by – something she had grown accustom to in her short time aboard the ship. It was peaceful. Far out at sea the water was a dark, sapphire blue. It was completely unlike back home where the port sported a rather murky tint; out here it felt like freedom.

“Ayyy mate!”

She continued to daydream watching the endless ocean. It seemed to extend forever – it pushed out and then pulled in at a rhythmic pace. It truly amazed the Princess at how easy it was to get lost into the blue abyss. Something about it fondly reminded her of Tanek’s eyes – the different hues of blue and the way they reflected the sun made her heart flutter like a butterfly caged within her chest.

“ARR YE DEAF?!” Alessia jumped in her place looking everywhere to find the source of the loud noise. She looked to her right to see Toothy standing there looking rather impatient, “I’ve been calling ye fer the past… long time! The Capt’n, he requested to see yer.” Without waiting for any kind of response, Toothy shuffled away mumbling something incoherent about how he manned cannons and gunpowder rations rather than playing the role of errand boy… Well, that’s what he meant in not so many words and not so grammatically correct.

Alessia took one last longing look at he ocean before turning away. Out here it felt like anything was possible, and anything could be easy. She began to think of why Tanek would want to see her. She was supposed to go to him at noon and if she had calculated the time correctly, she still had a few more hours. Maybe he had woken up and remembered last night… maybe he decided to throw her in the brig or worse, right overboard. Was he the type of man who could do something so drastic, so permanent without even so much as a second thought?

With that thought Alessia began to think of ways to prolong her trip. She tried everything from taking the long way around the ship to moving at half the pace as what would be considered “slow.” Sadly, one must know that the inevitable cannot be avoided. Alessia continued to take one step at a time, slowly and evenly until she looked up and found herself face to face with Tanek’s hard, wooden door. For trying to move slowly she felt like she had raced here. She lifted her delicate fist slowly and laid it against the dark, mahogany door before bringing it back and knocking against the hard surface once.

She waited. Maybe he had forgotten about her. She could make her grand escape now! Alessia went to turn around but then decided to knock once more just in case. That way later when he was fuming and complaining about how she hadn’t come when he called she could twist the situation and blame it on him for not answering the door. More confidently, she went to knock again. This time before he fist was able to make contact, the door was swung open violently. She was surprised the entire door didn’t collapse on itself and fall off of its hinges. Suddenly, she was face to face with Tanek himself.

“Captain!” Her heart was racing. Tanek had caught her off guard. She had spent so much time building up her courage and then knocking it down so quickly, all her emotions were all jumbled in a mess. She could burst into a weeping mess of crocodile tears or a fit of uncontrollable laughter at any moment.

He watched her lazily, but his gaze remained sharp, “Do come in.” Something about the way he said it sounded horribly sarcastic, yet nonetheless he stepped to the side allowing Alessia barely enough room to enter the dungeon. She crept by slowly careful not to brush against him by accident. An occurrence like that would surely have her on the floor seizing whether it be from mortification or just because she had touched his beautiful being.

Once she was in, Tanek closed the door and slightly stepped into the room leaving just enough space to close the door behind him. Then he walked around her to stand on the other side of the room. The Princess quickly observed him, but couldn’t deduce anything from his passive expression. Unlike the many people Alessia usually faced, Tanek was a master at masking his emotions. Was this the face of a man really willing to feed her to the fish for a single stupid comment she had made by accident? Maybe, and that uncertain thought absolutely terrified her from end to end.

She waited for him to say something, but nothing came. At this point, he wasn’t even looking at her, but rather out the single window in the room. Maybe he was waiting for her to do something else foolish so he really had justification to throw her overboard other than her just wounding his pride. Regardless, she was trapped.

“Is there something I could help you with?” She finally asked able to build up enough courage to spit the words out.

Alessia watched as Tanek paced back and forth. He stopped at his beloved window. Tanek stood completely still before he turned around to face Alessia with a dark look in his eye, “What are you hiding?”

Alessia looked at him with large doe eyes, “What do you think I am hiding?” She had meant the question to give her a grip on the situation, not dig herself into a deeper hole. It sounded awfully coy to her own ears. Why was she betraying herself like this? Alessia wanted to sound innocent, not like she was some no good seductive siren looking for trouble! What was this man doing to her poor nerves?

“I have welcomed you onto my ship, into my home… I could think of you as a traitor, loyal to the throne. If I were smart, I would have killed you the moment I saw you. If I were cruel, I would have sailed as far out as possible and thrown you overboard into the sea. If I were sadistic, I would have let my men have their way with you before disposing of you one way or another.” He walked closer to her and spoke harshly, “But I have not done any of these things and yet you dare to act so bold. I may be equitable, but I am not lenient. Do not cross me.”

Alessia swallowed and willed herself to keep eye contact. She was a princess; she would never allow anyone to look down at her. She weighed her options mentally. She would not allow him to be her absolute superior, but she knew when she was at fault. Any great leader did. Her gaze stayed steady as did his, “I apologize Captain.”

He walked away from her and sat down at his desk. He stared at each red slash; they seemed to mock his very existence. Tanek felt slashing at his skin for each red x – it burned. He began to slowly crumble, his resolve beginning to go. “I just don’t understand what happened.” He seemed to be talking more to himself than Alessia, “She was supposed to be on that ship. What did I do wrong?”

Alessia felt a stab at her heart. With those five words Tanek had opened himself up to him. He was wounded and he was vulnerable. Watching Tanek slowly broke her heart. He looked so helpless, unlike the fearless man he was prided on being. No longer was he the fearless pirate brute, he was just a man trying to do right by his people. She knew the exact feeling very well and her heart went out for him, “You know where she went, I know you do, and until I know where she is I don’t intend to let you go.”

His translucent eyes searched her unwavering stare looking for something, anything. He searched deep looking for an answer to help progress his cause. Tanek knew that he needed to find answers, and he was almost certain that they were right under his nose. Everything was on the line for him; he was fighting for his way of life. And what he didn’t know, It could all be the difference of life and death for so many men. What he also didn’t know… Alessia never wanted him to let her go, ever.

Perhaps she should say something. Alessia figured it would be better to tell him about her secret now than wait later on. Things would be different then, perhaps too late. Maybe he would be merciless if she let him know… she had seen parts of Tanek she hadn’t dreamed existed. He was definitely a Pirate who thought about each member of his crew like an individual – he probably even gave a lot of thought to who he threw over the side of his ship. Simply, he was just a man. Alessia opened her mouth to spill her surfeit of knowledge when there was a strange sound. Alessia soon realized it was someone knocking on the door.

“Come in Will.” Alessia briefly wondered how Tanek managed to know it was Will at the door? Like magic, he was in fact the one who had been knocking.

Will walked in with a funny look on his face. His overall posture looked excited, but it didn’t reach his eyes, he looked nervous, “I’ve got news.” Alessia wondered if she should excuse herself. The room was constricting and entirely tense. She felt like an intruder. Was this something she should be hearing? They’d tell her to leave, right?

“About?” Tanek looked at Will seeming to understand that what he was about to say was incredibly important.

“The Princess.”

Alessia’s breath hitched in her throat. Maybe it was best if she excused herself now even if the curiosity gnawed at her later. Sometimes knowing less was beneficial – ignorance is bliss, “Should I…?”

“Stay,” Tanek said flicking his eyes toward her for a brief moment before returning his attention to Will. It was like Tanek could see through the façade and had honed in on Alessia’s guilty conscious. Whatever Will had to report, Tanek wanted her to hear.

“They’ve issued a red alert. The Princess has gone missing,” Will said slowly trying to gauge the Captain’s reaction.

Tanek pinched the bridge of his nose, “Of course she is…”

This wasn’t exactly new news. Tanek had suspected such, but at the same time there was always the possibility that the Princess had somehow made it to Dalmasca and he hadn’t been notified. If the Princess continued to be “missing” this could end in two drastically different endings for the pirates.

“It’ll give us more time,” Will reasoned to his commander, “Hell the poor girl could be somewhere washed up lifeless on a foreign coast… or who even knows?”

“We’re going to have to watch out. Patrols will be larger and more frequent., definitely harsher. They’ll be after every pirate ship sailing the seas. If they catch us, we won’t be spared. They won’t hesitate to throw us right into cells without reason. One by one we’ll be tortured…” Tanek was forlorn thinking of the many stories his own Father had told him about life on land. The world was cruel and men were barbaric by nature. Tanek would have to fight with every fiber of his being.

“So what does this mean?”

Alessia watched Tanek waiting for him to reply. When she realized he was too engulfed in his own thoughts she looked up to see if Will had anything more to say. To her surprise he was already staring at her, but with an expression that told her he had only just recognized her presence in the room.

“Alec…” Will trailed off never finishing his thought.

This was it. Alessia was ready to take her stand – all good rulers were supposed to instill change and this was her time, “The Prince will also be sending out forces. If the Princess doesn’t show up, he can’t get married. No marriage means that there is no treaty and no obligations if war was to occur…”

Alessia walked closer to the two men. She wasn’t supposed to know such confidential things, but had slowly pieced together everything her Father had worked so hard on. What had taken years of preparation was going to be gone in a matter of seconds. She knew many of the patrol routes and which ports would be heavily guarded – all information she was ready to divulge to what was once considered the enemy.

In the back of her head Alessia knew there was no way for this to end well. What she did know was that she wasn’t ready to give up; she was going to live out this pirate adventure for as long as she could.

As Princess, it was her duty to maintain the wellbeing of the kingdom and its inhabitants. So long as the Pirates sought refuge in her seas she would protect them any way she possibly could. But was this right? What a Princess ought to really be doing? She sighed heavily; she could always play princess another day.

“Let me see that map there. This is what we need to do…”
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