His Highness, Prince Jameson of Conte, second-in-line to the Tortallan throne, stood on the bow of Queen Thyet. He squinted through the thick fog, trying to make out the shape of a dark spot far away.
"Your Highness." The captain bowed to him.
Jay sighed. "I asked you to call me Jay, Arrald."
"I respectfully refuse, Highness."
Carthakis. So formal. "I figured. It was worth a shot." Jay returned his attention to the spot on the horizon. It looked bigger. Was it? Surely not. They weren't moving that fast, were they? Maybe he was misjudging their speed. The blot was probably just a hallucination. But no, it was definitely there. Had it been that big a minute ago?
The captain cleared his throat and Jay jumped. "Highness, I have information for you."
Jay shook his head to clear the fogginess in his mind. The mist that had surrounded the ship for days now must be affecting him. "Sorry, Arrald." Jay said. "Report."
"King Roald wishes to speak with you next time you have access to a fire."
"I will." He promised. Arrald cocked an eyebrow, well aware of the circumstances surrounding Jay's trip to Carthak.
"You will?"
Jay had no intention of contacting his father until he was ready. His father had tricked him into getting on this boat and now was forcing him to study in Carthak. Jay didn't want to study magic, no matter how powerful he was. He didn't want to be a knight, either. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to be told.
"I really will this time." The captain didn't look convinced. "Really!"
Arrald sighed. "He did it for your own good, you know."
Jay didn't say anything. He liked the captain and didn't want to lie to him. Instead he pointed into the fog, where to dark spot was definitely getting closer. "What's that out there?"
The captain glanced where he was pointing, and suddenly swore.
Startled by the vicious language by the usually mild-mannered man, the prince's eyes widened. "What is it?"
Arrald spat. "Pirates."
A/N:
Hi! I know this is really short, and future chapters will be longer, I promise! I plan to update whenever I can, really, so I may do two or three chapters one week and then not post for a month, but I definitely won't abandon this fic. Please review! I love learning how I can make my writing better!