"Have you heard of the Oracion Seis?"
"You mean those ruthless pirates that would kill even the innocent for Jewels?"
"Yes, them. I heard from my cousin, who heard from his sister-in-law's uncle's best mate, that their first mate killed their own captain so he could become their new leader. Isn't that something?"
"Good heavens, that sounds terrifying. Though don't you think that their first mate, I mean Captain, is quite good-looking?"
"Ooh, you do have a point. I wouldn't mind dying if I'm killed by someone sexy like him!"
Princess Kinana of Fiore tuned out the conversation as the two ladies standing next to her started giggling like mad. To be perfectly honest, though, she thought all noblewomen were mad, doing nothing except holding boring tea parties and gossiping about hot men all day. Not that her father would care about her personal opinions, she lamented with a sigh.
She brushed back her short purple hair, held up by a gold hairpin that was adorned with jewels in the shape of flowers, as she surveyed the merry party that was currently going on around her.
Her father had decided to hold yet another ball in hopes of getting her to choose her future husband. She had constantly insisted that she would only marry for love, but he refused to listen to her pleas. "You're already past your prime time, Kinana. When will you just pick someone and settle down?" he'd scolded her one time. Kinana had tried protesting that at twenty-four, she was perfectly young, but he had dismissed her.
"Would you care for a dance, Princess?" a deep, flirty voice spoke from next to her, breaking her out of her reverie. Kinana turned, her green silk gown swirling as she did so, to see a man with pale orange hair bow down to her. He was wearing a handsome suit that was made by the best tailor in Fiore.
Kinana knew who this man was. His name was Loke, and he was one of the famous nobles in the area. He had many female fans who fawned over him and followed him everywhere. In other words, she disliked him tremendously.
"No, thank you," she declined politely, giving him a curtsy of her own. "I'm not feeling very well, and I would rather retire to my chambers for the night." She could already imagine the words her father would yell at her later, but right now, all she wanted was to escape from the ball that was giving her a pounding headache.
Loke's face fell, but then he straightened up again. "Shall I escort you to your chamber, then?" he asked hopefully, ever the smooth talker.
Kinana did everything to push down her disgust at his attempts to court her. "I am well enough to walk on my own, Your Grace. Thank you for your kind offer, but I will have to decline."
"Very well, Princess. Do give me a call if you need anything," Loke said, finally retreating into the crowd and leaving her to her thoughts once more.
Kinana was disappointed that her cousin and best friend Princess Hisui couldn't make it to the party that night, having her own engagements to attend to. The other girl was lucky; she was already engaged to marry her childhood friend slash knight Arcadios. Kinana felt a stab of jealousy at the thought that her friend was settling down before herself, and wondered when her own prince would come for her.
She sighed again as she slipped out of the beautiful ballroom through a hidden back entrance and headed for her room. The party must really be getting to her if she was starting to think silly thoughts about that! She walked down the grand hallway, feeling weird now that there wasn't anyone present with her (the guards were dutifully watching the front entrance of the castle). Finally, she turned the corner and pushed the double doors to her room open.
She shook her head to clear the dirty thoughts out of her mind before she collapsed into her soft, fluffy bed, not even bothering to take off her glass slippers. She was exhausted from the night's events.
Kinana could still hear the cheerful music echoing from the ballroom. She closed her eyes and hummed along to the tune, letting her fingers dance across her pillow to the pace of the song.
As she hummed, she faintly became aware of the wind rattling against the windows in her bedroom. She smiled a little, knowing that a storm was approaching Magnolia. Her uncle, a man who loved the sea, had taught her how to read the clouds to know when it would rain. She longed to travel with him on his ships, but of course she couldn't. If only she could be free, she thought. Then her life wouldn't be so boring…
Was it her imagination, or was the window suddenly creaking open?
Kinana stiffened at the noise. She tried to lift her head to get a better look, but a wave of drowsiness suddenly swept over her. The last thing she heard was the sound of someone's cruel laugh before the world went dark.
A/n: Welcome to my new story! I've always wanted to write a multi-chapter fic for Kinabra since there haven't been many fanfics for them, so this story came to be. I love pirates and this ship ~ (see what I did there? LOL /shot) xD Sorry for the short chapter, but the next one will be better.
Like it? Hate it? If it's interesting, let me know with a review, and I'll gladly continue! ;)
