DISCLAIMER: Not mine, I'm just playing in E&A's sandbox while they're out planning a billion ways to kill us each Sunday. Title comes from a brilliant song by Florence + the Machine Heartlines.
A/N: Beta-ed by the lovely Molly (lilytoby at tumblr) who's the absolute best! Thank you so much dear!. This is my first CS fic ever and my first attempt at writing fics in more than two years, hence, your thoughts are more than appreciated. Be gentle, shipmates! Thank you for reading. :)
Once upon a time, a princess was born in a faraway land. She brought a great joy to the King and Queen, as they had longed for a child for many sleepless nights.
The word of the little princess travelled far across the borders of the realm. With golden locks and emerald eyes she captured the hearts of nobles and commoners alike as they swarmed from all the lands to the castle, bearing gifts and well-wishes.
Alas, it was not only the kind wishes that greeted the child. A prophecy was spoken from the lips of a crone, that a day shall come when a man with a hook in place of his hand will come from across the seas to take the princess' heart.
Grief struck the Queen so strongly she fell into despair becoming a shell of her former self, for it was her only child she was destined to lose. The King could not bear to see his beloved suffer, so he sent his loyal servants in search of this man who was such a threat to the beloved princess.
Brave knights travelled to the end of world, searching everywhere they went. Alas, their search was in vain. No soul on the earth had ever heard of a man with a hook in place of his hand. For all they knew he was just fragment of an old crone's imagination, never having lived and breathed at all.
That was what the knights told the King upon their return. "Fear not, my lord," the bravest among them said, "If such man is ever born, he shall never lay a hand on the princess."
And so, the joy returned to the Kingdom.
The princess grew older and more beautiful with each day. Yet, just as her sixth name day had passed, she came to realise she was quite different. Though she longed for adventures just like any other child at that age, it was not the knights slaying dragons and sleeping princesses locked away in the towers she dreamed of. Although she liked those stories too, she truly did. Her favourite tales, though, were those of journeys across the seas to the lands that were yet to be discovered and places full of magical creatures that could not be found in anywhere else in the entire world.
So when noble boys and girls came to the princess, to fight the imaginary beasts in the dungeons of the castle and have balls to celebrate their conquests, she would welcome them with a polite smile and, once the guests were all lost in whatever game they were playing, she would slip away and wander to the gardens.
It was the gardens she loved the most about the castle, for it was so easy to let her imagination spread its wings among the the tall hedges and foreign flowers. She could roam among them to no end, pretending to be an explorer fighting her way through the jungle in search of…
She never really knew what it was she searched for among these blooming plants. She just hoped one day, she would find it.
It was one of those surprisingly warm days in late autumn. Once again, the princess found herself in the gardens. She wasn't sure how long she had been wandering around until she found herself lost. No, she thought, explorers do not get lost. They find things.
Indeed, it was a curious place she discovered - a stream winding into the woods, ancient trees with their heavy branches brushing the surface of the water… A place bursting with life while everything else around was sharing a last breath. As if she finally found that magical land she dreamt of reaching…
"You should not be here." A voice came from behind her, obviously meant to be threatening.
"Is that so?" she dared, turning to meet the stormy gaze of raven-haired boy. He could not be much older than her, she was certain.
"Yes." He hissed in reply. The boy stood his ground, tall and proud. How dare he? Do you know who I am, you foolish boy? she wanted to ask, but a true princess should never threaten her own people, her mother taught her.
"Why?" she asked instead.
"For one, you're a lass," he spat, "and two, I found it first."
Those words made her blood boil.
The princess returned late at night, with dirt under her nails and skirt torn almost in half, to her mother who was sick with worry, waiting in her chambers.
"I fell." she stumbled to explain as she caught the Queen's gaze.
"Oh, my child." her mother sighed, holding her close to her chest.
The girl wished to tell the truth, she really did. Alas, she was a princess and princesses did not befriend common boys. Or build boats with them. Or sailed those boats in the mountain streams. Or laughed until their bellies hurt. So she kept quiet and hugged her mother tighter, her mind wandering far away.
"But you don't even know how to sail it!" she'd argued.
"Try something new, darling, it's called trust." he'd laughed, an infectious sound that tugged up the corners of her lips.
So she did. And she sailed with him to the end of the world.
"One day, I'll have a real ship and I'll take you there." he promised.
"One day." she agreed, ignoring the screeching voice in her head. Princesses do not travel to the end of the world!
She pressed her face to the glass, longing to be one of those girls on the docks, waving white handkerchiefs in the air and bidding farewell to their loved ones. She thought she had seen him among the rows of soldiers, head held high, eyes blazing, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Still the boy she met by the stream all those years ago. Brave. Proud. Stupid. Thirsty for adventures and desperate to prove himself. To his brother. To her.
"Just come back so you can tell me what you've seen." she begged.
"Keep a weather eye on the horizon." was all he replied.
"I will."
The ship set sail to foreign lands. She watched it till the night fell and the white dot vanished from the horizon.
One day he'll take me there.
It was her fifteenth name day when white sails appeared again in the harbour. She had not seen them, for she was dancing the night away at the ball thrown in her honour. She smiled, talked and nodded at the right places and it was just once during the entire celebration she thought of escape.
"You've grown into a real princess." her father said, proud and beaming as waltzed her through the hall.
"Thank you." she said, and smiled as she truly meant it.
When she excused herself from the festivities, her head still spun from the dances and conversations. She longed to rest her running mind in the silence of her chambers. Yet, as she cracked the door open, she felt herself tense.
"Reveal yourself, who are you?" she questioned the darkness, one hand reaching blindly for a weapon of some kind.
"Guess."
"You." Relief washed over her like a tidal wave. "You shouldn't be here."
"You've asked me to come back, so I did."
In that moment she would have given up anything to feel his arms around her. To hold him and never to let go.
"Tell me?" a plea escaped her lips.
And so, he spoke of places like nothing she had ever seen. Of places she couldn't have even dreamed of. Creatures; ancient, magical and fearsome. Of mermaids and giants and dwarfs… She listened intently, travelling to those foreign lands across the seven seas on his words.
He held the title of lieutenant now and carried a polished sword by his side, yet, he was still no more than a boy who brought her tales of his voyages and whose words she thrived on.
"Come with me." he would say once the tale was told.
"I can't. You must go now." Her trebling lips would answer as her heart shattered into pieces.
"As you wish." would be his only reply.
The night was dark, barely any stars in the sky as he brought her the most terrible tale he had ever told. A tale of two brothers, who sailed to the mysterious land where children never grew old and every breath was full of magic, in search of a precious flower. No matter how many great battles they fought side by side, how many enemies they bested together, one had to lose his head so the other could find it.
She didn't have to ask. She knew whose tale he had spoken of. As he turned to leave without so much as a word, she found the courage in herself to ask.
"Take me to the ship with you."
He stopped in his tracks to look at her, emotion she didn't recognise colouring his features.
"But we must return before the dawn breaks, or they will notice my absence." she warned in trembling voice.
They could not sail to the open seas. They were just a boy and girl who sneaked onto the deck of a royal ship in the dead of night. But it did not matter. As soon as her feet touched down on the wooden floor, it took her breath away. It was nothing like the pictures in the books she'd read or those little boats they once made to sail through the stream. It was a ship. A real ship. And for one night it was theirs.
"Let me show you something." he grabbed her hand, tugging her up the stairs. After all those days of longing to feel his hands on her skin, there they were. Calloused fingers intertwined with hers. In that moment she found herself terrified, for she had never felt her heart drum this hard in her chest. From the excitement, from the taste of adventure. From his hand in hers. And from something else she could not quite recognise.
"Go ahead," he nudged her, "Nobody's here. It's a week at least until they set sail again."
She untangled her fingers from his to trace the curves of the helm. Eyes closed, she stroked the pattern faded with age and use. She realised now why men fell in love with sea and ships in the stories. He, too, was one of those, she wondered with a smile.
"She's quite a marvel."
"Aye, that she is," he smiled, voice thoughtful, "You should see her on the seas, keeps us on our toes."
"Would you teach me one day?" she asked, turning back to him. She did not expect, however, to find him this close. He did not speak, just stared at her, eyes wide and stormy. She wondered for an instant if you could ever drown in a gaze.
She never found an answer, for her fingers wrapped around the lapels of his coat and her lips were pressed against his, of their own accord. Just a peck, a ghost of kiss, yet she found herself at loss of breath.
Something flashed in his gaze and his lips were back on hers, burning hot and clumsy. Her hands found their way into his hair and his wrapped around her back. Breathless, they pulled apart, noses still touching.
"That was…" His voice hung in the air and she hugged him closer.
She needed him. Inside her. Around her. His breath hot on her breasts. His fingers caressing her back.
Their bodies were a mess of tangled limbs, not an inch of space between them.
Uncertain, fumbling, tender touches.
A strange sensation built in her belly.
His form collapsed onto hers, mumbling apologies to her neck.
Dawn broke in the far east of the horizon.
"Go," she urged, eyes terrified, "They're coming!"
But he could not let go of her hand. He longed to hold her and never to let go. To touch her. To feel her. To meld with her skin and stay forever.
The voices swelled in the hallway. Feet trotting in a perfect rhythm, and the guards were now upon them.
"Take the princess away!" one bellowed at his comrades.
She did not fight them. She just looked back once, hints of tears shining in her eyes.
That gaze was all he saw as they dragged her away.
"You cannot let them hurt him, mother. He did no wrong!" she spoke as she clutched the Queen's hands.
"I am sorry, child," her mother looked very, very tired, "They do not see it that way."
Dura lex, sed lex, it said in the ancient books they made her read. And so it was, for no one shall ever try to steal a princess. Even if she gave them her heart.
"Come," the Queen beckoned as the drums crescendoed outside the walls, "you do not want to see this."
She buried herself in her mother's arms, feeling like a little lost girl.
She might not have seen it, but she felt her soul shatter as the deafening silence fell on the castle walls.
Many moons had passed when she first heard the whispers. A strange ship had found its way to the harbour.
"Merchants." some swore. "Pirates!" claimed others. Yet not a single soul set foot ashore from it.
She didn't know what drove her to sneak out of the chambers. Bleak moonlight illuminated the masts among the harbour just like that night when his hand led her through the rows of vessels. She saw it soon enough, a at little distance from the royal fleet. Graceful as a swan bathing in the moonlight. She felt as if she knew it, something oddly familiar coaxing her to come closer.
With trembling hands she climbed the ladder to the deck, her mother's warnings ringing loud and clear in her mind. Yet, at that moment it didn't matter, for she wasn't a princess, she was just a girl looKing for the taste of adventure.
"Welcome abroad "The Jolly Roger", love." a voice stirred an avalanche of sorrow within her. That voice… It could not be…
It was a man with stormy eyes and raven hair that greeted her. A man with a hook in place of a hand.
"It is your duty as a princess and a Future Queen!" her father's stern words met her protests.
But I don't love him! she wished to argue, I don't even know him! But what could she say? Future Queen did not fall in love with pirates, Future Queens married knights or princes and lived happily ever after. And so would she, for this was her duty and if there was one thing she was ever taught it was to not avoid her duties.
"I hear he has a gentle heart and is a great knight. You will learn to love him," the King spoke, "your betrothal was decided long ago, it is only fitting that we join our families in marriage."
He came to her in the dead of night.
"It's the last time… A goodbye," she stumbled.
"It doesn't have to be," he whispered, his hand on her face and his lips hot on hers.
They should not do this. She should just order him out and forget about it, for she was the Princess and tomorrow a man she did not know would take her hand in marriage and the crowd would chant: "Long live the King and Queen!"
But he inched closer and she found herself yielding to the storm of his eyes.
There was no time to be gentle, for she could not afford them to catch him this time. There was no time for apologies and promises that could never be kept, for if they found him, it wouldn't be just a hand he'd lose. There was no time, as once the dawn came she would never see him again.
There was just time for rough. Raw. Desperate.
He held her close, fingers digging in the flesh of her hip. Her hands tangled in his hair, the scent of ocean, salt, rum, him overwhelming her. Had he asked her in that instant to leave it behind and run away, she might have answered: "Yes." She could see it all behind her eyelids: a fearless captain at the helm of his ship, sailing into the eye of the storm, and a woman by his side, just as brave, golden hair blowing in the wind. Together.
But he did not speak, however, just pressed her back against the stone wall because they both knew better. Maybe, in another life, it might have been him who held her hand in front of the adoring crowd, maybe it might - should - have been him she promised her life in marriage. Maybe… But there was no other life, just here and now, and he was a pirate and she was an heir and their duties hung over their heads like a sword of Damocles.
Her knees buckled, a silent scream building within her. Her nails dug into his skin, leaving marks on him just as he marked her. They were not careful and she thought that everyone would know once they see her tainted form in that pure white dress in the morning. But for the last time, the night was theirs, so she let herself drown as he trembled inside her.
He watched her every movement as she fumbled with her skirts, trying to settle her shaKing hands. His eyes never left her as she pretended to be calm, collected and regal. He drank in the sight of her as her breath caught in her throat as he slid a ring of his finger and pressed it into her palm. Another promise that could not be kept.
"Leave." she could not meet his eyes as she pushed him through the door, the weight of the ring heavy in her palm.
"As you wish." he said, though what he really meant was: I love you. I need you. Sail away with me.
With the weight of her crown heavy on her head and his ring on a chain under her garments burning her chest, she heard an echo of her own words in the chapel: "I do."
"You may now kiss the bride." the minister's voice rang out among the cheers.
The stranger's lips brushed against hers before he turned to the crowd and raised their joined hands in the air. As if she was just a prize for his conquests.
Soon, a child was born. A boy with his mother's eyes and raven hair unlike the King. The Queen carried him at her breast and hid him from the prying eyes, for though the King claimed to love him as a son, his wrath was brewing under the surface.
The boy grew, with an infectious laugh and a quick wit, he was always the pirate and never the knight in the children's games. It was because of stories his mother told in hushed tones as she rocked him to sleep. Stories of brave pirates and great adventures. Stories that made the King frown and the Queen gaze thoughtfully at the ocean. Stories that were meant to be their little secret but somehow everyone had heard them anyway.
He did not know why his mother asked to keep the stories secret. Or why the servants stopped in their tracks whenever he walked by. Or why the farm boys liked to call him a bastard so much. He asked the Queen what that meant once but she just hugged him close and mumbled: "I'm so sorry, my brave boy."
It was when he reached his fifteenth name day that he realised that it was a his mother's eyes and a stranger's face that looked at him from the mirror, not the King's. From that day on, he swore never to call the King 'Father' again.
It was also when he started pay attention to the fights behind the doors of the royal chambers, to the King's rage and his mother's soothing words.
"One day," he swore to his mother that night, "I'll be the captain of the greatest ship there is and I'll sail you away from here, straight to the end of the world so the King can never find us."
"One day." she agreed, her mind drifting back to another boy with raven hair and stormy eyes who promised to steal her away.
For sometimes promises were kept, it just took a long while to honour them.
They said it was just like a crone once told by the crib of a newborn princess.
A ship with sails dark as night laid anchor in the harbour and pirates swarmed to shore, pillaging everywhere they stepped, setting land to ash. A fearsome captain led the plunder. A man with stormy eyes, raven hair and a hook in place of his hand. A man who had come from faraway lands for the Queen's heart.
They said the Queen did not fear him when he barged into her chambers. She welcomed him as an old friend, a lover, for he came to fulfil the promise - to sail her and the boy to the timeless land at the end of the world and repay for all the time that they had once lost.
They argued, though, that it was not the Queen's heart he desired. It was his own as she was merely where he kept it.
For if you come to take what is already yours, is it really a theft?