The Sea Hawk

The hands released her, and Adora turned and faced the man-and liked what she saw, to be honest. Standing before her was a handsome young man with red hair, green eyes, and a beard. "My name is Adora," she said, choosing not to reveal where she was from, nor her royal heritage.

"Captain Jeoff Blithe-known as the Sea Hawk," the man said. "You look like something the cat wouldn't even pick up, much less drag in. I bet you'd be a lot more beautiful if you got a bath and some clean clothes."

Adora wasn't sure what to make of Sea Hawk. "Are you the captain of that ship?" she asked.

"That I am," he grinned, showing off perfect white teeth.

"Maybe I should be going…sorry to bother you, Captain," Adora said as she started to step away. It seemed to her that she'd gone from the frying pan straight into the fire. "I was just looking for a friend's house." She had no idea if he was allied with the Horde in any way and she wasn't about to take that risk.

"In those rags?" he asked as he took her by the elbow. "Where've you been that you're dressed in those? Come on, get a warm bath and get something decent to wear."

"What do you plan to do to me?" Adora asked, realizing that he was a lot stronger than she, and that it would do no good to run. Besides, for all she knew, Catra might be prowling around Seaworthy looking for her.

"Nothing bad," he said, his tone reassuring. He actually seemed to be a decent man.

Adora reluctantly went into the building, which looked like it had once been a tavern or an inn. Men were sitting around the tables chatting, drinking, and playing games. She noticed a short, rather fat man wearing a stocking cap giving her a friendly smile, one that held no trace of lechery, which helped to put her somewhat at ease. The other men simply glanced at her, their expressions a combination of curious and friendly, then went back to what they were doing.

Sea Hawk led her upstairs, to a bathroom. "Throw those old rags out in the hallway, there'll be something for you to wear when you're done. And have a good, long soak," he said.

Adora closed the door and ran some warm water into the old bathtub. While she waited for the tub to fill she stripped off the clothes she'd been wearing for the past six months, making sure to take the key ring out of her pocket first. Opening the door a fraction, she tossed them out, then closed and locked the door.

She noticed a bottle that had bath oil. Opening it, she smelled it, found that it had a pleasant smell. She poured a small amount of it into the tub. A bottle of shampoo sat on the edge of the tub.

Once the tub was full she got in and leaned back. This felt wonderful. She soaked for a long time, then decided to wash her hair.

After about an hour, after she'd soaked and washed her hair, she decided it was time to get out. She opened the drain and stepped out onto the old mat that was next to the tub and reached for the towel. She felt cleaner already.

What was Sea Hawk's motive, though? He was clearly a pirate captain. Why would he help a complete stranger? Unless he wanted something from her-maybe some favors. Which she had not promised him; nor would she.

Wrapping the towel around her skinny, bruised body, she peeked out the door and saw a small bundle of clothes. Down below, in the main room, the men continued their games and averted their eyes, which made her a bit less leery. She took up the bundle and brought it back into the bathroom.

The bundle consisted of a set of long underwear, thick socks, and a long T-shirt, which she put on. She didn't care what it was; it was clean, dry, and warm, and that was what mattered. She used a handy comb to comb the tangles out of her damp hair.

She emerged from the bathroom and went down into the main room. The short, fat man she'd seen earlier approached her. "I'm Sven, first mate," he said by way of introduction. "We may fly a pirate flag, but we just swipe things from the Horde. I've been wanting to convince our captain to aid the Rebellion but he's afraid the Horde will come after us. We're pushing it as it is with breaking into their storehouses…so far they don't know it's us."

"You're not with the Horde?" Adora asked, finding herself trusting this man, who was clearly middle-aged.

"Naw. The Horde killed the captain's parents seven years ago, when the captain was but a lad of sixteen," said Sven. "That's got Captain Sea Hawk afraid to do anything. He just wants to officially stay out of this whole thing and just swipe things from the Horde but there's going to come a time where that's not an option. He is a good man, but he can't sit this out."

"I'll see what I can do," Adora said.

Sven went and sat at a table with his comrades. At that point, Sea Hawk emerged from another room. "Much better," he said as he approached her.

"I'm afraid Horde slaves don't get to have nice, warm baths very often," Adora said softly.

"You're a Horde slave?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I managed to escape," Adora told him. She then told him about her six months of captivity in the Fright Zone and how she'd managed to escape, omitting the part concerning her royal heritage, and the fact that she was from Eternia. "I'd like to get to the Whispering Woods."

"We're not going to Bright Moon, lass," he said, holding his hands up in a "no way, not me" gesture. "I'm not going to have the Horde going after me for being a rebel sympathizer, and if you're smart, you'll just stay here and stay out of the whole fight altogether."

"What can I do to convince you to help me?" Adora asked. "I promised Micah and Angella I'd send help."

"You're a good-hearted young lady, I'll give you that," said Sea Hawk. "Did you really expect to be able to keep that promise, given how tight security is in that place, and in their outposts? They probably won't know any differently. For all they know you're probably at that outpost right now, providing some 'entertainment' for those Horde swabs." She noticed that his eyes flashed a bit-was it with anger?-when he mentioned "entertainment."

"Captain, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try, whether they're aware or not," Adora said softly. "I guess I could just try to get a ride to Bright Moon."

Sea Hawk took her by her shoulders and shook his head. "They'll likely be out looking for you-unless you really do want to take that risk," he pointed out. "You likely know the layout of that place. With the information you have you're a huge threat. I'll let you stay with us but you have to keep a low profile. Here-get something to eat. How long's it been since you had anything?"

"A few days," she replied.

"We've got some soup. Go easy and don't stuff yourself or you'll make yourself sick," he cautioned.

"If I'm such a threat, why do you want me to stay here?" Adora asked, curiosity in her tone.

"Because I can't stand the thought of a pretty girl like you being mistreated by those squids," was his reply as she sat down at a table.

Adora smiled slightly at this. He could have dropped her like a hot potato. If the Horde saw her with Sea Hawk, he would be in trouble.

He also seemed to like her…in much the same way Adam liked Teela.

She sighed as she thought about home. Had Adam proposed to Teela? Would he wait until Adora was rescued before he married Teela-if she was ever rescued?

Her reverie was interrupted by a bowl of soup being placed in front of her and Sea Hawk sitting down next to her with another bowl. "Thank you, Captain," she said gratefully. He didn't have to take her in.

"We'll be heading to the ship and shoving off soon," said Sea Hawk. "We were going to stay here for a few days but if they're going to be looking for you, it's best we get out of here."

"I'm sorry," Adora said as she started to eat her soup.

"Don't worry about it," Sea Hawk told her.

Adora ate her soup slowly. It was quite good, and it seemed to warm her up inside. "Where are we going to go?" she asked.

"I thought we'd just sail around and look for things," he said as he started to eat his own soup. He gazed at her. "You are a very beautiful young lady, and I bet once your bruises go away and you don't look so starved, you'll be even more beautiful."

"Thank you, Captain," Adora said as she blushed and stared into her soup.

"Adora-"

She looked up at him. He seemed like he was trying to think of something to say. "What is it, Captain?" she asked.

"I'm willing to take you to Bright Moon, and help out-but I want you to stay with me. In fact, I want to marry you."

Adora blinked. "We only just met," she said.

"I know…but there's something about you I really like. And whether you realize it or not, you are a temptress. So what do you say?"

"You would help me get these keys and other information to Princess Glimmer, and you would protect me?" Adora asked. She couldn't believe it. She'd only been acquainted with this man for a couple of hours and he'd already proposed to her. A smile played about her lips. The good part about this was, he wouldn't be marrying her for money or power.

"Yes," he said.

"I think I should tell you where I'm really from," Adora said. "I'm from a planet called Eternia. My father rules that world; I'm the Princess of Eternia. Hordak captured me and tried to take my twin brother as well, but failed. He tried to conquer our planet but my father defeated him."

"I thought you didn't really sound like you were from around here," Sea Hawk said, studying her. His shoulders seemed to sag a little. "I bet you have a prince you were going to marry."

"I don't like my choice of suitors," Adora said. "There was this one count that's really determined to marry me, but I don't like him and neither does my father." An idea was forming in her mind, but she didn't know if she should go through with it. She was sure that she was falling in love with Sea Hawk. He was treating her kindly, and he'd asked her to marry him without knowing of her royal background. Not only that, but if she stayed with him, there would be that temptation, as she was attracted to him. Wandering around Etheria alone was not an option.

"I thought you had an air of nobility, but I couldn't figure out why," Sea Hawk said. "You certainly don't come across as just another peasant. And I'd heard that there was a sister world somewhere. I'm assuming that's Eternia?"

Adora nodded. "I'd really like to go home. Hordak might have the gate-maker that he used. But I don't know the first place to look, the Fright Zone is so huge, and I don't know if he still has it." She looked at Sea Hawk. "Would you be willing to go to Eternia, should I find a way back?"

"I don't see why not…so I don't have to deal with the Horde," Sea Hawk said thoughtfully.

"I'll marry you, Captain," Adora said. "There's something about you I like as well."

Sea Hawk grinned. "I have my parents' wedding clothes in my cabin. You're about the same size my mother was. And I have a crew member who can marry us." He looked thoughtful. "I'm sorry it won't be the big wedding you no doubt hoped to have."

"If we get back to Eternia, maybe we can have another ceremony," Adora said.

"I'm fine with that." He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly.

"That was my first kiss," Adora said.

"Mine too," he admitted.

"You're twenty-three and you've never kissed a girl before?" Adora asked, smiling a little.

"Okay, I'm a bit late there. But it was worth the wait."

The next few hours were filled with excitement. Everyone was boarding the ship and the men were talking excitedly-their captain was about to be married. There would be a wedding in the crew mess, followed by a party.

Adora took Sea Hawk's mother's wedding dress to an empty cabin where she could change. The dress was pure white with a simple, straight skirt that went to her ankles. As she changed into it, part of her wondered if she should really wait until she got home, but she had no idea when that would be. It could be a year or two from now. She wasn't sure what her father would say about this, but she knew him to be a reasonable man and he'd no doubt come to like his son-in-law.

There was a knock at the door. Opening it, she saw Sven, dressed in nicer clothes. "I wondered if you'd like me to give you away to the captain," he said.

Adora smiled. "That'd be nice, Sven," she said.

"He's ready. I'll take you to the crew mess." He offered his bent elbow, and she took it. "I did the same for the captain's mother, since she was orphaned. I was once part of the Falcon's crew." The Falcon had been Sea Hawk's father.

That actually made Adora feel better about not having her own parents present at her wedding. She was helping to carry on a family tradition, or at least start one.

They walked down the corridor to the crew mess. The rest of the crew was gathered together, and the crewman performing the ceremony looked up and smiled. Sea Hawk was standing before him, dressed in a green tunic, waiting for her.

Sven led Adora to the altar, and Sea Hawk took her hand. As the crewman performed the ceremony, Adora couldn't help but think that a little over six months ago she'd been discussing marriage-or wanting to wait-with her twin brother, and here she was, about to marry a man she'd only known for a few hours. She couldn't help but think that Adam would be teasing her mercilessly over this one!

It also hit her that had she been delivered to the Hordesman as planned, she would've had her innocence cruelly taken from her. Instead she would be giving it up to her husband.

Sea Hawk and Adora said their vows, and were pronounced husband and wife, whereupon Sea Hawk gave her a long, deep kiss. The men cheered.

The party afterward was lively. Some of the men had musical instruments, and they played them. Others were dancing.

Sea Hawk spun Adora around as they danced together. She was having fun. It was amazing how much her life was changing; she'd gone from being a Horde slave who was constantly abused to being someone's bride.

"I think it's time we slipped out and had our own private party," Sea Hawk whispered in her ear. He took her hand and led her out of the crew mess.

They came to his-now their-cabin. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the cabin, where he laid her down on his bed. "Hawk…I've never done this before, please go easy?" she whispered.

"I've never done it either," he said as he bent over her and kissed her lips. "We'll take it slow, okay? We'll both be exploring uncharted territory and we have all night."

The following morning, Adora woke up wrapped in Sea Hawk's arms. He was still asleep.

Last night had really been something. It hadn't been perfect, but it had still been memorable. She now felt a special kind of bond with him.

His green eyes were fluttering open. "So it wasn't just a good dream last night," he said as he gazed at her. He turned onto his side and propped himself up on his left elbow and pulled the blankets back a little. The outlines of her ribs could be seen beneath her skin. He lightly touched a bruise on her upper left arm. "I promise you, Adora, you will never get that from me," he said. "Only a coward would strike a woman without just cause."

Adora turned onto her right side and snuggled up to him. In reply, he wrapped his arms around her. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, my lovely," he whispered in her ear. "I've had a rough life. I didn't want to let you go."