The moon shone brightly from among the clouds above the turbulent sea. The crew was sound asleep.

A restless prisoner was still roaming around the aft.

The aft was silent, the only sound being the violent waves crashing against the hull. Anne sat behind the supply crates, a napkin in her hand as she scribbled something, "Hop Pop, I hope you've been well." She recited in her mind. "You all may have already noticed my absence. I want you to know that I'm okay, I've been trapped on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean to ransom for about a week now. Can't tell where I am right now but just know that I'm trying to find a way back, and I promise we'll see each other again. Please take care of Sprig, Polly and yourself. Love, Anne."

She finished with a sniff, the thought of how distraught her family would be about her sudden disappearance was tearing her heart apart. She could only hope for the ocean to help her and have it reach her family somehow. Rolling the paper and stuffing it inside an empty rum bottle she had stolen from the kitchen, she screwed the cork on tightly and held it close protectively as she peeked down the rail.

"Ay! What are ye doin' here?" Anne jumped to her feet, her face turning pale when she heard the Captain's yell, quickly turning and hiding the bottle behind her back.

"I-I, um, didn't see you there-"

"That doesn't answer my question. You should be in your cell." She suspiciously eyed the hidden item in her hands. "What'cha hiding there?"

"N-Nothing." Anne stuttered, taking a few steps back. "...It's personal."

"Princess. It's 2 in the morning and I'm in no mood for this." Marcy proceeded to pull a dagger out of her belt just enough to alert Anne. "Hands where I can see them. Now."

Anne narrowed her eyes and stiffened. "Right. As if you're- whoa!" the tip of the blade was suddenly inches away from her nose, she stumbled and landed on her bottom with a grunt.

The bottle with the note rolled over on the floor before Marcy to pick up and inspect, narrowing her eyes she shook her head in disappointment.

"I-I can explain-"

"Don't think I need it. Ye have 2 minutes to say what you have before I make sure you never write again."

Anne curled up into a ball with a pout and grumbled. "How can I expect someone to rescue me when no one knows I'm in the middle of the dang ocean? Have a heart, man."

"And how exactly were ye thinking this would play out?"

She paused, taking a moment to consider. "Isn't this what happens in books? People put messages inside a bunch of bottles, throw it in the sea and if they're lucky it gets delivered."

Anne wasn't looking up at her but could sense Marcy giving her a deadpanned look. "That's stupid, and unreliable, sea doesn't work like that. It'd get swallowed by a whale before it sees the light of the day."

"Look, I don't know, okay? I just want to let my family know that I'm okay. I disappeared out of nowhere, who knows what they'd be going through right now-?" She muttered, a bit of embarrassment in her tone and looked up at Marcy who continued to gaze back coldly. "...I know it's stupid. But I'm tired of waiting. I just thought it was worth a shot. They're my family. Families care about each other, and if one goes missing, everyone else just- " She finally sighed and buried her head in her arms. "Who am I kidding...you wouldn't understand. Go ahead, take me back to the cell… do whatever you want, I don't care anymore."

The last bit came out as a mutter, knowing she wasn't gonna get away with it like last time. What's the worst she'd get for being charged with straight up writing a letter to her kingdom and call help? Why did she think this was a good idea to begin with? Not like it'd work anyway. And Anne had known the residents of the ship well enough by now, the Captain wouldn't twice before setting the Quartermaster after her to bully her again and have her homesick problem resolved like nothing.

Marcy slowly moved the item back to her. "Go ahead then."

"Excuse me?"

"Ya just said it's worth a shot, right?" She shrugged, gesturing at the undulating sea below. "Then go on. Before I change my mind."

Anne scratched her head, getting up and hesitantly taking it. She slowly and cautiously walked her way over the plank, holding tightly onto the rail with one hand for balance.

The cool breeze continued blowing through her hair. She turned to look back at Marcy as if to double-check she was at a safe distance, not planning to push her off the edge or anything; as ridiculous as it sounded, her mind was a puzzle Anne swore she wouldn't understand if she tried. The Captain was watching over her observantly as if eager to witness something go wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the anxiety on her face.

"Can you please not stare, I'm awkward under pressure. Sometimes I throw up." Anne muttered nervously.

Marcy gave her the biggest eye roll, it was ridiculous of her to try and be sympathetic with her. How in the world was this girl even chosen to rule an entire kingdom?

"That's it- You're only wasting my time here with yer nonsense. I changed my mind,"

"Never mind!" Anne panicked when Marcy began to approach and quickly threw the bottle away into the sea, a bit too hard that it nearly threw her off balance before Marcy grabbed her wrist and yanked her back on board. "Ha! Beat you to it, Captain."

"Mhm, sure, have fun waiting a manifold years for that thing to reach someone. Hopefully yer soldiers are searching garbage clusters 'cause that's where that stuff ends up. That is, if you're lucky enough it doesn't get smashed up by the violent waves or swallowed by a whale like I already said." Marcy shrugged, tucking an arm behind, starting to wonder why she was elaborating on it so much.

"Damn, you must be fun at parties." Anne scorned, pulling away from her. "Go ahead and mock me. Being abducted from your home to a boring ship ain't as fun as it seems, Caps, makes you a tad nuts I suppose." She said sarcastically. She wasn't stupid to not know the Captain was just liked taunting her misery at this point. Even if she was only being factual; Anne would've been feeling much better if she'd just left it than choosing to crush her hopes. "You love showing off how smarter you are, don't you? Well, congrats."

"I've got better concerns than you giving yourself solace and getting yer hopes up high for the ocean to bring ye a miracle. The world doesn't revolve around ye and yer empty rum bottle."

"It doesn't, so what? I shut myself out? Run away on a ship out of spite where I can pretend it does?" Anne sank to the floor with a frustrated sigh, her back leaned against the wall. "It's not about the world, Caps, it's reaching out to the small list of people you call family that counts. You wouldn't get it."

Marcy blinked at her response, starting to feel she was probably being too mean over something as simple as a conceit. "I do get it. And I'm not saying I can't be wrong. I mean, in rare cases, it could reach where you need it, maybe 1 in a million. And," she paused and bit her lip, looking away. "…you sound like you do care about yer family a lot, and they say ya really put yer heart into yearning for something, treasure or individual, then not even the ocean can stop you to reach it."

Anne blinked in silence. Despite how strange the words felt coming from...well, her. She didn't realize her eyes start to well up as the thought of her family raided her mind again, she buried her face into her knees, letting her emotions flow.

Marcy blinked, for a moment she worried she had said something wrong. It was strange to see the stubborn, snarky Princess -that surprisingly never showed a spark of vulnerability over things that other prisoners would've lost hope and gave in to- weeping this way before.

She couldn't help but feel responsible for her tears. And she swore it was hard to watch.

The Captain cleared her throat awkwardly, as if to remind the Princess of her presence, in slight hopes that she might stop crying by herself in refusal to come off vulnerable. But she didn't. For a moment Marcy didn't see the royal heir to the throne, but rather another girl like herself that was lost.

She didn't acknowledge herself move closer and kneel next to her. Slowly, she stretched out an arm to wrap it around her and pull her into a embrace, just like how Sasha did when she had those phases. Her fingers stopped inches before they could touch her shoulders. Was it even okay for her to touch the Princess, without accidentally scaring her and making her feel worse.

She gently took Anne's palm in her hand instead. "Hey, it's okay." She whispered. "You can let it out." Marcy didn't know why she was doing this, she wasn't supposed to let the prisoner see this side of her. But she didn't want to leave her like this either. What would the crew think if they saw? What would Sasha think?

This could be all sorts of wrong. A part of her wanted to jerk Anne's hand off and run back into her cabin, scream into her pillow as hard as she could. But that moment never came.

Marcy gaped in surprise when Anne suddenly thrust herself into her, squeezing her tightly into a hug, clutching the fabric of her coat and sobbing into her shoulder. A blush swept across her face from suddenly being this close to her. She interlocked their fingers and silently brushed her other hand down Anne's hair who mumbled something inaudible into her shoulder. She really had been holding it in for long enough as Marcy could assume.

"Do ya need t' talk about it?" She suddenly asked. Anne pulled back to look at her, eyes still watery.

"W-What?"

"Your family? They sound very important to ya." Marcy asked, wiping the tears off Anne's eyes, hoping that having her talk it out might ease her load. She almost worried she had asked something too personal when Anne continued to give her a silent look.

"They...they mean the world to me." The Princess finally spoke, sniffing.

"What are they like?" Marcy asked, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position, letting her rest her head on her chest. Anne relaxed, gazing up at the stars as she pictured her family up in them.

"Well…Sprig and Polly, my cousin are…" She tried to look for a word. "...both chaotic. I remember the pain of having to babysit them when they were young. Polly is still young, but boy, she's feral." She continued as a smile brushed across her face. "She threatens the servants and jokingly ordering executions. Not everyone finds it funny, it's traumatizing, even. But she's working on it...probably. But still, she cares a lot."

Marcy squinted at the description, trying to decode what it reminded her of. "Sounds a lot like Sasha."

Anne snorted. "They'd either get along too well or not stand each other five minutes." The image of her terrifying little sister pestering the rigorous Quartermaster was enough to make her wheeze.

"And Sprig," she continued, her laughter settled down but a warm smile stayed. Marcy felt Anne clutching harder onto her hand. "He's so much more than a brother. He's my best friend. We fight sometimes, but I wouldn't trade him for the world." Her smile slowly faded, getting to her feet she walked over to the taffrail, gazing up at the moon.

Marcy wanted to say something comforting but couldn't come up with anything.

"Sprig and I had so much fun at sleepovers as kids." Anne suddenly began again in the same tone as before. "…Pretend to be asleep when Hop Pop came to check up on us, but then we'd have pillow fights, staring contests, you name it. Sometimes we'd pretend to be pirates and the bed was the ship, and-" Anne paused at the last one, briefly giving the Captain an awkward look and cleared her throat. "Err, sorry. So yeah, that's pretty much it." She drummed her fingers on the rail. "I'd give anything to see him right now."

"Can't say I'm surprised ya miss them." Marcy said as she walked up next to her to join the moment of profound silence. "...What about yer parents?"

Anne turned to give her a look at the sudden question. "Hop Pop is all I have. He's a boring lil dude but hey, he can be fun sometimes, heh, except when he's making terrible jokes at the dinners, that ends up in disaster." She snickered, Marcy listened actively. "Well, despite his boring old dude demeanor, he does care about the people a lot, especially the farmers.."

"For reference, farm culture is extremely underappreciated considering they act as the backbone of society, accountable for majority production of crucial supplies."

"Not bad for someone living a reclusive life at sea."

"I have my alliances on land, mind ye. Most o' which ain't fond of monarchical exploitation."

She noticed Anne gazing at her profoundly, deep in thoughts.

"What?"

"You sound just like him." The Princess commented warmly before pondering back into her prior thoughts. "I've always felt… different from Sprig and Polly… and not being Hop Pop's actual granddaughter, I don't even know why he wants me to rule." She gazed down at the waves below.

"Well, I think I can see why he does, I think you'd make a pretty good ruler."

"Oh yeah?" Anne huffed, a small blush on her face. "And what makes you think so, Captain?" Marcy smirked smugly, leaning over the rail, resting her face over a palm and tapping fingers.

"So I could kidnap ye a second time on yer coronation perhaps." She teased.

The Princess scorned in annoyance and dug her elbow into Marcy's side who shed a tear crackling at her own comment.

Funny that Andrias always said the land-dwellers were losers with no feeling of care amongst them, all just waiting to stab one another in the back in greed of gaining the widest of land. Things were different on the seas. Things were better here. But it didn't quite seem like it, not the Princess herself nor the King seem half as bad as her dad claimed their kin to be.

...Her dad?

'No, he's not.' Marcy reminded herself, not acknowledging her grip getting tighter on the rail. 'He never was.'

"Can I ask you something?" Anne suddenly said, snapping Marcy out of her thoughts about the certain man and turn her attention to the Princess. "How did you even get stuck into this...this kind of life? With... um, her."

Marcy shrugged and looked up at the clouds. "Not all of us are born in a fancy castle inherited with wealth and a family that stays, I guess."

Anne bit her lip, debating whether she was being appropriate asking that until Marcy continued.

"I…remember meeting Sasha when we were 13… donno when we became a thing but," she swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she dived deep into the memory. "Apparently, the Captain was fond of having outsiders in the ship. Cap'n of course, my dad would rather have me gone forever. I thought the only way was to run away, live a normal life perhaps but Sasha…she's always been the stubborn one, she decided pirate life was her call, she turned our crew against him. I never imagined Andrias being one to commit mutiny against."

"Come again-?" Anne scratched her head. Marcy cleared her throat.

"Persuading the crew into throwing his ass off, that is."

"That happens?"

Marcy huffed and tipped her hat. "The ship doesn't make you Captain, the crew does. And Sasha has her way with persuasion, I guess, that or Andrias just sucked that bad."

"I can bet both." Anne rolled her eyes and muttered.

"I still donno why Sasha decided I should be Captain. The crew always seemed more fond of her." Marcy put her face in her palm. "Something tells me she wanted me to have my chance. She said it didn't matter as long as we're a whole …5 years passed like days. Suddenly we... weren't kids anymore. There were bigger things ahead of us than to stargaze and have sleepovers, and…" The last part came out as a mutter. She felt Anne's hand draw closer to hold hers. "S-Sorry I got carried away."

"It's crazy how fast time changes, huh?" Anne gave her a small smile. Marcy nodded slowly. "But hey, no wonder she means a lot to you. Even if she's… unbearable sometimes. Still must be nice having a partner that cares."

"Don't tell me her highness has never had a consort." Marcy jeered, folding her arms. Her tone was satire but deep inside she wanted to bury her head in the sand of the nearest shore, something about knowing the Princess wasn't committed was somehow making her feel worse.

Anne raised an eyebrow with a pout. "Is it really that surprising?"

"I donno… you're cute-" Anne blinked. Marcy mentally slapped herself. "I mean-! You're… gorgeous, you're classy but cool, you're…uh," she stammered, trying to look for the right word.

"Thank you…?" Anne held back a snicker as Marcy coughed trying to hide her face red from embarrassment.

"My point is, you're...you. You're a Princess, potentially the heir to a kingdom... who wouldn't wanna be with you?"

"Hop Pop says I should get married now, but I just don't feel like it being my thing," Anne shrugged, walking away from the rail, hands tucked behind her back. "It's hard finding someone that's not afraid of you when you're a future ruler. Or simply trying to take advantage of you. You feel me?"

Marcy downcast her eyes in guilt, following behind her as they walked down the aft.

"I guess the one I have my eyes on has already found her call." Anne finished, stopping to take the Captain's hand, her hair flowing with the breeze as she held a tiny smile.

Marcy blinked and scratched her head, "Oh. Uh. That's unfortunate… I think."

"It's not." Anne shook her head, her fingers slowly interlocking hers. "You see, when you really long for someone, Caps, all that matters is they're happy wherever they are." Marcy nodded deeply, still confused but something about her words felt… comforting. "Thank you, y'know, for listening. I feel better. Honestly, I don't even know why you still give me a chance."

"Hey. You're the one who snapped at me for being a jerk."

Anne chuckled nervously, scratching her neck. "Uh...yeah, I'm sorry about that. That was quite vile of me, calling you all that mean stuff. Y-You're really none of that."

"Don't embarrass me by apologizing for only being truthful, yer grace."

"Anne." She corrected. Marcy blinked in surprise, looking at her for assurance. "Call me Anne."

A slight blush swept across her face. "...Marcy." She found herself mutter. "But, only when we're alone."

"Of course," Anne smiled. "Y'know, it's kinda funny I was always told pirates were these creepy, ruthless, cold-hearted and whatnot. But you know what, Marcy?" She lifted her chin with her finger. "You're the kindest one of them I've met."

A warm sensation went down her spine at the words, she sighed. "Uh huh. That's not wrong though. They can be all that, it's...kinda the norm." she muttered. "You… can never trust them."

"Well, I think that's bonkers. We've just started to actually talk and it feels as if I've known you forever. We aren't even that different!" Marcy didn't respond, they weren't the same, they were never going to be. There was an immutable rift between them that couldn't be denied, no matter how much either of them wanted. "Why don't you come live with me in the castle? We even have better food on land."

"The land? Err, no." Marcy winced at the thought. Living in a castle was something she had only dreamed of, but always assumed was better imagined than preferred. "Besides, I think the King would rather have my head."

"Maybe not if I tell him you helped me get back home, that you treated me with respect. I'm sure Hop Pop will understand, you have your whole life ahead of you, you'd get what you want, you won't have to rely on…this miserable life." She insisted. Marcy darted her eyes in sudden suspicion.

"You think I'm miserable?" Her tone began shifting back into the usual demeanor.

"Marcy. You don't want to spend your entire life being an outlaw, do you?

"Ye know what I call miserable?" she scoffed. "Swearing loyalty and living a boring life groveling before the person in power for the slightest bit of felicity. A life without adventure, without fun; a life lived in fear is miserable. Not here, I fear nothing here."

"Crime isn't a solution." The Princess argued. "It's on us to work together and right that wrong."

"It's so easy to say that when you're born to rule." Anne almost stumbled when Marcy was suddenly inches away from her face, glowering. " I may be a pirate, but I ain't a pig that'd do anything in the name of money. No matter what, a Captain does not abandon the ship. What do you know? You land-dwellers and your delusion of grandeur."

Anne blinked, almost taken aback by the sharp turn her attitude had taken. Marcy sensed the distress in her eyes and pulled back, almost ashamed.

"I'm… I didn't mean to word it like that. I don't expect you to understand, but this is… sorta the life I've always known..." Moving away, she let herself slide to the floor and leaned her head against the wall. "I don't want it to change."

Her heart ached inside, desperate to tell Anne that it wasn't so, that she needed her, she did want to be with her, but she couldn't imagine leaving her crew, her life behind. Leave the first love of her life behind.

With a frustrated sigh she slid to the floor, huddled up and her back leaned against the wall of the railing.

Anne sat down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know why your ship is important to you. Change can be difficult, and it can take time. This probably means nothing coming from me, my life has changed ever since I came here, and believe me it's not always bad."

Marcy sighed and casted down her gaze. "... I'll… remember my place next time."

The Princess didn't seem to hear and leaned her head against her shoulder, tracing her fingers on the embroidery on her sleeve. "I know it's hard being a Captain. Being a Princess is just like that. But I have faith that deep down beyond the hate there's a kind, beating human heart that just wants peace."

How could she say that, after all that's been done to her? Marcy wanted to wonder. Was she just trying to get into her head with all this reassurance, why would Anne even have faith in her? After how much she wronged her. She'd have expected anything but sharing a bond as heartfelt with the Princess. Would all this even last if she told her about her genuine feelings? Would she be disgusted and push her away too?

"Uh, Anne? There's something I-" she was answered by a deep snore. Anne was sound asleep, slumped over her shoulder, her hand still holding onto the Captain's.

Marcy sighed dreamily, she couldn't help but smile at how adorable Anne looked asleep, cuddled up to her, snoring loudly and mumbling something under her breath. It was pretty late and all the talking must've gotten her tired. Marcy slowly stood up, and slid her hands under the sleeping Princess to carefully scoop her up in her arms. Anne grunted and squirmed a bit before drifting back to sleep.

Marcy looked around to make sure no one was seeing them. Thankfully the crew was asleep at this hour, this would be so hard to explain. But her worries let up the moment she looked back at Anne's face. What an angel. She thought to herself as a blush swept across her face, as she made her way back to the brig.


Marcy carefully laid Anne down, pulling some extra covers on her. She slowly pulled the tiara off her head and placed it on the counter, brushing a hand down her hair, that had lost its smooth texture due to the sea salt water having been into it. "Night, Anne." She whispered. Anne rolled to her sides comfortably, mumbling something under her breath. Probably dreaming about being home, back with her family, Marcy assumed. Her real home, where she'd be happy, for real. Not on this filthy ship.

Marcy's smile faded and tears began to well up her eyes. She felt knots in her gut, she had an urge to hate, hate what she was being right now. She was a pirate, everyone on the ship was counting on her, she was supposed to be the smart one, not this soft-hearted idiot craving more and more of the minimal bit of tender kindness the Princess showed her. Like a fish tempted to arise to the surface from a sea full of spite for the bait of love on a hook. All for a girl she had met a couple of days ago, meant for ransom.

This, whatever this was, wasn't an option. Not in the kind of profession and life they were living. As Sasha would phrase it, she had turned weak. Or as Andrias would call her, a disappointment.

"What have you done to me?" she muttered, staring unblinkingly at the Princess that slept peacefully, like she had not a care in the world. "How dare you…" her tone cracked. "I hope yer happy with yourself. I bet you are. Look at you, being at peace after ruining everything. I hate this. All this... is because of you."

Marcy held her head and winced, she could hardly hear herself on account of the several voices echoing inside. Telling her to put her misery to an end. Patience can only get you so far, blood gets you further. Dad always said eliminate what makes you weak, kindness is a dangerous thing for a pirate to possess.

A shaky hand reached for her belt to grab the hidden dagger. Money didn't matter anymore, to be fair it never did to begin with, not to her. Marcy didn't acknowledge the dagger move and held high above her head, hovering over the girl, ready to rip her to shreds, in hopes to end the pathetic feelings that came along.

Among the several screaming voices, stood out a familiar one. 'It's always been yer fault, Marcy.' the familiar voice echoed in her ear. 'Now, look what you made me do...'

Marcy froze in place when she realized the mistake she was making, shutting her eyes tight, gritting her teeth, refusing to look at the girl before her, hands trembling in midair. Blood wasn't the answer to everything, no matter how much they said. She felt disgusted. No longer at the Princess, but herself, for stooping this low, for even thinking of doing what she was just about to do, blaming Anne for her feelings like a coward. A pathetic one.

This wasn't who she was, she wasn't like the person who raised her, she couldn't be.

Anne shifted on her back with a groan, and squinted her eyes open. She gasped at the sight of the pirate above holding a dagger in her hand. Instincts kicking in, she screamed and kicked the Captain off her. Marcy snapped out of her thoughts as she was thrown several feet away. "Help! Somebody! I'm being attacked!" Anne cried and dashed over to the door, struggling to open it.

"Anne, wait!" Marcy pulled her back and stood over the door. "I can explain!"

"Stay away from me! Or…or else, I'm not afraid to use this!" Anne grabbed a wooden shaft and held it in defense. Marcy's heart sank at the fear and pain she saw in her eyes. "I can't believe it, after all that, when I finally believed we were friends- you were just gonna kill me? What's wrong with you?!"

"I wasn't…" Marcy paused, trying to look for an answer but nothing came up. "...I was… gonna hurt you? Oh crud…" she looked down at the dagger in her hand, the same one she had once given Anne to defend herself against Andrias. "I didn't…it can't be." Her eyes welled up, her breath got heavier, tears formed at the corner of her eyes. Anne dropped her guard as soon as she saw the Captain drop her weapon and fall to her knees, holding onto herself tightly, sobbing. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. I wasn't gonna- I didn't want to- I really didn't. The voices. I don't know what got into me, Anne-"

"Hey, hey, look at me." Anne knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "...Tell me what happened?"

"It's just… All of this just felt wrong. I thought this would fix everything, I was afraid because I started to... like you and if everyone else found out they'd... they'd," she sniffed. "-they wouldn't like me anymore."

"Why'd you say that?"

"...Nobody likes a pirate with a weak heart. I'm…I'm a terrible Captain- that's what Andrias would say," she took Anne's hand and gently pushed it off her shoulder. "But it's wrong to make you the one who's gonna pay for it."

Anne bit her lip, she had every reason to not believe a word the girl was saying, frog knows she may have never woken up from her sleep. But watching Marcy curl up into a ball and squirm away, shaking with cold sweat, tears rolling down her face; she couldn't bring herself to believe she was making this up.

"Hey, listen to me." She began firmly. "Take a breath. You're not a bad Captain. Your crew likes you and it's because you have the heart to care for people. It's not weak to be kind, even for a pirate." Marcy blinked tearfully as Anne embraced her into a warm hug, caressing the back of her head. She frowned, she didn't deserve it.

"N-No." she pulled back. "…you should hate me."

"I don't know what's hurting you," Anne exhaled deeply and cupped her face. "But I know that no one deserves to feel like they have to be something they're not to be loved. But you can't expect people to accept you if you don't accept yourself."

Marcy touched Anne's hand over her cheek and sniffed. She felt guilty, she didn't deserve the Princess's kindness. "Anne, I just-"

There was a noise from upstairs. Someone was coming down, Marcy could recognise Grime's annoyed grumbling from any distance, as he probably came down to check the noise. She gave Anne one last look, she couldn't be seen with her by anyone from the crew at this hour, things would only become more complicated. Biting her lip, Marcy stood up and dashed out of the cell, leaving Anne to watch in silence.


Marcy rushed into her cabin as fast as she could. Tossing her hat and sword aside once she caught her breath, she kicked off her boots across the room, chugged down a jug of rum before diving into her bed, burying herself into the covers, hoping when she wakes up this all turns out to be a bad dream. Sasha who had previously been asleep snapped awake at the squirming, instinctively grabbing onto a blade under her pillow.

"Huh? Who the-?" She pulled the sheets just enough to find the Captain in a mess. "Mar Mar, you good?" Marcy peeked from under the covers to look at her.

"A-Aye. Never been better, Sash."

Sasha raised an eyebrow and touched her head to notice the cold shivering in her body. "Why are you so cold? Have ye been overworking again?"

"Wha- no…must be a drop in temperature outside."

"You went to check up on the prisoner, didn't you?"

"..."

The First Mate scorned, getting the answer from her silence. "What did she do now?"

"...um? Uh- well, she... wasn't in her cell. Caught her writing letters, sending 'em to her kingdom stuffed inside a bottle."

"She what?" Sasha sat up, outraged. "Oh, I'll trample that damned bilge rat's fingerbones when I get my hands on-"

Marcy winced. "Relax. Be real, bottled messages... don't work anyway, Sash. Well, not that I let her-"

"Ugh, I just hate her guts, Mar. It's been a week and it's like she still doesn't take us seriously. And now she has the audacity to try 'n deceive us. If it weren't for you, I'd have said it's better we just get rid of her." Sasha grumbled. "At least don't tell me ye just let her get away with that."

Marcy dropped a sweat, clutching onto the sheets, as she started to feel burdened under Sasha's persuading gaze. "...Why, I taught her a lesson of course... t' make sure she doesn't try it again. I mean, what else would I do?"

Sasha stared observantly for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so?" Marcy gave a small hesitant nod, praying to the North Star She doesn't see right through her. She flinched for a split second when Sasha's hand made contact with her face, who chuckled in amusement as she stroked a finger slowly down her cheek and pinched them. "Classic Mar Mar, always got me covered."

Sasha laid down and let her head rest on top of her chest. Marcy let go of the breath she didn't realize herself holding when Sasha nuzzled into her neck and placed a gentle kiss. A warm feeling of solace under the warmth of her girlfriend's contact. With a sigh she wrapped her arms around Sasha and snuggled her close, leaning forward to place a kiss on her partner's head who let out a snore as she drifted into a deep snooze.

Marcy let her head lean back and stare up at the ceiling, wondering what Anne might be doing back in the brig after she was left hanging like that. As unsettling as the recent event was, remembering Anne's words helped calm the turmoil in her head. Her fingers mindlessly fiddled with Sasha's hair as she thought.

The Princess really had done something to her poor little pirate heart.

…And perhaps it wasn't as bad after all?

She had a lot of making up to do in light of the recent events. For now she could just close her eyes and hope for sleep to wipe away her train of thoughts.