i do not have a problem
(pirates of the caribbean theme), a Minecraft two… threeshot? four? five? Rated T for threats of violence
Alex leaned on the railing of the upper deck, her gaze fastened firmly on the horizon to keep the nausea in her stomach at bay. The deck rolled beneath her, and her knuckles whitened where she clutched the wooden railing, biting down on her lower lip.
"Your majesty?" A voice made her squeak, and she spun to find herself face to face with the captain of her ship. "Are you alright?" The captain asked in concern. "You look rather ill."
"I-" Alex swallowed. "I'm alright. Merely getting used to being at sea."
"You'll find your sea legs soon enough, your ladyship." The man offered her a respectful hand. "Would you not be more comfortable below deck? I fear we will hit a swell and you will tumble overboard." Alex's face colored slightly as she took his hand, clinging gratefully to his arm.
"I'm sure I would not, Captain, but I thank you for your vigilance."
"It is my duty, your ladyship."
Princess Alexandria had been sent on a trip across the ocean from her father's kingdom in order to meet another family of nobles, particularly their son who was around her age, in the hopes of making a good match. She was being escorted by a trusted member of her father's navy, Captain Stephan Lewis. She couldn't tell if it was the salty air or the rolling of the ship's deck that addled her brain, but she couldn't help finding the gentlemanly captain to be quite attractive.
She entertained a few fantasies of married bliss as Captain Lewis led her down from the uppermost deck, towards her cabin on the far side of the ship - the stern, right? This was her first sea voyage, and the warning before her journey had been little enough that she had only had just enough time to read a couple of books on seafaring before being whisked off to the vessel itself. The ship was quite large, requiring a crew of upwards of 80 men. The captain had told her that it was the kind of vessel that usually carried cargo. Apparently the family that Alexandria was being sent to visit had offered a generous gift to her father, just for the pleasure of meeting her, and Captain Lewis would be picking it up when he returned her home.
"Captain!" A shout interrupted Alex's musings, and she and the captain looked up, way up, to where a man stood in the crow's nest. "To the east, sir, an unmarked ship!" Captain Lewis frowned, gently removing Alex's hand from his arm and pulling his spyglass from where it was tucked into his belt. He pulled it to its full length as he strode towards the railing, peering through the instrument, and Alex was quick to follow. At this distance, she could see nothing but a speck on the horizon.
Alex stared until Captain Lewis uttered a curse, lowering the spyglass.
"Pirates." He spun, catching up Alexandria's arm again. "Trim the sails and man the oars!" He roared as Alex clung to his arm. "Princess, I must insist that you stay below deck."
"Are you going to fight them?" Alex gasped out, nearly tripping over her skirts as he led her to her cabin. Captain Lewis shook his head, jaw tight.
"Our cargo is far too valuable." He responded. It took Alex a moment to realize that he was talking about her, and she blushed.
As soon as Alexandria was situated in her cabin and the door shut behind her, she was hurrying to her window, leaning around to try to catch a glimpse of the approaching ship through the glass. Already, she could see the pirate ship in much greater detail, including the black flag that fluttered from the upper mast. It was moving fast, as if the ship she was on wasn't moving at all, though the rolling of the deck beneath her feet said otherwise. As she watched, though, the ship she was on began to turn, and soon the pursuing vessel had gone out of sight.
Alex made her way over to her bed, the frame of which was bolted to the deck, and sat down on the edge with her hands clasped in her lap. While this was quite exciting, far more than anything she had experienced at home, she couldn't deny that she was quite nervous. Pirates were, to her knowledge, the greatest danger of the sea, ruthless men and women who would kill indiscriminately and raid the corpses for valuables before sending the rest down to Davy Jones' Locker. Alexandria was a princess - they might hold her hostage, for ransom, if they got their hands on her. Though, it was just as likely that they would simply kill her along with the rest of the crew.
She wasn't overly worried. Surely Captain Lewis would protect her.
Incoherent shouts descended from the deck above her, and Alex cast a worried glance at the window again. Surely it would be all right.
Her hopes were dashed when her door slammed open, and she spun to find Captain Lewis holding a sword in one hand and a flintlock pistol in the other.
"They are upon us." He said grimly. Alex paled, rising to her feet and clutching at the bedpost for support.
"What… what do we do?" She asked, feeling suddenly faint. Lewis set his jaw.
"Keep them off of us, as much as possible." He shut the door behind him, crossing the room to her side. "Please, sit down. If he wants to get to you he will have to go through me."
"He?" Alex sank down to the mattress again, willing herself to stop blushing at his nearness. Lewis sighed.
"I have had… interactions, with this pirate before." Lewis nodded towards the window. "Many great pirate captains have unique flags. This one… is a miscreant." Alex stared at him in astonishment. He had met a pirate captain and lived? "He has overtaken and boarded my ship twice, now." Lewis continued. "Both times he stole the cargo I was hauling and sunk my ship, but had at least the grace to leave me and my crew on dry land." Alex blinked, her spirits lifting slightly.
"So… he will likely spare us?" She asked tentatively. Lewis shook his head.
"I fear what his reaction will be when he finds that the only treasure aboard this ship is you." His voice was low. "Cargo can be replaced, but the daughter of my sovereign king cannot." Alex ducked her head, not wanting to think about being taken as a pirate's prize.
"Oh."
Shouts and thuds from the upper deck alerted them to the pirates' arrival.
Lewis gripped his pistol as they heard swords clashing above them, guns firing and the cries of the wounded. Alex worked her hands into her skirts nervously, unused to such violence. If only she had a sword, then at the very least she could try to defend herself. But alas, her father disapproved of women learning to fight, especially his precious princess.
The shouts died down, and Alex glanced fearfully toward the window.
"Is it over-?"
"Shh." Lewis hushed her gently. Heavy footsteps approached the cabin door, and Lewis raised his pistol, aiming near the top of the door.
The door creaked open, and Lewis only hesitated a moment before firing.
The intruder ducked, the musket ball lodging harmlessly in the doorframe. Throwing the door open to bang against the wall, the intruder drew a gleaming cutlass, a grin on his face as Lewis brandished his own. Alex's gaze was immediately drawn to the man's eyes, which were blank and white.
"Lewis!" The pirate greeted his opponent with zest. "Quite unlike you to be hiding away in your cabin. I took you for a better man than myself." His gaze fell upon Alex, and one brow shot up. "Oh, that explains it. You've gone and found yourself a pretty little wife."
"Leave, Brine, there is nothing for you here." Lewis snapped as Alex's cheeks went bright red. "I am transporting this young lady to meet a potential suitor. We are not involved, and there is nothing here for you to steal." The pirate, Brine, made a face and scuffed his shoe on the floorboards.
"Well, she must be dreadfully important to have taken up so much of your time." He drawled. "Who are you, then, young miss?" Alex clamped her jaw shut, clinging to her bedpost. "Oh. You're that important." Brine leaned against the doorframe, cutlass hanging casually at his side. "Well then, little lady, what say you join me aboard the Nether's Bane? I promise I can give you a far more exciting trip."
"Over my dead body." Lewis snarled.
"No need to be so hostile, Captain." Brine sniffed. "I wouldn't hurt her. And-" he whipped his other hand out from behind his back, aiming his own pistol at the Captain's head. "It will be over your corpse if you don't move out of the way." Lewis steeled himself, eyes narrowing into deadly slits, but Alex broke in with a panicked cry.
"Captain, please! I would rather be a prisoner with you then to know I was the cause of your death." She pleaded. Lewis turned halfway towards her, jaw clenched.
"Your ladyship, I am honor-bound to defend you to my dying-"
"Ladyship?" Captain Brine interrupted, sheathing his cutlass. "Are you nobility, fair lass?" Alex shot him a wide-eyed look, then offered a tiny nod. Little point in denying it now. "Well, well." The pirate captain stroked his trimmed beard. "I'd listen to the little lady, Lewis, she makes a good point. I'd hate to put a musket ball through your skull."
"I can't-" Lewis tried, only to be interrupted again.
"Let's be rational about this, Stephan." Brine offered. "Aren't you far more likely to be able to save her from a heinous fate if you're alive?" He raised a cajoling brow. "I'm sure her betrothed would be far happier if she arrived with her escort than without." Captain Lewis frowned, and Alex stayed silent where she sat nearly plastered against her bedpost. Being trapped, alone, on a ship full of bloodthirsty pirates was all but her greatest nightmare.
"You speak as if you intend to deliver us to our destination."
"I may as well." Brine shrugged. "Heading that way anyway. I assume you're heading to the port of Andreas?" Lewis gave a rueful nod.
"And why not just leave us to sail there ourselves?"
"Because you have no treasure for me." Brine said, examining his nails. "So I'm taking your ship." Lewis wilted a bit.
"Very well." He said at last, and Alex exhaled. "I'll surrender. But under one condition, that I am allowed to stay with her ladyship at all times."
"You're making demands?" Brine asked, incredulous. "When I have you at gunpoint?" He shrugged. "Very well. Drop your weapons."
Lewis scowled, but obeyed, letting his sword clatter to the floor and lifting his hands above his head. Brine gave a satisfied nod and took a step back, only for a pack of grimy pirates to descend upon the room with ropes and force the captain to the ground. Alex watched with thinly veiled horror as her guardian was roughly bound, the pirates searching him without discretion to seek out any other weapons.
The only thing they found on him was a dagger strapped to his lower leg, and they hauled him upright, once-clean uniform torn and rumpled and his wrists bound tightly behind his back. One of the pirates reached for Alex, and she cringed away, but the man backed off at a sharp word from his captain.
"Keep your hands off her." Brine pushed his way through the group, tucking his pistol back into its holster. "Her ladyship is to be treated with respect on this voyage." He offered her a cordial arm, and Alex noticed how clean he was compared to his men. "Is that to your liking, miss..?" He let the silence draw out, and Alex stared for a moment before blurting out,
"Sasha." Hurriedly, she placed her hand on his arm, letting him draw her upright. "Y-yes, that is to my liking."
"Lady Sasha." The pirate bowed over her hand. "I am Captain Herobrine, twice-victor over your escort and terror of the Aetherian seas." He straightened, placing a hand atop hers as he grinned. "I hope your journey is a pleasant one."
He led her out into the sun, and Alex flinched at the bright light, lifting her free hand to shield her face. All around her she could see Lewis' men being held by the pirates, all disarmed, but, surprisingly, few injured. Other than a few minor cuts, she could see no damage. Was this pirate really so chivalrous that he would leave his enemy's crew alive?
Stopping in the center of the deck, Herobrine waited for Lewis to be lead out of the cabin to roar,
"O valiant crew of The Whitehall!" Drawing the sailors' attention. "Your Captain is now my prisoner." He gestured to where Lewis stood, a bit unsteady where he was held between two burly pirates. "As is your lovely Lady Sasha." Alex could hear a few surprised murmurs, and she begged them silently not to give away her ruse. "Now, I've made Captain Lewis a wonderful deal." Brine continued. "You all get to live to see another day, dropped off at your destination without excessive harm. However, I get to keep your ship.
"And of course I don't house a crew large enough to man both ships, so!" He clapped his hands. "You all answer to me from now on, understand?" An array of grumbles came up from the captive sailors. "And if I see this ship trying to make a break for it, this pretty little thing goes swimming with the sharks." Brine patted Alex's hand, and she blanched. "Am I clear?"
It took a moment, but eventually a halfhearted round of 'aye's came up from Lewis's crew. "Very good." Turning, Brine strode towards a wide plank that lay across the decks of either ship, the two vessels lashed together with grappling hooks. He helped the uncertain princess across the gap, handing her down onto the ebony planks of the opposite deck.
"Welcome aboard the Nether's Bane, Lady Sasha." He said cordially.
Alex had really not expected to become a pirate's prisoner when she had woken up that morning.
Im so good at writing oneshots by themselves that are a single story. for real