Okay I changed the name of the story, I like this one a lot lot lot better than the last one, for one thing I can remember this title where as I couldn't remember the last. Hope you like it!

Chapter 21

Hatred

Demetrius sat in his room watching his Uncle pace in front of him.

"Don't you see boy, this is madness, he's your father," Raul said.

"And Alandra is my sister; shall we stop the plan simply for that?" Demetrius asked lazily.

Raul stopped and glared at him. "You know we've had him waiting for almost seven years, we can't stop that now. A promise is a promise, but this?"

"You hate him as much as I do," Demetrius growled. "And you also know if he would go after Alan."

"Yes but-" Raul was cut off by a loud knock.

"Your Highness, the Lady Gale is here to see you," a young man's voice squeaked through the door, his squire James.

Demetrius stood and glared at his Uncle who simply nodded and turned towards the door. "Send her in James," Demetrius said as he walked to meet his fiancé.

Gale, otherwise known as Windy for the way she blew into a room and rearranged everything to her satisfaction, walked into his private suite with a glamorous smile upon her stunning face. Her long, dark blond hair fell to her lower back, the tendrils touching her bottom. Her blue eyes sparkled as they set themselves upon Demetrius, and he felt a smile welling up inside of him.

He truly loved her, no matter what other feelings he had inside himself, this was one of the purest. Her voluptuous bosom jiggled as she made her way towards him, and he noticed with a small sigh she was wearing a new pair of shoes. The woman had more shoes than any other he knew, she rarely if ever wore the same pair twice, and was always having new ones made.

"Darling," Demetrius said as he took her in his arms and gave her a chaste kiss upon the lips. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I was going over a few plans for the wedding and I wanted your opinion on the cake, do you mind?" She said with a smirk.

"Not at all," he said, truly not minding. He did whatever made her happy.

"Send them in James," Windy called and a flurry of chefs entered his room, each carrying a delectable looking slice of cake. Some were chocolate, others simple white. The one that caught his attention was one of deep red. He took the cake from the chef, who handed him a fork, and took a small bite. The cake melted in his mouth tasting of chocolate and a hint of raspberry.

"This one," he said, taking another bite.

"But Your Majesty, you have yet to try the others," the chef that had been holding the raspberry cake said.

"I don't need to, in all my life, never have I tasted a more delicious cake," Demetrius said simply. The chefs all nodded, bowed to him and Raul, and left, he held on to his piece of cake though. He turned and smiled at Windy, offering her a bite of the cake which she delicately took.

"Good choice," she said after a moment. "May I speak with you alone darling?"

Demetrius nodded and turned to his Uncle. "We will speak of this tomorrow Uncle."

Raul smiled at Windy and left the room. He had other things on his mind that night anyway, and one was sitting in her room all alone while her husband was drinking with a band of pirates.

Demetrius waited until Raul had left before turning to Windy. "Have a seat?" He asked, offering her a chair. She smiled and sat, and took a seat next to her as he anxiously awaited what she had to say.

"I don't want your sister in the wedding. She's rude, uncouth, and dreadfully out of style," Windy finally burst out. Demetrius simply laughed.

"She won't be here for the wedding," he said after a moment. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why?" Was all she asked.

"She has things she must attend to and cannot stay with us very long; this is simply a short visit." Windy watched him for a while before standing up and giving him a short kiss goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she walked to the door.

"Good night darling," Demetrius said as she left.

Demetrius stayed up most of the night thinking about Alan.


Alan was up most of the night as well, thinking about Demetrius.

"He's so different," she mumbled as she lay in her bed. She knew she was being silly but she couldn't help it, she missed Dem the way they had been. Alan knew it had been almost thirteen years and in that time they had both grown and matured, but she missed the children they were.

Alan stood up from the bed and began to pace the room, her mind racing with questions and what if's. What if they had kidnapped Dem, what if she had stayed with him, what if Logan had never been born.

She stopped pacing as that question registered in her mind. She couldn't even imagine life without her silly, annoying, half-witted little brother. But when she was five she couldn't imagine life without Dem either.

"Why are things so difficult," she grumbled as she walked to the balcony doors and looked out. An idea struck her and she simply went for it.

Alan ran to her closet and pulled out the bag she had packed, mostly dresses for the palace, but she had snuck in a pair of breeches and a long, plain white, button down shirt. She pulled those out along with a long strip of bandage.

Alandra undressed from her dress and wrapped her breasts in the bandage to make her chest look flat. It didn't take too much, she had been doing this since they began to grow five years ago and with all the work she did on the ship she was skinny and her breasts had never grown larger than a B cup.

When her breasts were sufficiently hidden she pulled on the breeches and threw the white shirt over them, tucking the shirt into the waist of the pants. She ran to the mirror in the bathroom and looked herself over critically. Her hair was too shinny and her face too clean, but that could be taken care of when she was free of the castle and around dirt. She tied her hair back in a sailors knot and walked to the balcony doors after pocketing a small bag of coins, part of what her parents paid her for working on the Pearl.

She glanced outside to make sure there were no guards and stepped out. The brisk night air was chilly and she shivered as it hit the back of her neck. The balcony was a twenty foot drop to the bottom. If she jumped she would undoubtedly break something.

Alan glanced around the balcony and saw a balcony into her brother's room on her left, and her sister's room on her right. There was a small ledge that someone with very nimble feet might be able to cross and get to the next balcony. She smirked to herself as she climbed over the railing and began to make her way to her brothers balcony, she had grown up on a ship, very few were as agile as she.

She reached Logan's balcony quickly and hopped over the railing. She glanced surreptitiously into the window to see him sound asleep on the floor in a pile of junk, the candles still burning. She smiled at the cute picture he presented and tip toed past the window and over to the next one.

Her mother's balcony sat next to her brothers and she climbed over to it. When she was on the balcony she glanced into the room and stared in shock. Something was very wrong with the picture. Her mother was being held in Uncle Raul's arms and she was sobbing. Alan watched for a moment, a feeling of fear clutching her insides in a vice grip.

The only time she had ever seen her mother cry like that was when they had lost Dem. The word lost began circling inside her head. Who would be lost? She wondered as she watched her mother sob.

"Father," she whispered. He had gone to check on the crew. Without a second glance at her mother she sprinted past the window and onto the ledge next to it. Dropping down onto her knees she took hold of the small ledge and lowered herself, using all her strength to keep from falling. She felt for some sort of toe holds and eventually found them. She began to climb down the wall of the castle. It took more time than she wanted, but eventually she was at the bottom.

Alan sprinted around the castle, dodging into the shadows when a guard appeared. She had come to the point where she had no idea what to do when she spied a group of people, shabbily dressed like herself, walking away from the castle. She walked unobtrusively behind them and made herself seem as if she were part of the group of servants. They walked out of the gate and Alan melted away into the shadows as if she had never existed. She had to make her way to the Pearl; she had to see for herself.

It was a long walk to the docks but she made it fast, running most of the way. When she reached the docks the first thing she saw was Donny, one of the crewmen aboard the Pearl. He was standing in front of the docks talking to the harbor master.

"Donny," she yelled. He turned and looked at her, his eyes widening as he saw her and her attire.

"Mis-Master Alan," he said, winking at her disguise that would never be able to fool any aboard the Pearl.

"Donny where is my father?" She asked.

"Saw the Cap'n o're an hour ago Alan," Donny said, scratching his head in confusion. "He 'asn't come back yet?"

"No," she said as she shook her head for emphasis. "Where's the rest of the crew?"

"The bars on the otha side o' town, but 'tis no wheres fer ye te go lass."

"I have to see what's happening," she said, turning to leave. Donny grabbed her by the shirt collar and turned her around.

"Jack 'ed 'ave me 'ide if'n I let ye go wanderin round there," Donny grumbled. "Ye dun' even 'ave a sword on ye."

"I am going, let go of me," she growled. Donny sighed and released her.

"Wait 'ere," he said, and then turned back to the harbor master. She heard a few mumblings but couldn't make out more than that. He walked back to her a moment later and bowed. "Where ye wish te go I'll take ye lass."

"Alright, but stop calling me lass," she whispered.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he took the lead and began walking away from the docks and into the unknown bad sector of Spain. "Lean down an' put some o that mud on yer face lad, ye look too clean."

Alan nodded and did as told, rubbing some dust into her hair to dull it and make it look a dull brown in color instead of vibrant blond, she then rubbed some on her cheeks.

Donny nodded and led her down a series of streets until finally they were in a dark and run down place. Women stood in the streets showing off their breasts, men stared, ogled, fondled and puked in the streets. Donny walked with a hand over his sword and an eye on Alan. They passed the drunks and walked into a tavern called, The Daft Blond, and Alan brought a hand to her hair, wishing she had made it grimier.

Donny led her inside and straight to the back where a host of familiar faces sat laughing and joking, but the one she was looking for wasn't there. There was a game of poker set up with unfamiliar faces intermixed with the crew.

"Alan?" Jon asked as she sat down at their table. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's my father?" She asked as her answer. Jon's brows furrowed and every crewman at the table grew quiet.

"He shoulda been back by now," Jon said. Alan shook her head. Jon stood from his chair and grabbed Alan by the shirt collar. "Are you sure?"

"I was sneaking out to have a drink, I was bored and restless. I walked past the room mother and father are staying in and-" she stopped talking, not wanting to reveal what she had seen.

"What, spit it out," Jon said shaking her.

"Mother was sobbing and Uncle Raul was comforting her," she finished. Jon released his grip on her shirt and turned to the table.

"Gather the men, now," he yelled. Every crewman and woman of the Pearl stood and ran out of the tavern, some dropping their cards, others carrying them away unthinkingly.

"Afraid I was gonna beat ya all?" A man asked in a snide tone. Alan turned and glared at him. He was dirty and unkempt, like most pirates. He had dark blond hair and bright green eyes, his hair was tied back much like Alan's, but his seemed longer. The man looked to be in his mid twenties, but he seemed to have an aura of power similar to her fathers. After a moment she dismissed him as unimportant and turned back to Donny and Jon who were discussing the plan.

"-gather the men," Jon was saying.

"Don't wanna weaken her though," Donny whispered.

"No," she interrupted, making them both look at her. "Searching for others would take too much time, and taking any from the Pearl would weaken her too much. We have to use what we have. Tell everyone to keep an eye out for the rest of the crew, but not to keep to the Captain's search." They both nodded and left the tavern. Alan turned to follow them when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Where do ye think yer goin boy? Ye cost me all of me players," the man with dirty blond hair said.

"Release me," she growled. While she was weaponless her mother had taught her how to defend herself, she had been able to beat most men aboard the Pearl hand to hand since she was seven. With a sword she was brilliant, and with her mother's kotabo's she was unbeatable.

The man smirked at her and reached around to grab her other wrist. That was his mistake. As he reached forward so did she, she grabbed his arm before he could grab her and pulled, ducking under him as he flipped over her shoulder and landed on his butt on the floor. Without missing a beat she bent down and pulled his cutlass from its scabbard and held it to his throat.

The man sat there, a dazed look on his face. "I'm rather busy but if you would like to continue this I can make the time," she snarled.

"Sorry lad," the man said. She nodded and threw his sword point first into the boards of the floor, lodging it in deep. She then turned and walked out of the tavern, a chorus of laughter in her wake. She didn't care, barely even noticed it in fact. She had to find her father.


Okay so I'm back! Hope you liked that chapter, took me forever to think of it and even longer to write it. I should be updating more frequently, every other day or so… you know me I update when it's done.

So I want a lot of reviews for this chapter! Everyone, I don't care why you haven't reviewed in the past review now! I need all the support I can to be able to write the next chapter… though you may all kill me for it… I have yet to decide exactly what I want but I'm pretty sure where it's headed.

Okay, Review Review Review!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed my authors note with sympathy and patience, you are all wonderful and this chapter is dedicated to those that helped me through that rough time of losing everything. Thank you again!