She was on the pior of a simple town shipping dock. Having some of her men unload food to one of her father's connections. She might have been princess of the sea, but she was only called princess by her dad's 'friends' who had rebelled against the ruling monarchs in their area. Now they were under the protection of Jolly Roger and her sailors.
"Princess, I counted the shipment. We should be good for another six months. Thank you for doing this. After the King and Queen cut off our resources it's been a bit hard." the mayor explained to her. The princess smiled at him in a gentle way. Pirates had a bad reputation of stealing from Navy ships and noble transports, but everyone would agree, the pirate princess was one of the kindest people they knew. Even with her father being cross and hard to please.
"Well, the protection and shipments are not free. We will start collecting tax once your people start trade. I brought two ships to help with being self-sustaining as well as the animals and seeds. Once the farms and animals get acquainted with this small town everything should flow in and out with ease." she told him and the mayor nodded.
"Thank you for giving us some time to gain proper footing." he said to her and she gave him a polite bow while a hand on the hilt of his sword. She bid the man goodbye and decided to head into town for a drink. After all, a good day's work must be rewarded. She happily gave the bartender a copper piece and was passed a bubbly rum that she started to chug immediately. One would suppose a pirate could hold their liquor. The truth was, in most cases, she could. But this time was different. It wasn't the liquor she couldn't hold but the sleep agent that slipped into her drink.
The men in the pub didn't question when the girl was told to be moved into one of the rooms. Most of the time her crew would be more protective of their captain, but this town was in her dad's control. Nobody would dare- only two people would, prince Azul and his mother.
Everything was black. She swore she was moving but her body was heavy and she was too drowsy to open her eyes. She had no idea what to wear but there was no fear in her heart. That was until she felt herself stop moving and heard "They brought her in this morning, what do you want to do with her?". Something sparked into her and she tried to instinctively move and grab her sabor. Only, nothing would move. She was filled with irritation as she tried to think hard inorder to somehow move her muscles, but she felt nothing.
A moment later, and light came flooding in as the cover from her face was removed. Her eyes squinted and fluttered open. There in front of her was her enemy. She tried to open her mouth and curse at him. Calling him a 'bastard' or a 'Son of a Fish' as she had always done, but her mouth wouldn't budge. Fused together by whatever spell they had on her.
"Well that isn't the reaction I was hoping for from my fiance." Azul joked with a smirk as he leaned over a chair in the room sitting in front of her. The place was set up like an interrogation, low lighting, bare, and Azul in a backwards facing chair with a dominant posture and cocky grin. She wanted to spit in his face and call him a 'codfish' but nothing was working.
"It's been a while-" he said with a sigh. She tried to glare but she had no clue if she could since she couldn't feel her face.
"Oh that's right," he seemed to realize she was still under some kind of spell. He waved his hand and she felt her jaw unhinge with a snap. She made a surprised gasp as she opened and started to move it around trying to relax the tight muscles. Her entire body filled up with aches and pains from her tense muscles that were sleeping for far too long.
"You DASTARDLY OCTOPUS! YOU son of FISH! YOU DUMB BONELESS Octopoda! YOU DISGUSTING WHALE! YOU UNHINGED MONSTER!" She yelled amadietly once she got full control of her tongue. Azul just stared at her with a raised brow and a controlled look on his face.
"YOU PIECE OF CRAB MEAT! YOU FLOUNDER! I WISH YOU WOULD DIE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING BUSINESSMAN!" she continued to shout, not even taking another breath to continue her attack. Jade looked at his twin and his twin looked at him back. They never had seen anyone curse at Azul like this before and though Floyd was starting to chuckle, JAde tried to hold it in for a bit longer.
"DANCING CRAWSTRATION! YOU BLACK GLOO THAT LIES ON THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN FLOOR! NO ONE WOULD WANT TO EVEN STEP IN YOU, YOU WET POOL OF DOG SHI-" Azul had enough and covered his fiance's mouth. She angrily growled and started to lick his hand and bit it to get it off. Azul relaxed his shoulders and let the girl be angry.
"You are so unsanitary." he said once he removed his gloved hand and then his soggy glove. He motioned for Jade to bring him a washcloth to clean his hand as the girl glared daggers at him in her chair.
"You do realize you are breaking the contract between your father and mother right? What you pulled yesterday can not be allowed. But because you are my fiance I will let it slide, but for a cost." he told her with a serious look on his face.
"Screw-you." she breathed. Jade walked over and passed Azul a wet cloth and he took it to wipe the girl's saliva off of his hand.
"I don't know why you hate me so much-"
"You KNOW why." she emphasized. Azul was smart, extremely smart with connections. No wonder he was able to kidnap her with such ease.
"Jade, Floyd, you may leave. But stand outside the door." he told his lackeys and they did as he commanded. Azul finally released her entire body from his hold and the princess shot up from her seat and lept onto him. Landing on the chair and Azul on her way down she wrapped her hands around the boy's throat and started to clench. Azul watched her with the same controlled look on his face. Not showing any cockiness, fear, or anger. Instead he wrestled her hands off of his throat as he grunted. She was a small girl. Even if she was trained in the sword, he was a lot stronger then she was.
Azul fought her off of him and grabbed a hold of her. She kept fighting him back, kicking uselessly with as much force she could to possibly hurt him. He still held her hands as she tried with all her might to break free. He pulled her close and the girl squirmed. But the hug locked her in her place on the floor. Azul brought them up so they could sit up. Finally the pirate gave up.
"Why are you so strong?" she huffed and Azul kept his arms wrapped around her. He loosened his hold to get a look at his princess. She looked annoyed but too warn out to be angry. Azul brought a hand to her cheek and lightly ran over it with his thumb.
"Why are you so naughty?" he asked as his face gave her a smirk once more.
"You know you can't get out of this arrangement, neither can I, for your dad's sake. So here is my proposition." he told her in a quiet and close to calming voice. But since it was Azul, he still sounded cocky even when he tried not to.
"You spend a day with me." he told her and she made a look of disgust at him.
"Azul I don't want this-" she pleaded with him. Azul's eyes became filled with hurt as he quickly pulled away from her and stood up.
"Then I have no choice then tell my mother of your actions-" he started to turn but the princess quickly grabbed onto his leg to stop him.
"But why does it have to be that way!?" she cried out. "Why can't you just say you will let me go just because you care? Just because you want to show me you still love me?" she shouted at him while she held onto his leg.
"Because everything comes with a price!" he yelled back and pulled his leg from her.
"But if you do love me you would do it without anything in return!" she yelled back and Azul stopped to turn around and look at the teary eyed girl. Sitting on the ground with puffy cheers and a determined look on her face.
"You told me, you loved me. That was the only reason you talked your mom into the engagement. You said you wanted to save my father and didn't want your mom doing anything rash or careless to him and his crew. You said all of these things but- I don't think you did any of it for me. You did it for yourself and that isn't love Azul." she told him. Her voice barely above a whisper. She had shook as she couldn't believe he would be treating her this way.
"That is why I am angry at you. At first I was thankful, but now I realized, you are nothing but selfish and all you will be is selfish. You can never love me." she spat.
Azul tipped his hat to cover his face. He turned to walk out not expecting her to say anything more. But once he got to the door she mumbled "I will spend a day with you, only for my father's sake." her voice was so small it hurt him to see her like this. She was always like this, emotional. When they were little he told her that her heart was like the ocean. Always having ups and downs and storms that come and go. She was like the sea itself, always moving on the surface but deep down she was calming. It took everything in him to stay firm and leave the room. Telling Jade and Floyd not to worry about her and bringing her dinner before leaving.
Yes, when they were young it was always him that calmed her emotions. She would lose something in the ocean and he would swim to get it back for her. She would cry over her sandcastle being destroyed and he would build her a better one. When she was stressed from a full day of training with the sword he would take her out on the boat and show her hidden treasures. It was always him easing her pains. That fateful day when her father lost his leg to a crocodile and became extremely ill, on his deathbed, he did the only thing he knew to save her father. He made a deal with his mother. Unknown to the pirate girl he held so dearly in his heart, his mother had some underlying 'fine print' to his little deal. He thought it would be a win, win. His mother has his son marry into a strong family and can boost her connections and control, while the young princess got her father back. Unknown to him, the deal was pulled in his mother's favor at the start. Forcing the princess' father into becoming her lackey and him, well, Azul was forced to take up his mother's mantle. If he didn't play it straight it wasn't the young girl's father that would lose his life, no, it would be her's.
Azul sighed to himself. In his room he looked over at the piece the mother of pearl pirates once gave him when they were little. She had called it a "thimble" then. He picked it up and looked at the gleaming piece. He had tried many times to get his mother to change the contract, but she was even more stubborn than him. Contracts can not be changed, only made.
His fiance didn't say a word when she came out in the dress she had been given. Her hair pulled up in a half pollyanna with a blue bow to go with the dress. She looked up at Azul with a blank stare as he gave an arm to her. She turned her head and walked past him without giving him a single word. Floyde scratched the back of his head and looked over at Jade who shook his head.
"She'll come around." Azul assured them but Jade just gave him a concerned look.
Azul took the girl into town. She seemed unattached to everything and didn't even look at things that Azul "KNEW" she would like.
"Would the young lady like some flowers?" as the vendor asked and the pirate shook her head and kept walking.
"My mom has a club in the area, why not stop in and get something to eat and drink?" Azul asked and the princess turned to him and made a face.
"I don't want to support any of your mother's 'businesses' , thank you." she said with slight annoyance to her voice. Azul chuckled and walked out to her and grabbed her arm.
"Then I guess we will have to just go to one of her 'rivals'." he told her and pulled her alongside him. She was too shocked to try to break free. But also was curious to where he would take her. Within no time they were facing a cute little cottage like a bakery. The princess immediately smiled.
"Fairy Godmothers." she said in awe. She had never gone to one of the fairy's business locations. This was her first time. Known for helping the sad and lonely, the place was known to not only be a good place to eat but also be a good place to look for help.
Azul led her into the place and they were greeted with a sweet smiling girl who led them to a table. The place was simple and small. Nothing like one of Azul's buildings at all.
"What would you like to eat dears?" asked a lady who came up to them with a loving voice. She had brought them both water and placed them down in front the two of them
"Codfish." Azul said with a smirk as he stared at the girl across from him. She looked at him back and gave him a knowing smirk and a raised brow.
"Octopus-" she said with a tone of voice that could only be described as sensual. The women nodded and left the two. Azul shook his head as he removed his hat and placed it to his side.
"You know I may look like an octopus in my true form but I am not really an octopus." he told her and she gave him a look.
"I know-" she said as she sipped the glass of water in front of her. "You are a monster." she told him with a matter of fact written in his voice. He tried to pretend like her words didn't hurt him.
"Merperson." he corrected and she turned her face out to the window ignoring him.
"Starts with an 'M' doesn't it." she finally said and Azul leaned back in his seat.
"You really are trying everything in your power to hurt me." he said with a sigh and the princess turned to him with a look of hate written over her face.
"You kidnapped me Azul and I am still upset at you-"
"Then let me try to make it up to you." he said as he pulled out a pocket watch from the inside of his vest and dangled it infront of him. The girl's eyes widened as excitement fell on her face. She quickly took the watch and looked it over with a smile on her face.
"So shiny! And it sounds so lovely! You hear that ticking?" she said excitedly and then froze and looked back at Azul. He was playing dirty. Her face fell and she quickly put the watch on the table and moved it back to him.
"I don't want it. You will expect something in return." she told him and Azul chuckled and slid the watch back to her.
"It's a gift my lady." he told her and she looked back down the watch as she bit her lip. He had to be pulling something on her right? Azul was too smart. She hesitated to take it but when she finally grabbed it her smile came back to her face.
"You know, I do love gold-"
"I know."
"And ticking noises-"
"I know." Azul smiled at how cute the girl was in front of him. She had not changed.
"But I have to hide it from dad. I don't want him becoming triggered." she said as her smile left for only a second when she made the comment.
"After this, can we look at the antiques?" she asked and Azul smiled and gave her a nod.
"Good, I want to find more music boxes for my collection. Not the magic singing ones but the mechanical once. Those are the best- they have a spinner inside of it with bumps that pluck the mettle teeth and the sound is just wonderful." The girl's bright smile and rambling about her love of strange old antiques made Azul's smile widen. Of course he's known all of that from before. But she was on a roll and he wasn't going to stop her from talking about the things she loves.
