The two loved the ocean. It wasn't strange for Azul to ask her if she would like to take a boat out to the ocean. The pirate naturally said yes. After their lunch and shopping stroll, Azul was glad to see the girl finally expressing herself. It was amusing to watch her ever changing expressions go from curious, to annoyed, to surprised, to excited, to an expression of content. By the time they set sail the pirate princess seemed to naturally be more like herself. She was in the middle of talking when she stopped and her features became cross.
"I am annoyed." she said out of the blue. Azul looked at her and she kept staring out to sea.
"How come whenever I want to be mad at you and give you a piece of my mind, I can't?" she told him and looked over to him with furrowed brows. Azul slowly rowed the boat and leaned back to think her words through.
"Yet, you always win me over. Even when you don't deserve it, I naturally end up giving in to you." she told him truthfully. Her voice and expression looked quite hurt. Azul smiled and gave out a bit of a chuckle.
The girl slapped his knee and gave him an annoyed look.
"It's not funny Azul, I am being serious." she told him.
"You are always merciful with me." he said with a smile looking at her puffed out cheeks as she pouted. She was too cute.
"Too merciful." she added. Azul leaned over to be closer to her and poked her cheek. She drew her head back and Azul gazed at her through hooded eyes.
"How much are you willing to give me?" he asked with a deep voice. The girl felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she looked away from his strong stare.
"You first." she said quickly as she took a deep breath. Azul smirked and let go of the oars. He grabbed her hands and pulled her forward to look at him.
"I will give you my life." he told her and she felt entranced by his eyes. She swallowed as she looked into his stare.
"But what would that mean? Would you die for me? How about if you stop your business? Are you willing to stop listening to your mother for me?" she asked. Azul dropped her hands and pulled away.
"In this case I will die for you. But, me obeying my mother is for you-"
"What do you mean?"
"I have something to tell you." he tried to say quickly enough to stop her from jumping to conclusions and getting upset. "Our contract isn't just about a marriage to stop your dad from dying. It's also a way for my mom to keep me on a leash. The punishment for not following the contract isn't your father dying. The punishment is you dying." the princess gasped as she listened to her prince. She hit him on the arm with her hand and her face became a mixture of hurt, annoyed, and fearful.
"Why didn't you tell me!" her voice cracked and Azul grabbed both of her hands again. Rubbing his thumb lightly to help console her.
"Think about it." he said to her in a stern voice and the girl relaxed a little in her seat. The lightly rocked back and forth on the boat as her breathing calmed.
"You didn't want me to do something rash. You know I would make a deal with your mother just to undo this contract-"
"And that wouldn't work, we both know my mother. She would lock you up in an even worse outcome than what I am going through." he told her in a serious tone of voice.
"But- if we can't break contact…" she paused and looked over to him and shook her head. "I want you to be free from that witch."
"We would have to kill her then." he told her back and the pirate paused to lick her lips while she tried to think of another way out.
"You would have to figure out her contracts first. When she dies, they all get lifted. That could cause a lot of chaos." she explained to him and he smiled at her.
"What do you think I have been doing this entire time?" he said with a smirk.
"Planning on killing your mother?" she asked with a confused look on her face. He shrugged and sat back.
"That is for a later date. But more like finding her contracts and writing them. Once all of them fall into my grasp then we can think about what we can do next." he told her and she nodded.
"You are saying we can plausibly rewrite the contract?" she questioned and he smiled at her and gave her a nod.
"That is the beauty of me having the same magic as dear ol' mother." he said and she smiled.
"Then we don't have to kill her." Azul laughed at her joy of figuring it out. He nodded again and she smiled to herself, proud that she understood.
Azul sat up and moved his hat to the girl's head.
"What are you doing?" she asked while giving him a confused look as she touched the hat on her head. She fited the hat to sit properly on her head and Azul stood up quickly grabbed the girl and pulled her up. He leaned down and stopped for a moment just before their lips touched. The pirate princess went on her tiptoes and craned her neck to give her fiance a peck. When she pulled her head away to see his expression he was giving her such a look of love. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You know- you never have given me a thimble back. Isn't it tradition to exchange those things?" she asked and azul gave her a light smile before catching his lips in hers.
They stayed out in the ocean the whole night. A drift but not lost, kept down by the anchor that was casted in the water. They stayed together and held each other until dawn came. Going back to shore they promised to stick it through. They apologized for hurting each other and the princess kissed her prince goodbye. She had her own responsibilities. Her prince understood, since he also had responsibilities to manage. But, at least now he felt less sour and grumpy about doing them. Since, at least he knew in the end, he would have her.
Songs for the Vibe:
White Flag- Lucas Estrade ft. Sarahde Warren
If God Had A Boat- ANYMA
Ship in The Bottle- Steffan Argus
