The next morning, the physician came by my temporary room and did a full physical. I knew he was only after one thing, but he must have been ordered by Prince Izana to do the full workup.

After breakfast, I was told I could wander the castle ground as I pleased. So, I dressed in my brown pants and blue men's shirt, or as I liked to call it, my sparring clothes, and place my long wavy black hair in a gentle ponytail. I decided I was just going to wander. I eventually found some guards that were training with practice swords, so I sat on the low wall, leaned against a pillar, and watched.

It appeared to be the captain of the guard trying to train his men, but they were getting their butts beat pretty badly. Sometimes literally, because the captain would boot them in the rear end, sending them out of the circle of comrades, who were watching. I was only able to watch it for half an hour before their pitifulness became unbearable.

"Move your feet! You'll be dead if you stand still!" I smiled to myself when I realized I sounded like Hiroto.

All of the men looked at me, including the captain.

"And what would you know about wielding a sword?"

"A lot more than your men apparently."

"Then why don't you come and show us then?" One of the soldiers called out.

"Silence!" The captain ordered.

"Come on Captain. Let me have a sword and I'll show you what I can do. Maybe we can even teach them a thing or two."

"Alright, but you'll be sparring with me." He tossed me a sword and I easily caught it.

As our practice swords clashed, I explained loudly, why I was doing what I was doing. It was how Hiroto taught me, so I figured I would try it with them. I eventually did a little trick that sent the captain's sword flying out of his hand and winning me the match.

"And that… is how it's done." I bowed briefly to the captain and I began to walk away now that I had my fun.

"Wait! Who are you?" The captain asked.

"She's Lady Rin, daughter of Lord Takashi, and someone whom I'm considering to be my wife." Prince Izana informed as he appeared out of nowhere.

I was surprised to hear he was still even considering me as an option. Even if he'd received the doctor's report by now, the fact that I was a pirate, I thought, would have turned him off for good.

"Your Highness!" The captain and his men bowed instantly.

"Good morning, Prince Izana." I greeted and gave a bow of my own.

"It would seem she's bested you, Captain."

Everyone stood up.

"I was taking it easy on her. I didn't want to hurt her."

"There are women who are criminals too! What would you do if you came across one?" I spat out, not thinking first.

"The Lady has a point." Prince Izana agreed. "Spar with her again!"

"Your Highness?" the captain seemed a little off-put by the order.

"You heard me."

Without another word, we sparred again. It took me a little longer, but I still won the match. This time, the tip of my fake sword was at his throat.

"Tell me, Lady Rin, have you ever fired a bow?" Prince Izana asked as he approached and handed me a glass of water.

I took a quick drink before answering. "A few times, but never long enough to get good at it."

"Follow me."

I followed the Prince and he led me to an archery range. He handed me a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I took my stance, notched my arrow, aimed, and fired. The arrow landed in the second outermost ring.

"Not bad for a beginner, but your stance is off and your elbow needs to be up more."

He showed me what he meant and I did my best to mimic him. After looking at me he stepped in behind me and adjusted my elbow gently with his hand. I could feel the warmth of his face against mine. It was enough to make my heart race.

"Now try." his voice was almost a whisper and it made my heart flutter.

I released my arrow and it landed in the bullseye. I turned my head towards him to say thank you but forgot how close he was. His blonde hair framed his face perfectly and his sapphire eyes shone beautifully in the sunlight. He must have been able to tell I was staring because he turned his face towards mine and locked eyes with me. I felt myself blush. We're so close I could feel his breath.

"Forgive my intrusion, Your Highness, but a letter marked 'Urgent' has just arrived for you." a messenger said as he approached.

Prince Izana quickly pulled away and took the letter from the messenger and sent him away.

I watched as his face grew more serious as he read it.

"I need to go, but I'll only be gone for a few days. We can continue our archery lesson when I return."

My heart sank when I heard he had to leave, but I knew it couldn't be helped so I nodded.

The next few days dragged on. I was wandering the grounds like I had every day for the past few days, in my sparring clothes and my sword by my side, when I heard some of the guards shouting at one another. I quickly hid in the shadows and listened.

"If anyone is going to get her, it's me!" one shouted.

"And I already told you, she's already mine!"

What were they thinking?! Fighting over a girl while on duty? And where was the captain?

I peeked my head around the corner just in time to see them draw their swords on one another. I knew this had to stop, so I drew my sword, leapt from the shadows and smacked them both backwards, landing them on their butts.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" One shouted at me.

"I should be asking you the same thing!"

"We were training!" The other one told me.

"Oh is that what this was? Because I heard you fighting over a girl, and on shift no less." I scolded.

"Yeah, so? What is it to you?" The first one snidely asked.

"Well, first, I know that fighting each other while on duty, is strictly prohibited. Second, you raised your voice and talked down to, not only a Lady, but an honored guest of Prince Izana."

I saw both men freeze in fear when they realized I was right.

"W-What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell Prince Izana as soon as he returns. Since I'm only here as a guest, it's not my place to decide your punishment."

"What's going on here?" the captain asked as he walked up.

"Two of your men decided to have a little duel while on shift, and over a girl no less."

"What?!" the captain's face went red with rage.

"I've told them that I will be informing Prince Izana when he returns."

"Well if you didn't then, I certainly would! Behavior like this is disgraceful! Until the Prince returns and decides your punishment, you two will be relieved from duty."

The two guards hung their heads as they stood up and walked away.

"Lady Rin." he said with a softer tone.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Whenever the Prince returns from his trips, he always gets me to report everything that went on. When he returns, this time, I'll send for you, so you can explain the whole story."

"Yes, sir."

Prince Izana returned the next day and I had been summoned to give my report. I decided I would wear a dress because it just felt necessary. I even braided my hair and had it nicely pulled over to the front of my shoulder.

When I entered the large office, I saw Prince Izana at his desk and the captain standing in front of him, but just off to the right side. Both of them were looking at me as I entered. I stood beside the captain and curtsied.

"I hear there were some problems while I was away."

"Yes, sir."

"Please, enlighten me."

I went into detail about what happened and how I intervened. His face grew more serious as he intently listened to everything I said.

"Captain, inform the two men that they are going to spend two weeks in the brig. When their sentence is up they will be demoted back down to apprentice."

I figured the demotion would happen, but compared to a pirate ship, Prince Izana was being kind. On the pirate ship, there would have been twenty lashes to go along with being locked up.

"You're dismissed."

Because my thoughts had been on how things were at sea, I instinctively bowed and turned to walk away with the captain.

"I only meant the captain." Prince Izana clarified.

I turned back around and faced him as he rose from his chair, walked over and stood in front of me.

"I am curious, though."

"About what, highness?"

"You could have ignored the situation or hid it from me. Why didn't you?"

"While I do bend the rules on a regular basis, there are some boundaries I won't cross. Plus, I know if I were in your position I would want everyone to be honest with me about what happened while I was away."

"You are something." He gently took my braid in his fingers and played with it.

I found myself lost in his sapphire eyes again.

"There was one other thing I wanted to discuss with you. Your physical was inconclusive in one area."

I knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Forgive my forwardness, but it's about if I've ever been with a man or not, isn't it?"

I was surprised when I saw a blush appear on his cheeks, but after a moment it quickly faded.

"Yes, would you care to explain?"

"Believe it or not, I think it happened while riding a horse on my way home from running away. I was riding like I always did when pain just ripped through me." I felt myself blush. This was typically not a thing that unmarried people discussed. "I assure you, Prince Izana, I have never been with a man." I made my voice as confident as it could be.

He looked like he studied my face for a moment.

"Alright then."

"May I ask you a question, your highness?"

"I suppose."

"When you first met me and we sparred, did you do it for fun or to put me in my place?"

Prince Izana took my chin with his first finger and thumb as he locked his eyes with mine. My heart began to flutter wildly in my chest.

"Who says it wasn't both?" he gave a small grin.

I scowled a little. "Does that mean you enjoyed putting me in my place?" I studied him as I tried to figure him out, but I didn't realize I was still scowling.

Unexpectedly, he planted his lips on mine in a firm kiss. I felt my face get hot and my heart went crazy. His lips were soft and fit perfectly with mine. After a brief moment, he broke the kiss and gazed into my eyes again.

"What was that for?" I was suddenly shy and unsure of what else to say.

"You were scowling, what else could I do?"

That night even though I had a good day with the prince, nightmares still plagued my sleep. I had them every night since being in the castle, but tonight's was particularly bad. They were always the worst when I wasn't at home.

I bolted upright screaming and tears streaming down my face. Through my tears, I could see my whole family and even Prince Izana was there.

Dad quickly took me in his arms, just as he had done every night that my nightmares had been bad. It only took a few moments, then I was fine again.

"I didn't mean to wake everyone." I apologize as I wiped tears away.

"It's no trouble, Rin." Akira comforted.

"It's not the pirates, you dream about when you scream like that, is it?" Takeo was filled with concern.

"No, it's about my mom and sister." At least, that's what it was, this time.

On occasion, I would have nightmares about the first man I killed, but I didn't need Takeo knowing that. I looked at Prince Izana and saw he was concerned as well.

"Prince Izana, you didn't need to get out of bed for this."

"I've told the guards to wake me up if they believe something requires my attention. I believe this qualifies."

I didn't know what to say. My heart was still racing from the nightmare and I felt the adrenaline still running through my body.

"Do you have nightmares every night?" The Prince asked.

"Yes, but not all of them are this bad. When I'm away from home they get worse."

"Perhaps it would be best for you to return home. That way you could get some proper sleep."

I really didn't want to go home, but I hadn't slept well since I got here.

"I agree, but I'm sorry to cut our visit short, Prince Izana."

"Don't you worry about that. There will be more opportunities for us to get to know one another." He comforted.

So, it had been decided. We were going home tomorrow.