Revised: 2.2.10
The Prince of Pirates
Chapter four.
Makoto couldn't sleep.
The wind was rough and she could hear the waves crashing against the cliff and spraying onto her windows.
The storm was a bad one, but this wasn't why she couldn't sleep.
She was waiting for news.
News which would either be her salvation, or her destruction.
Several loud bangs made her shoot up in the bed, sweat beads forming on her brow.
Several minutes of laboured breathing passed before there was a gentle scratching at her door.
"Milady?" A soft voice asked, the door opening ever-so-slightly. "Milady, are you awake?"
Makoto calmed herself before answering.
"Yes, I'm wide-awake."
The maid shuffled in, a small candle being the only source of light.
"There are men outside, Milady. They demand to speak to you."
"Do you know what they want?" She asked nervously.
"No, madam, they only told me to fetch the master of the house."
"Alright, get me my robe, we must hurry."
*
Her bare-feet made no sounds as she descended the cold, stone stairs.
The main doors had been thrown open and the rain sprayed into the hall.
There, waiting in the doorway, were five – armed – men.
Taking a deep breath, Makoto walked over to them, keeping her head high and fear off of her face.
"I heard you wanted to talk to me." She said, facing the man closest to her.
He turned to face her, and looked upon her with cold eyes. They were red, the same colour as his hair. He was extremely tall, too, towering over her own five-foot-ten frame.
Suddenly, he smirked.
"You are the master here, eh?" He mocked, looking over the effeminate figure. "I am General Crimson, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said bowing, pressing his cold lips to her equally cold hand.
"General, is there a reason you wanted to see me?" Makoto asked, voice never wavering.
"Yes, actually. I am the head of Crown Prince Diamond of Nemesis' Army. We are currently looking for this man –" He said, handing her a wanted poster, "who has taken his fiancé. We have reason to believe he shall be making port here, soon."
When Makoto said nothing, he continued. "You are the lady of this manor, correct?"
"Yes, these are my nephew's lands, he has given me this estate."
"And you have no husband?"
"He is away from the country, and currently visiting a nearby city." Makoto's hands were shaking as she said this, hoping he was not here for him.
"I see… in that case, I must ask of you, instead, to keep a watch for this man. He's a pirate, a criminal, and if you suspect anyone of hiding him, I ask that you contact me immediately, so that he may be brought to justice."
Makoto nodded, "Yes, of course."
The General bowed, and swept out. Makoto quickly shut and bolted the doors, locking out the outside world.
"Ma'am? Are you alright?" The maid asked.
"Quite fine… I do not want to be disturbed again tonight, understood?"
"Of course, Milady."
Makoto clutched her chest, above her wildly beating heart. 'I am safe for tonight, it seems…'
* ~ *
Serenity was jolted awake as she was thrown out of bed.
"Ooof! What the –" She rubbed her sore head and looked around the swaying room.
She could hear shouting on the deck above and thundering footsteps. There was a panic, obviously.
Pushing herself off of the floor, Serenity unsteadily made her way out of her room, through the halls and onto the deck. The dangerously rocking ship caused her to lose her balance more than once, but she was too determined to care.
Her eyes widened as she looked around.
It seemed the whole crew was in a frenzy. A huge storm had rolled in, massive waves crashed against the ship, rain and hail pelted down and lightening was becoming a common occurrence.
She caught sight of Endymion, he was at the helm, barking orders and trying to control the ship.
Hurrying towards, him, she latched onto his arm, looking up at him with scared eyes.
"Princess! What are you doing here?!" Endymion shouted, though it was barely audible with all the noise.
Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own. "What is happening?"
Before he could answer, lightening struck the mast of the ship, setting it on fire.
"Shit!" She heard Endymion swear. "Put that fire out!" He roared loudly.
Men hurried to do as told, but it wasn't long before the mast collapsed, shattering the deck as well as setting it alight.
Serenity screamed, terrified as the fire headed towards her.
Large arms wrapped around her and dragged her to safety.
"Princess, are you alright?" Kunzite asked, looking haggard.
"I'm fine… Kunzite! Where's Minako?!" Serenity asked, panicking.
"She's below deck, Princess, I need you to –" His words were cut-off when a massive wave, which towered above the ship, crashed down, over the ship.
And everything went black.
* ~ *
Makoto paced her room relentlessly, her mind warring with her heart.
She was committing treason, something that should not be taken lightly. Her nephew, in short, was a tyrant.
Her lover and herself had taken it upon themselves to be rid of him, and, as an extra, her husband too.
Her nephew, Marcus, was the king of this small country, and he was only seventeen. He taxed heavily, punished severely and cared little.
Her husband – who was thirty years her senior – was pretty much the same.
About two years ago, Makoto fell in love with a soldier, whose scruples were probably double as bad as her relatives', but she was besotted, and completely under his control.
Whatever he wished from her, he got.
And he wanted both her husband and her sister's child dead. She could not say no.
So, now, she was waiting for him to return from his mission, she did not wish to know how he would complete it, only that he did, and that he was successful.
If they weren't successful, or they were caught, both of them would be hanged.
When alone with her thoughts, Makoto would regret her decision, but her lover would have none of it, and she would have no choice but to go along with him.
It was more crucial than ever that her husband was disposed of, Makoto was pregnant, and it was not his.
At first, she considered passing it off of her husband's, but he looked nothing like her lover, and if the child did, then there would be trouble.
Also, when her lover did find out, he was determined more than ever to have her to himself. No child of his would be brought-up by some other man.
So, she was stuck. It was too late now to do anything. Her lover was definitely either caught or successful by now.
Shaking her head, she walked to the window.
The storm had calmed, but it was still raining heavily.
Pressing her head to the cool glass, she sighed. "It will be dawn soon." She mulled, noticing the sky turning purple at the horizon.
Without warning, her door was thrown open, and a large figure strode in.
Gasping, she quickly ran to the door, shut and locked it, before turning to face the man.
They stared at each other for a while, before Makoto took a large gulp of air, and asked;
"Well? Did you…? Were you successful?" She whispered.
The man's eyes stared at her impassively, not caring about what he had just done for this woman.
"I was indeed."
Makoto gave a sigh of relief, a hand fluttering to her heart, but it was not over yet…
"And, no one knows…?"
The man smirked.
"No one knows."
Makoto smiled, the burden she had been carrying was lifted.
"Now, my sweet," The man started, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a rough embrace. "Do I get a reward?"
Makoto looked-up at him sceptically.
"You want a reward for killing my husband and Nephew?"
The man said nothing as his hands continued to roam, one latched tightly around her waist, the other trailing along her leg and under her skirt.
He pressed his lips against hers roughly, carrying over to the bed, he threw her down and climbed on top of her.
She gasped as he nipped her neck.
"I missed you, love." The man growled.
"I missed you too, Neph…"
* ~ *
Serenity groaned.
She ached all-over. Her head was pounding, her limbs were sore and her lungs felt crushed.
Rolling onto her side, she coughed-up the water lodged in her throat.
A large, warm hand rubbed her back soothingly, looking up, she saw Endymion.
"What – what happened?" She whispered, her voice sounding scratchy.
Endymion smiled wryly, helping her sit up.
"The storm was a pretty bad one, and we got caught up right in the middle of it. The ship was sunk, and we were washed up here."
Looking around, Serenity saw that they were stranded upon a white beach, and that they were alone.
"Endymion! Where is everyone?" She asked, panicked.
He shrugged , "I don't know, either they're washed up somewhere else or they're dead."
Tears rolled down her face, "But – but – Minako, she…"
"Princess, I'm sure she's fine, Kunzite would have made sure of it. But we have more important things to worry about…like us."
"I don't understand…"
"We're stuck here, and, to be honest, I have no idea where 'here' is. And, as far as I can see, there's no settlement, not for a couple of miles, anyway."
"What are we going to do?"
"The only thing we can do, walk."
"Walk? You must be kidding me! There is no possible way I can walk for miles! I don't even have shoes!"
"Well, it's not as if you have a choice. Either you stay here and die, or come with me. To be honest, I don't really care what you choose." Endymion said, standing up and dusting off his trousers, "well?" He asked holding out his hand.
Spluttering, Serenity just stared at the hand, not quite sure what to do.
"Suit yourself."
"Wait! Endymion! You can't leave me here!" She started to bawl loudly.
"Alright! Calm down, sheesh, you've got a pair of lungs on you." Picking up the sniffling princess, he held her hand and dragged her along the shore. "We should follow the coast instead of going into the jungle, it's safer this way."
"Safer?"
"Yeah, you don't know what could be lurking in there. Best to stay in the open, for now, anyway."
Serenity clutched the pirate's hand tightly. 'Why do these things happen to me?'
*
"Enough! I can't go on." Serenity insisted, drained, as she collapsed onto a large rock, breathing hard.
"Princess." Endymion warned darkly.
"Oh, I don't care anymore. I don't know how you have so much stamina! We've been walking for hours, then we had to run for I don't know how far because some strange people decided humans were actually edible! Then that massive – what did you call it again – a jaguar? Chased us into this boggy forest, oh, and how could I forget that swarm of giant bees and the monkeys pelting fruit and that annoying parrot that would not shut up!"
"Enough already! I get it! God, all you do is complain, can't you go a day without thinking about yourself?"
"Hmph! Well, if I don't care about myself, who will? You certainly won't, it's you who only cares about yourself, did you even spare a thought about how I might feel? Or for your crew who is more than likely dead? Endymion? Endymion! Are you even listening –"
"Shh!" Endymion hissed harshly.
Serenity sighed, crossed her arms, and looked around lazily.
"Endymion, honestly, I don't hear anything. You're being paranoid, now, the least you can do is allow me a ten minute rest, and perhaps find some fresh-water source, I'm so thirsty I could die, and I need to wash up, I'm sure I must be-"
She screamed when Endymion tackled her to the ground. She looked at the arrow which would have gone through her head but was now lodged in a tree.
"Oh my…" Endymion quickly hauled her up, dragging her through the forest again.
"Looks like your rest will have to wait, unless you want to be riddled with holes."
Serenity ran as fast as she could, though that was not exactly quick, seeing as how she was exhausted and she was wearing a soaking-wet dress which clung to her legs.
She tried to ignore the burning in her legs, but, suddenly, there was a searing pain she could not ignore as she screamed and fell, her legs now unable to support her.
Looking down, she saw that an arrow had scraped her thigh, and it was bleeding profusely.
"Shit!" Endymion cursed as he looked back after hearing the scream, and seeing a group of men surrounding the princess. Wishing he had his sword, or any weapon, really, as he watched them drag her away.
He was too late.
*
Serenity sobbed as the unknown men dragged her away, what was with her and being kidnapped?
First Pirates and now bandits.
Mind you, she'd rather be with Endymion rather than these thugs any day.
Soon enough, they had taken her to a camp-like place.
There were several tents, all around a large fire, in a circular clearing. They were made of both cloth and large leaves, and were rather small.
They took her towards the largest tent, the sort of size one a general would have on a battlefield – or so she assumed.
She was thrown in, and landed on the floor with an undignified curse.
"Well, well. What d'we hav' 'ere then?" A loud, booming voice asked, amused.
Looking up, Serenity was surprised to see a relatively good-looking man.
He had very light brown – almost blonde – short hair, olive green eyes, and he was clean, unlike the others she'd seen.
But he was short, standing only a few inches above the tiny Princess.
"What a pretty little thing ya are." He commented tilting her head up
Serenity slapped the hand away, and stood.
"I demand you release me immediately, or suffer death after I'm found."
The man burst out laughing.
"I'm Umino, and I'm in charge 'roun' 'ere. No one's gunna defy me 'roun' these parts." He stroked the stubble on his chin. "Wha's ya name?"
"I am crown princess Serenity of Luna." She introduced.
"A princess, eh? We scored big, men. Of Luna, ya say? That's much farther up north than 'ere, tell me, girly, what ya doin' in these parts? Especially in a jungle."
"That, sir, is none of your business." She informed haughtily, crossing her arms.
Again, the deep laughter filled the tent.
"Suit ya self. It don' matter. Ya gunna be 'ere a while, princess, so I expect you'll b'have, or we'll have trouble, won't we?"
"I absolutely refuse to do anything you say."
"Is tha' so… men."
The same men who had dragged her here took her outside and threw her into one of the smaller tents, before grabbing some rope and binding her wrists and ankles.
"I'm sure you'll be comfortable 'ere till you change ya mind." Umino said to her, "Blindfold 'er." He said before waltzing out. He was the last thing she saw for some time.
*
Serenity assumed it was night, the area having definitely gotten darker, colder and quieter. She could still here a few men, probably the ones on guard, joking and making slurred speech.
Serenity was freezing, and she hoped it was the fact that she was wearing only a nightdress, and not her blood-loss, that was the cause.
The cut on her thigh hadn't clotted yet, and if it wasn't cleaned soon, she was sure it would get infected.
Serenity gasped when a hand clasped over her mouth.
"Shh, it's me."
"Endymion?!" She whispered hopefully.
"Yeah, hold on a sec." The blindfold was removed and she came face-to-face with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. "Are you okay?"
"My leg hurts." She whimpered.
"Alright, hold on." She felt the ropes on her wrists loosen as well as the ones on her ankles.
"It never occurred to me that you'd actually try and save me." Serenity commented.
"Well, I'm not all bad. I'm going to have to carry you, and please, be quiet." She nodded and allowed him to scoop her up.
He took her out of a slit in the back of the tent and crept away from the clearing and into the forest.
"I found a small village not too far from here." Endymion whispered. "We're not that far from Jupiter Sands, its maybe ten miles. Okay, before you say anything, I also managed to get a horse."
Serenity smiled, and cuddled up to him tightly. "Thank you." And kissed his cheek.
Endymion smiled, and held her tighter.
* ~ *
Makoto smiled contently, tracing her finger along Nephrite's chest as he read through the letters.
"Crap." He muttered, ruining Makoto's calm.
"What?" She asked sourly.
"Just got a letter from Zoi, the Captain's ship has gone missing after that storm, it's probably sunk."
"Oh, who's 'the Captain'? Your boss?" She asked curiously.
He laughed and squeezed her shoulder, "You could say that, He's a good friend of mine, actually. You may of heard of him, not many people haven't, but not all of us were locked up by our husbands, were we, love?"
She scowled, "Well, who is he then?"
"His name's Endymion, the so called 'Prince of Pirates'."
'Endymion. Endymion.' Makoto rolled the name around before gasping.
"Is this him?" She asked, wriggling out of his grasp and producing a wanted poster.
"Yeah, that's him… Where'd you get this, then?"
"Some men came here the other night, just before you did, asking me to keep a look-out for this man. They said he'd be making port here sooner or later."
"Is that so…" Nephrite got up, and started to pull on his clothes. "I'll be back in a few, love, keep the bed warm."
Makoto scowled as her lover left.
He never told her anything.
She too got out of bed, pulled on clothes and stormed out.
"Keep the bed warm. What a bastard! Well, won't he be surprised when I'm not here when he gets back."
Thank you for reading! Please review.
