Hello dear, beloved readers, please don't hurt me.

FIRST OFF; I would like to apologize to anyone whose still willing to follow me after my long absence. I know I have not updated in a long, long, long while and there's nothing I can do to make it up to you, but being a grown-up in this world (only physically grown-up, I'm not so sure about my mind just yet ;) ) I do have responsibilities. I have exams coming up and my school is currently undergoing a lock-down in which none of my teachers are, by law, allowed to help me with my studies and so I have been doing that on my own. Very stressful when I don't yet know what the curriculum is. Hooray for me!

SECONDLY; I have been getting a lot of PMs about what Rune is. No, she is not the same race as Amelia. Rune is part Enailef (A race I made up on my own). A full Enailef basically looks like a Khajiit from The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. If you want to see what Rune looks like in all her awesome glory, check out my deviantart on my profile.

THIRDLY; I do not know when I will be able to update again but I hope that you will understand that it is not because I am quitting the magical world of Fan Fictions. I am merely stuck in reality where people worry for my health if I lock myself in my room for long periods of time. They don't understand why I do fan fictions and I have given up on trying to explain it to them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I do own Rune and a few other crazy characters though. They are mine to corrupt as I please. (MWAHAHAHA!)

Now on with the show!

Enjoy!

-xxXxx-

After discussing his plans with Amelia, Jim excused himself from the ship and made his way back up the hill to Sepla's mansion. When the old man had asked why the young captain wished to see the bride-to-be so soon, Jim had come up with the best excuse on the spot.

"Oh I wish to see the decorations and preparations for the celebration as well as Rune. I'm sure your home will be something straight out of a fairy tale for tonight's wedding,"

Sepla had almost fainted on the spot with joy when Jim had complimented the way his home would undoubtedly look like for his son's wedding.

So here he was, traversing the long road back to Sepla's ridiculously large home. Jim didn't risk taking one of the vehicles for fear of what Sepla would think if the captain - who so obviously had feelings for the bride - hurried up to where the woman was being wedded to someone other than himself. No, that simply wouldn't do. So Jim walked steadily up the hill, going over his and Amelia's plans for later tonight.

They were going to kidnap Rune. Well, that was the main idea of the plan. Jim was supposed to go up to where the bride was planning to be married to that filthy, no-good son-of-a-bitch with a snake's smile, and kidnap her, take her back to the RLS Glory, and escape. Short, sweet and simple; nothing could go wrong.

When Jim finally reached the top of the hill, servants were running around with banners and other decorations, yelling at the top of their lungs for more streamers and confetti. Jim snaked his way through the servants who paid him no mind as they hurried about to make the mansion ready for tonight's event. Sneaking into the mansion was easier than Jim thought it would be. If it was even possible, the inside was more hectic than the outside; servants were standing on tall ladders to polish the chandeliers and hang garlands and banners, maids were furiously dusting and scrubbing at every surface till their could see their reflections and from where he stood, Jim could smell the beginning of works of the feast for tonight wafting from the kitchens. Shaking his head free of the tempting idea of sneaking some food, Jim grabbed a small maid rushing by with an armful of freshly-cleaned linen.

"Excuse me; do you know where Rune is?"

The maid looked up at him with the beginnings of a frustrated scowl. As soon as her forest-green eyes met his, the scowl died and was replaced with a furious blush that stained all of her face and the tips of her ears. A small part of him beamed with pride. Now if only Rune would react a little like that; shy and blushing and absolutely adorable.

"W-well Sir. I-I'm not allowed to say," her eyes darted around; the floor, the rushing servants, the linen in her hands; anywhere but him.

"What if I said I have permission from your Lord Sepla?" Jim cooed, laying on the charm thickly, if only to speed up the flustered maid's little heart as well as his chances of seeing Rune sooner. It had been so long since a woman had reacted anything like this at his mere presence. It was like being back at the Academy all over again.

"M-miss Rune is b-being f-fitted for her wedding dress upstairs, i-in the Master Maid's room," the poor maid stuttered, all but burying her face in the linens in her arms. Jim frowned. Master Maid's room? Where in the world was that? It was obviously on the second floor but this mansion was huge! There were almost a gazillion rooms on the second floor.

"I don't suppose you would be so kind as to escort me there, would you?" Jim cooed softly and the maid's blush deepened but made no motion to direct him to where he wanted to go; "What am I going to tell Lord Sepla if I don't make it back to my ship on time because one of his maids refused to assist me?" Jim sighed dramatically. The little maid's head shot up with a determined look on her face, only slightly marred by the still evident blush on her cheeks.

"I'll take you to Miss Rune immediately. Please follow me," with that, the maid turned and scurried past the bustling servants, Jim hot on her heels.

They travelled up the stairs and down the hall to the right. The maid led him down countless hallways and around corners before finally stopping in front of a large ornate door.

"H-here you are, Sir," the little maid stammered as she readjusted the linens in her arms, "I'd take special care since Miss Rune is being fit for her dress and is probably not decent for male eyes to see." the maid finished, gave a quick curtsy and disappeared down the hallway.

Ignoring the little maid's warning and desperate to see Rune safe and sound, Jim opened the door leading to Rune's makeshift fitting room. His eyes were met with the bare expanse of Rune's back and her long, toned legs. She was standing on a small platform in nothing but a small, white pair of lace panties with a small hole ripped in the back to make room for her tail; the white of the lace contrasting beautifully against her tanned and scarred skin. Her arms were up and covering her chest as maids and a single seamstress measured the reluctant Halfling, muttering something about 'that dammed tail getting in the way'. It only took about a second before one of the maids noticed the man standing in the open doorway and screamed. The rest of the maids joined the screaming and rushed about to cover the bride's modesty as Rune's ears flattened against her head as she hissed at the high-pitched screeching the maids were making. Had it been any other situation, Jim would have laughed at the way Rune's tail-fur puffed up to about twice its normal size. But a maid shoving him out of the door quickly brought him out of his reverie.

"Wait! I have to have a word with Rune! I have permission from Sepla!" Jim called over the screaming and shoving of the maids.

"Enough!" Marylin stepped out in front of Rune as the seamstress handed the Halfling an oversized shirt to cover herself with. The bustling maids stopped their attempts to throw Jim out into the hallway and stepped back as the Head Maid stepped forward, "Is this true, young man? Perhaps you haven't noticed, but we have a wedding to prepare for and we haven't the time for silly games." The older maid shot a soft glare back at Rune who crossed her arms with a huff and stood scowling on the small platform she was on. Jim held back a smile.

"I have permission from Lord Sepla to have a word with my deckhand before I leave. I merely want to wish my crewman a long and happy life," Jim finished professionally. Out of the corner of his eye, Jim could see Rune making a face at him. Marylin looked him up and down before sighing.

"Very well. A quick word and that is all. We do have work to do," Marylin stepped aside and stood beside the door. Jim raised an eyebrow. Wasn't she going to leave? He cleared his throat.

"Um…a private word?"

Marylin glanced between the seething Halfling and Jim with a raised eyebrow. After a moment, she sighed, "Very well. All of you, out!" she commanded and within a minute, all of the maids and the seamstress were absent from the room. The older maid lingered in the doorway, "Remember, a quick word. Some of us have jobs to do," she murmured under her breath before finally shutting the door with a click.

Jim sighed as he locked the door behind them. Finally, time to kick 'Phase 2' of the plan into action.

"Rune, listen, I-"

Before he could even blink, Rune was upon him with her fist raised, rage dancing in her blue and green eyes. Jim didn't even have time to bring up his hands in self defense before her fist made contact with his cheek, sending him flying back into the wall behind him. Sliding to the floor as stars danced in his vision, he felt Rune straddle him and grab him violently by the scruff of his shirt with both her clawed hands and pull him up to face her. Her pupils were like slits and Jim could hear the low growl in the back of her throat.

"Why didn't you help me?!" she hissed, clenching her teeth so hard Jim worried that they might break.

"W-wait, I'm here to help you!" he hissed right back, partially because of the throbbing pain on the back of his head and partially because he had to keep it down because he didn't want to be heard by the maids waiting right outside the door.

"Yeah fucking right!" Rune hissed, clenching Jim's shirt in her hands harder, "You didn't help me back when that ass-bag doomed me to marry him!" Rune released one of her hands and brought it back, readying for another pain-filled punch. This time Jim was ready and he caught the fist in his palm. Grabbing her other hand with his free one, Jim watched his beloved Halfling struggle in his grasp. Even if she had the upper hand, he was still physically stronger than her. Rune struggled and yanked but to no avail; Jim had effectively caught her and there was nothing she could do about it, right?

Right?

Wrong.

Jim never saw it coming, even as Rune reared back her head and smashed her forehead against his.

"Ow!" Jim didn't bother trying to keep down his cry of pain as he released the violent woman above him to cradle his aching cranium. Rune jumped back out of reach, swaying dangerously on her feet. This was what she hated about head-butting someone; it had immediate repercussions that lead to one hell of a headache 100% of the time. But she wanted nothing more than to cause the man in front of her as much pain as possible for what he'd done. To say she was angry about being left and doomed to marry someone like Nastas would easily be the understatement of the year.

"What the hell, woman?" Jim cried as he jumped to his feet, still cradling his aching forehead, "I'm trying to help you god dammit!"

"Why now? Couldn't you have helped me before?" Rune hissed low and deep, her slit pupils slowly turning into rounded orbs while still retaining that cat-like sharpness. Jim shook the slight wave of dizziness from his head and focused on the woman standing in front of him in nothing but a pair of white lace panties and an oversized shirt. He could feel the slight burn of a tell-tale blush creeping up on his face. He cleared his throat; trying to dislodge the image of her standing in the middle of the room in only her panties, glancing over her shoulder at him with her bedroom eyes, and focused on the problem at hand.

"I'm here to get you out of here," Jim whispered as he looked around the room for anything like another exit or something. Rune seemed to read his mind and crossed her arms with a huff.

"The door you came in is the only way out," she stated simply with an underlying tone of frustration as Jim looked around the room, "and the windows are locked."

Jim stopped tugging at the windows with a frustrated growl.

"There's gotta be a way for you to get out of here," Jim ran a hand through his hair roughly, successfully tearing out a strand or two. If all this stress and worry continued to build, he would be a bald man by the time they got home to Montressor. Rune rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Not that it matters anyway; I can't leave."

Jim cast her a confused glance. She obviously didn't want to marry Nastas, so why couldn't she leave? Surely she didn't actually have feelings for that snake-tongued noble-man, did she? Rune read his expression.

"That ass-bag has Kiwi. As much as I'd love to leave, I'm not leaving without her!"

"What?" Jim cried and looked around. True to what Rune said, the little white dragon was nowhere to be seen, "Where is she?"

Rune's head and shoulders slumped, "I don't know. Nastas only said she was being kept 'safe'. But she's okay; I can feel it," she assured, hope dancing brightly in her eyes.

"How did he even get his hands on Kiwi?" Jim asked. He'd been meaning to ask for a while now, wondering what on earth Nastas could have said or done to make Rune compliant to something as far-fetched as marriage. Rune's shoulder shook in anger as she clenched her fists to keep herself from punching something.

"He gave Kiwi some kind of fruit with nanobots in it and she ate it. Her life is literally in his hands. If I don't do what he says, he'll activate them and they'll kill her from the inside!" Tears threatened to spill from Rune's eyes and she bit her lip to keep them from falling. Something inside Jim tore at the sight.

"Nanobots? Someone like Nastas couldn't possibly have gotten his hands on-" Rune interrupted him with a tearful shake of her head.

"Donoma is a scientific community despite all the colors and parties. If someone like Nastas wanted nanobots, he's in the right place to get them," Rune sniffed pathetically and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, "Jim, I can't do this. I can't leave because of Kiwi but I can't stay either." Her voice broke and a tear broke from the rest and raced down her scarred cheek. Jim's heart fell with it and before he could stop himself, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Rune's shaking form. Rune stood awkwardly in his embrace for a few seconds before she buried her face in his chest and cried. Jim continued holding her, gently smoothing down her hair as she cried into his shirt, her sobs and wails muffled by the thick material. He continued to hold her even as her sobbing and shaking died and she stood motionless against his form.

"Shh; it'll be okay," Jim crooned into her hair as he continued to smooth down her hair and ears, "We'll work something out and we'll get you both out of here. I promise."

Rune shifted slightly in his arms but didn't look up at him, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Captain," she muttered into his shirt.

Jim said nothing as he continued holding her. Oh, how he wished time would just stop and they would remain like this forever; remain alone with one another with no Nastas, no Sepla, no responsibilities, ship or cargo to look after.

Jim and Rune were pulled out of their quiet solace by a sharp knocking on the door.

"Miss Rune?" Marylin's voice was muffled by the door but Rune's ears flattened against her head at the sound of the maid's voice, "Miss Rune? If we are to be on time for your wedding tonight, we must begin preparations for your dress at once."

Rune buried her head in Jim's chest and growled loudly, sending heavy vibrations up and down Jim's spine before tearing away and wiping her eyes furiously.

"Fine! I'll be right there!" she called over her shoulder at the maids waiting behind the locked door. Grabbing Jim's collar again, she pulled him down until he was eye to eye with her, "Load the cargo and come back before the ceremony. I'll figure something out about the nanobots and meet you by the mansion's back doors. Don't be late," she hissed, "please," she whispered gently, her eyes of sapphire and emerald darting back and forth between his.

Jim swallowed and cradled Rune's face gently in his hands, "I will. Don't worry."

Rune held his gaze as the distance between their faces grew smaller and smaller. Jim could feel Rune's breath on his face and somewhere in the back of his mind, Jim wondered if she could hear his heartbeat thundered away in his throat. Rune's eyes flickered down to his lips before darting back up to his eyes, a wild blush staining her tanned features. Was this really happening? Was he reading the signs correctly? Jim sure hoped so. There were only centimeters between them now and Jim wanted nothing more than to close the remaining distance and feel Rune's lips against his.

The door clicked and slammed open. Rune jumped back away from Jim and the sudden loss of Rune's body heat almost made him whine with need. So close! They had been so god dammed close! Jim whirled to see who had the audacity to intrude on them during one of their more affectionate moments. Marylin, the seamstress and the maids flooded in and set to work doing whatever they had been doing before Jim had so rudely interrupted them.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but we really must begin the preparations for tonight Miss Rune," Marylin stated plainly as she curtsied politely. Rune crossed her arms and scowled as the seamstress held up a long length of pure white silk against her body muttering something about 'having the most beautiful gown in all of Donoma'.

"Yeah, yeah. Just one sec," Rune stepped away from the muttering seamstress and pulled Jim into a hug.

"Remember; meet me out back before the ceremony," she hissed softly into his ear before releasing him with a smile before speaking in a louder voice, "Hope you have a safe trip home, Captain. Good luck without me around to bail you out of trouble."

Jim and Rune shared a grin. Jim bowed respectfully, wished Rune 'many happy years or marriage' one last time and left the room. A maid locked it shut after him with an audible click. The innocent click of the lock sliding in place sounded more like a death bell tolling, marking the end of Rune's short life.

Jim walked aimlessly down the hall before he clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall.

So close! They had been so fucking close to kissing! Couldn't those dammed maids have waited just 5 seconds longer? Just 5 seconds longer! Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so. Jim shuddered as he remembered the feel of Rune's supple body pressed against his; the warmth of her breath on his face; the pleading look she directed at him when she practically begged him to come rescue her before the wedding ceremony started. If only those dammed maids could have waited just 5 seconds longer before barging in on them, then Jim could finally feel how soft Rune's lips would feel on his. Jim chuckled at the thought of seeing Nastas' face when the young noble-man found out that his bride-to-be was seen kissing another man; willingly and without the life of her blood-bonded child at stake.

Jim's heart lurched. Kiwi. The little white dragon was in life-threatening danger and here he was fantasizing about stealing Rune right out from under Nastas' nose. That was just not right on so many levels. And to make the guilt settling in Jim's stomach worse, Kiwi was Rune' blood-bonded child. Her child, for gods' sake! And he was completely forgetting about her.

"What is wrong with me?" Jim muttered to himself as he leaned up against the wall he'd punched only moments before. He stood there for who knows how long before he finally pulled himself away from the wall and began walking out of the mansion. He had a shipment of Ohcurian Solar Crystals to load and be ready for take off at a moments notice. As soon as Rune was clear of the mansion and on board the RLS Glory, Jim planned on high-tailing them out of there as fast as the engines would allow.

But how was Rune going to get rid of the nanobots inside Kiwi? Jim was pretty sure she had no idea how to short circuit them all before Nastas activated them, killing Kiwi. Would she even know where to start looking?

Jim shook his head. Rune said she'd figure something out and that's what she was going to do. He was going to make sure everything on his part of the plan was ready to go when the time came. There was nothing he could do but watch and wait. It irritated him to no end; being rendered useless like this, but it was all for the best.

Jim continued his trek along the halls when Nastas turned the corner. Jim did not notice the other man he shared the hallway with, but Nastas noticed. The young noble-man stopped in his tracks, eyes wide with surprise before he fixed himself to look every bit the calm politian he would no doubt grow up to be.

"Hello Captain Jim," he called, bringing the young captain out of his thoughts. Jim looked up in surprise but one look at who the owner of the voice was and his expression changed immediately into a scowl.

"Oh, hello Lord Nastas," he greeted dryly. He didn't want to talk to this creep, not after what he'd done to both Rune and Kiwi. Just thinking about this man with his hands all over Rune's body made his blood boil. And that nightmare would become a reality if Rune didn't get out of this staged marriage before tonight.

"What a surprise it is to see you here," Nastas commented politely, "I hope I'm not to bold in asking, but shouldn't you be down by the docks overseeing the loading of the cargo?"

'Of course I should be overseeing the loading of the cargo but since you are such a foul-mouthed lying snake, I don't trust you not to try to lay your filthy hands on my Rune!' Jim thought but put on a friendly smile. Even to him it felt forced but to any innocent bystander, they were just making small talk. "Oh, Mrs. Doppler is overseeing the loading while I watch the preparations for you and Rune's wedding. It will truly be a marvelous wedding!" Jim complimented. Nastas smiled kindly before casting a wary glance up and down the hall they stood in.

"There is no need to stand on ceremony, my friend. It is obvious you couldn't care less about me or my wedding. Rune, however, seems to be an entirely different story," Nastas dropped the kind and noble host act and glared openly at Jim. The change was so sudden and out of the blue, even Jim – who hadn't liked Nastas since he first showed signs of interest in Rune – was thrown for a loop. But two could play at that game and Jim glared right back. This made the corner of Nastas' smile twitch upwards into a smirk.

"Now there's the real you, Captain James Hawkins," he sneered, "So full of anger and hate; and for what? A mere Halfling? The embarrassment of all living kind?"

"What do you know about the real me?" Jim spat, crossing his arms in defiance. Whatever this spineless coward could dish out, Jim was determined to one up him all the way. Anything to spite this snake-tongued asshole who threatened to take his Rune from him.

At this, Nastas laughed, full of spite and hatred, "I know more than you'd like to think, Captain Hawkins. You see, I've done my research; the Academy, Treasure Planet, even the life you lead before your greatest achievement. I know everything," the man hissed, a small smile playing at his lips. Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and what of it? Everyone knows who I was before any of that happened; a trouble-maker and a rule-breaker."

Nastas chuckled evilly, "Oh, I know so much more than just that. I also know about Silver's current whereabouts."

Jim's stomach flip-flopped. Silver? Silver was alive?

"Where is he?" Jim ordered. He had to know.

A maid came scurrying down the hall and both men smiled kindly at each other. The maid eyed Nastas with a smile and curtsied, giggling when he grinned good-naturedly at her. Jim and Nastas continued smiling at each other until the maid disappeared around the corner.

As soon as the maid turned the corner, Jim dropped the act and glared down at Nastas, "Where is he? How do you know about Silver?"

Also having dropped the façade, Nastas smirked smugly, "I know he is still alive and well and is living a wonderful life of pirating in the farthest corners of the universe."

Jim sighed inwardly. Thank the stars, Silver was still alright. He didn't know what he would do if the man who'd turned his entire life around was dead and gone from this world without his knowing. In the short weeks during that trip to Treasure Planet, Silver had been like the father Jim had never gotten the chance to have. If Silver had been caught and executed or found dead on some remote planet without Jim knowing what had become of him, he would feel guilty to the end of his days.

While knowing his father-like figure was still alive and doing well was all good in Jim's book, but what on earth did any of this have to do with Rune? What was going on in Nastas' crazy, love-sick brain?

"But what does that have to do with me? Or Rune?" Jim asked, "What does she have to do with anything?" Jim demanded, "Why bring her up in the first place?

Nastas ignored Jim's small rant and looked intriguingly up at the man before him.

"She hasn't told you anything, has she?"

Jim raised an eyebrow. He didn't want to rise to the bait, he really didn't but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them;

"Tell me about what?"

For a second, Jim thought Nastas would collapse the fit of laughter he broke into. Once the young noble-man's laughter died to a deep chuckle, Nastas wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh, that was a good one, Captain Hawkins. It's been a while since I've met someone with such a brilliant and intelligent mind, be so uninformed and stupid! Ha!" Nastas laughed again.

"Tell me about what?" Jim hissed through clenched teeth. He was beginning to get sick and tired of Nastas' bullshit. If he wanted to play games like this, he'd go see Rune. At least then, he'd be in the company of someone he didn't feel like strangling only because of their existence; "And why are you marrying her if you so obviously despise what she is?" Jim asked. Nastas smirked.

"Why, you ask? Why, the answer is simple! She intrigues me. What I said in the medical room was true. Even women who are not of my race, especially low-born ones with backgrounds such as hers, try to…what's the right word for it," Nastas taunted childishly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The man smirked as Jim tried holding a tight reign on his anger; "Ah yes, even low-born women like Rune tend to try to cozy up to high powers such as myself. I myself have had countless experience with such women. But Rune is the first to truly not care about such trivial matters. Truly an enigma amongst enigmas. She is a fascinating creature and one I cannot wait to fully explore. I hear Enailefs are rather erotic creatures once in heat; I wonder if it works the same for Rune?" Nastas chuckled.

"Shut up," Jim hissed. His hands hurt. It was probably because he was clenching his fists so hard that his nails were digging into his flesh but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, the pain distracted him from the violent thoughts dancing in his head; most of them included a beaten and bloody Nastas lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. How dare he think such things about Rune? The young noble-man chuckled again, completely oblivious to Jim's inner murder spree.

"Why should I?"

"Shut up. You don't know a thing about Rune or me."

"And I suppose you know more about our little Rune than I do?"

Jim remained silent.

"I don't suppose you want to know what I know about your dear Rune," he drawled sarcastically. Jim said nothing, opting instead to just nod silently.

"Oh, why spoil the surprise?" Nastas grinned madly as he threw his arms open to gesture at everything around them, "After all, it's not everyday someone like you gets to meet something like her!"

Jim finally lost it. Grabbing Nastas by the front of his fancy blue robes, Jim pulled him in real close to glare directly into his eyes.

"Rune is a she, not an it! Get it right before I loose my temper and do something I might regret later," he hissed venomously under his breath. Nastas rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Way too cliché, Mr. Hero," he drawled as Jim released him. Nastas took the time to straighten his robes before facing Jim again. Jim continued to glare daggers at the noble-man. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a few tense moments as Jim continued to glare silently at Nastas. They stayed that way, each sizing up the other before Jim broke off the glaring contest, turned and began walking down the hallway towards the loud hustle and bustle of servants and maids preparing for tonight's festivities.

"Wait!" Nastas called after him but Jim didn't stop walking, "For starters, your dear Rune isn't who she says she is. She's a traitor! She is actually a part of an elite group of pirates and specializes in undercover missions like the voyage you are on, Captain Hawkins. Her job is to infiltrate the ship as either a deckhand or a cabin girl and continuously send out updates to her supervisors; where the ship is, where they're going, who's in charge, things like that! When the target ship has retrieved its cargo – in your case it's my father's shipment of Solar Crystals– it will be Rune's job to lull the crew into thinking everything is peaceful and calm before she betrays you all and her comrades commandeer the ship and take its cargo."

Jim stopped walking and turned back to see Nastas standing alone in the middle of the hall. He crossed his arms as one eyebrow rose skeptically. "So you're telling me that Rune, my Rune, is part of an elite group of pirates that steals from ships like mine and takes their cargos?"

Nastas nodded frantically, a small smirk creeping up on his face, "Yes, of course! Everything I say is the truth!"

Jim rubbed his chin thoughtfully and sighed, "Nope, don't believe you. You lost me at Rune being part of an elite group of anything. If you were going for something realistic, you would have left that bit out," Jim chuckled, "Rune as a part of an elite group of anything, ha! That's a good one Lord Nastas but if you'll excuse me, I have a shipment of Ohcurian Solar Crystals to overlook. Farewell and good luck with your blushing bride!" Jim called over his shoulder as he continued down the hallways leading to the front doors and pointedly ignoring Nastas' demands and warnings to stop walking away from him.

As he walked down the long road downhill, Jim stopped at the balcony that Rune had first stopped at on their way up. Jim walked over to the edge of the stone balcony and leaned over the side with a heavy sigh.

Could Rune really be a part of a group of pirates? Was what Nastas said true? Jim thought back on the object of his affections. Rune was a jokester, a trickster and an all-around ball of fun and trouble but not really pirate material.

'…specializes in undercover missions like the voyage you are on… Her job is to infiltrate the ship and lull the crew into thinking everything is peaceful and calm…before she betrays you all…' Nastas' voice echoed in his head. Jim growled. That bastard had him doubting himself.

Rune wasn't a pirate, let alone an elite one. She wasn't going to betray him; she loves him and chose him over Nastas. Besides, Jim reasoned, no good infiltrator would bring as much attention to themselves as Rune had over their voyage so far. So far, Jim could count on one hand how many times Rune hadn't acted out or brought unwanted attention to herself; she'd pranked, laughed loudly, sung with the crew members when she'd had one too many drinks of alcohol, sung with the crewmembers while completely sober, made messes in the kitchen, not to mention the mess with the chickens. Jim shuddered as he remembered sitting at his desk as sneeze after sneeze racked his body because of the feathers floating around. The only good thing that had come from that was watching Rune with her sensitive nose suffer along with the rest of the crew.

No. Rune was many things but an infiltrator, a pirate or a traitor was not one of those things. She was just a crazy-lovable Halfling who'd been through a lot in her life and that made her who she was today.

The view really was spectacular from here. The first time they'd come to this spot, Jim admittedly hadn't really been paying much attention to the sunset. He'd been too focused on Rune for reasons he didn't quite know yet. But now he knew.

Jim loved Rune or at least something very, very close to it. He hadn't felt this deeply for anyone before so he assumed it must be love. Yeah, he'd had plenty of crushes before back at the Academy, but nothing as strong as this. Rune was just so…Jim didn't know of a single word that could single-handedly describe just how amazing Rune was but 'wonderfully stubborn and strong-willed' was about as close as he could get it so far.

Now the only problem was whether or not Rune felt the same way. She was obviously more open and honest with him than anyone else they'd met and they'd almost kissed. Jim's face flushed as his mind returned to those precious few moments before the maids burst in and ruined the atmosphere.

"God dammit!" Jim ran a hand through his hair. What was he going to do? Rune was turning him into such a love-sick idiot. He was such a ladies man back at the Academy. What had Rune done to reduce him to this?

Even as Jim racked his genius brain for an answer, none came. No answer or sudden epiphany. Nothing, nada, zilch.

"Urgh, what's wrong with me?" Jim let his forehead rest against the grainy surface of the balcony railing. The solitary peace up here was calming. The sun was sinking lower in his throne in the sky and no one was around to judge him for things he couldn't control.

"Is there something wrong with you?" a voice from behind him asked. Jim shot up and would have tumbled over the side of the balcony if it weren't for the gentle but firm hand that steadied him. Amelia looked him over with a motherly concern she only reserved for special occasions.

"Huh? Oh, hi Amelia. Has everyone already finished loading the cargo?" Jim asked before diving right back into the role he'd taken as Captain at the beginning of the journey. Amelia eyed him warily before straightening.

"Yes Captain. Everything is ready for launch. Now all we need is a certain deckhand doomed to be wedded this night and we'll be out of here before the sun disappears completely," Amelia motioned to the sinking sun in the horizon. There were only a few hours of daylight left in the day. Jim's stomach flip-flopped. Where had the time gone? Rune and Nastas' wedding had only been announced this morning and he'd talked to the unwilling bride only an hour or so before. Jim glanced at the setting sun once again. Was it really evening already?

"Amelia, what do you know about nanobots?" Jim recalled Rune's tears at the thought of Kiwi meeting her untimely end at the hands of the lunatic noble-man. Amelia blinked in surprise at the sudden question.

"Not much honestly. It's not really a subject I've ever read up on. Why do you ask?"

"Nastas fed Kiwi something with nanobots in it and he's threatening to kill her if Rune doesn't do what he says," Jim finished, hoping that he didn't sound too far-fetched and that Amelia would actually believe him. If Jim himself hadn't had his suspicions about Nastas before hand, he would have found Rune very hard to believe. Judging by the color draining from her face, Amelia believed him. The color returned full force as her eyes turned to slits and her lips pulled back in a snarl revealing her fangs.

"That lying, sneaky little imbecile! I'll have his head!" Amelia cursed and slammed a clenched fist against the balcony railing. Jim jumped back in alarm. Okay, he'd been angry when he'd first heard but Amelia was positively livid. He hadn't ever seen her this way, not even during their infamous trip to Treasure Planet when all the pirates started their mutiny.

"What are we gonna do?" he asked. He jumped slightly when Amelia turned her slit eyes on him. She looked almost feral. Amelia must have noticed Jim's expression because she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened her eyes again, they were softer with a burning anger deep in those green eyes of hers.

"You never, ever threaten someone's kits," she growled. Jim figured 'kits' was just something she called babies, "I'm going to make that puss-filled boil suffer greatly for what he's done."

Jim smirked. He couldn't help it. Once Amelia set her mind to something like this, she would not rest until justice was served.

"So you went to see Rune?" Amelia asked, suddenly as calm as the eye of a hurricane. Jim nodded.

"Yeah, she was getting fitted for her dress when I left," Jim conveniently left out the part where he'd pretty much walked in on her while she was in nothing but her underclothes. There was no need for Amelia, with her high code of moral honor and propriety, to know about that. She'd probably go off the deep end and lecture him about a young woman's purity; "She told me she would handle the nanobot situation and ordered me to meet her at the mansion's back doors before the ceremony." Jim smiled at the memory. Of course Rune wouldn't hesitate to order him around; that was just who she was. It was a part of her he loved, despite how irritatingly annoying it got sometimes.

Amelia spared Jim a small smile, "That sure sounds like her," she muttered and turned to look at the sunset, "Oh, if only this place wasn't crawling with back-stabbing snakes; Delbert would love to be here right now." The woman sighed.

Jim smiled sadly at the thought of the good Doctor and turned and watched the sunset with his First Mate.

"What's he doing while you're here anyway? Watching the kids?"

Amelia snorted, "Your mother's helping him of course. The girls can be a handful sometimes but they seem to like Sarah and that little pink blob of yours," Amelia chuckled lightly, thinking about her little wild ones back home on Montressor. Jim could practically see Morph floating around, burping and giggling and changing into various things for the entertainment of Amelia's energetic kids as Sarah helped Delbert clean up the mess the children had made in a span of about 5 minutes. He chuckled.

They remained where they were on the balcony, just looking out over the city below them as the sun slowly sunk below the horizon. It was only after all of the people in the city began climbing the long road up to Sepla's mansion that Jim and Amelia pulled away from the balcony. Jim felt a stone drop in his stomach as he darted towards the large group of people. Surely the ceremony wasn't starting so soon, was it?

"Excuse me," Jim pulled one of the citizens, an old man with a white beard as long as his arm, aside, "Where are you all going?"

The old man chuckled and looked up into Jim's face, "You do not know? Why, the Lord's young son is to be married! The whole city's excited about it. It is a joyous day indeed," the man exclaimed happily before hobbling along with the crowd. Jim felt a tiny pang of guilt that he would be stealing the city's happiness by kidnapping the young Lord's bride-to-be, but that feeling was instantly stomped and crushed out of existence as soon as the mental image of Nastas laying his filthy hands on Rune's body flashed in his head.

"Amelia, go alert the crew and make sure everything's ready to go at a moments notice," Jim growled as he stomped down the road against the current of happy citizens. Amelia blinked before rushing after the enraged young man, pushing and shoving her way through the crowds to get to her captain. She made it to the other side of the small road which was strangely devoid of rushing people before her feline eyes caught sight of her young and angry captain.

"Jim!" she hissed as she made a grab for his arm. Jim wrenched it out of her grasp and continued on his way, "Jim! Jim, stop! What are you going to do?" The man stopped so abruptly Amelia almost ran into him. She almost cringed at the expression that morphed his face into something full of anger, rage and hate.

"I'm gonna do what I should have done a long time ago," Jim glared at Amelia but the object of his hatred was waltzing around somewhere in Sepla's mansion getting ready to be married Jim's girl, "I'm gonna grab Rune and get out of here. And if I'm lucky, I might even pay a little visit to that snake."

Amelia stood frozen in place as Jim darted through the oncoming crowd and turned left down the road leading to the back of the mansion and out of sight. Amelia shook her head and made her way down the hill to where the RLS Glory was docked and loaded. She would deal with Jim's ways another day; right now, she had a get-away ship to prepare.