Chapter One
I was sitting in my private reading room when they attacked. I looked up from my book and stared at the door, listening to the distant crashes and thuds. Not knowing what was going on beyond the closed door, I stood up from my chair and slowly made my way over to it. Cracking it open, I peeked through the opening to see pirates filling the halls. I gasped as I watched one thrust a sword through one of the servants.
With a quick motion, I closed the door and locked it in place. I turned on my heel to look for something to keep the door shut. Spotting a nearby bookcase, I quickly ran over to it and began to push it over the door. I heard the door knob jiggle and angry shouts soon followed. I bit my lip and pushed harder, nodding to myself once the door was in place.
The door and bookcase shook as the pirates began to bang on the door. I slowly backed away towards my chair, gripping the leather arm. Books began to fall off the shelves as the door shook violently against the case. Biting my lip harder, I managed to keep down a whimper of fear as the lock on the door broke and the bookcase fell to the ground. Two pirates charged into the room, swords raised and posed to strike.
"Parley!" I shouted to them, quickly dropping to my knees and raising my hands up in the air. They stopped dead in their tracks, staring at me with confused looks. I repeated the word, this time with a confused tone myself. I wasn't sure if they were going to accept the word or not until a third pirate came up behind them. My heart raced in my chest as I realized who it was.
"Ahh, the wee prince calls for a parley. How pathetic?" The third pirate said, a wide smirk on his face as he approached me. He had hair that was as dark as a starless sky and eyes as green as a fresh forest. He was lean and tall, not having much of a build to himself. But it was his reputation that scared me more than anything. He was the Captain of the Steppes.
I swallowed down my fear and stared up at him, feeling my body tremble. I fought to control my muscles but they continued to shake and shiver. Cursing under my breath, I continued to keep eye contact with the Captain.
"Y-yes... I call for a parley." I said, my voice quavering as I spoke. The Captain laughed at my stutter and stood before me. I was eye level with his crotch and I tried to keep the eye contact; I didn't dare break away.
"Well, I'm here. What would you like to say?" He said, stooping down to one knee so he could look into my own blue eyes. He pushed a lock of my blonde hair out of my face and I felt my cheeks flush fiercely. His filthy hand touched my face. I wanted to spit on him but I refrained from the action. With much control, I chose my words carefully.
"I wish to be left alone, and in return, I'll give you all of my wealth." I told him, my voice remaining strong. He stared at me with a calculating stare before his lips broke out into another smirk.
"Well, that is a fine offer, but that's not what I want." He said. He then stood up and whistled to the other two pirates who were in the room. They nodded and ran to the door, picking it up off the ground and putting it back up in the doorway. They then stood against it to keep it up, facing their captain. He glanced back to see that they were in place before looking back down at me. His hand suddenly flew out and tangled itself in my hair, gripping it tightly. I yelped and winced, reaching up and grabbing his wrist. He forced my head back, looking down into my eyes.
"I don't want your treasure, sweet prince. I want your body, the fairest form in the Steppes." He purred with an evil smirk. I stared up at him with tear-filled eyes, glaring hard at him. He only smirked and slapped me with his other hand. I yelped and fell back against the chair, letting go of his wrist and holding my cheek. He chuckled darkly and smacked my other cheek.
"What's the matter, prince? Don't like that? Don't like being put in your place?" He asked me. I sniffled and slowly shook my head, glancing up at him nervously as I raised my hands to protect my face. He then tugged on my hair, making me crawl away from the chair. I winced as I moved across the floor, my cheeks flushing fiercely as I knelt before him in plain view of his fellow pirates. He looked over at them with a smirk.
"What do you boys think? Should I break him now or on the ship?" He asked. I stared over them wide eyed as they said that now would be the best time to do it. I stared back up at him and quickly shook my head.
"No! Please don't!" I pleaded with him. He only smacked my cheek again, soliciting another yelp from my lips.
"Quiet you. I'm your Captain and you will do as I say, got it?" I growled and spit on his boots. I glared up at him and he sneered down at me. With a quick motion, he kicked me clean in the stomach. I groaned in pain and tried to double over. But he yanked me back up into a kneeling position.
"Let's try this again. I am your Captain now, and you will do as I say. Understand?" He asked me, staring down at me intensely with those green eyes. I clenched my fists together and glared back at him.
"Go to hell." I said, turning my head away. I heard him growl quietly as he kicked me again in the stomach. This time he let me fall back onto the floor. I curled up in a ball and held my stomach, whimpering in pain. Glancing up at him, I saw him shake his head in anger.
"You will obey me." He said bitterly. And with that, he bent down and grabbed my hair again, this time pressing a flintlock to my forehead. I froze up, staring up at the gun in his hand. My body couldn't even tremble it was frozen in fear. His face split into a wide grin, knowing I would cooperate now.
