Princess

"What do you want?" Charles said, not taking his eyes off of the one they called the Silent Lady of the Sea. The pirate smiled. "I don't want anything," she said. "Sure," Charles replied sarcastically.

"I've come to realize something, prince," she said, taking a step towards him. Charles didnt' budge. "Threats won't work on you," the pirate said with a smile. "So I've come to make you a new offer." "I'm not interested in your deals," Charles said, staring at his sword in her hand. All he had to do was take his blade back. Then, no matter how powerful this pirate was, he was sure he could at least delay her long enough to escape and alert his soldiers.

"Oh, I disagree," she said, sitting down on his bed. "You see, the sea witch Ursula has many objects of great power. A single drop from her collection of potions would be enough to heal your dying king. Surely you want that?"

"Get out," Charles said. "Now."

The woman tilted her head. "A twist- how exciting. A prince who wishes his father dead, so that he can take the throne for himself?"

"That's not true and you know it," Charles said, gritting his teeth. "I love my father, but I'm not going to sacrifice the lives and honor of my many soldiers just for one life."

"You think you're smart," the woman said with a grin. She took the sword's handle and pointed it at Charles. "But at the end of the day, you're just like everybody else- you will come to me, Charles. Because no matter what you say right now, you care much more for your father than you do for your soldiers. And when that time comes, I'll be waiting. You know where to find me."

The woman was about to leave through the window, when Charles, using the blanket at his foot, wrapped the cloth around the sword and twisted it upwards. The blade went sailing through the air. Both Charles and the pirate reached up to grab the sword- the pirate grabbed it first, but Charles, anticipating this, grabbed her wrist whilst jumping behind her, and held his sword to her neck, his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

The prince hesitated, but only for a second. He thought of his subjects who had died at this woman's hands. The pirate groaned as the sharp metal began digging into her skin. "Do this, and you'll gain the wrath of the fifteen most fearsome and deadly pirate ships in all the seas," she said quietly.

Charles stopped, but didn't let go. The pirate was right. Rumour had it that a bunch of pirates had joined forces to partake in the war of the century. And as powerful as Charles's kingdom was, they didn't have enough navy power to defeat fifteen pirate captains and their crew.

Charles thought for a moment, then made up his mind. He punched the pirate and knocked her out in one blow.

Three hours later. The kingdom was finally waking up and getting ready for their everyday business. Right now, the pirate was locked up in the castle's dungeon. Charles sat near his father's bed. As usual, his father was coughing and spitting out blood. The king looked so fragile and weak. Had the pirate been bluffing? Or was there really something in the sea witch's castle that could- "No, my son," Charles's father said, placing a hand on his arm. "You must think of the subjects and our family's honor before all else. I'm an old man- I'll die soon anyway. Do not let that girl get to you. Do you understand?"

Charles didn't reply. His father was telling him the righteous truth. But this was family they were talking about. If there was a chance at saving a person whom one truly loced, wasn't it worth losing honor and reputation and whatnot?

Charles found himself walking down towards the dungeons. "Your Highness," the guard said, bowing. Charles entered the dark, misty hall filled with cells.

"Oh, look. It's Prince stuck up, here to save the day," a scoffing voice said from the shadows. "Pirate," Charles said. "Prince," the pirate replied. "What do you plan to do now? If I don't return to my ship, my crew will come looking for me, and soon, it won't be Ursula receiving the wrath of the pirates."

"Explain something to me," Charles said, ignoring her. "I'm a person who notices things, even the tiniest details. And you know what I noticed about you?" he said. "Do enlighten me," the woman said, obviously bored.

"Your posture is perfect, you're hands are soft and delicate, yet you have a fierce glare. You're a dirty pirate, but you're smart, and you know how to think. Despite having spent a lot of time on a ship full of burly men, you know how to use your sexual appeal very smoothly. Which can only lead to one conclusion."

The pirate scoffed, but her laugh was a little edgier than the one from before. "And what is it you want 'explained'?" she asked.

"How did a princess such as yourself end up becoming first mate to the most infamous pirate captain in all the realms?" Charles asked.

"What are you talking about?" the pirate replied, doing a horrible job of hiding her nervousness. "I'm right," Charles said, marveling at this new surprising fact.

"What different does it make?" the pirate asked bluntly. "Trust me, it makes a difference," Charles replied. "So who are you, really? Where are you from? What's your name?" he asked. The pirate/princess didn't reply.

"Fine," Charles said. "See you."

He got up, and walked out the door. We entered his throne room, and summoned the royal messenger. "Tell the pirate alliance that I'm holding one of their sailors hostage in my dungeons. Either they sign a formal treaty agreeing that they won't involve our kingdom in any of their mishaps by tonight sundown, or their princess dies."

Their ships were floating around the east coast of the kingdom. Hook was in his captain's cabin, having some breakfast, when one of his men flew into his room. "A messenger, captain," he said. One look at the sailor's face told Hook that it wasn't good news the messenger was delivering.

Hook walked down the stairs to see three men holding the point of their swords to a young man who was tied up and kneeling. "Why are you here?" Hook asked, drawing a sword himself. The young man was obviously terrified, but he was trying not to show it, which Hook respected. He knew from personal experience that a messenger delivering bad news was the most dangerous job in the world.

"Prince Charles said- he said that he has your- your princess in his dungeons, and that he'll kill her unless you sign an official treaty agreeing that you won't bother our kingdom anymore," the messenger replied.

Hook smiled. "Get him up," he told the two sailors holding the messenger's arms. "You can tell your bloody prince that if he wants to tell me something, he should come and tell me himself- oh wait- you can't."

The messenger groaned as the tip of Hook's sword entered his stomach erupted through his back. Hook pulled his sword out of the dead body, and wiped it clean with the messenger's coat. As he had said before, being a messenger was the most dangerous job in the world.