Accidental Pirates

Having been thrown into his cell, Castain was disgusted to find that his hands were shaking as they held him from the cold ground, he wondered which of his many wounds from the past weeks torture was the cause of the crimson droplets falling to the floor. Waves of searing pain sent his stomach on a ride and what little food he had been given tried to exit, an exercise ending in failure. When the world stopped spinning, he pushed with his hands and knees until he was leaning against the cell wall, knees bent, arms resting upon them. As usual of late he was ravaged by undesirable thoughts, the unfortunate events that led him to his current abode, forefront. Unaware that he had been marked by his captors, Castain had sailed into Astrom and disembarked like it was any other day, his intent to wait for a contact at the bazaar. The lateness of his contact had left him contemplating melding into the crowd, then as if the thought invited such, he found himself surrounded by his captors. He kne...

The gut-wrenching sound of Aiden spewing overboard was once again breaking her concentration—the man had been at it now for a few days and Meena was sure he was timing his bouts to when it was the most annoying, but just to her. If that wasn’t bad enough, the rat had his manservant running around like a dog, “Arlo, where is my water, clean this up, wipe this. Might as well be saying wipe my—” In surprise of the fact that she had been talking out loud, she glanced around to see if anyone had been listening. Lo and behold, Aiden was taking a break from feeding the fishes to stare at her. The look of amusement on his face off-putting, the man didn’t even know that he should avert his gaze when she was exhibiting unfriendly behaviour. Normally, Meena was good at practising active calming techniques—mostly because she was quick to anger. But this man took things to a new level. She scowled to send a clear message and continued, the movement she was practising, involved flicking her swords u...

The ominous firmament threatened misfortune. Morgan sighed, a visit to the Royal Docks would normally be an exciting occasion, but goodbyes were impossible even at the best of times. She gripped Hermes reigns and willed herself to exert control, her outward appearance serene, inside a guilty stomach was churning. When Morgan met Sha’s gaze, everything fell away, the simple interaction almost her undoing. She bowed lowly to hide her features and held out a hand, Sha took it, his lingering kiss delivering a hair-raising tingle, “Morgan, please let me come with you,” he pled. It is far too dangerous for a prince of the realm where I am going,” Morgan replied coolly, almost choking upon the words. She turned, willing herself to move, one foot before the other. Morgan’s next stop was Nia, there was gentle kindness in the sisters all-knowing eyes, “Take this potion; it has redemptive qualities, you will know, when to use it,” Nia signed. Nodding Dumbly, Morgan took the gift into her ha...

The rest of Morgan’s week was filled with boring court functions and dull interactions, during which the gentry plied her with useless gossip. The most outlandish bit of information an unflattering tale about how she was a courtesan that the queen had procured, all to cheer up her rather bored youngest son. It didn’t matter, silly rumours brought a smile to Morgan lips, to her they were simply examples of the fact that a life motivated by gossip and snobbishness must be a lonely one. The truth was at the end of a long day, she could don some casual attire, meet up with her friends and just be herself. Their evening gatherings in the main parlour were always full of merriment; they would spar, play cards, or imbibe the King’s whisky. The setting for most of their activities happened to be a balcony which over-looked the upper city. Nothing was better than looking down upon the very people that filled her day with excess snobbishness. It was during such an afternoon that Morgan’s interes...

Homecoming felt bittersweet, after a night plagued with dark dreams of blood and despair, Sha had woken to feelings long  buried . Thankfully, his sadness was fleeting, wakefulness bringing the gift of anticipation, foot tapping further evidence of barely contained excitement. Countless entourages had graced the Citadel’s great halls, their colourful grandeur a feast for the eyes, yet to Sha they paled in comparison to the arrival of Morgan and his new friends. Leo had been at his side since he had stumbled out of his room. Tornbaer’s crown prince was not expected to wait upon anyone, especially if they weren’t nobility, but Leo was clearly curious about his new friends. Although Sha didn’t like to lie, he had thought it best considering his mother’s pretentious tendencies, to infer that Morgan was a rich self-made merchant who was helping him hunt down Black Cloaks, Leo however knew the truth. Nia had arrived before Morgan without fanfare; their mother had voiced her disdain at th...