“Oh, you don’t realize how unfortunate you are,” she said, turning to him. “Do you know how many people will be after the runaway princess? But, of course, you got to me first. Maybe you like the challenge.”
It was funny how much you could learn about a person simply by observing them. The captain, of course, was harder to understand than most people were, but she knew he had his secrets. Secrets that were hers to uncover.
“Interesting. Even my country’s ships are not as clean as this.”
That was an understatement. She had gone on one voyage with her parents on one of their ship, and she was shocked by how disorganized it was. She was shocked that half the crew hadn’t died from sickness.
She walked over to him and rolled her eyes when she noticed his corny smile. She doubted she would never get used to this strange man. “Oh, we’re on a first name basis, are we?” she said. “Well, you can call me Rose. Rosemary, if you want, but that’s a mouthful.”
Aedion did quite like a challenge. And as long as he kept her presence underwraps and word didn't get out, all would be fine. He'd drop her off at there next port and they would each go on with their separate lives. It shouldn't be too hard. Thoigh if she disrupted his crew and their work he might very well just throw her overboard. He wouldn't but it would be tempting.
And perhaps during that time he'd finally find out what the princess was running from. Escape his ass. What exactly was she escaping from? It couldnt be because dear old daddy took away her favorite crown. That normally caused a meltdown, not a runaway princess. And certainly not boarding a ship.
"Unless you would rather call me something else, it's just Aedion princess." He winked at her. "Hmm, Rose. A seemingly delicate flower until you get too close and pricked by thorns. Rather fitting for you I think. Better than Rosemary. That's just an herb that helps with hair growth."
He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I'll let you get settled in. The bathroom is through that door and a small closet in that one if you wish to hang anything up. Vera will grab you for dinner. Until then, princess." He bowed dramatically at the waist before turning and walking out of the room.
Rosemary had met many ship captains in her life, but none of them were quite like the man standing in front of her. She hadn’t decided whether that was good or bad thing yet. Sure, Aedion couldn’t be trusted, and he likely didn’t have the best moral compass. But at the same time, he seemed gentle with her. Merciful, even. The exact opposite of everything she’d been told about him.
“Aedion. Much better than calling you captain, in my opinion,” she said. “Do all your crew mates call you that, or am I just special?”
She leaned against the wall beside him and raised an eyebrow at his comment about her name. “Quite a statement to make about someone you just met,” she replied. “But maybe you should use that as a lesson for yourself. Don’t get too close to me, Aedion.”
She winked at him before leaving his side and heading back into the room. Yes, she wanted to learn more about Aedion, but she knew better than to get too close with him. She may have left the island, but she would never get close with a man who caused so much destruction to her land and people.
(( Do you want to timeskip to the dinner?? ))
(Yeah we can timeskip.)
She was curious creature, she was. Aedion didn't know how he felt about that. Intrigue and wariness. He had to be careful about what she poked about. There were some things she just didn't need to know. Something only his crew did. And she wasn't apart of his ship. She was only a guest.
"My crew calls me whatever they feel comfortable calling me. They chose to call me Captian out of respect. I did not earn my position as captian without it." He had worked just as hard, if not harder than any of them. He had put his life on the line for each of them and he was always there when they needed him. He earned his position and their respect.
Aedion bent his head so he was eye level with her. "And a statement I think we both know is right." He straightened. "And lucky for you, I like a little bit of pain. It reminds me I'm alive."
And alive he certainly felt as he walked away from her room. He hadn't felt such a thrill in a while. It also didn't help he remained with the same people for years on end. It was very rare for him to hire or lose a member of his crew. So having her on board was the biggest entertainment they've had in awhile.
The next couple of hours went by smooth enough. He had warned off his crew to keep their hands and mouths to themselves. She was their guest and would ve treated as such. Anything else wouldn't be tolerated. And he gave them a look that said he meant every word.
When dinner rolled around, Vera came to collect their runaway princess. She knocked on the door, calling, "It's dinner time doll. I'm hungry, don't keep me waiting." Suffice to say she wasn't the happiest with being Rose's keeper at the moment.
She watched as Aedion walked away from her room, a faint grin on her lips. He didn’t seem to her like the womanizer type; after all, he’d respected her privacy, standing in the doorway instead of barging into her room. However, she could tell he was intrigued in one way or another. She would have to keep an eye on him. Make sure he didn’t grow too attached. She had plans, after all, and none of them involved him.
After Aedion disappeared across the ship, Rosemary returned to her bed, once again picking up the clothes. It was starting to get late, meaning she likely only had an hour or two until dinner. It wasn’t much time to make herself look presentable, but she would manage.
By the time Vera knocked on the door, she had already changed into the second of clothes, tossing her dress into the corner of the room. Sure, the pirate clothes looked much less prim and proper than her dress, but she liked them in a way. They felt loose, flowy. Like her skin could breathe for once.
She was trying her best to separate her curls when Vera’s voice came from the other side of the door. She had seemed like a decent enough person when she had found Rosemary in the lower decks, but she could tell that Vera still wasn’t a fan. She didn’t blame her.
After quickly pulling her hair back, Rosemary met Vera at the door. For the most part, she stayed silent as they walked, but she eventually spoke up as they neared the center of the deck. “Thank you for the clothes,” she said. “Wearing this feels much nicer than being in that stupid dress.”
Vera was dressed in the same clothes she'd been wearing when she had found the princess. Dinner by all means was not a formal event, especially when the captian joined, which was most nights. The captian wanted nothing more than to relax and drink and have fun for dinner.
She had her arms crossed and foot tapping as she waited for the door to open. She wondered if the captian had even told her it was casually mist nit with how long it was taking for her to open the damn door. But then it finally swung open and revealed the princess. And she was looking a lot less princess like. The clothes fit her well and Vera was almost jealous that they might even fit her better.
"I'll bet it does. Just looking at you in that dress was suffocating me. I don't know how you do it." She did actually, but that was a story to be told another time. And not to a direct stranger. But she also knew better than to ket herself get attached to Rose when she would be leaving in a couple months as well.
"Let's get going." She gestured for the princess to follow her before turning and walking away. She led her below deck to the rest of the crew's sleeping quarters. Their things were all pushed aside so they could the ling dining table and bench. The crew did this almost every night for dinner and ate together. The only time they didn't was when they had all had a rough and long day.
The captian was already down there, sitting in the middle amongst his crew versus taking the head of the table. He was engaged in conversation when she arrived and was laughing at something his man on the right said. When he noticed Rose, he cleared his throat and stood. He walked over to her side, offering her his arm. "Guests get to sit at the head of the table, darling."
“If there’s one thing I don’t miss about court, it would be the dresses,” Rosemary replied. “I’m not sure who thought a dress that tight would look good on me.”
Rosemary waked up to the dining table and sucked in a deep breath, trying her best to push down her nerves. Dozens of pairs of eyes landed on her as she approached the captain. Why did she feel so anxious now? She had spoken in front of thousands of people in court without breaking a sweat.
She forced herself to look away from the other pirates and to the captain, who was already standing to greet her. A small, mischievous grin crossed her face as she took his arm, letting her fingers brush against his knuckles.
“Darling…?” She grinned up at him. “That’s… quite the nickname. I like it.”
She let him lead her over to where she would be sitting. She felt her heart tighten when he released her arm, well aware that he would likely not be sitting with her. She didn’t blame him, of course; there were other people he would rather be chatting with. But, at the same time, she hated the idea of being left alone amid the crowd of strangers.
Vera looked back at the princess, raising an eye. "It looks very good on you, doll. Though comfortable? Definitely not." Corests were restricting and tight. They certainly were not comfortable. But they did look good when done right. And a woman's weapon was her body. Vera had used hers more than enough to get what she needed.
Aedion gave her a dashing grin, rivaling her own. As she took his arm, he tucked her in to his side. He coukd tell she was nervous even if she did a good job of hiding it. He planned to stick by her side all night. Or at least until dinner was over and he escorted her to her temporary room.
"Well get used to it darling, because there's a lot more where that came from." He winked at her, hoping the teasing would ease her nerves. Then again, they had only just met that day themselves. What coukd he really do to help keep her calm? Hopefully his charming presence was enough.
He brought her to the head of the table but before he pulled out his chair, he cleared his throat and waited for the chatter to quite. This woukd be their first official introduction. "Everyone, this is Miss Rose. She'll be joining us for awhile so I expect you to treat her with respect and as a guest. Because she is." Then he made quick work of introducing her to each of his crew, something I'm skipping because I'm too lazy to make up that many names right now.
Once the introductions were done, he pulled put her chair and let her sit. Then he grabbed his own food and moved down the table so he was sitting on her right. He plopped right down and dug back into his food. There was already a plate and a mug of rum waiting for her.
“I’ve always heard rumors that you’re ruthless… but I’ve never heard anything about you being this flirtatious. Possibly charming,” she said softly as he led her to her seat. “You get all the women, don’t you?”
The attention from the captain felt nice, but Rosemary didn’t let it get to her head. She wasn’t the only woman Aedion had flirted with. She wasn’t special. He would likely try to charm her for a few weeks, but as soon as she left his ship, he would forget all about her. He would be off to chase another woman, never to see her again.
She tried to turn most of her attention to the captain. It wasn’t until he introduced her to the crew that her anxiety returned like a tidal wave. The crew seemed intrigued by their new princess companion, and, while most of them seemed fine, there were a few men who still made her nervous.
Her stomach tightened. When it came to eat, she found that she barely scoff down her food. She wanted to appear confident in front of Aedion, but she could tell that he could see right through her facade.
“You know, meeting you has surprised me. You’re a lot different than they say,” she said, turning her attention back to the captain. “Growing up in the castle, you hear a lot of rumors about pirates.”
"Oh, there's many things you don't know about me, darling. I suppose you're about to find out." Aedion didn't know plenty of things about her, other than being a princess and a daddy's girl. Though, he supposed not anymore. Not with her having snuck out of the palace. He wondered what spurred such an action. He would find out at a later time. Now was not the time to ask. Not when she had already given him a vague answer.
He winked at her and didn't say anything more. The truth of it was that Aedion's hear belonged to the sea. There was no other love out there for him. That's not to say that he didn't find someone to warm his bed when they made port because he did occasionally. Though it certainly was not as much as his crew did. They would screw all day if he let them. Then again, he did also have a married couple on board and sometimes they got a little too loud at times.
He had no expectations with the princess. She would be treated with respect during her stay with him. He might even befriend her along with some of his crew. But at the end of the day, she would be leaving them. It was best not to let themselves get too attached to her. And she was the daughter of his enemy. He needed to tread carefully in the case she was sent to spy on him.
"No one will hurt you," he murmured to her. He could tell a few made her nervous. And well, some of his crew were scarred and muscled enough to make anyone nervous. "They're not as mean as they appear." Though they definitely could be when needed to be.
He started to eat his food again, washing it down with his own mug of rum. He paused, hearing her speak again. "Stories usually end up exaggerated," he said, "But there is truth to all of them. But you also need to remember, it is our enemies telling those stories not our friends. Why would they share my good qualities when they want me dead?"
“I guess we both have our secrets to keep, don’t we, love?” She patted his hand. “I look forward to learning more about you. I find you very… intriguing.”
She noticed how the captain didn’t respond to her second question. Instead, he simply winked at her, making her think that she was right. It wasn’t a surprise, however. Pirates were known for their countless romantic partners almost as well as they were known for their love for rum.
She smiled at him when he tried to help calm her nerves, but it didn’t help much. She didn’t know a single person on this ship. Sure, she had formed somewhat of a connection with the captain, but she still wasn’t sure whether she could him. Not that she thought about it, she couldn’t really trust any of them.
“Mm… sure they aren’t,” she replied, clearly skeptical. “I can easily take one of them out if they try anything.”
She knew that was a lie, but she went with it. She would need to act more confident if she was going to survive on the ship.
She snorted at his next comment, taking a sip of rum as she did so. “Mmm… I’m not sure you have many good qualities,” she teased. “But lucky for you, I like men who have questionable morals.”
They certainly did have their secrets. Bit he invented on finding hers out before he sgared any of his. Other than the obvious, he was not as terrible as everyone believed. Oh, he could be terrible. He could be ruthless and murderous and down right awful. But he wasn't always. It was only when necessary.
He could see his reassuring words didn't reassure much. He knew there wasn't much he could do to make her feel better. Not until she met with his crew members and let them show her first hand they meant no harm to her. They would likely leave her aline these first couple of days and let her settle in before they started speaking to her. There were plenty on this ship that were desperate to talk to someone knew. They had seen their faces and been stuck with each other for years. It was nice to have someone knew on board with them.
He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at that. Not that she would win agaisnt his men, because she wouldn't. Not even against the women on board. But he was curious that she had any sort of training. "Oh? You know how to fight? Perhaps we'll bring out the sparing mat and we'll see how you fare." He'd take it easy on her as well, so he didn't hurt her. And he would be the only one she sparred against.
He snorted at her next comment. "I have plenty of good qualities, physical and not. Perhaps I'll show you later," he winked at her, clearing teasing her. "Well, I do have questionable morals so maybe I have a chance."
He knew he had no chance. And wouldn't even say yes if she wanted to. He didn't mix business with pleasure and this was business. He was transporting her from one place to another. They would be done with soon enough.
"So where is it you're wanting to travel to princess?" He asked. He had planned to drop her off at their next port but if she had something specific on her mind that was possible for him, he would take her there.
“Mm, good luck with that. I’m only interested in physical qualities when it comes to the one I marry. Save the physical side of things for a woman who actually wants it.” She gave him a faint smile as her fingers brushed against his underneath the table. “However, I do like other forms of affection.”
Rosemary knew he was teasing, but she was quick to draw the line with this pirate. She knew he likely didn’t have the same ideals surrounding relationships as she did, but it didn’t matter. She found the captain interesting, but not in that way. She would never think of forming a serious relationship with him, much less marrying him. Especially when they would only have two months together.
His next question bought her out of her thoughts. “Oh, I don’t know. No where in particular. Just far, far away from my land.”
The last sentence felt almost strange as she spoke it. Just the year before, she would never say something like that. She lived for the people, after all. Her people. She would die for them.
She reached up and felt for the scar on her face. Oh, how quickly things could change.
“But it doesn’t matter.” Her knee bounced under the table. “That’s in the past.”
Aedion saw right through her. He knew she was only teasing and playing along with her to calm down her nerves. And distract herself from whatever had spurred her to run. And that was alright. If it was a distraction she needed, he was more than willing to distract. Though he would still put his foot down and set boundaries between them. And the same with his crew. If she was looking for a bedmate she would find none here.
He grabbed her fingers under the table and gave them a reassuring squeeze. He wasn't sure what he had done for her to trust him so, and so quickly. But he wasn't upset with it. He would provide comfort where it could be given and accepted.
"Ah, but you are free to marry whom you please now. You're a free woman. So there certainly must be more qualities than physical ones you are looking for." He winked at her, teasing back though still reminding her that she was free now. To free to work, free to marry, free to do anything she wanted.
He studied her, watching as she touched the scar on her face, and his thoughts turning dark as he wondered who might have done it to her. He grabbed his rum and took a swing from it to keep from saying anything. "Then far away we'll get you."
He would give her some coin and set her up with one of his contacts to get her going. If she was smart, she could live a nice life.
He placed a gentle hand on her knee, stopping it from shaking. "It's in the past. And you're on a pirate ship now, love. Enjoy it." He winked at her.
Rosemary felt his fingers press against hers, and for a while, she kept them there. The gesture wasn’t much, but it served to calm her nerves some as she listened to the chatter among the pirates. Eventually, she released his hand, giving it a squeeze before she did so.
“I suppose you’re right. But I still don’t know if there’s a single man in the world worth all that trouble.” She grinned at him. “Dare I say not even you.”
As her fingers traced the scar etched across her face, her mind tried to trace back to when everything started. To the exact moment her life had started to go down hill. She used to be an obedient princess, beloved by her people, but when did that change? But the captain was right. She needed to get her mind off of the past and have some fun. She was on the open sea now. She was free.
And yet, why did she still feel so trapped?
“What’s there to enjoy? A bunch of smelly pirates? The worst rum I’ve ever had?” she teased. “But you’re right. Best not to think about those kinds of things. They’re far behind me now.”
She felt his hand land on top of her knee, and it didn’t take her long to place her hand on top of his. This time, she didn’t let it go.
As the night went on, the pirates began to grow more and more rowdy. Rosemary avoided too much drinking, but she could tell the pirates were drunk out of their minds. Many of them began to dance, but Rosemary avoided joining in with it. Instead, she stayed at the side lines, signing and clapping along with the music.
Aedion only grinned. "Then perhaps some of us will be lucky enough to grace your bed. Or maybe you're so put out by us men you turn to women." It was then that Vera turned her attention towards them long enough to wink at them both.
"And I know I'm not worthy of your attentions. But I'm sure you'll find a nice man, or woman, to settle down with eventually." He had a light smile on his face. This was alright. This was fine. But he wouldn't let anything go any farther than this.
He watched her carefully now, watched as her demeanor changed as she touched that scar. He knew exactly then that it had not been an accident that had caused it. That it hadn't been some childhood accident or a little fall down the stairs. Something had happened. All thoughts of her presence there to spy on him went right off the plank. No, she was running from someone. And he was going to find out who.
More than a few pirates gwaked at her for her statement and there were a few protested shouts. Aedion only smirked. "I'll have you know we have very good hygiene here. And vest not to insult our rum unless you want to be thrown overboard." The looks she was getting meant he wasn't teasing about that. They took their rum very seriously.
As the night went on and the rum kept getting poured, his crew relaxed more and more. Aedion stuck to his one drink and that was enough for him, but the rest were having a wild time. A few tried talking to Rose but quickly became distracted in other things. Instruments were brought out and music began to play. Vera was singing. She had a surprisingly good voice.
The table and benched were put away and everyone had begun to dance. Their married couple were entangled with one another and the rest were jumping from partner to partner. Aedion sat out, standing beside Rose. He watched her quietly as she observed the others. There were a few standing out on the opposite side of them but they weren't paying attention to the two of them. No one was.
"Would you like to dance love? I promise no one will kotice if you're a bad dancer. They're too drunk out of their minds right now." He offered her a hand. "We can dance over here if you're shy."
She laughed at Vera’s gesture before turning back to Aedion. “Like I said before, the only person gracing my bed will be the man I marry,” she replied. “So all of you are out of luck.”
She smiled at his next comment, gently squeezing his hand. Some of the other pirates seemed to have a healthy fear of their captain, and it made sense. He looked like he could be a scary man. But he was incredibly soft and gentle with her. “Maybe I will. Although I’m sure that man would divorce me as soon as he sees how crazy I am,” she teased. “And who knows? Maybe I’ll be like you, traveling the seas without a partner.”
She snorted at the looks she got when she mentioned the rum. “Oh, calm down, you drunkards,” she yelled back at them. “Both you and I know that the rum here is good. Let’s not kill each other over it.”
As the night wore on, Rosemary watched the pirates, sometimes stealing an occasional glance at the captain. He looked so calm. Relaxed. The only reasonable person among the drunkards. He seemed to be having a decent time sitting with her, but she didn’t want to hold him back from having fun with the others. So, when he asked her to dance, she was happy to oblige.
“Shy? Pssh, who, me?” She grinned, taking his hand as she pulled him in. “I’m not, but I would prefer to dance over here. If you try to go into that mess, you’re likely to lose a limb.”
"Well then he's not the right man if he can't put up with your crazy self. You shouldn't marry him, plain and simple." Aedion spelled it out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it should have been. Whoever she chose should be able to put up with every side of side, crazy or not.
However, her traveling the seas, she just might. She was doing just fine here so far. Though he was curious on how she would take to the nastier part of this job. How she would handle a kill, the looting, all of it. Being on the sea was only part of it. Every crew encountered something that would spur a battle. It always happened out in the sea. No matter how big it was you were bound to run into conflict.
The crew would most certainly kill someone over their rum. A few of them had before on land when someone had tried to take it from them. Let's just say it had been a bad night for everyone. Aedion however, couldn't help but notice how she was adjusting to the crew rather quickly. That was a good thing. They were stuck with each other for awhile.
He squeezed her hand as she placed hers in it. He smiled at her. "Perhaps your right. They're not always paying attention when they're drunk." He just hoped everyone had discarded their weapons before hand. They didn't need another incident.
He helped her stand and put a small distance between the chairs so they wouldn't risk running into them. Then he pulled her into an upbeat dance, matching the pace of the song. He was surprisingly a good dancer. Vera had taught him years ago when she came aboard the ship to work. He was a lost cause before her.
“True. People do crazy things when they’re drunk,” she said. “You should see the king when he drinks. His people normally respect him, but they’ve never seen him intoxicated.”
Rosemary had first hand experience with it. When she was a child, he was a raging alcoholic. Of course, he wouldn’t admit that, and neither would any of the officials who worked with him. They cancelled countless meetings because of his hangovers, and the officials did everything in their power to prevent the people from seeing the other side of their king.
Of course, unlike the officials, Rosemary was the one who had to deal with her father when he went into a alcohol-induced rage. She could faintly recalling how he would throw furniture. There were even rumors that he had killed one of their servants.
Rosemary shook the thoughts from her mind. She had blocked out those memories for a reason.
Rosemary smiled as she stood up, intertwining her fingers with his. “They’re even clumsy when they’re not drunk. Most of them can’t even dance,” she teased. “How about you? Can you dance?”
Her question was quickly answered when the music started up again. To her surprise, Aedion could dance much better than her. Sure, she had taken a few dance classes, but they only taught her to waltz. Not whatever this was.
Despite not knowing many of the steps, Rosemary could feel herself begin to loosen up. She began to laugh as she tried her best to keep up with her partner.
Aedion gave her a sad look. He knew better than most what it was like to have a terrible father. It wasn't right and she deserved better than that. But instead of saying anything, he just gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He was a great listener for whenever she wanted to talk. Everyone on his crew had come to him for something. He knew everything about them, all their trauma, the why's and how's of everything. And he would offer than same thing for her while she was aboard his ship.
"Hmm, only a little bit." He smiled, tightening his grip on her hand. "But you best believe they have a steady hand when it comes to shooting guns and canons. Or rather better pray they do." He winked at her. His crew were amazing shots at what they did. He worked with each of then personally and helped trained them so they were more than a decent shot and stood a chance against any opponent. He wouldn't lose any of them. Not if he could help it.
She clumsy, at least to the rhythm of their music. But that was to be expected. She was speed to waltzes and whatever else they played at court. Not these bawdy tunes that you jumped and twirled and moved your feet too. And it was entirely okay.
He only smiled at her more when she stepped on his feet or stumbled over her own. He guided her as best he could to the song. He picked her up and tiwlred her around. He dipped her low before pulling her up and spinning her around. He pulled her back to his chest, smiling. There was a light in his eyes that hadn't been there previously.
“They better. You have a princess on this ship that needs protecting,” she replied. “Maybe you can teach me a few of those gun and canon skills when we have the time.”
She, of course, didn’t expect him to teach her. Aedion probably wouldn’t feel comfortable with the daughter of his enemy being around his weapons. However, the captain did seem to be warming up to her fast, so there could be a chance. For now, she simply hoped that his dancing skills were as good as his skills with a gun.
They, in fact, were. He was an incredible dancer, and while she tended to mess up on many of the steps, she didn’t feel embarrassed around him. In fact, he smiled down at her, almost amused by her mistakes.
It wasn’t long before Rosemary was fully immersed in the music, bounding around the deck and laughing with her partner. A few of the drunk crew mates glanced over at them, but Rosemary ignored them for the time being. She finally seemed to be enjoying herself.
Rosemary allowed him to pull her head to his chest, smiling up at him as he did so. “Dancing, shooting… is there anything you’re not good at, love?”
"Don't worry, love, I'll protect you with my life." Aedion meant that. So long as she had his protection, he would lay down his life for her just like anyone else on board. "I'll teach you whatever you're willing to learn. Though we have to be careful, we only have so much ammo on board." He wouldn't risk running out in a time of need. They would have to be smart about it. But the answer wasn't a no and thats all that mattered.
It would be good for her to kearn how to defend herself. Just because she was onboard wouldn't stop them from their usual pirating. They still had ships to loot and gold to steal. She wouldn't stop them from doing that. But it would also mean putting her in harms way and he would feel better if she knew how to protect herself.
He didn't talk much as they danced, enjoying the silence between the two of them. She was dancing and smiling and laughing and that was all that mattered. Whatever had spurred her to escape ale on his ship was temporarily forgotten and that was all he cared about.
Time passed by quicker than he would have liked and he knew it was time to get to bed. Most of the crew would be hungover by morning which would leave him to man to helm. It was alright. He didn't mind it even if he woukd only get a couple hours of sleep. He could take a nap during the day or have an early night tomorrow to make up for it. But if he didn't get some sleep now he would make everyone's lives miserable tomorrow.
As the song came to an end, he bowed and kissed her hand. "I'm off to bed darling. Would you like me to escort you to yours or would you like to stay a little longer?"
Rosemary had never felt so exhausted in her life. Sure, her daily royal duties often wore her out, but not nearly as much as dancing around on a ship deck did. To add to that, she was nauseous from the constant rocking of the ship. She would fairly sure that she would throw up if she didn’t lay down soon.
The dancing had slowed down as the crew began to grow more and more exhausted. Rosemary was leaning into the captain, half asleep and delirious from her sleep deprivation.
“I hate to say this, but the night has to come to a close.” She lifted her head, still holding his hand. “Walk with me.”
After saying her good nights to the few conscious crew mates, Rosemary walked back to her room with the captain. Before she went inside, she turned back towards him and held his hands in hers.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “I thought I would be killed when I boarded this ship, but the room, the food, the dancing… it’s more than I could ask for.”
Aedion was practically holding her up at this point and knew her answer ling before she gave it to him. But he had still wanted to offer her the choice. He knew what it was like to go without one and always offered it to his crew. She woukd be no different. Everything would be a choice for her, unless it be a life and death situation. Only then would he put her safety above her wishes.
He smiled and nodded his head, bringing her into his side so she could lean against him. He thought about picking her up and bringing her to her cabin but he wasn't sure how she would feel about that. This was the better option.
He said goodnight to everyone that hadn't already slipped into bed and helped her climb the stairs. Their rooms were above everyone else's sleeping quarters. Unfortunately, that meant navigating the stairs in their state. Well, hers. He coukd walk this ship in her sleep. But he worried in her sleep deprived state she might fall. He practically held her up as they walked up them.
"Do not thank me for something that anyone should have done," he said honestly. "I meant when I said you will not come to any harm while on my ship. I will take you safely to wherever you wish to go and I'll see that you are tajne care of. You have my word."
Normally, Rosemary was the independent type; she would’ve insisted on going up the stairs with no help. However, she had no choice but to let the captain insist her. She was exhausted that she would likely topple down the stairs if left alone.
Once they made it to the room, she finally managed to lift herself off of him as she turned around to face him. She leaned against the doorpost, rubbing her bare arms.
“Thank you, Aedion. And thank you to your crew as well.” She laughed softly. “Some of them may be a bit… different, but they mean well.”
She reached over, gently squeezing his hand. “Good night, Aedion.” She winked at him. “Don’t miss me too much, alright?”
.jpg)
