Lori sighed and quickly kissed the tear away. “I am.” she confirmed a little sadly before giving a playful smirk. “And a very good one, I might add.” she chuckled, meeting Eleanor’s eyes. “If you really mean it… then pack what you need or can carry that won't be too noticeable or give you away as a Princess. Simple dresses, riding clothes… I’ll help you with anything you need.” she offered, smiling softly but happily. “We can leave as soon as you’re ready.”
Eleanor laughed with glee and kissed her again excitedly. "I knew you would save me, my darling," she whispered. "I just knew it."
She finally let go and began to rush around her room, her dress flying out behind her. She knelt by a trunk and began to pull several items out of it. "I've been waiting for this day," she said eagerly. "I knew you would come back for me, and I could escape with you!"
Lorelei chuckled and grabbed a simple but oversized traveling bag from Eleanor’s closet, placing it on the bed. “Of course, I would come back to you. I gave you that necklace and promised you.” she reminded her. “Besides, you're not the only one who has been waiting for this day. I just wasn't sure what would happen other than how much I wanted to be with you again. I was almost worried that you wouldn't recognize me.” she admitted as she started throwing some of the clothes into the bag.
"Of course I recognized you!" Eleanor enthused, struck with a sudden wave of excitement having seen her lover. "Especially with your song. How could I not? I've sang your shanty every day since you left." The princess rose to her feet and took in the woman before her. "My darling, Lorelei… you're just as beautiful as the day I lost you." She smiled sadly and caressed the pirate's cheek with her palm. "I've loved you every day, and I've never stopped."
Lorelei leaned into the touch and smiled. “I heard you. And I had hoped you would recognize the song since I had changed so much.” she explained. “But I haven't stopped loving you either. If anything, the sailing and being on the seas just deepened my love for you. And I do want to share all of that with you.” Her smile grew at the thought of her and Eleanor standing on the deck of the Song under the stars… “I can't wait for you to see my ship and meet the crew. They are going to love you. Well, not as much as I do but still.”
"Of course I recognized it," Eleanor murmured. She reluctantly pulled away and continued packing her clothes and a few items of makeup as a guilty pleasure she wanted to keep. "I'm so excited to see what you've done with the ship. And to meet your crew. God, Lori, I just can't wait to be with you. But we have to hurry, my mother will come looking for me soon to meet the distinguished Prince Beckam." Eleanor rolled her eyes, picking up her bag as she rose to her feet. "Are you ready?"
“I’m glad you did.” Lori smiled at her as she finished packing and nodded. “Aye, I’m ready. But you might want to take off your tiara. That'll be a dead give away.” she chuckled, making her way over to the window. “I’ll go down first then you throw down your bag before you come out.” she suggested as she already started climbing down the vines. The raven-haired Captain made quick work of reaching the ground, even jumping the last few feet, and looked back up at the window as she adjusted her hat.
Eleanor reached up and unpinned her tiara from her beautiful chestnut brown locks. "Alright. I'm coming." She slipped it into her bag, a small reminder of the life she was leaving behind. She went to her window and took one last look of her room. A soft sigh escaped her lips before the princess turned to her view. The ocean. The world. The most beautiful girl she'd ever seen.
She looked down and grinned. "Ready?" she called down to her Lorelei before she dropped her bag and began to climb down herself.
Lorelei matched her Princess's excited grin as she caught the bag effortlessly. She could feel the old rush she and her crew always got when they were breaking one law or another as she quickly checked for any guards. Now, because Eleanor was coming of her own free will, technically this wasn't kidnapping… Even though the King would certainly declare that to be the case. And Gods know what would happen to any of them if they were caught.
She shook her head to clear those thoughts and focus on the moment. “Be careful, love.” she called up as she watched Eleanor climb down.
"I'm always careful," Eleanor replied, gasping as she missed her next foothold on the first attempt. "Shit," she cursed quietly before she steadied herself and continued scaling the ivy. It was a miracle she made it down with only a minor tear in her skirt, but she hit the ground and grinned at Lorelei with anticipation.
"Lead the way to freedom, my darling," she whispered excitedly, kissing Lorelei's cheek and marking it with her rouge lip makeup.
“Of course you are.” Lorelei teased once she was certain that Eleanor wasn't going to fall. Though seeing her stumble made the Captain's heart jump into her throat.
Letting out a sigh of relief as Eleanor reached the ground, Lori smiled back and quickly returned the kiss, not at all bothered by the mark on her cheek. “Right this way.” she whispered back, taking her hand and weaving their fingers together as she took the lead.
Eleanor grinned wildly as she let Lorelei pull her through the streets towards the dock. Her heart was racing with excitement she hadn't felt in years. Adrenaline rushed through her, and as much as she wanted to look around and observed her city one last time, she kept her head down. Fortunately, the people were all dressed in their best to greet the prince – orders of her parents, of course – so her elegant clothes blended in a bit more today than they normally would any other day.
"Darling," she whispered, "how much longer?"
“Not much longer.” Lorelei assured, keeping a calm but quick pace through the city. She very grateful for the good fortune that allowed them to pass through so easily. “You can actually see my ship from here. It's the one that's not flying any colors.” she pointed out, though all that could really be seen from here was the top of the mainsail.
"Good," Eleanor replied, hurrying to keep up. "I'm not used to this much running," she admitted, flushed from the exertion and a bit from embarrassment too. She lifted her gaze briefly, willing to risk being seen for a glimpse of Lori's ship. She located it, squeezed Lori's hand excitedly, and ducked her head back down.
The further they got from the palace, the safer Eleanor began to feel. It was like a weight being lifted off of her shoulders, and she began to smile more almost on instinct. She didn't care for the consequences of her parents finding out, telling the kingdom she was gone, searching for her… she didn't care. She only cared to be with Lorelei and out on the waters.
(Btw, this Tiktok has the sound (and the plot sort of lmao) that inspired this rp: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdAuptKF/)
Lorelei raised a brow at the mention of running and slowed down a little. “My darling, when anyone in my crew runs, we move much faster than this.” she told her, gently squeezing her hand in return. Of course, she and her crew had many reasons to run fast and Eleanor most likely never had to run anywhere before. All that was going to change for her now… And Lori was going to help her. “Don’t worry. Once we get to the Song, me and my crew will help and protect you. Anything you need, just ask.” she promised.
"I would hope so," Eleanor teased to hide from her embarrassment. She knew Lorelei probably wouldn't expect her to run as fast, but she didn't want to be a disappointment. "I'm doing my best, Lori." She staggered behind the pirate, quickly loosing speed. "As soon as we're safe, I promise I'm going to kiss you until you can't breathe."
Her heart rate was already up, but it automatically increased with excitement at the mention of Lorelei and her crew. "The Song?" she asked breathlessly. "Is that the name of your ship?"
Lorelei smiled softly and nodded. “I believe you, love.” she assured, slowing down again as soon as her feet touched the docks. Her eyes widened at the promise before grinning as her cheeks darkened. “Well, the safest place for that, my dear, is in my cabin.” she said wrapping an arm around Eleanor’s waist. “And I can't wait to… Oh! Of course.” she nearly sighed in realization as her hand touched the stiff side of her dress. “No wonder you can't breathe.”
“Aye. The Siren’s Song.” she nodded with a proud smile. “She may not be the grandest ship but she's kept me and my crew safe all these years. And now, she’ll keep you safe too.” she promised, pressing a soft kiss to Eleanor’s cheek.
Eleanor sighed with relief when Lorelei slowed their pace. Her legs felt weak, and she was grateful when her partner's arm snaked so lovingly around her waist. If not for that, she surely would've collapsed. But Lorelei's strength made her strong too. She chuckled quietly at Lorelei's remark. "Very keen of you to notice, my darling," she teased with a grin, bumping their hips together in a very unfit motion for a princess.
When Lorelei mentioned the ship's name, Eleanor's face softened. She knew instantly where the words came from. She grinned as Lorelei kissed her cheek, and she kept their faces close to sing quietly into her lover's ear.
"So I sing this siren song in hopes
one day she will come home –
With more than her weight in gold
to take me father’s throne."
Lorelei chuckled and pulled her even closer against her side. “You can't blame me for not remembering when I was so excited to see you again. Besides, I don't ever wear one. I admit I tried it once but I took it off in less than five minutes.” she shrugged as the memory of how uncomfortable that time had been and how she hadn't been able to take a full breath even once replayed briefly in her mind. “You won't have to wear it again either if you don't want to.” she smirked roguishly.
She nodded softly as Eleanor sang their song again. “Aye. And so she has… I'm not sure about having my weight in gold but I have all the treasure I ever wanted with me right now.” she said softly.
Eleanor gasped quietly as Lorelei pulled her closer against her side. "That's alright, my love… I remember that time. I can't blame you for not being able to wear it." She giggled. "But you did look so good for that three and a half minutes though…" Her eyes widened, and she smirked right back. "I won't if you're the one to take if off of me," she purred and nuzzled her nose into Lorelei's hair and kissed her ear.
She drew back and gazed at Lorelei lovingly. "As do I, my darling," she murmured, her eyes darting around Lorelei's face. "As do I."
Lorelei tried not to blush as she heard the Princess laugh. It had always been something that she cherished, even if it was at her expense. “Perhaps. But it's so limiting.” she pointed out. Her grin widened at the suggestion. “With great pleasure, my dear. As if I would let anyone else touch you like that.” she purred back as they approached the gangplank.
“Welcome back, Captain.” a voice called from the deck.
“I see everything went well.” A second giggled.
“Nic, Niki.” Lorelei nodded, greeting the androgynous twins. “Has everyone else returned?”
“Almost.” the first shrugged.
“We’re still waiting on Charlie and Tommy.” the second explained. “But you know what they’re like.”
"There have been plenty who have tried," Eleanor muttered, only half intended for Lori to hear. She quickly put up a genuine smile at her lover's crew mates. "Hello," she greeted warmly.
She frowned a bit at the news that they couldn't leave right away. "Darling, we should be leaving as soon as possible," she murmured. "The second my parents find out that I'm missing, they'll scour the entire city looking for me. It's best we be gone before that happens."
Lorelei did hear but didn't let herself react for now, beyond holding her closer. “Don’t worry, love. Charlie has never missed the tide since she joined my crew. She’ll be along soon with Tommy in tow.” she assured, before addressing the twins again. “Tell Jax that we'll be setting sail as soon as possible and that no one is to disturb us until this land is out of sight.”
“Aye, Captain.” they replied with bright smiles. “Nice to meet you at last, madam.” the second added before setting off.
“We can stay in my cabin until then.” Lori told her love before gently guiding Eleanor towards the stern.
Eleanor nodded as she listened. It didn't stop her from looking around worriedly for guards who would come and snatch her to take her back to the castle. She clung to Lorelei's arm tightly, and it was the only sign of how anxious she was.
She nodded her response to the twins accompanied with another winning princess smile. "Lovely to meet the both of you as well!" she called as Lorelei began to lead her off. She kept glancing over her shoulder, and finally, when the door to Lorelei's cabin was shut behind them, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Lorelei didn't mind the tight grip, placing her hand on top of Eleanor's to reassure her. She had been keeping careful watch as well and so far it seemed that news had not yet left the castle.
Once they were finally in her cabin, Lori bolted the deadlock on the door and hugged Eleanor close to her. “There. Safe and alone at last.” she smiled softly, relaxing quite a bit as well.