1812- Ariana’s Voyage

Note to readers; This work is copy-write 2016
All of the events in this story are based in fiction
If you are looking for a quick read, straight to the point, this is not for you. It has a story line with scenes ranging from mild to graphic throughout

This is part 1 of the 1812 series, I will be posting part 2 soon.

1812- The Indian Ocean

Preface

On a fall day in late September, one of England’s royal ships, “The Voyager”, sent out on a trip to Australia. The Royal Court had collected a myriad of sailors, slaves, craftsmen, and entertainers to take the voyager and colonize the new land. Among them, was Ariana.
As the princess of King George II, Ariana was always a rebellious girl. She would sneak out of the castle late at nights to train in Archery with her brothers, Nikoli and Geoffrey. She showed a great affinity for pistol shooting, and regularly practiced on targets in the nearby woods of the castle. Those were her favorite days, the ones where she could escape down the vine that crept from her third floor window into the back gardens. She would climb down the creepers, making sure that no one saw her, and escape in the shade of the willow trees out back. With her, she would bring a bow to practice with, and pistol in case she was to be assaulted. The woods were no place for a woman, let alone royalty.
The first time she was caught escaping at the age of 10, her uncle was the one who found her. He dragged her back to the castle, leading her by the neck, lecturing her on how a young woman was suppose to act. Once they got to his chambers, he told her to put her hands on the table and turn around. Ariana put her hands down on the desk and heard her uncle rummaging around for something. She turned around for a split second when a cane came down hard on her tender bottom. She yelped in protest and tried to stand, but he pushed her back onto the desk.
“This is what happens when ladies don’t do as they are told” said her uncle. “Now I want you to count to ten- one for each. If you make it to ten I won’t tell the king about your midnight adventure.” She hesitated, trying to collect her thoughts. “What do you say?” he asked. She half heartedly tried to get out from underneath his grip, but with met with him tightening his grip.
“Yes” she grunted out.
“No, no. We say, Yes Sir.” He whispered.
“Yes Sir.”
“Good.” She felt the cane come down hard on her backside, and counted a “one”. By the time he had reached “10” she was sure that she wouldn’t be able to sit down for at least a week- maybe two. She didn’t know why, but she felt a tingling sensation in her stomach every time she looked back on that memory.
Even years later, at the age of 19, Ariana detested the life of royalty and wished every day that she would have the freedom her brother’s wielded on a daily basis. The life of a princess was one of a caged animal, being lead around by sparkly diamond collars and following command after command. She knew her life as a trophy would never cease as long as she remained in a palace.
As a princess, she was expected to be the beauty of the kingdom; the envy of all other maidens. Her ladies in waiting doted on her day and night, showering her with compliments on her long, chestnut brown hair that shone red in the light. Her high cheekbones were the envy of all women in the kingdom, not to mention her dark brown eyes, seeming fairy-like, that took up a large portion of her face. She was regularly stared at by the young men at royal balls, her curvy hips and small waist attracting stares from every angle while she swayed to the music.
It was one afternoon when news about the trip to Australia came into her possession. Her ladies in waiting had been gossiping about it all afternoon. While her handmaid, Eva, laced up her corset, Ariana felt it was time to know what the news was.
“What has everybody been whispering about, Eva?” her maid shifted, not knowing whether she should share the information she knew.
“Nothing, your highness.” Ariana grew more agitated, she wanted to get down to the bottom of what they were talking about. “Eva, tell me or I’ll report you to the High Court.” “Okay your highness, but it didn’t come from me. The royal court is sending a ship to Australia so they can colonize the new land. Apparently the ship leaves tonight. It’s a secret mission, we are not supposed to know about it but the guards caught wind while two gentlemen spoke of it in the loo.”
This is so exciting, Arianna thought. This might be my one chance to see another world. Her handmade helped her finish getting ready for the day, and about an hour later she was left alone. She decided she was going to do it; she was going to try to board the ship. She got a small rucksack and packed the things she knew she would need for such a long journey. She gathered a set of pants from her brother’s clothes, her undergarments, a compass, and the ring she was given at birth. It was a small topaz ring embellished with four miniscule diamonds at each corner, she brought it with her everywhere she went. On the inside of the ring was engraved her family crest, and initials.
About two hours passed and Ariana decided it was time to try to sneak out. She didn’t know what time the boat would be leaving and wanted to get on it as soon as possible. She went over to the third floor window with rucksack in hand and begin to make her way down the creeping vines. She checks to make sure that nobody was around the palace gardens, and reached the ground. One last look it was time to go, she ran into the woods knowing that about a half mile due north was where the shipyard was. She retrieved her compass and began making her way north.

The Shipyard

The clanging in clattering of the sails of the ships could be heard even from the distance. Ariana hid behind a bridge that led from the woods into the shipyard, Careful that nobody noticed to she was. She saw the ship with English flags attached to the dock, and six large white sails. On front front of the ship was a plaque that read “The Voyager” in large gold-leaf letters. She saw crews of men loading supplies and slaves onto the ship. The only women she could see boarding the ship were the slaves. This would be harder than she thought.
The crew continued to go about their business, and she decided to try and move closer, figuring no one would see her in the mayhem of the load-in scene. She crept forward, creeping through the jungle of barrels and crates, trying to find an opening to get on board. Suddenly a hard yank met her from behind the neck, pulling upward on her long brown locks.
“What do you think you’re doing, little girl?” came the mysterious voice from behind her.
“None of your business, wretch. Let go of me this instant.” Her words came out far more confident than she felt. The man in question turned her around and held her steadfast. She was facing one of the guards of the ship. Shit.
“I asked you a question, lady. You have no business being in a man’s territory. Trying to get a look at the ship are you? I saw that look in your eyes, looking for trouble is what it is.”
She glared at him harshly, she wanted to spit on him for his condescending nature, but decided she was dying to get aboard the ship, and this may be just the opportunity she needed.
“What would it take a young lady for passage to Australia?” she boldly asked. His eyes widened. He was obviously taken by her retort, not expecting a woman to want passage on such a dangerous journey.
“No women allowed except for in the slave quarters, and that’s not a place you want to be lurking, lady.” She grew frustrated. She already knew women weren’t allowed, and she was simply grateful he hadn’t recognized her as royalty yet or she would be high-tailing it back to the palace in no time.
“I can pay you, but I need a spot on this ship.” She thought of the life she may possess if she be taken back to the palace. She was already well past the age of marriage, and her father had a line of suitors, many of them far older than she, waiting for her hand any day now. Once the decision was made she would never be let free. This was her one chance.
“I’m taking you to the police.” He stated roughly. He began to drag her roughly by the hair, and she fought against him, hard.
“Get off! I’m getting on this ship!” She kicked out, hard. Her foot connected with one of his calves and brought a irritated grunt from the man.
“You little shit!” He barked at her. She continued to fight hard against him, when another man walked up to the scene. The man holding her quickly yanked her up, standing to attention for the man in front of them. Ariana was still fighting against the hold on her when she felt a hard jab to her side from the guard. She ceased her struggles and raised her eyes to meet a pair of sparkling blue ones staring back at her. The man who had walked up to the pair had long blonde hair, tired back into a pony tail and an athletic frame, concealed under royal attire. His jawbone was sharp, in a soft and handsome manner. He stood at roughly 6’2”, almost an entire foot over her 5’4” frame. He stared down at her, a small smile creasing his face.
“C-Commander.” Sputtered the guard next to her. “This lady was trying to sneak aboard your ship.” The commander in question looked Ariana up and down, appraising her with his ocean-blue eyes.
“Let her go. Leave us be.” The guard looked at the Commander incredulously, but knew well not to disregard a direct order. He roughly let go of Ariana’s hair, and scuttled away, lifting the beginnings of a headache she had been feeling from the unwanted contact.
“Why do you passage so desperately? Are you a convict?” asked the blonde man.
“What does it matter to you?” She barked back.
“Well, I am the captain of this ship, and I just saved your ass from imprisonment. So that’s two reasons. But I don’t really care why, all that much.” She looked at him with a surprised expression. She was staring at the captain of “The Voyager”? he couldn’t have exceeded 28 years of age. “You want passage on this ship? I am going to need something in return.” She stared back at him.
“I have money-”
“I don’t need your money. I need a woman. Specifically, a woman to sate my needs on the voyage and possibly once we get to land.” She was caught off-guard by his blunt nature. She knew what he meant by “sate his needs”. She had heard tales of the maids’ wild adventures with men across the country, but had never shared even a kiss with one herself. It was her job as a princess to be untouched for marriage. If she had been, she would be deemed un-worthy for a man of royalty. Secretly, she would touch herself under the cover of darkness in her private quarters. She had felt the insatiable need to be touched since the age of fourteen. She would rub herself to orgasm almost nightly, but was never fully satisfied. She thought for a moment of this man’s offer, and realized that if she went with him, she would probably never be deemed appropriate for marriage anyway. Why not just take it?
“Ok.” She said. He looked surprised that she had consented to his offer, but nonetheless excited. His smile spread into a grin.
“Understand you will be expected to follow my orders exactly and stay in my cabin at all times unless otherwise instructed.”
“Understood.”
“Alright then. Follow me.”

The Cabin

He turned his back and began to lead the way onto the ship. He walked past the crew, up the gangplank, making his way onto the main deck of the ship. Ariana followed suit, making sure to keep her head bowed so that there would be less chance of her being recognized. They made their way toward the captain’s quarters, just below the quarter deck at the rear of the ship. He held one hand on her back, guiding her into the cabin and closing the door behind.
Inside was a large oak, four poster bed that must have been king-sized or larger from the amount of room it took up. It was covered in beautiful, white Egyptian cotton sheets, and bead spread, adorned with red and gold pillows, accompanied by a black fur blanket at the foot. She marveled at the fact that she had just this morning been cooped up in her stone-cold tower and now was on her way to the undiscovered land of Australia. The commander wrapped his fingers around her shoulder and moved Ariana to face him. She stood in front of him, not knowing quite what to say or do. He took a step back to look her up and down, appraising her this waist accompanied by supple curves. Her flowing cream-colored dress, trimmed with beautiful white lace fell over her body in the loveliest way. Her dark-brown hair in contrast to the white, which she usually wore up and back, flowed over her breasts in beautiful dark waves. He took in the sight of her lovely frame, running a gentle hand hand down her cheek, tracing his way across her breasts, leaving down to the deep “V-shape” of her gown at the waist. His touch sent shivers down her body, creating that little fire burning inside her stomach.
“What do you call yourself?” he asked her, realizing he did not yet know her name.
“Ari-” she realized giving her name to him may que him in on her heritage, as she was probably one of the few Ariana’s in the kingdom, by design.
“Ari. That’s beautiful.” The Commander said, softly. “My name is Crispin.” She did not bother correcting him on her name, making up her mind she should better leave it.
“Hello, Crispin” she smiled back. Suddenly there was a nock on the door.
“Commander, we’re about to set sail.” Came a booming voice from outside.
“I’ll be right back.” He said with a small smile. “Don’t move.” He looked at Ari sternly, and picked her up, placing her on the bed. “I don’t want to have to restrain you” he said with a wicked smile. He turned to the door and left. She heard a small click of a lock behind him as he walked away. She sat huddled on the bed. It was really happening. She thought briefly about how she would miss her brothers, but they had far more important things to do, like learn how to run a kingdom, then keep helping her with target practice. She felt a small twinge of guilt for leaving them, but reasoned with herself that it was what she needed to do. She wondered how long it would take her family to realize she was missing.
Suddenly, the floor beneath her began to move a small bit, and she realized she was moving. Ari ran to the small porthole window against the far wall, watching as the ship departed from the docks. It waded farther and farther out into the water, before she felt it picking up momentum. She realized they must have raised the sails and we’re on their way toward the new land. After about twenty minutes of watching the dock slowly fade into the distance, she began to think that maybe this wasn’t the best idea. What was she going to do once she got to Australia? She had no money, except the bit in her sack, no idea of what she was getting into, what it would be like. What if she was cast away with the slaves? She began to panic, her breath quickened, the voice inside her head reprimanding her for acting so rashly, when the door opened. She suddenly felt a cold hand clasp her wrists and roughly spun her around hard, looking into her eyes with a cold expression.
“I told you, don’t move.” He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto the bed. She fought against his hands gripping her but it was no use. He forced himself on top of her small body, holding down one one wrist, using the other hand to tear a part from her dress. He used the fabric to tie her right hand taught against one of the bed posts. He then followed suit with the other. She fought him, even getting in a scratch across his left cheek. It drew a little blood which made him quite angry. He responded by attaching both of her legs to the banisters so tight that she could hardly feel anything anymore.
He looked at her face, lowering his attention to where the top of her dress dipped down to expose the very top of her small, A cup breasts, holding his hands on her waist. He tightened his grip, leaning in to her neck, sucking hard, nibbling fiercely at the pink, cream colored flesh.
“I can’t wait to mark up this body of yours…” He leered. Ari began to panic. This was not the passion filled romantic stories shared by her maids over tea and late nights. Ari let out a small scream before a hand closed itself over her mouth.
He cupped her left breast in one hand, gently massaging it until he felt the tautness of her nipple from beneath the thin, white fabric. He lowered her dress ever so slightly, enough to bring her breast into his mouth, he gently sucked and nibbled on her nipple at first, before switching to harder bites, switching from one to the other. Ari moaned loudly, feeling a wetness begin to form between her legs. She hated herself for enjoying the treatment that was being done to her body, but her senses betrayed her.
“I am going to turn these dark red. And when I say something, I keep my word.”
“Stop. Don’t” She was able to get out between moans and little screams. She tried to scoot away from his touch, the restraints holding her steadfast.
He noticed what she was trying to do and began undoing the clasp of his pants. He stood to reveal a 8 ½ inch cock, standing erect at attention. He slid his hand up and down his shaft, staring at Ari all the while. He had acquired a look of hunger in his gaze. He pushed her back onto the bed, yanking up her skirt, not bothering to undo the corset keeping her dress fastened. He grabbed his hard cock in one hand and her mouth in the other.
“Open up” he said. She refused, and she she wouldn’t obey, he held her nose closed until she was forced to open her mouth to breathe. He took the opportunity to shove his cock inside at that moment.
“Bite and I’ll cut off your nipple.” He got out before he began thrusting his cock deep inside her throat. She could barely breathe, the cock taking up all the space in her mouth and throat. He grabbed a hold of her head and began slamming it into his balls the best he could with the position she was in. he pulled out after several minutes, Ari coughing up pre-cum and saliva.
He yanked down her undergarments to reveal her mound. She began to feel the moment of panic arise in her again. He took two fingers and thrust them inside her hole. It was the first time anything but herself had penetrated her. She screamed in protest.
“Get out!” He thrust more wildly, adding another finger to the mix. It felt uncomfortable, almost painful. Part of her was heavily turned on by this, the other was screaming that she wasn’t ready.
“Please, I’ve never…”
His eyes widened. He realized he was holding a young virgin in his hands. Such a rarity in these parts. Most women just picked up off the streets, even beautiful ones like Ari, tended to have some experience or be too young for his taste. He pulled his hand out and gripped his shaft positioning himself at the entrance of her opening. She gritted her teeth, hyperaware of the membrane about to enter her. She tried to get her wrists free, but the grip was iron.
“Please, I’m not ready.” She said quietly. He hushed her with a hand over her mouth, pushing his entire cock into her in one thrust. She screamed against his palm, trying to get away from the protrusion inside of her. He hammered into her for several minutes, a tear or two escaping every time she brought her attention back to the pain emanating from her lower regions. Finally, he had resisted the urge to come long enough, and with much rigor, exploded inside of her. He let go of her wrists, getting up off the bed. He smiled down at her figure, his cum leaking out of her hole slowly. She lay there whimpering. A part of him felt bad, but hey, she was the one who agreed to this for passage. He was taking what he wanted. He undid her hand restraints and went into the loo to grab a damp cloth and threw it to her on the bed, telling her to wipe off the mess she made before he got back.
Ari heard a door click shut and a lock turn before she let herself fall into tears.

Parlez

About a week had past and Crispin had visited Ari nightly, virtually repeating the events of the first. He would enter the room, yank down his trousers, and have his way with her until he came. Her pleasure didn’t mean much to him. He saw her a more of a play-thing for the time being. He would probably dispose of her and find a new one once they reached shore. He didn’t understand why she was so reluctant, hadn’t she known what she was getting herself into?
It was one evening when Crispin decided to let Ari out and explore the main deck for a while. Ari was excited. She hadn’t left her room for over a week. The sun was beginning to set as she pinned her hair up, and cleaned herself off when Crispin unlocked the door, holding it open with a small sideways smile. She looked at him, making sure it wasn’t a joke, before quickly hurrying out before he changed his mind. The first thing she felt was the cool breeze against her skin, hitting her face with every slight movement of the ship. She walked over to the edge and felt the salty spray of the sea against her skin. She smiled to herself, saying “this is what I left for”. She felt the creak of the wood beneath her feet, the smoothness of the iron cannons perched alongside the wall. She wanted to take in everything she could before she was ushered back inside.
A noise came from behind, the sound of voices coming from the hold. Three men came from below deck, Crispin greeting them with open arms. Ari stood from a distance watching. The three men talked with Crispin for several minutes. Ari leaned on the side of the ship, watching their conversation, trying to make out words, when the wood beneath her hand echoed a loud squeak and the men turned their attention on her. The three men looked intrigued, apparently not having known she was on board. Crispin motioned for Ari to come join them, and she walked over to his side.
“Gentlemen, this is Ari. She is my guest for the voyage. Ari, this is Sam, Eliot, and Michael.” The three men glanced at her, admiring her face in the setting sunlight along with the curves of her body.
“Hello gentlemen.” She said to the three.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, madam” said the one called Eliot. He looked to be the youngest, possibly 16 years, maybe 17.
“How do you do?” acquired Michael, with a friendly beaming smile of perfect teeth. She smiled back at him and nodded her head, enjoying his friendly nature. He seemed to be around 60 years of age, maybe more and greying on the sides where he still had hair to boast of.
The final man looked at her inquisitively. Trying to search her face for something she couldn’t place.
“Good evening, Ari.” said the man, Sam. “Pardon me, but you look very familiar…” Ari felt a tightening in her stomach, he couldn’t know who she was, no one she had passed previous had recognized her. Given, they didn’t get a good look at her, but Crispin certainly did and he hadn’t mentioned anything.
“I’m sure I would remember a face such as yours.” She replied calmly, feeling the tension build within her. The man staring her up and down was around 40 years, black hair and a missing bottom tooth, looking put together nonetheless; after all he was a member of the royal navy.
Wait, she did recognize him. He was also an advisor to her uncle years ago. She use to sit in on their talks when she was just twelve of thirteen. Would he actually recognize her after all these years?
“Ari, where are you from?” questioned Crispin, realizing he knew next to nothing about her. Ari began to panic.
“Where all men are from.” She replied with a false air of calm. “Home.” he looked back at her inquisitively, beginning to suspect something himself. She had to get out of here, but there was nowhere to go. What would they do if they found out? Take her back? She sincerely hoped not. She began to move for the cabin door.
Crispin grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her to his side. He sent a look her way that made her freeze where she stood.
“Wait. I do know you.” spoke Sam. His eyes widened, Ari felt her stomach drop.
“You’re-” Suddenly a horn blazed and the man at the crows next began to climb down from his perch, running at a sprint toward Crispin. Hoards of other men began to make their way on deck, assuming positions at canons across all sides of the ship.
“What the hell is going on?” asked Crispin in a raised tone. He let go of Ari and faced the tiny man that had run toward him. “Why did you sound the alarm?”
The young man looked at him with wide eyes, fear in every corner, his hand began to tremble.
“Pirates.” The young man whispered. Crispin’s face became stone cold, unreadable. She turned his back on the little man and faced the three he had previously been addressing. Sam was still staring at Ari, a look of disbelief on his face. The other two were preoccupied of the news from the tiny man. “What did the ship look like?” He asked, not paying much attention to the man cowering behind him.
“Dark sails, dark oak wood, maybe an old royal ship that was taken captive. We better get in position captain…” Crispin turned to face him once more, a look of death on his face.
“We will do what I say. Get back to the nest. Keep an eye.” Turning back to face the men, “Michael, Eliot, man the canons.” He said stone cold. “Sam-”.
“Sir. She’s not who you think-”
Now it was Ari’s turn to have a look of panic adorn her face. She pleaded with her eyes for him not to say a thing.
“What do you mean? We have more pressing matters to deal with!” he barked at Sam. Sam stared back, looking him square in the eyes.
“She’s the Princess.” He stated. Ari’s heart sank, a feeling of panic overwhelmed her along with fear. All the while in the back of her mind the very real situation that pirates were on a nearby ship ready to attack.
“What?” Crispin asked incredulously. He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. A look of ‘oh my god’ came across his face when the horns blew again. He stared for a moment longer, a look of confusion, fury, and panic crossing his face all at once. He grabbed her by the wrist and held, hard. “Sam, man your post. No one gets on this ship.”
“Yes sir” he said with one more glance the princess’ way before turning to go. Crispin growled down at her, squeezing her wrist until specks of blood appeared where his nails dig into her.
“Wait here. We’re taking you home.” He turned toward the front of the ship, facing his men.
“Aim canons! Ready! Fire!” He shouted. The canons deployed but not before the enemy canons fired right back. One lodged right into the side where Ari was standing, she leapt backward right before it exploded. She was blown back by the force of the explosion. As she came to, she noticed the ship was in a panic, and the pirate’s ship had advanced right to the side of the ship where the canon had blown a hole through the side. Men were running about, trying to collect weapons. She realized what she had to do. She gingerly got up, clutching her side where she had been thrown back, hoping that there were no broken ribs. She raced as fast as she could back to the cabin where she rummaged through her rough sack, collecting her bow and pistol. Bending over was difficult to say the least, she let out a yelp when she knelt to pick up the weapons, but had to ignore it for the time being. She ran back out of the cabin and straight to the upper deck as fast as her injuries would allow.
Positioning herself directly facing the ship, she loaded her bow and aimed at the first few pirates trying to climb aboard by ladder. The first missed as she gasped at the pain in her side. She looked down to see a red stain in he otherwise white gown. She turned away, knowing that if she didn’t do something now she would either face death in moments or worse…
She reloaded the bow and aimed, this time hitting a Pirate square in the head. The sailors and pirates alike looked around for where the arrow had come. One man spotted her from the pirate ship, yelling-
“Oy, Captain! Up there!” all heads were now turning to face Ari. She loaded the bow again, shooting at the man who had just yelled, hitting him in the ribs. Well, an eye for an eye, right? She thought to herself.
She continued aiming at the men trying to make their way up the ladder, hitting most of all she shot for. She reached back to grab another arrow, but there were none to be found. Shit, she thought. She withdrew her pistol from her garter, but men had already begun racing aboard the ship and fighting tooth and nail. Many tried to make their way to her, but were ambushed on the way by the slew of sailors in front of her. She looked around in the mayhem to try and spot Crispin, but he couldn’t be found anywhere. She turned her attention back to the advancing pirates, noting that they had taken many of her sailors down, and were winning. One man raced toward her, a look of craziness in his eyes. She whirled around with one arm and shot in between the eyes. He fell with a thud not three feet away from her. Two men barreled toward her one, she shot but missed at one, turning her attention back to the other. She took a step back, unloading her gun at the one closest, and then firing back to the next. They fell to the ground moments later. She took another step back and felt a thud hit her backside. She winced at the contact when she was grabbed, her hand holding the pistol twisted behind her. She shot the gun, praying for another bullet, when she heard it go off behind her and straight into the guy holding her. He let go and fell with a massive thud.
She looked around at the pile of bodies she had accumulated, and turned to face the rest of the fighting. To her surprise, the ship was silent.
All the navy were currently held at gunpoint, had a sword positioned at their neck, or were lying on the ground, motionless. She saw out of the corner of her eye, young Eliot lying on the ground about 20 yards from where she stood. She froze, looking out at the sea of corpses. All the members of the royal crew had their hands up, including Crispin, front and center, and holding him was the beautiful man Ari had ever laid eyes on. He was tall, must have been at least six and half feet standing. His muscles shone from the sweat that glittered across his body. His tousled dark black hair was tossed in every direction from the sea breeze. His jaw was carved from marble, as was his taught stomach that she could see from the gap in his shirt. But the most astonishing part of him, his eyes. They glowed a bright, beautiful green that she could see from across the ship; and he stared right at her.
“Well, well” he spoke in a deep, cockney accent. “What do we have here? Little miss daredevil do we? Fightin’ with the big boys are we?” He narrowed his eyes and gave her a bone chilling smile that sent shivers down her spine. “Come here, Lassie.” He said, pointing a gun toward her direction with one hand while holding Crispin at swords end in the other. “Drop your weapon.” She took one look at her pistol, knowing full well she was out of ammo, and realized she had no choice but to follow his orders. She dropped the gun to her side, and began making her way toward the handsome, dangerous pirate in front of her.
Her side ached with every step, the red splotch seeping further down her gown as her side continued to bleed. She hadn’t gotten a chance to look at it yet. She came right in front of the two men, Crispin on one side, the stranger on the other.
“Closer”, the dark man whispered. “I want to have a good look at you.” she took a step in his direction, positioning herself directly in front of him. He looked her up and down, running the cold metal of the gun up and down her body. He pressed it firmly into the side where she had been injured, producing an outward cry from Ari, making her double over in pain.
“Don’t you dare harm the Princess!” came a voice from behind the procession of onlookers. Stepping forward, held at gunpoint by another pirate, was Sam. Ari looked him in the eye, realizing he may have just risked his life in an effort to protect her, when a gun shot and he fell to the ground. Ari sucked in a breath, holding back tears from the man at her feet and the pain in her side. The man in front of her turned his attention back in Ari.
“Well, that makes this interesting. Princess? Of England?” he laughed out loud at that. Bowing in a mocking tone, “Your highness…” He said, dripping with sarcasm. The rest of the pirates laughed out loud at this. He stood back up, facing her. “Now how did you climb aboard a navy ship? He looked at her, genuinely puzzled and intrigued by what he had in front of him. Here was not only a beautiful woman, but a princess, who had just killed a fourth of his crew singlehandedly. He was angry at this fact, and a little impressed.
“Speak, girl. Or this man next to me dies.” Ari looked over at her rapist from the past week, and decided that she couldn’t have another body on her conscience.
“I needed a change of pace.” She said sardonically. The young man grinned, and chuckled at this.
“Well, was this a change of pace for you?” He said down to her, motioning to the mess of the ship. She glared up at him, despite his beauty, he was an overwhelming asshole.
“No actually” she said dripping with sarcasm, “this is exactly what it’s like in the palace. We’re just more discrete about it.” She flinched at the truth of her words. The kingdom was not known for being too peaceful recently, but it certainly wasn’t a bloody massacre, she told herself.
“How did you learn to shoot like that?” He asked, genuinely interested.
“My brothers. They’re excellent marksman.” She said, surprised that she responded with the truth. He smiled a leering smile at her, as if he had an idea forming in his head.
“Parlez.” He said, grinning at her. She looked at him inquisitively.
“Parlez?”
“I want to offer you a peace treaty. Under my terms, of course.” She looked him questioningly in the eye, before nodding for him to go on. “You come with me, as my prisoner, my war spoil, per say, and I let the remainder of your crew go. They can either choose to set sail back for England and let the country know what has become of you, or they can continue their journey on and dispose of the dead as needed. All you need to do to save them, is willingly join me aboard my ship.” He smiled at her, that cold smile that hadn’t left his face since she laid eyes on him.
Crispin gave her a look she couldn’t read. Was it Anger? Lust? Begging?
“And if I refuse?” she asked, knowing what was next.
“I kill you and your crew.”
She paused.
“Parlez?” he asked, holding out his hand waiting for her to take it. She sucked a breath in, and clutched her side.
“Parlez.”

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