Ziam oneshots ✔️

Your Majesty III

They had all been thrown into what Liam could only describe as holding cells, close to the storage of the ship. There wasn't much to see except for the darkness around them. The only light they had came from a single candle standing on a barrel close to the cells.

Liam was sitting alone in a cell, a little away from the others. He could faintly hear them talking. They were probably having a better time than him. They, at least, had each other to talk to. Liam had nobody but the dark and that annoying, dancing flame of the candle on the barrel.

Once again, boredom washed over him. He was so tired of it! He had decided to leave the kingdom for a while because everything was so dull and gloomy, only to end up in the same situation but under different circumstances. How long had it been since they'd been thrown in these cells? It already felt like decades.

Liam wanted something to do, even if it was something as dirty as scrubbing the bloody deck. He didn't care. As long as he could do something that made him forget about being bored all of the time.

He sighed deeply, resting his head against the cool metal bars of his cell. They should have known better when they decided to simply climb on board the pirate ship. They should have realised that those pirates weren't as dumb as everyone told them to be. Bloody hell, Liam had encountered them days ago in the village. He should have known.

Now, they were stuck for goodness-knew-how long on a ship they didn't even know that well. He didn't know what the pirates were going to do to them, either. But it wasn't very difficult to come up with some very unpleasant ways to get rid of them without anyone ever knowing it were the pirates who'd done it.

Maybe his mother was right after all. Maybe he resembled his father more than he thought. Maybe these pirates would be his demise as well.

Soft footsteps were nearing Liam's cell. Liam pulled himself upright, standing with his back straight and his chin held high. If they came to get rid of him, at least he would go down like the proud King he was.

"Well, well, Your Majesty," a far too familiar voice drawled from somewhere in the dark. "Who would have thought you still had some fight in you."

Liam had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Was taunting him really the only thing that that pirate was going to do?

"Oh?" Zayn continued, amusement now clearly audible in his voice. Liam could barely make out his silhouette against the dark shadows of the ship. "You're not going to grant me one of your clever retorts?"

"If you're only here to make fun of me," Liam said through gritted teeth, "I'd suggest you waste your time on someone else."

The pirate finally stepped into the small circle of light coming from the candle. He had Liam's dagger in his hand, the emeralds on it catching in the faint light as he twirled it around in his hand. "You're a feisty one, Your Majesty," Zayn said. He looked up, his golden eyes glinting with something Liam couldn't quite understand. "I rather fancy that in a man."

Liam's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Zayn chuckled as he walked closer to Liam's cell, an easy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You heard me right."

Feeling heat crawl up his neck to his cheeks, Liam looked away. His heart was beating just a little quicker in his chest. Surely, this wasn't happening? This must be some kind of fever dream.

The pirate chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "I don't think I've officially introduced myself. The name's Malik, by the way," he said. "Most people call me Captain Malik. But you, Your Majesty, may call me Zayn."

"I..." To his embarrassment, Liam's blush deepened. There was just something about this man. Something he couldn't quite explain, yet it wasn't something he had ever felt for any other man before.