Greedy Hearts

Five: Dinner with the Captain

"Oh, I still hate you, little pirate," Juniper assured, "and everything I've chosen to do benefits me in the end. So I'm not helping you so much as I'm helping myself."

"I see. And why did you so readily betray your family?"

Juniper slowly smiled, but there was no humor in it, only venom. "This is nothing but business, and that's straying into something you don't need to know." She finally sat at the table. "Can we agree on that?"

Kitt studied her for a long moment. His eyes looked pale green in this lighting. "Agreed."

They ate in silence for a time, and Juniper didn't waste any of that time as she studied the Captain. She wondered how old he was. He couldn't be more than twenty-five. Yet that seemed so young to captain a pirate crew of this size. Then again, villainy didn't have an age. She was living proof of that.

"I'm curious, how much do you know about me?" Juniper suddenly asked as she finished her food.

"Do you really want to know?" Kitt asked, raising a cocky brow.

"Of course I do. I only ask for what I want."

"Alright," he sat back, brushing off his hands, "since you really want to know. You are the second born princess of Rovisa with a reputation for being cold and rather unfriendly. But you're also known for your schemes and trickery. That tells me plenty about your cunning. I also know you prefer to be alone with your books and you study whatever you find interesting rather than what the palace teachers tell you to study." Kitt smiled, satisfied. "Is that enough for you?"

Juniper was expecting to hear all about her reputation, but she hadn't expected him to know that last bit. "Let me guess, you got your information from Elena?"

"She's an excellent source."

"Clearly," Juniper muttered bitterly.

Kitt sat forward, eyes studying her once again. "She also told me that you've tried leaving home before. Why didn't you end up leaving?"

Juniper was definitely more willing to kill Elena now. This pirate didn't need to know all this ridiculous information. "It didn't work out. I'm hoping it does this time around. So you don't need to worry about me suddenly turning you in."

"I would hope not."

"And what about you, Captain? You're what, twenty-five? And you're bossing around a whole crew of what appears to be murderers. How did you manage that?"

"Twenty-three, actually. And the only way to get anywhere in this line of work is to be a ruthless killer." Kitt's eyes gleamed dangerously. "I've used my sword to get to the top, and I'm not stopping any time soon."

Juniper wasn't surprised. He seemed like a killer. An unexpected one, but she could see it. "Then you'll be plenty useful in this venture. I'm grateful for that."

Kitt tilted his head. "You're not afraid of me? I'm a cold blooded killer."

"Who's to say I'm not?" Juniper countered, meeting his eyes defiantly. Technically she'd never killed anyone. But she'd come plently close to. Her father really had to cover that mess up.

Once again, the Captain surprised her. "If you're referring to the time you mangled that duke, that doesn't count. He didn't die."

No one knew of what truly happened to that duke aside from the royal family and the duke, all thanks to the King. But it seemed Elena knew about it too. How else would this random pirate know that? "Hmm. Even so, that doesn't make me afraid of you. I can handle my own well enough."

"I guess we'll have to see once we reach your little island."

"You will," Juniper promised confidently. "So is your whole crew afraid of you?"

"They're more respectful than afraid. Though, they know what will happen if they step out of line," Kitt corrected. "It's useless having a terrified crew. That only makes it easier for a mutiny or betrayal. I don't take that risk."

Juniper could sense something more under his words. "And why is that, Captain? Have you had experience?"

His eyes, which she decided were ocean green, turned serious. "That's how I got my start, Princess. A tyrant coupled with a few scared men made the perfect recipe for me to lead a mutiny."

"And now you know what to look for," she finished. "That's smart."

"Being smart is the only way to make it. You already know that much."

Juniper couldn't stop herself from grinning. "So this little job should be a piece of cake. You'll be rich and I'll be free soon enough."

Kitt returned the smile. "I like your confidence, Princess. It seems we're not so different."

"That's probably why I seem to hate you," she snorted. "Let's just try to avoid butting heads too much, yeah?"

"I can agree to that."

Juniper was completely intrigued by this man, she had to admit. She was curious about his story. She could already piece bits of it together from their conversation, but she wanted to know more. Mostly because she wanted to be able to start a new life on her own after this, but partially out of pure curiousity. She wasn't really hungry, but she grabbed another roll and got to her feet. "Thanks for the meal. We'll have to have more fun conversations."

Kitt got to his feet as well. "We'll have plenty of time to do so. For now, I have a crew to whip into shape." He motioned for the door.

Juniper left the cabin, closely followed by Kitt. "You can't even let them enjoy their meals?" she asked sarcastically.

"A storm is coming this way, and we need to be ready to stay on course. So yes, they can relax later." The Captain strode to the stairs and disappeared below decks.

Juniper faced South, now spotting the distant clouds. Her stomach churned just thinking about the way the ship was going to rock. It reminded her of when she was just young when her family visited a kingdom her father was trying to align with. She was motion sick below decks for days, and only Valarie sat with her. She sang Juniper songs to distract her, she played games, or acted out stories. It never helped much, but she loved the way Val took care of her.

She shook out of it and decided to go hide in her little closet of a room. If she was going to be sick, she was going to be sick in private. This crew didn't need to see her like that. Especially the Captain. She never wanted to let him think they were on uneven ground. Thankfully, no one paid her any mind as she disappeared into the belly of the ship.

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Another chapter down. It was a little shorter, but that's okay. Hope y'all are enjoying. Thanks for reading, as always :).
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