The WindFlyer

Chapter 32

"What gives you so much power?" he whispers, eyes wide.

"You know the legends around my name. Some are lies, yes, but there is at least one truth. I am the most feared pirate ever to sail. I am the best of the best, which makes me the most powerful pirate lord." The prince nods slowly as understanding dawns on him. Other than running Pirates Cove, the lords really serve no other purpose. Which is why I stay out of their dealings as much as possible. They're all repulsive men. They try to make alliances with each other for riches, whores, and trade rights. They're no better than squabbling royals in those regards. I hate these stupid meetings when the manage to work together long enough to summon me.

"How many summoned you?" the prince asks after a while. I press my lips together as I cross my arms and lean against the table.

"Fourteen," I say. When Draen swears low I simply nod my head along with it. I don't know what they want, but I have a feeling it's not going to be fun. If I've managed to piss all of them off, that cannot be good. Or perhaps they just want to try and lure me into alliances again. If that is the case, it will go the same as it always does. I say no they make threats, Ren threatens to rip their throats out, I reign her in and point my gun at the nearest lord, and then their weak cooperation falls apart and guns are drawn. Then I leave. But no matter how many times we go through this, they still try every so often.

I shout for Andreas through the open door and hear him slam down after jumping down the stairs as opposed to walking. He cocks his head when it pokes through the door. "Pirates Cove." is all I have to say before he's gone again. My first mate will start us on our corse there. Pirates Cove is very close to Roltem, one of the reasons why the slave trade is so big there. Pirates generally are slavers and a kingdom who thrives on the trade. A match made in hell. We can be there in a days sail from where we are now. We've been sailing in the general direction all day so that takes time off of it. A good thing too, the meeting is tomorrow.

"I would like to sit in on this meeting, if you don't mind," Draen says after a moment, cutting off my preparation thoughts. I raise my eyebrows in shocked confusion.

"I don't mind, but are you sure?" I check. It's not a nice place, it's not an enjoyable place. I hate it with a burning passion. The prince nods once. Fine. If that's what he wants to do with his life. I'll have to start prepping him now.

"Sit down," I order cooly. "You are going to listen very carefully to what I say and follow my orders directly. This is a dangerous game we are about to play." I brace my arms on the table across from the prince, almost as if I am interrogating him.

"You have to be someone else, you can't act close to me. You can't act like I've ever been anything but your captain. I'm going to become someone who would laugh at the thought of a city like Oneiro. I'm going to have to be someone who... condones," I choke out, "slavery. I will not be the girl you know. I will not be the girl you danced with on Festival. I have to become the black-hearted captain, do you understand that?" The prince nods.

"Good. You will be a personal guard of mine in the meeting. Do not look at anyone, do not talk to anyone. You stare straight ahead at all times unless I am speaking to you, directly. You do not react to anything that is said. As much as I need to be cruel, you have to mirror that exactly. At this point, you are not a prince. You are a pirate. If they get one whiff of you being royalty at all, both our heads will end up on a platter. I would like to avoid that, yeah?" The prince nods again, his face displaying nothing but serious focus. I don't know what idiotic part of me thinks it would be a good idea to grant the prince's wish, but I am going to. Maybe some small part of me is hoping he will still take me up on my offer.

"You will be with Ren and Andreas. Andreas will do the talking. I am the captain of this ship, those lowly pirates are below me to the point where I am too good to waste my breath on them. You will stand behind my chair on the left and Ren on my right. I will arm you with two pistols and a sword. You will wear the blue mask and you will wear all black. You will stand with your feet planted shoulder width apart and you arms crossed. You do not draw any weapons unless the situation becomes dire. At that point, Andreas and Ren will get us out with minimal death -- hopefully. We don't want to make enemies of these people, so you have to play the part exactly as I am telling you."

Draen swallows the lump in his throat and this is only the beginning. I continue making orders and giving him the rundown on how it's going to happen exactly. I give him answers to any question I can think of that the other lords might ask of him. Me bringing in a new guard may surprise them and they may demand answers. Anything new is immediately latched onto by criminals, we are conditioned to do it when you're always looking over your shoulder. I drill the answers into his head over and over until he can get them without any hitches. I make him practice, I change the answers he gives back to me to see if he agrees or corrects them. I make him add an accent so that not even his place or origine is recognizable. We do this until I can see the sun start to rise and I can hardly feel my brain anymore.

The prince leans back in his chair after we finish the set. "Does a captain's work ever end?" he questions with a sigh. I crack him the faintest of smiles.

"Never," I say. "Again."