A Heart at Sea

Adjusting & Discoveries

However unlike the stiff uniform of Captain Hadsen, the pirate captain was dressed far less ornately. Sebastiano was dressed in a black, ruffled top beneath a maroon leather vest. His black breeches disappeared into those heavy black boots. He tossed off his dark black hat and it landed on a nearby table, causing a few papers to scatter to the floor.

He bent over and unbuckled his boots, kicking them off before he began to fumble with the brass buttons of his vest. The captain could feel the eyes of his young captive watching him and he inwardly grinned.

The entire incident aboard the Mirabelle had occurred so quickly and made Alby's adrenaline rush so fast that he hadn't even had time to really get a good look at Captain Mason.

Long black hair hung down his back but was bound back with a bit of leather. His piercing dark eyes were the color of stormy seas, so navy they almost appeared black themselves. His flesh was bronzed from time spent in the sun and his forearms and chest were covered with scars – remnants of fights past. The captain even sported a scar across his left cheek from a foolish brawl with a sword when he'd been a younger, more temperamental man.

Alby was once again jolted out of his musings when the captain at last addressed him. "Tell me about life in the capital, Prince Albert? I myself have never traversed to the larger inland cities of Nivarre...only the coastal cities. The longer you keep me entertained with stories...the better chance I don't claim you for myself this evening."

"I...I have nothing to say about that, captain," the youth said simply.

Sebastiano raised his brows in surprise at such defiance! "Seconds ago you stated that you would uphold your end of the bargain of obeying all my commands. And now you are refusing me!? Do you want to experience the brig aboard a pirate's ship!? I can tell you...it will make your dungeons seem like paradise in comparison!"

Alby let out a soft whimper and shook his head "N...no Captain Mason. I am not being defiant...I really have nothing to say about the capital, I don't remember much of it."

The captain frowned in confusion and growled in his throat, "Explain boy...all royals are born, bred and die in the capital!"

Letting out a deep breath to calm his pounding heart, Alby clenched the blankets beneath him in trembling hands, wanting to clasp onto something before he tumbled over in fear.

"I...I was born in the capital. I lived there until I was three. All I remember are the sounds and smells. It always smelled of smoke...manure...total pollution. It made me very sick...that is why my mother and father sent me away. I was raised in a small seaside estate near a fishing village called Hadman's Pointe...about three days travel from Port Crispin."

The captain raised a brow at this revelation and took another swig of his dark wine. "Were you raised in secret perhaps? Are you the bastard offspring of the king or queen?"

Alby frowned at this insinuation and proudly straightened his shoulders and jutted his chin out. "No! I am the legitimate child of the previous monarchs, Queen Adira and King Hagan IV! I am not a bastard offspring sent away to be raised in shame and secrecy."

"Do not raise your voice to me boy or I will slice your tongue out and send it to your mother as a gift!" Sebastiano warned as he slammed his chalice down onto the table.

Alby jumped and immediately his courage deflated, shoulders slumped and he resumed his meek disposition. "Mother visits me frequently throughout the year...I have never returned to the capital since I was an infant...but I yearn to see bigger cities, exotic lands and foreign peoples. That is why I stowed away on the Mirabelle."

"Ah....yes. The presumptuousness of youth...I was about your age when I decided to leave home and pursue a life aboard the seas as well. However my intentions were far greedier...wanting to horde and amass a small fortune for myself no matter the cost before acquiring my own ship," Sebastiano chuckled.