Warrior's Heart

Off With His Head

-James-

They pushed me down on the deck of the ship, three of them all attempting to hold me down at once. I was putting up a pretty good fight, although I was still outnumbered and bound in robe. The guy who had knocked me out on the beach that day - I assumed he was the captain of the ship - was standing in front of me with a long knife in his hands.

"Get him secure," the captain growled.

After a moment of struggling, they had me bound hand and foot, holding me to the wooden planks of the ship.

"Secure, sir," one chided.

The captain stepped forwards, gripping a fistful of my long hair in his hand.

"I swear on whatever you find holy that if you cut off my hair, I will cut off your head," I snarled.

He laughed, shooting back sarcastically, "Oh I'm so scared."

He began sawing my long locks from my skull, shaving it nearly to the scalp. I tensed as he did so, my teeth grinding together. If he seriously thought I wouldn't uphold my oath, he was sorely mistaken.

Once he finished, he stood, "See? That wasn't so bad."

The men who were holding me had relaxed a bit during the haircut, perhaps because I had stopped struggling. This was their first mistake. I heaved upwards with all my strength, throwing them back. They cried out in surprise, leaping back. Before anyone had a chance to react, I had pushed myself to my feet (which is extremely difficult when your ankles are tied together, I might add), jammed my hands into a rather sensitive place on the captain's body, causing him to drop the knife, picked up the knife before he had a chance to react, and held it to his throat. Everyone froze.

"Now, let's not make any hasty decisions!" The captain's eyes were wide and filled with fear.

It only took one decisive stroke, and he was laying on the deck in a pool of blood, gurgling noises issuing from him as he died. The other crew members gasped, backing away in fear.

"Now," I began, turning to them. The bloody knife was still clutched in my fingers, "One of you go below and free the prisoners, the other one alter our course towards Estraleon." I used the knife to cut through the rope bindings.

"Why do you want to go to Estraleon?" One of them asked.

I glared at him, "That's my business, not yours. Now go do as I said."

Two of them left, leaving the third. The third seemed scared out of his wits, obviously younger and less experienced than the others.

"Do you know anything about an Estraleon prince kidnapped from the capital some years ago?" I raised an eyebrow, watching the young man.

He thought for a moment before shakily replying, "I believe that Hugh was bragging about having caught an Estraleon prince several years back."

"Which one is Hugh?" I frowned, wondering if it truly could have been Merun's brother. That really did seem quite the stroke of luck.

"The one you sent down to free the prisoners," the young man said.

"Thank you," I smiled at him, "And what is your name?"

He blushed faintly, clasping his hands behind his back, "I'm Raz."

"Pleasure to meet you, Raz," I clapped him on the shoulder and went to find Hugh.

-Merun-

Justin was already driving me nuts. He kept pestering me about what my plan was and how I seriously thought I could get all the way to Illeium without my father's soldiers dragging me back.

"Please, shut up," I finally groaned as he once again claimed that the Estraleon soldiers were already on their way.

"Why?" Justin questioned, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's the truth."

"I'm going to throttle you if you don't shut up," I growled. He finally shut his mouth. After all, it wouldn't be too long until I was back on the open seas, bound for Illeium.

I found myself thinking about James. How was he faring? Hopefully better than I was.

-James-

Hugh informed me that he, along with some other slave traders, had worked together to capture Merun's brother. He also explained that they hadn't known who he was at the time, otherwise they would have ransomed him back to the crown.

I hoped that Merun was doing well. He was most likely already in Illeium, perhaps he even already found his brother. Even so, I needed to deliver the ship to Estraleon, since most of the prisoners aboard the ship were originally from there. Then, I was undecided on what to do.

Should I look for Merun, or have these idiots take me back home? I knew Merun would eventually come back to me, as promised, but I didn't know how long that would be. As of right now, my people were presumably safe, having successfully evaded the slavers. But what if they actually weren't? I had to be certain, but I also wanted to be sure that Merun was safe and taken care of.

We were over halfway to Estraleon already, and it would only be a couple of days before we arrived. I had never been there, and was somewhat uneasy about it. Merun had told me a lot, but a dwelling that large and different than my own would be difficult to accustom to.

I tried to get some sleep, though it came with difficulty. Finally, I slipped into some uneasy dreams.

-Merun-

We had only been out to sea for a few days, and Justin was draped over the side of the boat, puking his guts up. He'd been doing this since we boarded the boat. I stood next to him, unaffectionately patting his back. Poor guy was useless.

It was early in the morning, but I had already spotted another inbound ship on the horizon. It looked big enough to be a cargo vessel, perhaps importing goods from Illeium or Merisen. I didn't pay much attention to it until it was alongside our own.

Then, to my surprise, I heard someone call my name.

"Merun!" The voice called. I looked up, spotting a dark-skinned man pressed against the railing of the other ship, waving his arms.

My eyes widened in shock, "James?!"

James turned around, speaking to the crew members aboard the ship. They, in turn, ran about doing whatever it was he had said.

"Who is he?" Justin asked.

I grinned, "A good friend."