Dixon had already sweet-talked a captain into sailing them over to the Dead Islands. She waited upon the boat at the docks anxiously and alone; Nehemia was not to come with them.
When Nesryn reached the small boat, she stepped aside to let the others on first. The boat captain stared. Even in rags and deliberately muddied faces, the crown prince was still recognisable. They were lucky they hadn't bumped into any patrols yet.
Nesryn stalked forward and leaned in to the captain's ear. 'If I hear you report this to anyone, you're dead. Get your ass moving and go.' The captain was startled into action, and he hurried to the wheel. 'Get into a cabin. Don't come above decks,' she ordered Dorian. 'Chaol and Ress, you can stay up here if you want, but Dorian, get out of view now. We can't afford to have boats on our tail.'
~
Dixon sat in her cabin, hand folded neatly in her lap as she gazed out of the port hole. The boat had began to judder away from the docks, and gentle waves lapped at the glass.
She wished she were with Lysandra right now. The courtesan had been a lovely friend - and Dixon felt quite lonely without her. Too bad she couldn't accompany Lysandra and Ren to the Ruhn Mountains where the Wolf of the North, General Ashryver, would be beginning his journey back to Rifthold.
Instead she'd been asked by Nehemia to join four other rebels in the hope of forming an allegiance with the Pirate Lord. A privilege, considering she once had been a nobody from Melisande, she supposed.
The door swung open and she jumped. A man with a head of raven coloured hair and eyes as blue as ice walked it - then stopped upon seeing her. He wore rags that the beggars wore - and his face was smudged with mud.
Dixon scrambled to her feet and bowed. 'Your-'
The crown prince laughed. 'Get up.' The order wasn't harsh or rude in the least, and his voice was kind, yet she still blushed as she rose to her feet.
'I didn't know you would be joining us.'
He laughed again and sat down on the bunk opposite hers. 'I didn't know, either.'
She cocked her head curiously. 'Why are you here?' Then as if remembering her place, she suddenly ducked her head and drew back.
'Please don't do that,' the prince said, embarrassed. 'I don't mind. Curiosity is good, and I often don't get to talk much to others.'
Dixon kept silent.
'What's your name?' the prince asked.
'Oh- I- I'm Dixon.'
He smiled. 'That's a very nice name, and I don't mean it in the way that I say to court ladies. It has a very unique ring to it. You're also very beautiful.'
A/N: too bad he's gay
Dixon's cheeks burned, and she wanted nothing better to drag her hair in front on her eyes as a curtain. Her hands wandered up to fiddle with stray strands of long, black hair.
'How old are you, Dixon?'
'Sixteen,' she replied nervously. There was a three year age difference between them.
The prince loosened a breath. 'That's very young.'
'You're young, too, and you have a burden which is much bigger than mine,' she said. She didn't realise she'd said it out loud till she found the prince staring at her. She panicked. 'What- What is your name?'
'Dorian,' he replied calmly, blue eyes amused. 'You can call me that, by the way. Forget the formalities.' But every inch of him reeked of royalty, even with these clothes on.
'If you want to blend in,' she found herself saying, 'then don't sit so straight. Slouch a bit more, and don't enunciate each word so clearly when you speak.' Inside, she was screaming. Who was she to tell the crown prince what to do?
But Dorian grinned. 'Alright.' He relaxed, and his shoulders dropped - barely, but the difference was noticeable.
'Don't hold yourself... high. Most people look towards the ground, and often catching one's eye is a trap.'
'Your use of the common tongue is very sophisticated,' Dorian commented. 'Did you ever receive education?'
The blush rose once again. Dixon shook her head. 'I'm a pocket thief.'
Why did you say that, you idiot?
But all she got in reply was, 'I'm sorry you had to live that life.'
Dixon dropped her hands and looked at the man opposite her. The crown prince was good. He was kind, and not corrupt. He was not arrogant, nor ignorant. Perhaps this journey wouldn't be as boring as she'd thought it to be, if she had someone, a friend, to talk to.
'So, how-'
Her words were interrupted as the door flew open a second time. 'Ah, good, you're here,' Nesryn said to Dorian.
Dixon didn't want to lie; she honestly found Nesryn rather intimidating. 'The captain says the journey will last around a month, two if the weather treats us horribly. The timing is good, and it leaves us with enough time to make further plans. But we have no communication with Nehemia now. I'd say you can get comfortable for a couple of weeks.' She glanced at Dixon. 'I'll leave you to continue your talk. Dorian, please remember this is not your room. You're sharing with Chaol the room at end of the corridor.' Then she closed the door.
Dorian looked at Dixon. 'She was my Champion. Do you find her scary sometimes?'
'Yes,' Dixon admitted meekly. 'I do.'
Outside, the wind breezed across the vast ocean, and the water bled crimson as the sun began to set behind the horizon.
~
The general and the Bane travelled quicker than any of them had anticipated. Word had it that the legion was already camping in Oakwald. That meant they didn't have long to convince the general to go against the king's order and move up north instead.
The plan was to have everyone group in Perranth. 'Everyone' meaning the rebels of Adarlan, the Silent Assassins, Briarcliff, the pirates of Skulls Bay, the Bane, and Aelin Galathynius herself. Gods. Celaena Sardothien, that sassy, spoilt, bitch assassin hopefully-soon-to-be-friends was the long lost princess.
As they rode, dusk soon fell, drowning the trees in orange and yellow.
Lysandra began to nod slowly, grip slackening on her reins. A hand touched her arm briefly and her eyes snapped open. Ren watched her, sympathy filling his eyes. 'Shall we stop here for today? We've been riding all day, you must be exhausted.'
'Finding the general is priority,' she managed to get out.
It went quiet all of a sudden - and the temperature seemed to drop, chilling her bones. A flaming torch flickered in the corner of her vision.
'No need for that,' a low, male voice said. 'I'm already here.'
Lysandra was fully awake now and panic began to grip her limbs as a man, powerfully built, emerged from the foliage. He was pointing a sword at Ren.
Aedion Ashryver smiled lazily, turquoise-gold eyes boring into Lysandra's own. They were cold and his mouth was ruthless and hard.
'Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you both right now.'
[2101XX]
yes remember aedion is an asshole at first
and meet a new character bc we won't be seeing yrene or falkan or elide here
she has elide's hair and yrene's hair
hope you enjoyed !