The Princess and The Pirate
Chapter 31

It was days before Jacqueline opened her eyes. Some compulsion roused her from a black, dreamless sleep. Stones, the cold water, the sensation of being suffocated…

With a curt shout, the Princess shot awake, instantly regretting it. Whining, she held her chest. It ached something awful. A long muslin bandage was wrapped across her ribs accompanied with many bruises, decorating her skin.

It hurt to breathe. The pain was stubborn and tight; the bones in her chest creaked and popped with ever inhalation.

“M’lady! You’re awake!” shouted a woman across the room. She was dressed in white with a motherly look about her. She was a nurse.

Jacqueline held the side of her head, wincing at the noise. She was wearing clothes. She was in a soft bed, within a beautiful room. This wasn’t the church or the river at all! Was this Heaven? It very well could have been. It was a welcomed contrast to the woods and dirt.

“Quickly, go tell the master,” the nurse commented to a handmaiden, shoving her out of the room. “Thank the stars! We were beginning to worry about you!” She came over, pulling the sheets away from the drowsy girl.

“Where am I? W-what is this…” Jacqueline went to lift the bandage across the top part of her chest, recalling being cut. The nurse gently stopped her, grabbing her hands with a soft but stern shake of the head.

“No. Don’t look at it,” the kind woman frowned. “You’ll have forever to look at it. Let it heal more before you get familiar with it.”

The Princess blinked, looking at the bandage. Now she had a souvenir from the adventure. Jacqueline left well enough alone and lowered her hands obediently.

This brought back the nurse’s smile. “You’re in the home of Lord Regent Eustace

Masse. He has dominion over this province.” She offered the Princess a hand to help her to her feet. “He’s a friend of Rocqueburne.”

I know of this man, Jacqueline thought while taking the help. Pain shot up and down her front, making her take shallow breaths to minimize any unnecessary breathing. She wore a long white nightgown and she ran her free hand along the fabric. It was exceptionally soft.

Her parents and Eustace had trade agreements. His main export was wool, or maybe cotton, or something like that. Now she wished she had paid attention during those long, boring, soul-sucking meetings.

“My companion, is he here?” she asked as the nurse led her to have a seat at the vanity. Sitting hurt and she squeaked at the pain.

Picking up a brush, the nurse smiled warmly. “That gentleman is still here, although I think not for much longer.” She gently brushed through Jacqueline’s long red hair.

“Oh, why?” the Princess said quickly, looking at the woman’s reflection in the mirror. Was she concerned? Where would he go? What did he possibly need to do (aside from getting his life back on track)?

The nurse wasn’t stupid. She picked up on Jacqueline’s sudden concern. Smiling, she continued brushing. “Those two have had the most awkward dinners and don’t seem to enjoy one another’s company. Too much ego between the two of them. I dare say this castle can’t hold them both.”

Jacqueline suppressed a grin. She went to slouch but her ribs said otherwise. The painful shock kept her perfectly upright.

“He was here you know. Kept sitting in that chair over there,” the nurse motioned with the brush to a window seat. Reflecting, Jacqueline blushed a bit, both comforted and embarrassed.

The door to her quarters opened and the same handmaiden reappeared. “The master is exceptionally happy to hear about your recovery.” She held a large blue garment in her arms. The massive pile of fabric nearly overpowered the servant. “He offers you a change of clothes and when you’re decent, he would like to meet you in his study.”

It then dawned on her that she had been stark naked in the river. Softly shutting her eyes, the girlish blush turning into a dark scarlet hue, she just smiled politely. “T-thank you.”

The girl laid the dress on the bed. It was a beautiful piece of layered baby blue fabrics and black lace. Even within the muted light of the bedroom, it still had a unique shine. She put down a pair of shoes and a pair of new stockings, gave a curtsy, and left.

It was just like home, but Jacqueline wore a neutral expression at the thought. “Can I see him?”

“The master? Yes, but let’s get you proper first,” replied the nurse, who was now braiding some of the Princess’s hair.

“Well, ah, yes, him too, but I meant my friend…” Oh, now Kyle was her friend, was he? “I’d hate for him to worry anymore.” Was that really her excuse?

The nurse was unconcerned with her request. “I’m sure he’s around,” was all she said on the matter and she went back to Jacqueline’s hair.

It really hurt her ribs to wear something so tight. Its front cut was generously low, able to reveal her large bandage. The back was also low cut, dipping well below her shoulder blades, revealing more skin than she thought appropriate for meeting a man for the first time. But, it truly was a stunning dress, and furthermore, a gift.

Polite society dictated she wear it with a smile.

The stockings were simple enough and it felt weird to wear heels after a week of being completely shoeless, but with the nurse’s help, she crammed her feet into the cruel things.

“Have you heard anything of my family?” Jacqueline piped up, curling her toes in the shoes.

“No, m’lady,” was the short answer she always got. Any question she asked received nothing. It was either, No m’lady, or I don’t know, or I hadn’t heard. They were clearly avoidant replies and that frustrated the Princess to no end.

It was just like home, being fit into and sealed into something, but told nothing, like a doll. When the operation was said and done, she looked back to her old self. Regal, a member of court, back where she belonged, and all she wanted to do was rip it off. As bad as the result was, she longed to be naked in the river again, not stitched together with ribbons, but she hadn’t forgotten how to grin and bear it. One can take the woman out of the court, but not the court out of the woman.

The nurse had a sunny disposition as she led the Princess down the hall. She hummed and smoothed the wrinkles in her apron. With the exception of her humming, the whole house seemed silent. Perhaps silence wasn’t the right word, it was more as if the walls were listening, awaiting sound. The evening lamps were already lit, the flames coiling straight up, untouched by any breeze.

The two came to a set of large oak doors, brilliantly crafted and glossed to a high polish. This regent had taste, albeit a tad on the opulent side. Pushing open the doors, the nurse gave soft little bow. “M’lord, Princess Jacqueline of Rocqueburne.”

A man stood in a formal white nobleman’s outfit with a deep blue sash across his chest. He was dressed with all sorts of metals and golden adornments. Decorated and refined, he gave a warm smile to his guest. He had salt-and-pepper hair, perhaps in his late fifties. His skin was on the tanner side, obviously a fan of being outdoors.

His study was full of mounted heads: bucks, bears, and wolves. He really, really liked hunting. A fire popped quietly in the hearth, sending a few wayward sparks uncomfortably close to a zebra rug laid out before the stone.

“My God, you’re beautiful. A radiant image of Aphrodite herself,” Eustace said, making his way over to Jacqueline. Taking her hand gently, kissing her knuckles, he then ushered her into his personal space.

He smiled to himself. She was alive! This was proof enough that Rocqueburne’s monarchy had ulterior motives. And the proof was right here!

“Your hospitality is unprecedented. I imagine you found me in quite a state,” Jacqueline replied as the doors came softly shut behind them. She discretely removed her hand from his, politely.

Offering her a seat, he walked over to his liquor cabinet, which was right next to his gun cabinet, “It’s not every day I replace a naked princess, half drowned in a river, while on a pheasant hunt, if I may be so forward. Drink?” He held up a second highball glass.

The Princess blushed, gripping and twirling the fabric of her dress. “No, thank you. Indeed, I can imagine it was quite a sight.”

“Quite,” Eustace said with a cheeky grin, returning to his chair with a glass of scotch.

Jacqueline blushed more. “You must have a lot of questions.”

Taking a sip, he shook his head, waving his hand at her. “No, no. Your escort filled us in on the details.” He spit a piece of ice back into his cup. Escort. Cute. He knew what Kyle was, and more importantly, who Kyle was, but that only made him easier to deal with. What did pirates want? Gold. Jewels. Payment.

However, he had to stay on Jacqueline’s good side. Playing dumb would assure that.

Oblivious, the Princess didn’t correct him. In fact, she just stayed quiet, not wanting to cause any inconstancies in Kyle’s story. Now she was protecting him?

“Have you heard anything about my parents?” Changing the subject, she gently rested her hand on the armrest. The regent was part of the empire’s court, surely he had heard something!

Indeed, he had heard a lot. Jacqueline’s death, Lillian’s coronation—which he had been invited to—and her father’s passing. Oh, he had been quite in the know, but as he stirred the scotch in his glass, he just frowned.

“Not much, I’m afraid, just that your parents are worried sick. They’ll be glad to have you home.”

She turned her head slightly, looking this man up and down. What she vaguely suspected and what she assumed didn’t exactly equate to what he was saying. Worried sick? They never sent a reply. Assassins didn’t suggest worry. However, she wasn’t about to share her feelings.

Jacqueline slowly stood up and made her way to the large fireplace, just wishing to be warm. “I’m sure you’ll be handsomely rewarded.” That’s always what it was about with these people. Reward.

He leaned back in his chair. “I have a few ideas if you’re willing to listen.”

She rolled her eyes slightly at the flames and called over her shoulder, “Why tell me? Why not tell the Queen or the King?”

The old man chuckled, taking another sip. “Because, my beautiful girl, you will be a queen one day. You might as well start hearing the requests of old men.” He kept the glass against his lower lip, sliding his eyes down the silhouette of the Princess, admiring how her back curved, how the dress hugged her skin. The fire played tricks with her body’s shadow.

Jacqueline nodded to the side. “Alright, what did you have in mind?”

Eustace wasn’t about to let her in on the unlimited line of credit he had already pledged to Rocqueburne’s war. Although, having their flesh and blood in his very house meant he may have to rethink his terms. “Twenty-five percent of Rocqueburne’s wheat exports for ten years.”

Jacqueline quickly turned to look at the confident old man, twisting her brow inwards. “Twenty-five?! People will starve. No, absolutely not. I will walk the rest of the way,” and she turned back to the fire.

He grinned, crunching an ice cube in his teeth. “You’re cute when you’re annoyed.”

“What else did you have in mind, m’lord?”

“No dock tax on any of my shipments, indefinitely,” Eustace retorted, placing the glass on the short table beside his chair.

“Taxes are how we keep our revenue up,” Jacqueline replied, repeating her mother’s own words verbatim. Taking a second, the Regent watched the Princess mutter and look at her fingers, seeming to calculate. “Twelve percent of the wheat is what can be sacrificed, for ten years, at least. And I think merely paying a toll, rather than all the port fees, is completely privilege commerce, especially if the agreement will live on in perpetuity.” That would work, at least in theory. Feeding the people and paying the laborers came before paying any social debts between houses. What good was a rioting, hungry kingdom?

Standing, the Regent tapped his chin, but took two long strides, standing directly behind the Princess. He put his hands on her bare shoulders, feeling how warm she was from the fire.

“You’re more than a pretty face, doing math and telling men no,” Eustace chuckled again at her lively spirit. “I have one more idea, if you’d hear me?”

Jacqueline swallowed dryly. There was nowhere to go. He wasn’t unfriendly, but perhaps too friendly.

“I’ve never been lucky in love. I have no heirs and no wife. People think me peculiar for it,” he started, lowering his head to her neck. One of his fingertips slid from the Princess’s shoulder blades along the exposed flesh of her back.

In return, Jacqueline put her fingers on his other hand with the intent of removing it.

“And people whisper that you yourself don’t have a suitor. They’re calling you finicky and stub—”

A shout interrupted his proposition.

“You can’t go in there!”

“Shove it, lady.”

Kyle forced the doors open with a violent shove. The nurse was right behind him.

“I heard you were…” he started. His hair was combed. He had a new jacket, a better fitting shirt, pants, and boots. There was even a new sword on his hip.

“I’m sorry, m’lord, he just pushed passed me!” the lady whined.

Kyle paused, observing the recovered princess. Jacqueline was beautiful, looking alive and dressed in clothes equal to her station. Her hair caught the light of the fire, seeming like an extension of the element. The blue of the dress made her look so bright in such a dimly lit room, akin to a lighthouse on a stormy night.

But that damned regent was touching her. And was she touching him? Suddenly those two were best buddies? Was he interrupting something intimate?

“…Awake.” Well wasn’t that a bitch. All “high society” was the same. He looked away, fuming. Right. He was a pirate, he was paid the damn ransom, so he had no more business here, right? She was free to have whatever intimate conversations, in front of fireplaces, on zebra skin rugs, she wanted.

Jacqueline wasn’t his problem anymore.

Eustace looked back, turning from Jacqueline to look at the Captain. He kept his hand protectively on her shoulder. “As you can see, she’s with her own again. You’ve got your reward. You’re free to go.”

Jacqueline turned around to see Kyle in his decent new clothes and looked skeptically to the profile of the old man. “Reward?”

“Oh yes. I paid your ransom, which he gladly accepted. It’s sweet really, just wanting to make sure he didn’t give you irreversible brain damage,” the Regent said snidely in the Captain’s direction. “I guess pirates do have some semblance of a soul, caring about the things they break.”

Kyle twisted his mouth to the left. What was he still doing here? What had he expected to happen? He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’m happy you’re alright.” Then he turned and left, knocking the nurse with his shoulder upon his exit.

“Wait! Kyle!” Jacqueline pushed off the Regent’s hand, picked up her skirts, and walked quickly after him. She couldn’t run. Her ribs wouldn’t allow it. Eustace snorted, curling his fingers into a quiet fist.

The captain was already down the hall, trotting down the stairs.

He should have just left when the Regent shoved that chest of wealth into his hands. Leave, and never come back. This is what you want, right? I’ll overlook all your discrepancies; take what you want and leave. Dammit, he just wanted to see if she was alright. Jacqueline had looked quite dead! She was so utterly still in that bed for days. Surely the Regent wouldn’t have kept her if she was incapacitated for the rest of her life.

Or… maybe he would. The thought made Kyle clutch the hilt of his sword so hard the leather of his new gloves squeaked. What happened in the Sleeping Beauty story again? She didn’t wake up until her second child?

“Kyle!”

Now he knew she was alright. In fact, she was more than alright! She was already fraternizing intimately with her new knight in shining armor. That’s all royalty were: opportunists. Just like in the church, she saw a fraction of weakness and exploited it.

“Please wait!” Jacqueline put her hand against her ribs, wincing at her labored breathing.

He cut across the lobby of the castle, ignoring the Princess’s pleas. She was where she belonged.

Outside the servants were preparing the Captain’s horse by placing bulging bags on either side of his saddle. Loot. More than enough to repair his ship. Hell, it was even enough to buy a new ship along with a comfortable stay in Paradiso and a few warm girls to forget about this nightmare.

“Don’t make me beg,” she called out loudly.

“Not used to it?” he snapped back from the doorway.

Jacqueline looked at him, listening to the bags of gold being loaded onto his steed. “Let’s talk.”

“Obviously, it’s not me you wanted to talk to.”

“I asked for you.” Really? He got paid and now he was just leaving?

“Uh huh,” he said, walking towards his horse, “I hope your mess gets sorted.”

“I don’t wish to stay here.” She grabbed his hand, trying to stop him. “Please don’t leave. I don’t wish for you to go.”

No way. No, whatever was going on here, he was not going to be a part of it. “Princess, let me explain something to you,” Kyle said, towering over her. “Your ransom has been paid,” he said, just to sound mean while looking down his nose at her, “I got all I wanted from you.”

This comment caused her eyes to water. He knew it would hurt her.

Kyle inhaled slightly, seeing her beauty fracture with a sad expression, like a porcelain doll. There was something very genuine about her stare; she did want him to stay and he felt the compulsion to linger. Her heaving and heavy breathing had caused red spots to appear on her bandage, the gash opening at all the action.

God, he was good at breaking her. He just needed to leave before the screaming voice in his head convinced him otherwise.

Jacqueline curled her head back slightly, lessening her grip. “But who will protect me?”

“Use your talents. That convinced me.” He spoke blankly while looking to her glossy lips. He just wanted to kiss her, but they weren’t alone. The captain pulled his arm away. “Looks like they’re already working,” Kyle motioned with his eyes to the Regent lurking at the top of the stairs, watching them.

He needed to leave. In this life—her life—of hierarchies, expectations and scrutiny, they’d never have privacy. Whatever was between them, they couldn’t have.

Turning to his horse, Kyle grabbed the reins and put his boot in the stirrup, swinging himself into the saddle. She’d be happy, he told himself.

“Please don’t leave me here,” Jacqueline whispered quietly, suppressing a tremble as she clutched her hands together.

Kyle clicked his tongue and kicked the horse hard. The creature bolted off gracefully, the gold clinking together in time to the hooves.

Frozen to the spot, the Princess stood there watching him disappear into the distance. The moon was rising over the tops of the pine trees and he was easily lost in the darkness. She took in a staggered breath, a cold wind brushing her hair back. The hems of her dress softly bellowed against the marble floor.

“My dearest,” started Eustace as he slowly descended the stairs, “come back inside, or you’ll catch your death.” Coming behind her, he softly grabbed Jacqueline around the waist, planting a soft kiss on the cold skin of her neck. He looked out to the beautiful night, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“So, as I was saying. Miss Rocqueburne, will you be my wife, making me the happiest man in the world?”

Oh, right, and a king.