Captive, Kidnapped by a Pirate [Inactive]

[Sansa Stark]

Before midday, all the ships had departed the harbor of New Castle and gone in their respective directions. Christopher felt complete on the open sea once again, but know they were on their way to Caister troubled him deeply. What would they see when they arrived? Was he wrong to send in this large ship without any backup, in case Lunaris was already a step ahead of them?


He entered the cabin without noticing who was there, the room was large enough for fifty people to hide within, and pinched the bridge of his nose. The Commodore was visibly stressed and he pulled off his shirt, revealing his scars once more, and sat at the table with a bottle of rum. He retrieved paper and a quill with ink. Slowly, he began to write.

 

[Lillian Gray]

"Christopher?" Adelaide made herself known to the Commodore, her steps slow as she approached the table. They'd been having a stressed relationship as of late, some days they fought, others they were social. She was beginning to be afraid of making him upset.


This might definitely bother him if I'm wrong.





The girl placed the book on the table between the two, expressionless. She glanced down at the paper he was writing on, struggling to read the script up side down. Surely he'd recognize the book, the same one he'd practically thrown from her grasp and forbade her to touch. There was no doubt in Adelaide's mind that they were both old, if not the same tome.


Maybe that's what he didn't want me to see? Inside?





Again, he let his scars show, her eyes lingered just above his arms. Raised, red and raw. A slave of Lunaris. He must have either been 'disobedient' or the corruption was worse than she'd imagined. Adelaide had been raised away from it all, the ignorance she possessed was so extreme she was ashamed. What could she have done?


"Good afternoon, Commodore." Adelaide addressed him politely and sat opposite of him at the table.

 

[Sansa Stark]

Christopher flicked his eyes up from the page he was writing on, glancing at the book with a blank expression. He stared at it for a moment until he looked back to his letter and continued, unbothered.


"Your Grace," he said with barely a nod of acknowledgment. "Apologies for the strip, I didn't know you were here."

 

[Lillian Gray]

"These are your quarters." She smirked. "You don't need to apologize."


Adelaide pushed the book forward slightly and laid her hands on the table. She knew he had something to do with it, just not what.


"Christopher." Adelaide spoke sternly and low. "I know it was you. Now where did you get this?"


Maybe he took it, maybe he kept it. She only wanted to know why in the world it was in his possession. Her friend had signed this copy when they were children, then it suddenly disappeared. Was it coincidence or an honest mistake?

 

[Sansa Stark]

He pushed out a frustrated sigh, wondering what it took for a Commodore to write a letter in peace.


"What have I done now to piss you off," he groaned as he placed the quill back in the well of ink. He looked down at the book and up to the queen again. "A book? Pretty low for a pirate. Was it the language that offended you, or the blatant pornography? Sorry. A man has his needs."

 

[Lillian Gray]

"This is a children's book you idiot." Adelaide wanted to smack him upside the head. She opened up to where her name was written. "A young boy gave this to me in New Castle. Suddenly your copy has gone missing."


She pressed one hand to the top of his paper, and gripped the end of his quill with the other. Adelaide wanted answers. He could hate her, she could hate him, but she wouldn't deal with a liar.


"Christopher, I know it was you." She scoffed. "I'm not an idiot."

 

[Sansa Stark]

"Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want my copy from the Siren brought over?" he asked, meeting her eyes with a look of frustration. "This is war now, Addy. Not time for pirate kings and lonely queens and adventures in far off lands. I don't have time for children's stories anymore."


He looked down at the quill and back up to her, waiting patiently for her to remove her grip on it.

 

[Lillian Gray]

"That's not the point." Adelaide said seriously. "Where did you get it?"


She removed her grasp from the quill, not wanting to anger him like she had the other night. Beheading a Queen, she still thought it was outrageous, and she still hadn't figured out what bothered him so.

 

[Sansa Stark]

"Found it," he said truthfully. "I'm a pirate, I take what I find even if it isn't mine. I was going through things on the Siren the other day and thought I'd have it given to you."


Christopher dipped the tip of the quill in the inkwell and continued to write, still not looking up at her. "Do you not want it?"

 

[Lillian Gray]

Did she? After all this time, she'd still clung to hope, and after all it turned out the boy was still dead. A pirate had stolen his book, an honest mistake it turned out to be. Adelaide sat back in her chair and sighed.


"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude." She apologized and picked up the book, her eyes drawn to the cover once more.


No, I don't want it anymore.





Adelaide stepped to the back of the ship, where a large window greeted her. Before, she thought having the window in the Captain's quarters was odd, but now she saw the beauty in it. The waves trailed behind them with the blue sky overlooking it's deep hue. She looked at the book again, making sure she knew what she was doing.


"It doesn't mean anything to me anymore." Adelaide admitted. "I just thought maybe if I had something to remind me of him, that he'd come back, but..." She opened the window carefully and took a deep breath. "He's not coming back."


I've been holding on for far too long. It's about time I let it go.





Just like that, she stuck her hands out the window and dropped the book into the sea. Memories, pleasant afternoons spent outside with him, they didn't mean anything anymore. She was only a child, and he was gone. Adelaide accepted that.


He's gone.

 

[Sansa Stark]

He heard the splash in the water and gave the smallest of smiles to himself. Christopher was caught in a range of emotions that he couldn't dissect and identify, but there was pride hidden there, somewhere, that she had finally moved on. Let go. Said goodbye to memories that would plague her rule or infect her judgment. She could marry a good man and provide the realm with what they needed, not the spawn of a pirate who was once a slave, beaten away from the only person he'd ever cared about.


"I hope you at least read it first," he chuckled, continuing his letter.

 

[Lillian Gray]

"I did." Adelaide confirmed, and returned to her spot at the table. Already a heavy burden felt lifted from her chest, the air was sweeter, lighter with each breath. Instead of sadness at his passing, she felt able and comfortable to move on and forget.


She glanced down at his letter while she drummed her fingers on the table. "Who are you writing?" She asked curiously. Adelaide herself had many declarations and letters to prepare. Cities and Lords needed to know she was alive, as well as denounce those who opposed her. Most importantly, there were people to promote. Such as her fine Commodore.

 

[Sansa Stark]

Christopher sighed and ran his fingers through his dishwater-blonde hair, which for once was out of the typical ponytail and hung just below the tops of his shoulders. "I'm telling Lunaris to go f*ck itself," he said honestly with a small grin. "A declaration of war. Don't know if I'll actually send the damn thing yet, but it's good practice."


Finally the Commodore lifted his sea blue eyes to his queen, a blank expression within them. "What are you really doing here, Addy?"

 

[Lillian Gray]

"Well, I was doing some reading." She admitted. It wasn't a lie, really. Embarrassed, she added why she was studying so hard, her face flushing pink, "I'm so ignorant about what's really going on, so I was trying to learn. Who's enemies with who, what Lunaris has really done.: She sighed, and pressed her hand to her forehead. "I wasn't sure who to ask, I didn't want anyone to worry about it though."


Adelaide wiped her face with both hands before placing them back on the table. She played with her family ring, the crest she'd signed each letter with.


"If you like, I'd be happy to sign that for you." She teased, holding up the ring carefully.

 

[Sansa Stark]

"I thought you would've known what Lunaris is capable of by now, but if you need a little convincing I'd be happy to turn this boat around and drop you off there. Maybe I'll gift-wrap you first." Christopher finished his letter an looked at it, reading it over several times in his mind before crumbling it up in a ball and throwing it across the room.


"Blast it all. Letters are too formal for a pirate. I'll declare my war when my ships are at their gates and blowing their shrines to pieces."

 

[Lillian Gray]

Adelaide was far too used to how crude he was to respond with shock. She rolled her eyes, resting her head in her hand lazily. "That's not what I meant you idiot. I have no idea what else they've done. They've been killing Hunter's people, I didn't know that. They're trying to kill the Everette line, I didn't know that. But if you don't want to help, you could've just said so."


She paced to her trunk of things and dug out something. It was a little extra treat she'd snuck out of the castle before the pirates could get their hands on it. A reward, of sorts, for the new Commodore. Adelaide set it on the table in front of Christopher.


"Here. Take it. I forgot to give it to you in New Castle." It was her favorite brand of wine, a fresh unopened bottle hidden in the Lord's room. She wanted to keep it, but, Christopher deserved it far more than she did, even if she still thought he was an ass.

 

[Sansa Stark]

"Now now," he said, pointing a finger in her direction. "Name-calling isn't very nice, you know." Christopher propped his feet up on the gilded table and watched her walk from one side of the room to the other, careful, knowing how unpredictable she had grown to be.





When the bottle of wine was placed before him, the pirate couldn't help but smile. He picked it up and read the label, brushing his thumbs along the glass like a caress for a lover.


"Share it with me."

 

[Lillian Gray]

"I couldn't." She waved her hands in front of her to dismiss the thought. "You're the one who captured the city, so it's yours, Commodore." Adelaide curtsied politely in her pirate clothes. She wanted him to have it, even if, again, he was an ass.


Still, she slowly took her place in a chair closer to his side. Her eyes automatically trailed to his scars, but she was more able to ignore them with the thought of the Divino wine in front of them.


"Divino is an old family brand." Adelaide informed the Captain. "It's incredibly popular among Royals, and very, very expensive."

 

[Sansa Stark]

Christopher rose from his seat and opened a cabinet across from him, taking out fine crystal glasses and laughing. "I bet Lunaris is pissing themselves in knowing we have one of their flagships. Gods, look at this bloody crystal. Brilliant. Maybe I'll spit in one later just to spite them." He placed the two glass goblets in front of the queen and himself, taking his seat once again and uncorking the wine.


"How many cellars of this stuff do you think is buried underneath Lunaris?"

 

[Lillian Gray]

"Hundreds." Adelaide picked up the crystal before Christopher could fill it. He wanted to spit in it, whereas she might accidentally smash it against the table. Lunaris had fine things, it would be fun to take it in such a harsh manner, but she resisted and set the glass back down.


"Roselake, it's East of Lunaris, that's where the wine is made. So, honestly, I'm sure much of it is stored in Lunaris." She stated. "The vineyards are the only thing you can see in Roselake, it's supposed to be heavenly."


Adelaide smiled, her eyes setting on the wine bottle. She was dying to visit the town, it was written on her face, but she didn't dare ask because of how important taking back the throne was. There was no point in making silly side trips just so she could see where they made wine.

 

[Sansa Stark]

"You'll see it someday, probably." Christopher filled up his glass and took a long drink, humming in pleasure as he pulled his lips from it. "F*ck me, that's good wine. I'm much more of an ale and rum man, but this? I could get used to it." There was something he liked about drinking the best wine Lunaris had to offer, certain they would consider it wasteful on a pirate such as himself, but he paid no mind to what some washed-up dictator halfway across the world thought of his drinking habits.

 

[Lillian Gray]

"We'll see." Adelaide held out her glass, eyebrows raised. "Are you going to pour your Queen a glass, or does she half to do it herself?" She waited for a brief second before giggling and grabbing the bottle herself. "I'm capable."


She didn't fill it up all the way, seeing as it was Christopher's reward and not her own. The scent of the fine wine rose up into the air and she inhaled it before sipping neatly from the fine crystal. She never imagined this would be where she'd enjoy the wine again, but, the atmosphere was good, and the company not so bad.


"I could declare that a few cases be shipped to Caister." Adelaide joked, again fiddling with the ring on her finger. "But that might be an abuse of power."

 

[Sansa Stark]

He gave a small laugh. "Lunaris would send you a box of heads instead of wine, but you could try." Christopher refilled his glass and took another long drink. He remembered how her father used to drink such wine in front of the men slave masters, taunting them, pouring it on the ground in front of their faces to try and get them angry, to rebel, to set themselves up for slaughter.

 

[Lillian Gray]

Adelaide set her glass aside and let out a little laugh. "Probably." She glanced towards Christopher once. "Did the Lord even say why they want to kill me?"


Christopher was the only one who'd heard the story in full from the mouth of the Lord. No one else had bothered to explain it to Addy, thinking she must've known in some way, but truth be told, she hadn't the slightest idea. She only assumed Lunaris was after the crown, which they were, but besides that she was in the dark.

 

[Sansa Stark]

"Something about a book," he replied with a shrug. "Who knows. Can't do much to investigate further here, may as well wait until we reach Caister. So much shit to do there, get you on your throne, marry you off to some lord whose army we need, overthrow Lunaris, find this bloody book they're all going on about...gods, and I thought I was going to live a simple life." Christopher took a long drink of his wine and leaned back a bit, eyeing the moving skyline out the open window.