5

Ainsley stayed in the hold until the expanse of sky turned dusky and a few stars lit up the horizon. The day's work was beginning to wind down; the princess' home country disappearing against the dark sea. Gael stopped briefly to peer down the open hatch. There was no movement—she could only assume the girl had fallen asleep, probably worn out from such an eventful day. She briefly considered going down and checking on her, then decided against it and gently eased the hatch shut in case of heavy waves or rainfall during the night.

The captain entered the galley and found Nathe seated at the wooden table, a flask of alcohol in front of him. The seaman gave her a nod as she entered and she sat down across from him, work-rough hands folded in front of her.

"Did y' leave the whelp at the helm?"

She smiled faintly. "Ed can handle the Finch, Nathe. He's done it before."

"Kid's half my years."

"Half your size, too."

"Exactly."

She let out a weary sigh and a chuckle and tipped her forehead against the rough, splintered surface. Nathe spoke again.

"And the princess?"

She lifted her head. "What about her?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Is she what's got you all worked up?"

She pushed herself off the edge of the table and sat up straighter. "I am not worked up, Nathe, though I appreciate the concern. I'm tired, however."

"Hm. Could'a sworn somethin' about this whole thing had you upset."

She paused, shoulders slumping, then rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "That may be true," she admitted, reaching over and taking his flask. She downed a gulp and passed it back, the strong taste burning her throat. "It's only—" she waved a hand in the air in a vague gesture. "I can't stop thinking about Ackerley. The king. He offered us his daughter... why?"

"'Cause he's shitty. Gotta say, Captain, I thought you were more observant than this."

She found herself laughing faintly. "I do agree, Nathe, you know that. I suppose it's somewhat shocking, is all. I can't imagine any parent willfully giving their child up to pirates."

"Well, yours sure didn't, did they?"

She grinned. "No. They did it quite unwillingly, in fact." She sobered. "But the princess is so young."

"You can't be much older than her yourself, Cap. You may as well be a child."

"Careful, officer. I may have to punish you for insubordination with that sort of talk."

The smile she offered him told him she was joking.

"It's different, though."

She didn't explain that any further, but she didn't need to for Nathe to understand. He let out a single-syllable hmm of agreement, bouncing the base of his flask against the table.

"Well, Captain, if you're so sure Ed can handle the ship, you may as well go put your worries to bed for the night."

"You'll take over for him yet?"

"Of course. I'll wake up some more of the crew if anythin' needs to be done around here during the night, too."

"Thank you, Nathe. I couldn't manage this without you."

"I have been here several more years, so I'd hope y'havent gotten better than me yet."

She grinned and stood up, stepping over the bench that was bolted down to the floor. "Goodnight, Nathe."

"Goodnight, Gael."

—

Gael woke up early, before the sun had fully cleared the horizon. The sky was a soft pink, reflecting against the water that lapped against the Finch's hull. The captain emerged on the deck of the ship to find it already bustling with life, as per usual. Everyone rose early to do their part in the work that maintaining a ship required, and at that moment men were busy adjusting the sails, scouring all the equipment for damage that had gone unnoticed, and generally taking part in any of the routine chores.

The sound of a feminine voice, strange amidst the sounds of the men rushing to a fro, caught Gael's attention. Ainsley was there at the edge of the deck, talking to Nathe. He answered, words inaudible, then looked up and waved Gael over. She went to meet them, catching some of the conversation.

"There she is. Captain, the princess was lookin' for you."

Ainsley's light eyes met hers. Her tone was brusque when she talked.

"I'd like to work with the crew. Tell me what needs to be done."

Gael arched an eyebrow, mildly surprised. "I'm not sure about that. Your father would kill me if he found out I was putting you to work like a common crew member."

The princess' chin was lifted. "I'm volunteering. He can't do a thing about it even if he doesn't find out." Her expression changed slightly. "Please. I need to do something."

Gael sighed. She wasn't offering out of any duty to help, she knew. But to be bored all day, left alone to one's thoughts, was in many ways a lot worse than having a way to be kept busy. She relented. "Fine." She tipped her head towards her officer. "Nathe, you're in charge of giving her work to do around the ship. Nothing difficult, understand?"

Annoyance flashed across Ainsley's face, but she knew better than to try and push it. Nathe nodded and was about to gesture Ainsley away when Gael halted him with a lift of her hand.

"Wait. With all due respect, princess, have you eaten yet today?"

Ainsley's glare could cut steel. "No. But—"

"Princess. I will not allow you to work until you've had something to eat. I won't have you starving yourself to death on my ship."

Ainsley stared at her for a moment and Gael felt a shiver run down her spine. Despite her steadfast opinion that it was wrong, she couldn't help but be relieved that the princess didn't have access to her dragonblood abilities right then. It felt like her anger alone could burn the Finch down to the waterline.

"Alright," she finally gave in. "Where's the galley?"

"Follow me. Nathe, you can go back to work. I'll send the princess to find you afterwards."

The man nodded and left, and Gael spun on her heel to lead Ainsley down into the interior of the ship.

In the galley, Ainsley sat down on the wooden bench, gaze wandering around the area. The cook appeared, wiping his hands on a greasy rag. Gael watched Ainsley's lips twist in unconcealed disgust, her own flickering in a half-smile.

"Trevor, could you fetch the princess something to eat?"

"'Course." The burly man began rummaging around in an opened barrel, and before long food had been set before Ainsley. She stared at it for a moment, as if unsure that the dried meat was food at all, and Gael took the chance to sit down across from her, hands folded on the table in a mirror of her conversation with Nathe last night.

"You're up early."

"I always am."

The princess took a bite and chewed, though it looked like she didn't have much of an appetite. Gael was well aware that was only the nerves or her sunken mood—she hadn't eaten anything yesterday as far as the captain knew.

"Oh?"

Ainsley's gaze flickered up briefly, then she swallowed. When she spoke, she did so reluctantly, like she didn't really want to be telling her anything. "I'm up early to train with Luca most mornings.

"You train? In what?"

"Swordplay, mostly. A few other types of combat here and there."

Gael couldn't help her surprise. So the princess was a threat beyond her dragonblood powers. She probably wouldn't appreciate a comment on that, however.

"Luca?"

"A knight." Ainsley paused, swallowing again. "And a friend." She finished up, wiping her hands on her trousers, apparently ready to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Well?"

"Right. I'll take you to the Nathe." Gael got to her feet, followed once more by the princess.

here's another lil chapter for anyone who's reading. please vote and comment and have a fantastic day/night!