feyland:A Spring Upon Her CableJehanparnasse Week - Day 4 - AURead on AO3The captive had been quiet

feyland:A Spring Upon Her CableJehanparnasse Week - Day 4 - AURead on AO3The captive had been quiet for a time. They were not gagged, but their hands were bound with rough rope, and they were watched closely by the ondeck crew, opulently armed with cutlasses and pistols. It was enough to make anyone silent with fear.There wasn’t actually any fear in their eyes, though, observed Montparnasse, his annoyance tinged with respect as the creature calmly studied their surroundings. Their gaze fell on him, and when they saw him watching, incredibly, they offered him a bright smile.“Thank you for sparing my crew,” they said cheerfully, and Montparnasse furrowed his brow at their tone. “I would have hated seeing them hurt on my behalf.”“They turned you over. Do they know nothing of loyalty?” he replied skeptically as he leaned against a crate.“Oh yes, but I ordered them to stand down and let me go. Your only demand was me as a hostage. Why would I put anyone else at risk? Loyalty must go both ways, you know.”“The words of a kind and just ruler,” Montparnasse sneered. “Tell me, princeling, what you think of your father’s loyalty? If his responsibility to you is anything like what he offers his people, I suppose we shouldn’t be expecting our ransom anytime soon.”“You’re quite right,” the captive said, the strange lightness still dancing in their voice. “He is almost as terrible a father as he is a ruler. The only reason I was on that ship in the first place was because he was sending me off to school so that he needn’t bother with me anymore. I suspect he’ll take his time coming up with the ransom, though he will pay it in the end. He would really do anything to avoid open rebellion.”Montparnasse glared at them. “This isn’t a holiday, little princeling. Returning you alive to your bastard king of a father doesn’t mean returning you intact.”“Oh, I am very much aware. I suppose I am just trying to enjoy what I can before you begin severing my fingers. You know, as a child, I always wanted to be a pirate.”“Did you now,” said Montparnasse, fighting the smile that threatened his lips. “Don’t you know your kind is supposed to hate mine, your highness?”The captive made a face. “Please, call me Jehan. If there was a place to do away with formalities, I hope it would be here.”“Why would the child of a king dream of becoming a heartless cutthroat?” Montparnasse said, curious despite himself. “Isn’t the crown meant to uphold justice?”Jehan snorted, their smiling mouth curling a little. “No one would call my father’s word justice,” they said. “The way he treats his people, his armies - I am not surprised so many members of the navy have taken to piracy. I suspect there is more honour among pirates.”Montparnasse did not respond, but glanced over at his captain towards the bow of the Minette . Babet had once captained a ship in service of the king. He didn’t talk much about how he had ‘lost’ his ship, as he put it, but his hatred towards the crown was a personal one. It was Babet who had recognized the origin of the ship Jehan had been on, as well as the princeling themself.“I’ve always loved the sea,” Jehan sighed. “I’ve never felt more free than when I’m at sea. Even with this.” They gestured with their bound hands.Perhaps they were playing him, perhaps they planned to sweet-talk their way to shore before sending a fleet after the Minette . But for the time being, the kidnapped princeling’s serenity was enough to spur Montparnasse forward. They didn’t flinch even as he pulled out his dagger and slashed through the rope that held them.“Come on, then,” he growled, though it came across as half-hearted even to his own ears. He offered his hand. “Let’s get you earning your keep. There’s a whole lot of ocean to cover.” -- source link

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