Hold On

The coronation feast was only for nobility, gnomes that Baak thought worthy, and a small group of Xander's pirates. The captain and king were becoming more picky with their company, and with Alaron now officially in power, they felt they could act more freely.

It was this attitude that had earned Xander his injured jaw. He believed he was untouchable. He was wrong.

"Are you sure you do not want one of the servants to mash up your food, Xander?" Baak teased. "Or perhaps that young lady you were flirting with would like to come in and cut up your meal in small bites for you."

Xander snapped his head toward the king in a flash of anger. His purpled and slightly swollen jawline only made the king chuckle louder. The pirate inhaled deeply through his nose and gave a pained smile. "Perhaps I can give you a matching injury, Your Majesty. Then we can both call back the lovely Miss Loane for assistance."

The Captain shot a wary glance far down the table at Lord Ulrich. Why the man had been allowed to stay and keep his place after such an assault was beyond him, but he would not let the score go unsettled. Just not now while he was hurting.

"You will make no progress if you punch me. Gnomes are made earth and stone. You'll need something sharper than your fist to bother me." Baak laughed at the pirate's scowl. The king was usually the loser in a battle of wits with the captain. It was nice to win for a change.

Xander gave up and went back to eating his food on the opposite side of his mouth. It was no use wasting his words on the king when each movement made him feel the punch all over. Instead he ordered some medication be brought from the infirmary to ease his pain.

At the head of the new banquet room, Alaron was becoming more chatty as the strongest effects of the sedative wore off. He had offended more than one person at his table by offering his most candid thoughts.

"The rumblings at court were that you gambled all your money and that is why you could not afford to come to come to my birthday party. You missed quite a show." Alaron's voice was quite matter-of-fact as he spoke to a Duke, which only made the old man more angry.

"I thought no one would marry your daughter because she was so mean. Are you sure she has had six proposals?" the new Emperor asked a lord with a furrowed brow.

If not for Ravenna's and Cafer's interventions to smooth things over, there might have been a second fight that evening. At one point the boy even went after the Councilwoman herself.

"Pink is not your color, Ravenna. I much perfect your blue or even that ghastly green wig. Have you ever considered the more natural color?"

Having seen how things were going, Ravenna was ready for him. "Nothing about me is natural, Your Majesty. I see no reason to pretend."

"That makes sense," Alaron responded with a knowing nod. He finally went back to eating, much to the relief of many of the guests.

Brinn, who was sitting next to the new Emperor, was having to pinch her thigh to keep a straight face. 'I actually like this Alaron. Too bad he has to be drugged for him come out.' She kept her mouth shut though, knowing that at any moment, the boy could turn on her and tell her secret. But Ravenna's words that Cafer had already tried to coax the information from the boy gave her a little comfort that he would not reveal her.

Dinner came and went without further incident, and Brinn excused herself while things were winding down. "Rest well, brother," she said affectionately. Alaron touched her arm and smiled. Brinn noticed he was biting his lip to keep from speaking. The elf wondered if all his offensive thoughts he had been sharing were simply to block out the secret that really mattered. Even drugged, the boy was protecting her.

The spymaster leaned down and looked into the boy's bright blue eyes. She gripped his hand. "Hold on," she whispered as she squeezed. He squeezed back and for a moment his vision cleared.

Alaron gave her a sad smile. "I will try," he promised.

Seeing what was happening, Cafer cut their encounter short. "Rest well, Your Highness. Tomorrow will be a busy day."

Brinn curtsied to Alaron and squeezed his hand once more. As she let go of her tight grip, Alaron's eyes faded once more. 'At least it will be easy to convince him to leave,' Brinn comforted herself.

The princess's guards were quick to join her as she left the room. It did not take long for the guards to realize that she was taking a circuitous route back to her room.

"Where are you going?" one of them asked.

Brinn turned a corner to the hall containing Xander's room. "I need to speak with the Captain. He has something I want." Thankfully it seemed the pirate had not lied to Loane. In the room next to Xander's, two soldiers were standing guard and a servant was trying to deliver food.

"The prisoner's not awake. Take it away," the soldier said to the servant in a hushed tone. Brinn could only understand them due to her elf's hearing. With her suspicions confirmed, she turned to leave.

"On second thought, I will speak to the Captain in the morning. Let's head back toward my quarters, boys," she called as she rolled her eyes at the two gnomes who were becoming like her shadow.

Her hopes of leaving unnoticed were dashed as Xander caught her retreat. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Your Highness?" The pirate flashed a toothy smile making him look like a predator about to devour prey.

"Isn't it obvious? I cooperated. The coronation happened without my interference. Now let the people go like you promised." Brinn narrowed her eyes at the pirate.

He scratched at his uninjured cheek and chuckled with an amused grin. "I merely said I would not kill them if you cooperated. I will never set them free." He took a few uncomfortable steps toward the princess, but the only place she could back up was into the guards. She was pinned between the three males. "Give us a moment," Xander said to the two guards. They backed down the hall slightly.

The pirate took the girl's hand and kissed it lightly. The sensation made Brinn want to vomit. "Let me go." Ripping her hand away from the man, Brinn had only the wall to back into this time, but she took the needed space and separated herself.

"Do not be afraid," Xander took another bold step forward and placed a hand on the wall on either side of Brinn, penning her in. "I am very easy to get along with when people cooperate. Your friends will all be safe. I even have a buyer lined up for your servant boy. I nearly sold him this very evening. I always like to make a profit for my effort, you know."

"I will tell my brother," Brinn threatened, but she could see by his growing smile that Xander was not worried.

"He will do nothing about it. Cafer has him well-handled. Anyway, you will not be needing the servant anymore. The coronation is over, and your part in this is finished. So, tomorrow you and I will sail away. My ships are ready and I have enough of my treasure to go back to sea. How would you like to be my pirate queen?" Xander leaned in close enough for Brinn to feel his breath on her cheek.

"That will never happen," she rejected him defiantly.

"You think you have a choice? I am a better alternative to Baak. He is brutal." Xander raised his eyebrows, hoping to see the girl cower.

Her face only hardened. "Leave. Me. Alone."

"Fighting makes you more attractive, you know." Running his hands up Brinn's arms, Xander leaned in to kiss the girl, but she quickly grabbed his jaw and squeezed. Even with the herbs from the infirmary, the pain was intense. Xander fell to his knees, allowing Brinn to release him an move down the hall.

"Never try that again with me or any other woman!" she ordered. She stomped on the fingers of his hand just for good measure.

"You will pay for that," he yelled at her between cries of pain. Xander turned and stared daggers at the princess's two guards. "Don't just stand there. Take her away. And do not let her out of your sight!"

The gnomes obeyed and ushered the girl out of the hall. With grim satisfaction, Brinn obeyed. When she arrived at her room, the ladies-in-waiting were gone. The guards did not seem to care as they hurried Brinn to her bedroom.

The two guards set up chairs by the door and ordered the princess to go to sleep. Brinn changed behind a screen and pretended to comply. After her soft breathing convinced them she was resting and as they had not been relieved from duty in quite some time, they also gave into the world of dreams.

Their gravelly snores gave Brinn all the assurance that she needed that they would not hear her. She changed her clothes out for better ones to travel before altering her appearance to look like a servant.

Brinn also packed a few things into the hidden pocket of her dress that she might need. It was only too bad that she had no weapon. She would have to do without one for now.

With a salute to the sleeping guards, the spymaster slipped out the window and began her old ritual of balcony hopping. Even with everything else, she still loved the sensation of nearly flying.