A Choice To Make

Garvet, one of the councilmen of D'treroh, snorted while his face reddened towards the words that left the king's mouth. On his way to the capital he'd heard all about the capture of his fiancé, but he had never thought them to be the truth until the king himself had repeated those cursed words. How could this have happened? They should've never let his bride to be out alone on a trip whether she felt she could protect herself or not. His ears pricked and he turned around. "My lord, this cannot be true. If you know what's best for this country, you should find my bride. You know your son-"

Bynx threw a wine bottle at the back of the head councilman's head and exhaled a cloud of smoke through slightly parted lips which were half upturned into a smile. Garvet flared his nose and cut an eye back towards Ja'ule. "Your incompetent son cannot receive the throne. All votes were against him.'

"And you'll croak before my sister even beds you on the first night of your marriage. Hell, I don't care for her, but I wouldn't even stoop as low as to hand her over to you. Can you still even get that thing up?" Bynx flexed and a few maids shifted around, blushing and whispering amongst themselves before the king waved them silent.

"Enough," The throne creaked as Ja'ule leaned forward. "Do you think I wish to hear of the bastard child standing in the room next to me, or about a marriage that can wait?" His cold eyes roamed towards Garvet. "I want to hear that you will dispatch men to find her. If she is with Razmyr, I want his head. I'll have yours too if you don't silence your bickering of marriage and do as I say."

Garvet stared in silence, trembling.

"That means now." Rueborn, the kings brother, said from behind. "Take some of my men, and do that now."

"Right." Garvet bowed and scurried off as Bynx fell face first against the floor in his own vomit.

"God damn it." He slammed a fist against the armrest of his throne. "Get that nuisance, eyesore out of my presence before I behead him with my own hands!"

***

Ray'ven could feel the effects of the poison as it stirred through her veins, yet still she ignored her own pain as she pressed against the bloodied wound on Strel's chest. Fear gripped at her heart at the shallow breaths that her cousin released. She could do nothing more than attempt to stave the bleeding using a strip of cloth from her gown.

"You hang in there okay flower. You're not allowed to do any dying on me, I still need you to talk some sense back into that stupid brother of mine." She whispered. Her voice sounded weak, even to her ears and her pale skin was even paler than it had been before. "I'll get you fixed up okay. I'll make you better, no matter what I have to do."

Strelitzia grabbed at her cousin's wrist and weakly tried to push her away. She gritted her teeth with the effort of struggling up into a sitting position. "I-I have to tell him..I won't let both of us die like this...at least not you.."

Strelitzia's chest heaved allowing a fresh stream of blood to seep from her wound, soaking through her blouse. "The country needs its princess.." Her smile was weak but she managed to find some comfort in the fact that she could at least save her cousin, the princess of D'treroh.

"They may need their princess, but I need you." Ray'ven told her. "You will not die here today, I will beg him to save you if need be. There is no amount of pride worth my cousin's life."

"So I'll bow and tell him what he wants to know." Sweat beaded her forehead as she pushed mussed hair from her face. "It's much more important that you live. Don't beg them.."

Ray'ven managed a weak scowl at her words. "If you were not injured, I would whack you. Do not think so little of your life, Strel." She scolded. "Your life is just as important."

Strelitzia squeezed her eyes shut, unable to meet her cousin's gaze. "They've already killed my parents.. I've never even been outside of Mallowmoor since I was young. I don't have any reason to hold on, Ray'ven. So at least let me do this for you."

Ray'ven's scowl intensified. "No!" She hissed fiercely. "You stop speaking such nonsense this instant. I will not allow you to die. I love you cousin, as does father and Bynx. Do you not think it would pain me to watch you die? I would never forgive myself. I cannot replace what you have lost, but know that you will always have a place with us."

She didn't have the energy to argue with her and their time was running out. Strelitzia leaned against the wall for support and sat quietly. She would not disagree with the princess or tell her anything more. Strel didn't want to be a hindrance and she couldn't bring herself to be used as a weapon against the last bit of family she had left. She would do what she needed to whether Ray'ven agreed or not.

Ray'ven frowned at her cousin in concern. She had a feeling that this conversation was one that would happen again. A wave of dizziness hit her and she clutched her head with a shaky hand. Her skin felt cold and clammy and her heart seemed to beat a mile a minute in her chest. She slumped slightly as the dizziness intensified.

The sound of the door being opened made her look up and she suppressed the urge to snarl as Razmyr entered the room with an expectant look on his smug bastard face. She wanted nothing more than to rip off his head and pin it from one of the pikes that stood at the castle gates. Shifting, so that she was sitting up straighter, her blue-green eyes met his straight on, but they held no challenge in them this time, only wariness.

"What did you choose?" Razmyr asked.

"I'll tell you where the fortune is," Strelitzia looked up to meet the gaze of the pirate. She had to do this before Ray'ven could interrupt or attempt to stop her. If she could at least bargain with him to make sure that her cousin would be safe, that's all she needed.

"But only if she goes unharmed and is returned to the king alive and well." Her eyes shifted to her cousin for a brief moment, the hint of a sad smile on her lips. "You could bargain with my life but you'd never get the money if you killed me and the king would never bargain with you. So I would take this offer."

The pirate lord released breathy laughter towards Strelitzia's bargaining game. If anyone were to win, it'd be him. "Ah," He said, leaning an arm against the steel bars as his gaze scrutinized her. "They were right when they said you had a mouth that'd make even the gentlest of men want to slit your throat. Good thing my reputation isn't on that of the kind side. You know how to spit deals. I admire that, though don't be so bold as to think I wouldn't torture you until you speak. Everyone faced with death loses their pride and selfless ways. Deal. I'll give her the cure and return her to her father as long as you keep your word. If not, I'll be returning your skin at the castle gates like animal hide. But,"

Razmyr leaned back and shifted himself until he glimpsed upon the dark haired princess. "She'll be returned as though she were a mere slave since she too cannot hold her tongue. I'll walk her through the streets naked and covered in dirt and bruises. A rope around her swan-like neck. I can hear it now: Shame, such a noble princess looks like the rat-ridden streets where we toss our trash. Is that the king's daughter? She looks like she laid with pigs." He laughed and his brows rose. "If you insist on clothes princess, you can go in rags. That or I can spare you by leaving a rope so you can hang yourself in that miserable cell."

Ray'ven's eyes narrowed. 'Silly cousin, you cannot bargain with a devil.' She thought. Ray'ven rose from her spot showing no signs of the poison in her system as she stood tall. "My apologies, this is your ship." Her steely sea-green eyes met him without wavering. "But I am Ray'ven Aldain, daughter of Ja'ule Aldain. As my father's daughter and the future Queen, I will not bend to your will or give in to your threats. I bow to no one, especially not you. So do as you will, killing her will change nothing."

For a long, terrifying moment, the pirate lord remained silent. He left them with their swarming thoughts on whether he'd allow the princess's cousin to live. "I'll accept your apology and I respect the fact you're true to the royal blood that runs through your veins. But I too have a resolve that isn't easily shaken, I'm a pirate and your father's enemy,"

Pressing his face against the cold steel bars, Razmyr smirked. "And because of that, I'll remember the first and the last time you bowed to me. How your tear-stained face pressed against the floor near your aunt's decapitated head. I'll also remember how you plead for her life but I still took it. Princess. This will repeat when I take your father's head from his shoulders and give it to you as a gift. One day you'll be stripped from your titles. If you're an obedient dog, I may take you under my wing as a bed warmer slave. I'll bring the cure, though the smart-mouthed one will suffer a little longer."

"For one so disgusted by me, you seem eager to touch."

"What can I say, you're like a weapon. I tend to play with shiny swords as toys until they are of no use to me and I toss them away when their blade gets dull. The moment your fire dies, that'll," He reached his hand through the bar and gripped her throat with bruising force, slinging her forward until her face slammed against the bars, reddening her complexion.

Every word that left his mouth was accompanied by more force upon her neck until her airways were blocked, till blues and purples surfaced against her cheeks. "Be when I rid of you. I wonder." He hissed against her ear, flashes of crimson against stone payment, the execution wheel spinning and loosening the blade which hacked and severed through Ja'ule's neck. "Will you laugh and be so prideful then? Like the crazy bitch you try to portray yourself as? Picture it princess, cause I'm waiting for that day. You and your father's days are numbered." He muttered, rage swirling the cerulean depths of his eyes, a calm before a storm; a storm he'd release when the time was right.

Strelitzia cursed the pirate beneath her breath before spitting on Razmyr's boots. "I said unharmed! You say suffer as if you haven't just kidnapped us both and murdered my family."

Her words had taken him aback, and he pushed against Ray'ven's throat, her body flying across the cell floor and crashing against the wall before he turned. The pirate lord had nothing to say but, "James." He called, smirking. The door groaned open and there the man who killed her father stood before her sight.

"Yes, my liege." He bowed and golden tresses spilled forward over his shoulders.

"Open the cell. You know what to do." Razmyr replied, his gaze unwavering from the spoiled bitch with the smart mouth.

James straightened his back, swallowing as he crossed the narrow pathway toward Strelitzia's cell. He did as he was told. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and gripped her shoulder. "My apologies. My captain's orders." He slapped her across the face twice, three times, no five, until his captain commanded him to stop. He flinched from the jolts reverberating up his arm.

"That'll be enough. I hope you liked the dirty hands of the man who killed your father on you. I would've done it, but I was thoughtful. Close the cell and return to your post."

Bowing once more, James frowned and glimpsed at Strelitzia. "Those who oppose him don't live long down here. If you enjoy life as much as I do tea, you'll do well to obey his every order until you return to your uncle safely." These were the words Razmyr's third in command whispered before dipping out.