Chapter Text
Raj would have never agreed to become a prince if he knew he was at risk of getting kidnapped.
But it was a little too late for what-ifs now, as he and Wayne were escorted, hands bound behind their backs, onto a small wooden ship by their captors.
It seemed innocent enough. The two best friends were enjoying a daily horse ride away from the castle, as they often did now. Wayne, who had sworn to become Raj’s personal guard so that he could stay by his side, insisted on coming with him. Raj didn’t mind, and in fact preferred it; any activity was more fun with his best friend.
The two of them had been racing their horses through the forest and laughing when they saw three figures standing by the seashore. The shortest girl of the three was waving over to them.
“Who’s that over there?” Raj slowed his horse and turned to Wayne.
“Dunno,” Wayne said, squinting. “No one I know. Let’s go see.”
As both approached on their horses, Raj got a better look at the trio of women. The one who had waved them over had straight black hair covered by a slouchy hat. As the boys got closer, Raj saw that she was smirking at them.
Of the other two girls, one had blonde braids and was noticeably tall, maybe a few inches over Wayne and Raj. She was side-eying the waving girl with an annoyed look. The other girl was average height with a blonde ponytail, and kept fidgeting with the helm of a sword on her belt.
“Hi there,” the short girl in the hat said. “Sorry to bother you guys, but we are really lost. Is there a village nearby?”
“There’s nothing nearby, eh,” Wayne said helpfully. “The nearest town is a few hours away on foot.” He pointed in the direction of the castle they had come from.
“Yeah!” Raj chimed in. “It’s a bit of a walk, but if you start now, you’d get there before the sun sets.”
“Good.” The leader’s smirk grew. “Then no one will hear you struggle.”
Huh?
Raj was confused. “Um, why would we be struggling? We’re both great at riding horses!”
“For sure, bro!” Wayne added.
The girl’s face shifted to a frown at the boys’ bumbling. “No. We’re kidnapping you. Get down off of the horses.”
As she said that, the taller girl reached out to Wayne, pulling him off the horse and making him stumble to the ground. The girl with the ponytail pulled out her sword, startling Raj’s horse and causing him to fall off.
“Careful,” the girl in the hat said. “We need them to be unharmed. For now.”
The mercenaries tied Raj and Wayne’s hands behind their backs and forced them to their feet as their leader attached something to their horses.
“Aw, you’re giving the horse a scarf! Super cute, bro!” Wayne pointed out.
The girl looked up from her task. “What? No, this is the symbol of the island of Wawanakwa. It’s part of your rival country.”
“Why would you give a horse a scarf from a different country? He’s from here, isn’t he?” Raj asked, trying to work out what she was doing.
“We’re framing the rival country for your kidnapping!” The girl pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “I can’t believe this.”
“MK, are you sure we should be taking both of them?” The tall girl with the braids gestured towards Wayne. “We really don’t need this guard, just the prince.”
“He’s seen our faces, so we can’t let him go back,” the leader, MK, said. “Plus, my employer said the two of them are always together anyway. It’d be more suspicious if we leave him be.”
“But he seems innocent in this,” the ponytail girl said. “And it's an extra hassle for us, kidnapping an extra person.”
“I hired you both to help me start a war!” MK put her hands on her hips. Raj was starting to not like her too much. “What, Emma, going soft now? What about your little revenge plot? That’s what this is funding, right?” She turned to the other girl. “And you’re looking to regain your star power. Once this is finished, you’ll have the money to do that.”
“Yeah, but I was hoping more for my face to appear on show posters, not wanted posters,” she grumbled in response.
“You’re the one who signed on for the job. Just be patient and do what I say, and you can both walk away richer. Now get them in the boat before someone else comes along!”
The two girls shared a look, and Raj got the idea that they silently agreed with him about MK.
“Whatever,” the tall girl said, reluctantly pushing Wayne into the boat. He stumbled a bit but caught himself without falling over. “The sooner this is over, the better.”
Raj was led into the boat and made to sit down next to Wayne. MK started to give her crew directions. “Now move the thing! And the other thing!” The three girls untied sails and prepped the ship until they were ready to push the boat away from the shore and head out to sea.
Raj stared back grimly at his homeland growing further and further from him. He had been reluctant when his family made the arrangement with the royal family, but he had been prepared for those consequences, despite wishing he didn’t have to go through with it. Now he was being pulled in a completely different unknown direction.
He still wasn’t sure why it had to be either him or Wayne engaged to Princess Julia, but he knew enough to know the repercussions would have been bad if they had refused. And if he was the one to accept the proposal, then Wayne wouldn't have to be trapped in a loveless marriage, since neither of them liked Julia, and he was pretty sure she also didn’t like them.
Besides, it wasn’t like Raj had anything else in his future. At least, he had nothing left after…
Raj shook away his thoughts before he lingered too long on the memory of him .
He heard a sob next to him, and turned to see Wayne crying next to him. “Wayner? What’s wrong?”
“It’s all my fault!” His best friend bawled. “I’m a terrible guard! It’s- it’s my job to protect you! And now we’ve been kidnapped by criminals!”
“Hey, watch what you call me!” The tall actress said. She was standing nearby, steering the rudder of the ship. “I’m not a criminal, and I don’t want to be associated with them.”
Emma looked up from a knot she was tying and snorted. “Really, Nichelle? That’s what you’re worried about? Look where you are.” She gestured to their boat and the two boys.
“I’m just saying he could have picked a nicer word.” Nichelle grumbled.
Raj scooted closer to Wayne and put his head on his shoulder to calm his best bud. “You’re the best guard I could ask for! You always make sure I’m protected when we go out. Remember yesterday when you checked to see if my horse’s shoes were on correctly? You’re good at remembering stuff like that.”
“Yeah, but look what happened today!” Wayne hiccuped.
“These girls just got the jump on us. It happens, bro.”
Emma and Nichelle shared a look, as if wanting to say that no, kidnapping royalty was not a common occurrence, but quietly decided to let the two have their moment.
Wayne still sulked at his perceived failure. Raj tried to think what usually got him back in the spirit of things.
He grinned suddenly, “Man, that MK sure can fuss .” He emphasized the last word, hoping Wayne would catch on.
Wayne perked up a bit. “Fuss… I hope she doesn’t scream at us .” This was a game they would play as kids, making up rhymes.
Raj tried to think of another one. “Right now there’s no cause for alarm .”
“That’s because she’s short on charm ,” Wayne grinned, completing the rhyme after a second of thought. Raj swore he heard a giggle coming from Emma’s direction.
Nichelle put a hand on her hip with a small smile. “Wow, you’re good with that rhyme .”
“Yes, yes, some of the tim e.” Wayne seemed enthused that the others were getting into their game.
Except for MK, it seemed. “Enough of that! I never would’ve bothered with this if I knew you were going to be this annoying!”
Raj was fully immersed now. He moved his tied hands up to his brow, imitating someone blocking the sun from their line of sight. “Wayner, are there any rocks ahead?”
“If there are, we’ll all be dead!”
“Do we have any gags we can put on them?” A desperate MK asked her crewmates. “Anything?”
“Sorry, boss,” Emma said, as Nichelle shook her head, both trying to hide amusement.
“Okay, no more rhymes now!” She turned back to Wayne and Raj, sternly. “I mean it!”
“Anybody want a peanut?” Wayne hollered out, causing both boys to explode in laughter.
The sounds of frustration coming from MK carried out into the fading evening light.
___
It was dark now. The five of them had been sailing for a few hours, and Raj could not see land whenever he looked out over the edge of the boat
The girls had been decent enough to feed the two hungry captives. After untying their hands and tying their feet up instead, Emma had given them both a sizable portion of dried meat and bread. Raj may have heard her mutter something about a “last meal” under her breath.
After passing them the food, she had moved to steer the rudder at the back of the boat, while MK stayed in the front looking out ahead of them. Nichelle decided to sit with the two boys while they ate.
“Why do you keep doing that?” MK noticed that Emma kept glancing behind their boat.
Emma held up her hands in mock acceptance. “Sorry. Nervous.”
“So you’re from the farms on the southern edge of the kingdom, hmm?” Nichelle asked. The boys nodded eagerly. “Back when I was still an actress, my theatre troupe toured around that area for a summer.”
“Wait!” Wayne gasped. “You wouldn’t be Nichelle LaDonna , would you?”
“The very same,” the girl said, gesturing down at herself.
It was then that Raj recognized her. “Dude, no way! We’re big fans of your plays! We went to see all of them while you were in our town!”
“Thanks,” she said, laughing a little. “Did you have a favorite?”
“For sure Spar-or-Bar Attendant! You were so good in that one! Your stage fighting looked so real!” Raj gushed. “I remember I saw that show on opening night, with Wayne and- ”
Raj trailed off his sentence, suddenly wanting to avoid that particular memory.
Nichelle seemed to notice his pause, but didn’t pry. “I’m glad you liked it. That was one of my favorite roles.”
“You were really good!” Wayne added, picking up the conversation after sensing that Raj needed a moment to collect himself. “Why’d you stop acting, eh?”
Nichelle frowned. “It wasn’t my intention. I love the stage.” She sighed. “Some hecklers got intense, saying I wasn’t a believable stage fighter. And I’ll be the first to admit I can be a diva at times, so I didn’t take it well and threw a bit of a tantrum when reviews of my shows started to spread that idea around. My stage manager eventually had me replaced.”
“That’s terrible!” Wayne gasped.
“I was determined to prove myself after that. No more theatre troupes would hire me as an actress with the reputation I had of being difficult, so I trained in actual hand-to-hand combat. I competed in spectacle fights for a bit.”
“Whoa,” Wayne said, eyeing her face, “You must be really good at it. You hardly have any scars or bruises.”
“Most of those fights are faked, you know,” MK piped in, taking any opportunity to spoil the boys’ fun.
The boys looked at Nichelle with wide eyes, not wanting to believe that to be true.
“Eh, maybe they’re a little staged, but I can hold my own.” She bragged. “I’ve never taken a punch to the face or anything.”
“I think you just care too much about your looks,” Emma teased. Nichelle stuck her tongue out at her.
“Anyways, fighting doesn’t always pay, so here I am for the moment. I’m hoping after my reputation dies down I can get back into acting, and this time no one can say anything about my stage fighting.”
“Well, best of luck to you,” Raj said earnestly. He probably shouldn’t be wishing the best on someone who assisted in kidnapping him, but that was the kind of person he was.
Nichelle gave him a small smile. “Hey, thanks.”
“Would you stop doing that?” MK interrupted. She had noticed Emma glancing over her shoulder again.
“Sorry, it’s just… are you sure we weren’t followed?”
“Of course we weren’t followed! No one saw what we did, and the castle wouldn’t be able to send anyone after us so fast. Relax.” MK slouched back against the front mast and closed her eyes, satisfied. This lasted a moment before she opened them again. “Wait, why do you ask?”
“It’s probably nothing, but… well, a while ago I happened to glance back, and something was there.”
“ What?! ” MK shot to her feet. “And you didn’t think to mention it?” She moved past where Raj, Wayne and Nichelle were sitting and joined Emma at the back of the boat.
Raj strained his neck up a bit. Sure enough, just on the nightly horizon, there was a shadowy mass with sails flying.
“It’s probably just a local fisherman, out for a nightly catch.” MK suggested, sounding like she didn’t fully believe what she was saying herself.
“Through shark infested waters?” Nichelle raised an eyebrow. She stood up to look out at the mysterious ship as well.
Raj scratched his cheek with his index finger, trying to make out anything else about the far away boat along with the others. Then it hit him– the girls were all distracted, looking away from the pair of boys. And him and Wayne had their hands untied. This was their chance to escape!
He nudged Wayne and quickly lifted a finger to his lips to indicate silence. Then he tapped Wayne’s bonds around his ankles with his foot. Wayne looked at him confused, until Raj mimed untying his own feet, and understanding flooded his face.
The two boys pulled at the knots, trying to loosen them quickly and quietly. The ropes soon came undone and their ankles were free. Victorious, the two boys turned to high-five each other– only to find they had somehow accidentally tied Raj’s left hand and Wayne’s right hand together. Whoops.
Three free limbs each were better than two, and they likely didn’t have much time until one of the girls noticed them. Raj decided to trust that he and Wayne were expert enough swimmers, impulsively throwing himself over the side of the wooden boat and dragging Wayne somewhat-unwittingly along with him.
The water was a cold shock, and Raj had to quickly resurface for air. Luckily, Wayne was gasping next to him. He could hear surprised shouting from the boat.
“Swim for it, Wayner!” Raj shouted. The two boys started swimming… in opposite directions. Their bonded hands pulled them back together.
“Back the way we came! Come on!” Raj added.
“Right! Got it!” Wayne said between strokes.
“After them!” They heard MK shout.
“And get my hair wet?” Nichelle replied. “No thanks.”
The two seemed to be making good progress as they heard the scrambling on the boat behind them grow quieter. Raj’s preferred way to travel over water was when it was frozen and he was wearing a pair of skates, but the pair of them were decent enough swimmers, having grown up spending hot summer afternoons at the lake that bordered both of their families' farms. They would escape their captors, no problem!
Then he felt something brush against his side.
Raj stopped, scared, letting Wayne pull him for a second.
What was that Nichelle had said? Shark infested waters?
“Wayne,” he said quietly, starting to flail a little bit. “I think there’s something in the water with us!”
“What?” Wayne asked, before a shark fin materialized in front of them, spooking both boys.
“WAAAAAAAAA!” The panicking pair cried out. They waved their arms frantically, horrified by the incoming creatures closing in.
Raj watched as one of the circling fins swerved to move towards him directly. He screamed out in fright as it inched towards where he floated…
A hand grasped the back of his shirt and pulled him back up into the boat. Nichelle and Emma clumsily dragged the two of them onto the floor of the ship and checked them for bites. Raj felt his chest rise rapidly as he struggled to recollect himself and catch his breath.
“Did you really think you would make it far out there? All that flailing was just drawing the sharks in, you idiots!” MK sneered.
Raj watched, helpless, as his hands were tied back up. He shivered from the cold, as his clothes were still soaked, the red fabric of his shirt turned a dark maroon. He had never liked red, but it had been the color of the royal family, and supposedly a color that Princess Julia preferred, so many of his new clothes were styled to match that idea.
He hated it. Personally, he would have preferred to be dressed in blue, his and Wayne’s favorite color. Or purple.
“You must think you’re brave,” MK said mockingly. “Swimming with sharks.”
“Only compared to some,” Raj said back, staring her down as his barb hit her. She twisted her expression into a frown, huffing and storming away. He grinned slightly at her response, and Wayne elbowed him encouragingly.
Emma settled down next to the pair, passing them thin blankets. Nichelle had taken a place near the back of the ship, looking back occasionally to check if the other vessel was trailing.
“I thought it was brave.” Emma’s voice was quiet, but Raj felt a bit better at her words.
“We’ll reach our destination in the morning,” she continued, weary. “You should try to get some rest if you can.”
Raj could sense his own exhaustion, but hesitated. He didn’t feel comfortable with him or Wayne letting down their guard in the current situation.
Wayne yawned, clearly tired. Still, taking care of each other was second nature. “Wayner, why don’t you close your eyes?” Raj decided. “I’ll stay up, and wake you up in a bit so you can watch out for me while I sleep.”
“Great idea, Rajie!” Wayne said, supportive of the idea. He rested his head on Raj’s shoulder and a few minutes later, he was snoring contently. Wayne had always had the ability to fall asleep whenever he wanted to.
Raj basked in the moonlight in quiet reflection with Emma, the silence filling the space between them. After a while, she cleared her throat.
“I hope you know this isn’t personal on my part,” she said, not looking at Raj. “I’m at an impasse, lifewise, and I need the money.”
Raj shrugged. He wasn’t one to hold grudges, and he did find he liked both Emma and Nichelle.
Emma sighed. “I’ve been looking for someone for a long time. I’ve been training, and I’m almost ready for when we meet up again. But tracking him down isn’t going well.”
“Who are you looking for?”
“My ex. He left me under not-great circumstances. I hope to best him the next time we meet.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Why does love have to be so complicated?”
Raj swallowed a lump in his throat, nodding quietly.
Emma turned her head, giving him an inquisitive look. “Have you ever been in love?”
It had been a long day, and normally Raj would try to avoid thinking about this specific topic. He had spent too much time in the last few years longing for things to be different, even when he knew he could never get back what he lost. But he was tired, and so he gave in to the suggestion to talk about these thoughts. “Yes,” he found himself replying. “I have.”
“Oh, what am I saying?” Emma nervously laughed to herself. “You’re engaged to the princess, right?”
“No, ew!” He made a face. It would have been easy to leave her assumption be, but it would be an insult to himself (and also to the memory of… well…) to let her think he was happy in his arrangement with Julia. “Not her!”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Oh. Wow. Sorry, I just assumed…” She trailed off.
“It’s fine,” Raj said, sighing. “I agreed to marry her to protect Wayne.” He gestured toward his buddy sleeping against his side. “I don’t actually like her, though, or, well… girls, in general.”
“Oh!” Emma said. “I see. Sorry, there’s nothing wrong with that, I’m just surprised.”
Raj said nothing, just stared down at his bound hands, thoughts heavy.
Emma cleared her throat, drawing his attention back. “But, you said that you were in love?”
“I was,” he replied, careful. “Once.”
“Okay. So,” she continued, “If you don’t mind me asking, if not the princess, then who?”
Raj turned away from her, up at the moon. Here he was in a boat, far away from his home, opening up about his past love life to one of the mercenaries who had kidnapped him.
After a few seconds of emotional turmoil, he felt a small tear roll down his cheek. His grief, coupled with the stress of the day, had been bubbling up inside him, and he needed to let it out on his own terms. So he took a deep breath, composed himself, and faced Emma again.
“His name was Bowie.”
And so, on the floor of a small wooden boat, sailing through shark-infested waters towards his unknown fate, Raj began to tell her the story of how he had met, and lost, the love of his life.