Chapter Text
Please, can this woman be quiet for once?
The Prince suppressed the strong urge to huff and showed his evident annoyance. He was all for having a peaceful kingdom and doing what it took to obtain that, but why this?
As much as he understood, he didn’t understand why they seriously couldn’t go to war instead. At least it would give him something else to do other than all this repulsive wedding plans. They’d win, he knew that. Their army was the strongest in the land, their intelligence unmatched, and with his own power of science, the opposing side wouldn’t stand a chance.
So why instead was his mother trying to walk him through how to carry himself through his wedding? One he didn’t ask for he might add.
“Mother, please, we’ve been over this many times. May I please be excused back to my lab?”
The woman halted for a moment, then frowned. “But Xeno, dear, this is a very important day! With this union, your marriage to Princess Garnet, our kingdom can be at peace once again! She’s an exquisite young woman, very beautiful, you’ll like her.”
Xeno caved to his internal battle, and sighed. “I have no interest in marriage or love. It’s illogical and I have other matters to attend to. Honestly, I feel this whole wedding is completely unnecessary. If we went to war, we’d win—”
“Xeno Wingfield! I will not stand by while you spout such preposterous things! You are getting married to Princess Garnet and that is that! And this whole science thing you’re into? Once you’re King, it needs to stop. You won’t have time for such ridiculous things anyway. I was willing to let you indulge in this meaningless dream when you were little, but you’re an adult now.”
Her words went in one ear and out the other, his hands tightened into balls on his pants. He knew he didn’t deserve to be spoken to in such a way, and he knew he couldn’t argue back. No matter how he reasoned with his parents, they’ve never listened to him. All they cared for were themselves and their own self image. “Have you seen the things we’ve become capable of due to science?”
His mother’s shoulders drooped, a disappointed expression taking over. “That’s what peasants are for, honey. It’s time you learned that…” her voice dripped with pity and he hated it with every fiber of his being.
All she did was nag him, more of an irritating rat than a mother.
As those thoughts went through his mind, the door opened and in came his father. Immediately, his mother’s whole demeanor changed, which almost made Xeno scoff out a laugh. “Honey, thank goodness you’re here! Your son keeps going on about his foolish ideas again, I can never seem to get him to stop…”
His father turned to him, face neutral, he spoke in a low unshaking tone. “Is this true? I don’t want to have this discussion with you again, young man.”
“I’m an adult, father. I feel I should be able to make choices for myself. And this wedding? What a joke.”
“Oh? And what do you suggest we do?” His father raised a challenging brow, clearly under the impression he was miles above Xeno. It was a look Xeno knew there was no winning against. Winning against idiots is impossible.
Xeno leaned back in his chair without grace, giving his father a similar condescending glare. “I propose we take them down. We have a stronger army and more than enough resources to beat them. This arrangement is an obvious sham and you two simply refuse to see it.”
His father stared at him silently for a few minutes, his mother hopelessly looking between them waiting for who would speak first. “This is why you aren’t ready to take the crown.”
“If it makes me think as idiotically as you, I think I’d rather not have it.”
“I’ve had enough.” His father’s voice hadn’t changed since the moment he came in. Xeno’s never heard it any differently. Always the same expression on every occasion, like it was petrified in place. “You will continue with the wedding preparations until you have it completely perfected, no arguments. Are we clear?”
He held his tongue and merely nodded.
With that, his parents left him alone, to be directed by the lowly maids. “Prince Xeno, this way…” one led him timidly.
He followed with a singular thought going through his mind. If only there were someone to take me away…
•••
“Ay, Captain Stan! New recruit says she finished up with swabbing the decks already!” Brody’s voice from across the ship, laughing like he heard a funny joke.
Captain Stanley Snyder, most well known and dangerous pirate in all the land, a mercenary who accepted any job no matter how bloody or twisted as long as the pay was good, didn’t flinch by the shout. He stared off at the sea, smoking his pipe. With a sigh, he looks back at the bald man with an uncaring expression. “Doubt it. Either way, I don’t care, just make her do something.”
“You got it, cap!”
Brody, the ship’s boatswain and occasional carpenter, went back to work, leaving Stanley alone with the waves and the background noise of his loyal crew tending to their duties. Rookies out of fear, the rest out of loyalty and respect.
No one that dared disrespect Captain Stanley has ever lived to tell about it.
Just as he was about to let himself relax, another voice, this time female but just as loud, materialized. “Captain, there’s a place we can stop off in the distance.” Maya, one of the stronger warriors of his ranks, their master-at-arms. Stanley took his pipe out of his mouth and glanced in the direction she pointed, hummed when he saw the port she referred to, just beyond the horizon.
“Let’s stop. We can take a little break from the water.”
“You got it!” She smiled. “Maybe there’ll be some work we can do.”
To that Stanley laughed. “A puny little port like that? Hardly. But if there’s any coin to be had, we’ll get it.”
He grabbed onto the ship’s wheel and the crew sprung into action, preparing their long awaited stop. One member in that crew, Leonard, who’d been staring at the same three maps for the last three days without the light of day. He was probably the most excited to finally get the opportunity to drink some rum at a tavern.
The ship pulled into the port, once Stanley set foot onto the dock with his black cavalier boots, the crew eagerly jumped after, ready to be on land again.
Stanley did not share in their excitement, but could appreciate the shared relief among his crew.
Some members stayed behind to watch the ship while everyone else immediately headed for the nearest tavern.
Stanley stood by himself for a bit, letting his sea legs get used to being ashore again. The sun is setting, painting the sky in dazzling reds, oranges, pinks, and blue. Hints of purple as well, beneath the sea of colors he spotted stars starting to sparkle into view as the sky faded. If he were an artist or even cared for art in the first place, he’s sure he would’ve found the sight breathtaking.
But he wasn’t. He was the Captain of a pirate ship, in charge of guiding his crew and making coin. A man who's seen more blood than flowers. With his pipe held to his lips, a long sigh escaped him.
It was just another day today, sailing the seas and figuring out where his wealth would grow next.
That new recruit though, she was really starting to get on his nerves. She came from a higher-up family, so right away, he was wary of her presence. After he was sure she was truthful in her words of how she abandoned her old life, he finally caved and let her on. Not because of her sob story, but because of her limited medical knowledge. They didn’t have any doctors on the ship, so if anything were to happen, she would really be their best bet.
She wasted no time making friends with Max and Carlos, the three were practically attached to the hip. But man, Stanley really wanted to punch her sometimes. All she did was complain and she hardly came across as competent. Of course, Stanley wasn’t the type of Captain who’d harm or abandon a crew member on some island because they annoyed him, but the more her voice went on, the more self restraint he had to enforce on himself.
“Stan! Are you coming? Come on, Leonard says the rum tastes great!” Maya halted his train of thought and without bothering to argue back, he put his pipe away and followed the woman to the tavern.
“How many times do I have to tell ya to stop bossin’ me around?”
She laughed. “Sorry, Captain!”
The smell of alcohol washed over him in one big wave the moment he entered the tavern. Within the wood plank walls were arrays of tables illuminated by the dimly lit yellow lights barely hanging all that high on the ceiling. As expected, Leonard was already chugging his third tankard of rum, cheeks tinted red and clearly three sheets to the wind. Meanwhile Brody happily socialized with other members of the crew, staying humble with a single drink. Charlotte was sat on the other side of the tall man, keeping to herself but listening intently.
Sitting at a table more in the corner were the younger members of their crew. Carlos and Max, the older of the five, are singing together, completely off key. Most of the other customers had already left and Stan was willing to bet it was because of that horrid singing. At least it wasn’t Maya’s. Across from them was Joel, Chelsea, and Luna, the rookie. Joel had a tankard in front of him, but for some reason seemed too nervous to actually drink it. What a waste, Stanley thought.
Before he decided where to sit, Maya made the choice for him, having him sit next to her right in the front. “Ah, finally get to have a drink without the room shakin’” she smiled.
“Makes no difference to me,” Stanley replied as the barkeep gave him his drink. He swirled the tankard in his hand boredly and took a drink, it was far from the best alcohol he’s had, but expected from a small area such as this. Then again, he wasn’t much of a rum guy in the first place. But it got the job done.
“Hello, Captain.” Charlotte appeared next to him. “How long do you reckon we’ll be here?”
Stanley didn’t spare a single glance. “Tomorrow we’ll go around and see if there’s any paid work worth doing. If there’s nothing to do, then we’ll be back on the water soon enough.”
“Seriously, cap? Couldn’t spare even a couple days, huh.” Brody chimed in, only a few seats away.
“This isn’t a vacation, we’re pirates. We go where the treasure is, which isn’t here. Let’s hope when Chelsea and Leonard get that map deciphered it’ll lead us to something valuable.”
“About that…” Chelsea muttered, already he didn’t want to hear what the girl had to say. “We figured it out, but it didn’t have anything useful.”
Stanley shook his head. “Sucks. Maybe next time.”
Luna peeked over the other girl’s shoulder curiously. Was everyone just going to gather around him? “Aw, so no treasure? What a disappointment.”
Maya pat the girl on the shoulder gently, her version of gentle at least. “Don’t get too worked up about it. It happens. We once spent a month following a trail of clues only to find a silly ‘ole love letter!”
Luna gasped dramatically, looking between Stanley, then Charlotte, then Chelsea, who shared a similar glint of excitement, then back to Maya. “Really? Do you still have it?”
“No, why would we?” Stanley spat. He still wasn’t over that one. Worst blow to his pride he’s ever taken.
Immediately, Luna and Chelsea deflated. “Aw, man! Was it romantic?”
Maya nodded.
“Oh, I wish I could’ve read it! Speaking of romance, did you hear about Prince Xeno’s engagement to Princess Garnet?”
“Ain’t no one who hasn’t.” Stanley rolled his eyes. He was already tired of that story. Stanley had no interest in the affairs of royalty. It was obviously all a front anyway, a sham, not real. A political marriage. That’s just how the higher class worked. It was such a damn shame, but he’s glad not to be a part of it because quite frankly, it’s pathetic. Everything the royal family did was artificial and made up, he stopped paying attention to anything that related to them years ago. Which is exactly why he had no desire to hear it from Luna. “No one cares either.”
Luna frowned. “I care! I think it’s sweet… like an enemies to lovers romance! Uniting their kingdoms with a single bond of love? That sounds so romantic.”
Stanley visibly cringes. “If that’s your idea of romance, I pray you never find it.”
“Come on, Captain, no need to be so harsh to the poor thing.” Maya was now on her second drink, Leonard in the background on his fifth and barely conscious. “Imagine if you never find romance.”
Midway through a swig of his drink, Stanley almost choked, slamming it back onto the table with a loud clink. “Romance? That’s so not my thing. Sure, I’ve hooked up with plenty of beauties and wenches, but never anything serious,” Luna scrunched her nose with disgust. “Even if I ever felt that way for anyone, I’m too busy for it. I wouldn’t be willing to set aside my life for a single person I may or may not be with within a year. Plus, being the lover of The Captain Snyder? It’s basically a death sentence.”
“Well, you’re not wrong…” Chelsea muttered awkwardly.
Meanwhile Maya rolled her eyes, unbelieving and with a mischievous gleam staring back at him. “You’re only saying that because you’re too scared of trusting someone. Of letting yourself be open and vulnerable to someone.”
Hearing that, Stanley’s brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”
“It’s pretty damn obvious. You’ve closed yourself off from everyone and you have no biases towards anyone. You keep everyone at a distance and when someone tries to push they eventually meet the end of your sword.”
He stood up, more eyes landing on them. “I don’t know who you think you are, but no one talks to me like that, are we clear? If you know what’s good for you, it’d be best to keep your damn mouth shut.”
Her smile never faded, instead leaning against the counter and raising her cup. “You got it, Captain.”
Once everyone’s attention turned back to their own interactions, Stanley took the opportunity to slip out of the tavern and begin in his slow trek back to his ship. If he wanted to, he could leave them all here and they wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. Who did that chick think she was, speaking to her Captain in such a way? Like she knew him and could see straight through him.
As he came closer to his ship, his eyes landed on a suspicious figure standing on the dock where his ship was floating. He placed his hand to the musket on his side, the other reminding itself where the handle of his sword was.
The figure seemed to notice. “Hello, you must be Captain Snyder.” The man was wearing a hat, so Stanley couldn’t see his face. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to cause you harm. I’m merely here to discuss a job.”
“A job, huh… Did you have to look so suspicious for it?” Stanley shuffled past the figure, who apparently thought he was given the okay to follow Stan onto his ship.
“Apologies, but this kind of mission demands the utmost secrecy. May we speak privately? I assure you, this is a job you’ll definitely want to hear.”
He scanned the man, keeping an eye out for any trick, but ultimately decided taking him out wouldn’t be a struggle if it came down to it. Plus, this was starting to get interesting. “Fine, follow me.”
Stanley led the strange man to his own Captain’s Quarters, then sat in his desk unceremoniously, throwing his boots onto the surface and putting his hands together expectantly.
The man walked straight up to his desk, a small smile on his face. “You see, I am only a messenger here, here to request and give you the details for this job on my client’s behalf.”
“So you’re not the guy we’re actually doing the job for… who’s your client?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid I cannot tell you that. You’ll learn in due time. What matters is that you carry out the job and my client pays you generously for it.”
Stanley leaned forward in his chair, just by a little. The silence was so palpable, that the only thing keeping the tension controlled were the sounds of the ocean water splashing against the ship. “How many doubloons are we talking about?”
The man’s grin grew wider, and it was starting to get on the Captain’s nerves. But as soon as he was answered, all his irritation was replaced by shock and disbelief, he had to sit in his chair straight to believe it. “Would two million gold coins be enough for your service? If not, we can talk prices.”
“Two million?! Are you serious?”
A laugh. “I assure you Captain Snyder, this is quite serious. And my client believes you’re the man for the job. Captain Stanley Snyder, one of the most ruthless and dangerous pirates in the land. A man who’s never failed a mission, who has always managed to do what he’s set out to do. A man no one has ever come close to.”
“What kind of job would pay that much? Just what do you need me to do?”
“I’m so very glad you asked.” A pause, one that had Stanley more on the edge of his seat as it dragged on. “What my client wants you to do is to kidnap the Prince. Prince Xeno, and deliver him to an agreed upon location at a designated time.”
Stanley stared. He stared for a long time. Several minutes, what could’ve been hours. Replaying the words over and over again to process them. “You want me… to kidnap the Prince?”
“Yes.”
That was a big job for sure, one that could be risky as hell if even one mistake is made. Was it worth it? There was no way of knowing if the two million was even real. “Yeah, my crew and I aren’t really the kidnapping type—”
Endless clinking. Hundreds of vibrations as the gold coins hit the desk, coming from the pouch the man held upside down. “That is one thousand gold coins.” He pulled out another pouch and placed it onto the desk with a fairly loud thump. “This is another thousand, adding up to two thousand coins upfront. If you need more before you’re comfortable with doing the job, I can make that happen.”
Stanley’s gaze fixed onto the surface, over each individual gold coin. He took off his hat and set it aside, then took one coin to sink his teeth into after a close look. “These are real at least…” He made eye contact. “Never thought there’d come a day where I’d have to kidnap the Prince of all people. Can I ask why?”
As expected, a negative answer. “So, what do you say? Of course, if Captain Stanley Snyder wants to pass down a job because it’s too much, that’ll be fine. There are always other pirates who’ll take the glory.”
“Too much? Nothing is too much for me. We’ll do it.”
“Lovely! There’s a banquet tomorrow night he will be attending, it’s a party celebrating the Prince’s engagement. My client was able to procure an entry for you. All you’ll need to do is find the Prince and lead him away, it’ll be as easy as that.”
Stanley crossed his arms skeptically, raising a doubtful brow. “Yeah, because kidnapping actual royalty has always been so easy. Is there not something else you got for me that’ll be useful? Don’t get me wrong, the royals are stupid as shit, but Xeno, I heard he’s not a pushover.”
The man nodded matter-of-factly. “Yes, you’d be correct. Which is why I have some advice that’ll make it almost too easy. You see, the Prince is a big fan of science, he believes it to be rather elegant. All you must do is casually mention it in conversation and he’ll do the rest for you. He’ll be too distracted going on about his passion to notice you subtly leading him away and out of sight. From there, all you must do is stay under the cover of darkness and get away.”
“Hm… fine. Tomorrow then. I’ll have my crew set out first thing in the morning. Even if your little plan doesn’t work, I’ll figure something out. Because I’m Captain Stanley Snyder, and I never fail.”