Pirate Princess (12 page)

Griffin set a piece of folded paper on the table in front of me. I looked at it suspiciously, but opened it. “One day free of stalkers,” I read out loud. I looked up at him in shock. “Really?” I asked loudly with wide eyes.

He nodded his head. “You pick a day and you can go stalker free. But, if you get in trouble you have to call on a guard.”

“Deal!” I yelled happily.

Jared folded his arms across his chest with a frown. “No fair, she likes your gift better.”

Faxon set a large box on the table and stepped back with a wide smile.

“You guys really didn’t have to get me anything,” I said, feeling embarrassed.

“Open it,” Esmeralda said.

“She’s more curious than anyone I know,” Griffin mumbled, “If you don’t open it soon her head might explode.”

“I heard that,” she growled.

I pulled off the ribbon and opened the box to find another box. I pulled out that box, opened it and found yet another box. I continued this pattern until the box I was left with could fit into the palm of my hand. “Did you package it like that just to bother Esmeralda?” I asked Faxon as I tried to lift the lid.

“Perhaps,” he murmured with a smirk and a gleam in his eyes.

The lid wouldn’t budge. “Is it locked?” I asked. He nodded his head. I rolled my eyes. “Making me practice even on my birthday,” I muttered as I focused and got the box to open. Inside was a gorgeous amethyst and silver ring. “Faxon,” I whispered, “It’s gorgeous.”

“Faxon,” Jared whispered.

“This is a special ring,” he told me. “It amplifies magical power and can be used as a communication device.”

“A what?” I asked in confusion.

“If you rub the amethyst and picture a mage, it will connect them to you telepathically,” he explained.

“That’s quite a gift,” Griffin commented.

“It’s too nice,” I whispered.

“It will help keep you safe and that is what is most important,” he said.

I put it on my right middle finger and smiled. “Thank you.”

He bowed and left the room. The adults murmured quietly to each other, but I ignored them, admiring my new bracelet that I put on the same side as my new ring.

“Your Highness,” a guard called from the door, “The seamstress is here with the dress.”

“Wonderful!” Esmeralda said excitedly. “Come on, let’s go try it on to make sure the alterations they made a few days ago are right.”

I gathered my things and followed her to her chambers since her room was larger and easier for us to try the dress on in. Luckily I had been able to figure out a spell that made my tattoo invisible so I could undress in front of Esmeralda without her seeing it. I stepped inside and someone put their hand over my eyes. “Keep your eyes closed,” the youngest seamstress said.

They had done the same thing last time as well so I obliged her and let her lead me the rest of the way to the room. Esmeralda helped them undress and then dress me. The dress was made of an incredibly soft material that whispered against my skin as it slid down my body into place. They pulled on strings in the back and tightened the corset. After some more adjustments they finally told me to open my eyes.

I opened them and gasped at the woman looking back at me in the mirror. The dress was perfect! “It’s perfect!” I told them happily.
The dress had a long, wide skirt, wide sleeves, and beautiful lacing along the neckline, the bottom of the skirt, around my upper arm, and the edge of each sleeve. Although there was a lot of material, I could easily wrap the wide sleeves around themselves or pull the sleeve up so my arm was free and they wouldn’t hinder me in a fight. The wide skirt gave me plenty of room to kick and run and the corset was blessedly breathable and would allow me to hide a small dagger inside it without anyone the wiser. They had added the lace to the bottom of the corset as well so that it all tied together. It was a beautiful amethyst color and the lace’s silver designs made it incredibly elegant and perfect for a royal ball.

“All of your jewelry matches it as well,” Esmeralda commented.

She was right, the necklace my dad had given me and my new bracelet and ring looked perfect with the colors. “What about shoes?” I asked.

The oldest seamstress set a pair of low-heeled boots, dyed to match my dress, on the ground. “These aren’t conventional shoes to wear with a dress on your coming of age celebration, but neither is this dress.”

“They’re wonderful,” I told her.

After the seamstresses left Esmeralda asked for the assistants to come in to do my hair and makeup. Two and a half boring hours later I was ready. I twirled in front of the mirror with a wide smile on my face. “This is amazing,” I told Esmeralda.

“You look beautiful,” she said, “I think Jared might be beating boys off of you all night.”

I turned and looked at her and sighed, “No one is as beautiful as you, Esmeralda.”

She smiled and hugged me. “Thank you, but in a year or two I know you will surpass my beauty.”

Someone knocked on the door and then Jared stepped inside. “Are you girls…” he stopped talking and stared at us in silent shock. When he had finally recovered he asked, “Where did my little niece go?” I blushed and he hugged me tightly. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

He turned and smirked at his wife. “You keep getting more beautiful every day. How is that possible?” he asked and then pulled her against him to kiss her.

“Ew, get a room.”

“This is our room,” they said at the same time.

“Right, then I’ll leave you to it,” I told them and walked out. There were people walking, running, and carrying things. I had never seen so many people in one place getting things prepared before. Even parties we threw for Jared didn’t have this much commotion.

“Tilia?” Faxon asked.

I turned and smiled at him. “Hey, you look very handsome and dignified,” I told him. He was wearing a jacket and dress pants, which fit him nicely.

He walked around me and asked, “How did you grow up in a couple of hours?”

“Jared said something similar,” I told him with a laugh. I was beyond pleased with the dress and hoped to find additional occasions to wear it.

He came around to face me again and kissed my cheek, making me blush. “You look beautiful, Tilia.”

“Thank you for the ring,” I told him, “It matches my dress perfectly even.”

“Will you promise me something?” he asked quietly.

I swallowed nervously and nodded my head. What was he going to ask me? Why was he acting so strange today?

“Will you promise not to take it off? If I know you’ll always have it on I’ll know that you are safe or can contact me if you aren’t safe.”

“I promise.”

“Good. So, are you ready to start your night?”

“I’m very nervous,” I admitted.

“Once the boys see you, you won’t have any free time to think about being nervous because you will be dancing with them all night,” he told me.

“Tilia,” Jared called, “It’s time.”

Faxon and I walked over to him and Esmeralda. “We will go down first and be introduced, then Faxon, and then you,” Esmeralda informed me.

“I have to walk in alone?” I asked nervously.

“Yes, so that everyone has a chance to see you,” Jared said.

“Can’t I walk down with Faxon?” I asked.

“Nope, it’s tradition. I had to do it and so do you,” Esmeralda told me. She leaned over and whispered, “Your mom was nervous too, but she did it.”

I sighed and nodded my head. “Alright.”

Esmeralda gave me a hug and then linked arms with Jared. They walked down the curved staircase that led into the ballroom and were greeted by cheers from those in the ballroom.

Faxon squeezed my shoulders and whispered, “Walk out there with your head held high and know that none of those boys are good enough for you.”

He walked away before I could respond and was met with cheers as well. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, raised my chin, and walked down the stairs. I finally came into view of the ballroom and froze for a second as I looked at the packed ballroom full of people I did not know. The ballroom was decorated in purple and black which made it look like I had planned my dress according to the décor. Or perhaps they had planned it around my dress. All eyes were fixed on me as the announcer introduced me. “Princess Tilia Jasmine Swanson,” he said loudly.

People clapped and I started walking again, hoping no one had noticed my temporary fearful moment. When I made it down the stairs Jared took my arm and placed it around his. “Your first dance will be with me since it is tradition to dance with your guardian.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” I admitted.

He smiled and said, “Well you haven’t seen the line of boys waiting to dance with you yet.”

Jared and I danced and once I wasn’t as nervous he twirled me and I found myself dancing with a boy my age. He wasn’t attractive and judging by his clothes which did not fit him properly, he was one of the farmer’s boys. I smiled brightly at him and danced with him knowing that I would probably never see him again and that if I treated him like all the rest it might just make him happy. He twirled me into another guy who I found extremely attractive. His biceps showed through his suit and he had a smile that almost rivaled Faxon’s. I danced and danced and danced with so many different boys to possibly be able to recall. Not that it mattered since I wasn’t able to get any of their names anyways. After four songs I excused myself to get some water. A few of the girls snickered and whispered to each other when I walked by while other girls introduced themselves and were incredibly pleasant.

I got a glass of watered down wine and looked out at the crowd from the side of the room. Adults, teenagers, and even children were dressed in beautiful dresses and suits and they danced together with smiles on their faces. I spotted Esmeralda and Jared dancing together, Jared whispered into her ear and she threw her head back as she laughed. They looked happy and so in love. I wanted that. I wanted someone who loved me like they loved each other. I set the glass of water down and snuck around behind the other people watching the dancers and escaped out a side door. The door led out to a balcony that faced the ocean with some grass between. I breathed in the salty scent and relaxed as a cool breeze blew across my shoulders. To my left was a balcony that went right up to the water. I hopped over the balcony I was on, landed on the soft grass and jogged over to the other balcony, climbing carefully over the side without getting my dress dirty and leaned out as I looked into the churning water below.

I could still hear the music and laughter from inside, but it was peaceful out here. I closed my eyes, listening to the waves crashing against the bottom of the balcony and could almost pretend I was back on my father’s ship. I could even hear the creaking of wood.

“Hi,” a male voice said from nearby me.

I opened my eyes, expecting to find one of the guy’s from the dance having caught me behind me, but instead I found a guy standing on a boat that he had rowed over right in front of me.

“Hello,” I said pleasantly. He was attractive, except that his nose was a little too large for his face and a little crooked. He was wearing breeches, tall boots, and a loose shirt that puffed up as the wind blew. He also had a sword at his side and a dagger in his left boot. He looked to be in his early twenties.

“What is a beautiful girl like you doing all alone out here?” he asked.

“Enjoying the ocean breeze,” I admitted to him. “What is a young pirate doing so close to the castle?” I asked.

He smiled. “Who says I’m a pirate?”

“I can see a symbol on your chest when the wind makes your shirt puff up,” I explained.

“Very observant,” he said, “But don’t worry you don’t need to be afraid.

“Who says I’m afraid?” I asked with a smirk.

He looked at me and his smile changed into a smirk. “No, you aren’t afraid. An odd thing for a royal girl.”

“How do you know I’m royal?” I asked.

“That necklace,” he said, “Is definitely a royal item.”

“Ah, but perhaps I stole it,” I teased him.

“I doubt that. More likely it was a gift,” he said and leaned his arms on the balcony so that he could keep his boat still, gaze locked with mine.

“Alright, you are correct. It was a gift.”

“Well, I hate to do this, but...” he leapt up onto the balcony with his sword drawn, “Hand over the necklace.”

I pulled out a dagger I had been able to make a slit in the dress to hide and glared at him. “Not a chance.”

He smiled, “Ah, a girl with fight in her. I don’t want to hurt you, so why don’t you put that dagger down before you hurt your…”

I slashed at his shoulder, almost getting him, but he jumped back in time to avoid it. “I am warning you to leave. I won’t let you take this necklace.”

His smile had disappeared as shock took over. “You aren’t a typical royal girl,” he whispered.

“But you seem to be a typical low level pirate,” I taunted.

He glared at me and said, “I am
not
low level. I am Captain Finn and I will take your necklace.” He darted forward, his sword striking down at my shoulder. I blocked it with my dagger, but before I could get another dagger out, he grabbed my wrist and pushed me back against the wall of the building. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered, “So just relax.”

I relaxed and looked down with a sigh like I was admitting defeat, but as soon as he relaxed his hold, I dropped my dagger, grabbed his sword hand and twisted his wrist as hard as I could, making him drop his sword. He grabbed both of my wrists and slammed them against the wall. I tried to knee him, but he caught my knee with his leg and then pushed me all the way against the wall, pressing his full weight against me until I was unable to move.

“You are a feisty one,” he murmured, “I like that.” Before I could stop him, he kissed me on the lips and then ran away, grabbing his sword as he went. He hopped over the balcony and rowed away. He blew me a kiss and said, “It’s not personal.”

“It is now,” I growled at him as I realized he had stolen my necklace as he ran off. “I’ll have it back by morning. Just you watch!”