The job itself had made Vincent skeptical: who hired someone to kidnap a member of their own family? And, if they WERE going to, why go for a man as infamous as himself? There was only one answer, truly: it was a setup.

But everything had checked out. He had demanded the payment in advance, and had idly stared at a readout of his account since. The screen on his cabin’s computer flickered dully, refreshed with a light buzz, and the balance updated. All of the 0’s did not, could not, lie: the payment was his. He could leave right now, abandon the job, and still walk away a very, very rich man. Well, an even richer man than he already was. Who dwells on the details. It was about the concept really, a single payment so large. He had more integrity than that though, almost ill-suited for his profession. If you could call it a profession. Could you be a professional pirate? He laughed softly and turned the screen off, swiping his hand through the air. He turned to door to his room, walking confidently towards the bridge with a spring in his step. Gunner, his navigator, turned to him and raised his brow.

“You seem chipper, sir. Safe to assume we’re paid?” Vincent nodded slowly and put his hand to his chin as he stared through the aft window towards the planet below. He rubbed his chin slowly as he thought. The navigator waited a moment before speaking again. “We aren’t going through with it, are we? We have the money. If it’s a setup, let’s just go. Free and clear.”

“We’re going through with it,” he responded, speaking slowly and clear. “What kind of man goes back on a deal?”

“A smart one, if his life’s on the line”. Vincent turned to the navigator and smiled.

“You’ve been on my crew for years now. You’re at the helm of my favorite ship, Gunner. I trust you not to steer it wrong, so trust me not to steer you wrong.” Short, to the point, and biting. Nobody questioned Vincent, not unless they had a death wish. He was fond of Gunner, however. Any other man would have been shot from the airlock for less. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and patted it gently. “Take us down. You have the coordinates”.

He spun on his heel and sat in the captain’s chair, watching as Gunner and the rest of the command deck crew bustled to follow his orders. He closed his eyes, running the situation through his mind.

Gunner, of course, had had a point. This could all be a honey trap.

But the girl they had been hired to… ‘acquire’. Her own family had ordered it. People with station, wealth, and integrity. They would not work with any of the intergalactic defense corps, and Vincent was not wanted in this system. Fruitless, pointless, and below them to try and capture him. They had told him where to be, they had told him when, and they had told him who. She would be undefended, simply scoop her up and leave.

They landed at the coordinates and engaged their cloaking shield. Vincent stretched and stood, heading towards the cargo bay where he had a small breach crew ready. Armed and armored, ready for anything. Keeping them off of the girl would be harder than capturing her, from the sounds of it. The cargo bay door opened slowly and they departed, waiting behind a small rock outcropping for their target to approach.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture of their target. He admired it a moment, cocking his head. Hopefully they weren't stuck here for long… One less system where he was just a normal citizen. One more where he going to be a wanted criminal.

It was already evening and dinner had already passed. Her father decided to have dinner outside the castle for a change, but did not bother bringing his daughter with him. His son, her brother, on the other hand, got invited and both of them were still out. Probably hanging out at some taverns or even visit some prostitutes. So tonight Allison had decided to have her dinner in her headquarters, located in the basement of the castle.

Her father had hated the idea of a princess living in a basement, but after he heard what her plans were in renovating the place, he gave in. It was a pretty awesome idea after all. The whole place was lid up by soft LED lamps in the floor, giving the whole room a cosy feeling. There were also panels attached to the walls with LED lamps behind them, giving the whole room a 3D-effect. Her furniture was quite modern as well, but still girly. Her father only agreed to the renovation if he could pick the colour combination. Pinks, purples and light blues made it a girly hang out. Allison was fine with it, because it provided everything she needed to be comfortable: her own bathroom, a bar, a gaming area, a lovely bedroom and a small kitchen. Although she was not allowed to use it, it still seemed like a nice addition to the place.

Allison entered her bathroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub. A few minutes ago she had filled up her tub and added one of her favourite bath bubbles. Her bathrobe and a few towels were laid next to the tub to make it easier once she got out. After undressing and placing her clothes on the cupboard on the wall, she lifted her leg up to test the water. “Ieh! Hot!” She whispered, letting herself slide into the water anyhow. The water was burning up her skin, but it was quite cold outside, so a good bath would do her good. “Play classical music.” Allison spoke loud and clear, making sure her voice recognition picked up her request.

Not a moment later Allison was ready to close her eyes and relax. “Hmm..”

Vincent was not left waiting for long: within a few minutes of their arrival, the royal entourage passed. Looked to be the king and his son, along with a majority of the castle guardsmen. More than was really appropriate, more than he'd need. Enough to leave the castle mostly undefended in all of the key places. An easy job, just like it was promised.

Once they had all passed he started to slink towards the castle, staying hidden just in case. His men had all followed behind him; this was far from their first time pulling off a kidnapping... but these were royals. Vincent had never been so brazen in the past. If it weren’t for the fact that this were an inside job, no means of stealth would’ve been enough: the castle’s defense grid would have picked them up and they would be ash in the wind. But they had been paid, as promised. The guards were gone, as promised. The grid was off, as promised.

But would the princess be alone, as promised?

As they approached within 100 meters of the castle wall he brought up a holographic plan from his wrist computer. He studied it a moment, making sure they were on course, then looked to the building itself. It was quite beautiful, really. Decorated like a modern fairytale. He shrugged, looked to his right, and gave the fire order. The man to Vincent's side leveled his large rifle and fired a salvo of explosives, ripping a hole in the wall of the castle. Sheetrock crumbled to the ground around the hole and they made their move, rushing towards the opening.

“Nobody kills anyone. Fire only in self defense. Capture the princess unharmed.” Vincent spoke and the men all understood how serious this was. As much as the client understood the need for realism, they had been perfectly clear about leaving all of the servants unharmed. Smash and grab. The smashing was over with. Vincent looked to the plan again and hooked a right, heading for the castle's basement. Odd that it wasn't a tower.

Taking her time to scrub every single piece of skin she had, she noticed her skin getting all wrinkly. “Just a few minutes more..” She mumbled. Taking she showerhead she started rinsing out the heavy hair mask that had been filling the whole bathroom with lavender. It was one of her father’s gifts a few months back when he visited several foreign planets. It was a very thick mixture of oils and flowers, bottled in a wooden jar. The ingredients on the back of the jar were unknown or rather rare on her planet. Ever since she got that present, Allison wondered what was out there, in the galaxy. But of course, she was not allowed to leave the castle only if her father told her so.

Besides, he spoke of ‘marriage’ a few times already, freaking Allison out slightly. She knew coming of age was the moment to find a partner but all the princes she had met were, how Allison had said it out loud before, ‘pussy’s’. Her father was not pleased with this reaction and said consequences would follow. A few months later and nothing yet had happened. So, Allison wasn’t too concerned about her father’s threat.

Slowly pressing herself out the tub, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her hair in an instant. After stepping out of the bath, she started drying her all up whilst humming to the music.

Dressed in just her bathrobe, Allison made her way to her bedroom. There, she sat behind her computer and opened up a message that had appeared onto it.

”Allison,

This is Prince Alexander again.
Why haven’t you responded to my latest messages?
I just wanted to let you know my father had agreed for me asking for your hand. I’m sure your father would approve.

Greetings,
Alexander.”

“Oh.. How romantic.” Allison laughed a little, shaking her head to the message. ”What makes him think I will just agree to his proposal?” Allison wondered. She thought about how sad thing have gotten if messages like that appeared onto her computer. Where has the romance gone to? Even heard of dating? Maybe even an occasional present? With a deep sigh, Allison got up and started pulling clothes out of her closet and put them on her bed, trying to decide what to wear.

Vincent had passed multiple servants as he had descended towards the basement; they had all ignored him. It made him chuckle, really. They had put a lot more faith in him than he had ever expected to keep up his end of the bargain. He stared over his shoulder at the men following him… if he hadn’t joined them for this, they’d be having a field day right now. He started to simply admire the place like a guest. After all, he had been invited. He ran his hand to the clasp of his mantle and rubbed it gently, straightening the garment on his shoulders. All of that sneaking… he imagined he hardly looked put together. He stopped at a mirror to admire himself, check for dirt on his clothes… make sure everything was in order. What did a royal kidnapper look like, actually? Did he fit the part? He got careless.

One of the princess’ royal guard rounded a corner. Evidently they were the only ones that were out of the loop. Before Vincent had even realized there was any danger he had drawn a laser pistol and was leveling it towards the group of invaders. He froze; the man had him, dead to rights. He watched the guard’s hand, waiting to see any jerk on the trigger, the perfect moment to dodge. “Who are you?!” barked the guardsman, his command echoing through the hall.

A shot rang, near silent. Vincent simply noticed the slight buzz past his ear before the guard dropped to the ground. “They weren’t to be harmed,” he growled, glaring behind himself.

“Just a tranq dart, sir,” said the man closest to him, averting his gaze and staring to the ground. Vincent sighed and continued towards the door he knew was the princess’. He contemplated simply kicking it in, raising his leg and preparing; after all, realism was key, right?

He thought better of it and let his foot down, knocking gently on the door. If the racket that breaking the wall caused, and the guard’s shout, hadn’t alerted anyone else he did not want to make any more noise. Not before they were holding their hostage.

“Princess,” he cooed. “You’re needed outside.”

After finally finding the perfect evening outfit, Allison got dressed right on the spot. It was a casual jeans with a loose white top and a cardigan without any buttons. Her father did not like to see her in anything with a pants, but she figured she wouldn’t be seeing him anymore today. Whilst putting back the rest of her clothes, she walked over to the living area when she noticed a slight knock to her door.

“Needed outside? What for?” Allison confusingly stepped towards the door, already regretting she did not put on any socks yet. The white tiles on the floor were freezing at this time of the year. Slightly annoyed, she opened up the door, only to see a tall guy standing there. He was no guard, that was for sure. His clothing was a bit old school and not very neat.

“And whom are you?” She asked politely, but having a slight annoyance building up inside her. When her eyes shifted to the side, she noticed another guy. He was holding the feet of a guard. It seemed like he was.. “What are you doing?!” Allison raised her voice at the man and stepped outside her room. A faint scream escaped her lips as she held her hands in front of them. “You.. You killed him?!” Clearly panicking, she turned around and ran back into her room. With a spin she threw the door into the face of the guy in front of it. Quickly, she locked the door and pushed her whole weight against it. “GUARDS?!” She yelled out. Several seconds passed but no response. Allison was sure her father had set up several microphones up, so everything would be heard. “ANYONE? INTRUDER!” But not a single response followed. “Oh god..” She mumbled and ran back to her room, grabbing a backpack. Without hesitation, she threw several clothing inside, together with a tablet, her wallet and a pair of shoes.

She had to get out of there. Putting some shoes on herself, she rushed to her bathroom and picked the first few beauty items she might need. In the basement she had no windows, but there was a panel she could open up to get to some stairs. It was right behind her bed, but when she tried to open it up, it seemed to be locked. "No.. No!" Pressing her fingers underneat the wooden panel, pulling as hard as she could, she started to feel helpless. "No.."

Vincent fell backwards as the door slammed in his face, landing squarely on the ground. Typical. Spoiled princess doesn’t even extend the common courtesy to get kidnapped. He rubbed his aching face for a moment before standing and dusting himself off. This place looked immaculate, how was there so much dust?

It had only been a few moments seeing her, but the picture they’d been provided with checked out: it had definitely been the princess, not a chambermaid or some other servant. But the picture didn’t do her justice… she was definitely from royal stock.

Oh well. He placed his hand flat on the door… it was rather solid. He knocked again, sighing slightly. “Open up. Nobody is dead. He’s just knocked out.” He looked to the body and shrugged. Well, he was probably alive… it was only a tranquilizer. He shuddered to think what would happen if more guardsmen showed up though. There would definitely be a body count then, and he wouldn’t be caught off-guard like the last time. But the room in a basement… this was hardly ideal. They could easily get trapped down here. He waited for the princess to open the door, but there was no response. She didn’t hear him, didn’t believe him, or didn’t care. He honestly didn’t care which it was.

Maybe the ease of this all had gotten to him, but now it was like a switch had been flipped. He was no longer complacent with this job… they weren’t guests, they were criminals. This life wasn’t for him, this luxury… And she was a girl. One girl. Any merchant or traveler that saw a ship flying Vincent’s colors was terrified, and this girl had the nerve to slam a door in his face. She’d live to regret it, but only because they had been hired to kidnap her, not kill. The state of her once she was abducted, though… He smiled. She’d pay for the insult, in some way. Throwing her in his ship’s brig for even a moment would probably be torture for her, and he relished the thought of her reaction to it. She’d learn why he was feared.

He took a step back, sizing up the door again, and readied himself. He wound up and kicked it solidly, splintering it with his steel-toed boot, but it still hung loosely on its hinges. He kicked once more and the door buckled, falling into the princess’ room with a shattering crash. He calmly placed his hands in his pockets and took a step into the room, standing on the ruined door. Splinters littered the ground, which was almost a shame… the room seemed so pristine, and pleasant. “You could’ve just let me in, you know,” he called out, letting his voice fill the chambers. “We’d be sitting on that comfortable looking couch, or the chairs… Just having a friendly chat.” He gestured to the furniture of the living area as he took a few steps further into the room. “We still can, I suppose… just with a little less privacy.” He kicked his foot backwards a few times, tapping the door on the ground with his heel. “Your alarm has been turned off. Your escape route is closed. Your panic room is locked. Don’t make this hard on yourself.”

He scanned the room for her, looking left to right, taking a mental picture. He noticed the door to the bedroom and walked towards it, carefully. Hell, she might be armed. The thought only gave him a moment’s pause… this could get exciting. A grin crept across his face.

The guy on the hallway tried to reason with her, but she was too busy trying to get the panel open. It was of no use, she figured. Whom had closed it? And how did these men get by all the guards so easily? They didn’t even seem tired or hurried, just standing there. Something was terribly off, but Allison did not seem to understand what.

With her backpack clenched in her fist, she walked over to the ventilation system. Failing at prying it open, she cursed. “How is this possib-..” The voice of the man now appeared to be inside. Her stomach started to twist and she felt ill. ”This cannot be happening! Where are my guards? My father? Brother? Anyone..?” The moment she held still in her room, were the moments she realized there was no way she was escaping her room. The men calmly told her the alarm had been turned off and her escape route was locked. This was planned, or they were masterminds.

Silently, Allison walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. His footsteps came closer and closer, and she was stuck in her room. There was no place she could hide or even run to. And fighting was no option either: there was no way she would be able to even give him a decent smack before getting lifted up in the air and into his ship. Being as fragile as she was, that seemed like mission impossible.

“I’m right here you know.” Allison couldn’t believe her ears she actually helped him finding her. She would rather go willingly than dead.

Vincent walked towards the room once he heard the soft voice of the princess. He stood in the door way and leaned to the frame, looking towards the bed and finding her there. He crossed his arms and stared at her. “No more slamming doors in my face, and no more running. Are we clear on that?” He stooped his shoulders and moved to stare at the ground, but caught himself. Confidence here, that was important. He was a conqueror.

Her room was nice, well decorated. It reminded him of the Palace Ships he had often had the pleasure of boarding… lots of rich travelers with a lot of belongings to procure. But those were all for show… imitation luxury to travel abroad in space. This was real, all of it. If you scratched at the marble, you’d only hit rock: nothing cheap underneath, not some cladding. But could the same be said of the princess? What was her true mettle?

“Now, you seem complacent. That’s good. I’d hate to ruin that pretty face by roughing you up.” He took a few steps closer to her, standing across and staring her down. He noticed the bag she carried, laughing softly. “I’ll give you some time. Gather your things. Come on…” he swept his hand towards her and snapped, impatient. “Get to your feet. Can’t you see this is me being nice to you?”

The man that walked inside was the same she had seen outside. He did not seem too happy, as she had clearly injured him a little. His nose has a slight tint of red, but Allison couldn’t care less. “You will not tell me what to do.” Allison mumbled, but kept herself silent on her bed, looking at the tiles on the ground. With a sigh, she thought that it would be the last she’d ever see. “And I don’t know why you got in here so easily, but I will get down to the bottom of this.” She mumbled, still not looking him in the eyes. Allison knew she would start to feel terrified as soon as she looked at him. She would then realize this was al very real and not some kind of dream she was having.

His footsteps came near, and went silent right in front of her. Calling her pretty did not make her feel any better, as it was just his way of mocking her. “You have a lot to learn if you want to come across as genuine nice.” Allison then said, loud and clear, looking up at the man in front of him. Allison then pushed herself off the bed and walked over to her closet and pulled out a few more clothes. Not bothered to cleanly fold them, she just pushed them inside of her bag.

Without a word, Allison grabbed a few more beauty items in her bathroom which was connected to her bedroom. The hair-mask, some shampoo, toothbrush, make-up, toothpaste, clean underwear and a stack of clean towels. Looking at his men, and his appearance, she wondered if they ever showered. But it was worth the effort, carrying a few towels around.

She then stood there silently, a few steps away from the man. Too stubborn to say she was done and ready to go, because she wasn’t, she just puckered her lips and looked the other way.

“You’ll need to speak up if you want to be heard,” he chided, stepping back as she stood. “You’re royalty. Have some confidence, princess. And I don’t care if you don’t listen to my commands, as long as you keep doing such a good job of obeying them. Seems kind of… I don’t know, contradictory?”

He watched as she gathered her things, following her around the room. It was more to make sure she wasn’t going to try anything. He rubbed his nose slightly, a slight throb, a little reminder of what happens when he stops being alert. When she went to the bathroom he moved to the closet and rummaged through her clothes, just seeing what was being left behind.

When she returned he glanced to her a moment, seeing her standing there, and closed the closet. She seemed… sad, almost pathetic, but he couldn’t blame her. She had probably been holed up in this castle most of her life because of how ‘safe’ it was for a princess. And now, here he was about to take her away from it all. But then he remembered his nose as it throbbed again. The compassion drained away. He moved to her again, putting his hand under her chin and tilting her head so she was looking at him. “Hold your head high. Don’t give us the satisfaction of seeing how afraid you are. Pretend you’re above all this. Right? Wouldn’t that make it so much easier to deal with?”

He yanked the bag from her hand, making sure all of its compartments were secured, and slung it around his shoulder. It didn’t matter if these were the only things she wanted to bring, she wasn’t going to be the one to carry them. He looked towards the door, waiting for her to pick up on the intention and start walking. He sighed.

Usually he didn’t have to deal with women. At least, not any that weren’t on his crew. The kind of work he did, the jobs he pulled, the piracy they committed… women never really traveled alone. They were the ones that would cower as their travel companions begged for their lives. He’d get what he wanted as they looked away in fear, and he’d leave. Leaving with one of them wasn’t really his style. Kidnapping in general wasn’t. This was a first for them.

Maybe it was always like this?

But what she had said about ‘getting to the bottom of this’; it made him wonder again. The father had PAID him to take the princess away. Who would pay the ransom for this? His gut got tight as he ran the possibilities through his head. This could still be a setup. It may have been easy to get in, and hell, maybe it would be easy to get out. But what then?

The father would have been the one to pay the ransom… but he had paid them to take her.
Did he expect them to kill her?
Did he expect someone else to pay for her release?

This whole thing started to smell foul. One big mistake. He shrugged it off, waiting for the princess to move.

“Can you, please, stay off me?” Allison turned her face to the size, making sure he lost his grip over her chin. The tips he gave her were all a big blur to her, and when he finished his sentence he forcefully grabbed the bag from her hand. It soon became clear he was not a big people person that spends a lot of time with girls. Hell, he might have never even met a royal.

When he made his way towards the door, Allison took her time to take in the view of her room one last time. It was true she had always felt alone and misunderstood by many of her family members. But never had she felt this abandoned by her own father. How could he have such poor security? How is it that the alarm was not working and her escape route was blocked? It all seemed too weird, a little.. Planned ahead even. The idea scared her, and tried to forget about it whilst following the man carrying her only bag of stuff.

When they both arrived in the hallway, it was clear that some of his men had already took the efford of moving several pieces of furniture towards the stairs. From some pure linen bed cloths to crystal drinking cups and porcelain plates with matching cups. But also several of chairs, tables, mirrors and lamps were taken away piece by piece. Allison clenched her jaw as she tried not to say anything, and remembered the man’s advice. Without saying a word, keeping her head held semi-high, she walked by the men. Some of them looked up for a moment, but continued working then. Some of them walked over to say a short ‘Hello M’lady’ or ‘THAT’s coming on our ship? Goodie goodie!’ making Allison feel slightly scared. Were all the pirate stories about having a female on the ship true? Were they all socially awkward and rough when it came to asking a girl on a date? Or even.. Have no manners at all?

On their way back up towards the 1st floor, where the exit was, there were no guards to be seen. It almost seemed like they had al just left, because if the pirates had been fighting, there would be bodies. Looking behind, Allison’s eyes found her capturer's. “Where are you taking me? Better yet, what are you planning on doing with me?” The last sentence came out slightly high-pitched as if she was trying to suppress her fear. But failed at it miserably.

Vincent followed her, watching as she took in the scene. The girl was curious, and just as suspicious as he was. If he was being set up, it was just as likely that she was. His men had taken liberty with some of the finer things in the castle, but that hadn’t bothered him: call it hazard pay. They could take what they could carry. He took two of them aside and pointed towards the princess’ room, telling them of a few choice pieces he wanted taken into the ship’s cargo bay. They scampered off without question. He turned to face her and their eyes locked.

It was a fair question; she deserved to know. He heard the fear in her voice, but decided not to push it. Still no alarm, still no guards. He pressed a button on his wrist computer and it started to flash a dull red. They had a few mintues before the ship would be here.

“Let’s start with introductions. I’m Vincent. I’m a pirate of some renown, and you’re now our captive. I’m taking you to my ship, and from there to part’s unknown Maybe you’ve heard of me, maybe you haven’t, I frankly don’t care. I already know who you are, obviously. Pleasure to meet you, m’lady.” He feigned reverence, bowing to her in an exaggerated fashion. He pushed her shoulder gently, urging her to continue forward. Herding her towards the hole they had blown in the wall.

“All I’m asking is that you behave yourself. I wasn’t bluffing earlier. I’d like to avoid hurting you, but I’ll do what I have to.” He moved with his men towards their makeshift entrance, the sunlight poking through. The light refracted slightly, a sudden burst, and then the noise outside made it clear: his ship had just arrived. They turned the cloaking field off, and it came into clear view. A massive Corsair class gunship, heavily modified. The cargo hatch opened and a crew of men worked their way towards the castle, collecting the small piles of loot. Vincent addressed them all. “Take what you can, but we’re heading skyside in two minutes.” As he finished, the high-pitched screech of the castle alarm pierced the air… the ship had set off the proximity sensor.

The way the guy acted was nonchalant and as if he had nothing to loose by being rude and careless. Maybe he was a man with power. He might even be the captain of this ship. Considering he was ordering some men around it confirmed her thoughts.

“Are you mocking me, Vincent?” She pronounced his name in mockery, and ignored his bow. When he started to push her, she took a few steps forward and came to a halt once again. “Vincent. You have no respect whatsoever. But if you intent to touch me one more time, I will not be a pleasant captive.” Allison tried to threaten him, but it did not seem to work very well. He asked her to behave, and Allison sighed deeply. She’d show him how to behave nicely. But nicely in her way. With a grunt she followed Vincent as he walked into the cargo hatch. Although she was used getting beamed up or even getting carried into a ship so her dress would not get dirty, she enjoyed the normal approach for once. It was as if she was a normal girl that did not mind getting a smear of oil on her clothes or shoes. And she never did, but her father was too keen on keeping her clean.

Once they arrived inside, Allison noticed the ship was quite the size. It did not seem like a lot when she stood in front of it, but the inside was rather old fashioned. The furniture seemed like it came from the age of Queen Elizabeth: Red, patchy and.. Royal. Allison chuckled, again locking eyes with Vincent. This time he was caught off guard, not having his usual frown and grin on his face. He seemed quite normal, quite friendly. Allison coughed as she noticed she was staring at him for far too long. “Well, quite the place you have. Now, show me to my room, wing, whatever you have prepared for me.”

To her surprised, Allison seemed to be taking the whole kidnap quite well. Was it because she had been alone for the past few years? Having that boring, royal life? Maybe she even enjoyed the attention. Whatever it was, she couldn’t quite put a label on it. But she didn’t have to, for now.

Vincent nodded. “We’ll go to my cabin. Formal introductions, all that. Are you hungry?” He walked down the hall towards his quarters, not waiting for an answer, fully expecting her to follow. What did she have to fight for at this point? He tossed her bag to one of his men, telling him to take it to the brig. His men finished loading the ship and the cargo bay slid shut. Vincent turned back to face her. “May want to hurry, lifting off through an atmosphere can get… bumpy.” His quarters were near the command deck of the ship, always close to the action at hand.

He placed his hand to the room’s palm lock and the door slid open. Standing in the doorway, waiting for Allison, he admired it. Home away from home. His own slice of luxury. He tried to keep the ship as classy as possible; truly, as his flagship he thought it was deserved. Those palace ships they had plundered for the furniture… the ship itself had copied the look. His men almost seemed out of place, but it elevated them. Gave them some desire to act with a bit of professionalism. And they were his best men, hand picked. A field of grime ridden, dirty men surrounded by luxury. The sight made him chuckle.

He moved into the room and sat on one of the couches in the living area. It was spotless and emaculate, decorated with some of his favorite treasures from previous ventures. Paintings and wall art, all stolen, filled the walls of the room like expensive wallpaper. Bookshelves were stuffed with display cases and stellar maps. A pure white chandelier hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room, designed to look like one from the Victorian era, but with a modern twist. Flower shaped LEDs provided the only light in the room, mixing multiple colors to imitate a variety of species. He leaned his head behind himself, resting it on the backrest of the couch, and sighed. Almost free and clear now.

It seemed like Vincent wanted to talk to her privately, because he asked her, no, ordered her to move to his cabin. “I just had dinner, so no thanks.” Allison followed him, as she had no place to run off to. And the whole ship was filled with crewmembers eyeing her as she passed by. Glad she only took several jeans and long dressed, Allison walked in. “So, I assume this is all stolen.” Allison mumbled, not even raising her voice into a question. It did seem stolen. Some of the items were not even from this milky way, as she let her eyes run over all the items.

As she walked towards the sofa where Vincent sat, she stared down at him. “Are you tired from ‘kidnapping’ me? Because that was pathetic.” At the word ‘kidnapping’, she raised her hands and motioned two fingers from each hand up and down. This was her way of showing she was not impressed by his performance.

Suddenly, the ship started to make a loud sound, and rose from the ground. Allison knew because she had ridden several big ships like this before. But, as he had warned her, Allison felt a strong force in the back, making her loose her balance and fall right on top of Vincent. Her face landed right next to his and one of her legs was in between his. It missed his private parts by just a little. For a brief moment she felt his breathing against her neck and the movement of his joints, before she quickly pushed herself to the side of the sofa. Her entire face was bright red and she turned her head the other way. “Sorry.” She mumbled softly.

He was startled at the suddenness of it, but kept his composure as Allison fell against him. He didn’t mind the contact, not at all. But it was an accident, and nothing more. The feeling of her warmth against him, the soft fabric of her top and cardigan as it rubbed against his arm. He moved his arm to wrap it around her, embrace her, to keep her from hurting herself, falling off the couch entirely… but thought better of it and kept it stiff, just short of holding her. He moved it away quickly as she pushed from his body.

“I warned you,” he said, low and soft. He looked to the door, noticing it was still open. He moved his hand through the air silently and the sensors picked up the movement, closing the door with a soft ‘swoosh’ followed by a mechanical click. It had just locked. “But there’s nothing to apologize for. Truly, I’m sorry for the rough treatment, princess.”

He rested his hands on his legs and looked towards her. She was a spectacle, even in these circumstances. And she had just laid against him. “I know I’m not going to be able to comfort you during any of this, but in all honesty I am sorry. We’re not kidnappers, but a job is a job. Full disclosure, we were hired to pick you up. I guess it’s like that old phrase, ‘any port in a storm’, but ‘any work for pay’.”

Things calmed as they cleared the atmosphere; all of the shaking gave way to nothingness. Like a feather, lightly drifting, they moved away from the planet. He stood and moved to the small bar station, near a 3D map of the current star system. He looked about the room; everything was still in place, nothing disheveled. The ship hadn’t been on a planet’s surface for months, and he was thankful all of the decoration had held up. He ignored her question about it all being stolen; they were pirates after all. “You’re not hungry, alright. Anything to drink?” He poured himself a small glass of water; he wasn’t in the mood for anything alcoholic. Just something to wet his throat, calm his nerves, and give him something to do to get his mind off of his captive and how they had been so close. It filled his thoughts regardless.

<Again, server error caused a double post -.->

Whilst still looking the other way, she let her fingers go through her long, dark hair to keep it in place. She cursed herself not to take what he had said into record, then this awkward moment could’ve been avoided. Even stranger was, when their close encounter had happened, he closed his doors and locked it. Normally she’d be freaking out, but he had a point. What if one of the crewmembers seen what happened inside? They would probably tease her and Vincent for the next few hours, maybe days. And she could only take that much for now.

When Vincent said he had warned her, she slightly nodded, and hoped the redness in her cheeks had faded already. With a hand, Allison rubbed the back of her neck, still feeling his warm breathe onto it. “It was just an accident, don’t get used to it. Won’t happen again.” She formally addressed and turned her head back towards him. The explanation he gave her about his ‘job’ made her roll her eyes just slightly. He probably didn’t notice as she was trained in hiding her annoyance form her father as well.

Slowly but steady, the noise faded and the ship was now buzzing through space. It made Allison relax a little bit more, but seeing him get off the sofa and walking towards his bar, made her nervous again. Had she really just lain on top of him? And why did she blush like this? It was not like the guy was spectacularly nice or handsome. But maybe that was because he had just kidnapped her, and so she couldn’t possibly like him. “Some scotch? I need it.” Allison then got up from the sofa as well and walked over to him. Scanning the shelf of liquors, she picked out one of the finest ones they also had in the castle. It was probably quite the expensive bottle, but Allison did not mind. It was the least he could do.

Without any word, she poured herself a respectable amount of alcohol in a wide glass and put the bottle back where it was. Then she turned to Vincent and without any amusement, she lifted her glass. “To me probably getting raped by thousands of crewmates.” And Allison put the glass to her lips and took a few sips. Although the words she had spoken weren’t very lady like, the way she poured in the glass, the way she lifted it and drank from it, was pure trained elegance. To the finest detail she had always analysed her every move, except for the ones out of her reach. Again her thoughts wandered off to what happened back on the sofa.

”Why do I want more..”

He admired her choice in the drink, watched her as she poured and drank. He had been more than willing to pour the drink for her himself, but her taking the initiative was almost an insult. Yes, of course, everything here was stolen… the alcohol included. But they were his things now, and she had overstepped. The irony didn’t escape him, that they had kidnapped her and now he was jilted by her taking his scotch. Once she put the bottle down he pushed it away, only a centimeter or so further than she had put it, but the implication was clear. He moved back to the couch and sat where he had been before.

“I was offering to pour you one,” he said. “Not offering to let you pour one yourself. You’re right of course, everything here is stolen. And the men who tried to stop me from taking any of it, they’re all dead. I tried to take from them, and they fought back. They were right to do so. That’s my scotch now, and you’re the one taking it…” he let the words trail off. “Get my meaning?”

Even still, the anger quickly slipped away. She was justified. He held his glass with both hands, staring into the crystal clear water. “I can guarantee you, no one on this ship will hurt you. Trying to escape is pointless… you don’t really have anywhere to go. And then we’d have to keep you under lock and key if you tried it. Really, just messy for everyone.”

He took a sip, returning his eyes to her and admiring her again. “Please, just take a seat and let’s talk.” He motioned to a chair, but there was always that thought, that wish, that nagging feeling… that hope. Hope that she’d return and sit with him, perhaps even a little closer.

Foolishness. She was their captive; she had every right to hate him, and he wasn’t about to try and ingratiate himself with a royal. This was a job. But… well, the job was technically over. She had been kidnapped, what was supposed to be next? The client had been silent. No messages, no further instruction… the payment had processed, and that was all.

He could have been stuck with worse company though, that was for sure. He relished the fact that they were alone together, away from the prying eyes of his crew.