It was dark on the ship, the only light provided being the moon in the sky and the remains of a sinking ship that was on fire in the distance. Vivienne was sitting bound in a corner of the ship, her anger displayed on her face. The princess had been sailing to another country to wed a prince her father had chosen for her. She knew nothing of him other than their alliance would be good for both of their families. So, Vivienne had gone willingly to make her father and her people proud.

But disaster had struck; pirates had taken the ship and there had been a terrible fight. Her guards and servants raged against the other men, but had eventually been overpowered. They slaughtered the guards and any men on board, sparing only the princess and the two handmaidens she had with her. Once they were back on the pirates ship, flaming arrows had been shot into the royal one and cannons were set off to blow holes into the side so it would sink.

So there Vivienne and her handmaidens sat, silently watching the pirates hurriedly bustle around the ship. It was a flurry of movement, people getting their wounds mended and the uninjured were working on getting the pirates boat moving again. In the chaos, a small dagger had been dropped near the women. The princess crept towards it slowly until she could reach it before darting back to where she had been.

Vivienne dropped the dagger in front of one of the women, allowing her to saw away at the ropes binding the princesses wrists. It took time, they had to stop anytime someone neared or looked their way but eventually her hands were free. She made quick work of her handmaidens bindings before letting out a shaky breath.

The princess glanced around, her grip tightening on the handle of her claimed dagger. She would fight, she had decided this when she saw the dagger. It wasn’t much, but she couldn’t give up. Vivienne spotted a pirate that had been giving orders to the others, standing closer to the women than he had been before but with his back towards him. She didn’t know who this man was to these men, but he seemed like he was of importance. She hesitated for a moment before rushing the man, holding the dagger tightly against his neck.

Her voice came out like a hiss as she spoke into his ear. “Get me your captain or I’ll slit your throat like you did to my men.”

The pirate froze as the cold edge of the dagger pressed against his throat, his breath hitching in surprise. A tense silence fell over the deck, the other pirates halting their tasks, their eyes snapping toward the scene unfolding before them. The only sound that could cut through the rain and ocean was the crackling of the burning ship in the distance, its flames licking the sky, reflected in the dark waters around them.

Before anyone could move a steady voice made a presence known from the higher deck. "Lower the weapon, Your Highness." The crowd parted, and Captain Church stepped forward, his expression calm and almost indifferent. He moved with the normal confidence of a man who had put more steps to a boat than land.

The captain then saw the woman tighten her grip on the blade. The captain’s eyes narrowed, but he remained unfazed. "You think because you’ve managed to capture one man, you hold some sort of leverage? That this,"—he gestured towards the dagger at his man's throat—"gives you power to negotiate?"

Oliver Church shook his head, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "You’re wrong, princess. Killing him won’t change anything. In fact, it will in theory save one of your two companions. We packed enough for one extra passenger and that seat already has your name on it.”

He took a deliberate step closer, his gaze never leaving hers. "You see, you’re not the first noble to think a blade in hand makes them invincible, though you are the first princess. But out here, in the dark, far from your kingdom’s walls, you’ll find that strength isn’t measured by how many lives you can take. It’s in how you keep yours, and those who depend on you, safe."

Captain Church's voice softened, though it lost none of its authority. "Now, you have a choice. You can go down this path and lose what little support you have around you. Or you can put down the dagger, and we can talk. Perhaps there’s another way for you to survive this night. But it starts with you realizing that you’re not in control here no matter what blade you bare."

Vivienne glared at the man as he made his way towards her, the blade to his man's throat never wavering despite his words. A rage burned within the princess, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her ship had been ransacked, her crew and guards slaughtered before being left to sink with the ship, and now she stood on a pirates boat as a captive along with her two most trusted handmaidens. The woman had never even thought of harming another person, but standing there with a dagger to the throat of one of the men that he aided in the destruction of her boat and crew made her wish for vengeance. She spared a glance towards the two women that had accompanied her on the journey, who she had begged to come with her because she had not wanted to end up in a foreign land without anyone she knew.

She hesitated for a moment before moving the dagger away from the man's throat, shoving him away from her as she moved to stand in front of her handmaidens, the dagger still gripped in her hands. He had made a valid point when mentioning that her handmaidens depended on her to keep them safe, at least in her eyes they did. They would not have been on the ship with her had she not asked them to come with her, they were her responsibility to keep alive now that they had been captured by pirates. "We will talk, but I will not allow myself to be unarmed on a boat filled with men the likes of you and your crew."

The princess took a deep breath as she looked up at the captain, debating her next words to him. She knew violence would not be her way off of this ship, she had only attacked the man because she felt a need for retribution for what had happened and to garner the attention of the captain. She was frustrated that her plan had not went as well as she would have liked, but she would just have to pivot and try again with something different. "I would like to talk somewhere private, preferably out of the rain so my handmaidens and I can begin to dry off, we will catch our death out here."

As the rain continued to beat down on the deck of the ship waves from the deepest parts of the ocean began to swell. Easy enough to brace yourself, but the captain noted this was much harder to do while holding a man with a dagger at their throat. Either on purpose or through accident and lack of sea legs he saw the blade on his crewmember’s throat had cut into the skin just enough to allow some blood to flow through. He frowned and then held up his hands as if to surrender.

As Captain of the ship Church lead like most men of his era. Swift and quick before most realized they were following. It had served him well as he grew up in the seedier ports of the region. Still, his rather ‘impressive’ resume of life skills included small things like pickpocketing he learned as a youth and cards as a young man. The last made him better than most at reading people, but when on his ship he didn’t need the skill of cards to ready people.

He listened to the princesses demands “Wet cargo rarely fetches a high price.” He said and agreed to the princesses demands. “I will let you have your blade. Though if you could please tell me what sort of symbol you see on the handle?” Would hate to see one of my men no longer has their favorite conversation starter.”

He made a motion for the two women in attendance with the princess to follow him as he made his way towards the inside of the ship. He made no mention or course change as he opened the door to the interior of the top deck section of the ship. Inside all could see a well let room with a few chairs chart desk and what looked to be a small setting of food including drink. “To your gilded cage now.” He said with a stern look that cleared stated other means of hospitality were an option if trouble continued.

He then walked out of the rain and into the formal quarters which, as far as ships quarters go, were more than adequate. In fact, among the ships at sea currently not housing an admiral the likely were left wanting when compared to this one. Plenty of navigation tools could be seen throughout as well as several tapestries that clearly looked either religious or victorious of battle. No less than seven major languages could be seen used throughout with most being recognizable to anyone of royal blood.

“As much privacy as you can have on the ship can be found in here.” He said as he leaned against his table. “So what are your terms that allow us to the least amount of trouble?”