83AN: Wow. One and a half years since I last visited this story. I truly am sorry for how long it has been and I can only hope you will find it in yourself, Dear Reader, to excuse me for my delay in writing. Excuses, I have many, but none that I wish to recount and sour your mood with, so suffice it to say that while it may have taken me this long to come forth with another offering, I have put in as much of my heart as I could to writing something that I hope you will love as much as I do.
As a final note, I began writing this back when the Pirate banner with Veronica was first announced, but I found myself unable to find both the time or motivation to craft something I was really satisfied with until recently. Thank you to everyone who left reviews in the meanwhile, as they are what kept me going. Please forgive me for this being only a paralogue, but I will try to finish the next main story chapter as soon as possible. With that said, may I present to you:
"What's With This Sassy…Lonely Princess?"
Paralogue 5: Yohoho! It's a pirate's life for me!
(Three & A Half Years After Kiran's Summoning to Askr)
"The air smelled of salt. The sky was vast and unending, and the bright, white sun shone down upon the emerald seas from the heavens above. Sinbad sailed off into the horizon, ship laden with the treasure of Ali Baba and his forty thieves."
Veronica sighed as she shut the storybook. She knew that as a growing young woman, tales of pirates and bandits, of rapscallions and rogues, were not appropriate for her, and should be left behind with the rest of her childhood fantasies. Furthermore, in her capacity as the Imperial Princess, enjoying tales of such…unsavoury characters should be beneath her dignity.
And yet, she could not find it within herself to let go of this one little conceit to her younger years, when her head had been filled with tales of cannons pounding across the high seas rather than the true din of war on the battlefield.
She ran a finger across the gilding along the edge of the book's pages, somewhat faded with the passing of the years, before hugging it to her heart and returning it to its hiding place. The draping silks and sheets of her magnificent four-poster bed would be enough to ward against prying eyes.
Veronica sighed again and fell backwards onto her mattress, letting herself indulge in this moment of childishness away from the eyes of her people and her court. The warm afternoon sun shone through her windows, calling her to the Land of Dreams.
Veronica found herself walking on soft, golden sand. The air around her smelled of salt. The unending blue sky stretched above and the white sun lit up the world, turning the sea before her a mercurial silver.
The gulls squawked and cried loudly as they flew in circles overhead. The wind blew across the shimmering waters, sending a refreshing breeze her way. Veronica closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation before taking stock of her state.
Judging by the wrecked barque behind her and the shabby rags she was wearing, it seemed as though she had been in some sort of an accident out at sea and had ended up on this beach. The surroundings suggested some island in the tropics, and the heat bordered on unbearable. She could not recall ever going further south than the Imperial Family's summer cottage, which, though far more temperate than the Palace, would never get this hot.
Off in the distance, the prow of a massive galleon cut through the horizon as it made its way towards Veronica. A large black banner marked with a white skull above a golden anchor soon came into sight, fluttering in the wind.
Veronica narrowed her eyes. It was The Nohrian Drake, the ship of the Xander Pirates—an infamous pirate crew that sailed the seas of Zenith, pillaging from Emblan and Askran merchant fleets alike. What made them so well-known, however, apart from their successes at sea, was that fact that unlike most normal pirates, the Xander Pirates gave away most of their gold to the poor and needy they came across at the harbours they occasionally landed in. Rumour had it that their captain, the eponymous Xander, was the prince of a far-off land, and kept the whole operation afloat with his own coin.
Within a few minutes, the great ship, easily thrice the size of her royal barque pulled into the bay. Sounds of merriment could be heard from the crew as they began to near. They soon became quiet upon seeing the splintered remains of a ship and a young woman staring at them from the shore.
They quickly disembarked and a young man with an easy, rakish grin hopped down onto the sand and called out to her, running a hand through his windswept gray hair.
"Ahoy there girlie!" he called out as he walked towards her. "Yer ship's done crashed, eh? Get yerself caught in that last storm, did ye?" He flashed her what he thought was a charming grin and winked as he continued. "Well, no need ta worry, lass, we can give ye a ride back tae where ye came from. All it'll cost ye is the pleasure of having a spot of tea with yers truly, La—"
"Laszlo, please cease your incessant flirting. Do you not realize that is Princess Veronica of Embla?" A weary voice came from behind the man. Dressed in a captain's coat, a tall, robust man with a wavy, golden mane that gleamed in the sunlight stood on the beach."Apologies for my first mate's behaviour, Your Highness. He may have his vices, but he is a good sailor," he said with a deep bow while taking doffing his hat. "And how many times must I tell you to stop with that affectation?" he asked, turning to his first mate. "Just because we are pirates doesn't mean we need to speak like the stereotypical seadog."
Laszlo laughed as he half-heartedly apologized. "Guess I forgot, Captain. Sorry!" He danced away from the hand that was about to cuff him upside the head with a laugh.
The captain just closed his eyes and pinched bridge of his nose with a grimace. "Gods, give me patience," he muttered looking heavenwards. Facing the princess once more, the taller man gave her a little smile as the wind ruffled his hair, further strengthening his lionlike looks. "Your Highness, I am Captain Xander, and this is my crew. The Xander Pirates are at your service. We are on our quest to find the great treasure known only as "The Master", said to grant three wishes, but the last reliable sighting of it has been in between here and Embla. Would you like our aid in getting back home?"
Veronica said the first thing that came to mind.
"I want to be a pirate too."
The chatter of the pirate crew once again grew still as the words from the princess' declaration reached their ears. The only sound that could be heard were the calls of the impertinent gulls above and the crashing of waves. Even the winds fell silent, seemingly as shocked at her words as the seascum on the strand.
A drop of sweat rolled down the side of Captain Xander's face.
"Pardon me, Your Highness?" he stammered. "I don't quite think I caught tha—"
"I want to be a pirate too." Veronica repeated herself, just as matter of factly.
The captain choked on his words, eyes wide, and the princess wondered briefly if he was having trouble breathing until he finally spoke again, sputtering. "Your Highness, are you sure? That would not be…"
He stopped himself at Veronica's flat even gaze. Her brilliant crimson eyes, sparkled and shone in the sunlight, despite the lack of expression on her face, and peered into his soul, quelling all protest. He shirked away from that look. There was no way he could win against it.
"I…very well. Laszlo, get her highness a coat and hat," the captain ordered.
He turned back to look at Veronica. She was shaking in place with bright eyes. Her excitement was plain for all to see, even if the rest of her face remained as impassive as it always was.
The crew soon set sail once again with their newest member, the Princess Veronica, sitting atop a pony that Captain Xander had somehow managed to procure for her. She gazed out at the endless waters upon the deck of the ship swaddled in a coat too large for her lithe frame with a tricorn hat atop her head that kept sliding down to cover her face.
Not long thereafter, Tibarn rang the alarm from the crow's nest. Veronica looked up to see the bird laguz flapping his wings to stay aloft as peered through a spyglass up. He announced the approach of another ship flying a black banner—more pirates. And judging by the cannons aimed their way, they didn't look quite so friendly.
"What are ye waitin' fer, ye scurvehh dogs?" she shouted as she pulled the hat up. "Get ter yer battle stations and fire!" she commanded waving the golden anchor she had taken to wielding.
"Aye aye, cap'n!" said her crew as they rushed to man the boardside cannons.
"Neigh!"
"I can't hear ye!"
"Aye aye, cap'n!" they yelled back louder.
"Neigh!"
"Milad—" Xander began, only to catch himself at a glare from the young woman. "Oh Captain, my captain, I do believe that ship to be The Queen Anne's Revenge."
"The Queen Anne's Revenge?" Veronica repeated.
"Aye, captain. The Queen Anne's Revenge. The personal flagship of the most vile and wretched dog to sail these seas. One whom I have had the unfortunate displeasure to have gotten into more tangles with than I care to count. Edward Teach." Xander's gaze turned back out to sea. "Blackbeard," he growled.
"Black…beard?" Veronica raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"Indeed, Captain. He is a lowdown scoundrel who'd think nothing of sacking the smallest schooner as he would the greatest galleon." A thought came to the former pirate chieftain's mind and he shivered. "And the tales of his…degeneracy are infamous amongst all those who sail."
"I–I see."
"His womanizing ways put even Laszlo's to shame, though I hear the two have much the same luck," Xander continued, glancing back at his first mate.
"Nyehehehe!" a depraved cackle boomed out over the open waters. Despite their distance from the Queen Anne's Revenge, those aboard the ship of the Xander Pirates shuddered at the sound—the female crew members more so than the others. Something about simply made their skin crawl with disgust, as though it were an omen, a portent of doom.
Something wicked this way came.
As their foeman's craft drew near, the crew of the Xander Pirates bore witness to one of the strangest sights they had ever seen over the length of their time at sea. Lashed to the prow of the ship was a single man, clad in white robes lined with gold. He was bound fast with thick, salt-crusted ropes tied into knots by Blackbeard and his crew. Veronica saw him thrashing about from side, though he could barely wriggle more than an inch in either direction.
A pair of beauties armed to the teeth stood atop the foeship's deck, bearing weapons nearly as unique as themselves. The first was a short, pale-haired maiden dressed in a frayed black naval coat lined with silver trim which hid most of her body from the nose to the knees. Flinty blue eyes gazed out from a face mostly hidden behind the coat's high collar. Behind her, a great cutlass, nearly as long as she was tall, stood proud, blade planted in the ship's wooden deck. A strip of crimson cloth was tied to its hilt, fluttering languidly in the sea-breeze, like the tongue of a flame upon the water, or a serpent from the depths. Beside her, a big, bodacious, blonde bombshell of a babe stared down the sights of a long-barreled arquebuss pointed at them—more a cannon than a firearm, easily capable of blowing away anyone it was aimed at—dressed in a rather skimpy bikini whose fabric hardly seemed capable of restraining the voluptuous curves of her body which appeared as though they might at any moment spill out from their gaolers' meagre grasps.
"Oh my!" Blackbeard cried out upon spotting Veronica, cheeks aflush. "What a beautiful young lady! Young miss! Pray tell me your fair name," he asked, eyebrows wiggling lasciviously.
Veronica felt a chill go up her spine, as though she had been dipped into a tank full of roaches. A look of disgust crossed her face as she looked Blackbeard and she shuddered in response. This response did nothing to deter the foul profligate, however, who kept speaking.
"Wait a minute! That silver hair! That slender frame! Those ruby eyes!" the bearded captain shouted. "You must be Princess Veronica of Embla!" Blackbeard's mien took on a lecherous look as he began to salivate. He let loose another skin-crawlingly disgusting laugh. "Ah! That look! That gaze! The disgust in your glare makes my heart leap with joy. I wonder…could this be love?" he sang.
The princess felt her stomach churn in revulsion at the pirate's salacious words. She waxed wroth then, fingers clutched 'round her anchor's chains, full white. With a yell like a jotun, she heaved her golden anchor through the air towards the bearded menace with a strength one would not expect from one of her size, causing him to yelp in fear and jump away, lest the weighty weapon cleave through him as it did the deck of his ship.
"Wh-what did you have to go and do that for!?" Blackbeard moaned, tears prickling in his eyes as he looked back at her in fear. "My ship…my lovely shi-hi-hib!" Crying, he pointed at the Xander Pirates' ship and ordered his men to attack, blubbering all the while. "Geddem! Mage shur to grab the brinzess!" he shouted as snot poured from his nose.
The two piratesses in Blackbeard's crew were upon them in a flash, running across the chain joining the two ships with an agility that belied their shapeliness, or at least, that of one of the pair. Speaking of whom, once they were halfway cross the waters, the taller of the two bent down to let her partner use her as a springboard to leap up into air. As she reached the peak of her jump, the smaller of the two began to spin as she fell towards Xander's ship with her great blade held out before her like some buzzsaw falling from the skies. Xander's crew wisely backed away from the madwoman as she fell upon them with the wrath of a viper, leaving deep gouges in the deck of the ship.
Laszlo caught sight of the woman's more buxom partner taking aim at his captain with her great arquebuss and dashed forth with a shield to guard him while he was engaged in struggle with the slender, silver-haired swordswoman, swinging her shining scimitar with serpentine speed. He managed to get in between them and hunker down behind his shield just as she fired, knocking him back into the swashbuckling pair and blasting his guard to splinters.
"Lasz…are you alright?" Xander coughed out as he stumbled to his feet. His first mate was writhing on the ground in pain. His head rang from the sound of the nearby shot. The acrid smoke from the firearm stung his eyes and nose as he tried to get his bearings. As he found his bearings once more, the captain-prince saw that his foe had been thrown to the deck as harshly as himself. It appeared that she had been as taken aback by the interruption to their duel as Xander. This threw off her usual teamwork with her partner, and instead of leaping out of range of the arquebuss shot, the lithe maiden found herself taking the brunt of Laszlo's hasty defense.
"No—Mary!" came a horrified cry from the blonde markswoman, her arms falling limply by her side. The white-haired swordswoman lay insensate right besides Laszlo, who had been knocked unconscious by the blast and were sprawled out on the deck of the ship. She rushed over to her partner and tried to shake her awake but to no avail. With her foe distracted, Veronica seized her chance to take both invaders captive and bound the buxom blonde wielding the chain end of her weapon before knocking her out with a strike to the back of her head.
With their boarding force beaten and their two shock troopers in chains, the Blackbeard Pirates found themselves at a loss as the tides of battle began to churn against them. With a yell, Soleil flung herself over the starboard of the Drake onto the deck of the Revenge as her partner Ophelia rained down bolts of dark magic on the foes before her to soften them up for the reverse boarding. Soon thereafter, the Blackbeard Pirates' fell to the Xander Pirate's onslaught, and their captain was brought before Veronica on shackled and on his knees.
She snapped her fingers and some of Captain Xander's crewmates came forth. "Get that man down from off the keel," she ordered them. "Let us see just whom these scoundrels saw fit to kidnap."
"No," whimpered Blackbeard, kneeling. "Not the Master," he weeped, before paling as Veronica's eyes narrowed, glaring at him with fiery eyes.
The pirates soon returned after cutting their prize free from the ropes that bound him to the keel and gently lay him down at the feet of the princess' steed. She hopped down off her horse and knelt beside the man who appeared to be dead to the world, his shallow breathing the only sign that he yet lived. Her eyes went wide as she caught sight of his face beneath his hood before she lowered it further to keep him hidden. "So," she hissed at Blackbeard, standing up. "This is the great treasure, the famed Master, is it not?"
"What?" the captive pirate stuttered. "Of course not! He's just some—"
"Do not even try to hide it from us, you lecherous dog," she cut him off. "We have heard you well enough." She then turned to gaze upon the white-robed body again. "The Master…the greatest treasure of the Seven Seas. To think it was you," she whispered before turning to Xander's men. "Have the Master taken away to Our chambers! We shall be there once this scurvy dog is taken care of." She turned once more to glare at the bound pirate. "You surely have some gall, daring to covet such a treasure despite being nothing more than a baseborn buccaneer, Blackbeard."
Her captive felt his face pale at her fury as he knelt before in chains and his terror pleased her greatly. A small and cruel smile graced her lips, as sharp as the blade of a razor and as cold as well. "Well, no matter," she said with a low chuckle. "We shall show you the rewards such temerity merits." Veronica snapped her fingers and the crewmen from before stood before her once again and began to carry Blackbeard away. The princess-turned-pirate turned on a heel and strode away to her cabin, coat whipping behind her.
Veronica strode quickly through the halls of the Drake, captain's coat flapping behind her as the heels of her boots clacked against the deck. Though her expression was as placid as it normally would be, the spark in her eyes gave away her excitement. She threw the door open and stepped into the small yet richly furnished captain's quarters.
Xander's personal maid, an older girl with a pleasant mien, startled at the sudden entrance and almost dropped the goblet she had been holding up to the lips of an unconscious white-robed man laid out on the single bed in the room. In her haste, she unknowingly spilt a little water on his face in the process. She jumped to her feet before laying the cup down on a nightstand and curtsied to the entrant.
"P-Princess—no, er, Captain Veronica! I was just–" she stammered before being silenced by a wave of Veronica's hand.
"We shall look after Our treasure Ourself, maid. Leticia, was it? You are excused. Please prepare Us a cup of tea. We could use some refreshment after that skirmish," she said while waving imperiously to indicate that the other woman should leave.
Leticia bowed deeply and scurried off to follow her new captain's orders. As the door shut, Veronica's lips quirked up slightly at the sight of the her new treasure. Upon his right hand, she spotted a tripartite red crest with arcane markings. Her scarlet eyes burnt with desire like embers at the sight of it, eager to take advantage of the wishes the Master could grant her. She crossed the room and sat down on the bed and, without much thought, picked up his hand to stare at the crest on its back. This close, she could feel the magic in it resonate with her own Drakenblut and a flush of hot blood rushed through her body like a wave of flames, sparking her nerves and painting her skin with a ruddy hue. She idly traced the marks of the crest, unknowingly letting her own magic come into contact with his, which led his body to begin rousing itself as this new energy made itself known.
Picking up the goblet Leticia had left behind, Veronica made to dip a finger in the water it contained which she then brought up to the Master's lips so as to moisten them. As his senses slowly returned to him, the man felt a wetness on his lips, and his flesh and frame, which had hitherto been dried out by salt, were wracked with piteous agony and a deep, burning thirst that needed to be slaked at all costs. His lips closed around the source of water touching them, intent on sucking out as much of the life-giving fluid as they could. Veronica's eyes widened in surprise at the suckling of her finger before a smile broke out on her face. With her other hand she cupped his face before running a thumb across his cheek.
The man felt the source of the water draw away and reluctantly let go. It was quickly replaced with the feeling of something cool pressing up to his mouth. Not long after, sweet water poured forth from the object, and he drank long gulps.
Veronica watched as the Master began to awaken, his crusted-over eyes slowly cracking open as he drank in the water from the goblet she had brought back up to his lips. His eyelids opened to reveal dark, almost black orbs, surrounded by red, bloodshot whites, staring without focus. She grabbed a cloth from her nightstand and began to wipe away at his face, daubing away the salt and other substances clouding his vision.
The man blinked as something moist wiped his eyes clean of whatever had been keeping him from seeing clearly, only to see a human face begin to slowly come into focus, though his blurry sight revealed only its shape and the mass of long, gray hair that appeared to crown it. He tried to speak, but nary a word could get out before his throat, sore beyond belief, refused to cooperate, and he was forced to lay there until he could get a better sense of where he was.
"I see you're finally waking up my dear Master," Veronica whispered sweetly. "Soon, you will arise and grant me everything I wish for." Her hot breath tickled his ear and lent him its heat.
His thoughts, however, swam in confusion. Why was she—and it was almost certainly a she, he concluded—calling him her master? And what was this about wishes?
Leaning back, Veronica spotted a cup of steaming tea that had been left on the nightstand as well as a red-faced maid who was standing in the corner of her quarters hiding her face behind a silver tray. The pirate princess had no idea what that was about, and soon turned back to the object of her obsession, which she regarded with amused eyes as she drank her tea. Once she had finished, she placed the cup away before once again taking his right hand in one of her own as her other stroked his cheek yet again.
The man groaned at the sudden appearance of such warmth, bone-cold as he was from exposure to the waves, and sought to get as close to it as he could. Unconsciously, he pressed up against the hand on his face even he clasped the other one with his own. A groan of pleasure escaped from his chapped lips and the princess's eyes glimmered with delight. She bent down to whisper in his ear, her hair falling around them in a silvery curtain, shimmering like smoky silk.
"Wake up, my dear Master. It is time to grant your princess her wishes."
The feeling of hot breath against his ear caused the man's body to warm as his sense once again came back to him. His dark eyes blinked as they focused on the woman who had drawn so close. He drank in the sight of her dainty little face, with skin as pink as a peach, which bore small reddish lips which curved gracefully like an elegant bow just below a modest, aristocratic nose which was bracketed by fine, royal cheekbones which were painted a rosy pink like young apples. Above those sat two crimson eyes which sparkled mysteriously in the dim light.
"Who…" the man croaked out at last, before the work set him coughing. The woman pressed a cool, slender finger against his lips, silencing his query.
"We will get to that soon, my treasure. But first, let me see to your weal," she whispered. Like a cat, Veronica draped herself across his frame, pulling back his hood to reveal a gaunt face with dark skin that was now an ashen gray and thick, matted locks of black hair that fell about his head like a shadowy halo. She pressed her forehead to his. The man slowly reached up with trembling arms before embracing the girl in want of her warmth as he felt himself drift back into sleep. His face buried itself in the crook of her neck, blanketed by her long hair, and he breathed a sigh of relief at the feeling of softness and warmth that surrounded him. Life was returning once more to his sea-chilled bones. Before he fell back asleep, however, the man pressed his lips against the crook of her neck, his gentleness belying the roughness brought about the endless brine. He whispered one last thing before sleep stole over him once again.
"Anything…you wish. Thank you…"
Veronica shot up from her bed and let loose a yelp of mortification before burying her face in her hands.
'What in the Nine Worlds was that? Really, just what was I doing dreaming about him?' she wondered as her cheeks flushed red. 'And kissing him, at that.'
As this was going on, Leticia had entered the Princess' chambers to fetch her for afternoon tea, only to find the younger woman, face hidden by her palms. Upon seeing this, the maid chuckled, letting out a smug little "Heh", before she set the tea down on a table.
Veronica heard the door close as her maid came into the room and froze in place. Flustered at having been seen this way, she let out a groan and threw herself facedown on the bed in an utterly undignified manner.
"By the dragon…just kill me now."
"And just why would I want to do that to such a darling young lady, Your Highness?" Leticia asked, a smirk still playing across her lips. "Surely a maiden in love shouldn't be praying for such things?"
"Who's a maiden in love?" asked Veronica sulkily.
Leticia just chuckled as she set out the tea. "I wonder who," she said in a sing-song voice.
The princess groaned. "I think I liked it better when you were too afraid of me to tease me."
"Oh come now, milady, don't be like that," cooed the maid as she hastened towards the bed to wrap Veronica up in a loving hug from behind. "I've never been so happy that I could speak to you this freely." Leticia lay her chin atop Veronica's head and swayed back and forth until she was able to make the younger woman smile as well. "There's that smile we all love! Come now, milady, let me pour you some tea," she said as she took Veronica's hands and led her to her seat at the table. "What was that about?" Leticia eventually asked after she had finished serving her mistress.
Veronica set her cup down atop her saucer and clasped her hands together before her face as she looked off to the side. "It was nothing—just a silly dream I had." She sighed before continuing. "You'd think that by now I'd have stopped reading such childish things," here she gestured at the book of fairy tales that lay on her bed, "and outgrown such fantasies after all that I've seen and done." A rueful chuckle slipped past her lips. "And yet, I can't help but feel that I'm still that same, silly girl I was back when I first met Kir—"
Veronica shut her lips as soon as she realized what she had been about to say, but alas, it was far too late for her, as the maid had heard enough to figure out what she had been imagining, more or less.
"Ara?" she laughed, hiding her grin behind a hand. "Perhaps I ought to write to Sir Kiran to tell him that you've been daydreaming about him in a fairytale. I'm sure he'd be more than pleased to hear that, no?"
Veronica just groaned as the flush on her cheeks came back twofold, blooming atop her fair skin like a pair of roses. "Do as you will," she answered Leticia, before hunching over to hide her face against the tabletop. "Truly, at this point, it would hardly surprise me in the slightest if you kept him as up to date on my activities as I myself am."
Veronica picked herself up from her slovenly position before dusting off her dress. As she walked away, returning to her office to continue the business of running the Empire, the princess muttered to herself. "Gods and dragons, I still cannot fathom that man…what strange tastes he has."
The sound of laughter drifted on the wind like the twinkling of chimes.
AN: At some point while writing this, the word "captain" stopped looking like a real word, and started to look more like "catpain".0
Also, yeah there were some heavy Fateverse references in here. Don't worry. This isn't going to be a crossover fic. I generally don't like seeing characters from other series in non-crossover fics so don't worry about this happening often—if ever again.