Roman sighed as he fell back into one of the hammocks, it's been two weeks since they've joined and the prisoners have been let go. The prince was tired from the work they had done earlier.
Remus stepped on his stomach, making Roman jump, and jumped onto the hammock above him.
"What the hell, Remus?!" Roman shouted.
"Oh quit whining, princess. You're fine," Remus told him.
"I would rather you not step on my stomach."
"Sorry king blisters."
"You leave the blisters on my hands out of this!"
"It's only been a few weeks, and you're already falling apart at the seams."
"Like I haven't seen the blisters on your hands. I knew that we were getting ourselves into, but I just..." Roman struggled to find the words.
"You were smitten that you finally found a man that can see past your curse?"
"Well that's not the word I would use, more like happy. It just... makes me feel like I can be myself. I'm tired of wearing a mask, literally. I wish I could wash this curse off of me."
"Well, on the bright side it seems like everyone here already knows about your curse and respects you enough to let you hide your face. Plus, they were better than all of those princesses and princes that had asked to show your face."
"That got so annoying. I'm still upset that mom and dad took away my mask when I turned 18, those last three years were hell."
"I was not too happy about that either."
"Honestly, I'm glad we ran away. I really like this crew, everyone's so nice and accepting."
"Let's see how you feel tomorrow when you're all sore from helping out with peeling the barnacles off of the ship."
"I don't understand how everyone else is still up there, and not down here resting."
"Maybe it's 'cause they're used to it? They've done twice the work we have, the captains been easy on us as newcomers."
"Guys get up here quick!" Martin yelled as he ran halfway down the stairs. "Captain's flying with Thunder! You don't want to miss this!"
"Oh cool!" Remus shouted, letting himself fall out of the hammock and pulling Roman's on his way down, making his brother fall.
"Ow!" Roman yelped.
"Yikes, are you two okay?" Martin asked.
"Don't worry, Roman's just being a big baby," Remus said, already standing up and rushing to the stairs.
"I will kill you one day, Remus," Roman warned, following the other two back upstairs.
The rest of the crew was cheering and Roman made it up just in time to see Thunder fly past the boat, Virgil on her back and staying low. Though it was a blur, Roman could see that Virgil wasn't wearing his mask and his hood was flying behind him, showing black hair.
Thunder flapped her wings hard and twirled in the air before making a sharp turn upwards. She looped until she was upside down, and allowed herself to fall for a moment before turning up right before they hit the water.
"How does he have the stomach to do that?" Roman asked, walking up next to Patton.
"He's always been like that, always doing stuff that would get him hurt," Patton said. "But he's also always been careful. He can handle himself up there."
"You should see it when Thunder is trying to get Virgil to fall off," Sal added. "It's funny as hell sometimes, worrying other times but Thunder never hurts him."
Thunder flew close to the water, letting one of her wings dip in before jerking up and spraying the crew with water, getting both shouts of entertainment and annoyment.
Virgil leaned closer to her and shouted over the wind, "Let's give them a real show, 'kay girl?"
Thunder roared in agreement before flying high above the water, letting her tail spark in excitement. She flew in several loops, around the main mast, and skimmed the water around the ship for a moment before flying high into the air.
Virgil took a deep breath before slowing his breathing, knowing all too well how thin the air got the higher they went.
Roman watched in wonder as Virgil and Thunder disappeared into the clouds. For a moment, there was nothing but the imprint they left in the dark cloud. The sun started to set and stars twinkled out from small areas where the clouds were parted. Then there was a loud roar, and electricity lit up the air, showing the outline of a dragon.
Then a smaller figure fell out from the clouds, falling headfirst towards the water. Roman's excited smile quickly dropped as fear filled his blood.
Faster than he could process, Thunder flew down and caught him in her claws, not slowing down and making another loop as Virgil laughed loudly.
"Okay, set me down on the deck!" Virgil shouted.
Thunder huffed, and dropped him into the water, making him shout in surprise and the rest of the crew laugh. Virgil swam up to the surface and wiped the salt water off of his face, smudging black eyeshadow that was already running down his face.
"I said the deck, you overgrown lizard!" he shouted at Thunder, who landed behind the rest of the crew with another huff before curling up next to the main mast. "You better bring your scaly butt back here! Thunder!"
Patton giggled slightly but still went over to Thunder, "Go get him before he catches cold or the sharks get him first."
Thunder let out a whine of protest, and stretched on the deck to show how comfortable she was.
"Thunder, don't be rude." Patton put his hands on his hips.
Thunder squawked in annoyance but flew off to grab Virgil from the sea. Patton grabbed a towel that he had set on a barrel just in case, and as soon as Thunder dropped Virgil 'gracefully' onto the deck and not rolling like a tumbleweed, he wrapped Virgil up in the towel.
Roman was able to get a better look of Virgil's face. He was slightly tan, probably from the sun, and he had a scar on his upper lip. His chin was pointed and he had a smooth jawline.
"You are the most ungrateful dragon ever," Virgil told Thunder.
Thunder just puffed smoke at him before laying down in front of the captain's cabin, blocking the door with a smug smile.
"What did I ever do to you?"
"She just loves being a sassy little thing," Remy said, rubbing Virgil's head and making water fly from his hair.
"Get off of me," Virgil laughed, pushing Remy's arm away.
"What? I'm older than you, I'm practically your father!"
"Fathers suck!"
Patton gasped, putting a hand to his chest. "But I thought I was your father!"
"We're not even related."
"You'll still always be my kiddo." Patton wrapped Virgil up into a hug. "And you're seriously going to need to bathe tonight."
"I wonder who's fault that is!" Virgil shouted at Thunder.
"It was really cool though, do you think I can ride Thunder someday?" Martin asked, bouncing up and down.
"Maybe if you get the stomach for it, seriously those loops are not easy on the guts. Thunder loves to go fast. She's also not going to go out on a flight with me again any time soon because of that little stunt you pulled!" Virgil turned to face Thunder once again, and caught Janus throwing a fish to her. Janus flashed Virgil an innocent smile and Virgil glared daggers at him. "So you're why she dropped me."
"Who, me? I would never."
Roman laughed as Virgil continued to argue with Janus, threatening to make him walk the plank only for Janus to remind him they don't have a plank. It's only been two weeks, but during those two weeks Roman was able to see how close this crew is with each other.
YOU ARE READING
Of Princes, Pirates, and Curses
Fanfiction*Completed* The crowned prince of the Andreas kingdom, Prince Roman was blessed, or as he sees it cursed, to appear to people as their ideal version of beauty. The stress of it all had caused him and his twin brother, Remus, to run away. They had ev...
