Betrayed By A God

The Clash of Blades

"I..."

Words failed her, as fear gripped her stomach, she felt like throwing up, her first time to shore in a major city and she had been so distracted that she had failed to check for wanted posters, and she had been found out.

Captain Howe imposingly stared at her, his hand resting on the wanted poster, his black eyebrows furrowed over his dark eyes.

Alexander leaned back against on of the bookshelves staring at the poster, his hand resting on his chin, the other wrapped around him.

"I am not a patient man, Addie... Snow... who ever you are. I expect an explanation. And it had better be a dammed good one."

Her hand twitched, beginning to reach for the vambrance still on her arm to call for Loki, but then she lowered it back down, if he could only come once she needed to save it for more dire circumstances, she could deal with this on her own.

"I didn't do what she says I did, I love my father, I would have never killed him," she began quietly, "You knew I was running when I came here. I've been running from my step mother, she will kill me if she finds me."

Captain Howe leaned forward on his arms, resting his chin on his hands.

"A 1,000 gold coins is an awful lot to turn down, why should I turn it down? I could do an awful lot with that money, I could invest it in my business, bigger and better ships, longer runs? Why should I turn my back on such a gift from the God's?"

She thought of begging,  pleading that she just wanted to live, of trying to bargain with him,  promising to work till her debt was paid, but her father raised her to be more than a frightened young woman, so she gave the only answer that she felt in her heart.

"Would the God's be pleased with an innocents blood on your hands?"

Captain Howe didn't answer, he merely considered her answer, his eyes locked on hers as the silence filled the room.

Snow clasped her hands together waiting for someone to speak when Alexander who had yet to contribute to the conversation fixed Captain Howe with a look of incredulous disbelief.

"This is ridiculous, you cannot be seriously considering turning her over? She is barely a woman, you are blind if you think she's actually killed anyone."

Captain Howe broke their eye contact and fully turned to face Alexander.

"Relax Alexander, I have no intention of turning her over. Now put her in a chair before she collapses."

Snow slowly released the breath she had been holding, Alexander moved towards one of the chairs, but she grabbed his arm as he passed her, halting his movement.

"I'm fine. My father did not raise me to be the type of woman who faints at the slightest thing, a little coercion is nothing. Talk to me when you have dealt a month long seige to a castle."

Captain Howe burst into a fit of laughter, his hand covering his face as he laughed, she had been completely serious, once when she was no more than six, a neighboring kingdom had attempted to invade and they had been trapped for a full month, till her father had discovered the old passage ways under the walls and their soliders went around the neighboring kingdoms warriors during the night, she had been tucked in bed with her cat when she had heard the screams of the warriors as they were slaughtered before they could even rub the sleep from their eyes.

The memory of their shouts had kept her from sleeping well for many months after that.

"My God, you are a princess, Loki himself must have sent you to bedevile me, I swear it. But relax, you are safe here. You would not be the first person I have had on my crew that has been wanted by the authorities. Hell, I am pretty sure I am wanted in more than a few cities."