Thief of Princes (Kid Blink x Reader)

eight

You paused when you stood in front of the pirate's 'office', debating between barging in or knocking. Eventually you decided to just open the door. Stepping into the room, you left the door slightly ajar. The sight that met your eyes was entirely unexpected. You'd been anticipating the boy to have his heels up on his desk, probably still wearing the same clothes and everything-- why did you have to change, anyway?-- but what you saw was entirely different.  

The desk had been cleared of everything that was on it previously, a table runner and place settings perfectly centered, creating a miniature formal banquet table, the likes of which you'd seen many a time before. Only the seats were different, being placed on the long sides of the table instead of the short ones. You assumed that there was a reason for this, but quite frankly you didn't care at the moment. Kid Blink stood on the far side of the desk, his hair styled into effortless waves and his plain sailor's clothes exchanged for a fine outfit that looked similar in style to the party dress of the higher-ranking officials in your army. Was it because of the privateer status? You weren't sure; from what you'd heard governments tried to keep the public knowledge of their privateer usage on the down-low-- the job certainly didn't involve a uniform.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over you and your dress. You'd dare to say his jaw dropped slightly. It made you more proud than you thought it would as you swept forwards, resting your hands on the back of your chair. 

"Yes?" You said, unable to keep the smirk from your face. 

"You- that- that blue-" He stammered out before regaining his composure. After a muttered sentence to himself, which you thought may have been, "I'm going to kill those two," (which only intensified the mystery), He finished smoothly, "It looks lovely on you, Princess." The pirate walked around the table with his hands in his pockets and his smirk fixed back on his face. Reaching you, he bowed and pulled your chair out for you, waiting until you had seated yourself before pushing it in and returning to his side of the table. 

"Thank you." You said, confused as to why he had that specific reaction to the color, but he didn't seem inclined to elaborate. So you didn't press. You were trying to get him to like you, after all. "You look nice as well." It wasn't just an empty compliment, as much as you hated it. The deep purple of the uniform-like outfit and the silver edging made his golden hair seem to glow, and his eye patch complimented the outfit perfectly. 

His smirk widened a little. "I apologize for the informality of the meal, Princess, it's hard to get proper waiting services on a ship." He said, nodding to the already-on-the-table plates of food. Suddenly he'd gone from rough, piratesque, to polished and mannered. It threw you for a loop, and you couldn't help but suspect that that was his intention. 

And you couldn't help but wonder how he knew all of this--for as you began eating, he displayed perfect table manners and etiquette, down to the exact detail. Definitely not something you'd expect of a pirate. 

And so your idea began to take form in your mind-- what if he was a noble, or a son of a noble, someone with money and means and the arrogance or boredom to take to piracy (or 'privateering')? You knew the young nobles and those with money in Talin often took part in... idiosyncratic activities, as your mother would put it. You'd put it as idiotic, stupid, etc, but upon being informed that princesses required more tact had perused the dictionary and switched to vapid, vacuous, asinine, and injudicious. Now you could insult them to their faces with ease-- one of the only times you felt a small measure of gratitude to your etiquette instructor. 

But still. Piracy was a middling feat compared to some of the other things you'd witnessed. Now, as to who... your mind raced, trying to think of the many names and ages and children of the nobles in Kozmir, but eventually you had to give up. There were too many among your own court you didn't know, not even counting those from another country. 

But the idea of a noble-- or a high ranking military official, based on the uniform-- had merit. Both, perhaps. It would certainly explain the easy wealth he displayed. You found yourself wanting to know now, if you were right, and so you quietly cleared your throat and spoke, ignoring how delighted he seemed that you'd initiated conversation. "So tell me, Captain... are you in the navy?" You hoped you'd used the right form of address; the etiquette teacher hadn't covered relations between pirate captains and hostage second princesses. 

By the smugness of the smirk that lit up Blind Diamond's face, it may have been inaccurate. But you were trying to suck up to him anyway... 

"Army. First Regiment." He corrected, leaning back in his chair. 

That made sense, even though it didn't explain the ship. The wealthy factor must come into play, then. 

"Are you an officer?" You asked curiously. 

"Commanding General, at your service." He said, sinking into sort of a seated half bow. 

Impressed, you nodded. He was young to be serving at such a high position. And the First Regiment... that sounded familiar. You wracked your brain, but couldn't think of anything. You knew there had to be something you weren't realizing, some connection with the nobility or royalty or some such, but for the life of you you didn't know what it could be. 

"So General Diamond? Or is it General Blink," You asked, keeping your tone light and hoping for a proper name to go off of. You were rewarded with a slight chuckle. 

"Neither." He replied with a grin. You waited for more information, but none was forthcoming. 

"I see." You said after a minute, feeling slightly foolish despite yourself. 

"Yes." He smiled. "And you, Warrior Princess? Are you militant as well?" 

You shook your head. "No, I'm afraid not. My training is limited, at best." It was a lie. You'd trained with multiple weapons in multiple levels for nearly your whole life. Your favorite was the sword, but you were proficient at archery and decent with daggers. But there was no need at all for him to know. 

"I see." He echoed you, nodding slowly. "Would you, perhaps, be interested in sparring again tomorrow?" 

The request surprised you, and you narrowed your eyes slightly, trying to discern an ulterior motive. 

"The original offer wouldn't stand, I'm afraid." He said after a moment. "I haven't decided what I'm to do with you, yet, but I do know I can't exactly just drop you off anywhere. Especially not looking like that." He nodded to your dress. 

You quirked an eyebrow at him in an unspoken query, and he smirked softly. "You look rich, Princess. Rich and beautiful and all manner of things you don't want to be alone in a port city. Might get scooped up by someone even meaner'n me."

"I see." You repeated, nodding. "Your concern is admirable, given the circumstances." 

"I'm nothing if not caring." His eye closed in what was obviously meant to be a wink as he grinned at you. 

You chose not to reply to that, adjusting your napkin on your lap as you started eating again, realizing how good the food was for being ship's fare. "The meal is incredible." You said. "Excessive compliments to your cook." 

Blind Diamond grinned. "Thank you. If you'd like, you can tell him yourself- I can show you the ship after we finish." 

You accepted the offer with a gracious nod. The rest of the meal was filled with small talk, you trying to be as polite as possible in an attempt to get him to 'like you'. For some reason he seemed most interested and engaged when you slipped up and said something sarcastic, maintaining a cooler temperament otherwise. 

But that couldn't have been right, could it?