The Sole Prince

Is that a challenge, Serrio? [part 1]

"Afternoon, Serrio," Sage says to James, dumping down a load of maps onto his desk. "I brought you some food," he continues, handing a wooden platter to him. James reaches for it with a smile after shutting his book and placing it next to him.

"Thank you. You must have read my mind; I was day-dreaming about food," the prince says, which is the truth, yet not the full truth. Food was not the only topic of his daydreams.

"I was hungry too." Sage shakes his own platter to emphasize the feeling of his gut. He moves to his desk to sit, placing his food in the center, on top of a pile of papers, before opening it up. The two eat in silence, at this point their minds truly only focused on the food underneath their eyes. Though it's not long before the two finish, and Sage realizes he must start working again. He sighs as he shoves his empty platter to the corner of his desk, moving more maps to the center.

"Is everything okay?" James asks, startling the captain in his seat.

"Yes— er, yes," Sage says, hesitance persistent in his voice. "Just have a lot of work ahead of me."

"I can help," the prince says, getting up from his spot on the bed. "I mean, I have to find some way to pay back for the treatment on this ship. Food, protection. That stuff."

"That's not something you have to pay anyone back for," Sags says with a shake of his head and a chuckle. "That's basic human decency," he continues, using this as an excuse to take his eyes off the maps.

"I'd still like to help," the prince says, careful to not sound too intrusive. "If you'd let me, of course. If I even can, really."

"Eric did say that you did maps," the captain says to himself. He raises his voice to address the prince. "But I'm not gonna make you do work for me. Thank you but no."

"I actually like doing maps." James is now a tad more confident, almost excited. He steps closer to the captain, still seated at his desk.

"I usually do too." The captain sighs. "For some reason it's just not clicking for me this time."

"So let me help," the prince insists, now standing right next to the captain.

"I guess I won't stop you. Can't stop you, really," Sage says, giving in. He turns to the prince, who's now staring down at the plethora of papers and maps on the table. He looks so beautiful—ly focused. The captain meant focused, studying the maps and all that.

The maps that the captain brought are quite nice, James realizes. Much nicer than those of the other ships. They remind him of the royal maps back home, actually. James points at one thing, then another, asking questions to the captain. When he looks over to get his answer, their eyes linger, looking across the other's face. It takes an extra moment to answer, the distraction pulling them in, but neither seems to mind. Regardless, each time, the captain tries to answer to the best of his ability. Then, the prince nods and returns to studying. The captain knows that he should also be trifling through the papers himself, but the prince provides a much more enjoyable sight. Whenever Sage does manage to get his eyes on the desk, James notices from the corner of his eyes, so he takes the time to look at the man to the left of him. The cycle continues for what seems like forever. Each man could spend forever more.

Unfortunately, James cuts forever short, solving the cartography problem in the blissful caverns of his mind.

"Back on the other ship, they made me do maps. Forced me to, rather," he says with an awkward laugh. "But they gave me an average position to work on." He now pulls out an assortment of maps that he compiles, showing different sections of where they are and the surrounding area. He explains about how he got his results, about what it means and possible errors in his calculations, and everything. Sage has to try extra hard to focus on the words coming out of James' mouth, not just his lips.