The Sole Prince

Is that a challenge, Serrio? [part 2]

"So what did you decide, Serrio?" Sage asks, stepping into the room and moving to his closet. He trades in his long black coat for a shorter jacket, one that he's wearing for the first time in from of the prince. He looks good.

"I can't not go to something you put together for me," James says with a weak smile that the captain sees when he turns around to look at him.

"Exactly what I wanted to hear," the captain says, moving his hands to unbutton a few buttons on the top of his white shirt.

The neckline of the shirt opens slightly, allowing the top of Sage's chest to be shown, as well as the line that divides his two large pecs. The prince has to force his eyes back up to the captain's face, instantly noticing the captain's closed-mouth smile. Sage finishes getting ready as James rises from his seat on the floor. His heart races through his chest as he idly paces the room, intrusive thoughts of that he made the wrong decision swarming in his head.

Sage is eventually ready to go, more than excited to go to the mess hall. It's been a while since he's been able to relax for a night; the duties of a captain taking up most of the time in his day. It's not as if he needs to let go, but it's always a welcome excuse. The past weeks have been nothing but stress for the poor man. The ship raid, a new person on the ship, having to kill one of his crew for trying to have his way with the new one, a storm. But now the ships ahead of schedule. And the new one turned out to be not so bad... hopefully.

Still, the captain is looking forward to a way to relax. More than that, a party is guaranteed to raise the moral of his crew, which is something he's always trying to find a way to do. So, it's a win-win. Though, it seems there's also a third win, exposed by how excited Sage is to throw James a party.

"Ready?" Sage asks, walking to the door. He grips the handle, pulling the door open. He uses his other hand to gesture for James to walk through first, to which he receives a smile. The prince walks through the door hesitantly, his head turned down to look at his feet. The captain walks out behind him, speeding up to stand next to the prince. James looks up at Sage and notices how nice his hair looks, and then James fails to push the thought out from his mind.

The two walk down a familiar path to the dining hall, loud roars emanating from the room, growing louder and louder with each step they take. It's only one more hallway until the two are in front of the main door. The noise from the inside screams into their ears.

Sage smiles.

James thinks about running back to the cabin.

If the captain wasn't so excited, maybe the prince would've had the chance to run away. Yet, in this case, without a drop of hesitation, the captain opens up the door, as he did in the cabin, stepping to the side and propping the door open with his heel.

"After you, Serrio," he says quietly. Just loud enough for the prince to hear. James hesitates, before stepping forward into the dark, booming room. The room yells around him, but nobody seems to see him enter. The pirates are instead focused on the arguments they are settling and on their drinks they have yet to finish.

Only with this realization, James smiles. It's a party thrown for him, yet he's not the center of attention. This is perfect. When Sage steps into the room, however, all eyes shift to the near behemoth beside the prince, and the pirates' uproar ceases.

The captain strides into the room, dispersing confidence onto the packed wooden floor. He's one of the tallest in the room and everybody's looking up to him, it seems, both literally and figuratively. Flicking the back of his wrist as a gesture to say resume, the party reverts back to its full volume, each pirate returning to what they were doing a few moments ago. The only person who doesn't turn away from the captain is the prince, still looking at the taller man.