The Sole Prince

Our ending would be different too. [part 3]

The prince searches farther inland from the shore. His legs ache, his muscles cramp, yet he continues to push. He needs to find Celine. He needs to find anyone. The sun pierces his head, beads of sweat running down. His clothes are already dirty. Hopefully, the captain will be generous enough to give him some more. There. Sage has to survive so that he can give the prince new clothes. The prince settles on that, continuing his run, finally finding a large, what-seems-to-be, tavern, the door of the establishment swinging back and forth.

"Celine! Celine!" the prince yells into the tavern crowded with faces he doesn't recognize. These guys aren't from the ship, are they? But where else could the crew be? The prince weaves through large tables. Most of the people in the establishment just look up at the man yelling, then back at their drinks, continuing their conversations with their friends. The prince reaches the bar in the back as the bartender walks over.

"What can I get ya?" she asks, her tone calm. She's seen people who've looked a lot worse.

"I'm looking for a crewmate, around this tall," he says, holding his hand up to estimate Celine's height. "She usually wears—"

"Down there?" the bartender cuts him off, remembering the group of patrons she helped just a few minutes ago. The prince looks down to where she's pointing, seeing a woman and two men on both of her sides. He feels like he can finally breathe.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he yells, running down the bar to Celine, Eric, and Scotty.

"Oi, if it isn't the prisoner!" Scotty yells, the first to see the prince running over to him.

"I thought the captain was supposed to be dropping you off with Torrbeth right now," Eric adds, turning in his seat to see James, too. The prince ignores him, calling out to Celine. She turns around, and, unlike Scotty and Eric, instantly sees that there's an issue.

"What's wrong?" she asks, getting up from her seat. Scotty and Eric follow suit. The prince's hands are shaking; his mind's thoughts are unable to form into sentences.

"Jenua is attacking!" he blurts too loudly, causing the rest of the tavern to turn around to see where the noise is coming from.

"Jenua? And Torrbeth isn't stopping her?" Celine responds, a worry present in her voice. As she speaks, she's reaching into her pocket to pull out a few gold coins, slamming them on the bar behind her.

"Torrbeth is dead," the prince shakes his head. "There's no time to explain but we have to help the captain."

"We don't have time to get the rest of the crew," Celine responds, biting her lip. Her voice remains calm; it has to. "Scotty, Eric, you guys got your swords?"

"Yes, ma'am," Scotty responds. Eric just nods.

"What's four against a whole pirate ship?" Celine responds with a smile. "Let's go."

***

The now-deceased Jenua slumps onto the ground, blood pouring out of her deadly wounds. The pirates, now captain-less and all the hungrier for blood, scream out, charging at Sage.

"You really wanna do this?" the captain yells at the one closest to him. The pirate's face is serious, yet wild, almost as if he's arguing with himself on how he should fight. The captain repositions himself on the sand, now facing the incoming pirate. He moves his arms slightly, so that when the pirate is close enough, the sword makes direct contact. The sword slices into the pirate's abdomen, the pirate slumping onto the ground, his blood staining the sand deeply.

A separate pirate is close enough that the blood falls on him. He swings at the captain, but the captain was already a few steps ahead, literally. The captain twists off to the side as the pirate brings down a vertical swing. He misses, the momentum of his failed attempt causing him to stumble forward. The captain sees this as a perfect opportunity to slice the out-of-balance pirate in the back. He slumps down, going lifeless surprisingly fast. The captain hears a yell from behind him, turning around to see another pirate charging at him.