The Sole Prince

Underestimated me, eh? [part 1]

The group of four is out of the tavern in the blink of an eye. They run on the sand, towards the direction of the coastline.

"Where are they?" Celine asks as they continue to run towards the ocean.

"To the left from here," the prince replies, pointing over to where the other ship is, for emphasis. He's already out of breath, but he couldn't care less. He needs to get back to the captain. To Sage.

The group of four runs down the coastline, Celine taking the front, with Eric on her left and Scotty on her right. The prince runs behind Celine, a gap forming in between them every so often, forcing the prince to run even faster for a few steps to catch up. They must be used to activity like this. The prince is not.

Eventually, the four get close enough to the ship to see what's going on. There are a few dead pirates, lifeless on the ground, but the majority are standing on the beach, all facing a single man wearing a long black coat, blood stains taking up the majority of the fabric.

"Down there!" Celine yells, pointing to the captain, who's barely able to hold his footing on the ground. As soon as Celine finishes her sentiment, he collapses, blood pooling onto the tan sand, decorating it with filth.

Celine processes something in a brief moment, then shoves the thought down her throat. When she speaks, she doesn't sound angry. She sounds determined. "We have to stick together," she says, first looking over at Eric then at Scotty. She looks back towards the crowd of pirates, all blood-hungry, holding their swords as if they were lifelines. They are all now facing the group of four, Celine's loud yell from earlier getting their attention.

"Oi, triangle formation?" Scotty asks, nudging Celine with his elbow.

"Don't call it that," Eric replies quickly. "It sounds dumb."

It's amazing they can keep their same banter at a time like this. Then again, the prince is always silent, and he is now as well.

"Do you got a better name?" Scotty replies quickly. Eric remains silent. "What I thought."

"You two need to shut it," Celine says. "But, yes, Scotty, triangle formation," she continues, elongating the phrase as she rotates to face Eric, just to bother him. "James," Celine adds firmly after a beat. James nods when she faces him. "When all of them come to us," she gestures to the pirates starting to storm towards them. "I need you to get to Morrow. Find out if he's okay."

"Of course." For some reason, that ask of the prince sends a jolt of panic down his body. He saw the captain collapse. Why did he just assume he was okay? "He'll be fine," the prince adds weakly. Celine just gives him a tight smile.

A loud scream from one of the opposing pirates gains her attention with her breaking eye contact with the prince. Backing away from the group of three, the prince shuffles off to the side, trying to become as small as possible. The attacking pirates are all in the general area of the "triangle formation," which leaves the captain alone on the beach, other than the dead bodies that surround him.

James bolts down to the man lying on the sand. Three patches of red decorate his body, the largest growing near his left hip, with two smaller ones on his right thigh and his left calf. The prince wants to close his eyes to pretend that the wounds don't exist, pretend that he's back in the captain's cabin, reading a book with the captain's strong arms holding him tight, protecting him. But the prince knows he can't close his eyes. Not now.

He kneels down in front of the captain, his hands shaking. First things first, the prince reaches up to just under the captain's jawline. He applies some pressure as the prince's heart throbs with anxiety. Please, please, please, is all he can think. It feels like forever, yet he doesn't feel anything. No pulse. The prince doesn't buy it. He refuses.

He repositions his hand, and there it is. A light, weak thud against his fingers. The captain is alive. Now he just needs to stay that way. What should the prince do? What can he do? Think, James, think.

Quickly, he starts to unbutton the shirt he was given just a few hours ago. How has so much changed in such a quick amount of time? How many goodbyes can be shoved into a single moment? He gets his shirt off, placing it down onto the sand. He then moves his arms to the captain's black jacket. The prince has taken it off before; another time shouldn't be that difficult. Eventually, the long black jacket is wiggled off, tossed off to the side. The captain's white shirt is red at this point. The stains may never leave. Judging by the opacity and hue, the wound itself is right above the captain's hip, still leaking out blood. It has to stop. Now. Quickly, yet still delicately, James slides his hand underneath Sage's shirt, touching the captain's abdomen. He untucks the whole garment, working his fingers around the captain's waist, being extremely light around the wound. Once finished, he works the buttons, taking the shirt off in record time; tossing it away alongside the black coat.

The wound looks even worse now that the prince can see it. He snatches his own shirt and forms a makeshift bandage. It isn't the cleanest, but at least it's something that can apply pressure and can be tied around the captain's waist. It should do the job.

James places the thickest part onto the wound, then wraps one sleeve of the shirt under the captain's back, the other going over. He pulls taught at the captain's right hip, tying the two sleeves together in a knot. The prince wastes no time looking at the other wounds. The one on his thigh isn't that bad, but the one on his calf is impressively deep. He needs something else. Sage's shirt.

He shifts over to the side to grab it, returning to the captain. He's still out. The prince is too scared to check for a pulse a second time, so he starts on the wound. He cuffs the captain's pants up to right under his knee. The tight cuff actually serves to be a good tourniquet as James works the other shirt into the same type of bandage. He wraps it around the captain's calf tightly, hoping it'll do its job.

James raises his hand back to Sage's neck, lightly pushing his two fingers into the captain's flesh. The pulse hits him back, a wave of relief rushing over the prince. He moves his other hand onto the captain's chest to see if he can feel a rise and fall of breath. The captain's skin feels good underneath his palm, somehow calming. Just the slight movement of the captain's rib cage creates an aura of relaxation around the prince.

At this point, there's nothing much else he can do other than wait for the captain to wake up. He starts to remove his hand from the captain's chest so that he can retrieve the shoved-away black coat, when he hears a low voice start to rumble.

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Thanks so much for reading! Please vote and comment and share if you feel up to it, and, per usual, I have some questions for y'all! Answer with a comment if you feel up to it, or really comment about anything! I love to hear from y'all!

1) James' doctor era, I guess. Keeping things short, what do y'all think happens after this? Do Celine, Eric, and Scotty win? Do they lose? Who's voice is that? The captain's? Was Captain Torrbeth secretly alive and coming out of hiding? Let me know!

2) And, as always, a random question: If you were a type of soup, what type of soup would you be? I think I would be tomato soup, because I look damn good with grilled cheese.

Alright, that's it for this chapter. Thanks so much for reading, once again, and please vote if you can cause it helps me out a lot! Love y'all and see you soon!

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