The King's Daughter ⥺ Wanda Maximoff x Reader

II - Letter of Marque

You missed the ocean. You missed the smell of the ocean. You missed the sunset seen from the prow of a ship. You missed the night sky illuminated with stars and the soft dawn breeze. You missed it, but you couldn't see yourself sailing again. Since the incident with the Spanish Gold Ship, you had made a vow to never sail again, but you decided to make an exception to help Adewale.

It was not the sea that was treacherous in this story, but the war on it. The Spaniards against Englishmen, Privateers against Pirates, Pirates against Spaniards and Englishmen.

You succeeded in setting The Ariel's Torment at sea, but only thanks to Adewale. He told you that some pirates, who owed reales to the tavern, helped to repair the ship, but they hadn't made many changes. The Ariel's Torment was a 100-man brig. It had 15 as opposed to the 12 cannons they normally had. The sails of the ship were strengthened as well as the mast. The helm had been hand-carved by a friend of Adewale's, and the symbol was a devil. The sails were in red colors, thanks to a saved gift from Edward to you. Your ship was unpainted, letting the color of the wood give a rustic touch to the look.

Your ship wasn't that fast, but it was strong enough.

You and Adewale took turns at the helm of the ship, he would stay from morning until sunset, while you would stay from sunset until dawn. It was not difficult to find help for the ship, besides the pirates who helped Adewale to reform the ship, you had some open negotiations with some men who were in debt to the tavern. They didn't argue, between owing you money forever or a ship trip, they readily decided to help. They didn't respect Ade, but they respected you, and because they respected you, it was everyone's duty to respect Ade.

The trip to Britain's ally, a country that until then you didn't know existed, called Sokovia, took more than 30 days. You arrived 5 days before the meeting ball to sign the letter of marque. Adewale and you, together with the crew, found a place to stay, a quiet beach where you pitched tents. You preferred to stay on the beach so that you could keep an eye on the ship.

You had been sitting on the sand, with your arms resting on your knees, for some hours, watching the waves. You listened to some crew members playing a sea shanty by a fire, already knowing that they had been drinking since only a few correct words came out of the song. Adewale was with the crew, but he looked at you worriedly, you hadn't talked for days. He only listened to your voice to give orders to the men. He knew you were worried, and like the good friend he was, he decided to keep you company.

He took a fish, a bottle of rum, got up and walked over to you. He stopped at your side, held out his hands to you, and you looked at him with a sad smile. You raised your hands to take the fish and the bottle, but looked at the empty floor beside you, signaling for him to sit beside you. You began to eat the fish in silence, and after a few minutes, there was only its remains.

" You look worried. " Adewale said, looking at the sea ahead.

You let out a sigh, opened the bottle of rum and took a sip. The liquid ran down your body, burning and warming every place it passed. You looked out to sea as well, wondering what you could get off your chest with your friend.

" I'm worried about Edward. " You confessed, quickly taking another sip of your drink. " It's been a long time since he last sent a letter. " You set the bottle of rum on the floor and propped your arms on your knees again. " Last time we spoke, he complained about the deal with the king. "

Adewale thought for a while about what to say, but didn't know exactly what, so he just said " Edward has a strong temper. "

" Yes, that's my concern. " You paused and shook your head. "I looked around for information, but no one knew anything about him or the ship."