The Prince and a Pirate

Part 3

Isaac stood on the deck of the ship glancing warily around at all the rough looking men, it was quite clear from the scars, tanned skin, and muscle that they had all been sailors for a long time.  But Isaac felt a sense of danger and dread as all the men eyed him like he was a piece of meat reminding him just how petit he was. One of the men stepped closer.

   "And who is this fine specimen?" He reached out towards Isaac, clearly about to grab him but Thorne stepped between the two.

   "Back up John, he is the cargo and not to be touched by any of you." She glared at John and the rest of the crew "is that clear?" The men reluctantly nodded still eyeing him. Thorne nodes sharply "Good now set sail for Gray" (Gray is a small port about ten days north from where they are) Thorne took Isaac by the arm and pulled him into what appeared to be the captain's cabin. "A bunch of pricks the lot of them, what I wouldn't give to have my own crew back." Thorne muttered, letting go of his arm and shutting the door before sitting at her desk to work.

   "Wait... Those men... They aren't your crew?" Isaac asked blinking in confusion. Thorne scoffed

   "Them? Of course not, the king of the North lands, whom I currently provide my services for replaced my entire crew with his own personal sailors, they are quite the colorful bunch. Human traffickers, rapists, murderers you name it, there's at least one of each on this ship."  Isaac felt his stomach twist at the thought, remembering the way they eyed him.

   "That's terrible." Was all he could think to say.  Thorne glanced up and gave a small grin keeping up her confident appearance.

   "Don't worry you'll be staying in the captain's cabin with me, it's at least safer than the brig." Isaac glanced at her he couldn't tell if she offered out of kindness or obligation but either way he preferred it to sleeping in a cold dark space or worse with the rest of the crew.  "Anyway this is where you'll spend a lot of your time so feel free to look around" Thorne said gesturing to the room around them, before turning back to her charts.

Isaac hesitated before slowly moving around the room examining everything with interest.  The room was beautifully designed and filled with artifacts from all over the world, books written by adventures and sailors, paintings of distant lands, and as isaac noticed only one bed. He froze and stood beside it staring at the  bed that was clearly meant for one person or two people if you were really close.  Gears started turning in his head, Thorne couldn't actually expect them to share could she? He jumped slightly when Thorne appeared beside him draping one arm over his shoulders.

   "What do you think? Nice isn't it? I figure we'll be warm enough if we cuddle." Isaac's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out he just stared at her both shocked and surprised. Thorne laughed. "You're facial expressions are all so priceless!" Isaac closed his mouth face heating up. Thorne stopped laughing finally catching her breath  "don't worry we won't actually be sharing, I'll set up a hammock or something, you take the bed." She grinned at him.

   "...how gracious." Isaac muttered still a bit upset and embarrassed from her teasing.

   "Oh, don't be like that." Thorne gave his shoulder a firm pat almost knocking him over. "For the record we don't have any way to heat ourselves up on this ship so the closer we get to the north kingdom the colder it will get.  Which means we will actually be sharing the bed later on this voyage" she grinned at him "y'know in order not to freeze to death"

    "Are you tricking me again?" Isaac narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Thorne shrugged and grinned.

   "Maybe, maybe not.  Guess you'll have to wait and see" Isaac scrunched up his face, she was enjoying this way to much.

That night, he found himself on the simple bed in her cabin it wasn't luxurious like his bed at the palace but it was still extremely comfortable and warm. Thorne despite his protests had bundled him up in all the blankets she had.  Now only his head was visible the rest of him was covered in a mountain of softness. (It was, in Thorne's opinion, adorable.) Isaac turned his head and looked at the supposedly sleeping figure on the floor by the desk, Thorne had been unable to obtain a hammock and despite Isaac offering her the bed (like a gentleman) chose to sleep on the floor.  Isaac blinked wasn't she cold? He quietly reached out a hand and touched the floor, it felt like ice.  He looked at Thorne again her eyes were closed and her breathing even, she seemed to be asleep but looks could be deceiving, was she actually just pretending?

Isaac hesitated but eventually climbed out of the bed dragging two of the blankets with him and walked over to Thorne, he thought about being gentle and draping them over her but all his anger from her teasing still lingered so he held them up over her "sleeping" form and dropped them on her instead.

   "What the-!" Her voice was muffled by the blankets, and Isaac had to stifle his laughter.

   "Here try not to get sick." He went back to the bed and climbed in.  "And don't take this the wrong way! It's not because I care! If you die or something then all the men out there will have no one stopping them from... You know. So there." He pulled the blankets back up and turned away. Thorne blinked at him but said nothing simply getting comfortable under the blankets. Isaac told himself not to fall asleep maybe he would be able to escape, after most of the crew were asleep.

However despite his mental order, the crew "lurking" just outside the door, and an unknown future ahead of him.  Isaac soon fell into a deep peaceful sleep, with the ship gently rocking him and a sense of security and comfort that he hadn't felt since before his mother's death.