Prince of the Seven Seas - l.s

Chapter 22

Harry's gaze on Louis remained steady in a way that Louis could say made him feel a bit more irritated than before.

His green eyes, illuminated by the burning flames behind him were shimmering in a light that clearly stated that Harry found Louis's words amusing.

That alone made Louis's scowl deepen while he increased the animosity of his glare.

Harry wasn't taking him seriously.

"Louis, I think you should just sit back down and—"

Not bothering to even break his gaze with Harry, Louis held back one of his hands toward Zayn with a silencing gesture with it to intervene his words,

Eyes still filled with mirth, Harry watched upward at the fuming royal, "You're challenging me?"

The words seemed to leave the pirate captain's lips in such a soft way, it was almost as though Harry were singing it rather than saying it. With his speech so light and practically weightless, it furthered Louis's annoyance.

Strongly, Louis nodded, "Glad to know you aren't completely deaf."

Harry didn't appear moved; instead he leaned back on his hands, his head reeling back on his neck to stare up at Louis with a broadening sly smile that made Louis's blood start to heat up. From his spot practically looming over the normally taller male, Louis managed to blockade the light emitting from the flames behind him from Harry, his shadow casting over the captain largely.

"Wait, what?" Niall's voice questioned in heavy confusion, instantly breaking the tense eye-lock Louis and Harry shared.

Both brunets turned to look at the blonde who gazed on at them with his eyebrows furrowed, "I don't know if I just zoned out or something, but wait, what? Why are you challenging him, Louis?" From the looks on their faces, it appeared that Liam, Danielle, and Zayn shared the Irishman's puzzlement. Eleanor on the other hand appeared rather curious, her head tilted to the side with eyes wonderingly speculating the situation.

"I just want to show him that I'm not afraid of scratching my 'delicate' hands, as he so nicely put it." Louis answered with a scoff.

Harry cocked an eyebrow upward, the self-righteous smirk on his lips lazing on his face ever so slightly before he turned his attention back to the royal ahead of him, "Oh, so you're serious?"

Louis's eyes strayed back, his expression leveling out in irritation, "Damn straight I am." Without another word, his hand shot downward to the inner side of Harry's overcoat.

Not flinching, Harry simply stared as Louis pulled out the male's cutlass from its sheath smoothly.

Breathing out with confidence, Louis positioned the sharpened weapon in front of Harry's face, right at his nose, "Unless of course, you're afraid." He stressed the taunting word out with a smirk of superiority. Harry's smirk vanished almost the instant the word was said.

Taking a step backward, the cutlass not lowering, Louis held his arms out expectantly, "It'll be a quick challenge, I'm positive of that."

Louis's actions clearly startled or at least surprised the other crew members that watched on the spectacle quietly.

After a few more seconds of silence, Harry finally seemed to exhale with a roll to his eyes. He moved to stand upward with a bit of a grimace, "If you really want to go through with this, Princess, I suppose a quick match wouldn't hurt."

"Oh, boy..." Liam groaned out with a shake to his head as Harry began asking Zayn for his own cutlass, "Louis, may I please ask what you think you're doing?"