Duty Bound

Chapter 12

As the Evangeline's docking date loomed closer, Crowley felt a knot growing in his stomach, increasing in size every day. Once the significance of the princess's plan had sunk in, he had hardly slept a wink. Passing her off as a commoner was one thing. Laying low on a trading ship was something else.

There was any number of things that could go wrong. Attack by warships or pirates, for one. And then there were the dangers on the ship itself. Explosions from deadly cargo weren't unheard of. Not to mention the potential dangers of the crew. If a princess could pass undetected on a trading ship, so could a criminal.

Crowley waited outside the princess's room. She was bound to be returning from dinner any minute. His palms were sweating. He didn't like to be out of the servants' quarters, and he didn't want to be seen loitering here. People were wont to get the wrong idea.

He wasn't even sure what he would say to her. Probably beg her to reconsider living out her life on the Evangeline. She would be well taken care of here. And he could return to his post and invent some lie about how the princess had been killed by rebels and how he'd been their prisoner this whole time. Maybe if the crown prince saw that he was willing to be complicit in the cover up, he wouldn't send any assassins after him.

The princess suddenly appeared around the corner. When she noticed Crowley standing there, she was surprised.

"What are you doing here, Captain?" she asked.

"We need to talk," Crowley said. "Privately."

The princess nodded and unlocked the bedroom door, holding it open for him. He slipped inside, grateful not to have been seen. She quickly followed and shut the door, turning the key to guarantee that no one would interrupt.

Crowley did a quick scan of the room. It was as luxurious as expected, save for the fact that the bedside table was covered in an array of medicine bottles and rolls of gauze. No doubt Harry had left them here to save herself the trouble of carrying them back and forth. Looking at the princess, he'd never have known there was anything wrong with her. But if Harry was to be believed, what had been done to her would make a butcher queasy.

"What is it, Captain?" she asked.

He tore his gaze away from the bottles and cleared his throat.

"In short, I don't think you should go through with your plan. Your highness."

"I'm afraid that isn't an option," the princess said.

Crowley took a breath. This wasn't going to be easy.

"With all due respect, you don't know the danger that you would be putting yourself in. I wouldn't always be by your side to protect you."

"You may have an altogether incorrect idea of my ability to defend myself," she said matter-of-factly. "I understand – considering the circumstances of our meeting. But rest assured, I am not as helpless as you believe."

"I'm sure that the royal fencing and horse-riding masters gave you the finest training," Crowley said. "But you have never had to fight, and I cannot guarantee your safety."

"What makes you think I've never had to fight?" she asked, clearly irritated.

"A real fight?" Crowley crossed his arms.

"Yes."

"All the same, I cannot in good conscience let you go through with this."

"Let me?" her eyes widened, and Crowley could have kicked himself for the poor choice of words. "You forget to whom you are speaking, Captain."

"Your highness, I apologize. I—"

"Kneel," she commanded.

Crowley dropped down to his knees. He could feel himself turning red with mortification.

"I think you need a reminder of just who it is you are protecting," the princess said, standing over him with crossed arms. "I want to you to pledge your loyalty to me – here. You are to repeat after me."

Crowley struggled not to let his anger and humiliation show. How could he have been so stupid as to think that he could convince a royal of anything? All he had done was show insolence.

"I, Captain James Crowley, pledge my loyalty to Amelia of Corvin, daughter of King Richard XI."

Crowley repeated the words, barely keeping the contempt from his voice.

"I will follow, protect, and obey her until my duty has been fulfilled."

He glanced up at her for a moment, and was overcome by the sudden mental image of fucking her up against the wall. Even as he repeated after her, he imagined her moaning, fingernails digging into the skin of his back as he drove himself deep inside her.

"You may rise," she said haughtily.

He got up from the floor, doing his best to dispel the image that had suddenly invaded his mind.

"We will be sticking to my plan. We dock in two days. You are to be ready." She turned the key to unlock the door. "And Captain – there are matters in which I am happy to defer to you. But this is not one of them. You see things as an army captain sees things. You wish to protect me. But I see things as a royal ought to see them – I do not care what risk I must take. I must get to the Crown Court and testify against my brother. I don't do this for myself, but for the nation."

With that, she opened the door. Crowley walked out of the room without so much as another glance in her direction. He had not felt this humiliated in years. And what the hell was it that had suddenly attracted him to the princess just then? The impulse had fled, but it had felt so strong only moments ago. He couldn't even be sure that it had really happened.

What does it matter, he thought to himself. Royalty or not, she was still a woman, flesh and blood like any other. And his thoughts were his own. Yet he felt guilt for what he had imagined – as though the mere thought of it had been a transgression.

He fell into an uneasy sleep, hoping that when he woke up, he would be rid of this haze. One thing was clear – he needed a good fuck.