In my mind

The princess and the wild

Adriana absolutely loved the life as a royal. She could do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and no one had the right to forbid her to. Well, except her father but he was rarely home. She was the second oldest in line and therefore she had no big responsibilities such as her older sister had being heir and everything. So Adriana did what she could, she enjoyed the spoiled life. She adored the fine dresses and expensive jewelry, the mountains of food and the evenings with entertainments and especially the line of boys who trailed her. Her personal maidens were always busy running errands for her bringing her this and that. Adriana took her education seriously, in her opinion a fine lady such as herself should be intelligent and have manners. Therefore she always behaved as expected from her and rarely did something outrageous. Only one time did she not stand down. When she was ten years old she had seen a marvellous stallion while walking the streets of her father's kingdom. She had stopped dead in her footsteps and refused to move an inch unless she got that stallion. Her chaperone had merely let out yet another of his deep sighs and ordered the money to be brought to the stallion's owner. The owner had been more than happy to sell the horse for 3 gold coins. The stallion had barely been a grown up but now he was a good eight years. Adriana had given him the name Alfie.

King Joseph II was, as always, gone on a business trip. This time it was to the neighbouring kingdom to the discuss the new year's trades. And so Adriana was left alone, again. See, she had no friends and neither was she close with her siblings. Arabel, her older sister, was always busy with court training or something similar and Reymon, her younger brother, wasn't an option. Adriana snuck out of the castle as she always did at night and walked along the beach. She couldn't keep her thoughts in line, they wandered back to the ball earlier whether she wanted them to or not. She had been sitting on her throne beside Arabel, who acted as the substitute for their father while he was absent, thinking about keeping her back straight and shoulders laid back when she had noticed a young man's gaze. It was obvious he wanted her to see him. When he finally had caught her eyes he bowed and offered his hand so she had casually stridden down to him and taken his hand. As if on a cue the music had slowed and the man had pulled her close to him and began moving to the rhythm. She had smelled his cologne, a faint mint scent. When the dance had ended he'd dragged her over to the drink table and began an idle talk. To be honest, she hadn't listen that carefully about what he'd said. She had been a bit distracted by the way the light had reflected in his warm brown eyes. Only when he laughed did she notice he'd asked her a question, three times. They had talked long into the evening and he'd promised they would meet again.

She was too lost in her thoughts about that young man to notice that someone had been following her since she'd left the streets and entered the beach. When she finally noticed it was too late, he'd put his hand over her mouth and the other locked over her arms.
   "What's a young woman like you doing out at this hour?", he purred in her ear. She struggled to escape his grip but to no use and he laughed at her futile try to shake him off. How she wished she hadn't fled out before her chaperone had had the time to find her after the chaos when everyone was leaving the ball. She hoped he didn't know who she was as she said
   "None of your business"
   "Well, you'll have plenty of time to tell me since you're going with me now", he said as he lifted her over his shoulder and began walking down the beach towards the docks. He'd been clever enough to tie a piece of cloth over her mouth to muffle her screams for help.
   "It's not that I want to kidnap you, you know. It's just that I made a bet with my crew that having a woman on board won't cause bad luck and you'll be the proof", he declared as if she'd won a price.

He took her onto a ship that looked suspiciously similar to a pirate ship and announced the crew to set sail. The man put her down and she could finally see how her kidnapper looked like. He couldn't be much older than she was. He had golden hair that grazed his neck and crystal clear blue eyes. His mouth formed a smile that indicated he knew he was the boss as he said
   "Welcome on board Nomi and this is my crew. Now, as you've might noticed, we're pirates so we'd be happy if you didn't run off and shout it all over town when we get back, okay girl?"
She'd been too busy thinking she'd misheard him to noticed he'd called her girl although she was nineteen.
   "Did you say 'when we get back' just now?"
   "Yes of course, you didn't think we'd snatch you away from your parents forever did you?", he laughed. Confused, Adriana walked to the railing and watched the castle atop the hill become smaller and smaller. After an hour or so her kidnapper approached her again.
   "I beg your pardon, girl, but you'll help me convince those bastards that you're no bad luck yeh?"
She nodded but kept silent as she continued to watch the sea move. He must have noticed her elegant dress which she hadn't bother to change after the ball as he said with a surprised face
   "You must've come from a wealthy family I see. Tell me, what were you doing on that beach?"
   "Well, yes I assume, and again none of your business", she answered a bit hesitantly wondering if he'd decide to keep her if he found out she was the second princess. But the man wouldn't let her off that easy.
   "You assume? What's that supposed to mean? What's your name, girl?", he grinned. Although I said Adriana was well educated I never said she had quick wits, and so she answered
   "Adriana of the Eastern Mounta-", she stopped short when she realized her own mistake, but there was no going back. The man's own eyes widened too and he quickly dropped one knee on the deck and brought his right hand to his chest.
   "Y-your Highness, I beg your greatest pardon for unknowingly kidnapping the princess"
She could see his ears turning red and he stumbled. Relieved that he hadn't threatened her she motioned for him to rise.
   "You are pardoned. What is your name, if I may ask?"
   "Of course, my name is Collin, Your Highness. We can turn this boat around immediately, Your Highness". But Adriana was curious about this man. Could he really be a pirate, while being this polite and nice? And was he the leader of these so called pirates? At such a young age.
   "May I ask your age, Collin?"
A bit startled he answered
   "I am 22, Your Highness. Why?"
   "Just curious about my kidnapper", she smiled a bit, "Are you the pirate boss then?"
   "No, Your Highness, I am not. The captain is in his cabin right now"
She could see he was nervous, she knew they were pirates but she decided she'd give them a chance.
   "I think your crew can learn a thing or two about respecting women. I'll accompany you and I won't report you if you get me home untouched. I also want to send an owl to my sister"
His eyes widened even more and relief washed over his face as he said
   "Thank you, Your Highness. It is a privilege to have you on board. Unfortunately, we don't own any owls. We've got a parrot but he's no good at navigation so I'm afraid your message might would get lost. I shall go and inform the rest of us. I'll come back in a moment to show you to your cabin", and slipped off.