Prince of Flour

3. Precious

Seonghwa could barely believe how simple it had been so far.

He had barely declared himself prince - and it was not even his own idea - but he was saved from any premature killings for now. The captain had left without another word, leaving his crew to tend to Seonghwa while he was busy. His aura lingered, having Seonghwa still weak in his legs.

Seonghwa's knees hurt and his head warned him not to get too comfortable, but, for now, he was alright. He had calmed his thoughts, and even if his stomachache had yet to even out, most of his nervosity had lowered to a simmer in his stomach.

It was the man with the dreadlocks who pulled Seonghwa to his feet again and dusted off Seonghwa's shoulders with an appreciative hum.

"Ye did jolly, Mingi. We can always score with a prince."

Seonghwa was still in a daze. His mind was clouded by a thick fog that made him forget everything he observed around this unfamiliar surrounding. His brain could not believe that he had landed here and tried to shroud him in sweet ignorance.

"Where to? I do nay reckon this one be a danger."

Of course not, Seonghwa could not hurt a fly. Still, he kept his head down and listened to the conversation attentively. It was the least he could do; he had not a chance against a full crew of savages. Only a crafty plan would get him out of this predicament.

"Take 'im with ye. Ye did jolly with Yeosang last time."

Mingi - the redhair - had to be in some high-ranking position to be ordering people around like that. He also looked smug when Seonghwa risked a gaze at him. Swift, he lowered his eyes anew. The pirates and their hungry stares made his toes curl.

"Aye. Come on, pretty prince, we shall discuss some rules." The man with the dreadlocks motioned him to follow, and Seonghwa meekly did as he was told. He still felt the heat of the captain on his face. How unbecoming.

"Name be Youjin. What do ye want to be called?" They crossed the deck to the very tip of the ship. Youjin greeted all the men they passed. There were few, just as Seonghwa had noticed earlier. This crew seemed fairly small compared to the fleets of over a hundred sailors he had heard about.

"Seonghwa, I'm Seonghwa."

"A pretty name. Fitting for its owner." It was not Youjin who complimented him, but one fellow Seonghwa had seen in the audience earlier. His features were fox-like, and the shape of his eyes lifted elegantly in the outer corners. His syllables lingered in their harmonies, adding an accent to his speech that gave away he wasn't from the area.

Just like the others, he was only scantily dressed in a white shirt with a V deep enough that the first ridges of his abdomen were to see. He had pushed up the sleeves, showing off muscular forearms and his broad upper body that tapered into a tiny waist. Seonghwa was pretty sure he could nearly enclose that waist with his hands.

The most curious thing about him was nothing of all that, though. It was his hair, the black locks that fell in sweet curls into his eyes, but they also had a distinct white streak to his left. It was thin, only three fingers thick, and it still captured Seonghwa's attention.

A snort came from Youjin's direction.

"Works e'ery darn time. Go run a rig somewhere else, loverboy." Youjin shooed the other pirate off, who just grinned, showing deep dimples on his face. Seonghwa thought he looked like a kind person.

The new man stepped in and lifted a hand to caress the angry scratches on Seonghwa's neck. Seonghwa stayed frozen deliberately, expecting a blow, but received concerned eyes instead. His cramped heart released its pressure as it called for him to ease the man's downtrodden look.