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((It's pretty damn long, sorry about that))

Kloud groaned quietly and opened one of his eyes slightly,

“Ah…damn, that hurts…” He whispered to himself, his head ached really bad, that and his mind was occupied with how worried he was about everyone.

“Aye, lass…you finally awake?” He heard someone say to his right, he groaned again and shifted his weight where he laid. His hands were bound behind his back. These pirates were too stupid to realize his calloused hands; broad shoulders, flat chest and deep voice meant that he was a man. “I will be having the first go at ya, so be thankful.”

“Stay away from me.” He said forcefully, the man grinned and shook his head, he pushed Kloud on his back hard, and Kloud’s hair covered his face. He waited for his moment to strike, not struggling so much. The man pulled Kloud’s hair back to expose his face, and Kloud attacked. He rolled onto his upper back and kicked the pirate in the face, before he fell back, he wrapped his legs around his guys neck and choked him unconscious. “Serves you right!” Kloud said to the unconscious man. “Make sure you know when you’re trying to seduce a man next time!” Kloud rolled to his feet and over to a lantern, taking out a candlestick and burning through his bindings, groaning in discomfort. As soon as he was free, he heard a woman’s scream. He gasped and ran from the room immediately, “Karley…what are you doing here?” He said as she ran quickly down the creaky halls, following the sounds of her voice. “Karley!!” He called out, but she didn’t seem to hear him,

“Aaah! Take that!!!” Karley’s yell echoed down the hall. Kloud ran down a flight of stairs and burst through the door,

“I’ll save you!!” He said as he came into the room, but he stopped and gaped at the sight in front of him. All of the pirates were lying on the ground, unconscious. Karley stood in the center of them, cracking her knuckles and flipping her hair.

“And THAT’S what you get for trying to mess with a princess!” Kloud leaned against the doorframe and sighed heavily in relief. Karley turned to him,

“Kloud!” She stepped over the bodies of the pirates and hugged him tightly. “I thought that the captain was going to hurt you if he found out you were a man!” Kloud couldn’t help his outburst; he gently grabbed her head in his hands,

“You fool, you were worried about ME…and you could have been seriously hurt!!” Karley didn’t seem fazed by his scolding,

“I was radioing for help when I was caught. I wanted to make sure that rescue came for the people escaping in the smaller ships. I’m sorry.” Her face was, however, full of resolve. “But, I saw you get taken away, and I wanted to help you…” Kloud sighed and hugged her tightly,

“I’m sorry…just, when I heard you scream…I freaked out…” He sighed, “Pirates…bloody pirates, just when I was about to get you home… We must be way off course now…” She hugged him back,

“Well, we’ll just have to get back on course.” Karley grinned, she stepped out of his arms, “Now, as my servant, I order you to restrain all these pirates, so they can’t escape.” Kloud blinked at her,

“You’ve got to be kidding…you choose now to do this?” Karley smiled,

“I’m totally serious!” She mimicked a pirate’s tone of voice. “Now git to it, or I’ll feed ya to the fishes!” Kloud laughed and searched the room, finding rope to tie the pirates up with. While rummaging through a few things, he found a big pirate hat; he put it on her head and smiled,

“Aye, cap’n.” He said to her as he dragged the pirates to a corner and set them there, as they were still unconscious. Karley adjusted the hat on her head as Kloud spoke to her, “We’ve got to take out the navigator so we can get on course home.” He turned to her and motioned with his hand for her to follow him up the stairs.

“How far off do you think we are?” Karley asked quietly as he motioned for her to stop a few steps from the top, he knelt down and crept behind a crate, she mimicked him and crouched down beside him. He peeked over the top of the crates and scanned across the top of the deck,

“I’m not sure, I was out for a while, and I don’t know how long it’s been since we were taken from the ship. But it shouldn’t take much more than a few days to get to my home.” He spotted the only pirate not detained, navigating the giant wheel.

“Do you think we’ll last that long, it’s just the two of us…against all these pirates.” Kloud chuckled,

“You took all those pirates out yourself, and I know how to navigate, this ship looks so old that I’m sure a kid could handle it.” He turned to her and smiled, “You stay here, I’m going to take care of this one.” He hopped over the crate and was out of sight to her up until he came up behind the pirate steering and choked him unconscious. “All clear!” He called to her. She stood up and walked to him,

“Wow…that was impressive, where did you learn to do all that?” Kloud grabbed the wheel and smiled to her,

“I’ve been learning since I was little, they thought it would make me more manly. Who knew I’d have to use it against a bunch of pirates.” She nudged the pirate with her foot as Kloud looked up to the sky and gave the wheel a hard spin to the right. The ship creaked loudly as its course was altered. Karley leaned against the rail right by him,

“Who knew that only hours after I find out who you truly are, we get attacked and kidnapped!” Kloud chuckled,

“Well…let’s just say it’s an unexpected extended vacation. Besides, it’s not everyday you get a chance to beat up several vicious pirates, now THAT was impressive. I only got a chance to beat up two.” He smiled at her and winked, “I’m going to have to watch myself, or you’re going to totally crush me under your power.” Karley laughed,

“Yeah, whatever. I’m not sure they’re the toughest pirates out there. I’m surprised you didn’t kill any of them. They thought you were a woman!” She laughed louder as Kloud frowned, yet again it didn’t fit his beautiful features, but it still made him look cute,

“Ya know…that’s not funny.” Kloud replied, Karley grinned at him, and he dropped the subject, “Yeah, well anyway. Are you hungry?” Karley looked at him and scratched her head,

“Not really…” Then her stomach grumbled, and she blushed a little bit, “Well…maybe just a little.”

“Well then, we’re going to have to go find us something to eat.”

“Who’s going to steer while we’re down?” Kloud picked up the unconscious pirate,

“Lucky for us, we have an overabundance of help around here.” Kloud replied as he slapped the pirate until he awoke. “Listen to me…” He said evilly, “You’re going to steer this ship exactly where we want you to take it. We’re going down just for a minute, and if I even FEEL the ship leave its course, I’ll throw you overboard and let the sharks get to you. Got it?” The pirate hesitantly nodded his head in understanding. Kloud stood him up by the wheel and tied his hands to it. “If you think I’m joking, then try it.” Kloud threatened, and then told the man the course that Kloud wanted him to take. He turned to Karley and smiled sweetly at her, “Shall we go?” Karley nodded her head,

“Um…yeah, let’s.” Kloud smiled wider and lead the way back downstairs. Karley spoke up once they were down under the deck, “Ya know…” She started, then thought about her next words, trying to make them as light as possible. “You’re really scary when you’re mad.” Kloud laughed lightly and slipped his arm around her shoulder,

“It’s only when I need to be. Your comfort means everything to me, as well as your safety, I can’t have anything happening to you.” Down in the ship, the pirates that they tied up were starting to stir. Kloud rummaged through some of the things and pulled out some semi-stale bread and wine. “This should probably do for now.” He kicked the pirates’ unconscious again as he walked passed them and handed the wine and two glasses to her. “Down here is too stuffy, we need to go upstairs and get some fresh air, c’mon.” She headed up the stairs first and he followed her. The pirate was still tied to the wheel, muttering curses under his breath. Kloud hopped up on one of the crates and took the wine and glasses from her as she sat beside him. He tore off a piece of bread, handing her the rest of it.

“Do you think we’re making good time?” She said as she tore a piece of bread and set the big chunk down in between them, Kloud hooked his hair behind his ears and looked up at the sails,

“Actually, we’re making incredibly good time, considering the ship’s age. We’ll be there in no time.” He poured the wine into the glasses and handed her one, “You shouldn’t worry, I’m not going to jump you, ya know.” Karley laughed as she took the glass he handed her, taking a sip,

“I’m not worried about that. It’s not like I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. You said so yourself.” Kloud smiled wryly

“Yeah, and you hit really hard.” Kloud said as he took a sip of his wine, “Hm…not bad.” He said. There was a silence for several moments between them, and Karley looked at him as she ate her bread, complaining in her mind that it was stale, but eating it anyway. Kloud didn’t notice her attention on him; he was too busy looking at the pirate that he tied to the wheel. Karley always wondered what Kloud would be like as a prince, it was no surprise, she imagined him exactly like she saw him right now. She knew that her dreams had finally come true. Kloud finally noticed her gaze, he looked her in the eyes, his face betraying signs of concerns,

“Karley? Are you alright?” He asked her, she blinked and snapped back to reality,

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you say something?” Kloud grinned at her and looked up to the sky,

“ It’s just that, I’m surprised how well you’re taking this. But I meant what I said back there, when I was wearing my mask. I need you to trust me. And I need to know that I can trust you when the time comes. It sounds pretty boring and all, of course we trust each other. But it’s gotta be deeper than royalty goes, it’s got to come down to the facts of us trusting each other on a level of a man and a woman. I don’t just need some airhead telling me how great I am and how all my decisions are right. I gotta have someone to yell at me when I’m being irrational, and to tell me how something I’m doing could be the opposite of what I’m trying to accomplish.” His face turned serious,

“You see…you’re my last hope, but, I know you’ll come through for me. I’m serious about this…” Karley looked him back in the eyes, and then she started to laugh out loud. Kloud was shock and he looked slightly hurt, “What are you laughing for? I’m being totally honest and serious here!”

“I…I know….” She said as she chuckled, “But that’s definitely not like you. You’re the one who’s always excited and lots of good feelings and emotions. It’s actually not natural to see you in such a serious state. You don’t have to worry; I’ll keep you in check when you get out of hand, like I always have. So just stop being so damn serious.” Kloud looked relieved,

“Okay, but…I still have a bit more to tell you. My kingdom, it may be at peace now, but it can all change in an instant. It’s like we’re teetering on the brink of war. And I might end up doing or saying some things that are absolutely out of my character. Also, there may be things that I will ask you that will be uncalled for, please just bear with it. I’m sorry in advance.” He looked down, ashamed for even just mentioning it.

“You start talking like that, and all the other princes are going to walk all over you! You shouldn’t apologize, that’s the first rule of being a prince, ya know? Your rules are law, and what you say is right no matter what. At least, you don’t have to apologize outright to me, just as long as I know you’re just doing it for your position, I’ll never doubt you or leave your side. But you have to start acting more like a prince!” Kloud listened to her, and then broke out into a smile.

“I knew you’d say that…” He suddenly looked down, then to her, “But…what if, for the sake of argument, I would WANT to look like an idiot and a fool, maybe to catch them off guard. They can make mistakes, thinking that I’m too stupid to notice, and that you wouldn’t catch up on it. In this situation, you’d be the one deceiving them the most. And it’s not like we’re actually lying, just…stretching the truth a bit.”

“I think that you’re putting yourself in a very risky position, what if the prince’s aren’t as stupid as you may think they are?”

“Some of them, believe it or not, are. There might be a very select few who might know what I’m up to, and those are the one I’m worried about, they’re very dangerous men, I’ll tell you more about it when we get home.” He replied to her and sighed quietly, starting to braid his hair. Karley smacked his hand. “Ow!”

“Stop that, you should leave your hair out, it’s very pretty.” She scolded; Kloud frowned slightly, but did what she asked of him. He rested his hands behind him and looked up at the sky. Karley looked with him and they were silent for several moments, then she yawned suddenly. She rested her head on Kloud’s shoulder and covered her mouth to suppress another yawn. Kloud picked up on it immediately and turned to her

“Uh oh, I think someone needs to get to bed.” Kloud hopped down from the crate and effortlessly picked Karley up off of it.

“H-hey!! What are you doing?” She questioned as he put her in his arms and carried her back down to the inside of the ship. She struggled to be set down on her feet, “Let me go!” She exclaimed, Kloud smiled at her and shook his head,

“No, I’m going to put you to bed, you’ve had a very traumatic day, after all.” He descended into the cabin and came up to a closed door, once he kicked it open and went inside, it revealed a nice looking bedroom. “Hmph, I guess some of these guys can still live in luxury after stealing from the poor merchants of the villages.” Kloud said as he walked over to the bed and set Karley down on it. “Now, I’m not going to argue with you, Karley, you’re going to bed. That’s an order.”

“You can’t order me around, who do you think you are?” She said as she sat facing him and crossed her arms, Kloud poked her on the forehead,

“I am your future husband, and the man who is looking after your well being after we’ve been kidnapped. So you’d best do as I say, at least until we get home.” Karley pouted, but in the end, she knew that Kloud was just looking out for her well being, so she consented.

“Okay fine, but I don’t want you to let me sleep all day, I want to stay with you.” Karley replied as Kloud made her lay down and covered her with the pillow,

“You will, but right now you need to get some sleep, just relax, and I’ll wake you as soon as I know a little bit more about where we’re going. Okay?” He kissed her on the forehead and sat down on the bed beside her. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep quickly, but she realized that her seasickness was coming back, and she felt her stomach tie into knots, and she could only hope that she wasn’t going to throw up again as she drifted off to sleep. Kloud smiled slightly and stroked her hair gently, being wary not to wake her up. He enjoyed her company more and more, and was so glad that he now had her. He leaned down and kissed her on the head. “Thank you, my little flower. I’m so glad you’re here.” He stood up and looked down on her, he felt bad for getting them into such trouble because of the pirates, but then a thought hit him that could change things to their advantage. He headed toward the door and took one last look at her before going toward the pirates’ room to wake them up.

* * * *

Karley woke up after a few hours and heard a lot of sounds coming from the top of the ship. Since she knew that only Kloud was supposed to be up there by himself, she realized that some of the pirates must have gotten out. She jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room, on her way up the stairs, she heard Kloud’s voice.

“Let’s go, put your backs into it!” He yelled, and then heard the pirates actually acknowledge him,


“ Aye sir!” They responded, Karley slowed her run and walked up the rest of the stairs, she saw all of the pirates running around the deck, either carrying crates or getting other things done. Kloud was sitting on one of the crates, he was wearing the captains hat and shouting orders to the crew.

“You there! I need you to get up to the crow’s nest and be my lookout, I need to know if any ships come by!!”

“Right away, sir!” The pirate said as he started climbing up toward the crow’s nest. Kloud looked toward the stairs and saw Karley, he immediately brightened up and yelled to everyone.

“Oy, everyone humble yourselves! The princess has arrived!!” The pirates immediately turned to Karley and bowed down on their knees, Karley looked shocked, somehow Kloud had subjugated all of the pirates, it was such a short time, too. Kloud motioned her over, and Karley was a bit wary, but she walked across the deck toward Kloud. He smiled at her and lifted the hat off of his head, placing it upon hers. “Hello there, did you have a nice nap, princess?” He asked her, she nodded her head,

“Yes, I did.” She looked around as all of pirates went back to their jobs, “How did you do this?” Kloud smiled brightly at her,

“Well, it was mostly because of you.” He said, then leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I told them that if you were displeased, you would end up throwing them over to feed the sharks.” He said as he leaned back on the crate, Karley chuckled a little bit,

“I see, well, you could have waited until I woke up, they could have seriously hurt you.”

“After what you did to them, and the threat of violence that I hinted at, they were only happy to comply with my simple demands.” He took her hand in his, “Besides, I couldn’t do everything by myself, with their help, we’ve made some great time, now we’ll get to my home in about another day.” Kloud said with a heartwarming smile, but abruptly his smile turned down as the pirate he sent up to the crow’s nest shouted down to him,

“Sir we’ve got an incoming ship on the port side, it’s coming fast!!” Kloud immediately jumped off of the crates and ran to the left (I think) side of the ship. He squinted his eyes to see the incoming ship, Karley had followed him and she looked toward the ship as well,

“Are they one of yours?” She asked curiously, Kloud took another long silent look, then he gasped and without a word to her, he shouted up at the man in the crow’s nest,

“Raise the surrender flag, now!!”

“Aye sir!” He said as he quickly tied a white flag to one of the ropes, it was big and waved rapidly due to the high wind up at the top of the ship,

“What’s going on?” Karley asked, Kloud looked side to side, giving orders for the pirates to stand at attention behind them before finally turning to Karley,

“You remember when I said I would tell you about the dangerous men I mentioned, well, that ship is his flagship, he’s the emperor of the Dragon kingdom, Ryu. Listen, this is your first big task, I just want you to talk to him, he thinks I’m an idiot, and he will shoot at us if he sees me looking anything but one, so you’ve got to defuse the situation.” Kloud said urgently,

“Me? What can I do??” Karley said incredulously, Kloud braided up his hair and leaned over the railing, making himself look quite sick, if she didn’t see him healthy just a moment before, she would have really worried,

“You can do it, he’s enchanted by those he doesn’t understand or can’t figure out, just keep him guessing, you’ve done that easily with me in the past,

“But he’s an emperor, what if I make him angry and he fires on us?” She said, the ship approaching and the features of the ship were coming into view, the ship was made of black painted wood, and blue sails adorned a big black dragon.

“Trust me, you won’t.” That was all Kloud said as he made moaning sounds like he was sick. The ship slowed to a stop and Karley heard a booming voice over the wind and the creak of the behemoth vessels,

“Who dares stand in the way of the Dragon Emperor?!” A man stepped into view, and Karley was amazed instantly, he had on satin dark blue and black clothes, covered by a cape that brushed against the floor. His hair was blue and stretched down past his back, the wind made if flow all around him, and his eyes were piercing silver, the way he stared at Karley was like he was trying to search directly into her soul. He was close enough to where Karley could see him actually looking her up and down, then a smile crossed his face. It wasn’t a warm smile that had no hidden meanings, it was a wicked smile of a genuinely evil man. He said nothing, but his gaze slid over to Kloud, who at this point was almost green with sickness, his smile widened, and he finally spoke,

“Ah, it’s the dimwit of a prince, from the kingdom of overdressed birds.” He said, venom seemed to drip from his lips. Karley didn’t know why he would show his hatred right towards him, but she soon didn’t have enough time to think when the emperors cold steel gaze turned upon her, but then instead of a vicious smile, it turned into a smirk, no doubt it was meant to intrigue her, “Well, hello there, madam, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before. I am Ryu, emperor to the Dragon Kingdom and soon supreme ruler of all the kingdoms, might I inquire of your name? Surely a beautiful woman like yourself must have a name to match, as well as a proper lineage.” Ryu said as she bowed his head only slightly, smiling more each second,

“Soon emperor of all the kingdoms? What in the world is he talking about?” Karley thought, but she kept her composure, she tilted her chin up slightly and looked him straight in the eye, even if she was afraid of what he might do if she did, she had to put up a defiant and all-important act. “My name is Karley, and I am princess of the Imperial Xula Kingdom. It is very nice to meet you, your Excellency.” She said as she bowed her head low, she looked at him through her eyelashes and saw a spark of interest,

“Well met, Karley.” He said quite casually, which made her a little mad, she was a princess, she was expected to be treated like one. He leaned on the railing of his ship, “What ill fate for you to have been traveling with the idiot, it looks like you’ve been taken captive, as it were, by pirates. I can smite them easily if you want me to.” The pirates seemed to be irritated, Karley turned her head slightly and motioned with her hand for them to calm down, “Or if you want, I can personally escort you to your home. Leave the whelp and come along with me, I’ll protect you.” Karley was getting angrier by the minute, he was calling Kloud all sorts of names outright, and she couldn’t say nor do anything.

“I appreciate your concern, but I have things under control, I persuaded them that they would be rewarded greatly if they were to help us. I also owe a debt to the prince and his family, and it would be only right to help him home as well.”

“Poor brat can’t even take care of himself without a woman’s help, how pathetic.” Ryu said as she shook his head, he returned his attention back to Karley, his smile really annoyed and even frightened her a little bit. “Well, then if you will not come to me now, I must take my leave, but I would like to see you some other time.”

“That sounds nice…” Karley said, she couldn’t muster anything more polite, her mind was reeling, she was torn between jumping over and beating him up, to leaving Kloud with him, to just screaming at the top of her lungs. He was so arrogant, but there was something about him that was just… enchanting. She mentally shook her head, Kloud would be absolutely shocked if he ever found out about what she was thinking. Ryu fiddled with his left hand and took off a ring,

“Here is a token of our meeting today, I hope it will not be the last, dear Karley.” He said as he held it up, then suddenly he took a breath and blew, the ring danced on the wind that the emperor had made, and gently set itself down on the top of Karley’s hand, that was resting on the railing of the ship, it stayed there steadily until Karley picked it up in her hand. He smiled again, “I will be awaiting for you to contact me. Have a safe journey.” He said as he turned and told his men to start off. When they were far enough way, Ryu turned to one of his soldiers, who saluted,

“Fire at the ship, aim for the whelp of a prince.”
* * * *

“They’re leaving…” Karley said, Kloud got up and looked toward the ship as it retreated, he had a frown on his face, and Karley knew what he was thinking, but she didn’t want to bring it up. She hated the way Ryu talked to her about Kloud, like he wasn’t even there, Kloud was a smart, nice and handsome man, what right did Ryu have to blatantly talk like that, and to state that he was soon to be emperor of all? Karley stepped up to Kloud’s right side and put her hand gently on top of his, “Kloud…?” She said gently, she didn’t know what he was going to say next. Suddenly Kloud gasped as the pirate up in the crow’s nest yelled,

“Incoming cannon fire!!!” Kloud saw the cannonball shoot from the cannon at a speed that was just slow enough to dodge,

“Kloud!!!” Karley screamed, Kloud suddenly grabbed her and dove out of the way,

“LOOK OUT!” He yelled as they fell on the ground, he shielded her with his body as there was a sickening crunch when the cannon connected with the deck, and shards of the wood flew everywhere and on top of Kloud. Once everything died down, Kloud sat up on his knees and allowed Karley to sit up, he brushed the stray shrapnel from Karley’s dress and examined her quickly to see if she was hurt. “Are you okay?” He asked, Karley sat herself up and looked around like she had never seen the ship and Kloud before, she didn’t know what happened, Ryu had sailed away, they should have been safe, suddenly he was firing on them.

“Y-yes…I’m fine…” She said almost breathlessly, her heart pounded against her chest, and once her mind cleared up, she realized that something was incredibly wrong, where Kloud had been standing only a few moments before had a big whole in it. Her anger rose like bile in her throat, she was so angry that it made her sick, “He was trying to hit you!!!” She yelled, Kloud seemed calm, he stood up to his feet and pulled Karley up by her forearms, still examining her silently, once his examination was over, he hugged her tightly,

“That’s not that problem…what makes me angry is that he planned on hitting me, even if you were standing right there. You could have been seriously hurt, he didn’t even care… “ He said as he kept his tight hold on her, Karley hugged her back, Kloud was playing a dangerous game, one that he could lose if he even made one slip up.