This was the full drawing I did for the cover, I'm very proud with how it turned out tbh. But yeah, hope y'all enjoy this one!!

Patton sat silently at the dinner table while his older brother and father talked...and talked...and talked some more. No one asked Patton about his day, or looked at him, or let him get a word in. Whenever he does, he always gets: "you're not going to be king Patton/why does it matter to you/you don't know anything about the villages, so don't try to find solutions to problems you know nothing about", so he stopped trying. At least the servants at the castle talk to him when he starts up conversations with them, because no one in his family does.

"Pat, eat," well, no one except Virgil. He's Patton younger brother, stepbrother to be specific. Virgil's mom came into the picture a few years after Patton's mom died from post-childbirth problems, and little three-year-old Patton took it upon himself to look after one-year-old Virgil. And now, twenty three years later, they're always there for each other.  Patton nodded and resumed eating, not really caring about what his father and brother were talking about.

"-And I believe we have found Virgil a suitor," until his father said that. Patton's fork slipped out of his hand and clattered onto his plate, it echoed in the small silent pause before Virgil's mother spoke up, saying how good that was. Patton looked over at Virgil, who looked paler than usual at the news. He knows Virgil doesn't want to be married to some princess so she can become queen, he and Virgil shared a lot throughout their childhood, Patton found out that included preferring princes to princesses. This makes Patton feel better over his selfish need to keep Virgil with him so he can protect the younger prince, an instinct he never grew out of, and he...Patton won't really know what to do with himself without Virgil.

It was after everyone had gone to bed when Patton ventured into Virgil's room, his younger brother still up and sitting on his bed, staring down at his lap.

"Virge?" Patton asked, slowly taking a few steps forward before regularly walking the rest of the way and sitting next to him. Virgil leaned on him and Patton wrapped his arm around Virgil's shoulders, his little brother needed him.

"I don't wanna be married to some prissy princess. I don't wanna be married, period," Virgil huffs. Patton opened his mouth, thinking over his options before saying something.

"You don't have to be married, Virge," Patton started slowly, "I - I was thinking - well, you see, there's a trade ship docking off soon, and - and I thought we could...leave together?" Virgil looked at him, and Patton squirmed a bit at his searching gaze.

"What do you mean? We just - run away? We can do that?" Virgil actually sounds hopeful at that, making Patton perk up. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to bring this up.

"Yes, and I already have my bag packed," Patton told him, Virgil frowns at hearing that.

"So, if I said no, you were gonna leave without me?" he asked, looking at Patton, who frowns in thought.

"I...I don't know," he answered honestly. Patton never thought ahead if Virgil said no. Would Patton leave without him? Would he wait? While Patton pondered this, Virgil quickly grabbed a few things, and after Patton grabbed his they snuck out of the castle and onto the ship.

They're thankfully not ones to get seasick, how convenient despite rarely being on a boat. Soon after settling behind a few crates below deck, the boat gently rocked them to sleep.

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"Patton, Patton wake up!" Virgil shook him awake, panting slightly. When Patton sat up and the fog cleared away from his mind, he heard yells and fighting above them.

"What's happening?" he asked Virgil.

"I - I don't know!" Virgil whisper-yelled, shuffling closer to Patton, who pulled him to his side. Patton and Virgil stayed hidden among the crates, the younger one whispering frantically to the former as the fighting continued above them.

"They're gonna find us here! We're dead, we're so dead! And if they don't, then we're stranded and then dead!" Patton gripped Virgil's shoulder and covered his mouth, they can't risk being caught.

"Shh, it's okay, we'll be fine. I'll make sure of it, we won't die, I promise," Patton uncovered Virgil's mouth and held him close.

"You can't promise something like that," tears brimmed Virgil's eyes and he gripped Patton's shirt, speaking in a soft voice - one Patton has known since childhood. The older brother just held him.

"I wish I could," they both fell silent as the fighting stopped, now whoever attacked the vessel was raiding it. Patton held Virgil tight as the footsteps got closer, held his breath as they were moved aside, and stared wide eyed in fear at the two pirates in front of them.

"Looks like we got some stowaways on here," a large man covered in scars spoke in a deep voice, he turned to the girl next to him, "What should we do with 'em?" he asked her. She seemed well built and had a sword strapped to her hip. She looked at the both of them for a few seconds, giving them a once over when she decided.

"The captain will wanna take a look, bring 'em up to the deck," she turned and the large man approached them and grabbed Patton's arm, he knew a struggle would be futile, so he just gripped Virgil tighter and let the man pull them along. Virgil glued himself to Patton's side as they made their way up to the main deck, once they arrived Patton pressed Virgil's head into his side.

"Don't look," he mumbled to his younger brother as they passed by dead crew members, blood starting to pool underneath them. Virgil was too paralyzed with fear to argue with Patton that he isn't a child, so fragile and unaware to the idea of death, so he just nodded. They were roughly shoved forward and Patton fell onto his hands and knees, Virgil went down with him, a few barks of laughter were heard around them when they stumbled. Patton sat up and put himself in front of Virgil, staring up at the captain of the pirate crew. They knew who he was, everyone did.

The man goes by Duke - only the crew knows his real name - and he's ruthless. He goes after trading vessels, kills the crew and any soldiers on board, then takes what they need and burns the rest. A wild mustache accompanies an even wilder smile, and a green sash running from his right shoulder to left hip, where an empty gun holster was, on the other a sheathed sword. Recognition lit up his face as he peered closer at Patton, since he couldn't exactly see Virgil.

"Oh, these aren't stowaways at all. It seems that we have the two younger princes from the kingdom of Arbol," Duke put away his gun and unsheathed his sword, putting it under Patton's chin. Patton gulped and stared up at him, slightly shaking.

"The king will pay a hefty price for them," he grinned, a cheer rang out from the crew around them.

"Please-" Patton began, cutting himself off with a sharp breath when the sword tip slid closer to his throat, "please don't take us back."

Duke raised a brow at him, "You aren't really in any position to make demands here, but I do love a man that begs on his knees~." Patton couldn't tell if the slightly lustful look Duke shot at him was a trick of the light or not, because as soon as it was there the captain backed up and put his sword away, back to looking amused.

"Alright, I'll hear you out, but speak quickly, I'm not a patient person," Remus crossed his arms over his chest. Patton nodded at that and took a breath, though that did little to calm his nerves.

"There's nothing for us back there, I doubt I'm even wanted back, so our father would pay very little. He'd much rather let us stay gone, please, we just want to find somewhere better to stay," Patton pleaded. Duke lets out a mad cackle when Patton finished, doubling over and leaning on his sword for support.

"Hate to break it to you boys, but where this ship was headed is way worse," he says when he finished laughing, then studied them again, considering something before speaking, "Well, I could just kill you with the rest of this crew-" Patton's heart stoped at those words and he felt Virgil tighten his grip on Patton's shirt "-but good help is so hard to find these days."

What?

"I'll let you squat on the ship - obviously you'll work for your place, and I'll drop you off at our next port run if you think you're too much of a softy for life as a pirate," Duke looked at his nails as he said that last part in a bored tone. It took Patton a second to register that Duke, the ruthless pirate, executioner of the sea, is letting them join - not only that, he's letting them live.

"I don't make these offers to just anyone, tick tock princes," Duke's voice cut off Patton's train of thought, Patton snapped out of it.

"Yes - yes! Yes, we'll take you up on the offer. Thank you," Patton said softly before he stood up on shaky legs with Virgil and numbly followed the rest of the crew onto The Siren, captain Duke's ship. The crew set to work steering away from the trading vessel, Patton and Virgil standing out of the way per captains orders. An explosion sounded off, it seemed to rock the ship even with the distance they put between them and the trade vessel, Patton and Virgil looked back to see the vessel that they just left was now ablaze. No wonder they were in a rush to get away. Remus laughed as he watched the ship burn from the crows nest, then - with grace that surprised Patton - slid down a rope to the deck.

"Dinner's up, Cap!" someone called, poking their head up from belowdeck.

"Alright Reese!" Duke acknowledged, "you heard them, mates, supper," he addressed the rest of the crew, then went down to help Reese with distributing the bowls. It was an interesting system, Patton thought to himself after everyone had received their bowls of stew. The crew waited in a line outside the kitchen, Remus by the stove, and after Reese scooped the stew into a bowl Remus passed it to the first person, who passed it to the second, then the third, fourth, and so on till the food reached the person at the end of the line. This whole crew seemed to put each other first, even the captain, it's like they're a family. That probably is the case, when you've been stuck with the same people at sea for so long.

"Tomorrow you two will learn your way around the ship, courtesy of moi," Duke put a hand to his chest, that was when Patton felt slightly nervous. He's never really had to work on a ship before - heck, he's barely been on one in the first place, and he's never worked like most his age already are! Some call it the perks of being a prince, Patton calls it a disadvantage.

"Okay!" Patton smiles a bit and nodded. It's always fun to try new things, even if that new thing is working on a ship, but if it gets them to safety then Patton will do it. For him, for Virgil, for their future.

"So, what are your names?" Duke asked.

"If you know who we are then you know our names," Virgil sourly mumbled, although it didn't miss the captain's ears. He just raised a brow and ignored Virgil's rudeness.

"That may be so, but I wanna hear them from you," Duke replied, Patton was actually surprised at that.

"I'm Patton, I'm 26, and this is my brother Virgil, he's 24," Patton introduced them, knowing Virgil doesn't like introducing himself.

"Well, as you know I'm Duke, captain of The Siren. I'm not saying my real name until I can trust you two, and I'm 27, close enough to you, Pattycake," Duke winks at Patton, who's face turns a slight shade of pink that thankfully can't be seen in the darkness. Virgil sent Duke a small glare in response, this disgusting, demented pirate captain is flirting with his big brother, and Patton doesn't seem to mind it. The rest of the crew didn't seem bothered by it, maybe this was just a normal thing for Duke to flirt with new crewmen. But if that's so, why isn't he flirting with Virgil too? Patton shook his head from any thoughts about the pirate captain flirting with him, it's just something he does, and continues eating.

Later that night, Virgil and Patton were thankful to find the crew sleeping quarters wasn't just composed of hammocks, but there were bunks as well. They scored themselves a nice corner, Virgil on the top and Patton on the bottom bunk, but they couldn't sleep. Virgil was nervous that they'd be killed in their sleep, and Patton was trying to calm Virgil.

"How can we make sure Duke will keep his word? How do we know he isn't just keeping us here for ransom money, or as prisoners?" Virgil whispers, leaning over and looking down at Patton.

"A pirate captain's word is good, Virge, and Duke doesn't take prisoners. It was either this or we die, if Duke won't keep his word then I'll figure something out, but for now I'm sure his word is good," Patton reassures his younger brother, who rolled his eyes in response and turned over, lying back on his bunk. Patton thought that was that and closed his eyes, but peeked them open when Virgil spoke again.

"You're too trusting, Patton. One of these days you'll end up hurting because of it."

Patton sighs, "I know," 'I already was,' he left that unsaid. So maybe he didn't tell Virgil everything.

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"So, with this ship, there are three types of sails: course sail, top sail, and top gallant sail," Duke spoke, gesturing to each sail, lifting his arm higher as he goes through the list. Patton craned his neck, looking up at where the pirate captain was pointing, squinting at the bright sun and quickly looked away. He was doing his best to follow along as Duke explained the layout of the ship.

"This first pole is the fore mast, this middle one right behind me is the main mast..." Duke listed off each sail, what it does, and what rope it goes with which sail. Again, Patton was doing his best to follow along and listen to the pirate captain, Virgil beside him doing the same. But not only do they have to keep track of what sail is what and which rope goes with which, they also have to know where they're sleeping and what rooms belowdeck are what.

"And that's all you need to know. Any questions?" Duke asked, looking at them. Patton was almost too intimidated to ask, but he stood up to the man (somewhat) before, so if he did that he can surely ask a question.

"Yeah, what'll we do for work? Swab the deck?" Patton asked, Virgil silent beside him. Patton knows that Virgil needs time to adjust, and that he might not talk much if he isn't used to the people, but he can't help but be worried.

"No, little Virgey, here, will be the swabbie. You'll be our little cabin boy, you seem to have enough energy for that," Patton wasn't really sure what that was, but he definitely does have a lot of energy, all his private tutors and fighting instructors said so.

"Yeah, I can definitely do that!"

"....You don't know what that is," Duke's accurate statement caught Patton off-guard. The former prince nodded in response and glanced down at the deck, rubbing the back of his neck as an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks.

"Well, as cabin boy, you will attend to the needs of all of us on the ship, which requires you to be active for a long amount of time," Duke explained, Patton nodded to show he was listening. When there were no more questions, Remus introduced Patton and Virgil to each crew member, and now the crew knows of their jobs and they know the crew member's names.

Once again Patton and Virgil were whispering to each other, lying on their respective beds in the dark.

"I don't trust him, he's a pirate, Pat, and he's the worst of them," Virgil tried to reason with Patton, who sighed and shook his head.

"I really think he'll keep his word on this, Virge. Sure, he's ruthless and a murderer and a pirate-"

"But Pat-" Virgil tried to interrupt, but Patton pushed through.

"-But I really think he's not one to turn back on his word. Have you seen how he treats his crew? These people are his family, they wouldn't be if he was a cruel liar," Patton said, making Virgil huff in response.

"Unless they're cruel liars themselves," he bit out.

"Some people are trying to sleep, maybe don't say rude things when they're right here," Telly snapped, sitting up and probably glaring at them, it was too dark to tell. Patton winced, they probably kept her up, and were talking bad about the captain.

"Sorry, Telly," Patton apologized, he could faintly see the outline of her head nod, taking his apology.

"And the captain's word is good. You boys will be going somewhere safe," she reassured them, Patton nods.

"I had no doubt it was," there was shuffling above him, Virgil probably settling to go to sleep. He heard the younger prince mumble 'whatever' and sighed at his brother's stubbornness.

"You're a kind person, Pat, the captain doesn't come around those often, he could use some. Don't let this life deter you from it," Telly's voice was gentle as she spoke, Patton smiles and nods.

"I won't," Patton replies, brushing off her mentioning Captain Duke like that. What did she mean by that? No, Patton doesn't need to dwell on that.

"Now get some sleep, boys, you'll need it for tomorrow," and with that final sentence she was silent. Telly's right, Patton internally agreed. He turned on his stomach, getting comfortable before drifting off to sleep.

3100 words

Time done: 6:15 P.M., Nov 2, 2021

I had today off, so I thought I'd finish this chapter while I'm printing multiple copies of a 6 page story for creative writing. I don't really have a plan for the third chapter except for one small snippet, but oh well.

And I think you'll notice in trying a sort of different writing style, really I'm just using better grammar, and that's bc my creative writing class is rubbing off to my writing here, lol. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and Remus and Patton's meeting!

Love you all~
Xxx