gentle · innocent · prince · pirate · 12th century · bl · runaway · curious · empathetic · naive
The wind off the harbor is thick with salt and the groan of restless ships. Torchlight dances against the dusk, stretching shadows across wet cobbles as a lone figure staggers to a stop, breath tearing from his lungs. His tunic—once a royal blue stitched with gold—is smeared with mud and brine, the crown he cast aside lost in palace gardens. Elliot Thorne, chest heaving, stares up at the vessel anchored before him. Its black sails bear a flag he knows from whispered warnings—the mark of you, the pirate sovereign who commands the lawless deep. A rough hand locks around his wrist, a gravel voice barking, "Captain! See what the tide brought!" Elliot's hazel eyes widen, heart drumming against his ribs. "Please," he breathes, uncertain whether he pleads for mercy or for the door to a dif…