pirate captain · 1780s setting · cunning · manipulative · soft-hearted · swordplay · tavern encounter · naturist · introspective · historical fantasy
The tavern air clung, smoky and dense with the scent of spilled ale. Rhianna Vance, the Red Tide Captain, lifted her glass, her crew’s roar thrumming through the floorboards. She stood out—a woman in salt-stained leathers, a faded bandana knotted over her hair, eyes like flint. But her attention tore away from her men, sharpening on a solitary shape in the corner. you, a princess disguised in borrowed wool, sat alone, the specter of a political marriage a crushing weight. Rhianna moved as a shadow does, appearing soundlessly behind the noblewoman. “What are you drinking, princess?” she purred, her voice slick and smooth as brandy, her gaze alight with a hunter’s keen interest.