The Princess of Pirates

Chapter 12 - [The Initiation]

Nerina sat down and sighed. It was late in the evening, and a week had passed since she started her work to become a pirate. She had swabbed the deck, washed all the horrid clothes that belonged to the pirates, washed windows and when the ship stopped at the port of a nation she had never heard of, she spent the whole night picking barnacles off the rear of the ship.

She had even spent a whole day grooming every single pirate on the ship.

And Captain Edward watched. He was starting to feel sorry for her and was starting to realize that she was serious about wanting to be a pirate.

So he decided to be nice.

“Nerina.” He called.

She didn’t look at him. “What?”

He frowned. “Well, is that how you treat your captain?”

She still didn’t look at him. “Do you want me to do some more housework for you?”

She was definitely angry.

But this amused Edward. She was stubborn, yes, but also brave. None of his men had ever spoken to him like that. Well, no one but Richard, however, he was an exception.

“No. I was going to tell you that you have one more task to do before you become a full fledged pirate on the Eternal.”

She turned her head. Her anger disappeared. “What? What’s the last thing I have to do?”

Edward smirked. “Hazing.”

Nerina raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“You will see tomorrow morning.”

Nerina frowned. “Oh, why can’t you tell me now?”

The captain ignored her and walked away.

But Nerina smiled. “Fine, I’ll just ask Richard.”

Nerina knocked on Richard’s door and he opened it right away. He wasn’t asleep, so she wondered what he was up to, but decided she didn’t really care.

“Good evening Richard.” She said.

He smiled. “Good evening Princess.”

“Could you please tell me what hazing mean?”

Richard began laughing. “It’s a form of initiation.”

“What does the pirate need to do?”

“Well, what happens is the crew strips the newbie to their undergarments and then we shave the newbie’s head and then we throw them off the ship.”

Nerina’s face paled.

“And if the newbie can swim back, climb up the ladder and get back onto the ship, we give the newbie a second name and they become part of the crew.” He grinned. “It’s very entertaining!”

Nerina stormed away, leaving the surprised Richard behind. She rushed to the Captain’s Cabin and opened the door without even knocking.

He looked up from his book and raised his eyebrow.

"You… how could you?!"

"What's wrong?" He asked, sounding a little bored.

"You were going to make me strip down into my underwear and shave my head? And then you were going to throw me off the ship and expect me to swim back?" Nerina shouted.

Edward stared at her and then looked back down at his book as a smile formed on his face.

"Well Captain? How could you be so cruel?"

Edward shook his head and laughed, not looking up at her.

Nerina pulled the book out of his hands and threw it aside. "You made me work so hard to embarrass me?" She yelled, eyes tearing up. "You are the cruelest man I have—"

"I wasn't going to make you do that." Edward said, looking up at her.

"What?" She asked. "But Richard said—"

"That's what we do to the men. We have never had a female pirate, Richard wouldn't know what the women have to do." Edward said, an amused smile gracing his face.

"What do I have to do then?" Nerina asked.

"You will see tomorrow."

"Will it be cruel?"

The Captain continued to smile. "You will see tomorrow."

"Tell me now!"

"If you really want to be a pirate… then you will do as I say. As of tomorrow, I am your Captain… which means you will listen to me and obey my orders."

Nerina frowned.

"Tomorrow night will be your initiation. Whatever you are told to do, you must do… if you want to be a pirate."

Nerina turned around and stomped out of the room. At least she knew now that she didn't have to do it if she didn't want to.

But when the next day came and the evening had arrived, Nerina walked to the dining hall with her head held high. She was determined to do whatever she was told to do.

When she arrived at the dining hall, the Captain was sitting at a table, with his men surrounding him. The Captain jerked his chin at the seat right in front of him and Nerina walked over there, sitting down.

The Captain smiled at her, and judging by the looks on the other pirates faces, no one had any idea of what he was going to make her do.

When he cleared his throat, the hall fell silent. The Captain continued to smile. "We're going to play a drinking game."

Suddenly, all the men burst out into laughter.

Nerina raised her eyebrows. "How do you play a drinking game? What is that?"

The Captain grinned. "Have you gotten drunk before?"

Nerina suddenly smiled. "Yes."

"Hmm." The Captain nodded. "Well… in this game, one by one, the men will ask you any question they can come up with, each time you get the answer wrong, we will take a shot."

"We?" Nerina asked.

"You and I."

Nerina laughed. "Okay… what if I guess right?"

"You don't take a shot."

The men started to cheer, liking the sounds of this game.

"We will start the hourglass right there," he pointed at the hourglass, "and we will turn it two times… so the game will last two hours. If you can last as long as I can by the end of the two hours, you will become a pirate on the Eternal."

Richard laughed loudly. "This is going to be too fun."

Nerina smiled widely. "Okay. Deal. Let's play."

"Are you sure? If you pass out, you lose your chances at being a pirate."

"I think I can handle it."

The Captain smiled his attractive half smile and took off his hat. "Alright men, stand in a circle. Runny, you will be first to ask a question and we will go clockwise from you."

Runny grinned.

Sam began to place glasses filled with alcohol in front of the Captain and Nerina.

"Start the hourglass, Richard." The Captain said.

Richard did as he said.

"Alright. Runny, quick, first question."

"What is my mother's name?" Runny asked.

Nerina looked at him. "How would I—"

The Captain grinned. "Answer it, guess if you have to."

Nerina hesitated. "Um… Anne?"

"Wrong! Her name was Nina!" Runny laughed.

"Oh, that is such a pretty name."

"Drink!" The Captain shouted.

Nerina, startled by his shout, picked up the glass and swallowed the alcohol in one gulp. The Captain did the same.

The men began to laugh loudly.

And throughout the rest of the game, great fun was had by all, even Nerina.

By the time the hourglass had marked the second hour, Nerina was still up, though extremely tipsy.

The Captain was thoroughly impressed and the crew of the Eternal drank to the welcoming of the first female pirate on their ship. By the time the moon had passed the midnight mark, most of the men had returned to their room to sleep, except Nerina and the Captain.

Nerina was so drunk that the Captain could barely understand what she was saying, the Captain however, felt he wasn't drunk enough.

"Are you tired?" The Captain asked Nerina, who had her head on the table.

Her head shot up. "Tired! Ha! I… want… to celebrate!" She slurred, shouting the last word.

The captain laughed.

"I'm a… a Pirate!"

The captain looked at her. "Alright, I think you should get some sleep. You can celebrate when you are not drunk out of your mind."

Nerina shook her head, standing up.

The Captain watched her as she struggled to walk around the table, knocking over chairs. When she made it to him, she grabbed his face with her hand, squeezing his cheeks with her fingers. "You… you did this on purpose, didn't you?"

The Captain pulled his face away, raising his eyebrow. "Did what?"

"Got me so…oh..oh… drunk, drunk." She said. "So I could do this." She then startled him by taking her leg and throwing it over him so she was sitting on his lap, straddling him.

Edward laughed. "You are so drunk."

"You know…" Nerina started. "You are so handsome."

The Captain stopped laughing, but still smiled.

She then bent forward to kiss him, but he turned his head and her lips found his neck instead. Of course, the Captain was aroused by this, but he got up, lifting her up to. "Time for bed." He said as he carried her to her room.

By the time they had arrived at her room, she had already passed out and the Captain sighed in relief. It was about time.

He tucked her into her bed and watched her sleep for a moment, then turned around to leave.

But before he left, he bent down over her and whispered. "You owe me." After that, he pressed his lips against her neck and took in the smell of her sweet skin.

He wouldn't admit it then, but after spending so many days away from Aina… he was beginning to fall for this Princess.