Lilly sat on the bed hanging her head low. She felt so helpless and didn't know what to do. "How can I stop all this death from happening?" Lilly thought to herself. She didn't want anyone else to die. "Almost everyone except for a select few know the truth about the situation and one of those people lost their lives." Lilly thought she was feeling pretty heavy from guilt. She couldn't focus on anything else other than coming up with a solution to save the rest of the crew.
--------------------------------------------------------Prisoners' POV---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Damn it! They are gonna torture us and kill us. I can't believe we got caught!" One of the prisoners snapped, breaking the silence in the cells. His nose, mouth and eye were bleeding. He had green eyes, red wavy hair that dashingly fell over his eyes and freckles. He was a small muscular build, with some tribal tattoos on his wrist and arm. The tattoo was a phoenix rising from the ashes on his arm and a small turtle on his wrist. The young man was caked in bruises and had some difficulty breathing. "Shut up! We keep our honor. If we die, then we die noble so long as we don't talk!" An older man said. He sat across from his comrade in another cell. He was a bigger build with muscles, his arms, neck, hands and back were covered in scars, he had the same tattoos as the young man wore so pridefully. The back of the man's shirt was torn like he had been whipped repeatedly. They were all wearing the same black outfit. He had short black hair and brown eyes, with a scar over his left eye and a scar over the bridge of his nose. The other prisoner who sat in another cell had a clear view of the stairs and his two comrades in their cells. "I wonder why they have us so far away from one another.." The other man said, he had grayish brown hair and brown eyes, he was skinny with not too much muscle, He also had the same tattoos as his comrades. He was covered in bruises and blood, his voice was horsed. "I don't know." The youngest member replied.
The prisoners sat in silence up until they heard the old rusty door open from upstairs. There was a brief silence before the three of them heard heavy footsteps walking down the wooden stairs. They finally saw who was walking down the stairs as the Captain smiled "I'm sure....You boys are fully aware that you're not leaving here alive.." A booming voice spoke, breaking the silence. All three men looked at the man standing in the middle of the large room. "Yeah we kinda figured, jack***" The younger member replied. The Captain smiled at the guy's response. "Good." Captain Wildcard replied. "Let's begin....." The Captain said. Wildcard then motioned for the three men behind him to get the young man that spoke. "You're first." The Captain said as he turned around and walked towards a door underneath the stairs. Wildcard opened the door, revealing torture devices and weapons he had been waiting to use. The crewmates grabbed the youngman, picking him up and dragging him to the room where Wildcard stood. The youngman's eyes widened as fear washed over him, he took a breath and looked at his comrades and said, "Take care and get home." Those were his last words.. Not even 5 minutes after the door closed, the two men in the cell could hear blood-curling screams. The men felt immediate coldness shoot through their bodies. The screams lasted for hours, his screams started off as loud and strong to forced and tired. The whipping, tearing, sounds of cutting and beatings echoed loudly through the ship. You didn't need to see what was happening to know just how gruesome it all was. After the screams fell silent, the Captain and the crew mates came walking out. The crewmates were carrying the now dead youngman and tossed him in his cell. The crew mates and the captain were covered head to toe in blood. After the men threw the dead prisoner in the cell, they walked up the stairs, leaving the men in fear.
"Is he dead?" The grayish-brown haired prisoner asked. "Yeah....he's gone, old man..." The other prisoner replied. "How bad did they torture him, Jace?" the grayish-brown haired man asked. "Bad, he has half an arm missing, a leg is missing some broken bones and more but I can't see clearly..." The other prisoner replied. 'Sigh' the old prisoner let out. "This is my fault I shouldn't have agreed to do this mission." The old prisoner said with guilt. "We die honorably Jon...Just like we told Jay..." Jace said with a heavy heart. Silence washed over them and time stood still for them as they waited to meet their end.
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Lilly sat shaking on the bed holding her knees to her chest, crying. No matter how much she kept trying to cover her ears, she couldn't block out the screams. She used the blankets to suffocate her cries, hoping no one would hear her. Lilly jolted when she saw the door swing open, her heart dropped when she saw the captain. Her body shook even more. She almost screamed. The captain saw Lilly's reaction and let out a sigh. He walked into his room, closing and locking his door, then went to his bathroom to shower. Lilly stayed in her position she had been in for hours, listening to the shower run. She continued to shake with fear. "Is this gonna happen to me, am I gonna die?" Lilly thought to herself. Tears continued to fall uncontrolably. Lilly's breath stopped and her heart seemed like it stopped beating for a moment when she heard the shower turn off. The bathroom door slowly opened and the captain stood in the doorway wearing only a towel. He looked across the room where Lilly was trying to hide her gaze behind her knees. He knew she was scared and had been crying for awhile. She looked exhausted. Wildcard slowly walked towards the bed, his muscles and abs showing in the moonlight. Lilly was trying hard not to stare. Wildcard sat in the bed and grabbed Lilly, pulling her closer to him. "No one is going to hurt you Princess, I promise." He said softly, his deep voice relaxed Lilly to where she returned the Captain's hug. He slowly laid back in the bed, keeping Lilly in his arms until they were lying down. Lilly stayed curled up to him, listening to his heart beat.
"We will get you home soon sweetheart." The captain said to Lilly and kissed her head. Lilly soon passed out listening to the sound of the waves and the Captain's heartbeat. "Will I ever be home?" Lilly asked herself, really missing her family and her Kingdom. Sleep quickly welcomed them both after what they both experienced....The Captain woke up before Lilly leaving her resting in bed.
The sounds of the sea and birds woke Lilly up. She sat up rubbing her eyes and getting them to adjust to the sunlight. "I have a surprise for you Princess." The captain said, smiling. Lilly looked at him with confusion... "We just got done sending the dead prisoners back to their friends about a couple hours ago.. On the same boat, they boarded my ship." The Captain finished sending chills down Lilly's spine.. "I-I don't like that surprise.." Lilly replied with tears falling down her face. "That's not the surprise sweetheart." The Captain replied with a smile. "Come here." The Captain said with his arms wide open. Lilly jumped up from the bed and ran to Wildcard and hugged him. Captain Wildcard wrapped Lilly in his arms and kissed her head and said, "Welcome home Princess." Lilly's heart dropped and she looked up at the Captain in shock. "I'm ho-..me?" Lilly asked with her voice fading. Wildcard nodded "Yeah, go ahead and go take a shower, there's a set of clothes and a hood for you to wear so we can get you off the ship safely. Benno and I are gonna be returning you while the men stay on the ship." The Captain replied. "How did we get her so fast? We had to change routes," Lilly asked. "Strong winds plus the engines were going at top speed." The captain replied. "I'm gonna miss ya Princess, so you make sure to take care, you can reach us anytime you need help." The Captain said gently as he touched her cheek, causing her to blush. "Thank you Captain I'm going to miss you too." Lilly replied with a smile.
Lilly hugged the Captain one more time before heading into the shower. Lilly stood there letting the water trickle down her. She couldn't believe, after all this time, she was finally home! Lilly felt a little melancholy, she was going to miss Benno and Wildcard. She grew fond of them. Lilly finished in the shower and dried off. She brushed her hair and put it up, covering her hair with a bandana. She wrapped her chest with the white fabric, then put on the over-sized brown shirt and gray pants. She grabbed the dark blue hood and placed it over her, covering her face. When Lilly opened the bathroom door, she saw the Captain looking at her. "Ready?" He asked in his typical deep voice. "Yes I'm ready." Lilly said, all excited. "When we walk out you will need to keep your head down, stay close to me and Benno." The captain said to Lilly. She smiled and nodded excitedly. "Alright Princess Lilly, let's go." Benno said sadly. "I'm gonna miss you too, Benno." Lilly said to Benno with a sad smile. "I'm gonna miss ya so take care." Benno said with a smile. The Captain just smiled. "Let's go." The captain said. The three of them quickly walked up to the deck, Lilly making sure the over-sized hood was over her face, she kept up with the Captain in front of her while Benno was quick behind her. They got off the ship that was docked at the Maybelle's Port. They navigated through the Port, to an ally that led to the town, weaving through the market and a large streaming crowd of people. Once the ship was out of site, they took a break at a local restaurant. "Would it be okay to take off my hood?" Lilly asked. "Not until we get you into the Castle. We don't know if your not-so-secret admirer is following us right now." The Captain replied. Lilly nodded nervously. "Don't worry Lilly, you're home, we just gotta get you home, home y'know?" Benno said, reassuring the Princess. Lilly smiled and nodded. "Yeah you're right Benno, thank you." Lilly replied, now relaxed.
Benno nodded, then took a bite of his bread. After a couple of minutes, they finished eating and paid for their food. They stood up and began their journey once more. Walking through the chain of restaurants and vendors, going through a vineyard, some neighborhoods and finally a townsquare before finally seeing the castle off in the distance for over an hour, they finally saw the finish line. Thirty minutes passed and they reached the Castle gates. Lilly removed her hood when she saw the guards pointing their weapons at them. "Stand down! Let my parents know I'm finally home and they have an agreement to honor!" Lilly commanded. The guards nodded, lowering their weapons and escorting Lilly, Wildcard and Benno into the Castle. "Thank you for getting me home, I owe you all so much!" Lilly said while walking towards the throne room. "No problem Princess." Both Benno and Wildcard replied. They went through a long decorated hallway and making a left turn to the thrown room. They stood in front of the King and Queen's thrown. Both a deep bright red velvet with golden trim and oak wood. Elegant designs were carved into the wood itself. "Lilly!!" A scream of relief and worry came from the opposite side of the room. Lilly quickly jumped and looked in the direction where the voice came from. "MOM!" Lilly said, smiling and tears falling down her face. She rushed to her mother and hugged her. "I missed you!" Lilly cried, burying her head into mother's chest. Lilly could smell her mom and smiled at her familiar scent. "We've been so worried, we missed you so much!" Queen Dianna replied. Tears rolled down her face. King Nathaniel rushed right up to the men shaking their hands. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for returning my baby girl!" "You will be known as hero's for bringing my baby back! We will feast, sign the treaty and fix your ship for you. Anything you need we are allies." The King word vomited still shaking Benno's and Wildcard's hands. "Thank you your Highness." The Captain replied.
Lilly finally let go of her mom to hug her father, who finally stopped shaking the men's hands. "My precious daughter, I can't imagine all the hell you went through because of that tyrant!" King Nathaniel spoke. "Father, please be willing to do more for Captain Wildcard, Benno and the crew. They lost some of their crew because of Prince Zeal!" Lilly revealed, showing her sadness. "I'm so sorry for your losses. We will announce to the public that you, your crew and ship are Maybelle's Voyager's. It will also give you more access to trade and other opportunities. We will also give you a flag and pendants. Just wear them when you visit our allies." The King said. " Thank you, that is very generous of you." The Captain replied shocked. "You saved my baby and brought her back safely, it's the least I can do." The King replied teary-eyed. They nodded. "Prepare for a celebration honoring The Hero's Of Maybelle!!" The King commanded. The servants quickly moved, getting everything ready for tonight. Word of the Princess's return and good health spread like wild fire across the Kingdom. Everything got lively very quickly. "Let's go sign the treaty." The King said as he led everyone to his office. 45 minutes later, the treaty was signed. During this time, Lilly was getting suffocated with love and affection by her siblings, in-laws and parents. "You won't be paying for anything during your stay here. I'll be letting the people of Maybelle know this, but the next time you come you will need to pay HAHAHA" The King said eagerly. "Thank you, your highness, we appreciate that very much." The Captain said.
"Your parents are quite generous," Benno replied, "Yes, family is everything to us. Our Kingdom is our family. So, their protection is everything to us." Lilly replied while smiling. "Lil bug, go get dressed for the celebration, Benno, Wildcard, please follow Mr. Hutch to your room where you can relax until the celebration," Queen Dianna instructed. "Yes your Highness," Wildcard replied, bowing respectfully. They all parted ways and Lilly smiled once she saw her room, she jumped on her bed, landing on her back. "I'm home." She said out loud to herself, crying happily. "Welcome back beautiful." Lilly jolted up when she heard a soft deep voice, She quickly looked at the chair by her bed and saw a gentle smile and sparkling eyes in her direction. "Prince Brandon how long have you been here?" Lilly asked Prince Brandon's got bigger "Ten minutes, waiting for you." He replied softly. Lilly smiled at him. "I've missed you." She said to her crush. Prince Brandon smiled and stood up, walking over to Princess Lilly. Brandon gave Lilly a huge warm hug. "I've been so worried about you pretty girl, I'm so glad you're safe. I've really missed you love." Brandon said in Lilly's ear. Her heart began to race as she just realized what he called her. Before she knew it, she was getting a gentle kiss on her lips by her Prince. Lilly melted into Brandon. She felt so warm and everything came alive inside of her. "Welcome home sweet girl." Brandon said to Lilly. "Thank you Prince Brandon." Lilly said, smiling and blushing.
Brandon got up, leaving Lilly's room with a warm smile. "Did that just happen?" Lilly asked in surprise. She felt so warm and the butterflies were fluttering all over in her chest and stomach. Lilly was in a daze, everything felt like a dream, she felt like she was walking on clouds. Lilly chose a floor-length royal purple ball gown. It showed her amazing bust lines and curvy figure. The dress complemented her very nicely. She chose royal blue high heels to complete her look, she curled her hair and placed it in a bun. Lilly left sections of her hair out and they framed her face nicely. "So wonderful to be home!" Lilly said out loud to herself. Lilly walked down to the ballroom and met up with Captain Wildcard and Benno. "You have the entire crew in your castle by your father's request." Benno said as soon as Lilly walked up to them. "Is that so bad?" Lilly asked, confused. "Should be fine." The Captain replied. Lilly nodded and smiled. The three stood talking for a couple of moments before Brandon came up behind Lilly. He placed his arm around her waist, standing next to her. Lilly looked in surprise and Brandon and smiled. "Wildcard, Benno, this is Prince Brandon. We grew up together." Lilly replied. "A pleasure to meet the two of you, thank you for bringing the Princess back home safely." Brandon said, extending his hand to shake Wildcard and Benno's hands.
Brandon wore a royal blue suit, showing his metals and badges of honor, he had a white tie and his dark hair was slick back. Brandon looked very dashing. Benno and Wildcard shook Brandon's hand. "I'm glad everything worked out and we got her back to you guys. Not going to lie, it was quite a surprise when she ended up on our ship." The Captain replied. Brandon smiled "I'm glad your paths crossed. Just as the Princess says, we grew up together, many people, not just myself, were worried about her. We searched high and low for her. I even went to Zeal's Kingdom to see if she was there." Lilly was shocked to hear Brandon put himself in so much danger to try and get her back. "I've been in love with Lilly for years." Brandon continued this time looking at Lilly. Their eyes met and Lilly's heart melted. "I have been so worried about you, song bird, welcome home." Lilly smiled. "I haven't heard you call me that since the last time I was home, singing on my balcony." Lilly said with a soft smile. Brandon smiled back at her, he placed the back of his finger on her cheek, gently slid it down her face and kissed her on the lips. "Oooooh are we interrupting something?" Princess Veronica, Princess Lilly's younger sister asked playfully. "Shhh Ica!" Princess Seleste said chastising their younger sister. "C'mon Sel don't mom zone me!" Veronica replied. "Enough girls." Queen Dianna replied walking up behind her children, dragging King Nathaniel behind her.
"Your mother has quite the grip." Nathaniel said as he fixed his sleeve. Everyone laughed at his comment. Before silence could fill the air, fireworks began to light up the night sky. Cheering filled the air as everyone chanted. "Welcome home Princess Lilly." "Thank you to our heroes of Maybelle." All throughout Maybelle.
----------------------------------------------------A Week later (After the celebration.)----------------------------------------------------------------
The Captain, the crew and the ship left the Maybelle Kingdom and its waters. Leaving Lilly back home, enjoying her old life. Lilly was standing in the garden looking at the dragon lilies and the fairy roses. "Lilly?" A soft, deep voice called out behind her. Lilly turned around to see Brandon behind her with a bouquet of flowers. "Yes?" Lilly asked. "I know I never properly asked.... However, would you like to be mine?" Brandon asked, feeling embarrassed. "I would love too, because I love you too!" Lilly said with a smile. Brandon smiled at her response and opened his arms to welcome the Princess. He kissed her head and held her tightly in his arms. Everything seemed to be going great since she was back home....Until suddenly things weren't so great! The sky went dark, fires began to spread, cannons were going off. People were screaming and running through the Kingdom looking for shelter. "Prince Brandon! You're being called to duty! Maybelle is under attack!!" A man yelled as he was filled with panic. "What?" Lilly asked, shocked. Fear began to sit in and tears rolled down her face. She held onto Prince Zeal, not wanting to let him go. "I have to go Song Bird, I'll be safe, just please go inside." Brandon said to Lilly. "No don't go!" Lilly pleaded. Branded placed a hand on Lilly's face and kissed her tenderly. "I got to go." He replied, kissing her again and giving her the flowers. Brandon looked at a maid. "Take the Princess inside!" He commanded the maid. Lilly was quickly rushed inside. "Come back safely." Lilly called out to Brandon as he ran off to join the fight.