“Good citizens, we have brought back goods from Relerfey! Unheard-of things, I say! Unheard of! We have these”—Silas held up a long and slim yellow fruit— “the Relerfeish call these... bananas!” he shouted, and the population of people roared in approval. “But fear not—” Silence fell over the subjects. “There’s more!” He muffled a smile at the amusement flooding the crowd. Darren dragged a barrel towards Silas. He opened the lid to reveal glistening scarlet and gold spheres. “Look how beautiful,” he breathed, holding up a honey-colored fruit. “They call these— ae-pples!” The crowd growled in amazement. He threw the apple he was holding into the crowd, and the people leaped for it, looking to get their hands on it. Silas puffed out his chest, feeling a sense of pride. But after that, the homely feeling was extinguished when he reminded himself he had to take care of the princess. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips, and strolled towards the gangway of Shullmore. He tapped his foot impatiently against the stone under his feet, waiting for “Her Royal Highness” to make her way down. At last, she walked down the slope, her boots gently tapping the wood beneath her. Her hair was unbound, which was rarely seen, given that it was always in a fancy bun or crown around her head. Her hairstyles were always unacknowledged by her, because she ended up slipping away at dinners and events anyway. It was really no use at this point, but seeing her auburn waves sway as she walked, she looked… Silas didn’t allow himself to finish the thought. Instead, he swept into a bow, his right hand to his chest, muttering, “Your Highness.” There were a few gasps and whispers all regarding how the princess had returned to her homeland, and one person even fainted (quite dramatically as well, Silas thought). He rolled his eyes. So his guess was correct. “Oh, I have told you too many times that you may call me Aurora. Rise, Captain,” she grinned, putting her hands on her hips as he did before. When she was born, the king expected her to wear dresses, sip tea, and do whatever princesses do, so he proudly gave her the name ‘Aurora.’ But clearly that is not what happened, when her adventurous spirit came into play. She was often “journeying off to a faraway land,” or that’s what she tells everyone, and just uses the sea to get away from her royal duties, but she is quite an adventurer. Silas was asked to accompany her in her younger years, and she is extremely daring, if he said so himself. He considered that a trait that was one of her tolerable ones, but those were rare.
“Your Highness, may I ask you where you went this time?” he asked as he rose, towering over her. He crossed his arms, brows raised, waiting for a response. “What happened to the, ‘hello, Aurora,’ ‘good afternoon, Aurora!’, ‘how are you, Aurora?’” Aurora scoffed, shaking her head. “Not once in my eighteen years of living have I met someone so serious!” She threw her arms up in frustration. That was a trait he found utterly intolerable. “But since you’re cute, maybe I’ll tell you a bit.” “Yeah, mm-hmm,” Silas said impatiently, trying not to be rude. Personally, he didn’t care much for people saying he was good-looking, he was so used to it, so he just ignored it. As long as she gave him the confirmation he needed so he could report back to the king. “Welllll,” she cooed, “I hate being a princess, obviously, so I planned to run away with my crew, but that didn’t turn out as I’d thought it would, so we returned!” she concluded brightly. Clearly her looks didn’t match her wits. “Are— are you crazy? Do you realize how—” Silas stopped himself from lashing out any further. He cleared his throat, bowing again. “Forgive me, princess,” he said politely, clasping his hands behind his back. He refrained himself from laughing out loud. “Also, someone would be bound to recognize you, on land or sea. Your role as a princess is vital, Your Highness. I suggest you take it seriously, and go to the palace and let His Majesty know you’ve returned.” Aurora thought for a moment, and let out a sigh. “Yeah, I suppose I should.” She started walking, but stopped, looking over her shoulder. “After all these years of knowing you, Silas, I haven’t really… known you, fully.” She gave him a smile. “But I’d like to, you know.” She waited for a response, but after a few moments of silence, she started walking away. Her last words echoed throughout his mind, his mouth parted and eyes widened as his crew cheered him on, laughing and whooping around him. But he didn’t notice. “Wait!” He said it before he could stop himself. Aurora halted in her steps, and spun around. “Yes?” she said sweetly. He looked down, rubbing his neck. “Maybe I’d like that,” he mumbled. He heard giggles from behind him. His sailors. Aurora’s face lit up. “Really?” she asked. Silas shrugged. “Maybe. No promises, though.” Aurora rolled her eyes, but her gaze locked on his for a second too long before he cleared his throat and looked away. “See you soon, Captain,” Aurora exclaimed. Then she turned around and started walking again, on her way to see her father. Silas sighed, hooking his arms around Darren and another crew member’s shoulder. He probably got himself woven into a huge mess, accepting to spend some time with the princess. But now it was his to clean up. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ yayyyyy im finished! im realllyyy happy with how my ending turned out-- im really proud of myselfffff eeeeee thumbnail thingy: the first picture of water i found on the internet :skull:
