The Prince

Delaney, Ian, and Ilona watched as the Duke walked back towards the throne room on his own. The nobles all watched him, but no one approached him, which was probably for the best.

Ilona watched him and realized this man was stronger than she had thought. All these people, his peers, were whispering and gossiping openly about him, but he passed through them with his head held high. If him fighting the dragon hadn't proven he was brave, then this certainly did. She didn't know if she would have been able to do the same.

"Come on," the Duchess said softly, turning to continue on the way they had been going, "We're going to have to find Mason's room."

Though Ian had been in the Castle before, he didn't know it well, so the Duchess led the way. By the way she looked around in confusion though, Ilona wasn't sure if she knew her way any better. No one would dare stop her, however. She was Delaney Adair, Duchess of Edgewood, and her husband was the dragon slayer.

If anyone learned that Ian and Ilona were pirates, she didn't know what would happen to them, especially not after seeing the Queen's reaction. Ilona didn't have any choice but to put her faith in the Duchess.

"Excuse me," Delaney said to a servant they came upon, "I need you to take me to the Prince, please. Do you know where his rooms are?"

The young boy was sort of dirty with brown eyes and dingy brown hair. He reminded Ilona of her younger brothers. It was clear he was nervous about being addressed by a noblewoman.

"P-Prince M-Mason?" he asked quietly, eyes shooting between Delaney, Ian, and Ilona.

"Yes," Delaney smiled kindly, "Do you know where he is? I am his cousin, and I need to speak to him."

Ilona couldn't help but smile. There was no way this boy would know if they were who they said, or if they were just well-dressed assassins. He seemed convinced by the Duchess's warm smile though.

"I-I-I can t-take you," he said blushing and kicking his foot against the stone floors.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you."

The servant boy hurried down the hall, so eager to do as he was asked that he almost left them behind. The three adults had to rush to keep up with the urchin but no one complained.

They turned a corner and came to a great pair of wooden doors similar to the ones at the throne room but half the size. As they stepped up to them, an older man was stepping out and quietly closing the door behind him. He looked up at them in surprise and confusion.

"May I help you?"

"We are here to see Prince Mason," Delaney answered in a pleasant tone, "Are these his chambers?"

"They are," the man frowned in suspicion, "I am his valet, Spears. The Prince is asleep right now and I'm afraid he won't be awake for some time."

The man had no hair on the top of his head but he did have a big white mustache he twitched as he studied them with beady eyes. Something about him reminded Ilona of Pierce and she immediately didn't care for him.

"That's quite alright. We'll wake him. He would want us to," the Duchess moved to step past the man but he was quick to cut her off.

"The Crown Prince is not to be disturbed," Spears shook his head as if appalled she had suggested it, "He was up very late last night and will now need time to recover."

"He can recover after we've woken him," Delaney said with the same sharp tone she had addressed Ilona with after she came to Edgewood. Beside her, the young servant boy was looking worriedly between her and the valet.

"You cannot wake the Prince," the man said louder now, "Who do you think you are?"

Ilona could see by the way Delaney stiffened that she was a breath away from losing her temper but Ian beat her to it.

"She's Lady Delaney Adair, Duchess of Edgewood," Ian snapped coldly, stepping up so close to the other man, "And you are a valet. It would do you well to remember your place."

Luckily for Spears, he seemed to recognize the threat that stood before him. The man's eyes went wide, quickly stepping back. He bowed to the Duchess, dropping so low Ilona smirked, waiting for him to fall over.

"I'm so sorry Lady Adair," he squeaked, "I didn't recognize you. I hadn't heard you had returned to court." He then turned to glare at the servant boy and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ilona stiffened and stepped forward but her brother was quicker. Ian put a hand to the older man's chest and shoved him backward hard. Spears looked up at him in shock as he slammed into the wall beside the big doors.

"The boy didn't know," he hissed, face flashing with a level of anger her normally patient brother rarely showed, "Keep your hands off of him."

"Of course my Lord," the greasy valet nodded, clearly terrified and assuming Ian was another noble, "I'm terribly sorry about the misunderstanding my Lady."

Ilona glanced at Delaney and saw her nod but look down her nose at him, "Yes. Now, will you kindly announce me to my husband's cousin so I can go in and speak to him?"

"Right away Lady Adair!" he scrambled away from Ian and opened the door to do as he was told. He called in that the Duchess of Edgewood was there before quickly stepping back so they could enter.

Ian pushed the door closed as Spears was walking out so that he had to jump to avoid being smashed by it.

"What an awful little man," Ilona stated with a frown, thinking this was yet another person in this wretched castle she never wanted to see again, "I hope he won't punish that boy."

"If he does he'd better hope I don't hear of it," Ian snapped. Ilona had seen the wrath her brother could bring down on men so she hoped for the other man's sake he didn't do anything that would draw the pirate's attention to him.

The Duchess smiled fondly at Ian as she paused just inside the first of the rooms belonging to the Prince. As if they were all thinking the same thing, they stopped and looked around, curious to see where such a man lived.

The rooms had high ceilings and tall windows. All the furniture was made of a lovely honey-colored wood that looked warm in the early morning sun shining in through the glass. There were paintings and tapestries here and there but mostly the walls were plain stone.

Ilona had heard this man was a troublemaker who chased women. She had expected his rooms to be more garish in an attempt to show off his wealth and impress anyone who entered, reminding them he was one step away from being a King himself. She never would have guessed this rather sparse space belonged to the Prince she'd heard about.

Delaney walked through the room with Ian and Ilona quietly following. Another pair of doors were propped open and a large bed could be seen in the room beyond.

The Duchess hesitated outside of the bedroom, swallowing hard and staring at the bed. Ilona was confused at first until she realized Delaney must not feel comfortable going into the man's bedroom. She couldn't help but smile as she thought this through. The poor woman would never have been able to handle sailing on a pirate ship.

Ilona glanced at her brother, wondering if he had ever thought about that. He loved the sea and the Duchess would never be able to survive there. He loved this woman but even if she wasn't married there really wasn't any future for the two of them.

Lifting her chin with determination, Delaney strolled into the bedroom of the Crown Prince and right up to the side of his bed. Ilona found she actually felt proud of her.

Walking into the room of a known rake, Ilona had assumed they would find at least one woman but to her surprise, there was only one body in the bed. On the floor close by though a discarded gown was in a pile, evidence that he likely hadn't been alone there for long.

Ilona looked at the man and saw he was sleeping on his stomach with his hands under the pillow his head was on. He was turned away so she couldn't see his face but his hair was a golden blonde, tousled from a night of doing... well whatever it was he had been doing.

His whole back was bare and her eyes moved over the muscles coiled beneath his smooth, sunkissed skin. She bit her lip as she came to the place where a sheet was slung low over his hips, covering him from there down. She wondered if he was completely naked.

Realizing the ridiculous path her mind was taking, Ilona blushed and looked away from him. She saw shirtless men all day long aboard her ship and this one was no different.

The Duchess looked embarrassed and stepped back from the side of the bed, bumping into Ian behind her. She mumbled a quick apology and cleared her throat before saying the Prince's name. When he didn't stir, she repeated it louder.

"He's had quite a lot to drink," Ian said, frowning at the scene, "He might not wake up right away."

Ilona knew he was right. She could smell the familiar stench of alcohol from where she stood. She knew it well. Pirates were known for their drinking and her men had always lived up to that reputation.

Her men didn't normally drink themselves into this kind of stupor though. This was the kind of drunkenness that came from either too much celebrating or from trying to escape something. Having met the nasty princess this prince was set to marry, Ilona guessed his reason was the latter.

Delaney bit her lip before saying his name loudly again. Still, Mason didn't budge. She leaned over the bed and shoved at his arm gently and then hard but still there was no movement. She repeated his name twice more as loud as she would dare.

Ilona saw this woman clearly hadn't been raised with brothers and sisters as she and Ian had. There were many other ways to wake someone up that were much more likely to work.

They just weren't as kind.

"I don't know what to do," Delaney said quietly, turning to Ian and Ilona, "We can't just sit here and wait for him to wake up."

"The longer you're in here the worse it will be for your reputation," Ian said, looking at her with concern, "Even with Ilona and I here. You're a duchess."

Ilona frowned, crossing her arms, "I wouldn't be surprised if that valet was off telling everyone right now that he had let the duchess into the Prince's rooms."

Delaney Adair bit her lip and turned to look back at the sleeping man.

"Come on," Ilona looked at her seriously, growing impatient now, "He's your cousin, isn't he? Wake him up."

"I'm not sure how," she answered nervously, "I'm afraid he might be naked."

"So what?" Ilona frowned but felt a strange nervousness herself at the idea, "You've seen naked men before."

"Ilona!" Ian hissed, looking at his sister in annoyance.

"I'm no pirate woman," Delaney scowled at her, crossing her arms over her chest, "The only naked man I've seen is my husband."

"This is ridiculous," Ilona snapped, rolling her eyes, "Move!"

She stepped forward and shoved between Delaney and Ian. Ilona saw a cup on the table beside the bed and picked it up. Looking down into it, she lifted it to her nose and took a sniff before shrugging. This would be one sure way to get him up.

Delaney and Ian watched in horror as Ilona leaned over and dumped the entire cup of water over the head of the sleeping Prince.