The Duchess And The Pirate

Ian and Ilona were sitting at the table in the dining room, exhausted and defeated when Delaney and Vincent came down to join them. The Duchess looked around in concern before taking her seat and asking the siblings where their younger brothers were.

"They've gone to look for our father," Ian answered her, "They came back here last night, but when we told them what happened, they left to find him."

"I thought you didn't want to tell your father?" Delaney asked, looking to Ilona now in surprise.

"I didn't," she frowned, not looking up, "But since the King and his brother won't help us, we're going to have to."

"We have to tell him because he's our only chance of getting our brother and sister back now," Ian explained further, shooting his sister a look, "We should have gone to him in the first place probably, but he's going to be very angry."

Ilona knew angry was an understatement.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he has the entire fleet of ships and all our men storm the Red Lands," she sighed, feeling her guilt bubble up again, "He won't let any of his children remain in a dungeon, especially Willow. She's his wife's favorite daughter."

The Duke and Duchess stared at them, looking sad. Delaney dropped her eyes to her plate, picking at her food.

"I'm sorry we weren't able to do more to for you," Vincent apologized, "I think if it was anything less than the loss of his only brother that Daniel would have done it to help you free your siblings."

"I'm sure he would have," Ian nodded before his sister could say anything, "I don't think badly of the King for that. I have more than twenty siblings, and I don't know that I could agree to send any of them away forever just to free the siblings of someone else."

"I suppose it's sort of like trading one prisoner for another," Delaney said absently, "Right now, your siblings can't leave, but if you were to deliver Mason to the King, he would just be taking their place. He would be trapped in the Red Lands far from home and everyone he knows, like Issac and Willow are now."

Hearing those words, Ilona turned to glare at Delaney, feeling her guilt shift to anger.

"Except he would be a guest of the court and then a King," she spoke with an icy tone, "He would have an entire land to explore and all the comforts he could ask for. My siblings, however, are in a cell in the dungeon, and we don't know that they're even being fed regularly. I know you mean well, Lady Adair, but they are not the same at all."

The room fell silent. No one could argue with that. It would not be the same for Mason because he was a royal. It would be a trade of two pirate children for one royal prince. It wasn't fair, but to the King of The Red Lands, Mason would be more valuable, and as a fellow royal, he would treat him as such.

They may have been the children of the pirate king, but they weren't princes or princesses.

-

The Duke and Duchess decided they would stay at the city house a while longer even though Ilona could tell they were eager to get to their home estate, Edgewood manor. They wanted to wait a few days though, in case the King changed his mind and decided to try to do something to actually help Ian and Ilona.

There was also the matter of the Queen wanting to spend more time with the Duchess. Ilona didn't understand why Delaney didn't simply run home to escape the request. Ian had explained to her though, that that wouldn't be good. If the Queen thought the Duke and Duchess were trying to insult her, things could go very badly for them.

So they stayed.

-

Ilona mostly kept to herself other than the few times she went to talk to her men. They were getting restless but continued to come and be guards for the Duke and Duchess every night while the Duke worked to secure new guards. Ilona knew their patience wasn't going to last for long though. Soon they would want to head back home.

Other than meals and her visits to the other pirates, Ilona mainly stayed in her room, quietly waiting and wishing that something might change that would help her free her siblings. Things were now to the point that she had even begun to eagerly await word from Jamie and Nick saying they had found the Pirate King.

It didn't matter how angry her father would be and if he told her she was never going to sail again. She would do anything to get Isaac and Willow home again.

Sometimes, she would sit in her room during the day, staring off into the distance and thinking about her trapped siblings.

Willow had only been about fourteen when they had sailed away to The Red Lands. The girl was delicate and slim, with dark honey-colored hair and the same chocolate brown eyes as most of her siblings. She was the most like Lucia, but Willow didn't want to stay home and become a proper young lady. She wanted a life on the sea.

Isaac wasn't the same. Although he loved the sea, their brother liked to study more. His ideal place would be locked away in a library filled with all the books he could ask for. He was tall like Ian but very lean and not all that strong. Isaac always had a big pearly smile on his face though, and eyes that were sparkling as if he had a secret he was bursting to tell.

When Ilona thought about her siblings for too long, she would begin to feel sad and hopeless again. Going to sit on her bed, she would drop her face into her hands. If she didn't stop herself, she would soon cry from the heartache.

During one of these unfortunate times, a knock came at her door, startling her from her thoughts.

Ilona got to her feet, dashing away the tears from her cheeks. She assumed it would be Ian checking in on her again, and she didn't want him to see how upset she still was. He worried about her.

To her surprise however, when she opened the door, it was the Duchess standing there.

"Are you alright?" she asked in concern when Ilona stepped back to let her come into the room before closing the door.

"Yes," Ilona answered quietly, but her voice was hoarse, giving her away, "I've just been thinking about Isaac and Willow."

Delaney nodded and sat at the small table by the windows. Ilona took a seat across from her, embarrassed at being caught crying and not sure why the duchess was there in the first place. They sat quietly for a moment before Ilona couldn't stand the silence.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say when entertaining a duchess," she said with a small smile, "Pirate captains don't usually do such things."

Delaney laughed lightly at this, "Well, I will spare you. I've actually come with something specific to discuss. The Queen's invitation for us to have tea with her and her sister."

Ilona stared at her, "I thought that was a joke. Why on earth would they want to have me to tea with them? I'm just a pirate, and they are royals."

"I don't know," Delaney shook her head, "But it wasn't a joke. That I'm sure of. And given how unpleasant the Queen's sister is, I don't know if it would be wise of us to insult them by turning down the invitation."

"I don't want to go pretend to be pleasant with either of them," Ilona frowned, "The Queen made her opinion on pirates very clear. Why would I ever willingly go back there to see either of them?"

Delaney sighed and turned her gorgeous ring around on her finger, "I suppose you don't have to. I could make up an excuse for you. But if I'm honest, I hope you would go with me instead of leaving me to walk into the lion's den alone. We don't know each other well, but I still feel I would be safer with you by my side against them."

Ilona considered the lovely woman with eyes that reminded her of the sea. She would never have considered such an invitation before, but in the last few days, she had started to see what her brother liked so much about Delaney. Now, she had come to sort of like her herself.

Taking a deep breath, Ilona looked down at the table between them.

"When I was a little girl, there was a short time when I didn't want to be a pirate... and I actually dreamed of being a princess or at least a noblewoman. It seemed so carefree and beautiful. Now though, I see there are so many precarious lines you're always walking on and things you have to balance constantly. I think I made the better choice with piracy."

Delaney laughed at this, "I think if I had known piracy was an option when I was a girl, I might have chosen it instead as well."

The two women grinned. Ilona rolled her eyes and shook her head. She couldn't believe she was about to say what she was going to say.

"Alright, I will go with you... I suppose I can consider myself taking my brother's place as your guard for the time being. I doubt the queen or her twin would be eager for you to bring him to tea with you instead."

"I think I might ask him to come as well," Delaney admitted sheepishly, "Just to wait outside for us and be on hand if we need him. I honestly felt more safe being aboard your father's ship with all his pirates than in the royal court."

Ilona studied the Duchess and wondered yet again if the woman was aware of Ian's feelings for her. Surely she had to notice.

She nodded slowly, "I think he would prefer it anyway. He cares for you and wouldn't want ever to let anything happen to you."

"He's my best friend," Delaney smiled fondly, "I would never have imagined it, but he really is. And I think after you and I survive the visit with the Queen together, that will cement us firmly as friends as well."

"Really?" Ilona asked in surprise, "Even after..."

"I don't want to think about that night ever again," Delaney said quickly, looking away, "But I know your reasoning now, and I think it is helping me to get past it."

Ilona felt the familiar stab of guilt, "I am truly sorry for what happened and thankful that you can consider being friends even after. Ian greatly values your friendship and assures me I would as well."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Delaney smiled at her mischievously, "Because now that you are working towards being my friend, I can reveal the next requirement of you, and you won't be able to say no."

Ilona's eyes snapped up to the duchess's, and she frowned, knowing she wasn't going to like whatever came next.