《A Typical Love Story》


 Chapter 1: Return of the Pirates

    I stared down at the letter in my hands, trembling slightly. I read through it for the millionth time that day.


    Hello Kate.


    I think that was your name. I never really talked to you. Anyway. Moving on. I need your help. To make this short, I¡¯m stuck with a group of bandits who think I¡¯m on their team and who currently want me to kill Perryn because he is, of course, the heir to the throne. I have included the coordinates to my current location, give this paper to Robin. He knows what to do. The bandits think I am contacting an inside source, so that¡¯s why I¡¯ve had the misfortune of having to turn to your help instead of Serah¡¯s, Henry¡¯s, Tanner¡¯s and even our special little hustler, Elizabeth¡¯s. Nevertheless, I would very much appreciate it if you warned Serah of this little incident, seeing as none of them know where I am and haven¡¯t known for the past few months. Well. I¡¯m running out of ink. Goodbye and hurry because I¡¯m getting hungry. They don¡¯t have nearly enough food here.


    Lydia Forrester.


    ¡°Robin!¡± I called as I turned out of my bedroom and began stomping down the long, palace hallway, still clutching the letter. The two twins, Leo and Robin, stuck their heads out of their workshop, as they liked to call their room. But when I entered, it was really more like a workshop rather than a room. Racks of tools and weapons lined the walls, desks were stacked with unfinished projects and the two twin beds were both littered with papers; ¡°ideas for future projects¡± as Leo called them.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, HoneyCake?¡± Leo asked. I absolutely hated his nicknames for me, but I never complained. There was something sentimental to being called by a nickname.


    I turned to Robin, the quieter one of the twins and waved the letter in his face, ¡°Your girlfriend has contacted us. She needs help.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Lydia?¡± Leo instantly asked, his face lighting up.


    ¡°Yes. Lydia. She¡¯s being held captive apparently and cannot contact the pirates to help her. We need to contact them and then go get her. But I think she¡¯s here in Persia, so the pirates will take a while to get here from the Forgotten Isle.¡±


    ¡°Very well then.¡± Leo said, ¡°Onward my friends! To rescue our blonde pirate friend!¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t like being called that.¡± Robin grumbled.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Leo rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Because Serah was blonde too, dummy.¡±


    The door pushed open and Perryn, William and Rachel entered.


    ¡°We¡¯re going back to the Isle?¡± William asked excitedly, but I shook my head.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to help Lydia, who is here in Persia.¡±


    ¡°The Isle is in Persia.¡± Perryn noted.


    I scowled, ¡°I mean here, on the mainland. As in, if we travel a few nights worth on horseback¡­¡± I gazed down at the letter, inspecting the coordinates that Lydia had sent, ¡°north. We should go north, and then we¡¯ll find her. Somewhere in the woods, surrounded by bandits. She didn¡¯t give too much information, but I guess she couldn¡¯t really because of her¡­current situation.¡±


    ¡°What is her current situation?¡± Amber and Philip now entered the room, having been roaming the halls and searching for us.


    ¡°Um¡­I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s there willingly, but I think she would be, considering she¡¯s Lydia Forrester and can kick anyone¡¯s¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡ªHer situation, Kate.¡± Amber interrupted, ¡°What is she doing?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s, and I quote, stuck with a group of bandits who think she¡¯s on their side. But none of the pirates know, they just think she¡¯s been missing for weeks.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably scouring the world, looking for her.¡± Robin muttered.


    ¡°Tanner¡¯s probably burned down about ten cities.¡± Rachel added.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably too far away to help.¡± Perryn noted, ¡°That¡¯s why she came to us for help?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­no¡­¡± I said quietly.


    Perryn stared at me but I avoided his gaze, ¡°Why did she ask for us?¡±


    ¡°Because these bandits kind of¡­want to¡­kill you? So she¡¯s warning us but also asking for our help?¡±


    Perryn groaned, ¡°Can someone for once in my life not want to kill me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that didn¡¯t come with the job description of being prince.¡± A delicate, familiar British voice echoed through the room. A shadow fell across the large open window across the room, and Serafina Sherbourne, Captain of the Predator, gracefully stepped down from the windowsill and into the room. Her blonde hair was now cut ruggedly short, starting short in the back and reaching her shoulders in the front in a jagged cut that caressed her sharp jawline. Her turquoise eyes flashing with a determined look.

 Chapter 2: The Danger With Lydia

    Serah smirked at our surprised expressions.


    ¡°How long have you been standing there?¡± Amber asked, as the rest of us remained frozen in shock.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Serah glanced back at the window, ¡°Not too long. Henry doesn¡¯t like heights so we had to make it quick.¡±


    The rest of the pirates jumped in after her, appearing one by one. First Henry, then Elizabeth and finally Tanner.


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of heights. I just don¡¯t like the idea of falling from them.¡± Henry sniffed. He was taller than I remembered and his brown hair was longer, giving him the rugged, seaworthy complexion of a true pirate.


    Elizabeth ducked behind him the second she stepped into the room, peeking out from behind his broad shoulders to study us. For once, she didn¡¯t say anything, instead, her sharp sky blue eyes pierced into me before settling on William and her rosy lips curled into a fond smile.


    Tanner stepped into the room, his very presence radiating anger and hostility. Almost automatically, the warm feeling in the room vanished and was replaced by his anger. His emerald eyes glared at us before they locked on Lydia¡¯s letter in my hand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind the falling, it¡¯s the death when you hit the ground that scares me.¡± Elizabeth said quietly.


    ¡°Now then.¡± Serah turned to us and promptly reached for the letter in my hand, ¡°May I?¡±


    I took a step back without realizing it, ¡°Why are you here?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Serah frowned at my hesitant movement, a flash of hurt passing through her eyes. I understood why, however. She was a pirate, we were royals and she had somehow broken into our turf. She was a pirate, and no matter how many times she had helped us in the past, she was no more than that.


    ¡°Because my hitman is missing and I fear that if we don¡¯t find her soon, Tanner will indeed go on a rampage that could destroy all of mankind.¡± Serah¡¯s hand remained outstretched.


    ¡°Okay, but how did you know she¡¯d send for us?¡±


    ¡°And also, how did you get past the guards?¡± Philip added.


    Serah¡¯s eyes flicked from me to Philip and back again with her trademark look of disinterest, ¡°Well, Lydia doesn¡¯t usually need help. She tends to fix her own problems by herself. But considering she¡¯s been gone for months and no matter where we look we can¡¯t find a single trace of her, we figured might as well just come here and see if she decided to ditch the pirate life and have a go at royalty with this¡ª¡° She waved her hand at Robin, ¡°¡ªone. She seemed to have an interest in you the last time. Why? I don¡¯t know but there you have it.¡±


    Robin swallowed and I saw the small tinge of pink crawling up his cheeks.


    ¡°As to how we got in, there aren¡¯t many guards circling the perimeters and those who were¡­¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t say you killed them.¡± Perryn sighed.


    ¡°No, love. Elizabeth has a way with people to get them to do what she wants.¡± Serah¡¯s eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint.


    ¡°That reminds me,¡± Henry pushed Elizabeth away, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me ever again.¡±


    Elizabeth grinned back at him, ¡°Persian guards suck.¡±


    ¡°No they don¡¯t!¡± Perryn protested.


    ¡°Yeah, they do.¡±


    ¡°No, they¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡ªOkay! Can we focus on the task at hand, please?¡± I snapped, interrupting their banter.


    ¡°Yes, please.¡± Serah once again reached for the letter. This time, I placed it into her hand.


    Tanner, Henry and Elizabeth crowded around her.


    ¡°Read it.¡± Elizabeth said suddenly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t read?¡± Amber asked.


    Elizabeth pouted, ¡°I mean, Lydia was teaching me. But I grew up in an orphanage, while Lydia was raised with a cultured brother.¡±


    ¡°Who only learned how to read because I taught him.¡± Henry said proudly.

 Chapter 3: Bandit Kind

    ¡°¡­Bandits?¡± Serah asked finally, ¡°Lydia was kidnapped by bandits?¡±


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know if she was kidnapped.¡± I said quietly.


    ¡°Lydia knows better than to mess with bandit kind.¡± Elizabeth said grumpily.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with bandits?¡± William asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re tricky little fellows. Steal from people. Kill them. Kidnap them for ransom.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­pirates do that too?¡± Perryn asked.


    ¡°No!¡± Serah protested, ¡°Well¡­¡± She hesitated, ¡°¡­yes. But pirates live by a code of conduct. A set of laws known only by pirates and can only be learned from pirate interaction. We respect each other unless one of us has done something to offend the other.¡±


    ¡°Like, steal a pirate captain¡¯s prince.¡± Henry poked in.


    Serah frowned at him.


    ¡°I, personally, didn¡¯t mind being kidnapped by Milah.¡± Perryn said, ¡°She had good food and didn¡¯t send mixed signals.¡±


    Instantly Serah whirled on him, ¡°Mixed signals?¡±


    ¡°However, my previous accommodations were slightly more attractive.¡±


    ¡°Slightly?¡± Serah demanded.


    ¡°¡ªPoint being,¡± Henry interrupted before the banter could continue, ¡°Bandits have no rules, no laws. They just do whatever they feel like doing.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Rachel said, ¡°And here I was, stupid me, thinking that was exactly what you guys do.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Elizabeth said, ¡°We pirates have rules, we just cover them up to scare people and make them think that we¡¯re just rogue thieves.¡±


    ¡°Well, you did a good job when we met you.¡± Robin muttered sarcastically.


    Instantly, Elizabeth grinned proudly, ¡°Thank you! We try.¡±


    ¡°Also, nice haircut Serah.¡± Amber said suddenly.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Serah scowled as Elizabeth snickered, ¡°Ask her how she got it.¡± Elizabeth said.


    ¡°How¡¯d you get it?¡± Leo asked.


    ¡°I was fighting with Uthera and she cut my hair.¡±


    ¡°She cut your hair!?¡± Rachel demanded.


    ¡°Yeah. She cut it. Little jerk. She was going for the head but I turned and she got the hair instead. It looked worse, but Elizabeth fixed it up.¡±


    Amber sighed in disbelief, ¡°I can never tell if you two are friends or enemies.¡±


    ¡°Frenemies.¡± Elizabeth said, ¡°Normally enemies. But when the time is right, they¡¯re friends. We¡¯re not friends. The rest of us don¡¯t like Uthera, but Serah has a soft spot for her apparently. Kind of like you, Perryn. Now, if your brother had washed up on our ship, he¡¯d have been dead a long time ago. But you just happen to be a bit hotter. Speaking of your brother, I heard he¡¯s also pretty hot. Where is he?¡± Elizabeth began walking past us, towards the door, but William grabbed her arm as she went past.


    ¡°That¡¯s not happening. Louis is a jerk.¡±


    ¡°No, I meant the younger brother. What was his name?¡±


    ¡°Levi.¡± Perryn said, ¡°And he¡¯s, like, seventeen so keep your dirty pirate hands off. He¡¯s the only nice sibling I have. Except Clara.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Clara?¡± Henry asked curiously.


    ¡°My baby sister.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a baby.¡± Amber said.


    ¡°Well, to me she is.¡± Perryn said crossly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if he¡¯s a year younger than me.¡± Elizabeth said, tugging against William¡¯s grip.


    ¡°And it¡¯s still not happening.¡± William growled, not releasing her.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you had a sister, Sanchez.¡± Henry said, blinking in surprise.


    Perryn sniffed, ¡°Well I do.¡±


    ¡°Can we focus on getting my sister back, please?¡± Tanner asked impatiently.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I said, ¡°Can you find these coordinates?¡±


    ¡°Elizabeth can.¡± Tanner confirmed, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The pirates turned back to the window.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Leo called.


    They stopped.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go by horseback?¡±


    ¡°We brought horses.¡± Henry said.


    ¡°You brought or stole?¡± I asked suspiciously.


    Henry ducked his head sheepishly, ¡°We¡¯re going to return them.¡±


    ¡°You better.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°And you¡¯re not going out through the window again, c¡¯mon we¡¯re going out the normal way.¡± Perryn turned away and started down the hallway.


    The pirates all looked at Serah. For a moment she looked conflicted, ¡°We could get caught.¡± She said quietly.


    ¡°If you¡¯re with us they¡¯ll assume that you¡¯re friends.¡±


    Elizabeth motioned to their pirate attire: trousers and white bleached shirts for the boys and royal blue riding pants and white blouses for the girls, ¡°Do we look like your friends?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll dress you up!¡± Rachel exclaimed.


    Serah glanced up and down our royal dresses, ¡°Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get Serah kicking and screaming into a dress.¡± Elizabeth confirmed.


    ¡°Well, you have to wear a dress to fit in with our outfits.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be burned alive and hanged.¡± Serah sniffed, ¡°We¡¯re going out the window.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, ¡°Fine. Fall three hundred feet.¡±


    ¡°Serah!¡± Henry protested, ¡°Elizabeth said it was only like a hundred feet!¡±


    ¡°Since when do you trust me?¡± Elizabeth asked, ¡°And if I hadn¡¯t said it you would never have come you big sissy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so mean to me.¡±


    ¡°You deserve it.¡±

 Chapter 40: Cuss Like A Sailor

    We met the pirates outside of the gate to the castle grounds. From the mischievous glint in Elizabeth¡¯s eye, we decided not to ask how they¡¯d come out.


    ¡°Also, where¡¯s Colten?¡± William asked when we all turned out of the castle grounds.


    The pirates were silent before Tanner spoke up, ¡°He left with Sam, a while ago.¡±


    ¡°Left?¡± I asked, ¡°Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°Home.¡± Serah said, ¡°He wanted another go at royalty.¡±


    We had heard of the return of Sam. Sam¡¯s father, the king, had announced it, spreading the news throughout the world that his eldest daughter had returned.


    ¡°How¡¯s Sam doing with it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Good, I suppose.¡± Serah shrugged.


    ¡°You suppose?¡±


    ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t heard from either of them since they left. It would be dangerous if they attempted to remain in contact.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Everybody went silent as we began our long trek towards the woods.


    ¡°Does anybody know where we¡¯re going?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Serah replied shortly, ¡°Elizabeth does.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Amber prompted.


    ¡°She¡¯s been there before.¡± Henry explained.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Is this how our entire trip is going to go? Because if so, I would like to throw her off the nearest cliff.¡± Elizabeth turned to Serah, who shook her head with a tired sigh.


    ¡°Permission to destroy Amber Tucker the next time she asks a question?¡± Tanner asked Serah hopefully.


    ¡°No.¡± Serah replied, ¡°There will be no destroying of royals.¡±


    Tanner looked genuinely disappointed, but Elizabeth pat his arm affectionately, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, when we get to the bandit camp, you can destroy as many bandits as you want and just pretend they¡¯re royals. That¡¯s how I deal with my frustration.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Amber demanded.


    ¡°That was another question!¡± Tanner whirled on her.


    ¡°I said no, Tanner!¡± Serah said, raising her voice slightly.


    Tanner sighed again, ¡°I haven¡¯t killed a single person in two weeks.¡±


    ¡°What do you want, a medal?¡± Amber demanded, ¡°I haven¡¯t killed a single person my entire life!¡±


    ¡°Softie.¡± Elizabeth sniffed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not cool to have killed people, you know that, right?¡± Rachel asked.


    ¡°Speak for yourself, mortal!¡± Henry exclaimed, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I have about thirty assigned murders.¡±


    ¡°Assigned murders?¡± Kate asked.


    ¡°Ah yes, my young apprentice, I forget that you are new to the adventurous life of us tragically good looking and charming pirates. Well, an assigned murder is when your captain, for example, Serah, wants someone dead but can¡¯t find the time in his or her¡¯s schedule to kill that person. And so, you are assigned a person and you must kill that person. Then you bring back a treasure from this person¡¯s body, let¡¯s say a weapon or jewelry, because, what is a pirate murder without some pirate flair?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°So¡­like a hitman?¡± Kate pressed.


    ¡°No!¡± Henry looked offended, ¡°I am not a hitman. A hitman is paid to kill. We do it out of our own free will. The deaths mean more that way.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Amber said, ¡°So, you¡¯ve wanted a lot of people dead, Serah?¡±


    Serah nodded gravely, ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that you haven¡¯t joined their numbers yet, princess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a princess!¡± Amber protested, ¡°I¡¯m a duchess!¡±


    ¡°Right, sorry. Rich snob is a better way of putting it.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Henry said, ¡°The point is, we¡¯ve killed a lot in our day. Even Elizabeth has killed her fair share. She doesn¡¯t seduce all those rugged men for fun.¡±


    ¡°Um. Well?¡± Elizabeth started.


    Tanner wrinkled his nose, ¡°Gross.¡±


    ¡°Listen, without me and my seduction powers, you wouldn¡¯t have been where you are today, Tanner Forrester.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. You brought us all together.¡±


    ¡°See?¡± Elizabeth spread her hands in front of her, to prove her point.


    ¡°But.¡± Tanner continued, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t busted in the walls of that orphanage some five years ago, Lydia and I could both be off somewhere enjoying life as regular citizens and not wanted by the law and perhaps Lydia might not have been kidnapped by bandits either.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Elizabeth said, ¡°Or you could¡¯ve been murdered at age fourteen by a drunkard. It could¡¯ve gone either way.


    ¡°I would not. You didn¡¯t know me when that happened!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true! We met when¡ª¡°


    ¡°Shut it.¡± Serah interrupted, glaring daggers at both of them.


    Both Elizabeth and Tanner seemed to remember that we were still there and listening in on their conversation.


    Tanner cleared his throat and Elizabeth mumbled an apology.


    ¡°No, please.¡± Leo piped up, ¡°Continue telling us about your lives. You didn¡¯t do that much last time.¡±


    ¡°You guys are wanted by the law?¡± Philip asked.


    Elizabeth let out a string of curses, some words not even I knew, as she jumped away from Philip, who had appeared at her shoulder, tired of bringing up the back of the group.


    ¡°Good grief Elizabeth!¡± Henry clamped his hands over his ears, ¡°Where did you learn to talk like that?¡±


    ¡®You know that saying, ¡°Cuss like a sailor?¡±¡¯ Tanner asked, ¡°Elizabeth was in mind when that saying was created.¡±


    ¡°I forgot about you!¡± Elizabeth said, ignoring them and turning to Philip, ¡°What¡¯s your name again?¡±


    ¡°Philip.¡± Henry spoke for him, ¡°He¡¯s the quiet one.¡±


    ¡°Nah, really Henry?¡±


    ¡°Shut up. You asked.¡±


    ¡°I asked him, not you.¡±


    ¡°Does it really matter?¡± Tanner butt in.


    ¡°If you three don¡¯t shut your trap holes in the next few seconds I¡¯ll tie you together to a horse and drag you through the streets of Arabia.¡± Serah snapped.


    ¡°Why Arabia specifically?¡± Amber asked, when the pirates had gone silent.


    Serah¡¯s eyes gleamed as she turned to Amber, ¡°In Arabia, there¡¯s sand in the streets. When you drag them through the streets at the speed of a horse gallop, the sand gets into their eyes, creating an even more painful and annoying death.¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡± Amber noted, ¡°Did you put a lot of thought into this?¡±


    ¡°I put a lot of thought into everything I do.¡± Serah confirmed, ¡°Nothing I do is a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Amber asked, ¡°Because I recall a certain sorceress coming out in the streets of the Forgotten Isle and turning you and a certain dirty mouthed pirate into wolves.¡±


    Serah waved her off, ¡°Those were dark times for me.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Of course.¡± Amber nodded.


    ¡°But to answer your question, quiet boy, yes we are wanted by the law.¡± Elizabeth continued, glancing back at Philip.


    ¡°For what?¡± Philip asked.


    ¡°Oh¡­we¡¯re all wanted for different reasons.¡±


    ¡°For example,¡± Tanner said, ¡°Elizabeth has been wanted since the age of fourteen when she killed her mom.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Elizabeth started, ¡°I mean, she wasn¡¯t¡ªI¡ªIt was an accident, okay?¡±


    ¡°Right. Sure it was.¡± Tanner muttered.


    ¡°Says the guy who killed his dad, on purpose!¡±


    ¡°He deserved it!¡±


    ¡°Guys¡­¡± Henry started.


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not done.¡± Elizabeth snapped, ¡°Tanner and his smart mouth are getting on my nerves and Lydia isn¡¯t here to tell him to shut up!¡±


    ¡°Guys¡­¡± Henry started again, but no one was listening.


    ¡°I¡¯m literally older than you!¡± Tanner retaliated, ¡°I should be telling you to shut up!¡±


    ¡°Guys!¡± Henry snapped. We stopped.


    ¡°Notice anything strange?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Tanner demanded.


    ¡°We seem to be missing our captain.¡± Henry snapped.


    We looked around at the town streets that we had been walking along. All around us, people bustled with their daily activities, occasionally turning away to avoid the pirates. But Serah, who had been walking beside us and slightly in the back, was nowhere to be seen.