cvptained:
        for a moment , the captain almost felt the need to push down his urge to smile . as if giving in to his humour was a form of defeat , as if there was anything to be defeated at . the game was one that no one but himself knew to be playing , and with the pieces long since moved into place , it was already his victory . the royals , the entire lot of them ââ from old to young , from pretty to wretched , they were already dead souls simply lying in wait for the sword to fall . even if they themselves were blind to it , HE was not , he knew , and so the least he could do was laugh for such a sorry attempt at a joke . especially if it came from such a pretty face ; from the first pleasant smile he had seen in weeks  .
        â   is this where iâm expected to LAUGH , doll ?   â  Â
        and perhaps he wasnât outright laughing , but even nik himself couldnât deny the slight curl to the corners of his mouth , neither the slight huff of amusement that moved his shoulders. the prince was damned cute , and nik was hardly one to pass on good treasure.  â   someoneâs meant to be watchinâ ya , arenât they , darlinâ ? ya manage to shake âem , or am i pullinâ out thâwhip for someone refusinâ to do their damned job ?   â   it was undoubtedly pointless to be curious over the princeâs answer the way he was , but for such a pretty face , he couldnât help but wonder what lay beneath .
aidan turned to be met with the gaze of the notorious captain -- well, in retrospect someone he CONSIDERABLY admired. in some eccentric essence. while yes, the whole chaotic vibe that emitted from the pirates was one of concern, and not meant to be RESPECTED in any one, he couldnât help but find himself feeling particularly nervous in front of the captain -- especially one with a face such as that. he would be the first to admit that the captain did not have a BAD face. and thatâs most likely why the brunette found himself fidgeting a lot more than usual. he jumped down from the rock, and hopped over to nik, hands clasped behind his back.
 ânow, please tell me if iâm wrong but iâd like to think that there is a SMILE there, capâtain. and i do like to consider smiling as a form of laughter. i mean, perhaps iâm wrong and thatâs not a smile. and if not, then well, ignore that statement. because that was me on my high horse, being proud of making a handsome captain smile. i mean, not like, iâm trying to impress you. NOPE, far from it. -- WOW look, the sky is blue. FANTASTIC. much more amusing than me. i need to stop talking. iâm going to stop talking now.â the prince cleared his throat, hands rubbing the back of his neck with chagrin. he let those words linger in the air before answering the question, coming up with what he wished to say before opening his mouth. aidan lacked a filter and he knew it well.
âi find it important to tell you that iâm rather good at escaping. did it a lot back home, you see. in fact, i donât think iâve seen the face of the pirate whoâs meant to be watching me yet so iâm RATHER proud of myself, you see? so it would be marvelously grand if the whip would stay tucked away, because iâm just quite the slippery snake,â the brunette flashed the captain a wide smile.Â
