The Arrangement

As the sounds of battle echoed around his carriage, Theo ducked down between the seats and did his best not to be seen.

Theo was a slender young man with soft, youthful features, an unruly mop of auburn hair, and a general demeanor one could most charitably call “bookish.” Two days ago, his father’s men had arrived at the Pregian Institute of the Arcane to escort him home for the summer; the journey had been an uneventful one, until the carriage and its escort were beset by brigands on the road.

That was about five minutes ago. And, judging by the cries of distress and panic coming from outside the carriage, the brigands were winning.

Theo jumped as something struck the carriage, rattling the walls. The sounds of battle ceased, and the brigands let out a cry of triumph.

A voice, low and rumbling, rich with humor and self-confidence, said, “Bring that one to me.”

There was the sound of a scuffle as one of the guards was dragged across the battlefield.

“You’re going to send a message for me,” said the voice. “This caravan and everything in it now belong to Captain Hayward of the Executioner. Your lord can have it back… for a price.”

A low chuckle went up among the brigands.

“Now,” concluded the voice. “Off you go.”

There was a brief pause, then the sound of footsteps, fleeing as fast as possible.

Another set of heavy footsteps approached the carriage, and the door was thrown open.

A man stood silhouetted in the light from the open door: tall and powerful, with bronze skin and long, dark, shaggy hair. A neatly-trimmed beard framed full lips twisted into a wry, roguish half-smile. The man dressed simply, in a loose flowing shirt and tight, dark trousers, but there was no mistaking the authority with which he held himself.

Theo blinked in the sudden light. “Who’s Captain Hayward?”

“An annoying little shit who owes me money,” said the man: Captain Caine Blackwater, most notorious pirate in living memory and terror of the high seas. “Do you have a bag?”

Theo pointed under the seat next to him, where a small carpetbag contained the few things he cared to take with him. Blackwater leaned through the doorway, grabbed the bag, and stepped aside so Theo could pass.

“After you,” he said, with a theatrical flourish of his hand.

Theo blushed a little as he stepped out of the carriage. The brigands—Blackwater’s crew—paid him little mind, preoccupied as they were with looting the caravan. The guards’ bodies littered the area; one was still propped up where he’d fallen against the carriage.

Something in Theo’s stomach flipped. “Are they dead?”

“Unconscious,” Blackwater reassured him. “There may be some lasting damage, but we did our best not to kill them.”

“Right. Yes. Thank you.”

As little as Theo cared for his father, he wished no ill on the guards. Few of them truly understood how strained the relationship was between their lord and his child.

Blackwater turned to his crew and barked, “Wrap it up, lads! We need to be back in town by sundown.” His attention returned to Theo. “We’ve got some horses waiting on the other side of those trees. Can you ride?”

“A bit,” Theo replied, uneasy. Horses had a habit of biting him.

Blackwater winked. “Don’t worry. You can ride with me.”

The inn was a respectable enough place, although the clientele was typical for a port town: mostly sailors, those who made their money from entertaining sailors, and those who made their money from fleecing sailors. Theo sat with Blackwater at a corner table, as far out of sight as possible; even then, he jumped and glanced at the door every time it opened.

“Are you sure we can’t set sail until tomorrow morning?” Theo asked, yet again.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Blackwater replied. “It’ll be at least three days before that messenger reaches your father. And by the time he figures out Hayward doesn’t have you, we’ll be long gone.”

Theo nodded, unconvinced, and hunkered back down in his chair.

The ride from the site of the caravan attack had been an exquisite torture. True to his promise, Blackwater had shared Theo’s horse, his broad chest pressed against Theo’s back and one thick, muscular arm wrapped around his waist to keep him steady. Once they’d arrived at the port, it had taken nearly an hour for Theo’s blush to go down.

The pirates were intent on staying ashore for the night; considering what Theo had heard about the sleeping arrangements aboard the average ship, he could hardly blame them. Blackwater, meanwhile, had excluded himself from the revelries of his crew in favor of sitting in the corner with Theo instead.

Theo realized it had been a little too long since either of them spoke. “Captain Blackwater—”

“Caine,” the captain interrupted. “‘Captain Blackwater’ is for my crew and my enemies. You can call me ‘Caine.’”

Theo cleared his throat. “Caine,” he corrected. “Thank you, again, for… all of this.”

Caine shrugged. “You paid us well. And the loot from that caravan will be useful. ‘Kidnapping’ you is a fair trade, for all that.”

“Still,” Theo said, avoiding eye contact and staring resolutely into his drink. “I appreciate it.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Caine said, “why would a young nobleman of considerable promise hire pirates to steal him away from his family?”

Theo shrank in on himself a little, as if being smaller would help deflect Caine’s attention. “Um. You know. The usual.”

“Arranged marriage?” Caine guessed.

“That’s… part of it.”

There was, in fact, a fiancé waiting for him at his father’s estate. A male fiancé. Because his father was of the opinion that Theo was a girl.

Theo, on the other hand, had focused most of his magical studies on transmutation, and made certain… adjustments to his own body. Adjustments that would make it difficult to fulfill the role his family expected of him, even if he had agreed to it.

In light of all that, hiring a pirate to kidnap him on his way home from the Institute had seemed like a perfectly reasonable course of action.

Caine seemed content with the answer Theo had given, and turned his attention back to the antics of his crew.

As the night progressed, the inn grew quieter. Most of the pirates drifted off to other establishments, but Caine stayed by Theo’s side.

Theo, meanwhile, was slightly drunk. Drunker than he had planned to be, at least. He found himself seated much closer to Caine than he had been a few hours ago, propped up against his shoulder.

“It must be nice,” Theo mumbled, half to Caine and half to himself. “Being a pirate. Doing whatever you want. Not owing anybody anything.”

Caine shrugged, the motion jostling Theo a bit.

“It can be,” Caine said. “There are things I miss, though.”

Theo pulled himself up a bit so he could see Caine’s face. “Like what?”

“Like… home. A place to belong.” Caine’s lips twisted into a mirthless smile. “Love. Family. Not much chance for that.”

Theo’s eyes fixed on Caine’s lips. He wondered what they felt like. Before he realized it, he’d leaned in a little too close.

Caine sighed, his breath gently brushing against Theo’s cheek, and extracted himself from the tangle of Theo’s limbs before standing.

“I should get to bed,” he said. “You should, too.”

Theo blinked at the spot where Caine had been a moment ago, sobering up rather abruptly. “Right. Bed. Good idea.”

It was only once Theo retreated to his room, crawled into bed, and drifted to the verge of unconsciousness that he realized he’d almost kissed Captain Caine Blackwater.