Prologue
Off the shores of Capitol Alyoth, a pirate ship approached at amazing speed. Even at that distance, the captain could see the shape of the walls of an enormous construction: the palace.
"We're almost there, Captain." Dipper announced approaching his leader at the helm. He was the youngest of the crew at only 16 years old, but he was a rare strategic pirate who knew how to handle himself very well in close combat, he'd been training for years, dreaming to join piracy. And all of that made him a very young second in command.
"I know, Kid."
"Captain, we went over this before, but are you sure we should do this? Isn't it a bit too dangerous? We won't have the ship close by to escape."
"Yes. That's why I told you it's gonna be just you and me in the castle. It's easier to sneak in with fewer people doing it."
"I know, Captain. I recall you saying that, it's already been planned… Anyway, I heard they're going to have a party. A ball or something. So, will we really be able to do it with so many people around?"
"Of course. If we can do this all in the right time, when the King notices something's missing, we'll already be setting sail. Since a ball is happening, all of the guards will be occupied with it and most of them will be at either the entrance or the surroundings."
"By the way, you said we'd be using secret passages, how do you know about them?"
The Captain laughed, steering the helm for a turn and approaching the docks. He already told the crew they had to restock the ship in record time and have it all ready to leave by the time he and Dipper got back with what they had come for.
"Kid, when you've been a pirate for as long as I have, you'll meet people and learn some stuff in order to survive. Turns out I met someone who lived in the castle for too long and knows every inch of it. You know I've been planning something big like this for quite some time now."
"Indeed, Captain. Which makes me wonder why. Why are you so focused on doing it?"
"A pirate needs to be known by his bold actions and feared for his power. Some would rather be known and feared for being ruthless and merciless, killing just for fun and wiping out entire cities for a bunch of gold. Others like to kidnap and torture victims to be known as vicious pirates. And then, there are people like me, who are in it for the money and the treasures. So in this case, we have to be known for great performances, so both our allies and enemies won't forget us. And that's why we need to accomplish something so great that it has never been done before."
"Like robbing the King right under his nose?" Dipper said with a half-smile on his face. The Captain turned to look at him with a playful and proud grin.
"Yes. That's why we're kidnapping his daughter tonight. So we can receive the largest ransom in history and be known and feared around the entire kingdom, Son."
