Bondage (formerly Escape from the Obstinate Prince)

“Ami! Delightful to see you again,” Lars turned to Jack. “And...you.”

Jack glared daggers (at least that was what it looked like he was attempting to do) into Lars and he did not look any friendlier.

“Lars, what is the meaning of this? Why am I tied up? Surely this is a big mistake!” Ami was confident that there had been a mix-up and Lars would be returned to their land within the hour.

Lars’ expression changed from menacing to thoughtful. “You’re quite right Ami, there has been a mistake.” he turned to the steps and shouted. “Robert! Get there prisoners to more, comfortable quarters! Scratch that. Just get Ami into better quarters!”

“Aye, Captain!” a voice sounded from above.

Doubt weaved its way into Ami’s mind. Was this a dream? Was this really Lars? Was this the unarguably handsome man she had fought with on the upper deck?

“Lars, what’s going on?” she asked, though less confident than before.

“He’s taken us captive, the blithering idiot. Isn’t it obvious?” Jack said. He looked like a chained tiger, wishing it could strike its captor, ripping it to shreds.

Ami (only for a moment) got distracted by a strand of hair in Jack’s eyes, that fell out of his ponytail.

“Is he right, Lars?” asked Ami.

“No. He’s never right,” Lars wrinkled his nose at Jack. “You both are my guests aboard the Valerie, and will be until both of your parents pay me to return you.”

“Why you thieving scoundrel!” Jack lunged. Unfortunately, the ropes kept him from reaching Lars.

Lars laughed.

Ami slumped against the wall. “Lars,” he gave her his attention, “why?”

“I won’t pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about - I just won’t tell you,” he laughed again as if he were the funniest person the Great Father created, “I’m joking with you, don’t give me such a serious look, really, Ami. But it’s for money. What else? Both of your parents are rich. I could be well off for the rest of my life. Imagine all of the possibilities! And, I could become important, then no one would ever say no to me! Not Valeska’s uncle, not my father or mother, not the King himself could stand up to me.

“Do you know how much power I wield? Soon, I will have the King and Queen of Carenthia and Rhone begging me for their son and daughter. Begging me!”

Ami stared at him.

“Aren’t you going to say something? Aren’t you going to congratulate me? Or maybe yell at me and say how impossible this scheme is.”

“Yes, I will!” Jack fumed. “You will never get money from my parents and you will certainly never get any from Ami’s parents-”

Lars struck Jack, silencing him. “If Ami’s parents do not agree to my conditions, which I’m sure they would pay any amount for their darling daughter, then I will keep her as mine, in a far away place where no one will ever know where to reach us.”

“How dare you say such! She is married to me and you will not have her!”

“The fact that she’s married to you has nothing to do with anything. And it’s obvious she is not attached to you, no matter how much you wish her to be, and she won’t cry if she has to be separated from you.”

“Stop it, both of you!” Ami despised them both at the moment (possibly hating Lars more). “I’m not an object and though I would not be sad to see Jack leave,” although unsurveyed by Ami, a part of Jack’s fervor left him, “I would never be yours! When our family rescues us, you shall be in more trouble than ever and Carenthia and Rhone will immediately declare war on Svenland and you will not live in peace. You will be destroyed.”

“Quite the speech, Ami. Although I’m afraid I must inform you that no one will be able to find me after the ransom has been paid.”

This was the evil man that her childhood storybooks described. This was the evil man her mother had warned her about.

Jack noticed sweat glistening on Ami’s forehead. She was breathing at a rapid pace through her nose. Then she went limp. “Ami!” Jack tried to reach for her, but the ropes kept him from doing any good.

“Ami?” Lars gave her corps an appalled blink.

“Don’t just stand there, fool! Do something!”

Lars stooped down; although by that time Ami had gained consciousness. She recoiled. “Water, please,” she slumped on the ground again.

“Robert!” Lars stood up. “Get a cup of water for our guest!”

“Don’t suppose I get any water,” Jack mumbled.

“You can share your wife’s cup if you so desperately want water,” Lars smiled without any happiness traced to his countenance.

Robert came tumbling down the stairs with a wooden mug. He handed the cup to his superior and hurried back up the stairs.

Lars knelt down to Ami and held her head, letting the water trickle into her mouth (though some landed on her chapped lips.)

She coughed and the contents of the cup misted onto Lars’ face. He backed away, letting her finish coughing.

“Robert! Come back here and take Ami up to her room!”

Robert came back down the steps two at a time. “Yes, sir.”

Jack looked warily at Robert’s none-too-big arm muscles.

Robert heaved Ami up into his arms, grunting as he did so, and he trudged back up.

Jack nervously watched Robert sway back and forth, hoping he wouldn’t take a tumble back down to his starting destination. Jack closed his eyes.

“As for you,” Lars, much to Jack’s dismay, started talking again, “I think I should like to keep you down here, away from your wife.”

Jack cast Lars a dirty look.

“I’ll make sure someone unties you and chains you to the wall, and I’ll also make sure someone gives you a chamber pot.” Lars forced a smile again before following Robert and Ami.

“Cast off!”

Ami had been taken to the bedroom she had occupied on her way to Carenthia and was familiar with the layout, successful in making her feel more comfortable as a captive. If that were possible. The more she thought about it, the more she was disgusted with herself. She had come to realize that she did not feel like a hostage in the slightest. In fact she was(she hated herself for it) rather enjoying herself. There were no Royal duties for her to fail, no Queen for her to sew with (Ami loved the Queen dearly, she just exasperated from all of the sewing and mindless chatter), and best of all, no Jack. He was apparently being kept in the brig and he would not, he could not, bother her.

Of course she was mad that Lars was not the angel she had presumed, and mad that he was doing such a terrible thing, taking them captive; but, she found that living on the Valerie was not such a bad thing. Life on board was tolerable. Except for the food. Her diet consisted of rock hard biscuits, dried, stale meat, and they drank ale for a substitute for water.

“Ami?” she heard Lars knock.

I’m still mad at him. I’m still mad at him. I am still mad at him. Right?

“Come in,” she stood.

“Ami!” he extended his arms.

She backed up a fraction of an inch.

His arms fell to his side. “Well, anyway, I have some news that may not be met with your lovely smile.”

Ami’s eyebrows narrowed.

“We are going to chain you to one of our sailors. Not that we expect you to escape or even attempt it, as it is impossible, but it’s a failsafe,” he said.

She scowled. “My last measure of freedom, gone?”

“’Tis,” he shrugged as if he were not to blame for the arrangement.

She mulled over the news. Lars didn’t move. He looked like such a wholesome man. He could have raised a family and been happy.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Lars stared at her.

“I thought you were good. I thought you were nice. You could have been—” she shook her head.

“I am good and I am nice, I,” he paused, then he cackled, “who am I trying to fool? I’m not good.”

“You mean you know you’re doing wrong? You’re consciously bad?”

“Am I actually bad? Is taking something, which mind you was out in the open and free for the taking, then returning it for a fee — is that bad?” he cocked an eyebrow.

She examined Lars. “Yes. We are not free for the taking.”

“Ah, but what use are you both, now that the marriage has taken place? They don’t need you anymore,” he took a step closer. “Don’t you see? The alliance has gone through. You’re not needed. I’m just a poor sailor trying to stay alive. I’m a trader if you look at it in the right light. All I’m doing is trading. Trading you and Jack for a small fee, so I can simply keep on living. And eating.”

Ami frowned. She found no error in his logic but she knew it was off. Why was I cursed with stupidity? He’s wrong, I know he’s wrong. she scrutinized Lars. It’s my featherbrained aunt’s fault. She was just as stupid and equally not logical. Running off with a pauper, Ami snorted. Look where that got me.

Lars opened her door and Robert appeared. Ami started to believe that Lars and Robert were the only ones who manned the ship.

“Him?”

“Yes, you’re going to be chained to him,” Lars grabbed the rope from Robert, latching it around Robert’s wrist, then reached to latch it onto Ami’s.

“No!” she backed up against the wall. “I refuse to be latched onto someone like a wild animal!”

“Please,” Lars rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly like that. You’ll be able to roam around the ship this way.”

“And what happens when it’s time to sleep?” she jutted out her chin and tilted her head up. “Am I supposed to expect him to--to--” she didn’t finish.

“No, I will simply lock you in your room,” he gloated. “You have no way to escape from the inside, so I think it’d be fair to say that you’re safe.”

Ami wished she could glare fireballs into Lars’ body, making him combust from the inside out.

And here I was, thinking that life was tolerable. Hah. Was I ever wrong, she submitted to the fact that she would not be able to get her way. Lars was too strong to resist. She held out her hand. “Fine.”

“Good girl,” Lars bound her.

He left Ami and Robert to bond (hahahahahahaha Lizzie you’re so funny jk.) Ami sat down on her bed, her hand and arm dangling in the air, attached to Robert. “What am I supposed to do, Robert?”

“Sulk. Yell curses at Lars. Start crying hysterically. Maybe slap me or bang my chest with your fists,” he deadpanned.

“Are you being quite serious?” she stared at him.

“To some degree,” he sat down, “isn’t that what the girls always do?”

She scrutinized him. “You make it sound as if you’ve done this before — capturing people, I mean.”

“Nay. I simply was told stories when I was younger and I remember them quite clearly. The princess was captured by pirates, she’d try to hurt the leader, try escaping, then finally, when all hope was lost, she would be rescued by the prince.”

“My prince is unfortunately captured. I shall be rescued by money, not a hero.”

They both sat in silence.

“Why are you part of the evil scheme?” she turned to Robert. “You know that what you’re doing is wrong. In those fairy-tales, you are the bad villan.”

“I know.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” she asked.

He shrugged and the atmosphere frosted over.

Ami found that she did not hate being roped to Robert as much as she imagined she would, as it provided constant companionship and she rarely found herself bored.

Jack, however, was another story. She hadn’t heard anything about him since she was taken to her room and she was not sad to see the days go by without seeing his face and hearing his smart remarks. The days passed by, and she did not miss him one bit.

If she had been more curious, she would have asked if he was still on the ship, or if they had tossed him overboard. But she couldn’t bring herself to care any more about Jack or his situation on the ship.

She knew she was being selfish, but she simply was not concerned about her husband.

“I swear, one more word out of you and I will kill you once we have been ransomed! I’ll track you down and slit your throat!”

Ami gasped. That was Jack’s voice, she was sure of it. “Robert, might we go down and see what is brewing in the brig?”

He shrugged.

The shouting increased in volume when they descended the flights of stairs and it was definitely Jack.

“I could just throw you overboard right now if I wanted! I would not advise threatening me, Jacques!” that was Lars.

“What’s going on?” Ami opened the door to the prison.

“Nothing,” Lars answered.

“He’s trying to woo you and take you to his hidden palace that I still say does not exist,” Jack spat.

Both men glared at each other.

“Is that all?” she tilted her head. “I thought it was something of more importance. Maybe something like, oh, say, someone paying the ransom or maybe someone not paying. Not whether Lars is trying ‘woo’ me or not. Really Jack.”

“I supposed you would enjoy going with him,” an obstinate glint to his eye evoked Ami’s unexpressed frustration.

“I would not want to go with him any more than I would like to be married to you,” she scowled.

His nose twitched. It reminded Ami of a bunny.

Ami wish she were a dog so she could bite the bunny’s nose off, or maybe doing something a tad more dramatic, ending the life of such a creature.

“Well in that case I don’t see what’s stopping you from just gallivanting off with him, leaving me in the dust. Oh wait. You already have. You’re up on deck, leaving your husband of five days in the dungeon, with scraps to eat, dung-water to drink in terrible living conditions-”

“Dung-water?”

“Well, maybe not, but-”

“Do you think I’m enjoying myself, darling Jacques? I am not free up there. Do you see this? I am attached to Robert, I cannot go anywhere without him except for the privy and-”

“He sleeps with you?” Jack’s eyes were so round that she would have laughed if the situation were not so serious.

“Let me finish and don’t interrupt!” she puffed out a stream of air. “You deserve this treatment. You could stand to be taken down a notch and I think this is the perfect way of doing it. I hardly enjoy my living conditions, and no, I do not sleep with Robert, I get locked in my room and left to sleep by my lonesome. My living conditions are not much different from yours, other than my nice bed, and finally, I do not enjoy being attached to a man, figuratively or literally.”

“When this is over, when we are back to the castle, I am going to either put you in a different side of the castle, or else I will live in the woods, never to be heard of again,” he was vexed, she was positive of that; what she wasn’t sure about, was if she should be pleased that she made him as upset as herself.

“I shall not complain if that’s what you’re thinking. I, in fact, have enjoyed not seeing your face these past few days. I am positive that I could endure a lifetime without being in contact with your repulsive body.”

“Well, bully for you! I’ll make sure to arrange it once we’re out of this disgusting ship!”

Although they agreed, neither had a smile on their face. Instead, hate-filled glares tainted the good looks of both.

Ami huffed, turned around(dragging Robert with her), and slammed the brig’s door shut.