Pirate Meets Princess

I was hanging upside down, tangled in a tree, while a pretty girl stared at me. How awkward!

"I'll ask again," she started before reiterating herself with a harsh glare. "Why have you appeared in the royal garden of House Taizune?"

Aside from the pink skin and antennae customary of her race, the Yanta, this girl had an white summer dress. Being composed of various fabrics, it had a patchwork appearance, but was still elegant. Her magenta, almost purple hair was cleaned and brushed too. I figured she must’ve been an attendant or maid working for this “House Taizune.” With a little charisma, she’d listen to me. She wasn’t a barbarian after all.

I took a deep breath before flashing a confident grin unbefitting of my situation. “You seem like a nice girl! Come help a guy out, then we can talk, yeah?”

She stared at me, dumbfounded. “Are you unaware of who I am? My name is Cecilia. I am the princess of House Taizune.”

She said her title like she was trying to drive it through my skull. But I understood perfectly. A princess?! If anyone had the authority to get me arrested, it’d be her!

My hands scavenged my pockets, recovering an old pocket knife. I started sawing through the parachute cords that kept me tangled in the branches.

“What’re you doing?” the princess questioned, stomping towards me. I cut faster. A cold sweat dripped up my face. One wire down. Two wires. “Stop that!” she yelled.

As Cecilia neared the tree, I cut myself free, unceremoniously hitting the ground with a thud. I hid my pained expression behind the bandana around my neck, but my groan gave me away. I craned my neck upwards to find the princess glaring down at me. I scrambled away, keeping as much distance from her as possible.

Seeing this, the princess stopped. The harshness left her gaze. “You’re scared,” she said, kneeling down to my level. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

She said it like she was consoling a scared puppy. I was not a puppy though! I jumped to my feet and brushed the dirt from my jacket. I casually leaned against a tree as Cecilia stood as well. She sighed, and her cold stare returned. “Enough games. Explain yourself.”

Of course, I couldn’t tell her what really happened. However, I had also heard rumors that a Yanta’s antennae allowed for telepathy. As such, they were able to detect deceit. Even telling lies was risky.

She was awaiting an answer. I couldn’t think forever. I idly dragged my foot around the dirt, and began, “Well… I crash landed…”

“I can see that,” she replied, unimpressed. Her antennae began swaying and she crossed her arms. I wondered if she was putting her power to use.

I recalled the rumors again. A Yanta’s telepathy apparently started weak, strengthening only as they aged. Luckily, the princess looked pretty young. I didn’t know the exact conversion, but I estimated she was in her early twenties on the human timescale—around my age. Having not immediately apprehended me, she couldn’t have known who I was, and hadn’t perused my thoughts to find out either.

However, I figured reading someone’s mind would’ve been harder than detecting lies. Even humans could do the latter, provided they knew what to look for. So the decision remained: could I deceive her, or not?

“My ship landed over there,” I continued lamely, pointing my thumb towards a dilapidated building behind me as a guess to the wreckage’s direction.

“Yes, I saw the smoke plume. You’re lucky it landed outside our domain,” she remarked with a slight air of threat. She tapped her foot impatiently. I couldn’t play it safe anymore. Deciding that lying was my only option, I straightened my posture, and talked as confidently as I could:

“I’m a merchant working in league with the Johnston Scavenging Company. Think of me as… an intermediary between seller and buyer.”

She nodded. Her sharp glare grew nicer now that I was cooperating. Her antennae continued swaying, but nothing suggested that she realized I was lying. I relaxed. Lying was part of a pirate’s job description. Now that I knew I could get away with it, I was comfortable.

“You see… I was gonna pick up some goods from one of their freighters,” I began, switching to a pitiful tone. “But some pirates came, and they started fighting with the authorities! I was just caught in the crossfire…” I lowered my head as if I were sulking. I kicked the dirt to add to the effect. She hummed sympathetically. However, when I returned her gaze, her demeanor snapped back to its natural cold state.

“So you need a way off this planet,” she said, partly as a question, mostly as an assumed statement.

I put my hands together in a pleading gesture. “Yeah that’s right! If you could get me a ship or something, I’ll be right on my—”

“I can’t do that,” she interjected, “but something can be arranged.”

I frowned, but before I could complain, the princess closed her eyes, and her antennae straightened. I could almost feel a vibration in my mind as she did… something.

I strolled around the place in an ensuing minute or two of silence. This was a proper garden in the middle of a ruined city with no vegetation, hiding between the rundown buildings. It had trees, bushes, flowers—it was a miracle that it survived here. I supposed if a royal family wanted it, they’d have the money to create something frivolous like this.

Having wandered off, it was only when the princess grabbed my arm that I realized she was done. She began dragging me somewhere, and I scrambled to keep up.

“What are you—?”

“I’ve arranged for a carriage to pick us up,” she explained curtly. She stormed ahead and huffed. Her mood had turned hostile, so the first thing I asked was if she was alright. She then complained, “I was hoping to make you someone else’s problem, but apparently you’re my responsibility now.”

“Okay, and that’s an issue how—?”

“I still don’t trust you,” she snapped before spinning on her heel and jabbing a finger into my chest. “And if you get yourself into trouble, my neck’s on the line too!”

I delicately moved her wrist aside, before saying, “Then I won’t.” I smiled, but she turned away with a “Hmph!” and continued stomping along with me in tow.

Cecilia navigated us through the ruins of long-forgotten buildings. We traveled along wrecked streets and alleyways, avoiding errant piles of rubble. Above us, there were ramshackle catwalks and bridges made of scrap metal, hanging onto the sides of buildings for dear life. Some laundry lines crossed between the railings. There was no foliage here, save for a couple potted plants in what might’ve been windowsills long ago. I even saw a few other Yanta going about their daily activities. I knew it existed, but it was still surprising to find civilization amidst the ruins of Xios.

We eventually reached the carriage, parked along a wider road whose debris had been pushed to the sidewalks. The vehicle wasn’t the stereotypical fantasy carriage I had pictured though. It was an old school military transport vehicle; probably a remnant from the war that destroyed the city around us. It had a tarp covering it, though it was dotted with holes, and was obviously a patchwork of whatever fabric could be recovered. Pulling the “carriage” was what looked like an oversized, black and gray jackal. Another Yanta citizen directed the beast from behind a broken windshield. That figured—the gasoline for the vehicle was probably spent long ago.

Cecilia pulled me into the back of the carriage and directed the driver in a language I didn’t know. She sat down with a sigh. I had wanted to ask where we were going, but her foul mood had put me off. After our hasty walk however, she seemed to have calmed down. I sat across from her, leaned back with my arms behind my head, and asked, “So then, Cecilia, where exactly are you taking me?”

She grumbled at my casual tone, but responded, “To the nearest Johnston scavenging base. You said you worked with them; it’s only natural that they would provide you with help.”

My heart sank. Turns out, lying has consequences! This company knew me. Why wouldn’t they? They were the number one target for my piracy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they killed me on sight!

Cecilia was leading me to my grave, and she didn’t even know it.