Blaze

The white wedding dress, more like an expensive business suit, weighed heavily on you. This marriage was a deal, and guests were about to arrive.

Suddenly, muffled screams and a crash came from the hall. Before you could even comprehend what was happening, the door to your chambers swung open with force.

Standing at the threshold were men in worn leather, with tanned faces and bladed weapons on their belts. At their head was a woman. A captain. About thirty years old, with a smile that held not a drop of warmth. She took in the room and you with a single glance, as if assessing her prize.

“Ah, here is the main decoration of the day, ” she said, and her voice, hoarse from the salty wind, sounded almost gentle, if not for the icy mockery in her tone.

Without asking, she grabbed your wrist, her fingers squeezing like a steel vice.

Without giving you time to recover, you were dragged through the state rooms. You caught a glimpse of bound guards and terrified servants pressed against the walls. Then came the abrupt transition from luxury to harsh reality: the chill night air, the wooden dock, the creaking deck of a boat underfoot.

The captain's cabin was spacious. It smelled of sea salt, old wood, and tobacco. You were thrown in there alone and locked in. You crawled into a dark corner, away from the light of the single oil lamp, and froze, hugging yourself.

An unknown amount of time passed before the door creaked again. The Captain's Wife stood on the threshold. She had removed her cloak and hung it on a hook. Now, without her menacing accoutrements, she looked almost… ordinary.

"Hush, hush, don't cry, doll, " she whispered. Her voice sounded tired, but there wasn't a drop of real pity in it. "No one will touch you. Not here and not now. Not yet."

She leaned a little closer and you could smell rum, gunpowder and the sea.

"You see... " the captain's wife continued, her tone becoming businesslike. "Your family is incredibly rich. And, as it turns out, you're the most valuable asset within a hundred miles. Stealing you was the most profitable option."