Ransom

I am unfamiliar with the layout of the ship, but I have discovered over the years that brigs and cells, etcetera, are usually in the lowest region of the building or vessel. It is therefore sensible in my view to go up.

“Stop!” One of the uniformed guards attempts to prevent me from leaving the region of the cells.

I understand he’s just doing his job, but I do not suffer fools gladly, or otherwise.

I look at the guard briefly and then carry on my way. If the fool is rude and stupid enough to put his hands on me, he will suffer terribly.

“I said STOP!”

The guard repeats the order with more gusto. He approaches me with a swiftness, his weapon clanking by his side.

“Where is the kitchen?” I question him.

He looks at me, confused. He is supposed to be apprehending me, and yet he cannot help but answer a request for directions. It is the one thing that makes sense to him in this encounter.

“One deck up, third on the left. Follow your nose, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome,” he says, still confused. I have convinced him that I have every right to be free by merit of acting as such. This has gone well for us both. I have gone on unmolested, and he will keep his life.

The next guard is not so intelligent, or perhaps simply unfortunate. He tries to stop me at the doorway that probably leads to the upper deck, if the arrow is any indication.

The hunger is growing inside my belly. They were late with my meal before I was abducted, and nobody has made any effort to nourish me aboard this vessel. They may not be aware that I need to be fed. Aliens have all sorts of interesting metabolisms, but I have no intention of starving out of politeness.

The guard steps out in front of me, blocking the way to the kitchen.

I don’t even think about it.

I stab him.

Nobody else stands between me and the kitchen. I do encounter quite a few other guards. Most of them don’t bother me. Possibly because I still have the last guard’s head tucked under my arm.

Chapter Three

Blackmane

The princess is a pretty young thing, clear skinned and bright-eyed, with features of almost indescribable sweetness. Her beauty was not overstated by those who claimed to have seen it prior to my having captured her. She has regal bone structure, and the naturally graceful bearing of one who has been bred for generations to be desirable to any male who might lay eyes on her. She is a prize perfect for ransom, and I have gone to extreme lengths to take her.

There is just one small problem. She has broken out of her cell, beheaded a guard, and barricaded herself inside the kitchen and is eating her way through dessert supplies. No sweet treat is safe. This would be a minor inconvenience at the best of times, if it were not for the material she used to barricade the doors. A thick white bone has been pressed through the handles, preventing them from opening. We have deducted that it is a bone taken from the leg of a recently deceased guard.

She is wearing the same satin gown I abducted her in, but now the pristine white of the hem is marked and stained with the blood of her enemies. I do not know where the rest of the corpse is. I am not certain I want to know.

“Ooh!” I hear her exclaim over the audio feed. “Salted caramel!”

My second, second in command is beside me, uttering those little coughs he makes when he wants attention. I motion for him to speak.

“Did it occur to you, sir, that perhaps the satellite barriers and the hoards of guards, the high voltage electric fields, the floating field of mines, the laser maze, the barely-contained black hole poised to consume the princess’ tower if it was in any way disrupted…”

“Yes, Redpelt, I am familiar with all the barriers we encountered while capturing the princess.”

“Yes. Perhaps.” He clears his throat uncomfortably. “Perhaps they were not so much to keep us out, as much as they were to keep her in.”

There is a long moment of silence in which I consider that possibility. Her father has not only not paid the ransom demand, he has also not bothered to return my messages. I thought that was because he was raising an army to come after us, but scans do not show any indication of such an army.

“She is his only daughter. The only possible heiress to his throne. Why would he lock her away? It makes no sense.”

“And yet…” Redpelt gestures toward the monitor. “There are reports of injuries in sick bay too, several guards had altercations with her. Blackmane, there is no possible way any single actor could cause this much chaos aboard our ship. We have held prisoners of all species in our dungeons. We have had escapees before. None has ever caused anything resembling this amount of chaos.”