Christopher Bauer

“Look, I know I’ve openly expressed my dislike for this place and the unkempt pirates that inhabit it. But do I look like an arsonist, ME? I’d go and look for the person that actually did it” Mira sighed, folding her arms. “This whole place has descended into madness, more so than usual” She murmured, kicking at the dirt a little.

----- “yes” he said bored “and stop screaming will you?” he said rolling his eyes, he had been spent all day helping with the remnants of the fire and talking with other pirates about what they knew, he wasn’t in a rage as most were but his stance about royals had shifted into disliking them more than when he arrived, this one, wasn’t helping. “by the way no one here was accusing you of anything, or paying attention to you, was that what bothered you and why you started to scream?”

Eva sighed, she knew this had to be coming. “I’m not going to lie to you, that would benefit no one. I was here all night, by myself. I don’t know anything, and I didn’t see anything. I haven’t heard any whispers of fires or anything like that.” she sat up, faced him, and shook her head, “I don’t have an alibi. You just have to trust that I didn’t do it.” It was true though, she had no part in any of this. If she did, she wouldn’t tell him, but it was easy to tell the truth now. 

Eva was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, processing the past events. A million and a half thoughts raced through her head, who did it? why did they do it? are we all going to be punished? what happens next? she was lost in her own mind, when the small squeak of her door brought her back. Turning her head, she saw Christopher walk into the room and close the door behind him. Oh Jesus, she thought, what is he doing here? She would never admit it, but she was nervous. She knew she hadn’t done it but what if someone set her up? Taking a deep breath she turned to look back at the ceiling, “Well, I’ve been better. You?”

---- “been better myself as well” he replied exhaling a breath, he was so stressed, he hand’t been here long and already there had been a fire and people were going to be taken for questioning and who knew what would happen after that. “let’s clear the air, i don’t think you did anything but  i have to ask where were you, did you know anything, did you saw anything?” he asked staring at her to see any shift or tick that could tell him something “and remember this is not only for your sake but can help your siblings too.”

----- Christopher wasn’t sure how to feel or how he was feeling even. his fellow pirates, most were furious, and they were right to be but he felt a bit numb. could he blame the royals for being angry no, but putting someone’s home on fire regardless that it was empty was not the way to go. thankfully no one got hurt but this just left a bad taste on his mouth. if things had been bad before now he knew that it was just going to get worse. then he got his orders, question the royals, not a surprise. he didn’t want to do it, he rather avoid them for a while but orders were orders

he went to Eva’s room, and opened the door, she was there. good. he closed the door behind him and looked at her, it hadn’t been her, he really didn’t think she had it in her. “how are you?”

Wow, what a charmer, Eva thought. So, here she was, taken from her home, shoved on an island, and now she was getting busy work? She looked up at him, “fine.” She was livid, so that was all she could say. He definitely wasn’t asking her if that was okay. Also, the fact that she couldn’t retort was killing her, but I mean she didn’t want to be tied to a tree? She didn’t know him well enough to know if he was joking or not. The fact that he didn’t even know her, and he was doing all this was beyond her. “What’s first then, sir” she hissed.

----- he rolled his eyes “i never said you had to call me sir or anything like that, stop the melodrama.” hey he understood she was pissed, that didn’t stop him from getting annoyed. “eh today i didn’t think of anything, i’ll tell you tomorrow. so you have any questions?”

                 " agreed, but i wasn’t about to tell her that this is your home after all. “ she could relate in a way, no one enjoyed being told what to do especially by someone who wasn’t even supposed to be around you in the first place. that reality wasn’t lost on the norwegian princess, had roman tulach not come up with this plan she would probably never laid eyes on the piratene. sometimes she just preferred that, it was easier to keep them as intangible concepts than it was to consider them human.  “ and you don’t struggle with that idea? “ she wondered with a tilt of her head. “ i for one, spent my first few months on this island determined to loathe every single one of you. “ she admitted with a roll of her shoulders, had that changed? a bit yes, she’d developed a strange fondness for her watcher and a few others. “ seeing past knowledge you’ve been so sure is true for most of your life, isn’t exactly easy. “ she added with a light sigh, before nodding. “ it’s nice to meet you christopher  –– which ship do you work for? “ she curiously questioned, only to laugh softly. “ not one to question the meaning of life then? “

----- “true. and we all have good and bad days.” he had heard many things about how annoying royals were too, and how they whined about everything and though he could see that side more, he wans’t going to deny that some were very trigger happy in getting angry at the princes and princesses around the island. “i know that not all royalty are entitled brats so i am willing to give everyone some benefit of the doubt.” most quickly annoyed him he was not going to lie. but really he just didn’t hate them he was just doing what he had to do. “ the Deadly Tide, it sails around asia mainly. and where are you from?” he laughed “nah, i don’t see the point of that.”

“Oh,” Violet said softly, feeling more and more self conscious by the minute. She was sure that somehow her brothers had gotten all of the self-confidence that was supposed to be distributed evenly among the three of them, and she’d been left with nothing. “I’m sorry.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “I’ve been here for a long time… almost six months. I miss my family, and I miss my cat.”

----- “for what?” he asked confused, okay clearly he wasn’t used to dealing with princesses, though okay he was blending them together and that wasn’t fair. “six months? that really is a long time, what have you been doing all this time?”

“Yeah, that would be bad, especially because I’m sure people would get hurt trying, monkeys are actually pretty smart,” he let out a small laugh. “I think that if you had met, you would have remembered, you may think she is a royal though, she’s different from most pirates, she is actually pretty shy.”

----- “yeah that too. but if someone is going out of their way to annoy a monkey maybe they deserve to be hurt.” survival of the fittest, maybe? “ah you know, i don’t think there is a trait most pirates share, i can be sure there is more than one shy pirate.” they just had to be in charge.

“If you need ideas on keeping them busy, I can help.” Christopher seemed quite familiar with Maddox’s charge, calling her by her name. His smile grew quiet and small. “You know Alexandra?” Was she terrible.. ? “Mm. No I wouldn’t call her terrible.” It remained difficult to admit she wasn’t. But in that moment his interests lied elsewhere, curiously asking. “How do you know Alexandra?” First name basis and everything soooo.. Christopher knew her somehow? 

Maddox wasn’t a pirate who had a firm grasp on royalty. He tended to be dismissive. If a princess came along who caught his eye and guaranteed a good time, then why would he turn it down? And, well. There was Aaron to play with too. But his main focus was returning to his job, with much of the life then on the island continuing to (hopefully) be temporary. “Sometimes it seems they are a little too comfortable with it. And yeah.. I think it is time I asked for a day pass away from here.”

------“yeah that would be good thanks. i fear i may just make her, clean stuff and that’s it.” hey he wasn’t used to this type of things. he was also not creative on this type of taking care of people kind of thing. “i do. well, i am from austria” he explained. “and uh my mother used to work at the palace so i saw the family sometimes.” he let out a little bit of more information, but nor nearly everything. not because he didn’t trust maddox but because he wasn’t the type to share much anyway especially not about his past, his live before his mother died was something he didn’t talk about at all. 

“that i think is not a good thing at all but.. i don’t think we can be vocal about those things” was he loyal to the tulach’s? ...enough.. “i mean surely he can understand that being here is truly a pain.”

Ainsley had discovered a jar of pickles in the fridge, unopened, and set to open it. She had one arm hooked around the jar and struggled with the other hand to open it. She’d tried banging it on the counter, using a knife (which resulted in a cut on her hand) and running it under hot water. “Aye, ye stupid jar. Ye will open for me,” she snarled. Her Scottish accent thickened when angered and she was pissed. She heard someone behind her and she turned to face them. “You wanna give this a go, then? Be my guest.”

----- christopher looked at her and then the jar and shrugged “yeah sure.” he took the jar and pointed at  her wound “you should get a bandaid or something for that, doesn’t look bad but you never know it can get infected” the pirate twisted the lid of the jar and opened right away, he didn’t say anything and just put the jar on the table “you eat pickles just out of the jar?”

“Ah, the case study of the royal out of their natural, posh habitat. That’s one thing to not waste time on or you’ll end up going ‘round in circles.” They never seemed to do what they were supposed to, and yet their minor acts of rebellion were essentially extravagant tantrums. Maddox hadn’t met Eva, and it sounded like Christopher was at a loss. “I give mine mindless things or shit I don’t want to do. I’ve got the Austrian princess. I’ve probably made her blush more than I have scared her.” The gunner grinned, after attempting to put the fear in her he’d settled for shocking her with the more deviant aspects of island life. Otherwise, he could hardly complain about someone so compliant.

“There are plenty of attractive ones interested in no strings attached, but the annoying factor is difficult to overcome. It helps to order them to just keep their fucking mouths shut.” Christopher was correct about the situation. “You’re right, we’re in limbo now, it is like a cold war.” And it sucked. But he couldn’t lose hope of getting off the island even for a short time. “Mm. If you hear of anything let me know though, yeah?”

------ he laughed “i won’t waste my time on that i can promise you that much.” he could get a headache thinking about it. “i am pretty sure i’ll give mine things to do too because that way she i hope stays out of trouble and makes my job easier.” he stared at maddox for a moment “you are watching over alexandra?” well it was slightly comforting to know that he hadn’t terrorised the girl. “so i am assuming she is not terrible?” it would have been rather disappointing to know if the austrian princess had changed so much during this years that she would be part of the really annoying royals. he hesitated about asking him more about her and asking for him not to be horrible to her. he was certain all the feelings he had as a child were gone but he still loved Austria and respected the royal family, especially alexandra.

“i’ll keep that in mind, maybe they even like that.” from experience a lot of the people that had power didn’t mind losing it when they were in the bedroom, letting go and submitting was something that really got to them. “yeah. you can try talking to the captain.”

Recognition soon came to the brunette pirate, and her shoulders relaxed. She hadn’t even realized they had been tense, but, the presence of royals could do that to a person, but, his question brought a crease to appear between her eyebrows. “You have?!” She wondered, finding that the only reason why people would search for her was if there was anything they needed to be done. “Is there anything you need from me?” She added to the original question. “As for where I have been hiding… I wouldn’t call it that,” she shook her head at the statement, her dark hair bouncing around her shoulders. “I mostly spend my time at home. Or doing chores or tasks that can be done. That’s not hiding.”

----- “don’t overthink things too much sophie.” he said with a smile, and he was just teasing her very slightly “i do wonder how everyone on this ship is doing just because you’re my cremates and that is enough.” he wouldn’t say he cared about them, he did but he wasn't the type to say it.  “and it was also just a turn of phrase.” did she really thought he thought she was actively hiding? maybe. “i been on the island for a few days now and is only until now that i run into you.” he shrugged “how has the time on this island been to you? many seem to be dying to run away.”

Now that the grand tour was over it sounded like he wanted to get straight to business. “Oh? Important things? Are you going to let me live there now?” she asked even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer. What other important things could there be? He was most likely going to tell her how to behave. She hated when people told her how to act and what to do so this should be interesting. 

----- “No.” didn’t he told her before? really if this was her attempt to make him change his mind it had been weak, so he figured she was just trying to be funny. “ This is the thing, you are here and have food, a decent place to sleep, you can go mostly anywhere and if you aren’t a pain your time here doesn’t have to be dreadful. But this isn’t a vacation.” he didn’t hate royals, he didn’t want to harm them either if he could help it, but there were boundaries. “You will have to report to me everyday, actually I think I will give you things to do so you don’t get bored. you can’t go around trying to do something stupid just because i am not there doesn’t mean i won’t know, if you do need anything you tell me and i may or may not get it for you.” basic things he didn’t mind giving her, or even books or whatever. “if you suddenly show up trying to go inside a ship, or don’t do what i tell you there be consequences. also if you annoy another pirate and they decide to tie you to a palm tree for two days i won’t stop them.”

‘you can’t use clothes there’, yeah obviously, she thought to herself. She had no reason to feel pissy about him, he hadn’t really done anything. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s essentially a glorified babysitter? Anyway. “Yes, thrilling.” she said with a blank face and an eye-roll. 

----- He continued walking and pointing out everything around the island, the coves, the waterfalls, the cinema,  all those things that would help her get to know the island better, in the end it would be a matter of time and experience that would make her remember everything but at least a small introduction had been given. And finally they arrived at the villas. “so this are the villas, there are others at the east but those are for first mates and captains, so you have no reason to be there at all.” he pointed at his own villa “this is mine, now... let’s talk about the important things.”

a small chuckle escaped raine’s lips hearing what he said all at first, “i mean yes! there’s those options.. or just that there’s a lot of people swimming..?”  she said with a slight shrug before watching him walk all the way to the pool edge, sitting down and letting his legs just dangle down into the water, “i really do.. mine is a bit of a pain, and he’s giving me a migraine not gonna lie.. so a break sounded a bit too tempting..”

----- “that too, but i can deal with that with the other things i would probably leave as soon as i got here” he sighed feeling bad for her “they are? then you should teach them a lesson so they behave, nothing extreme but you know anything that will make your life easier.” there was no need for violence or locking them in the dungeon for days but a small reminder that they aren’t guests would be fine “mine is okay-ish”

“The first option, it honestly helps with the boredom,” he admitted, it was something to do, since there was not much to do in there, besides he didn’t mind cleaning or cooking, “Her name is Talisa.”

----- “exactly what i think, best to do things so not everyone is bored and ends up trying to catch monkeys out of that boredom.” or whatever they would end up doing to try and find some fun. “hm i don’t think i know her but i suck at names honestly.”

“They do complain, all the time.”  Alexandra rarely complained, but the droning of 99.9% other royals was too far forward in his mind to comment. “Which princess did you get stuck with? I just try to keep mine as busy as possible. And remind them this isn’t a holiday.” Maddox didn’t have a lot of answers for Christopher. As loud as he’d complained about the situation, the gunner had indulged in fucking a royal or two. Sitting in the doldrums of the island with no clear end in sight got the best of him. Flirting with an attractive prince or princess alleviated the boredom and filled the gap of what he’d be doing in some far flung port. No one could blame him for having a bit of fun with an attractive piece of ass now and again. 

“No judgment from me if you ever change your mind. So what is going on in the rest of the world? How do I get on one of these glorious supply runs and get the fuck out of here too?”

----- “see i can understand why, but things could be so much worse and i don’t get what they want to achieve being difficult?” annoy their captors, it would be easier for all if they just.. accepted things? however he wouldn’t trust any royal that was all too accepting either. “Eva from Denmark. she’s okay” he said shrugging “didn’t threatened me when we met or anything. i have no idea how to babysit her though.” he was used to looking after himself, with the crew he cared and would help but it wasn’t like he had to watch over them “and you? who do you have and have you scared them for life?” maddox was as far as he remembered more antagonistic against royals, though maybe things changed. “who knows maybe a good looking one that doesn’t annoy me.” he said nodding “and smart enough to know that even if we fuck is just that.” he was very closed off and he wasn’t going to open up to some random royal. “things are tense and everyone is waiting for things to start, right now is more of a cold war than other thing. as for being out there, ask the captain. i don’t think i’ll be out at sea in a while.”