be brave

His Muse

Summer at the Lake

Marianne hated everything to do with the British aristocracy, with the antiquated social customs of the landed gentry; she hated that for her twenty-first birthday her father had arranged for a selection of eligible gentlemen to bargain for her hand in marriage. So when Marianne discovered that the charming suitor Sandokan was actually an imposter, he immediately piqued her interest. It turned out he was a sailer who was planning to navigate the globe and crashed her party just for the fun of it.

Marianne found herself immediately comfortable with Sandokan. He wasn’t a part of this upper class world she’d been caged into, and he saw her for who she was, not what she could provide.

“Sometimes I wish I was strong enough to run away and leave all of this behind,” she’d confessed to him.

“Then come with me on my ship, we’ll travel the world together.”

Honestly, I don’t think Francis’ drinking had anything to do with Sandokan’s unsuitable race or class (even though she was prejudice to it); I think it simply came down to Francis being jealous that men were so interested in Marianne. It’s clear that Francis never had any attachments and she was used to watching other women take her brother from her. At her core she’s so jealous and insecure and she’s being forced to watch Marianne get the attention she never received. She’s just full of hate.

Sandokan and Marianne’s first Christmas together. 🎄🎁🍪

Mermaid AU

Business Partners

Part 2 of At Your Side

Series Summary: This is a series of potentially missing Sandorianne moments within the canon events of Sandokan season one. This was quite a challenging exercise for me because I felt the show did an excellent job balancing character story lines. But they left me some room for my imagination to run wild! So here it is!

Work Summary: These missing scenes are interwoven throughout the timeline of events in episode three (Hostage). The missing moments include: Sandokan taking care of his hostage, Sandokan treating Marianne’s cut, Marianne being stubborn, and Sandokan teaching Marianne how to use a knife after Yussuf’s attack.

Excerpt:

He hadn’t intended to kidnap Marianne. In fact, he assumed he’d never see her again after she’d slapped him. In the end, it was probably a good thing she thought he was some type of beast—it would make this whole charade easier.

He’d spent the entire night at the helm doing his absolute best not to look at Marianne tied to the mast and shivering against the wind. Despite her obvious fear, there was still an immovable strength to her posture that spoke of her defiant nature. Her fierce determination was one of the things that initially attracted him. Fuck. Sandokan shook his head at the thought. He was not supposed to be thinking about how beautiful Marianne was; how his breath physically caught in his chest at the sight of her. She was a hostage. She was a means to an end. But despite being their captive, despite her likely—and hopefully—hating him right now, he didn’t want to see her mistreated. His Ibu would have killed him if he let a woman suffer at his hands!

Sandokan released a sigh before passing the helm to Sarkar. He made a quick trip to the mess and secured a cup of water before returning to the main deck. He noticed Marianne’s eyes narrow as he approached, but he could tell by the gentle bumps on her flesh and the rings under her eyes that she was cold and tired.

“You should drink.” He raised the cup, unoffended by Marianne’s hesitancy. “Please? I promise I won’t let any harm come to you. There’s no need to make this situation more difficult than it—”

“You should have thought of that before you stole me from my home!”

Sandokan brought a hand over his heart and apologised. “I’m sorry.”

Marianne’s face softened for a moment as the surprise eased the tension in her body.

“Please, have some water.”

When Marianne gave him a nod, Sandokan raised the cup towards her lips, very gently he tilted the cup forward, allowing the water to ease into Marianne’s mouth. He stared at her lips, at the gentle bow and the enticing pink hue. He was mesmerized.

Before he could react, Marianne moved. In one swift, defiant motion, she spat the mouthful of water straight into his face.

Sandokan flinched—only for a heartbeat. Then his expression hardened, his gaze snapping back to hers with a warning sharp enough to cut.

He did not wipe it away.

He let the water trail slowly down his cheek, refusing her even that small victory. Instead, his eyes traveled over her with deliberate, unsettling intensity—a look that would have earned him a sharp reprimand from his Ibu, had she been there to see it. And Marianne, stubborn as ever, did not look away.

“I don’t want your hospitality,” she said firmly. “I want you to take me home.”

“Really?” Sandokan took a step toward her, looming down until his beard pressed against the side of her face and his breath ghosted against her ear. “Because I thought you wanted to run away?” He pulled back when Marianne began to shiver.

“You’re a monster.”

“No. I’m a pirate.”

Read more on Archive of Our Own.

Part 2 of Part 1

Falling in love with Sandokan had been the easiest thing Marianne had ever done. He was the adventure of her lifetime—not because he swept her away on grand explorations, but because he showed her she could choose her own path.

When her father discovered the affair, the fallout had been swift and merciless. Sandokan was stripped of his position and forced to leave the ranch. What her father had not accounted for was Marianne’s resolve.

She had not hesitated.

If Sandokan was leaving, she was going too.

The early days were not romantic in the way novels promised. There were blistered hands from labor, coins counted carefully at the kitchen table. There were arguments born from exhaustion and fear. There were moments Marianne lay awake wondering whether love alone could sustain the reckless choice she had made.

But there were also mornings filled with golden light spilling over open fields. Fresh bread on a worn wooden table. The quiet pride of planting something and watching it grow. Sandokan’s laughter echoing across the pasture as he lifted their child into the air. His steady presence beside her—not as a fantasy—but as partner.

They built their life the way they built everything else: together.

And in the end, Marianne understood something she never had before: adventure was not always found in distant seas or daring escapes.

Them baring themselves to one another in such intimacy is crucial to a moment such as this. I can picture certain sensual close up shots in my head of hands, facial expressions and lips touching naked skin.🔥

I can picture the scene would slowly fade into the next morning of them in bed. Marianne's head resting on Sandokan's chest with her hand feeling his heartbeat with pink cheeks and a soft smile. Basking in the afterglow.

It will be beautiful and everything we hope for 💗