boots clicked, threateningly, over the wooden deck of the ship. 

georgia paid them no mind. she leafed through her book of poetry, ankles crossed. her other hand, though, drifted to the knife sheathed at her thigh. 

when she deemed the footsteps close enough, she loosed the weapon, but still didn’t move. 

still the man’s footsteps approached, and finally georgia chose to act. 

her leather boots clicked once, twice, before she launched herself at him, pinning the man to the wall with a knife through the back of his shirt. 

her face inches from his, she took a moment to observe him. shaggy black hair and sculpted features, with chocolate brown eyes staring back at her, filled with shock. 

she brushed a golden curl back from her face, then unsheathed another knife and held it to the unfairly handsome man’s throat. 

“well, now” georgia purred. “what have we here, hm?” 

the man just breathed, staring back at georgia. subconsciously, her shoulders slumped a bit to cover her chest a touch more. her chin was still held high, the light catching her round face and illuminating the small spray of freckles. 

she leaned in closer, lips practically to the dark-haired man’s ear. “well, then? are you here to take me away?”

he swallowed hard, blood beading around the edge of georgia’s blade. “i’ve been ordered to catch the fearsome pirates aboard this ship-“

she cut him off with a harsh laugh, though the deep velvet of his voice rang through her mind. “betcha weren’t expecting a woman, then, yeah?”

still, her knife moved away from his throat. just a bit. 

he swallowed again, back still to the wall. the blood from the scratch against his throat dripped onto his white shirt, muscles rippling under it. 

she scoffed. “not answering me, huh? pathetic.” the signet ring still on her middle finger glinted, catching the attention of the man. 

his breath caught. “lady…lady georgia? the missing coventry daughter?” 

georgia rolled her eyes. “tell the whole world, why don’t you?” she removed her knife fully from the man’s throat, though, and sheathed it, though he was still pinned. 

confusion filled those deep-brown eyes as he brought a hand to his neck to wipe the blood from the wound. “your parents have said that you’re dead-“

“oh, of course they have!” she threw her hands into the air. “what other lies have they told to avoid the embarrassment of an independant daughter?”

the man bit his lip. “i don’t know completely…it’s not like i run in those circles. speaking of, though, is lady gray alright-“

georgia responded by stalking away to pick up her fallen book of poetry. she turned, though, and sighed. 

“since you already know my name…i suppose i should know yours.” a hint of a smile crossed her face as she pulled her hair into a braid. 

his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled. “adam. adam ellis.”