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Antony sat at his desk, in mid conversation with a little boy, the boy's eyes a bright blue, and his hair a golden blond. "Interesting ideas Damian, offering the crew sweets as an incentive
Might actually work." Antony spoke in an almost fatherly tone as he rubbed the small boy's head, handing him a cookie from the small ceramic brown jar on his desk. Afterwards the boy joyfully skipped off while shouting back a resounding "bye bye pop pop!!"


With a smile Antonie's eyes fallowed the boy out the door till it closed, his eyes now falling on Alex and the prince.
"Your majesty." He stated plainly as he gave a slight bow.

Merthyr was not about to risk Alex fury, dropping heavily to his knees and ducking the head forward into a deep bow of respect.

"Captain Antony.. my apologies for our harsher encounter earlier, I was a little indisposed. I wanted to thank you for your courtesies aboard your ship, if I can serve you better you have but to mention" assured Merthyr sitting back on his toes to remain at a lower height, waiting for Alex to see if she as satisfied and only afterwards raising to stand to attention.

"I hear you had new spice trading treaties to discuss awaiting royal seal of approval, perhaps we can see to it, right away, it will be most beneficial to the kingdom to secure such trade routes and hauls. My apologies such dealings were delayed over the king's passing but I am recovered well enough to tend to such important matters" trailed off Merthyr awaiting Antony to appoint him to a seat if he pleased

Antony could only scoff
"Truly you don't expect me to be as rude as the others, teach is simply a grouchy man whose stuck in his ways. And ms. Alex here has a code all her own. Drop the formalities merthyr, subservience doesn't look good on you. Your permitted to speak your mind with no threat of punishment."

Antony spoke plainly, as he blatantly disregarded the others.

Alex didn't let her smile show as she saw his discomfort of bowing and scraping to others. Though she did feel like her sails had been shortened when Antony made his remark. But it wasent anything she would worry her. She stood off towards the port side of the door so she would be the first thing someone would see in the room.
Her eyes glazed over as she locked her knees preparing to stand there while the prattled on about something. She had the slight desire to go pester Calico but she figured there would be time for that later.

"I must say I was... surprised... to discover the royal trading advisor cavorting with pirates but I shall leave such matter aside for the time being and focus on the task at hand.

Bring forth the petitions written on parchment and I will see to it that you can expand your trade, all I ask in return is to be returned to port along with lord Jacksworth Pont-de-Ter, my guardian and tutor, that we may proceed with the formal coronation now that I know for certain my father ... is no more..." asked Merthyr taking a seat with parchment and quill to write down the permissions to trade and list the ports as well.

"What... spices are you intending to trade this time, lord Antony?" asked Merthyr entirely focused on his official duties

He didn't like this, theyed gone too far. The boy had no spirit left in him, what was a king without his fire. The thing that commanded authority.

"I've no current desire to speak of trade merthyr. Your father may have passed, but that is never a reason to grow too quickly and become twisted and odd in your rush to do so. Put down the quill, right now...all I can require, is that you talk not as a young ruler. But as a man."

"Look, Tony, I have a mistress who doesn't take kindly to defiance. I gave my word to stand by a position of subservience and I will honour my oath but... do not underestimate me, captain, the point of my sword is as sharp now as it was before I boarded this vessel" assured and warned Merthyr "Nonetheless, my mistress lives by a code of her own and since she demands obedience, obey I shall... until the next port." granted Merthyr

"Establish your trades whilst the opportunity is at hand, lord Antony, next time you may not be able to. Perhaps you and most of your wretched crew shall be awaiting judgment in chains, with my steel at your niece's neck, at our next official encounter" assured in a cold and calm voice, the threat as chilling as the sea breeze

"As for lord Jacksworth Pont-de-Ter... I expect the greatest of cares towards my mentor, for I shall defend him with two swords or none at hand. I was trained by the best for the worst after all" reminded Merthyr

"I recommend that during this journey you think carefully about the long list of items you seek to trade with and list the ports you seek to trade at, I assure you that his majesty will not be so inclined to generosity at the next royal audience" advised Merthyr

"As for king Conrad... he had a funeral at sea under lord Jacksworth's watch, I could not ask for more. Regretable as his unexpected passing has been, it is my birthright and duty to continue where my father stalled..." explained Merthyr calmly

"I need not remind you, however, that piracy and illegal trading of goods is high treason and the penalties are hefty for such a crimes you are now clearly guilty of. Your vessel will be seized at next port... of that... I will make sure of it and it shall be given to lord Jacksworth Pont-de-Ter like my governor, Sir Henry Morgan, recommends I do with all seized ships, goods and vessels." promised Merthyr in a no nonsense tone

"Out of our known acquaintance, some of your crew may continue to trade in your name, on your behalf, in a smaller vessel I shall provide them with, if... you have the parchments and permits in good order... that is as far as royal favour extends." informed Merthyr

"Concerning this, niece of yours... did she join your outlawed pirates of her own accord? or was she taken by force? I expect a truthful answer which will determine whether she joins the royal dungeons or is returned to her mother right away." noted Merthyr

"I have a duty to ensure a suited husband is found for her, as requested by her mother in her latest letter to the king. I have considered our governor, Sir Henry Morgan, a worthy candidate to her hand, despite the age difference, or else, Sir Jacksworth Pont-de-Ter is in need of a wife too to ensure his extremely vast and wealthy estate which expands each month, has an heir to inherit it all. It was written in my father's will that the king would appoint him a worthy woman if he failed to find one of his own and I shall see to it myself too." mused Merthyr

"That is, of course, provided your niece is free from guilt, for there shan't be royal pardons for you or those closest to you aboard this vessel, on this occasion. I will refrain from sending you to the gallows but be in no illusion that you could possibly be pardoned, a sentence of slavery aboard this very ship awaits you upon our return.

I am sure you know every corner well enough to figure out what chores must be done so as to not disturb lord Jackworth Pont-de-Ter, its owner and captain, unduly" trailed off Merthyr calmly but firm in his stance placing his full trust and backing behind Calico.

Alex's unfocused gaze snapped sharp as she heard Antony's tone but more so at the Princes response. A part of her was quite proud that he kept his obedience to her yet also showed defiance against Antony. She had to concentrate to not let a smile creep onto her face.
She did keep an ear to the threat hidden in the princes voice, and noted the hitch when he spoke about his father. It was to be expected so she paid it no heed. She did take interesting in the trades they were talking about for this was her livelihood. Either selling or taking her own or taking others and selling it. And some ports were easier bribed while others had large payoffs for the black market goods brought along with spices.
Then when hey started to speak about the girl...well she still remembered the 1,000 yard stair were she looked out past Antony through his window at the rolling sea. Yet hear ears were wide open. She wondered if they would actually speak to the girl and if they did how well this obedient act would hold on the prince. A far more sinister grin twitched at her lips that time.

"Now then it is in your personal benefit to allows us to conclude these trading treaties, else I shall retire to return to my less than glamorous chores..." trailed off Merthyr not minding either way

"If these parchments remain blank, those from your crew who are spared will not find work easily nor an opportunity to trade again in my ever expanding empire that lord Calico is working hard to extend further with his vessels and mine." reminded Merthyr

"Very well then merthyr. But let me give you a bit of advice, each and every person on this ship is a member of my family, my brothers, my sisters, and my children. So I advise you never to threaten them again. Or I will give you punishments your mistress could only dream about."
Antony spoke, dropping his cordial friendly tone for a much more serious and monotone one. He then threw some papers on the desk for the boy to sign before exiting the room, slamming the door behind him.

---

They had snuck off early by rowboat, her and the chimera boy now exploring her home port town with much vigor. She hadn't felt this free in years. Eventually they approached a small friendly pub with outdoor seating by the sea, so as they ate, they could feel the salty sea mist lightly spraying their faces as the chimera boy before her eagerly stuffed his face with more food than she thought was humanly possible. Then again, he wasn't human.

Merthyr sat down on the table reading carefully through each parchment of paper crossing allowances away, prohibiting the trade of the more lucrative spices, restricting and altogether excluding certain key ports and reducing the overall number of permitted trade to align the royal permit to a small standard vessel could probably carry and the trade it could probably conduct. His mind firmly set in seizing this ship no sooner they docked.

Once he had written neatly the amended allowances, he stamped the permit with the royal seal and stood up heading out to follow Alex to his next task, whatever it happened to be.

---

Calico Jack had finished the kitchens and was standing at captain Antony's quarters when the man arrived, clearly in not a good mood at all.

"You seem furious... if it is about your niece, she just went for a quick roam around town, she´ll be back and safely at that" appeased Calico

Alex watched as the prince crossed of major ports, spices, and added more restrictions all and all going to make it bloody hard to continue to operate there in any manner. Once he finished that and stood up her turned around to find her directly behind him her brows drawn down glowering at him.
"Ya do realize we dont need to keep ya alive. Antony is only doin' that for he hopes yer goin' to make things better for him." She grinned "But I dont have any of those foolish notions. I am a privateer, plunderin', sellin', tradin' all under stuck up noses like yers is what I do. No little piece of parchment is goin' to stop me." she inclined her head to what he had left on the desk. She then directed her steally gaze back at the prince "Killin' is also somethin' I dont have issue with. Now sit back down and rewrite that agreement with all those ports, goods, and trades back in it." She never moved, nor did she raise her voice at him but it left no room for argument.

As they walked through the stalls amongst the town she had lost many o Gem paying for massive meals and repairs for damages to certain stands and carts. Especially a certain very popular dart game her new friend had split clean in half mere moments ago.

As she handed the man her last bit of gem for the night she could only sigh and rub her temples to keep herself from exploding in a fit of rage. This much stress could not be good for her health.
"Best watch your boyfriend there lady Seline, gods know the trouble he could get ya into now that yer out of Gem ."
To this she only sputters and coughs.

"Y-you must be mistaken sir, he's not my boyfriend." She spoke softly as she clasped her hands together to keep from visibly shaking. "That's right I'm not her boyfriend-" the chimera boy whose name she kept forgetting to asked stated. Good boy, maybe he wasn't a total idiot after all. Sadly though she was mistaken as his stupidity knew no boundaries. "I'm her mate."

He finished with a huge grin as he pulled her close to his side. For many years afterwards, it could be said the the slap fallowing the statement was so loud it was heard across the world.

"You Baka!" She shouted in indignation as the boy now rubbed his now crimson coloured cheek softly. This caused many people to turn their head to the foreign word, only for them to shrug it off as she was a highborn and thereby bound to know frazes or words from other languages.

"And if I were to refuse?" quizzed Merthyr

"You can command me as a man, captain Alex, you will not command my kingdom nor my decisions as its king... Now then... what chores did you have in mind next, mistress?" asked Merthyr calmly

"I can prepare you a bath, food, make your bed, do you laundry... whatever you can expect from a slave... as king... however... it's off limits" remarked Merthyr

"It's not her calico, I feel safe as long as she's with the boy. They make good companions. No, it's the new young king, he worries me. I have done nothing but show him kindness his entire life as I knew him in preparation for the day he learned of the path that I chose, and I'm worried as to how he came to know of my neice's presence on this ship in the first place. At this rate I'll have to move my entire enterprise into the hands of the white empire, and gods know I'm not on the best terms with the empress."

"Merthyr is no fool, he was trained by a pirate in survival, he probably overheard our conversations earlier regarding your niece and your intention to leave her your ship, thus willing to take both away.

He is hurting and angered, unlike his father, his resolve and morals are quite solid so far, thus he cannot be easily bribed. He is stubborn too, not easily convinced to change his decision on matters, but not as ruthless as Blackbeard or Morgan, for now.

In his current fury and raging grief, though, he will wage wars. I have no doubt he will expand and dominate all the lands.

Tony, the empress fears her days are numbered. Conrad was visiting her when the man fell ill and sent word for me to collect him. Merthyr will undoubtedly blame her if he hears of this and raise that kingdom to the ground with the rest to follow

Empress Tamina tried to send a healer with me to revive king Conrad but the man was too far gone to do anything about him... the gems and remedies didn't work..." sighed Calico

"Luckily, you still have your neck over your shoulders which is more than I feared. As for your niece, it is her mother who wrote to king Conrad to demand her daughter is found a good worthy noble husband. Merthyr will fulfill what the father failed to do, it is his duty after all to listen to his nobles requests..." muttered Calico in a light uncomfortable cough not about to discuss his own predicament.

"Besides Merthyr has not had time to properly mourn, contains the wrath by bottling it up and that can only lead to worse matters... I think we will avoid the port for a time, stay on the waters till things calm down and he returns to his senses" muttered Calico

"After, I will talk to Merthyr about your niece, you need not worry about her... leave it with me..." muttered Calico

"Well if I was feelin' fickle I could kill ya, forge yer hand and say you were overcome with greif from the loss of yer pa or something like that, and killed yourself." She shrugs "Or I could ask ya to think past yer anger and really think how will this benifit yer Kingdom. How much trade do we scrowey pirates bring to yer purses? And if you enact these kinds of restrictions then well we may be forced to trade elsewhere as well as now yer own vessels are now game. And not only yer vessels but the crews on those vessels, all will become fair game. Then of course there is the fact that because we have been trading here so long we know all the points to exploit, we could sell those points to the highest bidder, usually a rival of yer kingdom. But" She put one hand up and waved it "I am, as you think, just a lowly commoner so what of lording should I know." she stood there waiting for his response, while thinking of some particullary nasty chores for him to do next.

Merthyr jumped to his feet, letting the chair drop out of the way as he turned punching Alex across the face and twisting her wrist behind the back still he had her kneeling, leaning close her ear.

"Never... threaten... my crew... pirate. Lord Jacksworth could be sailing on any of those vessels and I won't have him harmed" muttered Merthyr anger sipping through his voice before releasing the grip and tearing the parchments into pieces and out to sea.

"I will reconsider writing trading treaties... later..." muttered Merthyr in no mood to write any more now that she had dared speak such treacherous against his ships and crew.

Alex was caught flatfooted as he lept out of his chair and hit her. As he growled into her ear she grinned. So he did have a bit of his spine left. And as soon as he let her go she started to laugh.
"Ha so the tamed tabby is still a lion after all." She clicked her teeth as she almost said something undesireable to him about Lord Jacksworth. Instead she smirked at him.
"Aye and how do ya think he would fair as my slave like yourself? I haent treated ya to badly. Much better then Blackbeard would thats for sure. I maybe a harsh mistress to please but not unnecessarily brutal." She saw him shake with rage at her comment but she didnt let it sit long.
"Now that yer done with paperwork it time fer ya to do some real work." She looked him over in the nice clothing. "First back to yer rags from before, no need to ruin another mans clothes." She turned around leading him out of Antonys office back to Calicos quarters were his old clothing were still there. "Be quick about it." She said as she pointed at his clothing, leaning against the door waiting and watching.

"Just... give me some moments. Lord Antony is not an overall bad man. He served me and my father rather well, despite his dubious side dealings..." sighed Merthyr taking parchment from Calico's desk to write an open trading treaty which would neither limit the ports nor goods, far more generous than any other merchant had ever been given before, a carte blanche in fact.

Then turned to look at Alex "Do turn around... you're not my manservant after all" remarked Merthyr picking up his old rags.