Leo rejoined us, bringing his colt to walk in rhythm with us.

“So. How did the talk go?” Amber asked.

“I think Serah’s still mad. Tanner’s grumpy. And that other girl is also terrifying.” Leo replied.

“Samantha.” I said stiffly.

Amber blinked at me, “Who is she?”

“A princess. From a long time ago.”

“The missing one from Arcadia.” Rachel replied. When I blinked at her, she smiled shyly, “I was talking to Tanner. He was surprised I didn’t know who she was.”

“You didn’t know her?” I asked, “She’s like, world famous for her beauty.”

“They were.” Robin corrected, “There were two princesses. Samantha is the older one. Serafina is the younger one.”

“So our captain is a princess.” Amber noted.

“You don’t seem surprised.” I muttered.

“How long have you known? Did you just find out, Perryn?” Amber faced me.

Instantly, I flushed, “Uh…well…not really. She told me a while ago and-“

“She told you? Of all the people, you?”

I scowled at her, “What’s your problem with them, Amber? They’re helping us. They could’ve killed us or sent us off with Cedrick, but they didn’t.”

But Amber waved me off, “Now you sound like Serah.”

“Well, it’s true!”

“Because they’re pirates, Perryn.” Amber snarled under her breath, “They are not trustworthy. I’d think you of all people would understand that. They’re not as nice as they seem.”

I sighed, “I think you’re just the only one here who just can’t see them for who they really are.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Or maybe I’m the only one who sees what they are.” Amber hissed.

I sighed, “We don’t have time for this, Amber.”

“Whatever, Perryn. I just want to go home.” Amber sighed.

I nearly fell off my horse. I had forgotten that we had to go home.

“But…I don’t want to go home.” Kate protested, saying what we had all been thinking.

“Yeah, me neither.” Rachel chimed in, “I mean, we’re not princesses here, but our lives at home suck compared to what we can have here.”

“It’s not that bad at home.” Amber snapped, “Besides, they’re criminals. Is that really the life that you want?”

“It’s better than what awaits us on the mainland.” Kate sniffed, “You don’t know what it’s like to grow up with parents who hate your guts and just want to marry you off to get rid of you, Amber. It sucks.”

“Your parents aren’t like that!” Amber protested.

“Yes, they are. They don’t care about how I feel about things.” Kate replied coldly.

“I thought you were fine at home!” Amber said.

“How would you know?” Kate demanded, “Sure, we’ve known each other since childhood, but not once have you asked me how my royal life is going. Do you know that every time that I think about my parents, I am just a little more grumpy in the day. Did you know that every time that has happened so far in the past month or two, Serah has walked up to me to ask me if I’m alright? And we’re not even really that good of friends! She just knows when something’s wrong.”

“That gives us no reason to stay.”

“No, that gives you no reason to stay.” Kate snapped, “They actually understand us here. On the mainland, no one cares what we want to do, we’re just slaves to our parents’ wishes.”

Amber shook her head, “And if you stayed?”

“Then just make something up, tell everyone that we vanished after the shipwreck.” Rachel said.

There was a moment of silence as Amber thought about this, “And what if I start missing you guys?”

“It’ll just be me and Rachel, you won’t miss us at all.” Kate replied.

“What about me and William?” I demanded, “What if we want to stay?”

Amber straightened, “Absolutely not. Perryn, you can stay because you told your brother that you would, but I draw the line at William.”

“Why?” William protested.

“Because who knows how Elizabeth will poison your mind!” Amber hissed, lowering her voice, “She’s nothing but a flirt, a cheat and a pirate. She’s nothing like what you can get back home--“

“—Don’t talk about her like that.” William interrupted, a dark shadow falling across his face “Don’t judge people when you haven’t bothered to try to get to know them. There’s a lot more to Elizabeth than what she shows.”

“Like what?” Amber demanded, “She lost her brother and sister? Yeah, Colten told you guys that your first day. There’s nothing special about that.”

“Elizabeth ran away from her abusive mother with her baby brother and toddler sister. She was kidnapped, separating her from her siblings. She was then sold as a slave, after which she ran away and then was caught again and thrown into the orphanage. She doesn’t even know if they’re still alive, and can you imagine the guilt she feels?” William snapped.

Amber pointedly looked away from all of us, “Whatever. I’m not sticking around though, and I will not be responsible for you if these pirates get you thrown into jail. Deal?”

“Deal.” I replied, “As long as you promise to keep our secret.”