When Roman comes to, the first thing he senses is the smell of salt in the air, so strong he nearly chokes on it. The second thing is the pain in his temple, radiating outward and blossoming into a dull headache - that pain awakens him to the much less dull pain in his shoulders, and the sharp, shooting feeling down his arms is what really wakes him up.
It takes him a minute to gather his bearings - they’re on the ocean, he gathers, so on a ship, and though moving his head makes the general pain spike, he turns just enough to realize his hands are tied behind his back, anchoring him to a wooden pole. At least he’s sitting. The uneven sway of the ship makes his headache turn to dizziness far too quickly for his liking.
He sits in forced stillness for a second before he connects the dots between right now and what he remembers before black: a broken window, rapiers, a hand around his arm and something painful connecting with his head… he suppresses a groan. The last thing he needs in life right now is pirates. Either they want leverage or ransom, and frankly, he’s not sure his father will care enough for either, and that doesn’t bode well for Roman.
“Ah, you’re awake!”
And Roman’s thoughts are torn from his father and safety and pain in an instant, because he knows that voice anywhere.
“You sleep way longer than I remember,” Remus sniffs, leaning his weight on the hilt of his sword, its tip digging into the worn wood of the ship’s deck. Roman just stares wide-eyed at him. Remus - it’s actually him, Roman realizes, not just a trick from his weary mind; he has Remus’ white streak in his bangs, just like their mother, and his eyebrow quirks just the same way - doesn’t seem to mind. “I didn’t hit you that hard, and you still went out cold for a few hours. Kinda rude, if you ask me.”
“You hit me,” Roman echoes lamely - it’s all he can manage in his dumbstruck state.
“Barely. We made a whole spectacle and you missed nearly all of it.”
“But… you…” Roman looks around again, and catches sight of the other pirates - Remus is a pirate, he realizes with a small start - milling about on deck. They all spare glances at the two of them, but none of them keep their gaze longer than a second, as if they know to keep their distance, except for the boy leaning against a door across the deck who watches them with curious dark eyes. Roman meets his gaze, frowning, and he just waves smugly.
“Ah, don’t trail off, Roman,” Remus interrupts his thoughts again, and it’s so odd to hear his name in that voice for the first time in three years. “It’s not becoming of an heir.”
That finally breaks Roman’s stupor. “The ball,” he breathes, craning his neck to try and search for the palace in the sea-misted horizon, but he can’t find it. He turns back to his brother with desperate eyes. “Remus, he’ll kill you-”
“Let him try,” Remus waves his warning away, rolling his eyes as if their father’s power is worthless. “I’ve been doing this for, what, three years now? He hasn’t even lifted a finger against me yet. He doesn’t care what I do.”
There’s a lot to unpack there, but Roman tries to focus on one thing at a time, even as his head starts to hurt again (and he’s starkly reminded that he is, in fact, still tied to the mast). “You’ve been doing what for three years?”
“This!” Remus spreads his arms wide with a smile, gesturing enthusiastically to the ship and its crew. “Stealing things from the kingdom!”
“I’m not a thing,” Roman bristles.
“Eh, tomato, tom-ah-to.” Remus shrugs, and though it makes Roman’s stomach turn, he knows he’s not really wrong.
“So, what? You think they won’t come looking for me- you think they won’t come to get you? I’m supposed to be king, Remus. It’s not as inconsequential as stealing a tea set or jewels,” Roman presses forward. His main concern is hardly returning, but he just got Remus back - he’s not eager to lose him more permanently. “I’m not kidding, you know I’m not - he’ll kill you if he has to.”
Remus goes still, staring down at Roman with a raised eyebrow. “Roman,” he says lowly, his giddy disposition turned dull. “Look me in the eye and tell me why they’d go through any great effort to get you.”
“The people like me,” Roman answers immediately, but he realizes then that he’d never heard of any of the people disliking Remus before he disappeared. He sees the unimpressed look in Remus’ eyes and stumbles for a better reason. “And… they- well, they need an heir.”
“And you think they can’t find another? A substitute?”
They stare at each other, silent. Roman opens his mouth and closes it, desperate for a shred of value to cling to, something to wave in Remus’ face triumphantly, but he finds nothing. At least Remus doesn’t look happy about it.
“Captain!” a voice calls from across the deck, tearing their gazes apart as Remus turns at the title and a door slams open. Captain? “We’ve got some stowaways!”
Remus perks up, distracted and delighted at what seems to be an uncommon occurrence. “Oh?”
A boy emerges from the door - the lower deck, Roman assumes - and motions for the people behind him to follow. He has a scar across one side of his face, and Roman can’t help but feel he’s a little familiar, though he can’t recall where he’s seen him before.
The next faces to appear, though, are far more recognizable.
“Logan!” Roman cries, a relieved smiling crossing his face at the sight of his steward, and right after him, the freckled face of his clerk, wringing his wrists. “Patton!” They meet his eyes, mirroring his relief, and Patton gives a sheepish wave; they’re both still in their uniforms.
“They must have snuck on in the chaos last night,” the boy with the scar tells Remus, scowling when Logan rips his arms from the grip of the mate holding him in place. “They hid behind some crates.”
“Well, well, well,” Remus grins, tapping a rhythm on the deck with his sword as he takes a few slow steps toward the pair and studies them. Roman almost forgot he’s a pirate now, and the grimly delighted lilt in his voice makes Roman start considering his safety once more. “Look what the cat dragged in!” Remus stops in front of Logan, giving him a once-over; Logan doesn’t even flinch as Remus reaches out and toys with the royal insignia sewn to his uniform. “Now, what could a couple servants want with a pirate crew?”
“The prince,” Logan says flatly, and Roman is simultaneously proud of and worried about his no-nonsense nature. Remus never took well to being disregarded. (The boy with the dark eyes snickers, though, and Roman sees him watching the exchange with a small smirk.) “It’s our job to look after him.”
Remus snickers. “How faithful.” He glances at Roman over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. “These yours?”
“They’re my friends, Remus.” Patton startles at the name, looking between Remus and Roman as if to check for similarities, his eyes wide as he makes the connection. Logan just frowns.
“Well, I guess we can make an exception to our ‘no guests allowed’ rule,” Remus sighs dramatically, giving Logan a wink and Patton a smile that shows his canines as he motions for the boy with the scar to let up. The boy doesn’t look particularly pleased, but he waves a hand; the mates standing behind the two step back, and Patton instinctively moves closer to Logan’s side. “Just for my dear brother, of course.”
Remus makes his way back to stand in front of Roman, nose in the air as he considers the prince. “Unfortunately, we do have a difficult choice to make now.”
“…And that is?”
“Well, you see,” Remus sighs, “we can’t exactly just return to the palace now - you’re not wrong that my crew and I are probably wanted, and we no doubt will be until dearest mums and dadsy sweep this under the rug - but I do so care for your wellbeing,” he gives Roman a mockingly sweet smile, though not a malicious one, “so you have two options.
“One, we can toss you back on the palace’s doorsteps like the unwanted child you are, and you can live the rest of your miserably royal life as an heir who gets to whine about being kidnapped by a harrowing group of pirates.” Remus glances back at Logan and Patton and adds dryly, “They’d go with you, of course, so long as they can keep their mouths shut.”
Roman considers it for a second, his thoughts flashing forward to years and years of dealing with the crown, the pressure, his father. His stomach drops. “And two?” he asks, his voice suddenly thin.
Remus grins. “Two, you join us.”
Roman sees Patton’s eyes go wide, sees Logan raise an eyebrow; he sees the boy with the scar do a double take, as if he can’t believe he just heard Remus’ offer correctly; he sees the boy with the dark eyes tilt his head, and those are the eyes Roman’s meet. They stare at each other for a second, sharp and unblinking.
“If I say two,” Roman starts slowly, looking back to Remus and ignoring the way Logan pinches the bridge of his nose, “will you untie me?”
Remus grins again, and for a split second, Roman sees something genuinely happy in it. “Of course. Wouldn’t wanna hinder one of my own, right?”
And after just a second of considering the options - there isn’t much to consider, and he realizes Remus probably knew that the minute he crashed the ball - he nods, resolute, and smiles back.
“Right.”
