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Eddie didn't know what he did to deserve this, maybe it was his punishment for falling in love with that farm boy.
That sweet, shy, loving farm boy who kissed him goodbye and promised to return for true love.
Every moment with that farm boy was like a glistening crystal, strengthened by the hope of finally seeing him again, to run away and get married, only to be shattered like a pane of glass when the letter arrived.
Evan Buckley's ship had been attacked on the high seas, raided by the Dread Pirate Roberts.
And everyone knows that the Dread Pirate Roberts takes no survivors.
Eddie wasn't sure how long he spent in mourning, trapped inside his cottage and refusing to leave despite his parents attempts.
He didn't eat or sleep for days, he wasted away in the hopes that he could be with his one true love again.
By some cruel twist of fate, his parents arranged his marriage. He was to marry Princess Shannon of Florin, while his fiance lay dead at the bottom of the sea.
The Queen and King arranged this marriage with the help of his parents, never once asking either the soon-to-be bride or the soon-to-be groom if they wanted this.
Shannon looked at him with a mask of pity, a burning discontempt hidden in her eyes.
"I refuse to let some commoner boss me around as king, Edmundo." She stated.
She was shorter than he was, but despite that she looked down at him from her stiff, regal posture.
"Believe me, your Royal Highness, I have no intentions of doing such." Eddie assured her, trying his best to mimic her upper class pose.
"Do not forget that this is a marriage of convenience. The only reason I allow myself to be married to a commoner such as you is to gain the favor of our people." Shannon bit out through gritted teeth. "We need stronger loyalty than this if we wish to have a chance against Guilder."
Eddie said nothing, he kept his gaze looking straight ahead as chatter and laughter filled the room.
He felt out of place, dancing among these nobles in the palace mere nights before his wedding. He knew how to ballroom dance, it had fascinated him as a child, but that did not mean that he fit in with the people around him.
If he kept Shannon just in the corner of his eye, he thought maybe he could convince himself that he was dancing with Evan instead.
It was a valiant effort, but it was in vain. Nothing could mask the differences between the two of them. But for a moment, he could imagine...
He could imagine holding out his hand, inviting Evan to dance. He could imagine the 'as you wish' the blonde would whisper as he took Eddie's hand and followed him into the sea of people. He could imagine Evan's bashful smile as he nearly tripped over his own feet trying to match Eddie's rhythm. He could imagine Evan reminding him that his long legs weren't meant for dancing.
A single tear slid down Eddie's cheek. He would never get to hear those words again or see that glint in Evan's beautiful, blue eyes. He would never get to feel those lips against his own or feel his arms wrapped around his body as they lay together or feel the weight of Evan's ring on his finger.
Shannon's hand on his cheek pulled Eddie out of his daze, her thumb wiping away his tear as their eyes met.
For once, he saw no anger toward him in her eyes. Simply sadness, a deep, mirrored sadness.
This marriage affected both of them. "You lost someone too?" He asked, quietly.
She nodded. "My childhood friend. We planned to marry... But our parents found out."
"I'm sorry you lost him."
Shannon bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry too."
After the party, Eddie slipped out into the stables.
The workers who tended to the animals knew him well enough and retrieved his horse for him.
"Be careful out there." A young girl whispered, handing over the reins. "It's going to get dark soon."
Eddie gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be alright, I won't be gone that long."
Taking a ride out of castle grounds always helped him clear his mind and he especially needed that tonight. Tomorrow would mark the five year anniversary of Evan's death.
Everyone always told him that it would get easier with time, but the agony seemed to weigh heavier as each year passed.
"Excuse us, young prince." A voice called out, causing him to pause his ride. "We seem to have gotten lost, could you point us in the direction of the nearest town."
Eddie looked from the trio in front of him to the forest around him. "There's no one for miles."
The shorter man spoke up next, stepping in front of the dark skinned woman to his right. "Good, there will be no one to hear you scream."
Shock tore through Eddie, giving the shorter man a chance to grab him.
He struggled against his captors, kicking and clawing at the man until the woman held his legs and forced him to still.
"Ravi!" She yelled to the third member. "Ready the boat."
The boy- Ravi- nodded and darted off toward the coast, leaving Eddie alone with his other captors as they dragged him off in the direction their youngest member went.
"You'll never get away with this!" Eddie screamed, flailing about in their holds.
The woman smirked in front of him. "Sure we will. Once we frame Guilder for your disappearance, no one will even think to suspect us."
'Damn it,' Eddie thought. 'They're right.'
Florin's relationship with Guilder had been rocky in its best of times, with something such as this happening? The kingdom would be losing its mind.
"Please!" He begged. "Is it money you're after? Once the wedding is over I can pay you double- no, triple your offer!"
They seemed undeterred by his bribes.
The shorter man tied Eddie's wrists and ankles once they were all in the ship, sitting near him and watching him as he struggled against the knots.
The ship was steered by a lever that sat in between him and the shortest of his captors, Ravi and the woman readied the ship and suddenly they were moving.
Under his breath, Eddie cursed the winds for helping aid in his kidnapping.
They sailed for miles, passing cliffs and mountains, sailing over shrieking eels in the water.
Eddie debated jumping overboard, but with his limbs tied he wouldn't get very far. He would drown.
Hopefully his death could wait until morning, then he could meet his poetic end. Dying in the same way his lover died on the anniversary of his death.
"Hen," The shorter man said warily, looking over his shoulder to the waters behind them. "Are you sure no one is following us?"
"What?" Hen asked, rushing to the back of the ship.
Eddie followed their gazes, spotting a ship in the distance.
"Maybe it's just a fishing vessel hoping to catch something before everyone else." Ravi suggested, innocently.
"Catch what?" Eddie scoffed. "A shrieking eel?"
"The prince is right, no fishing vessel ever comes close to these waters." Hen hissed.
"We're almost to the Guilder frontier, so let's just ignore it. They won't be able to catch up to us anyway." The first man said with a shrug.
So, for a few moments, his captors chose to ignore the ship.
Eddie watched it get closer and closer, its helm cutting through the late night fog like a blade.
"Chim, I think it's gaining on us." Ravi panicked.
"Ignore it!" Chim repeated, but they were all obviously a bit frantic.
Chim steered the ship into a small patch of land at the bottom of the cliffs, jumping out and running ahead of the group as Ravi and Hen took Eddie out of the ship.
Once they were all together again, gathered around a single rope that scaled up the side of the cliff, Ravi let go of Eddie.
Eddie's arms were thrown over Hen's shoulders, his tied wrists meeting somewhere behind her neck. "Try to choke me and you'll wish it was the eels that killed you."
Weakly, Eddie could only nod. The glare she gave him was scarier than any monster that lurked beneath those waves.
As his captors climbed up the rope, Eddie had to admit he was impressed by the strength they possessed. The cliff was far from short and Hen was carrying the weight of another person with her, it would've been admirable if she weren't kidnapping him and plotting his murder.
Eddie glanced down, suddenly feeling sick once he noticed the distance between him and the rocky shore that lay beneath them.
Curious, Ravi followed his gaze. Clearly less bothered by the height, the boy noticed something Eddie did not.
"Someone's there." He said. "He's climbing the rope."
And after a brief moment Ravi spoke again-
"He's gaining on us."
Both Hen and Chim let out a hiss of displeasure. "Inconceivable!"
By the time Eddie was safely- or unsafely, perhaps? Considering this was likely where he'd meet his end- on top of the cliff, the masked man was merely a dozen feet away from him and his captors.
He felt his heart drop as Chim cut the rope, he turned away to shield his eyes from witnessing the masked man's death.
A moment later, Chim echoed the statement he and Hen expressed moments before. "Inconceivable!"
Eddie opened his eyes and peered over the cliff, ignoring the tight hold Ravi had on his arm.
"He's climbing the cliff!" Ravi exclaimed, somehow speaking the exact words of wonder that had crossed Eddie's mind.
Hen groaned, "Ravi," She motioned for the boy to follow her, dragging Eddie along with him. "Chim, make sure he doesn't follow us."
The man gave a salute. "Yes ma'am."
As Eddie was dragged farther and farther away, he could hear a faint conversation between Chim and the man in black. Chim was challenging him to a duel?
What kind of boisterous buffoons had he been captured by?
"You seem a great man," Chim's voice said in the distance. "I hate to kill you."
"You seem a great man," The man in black echoed. "I hate to die."
Hen led Eddie and Ravi through a valley, it was a steep, rocky terrain that he was glad he didn't have to walk through.
It seemed to be the only upside of having been bound at the ankle.
He was handed off from Ravi's arms to Hen's as the older woman stationed the boy behind a rock.
"If he somehow manages to best Chim, take care of the man in black your way." Hen ordered, her tone firm and sharp.
"What's my way?" Ravi blinked.
Hen rolled her eyes. "Hide behind this boulder and when the man in black comes into view-" She took a deep breath. "HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A ROCK!"
Ravi pouted. "That doesn't seem very sportsman-like." But his complaint was ignored.
"Why are you doing this?" Eddie inquired as Hen carried him through the valley. "You ignored my offer for payments and I have never met you before so I don't believe I could've done any wrong to you."
At first, she didn't give him an answer. She placed him down by a large collection of rocks near a hill and looked out over the valley beneath it, it was a beautiful patch of grass before it transitioned into the gnarled roots of the Fire Swamp.
"My wife." Hen admitted, softly. "The people who paid for this... excursion.. They have my wife."
Eddie's heart twisted, painfully.
He knew the agony of losing Evan. If he could've prevented it he would've done anything, even something to this extent.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "About your wife."
"I'm sorry as well."
Neither of them said anything as Hen set up a makeshift picnic atop the rocks, laying out a tablecloth and two chalices before them. She filled the chalices with wine, then sat beside Eddie.
The sun had long since risen above the skyline, casting a warm glow across his skin.
He closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, knowing he would die today.
He would die, but he felt as though he'd been dead for five years already.
"If you've done this for your wife, why have the others done this?" Eddie asked, hoping for some clarity before his death.
Hen looked off into the distance again as Eddie opened his eyes, like mentally she was far, far away from their spot upon the hillside. "Chimney has been my closest friend since... forever, really. We've become thick as thieves over the years, we'd do anything for each other."
"And the boy?"
"Ravi?"
Eddie nodded.
Hen smiled and shook her head. "He's all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, that boy..." She paused for a moment, thinking about her answer. "We're like family, the three of us. We'd always help each other out if the other needed it. Ravi's so innocent..."
"It must be nice to have people you can trust so thoroughly."
"You don't have anyone like that, your Highness?" Hen's eyebrow quirked up, surprised.
Eddie shook his head. "I had someone like that once... His name was Evan. We didn't have much money, but we wanted to marry. He went off to sea for work, but his ship was attacked. Pirates."
Hen went silent, but offered a mute squeeze of Eddie's shoulder for comfort.
Eddie heard the man in black before he saw him, bounding up the hillside like this was some adventure to be had and not a tragedy unfolding in 97 acts.
Hen stood up, brushing invisible specks of dirt off of her pants as the man in black approached. "You've bested my swordsman and my brute, which means you are both skillful and strong. So, I'll cut you a deal for the prince."
The man in black scoffed. "There is no deal to be made. Whatever you've been paid is not worth enough to me, the prince is quite sought after among pirates. I can find offers that you couldn't even dream of."
"I'm not offering to split the reward. I'll give you the prince if you promise to do something for me."
"Anything." The pirate answered without hesitation.
"My wife is being held in Florin, she's kept in a cottage near the border. I need you to rescue her for me."
"She will be safe on my ship come the next morning, you have my word."
"How can I trust you?" Hen asked, her shoulders starting to tremble.
The man in black took Hen's hand, placing a chaste kiss to the top of it. "I would not lie to you. You may take my life if my offer is anything other than the truth."
"He's all yours. I will meet you in the forest tomorrow." Hen stepped away, casting Eddie a mournful glance before walking back the way they'd come.
The pirate straightened his posture, his long shadow lurking over Eddie and blocking the sun from his skin.
Neither of them spoke a word until Hen was out of sight.
"Whatever you want for ransom, you'll get it, I promise you." Eddie said, he wasn't sure why he was begging for his life now. "The Princess' guards will find you, wherever you may take me."
The man in black laughed, mocking and full. "You think your dearest love can save you with her knights?"
"I never said she was my dearest love. And they will find me, I know of it."
The man tilted his head, stepping closer to Eddie's bound form with curiosity. "You admit that you do not love your fiance?"
"She knows that I do not love her."
"Are not capable of love, you mean."
Eddie tried to stand, wobbling as he balanced himself against a rock before he could meet the pirate's eyes. "I have loved more deeply than a killer like yourself could ever dream."
The man's mouth dipped into a frown. "I do believe there are penalties when royalty lies. Not that it does not stop you."
"You're the Dread Pirate Roberts," Eddie blurted out, the realization dawning on him. "Admit it."
The pirate bowed before him. "With pride. What can I do for you?" The man's face curving into a smile like that smug bastard that he was.
"You can die slowly." Eddie spat, trying not to fall as he tried to puff himself up in an attempt to look bigger. This man had the gumption to mock him, how dare he. "Cut into a thousand pieces."
"Why use your venom on me, your Highness?"
"You killed my love." He admitted, blinking back the stinging tears in his eyes.
"It is possible." The man in black shrugged. "I kill a lot of people." He began to pace back and forth in front of Eddie, "Who was this love of yours? I might remember. Another princess, perhaps?"
"No, a farm boy. Poor... Poor and perfect." Eddie forced himself to meet the pirate's eyes, eyes that looked so similar to the one's he once lovingly gazed into. "His eyes were like yours, the color of the sea on a sunny day. His were warm and comforting, unlike yours. Nothing but a cruel monster, you are." He took a deep breath, his eyes dropping for a moment as he recounted what happened. "On the high seas, your ship attacked. And the Dread Pirate Roberts never takes prisoners!"
"Can't afford to make exceptions." The pirate shrugged, lacing his hands behind his head. "Once word is leaked that a pirate has gone soft, people began to disobey. Then it's nothing but work work work all the time."
"You mock my pain!"
"Life is pain, your Highness. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something."
A beat of silence stretched on between them, it could've gone on for seconds or for minutes, only filled by the wind and the heavy sounds of Eddie's breathing as he tried not to break down in front of this cruel, mocking man who ruined his life.
The pirate stopped in front of him suddenly. "I remember this farm boy of yours, I think. This would be, what, five years ago?" When Eddie didn't answer, he continued. "Does it bother you to hear? He died well, that should please you." Once again, the pirate turned away. "No bribe attempts or blubbering. He simply said 'Please, please I need to live.' "
Eddie leaned against the large rock next to him, hanging his head low as he bit back tears.
That truly sounded like something Evan would say.
His Evan.
"It was the please that caught my attention." Roberts went on, turning on his heel back to Eddie. "I asked what was so important for him. 'True love' he replied."
For a moment their eyes met, for a moment Eddie thought he saw a glint of something in those eyes.
The pirate's recounting of events went on. "Then he spoke of this love, someone of surpassing beauty and faithfulness, which I can only assume he meant you." Roberts stepped closer to Eddie, standing next to him as he face the hill beneath them. Their shoulders almost touched. "You should thank me for destroying him before he found out what you truly are."
"And what am I?" Eddie demanded, rising up to his full height again to glower at the man in black.
"Faithfulness" The man spat. "He spoke of your enduring faithfulness. Now tell me, did you get engaged to the princess at the same hour? Or did you wait a whole week out of respect for the dead?" He turned to face Eddie once more, constantly shifting like a leaf in the wind.
"You mocked me once, never do it again!" Eddie yelled, clenching his fists. He wished he weren't tied up like this. "I died that day!" That made the pirate's eyes widened just slightly. "And you can die too for all I care!" He bit out, falling against the rock as he shoved Roberts down the hill.
The man in black went tumbling down, he could hear the pained grunts that escaped his mouth.
"As-" The pirate rolled over a stone embedded in the hillside. "You-" A grunt escaped his mouth as his chest smacked into the angled dirt. "Wish!"
Eddie gasped, watching with horrified eyes. "Oh, my sweet Evan, what have I done?"
Before logical thought could enter Eddie's brain, he flung himself down the hill after Evan.
'How could I have been so foolish?' Eddie thought.
Of course it was Evan, why couldn't he see it before?
Arms wrapped around him as he reached the bottom of the hill, cushioning his final fall.
He laid atop Evan's chest, both of them breathless from the fall.
Eddie dug his fingers into Evan's shirt and pulled him into a kiss, undeterred by the wind that had been knocked out of him. He was just glad to finally be back in his Evan's arms.
"Oh how I've missed you, mi amor!" He exclaimed, joyously, in between kisses. "I never should've let you go alone."
"I missed you too, my love." Evan replied, breathless for a whole new reason. "Gods, I've missed you so much."
Evan's hands trailed up and down Eddie's body, like he was trying to commit every inch to memory. His hands found the ropes that still held Eddie's wrists together, he pulled away from the kiss to untie them. The ropes by Eddie's ankles were next to go.
He wrapped his newly freed limbs around his lover, soaking up every bit of warmth that he'd been starved of these past five years.
"I never wanted to marry anyone else." He cried into Evan's shoulder. "My parents arranged the whole thing!"
"Shh," Evan soothed him with a hand rubbing gentle circles into his back. "I know, love, I know. I can't believe after all of this time..."
"I could never love another."
"And neither could I, my dear Edmundo." Evan pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Oh, my sweet, beautiful Eddie. As handsome as the day I saw you last."
Eddie wasn't sure how long they stayed there, but it didn't matter.
All that mattered now was being in the embrace he'd longed for after these terrible five years apart.
He wished they would never leave each other's side again.