A Pirate's Tale [COMPLETED]

The Loria coastline glowed in the light of the setting sun. The sky was awash of pastel hues that shimmered on the water. In the heart of the city on a rise sat the palace, white marble that reflected a prism of sunset colors. The city was an emblem of prosperity and authority. An emblem that Isla had been staring at for the last two days.

Isla left like a caged animal as she watched the sun sinking deeper into the horizon. She balled her fists and took in a deep breath, but her chest was tight and she couldn't get in enough air. She heard a knock on her door but said nothing. After a second, the door opened.

"Captain Zev," Hawk said.

Isla didn't take her gaze off the palace, the center of their hope and freedom.

"It's too risky."

The door shut. "The men know the price and accept it."

"We could find another way."

"We have thought of that, the chance that this is our only opportunity is too great."

Isla dug her fingers into her palm, she knew this. They had spent countless days analyzing every option and this was the best one. And even it was filled with so many unknowns that Isla could almost hear the clanging of a prison cell door.

"If we do not act now then we might never be free," Hawk said.

There was no argument to this. It was why he had said it, Isla knew. She spun around to face him. He wore a servant's uniform of a high collared shirt, trim trousers, and shiny boots. It was one of the reasons they hadn't acted right away, the uniforms had needed to be bought.

In that time, Isla was forced to sit with their decision. When every form of distraction had been talked over and eventually thrown out they had been left with the one Isla never wanted to use, but was the only one that they had.

It was the reason she had been trapped in her cabin.

It was the reason that two servant girls had been hired to pin up her hair and paint her face.

It was the reason that she was in a maroon dress with a tight bodice that left her shoulders bare.

It was the reason she would walk into the palace on Raif's arm.

She was the distraction.

Isla closed her eyes flexing her fingers and curled them again. "I can't do this."

Beneath the silken skirt of the gown, her legs were bare. It felt as if she were completely naked. Exposed. Vulnerable.

"I believe these might help," Hawk said.

When she opened her eyes, Isla saw that he was holding out two sheathed daggers. The sight of them calmed a bit of her fraying nerves. Pulling out one of the chairs from the table, she set her foot on the seat and raised the edge of her dress, displaying the soft dancing slippers on her feet. They were delicate, would barely survive a light mist let alone a storm and Isla hated them. She took one of the daggers and strapped it to her leg. As she was switching to her other leg, a knock came.

"Come in," she said, threading the leather strap through the buckle.

The door opened and Raif stepped inside but froze. Isla glanced over at him as his gaze traveled from the artfully curled tendrils of hair framing her face to her shoulders down her body to her exposed leg.

"What?" she snapped at him.

Raif grinned at her. "Always pleasant to know your temperament hasn't changed even if your clothes have."