“Are you also cursed to remain within the confines of this tiny building?” Driz says, turning to the pirate.
“Different curse,” the pirate answers. “And no, I haven’t broken it. Perhaps if His Royal Highness would be willing to kiss me…” He trails off, suggestively.
Even in the dim light of my little room, I can see Driz is blushing furiously. “It is true that the kiss of a prince can break a curse,” he begins. “Or, that is, it could. It should. It might. It hasn’t yet. Which is to say, I haven’t yet.” He coughs. It’s reassuring to see that the pirate’s flirting isn’t just personally discombobulating. “Is it a rather small curse?” he says, hopefully.
“He’s afraid of water,” Sasha says, rather gleefully.
“Allwater?” Driz says, incredulously.
“More likelotsof water,” I add, with a little too much pleasure. “Quantitiesof water.”
“Large lakes,” Sasha says. “Inland seas.”
“And you a…a…privateer,” Driz says.
“You see the problem,” the pirate says.
“Ah,” Driz says. “Well, if it would help. It shouldn’t get around that I’m kissing scofflaws and breakwaters, you understand. My people: We take maritime law very seriously. I might even find myself in some sort of legal trouble, were it to become known that I kissed apirate. Not to mention, kraken forbear, Ibe successful; every rebate with a minor curse will come looking for reprieve, you know. I can’t go around kissingeveryone. I have duties to attend to.”
I’m suddenly very, very keen to see if the pirate will go through with it and kiss Driz. “It won’t go beyond the confines of this room,” I say. “Right, Sasha?”
“Oh my great green dragon goddess,” she whispers. “I swear on my actual life I won’t say a word.”
Driz gets to his feet. “On the mouth, do you think? I can’t see that kissing someone on the hand or the cheek would be all that symbiotic, if you see what I mean.”
The pirate chuckles. “Indeed I do. Mouth it is. But you can’t bend me over your arm,” he adds, very seriously. “For one thing, I’m taller than you.”
Driz cocks his head thoughtfully. “I’ve never kissed anyone taller than I am,” he says.
“You could bendhimoveryourarm,” Sasha tells the pirate.
“How many peoplehaveyou kissed, Driz?” I say, suddenly worried. I figured it was reasonably normal for royal personagesnot to go around kissing other people, but ifDrizhas more experience than I have…
“Enough to know how to do it, whatever their height!” he says, his native confidence reasserting itself. Driz takes the pirate by the shoulders and plants a long kiss on him. It doesn’t look very passionate, but they both seem fully committed to it. After a moment, Driz pulls away and gazes into the other man’s eyes very seriously. “Do you think it worked?”
“I could throw a bowl of water at you,” Sasha interjects. “Just to see what happens.”
The pirate pauses, and I get the sense that he is, truly, evaluating something only he can see or feel. He breathes in deeply, then releases Driz and turns to Sasha and me.
“What do you smell?” he says, rather unexpectedly.
“Um, books?” Sasha offers.
Not sure what he’s getting at, I sniff delicately. Books, dust. The strange, out-of-place scent of the sea. The herbs drying over my mantel. “WhatshouldI be smelling?” I ask.
The pirate sighs. “I’m afraid there’s no need to throw water at me; the curse isn’t broken. But thanks awfully for trying, Your Highness.”
“Oh, tsk. I feel as though we’re quite good friends now,” Driz says, smiling broadly. “Drizen is fine. But”—he stands a little straighter—“much as you might feel compelled to spread about the glissom news that you have been blessed with the kiss of a prince of the realm, I’d really prefer you didn’t. My people really do tend to rather frown upon, erm, the larcenous sorts of the high seas. You understand. Can’t have this getting back to Parciful.”
“Of course not,” the pirate says, smiling almost fondly at Driz. “We do tend to steer clear of Parciful in the ordinarycourse of things.” He glances at me and winks. “Muchtoo fond of the stockade; very dim view of piracy.”
To be honest, I suddenly feel much more affectionate toward Driz, too. Not every prince of the realm would be willing to put his curse-breaking kisses to the test on a mere pirate.
“I suppose I’d better hie me off to that, did you say, inn? At least until my retinue arrives.”
Sasha shoots me a glance I have trouble interpreting. “I’ll take you, Your Highness.”
Ah, she wants to leave me alone with the pirate. No dice there.
