#captain hadrian harlock

[undying-lilies]

a long-awaited sneak peak of the story concept I utterly failed to ignore

a.k.a. the Little Mermaid gets adopted by pirates who are hired to kidnap the prince she may or may not have saved :D

A knock sounded on the door. Captain Harlock’s eyes flitted over to the prince, but he said, “Come in.”

The door opened, and in walked a girl that was so stunning she looked like she belonged in a painting.

She wore the plainest clothing Lorcan had ever seen - a skirt that had clearly been fashioned out of an old sail and a beige blouse - but she wore them with the grace of a princess. Hands so pale and dainty they looked like alabaster held a tray and hair so glossy and black it looked like the depths of the sea was pulled back with a simple gray handkerchief. There was a choker with a single pearl attached to it around her neck.

On the tray was a hunk of bread with a knife sticking out of it, a pot of something that smelled like coffee, two crude mugs that had been fashioned out of scraps of metal, and a little bowl of sugar cubes. She breezed by the prince and set the tray on the desk before the captain.

“Is it tea time already?” Harlock said, taking the tray from her. “Thank you, Lassie. I would’ve forgotten if it weren’t for you.”

These pirates made time for tea? Lorcan had a sudden vivid image of Harlock making him walk the plank while sipping a cup of tea with his pinky out.

The girl smiled at Harlock and turned around to leave - but when she spotted Lorcan, she froze. Her coral-colored eyes slowly widened to the size of dinner plates.

Then, without so much as a “goodbye”, she ran out of the captain’s quarters.

“Hmm. Strange,” Harlock commented from the desk. 

Lorcan leaned sideways to catch a glimpse of the girl as she hurried downstairs. He turned back to the captain. “Who was she?” 

“Lassie?” Harlock started pouring tea into the mugs. “She’s our little free spirit. She sorta flirts about from one thing to the next on our ship - she’s mesmerized by almost anything. She’s usually much more friendly, though. One lump or two?”

“Er . . . one lump.” Lorcan wasn’t about to refuse tea from a pirate who could kill him any second. “Where did she come from?”

“Well, we’re not really sure,” Harlock said, dropping a sugar cube into one of the mugs. “We found her in the middle of the sea with nothing but a pearl. I mean, absolutely nothing. Had to use an old sail for some of her clothes. Here you go.”

That was maybe a bit more information than Lorcan needed. He took the mug from the captain and took a sip to distract himself from scandalous thoughts he had no business thinking - and nearly spat the tea out. 

“This is scalding!” Lorcan cried. “Are you trying to burn my tongue off?!”

“Yeah, that’d be Melshi,” Harlock said, dropping two sugars into his own mug. “He’s our cook. He has a habit of boiling the water for a bit too long. He has a habit of cooking everything for a bit too long, actually.” He sipped on his tea and seemed to relish in the extra-hot liquid. “Mm, just the way I like it.” 

“You’re all deranged,” Lorcan said. “All of you. I can’t survive much more of this.”

“Feel free to die, Your Highness. Care for some bread?”

Lorcan would’ve thrown his hands in the air, but then he would’ve sploshed the hot tea all over himself and probably die from first-degree burns instead of the pirates. “Fine.”