Ella and Henry

               I slammed the wooden door and stood behind it, gasping for air.  My short hair hung in front of my face as I tried to catch my breath.  I looked up.  The Prince was un-gagging himself.  His royal attire was torn and dirty, and he was seething with rage.  If looks could kill, I’d have been long gone.

“YOU!  How dare you capture me?!  I am His Royal Highness Prince Henry!  You will be executed!”  He stormed across the room to take hold of me, but I was ready.  I grasped his arms and pinned them to his sides.  Although he was taller and almost two years older, we were matched in strength.

“Calm down!”  I commanded through gritted teeth, as I struggled to hold on.  He was trying to free himself from my grasp.

“How dare you capture me?” he repeated.  “You’re only a…” he stopped struggling and looked at me closely, scrutinizing my face.  “You’re only a girl!” he exclaimed, eyes wide with shock, as if it was the craziest thing he had ever heard.  I let go of him.  “I am going mad!” he continued, putting his hands to his head and pacing around the room.  “A girl can’t be a pirate!” 

“Why not?”  I demanded, with my hands on my hips.   He certainly wasn’t helping.  At this rate, we would get nowhere.  The Prince brandished his hands wildly in the air. 

“Because... because it’s completely absurd!  Remove me from this ship immediately!”

“No!”  I snapped. 

“You’ve got some nerve,” he pointed out hotly.  We were circling each other, like angry vultures fighting over a kill.

“Listen!  I was captured, too!” 

“Who are you?” he demanded. 

“I…” I sighed.  “I am Ella.”  I had known the question would come, and for the first time since my transformation, I was a little ashamed of what I had become.  I knew Prince Henry had never seen the likes of me before.  With my boy’s clothes, short hair, earring, and bare feet, I certainly looked ridiculous standing next to the Prince.  My already-sunburned face glowed even redder from embarrassment as he looked me up and down.  I put my arm behind my back to hide the brand, which was still a little sore.  As he recognized me, his eyes widened.

          “I know who you are!  You’re Eleanor Harrison, Sir Patrick’s daughter!  I’ve seen you before at the court.  What on earth are you doing here?” he asked.  I told him my story, relaying everything from the attack on my ship to the pirate initiation.  “You are very brave, Miss Eleanor,” he said.  Now that he knew the truth, the Prince wasn’t angry; in fact, he looked at me with intent fascination, as if he was trying to unravel some mystery.  And now that his eyes were no longer red with fury, I could see they were a handsome deep blue.  Very handsome.  He smiled at me warmly, and I felt myself blush.

“It’s Ella,” I told him, “and thanks.” 

“Who cut your hair?” he asked.

“Oh, that.  Tom.  Tom cut it,” I replied.

“Who is Tom?”

“Tom’s who rescued me.  He turned me into a pirate.”

“Why did you rescue me?  To get the ransom money, no doubt,” the boy said dryly.  I frowned.  Did he really think I was that shallow? 

“No.  Don’t be daft.  I rescued you because—”

“Why?” he repeated.

I took a deep breath.  “I need you to help me.  You’re the only one who can.”

“You’re an outlaw,” he reminded me unkindly.  “A traitor to the crown.  A traitor to my father!  Why on earth should I help you?” he asked, eying me distrustfully.  I looked up at him.

                “Because I’m your only chance,” was my honest answer.  The Prince didn’t say anything.  “They’ll kill you.  I know; I’ve seen it before,” I said softly.  I had seen it many times; the wild and frantic look a man gets upon his face when he knows that each breath he takes might be his last.  But Henry understood the horrors I had been through without my having to articulate them.  “And it doesn’t matter that you’re a Prince.  They’d just enjoy it that much more,” I added.  “If you don’t help me, I’ll never get home.  Neither will you.” 

             He knew I was right. 

             “Just tell me what I have to do.”