My Once Handsome Husband

The soldiers trying to block Delaney and the pirates seemed to realize that although they were not outnumbered, these pirates wouldn't hesitate to do what they had to do to get their way. After only a moment of hesitation, they stepped aside. Apparently, their positions and the danger to the royal family wasn't worth losing their own lives over.

Delaney was surprised to see the normally charming and suave Captain Black so serious and dark. She wondered what had brought it on? Was he angry about the mess his children had managed to get into while he was away or was he worried for his oldest son's life at the hands of the court? She didn't know but she could see that no matter what it was, now was not the time to test his patience.

With the soldiers out of the way, they walked forwards towards the doors. The Captain held out his arm to Delaney and she took it, relieved she was not here alone and instead had the fearsome pirate King at her side. She would do whatever she could to keep her husband safe and Ian as well.

They walked down the hall that was normally filled with people but was now eerily empty. As they grew close to the throne room though they could hear a commotion from inside that explained where all the nobles were.

There were four guards standing in front of the high wooden doors and upon seeing the Duchess walking towards them with so many armed men, they drew their swords. Captain Black didn't slow down or even react but on either side of them, his men drew their own swords.

"You there," one of the guards called to them, "Stop! You can't enter here!"

"Don't kill them," the Captain ordered, "We are not here to make ourselves enemies of this court."

The guards did not look relieved to hear that, glancing at each other with worried expressions. They braced themselves for the men coming at them but to their credit, didn't abandon their post. The pirates rushed forward swords swinging through the air.

Delaney watched in awe as the pirate men swiftly made easy work of the guards. It reminded her of watching her husband with his blade. It only took a short time while she and Captain Black waited before his men had managed to disarm the guards and send most of them to the ground.

The guards looked up in shock as Delaney and the Captain walked through them to the doors. One of the pirates stepped in front of them and gave the large wooden doors a shove, sending them flying open.

The court was full of angry-looking people. The King and Queen sat regally on their thrones with looks of displeasure clear on their faces. The nobles were packed in thick but in the middle of the room, the floor was left clear save for two men.

Delaney felt her heart lurch when she saw the first figure on his knees on the floor. Ian's ankles and wrists were bound, leaving him unable to stand. They must have found him in bed as well for he was only wearing his breeches. One of his eyes was bruised and there was another on his jaw. They had gagged him, so now he was left completely at their mercy.

She saw now why the soldier had laughed and said he wouldn't be helping anyone.

Eyes moving from the pirate, Delaney felt relief seeing her husband standing beside him. His wrists were tied behind his back and his shirt was torn, leaving his strong back exposed but also his scarred chest. When he turned she saw his bottom lip was bleeding so she knew he and Ian must have put up some kind of struggle.

Like everyone else in the room, Vincent turned towards the doors when they heard the noise of them being thrown open. His green eyes went wide seeing his wife and for a moment he looked upset until his gaze shifted and he saw the pirate king and his men.

On the ground next to him, Ian's eyes went quickly from his friend to his father and Delaney saw them grow wide with fear. The pirate King looked down at his son and Ian visibly shrank back.

Delaney wondered if Ian would be in trouble for this? Seeing even her big, strong friend shrink under his father's displeasure explained why Ilona had fought against telling the man about her mistake with her siblings.

The Pirate King and the Duchess of Edgewood walked straight up to join the prisoners in the middle of the room. Captain Black's men made up a bit of a barrier between them and the crowd which Delaney now saw also included the soldiers that had come to their home.

Hissed whispers flew around the room, making it loud. Delaney tried to keep her worry from showing on her face and instead lifted her chin. She met the cold stare of the King head-on and didn't flinch.

"Lady Adair," Daniel spoke cooly, "Out of respect for your husband I decided against having my soldiers bring you here as well but it seems you have done the work for me."

"She has nothing to do with this Daniel," Vincent moved closer to his wife, "She was home until she heard about the fire, and then she only came to find me."

"You expect me to believe my brother's abduction was only concocted last night?" Daniel turned a cold gaze to Vincent, "This has been planned since I told you I would not help your pirate friends. Your wife proves my theory by now storming my court with the Pirate King himself."

"You think we abducted Mason?" Delaney asked in surprise.

"I know you did. My brother had no interest in traveling to the Red Lands and marrying some unknown princess. You took him to force him so you could get the pirate children back."

"I assure you, your majesty, that I can get my children back without the Prince," Captain Black spoke up, frowning, "My being in your city at all was only so I could gather my children that were here and take them with me. No one knew I was here until this morning when one of the Adair servants came looking for help from my men."

Daniel's icy blue gaze swept over them, "You are all lying. My brother would not agree to such a plan. He wouldn't leave me and our people."

"He didn't want to leave you," Delaney shook her head, seeing the King was hurt, "But you took the choice away from him when you ordered him to marry Anna."

"You will be careful how you speak about my sister Lady Adair," the Queen spoke up now, glaring at Delaney, "I will remind you you are only in this castle untouched as long as we allow it."

Vincent moved again closer to his wife until his arm brushed against hers. Delaney looked up at him and saw his scars were dark red with his anger.

"You know we're telling the truth, Danny you just don't want to accept it," he spoke, "Think about it. When was the last time Mason ran away like this?"

All eyes turned to the King now. It seemed everyone in the court knew of Mason's running away before to escape marrying the nasty woman. Daniel met Vincent's gaze and didn't look away. His look of anger didn't budge.

"You expect me to believe my brother set fire to our home to cause a distraction so he could willingly run away with the pirate woman who lost her siblings? Then he was going to go to another land and marry their princess, leaving him to never return to us and conveniently freeing those lost siblings, all so he could escape marrying my beautiful wife's equally beautiful twin?"

"He did," Delaney nodded, "And the Queen knew there was a chance he would try to do this weeks ago. That's why she increased the guards watching him to such high numbers. She knew he would try to escape to keep from marrying her sister."

The nobles gasped and Delaney hesitated before continuing.

"The Queen and her sister may be equally beautiful on the outside but that is not what matters. Sophia is beautiful on the inside as well but... Anna is not."

There were gasps of surprise from around the room and Delaney felt her husband tense beside her. Daniel's cold blue gaze faltered before falling away.

Suddenly from the corner of the room came cold, cackling laughter. Everyone turned in surprise to find the very woman they were discussing come walking forward from the shadows. She strolled right up to the prisoners and Delaney took a step away from her, bumping into Captain Black's chest. He caught her to keep her from stumbling.

"Well," Anna chuckled, "This has been most amusing but I suppose now it is time to bring this farce to an end."

"What are you talking about Anna?" Sophia asked in confusion.

"Of course Mace ran away!" the cruel woman grinned, turning to look at Vincent, "Do you really think a single pirate and a crippled Duke would have been able to simply abduct the crown prince from inside the castle without anyone noticing? It wouldn't take much to get away."

Without warning, Anna pulled her hand back and slapped Vincent hard across his scarred cheek. He cried out and stumbled backward before dropping to his knees by Ian and smashing his eyes closed. His breathing came quick and a quiet moan escaped him.

Delaney lunged forward towards the woman but the Pirate Captain caught her arms and dragged her backward. Daniel rose quickly from his throne and swept down to the floor where he kneeled in front of his cousin and lifted him up so he could examine his angry, red, marks.

"Anna!" the Queen hissed but her twin just laughed.

"You see?" she threw her arm in the direction of the men, "It would have only taken a well-placed blow to escape him. Honestly, his little wife might even be a bigger threat than he is."

"Get out!" Daniel roared at her from his place on the floor, "Leave here now!"

"All of you," Sophia added loudly, looking to the crowd of gawking nobles, "Everyone leave this room at once!"

The nobles looked disappointed but they all began to file out, doing as they were ordered. The pirates didn't move though, staying to protect their King.

Once everyone else had left Anna chuckled and strolled slowly towards the doors.

"It doesn't matter to me if Mason has run away. He will be caught eventually. And until then I will be here with my sister."