Abigail Smith's Ship

. Thank you for that Adrian. I needed for them to know what happened to me and that I am fine. Now we can find out who this woman is.

I am in the cell of the ship with Queen Charlotte and Queen Marie of Luxembourg. But I do not know who or why this other person is. Elizabeth must have slept away while Charlotte was Marie was being carried onto the ship. I hope that she is far away from Romania.

Charlotte and I were lead onto the ship and put in the cell. There I saw Elizabeth Bathory sitting in the corner.
. Elizabeth Bathory what are you doing here. I am certain that you messaged Elizabeth and told her about the ship that was coming for her. So she brought Charlotte and I to hide the fact that she slept away to avoid capture

I was up the next morning and did feel much better. I had called Adrian in to see me and after a brief talk with him, I came out onto the ship and looked at my daughter and the others and smiled at Katherine.

"Please all of you, join me below, we will speak to the prisoners. I say to them as myself Kyla, Katherine and Adrian all went below deck.

As we came down, I did notice that one of the prisoners had managed to remove her blindfold, but I did not let this bother me. I approached the cell and looked at Marie.

"Welcome aboard my ship The Swallow, I am Captain of this ship and you I am informed are a friend of Elizabeth Hampton are you not? I say waiting for her reply.

I followed my mother down to the cells along with Kyla and Adrian. That is when I saw Queen Charlotte.

. Queen Charlotte what are you doing here. Where is Elizabeth.

I followed Abigail, Katherine and Adrian. I saw the prisoners.

. Mother, Queen Charlotte why are you here. Captain Abigail, Adrian I know these women. They mean you no harm.

I turned and looked towards Kyla as she mentioned she knew them.

"Kyla, you are sure these women mean us no harm? They are very close to Elizabeth Hampton though are they not?

I looked towards the Captain then towards Katherine as she spoke.

"Duchess Katherine, I am so pleased to see that you are well. Elizabeth, she said she had something to show me and that we should join her, but yet again she has deceived us. I should have known really. I did however see as we were being taken that English soldiers were arriving at the Romanian port.

I listened to them both as they spoke and it was clear to me that neither of them posed a threat to myself or my crew, however I needed to be sure.

"Queen Marie, it is a pleasure to meet you and can I just say that your daughter Kyla is wonderful. It appears that this Elizabeth Hampton enjoys playing games with people. I cannot however understand as to why she would have done this. I do believe that Elizabeth still poses a threat to me and will likely try to use Cassandra again and if she does then I will need something to trade. You will both have your blindfolds removed, but your hands are to remain tied until I say.

I have heard how close Elizabeth is to you Marie and if she threatens to hurt my daughter, then at least I have something I can use and as for Charlotte, even though she and Elizabeth do not always get on, I am told that they are very close and would not let harm come to the other. You will both remain my prisoners until I speak to Elizabeth, oh and I would suggest you do not try to escape. You say you mean me no harm, which may well be true, but I need my leverage to use against Elizabeth.

Marie, I was informed by one of my crew that upon your capture, despite your hands being bound together in front of you, you lashed out and struck him in the face, so as a punishment, your hands are now tightly bound behind your back and you are to spend the night on your stomach in a hogtied position. Do I make myself clear? I say looking at Marie. I was a kind person, but I was a pirate after all.

I listened to Captain Abigail and I am not sure if she has been mistaken as to my relationship with Elizabeth.

. Captain Abigail I understand that you must keep us tied but believe me keeping us as leverage is not necessary.  Elizabeth was my friend and I thought my best friend.  But she betrayed her own sister because it meant that she would not be captured.  She had Charlotte and myself come to the port for us to be captured and among the craziness at the port she slept away.  She does not care about us or care about what you may do to us.  Now I am sorry that I struck your crew member but I was frightened.  Not knowing what was happening, so I flung my arms around.  It was not my intention to hurt anyone.  I understand that you must have my hands tied behind my back but there is no reason to have me hogtied .  I will adhere to your rules. I will not be any trouble but I ask that you will not have me on the floor. . I can see that Kyla was there hearing what the captain has said.

With tears coming from my eyes I looked at the Captain and I whispered to her

. Please Captain Abigail, I know that you must have them bound but please would you just tie my mother. She has given you her word and believe me she will keep it. I will give you my word that both ladies will follow your orders. They are good women. Kind and generous. They will not be any trouble. I promise.

I listened to what Marie had to say and then the young Princess Kyla approached me and tears filled her eyes as she was very upset. She begged that her mother not be hogtied. I listened to what she had to say as well and then I had made a decision.

"Taking into consideration what the both of you have said, I have decided that you will not be hogtied Marie, this is due to how much I like your daughter, but as I am sure you are aware, your hands will remain tied behind your back as you are both still prisoners.

I will however, not hold you both as leverage and that when we arrive on the shore, you shall both be released and free to leave, but whilst on my ship, my rules are to be followed and hands are to remain tied. I can understand now, as to why you attacked my crew member and your reason, please ensure that you do not strike anyone again though. We are going to travel back to Romania, where you can both go. I say to Marie seeing relief on her face.

. Thank you Captain. I appreciate the care that you gave to my daughter. She means the world to me. I apologize for hurting your crew mate. But you will have no problem out of me. I looked at Kyla and smiled. . My dear. I am happy that you are here with me and that you are safe.

I looked and smiled at my mother then I looked at Captain Abigail.

. Thank you very much Captain Abigail. I am happy that I met you and Adrian. You both have been so kind to me. I appreciate your kindness towards Mother and Queen Charlotte. We all will be no trouble.

I looked around the room. I give Queen Charlotte a hug

. Queen Marie it is a pleasure to meet you and Queen Charlotte I am happy to see you again. For a moment I did not know if I would see any of you again . Kyla, I have heard how you helped Adrian. Telling him about Elizabeth Hampton. I thank you very much. I am glad that we are going back to Romania. I can see Aunt Mary. She is with child and I told her that I would watch over her like Father asked me. Meeting King Gustav and his sisters was a pleasure and I like them very much.

I looked at Queen Marie.

"Your daughter is a true gem and one I am glad to have met. We are heading for Romania, where you and Queen Charlotte will be free to go. I do feel that if we linger too long that Cassandra is going to catch up with us and I can protect everyone here. Is there a port at which you wish for us to dock? I ask Marie

I smiled back at young Kyla.

"Adrian told me that you were very helpful these past few days Kyla, with the rescue mission. You are such a delight. You are free to leave with your mother and friends when we dock in Romania, if you wish, or you can stay and join us as we return to a port of the French coast for a break.

I smiled at Katherine and I noticed the Captain was deep in conversation with Marie so I could not ask my question.

"Katherine, we are all happy to see you and that you are safe. Elizabeth tricked us all. I heard the name Nadia mentioned. My daughter, whom I cannot understand why, hates me, but Talia is so kind. Katherine, perhaps when we have settled in Romania, you would care to join me in visiting my husband King Eric of Hungary? Also, knowing we are no threat, could you ask the Captain to release our bonds?

I know that Queen Charlotte has asked me to go to Hungary.

. Thank you for inviting me to meet your family in Hungary but I need to first go back home to France for the Queen's birthday celebration is coming soon.  Being Grand Duchess I have a duty to attend.  Actually I should not have been in Sweden and Romania for so long. I only went to Sweden in King Francis. He was unable to go to King Gustav and Queen Mary's marriage ceremony so he sent me in his stead. I met my aunts and father and even my mother.  So I should go back home for a time. Perhaps one day I can come to visit but for now can I write to you I would like to keep in touch with you if I may. Queen Charlotte perhaps if Nadia finds out that Elizabeth has been lying to her about everything.  She may understand she is misguided and her anger is misplaced. Perhaps she will have to try to get your relationship going in the future