Excerpt: Prince of Change

Isaac’s stomach was getting demanding. No longer caring that he was barely recognizable under all that dirt, Isaac wove between the tables and got some food. The stew looked rather thin, but it smelled better than anything he had eaten in the last few days.

While he fixed his plate, he spotted Julian. The prince was eating alone in the far corner, with his tray balanced on his legs. He looked rather lost without anyone to complain to. He picked at his food slowly,and kept glancing up like he wanted to demand something better, but eating it anyway.

Isaac grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Julian, who looked up as he approached and was shocked to see him in such a state.
“What the bloody hell happened to you?” Julian asked as Isaac sat down in his chair with a weary sigh. The prince edged away from him slightly, wrinkling his nose. Isaac couldn’t say he blamed him.
“They had me shoveling coal, remember? It’s probably the worst job ever. I was stuck in this tiny, hot, stuffy room, bent over and shoveling coal into a fire. And the guy I worked with wouldn’t even give me the time of day,” Isaac said.
“And I don’t suppose there was a bath on the way here?” Julian asked, eyebrows raising. “You should have seen the bloke I worked for. I thought he was going to chop my hand off by the end of it. He complained about me not knowing how to cook! Like I volunteered for this! And he wouldn’t let me sit down until everyone was served.” He gave a long suffering sigh and spooned more of the stew into his mouth.

“I don’t get why you came back,” Isaac blurted after a moment. “You had the horse, you had all of our supplies. Yet you turned around when we were outnumbered.”
Julian considered whether or not he needed to explain.
“Well. I have no idea where I am. And if I had let them catch you and take you wherever it is we’re going, then you would have never gotten to be properly punished for kidnapping me,” Julian said.
Isaac’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline.
“Right. You want to see me punished,” he said skeptically before he started eating. After a moment he raised his head and looked at the gathering of pirates.
“It is nice to have someone familiar here,” Isaac admitted. “I wonder what these guys want with us. And what they’re doing still sailing around, when they were supposed to be extinct.”
He let his spoon fall back into the bowl with a clatter.
“But I think what that captain said was right. The King’s word doesn’t matter here. These guys have evaded anyone even knowing about them for years. No one can control them. They can do whatever they want. Plus, they have an airship.”
Julian shrugged. “My father has the finest army. The pirates have been able to get away with all of this because no one cares to control them. But that’ll change now. They overstepped their boundaries by capturing me and intending to use me for some kind of ransom. The king will not let them get away with that. He can shoot this blasted machine out of the air if he needs to.”
“Hopefully not with us in it,” Isaac replied, smiling a little.