He felt sorry for her as she spoke. Was she really any worse off with him and his crew than back at her castle? From a gilded cage, to one among the stars. Was she really that worse off? She would probably have more freedom here than she had back home, and that actually sounded like something she wanted. She didn’t seem to want the life that fate, her parents, and everyone else had expected of her. That struck a chord with him.

He hadn’t really chosen this life, he was born into it. Raised in it. Sure, he had taken to it well, but he often wondered if that was due to the expectation, or the pressure. It didn’t really matter anymore, he was good at what he did and that made him proud. He was resigned. But still, her words struck him.

Vincent sat there as he waited for her to finish, listening, taking it all in. When she was done, he scoffed slightly. “Poor you, I suppose. Living in the lap of luxury, every possible need handed to you.” He clenched the glass in his hand, finishing his drink with one solid gulp. “But we’re both products of our environment. You’re spoiled because you’ve had everything handed to you.” He realized, after he spoke, that it sounded harsher than he had intended. He was jealous, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that… to himself, at least. “Well, you want to know about me?” He paused again, thinking.

“I’m 26. An outlaw from the day I was born, on the run since I was old enough to understand what that even meant to be ‘wanted’. It wasn’t me, of course, it was my mother. But if we had been caught out, I don’t think any military would care about a child on board a pirate ship. Press a button, fire all weapons, ship goes boom, they carry on.” He placed the drink on the coffee table in front of the couch before leaning back into his seat. He steepled his fingers and closed his eyes. He wanted to try and comfort her, but really, what kind of way was that for a captor to act?