The Female Prisoner

Elizabeth swore she would never again believe any fairy tale told by a Bard!

In rural ballads, sea voyages of exploration were portrayed as thrilling and mysterious adventures, games that promised enormous rewards.

Even pirates were cast as chivalrous heroes who robbed the rich to aid the poor. They were debonair, pursued freedom, and matched wits with all kinds of wicked forces.

There were even novels devoted to this subject, and they had once been bestsellers!

In the rosy dreams of countless gullible girls from the inland regions, real pirates were more like knights of the sea: handsome features, athletic physiques, young and rich. That was the image that defined them.

...But now, Elizabeth only wanted to rip out that Bard's tongue and shove it up his **... Ahem, a proper lady shouldn't use words like that, or even think them. But heaven help her, Elizabeth had been duped so badly.

Her family ran the Rose Merchant Association, and she had always lived in one of Ingsman's colonies.

She was returning this time because her father had arranged a match for her. She was about to return to Ingsman proper to be married.

They said her intended was a respectable gentleman who owned vast tracts of land, earning more than a thousand Gold Galons a year from his estates!

Elizabeth was quite pleased with the match.

And before the wedding, she could even experience an ocean voyage. Even if it wasn't as fantastical as the stories claimed, it was still quite the adventure.

But once the novelty wore off, Elizabeth finally discovered the hardships of life at sea.

Every inch of space had to be used sensibly. Though her quarters were the best on the entire ship, they still felt cramped and stifling.

Not to mention the violent rocking whenever