Oh hey ya'll. Let me just mosey on in here and leave this update as an apology for taking such a LONG break. I'm kind of hoping that not everyone gave up on this little guy. Again I would love it if you would review.

Anyway, I don't own and I don't profit.

Geoff became fuzzily aware of a dull throb fluctuating along his torso. Hesitantly he opened his eyes but the sunlight seared sharp stakes of pain against the back of his eyelids. He groaned and shifted only to gasp at the sudden agony movement invoked. He focused on self diagnosing to distract himself.

A few broken ribs for sure, he thought, and probably some heavy bruising along stomach.

The pain was beginning to lessen to a more tolerable level, though his head still felt as if someone had bludgeoned him something good. Which is probably exactly what happened, he surmised as he rolled cautiously to his back. There was another lurch of pain and his breathing quickened as he fought off the nausea.

Distantly the missing memories began to reconnect. He remembered storming down the stairs, angry that Hans had gotten the better of them - again - when he'd been smacked in the back of the head. Truthfully it hadn't been all that hard a hit and the lad who'd landed it didn't seem interested in finishing the work if the way he jumped back and trembled was any indicator.

He was prepared to scold the boy and send him on his way, probably a mistake anyway, that rolling pin was thicker than the boys arms but before he could even draw the breath required to begin a proper berating, another voice had joined in.

"I thought I told you to make quick work of it! The prince is coming!" Captain Hugo hissed through clenched teeth while coming down the stairs. Geoff turned and gaped at him, still confused as to what was happening. With a well placed kick, Hugo connected right in the chest. The captains elevated advantage combined with Geoff's shock created a hit was enough to send him flying across the room.

He hadn't had enough time to recover before Hugo was at his side a cudgel already raised and prepared to strike. That was the last thing he remembered seeing before it all went dark. Though currently the injuries seemed far more extensive than they had before he'd been clobbered, probably caused by a few more hits after he'd lost consciousness.

Now that he had a vague recollection of what had happened, Geoff began to feel his blood boil. He was angry, at the captain for betraying them. At his father - the king - for being such a land grabbing warmonger that he'd blown through the royal coffers and now relied on his unprepared son to secure them an important money alliance. And he was furious at Hans; he wasn't sure why but he just knew Hans had something to do with this.

Most of all he was angry at himself. He'd spent years training to be a soldier because that is all a royal born bastard could ever aspire to be, and still with all that training - and for all his bravado - he was caught off guard and had failed to act when it was most important.

If his head wasn't slowly killing him already he'd have banged it against the floor boards in frustration.

They were stuck on this floating prison; he had no idea where they were going, where they were now, or even where his brother was being kept. With a sickening lurch he realized that he was alone which meant his brother may very well be locked away somewhere, suffering from his own injuries.

Or he could be dead and tossed over to the depths by now.

With a burst of energy Geoff heaved himself upright and forced his eyes open, trying his best to ignore the onslaught of pain, but still he faltered and began to tip to the side. He knew that once he fell he wasn't getting up again; that was a last ditch attempt and a poorly executed one at that.

He muttered a few choice curses and readied himself for a troublesome landing before a small set of arms latched around his torso and tried to steady Geoff. The pain that shot through his side as the assisting hands dug into his broken ribs did more to help than the actual arms themselves. He flinched away and landed against the wall where he was able to slide down and lean back without too much added damage.

He took a few extra moments to catch his breathe and wait for the black spots to finish swimming across his vision. Once he had regained some semblance of control, he glanced over to inspect his "rescuer." A young cabin boy was not what Geoff had expected to see and suddenly he was glad he hadn't fallen to the side when the lad had tried to help. He'd have crushed the child into nothing more than skin and splintered bones judging from how malnourished the boy was.

When he realized that Geoff's attention was focused on him, the cabin boy scuttled back until he was partially concealed behind one of the many barrels.

Geoff tried not to laugh. Not to preserve the boys dignity but because it would have hurt too much. Instead he flashed a grin in the lads direction and hoped it contained more friendliness and less grimace but he suspected he was wrong. Still the child tentatively smiled back, tight lipped and shifting eyes, but a smile none the less.

"I'm Geoff," he offered in hopes that the child would come out, maybe even explain a few things. "What's your name?"

He hadn't really expected an answer and was hardly surprised when the boy ducked completely behind the barrel. However, instead of scampering away like he'd anticipated, the boy returned with a bowl and a meager piece of bread.

"You have to eat it now," his little voice was hard to hear over the waves lapping at the side of the ship, "I'm not supposed to be helping you."

Geoff nodded and reached for the proffered meal, he didn't have the heart to tell him that he was in no mood to eat, not when his little face looked so openly eager at the prospect of helping. The broth was cold and flavorless and the bread was tough, but he swallowed it down as if it was the best he'd had in his lifetime.

"What's your name?" He tried again, wiping his lips clean with the edge of his sleeve. His high born brothers would have shuddered at that; all except Adler that is. Shaking his head slightly he focused on the child again, anything to remove the grieving thoughts from his mind, no use in getting all upset now if he didn't have the facts.

The boy looked away briefly then glanced back, for a moment Geoff thought he had gotten through to his young comrade.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to" He whispered before fleeing. Geoff ducked his head and felt a little pity for the child. He knew that the apology was intended to smooth over the wrongdoing of the attempted rolling pin attack. With a heavy groan he leaned his full weight against the wood paneling behind him.

He was tired, in pain, and desperately clueless - but despite all of that he still needed to find the strength to climb to his feet and begin the search for his brother.

And after that they could… well, maybe if he found a weapon his injuries would stop hurting long enough to… or perhaps they should just steal a life boat, with just the two of them maybe they'd…

All of these plans were stupid. Adler was the schemer, he could think of anything if he put his mind to it - and stopped doubting himself long enough to believe in his own skill. But Adler was not here and it was up to Geoff to save him. Trouble was there was little chance of that happening as long as he was too weak to get to his feet and start looking.

He'd just began a mental pep talk when the hatch leading to the deck opened. Quiet footsteps descended and Geoff pretended to be unconscious, maybe whoever it was would come close enough for Geoff to strike, or at least flop over and maybe trip the new arrival in the process.

Instead movement ceased a few feet away and Geoff fought the temptation to open his eyes the barest hint. He felt a gaze upon his face and knew he was being watched; no need to give any clues.

"I know you're awake," A voice called out, "The cabin boy already informed me."

Well now that there wasn't any point to this act, Geoff tilted his to the side, inspecting this new presence as if he hadn't a care in the world. Inside he was secretly praying the stranger would come closer so he could make a move.

"Oh, don't be like that, I was hoping we could be friends," The man seemed about Geoff's age and he had an easy grin, definitely the kind of male young ladies would bat their eyelashes at.

"Doubt that," Geoff responded with a glare, "As you can see, I haven't had a very welcoming stay aboard your vessel."

"Yeah, funny enough we've all been a little bit unsatisfied with our time served on board." The young man glanced over his shoulder quickly before turning his attention back and continued in a whisper, "Been thinking we might just want to do something about it."

He now had Geoff's full attention albeit with a healthy helping of skepticism. "You're planning a mutiny?"

The other man nodded and fidgeted with his fingers. "Hugo isn't our captain. The original crew, or whats left of us anyway, want nothing to do with that monster." He spat, as he glared to the side.

"And we definitely aren't pirates, or anything of the sort. You hired us to transport the prince and that's what we had planned. Until few nights back when Hugo stormed the ship, had himself an impressive handful of hired steel too. Our captain was gutted in front of us, he said he'd do the same to anyone who talked - but if we were useful we'd still get paid. So of course we kept our mouths shut. But the money came and we haven't seen so much as a flash of that coin."

He glanced at Geoff as if to gauge whether he should continue, "And we're not only angry about not getting paid. Most of us have family thats been sold off to slavers. We know what will happen if the prince ends up in foreign hands."

He glanced up and shrugged with a tentative smile. "Although some are hoping your Da might be willing to reward his sons rescuers."

Geoff fought off a chuckle, "his da" didn't care one piss about him, or Adler for that matter - but he wasn't about to let that out. And if the sailors were hoping to cash in on a rescue that must mean that his brother was alive!

"And now that you've all paid heed to your conscience, you want to… what? Fight back?" The sly grin spreading across the young man's face was Geoff's answer.

"Aye, with your help we might be able to do it too."

"I don't know if you've noticed," he gestured to the wound on his head and pointed to his broken ribs, "But I'm in a bit of poor repair. I'm afraid I won't be of much help to anyone."

"Ah, but you are exactly in the condition we need you in." His grin grew to light up his face with excitement, "How would you feel about working as bait? I promise it will make you and Hugo even, an ambush for an ambush."

Geoff liked that idea, he liked it a lot. "You have to promise that the prince will survive, that he'll be alright."

"He's locked up, we'd have to take out Hugo anyway to get the keys. So, sure, we'll keep the prince out of harms way." He held out a grimy callused hand, weathered from years of work despite his young appearance. "I'm Gunnar."

"Geoff," he returned, grasping the offered hand in his own with a firm shake.

"Well then, my new friend. Let's get to work."

The plan had seemed solid enough when first presented, but now as he lay sprawled halfway across the deck - with the top few stairs digging painfully into his tender side - Geoff was beginning to harbor doubts.

"Hugo isn't a stupid man and he's always suspicious" Gunnar explained as he watched Geoff poke and prod the wound on his head until the blood began to drip down his face once more, "So simply planting any other sailor won't make him curious enough to investigate. But if one of his prized captives is caught trying to escape, that'll make him mad enough to get him off his guard - long enough to strike!" He finished by pounding a fist into his palm for emphasis.

The idea had been to fake an escape attempt gone wrong. They'd position Geoff at the top of the stairs - complete with fresh, open wounds - and Gunnar would be standing over him with, ironically enough, the rolling pin.

Their story would be that the cabin boy had shouted a warning to the crew before being over taken by the prisoner, but with such a small voice the only one who would have heard him was Gunnar who had come running to the rescue. It was a shaky tale and Geoff wasn't sure it would hold but Gunnar seemed pretty convinced.

The rest of the crew would be waiting, with any manner of weapons they could dig up, for the signal - the sign being Hugo's unconscious body. They'd then engage the mercenaries and regain control of the ship.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to peg your men against hired muscle."

"Eh, they'll be alright. You should see some of these mercenaries. I'm not sure they'd ever been on a seafaring vessel before this job. The way they turn green for sure lifts my spirits." Gunnar chuckled at the memory. "They won't be any good on the waters and there are more of us than there are of them."

This seemed flippantly optimistic to Geoff but he couldn't very well argue if he didn't have a better plan.

"It'll be fine! You'll see, by this time tomorrow we'll be making our way home" Gunnar crooked the side of his mouth before looping an arm around Geoff's torso, taking care to avoid agitating any injuries.

"Well, that certainly puts my mind at ease." He joked as they'd slowly made their way to the staircase.

Geoff had been required to climb the last few steps on his own where Gunnar had awaited him, rolling pin at the ready. He'd assumed that it would have all been faked and the reactions a performance but instead his new "friend" had rapped him on the head, hard enough for his vision to tunnel toward unconsciousness, and Geoff fell heavy against the floorboards.

He groaned at the sudden onslaught of noise assaulting his senses. Gunnar was shouting convincingly and a few others joined in the clamor. Those already on deck began to shuffle closer eager for a sight. But a few seconds passed and their was no hint of Hugo making an appearance despite a couple of men running off to alert him.

Geoff also felt his stomach drop when his eyesight began to clear enough to identify most of the hired men. None of them looked like they were suffering from seasickness, a bit on the pale side yes, but not ailing nearly as much as he'd like.

He made a convincing attempt at getting up, taking the opportunity to glance over at Gunnar. Judging by the concern in his eyes, this wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. A few crew members were beginning to look worried as well. Gunnar saw Geoff struggling and lifted his pin back to strike him again, when a voice shouted out, halting the attempt.

"What in the name of all the Gods is going on here!?" Hugo roared at the crowd and many of them slid back. His eyes landed on Geoff, who had managed to lift himself to his knees. A malicious glint lit up his eyes.

"Who allowed this prisoner to wake up?" The tone was calm and he kept his eyes locked with Geoff's, but many of the crew flinched as if he were still shouting. "I won't ask again," he whirled around and began shoving himself into a few faces, "Who let this man wake up?!" He demanded with a hiss.

"Ah, sir, he uh… he was trying to escape so I-" Gunner tried to grab the captains attention again. He needed him closer if he was to land his own strike. But he'd clearly lost his nerve and Geoff knew that this was quickly becoming a losing situation.

"I did not ask about his escape. I can see that he was making an attempt. I asked who let him climb his way back to the living world - and long enough to acquire enough energy to make a break for it I might add - without putting a stop to it?" He eyed Gunner again and stepped back, further away from where they wanted him to be.

Gunner took a step forward but it didn't clear enough distance to bring him within striking range. "Sir, I heard the cabin boy shouting for help and I came running-"

"Oh yes, the cabin boy. I daresay I'd like to have a word with him." His eyes scanned the crowd and picked out a lean little face peaking from behind a larger body. A body unfortunately, that belonged to one of the hired swords. With a nod from Hugo the boy was snatched up. Kicking and screaming he squirmed against the grip holding him but it was of no use.

Geoff tried to surge to his feet as many of the crew pressed forward, but it was too late; the lad already had a knife pressed to his throat. With a jolt he realized that Hugo had anticipated this all along. He knew very well that a boy of that size would have never been able to keep Geoff under. Hugo had planned on his waking, and subsequently the "attempted escape."

He probably knew about the mutiny all along, he had simply allowed it. For what? The sheer amusement? He and Hans certainly made quite a pair.

"Now listen here you useless piles of shit! I am the one whose-" Hugo never had the opportunity to finish his speech. While he was busy making sure his message was quite clear to every one on board, no one was at their assigned posts. No one saw the land mass coming straight toward them, and no one could call for a brace as the ship slid dangerously against the sharp rocks jutting from the ocean.

With a sudden lurch, anything that wasn't bolted down went flying. Only a couple of the men sailed overboard and directly into the dangerous waters. Everyone else grabbed on to anything that would hold them as they attempted to regain their footing. Though the only real injuries sustained were from those who had been launched, everyone still maintained white knuckled grips on their tethers.

Geoff had already been close to the deck when the ship hit so he had only slid forward a few feet before he had grabbed the handrail post. The jolt had stretched his stomach uncomfortably and his ribs were crying out in protest.

He blinked hard for a moment willing away the black spots in his vision. A movement to his left caught his attention and he locked eyes with Gunner who grinned when he noticed he was being watched. Geoff grinned back until he realized there was a new sound coming from below. Fair but recognizable; running water.

Gunner heard it at the same time. "She's taking on water! We have to abandon ship!"

This was the shock the crew needed to get motivated. Immediately the men clamored to their feet rushing to the boats. A few had even begun lowering ropes over the sides.

"What are they doing?" He shouted to Gunner as the man passed him with a rope of his own.

"Climbing down, the shore is close enough that you could swim there if you're quick enough. You can't jump because the rocks are well hidden, but if you lower yourself all careful like, you'll make it just fine."

"Why the rush though?" Geoff focused his attention to the lower level, "The water is barely coming in."

"It'll pick up soon enough," Gunner assured as he tied off his rope, "And you do not want to be caught anywhere near her when she does, the water will suck you under just the same as the ship." Geoff glanced at the men, mostly mercenaries, still working on the boats. He could see that many of those who had simply climbed down were already well on their way to the shore.

With a wince he realized that the other man was right; he needed to find Adler and get out of here.

"You coming or what?" Gunner was already climbing over the deck wall, leaning back to allow gravity to ease him down.

"No," Geoff responded, "I need to get my brother." He turned and made his way to the stairs as rapidly as his battered body would allow him but was stopped when Gunner cut him off.

"Are you out of your mind?! We have to go! The water is coming in quicker now!" He was right of course, the rushing noise was turning into a roar.

"I don't care, I need to find him." Geoff continued on, he nearly made it to the bottom when he was met with the icy ocean.

"You don't even have a key!" His companion tried to reason as he followed after. Geoff had no response to that, they were running out of time and he couldn't remember where Hugo had landed with all the tumbling in scattered directions.

With a frustrated growl he hobbled further into the water, the tiny waves now lapped at his knees. He'd intended to pick a locked door and begin ramming despite his sad state.

"Hey hero," Gunner gestured to a door opposite the direction he'd been headed. "Your brothers in this one. And would you look at that!" The young man grinned as he dove forward, digging for a moment before revealing his prize - a prybar! "The Gods favor you my friend."

They shared a grin and Gunner turned to break the lock but a frown slipped his features.

""What is it? We've got to move!" Geoff was getting impatient.

"The waters coming from beneath the door." His voice was grave.

"So? Just break it down and we'll get out of here!"

"If the waters coming from this room that means this is where we were hit." He glanced over at Geoff and saw the horror that painted his features. With a heavy sigh he raised the prybar, preparing to strike against the lock.

"Alright fine. Look, I'm not sure if your brother is still alive but that room is going to be filled a lot higher, as soon as we get the door open it's going to come spilling out and then things get really dicey."

He fixed Geoff with a serious face, "You have a split second to grab the prince and make it up the stairs. If we don't leave the ship soon I'm afraid we won't be making it off at all."

Geoff nodded and turned toward the door, his ribs were already shrieking at him and his head pounded to the beat of his heart but he mentally prepared himself. Pain or no - he was getting his brother out of here.

"Ready?" Gunner shouted, his question was met with another silent nod. "Here we go!" And he slammed the bar into the lock.

Adler had tried keeping track of the passing time, but he'd lost count of how many minutes slipped by and without the aide of the sun the whole venture was pointless. Instead he slept, and then he began to recite memorized lectures and equations. And when he ran out of that he began to recount his family tree, he'd start as far back as he could and try to make it back to his own branch without missing too many names.

In his own version of the Southern Isle royal legacy he always added Geoff as a full blooded brother, and sometimes he'd even bump Hans back to bastard status. It was the little things that made him happy in the bleak darkness that loomed around him.

He'd just began humming songs to himself when he heard a sudden chorus of shouting. Hope surged in his chest as he navigated himself into a standing position. Those weren't happy shouts, someone was causing trouble.

And if he were a betting man, he'd lay his money on Geoffrey being that cause.

Cautiously he made his way over to the door. Pressing an ear against the keyhole, he concentrated his efforts on listening to the commotion. It had only lasted a minute before the noise fell away. Still Adler remained where he was, secretly flaming his optimism even though he knew that it was an injured Geoff against the entire crew.

Still he had faith in his brother, if Geoff could make it off the ship at the very least, he could get back to the Southern Isles and inform someone that their prince had been captured. He tried not to focus on the doubt - there would be little chance his father or brothers would come after him, it was a far better fate to have him "die at sea" than to bring their coward home.

It was then, with his body pressed against the side door; a terrible blast boomed through the quarters. He had the vague sense of flying for a split second then reality came crashing in as wooden shrapnel collided with his body. It took a moment for his brain to register the pain, he was aware that the skin along his jaw and neck seemed to be tugging in two separate directions. And there was the curious matter of splintered debris, just about the size of his hand, lodged into his side.

Then a million tiny flames fanned out and he cried aloud, but the movement only increased the pain in his face. Instead he whimpered and tried to hold as still as he could. The agony worsened and he couldn't breathe; dimly he was aware that water was spraying in from the tears along the wall, he was getting drenched with saltwater which only made things worse on his wounds. But he couldn't bring himself to move. Already he could feel his life ebbing away as the laceration bled thick warm liquid down his side to mix with the freezing water already lapping at his hips.

His last thoughts before he lost consciousness was the vague awareness that he really was going to die at sea. He was going to make his family so very proud.