"Do you trust me, Oli?" Polina sighed, pulling her gaze from the statuesque beauty gliding into the room.

"Absolutely."

The simple, heart-felt answer and complete faith Oliver had in her brought a smile to Poli's face- there wasn't even a hint of hesitation from him, he just... trusted her. Without question.

"Thank you." She said softly, squeezing his hand. "Why don't I deal with all of this while you go tell Jal about your adventure fighting pirates? I think that would work out best."

"I was actually hoping to speak with you, specifically." The Prince spoke in a cultured baritone voice, and sounded every inch the noble to Oliver- not that Oli had ever met a noble before, much less royalty. "I want to thank you-"

"Nah, this is probably for the best. I can be a bit of an asshole." Oliver cut off the Prince, completely unconcerned about the man's rank- or decorum. Ignoring the looks of shocked disbelief from the Captain and Ram, he smiled as he headed for the exit.

Pausing at the door, he glanced back, eyes going cold for a brief instant. "Just keep in mind how I'm likely to respond if something happens to her."

A shudder went down Captain Sterling's spine at the blatant threat, and he gaped at the closing door. Brow furrowing in consternation, he turned slowly to face the human woman that- despite the presence of royalty- was still seated. "Polina, such behavior in our Kingdom-"

"We aren't in your Kingdom." She snapped in response, her glare shifting across the gathered Demons. "And we aren't citizens of it, anyway. More importantly, you have no idea what you nearly did!"

Gliding past the trio of stunned Demon men, Princess Lilina'vix'Strus' hesitated for a second before taking the seat next to Polina. "This... certainly was not the meeting I had envisioned. Will you explain to us what we did wrong?"

"Sister-"

"She's right, Dorrim; Our rank means little here. To act as if it does, especially with them, is foolish." Lilina sighed softly, her voice sounding concerned- but also a touch a hopeful. "And, if Oliver is to be my husband, I must seek the approval of his First Wife. Considering the clear level of trust he has in her..."

"Who would ever refuse a Princess?" Dorrim snorted in disbelief.

Polina studied the Princess as the woman spoke. Nearly seven feet tall, though slimmer and more delicate looking than the men present, her blood red skin looked softer and less weathered than the other Demons- no doubt a result of her royal upbringing sheltering her from the harsh life the sailors had experienced. Strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her back and past her waist, and a pair of horns rose from each temple, then curved along her forehead until they nearly touch, making them almost look like she wore a tiara.

Not to mention the Princess's impressive... assets. Poli grimaced slightly as she subconsciously compared herself to the Demon- while Poli knew she was an attractive woman, Princess Lilina looked like a pinup model doing a demon cosplay.

"Yeah, that's part of the issue." Poli said sternly, pulling everyone's attention to her. "Oliver would refuse a princess."

Quickly holding up a hand to stop their building protests, she pushed on. "It isn't about her, and it isn't a question of her being good enough or not..."

Shaking her head slowly, Poli sighed. "Oliver... wasn't really looking for a relationship when we started dating. He asked me out more because it was the sort of thing society expected, and he wanted to 'blend in', more or less."

"It's obvious how much he cares about you, thought." Ram said before anyone else could respond.

"And he does." Poli nodded, a small smile playing across her lips. "You have to understand, Oliver doesn't think, or feel emotions, the same as other people. He wasn't planning for anything serious... Until it happened."

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"It kind of... sneaks up on him." She said slowly, struggling to find the right words. "He didn't expect to get attached to me- and, at first, he didn't even know he was developing real feelings for me..."

"But that is only tangential to the point." Poli shook her head, trying to focus back on the messy situation in front of her. Shifting her gaze back to the Princess, she sighed softly. "Oliver... doesn't always do well with complex social or emotional problems. The second he remembers that your hand was part of the reward, he's probably going to freak out."

"Freak out?" Prince Dorrim grumbled from the side, displeased at being ignore thus far. "What could he possibly find disconcerting about marrying my sister?"

Polina's withering glare turned on the Prince, eyes narrowed with annoyance. "Were you not even listening? It isn't a problem with her, but having the whole thing thrust upon him... And, it's very likely he would be furious at you treating her like a commodity to be exchanged."

"My sister is a Princess, not some commodity!" Dorrim's nostrils flared as he angrily retorted.

"Did you even hesitate to offer her up as a reward?" Poli snapped, fists clenched in her lap. "You're basically trying to trade her-"

"It isn't that simple." Princess Lilina said softly, reaching out to take Polina's hand. "Please allow me to explain- hopefully without my brother interrupting?"

Getting nods of agreement from both- though a reluctant nod, in the case of her brother- Lilina stared down at the tan, calloused hand she held- so different from her own. "My brother's logic was simple: he wanted me somewhere safe, even if it meant marrying me to a complete stranger... and we were growing desperate."

"I should also note that I agreed with his decision."

Seeing the surprise flash across Polina's face, Lilina shrugged. "As I said, we were desperate... and there is something romantic about tying one's fate to the mysterious stranger that helped save your Kingdom and its people." Her cheeks darkened in a blush, and her eyes skittered nervously away from those present. "We knew that this trip would be dangerous, and I was willing to pay whatever price was needed to ensure success..."

"I kind of get it." Poli huffed, feeling a bit off balance from the Demon Princess holding her hand. "But, like I said, Oliver would likely have reacted badly to this whole thing- that, and he has a problem dealing with arrogant assholes, which is the vibe I'm getting from your brother right now."

While the men sputtered in shock and indignation, Princess Lilina giggled. "Oh, he is not normally like this. But, as someone who is accustomed to being in control of everything, this whole situation- and you- are proving to be a bit of a strain."

"It probably isn't helping that his sister has basically taken the conversation away from him." Poli mused with a wry smile.

"His baby sister." Lilina confided with a giggle. "I'm not only the youngest of thirteen, but I'm the only girl!"

Fighting against the forming grin, Poli tried to drag the conversation back to the point. "Aside from Oliver's potential issues with you being 'given' to him, and all the emotional difficulty he will likely have with processing this... There are other... complications..."

"I understand if you are reluctant to share him..." Lilina said hesitantly, bowing her head in reluctant acceptance... Only for it to snap up and stare in surprise as Polina laughed.

"Oh, it isn't that!" Poli chuckled. "I've been trying for weeks to figure out how to talk to him about including someone else that is interested- though that situation is a lot more complicated, seeing as she once tried to kidnap him, and did actually kidnap one of his best friends..."

As the Princess stared, wide eyed at that statement- and not fully understanding why they would even consider including a woman that had committed such acts against them- Polina gazed into the distance. "Where we are from, relationships with multiple partners is pretty rare... That, and, as far as I know, there aren't any Demons. There are a whole host of issues that would have to be addressed for it to be even remotely possible."

"So, yeah. Complications..."

"If we can manage these... complications... I do not mind being second to you." Lilina said softly, ignoring the gasp of shock from her brother- a Princess lowering herself to be a secondary wife was basically unheard throughout her people's history! "It is clear that you understand him, and have his ear in all things- as is fitting for the First Wife... Though I would very much prefer not be third..."

"I'll consider it." Polina sighed. "But I would want to get to know you better before I agree to anything- and, even if I do agree, that doesn't mean that Oliver will. So keep that in mind."

"-with the sails burning behind me, I jumped off the back of the ship!" Oliver chuckled. "Then me and Ram took the boat back to the island so I could watch what the pirates did- and I'm glad I did! While most of them were panicking, trying to put out the fires, one tried to send out one of those messenger birds they use. Of course, I shot it out of the air- we don't want the other pirate ships to get a warning about us, after all."

Jal was nearly bouncing in excitement from the story as she sat next to him. "You said that you quoted a movie... Mom told me about movies! What's the movie called? Will you tell me about it?"

Seeing the awe and curiosity in her eyes, Oliver laughed again- and his laptop appeared in his hands. "How about I just show you the movie? It's called 'The Princess Bride', and I've got it right here in my laptop... though I'll have to translate the lines for you-"

"Can we really!?" The Devil girl practicality shouted, latching onto his arm.

Seeing her practically glow with hope, Oliver smiled gently at the girl.

"As you wish."

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