King Uthric was furious, and when he was furious those around him knew to step softly. They knew to live they needed to stay out of his sight.

King Uthric was a big man, once he'd been powerfully built in his youth, but had it had long since gone to fat. He'd been a warrior when he'd gained the throne and he still thought like one. Which was why he was furious, he hated three things more than anything else in his life. Liars, cowards, and thieving lickspittles like the fool boy in front of him, who was all three.

"You dare show your face to me? After you lost half my navy and fled from a few pirates in leaky derelicts!? Why should I not strike your head from your shoulders?" He roared hearing his wine in the boys face.

"They outnumbered me and my ships twenty to one father! There was nothing I could have done, save get myself and my men killed!"

"And you should have sank with your fingers wrapped about that wretched Blackhearts throat!" He thundered leaping to his feet. "No get out! Find Blackheart and kill him or do not come home!" He watched as the boy stormed from the room. Suddenly his rage fled him, leaving him weak and shaking. He slumped back into his throne, and called for wine.

"How dare he!" Prince Ulric hissed, fury burning hotly in his gut, filling his veins with fire. "He treats me like a dog! It's not right."

"I know," his younger brother, Prince Caspian, replied quietly. "But what can we do? Father won't listen to us. He doesn't understand how dangerous Blackheart is!"

"We have to do something," Ulric said firmly. "I won't stand idly by and watch our kingdom burn."

As they walked towards their chambers, they noticed a commotion in the courtyard. A group of soldiers were gathered around a man on horseback, loudly arguing with him. Curious, the princes made their way over to see what was happening.

The man on the horse was dressed in strange clothes, unlike anything they had seen before. He was tall with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

"What is going on here?" Caspian asked one of the soldiers.

"This man claims to be Duke Richards son. Says he has urgent news for the king."

"Well, let us take him to see our father," Ulric said, stepping forward.

The soldier hesitated, but the stranger spoke up. "Thank you, Prince Ulric. My father wishes to discuss a matter of great importance with yours."

The princes led the man towards the throne room, wondering what could be so urgent that the Duke's son would come all this way to speak with their father. As they entered the room, King Uthric's eyes narrowed at the sight of the stranger.

"What brings you here?" he demanded.

"I come on behalf of my father, the Duke," the man replied calmly. "There is a great army gathering to the north, along the coast. We fear they may be planning an attack on Britannia. Three of our cities have already fallen."

King Uthric scoffed. "An army? We have heard nothing of the sort."

"Perhaps that is because your scouts have not gone far enough north," the man suggested. "But I can assure you, the threat is real. If we do not act soon, we may all be doomed."

The princes exchanged a glance, sensing the urgency in the stranger's tone. "What do you suggest we do?" Caspian asked.

"My father recommends that we combine our armies and march north to meet this threat head on," the man said. "It is the only way to ensure our kingdoms' survival. Your navies would be of great benefit."

King Uthric leaned back in his throne, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Very well," he said finally. "We will send our armies to meet with yours. But make no mistake, if this is some ploy to weaken us, you will answer to me."

The man nodded solemnly, then bowed and backed out of the room. The princes watched him go, wondering what other surprises lay in store for them as they faced this unknown enemy. Was it Blackheart? Had he abandoned his ships? How many men did he have at his command now?

Ulric hoped the sick feeling of foreboding in his gut was just nerves and not, as he feared, and not an omen. As they left the throne room, Prince Ulric turned to his brother. "We need to make sure our navy is ready for this," he said. "We can't afford any mistakes."

Caspian nodded in agreement. "I'll make sure the ships are prepared, but we'll need more men. We can't fight this alone."

Ulric thought for a moment. "We could speak to some of the neighboring kingdoms. Perhaps they would be willing to send their ships to aid us."

"But we can't trust them all," Caspian pointed out. "We need to be careful who we ask for help."

Ulric nodded. "Agreed. We'll have to choose wisely."

As they made their way towards the shipyard, they noticed a group of soldiers gathered around a man in the distance. Curiosity piqued, they quickened their pace to investigate.

As they approached, they saw that it was Mr. Starks. The man had gained command of his own vessel and had been stationed to patrol the coastal cities south of the peninsula. He was pacing back and forth, his face contorted in frustration.

"What is going on here?" Ulric asked, stepping forward.

The man stopped, turning to face them. "It's Blackheart," he said, his voice trembling. "He's attacked one of our ports."

The brothers exchanged a worried glance. "How many men does he have?" Caspian asked.

"I don't know," Starks admitted. "But we can't fight him alone. We need help."

Ulric placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We'll take care of it," he said firmly. "Go gather what men you can and meet us at the docks."

Starks nodded, relief flooding his features as he turned and sprinted off.

The princes hurried to the shipyard, where they found their crews hard at work preparing the ships for battle. As they approached, their captain met them at the dock.

"Your highnesses," he said, bowing respectfully. "We're almost ready to set sail. But we'll need more men."

Ulric nodded. "We're working on it. But we need to move quickly. Blackheart won't wait for us."

The crew nodded, understanding the urgency of the situation.

As they set sail towards the port under attack, Ulric couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. They were outnumbered and outgunned, and they had no idea what to expect. But they had to keep moving forward.

As they arrived at the port, they saw the damage Blackheart had wrought. Ships were in flames, bodies littered the shoreline, and the stench of death hung heavy in the air.

Ulric's jaw tightened with determination. "We'll take him down," he said firmly. "Whatever it takes."

"four ships, four ships did this?" Ulric demanded of the wounded sailer sitting in front of him. They were in the former governor's office.

"yes, four man of war class vessels, flying the blackhearts colors. They sailed into port and opened fire with their long guns." The sailer rubbed a bold and soot stained hand over and equally filthy face.

"Why did you not return fire? I Assume this port is equiped with defensive batteries?" Caspian asked frowning at the man.

"They were destroyed with the first salvo. Not that it would have mattered. Most of the men who were supposed to man them were struck suddenly ill last night."

"Damn you Blackheart!" Ulric snarled thumping a fist onto the onate desk behind which he sat. "So we have a saboteur," he said with a heavy sigh. Not needing the nod of confirmation of Mr. Starks to know it was true.

"We need to find the traitor and deal with them swiftly," Caspian said, his voice firm. "We can't afford to have anyone working against us."

Ulric nodded in agreement. "Agreed. We need to tighten security and keep a close eye on any suspicious activity."

As they discussed their plans, a messenger burst into the room. "Your highnesses," he gasped, clearly out of breath. "We've just received word. Blackheart has attacked another port, to the east. They've captured the entire city."

Ulric's heart sank. "How many ships did he send?"

"We don't know," the messenger replied. "But we have reports that he has over five hundred men under his command."

Caspian shook his head in disbelief. "That's a formidable force. We need to gather our armies and meet him head-on."

Ulric stood up, his expression determined. "I agree. We can't let him continue to ravage our lands. But we need to move carefully. We don't want to walk into a trap."

As they made their way back to the shipyards, the princes knew that time was running out. Blackheart was growing stronger with each passing moment, and they needed to find a way to stop him before it was too late.