The Pirate Princess

Skylars Story

"I was young when it all started. I haven't always been the Prince of Pirates or the son of the infamous Pirate King, Robert Sparks, you know. I used to be a commoner. A farmer's son, who did what he was told, earned an honest living and planned on getting married and having a family of my own." Skylars voice is soft; his eyes foggy as if he is looking off into the distance. I look at his face, his mouth relaxes as his eyes wonder around the room seeing but not seeing at the same time. His eyes are the dark grey of thunder clouds while his mouth is a pale pink. He looks as if he's remembering a past he's been trying to forget ever since it happened. I look away before he notices for I feel as though I'm intruding on a personal moment.

His voice is laced with bitterness and resentment as he continues, "Heck my name wasn't even Skylar back then. It was Christopher... Until that terrible day. I was about 9. My father had finally allowed me to go into town with him. We were riding in the cart, my father holding the reins and me at his side. We had to pass through the forest to get to town. I remember everything as if it happened yesterday. It was late fall early winter. The sun was low in the east; we had to leave early that morning to set up for market. A breeze rustled the trees causing a few golden leaves to fall to the forest floor. My father was talking to me; telling me what I needed to do when we got to town. I wasn't really listening, of course. Ha, what 9 year old listens to their parents? I was watching a blue bird. It was taking off, going from branch to branch, chirping as it went. It's song sweet and melodic. I was lost in thought when the chirping stopped. I looked around at the trees lining the trail. The bird was nowhere to be seen. I looked toward the trees in front of us and noticed they weren't getting closer; my father had stopped the cart. I looked at him; his expression was an unreadable mask and his posture rigid. His eyes were staring ahead, they held so much fear that I began to feel it creeping down my spine, into all my veins and bones." Skylar snaps back to the present, his eyes regaining some of their luster, streaks of blue veining the gray of his eyes. He looks around the room as if he had forgotten where he was. I look at him, his face is covered in sweat and his bangs stick to his forehead. He looks at me and I turn away, feeling as though it's not my place. When did I start thinking about my place? My place isn't by his side. Snap out of it girl. You're only going along with this until you can get away from him, away from all this and back to Stephan, I think to myself. Feeling as if I'm being rebellious, I return my attention to Skylar. Using the covers, Skylar wipes the sweat off his face, pulling the sheets that are wrapped around his midsection away from his waist. The movement reveals more scars on his stomach and abs. He follows my gaze. I look away, feeling his icy sting of a glare boring into the side of my head.

"I think it's time we take a break," he says as he throws off the covers. Skylar swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands up. He's in a pair of black boxers that hug his butt and thighs. He walks over to the dresser and pulls the first drawer open. Rummaging around inside, he pulls out a pair of dark skinny jeans, throws them on the bed and closes the drawer. Opening the one underneath it, he pulls out a black t-shirt. He throws it onto the bed with one hand as he shuts the drawer with the other, before walking over to the bed. He stands by the side of the mattress and stares at me expectantly. I stay where I am. He lets out a frustrated sigh and walks around the bed, stands in front of me and gives me his famous spine chilling stare. I return his stare with a confused look, playing as if I don't know what he wants me to do. Honestly though, I don't know where the clothes are.

I look into his blue streaked eyes. They're filled with an increasing rage as his heart closes and the insolence of my rebelliousness registers in his mind. The sweet tender guy who had told me some of his past is gone, replaced by the course captain that I have known,and grown to both fear and hate, since the beginning of my imprisonment on his ship. I had scooted closer to the edge of the bed sometime during Skylars' story. He places his hands on either side of my legs and glares at me. I look into his eyes, not backing down.