The Diary of a Builder

The Slave Ship

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 I was asleep in my bed after a long day's work with my fellow builders. My friends Juliet and Aaron were drawing chimaeras with Lily, my sister. My parents, John and Kylie had fallen asleep earlier; their work at the restaurant had been especially demanding. I was yanked out of bed by two bony hands. When I opened my eyes, I saw four skeletons pulling a bag over Lily's head. The one who had woken me grabbed a bag and wrestled to yank it on top of my head. After that, it was fuzzy. It all went black.

I awoke in a bed on a large ship. My sister was nowhere to be seen. My nightclothes were replaced with old rags. My bed was made of scratchy straw. The hardwood floor would have been more comfortable.

The room was surprisingly brightly lit, though the sconces were blue. Hmm. Honestly, I'm surprised that these hooligans let me keep my Builderpedia. It is my most valuable possession. I've had it since I was born. Ever since I could write, I have been keeping a record of the things I have built, and the events that have happened. It is a treasure.

"Get up, you filthy builder!" a skeleton screamed. He was particularly more ugly than the ones who had first kidnapped me. I noticed that I was chained to the wall just then. I'm not sure how I didn't realize that before...

Anyway, I watched angrily as the ugly skeleton undid my chains. He sent me out of my cell. I assumed that I would see him again. I named the ugly scoundrel "Ugly." Not very original, but still effective, which I learned when I called him that. "Shut up, you idiot builder," he yelled angrily, "I think you deserve fifteen whippings with that tone. But you know what? I will be nice, and let you off the hook. Just... watch your tone." I decided to smile a big dopey smile so that he, and everyone else would leave me alone. I usually wouldn't be scared of a fight, but I noticed Hargon's Standard on a wall. This is the Children of Hargon we're dealing with. I'm not usually scared of them, but still. My life was in danger. And it still is.