The Pirate's Legacy: New Identities

Epilogue: Bountiful Seas

Queen Emelia Kraven Quiesco slept not at all the night she ordered Dread Pirate Robin out of her room. The young woman stood in front of her favorite window overlooking the ocean. In front of her unseeing eyes, the heaven moved slowly over its sister, the sea, who reflected the object of her envy on her choppy black surface. Em filled the hours preceding dawn by contemplating a great many things: her life before being kidnapped; the past year; her "nascent reign," as Dread Robin had put it; and above all, Roger himself.

Immediately following the Pirate King's departure, the queen's ladies-in-waiting renewed their calls from the other side of the barred door to let them inside. These entreaties went unanswered, unnoticed for the most part. Their mistress didn't care for food. Her gut somersaulted constantly and turned within itself. She couldn't sleep. Her head swam with her sorrows, her worries, and her bittersweet joys; of her past and, most importantly, of her future. When the distant clock tower in the city tolled the midnight hour, the attendants gave up finally and their voices ceased to be heard for the rest of the night.

The young queen left her post just once, and that was when the night's vigil was almost over, and its starry, dark body was beginning to be overtaken by the soft hands of dawn. Only then did the queen leave the window to unlock the door. But as a stipulation for having it open, she allowed just Lady Louise access into the bedroom, to the consternation of the other women. As quickly as the queen had left it, she returned to her window and delved back into her silent musings. She blocked out Louise's gentle suggestions to take to bed or clean up her person or eat a bit of food. The kindhearted woman didn't waste her breath for long. She left soon after, but came back periodically to check up on her charge.

During Lady Louise's last inspection, the cusp of the sun's sleepy eye was just starting to peak above the invisible horizon line. The lady stuck her head through the door, but instead of her usual onceover glance at the queen, Louise announced that there was a visitor who wanted to bid Em goodbye.

An electrical jolt passed through the queen's body, animating the statue she'd become back to life. She spun toward the door as Michael Turnbull stepped across the threshold.

His sky-blue eyes observed Em's face fall at the sight of him. He smiled sheepishly, knowing who she had really anticipated walking through the door. Michael teased, "I had envisioned a more enthusiastic welcome."

The war had banged him up. He'd received a number of bullet wounds, concentrated mostly on his upper body. A minor fire in the helm caused by a flaming cannonball had burned the back of one hand. The cuts and bruises he'd received were enumerable. However, he recovered well since then. The burn ceased to sting, and its boil removed of its liquid. His cuts and bruises were healing, and it didn't hurt so much anymore to move his arms about and take deep breaths of air. The skin on the tip of his nose, which had that scrape with a stray bullet two months ago, had grown back, but the tip was now forever on the flat side, where it had once been round.

Michael and Em had not seen each other since her coronation. The captain of The Jolly Roger had anchored his first mate to the ship with the heavy responsibility of overseeing the repair of the war-damaged vessel. However, Em and Michael had sent frequent letters back and forth between them during their sightless absence. It was with these letters in mind that turned what should have been a warm reception cold from Em's end.

In an icy tone, Em said, "I can't believe you have the balls to show your face. You kept from me the knowledge that you were leaving."

In an apology full of guilt, Michael explained Roger had forced his silence, but he knew and she knew his excuse wasn't enough to mend Em's injury. A tense moment passed between them before Michael asked hopefully, "Will you accompany me to the city to see me and Roger off?"