When Wren, a lowly servant of a wealthy family, is kidnapped by pirates and brought before the notorious Captain Harry Styles, she's certain that her life will consist of misery. She's used to serving the snobbish Hadley Aubigné and her family, but...
Once again, I found myself in a rowboat, heading towards the small island kingdom of Elinshire. Harry and the others had taken a few more trips to investigate remote areas of the island and to determine the safest place to go ashore. They had found a small village not far from where we had splashed around in the lagoon. According to Harry, they had been thrilled to find that the prince and his companions had returned at long last. I prayed that he was right.
As the boat tugged and lurched along, I smiled reassuringly at Hadley, who was clinging fiercely to Niall. Neither of us had ever lived in such a warm climate before, and we were both starting to suffocate in our long-sleeved dresses. Harry assured us that we could find more suitable clothing in the village.
Even with Niall by her side, I could sense Hadley's apprehension written across her face. She was used to a life of luxury, and now that we had found civilization once again, she knew that she would be expected to live with peasants, at least temporarily, and worse yet, she would be expected to live like them. The poor girl was positively green, although that could have also been from the rough waters as we were buffeted about by the increasing winds. Harry had mentioned the possibility of a hurricane, which made me all the more thankful that we were going inland and not staying aboard the tiresome, stale ship.
Abigail, on the other hand, had a light in her eyes that couldn't be extinguished by anything around us. I could tell she was happy to be returning home, although I wondered how different it would be for her so many years later. But she was a girl who clearly loved her father immensely, so as long as he stayed close, she would be happy wherever she went.
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Zayn rowed the boat straight into the lagoon and close enough to shore for us to wade up to the sandy beach in our bare feet. Liam and a few strong crew members had stayed behind to protect the boat while the rest of us ventured to the island.
Hadley, Abigail and I found a dry log to sit down and put our shoes back on, since we didn't want to sit in the damp sand. The men hadn't even cared enough to remove their boots before slogging through the water.
It was close to dusk again, and Harry had informed me that we would be walking through the jungle at night, so I should stick close to him. The men had built a fire and were able to light small torches to carry with us, along with rations of food and water, just in case we didn't find something to eat soon enough. Before we set off on our short journey towards the village, Harry pulled me close and said, "No matter what happens, I love you, Little Bird."
His words both comforted me and alarmed me. Was he expecting something terrible to happen? I wondered if we were in much greater danger than he had let on. On the other hand, if the danger was great, I doubted that he would have allowed the womenfolk to come along. In any case, he had fitted me with a sword and a dagger, just in case we ran into trouble.
Not long after we began our trek, Abigail succumbed to fatigue and Louis carried her effortlessly through the dense foliage. I admired him for his devotion to his little girl and the strength he had to be there for her all of her life. I also admired his physical strength in carrying his now-ten-year-old child across difficult terrain.
