John sat against the stone wall of his lonely prison cell. His dirty, bare feet were sprawled out before him. He sighed and tilted his head back, smashing down his dark auburn hair. His formerly white shirt was missing half a sleeve and was covered in dirt. His pants had been sliced off at the knees and he was covered in scratches and bruises. He had put up a fight before he was arrested, that was sure enough. John placed a gold coin on his thumb and flicked it into the air, watching as it rotated over and over again. A small sliver of sunlight from the barred window caught the coin, causing it to shine brilliantly before it landed back into John’s grimy hand. He flicked it into the air again, having nothing better to do.
“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.” He sang. He heard the heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs open; someone was descending into the dungeon. “We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me harties yo ho.” He flicked the coin again as the sound of high heels on the stone came closer. It was a woman descending the stairs then. John could only assume who was daring to visit him. “We kid nap and ravage,” Another flick and the barely perceptible tink of his nail striking the metal. A figure walked into the dungeon. “And don’t give a hoot.” He caught it again and tossed it in the air, it flipped up much higher than it had gone before. “Drink up me harties yo ho.” He caught the gold coin again and looked over at the woman who had approached his cell. She pulled the hood of her cloak back, revealing her long auburn curls and bright blue eyes. A gaudy tiara sat on top of her head and her long, blood red skirts where coated in black lace and embroidery. “Your highness, what an honor.” John looked away and tossed his coin into the air again, disinterested.
“You idiot.” The princess spoke harshly. John glanced over.
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t believe how stupid you have been in the past and how moronic you are now.” She said, her pretty features crumpling in disgust. “You had a job in the palace, and you left it. You left palace life to run off with pirates.” John stood and leaned against the wall.
“If you forget, sister,” He hissed the word. This evil young woman was not the girl he had once known. “I was a servant. Worth hardly more to the king than the pigs that provide his sausage and bacon. Running away to sail the seven seas was the best decision of my life, not that you care.” John glared at her with matching blue eyes. The twins hadn’t seen one another since they were thirteen.
“To do what? Serve as a cabin boy?” The princess laughed cruelly. “Oh yes, a much better position than serving royalty in the palace. Silly me.” John laughed. The princess glowered at her brother.
“What?” She demanded. “What is the matter with you?” She nearly shrieked.
“Jacquelyn, you are incredibly deluded.” John wiped a pretend tear from his eye. “I started as a cabin boy, yes. But I worked my way up the ranks, unlike anything I could have done in the palace. Do you remember how old I was when I left?”
“You were thirteen, as was I, stupid. It was two days after our birthday and you left me. Abandoned your own sister.” Jacquelyn tried to fake a sense of sadness but just couldn’t do it. She hadn’t really missed her brother except for when she felt she needed him for something. She was furious he had left her; she’d have no servant boy now. And no one to blame for things she had done, such as murdering the songbirds in the king’s garden. Jacquelyn had always had a strange fixation with death. Even when they were small children in the orphanage she would drag her brother to see the public executions, cheering as the guilty party swung from a rope.
