A Pirate's Life For Me

Aaron Stowe

The sky was cloudless and bright on the morning before everything fell apart.

A carriage, led by two white horses, bustled down the countryside. The trip for the three passengers was quite an unpleasant one, as the party took nearly two hours to get to. Speaking of these passengers, they were one of the richest on Warbler Island. There were a lot of rich inhabitants on the island, since their Queen had many ships, which could be used for trade and warfare.

Queen Eagala tended to hide away deep in the mountains where her kingdom was located, but that didn't mean she left her people isolated. She offered jobs for all those who were worthy, and by some miracle, the family in the carriage were the first to get them. Becoming very rich came with new opportunities, like moving into a large mansion, affording to buy maids, and getting connections with other wealthy, high social class families. Often, these connections would flourish by going to a party, or usually by getting married. That was the way life worked for families with importance, and Sky's family was exactly that.

Sky could never sit still on carriage rides as bumpy as these. She would've preferred walking or riding a horse, but she knew her mother would call her improper for even mentioning those things. Warbler was by far one of the most proper in all the seven islands. For someone as high social ranking as her, she was required to wear the tightest corset imaginable (apparently not being able to breathe was in fashion), knee-high frilled white stockings, black Mary Jane shoes, and a long gown with too many buttons and layers.

And she hated wearing it. Ironically, dresses were never Sky's thing. She always felt too hot, too stiff, too uncomfortable. At home when no one was around, she liked to borrow her father's old clothes just for fun. Apparently dressing up as a boy was the only way Sky did feel comfortable, with how loose the clothing was. Sky found herself wishing almost every day that she could just wear pants, although in her world, that wasn't an option. Someday, she really hoped it would be.

Today, she was dressed exceedingly nice. She wore her favorite dress, a sunset-colored one that matched the golden orange of her eyes. Her dark copper hair had been twisted up into a crown braid at the top of her head, and her mother swore it made her blond highlights stand out more than usual. Sky's mother, Copper, believed tight updos made her look more beautiful, but Sky thought it looked like a snake had woven itself in her hair. It was so tight that Sky kept pulling at it to make it looser.

A large part of her wished she could've at least worn her father's boots today, but going to a huge party full of many wealthy people made her change her mind. She couldn't ruin this for her family. She had to look pretty. Decent. Whatever. It made Sky roll her eyes. She seriously couldn't wait to get out of this ridiculous outfit.

Sky stared out the window, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't a clue why they were going to this party. It was obviously for social gathering purposes, but she still didn't think she had to go. What was this party for, anyway? It couldn't be for only small talk. Last time she went to a party like that, she was ten years-old and bored out of her mind. She asked her mother about it, but she refused to tell her, only giving her a smile and saying, "It's a surprise!"

Sure, that really cleared things up.

Maybe it was a birthday party they were going to? Her gaze slid to Crow, who was dressed as fancy as she was. He was best friends with a boy named Henry Haluki, but Sky had never actually seen this boy before. Crow had gone to a birthday party for him every year. Whenever Sky asked if she could come too, her brother scowled and told her she wasn't allowed. It was even stranger when she found out that Crow never told their mother about the birthday parties. It was almost like he was sneaking out of the house . . . almost as if he was doing something he shouldn't be.