Song of the Sea

Chapter 1

When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of sailing the seas. I would always go down to the docks and watch all the ships and sailors. But my father was a wealthy businessman and did not like the idea of me conversing with the sailors. He believes that the men that sailed the seas were possessed by the Devil, from the way they speak to the way they walk. He told me to stay away, so I have taken to sneaking down, pretending to do chores. He wants me to be a good daughter and wife, but every time I am down by the salty air, I feel free. I am confined by the expectations of society, and every time I feel like I can break out, people always shove me back in. Sometimes, I want to run away, to sail the seas with my best friend, Cairo. But I never did, until now.

"Mirabel! Where are you? You need to get ready right now!" My maid, Joan, calls out to me. I emerge from the manor library.
"I'm here, Joan. What do you need me for now?" Joan runs towards me, feet slipping across the polished floor.
"The festival starts in three hours! We need to get you ready! Come on!" She grabs my hand and starts tugging me out of the room.
I lean back into my heels and stop short. "I don't need three hours to get ready. Can't I stay and read a little longer? My father surely won't mind if I'm not his little perfect doll."
"Mirabel! Never talk like that again. He says he wants you to look your best, yes, but you're not his little doll." Her amber eyes flash. "You should be ashamed of yourself"
"Look, Joan, I appreciate that you want to obey my father, but you also have to obey me. And I say a couple more minutes." Joan looks torn between continuing dragging me to get ready and wanting to just be done with me. Finally, she huffs and tosses her head.
"Just a couple of minutes. If you're not in your room by the time I return, I'm telling your father."
I grin and pull her into a hug. "Thanks, Joan. I won't be late." She walks back out of the room and I return to the bookshelves. I pull out a book called Guardians of the Sea. I tuck it under my arm and walk to a table covered in papers. I stuff the materials into a bag. I sling it over my shoulder and press a button on the wall. A small door appears. I slip through it. There is a network of secret passages through my home, and I often use them to slip away from meetings and trouble. The one I opened twists and turns before coming to an end. I lift a lever. A tiny spot appears. I crawl out and press down on the wall. After it closes, it looks like part of the wall. I dump my bag and the book on my bed and walk over to the vanity. My room is the second biggest in the house, next to my father's. The house itself is very old and sits next to the ocean. I had a balcony installed when I was younger so I could watch the ships in the harbor and hear the shanties of the sailors. The door bangs open and Joan breezes in, trailed by some other servants.
"You actually made it on time! I didn't see you come in," Joan says. She tuts at the mess on my bed. "Really, Mirabel, you need to start cleaning up after yourself. It's not ladylike."
"Really, Joan, just get on with making me look perfect. We can worry about how I act later." I sit down in front of the mirror and straighten my back. Joan comes up behind me and starts brushing through my knotted blonde hair. I look into the mirror and sigh. My dark skin is very dried out from all the days in the sun, and my hair is crusted with salt. That's the problem of living in Vodor. Beauty is only a figment of the imagination. Nobody here bothers with trying to look good unless it's an important day, like today. Joan finishes brushing my hair and begins braiding it into an elaborate updo. She motions to one of her helpers to go and get something for her.
When she's done with my hair, she begins on my face. She rubs oil into my skin to make it soft, then applies some makeup. She puts some kohl around my eyes to make my dark eyes have more depth. The girl she sent away returns. I don't see her enter, but when I turn around, I see the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. It's a light blue skirt with a white bodice. There are tiny crystals sewn into the skirt that makes it sparkle. The sleeves are sheer with patterns of white decorating it.
"Oh, Joan. It's beautiful. Where did you get this?" I ask her.
She smiles. "It's your mother's. Your father said to give it to you to wear it today. Your mother wore it for her first festival too." She helps me into it. "You look just like her."
My eyes well with tears. "Thank you so much. I will cherish it." One of the girls brings forward a box. I turn and look at it. Joan opens it and takes out a tiara. It's rose gold with a diamond in the middle. She carefully puts it on my head and brings a mirror for me to see. "It's gorgeous." I look at her. "I'm sorry for how I behaved earlier."
"It's okay, my lady. You're stressed. I understand. We still have about an hour left before the ceremony." She winks. "Just don't be late." I grin at her. She exits the room with the girls and I sit down at my desk. It's ornate maple wood, with many drawers. I have a secret compartment under it for the things that my father disapproves of. My desk is covered in maps of the world and ship designs. I grab the book off my bed and rifle through the pages before I find what I'm looking for. An island. I stuff a bookmark into the book and run out of my room.
I race through the hallways, startling servants and nearly running over my father's secretary. "Watch where you're going, miss!" he hollers as I rush past. I just wave over my shoulder.
I burst out into the courtyard and run to the harbor. My best friend, Cairo, is a sailor that lives on my father's most beloved merchant ship. He's up in the mast, doing something with the sails. The ship itself is a schooner, made of ebonized wood that is painted black. "Cai!" I yell as I run into the deck. "Cai, I found something!"
He spots me and swings down. "Well, look at you all dressed up. Is that sweat on your forehead?"
I swipe my hand across my brow. "I don't know. But look! It's the island! I told you it existed!" I open the book and show him the page. He squints at it, then his face lights up.
"Mira, you found it! My gosh, it actually does exist! You were right!" He lifts me up in a big hug. "Oops, I didn't mean to wrinkle your dress." He pulls the book from my hands. "Insula De Aur. " His golden eyes light up. "The Island of Gold." He looks at me. "We need to go. I'll begin preparations." He stuffs the book in my hands and turns away.
"Wait. Cai." I grab his arm. "I can't go."
He turns to me and shakes his head. "Mira, we've been wanting to do this since we were children. We've been planning this forever. And now that we actually have a chance of discovering this, you don't want to? What happened to you when I was away?"
"Look, Cai, I really do want to go. I just can't. I have duties I need to do here. I need to make sure the town is okay."
"Yeah. You've hated your duties. You always complain about them. Did you meet someone or something? Is that what this is about?"
"No! I just feel like I'm needed here. I want to be here. I'm sorry. Besides, I have my first festival today. The one that celebrates me turning 15. After this, I can't leave." I shrug. "Maybe I do actually want to be here."
He looks at me in disbelief. "I can't believe this. You have dreaded this ceremony! You always wanted to see the world. Never to be stuck here." He turns away. "I guess this is where we say our goodbyes."
"No, Cai, please. I just feel like I belong now. That's all. We can still be friends."
"Oh, is that all? Because you do realize that after you go through with this, you can't be seen with me, right? Is that what you want? What do you need?"
"Well, maybe, it is what I want! Maybe it's best if we never see each other again. Besides, if I am still friends with you after, people will ridicule me! Being friends with a lowly sailor!" As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. Cai's shoulders slump, and he turns back to look at me. The anguish in his face is clear. "No, I didn't mean that. Cai, wait!"
"No, Mirabel. Go live your life. It won't be as fun as you think it will be. Goodbye." He walks away. I stand there, torn between walking after him and running away. I choose the latter. I run off the ship and through the town. I run to the stables and climb inside my carriage. My head falls into my hands and I sob. Why do I always say the wrong thing? Someone knocks on the door. I sniffle and open the door. Joan stands there with a sympathetic look on her face.
"It's hard saying goodbye, isn't it?" She asks. I nod and slip out of the carriage. She draws me in for a hug. "It's going to be alright, you'll see. You'll see."

The bells toll as the carriage rolls throughout the streets. I wave to my people as they throw flowers at me. I smile and blow kisses to the people when I catch their roses. My father sits next to me in the carriage. His silver hair gleams in the sun. We wave at the crowds. We arrive at the church and are helped out of the carriage. I link my arm through my father's and he leads me through the doors.
"You look very nice today, my dear. Remember to smile and act like everyone is beneath you."
"Thank you, Father. Yes, Father." We walk down the center of the church and onto a dais. My father leaves and walks off to the side. He stares at me as if to make sure I don't run away. I continue up some stairs and curtsy before a minister. Behind me, I hear the seats filling up. I rise and stand before the minister. He smiles at me and I let out a breath. I have practiced my lines over and over again. I could say them in my sleep.
"Are you ready to begin, my lady?" He asks once the rustling of the people stop. I nod. I turn around and curtsy to the crowd. I spot Cai in the back and quickly look away. I see Joan standing off to the side. She beams and gives me the thumbs up. I smile and turn back around. "If you will repeat after me..."
After the ceremony ends, I have two chairs brought up to me. My father and I sit down, and the townspeople come up to congratulate me. I accept their praises and thanks, and my father has little conversations with some of them. I am a little nervous when Cai comes up, but all he gives me a handshake and moves on. I watch him go with a sinking feeling in my chest. Joan comes up to me.
"You know, if he wasn't a sailor, I could see you two getting married. And having a bunch of little children! It would be so cute." I shrug and smile. I greet the next person.
"Joan, we had a fight. I don't know if we'll ever be friends again," I say as the person moves away.
Joan sighs. "It was just one fight, Mirabel. It will be fine! Besides, you have your whole life ahead of you! It will be just as fun as you think." I close my eyes and shake my head. Cai's words echo through my mind. It won't be as fun as you think it will be.
"Mirabel!" my father hisses. "Sit up! Smile! You look like a depressed peasant," he says sharply. I wrinkle my nose at him. "Why do you have to act this way? Can't you just be a lady?"
"Why don't you just leave me alone?" I snap. Everyone looks at me. I had said that louder than I intended. Well, there's nothing more I can say to make this day worse, so why not just roll with it? "Honestly, you're always on my back about something. Mirabel, sit up! Mirabel, don't read books! Mirabel this, Mirabel that! Why don't you just shut up!" I feel tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. And not ones of sorrow. No, these burn my eyes and I see red. "All you care about is yourself! Sometimes I wonder if I'm even your daughter!" Everyone gasps. I look around at their stricken faces. Joan has a hand over her mouth and is leaning against a column for support. Cai is leaning forward, watching me from underneath his dark hair. "Well! It's true!" I flounce off the platform and walk to the door. Everyone hastily moves out of the way for me. I keep my head up and the tears back.
When I reach the doors, I say, "Father. I know I'm not the daughter you wanted. And you're not the father I wanted. This is not the life I wanted." I look at Cai. He's sitting straight up now and looking directly at me. "I have made many mistakes, but I am not sorry. I want to choose my life, and this is not the way I wanted it to be." I pull my eyes away from Cai and face my father. "I will take my leave now." I get one last glance of his face before I walk out the door.
When I get into my carriage, I collapse into sobs. Why had I said all those horrible things? What have I done? Don't worry, said a voice in my head. It will be alright. It's for the best. I try to shut out Joan's face, Cai's words during our fight, and my father just standing there while I tore his life apart. I take dry, heaving breaths and wipe the tears from my face. I lean out the window and say to the driver, "Please take me home as quickly as you can."