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"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐃, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒," a small voice sang towards the endless ocean. "the seas be ours and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam."
"yo ho, all hands, hoist the colors high," her father joined in. "heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die!" they finished together, both staring out at the sunrise.
the young girl held a compass in her hand. the needle pointed out at the horizon.
"admirable . . ." he said, noticing where the compass was aimed.
she smiled up at her father, handing the compass back to him. it didn't point north, but something about it was special.
"you'll make a fine sailor someday, bella," he crouched down to look at her on eye level.
"why do you have to leave again, dad?" she asked in response.
"don't worry about me, dear," he answered, tucking the compass away. "soon, it'll be your turn."
"really?" young bella's eyes lit up at the thought of sailing the seas.
"aye," her father told her. "already, you're growing into a fine young lady. you've just turned nine!"
bella giggled.
"exactly! a fine young lady already," he repeated. "and a smart one, at that."
"if you say so," she replied. in the distance, port royal was coming back into view. the least favorite part of her birthday voyage every year was saying goodbye to her father.
"i do," he said. "so that's why i wanted to give you something."
"a present?" she questioned, smile growing as she became curious.
"no," her dad reached into his coat and pulled out a playing card. "something very important of mine."
"that's important?" bella said, confused.
"yes," he told her. "i want you to keep it safe for me."
"ok," she agreed eagerly, reaching to take it from his hand.
he pulled it out of her grasp for a moment. "keep it on your person at all times, and never lose it. can you promise me you'll do that?"
"i will," she responded in all seriousness, sensing the genuine look in her father's eyes.
"all right," he placed the card in her hand. "it's under your care now."
she looked up at him, not understanding the significance of a decrepit old card.
he paused before looking deep into her eyes. "one day, when i pass on from this world, it will be entirely yours."
bella nodded slowly, examining the card in her hand before placing it in her pocket. why was a simple queen of spades so important?
"well then, it's time you went home," her father led her to a longboat where the first mate was waiting to take her ashore. nobody was on board except for the three of them.
"dad, must i? can't you come with? or better yet, i stay with you?"
"no, bella. it's safest for you to go on without me," he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. "i love you."
bella slightly sighed and hugged him back. "i love you too," she said. it was the same every year. climbing into the longboat, her gaze never left her father as she was taken back to port royal. the sun had just risen, and she made it back to land before anyone saw her.
but she sat on the sand and stared at her father's ship, disappearing into the distance.
little did she know that at nine years old, that was the last time she would see her father. with only the faint memories of her nighttime birthday sailing trips every year, she wished she had more information about his past. she spent years after his death interrogating every sailor who landed in port royal about his past. several seemed to know him, but nobody ever told her anything.
until one day, age 19, she persuaded a merchant who landed in the port to tell her the truth about her father. she wasn't quite surprised when she discovered that he had been a pirate. she then threw herself into learning everything about piracy, in secret, of course.
but bella did in fact grow into a fine young lady, and a smart one at that.
her earlier years were filled with escaping from port royal on merchant ships, only to be brought back by marines every time. she met a boy named will, six years younger than her, who taught her how to swordfight.
she was one of the girls who breathed flames when challenged, but then loved so gently that it made you forget she could.
in general, she was sick of the town and wanted nothing more than to be free.
nobody seemed to understand, but that was fine.
because bella had a fire within her, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
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