Chapter Text
Legend has it that if a king and queen pray to Isarus, the God of the Earth, he will grant them the gift of a firstborn son worthy of being an heir. When his queen entered into her thirtieth year having yet to bear a child, the king of Aithelon grew desperate. His kingdom looked to him for guidance and protection. How could he show his enemies his kingdom's strength if he had no sufficient bloodline?
While the queen didn't share the same beliefs in Aithelon's gods as her husband did, she wanted nothing more than to please the king. With that thought alone compelling her, the king and queen prayed - day after day, night after night - for thirteen months for Isarus to grant them a son.
The couple had nearly given up hope when their prayers were answered, and the queen fell pregnant. News spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire, and nobles rejoiced. Within the castle walls, however, this joy was short-lived.
As the due date grew closer, the medical practitioner detected something the king and queen were not expecting. Two heartbeats. What the king and queen had once thought of as a blessing now made them weary.
"Do not fret," the medical practitioner told them as he returned his equipment into his bag. "The child born first will be the rightful heir. We shall mark him accordingly."
"What if the firstborn isn't a son?" the queen asked as she looked to the king, panic filling both of their eyes.
The medical practitioner smirked. "Who would ever know apart from the three of us?"
While the practitioner's words had given them momentary comfort, dread once again filled the king and queen the night the queen was to give birth. Only one maid was permitted to be in the room to assist the practitioner, sworn to secrecy. With the circumstances that occurred that night, her life depended on that agreement.
The firstborn was not a son as the king and queen had hoped and prayed for, but a daughter. Her soft cries echoed against the walls as the medical practitioner handed her off to the maid in disgust, turning his attention back to the unborn twin. One last chance for a true heir that would make the kingdom proud.
The maid held the baby close, cleaning the princess off as she hummed a lullaby, trying to soothe her cries. The lack of interest from the queen toward her daughter troubled the maid. How could a mother be this cold to their own flesh and blood?
"You've done it, Your Majesty," the medical practitioner said as he pulled the second baby close to him, rising to his feet so that the queen could see her son.
Smiling, the queen reached out to take the baby boy into her arms. She still had yet to even glance at her daughter.
"Call in the king," the queen ordered, and the practitioner promptly escorted the king into the room.
"A son," the king whispered. "We have an heir."
The medical practitioner bowed. "Luckily, your son was the firstborn."
The king glanced for a moment at the maid holding his daughter, eyes filling with an unreadable emotion. The maid instinctively pulled the baby protectively to her chest, worried what the king might do.
"Does he speak the truth?" the king asked, questioning her loyalty.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the maid replied with a bow, understanding that her response could very well be the thing that kept this beautiful baby girl swaddled in her arms alive.
--- Twenty-Four Years Later ---
Ari Rothchester peeked outside her curtain, impatiently waiting for the sun to finally set. Her parents followed the same routine every evening, always retiring to bed at nightfall. While Ari obeyed their rules during the day, at night she became much more daring.
She had been labeled a curse from the moment she was born. While it took weeks for the king and queen to decide what to do with Ari, they paraded around the kingdom with her brother, Mateus, introducing him as their only child.
Clementine, the maid present for Ari and Mateus' birth, became Ari's surrogate mother during that time, making sure she was fed, bathed, and even gave her the name Arrabella. A name her birth parents never cared enough to change.
Eventually, King Eoman and Queen Hadena decided to grant Ari her life, though her existence was a secret confined within the castle walls. Anyone who tried to unveil this secret were deemed traitors and publicly executed. Very few people met that horrible fate over the years.
Ari and Mateus were oblivious to their parents' cruelty toward Ari at first, blissful in their youthful innocence, never needing anyone but each other. Their bond was strong, their loyalty unbreakable.
At ten years old, Mateus grew curious why he could run freely outside with his younger siblings, Frances and Evelyn, but could only play with Ari inside the castle. Why did his parents shower him and his siblings with love and affection yet could barely look at Ari without flinching? Why was her room so far away from everyone else and always locked at night?
One evening, his curiosity got the best of him.
"Ari really wants to learn how to ride a horse. Can she join me for my lesson tomorrow?" Mateus asked as the queen tucked him into bed.
Her eyes grew wide with panic, unable to compose herself.
"That is not possible," Queen Hadena muttered quickly, desperate to leave the room.
"Why not?"
"Enough questions, Mateus. Go to sleep." Ignoring his protests, the queen retreated from the room, hurrying off in search of King Eoman. "What shall we do, my king?" she asked once she found him. "I fear his questions will not cease."
"Then we shall give him a reason to stop," King Eoman replied, staring into the glowing embers in the fireplace. "In fact, all of our children should learn the truth."
"The truth?"
A cruel grin spread across the king's face as he turned to face his wife.
"Truth is what we say it is, my dear."
It was an uninspired tale they spun. After apologizing profusely, feigning sympathy, the king and queen explained why they kept Ari hidden, raising her out of the public eye.
"You have a weak heart, my darling," Queen Hadena whispered, sniffling as though she were on the verge of tears. The performance made Clementine sick to her stomach, but she remained silent from where she stood at the back of the room. "The life of a royal is a heavy weight to carry, and your father and I worried about what it might do to you. I understand how unfair this decision seems, but we felt it was best, for you and the kingdom."
Frail. Weak. Incapable of showing the strength of the royal family alongside her siblings. A lie Ari believed until her own body proved her mother's words to be false. Now Ari only maintains the performance out of fear of what exposing the truth would do.
It was only when the sun had set every night that Ari embraced her strength that her parents were so adamant that she didn't have.
The moment the last of the sunlight disappeared beneath the horizon, Ari pulled back the curtain from her window, welcoming the light from the stars and the rising moon.
Getting on her hands and knees, Ari removed the loose floorboard beneath her bed, retrieving the wooden sword hidden there. She can still remember the night it was given to her.
After learning of her medical condition, Ari hid away in her room, spending less and less time with her siblings. Mateus wouldn't accept that.
Picking the lock of her door, Mateus snuck into Ari's room after their parents had fallen asleep, carrying two wooden swords in his hands.
"What are you doing here, Mateus?" Ari asked from where she sat on her bed, her knees hugged tightly to her chest. "You'll get punished if you get caught."
"Luckily, I don't plan on getting caught," Mateus replied with a grin, tossing one of the swords onto her bed. "If mother and father will not teach you how to be strong, then I will."
"You heard what they said, Mateus. I'm too frail to be a princess."
"Shall we prove them wrong?"
Ari stared into the eyes that matched her own, the greenish blue irises shimmering like the sea, a glint of mischief seeping through. If Mateus believed her to be strong, then perhaps it was possible she actually was.
From that moment, Ari and Mateus trained in secret. Everything he learned during the day, he taught Ari at night, hidden from the prying eyes of their parents. Even when the time came that Mateus could no longer be with her, Ari practiced.
Ari moved around her room, bare feet gliding across the floor as she practiced every move Mateus taught her, the sword firm in her grasp. As the weight of her reality began to crush her, Ari's movements became more reckless.
Slicing the sword wide, the wooden edge crashed into a vase sitting atop her vanity, and the shattered porcelain scattered across the floor. Ari froze for a moment as the piercing sound echoed in the air before returning the sword to its hiding place beneath her bed.
Ari was picking up the fragments of the vase when her bedroom door creaked open, and she braced herself for the wrath of whoever had entered. That wrath never came.
"Whatever happened, Miss?" Clementine asked, kneeling beside Ari to help with the cleanup.
Releasing a relieved sigh, Ari chuckled to herself. "I got a little careless."
Clementine rolled her eyes. "What am I to do with you?"
"A distraction would be nice."
The two women rose to their feet, discarding the ruined vase into the rubbish bin before sitting on the edge of Ari's bed.
"Shall I recount the new stories I heard at the market today?"
Ari's eyes lit up. "Yes, please."
Tales of Captain Hongjoong and his band of misfit pirates were famous over the entire Emerald Province, but none more nefarious than in the kingdom of Aithelon. Whether in a smokey tavern, outside a merchant stall, or in the courtyards of the castle, rumors of the pirate crew would spread like wildfire.
"Did you hear? They kidnapped a governor's son, demanding ransom for the boy's return. The father complied, but of course, you can't trust the word of a pirate. Poor boy was probably tossed into the ocean without a second thought."
"My friend was visiting relatives a few villages to the north when the pirates attacked, stealing everything they could from the villager's homes, killing as they went. My friend caught a glimpse of the captain as he slaughtered an entire family. He was laughing maniacally, dripping head to toe in blood. I don't know how my friend managed to escape."
"I hear they never leave witnesses."
Ari sighed. "Why do people always say that? If no witnesses are ever left alive, how can anyone hear rumors about these incidents? How does that make any sense?"
"Instill enough fear into a person, and they will believe anything," Clementine explained, retrieving a long nightgown from the wardrobe for Ari to change into. "I'm not sure if I should be proud or worried that that same fear hasn't taken root inside of you, Miss."
Ari smiled as she let Clementine help her get changed.
"While some of the tales I've heard over the years might be laced with some truth, most of what you've told me about these men sounds like rubbish." Clementine rolled her eyes as Ari climbed into bed, pulling her blanket up to her chest. "Besides, my own reality is more horrifying to me."
Ari's words left a pang in Clementine's chest as she draped Ari's dirty garments over the back of her reading chair. Taking hold of Ari's hand, Clementine sat on the edge of the bed, letting out a deep sigh.
"Do not lose hope, Miss. Perhaps this marriage will not be as terrible as it seems."
Ari forced a smile, knowing Clementine didn't believe her own words. She stared out the one window in her room, the sea being the only view she's had her whole life, desperate for another distraction.
"Did those pirates actually steal a vessel from my father five years ago?" Ari asked, gaining a smile from Clementine. "I've heard that rumor whispered throughout the castle several times over the years, yet I've never heard my father confirm it to be true."
"King Eoman would deny such a thing if asked outright," Clementine stated before leaning closer to Ari, now speaking in a whisper. "Personally, I believe the rumors to be true, and the king ignores them altogether out of embarrassment. Who wouldn't be embarrassed that one young man stole a massive vessel from under his nose, unaware that said vessel was missing until weeks later?"
"One man? Did the captain not have his crew with him?"
Clementine shook her head. "If the rumors are true, it took four years for the eight of them to finally come together. They've only been a crew for a year, yet based on their comradery, you'd never be able to tell."
Interest piqued, Ari sat up in bed, unable to contain her excitement.
"You've never mentioned how the crew met. Tell me."
"Another time, Miss. You should get your rest."
Ari grabbed both of Clementine's sun-kissed hands, the wrinkles comforting against Ari's smooth skin.
"Please, Clementine. In a few short days, nights like this will no longer be mine to have. Sleep can wait."
After a moment, Clementine sighed in defeat, knowing she'd never be able to deny Ari a request. Having practically raised Ari as her own, the word no has rarely left her lips.
"As you wish."
Closing her eyes, Ari listened intently to Clementine's voice as her maid recounted the tales, easily picturing the events as though Ari had been there herself. The words washed over Ari, bringing her peace, if only for a moment.
The lantern sitting on Ari's bedside table slowly began to burn out as Clementine's story came to an end. With a gentle kiss on the forehead as a goodbye, Clementine blew out the flame before leaving Ari alone to sleep.
However, sleep was the last thing on Ari's mind. Pulling the blanket to the side, Ari rose out of bed and made her way to the window. After sunset was the only time Ari was permitted to pull the curtains back, as per her parents' demands. Not that anyone would be able to see her during the day.
Ari's room was the highest room at the back of the castle, with her one window overlooking the sea. At the base of the castle beneath the window was a bed of rocks, the glossy waves crashing against them. Only someone out sailing with a well-crafted spyglass would be able to see to Ari's window if they got close enough.
Her parents would rather the curtains remain closed at all times, but Mateus had convinced them to relinquish that rule during the night several years ago. However, they demanded that the window itself must remain locked at all times. A rule they believe she has abided by all these years.
Grabbing a hair pin from her vanity, Ari used the pointed end to pick the lock on her window, just as Mateus had taught her to do when they were kids. The cool night breeze greeted Ari as she gently pushed the glass forward, propping herself up on the ledge.
The moon shone brightly in the clear sky, illuminating the water beneath them both in an ethereal glow. Ari sighed as she stared into the distance, the sea vast, the horizon empty.
For years, Ari has sat in this very spot, dreaming of a way to escape, a way to gain freedom from the prison she has been locked in her entire life. Now in a matter of days, she will be trading this prison for another, her new captor being a man she has never met.
All the fairytales young children read about princes and princesses, dreaming of one day becoming one makes Ari sick to her stomach. Being a princess is only a dream come true if you were wanted. Ari had never been wanted, and she was punished for it.
Kept hidden away in the castle walls - with the rare occasion of being escorted through the gardens when no guests were around - chaperoned visits with her younger siblings, was the life Ari has always known. It was her fate, her parents had claimed, for being the curse of their family.
Mateus had been her one bright light in this darkness and when he was taken from her, Clementine filled in that role. Soon there was going to be nothing but darkness.
As Ari wiped away the tears streaming down her cheek, she spotted a lone ship appearing on the horizon, and her heart began to swell. The tales of Hongjoong and his crew gave Ari a delusional sense of freedom she desperately wanted to grasp, to make come true.
It was a desire she had locked down deep inside her soul, along with other secrets she will never be able to share.
Turning away from the sailing ship and the window, Ari abandoned her foolish dreams and crawled back into bed. Like every night as sleep fell upon her, Ari could swear she heard the sea calling her name. Unfortunately, it was never more than a trick of the wind.
Down below, the ship continued on its journey in the night. Sitting on the ledge of the crow's nest, San tapped his finger against the gold and mahogany spyglass in his hand, deep in thought. As the nightly breeze blew wisps of hair away from his forehead, San's eyes wandered back to Ari's window, the hidden princess unaware that her parents' fear had come true.
Someone had seen her.