Spiral Kingdom - The Pirate Queen

by Chatty Forster

A young woman ran down the empty street, diving into alley ways and keeping in the shadows. The special package safely in her arms. The sound of soldiers boots getting louder a few streets away, the bells from the castle cracking through the air. Shouts and the turning on of lights in the windows around them. She ducked into an alley and held her breath. Her heart pounded in her chest, so loud she was sure it would bring people to the windows above her hiding place. She listened to the sound of the soldiers fade into the distance and carefully crept out into the street, and raced on. Her slippered feet slapped quietly on the cobbles. She crept on, she could see a solider on the corner his back turned towards her. She could hear the ocean so close. She slipped closer her eyes on the solider making sure he didn’t turn, the sound of clanking of glass suddenly erupted into the quiet street. She saw a bottle skitter across the cobles she must of kicked it accidently. he turned and they stared at each other, his young pale face looking as fearful as hers. The world seems to stop around them then everything rushed back in as he opened his mouth and started shouting for the guards. A light fell across the street as a man opened his front door to see what the fuss on the street was. She dashed passed him into his front room and ran down the corridor out into a small courtyard, flowered vines climbed up the walls, she looked around desperately for an exit, nothing. Hearing the shouting behind her she made a decision; she moved the bundle deeper into her coat and tied it tighter around her. And gripped onto the vines to pull her self up. She felt the thorns pierce her skin but she knew she needed to keep going. The solders swarmed into the small court yard below her, arrows pulled ready. she pulled her self up and over the wall. Just at she felt the arrows wizz around her. She fell into the alley bracing her self and her precious bundle. The sea is up ahead she can see the dark glittering water smell the salt and hear the waves. She rushes on to the beach, looking around her desperately, ‘where was it? Where was it’, she muttered to her self. She stumbled across the sand. Ah the little red row boat a few meters down the beach, the small bundle in her jacket moves and her can feel the strange other heart beat against hers. She pushed the bundle into the bottom of the boat and started dragging it towards the sea. Her body aching with the efforts, a sharp pain in her side, looking down she could see the dark staining spreading across her corset. She gritted her teeth and put her shoulder in to the side and pushed. Almost at the water she ran round to the front and started to drag it into the water. Inch by inch she felt the water lapping at her ankles. Inch by inch she dragged the boat out onto the waves, she could feel her skirts wrapping round her legs dragging her back and forward in the current. Almost pulling her under, she gripped to the side desperately knocked off her feet she managed to climb into the small boat and fell to the bottom panting, soaking wet and breathless. She dragger her self up the side, her head lolling over the edge, she whispered to the darkness a wild call to the ocean for protection, putting her hand to her side cupping at the blood and quickly holding her hand of blood above the ocean praying to the gods for help. she felt a gentle pull on the boat as the new rip tide took then out into the dark ocean, she fell back into the boat exhausted after a moment of breathing into the wooden base feeling the rocking of the boat the women reached out for the bundle. Opening up the fabric she smiled down at the beautiful baby girl big green eyes staring out from a mass of bronze curls. she could hear the soldiers on the beach shouting across the waves, as she and the child are dragged out into the current. She looked quickly up towards the lights of the palace fully lite shinning in the dark like a beacon lighting up the ocean waves around them, the sand and salt stuck to her skin as she looked back on what had been her home for so long, she knew in her heart as the dark blood spread down her dress that she didn’t have long the prophesy must be fulfilled, taking a deep breath she picked up the oars and started to row away from the land. racing away into the darkness of the night, the child was safe for now.

At the palace the queen watched from the window her hands shook. she felt the presence behind her the prickles at the back of her neck. ‘you did this’ the voice rasped from the shadows, the queen braced her self looking out onto the ocean for a last look at her daughter on the waves ‘you will not have her now’ the darkness swarmed angrily behind her the sound of angry buzzing intensifying echoing off the walls of the tower room. Surrounding the queen in darkness. ‘your efforts are futile, my pets will find her and the gate will be opened’