There are some treasures in the world that are far worth more than gold, or any other riches that any kingdom could offer.
There are some things that cannot be changed, no matter how one tries, such as a heart, a habit, a way of life...
One does what one must to survive in the world, in this twisted and complicated world, where everyone can only trust themselves in the never ending, vicious competition of life.
The contest which consumes ones soul and blackens it with the lust, and desire, to be greater...richer...the most powerful.
This is the only world I've ever known, and so all my life I've been searching for an answer, or a solution to change the fates design, and alter my life's path so as to ensure only the greatest treasure, worth more than gold, is the only thing that awaits me at my final destination.
My name is Rapunzel. How do I know? I don't, but it's what I've chosen to call myself, and this is the story of how I found that priceless gift in the most unlikely, and unfathomable of places.
xxxXXXxxx
The night was warm, and only the faintest of breezes limpy nudged the sails of the ship, and a low gentle groan from the wooden frame of it masked the sounds of little footsteps on the deck.
A little girl, maybe only five at most, scurried across to the mast pole and then hunched down, hiding herself in the lowered flag, waiting for the last of the late night drinkers to clumsily waltz their way back into their messy cots, laughing and slurring and smashing their bottles sleepily as they did.
She held her breath and clenched the flag's fabric in her little hands waiting for the last one to head down the stairs and out of sight...finally they did and she made a run for the edge of the boat, and then skidded to a halt.
There up in the sky, was something she had never seen before in her whole life. She gazed in wonder at the haunting, enchanting, bobbing and floating balls of light, like a thousand tiny suns lifting off from a dream land and snaking their way up into the sky...
They were dancing, and twirling and twinkling for her, and only for her. She sighed and rested her head against her arms as she continued.
She hummed to herself, a song she knew...one the pirates always sang when they used her magical hair, to heal their wounds after battles, or brawls.
In comparison to the brutish rouges who sang it, the song was comforting and soothing to her, making her feel like everything was going to be alright. Like it was going to get better.
And with her song, heir hair glowed too, glinting in the moonlight, and joining the dance.
A pair of eyes from behind glowed with it, and with a death like silence, a shaking hand lifted her hair from behind... Just a small section enough to fit in between his fingers...
His amber eyes widened at the powerful surge of life that coursed through his veins, and then he inhaled deeply, and lifted the pair of scissors to the ends of her hair...
"NO!" The little girl cried suddenly, whipping around and pushing the boy back. She shuffled back and stared with a furious at the youth.
"What? It was just a little piece!" He hissed, clambering up and scowling at her ready to chase her off the whole ship, "What the heck does a little twerp like YOU need with all that hair anyway?" He growled.
She narrowed her eyes and prepared to recite like the captain had said many times before, when suddenly she remembered that this boy was new on the crew, and he didn't know. She closed her mouth, not wanting to bother explaining, and she motioned for him to be silent suddenly...
Their hearts beat loudly in their ears as they strained to hear anything...
"RUN!" The boy screamed as an awoken pirate charged at them, surely ready to best them senseless for being out and up so late at night. Two other young boys trailed them, and one was clutching his eye, a stream of blood trickling down his face.
It was clear that the two latter were responsible for the chaos, but the first two had no intentions of holding grudges while their own hides were on the line.
Thinking quickly, the two brothers grabbed up a stray rope and each ran to different ends, tripping over the wild man, and the girl pushed a rather heavy box off the top of a stack, right onto his head.
"Over here! Quickly!" The oldest one called to them. His name was Flynn, or so he had told them, a thirteen year old rascal who had dreamed to see the world. He had been forced to join just a few weeks ago.
The two brothers, just a few years younger rushed to the side of the boat, one of them grabbing the girl, with his free hand and rushing them all to safety.
The other pirates were approaching quickly though having also been woken up by the ruckus, and they had very little time.
"Look, over there.. If we jump the deck, we can reach that other ship and then climb up to the pier." He explained.
"But its so far! How do you think we'll even make it?" One of the brothers cried, as the first few pirates busted out onto the deck.
"It doesn't matter, just GO!" He shouted. He jumped himself onto the other ship, almost effortlessly, and then motioned for the brothers to follow. One went, and almost slipped off the side, but Flynn lifted him up.
"Okay, now you come.." He urged his brother. But his brother was struggling trying to lift up the little girl with his only free hand, the other still clutching his bleeding eye.
"I can't.. I can't hold her!" He cried.
"Come on! Hurry up, just forget about her!" His brother shouted, but Flynn smacked him in the head.
"Toss the her over and then come over yourself!" He said.
He sighed and let go of his eye, and with his bloodied hand he heaved her up and tossed her over to the other ship. They got her to safety but before he could jump himself, the pirates had found him, having struggled out of their sleepy drunken daze.
He was clenched around the neck and lifted up from the deck, before he was slammed into the deck, the pirate cursing wildly and choking him.
"You two stay here, I'll go get Gus, just stay hidden down here." Flynn told the other two and then he leapt over to the other ship, a stolen weapon in his hand, from where the other two had no idea, and began to fight off the six or seven pirates.
The other brother, who went by Gas, knew he couldn't do it alone, and he wasn't about to let his brother die. He turned to the girl, and whispered,"Rapunzel, you need to run away. Go climb up the pier and get out of here! We'll find you when we're done."
She nodded and then he leapt back over, and began to fight as well, the two boys using the clumsy and misjudged swings of the drunken thugs to their advantage, freeing the other brother.
Rapunzel shivered and then yelped, wincing in horror as Flynn stole a gun from one particular pirate and shot him straight in the head. She decided it really was best that she run.
She used her hair to loop around some of the woodwork of the pier and then hoisted herself up, and away to safety. Once on the pier, she looked back at the three who had been her only companions for so long now, in the three years she'd been trapped on that ship.
She didn't remember where her home was, or who her family was. She couldn't recall if she even had any parents, or a home. But they had said they would find her when they were done, so surely it wouldn't matter either way.
Some crew members spotted her up on the pier, and she dashed off, into the night.
Maybe they'd find her. Maybe they wouldn't. But it really didn't matter to her she guessed.
xxxXXXxxx