Prologue
There once was this book. A book that a little boy used to read every night to all the younger kids in the orphanage. The Tales of Flynnagan Rider; swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, and apparently, not bad with the ladies either. Not that he'd ever brag about it, of course.
But I'm not here to tell you that.
This story, actually, is about a man. Named Eugene Fitzherbert. And unlike my story, his starts….with the moon.
That's right. Rapunzel speaking. I figured since he told my story, I should return the favor and tell his.
But anyway, it all started back on a full moon night….
"Keep away from the window sweet heart," cooed the gentle voice of his aunt, her hand landing on the shoulder of her four year old nephew.
His big gold eyes turned and looked up at her, the book he had under his elbows laying open, ready to be read. "But I wanna see daddy when he comes home!"
The aunt chuckled "I know, I know. C'mon now…" she urged him gently away from the window and the little boy pouted.
"But Auntiiiiieee!"
"Don't you 'but auntie' me," she scolded with a chuckle. "Now go set the table."
The little boy suddenly collapsed dramatically on the floor and whined "I caaaaan't, my legs are brokeeeennnn."
She scrambled to catch the gelatinous mass that was now her nephew "Oh, stop it child! You're just fine."
"Nuh uuuuh see?" he picked up a lag and let it flop back on the floor. The mother scoffed then gave her son a gentle nudge with her foot. The boy just rolled like a rag doll.
Scoffing, the aunt shook her head but could not help but smile "Eugene, what am I going to do with you?"
Suddenly, a loud crash come from outside. The aunt gasped and jerked her head toward the door. Eugene suddenly sprung to life and bolted back for the window. "Dad's home!"
Scrambling up the chair set under the sill, Eugene pushed the tattered curtains aside and peeked out. The dock loomed near by, and the water was covered in a thick fog that made the lanterns nearly impossible to see. The full moon above head set a an eerie glow to the atmosphere, but Eugene just starred outside eagerly. His Aunt, less eager, came up behind him and looked out to the peer as well.
For a moment…everything was silent.
And then a few forms walked out of the hazy fog. Eugene stared in anticipation, little body tensing as he tried to make out each face of the oncoming forms. And then he gasped.
"Daddy!"
He couldn't see his face through the fog, but Eugene knew it was his father by the broad shoulders and the big thighs. And when he cried out, the form lifted a hand and waved. The aunt let out a sigh of relief before she squeezed her son's shoulder. "Go say hello Euge-"
She paused and frowned out the window.
The small spark in the fog came from behind the men walking from the dock, and then came the whistle, a far off sound that only grew louder until suddenly a cannon ripped through the home across the street. As wood and fire exploded in a loud chaotic firework, the aunt grabbed her nephew and yanked him away from the window, shielding him from shards and splinters. Jerking her head up, she looked at the window and curtains, which were now shattered and on fire.
As she stood Eugene up and urgently pushed him toward the back of the house, another explosion rocked the street and made them stumble.
"Go, Eugene! Run!" the aunt said, pushing him along, though he fought against her.
"No! Daddy!"
The Aunt resorted to picking the boy up and tucking her under her arm before she bolted for the back door as the fire crawled up the ceiling of their home. Eugene kicked and screamed the whole way.
The Aunt reached the door as glass exploded from the heat behind them, and more cannons ripped through the dock homes. She ripped the handle and the door swung open, and she took a step outside but stopped short. The fog ahead of them flickered and then the whistle came, sounding the alert that a cannon had been fired. Right at them.
Screaming, the aunt turned away from the door just in time to dodge the cannon as it flew right inside the open door and struck the main pillar supporting the old home. Hunks of wood and pillars came showering down, blocking the front door and the back door, filling the kitchen area and setting fire to what was not already smoldering. The aunt clung to her nephew, who now clung to her without complaint, and she looked around hopelessly for a way to get out. The heat made her dark red hair fall and curl from her light purple bandana, soot covered her cheeks and smoke made her choke. It was hard to see….the exits were blocked. The heat was terrible, the smoke consuming. She kicked at the hunks of wood blocking the door, but they didn't budge. The pulled at the wood on the windows, but it only sent more wood crumbling down.
Lost, the aunt panted and looked down at the boy in her arms, and he looked up at her with fear and confusion.
Oh God…what could she do? Well….what else could she do? She untied the bandana from her head then tied it around the boy's nose and mouth, hoping it would save him from inhaling smoke, and then she hugged him tight to her body and tucked her legs around him. Eugene hugged her as well. He didn't protest. He didn't fight. It was like he knew the impossibility of the situation, and instead of panicking, he tried to sooth his aunt. "Its okay…..daddy will save us…"
The aunt's tears cut clean lines down her dirty cheeks and she could only hug the boy tighter. She heard the roof creaking above them, groaning under the onslaught of the fire, weakening by the second. Soon, it would collapse.
Through the roar of the fire, the aunt began to sing softly a gentle lullaby "Baby's boats a silver moon, sailing o'er the sky….sailing o'er the sea of dew ..while the clouds float on by…" she stroked Eugene's hair, her voice weak and cracking. "Baby's fishing for a dream, fishing near and far…his line a silver moonbeam, his bait a silver star….sail baby sail out across the gleaming sea …only don't forget… to sail back to me."
The ceiling gave a final loud creak, and the woman sucked in a breath before covering Eugene with as much of her body as possible, though she knew it would be pointless, and hoped that it would be quick.
But then loud thumping came from above. And then a loud burst like another ball had come screaming inside. The aunt flinched, expecting the worst.
"Give me your hand!" cried a urgent, masculine voice.
Gasping, the aunt jerked her head up. Having punched through the window, Eugene's father stood reaching his hand into the hole he managed to make, she could see her brother's gold eyes through the smoke and heard his urging, "Come on!"
"Daddy!" Eugene cried with a big smile behind the bandana and instantly reached for him. The Aunt stood up and picked Eugene up, handing him over to the outstretched hands.
"C'mon son, I gotcha.." the father cooed as he took hold of his boy and eased him through the hole.
Outside, the air was a blast of cold. People ran screaming, their homes and livelihood blazing into the clear sky. Eugene looked about, big eyes taking in the chaos though hardly processing it all. He was carried away from the fire and set down behind a water trough in place that was not on fire.
"Stay here." his father ordered. Eugene nodded fast.
The dad turned away and ran back for the blazing house. Eugene peeked around the trough, pulling off the bandana from his face and watched. His father booked it back for the house, but in a split second the roof caved in. Fire and embers exploded everywhere, making the dad come to a sudden halt and block his face with his arms. Eugene's eyes grew big….
When the blast subsided, his father cried "Arial!"
Starring at the smoldering remains of the home, there was no sign of her under the wreckage. Panting, his father's wide eyes shut tight as he bowed his head. Eugene tentatively steps out from behind the trough and walked toward his father. He was stopped short as another blast shook the place and Eugene fell over. The dad jerked his head up and looked ton the dock. By now, what had been the source of the blasts had pulled up to the dock. It's white sails snapped in the wind, and its black flag spin on its line.
Pirates.
And they were leaping off the side of their ship and running up the dock. Their evil laughter filled the air, mixing with the screams of the people as they drew their swords and advanced. The father came running back so his son and picked him up. He then turned and ran with the flow of the rest of the citizens.
The Royal guard arrived not long after, and they drew their swords and formed a barrier between the rest of the city and the pirates. As people ran past them, they seemed t be safe.
Eugene reached the line and stopped short. "Where are the rest of you?" he asked his friend, who happened to be the captain of the guard.
"Out searching for the flower. We have secured the perimeter. Get into the heart of the city and you'll be safe."
The father passed Eugene along to a fellow guard standing near by. "Take him away from here…" he breathed. Eugene let himself get passed along until he heard that, and then he suddenly jerked in the guard's grasp and turned.
"Daddy!"
The man put a hand on his son's cheek. "Go with the nice man, son. I'll come find you when this is all over. I promise."
Lip trembling, Eugene hesitantly nodded. The father gave one last look at his son before he turned away. The guard took Eugene and ran into the city, and Eugene looked over the soldier's golden armor at the form of his father disappearing into the distance. The father drew a sword from his hip and stood with the soldiers, a great swordsman ready to fight to protect what remained of his family…..
It was the last time Eugene ever saw his father. The brave outline of a strong man standing in the fog as the pirates closed in.
The pirates were eventually driven off- having only invaded the peer for provisions, but they had taken hostages with them. Eugene's father….was one of them.
In the end the little boy had no family left. The only thing recovered from the wreckage of his home was a solitary leather book. It was all Eugene had left.
When the news came that his father was lost, Eugene was taken to an orphanage. When years passed, it became obvious the promise made would never be kept, but the boy waited for the return of his dad all the same. Standing on the peer every day, he looked out on the sea for the flicker of the black flag of the ship, hoping one day his only family…..would return.