"Goodnight Aurora. I'll see you when the sun greets us again."
"What is the point of Harbor Day? I mean like seriously, what is the point of gathering together at a harbor and then having a meal? I mean what is actually the point of Harbor Day?" Aurora groaned as the handmaiden behind her tightened the strings of her corset, her hand pressed against the side of the mirror I watched her expression contorted each time the servant pulled on the strings.
"It's a celebration of survival. 90% of Montgomery Isle's profit comes from exporting to other countries so Harbor Day represents the days in which the Isle is low on resources and must survive until our imports are brought back from the mainland," I explained in a monotone voice, laughing as Aurora rolled her eyes and made a face.
"Are you kidding me? We celebrate selling a on of our resources and almost starving to death?" Aurora asked disbelievingly. I nodded making her gasp and scoff. "What in hell is the meaning of that? Why in the world would anyone celebrate that? What kind of country are we if we celebrate starvation?" I laughed at her expression, wide eyes matched with a wide-open mouth, eyes bulging a bit.
"It's celebrating survival, not starvation. I agree that it is not the most conventional holiday but the people love it so our parents have decided to carry on the tradition and we must do the same while in their place," I explained as a maid clipped a gold and silver necklace at the back of my neck. I smiled at the woman who simply nodded in return before pushing a few hair clips in my hair to hold the strands from my face.
"I still think it's rather silly to have a celebration like this. Especially when Mom and Dad are gone. Shouldn't we be preparing for their arrival?" Aurora asked as her handmaiden finished tightening her corset and moved to help her into a dress. For the celebration, the two of us had special gowns we had to wear for the meetings with the villagers. As my own handmaiden finished putting on my dress, I walked over to my sister who was already groaning about the form of the dress.
"I will say that it is ridiculous that we have to wear these dresses. I mean, the people know we are royalty, why must we wear clothes that could not signify as any less?" I asked, standing next to my sister. Our dresses were by far extravagant, more like dresses we would wear to a wedding or coronation. The deep purple tone of the gown also made it that much more obvious of our title.
"I know. I don't even know why we must show everyone how much of a higher class we are, as if they didn't already know and recognize us," Aurora said in reply as she rolled her eyes. Once her own hand maiden finished with her dress, Aurora waved her out and moved to stand by the window, myself following. "Why do the people wish to celebrate when their king is dead? Shouldn't they be grieving and even praying for his return? He a benevolent leader, no spite should be fueled towards him," she whispered as she looked out at the horizon, seeing the docks loaded with ships still being filled with goods.
"The people see this as hope sister. Maybe when they see this they will thing that their luck is turning up. Maybe they will think that this is the turning point in the Island's luck. This could just be their newest source of hope. Other than their princesses of course," I smiled at my sister, bumping into her slightly until she looked at me and smiled back weakly in return. "Come on now, we wouldn't want to miss the ships taking leave, and we most certainly would not want to make them wait," I said, grasping my sister's hand in my own and leading her to the door. Groaning, Aurora followed me out of my room to the hallway where our escorts were waiting for us. "Remember, keep your chin up and wave to th people. The people don't appreciate weak, but the people also don't like dictators. Friendly, but not all powerful," I advised as my sister took her place beside her own escort who offered her his arm.
"Yes. Walk like I have a stick up my ass and remember to smile through the pain," Aurora smiled sarcastically before facing the door at the end of the hallway. I rolled my eyes at my sister before taking my place beside my own escort.
"Happy Harbor Day Aurora," I muttered under my breath to my sister who simply shrugged in return.
"Oh what a happy day."
*****( ͡͡ ° ͜ ʖ ͡ °)*****
"Sister, seriously. We need to go to dinner. Hiding in your room will not fix what happened. And really not that many people noticed. It's not that big of a deal," I tried to comfort my sister through the thick wooden door. Her sobs could be heard through the door though; I felt my own heart breaking a bit as she cried.
"I humiliated myself in front of the entire island! Everyone saw!" Aurora cried most likely from the bed where I suspected she was curled up in a ball, her wet dress soaking the bed sheets. Her makeup was running before she had run to her room, I'm sure it was worse now.
"Well if you won't come out, I'll get a maid to bring you up some food. You can stay here if you would like," I offered before waving over a servant and telling them to prepare her a plate and bring it to her. "Goodnight Aurora," I said softly before standing back from the door and walking down the hallway to the dining room.
Sitting down at the larger than necessary table, I put my napkin on my lap and watched as other people brought out food and set it before me. Looking around the table, I noticed it was less full than usual. The normal guards that would sit with me for dinner were gone and only a few servants were around. I glared with a confused expression at the door that connected to the kitchen. It slowly opened to reveal a maid with a scared expression on her face. My eyes drifted to her neck to see a shining dagger held tightly to her neck. I felt my own eyes widen as the woman stepped out and behind her I could see a darker male with a shipman's hat.
"Pirates," I whispered just before a hand clasped over my mouth, muffling the scream.