Bethany was still working in the dining hall late into the night picking up utensils, plates, goblet and glasses from the tables, sweeping up food and smashed cups and plates, and then sweeping and mopping the polished stone floor with hot, soapy water. This was twice more work than she usually performed on a normal night. And what a night it had been! Bethany had to smile a little; the events of three hours ago were nothing less than a riot, a near-massacre and a scourging. Heck, she herself would have been swept and mopped up off the floor herself had she not wisely chosen to conceal herself in the galley when Gray, Kearsarge and Kenforth Flint began using the survivors of the Brown Puss as darts and kick-balls once they had completed their fact-finding interrogation. Bethany just shrugged. She was so glad that she was only a servant girl and not a pirate; nothing would ever make her want to be one of those poor yet foolish, blood-thirsty blobs of fat-and-meat. But neither did she want to be what she was now for the rest of her life. In fact, she had been dreaming about how she might—One Day—get away forever and find out who her family was, where she came from and why she had been living with buccaneers since she was very young. In the meantime, she just kept picking up the dining room and galley.
At last she was done! With a long, contented sigh, Bethany hung up her heavy canvas work apron, lifted off her head cover cap and washed her hands under the pump spigot one last time. Tucking her cap into her skirt pocket, Bethany opened the galley door that led out into the main hallway, passed through and shut it quietly. With a tired gaze ahead, she walked down the hallway towards the west side of the castle where her small room was, unheard and unseen.
....Or, at least she thought she was unseen and unheard. Unknown to her and anyone else, a dark shape sat in one of the rock ceiling crevices. And it had heard every word spoken that day.
Fortunately, Bethany reached her room without incident or meeting anyone. Turning up her gas wall lamp, she then shut the door and stepped wearily over to her washbasin and water pitcher. After unclothing and scrubbing her filthy yet magnificent body with a small sponge, she donned her nightgown, turned down the lamp and settled down on her wooden box bed. Snuggling in with a smile and another deep sigh, she turned on her side and felt for the hidden drawer under her bed. Pulling it open, she removed her diary that she'd owned since she was eight year-old. She quickly opened it to one of her older entries on a very dog-eared page. There, she read what her first master and closest thing to a parent, Mr. Skept, had shared with her concerning the Flint brothers...
"I know that what each and every one of us has to go through, day-by-day here with these rogues that call themselves 'Rulers of the Etherium'. And there's nobody else that's like any member of such a hated generation.
But let me let you in on a little bit of a secret I know: "According to an old legend that has been passed down through the Flint family for eons 'n eons, 'ole Captain Nathaniel Flint himself was foretold his family's doom in a dream of his one night. The story so goes that in his dream, the ghost of an old man that the Captain had gutted on his latest raid appeared to him and said,
"Captain Nathaniel Javier Flint, though you have become a mighty scourge and threat to all regions of the vast expanses of the Etherium, yet for all your doings and abilities, your descendents shall, one day, reap the wrath, fear and pain you yourself have sown. On that day, a young man, only a boy, with eyes like a Spring sky with a heart of both pure gold and untamable fire shall strike and utterly trample down your forces, your possessions and your children beneath his boots. And this boy shall inherit your ill-gotten riches and leave no remnant or trace of your legacy or rule."
From that moment forth, the 'ole space-dog began to fear for his life and became afraid of even his own shadow. 'Course, the dream could have just been a fluke that he took too much to heart. And what is more, neither any of Nathaniel's offspring ever had such a vision like that ever. As time passed on, so did the story and to this day, it is a common legend among the entire crew."
Bethany yawned and closed the book. For the longest time, she held her pose: propped up on her elbows with her closed diary lying between her hands on her pillow. The Flint family legend/prophecy had always intrigued her; partially, it was like a sign that the Flint's would one day meet justice without mercy.
But another reason for Bethany's interest was the mention of a "boy with eyes like a Spring sky with a heart of pure gold and untamable fire." She would read this line over and over again in an effort to gather more meaning from it. She had never met any other human being and was dying to know and see what a boy was. She had concurred, from what Mr. Skept had tried to describe to her, that a boy or young man was very admirable and attractive as well. "Eyes like a Spring sky, hmmm", she thought out loud. "I wonder what that means...".
Poor Bethany. All of her years of living under the command and control of rogues & scalawags had kept her pretty well away from the world beyond the black mountains that were the boundaries for the villain's territory. From occasional trips to the summits of the highest peaks, she had seen the land of evergreen forests; luscious colorful pastures with flowers and herbs of every kind; clear, pure and sparkling brooks, streams, lakes and rivers of great size and abundance; and finally pure, clean, fresh and blue skies with snow-white clouds and bird of every origin and breed dotting the landscape as far as she could see. Yes, this was the Only land for her and she had vowed to one-day leave behind her life of drudgery and slavery to find freedom, happiness, adventure, life and purpose there in the unknown yet inviting world beyond. But tonight, she was very worn out. SO she turned out her lamp, replaced the book in the drawer, which she shut, pulled up her covers, laid back her head and slept.