Chapter One ---
Everyone says they're a pirate these days. Everyone from the little cabin boy on the docks to the pack of droogs on the south shore, readying themselves to draft this town. The only pirates anywhere near here were eighty jumps from shore and now showing any sign of stopping here. This island was too small to pillage. But we knew different. We knew that this town sat on a buried mine. A gold mine. Anex would swear to it. Anex was never wrong about these kinds of things.
But we, we're not your usual pirates. We were the ones that would live off the sea rather than raid an especially wealthy town. We knew our place. Atlas made sure we did. To the crew, I was a mystery. I couldn't even let my own droogies in. To Atlas I was a mystery. To them I was only Blue, the girl with the music inside.
One ----
I don't remember much about the beginning. I remember that it was cold, and then my memory jumps to the music. I guess it was always there, inside. The sounds, the rhythms. The beat that would never change. Though I first touched a piano with my song, I now choose to carry a simple piccolo. The rhythm of it high and weather it is loud is my choice. I can make the piccolo sad, happy, mad, dangerous. I have this ability with music. I could never understand it, just could do it.
Atlas says music becomes me. Nothing becomes Atlas better than being a pirate. He has a soft face though. That's where most judge him wrong. And he fits with us too. People think this is just where he puts himself to protect us. But honestly us droogs can take care of ourselves, and eachother. Atlas is just our light to understand where to take our place. I don't think he can keep us with the captain much longer. Our good graces are running out.
This little town the Anex the gold-digger has brought us is our last thread. Atlas won't keep us here much longer. And we all know that we would ship out on a wooden raft if Atlas said too.
"Do you think we should 'elp dem?" It was Harvey Mansion that was stupid enough to ask.
"Let them fend," Atlas answers for all of us, "I don't think they would throve our help very much." He scoffs and looks toward the town. I smile, knowing Atlas to well. "Maybe we should take this mine for ourselves. I have half the mind to it." I nod in agreement. Atlas looks at me then at the droogs. "Our song is in. Anyone else?" Several other 'Aye's chorus through the small measure of trees we sit in. Atlas smiles up at me. When a plan was instigated that I agreed to, there were few in our droogs that would protest. Atlas smirks toothily before standing pushing on his right knees and his other hand on the tree to stand. "Alright then me maties. Let's go."
The six oddly built bodies move from wherever they sat in the mesh of trees and silently strode for the stoically awaiting town. Just as we droogs reached the last hill before the entrance to the sorrow, Atlas stops and I whirl in the tree next to him, my scrawny black hair falling about me. He smiles again and places his hand on my head.
"Play one for old times, Blue," He looks at the town then. "For these lands are falling." I nod and put my piccolo to my lips. Today my Piccolo played Atlas' sad song. And before those half-wits knew what was happening, the town was picked damp. Just as we droogs have a tendency to do.
There is no one that we like to know of our 'magic', so we have a tendency to kill whole towns to protect our magic. And our tendency leads us to throw all the bodies onto a single pit and burn them all. While three of us were doing this, Atlas, myself, and the other three found the throve and took it most to a small merchant ship that while being small was still about to carry the eight of us and a good lot of this throve. We made sure to leave a little for the captain, so he could not call Anex a poor find. We were gone from that pathetic town before those half-minds knew what was happening while the smell of burning flesh lingered in their noses.