Chapter 2

"Josh, have you finished your studies yet?" Mrs. Trucker asks me. "Yes, Mrs. Trucker, I have finished two hours ago and have started on next weeks." She looks at me with my shaggy black hair and muddy brown eyes and scrawny form. "Well then no studies tomorrow. Go practice on the piano." She does not like it when I work ahead. As I do as she says I cannot help but think I am the only son of a wealthy merchant, I have two older sisters and one younger and all three are beautiful. Amy is 23 years old, has dark brown hair with bright amber eyes, and is engaged to a young captain of 26 by the name of John Jones. John was to leave in a few months on a voyage of two years. He told Father that maybe Amy should be freed of the engagement since he was to leave and it was not fair for her to wait for him to return. Amy heard and said no to end the engagement she would wait for him even if it were ended.

John has left and Amy is quite sad and looks like a ghost, there are times I think I can see fire light though her at night at supper. Maria is 20 and has many young men trying to win her heart and favor, she has black wavy hair with emerald eyes. Alanna is the youngest and is lucky to be alive, see our Mother died giving birth to Alanna and she almost died as well, she is a happy 14 year old with light brown hair with eyes to match. I am a scrawny 17 year old with no muscle at all and my face is covered in red spots, not one of my sisters had these red spots on their faces. Father is at work he owns the ships that John set sail in and many more. I am to take over when I turn 20 in three years.

Six months have passed since John set sail when business started to go down: ships went missing, were sank, stolen, or lost in storms, crops were bad, and some of his clerks had been dishonest and stealing money or just disappeared from their homes. Then about a year after John, set sail did the news came. The three ships under the command of John had been separated by a storm; one had been washed ashore in the storm and few of the crew had survived, it was not the ship John was on and of it, there was no news, and the man knew nothing of the other ship either. Father started to gather funds to try to get the men home, but that was all most all of the money we had. Then a young man by the name of Lucas Cross came and talked to Father about moving to a town he knew of a house that would hold all five of us and we can afford it. His aunt had written him a letter telling him of all the houses for sell in his home town of Blue Lake, he was about to quite working for father to move back home before all of the bad luck hit. Father agreed to let him help us move to the house that would just hold all five of us.

All that was left to do was to sell what we could not take with us. So here, I am sitting in Amy's tearoom listening to strange voices walk through our home. Lucas is handling the selling of the items. Father is at the docks selling the ships that we had left and the store down at the docks. "Come and see what your friends had their servants leave in the kitchen," said Lucas. Father will not like the fact he did not stop them.

"You should have stopped them Lucas. Father will not be happy that they have left stuff." I let him know. "Indeed I did not know, Josh. I do not know if I would have stopped them." I think he could not, not would not stop them. At this Father walked in and we brought him with us to the kitchen to see what was left, we also let him know that Lucas did not know tell after they had left. When we entered, we saw hams, dried meats, canned fruits and vegetables, cloth for shirts or dresses, and five traveling capes, and a canary in a cage, who was singing a happy tune. "They are too much we need to leave town before we have too much to take with us to our new home," said Father. "Sir a man is here to see Josh," said one of the few maids that have stayed with us tell we move. "Show him in then," said Father. Mr. Blake was shown in he greeted Father and Lucas and turned to me "I brought you your horse she is in the stable go and see her or she will try to find you in this house and you know it," he said.

I look at him he cannot mean what I think he means. "What are you talking about?" the only horse I had was to be sold, and the only other horse I liked at his stable is a Great Horse by the name of Twilight Queen. "Do not be stupid boy. Twilight Queen is in the stable she will not eat if you leave her; she has barely had anything since you have not been coming down lately. I know I do not have to tell you to take good care of her. She has been trained to go into a harness and knows how to pull a small cart so she will be of use in your new home," he tells me. "You cannot give her to me. She is worth so much and she should carry a king not pull a cart." I cannot believe this has he lost his mind? "She would not be happy carrying a king; she will do as you tell her. I had planned to give her to you for your next birthday any way. Plus have you forgotten your last name is King." and with that he turned and left. "I think he has lost his mind but I will do as he said and check on her." I get up from the table where I was sitting to see Twilight Queen. "Can I come see this horse that will not eat if you live her?" I forgot that Lucas has not seen Twilight Queen before. "Yes, she likes to meet people." I am glad that I will be taking one of the three things here in the city that I love. I cannot take all of the books or my piano to our new home.