After forcefully being kicked out of the castle by the white men, Huey and his crew went to their part of the kingdom. The outside walls where no white would intentionally go. The only reason a white man or woman would be out there in their part is if they were trying to buy one of the women to come to work for them, they were poor former prisoners who could barely make a living, or they worked out there.
Regardless of their reasons, Huey still hated it.
He and the others were sitting at the bar, drinking away their misery as the embarrassing moment kept playing over and over in their heads.
"Hit me with another one, John," Huey requested from the bartender.
John was one of the white men who couldn't sustain a high-paying income so he had to move to this area. Surprisingly he and some of the other whites weren't bad people, although some did give off vibes that they were scared of them.
But John was just living life and treated everybody who came into his bar the same. There was no disrespect tolerated from either side and it's one of the reasons why everybody in the area liked coming to John's bar. He felt not all whites were bad, but just some.
You had ones that their ancestors influenced to hate blacks and you had others who generally did not like them and felt as if they were low-down dirty animals. Those were the uneducated whites because they didn't know how to feel about anything.
If you told them the sky was green, the water was red, and that the earth was flat they would believe it without looking into it.
That's how gullible they were!
John slid Huey another drink as he took small depressive sips. What happened in the castle was one of the most embarrassing things he endured in his career as a pirate.
Being kicked out by your superior and getting scammed by an unrealistically high offer.
Who would have ever thought that?
In a couple of months, the word was eventually going to spread and the AFRO BRUH was going to be looked down upon by others who feared and admired them. And this was all going to be over a flower that he thought he would get paid more for.
Boy was he naive!
He was supposed to be the captain: someone who could notice the signs right away and prevent certain stuff like this from happening. But it completely went over his head without a second thought.
Huey and his four trusted men did not go back home nor meet up with the rest of the crew due to swallowing a hard pill of embarrassment and emptiness.
How were they going to tell their families and brothers that they didn't get the money and that they may never see it again due to them almost committing treason against the king? If word spread around about that incident, no one across the seas was going to want to hire them if they found them to be a threat.
They already had 2 strikes against them, they were black and men! The 3rd strike would be them being a threat to society which people were already suspecting of them.
It didn't take much to put a profile on somebody.
Huey sighed and took another sip of his liquor.
"Man, this is not good, how are we going to go back and tell the others?" Caesar asked what everybody was thinking.
Huey didn't immediately answer for he too was wondering how he was going to go back and tell the others.
"They're going to be upset when we tell them that we didn't get the reward," Duey sighed.
"Captain, what do we do?" Caesar asked as the others looked directly at Huey.
Huey sighed as he gathered up his words. Sometimes he didn't know the answers himself. Everybody was always looking to him for answers or a solution and he usually had them but now he's at a loss for words.
What should they do?
Huey's intrusive thoughts wanted to go back to the castle and take the flower and the gold they deserved from their quest, but that would be dangerous, and committing treason against the king. Their reputation would be tarnished if they were to do that. Huey had to keep this in the back of his head and not say anything to his crew.
If he were to peep a word they would be down to go through with it. Whenever people mess with their money, they do not have a happy side to things. Their intrusive thoughts were worse than his. All he did was keep himself and the other's sane from going through with it. But if they were to ever find out that he wanted to do it as bad as they wanted to, all hell would break loose.
"Captain!" Caesar repeated taking Huey out of his thoughts.
Huey shook his intrusive thoughts away and stood up, "We gather the crew up and break the news to them."
"Have them here before the sun goes down. We have to be in by curfew so make sure you hurry quick," Huey sternly ordered as the four of them got up from their seats and started to head out.
Huey looked around to see it was only him and John.
John was cleaning some of the glass cups and he decided to sit down and finish his drink.
When Huey picked up his drink to take a chug, he all of a sudden fell back out of reality, again!
He started to see the woman in the black cape.
He could barely see her face, but her eyes were glowing!
Was this signaling that she was a witch?
The Enchanted Flower appeared in her hands locked away. She was looking at it for quite some time until she looked up at him.
Huey started to feel this intense feeling as if she was staring into his soul. He should have been scared, but she wasn't making him scared. She held the flower out to him and he was about to take it until it disappeared along with her.
Huey snapped back into reality and felt this immediate pain in the back of his throat and fell back out of his seat. He was choking on his drink he was chugging down. He was painfully coughing out the liquid.
John had to rush over from the counter and pat his back to get everything out of his system. Once the rest of the liquid was on the floor Huey's eyes were red, his heart was rapidly beating, and he was somewhat holding himself.
"Are you alright Freeman?" John asked sitting Huey up so he could breathe better.
"Yeah..." Huey said catching his breath, "Thank you, John."
John gave Huey a nod before he got up to continue working. He knew the rest of the crew would be coming along with some other people so he had to prepare for a crowded night.
Huey was in deep thought as he saw her again in his vision.
Why was she there?
How did he start getting visions all of a sudden?
And who was this mysterious woman with a unique appearance? He had never seen such a thing in his life.
"Who are you?" Huey asked again.
...
She resided within the castle walls, hidden away from the public, they knew her name but not the face. She came out every once in a while but her face was always covered due to her parents not feeling comfortable with possibly putting her in danger. She was the only royal of King Wuncler and Queen Sarah that was still living. Or so the people thought!
Many thought she would be worse than King Wuncler since she was kept in captivity and was barely exposed to the public. Being kept in captivity could lead to the next heirs to the throne being more ruthless with their people. They lack people skills and sympathy. And since the kingdom never knew of the princess's identity they assumed they would be in for a hell of a ride when her era was up.
Little did they know the princess was one of the nicest individuals they would ever meet in life. Sure her parents and the other's in the kingdom kept her from going outside the castle walls, but little did they know she had her way of bypassing them in their rules.
Princess Jazmine of Maryland would wake up earlier than her servants. She would make sure to have her clothes picked for the day if she decided to go into the village. Princess Jazmine would have the finest dresses and jewelry. She could easily be spotted by a commoner and be rightfully accused of being royalty. So to keep them from assuming she would cover up her straight strawberry blond hair, take off all her jewelry, and wear a black cape to cover up.
Just in case it were to rain she would have her hair covered. If her hair ever went back to its natural form she would be exposed.
That's right folks, you guessed it, Princess Jazmine of Maryland was biracial. Half European and half black if we're going to be specific. Due to her mother's infidelity with another man who remains unknown to her, Jazmine came out with curls instead of straight hair.
At first, she loved her curls and how different she was from everybody else, but her mother and caretakers were scared for her. King Wuncler, the White Shadow, and many others were cruel people and they hated the negros with a passion.
Jazmine didn't take notice of this until she had seen for herself how her maids were treated along with the people outside of the castle walls. Everything her father had told her as a little girl was all a lie. He used to say that the blacks were treated well since it was an honor for them to live on his land and work all the time to keep their health up.
Jazmine being the little naive girl she was known to be had believed every single thing her father told her. She was upset when she came to find out her father lied to her. And what made it worse is that he would switch up on her in a second if he found that she was not only a bastard but also a negro.
Sure, she could pass for white, but she still had African blood running through her veins.
Jazmine would ask the Gods every night why they had to punish her. Why would they put her in a situation where she could easily get killed or even worse punished? She didn't ask to be here and she surely didn't ask her mom to cheat on her father with a man she'll never meet.
Just why did she have to do it?
Queen Sarah put her daughter in a difficult position as the next heir to the throne. Her father was ill, and everyone in the kingdom expected him to die soon. He was simply dying of old age, and Jazmine knew she would marry off and become Queen of Maryland. She will soon make history as Maryland's first queen in the coming era. Many people thought it would be difficult for a woman to lead a country rather than a man. She has, however, been trained and taught the ways of the law as well as how to rule a kingdom. The one thing she hasn't learned is how to fully understand her people.
That lesson had to be taught by herself. Today, Princess Jazmine crept outside the castle walls and into the village to learn more about her surroundings. Being surrounded by her people made her happy. She had no idea why this was the case. Was it because she had never been exposed to it, or because she is a people person in general? She thought it was a little of both because she had a kind heart. The folks in the village began their day as soon as the sun rose. Shops were opening, people were engaged in physical labor, children were playing, soldiers were on duty, and so on.
The people were kept busy throughout the day. So much stuff happening outside of the castle walls. The only exciting thing she would see was the jester who would try to make her and her parents laugh, but his silly little jokes were getting too old. She needed something new!
Something adventurous and exciting!
Going against her parent's wishes was exciting enough for her. She was surprised she hadn't been caught yet. The castle had such low security they didn't even notice her sneaking away. Jazmine would laugh at their faces if she could but it was more of an inside joke for her.
As she walked through the village with her black cape covering her body, she would get odd looks from the people for they assumed she was at times homeless. That was far from true but she didn't have anything against it. As long as no one bothered her she was fine.
Jazmine waited for the village to settle down before beginning to wander around and look for the store she wanted to visit today. She'd been yearning for this lovely cinnamon bread baked by this noble family. They were known as the Sweets Family and were famous for their pastries. Jazmine has always wanted to request their services at the castle, but doing so would reveal that she was entering the village without her parents' consent. She smiled at the idea of them granting her permission to explore the area. As if they would ever do such a thing!
Jazmine enjoyed many of the villagers' goods. The food, clothing, materials, and so on. She wishes she had grown up as a commoner just so she could grow into this. But, then again, everyone desires what they can't have. She prefers to remain in the village, whilst the locals prefer to be in the castle. Both sides have advantages and disadvantages. Everyone in the village seemed to have so much freedom, whereas she felt imprisoned in the castle. The princes and princesses her age often talk about their royal obligations and how much they have on their plates whenever she and her family have royal visits.
Her cousin, Princess Cindy McPherson of Europe was one to talk. She loved her cousin but she was also envious because she was living the royal life she wanted. Her cousin always told her about her royal duties to the people and almost everybody was treated the same. The negros were still treated as low-class people, but it wasn't as bad as it is here. King Wuncler didn't think she notice, but she was always self-aware of how her father and the white superiors made the negros feel.
While Jazmine walked to the path to the bakery, she could see some of the negros outside taking care of the kids, doing chores, or manual labor. She had never seen a negro own their property or land. They were always working under someone and being treated with disrespect. She hated seeing such things like this and she sometimes wished she could speak up and take a stand.
People like her maids and servants believed that because she was the next heir to the throne, she would have a better chance of ending centuries of discrimination and mistreatment. But they had no idea she possessed the most insignificant power imaginable. Sure, she was to be the new queen of Maryland, and she would go down in history as the first, but the people didn't think it was a good thing. A Queen ruling a country was looked down upon since a male did not believe a woman could have the brains and leadership skills to rule a country.
That's what she'd hear from the guards, her father, the people beyond the castle walls, and, worst of all, the White Shadow.
Growing up, the White Shadow was a man of few words who was a mystery to everyone. Nobody knew where he came from or what his history was. He just arose one day out of nowhere and...existed! Jazmine became skeptical of who he was because his presence made no sense to her. Or it made no sense to anyone. But, for some strange reason, no one ever questioned it. Even her father never questioned it, which she thought was irresponsible of him to not check him. But, according to her father, he's been around for a long time, which did not sit well with her. He's been here even before his father and that didn't make sense.
Shouldn't he be dead if the White Shadow was older than her father?
Jazmine recalled how, when she was younger, she would bombard the White Shadow with questions, and he would become agitated with each one. He avoided them as much as he could, but there was nothing he could do to erase them from her mind. He had no choice but to be around her because her father saw her as a valuable jewel that could not be harmed. The White Shadow had several jobs, one of which was to keep an eye on her. Jazmine was well aware that he despised watching her since he believed she took up too much of his time. He stopped watching her as she grew older, instead only checking in and going about his business.
Jazmine put up with the White Shadow checking up on her. It was a significant improvement from his always observing her. She was strangely uncomfortable with him watching her since he had this look in his eyes that just didn't feel right. He didn't like watching her, so she expected him to keep an eye on her and do something else to pass the time, but instead, he just stared at her in deep concentration.
She wondered what he was thinking at times. At times, she wondered if he was aware of her secret. When the white shadow touched Jazmine's hair, she became scared and almost shattered her cover. He'd run his fingers through it and just stare. It was almost as if he suspected she was concealing something. He'd wet his hands on purpose and try to run them through her hair, but she wouldn't let him. He was invading her personal space and was far too comfortable touching her. Sarah and she were both annoyed that the White Shadow was suspicious of them both. He had been on them for the longest and they just hoped he wouldn't find out her secret or else they both would be executed for committing treason.
Jazmine had made it to the pastry shop and she was automatically greeted with fresh baked goods. Her stomach grumbled in hunger and she couldn't wait to taste their cinnamon bread. It's all she has been thinking of all week. She requests it at the castle, but she is always limited to the amount of sweets she intakes which she feels is childish. Her parents want her to watch her figure so she doesn't get too big for Prince Henry of France.
She rolled her eyes at the lectures they would give her along with her Lorthew. She found it rude and questionable how they would make comments about her size. Jazmine wasn't skinny like her cousin, Cindy, or other princesses. She had curvy hips like the black women around the kingdom and her father found that as an odd inheritance along with the White Shadow.
That was another thing that could show her true identity: her appearance.
Jazmine's hair was the worst and most risky feature but there were other things such as her body structure and facial features. Like her lips which were very full and pulped for a white woman. If you looked at the other white women along with her mother and her bloodline, no one ever possessed full lips as she did.
It was oddly attractive to those who looked.
Then there was her butt. She was always being fat-shamed because she had a big butt for a girl her age. There were times Jazmine felt insecure because she didn't feel she was pretty enough or met the ideal standards for a woman in today's age. If you didn't look like a stick you were considered fat.
Jazmine approached the front where she could get a clear view of the bread and desserts being made. She almost wanted to drool at the sight of sweets.
"Hi, how can I help you today?" a woman approached the front with a huge smile. She had dough and icing all over her face which almost made Jazmine giggle at her appearance. But she held in the laugh.
Jazmine looked directly at her and answered, "May I please get your famous cinnamon bread?"
"Coming right up!" she said as she went into the back. Jazmine took a look at the wax figures of the pastries on the counter and thought they looked cute. It was an excellent marketing idea that could save up on the pastries.
While the girl was in the back with her family members preparing her bread, Jazmine decided to look outside. It was a beautiful day and she felt nothing could go wrong.
That was until she saw a group of guards walking. She immediately freaked out and covered her face due to her not want them to catch her. Did her parents know she was gone and someone sent them to come find her?
She continued to watch from the windows and when she saw them in her view, she saw a group of black men in the middle of them. Specifically five of them and they were holding a box.
"Now, what can that be?" she questioned.
As Jazmine continued to observe them she couldn't help but think they were a bit dirty as her father would say. Not because they were black but just due to their clothes being dirty and looking as if they came from the fields. They lacked maintenance in her eyes.
One was bald, two had messy dreads that needed to be dealt with, along with the other whose hair needed to be washed, and then last but not least the man with the afro.
Her heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of him.
He seemed to be the leader of his group because the other four men were following behind him while he walked in front of them. She didn't know what came over her, but something about a man standing tall and being a leader made her feel funny inside. As if she had butterflies.
Prince Henry never made her feel this way, even when she had seen him for the first time.
But this man gave her butterflies. Imagine if she was standing right in front of him instead of inside a building watching him like a creep. She could see the fog she was breathing on the windows.
"Here's your cinnamon bread m'lady," the girl said full of excitement as she presented the bread to Jazmine.
"Oh, thank you!" Jazmine said a little scared that she popped up so quietly.
She looked outside the window again to see that the soldiers and black men were disappearing out of her sight. She sighed because she wanted to keep looking at them. As did everybody else because they continued to look at them as they continued walking.
"Did you see the pirates?" the girl asked.
"The what?" Jazmine asked, confused.
"The pirates," she repeated.
"I'm not following," Jazmine said.
"Oh, my apologies for not explaining, but the pirates are this group of negros that are slaves to the country, and what they do is they fulfill the kings wishes of valuable materials that bring wealth and establishment to our country," the girl explained.
"They're slaves?" Jazmine questioned, bothered by the fact the negros are slaves to the country.
"Well yes, they are slaves," the girl answered.
"How... we don't own slaves around here," Jazmine denied.
"Well, there are salves around here, we just don't see them. King Wuncler feels they should be kept outside of the castle walls so they can't harm us in any type of way. That's for the ones that work in the fields all day and provide food for us. The others which are mainly women are slaves too but they take care of the children and do the housework," the girl explained.
"My father bought a family from outside of the castle walls to save money on paying for food such as wheat and fruit. Instead of buying it consistently, we have the family work outside to provide those needs for us so we don't waste money," the girl said as Jazmine felt the strain in her stomach.
She was hungry, but she didn't feel right about eating the bread. She felt a bit guilty because she didn't know of all the things that happened for her to have this food in her hand. Slaves gave up their whole lives just to fulfill her and everyone else's needs but their own.
"Oh wow!" Jazmine responded.
"Yeah, I know right! Since then business has been booming and we save up more money this way," the girl said proudly at her statement.
"That's nice to know," Jazmine lied.
"I'm going to be heading out and going home," Jazmine excused herself.
"Okay, well have a nice day!" the girl waved.
"You do the same," Jazmine said before leaving the pastry shop.
As she walked down the street she continued to look at the bread she so desperately wanted to eat but she couldn't. It just didn't feel right to her. Eating this bread was like eating meat to her. She cried at the thought of animals and people being harmed in the process just so she could be satisfied.
She walked in between a house and went to the back where she couldn't be seen by many. She mainly had seen kids playing in the back while the black woman was watching them or a family working on the fields. She felt bad at seeing the sight of what the Sweet's girl had told her.
She stopped and looked at them as if she was at a petting zoo. She watched little kids play around with black kids. Although the white kids were having fun the black kids weren't. They looked tired and weak.
One of them had spotted her and walked towards her. She got nervous because she didn't think she was supposed to be here. What if someone catches her, she'll be in big trouble.
When one of the black children met face-to-face with her, Jazmine saw it was a little girl. She kept staring at her and Jazmine didn't know what to do.
She heard the little girl's tummy grumble and she sensed that she was hungry. Jazmine looked at the bread that she bought from the pastry shop and almost drooled at it. Although she wanted to eat it she just couldn't. It was better to go to someone that actually needed it. The girl looked as if she hadn't eaten in days.
Jazmine gave the little girl her bread and the girl gently took it.
She bowed her head at Jazmine as she was grateful for the food. When she took a bite of it she almost cried and was astonished by the taste. It was as if it was her first time eating something this good. Instead of eating the whole thing, the girl broke it into pieces and hid it away in her clothes.
Jazmine assumed it might have been for siblings.
Jazmine was about to leave the house when the girl asked her, "Are you an angel?"
She shook her head. The girl continued to observe Jazmine and then said, "You have very pretty eyes...ones I never seen before, you must be an angel."
Jazmine held her hand out and caressed the girl's face. The little girl had seen Jazmine's skin color and was taken aback by her kindness.
"I'm no angel child," Jazmine said as the girl gently grabbed her hand.
"Please, will you save us from this nightmare," the girl pleaded.
Jazmine looked into her eyes and felt the urge to cry to see the sight of a child pleading for help.
"I can't make any promises but I will try my best!" Jazmine lastly spoke before pulling her hand away from the girl. She could see someone was about to come outside and she left before they could catch her.
Jazmine went back towards where the villagers were to see them all staring at something. She was curious at what everybody was staring at and she could hear a lot of noises coming their way. She watched behind the scenes as she saw a group of soldiers carrying out the pirates that had come in earlier.
They were screaming, yelling, and trying to get out of their grips. Jazmine had to admit it was quite embarrassing to see them being treated as if they were animals being tamed. She bet they were feeling ashamed of being looked down upon by the people in the village. She could clearly see it on the captain's face.
When he looked up, he specifically spotted her in the crowd and just stared at her.
Jazmine felt the butterflies in her stomach once again and then adjusted her cloth. She made sure the hood covered her face and held her head down.
Jazmine turned away from the scene and started to make her way towards the castle. She knew something was to come and she had a bad feeling about it.
Thank you for reading!