Lucas and I were not awakened because of those footsteps. And because we were not awake, we did not feel the young man carry us into a ship. That is until that very morning, when Lucas and I were standing looking out at the kingdom we left behind.

Prince Lucas tugged on my boot still damp from the morning dew. "Whose ship is this? I am Prince Lucas Cara of the Cara Empire and I expect answers idmetidately or else the kingdom's court will have repercussions. You will speak before me!" Lucas yelled at the top of his lungs.

The prince received an answer. An answer not of words but of sounds. The sounds of a whimpering young man too scared to move. Great. "Come out now and we won't hurt you!" I screamed taking Lucas's sword from his back pocket arming myself.

"You think he actually believes you?" Prince Lucas laughed quietly.

"I am not a person of promises, I never have been." I whispered back to him concealing my doubt and fear.

Our heads turned at the crash out of sword hitting the deck. Prince Lucas held his ears.

"I have disbanded my weapon and you will do the same," a young man's voice demanded. Lucas looked down at my hand. I dropped the sword at the man's request. "A golden eye! I haven't seen one of you in years!" the boy exclaimed looking straight into my eyes. I closed them wiping a single tear away.

"How do you know that I am a golden eye?" I asked. I walked forward slightly keeping an eye on my sword.

"Because I am not an idiot like most of the royals of Cara!" the boy laughed snickering at Lucas's presence. A Prince Lucas, that was still shocked himself.

"Shut your mouth or I will shut it for you!" Lucas threatened, still shocked.

"I would love to see you try," the man said.

"I demand to know why we are on this ship and where it is going!" Lucas yelled running up to the man.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing..." the man thought out loud. Now that I saw his face, I noticed that he was more of a boy than a man. He was no older than I was. "This is my ship, how did the two of you get on it?" the man asked.

"Your ship? You're a pirate?" Lucas asked sizing him up. It was quite hard to believe a boy like the one we saw could be a pirate.

"Yes, I am. Well, I'm a shipboy. The name's Cole." Cole introduced putting out his hand for us to shake. Lucas and I shook it quickly and sharply.

"I'm Vera and this is-"

"Prince Lucas, I'm aware!" Cole said rolling his big brown eyes. A ring of white made his brown pop. He was a white eye. "The crewmen must have put the two of you on the ship. They don't like witnesses when they steal from the villages." He shrugged.

"Where is everyone else?" Prince Lucas asked. 

"They probably found a better ship and stole it. Happens all the time," Cole said. 

"So, you're telling me that you have no idea where we are going?" I asked.

"Nope..." Cole confirmed. "However, we are just east of Hallingdale and I can get us there by dawn. I bet you have places to be, people's lives to ruin right, Prince?" Cole teased.

"We're not in a rush or anything. Take your time." Lucas told him.

"What do you mean? You're Prince Lucas of Cara! Don't you have a kingdom to attend to or something?" our new acquaintance asked.

"I have been banished from my kingdom. I was accused of being a golden eye..." Lucas started to say.

"Why would the people think that you were a golden eye? You're obviously a black eye!" Cole said. "I mean look at you! Smart, very smart but blind to the culture of everyone else. Fits you to a tee."

"They found a necklace in my room with the golden eye seal on it," Lucas admitted.

"The one with the sun in the center and leaves weaving through it? A bright sun, blinding even?" Cole asked with a hopeful smile on his face. Lucas and I turned to each other exchanging looks. Very few people still knew what the seal looked like; the two of us being two of the three. The third the history professor that confirmed the necklace seal. How did Cole, a poor ship boy, know about it?

"How do you know what the seal looks like?" Prince Lucas asked.

"My father had it tattooed on his forearm," Cole replied. He walked over to the captain's wheel, studied it, and placed his hands on the bars steering the ship. Lucas and I leaned against a pole right in front of him. I felt a chill down my back as the wind blew behind us.

"Your father is a golden eye?" I asked. I was desperate to know anyone else like me even if it was an old man. Cole nodded. So, there is someone like me! The golden eyes aren't extinct! I smiled a little, then I realized I was giving a little too much away.

"Oh! Half of my family is! My twin brother, my dad, and my grandpa..." Cole admitted. It seemed that saying that was hard for him; almost as if he hasn't said it out loud before... or at least believed it. Still, I couldn't help my curiosity.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are they now?" I asked. I was afraid to know the answer, but I needed to know it. The answer would keep me grounded. I needed some sort of end to my infinite years of wondering. The answer would remind WHY we're here and WHY this is all so secretive. Why my life is so screwed up.

"My father and brother are at Dimmer's Prison Island. Five years ago, the town found out our family's little secret. And then they were gone. Haven't seen them since." Cole told us.

"I was told that Dimmer's Island was just a myth!" Prince Lucas laughed.

"You know much about your own kingdom, do you?" Cole challenged rolling his eyes.

"Okay, I deserve that. You just better be taking us home." Prince Lucas threatened through his teeth. He had an infamous temper. I had a feeling that his temper would break loose sooner and later. Luckily, he was trying to spare us a few more tries. He turned to face the land in the distance probably wondering about where his dear Princess Heather had gone.

Cole pulled me aside. "I have this book. My father gave it to me. All the legends of the golden tribe. You know, the tribe that lived on the island. They were the creators of the golden eye; your ancestors. All its done for me is get me into trouble, you'll use more of it." Cole said giving me the book. I stuffed it into my backpack.

Some say that safety is in material things. Safety as in a roof over your head or safety as in arms to cradle you in. Safety is different things to different people. As for me, safety isn't in my vocabulary. Safety and discomfort leads us and presents us with the biggest surprises. And the surprise that the world presented us with that following morning changed my life forever.

"Good morning!" Cole smiled concentrating on steering the ship. He was in a weird mood. Then again, I've never seen him in a normal mood before. Prince Lucas took a double take before realizing where he was. He was probably expecting to be woken by one of his twenty butlers with a gentle touch.

I groaned and helped myself up. I stood looking out at the sea. It was peaceful and beautiful just as I imagined it. The waves perfectly swayed in the breeze of a calm morning. It was calm for a second.

I glanced up at a huge cliff. "Where are we?" I asked. I've been around Hallingdale and Cara, well mostly. And I've gone through school. Yet, this place was something too big to fit within the pages of a book.

"Just off the coast of northeastern Hallingdale." Cole told me. "Not many ships go through here,"

"Why's that?" I asked. My question would soon be answered. Little did I know, a famous face stood on the cliff. I saw a strand of blonde hair wave into my view. I ignored it. I am crazy golden eye after all.

The Princess of Hallingdale was the fairest of them all. Her name was Princess Heather, a name as beautiful as she was. Her crystal blue eyes could pierce straight into anyone's soul. The princess took her golden shoes off of her little feet and placed them gently on the grass. Her fancy upbringing urged her to cringe at the dampness of the ground. On a regular day, she would scream with mud on her feet. Luckily, it wouldn't matter in a few minutes.

The things that were troubling her were much more than mud between her toes. She smiled at the thought that all of the things she dreaded would be in the past. Gone. All it took was one jump.

She counted in her head. 1.... 2... She stopped to think. Did she really want this? Yes. She stopped again. She stayed silent. A rustling in the bushes made her head turn sharply. She told herself to stop and just do it. She started to count again. 1... 2...

3...

Read chapter three to see what happens!! I post every single friday! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please vote, comment, and share! Have a great day!

Ava