Henry Black’s life was normal before the girl appeared at his doorstep. Every morning he would get up, eat breakfast and then spend the entire day loathing his English life. Occasionally, his best friend, Tanner, would come by and loathe with him, but most of the time, he was alone. His mother had died when he was six and his father was constantly busy at fancy parties. He never had time for his only son and often acted as if Henry wasn’t even alive. Henry was a decent student at his boarding school, a school where only rich people went, and he never got in trouble. So when he announced to his classmate, Max, that he was going to run away and become a pirate, he laughed at him. At first Henry hadn’t been serious but as months passed and his 18th birthday approached, he began to think less and less about his school grades and pleasing his father and more and more about pirates, thieves and rebels. One day, he invited Tanner over to his house for the night. Unlike Henry, Tanner wasn’t a rich man’s son; in fact he didn’t even have a father. His mother took care of his three younger siblings and he often had to help her. So visits from Tanner were rare. As they sat in Henry’s room discussing the annoyance of his father, Tanner bounced a ball on the carpet. This failed every time though because of the softness of the carpet and the small size of the ball.

“What if we ran away?” Henry suddenly asked. Tanner’s ball dropped from his hand and he blinked at Henry.

“What?”

“What if we ran away?” Henry repeated slowly, watching his friend’s face. Tanner frowned, picked up the ball again and rolled it around the palm of his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, he said. “You know I can’t leave my mother.”

“But,” Henry protested, “Lydia and Aja can help.”

Lydia was Tanner’s little sister, she was around sixteen years old and Aja was their single cook. She was a plump woman who loved children.

“Lydia can’t do everything and Aja is only a cook.” Tanner replied crossly.

Henry sighed, “Then I’ll run away myself.”

“Why do you want to run away all of the sudden?” Tanner demanded as they both stood, squared their shoulders, and glared at each other. As the tension slowly passed, Henry said, “I need some freedom, ya know? Father’s always at parties, finding a new wife or drunk and none of the servants like me.”

Tanner was silent as he thought about this. He was torn between his loyalty to his mother and his loyalty to his friend.

“You think Lydia and Aja can take care of Mother? Will she be mad you think? Will we be alright?” He asked all these questions as Henry whipped two bags from his closet and began to stuff shirts and pants within.

“Yes. Definitely. And yes.”’ Henry replied, “So that’s a yes, let’s grab food.”

Tanner started to protest but was silenced by Henry as the bedroom door opened slowly. A servant stepped inside and cleared his throat. Then he spoke: “Your Father requests your presence in the Big Room Little Master, as well as Sir Tanner’s.”

Henry brushed past him and Tanner followed, nodding a quiet thanks towards the servant. They quietly moved down the hallway, the boys’ wing, as Henry liked to call it. They trotted down the staircase and entered the Big Room. It was the entrance to Sir Black’s vast home and estate. Henry’s father quietly stood at the fireplace, on the other side of the room. In one of the leather chairs, a girl sat. The boys couldn’t see her face; she had her back to them and Henry’s father. Black hair tumbled down her back and she wore a simple dress. It wasn’t a servant’s dress, in fact it looked to be made of satin, but it was plain. A white streak ran through her black hair, giving an air of mystery to the shapely figure. Both Sir Black and the girl turned as they entered the room. Henry and Tanner warily approached them and stood in front of Henry’s father. Sir Black cleared his throat and inspected them with his eyes.

“This is the Lady Elizabeth Grace. Her mother is to be yours soon enough Henry and you will treat her with respect.”

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Henry was used to this: His father marrying another woman and introducing Henry to her children. It was nothing new, but Henry felt that this girl was different from any of the other children who had come and gone. His father continued;

“The Lady Grace will be staying for tonight and tomorrow her mother will arrive. I want you to escort the lady around the property and show her what is here. Take this.” Then the man picked up a bag that had been at the Lady’s feet and dropped it into Henry’s hands. Then he made a shooing motion and the three turned and walked back up the staircase.

Elizabeth didn’t talk much as they led the way to her room. Henry opened the door and dropped the bag at the doorway then closed the door. He looked over his shoulder as they headed downstairs again, “How old are you?”

She flicked a speck of dirt from her shoulder coolly, “Knock it off.” She said finally, “You know why I’m here.”

Henry and Tanner exchanged glances then Henry stopped and turned to her. She bumped into him then stepped back, frowning.

“Yeah, I do. You’re gonna take over my house and your mother is going to ruin my life. Eventually, you’ll get tired of me so you’ll complain to my father that I took the biscuits from your breakfast tray and he’ll send me off to another boarding school for men. It’s happened one too many times for me to fall for it again.” He towered over her and she scowled.

“No. I don’t even have a mother. The woman that your father is going to marry isn’t my mother and I’m not her daughter. She doesn’t even know that her ‘daughter’ is here. I came in and surprised your father. But whatever, you just think I’m here to ruin your life. But it’s already ruined so I can’t inflict much damage anyway.”

“Ouch. She got you.” Tanner breathed.

“Shut up.” Henry snapped, “Ok, so you’re not really the lady’s daughter? So you’re not a Lady? Just a normal person?”

Elizabeth straightened slightly, “Nah, I’m a pirate.”

No one moved. Then Henry and Tanner both burst into laughter.

“You? A pirate?” Tanner demanded, “Girls can’t be pirates and even if they are they can’t be so...ladylike.”

Elizabeth looked amused. “You wanted to run away, no? Well my Captain sent me to pick you up to help you.”

“How would you know if I want to run away?” Henry asked, his laughter fading.

“Your friend Max told us.” She replied, “He’s a friend of the crew and Captain’s been looking for some sturdy hands to help on board. So Max suggested you two.”

Henry shook his head in disbelief. “Max did this? Max suggested that we become pirates?”

“Something like that,” Elizabeth said, “So are you in?”

Now Henry noticed her accent. It was definitely English, but it had a rough edge to it.

Henry nodded excitedly, “I’m in!” Then he caught sight of Tanner’s face. Tanner looked slightly excited but doubtful. He looked at Henry, “I can’t leave my family.”

Henry sighed, “Tanner! Live a little! They’ll be fine.”

Tanner grumbled and a long time passed before he finally spoke, “Ok, fine. But I want to visit my family at least once or twice, ok?”

Elizabeth nodded, “Alright then. Pack your bags, we’ll leave tonight.”

Henry and Tanner scrambled to Henry’s room and finished packing their bags. Dinnertime passed in a blur. With Elizabeth acting like a proper lady while Henry’s father accompanied them for dinner. When he left before dessert, Elizabeth changed again. She was a wicked child. She threw food at the servants who passed. Henry was relieved; the servants didn’t really like him. She stuck ice from Tanner’s drink into a maid’s apron pocket as she leaned over Elizabeth to swat Henry’s face after he had given her a snarky comment.

After dinner, the three headed upstairs and into Henry’s room. Elizabeth inspected everything in his room and his bag that he had packed.

“Do you know how to use a gun?” She asked.

“No.” Henry replied quietly.

“A cutlass?”

“Nope.”

“A normal sword?”

“Uh...no.”

“Can you tie knots?”

“Not sailor knots. But I know how to tie my shoe.”

“Have you ever climbed a tree? Stolen something? Snuck out somewhere? Anything like that?

“I’ve climbed a few trees in my time...when no one’s looking. I used to steal tarts from the pantry, but the cook gave me a beating so I didn’t do it again.”

Elizabeth sighed, “Why did you stop?”

“Because the cook beat me!? Wouldn’t you have stopped?”

“No I wouldn’t. Pirates don’t stop stealing unless threatened to be hung or burned.”

“Which always happens doesn’t it?” Tanner asked.

“Only if we’re caught.” Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled humorously. “We’ll have the Captain whip you into shape soon enough.”

As night fell, the house became quieter. Elizabeth vanished after it was dark to her room but came back a short while later. She wore the typical pirate outfit: A white blouse, torn in some places, floppy black pants, tightened at the ankles to avoid tripping, and a short white skirt, for style. She had a belt around her waist that had both a cutlass and a gun hooked into it. She had pulled her hair back slightly as she grinned at their expressions.

“Never seen a pirate before?” She asked.

“Nope.” They both replied.

“Well, then you’re in for a real treat when you meet the captain. Let’s go.”

They quietly gathered their bags and lowered themselves from Henry’s window with his sheets that were tied together.

“Classic.” Elizabeth breathed as Henry jerked the sheet ladder from his window and let it flop to the ground.