Pirate's Tail

Chapter Two

Captain Harris and Ace pulled into port and went about cleaning the salvage barge in the light provided by a pair of lanterns. They then transported the guns and goods recovered from the sea to the vault in which they were stored. The Captain painted his seal on the goods they recovered, then government officials would come by and appraise them. If such goods were deemed to be needed, and much of what was found was, then the government would pay Captain Harris the next day at the dock.

The two finished the duties and were just starting their walk home through the city of Haiglin when they heard the clamor of hooves. They turned around and saw two chestnut horses pull up just short of them.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Will you come with me?" The cloaked female rider said in a sing-song voice. "Dinner is nearly ready, and I'm tired of waiting."

"Good evening, Honey," Captain Harris said, recognizing his wife, an attractive-looking brunette named Charlie, as the rider. "We know we can't keep you waiting long."

Captain Harris took the reins from Charlie's horse as she scooted to the rear of the animal. Captain Harris swung up on the horse's back, taking position in front of his wife. Ace climbed upon the back of the second horse.

"What's for dinner, Charlie?" Ace asked.

"Chicken pot pie!" Charlie exclaimed as Captain Harris lurched their horse forward unexpectedly. Ace fell into line behind the couple.

Ace took in the city as they sauntered through the streets of the recently rebuilt Haiglin. The capital city of Menquin had been heavily damaged during the Great War and it was refreshing to Ace to see parts of it being slowly rebuilt. The rebuilding was giving many citizens of Haiglin hope for the future. Life was slowly returning to normality, even if some of the locals complained of the slow speed of the progress.

Ace smiled and thought about all the hope he felt about his own life. All he'd known for the first seventeen years of his life was the orphanage on the outskirts of Haiglin. While he suffered no ill treatment there, it was somewhat suffocating to be trapped in the transition of an orphanage for the first seventeen years of life. Ace had known no real family, aside from the kids at the orphanage. Many of his friends had been adopted before him, and he'd lived in the constant unknown of whether he would be adopted or not. It was refreshing to start his life with Captain Harris and Charlie and to finally have a purpose. Now he had a family and a career salvaging shipwrecks that he could focus on.

As the group edged out of downtown Haiglin, they rode past the royal household. Menquin was ruled by the controversial King Burnlet. The palace had been unscathed during the Great War, yet they had just finished 'rebuilding' it. The people of Menquin felt much animosity toward the King for remodeling the already beautiful palace with the taxpayer's money before rebuilding parts of the nation that actually needed to be rebuilt.

A few surrounding homes and businesses around the unscathed palace had been burned down during the war. They stood in the shadow of the royal residence as a stark reminder of the war. The families of the destroyed buildings camped on the ground nearby, waiting for the funds to be distributed to rebuild their lives. Ace felt sorry for the people as he rode past them. He knew the feeling of being unable to do anything but wait and pray that the actions of others would help the future.

The horses and their riders left the city of Haiglin and entered the valley surrounding it. Ace looked up at the hills and saw the stumps of the thousands of trees used for the war. It always startled Ace to see the destruction the Great War had spread to the once dazzling forest outside the city. It was difficult for Ace to know that the forest he'd loved as a child had been destroyed. It was painful to see such devastation in the environment, but he found a small measure of comfort in knowing that in time the forests would regrow.