Chapter one
“May God bless her and all
who sail on her.”
I cleared my throat, hoping
I’d said it correctly, and gripped the bottle of champagne, terrified of
letting it go too early or, worse still, missing the ship entirely.
Beyond the ship, the ocean shimmered
in the midday sun. Diamond-like sparkles of light bounced off the calm cerulean
water—water that looked so inviting, I wanted nothing more than to jump in, to
surrender to the balmy ripples. Of course, wanting it and doing it were two
different things. First of all, I couldn’t swim, and secondly, my mother would
pitch a fit if I took another step closer to the dock edge. She was already a
bag of nerves from today’s event.
I looked behind me, needing
reassurance from my parents. This was my first official royal engagement, and I
was terrified of messing it up. My father beamed at me with pride while my
mother gave me a thin smile. I could see the fear in her eyes although she was
doing her best to hide it. I was amazed she’d come at all. The ocean positively
terrified her. My father’s hand was almost white with how hard my mother was
squeezing it. Next to them, my little brother, Anthony, was picking his nose
and examining the treasure he found up there. Not for the first time I was
reminded how fortunate it was that I was the first in line to the throne.
Beside me, my life-long
best friend nudged me to let go of the bottle. Officially, his title was Sir
Hayden Harrington-Blythe, but to me, he was just Hayden. He’d been my first
crush since our first day in kindergarten when he’d pulled on my pigtails, and
I’d stamped on his foot. Despite our unpromising start, over the years we’d
turned into friends. My crush on him was long since over, and his pigtail
pulling days were long gone, but somehow, our friendship had survived.
“You do know you are
supposed to let go of the bottle right?” whispered Hayden in my ear. I gave him
a look I only ever reserved for him and lifted the bottle. Letting go, I
watched it swing on a length of string, arcing towards the majestic ship’s
wooden hull. It made a tinkling sound as it smashed against the side of the
ship, scattering glass all over the paved dock. I couldn’t help thinking it was
a waste of good champagne and that it would be better served at the ball being
held in honor of my birthday in a couple of days’ time. Still, I felt
invigorated by the salty smell of the ocean, the atmosphere of a thousand happy
people coming out to see the launch, and the fact that I now had a boat that
bore my name. I was feeling as excited as I could hope to feel, second only to
being allowed to actually go out on the damn thing.
The Erica Rose’s white sails flapped in the
breeze below the official flag of Trifork as if she were eager to be off, out
onto the ocean. I couldn’t blame her. To sail on the ocean was a lifelong dream
of mine. Ever since I could remember, I’d looked out of my bedroom window
toward the ocean and dreamed of the day that I’d be able to disappear beyond
the rolling waves toward the horizon.
It was a dream that had
never, and would never, be realized as long as my parents were in charge. For a
kingdom so well-known for its naval and merchant vessels, my parents were
ridiculously strict about letting me go near the ocean. This was the closest
I’d gotten in the whole eighteen years of my life, and I had a full team of
palace guards surrounding me, stopping me from taking one step closer to the
water’s edge than I had to. It was all because of my mother, of course. My
father might have been the one that ruled Trifork, but in the palace, my mother
was the one that wore the pants, so to speak. If my mother said I couldn’t go
near the ocean, then my father wasn’t going to argue with her. However, today
was a special day, and not even my mother could come up with a good enough
reason for us not to be here. She might have been absolutely petrified, but she
was the queen, a duty she held above everything, even crippling panic.
Pop! by Jason Carter Eaton
