Rebellious by Dravinea Merolette (i have read the book a hundred times .txt) 📕

Rebellious
Dravinea Merolette

It Begins
(a few hundred years before either Mara or Neroli were born)
The Land of Firion is on a peninsula. It is surrounded by the crystal blue Cretian Ocean and has many small islands that surrounded it. The rest of the large continent house large and powerful countries such as Marioh, Harsha, and Sharmon. The islands that surrounded Firion on three sides were tropical paradises. The great kingdom of Firion sent many of it’s trading vessels through the channels between the islands… or at least up until the ships were attacked and looted.
On one of the islands, thrived a people that had no name and were often quoted as, “pirates”. These pirates thrived on one of the smallest islands and had a secret hatred for Firion. And for a long time they had been preparing a rebellion against their large adversary, the king.
The pirates lived a slightly primitive life, but after they stole the loot of the trading vessels from the king, their lifestyle changed. A few became in love with rum, some became bloodthirsty, but most became obsessed with treasure and things that shone. They were the rebels of the ocean. These people were tired of being considered “lower” that the city of Firion, so they made their presence known. The pirate’s leader was a strong man whose name was Halim Shalmon.
In truth Halim and the prince of the great and ancient kingdom of Firion, were cousins. The royal prince was sheltered from that secret, but Halim knew the secret and he intended to make things right. Halim, the first leader of a large village that would eventually grow into the very large empire of “pirates”. The pirates would come from all the islands that surrounded Firion, led a full-blown war against the navy and army of Firion. The battles were hard and most were forfeited to the Firionian navy.
On the day of the last battle, Halim led his troops into a large cave that had a large harbor. It was the perfect place for a secret hideout. At the Cove Halim heard something behind him and without warning something stabbed him from behind. They had walked into an ambush. The pirates drew their weapons and fought the best they could, but had to retreat. The pirates carried their leader back to their ships where a large navy of Firion ships had waited for them. The pirates fought for all they had, but a few stayed with Halim, caring for him as much as they possibly could.
Sadly, Halim died in that sea battle along the home that all the modern Pirates go to every ten years to honor their heritage. Halim’s last words were, “the one who will take my place will appear long in the future. The person will be of mixed pirate heritage and Royalty also. The prophesied one will carry the mark of both sides and will finish the war of the kings and the thieves…” Halim died before he could say anything more. None of the pirates had any heir at the time that was mixed royal and pirate blood. They had no heir from Halim so they made their own way of making kings for themselves. The pirates remained a united force, but they made their base the cave near where Halim died. They called it, “Their home.”
Halim did make a difference in the history books. He had started a war. After his death the pirates needed a leader, but Halim had no children. The people decided to elect their own king or queen. They also made a group of judges called the, “Council”. They were the advisers to the monarch at the present time and with every new leader, he chose seven people to be his new council.
Between Halim’s time and the time of the prophesied warrior, many changes happened. Pirates were captured, killed and tortured. Royal soldiers, guards, and a few princes and princesses from Firion were treated the same way. Hundreds of years were a merry-go-round for both sides. Pirates were the ones who were hurt the most from captivity.
The pirates waited for many hundreds of years for someone that would fulfill the great prophecy. Many of the pirates began to doubt it and the person that Halim described would ever come. They expected “him” to be born into the pirate family and be raised in their way. But, they least expected a girl to be born from a prince who had befriended pirates, and they didn’t expect that the girl would be raised by a man who was adopted into the pirate life since he was a young boy. The girl was nothing that they would ever expect.


Prince and Pirate Neroli Drake
A prince of Firion was born long after the death of Halim and the king who ruled during the wars of the pirates and the monarchs. Neroli began life in the safe walls of Firion as a prince. Benia (a minor wife) was his mother. She was beautiful, but she was a slave when she was younger, that made her not be able to climb to lead wife in the kings courts. Jumisia was the first wife that king Dante had. She was tall, tan skinned, thin, and of good lineage. Jumisia was the lead wife and was jealous that Benia had given king Dante his first son.
Just after Neroli was born Jumisia went to her husband and demanded that Benia be thrown out of the palace along with her ‘wretched boy’. She told the king that Benia had been ill for most of her life and she made her husband believe that his first-born had received the illness from his mother. The king thought about this and came to the conclusion that Benia was no more than a slave, so the envious queen’s desires were granted.
Benia was thrown out of the palace in the middle of the night as she clutched her infant son in her arms tightly. She only had a cloak and an old tattered dress. The full moon was out and Benia walked along the empty streets looking for scraps of food, when she found herself in a dark ally. Not caring about herself Benia held to her son and wrapped the cape around him to keep him warm in the bitter of the night. Benia had given birth mere hours ago and had no blanket to defend her from the cold until a mysterious figure walked up to her and handed her his cloak. Benia said that she was from the palace and she explained to the stranger what had happened to her and the king’s son. The stranger knelt down to her level and looked at the infant’s face. The man introduced himself as Sir Hyron, the king’s brother and Neorli’s uncle. So he brought Benia and her newborn home to his manor.
Neroli was raised by his mother in the manor and had Sir Hyron as a role model. Neroli was told his whole life that he was the rightful prince, so he was proud to do well in his studies and to prepare to rule the country. But the fact that he was alive was kept silent in case the king found out that his child was still alive.
When he was eleven he was looking out his window at night he heard a exceptional song. He ran to the window and looked down. He saw a blonde boy about his age leaning against the manor wall. “We ravage we cash, we kidnap and then drown in rum, drink up me hearties yo ho!” The boy sang. Neroli watched him for a while until a whistle came from the docks. He looked out to where the sound came from and he saw that it came from a huge ship that was miles from where he stood and he could still see it clearly. Neroli assumed that the ship was gigantic. He saw the black sails waving in the wind and was captivated by them. Neroli saw the boy stealth-fully move away from the wall and after making sure the coast was clear, the boy ran out into the courtyard and past the sleeping guards, into the shadows near the ship.
The next day Neroli saw a group of children running from palace guards. One of the kids was the boy he saw the night before. The children were cornered against the wall of the fort that was not far below his window. Neroli looked around in his closet and drew a sword from it. Then he climbed down the vines from his window to fight on the childrens side and fought the guards away. Neroli had been practicing swords-play since he was a young lad.
When he landed right next to them they stared at him for a moment, but when they saw that the boy in fine clothes had a sword in his hand they drew their own and began to battle. Many times Neroli and a lofty boy with jet-black hair went back to back as they fought.
When the small battle was over only the eight children and Neroli were standing, each with their own insignificant wounds. “Are you alright?” Neroli panted as he turned to his new friends.
“Who in bloody heck are you? And where in Firion did you come from?” one of the girls asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow and looked up to the window that Neroli had climbed out of.
“My name is Neroli Drake.” He said as he gave a small bow just to be polite.
“So… Neroli… nice name. We should introduce ourselves. I am Amador. I come from Vernice, a small town just north of here,” said the young man who had gone back to back with Neroli during the fight, as he leaned on the wall to salvage his breath. Neroli noticed one major thing about the young man, his jet-black hair that fell onto his shoulders.
“My name is Jasmine.” A girl said as she pulled her red hair away from her eyes.
“The name is Jacques.” A handsome young man said as he held out his hand for Neroli to shake.
“I’m name is Haley.” A copper-headed girl said with a clumsy curtsy.
“My name is Aneas.” One of the tallest boys said. The young man had hair that was the color of gold, which was the boy that he had seen singing next to his residence the night before. Neroli had seen him fight and decided that it would be best to be friends with such a warrior.
“I will not give this kid my name!” yelled one of the girls, “Do you have any idea what he would say if we went around and told people our names?!” the tallest girl among them roared angrily.
“Oh yeah… the children said in unison.
“What? Are you pirates or something?” Neroli asked as a joke. But the other children looked down at their bare feet because they had unexpectedly and accidentally became known to him.
“You are pirates! I have always wanted to meet someone like you!” Neroli exclaimed.
“Why?” a blonde girl asked.
“Yeah… and why did you climb down from the window in the palace? Are