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Lady Love
The Tidian Chronicles
A Pirate’s Redemption, A Captain’s Triumph:
Balboa’s daughter marries The Captain of The Guard!
Today marks the long-awaited union of Donna Balboa, daughter of the infamous pirate Ezequiel Balboa, who was executed by The Crown for treason and piracy, and Captain Hart of the Tidian Guard. The wedding, to be held in the grand church of Goddess Thalassa, is expected to be the event of the season, with prominent members of the court and visiting dignitaries in attendance.
As we all know, Donna Balboa’s rise to prominence is nothing short of remarkable. Once a penniless orphan, roaming the streets alongside her father’s crew, Donna’s fate changed when the benevolent King Thadrius took her under his protection at the age of eleven. Under his guidance, she left behind the shadows of her father’s dark legacy, growing into a refined and respected member of the court.
Now, with her marriage to one of Tidia’s most distinguished men, Donna’s transformation is complete. From the streets to the palace, this wedding symbolizes not only her triumph over a troubled past but also the boundless opportunities afforded by the King’s mercy. The festivities will begin this morning, with a ceremony and feast to follow.
Truly, a day to remember for the Kingdom of Tidia.
All Hail our merciful King Thadrius.
I let the paper slip from my hands onto the bed. Sunlight spilled through the window, illuminating the words as if they were meant to be some kind of divine blessing. A way out.
I stared at them, but all I felt was the weight of my own name printed across the page, and the buried truths hidden between the lines.
Where was it written that, when my father was murdered in front of me, I remained motionless on my knees, watching his lifeless body hanging from the rope? How I had to chase the crows from his corpse. Me. Not their so-called merciful King.
It wasn’t written that Ahmose, my father’s second in command, took me in with his crew and kept me alive for five long years. Five years without sailing. Five years living as convicts, hiding from The Crown and the terrible fate awaiting any pirate caught on land.
It was Ahmose who fed me when there was nothing to eat, who trained me to become a skilled archer—as if teaching me the bow could tether me to land. But no skill could silence the waves’ call in my heart—a call that shaped who I was now: a girl who loved the bow and arrow but, much to the misfortune of many, also the sea.
It wasn’t written who I had been in the six years before that, when my father was still alive. The name of the kind old woman with a sewing shop who cared for me while my father sailed The Vile Phantom across the seas. How she taught me to sew, to love the art of clothing, and how every stitch hid a tear of longing for the sea .
No one wrote that I only met my father once when I was three. That my first memory of him was a hug, his green eyes—a color green I searched for in every face without knowing why—and his voice, promising that the next time I saw him, he’d take me on his ship. That we would sail forever. And how that said promised next time, I was six years old, and he was hanging from the gallows.
But mostly, where was it written, that after all, it had been Ahmose who sold me to The King for Gods know how many coins. That he and his crew were forgiven of any crime committed by piracy, and no one heard from them ever again. And how, of course, Ahmose made sure The King knew it was me.
There were ballads sung to this day in taverns and clandestine places telling of how Captain Balboa could only pass on one thing as an inheritance to his heir; a secret heart-shaped birthmark that no one had ever seen on him. A birthmark that I, unfortunately , had on the left side of my neck—big enough for Ahmose to point out, and big enough for The King to see and believe.
Legends and some scriptures said there was an island shaped like a heart, beyond The End of the World Reef, in the pink waters of the Sea of Sundered Hearts, called The Heartbreak Harbor. In which if you offered the most precious thing you owned, precious enough to leave you in endless heartache, in return you were blessed with the protection of Thalassa, the Goddess of the sea. Those who were marked with that heart had the favor of the ocean.
Those ballads also sang of how my father stole something of great value to the Kingdom in exchange for that mark, which was the reason he was hanged. But it had been years and still no one knew what he stole. He got Thalassa's protection after all, but it was of no use to him on land.
And not a word in that article spoke of the memories of that little girl who liked to think it was true that her father had left her that mark, and she had the favor and protection of Thalassa. Or maybe she simply liked to think of it that way because it was the only logical explanation she could give for why she felt so desperately drawn to the sea.
But that little girl was about to turn twenty-one, and even though she had read many books, she now knew that it was just a birthmark. No matter how much she wished it wasn’t.
But perhaps it was fair to say there was at least one truth written in that column. Because it was true that King Thadrius welcomed me into his court, and taught me to read, and to dress and behave like a lady. He reduced me to just a girl who was betrayed, with no title, and no family—a nobody. A girl who needed to be tied to something that would keep her here if she didn't want to die in the streets. A girl tied to someone.
So, in the end, perhaps what would remain of that article would also be a hidden truth. The veiled reality behind my name. Donna Balboa: daughter of a pirate, pawn of a King, and soon-to-be a lady of the court of Tidia.
With a sigh, I leaned back into the pillows, pulling the blankets over my head. For a moment, I shut out the light, the world, and that ridiculous article. All I wanted was to stay hidden here, tucked away, shielded from the life I was being forced into .
But suddenly, the door to my room slammed open, shaking me from my moment of peace.
“Oh! You are here, thank the Gods. I thought I’d have to go chase you down at the stables and take that bloody bow out of your hands again.” Dara’s voice rang out, loud and unapologetic as she crossed the room. “What on earth are you doing under there? Cheer up! Look what I’ve brought for you, Lady Love.”
I peeked out from beneath the covers just as she set a large white box on my bed.
She walked to the big windows, and from the corner of my eye, I watched how her long grey hair, now tied in a braid, moved with her as she opened the velvet-red curtains, letting in more sunlight. She was whistling that old pirate tune I knew by heart and loved so much, and before I could say a word, she gasped and plucked the gazette from where it had fallen.
“You need to stop reading everything you find readable.” She waved it in the air, her tone full of mock seriousness. “Words on a page don’t always deserve an audience. These are just nonsense, look at this! Transformation is complete? What are you, a sea monster?”
“I wish I was.” I hid again between the sheets to see if wishing it very, very deeply, I could escape this day unscathed and without repercussions. Pretend it never happened, a chapter that I could tear out of one of my books without anyone giving it importance.
“Come on now, Lady Love ,” Dara said, almost singing, removing the sheets and revealing myself to a now illuminated room .
I stepped out of the bed onto the cold floor. “You’re going to have to stop calling me that.”
She gasped and with a dramatic gesture put a hand on her heart. “Never. You will always be my Lady of Love.” She touched my birthmark carefully and then my hair, removing it from my face and neck.
I looked at her brown eyes with a sad smile, the years of experiences and stories showing in her wrinkles as she grinned.
“That heart of yours, Donna, is what is going to take you everywhere. You could lead armies with it.” Dara pointed with a finger at my chest.
I slowly took her hand in mine and walked over to where she had left the box. And with a sigh full of courage, I opened it.
“I never thought it would be like this. In my dreams… it’s never like this.” Without realizing it, I heard how my voice broke, and in an instant, faster than any shooting star, Dara was there, wrapping her arms around me. “My dear. Let me prepare you a bath, yes?”
I nodded sadly and stood with the box in my hands.
As I listened to the sound of running water, I sat on the bed and finally took out the white dress from the box. It was magnificent. A dress of a pearly iridescent white, so bright that wherever the sun hit it, I could see a flash of pale pink, like my favorite shells.
The long train that swept the floor with two layers of ruffles was held to the torso with a very light pink corset with two little bows at the sides. And then of course… the wings .
The back of the corset held two feathered wings, symbolizing those of an angel. Because that was all I was to them: the daughter of a punished demon, turned into an angel by The Crown.
A reminder not to forget to whom I owed my life, who picked me up from the streets and welcomed me into his palace knowing well that I was the daughter of a criminal. A reminder that I belonged to The King, who saved my life by turning me from a demon to an angel, from a pirate to a lady.
I was nobody here, a charity case, a political act. The orphan pirate whom The King would save from the streets once again, by granting her the title of Lady of the Captain of the Royal Guard. Not even a Lady for myself, but someone else’s Lady.
A political act indeed. A wedding. A Pirate’s Redemption, A Captain’s Triumph.
In the warm, aromatic water of the bathtub, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could continue living this life without that union. But there was no way out. The King had already made it very clear to me that if I turned twenty-one and remained in his court without a husband, without any purpose, he would be forced to banish me.
How could I keep seeing Dara every day? Keep my beautiful dresses, my books? Keep practicing archery without anyone telling me a young lady mustn’t? And my nightly escapades to the sea...
Gods, especially the sea.
Once I was officially bound to The Crown, I wouldn't even be allowed to think of it .
Since my father’s execution and piracy’s rise as an act of rebellion against The Crown, the Law of No Seas was enforced. King Thadrius and the sovereigns of Marethys, in the name of the Gods, banned the navigation of any ship not under royal control—even those of fishermen.
A madness law that only got moments of famine and acts of rebellion and treason within the court itself. Which led to more prohibitions, such as not even approaching the sea if you were a noble man without prior authorization from The King himself. Which was, The Law of No Waters, accepted by only the court of Tidia a year later.
They guarded the ports day and night so no ship could enter or leave. They persecuted people who had been involved in piracy, or had helped, or had even given asylum to a pirate.
And I could only think of how I would be married to the man responsible for those raids.
Diego Hart, Captain of the Royal Guard.
The sad thing about Diego was that we had known each other since we were kids, and I didn't even know when I lost him.
He was the only boy my age when I arrived at the castle, and the only one who admired how I handled the bow—the only one who got me one.
We had run away to the coast with our horses countless times, we had laughed, and we had fought. He had helped me pick up shells and starfish from the shore, even though he always laughed at me and said that collecting them was absurd. Sometimes, when I couldn’t leave the castle, he even brought me some. He was also the one who sneaked me out at night so I could dip my feet in the salt water.
Until I had to learn the way there and back by myself and go alone every night. Because we were getting older, and although I continued to love the sea, he began to love the law.
But I still thought of him as my friend, because he had never once reported me to The King.
When I returned to the room ready to get dressed, Dara was waiting for me with the wedding dress in her hands.
“I’m going to need you to be there,” I whispered.
She offered me her hand, and when I took it, she began leading me to the mirror next to the window. I faced my reflection as she stood behind me, helping me get into the dress.
“I am always there watching you win the battle, Lady Love,” she said tenderly.
I looked in the mirror and saw her giving me my favorite smile—the one that made me feel like, all this time, I had a mother.
“This battle could be much worse, my dear. You know Diego. You know this castle and its people… You will just have to stop doing some things.”
I looked at my reflection. The dress was perfect. Every time I turned, I could catch some glimpses of pink in the pearlescent white. The light rose corset hugged my torso and chest beautifully, causing the skirt of the dress to fall like a waterfall of white foam.
My shoulders were uncovered since the little sleeves fell halfway down my arm, and with my long, coppery-brown hair I really thought I looked like a wave breaking in a sunset sea of light pinks and blues.
The wings were a little heavy, but they made the dress look majestic. They were not high or rigid as if they were ready to take flight, but rather flexible and drooping along the skirt of the dress, as if they were tired from having flown too much.
And it made me realized how much I detested that something whose meaning I despised could seem so beautiful to me.
My thoughts scattered when Dara gasped playfully. “Angels are real!”
“I think I prefer seagulls.”
We burst into laughter.
“Of course you do, you little creature of the sea,” she said with a smile. Then, she picked up the most beautiful pink and white pearls and began weaving them into my hair. “I really hope I can tame this rebellious long hair of yours today, Lady Love.”
“Oh, are you puting my hair up? My neck will be exposed,” I said, worried.
“And?”
“Dara.”
She paused, letting her hands drop. My hair tumbled down my back.
“My birthmark,” I whispered to her reflection. “Today is not the day for rebellious acts.”
Silence settled between us, and I cleared my throat. “Anyway, loose hair looks better with this dress, I think. ”
“Oh, please! Are you going to give me beauty advice? I'm going to put your hair up because it is too long, and your hair up looks better with your round face and beautiful honeyed brown eyes.”
I started laughing again. “Dara—”
“How are you supposed to slaughter your enemies with all that gorgeous, wavy hair falling over your pretty face, Lady Love?”
I couldn't stop laughing as Dara grabbed my hair, making a mess of it—tangling every curl and strand in front of my face. “This hair, the color of the sunset. This auburn hair that glows like a pirate's copper coins whenever the sun hits it. This long hair that hides so many secrets under it,” she went on, while I laughed and laughed, trying to stop her hands.
“Dara, I’m getting married I’m not twelve anymore.”
She stopped then, catching her breath while she smiled and carefully removed the hair from my face.
“Exactly, Lady Love. How on earth are you going to kiss the handsome Captain of the Guard with this hair all over your face?” she said, her voice getting heavier, as if she was holding on to some weight. And with that, she took a brush and began to comb my hair.
My expression changed, her tone suddenly making me nervous.
I was looking at her through the mirror, how she carefully tied my hair up and chose the pearls lovingly, as if each one was designed for a specific strand and had a purpose.
Pink pearl, then white, then pink again, then white. And then, all tied up in a bun with a big rosy nacreous shell at the back .
“Do you think I'll be unhappy?” I finally broke the silence.
She sighed. “Of course not, my dear.”
Dara smiled and looked me in the eyes through the mirror as she continued speaking, “I know for certain that your most thrilling and inspiring adventure begins today.”
I turned around to face her. “Why do I have the feeling that it will be a fearful one too?”
“Because the best ones always are,” she responded with a wink, and kissed my forehead.
A knock on the door interrupted us, and the voice that accompanied it made my stomach tremble even more.
“Donna? Are you in there?”
Dara looked at me with a suspicious smile and tried to reach the door, but I quickly stopped her and whispered, “We did kiss once.”
She gasped quietly. “Lady Love, you little—”
“We were eighteen! Gods, it wasn't even that serious. I think he got jealous because it was that time Philip was courting me, and I…” I took a breath. Dara was smiling at me as if I were telling her the most interesting story she had ever heard. And it really wasn't, but she was looking at me as if she wanted me to continue, because somehow, I knew she thought it was important to me. So I kept talking. “I… I liked it… but I didn't… Gods, this is going to sound stupid, but I didn't… I didn't feel it was it . I didn't feel it. It wasn't enough. And I felt so stupid to think that it was going to be like one of my books. And we didn't talk about it because I kept pushing him away. And what if this is it for me? What if I never get to feel it? What if I never get to smell the sea again, or touch it, or never get on a ship—or...” I was suddenly hyperventilating without realizing it, mumbling, and scared.
Gods, I was scared.
But again, Dara was there, hugging me and whispering something like, “I’ll be there.” And I was starting to calm down, because if there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that I truly believed her.
“This is not about a kiss, Lady Love, is it?”
“Is it not everything?” I sighed.
She laughed, and I thought about how happy I was that she was here. I really was.
“I’m scared… because I want it all,” I whispered.
“Oh, my dear, but you are brave! I’ve never known anyone who dared to want it all and still cowered. The very act of wanting makes you the bravest of soldiers. Or pirates. Whatever you choose to be.”
“How can I be one, then?” I asked her sincerely—to guide me, to tell me. Because I’d never had that before.
She hugged me again, but this time it felt like it was going to be the last one, and a wave of sadness crushed into me without notice.
I felt her lips against my ear as she whispered, “You are already one, Captain Balboa.”
She let go of me and went to the door.
“Dara, that name is going to disappear today , please I need you to tell me—”
She cut me off by opening the door, and suddenly I was facing my future husband.