Rebellious by Dravinea Merolette (e novels to read online TXT) 📖

you a slave there or something? But judging by your fancy clothes, I would think not.” Amador inquired as the entire group looked at their own rags and then at Neroli’s satin and velvet clothes. The children took three steps away from Neroli; it was if he was going to wound them somehow.
“I just saved you from the guard’s spears and swords and you are frightened of me?” Neroli asked as he held his hand to Amador who turned and started running away. As Amador ran he tripped on a loose stone and fumbled to the ground. His friends came to help him to his feet and then they ran for it, but Neroli was too quick for them he blocked the gate so they could not escape that easily. “Why are you afraid of me? I am only a prince. You are raised as pirates you know how to kill, steal and attack. Just let me talk to you. And we have the same enemy!” Neroli proclaimed desperately. Jasmine raised an eyebrow as Neroli continued, “Yes, I might be a prince, but my father is a snake. I want him gone!” he yelled.
“So you are the prince who has rebelled and wants to kill his own father.” Amador asked, rubbing his arm.
“I did not rebel. He threw my mother and me out into the streets. I have a right to be angry.” Neroli yelled at them.
“Fine, have it your way, but can we leave now? It’s getting late and the crew will be angry if we keep them waiting.” the nameless girl asked.
“How often are you in port?” Neroli asked.
“Every other month, but the land-lover,” Jasmine pointed to Amador, “is always in his village.” The group of pirate’s laughed.
“Could you come by the gate when you are in Firion? I am lonely in that boring castle and you do owe me.” Neroli stated. The children looked at one another then after a few moments said, “Agreed.” And so it was that Neroli had special friends for seven years. They enjoyed sneaking in and out of Neroli’s house at night, playing hide-and-seek and on rare and secret occasions the pirate children showed Neroli Pirates’ Cove. And a few times when they were in Pirate’s Cove, they would steal a few items from a unsuspecting pirate or pirates. Later the nameless girl introduced herself as Jezebel Salvin.
The group of friends eventually became a group that treated one another like family. Neroli and Deviate were constantly the leaders and once in a while they would have small fencing matches where the first person to fall lost. Aneas and Jasmine were the advisers and treated one another like brother and sister. They were always teasing each other and playing with each others hair. Haley acted as the mother of the group; she was the smart and witty one. Haley provided some sense to the group. When the others wanted to commandeer a ship, Haley talked them out of it. When someone needed sympathy, Haley was the one who gave them a hug. Jacques was the handsome one who was sometimes caught ruffling his hair or flirting with the city girls. They all robbed together and were well known through out the city until they reached the age of twelve. And for four years their friendship stood unfaltering.
On one of the trips to the Cove when all the children were twelve, the king saw the disguised Neroli walk past him, but the king recognized him as the boy he had seen walking around in Firion in fancy clothes. The king, Caleb gripped Neorli’s cloak and it came off of the prince. Neroli wore normal pirate clothes, but none of the pirates from any of the ships recognized him. Amador rushed forward and took Neorli’s arm and timidly told Caleb, “He’s from my village. He’s my brother.” Neroli looked at Amador with an uncertain look.
A hand slapped the prince’s face. He was thrown off his feet and fell on the stone paved ground. Neroli didn’t scream, but had the perfect right to, for the strike had caused instant bruising on his cheek. Caleb pushed Amador out of the way and grabbed Neroli by the front of his shirt. “Is that true?” asked Caleb as he loomed over Neroli. The prince looked hastily around because he was not sure what to answer. He saw Jasmine nodding her head vigorously and Neroli looked back at Caleb and nodded. Caleb snorted and dropped him. That was when Neroli and the pirate children knew that it was time to get rid of their tyrant-of-a-leader.
The next day Amador slowly and silently sneaked into Caleb’s chambers during the king’s absence. Caleb’s most valuable possession was lying on the pillows of the bed. It was a special necklace called the Heart of Kandricon. No one knew where their king had taken the necklace from, but he always called it, “his good luck charm.” The necklace had a large circular gem that glowed a light bluish color. It was encased in a silver holder and had a silver chain. Amador stole the necklace and brought it back to Neroli and the rest of the group.
Coincidentally, mermaids attacked the Cove that day. Why they attacked you ask? Because in this story mermaids are not happy creatures, but creatures of the dark and of the mist. They have fins as black as the deepest depth of sea, eyes as blue as the midnight sky, and a heart as cold and dark as an ice burg that is floating in the Antarctic. They were also bloodthirsty animals that liked humans. When Caleb was aware that mermaids had attacked he rushed into his room but the heart was nowhere to be found. The mermaids rushed into the room a few seconds after him and because Caleb had lost the enchanted gem, he was killed. The mermaids left immediately after they had murdered the leader (Caleb) because they didn’t want to be caught in the act.
Neroli and the others had hidden deep in the cove during the invasion. When they heard the weeping they knew that it was safe to come out of hiding. Caleb had been killed, Amador and the pirate children were overjoyed, but Neroli felt like he had just fainted and returned to consciousness very quickly. He gripped the wall and steadied himself, for Neroli was a part of the reason that Caleb was dead.
The pirates saw how depressed Neroli had become over the past few minutes so they offered the trinket to him. At first Neroli refused the necklace, but over the next few hours he felt as if the necklace was pulling him to it.
After the funeral, Neroli asked Jasmine if he could see heart one more time before he made his decision. Jasmine took it out of her pocket and handed it to Neroli. Instantly he put the necklace round his neck without even knowing what he was doing. And thus Neroli became the holder of the heart of Kandricon.
Once, they were down by the docks with Neroli disguised as a pirate so that he would fit in with them, they were chucking stones into the water. Jasmine was sitting down at the end of the pier and felt something touch her leg. Jasmine stood up quickly and held Aneas’s arm. “Did you see that?” she asked him as her grip tightened as they saw something black in the water.
“I’ll say that it’s an unusually large fish.” Said Neroli as he took a step towards it, but the others pulled him away.
A plank of wood was missing in the pier and Jasmine’s foot was over it. When she felt something grip her ankle, she shrieked and the thing pulled her into the water. The others turned around and saw the spot where Jasmine had originally stood, but the hole in the wood was larger and they looked down and saw the ripples.
“Help!” shouted Jacques and a pirate came instantly. “Jasmine! a mermaid pulled her in!” Jacques told the young man breathlessly. The child pirate didn’t believe what happened himself! About five yards away from shore they heard a gasp. Everyone turned and saw Jasmine floating in the water.
That was when Aneas did one of the most stupid but brave things imaginable; he jumped into the water after Jasmine. The Young pirate dove after Aneas.
As that was happening at least three mermaids came around Jasmine and sang their eerie song in there language. When Jasmine would try to dive or swim away, the mermaids would grab her to keep her still.
One of the mermaids was a younger Danika (the queen of Mermaids in the next generation). Every one of the mermaids looked gaunt and hungry, as human-like sharks they circled around Jasmine like lions do before they feed. “Help!” Jasmine screamed.
Aneas came out of the water and the mermaids swam towards him. Aneas, who was the best swimmer out of all of them, swam frantically to the pier. Amador barely had his arm when the Mermaids grabbed Aneas’s foot. Before the mermaids could pull Aneas away, the pirates, who had assembled to help, used ropes to “lasso” the mermaids. Each pirate had two ropes that wrapped around their arms and torso.
Meanwhile the young man had retrieved Jasmine. She was too terrified to swim. The pirate had to carry her back to the dock. When they reached the shoreline, a few yards from the mermaids, pirates came around them and placed blankets around them both.
At that time Amador, Jacques, Neroli, Haley, and Jezebel pulled Aneas out of the Mermaid’s grasp. The five friends pulled Aneas from the edge of the pier, so the mermaids could not attack him.
The mermaids gave a cry, similar to a lion’s roar, and they broke the ropes and disappeared beneath the waves. The pirates pulled their broken ropes onto the shore and checked to see if the young pirates were all right. Aneas had a cut on his ankle, but otherwise, everyone was all right.
Another time, Neroli and the rest of the team were sneaking around the town when they were spotted by one of the palace guards. The guards raised the alarm and sent reinforcements after them because they recognized everyone, except Neroli, because they were stealing things in the market. When they were finally cornered in an alley by the guards. Amador and Jacques jumped in front to defend their friends, but they did not know how to fight except with fists. Amador dodged the attacks at first, but just as the sword of the guard was inches from his nose Neroli jumped forward and was hit in the arm. When the guards saw the fine clothes on Neroli they fled for their lives, for surely they had attacked a noble. The children brought the wounded Neroli back to his room by climbing up