The Princess and The Pirate

“Jacqueline! Jacqueline!” screamed a voice while torches and swords clattered behind it. The Queen and King, dressed in only their sleeping robes, ran down the hall to the Princess’s room.

With a violent ram from a guard’s shoulder, the door broke inward to the empty room. Igniting the oil lamps, they saw the tossed bed and muddy footprints leading from the balcony doors. The guards quickly found the Princess’s tiara and a long, brown and black pheasant feather half stuck in the bed’s pillow.

When the Queen saw the feather, her demeanor instantly changed. Twirling it, she looked to her husband with a slow, knowing glance.

“Pirates?” she mused, flicking the very tip of her chin with the feather, “This just may be a blessing in disguise.”