The mornings were how they always where dull and uneventful, breakfast seven o’clock sharp, music lessons, dance lessons, public speaking lessons, the list went on and on. This was her life, and she had accepted that, but yet she wanted more from it, she was royalty… Why couldn’t she do what she wanted? She found herself staring at the portrait of her family, they seemed so perfect, and in some ways they were the picture perfect family… Her father with his roguish looks, her mother; the ideal picture of a Queen, and herself, the perfect little copy of her mother, with her father’s attitude in some ways. And yet her father and her were so very different… She couldn’t understand why, her father, a once renowned Pirate of the sea, known as ‘The Drowned’; wouldn’t allow her a chance to go into the sea, or be on a boat… She couldn’t understand why, instead she had a pool, a large pool, but it wasn’t the same. She wanted to see the creatures and smell the salt, and watch the moon out on the ocean… But she was forbid. Yet she couldn’t understand why, a sudden sense of anger hit over her, she grabbed a hold of the portrait and ripped it from the way, throwing it as far as she could throw.

A loud crash could be heard throughout the palace, and the sound of her father’s footsteps came shortly after, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE” a loud very deep voice shouted, Daenys hadn’t ever disobeyed her father, she hadn’t ever acted out and yet this time around, she did… The look of her father’s eyes turned her very own eyes wide and panicked; she searched for a way out, but found only the wrath of her father the answer. “I… I just want to go out to the sea!” She cried, this plead was only answered by the quick movements of her father, and a large but firm hand across the face… The first time he had ever stricken; she wasn’t sure how to act…

The tears in her eyes began to well up, she turned hell and ran off towards the highest of the towers, all she ever wanted was the right and freedom to be out on the ocean… But it seemed as if she was trapped… By the time she reached the very top of the tower, it had already become dark outside, and the moon was slowly on the rise, she looked out the larger window, and watched with a longing no one could ever understand. Someday she would ride the waves and see the morning sun on the ocean front… She found herself watching the waves, the rhythm from the waves gave her hope, and it was a slow but mellow movement, in her head she counted each crash the waves took against the walls of the castle... With each hit, something inside of her began to imagine the sound of a violin playing, as her mind took way, she allowed the music to flow through her, and as simple as that she slowly opened her mouth and allowed the words to come out;

“Hush now, mo stóirín
Close your eyes and sleep,
Waltzing the waves,
Diving in the deep

Stars are shining bright,
The wind is on the rise,
Whispering words,
Of long lost lullabies.”

She took a pause and smiled slightly to herself, she knew this song was the song of the sea.

I saw a great white light And dancers around

She found herself invited into the song, there was still so much more she needed to sing about it, the ocean wasn’t finished telling her about the song; not yet… She needed to write this down, and that she would; however she wouldn’t be able to run into her father… If he caught her, she wouldn’t ever hear the end of the fit she threw… No she needed to be sneaky about this… But the ocean was calling her… She peered out the window, looking down at the water… It was calling her…Wasn’t it? She starred longingly, then backed away; stripping down to nothing but her under garments she smiled; she was going to run and jump, she would land in the water of the ocean and swim around to the front, slip in and get back into her bedroom, get clean clothes, then return to the window.

She grinned widely as she took the running jump, the tallest tower on the small summer castle they were staying in was about a 15 foot jump, not very large; but however the fall with the cliff side and the possibility of there being rocks was huge… But she needed to make this jump and make it out alive… Only hope was on her side.

But hope was her best friend that day, with sheer luck and hope, and praying from the moment she leaped off the window, the cold night air hitting against her skin as she stood that almost 20 feet fall must have paid off, she felt the water hit her feet first, the very first time ocean water touched her she felt relived, it was everything she had expected it to be, the feel against her skin was so much different from the pool water, it was exotic almost… The water began to engulf Daenys and she was fully emerged into it… Something so dangerous according to her father, honestly felt so right.  

I saw a great white light And dancers around

Daenys pushed herself back up to the surface, her body almost exhausted already from the fear that she could have died, and yet she found it in herself to push further, she needed to get back to the front of the castle, and slip back in. However she didn’t realize how large the ocean around the castle was, and truly how big the castle actually had been, it was much more larger in the water, then walking around on the inside…

But no matter what she needed to push forwards, she needed to make sure she wasn’t going to lose hope while in the ocean she fought so hard, and disobeyed her father for… With each movement, the passing of her arms, each kick from her legs she felt her heart fastening, the excitement and the daring to have done this was driving her wild; she needed to get back into that castle. What felt like several hours of swimming was truly only a few minutes, seven to be exact; seven minutes from where she plunged in, and to where she left the water behind her. With a small smile she lifted herself out of the water, the drops falling down her body fast at first, then slowing down as she walked towards the palace; she enjoyed the cold feeling when she got out, the air was much colder than the water she was once in… But it burnt her skin in a way heat did, but it was cold instead of hot…

Breaking from the train of thought, she looked up; it was only a few more feet to the palace now, but the light flickered on just as she was about reach it… No one could ever see her in her undergarments; she would get into so much trouble! She quickly ducked behind a bush and waited, though the longer she waited, the colder it seemed to get…

I saw a great white light And dancers around

Twenty-Six minutes she stayed hunched over, behind the bush waiting for the figure to go back inside… Twenty-Six minutes her body froze more, each minute it seemed to get colder and colder… She the moon was mid-way into the sky now, and the darkness engulfed her; the only light she could see was that of the moon, and of the light near the door… Yet she waited; the possibility of being caught was simply too great at this point, she was on a mission now…

She needed to get pass this person standing at the door… Had her father sent a guard out to make sure she wouldn’t sneak out? Was that what was happening? She couldn’t be too sure…  She searched around in the imitate area where she had been crouched down waiting for the shadowy figure to move and found a small rock, she moved back several inches and chucked the rock up above her head and watched it sore across the opening, and clank on the other side of the shadow, with a loud “Who’s There?!” The shadowy figure began to move over towards where the rock landed, and she seized the chance and slipped into the palace and away from the guard.

The fastened paced of her footsteps rang through her ears like great big thuds, similar to her father’s walking, but she knew it couldn’t be his, and had to have been hers… It was the fear of being caught that made everything seem so much more than what it was… Three hallways were empty, and she had four move to go, she hadn’t been paying attention to her surrounding long enough before she heard the mumble of a low voice, it stopped her dead… The voice was her fathers, but it was coming from up the hall… She starred in fear at what might happen if she ran past… But if she tipped toed, she might be able to make it? Perhaps… She starred; the only way to her room was this hallway… She had to take it… But the chances were they to great?

I saw a great white light And dancers around

She held her breath, each step was closer and closer to her father, though he was behind closed doors, and she didn’t want to take that chance… She knew that she couldn’t risk him finding her… Especially without any clothes on, it would cause a lot of questions; though she wasn’t sure if this sneaking pass would get here very far, she had to try… With a deep breath, she began to tip toe down the hallway, she had one chance, and she couldn’t mess it up.

As she took each step, her heart began to beat faster, the fear was building up… But there wasn’t much she could do… As she began to quicker her steps, she could hear his voice becoming louder, perhaps with all the words… And the laughing, he wouldn’t hear her moving past the door… She needed just to get past this door, and into the next hallway, if she could do this then she was set free, and on a straight run towards her room…

It felt like the last two feet were the longest, each step giving off a pounding in her ears were barely noticeable to anyone else, however when she finally reached the doors where her father resided it became deafly silent… Her heart almost stopped in that very same moment she needed to man up, to keep moving forward; she needed to find it in herself to keep going… But her fear kept her frozen still, and yet there was no movement behind the door, she wanted to know what was going on… She needed to know… But at the same time, she needed to run…

Then it happened, the loud booming sound of laughter, she held her breath, this was it, she had to make a run for it… And she did, the footsteps she made were much louder at this point, considering she was still slightly wet from being in the ocean, but not loud enough for her father to hear her. She didn’t stop running until she reached her own bedroom doors, her legs and lungs burned from the quick pace she just took, and yet she starred at her own bedroom door. She had made it, had he heard her though? She couldn’t be sure, it was a possibility he had, but at this moment, she knew that she was safe.

I saw a great white light And dancers around

Safe… Was that what she was feeling? She couldn’t be too sure… Yet she felt something else, she felt bad; in the pit of her stomach she knew that disobeying her father was a terrible thing… But she couldn’t understand why he was being so unreasonable about the water… She just couldn’t bring herself to understand, though she may have wanted to; she didn’t see it the same way he had… He had freedom once, he was a pirate! He roamed the oceans and seas, he saw the world in a way she never could… It wasn’t fair… But she needed to focus; she fumbled around her bedroom, finding the small booklet her mother had given her for her 12th birthday, and a black pen. She had written songs in it before, but yet she hadn’t filled it, though a rather small booklet, she found herself always writing little blurbs in it, thoughts and ideas of songs, and sometimes like nights like these; she could manage to write a full song. But she couldn’t start writing until she got back to the tower; she needed to see the ocean, to hear the waves crashing to get the melody just right… She smiled and placed the booklet and pen on her bed, and moved towards her closet.

She had a rather small closet at the summer palace, but she didn’t mind very much… She enjoyed clothes, sure… But sometimes she liked things to just be simple, and easy. She enjoyed dressing herself, whereas the big palace she couldn’t do that, there were servants to dress her, bathe her, comb her hair… It would always get so frustrating at times, but others it was okay… The days where she was sad, and simply just didn’t want to function; they were helpful. But she needed to focus again, she was getting lost in train of thought; she found herself rummaging through the closet, only to find a simple white gown, it wasn’t fancy or very nice, it was simple and flowy, something she knew she could enjoy. She stripped off the wet undergarments she had on, and slipped into it, the gown made her feel free and light as a feather. She smiled as she grabbed the booklet and pen and raced out of her room and towards the tower once again.

I saw a great white light And dancers around

The travel back towards the tower was a quick one, she wasn’t as scared this time around traveling about as she was coming in, but she needed to be careful never the less; her father would ream her out if he caught her skulking about the palace; and she simply didn’t have the time for that, she had only a short amount of time before she would completely forget all about the song and it would be a loss…

But the travel had avoided the hall her father was currently in, and the tower was on the opposite side, so she figured she had nothing to worry about; however she found herself walking past the family portrait she had thrown, it hadn’t been really wrecked, a few scrapes along the wood, but the picture itself was still very much intact… She was glad she hadn’t really wrecked it, she would have felt worst… It was one of their best portraits; she smiled as she passed it and moved forward along the hallway and towards the stairs of the tower, the amount of stairs was increasingly annoying each time she went up, there were exactly eighty-two steps to the top, and she counted each one on the way up. But by the time she reached the top, she could once again hear the waves crashing against the palace, it was a lovely sound, and it always made her so very happy to hear it. She smiled, kicking her old dress out of the way as she sat down in front of the window she had been looking out, and used to escape into the water.

The moon was in full view now, perfectly in the sky as high as it could go. It was a full moon, and the stars danced around it like little fireflies. Oh how she wished she could keep this image forever, but it wasn’t too long after she started to stare the music once again took ahold of her, however this time, as she sang, she would make sure to write it down, so she could keep it forever and be able to sing it for others, so they too could understand the siren call of the great wide ocean. She watched the ocean, and placed the pen to the paper, remember each hit of the waves, and melody the ocean gave her, it was soothing and calm, a sound she could fall asleep too… She parted her lips and sang;

“Hush now, mo stóirín
Close your eyes and sleep,
Waltzing the waves,
Diving in the deep

Stars are shining bright,
The wind is on the rise,
Whispering words,
Of long lost lullabies.”

A small pause, left her face with a smile, the song was amazing, the ocean gave it to her so clearly, and now everyone would want to come to it… She knew it… Once more, her lips parted and the words came so crystal clear;

“Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the moon is made of gold,
And in the morning sun
We’ll be sailing

Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the ocean meets the sky,
And as the clouds roll by,
We’ll sing the song of the sea.”

Another small pause to finish writing the words she had just sung, she needed to make sure everything was written down, each pause and miss, but she knew that it was a hymn of the sea, not just a song, but  a way of life for some…

“I had a dream last night,
And heard the sweetest sound,
I saw a great white light And dancers in the round

Castles in the sand,
Cradles in the trees,
Don’t cry, I’ll see you by and by.”

She took a small breather, and wrote the words so very carefully, she needed to make sure they weren’t scribbled, or she messed up in any way; she needed them to be perfect…

“Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the moon is made of gold,
And in the morning sun,
We’ll be sailing

Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the ocean meets the sky,
And as the clouds roll by,
We’ll sing the song of the sea.”

She smiled as she watched the waves, they began to roll into each other, and she smiled; it had been a sign…

“Rolling,
Rolling,
Rolling,
Rolling

Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the moon is made of gold,
And in the morning sun,
We’ll be sailing free

Oh won’t you come with me,
Where the ocean meets the sky,
And as the clouds roll by,
We’ll sing the song of the sea.”
As she finished up writing, she closed her eyes and the book; pressing it against her chest, her first real song, a song just about the sea… She smiled as a small tear fell off of her right cheek… She was happy, though sad at the very same it… Such a weird feeling…

But little did she know her father had been watching her from the door of the tower, a smile on his face; he had always been proud of his daughter, and he already knew she had snuck out and gone into the ocean… She was exactly like he was… But she didn’t know what he had to protect her from… She might not ever know.

I saw a great white light And dancers around