Snippet #2609728

Some time later
Ennis:
"I don't understand." I look up. Ten is staring at me from across the cell bars, a look of confusion on his face. "From what I've gathered, the both of you had a fairly normal childhood. How the hell did-" he gestured towards the door to the deck, "Sage end up like this, while you're so..."
"Laid back?" I respond, tipping my head back to rest on the wall of the cell.
"Well... Yeah."
"Strap yourself in, kiddo. We're in for one hell of a ride." I shifted forward, putting my elbows on my knees and resting my head in my hands. "We grew up on a little island on the outskirts of the bubble. I wasn't Ennis, not then. My name was Lara."

***

Lara ran across the field, shrieking in terror and delight. "No! Sage! Go away!"
The taller shape of her older brother sped after her, a giant smile on his face. "I'm going to get you!" Eventually the longer strides of the 10-year-old let him catch up with his sister, and Sage tackled her to the ground as she giggled and screamed.
"No! Get off! No fair! Saaaage!" Lara squealed, scrunching her eyes closed and putting her hands in front of her face. "Alright, you big meanie, uncle!"
The older boy backed off, hands in the air, with a seemingly innocent grin on his face. "What? I wasn't doing nothing!"
Lara wrinkled her nose at her brother. "That means that you were doing something, though. So I'm right!"
Sage laughed, flicking his shoulder-length hair out of his face. "You're way too smart for a six year old. Come on, I think I head Dad calling us for dinner." He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.
"Hey! Let me down!"
"Lara, you know that I run faster than you can. And besides, don't you want to get to dinner sooner?"
That night at dinner, Sage looked around the table excitedly. "Ok, ok, since you're all bursting to ask me, I suppose I'll tell you-I got accepted to Georgina Samin!"
The table erupted, and Lara sat through it with a confused smile on her face. When her parent's shouts of surprise and congratulations died down, she opened her mouth. "What's Georgina Samin?"
Her mother turned to her. "Your brother's going to a very important and special school on the other side of the bubble. If you work hard, maybe you can get in as well!"
Sage cut her off. "Mom, you know that Lara's going to get in. She's really smart, there's no way they wouldn't want her!"

Three weeks later

Lara bounced on Sage's bed. "Do you have to go? I won't be able to see you until next year! That's like... A billion years from now!"
Sage scooped her up and settled her on his hip. "I'll be back before you know it. Trust me, you'll have your big brother back in no time."

***

"He didn't come back," I finished, pulling my head out of my hands. "Not really. He looked the same, he talked the same, sometimes he acted the same. But his smile..." I shuddered. "That wasn't him."
Ten looked back at me, and I could see the glint of concern in his eyes. I continued. "For the first month or so, we would get letters a couple times a week, sometimes daily. They were each a couple pages long, he was so happy to tell us everything. Once or twice I even got a little package in the mail, just for me." I let a smile drift across my face, "Then one day, they just stopped. We were lucky to get one in a space where we had been getting several dozen. Then we got one that had bloodstains in the parchment."
Ten flinched almost minutely. "What happened?"
"He wasn't out yet. Neither of us were, but I didn't really know any better at the time. But Sage... He tried to wear the girl's uniform at one point. He was ten years old, he just wanted to be comfortable in his own skin. He was ten. And a less than five minutes after he left his dorm, he was jumped by a group of 5th and 6th years. He didn't tell us this, but we got a report form the school that Sage was breaking dress code. The attack was a footnote in the letter. A footnote. But after that, he shut himself in. Threw himself into the most violent majors that he could. I guess, in a way, the attack made him feel powerless. He tried to make himself powerful. Always followed the rules to the letter, made friends with all the teachers, became the model student. During the summers, when he came home, he would lock himself into his room and wouldn't leave for days. I would hear the sounds of spells at night, and smell the scent of sulfur in the morning. My parents didn't know what to do, so they just let him be.
"By the time I was old enough to apply to Georgina Samin, I didn't want to be anywhere near him. I went to a little school near home, I was there until Sage graduated, maybe a little longer. After he graduated, we didn't hear from him at all for several months, almost a year. Then one day during the summer when I was 14, Sage showed up at the door. All that he did was slam this enormous bloody sword on the table and look over at my parents and I eating dinner. He said 'Don't come looking for me.', and left. That was it. Two days later we find a folded up piece of paper on the floor by the mantelpiece. 'Sage Harlow, genderfluid. He/his, she/hers. Goodbye.'."

Sage:
"Captain, we're good to go on this end." The radio from 2019 crackled in my ear.
"Understood. Crew, listen up. Quiet, fast, get as much loot as you can carry. We're in and out on this one." With that, I slipped my sword out of its sheath. The impeccably dressed crowd beneath the glass ceiling had no idea what was about to happen. No one ever looks up. "Now!"
I crash my sword through the glass, causing cracks to spiderweb their way outward from where I was standing. There was now a hole in the ceiling directly in front of me, and I jumped to the floor below, roll, and launch myself to my feet with my sword out. The room is silent. One lady in a purple dress drops her glass.
"Hi, folks. I'm pretty sure you know who I am. Now, let's make this quick, shall we?" Out of the corners of my eyes, I see my crew enter the room and block each of the exits. I sheath my sword and pull out my pistol. With a smile that leaves my eyes cold and empty, I train the barrel on the closest nobleman. "Give me your money."

180 seconds later

"Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen!" I shouted, sweeping my hat off of my head and bowing. "If that's all you'll need us for, we really should go before the police arrive. I suppose I should leave you all something to remember me by." Shifting my newly acquired white-gold and diamond bracelet further up my wrist, I took out my gun and shoot the nearest person. "Bye!"
I turn to leave, my crew filing out behind me, each of us with our arms full of precious metals and jewelry. Several of us have even larger quantities of gold floating above our heads, and as I watch, one by one we send them all back to the treasury on the Nightflyer. We then send the treasure in our hands to going the rest, and get back to the ship.
As soon as my feet hit the deck, I have an idea.
"Qyvlin!"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Keep us heading out, make sure everyone is doing something worthwhile. If they aren't, you have my formal permission to kick their ass. I need a moment to talk to out guests."

Ennis:
The cell had stayed quiet since I finished my story. From what I could see of Ten's face, he looked as if he regretted asking. Or that he was in intense pain. Either one.
The sounds of shouting and cheering reached our ears, and I looked up. The pirates had returned, and from how damn loud they were, it had been a successful mission.
The door slammed open.
Sage walked in, threw open Ten's cell door, dragged him out, and locked the deck behind him.