Katherine Devieux was used to the people in her town always staring at her. What she wasn't used to and didn't welcome was for a big, ugly pirate to focus on her bottom while she scrubbed his floor.

She'd specifically asked for a morning shift at the inn to avoid the hassle. It had worked for about a week and a half, until the locals, their relatives and business partners and apparently every other living being in the vicinity had caught wind she was there. Now, they all found reason to step into their rooms while she made beds, scrubbed floors and cleaned chamber pots. Lovely.

"Such a shame," the pirate said. "Pretty thing like yeh, scrubbing floors. If yeh were my gal, I'd treat yeh like a queen."

Yes, I'm sure. Or trade me for a barrel of rum.

She blew a tendril of golden hair from her face and continued scrubbing. If her father had to invent things, why couldn't it be something that helped her clean floors faster? Maybe she should pick up tinkering again herself, but between her job, keeping the house clean and babysitting her father, she didn't have any energy left.

"Come now, lass, at least give me a name."

Kat threw him a glance over her shoulder. "I'd go with Beer Belly the Great. Though that one may be taken. How about Slineous the Bold?"

The pirate growled at her. "Watch yer mouth, girl. Yeh might be the most beautiful piece I've seen, but that mouth of yers won't be winning yeh any husbands."

Yes, because her life revolved around getting a husband. She wished she could scoff and tell him she didn't need a man.

The sad part was, she already had a future one lined up and waiting. Impatiently. "I'm already betrothed," she said between her teeth.

The pirate seemed taken aback. "And how does he stand that mouth on yeh?"

In truth, Donnie, son of the Baron of Royce, or her future husband as her father liked to introduce him, did not.

"None of your concern, good sir." She could be so sweet and polite if she put some effort into it. It was exhausting.

"All done up in here, Katherine?" The innkeeper, Mr. Manns, came to check on her handy work. "Now that is a clean floor."

Of course it was. She'd been scrubbing it for the past fifteen minutes while entertaining herself with this marvelous conversation.

"Thank you." She bowed her head in acceptance of his praise and finally got off her knees.

The pirate stepped back, shocked by her height. She was very tall for a woman, taller than a lot of the men in her town, and it came as an unpleasant surprise for most. It was a blessing for her. It made shorter men in her village not want to approach her. No one wanted to be seen looking like their wife's child.

She pulled her white cotton bonnet off and handed it to her employer, smoothed the wrinkles off her blue dress and white apron, and hurried down the stairs, finally free for the day.

The pay wasn't very good at the inn, but she only worked four hours per day. She would spend the rest of it doing the shopping, taking care of the house, their small garden and her father. And once a week, she would save a few hours for herself. To read and write her letters.

Her hands involuntarily moved to her apron. Inside a secret pocket sewed on the back of it, was her special letter book.

She'd discovered it by mistake in an old fairy tale book she'd borrowed from the local library. In the midst of old, worn pages hid a booklet so thin and delicate, its faded gold covers got lost among the stories. At the moment, she'd been grateful for the extra paper and tucked it in her room.

By the time she'd returned the book she'd found it in, she'd even forgotten about it.

Then, on one particular bad night, when her papa had been fired from the only stable job he'd ever held, she'd found it again and wrote her woes in it. It had been a fierce message, filled with unanswered questions and despair.

And the next morning, she had an answer. As it turned out, the notebook had a pair, and what she wrote could be seen by the owner of the other one. At first, she'd been terrified. What she held was clearly a forbidden magical item. Should its pair be someone in the inquisition, this could mean the end of her life.

But the holder of the other magical notebook was kind, polite, shared his own woes. So she wrote again. First, short messages, than longer ones as it became her escape, a place to vent. Eventually, they'd fallen into comfortable companionship.

They didn't know much about each other. Only that they shared the same initial and a love for books and learning. It had been a relief since everyone in her town found her odd for reading so much. For reading at all. In a time or famine and poverty, no one had need for books.

He, whoever and wherever he was, had given her the name she now used for herself. Kat. The drastic shortening gave her a sense of freedom, like she could leave everything she didn't like about herself behind. The fear, the despair, the constant nagging in the back of her mind that she could do so much more than this, that she was meant for greater things.

Kat was brave. Kat was happy. Kat could dream and escape this life. And after months of telling herself that, it had become true, at least in part.

Everything was a challenge she could rise to and conquer. And after all the hardship, she would only become stronger.

"All will be well," she said out loud, patting the hidden booklet.

With a new spring in her step, she picked up the basket she'd left by the door. Her latest read was still inside. In a town like theirs, no one would steal a book.

She opened it where she'd left off and headed into the market, her nose buried in the book. Her feet carried her in the right direction with practiced deftness, and her ears had long since learned to ignore the muttering of the crowd.

"There's that weird girl again."

"Why does she have to bury that face in paper? She's soooo beautiful."

"Look, Mamma, it's the beautiful smart girl again!"

"Don't point, Timmy. It's rude."

Kat stopped by one of the stalls and, without even having to interrupt her reading, picked up a bottle of milk, a wad of cheese and some butter. It cost precisely her pay for the week, but it was enough. The rest of the food came from their own garden and she'd saved up for their dues and meat day.

Basket carefully tucked under her arm, she continued the story about a boy named Joshua and his fantastic adventures involving dragons. With a sigh, she stopped on the bridge that led from the town square and towards the cliffs. Her house was in the opposite direction, at the edge of the woods, but she often went to the cliff to admire the docks.

She'd reached the climax of the story, so she needed to fully concentrate on what she was reading, not do it while walking. The book had been so intense. She couldn't wait to tell K about it.

"There's that weird girl," a malevolent voice said in a carrying whisper. "With her silly books."

"And that dress! So last harvesting season."

"What does Donnie even see in her?"

Kat sighed, but refused to turn around. She knew the voices of Mia and Prudence, Donnie's biggest admirers and the girls who wanted to marry him most. How it never crossed their minds that their common goal made them rivals was beyond Kat. Probably because their heads were as empty as her granary.

With absolutely no wish to cross their path, Kat made her way to the edge of the cliffs, and the imposing fountain dedicated to Cecile, the sea siren.

She sat on the round edge of the water pool and looked down towards the harbor. It was a blessing to be so close to the sea and yet so far away. The docks were filled with seedy taverns that most sailors used. Only the better bred ones came up to the village. Like her conversation partner that morning.

She wished she could say she didn't know he was the finer sort, but she'd had to go down to the docks in hopes of less expensive fish. It had turned into a brutish and unpleasant experience.

Kat took in a deep breath and looked beyond the pier. She had always found it calming to watch the waves and the sun sinking into the blue mass. It made her problems feel so small.

"Hello, Kat."

With a small flinch, Kat turned to the woman who had come up next to her and sat on the edge of the fountain. Tendrils of blonde hair escaped her bonnet and flew across her face, among her light freckles.

"Keleigh," Kat said in acknowledgement. She knew the woman, but she was a bit unhinged and everyone gave her a wide berth. It was rare that she was even out and about since she tended to avoid people altogether.

Kat didn't actually know much about why. Keleigh was older than her, and whatever happened that turned her into a moping shadow had happened well before Kat was old enough to take heed of gossip.

All Kat knew was that Keleigh was once engaged to an up-and-coming young lord. Except, their wedding never happened and she went slightly insane because of it.

"What brings you here?" Kat asked.

"I was down at the docks," Keleigh answered, her sky-blue eyes fixed on the crashing waves. "I've heard some unsettling rumors."

"Oh?"

"The sailors claim prince Ferdinand has disappeared."

Kat's full attention turned to the other woman, a bitter taste rising to her mouth. "What?" That wasn't possible. "He just got engaged. He was supposed to be married in two weeks, wasn't he?"

The entire village was filled with wedding gossip and the spineless slugs, Mia and Prudence, actually hoped for an invite. Donnie had even mentioned it in passing, hinting that he'd like to take her, should his family be invited.

It was a really big event. Something that had taken the kingdom by storm. The first good news in what felt like centuries.

Iride was not meant for anything good, apparently.

"It's still a huge secret," Keleigh said with a nod. "Everyone was so excited about the wedding, the palace now refuses to admit they lost him. There's a rumor pirates are involved."

Kat shuddered. Pirates. Real pirates, not like the rough sailors in town which she so naively dubbed pirates. For the last years, they had become an increasing problem for Iride, even if the king took so many measures and cast so many laws against them. They couldn't punish what they couldn't catch.

Just like the laws against fairies and fae, the rules against pirates seemed in vain. And it would be irony that pirates would be the ones to take the prince.

"That's awful," Kat muttered.

"I agree," Keleigh said, her voice low and filled with muted anger. "Incompetent fools. Ferdinand was the best thing that could've happened to this kingdom."

"Shhhh. You can't say things like that!"

The other woman gave Kat a sideways glance. "I can to you."

Yes, she could. Because Kat had once let slip how she wished magic still existed in their kingdom and Keleigh had heard. She disagreed, but hadn't told a soul. Kept Kat safe. And that was something Kat was not about to forget.

Keleigh heaved a sigh and shook her head as if something about the situation bothered her beyond the obvious. Then she frowned and stood, throwing a hateful look towards the statue of the sea siren.

"It was good talking to you, Kat."

"You, too. Any time."

And as she watched Keleigh heading towards town, she realized that she meant it. As weird as Keleigh was, Kat couldn't help but see a little of herself in the other woman. They were both bad news for the town, even if for different reasons.

But even so, she couldn't understand Keleigh's glare at the statue. Kat had always liked the fountain, with its life-size sculpture of Cecile, water pouring from her benevolent hands. Kat had no idea who had sculpted it, but the siren was beautiful, with almond eyes and flowing, rich hair. She almost looked alive, her aloof gaze sweeping the ocean.

Most villagers avoided the fountain, as if it bared some sort of insane curse. It made Kat love it even more. A weird landmark of beauty and isolation. Just like her.

The laughter of children reached her as a boy and a girl came running from the village. Further behind came a disgruntled nanny, holding her skirts up as her fat legs worked to keep up with the young ones.

The kids reached the fountain and climbed on the edge. Kat shifted so the children could have enough room to run a full circle around the pool of water. How she'd loved circling the statue as a kid.

"Get down from there," the massive woman panted. "Get down from there at once!"

The children ignored her, the little girl chasing the boy as he hooted with laughter.

"I am the sea siren. I shall catch you and turn you to stone," the little girl yelled.

"No." The nanny finally reached the fountain and grasped the little girl's arm, stopping her from her game. "Never say such a thing. Katherine, stop Ansel."

"Why?" Kat asked. "They're just playing."

The woman threw her a reproachful glare before focusing on the children. "If you run around her fountain, screaming, the sea siren will curse you."

Kat scoffed. The woman turned towards her and glared some more.

"Have something to say, Katherine?"

"You shouldn't be scaring the kids with nonsense. Cecile isn't going to rise from the sea and curse them for playing. She's not real." Like all creatures of legend, she was long gone.

"She is not a legend," the woman said through gritted teeth. "You should know better! She is very real. She stepped out of the sea and cursed our duke." She waved her meaty hand in the direction of the forest.

Kat's eyes followed her gesture even if she already knew what she'd find there. Two turrets were visible among the tall tips of the fir trees, evidence that a castle lay lost in the forest. It had been abandoned for years.

"His entire family, gone. The servants, mysteriously disappeared. Those who escaped wouldn't speak a word of it," the woman continued, her voice filled with savage pleasure. "They say Cecile cursed the duke so hard, he took his own life and that the castle is now taken over by a ruthless beast. Half man, half wolf."

"Miss Erin," the little girl said, pulling on the woman's skirt. "Mama says the beast is the duke."

Miss Erin's hungry eyes focused on the girl. "That's an even better story."

"That's all it is," Kat huffed, "a story. There is no wolf man in that castle just like there is no Cecile and no curse." And Erin was being incredibly bald even speaking of such things out in public.

"You'd think you were smart, what with all those books you read," Miss Erin snapped, nodding at the book visible in Kat's basket.

"I am smart. I know how to tell apart reality and fiction," Kat said, taking the book out and waving it in the woman's face. "And that's what Cecile, your duke and the wolf man are. Fiction." Because magic was long gone, together with all hope.

"The duke was real!" Erin drew in a deep breath. "I remembered him from when I was a child. Such a handsome, brave lad. He led the King's fleet."

Kat faltered. "Okay, I'll give you that one."

Erin lifted her many chins in triumph and pulled the children away from the fountain, back towards the village.

Kat sighed deeply and her eyes fell on Cecile's stony smile. "Did you really curse our handsome duke? And if you did, why did you do it?"

The statue stayed silent, because that was all she was. Stone. Just like that castle was nothing but the abandoned residence of a vanished duke. Still, her eyes roamed over the turrets and the rustling tips of the fir trees. She shuddered.

It was about time she went home.

New beginning for a new story, Woot! I've kept a lot of the old version because I'm not planning a total rewrite. I just want to buff up the world building and plant more clues.

If you're new to the story, welcome! If you've read the original version, welcome back!

I plan on editing this story in the coming year. I have already made some good progress so chapters will come fairly steady. Just need to figure out a day for updates.

So stay tuned for news and I hope you enjoyed the new additions. 😊🥰