She is worth it
Mary is falling.
One second she was climbing down a drape cord and the next she lost her grip. So now she is falling to the ground.
She knows that she is only about eight feet above the ground, but with everything that has happened that day she is no longer thinking logically.
Mary didn’t even have enough time to scream before she hit the ground on her back, and the only thing she can think is ‘ow that really fucking hurts’.
Her ears are ringing and she can very faintly hear the sound of Pandora’s voice above her, but she sounds very far away. She can see Pandora above her and sees her yelling at Mary but black spots are invading her vision.
She is so tired and everything hurts, so when the darkness covers her vision completely she welcomes it.
***
Pandora is worried. Mary has been lying on the ground unconscious for about thirty seconds and she isn’t showing any signs of waking up.
Pandora has been running on adrenaline for the last few minutes and she can feel it start to wear off. But then she hears guards and all of her strength is back tenfold.
Pandora will not let another sibling die on her.
She lifts Mary’s body off of the ground like she weighs as much as a feather. She secures her over her shoulder and starts running. Pandora was a very fast runner when she was a child. She and Evan would spend hours in the field behind their house racing each other, that is until their mother put a stop to it saying Pandora has to be a proper lady and she can’t act like she is some sort of pirate.
Pandora didn’t see a problem with that for a while. She was fascinated with pirates and often imagined her and Evan being pirates together. That all stopped when she was thirteen. Her entire family, murdered by pirates. She hated pirates after that and who could blame her, they took everything from her and left her with nothing.
The only good thing that came out of it is Mary. Mary the kind princess who took her in and treated Pandora like her younger sister. Mary is pretty emotionally closed off to most people keeping the walls she built around herself high, Pandora thinks that her and the girl they don’t mention often are the only ones that have found a way through them. Pandora knows it’s just because Mary is afraid of being hurt by people she trusts, so she is always careful to make sure Mary feels safe around her.
A guard runs by and Pandora dashes behind a bush and hides there until she is sure he is gone. This entire thing is really stressing her out.
Pandora spends the next few hours slowly escaping into the village. She had only been to Frank and Gideon’s a handful of times, usually being instructed to do cleaning on the weekends Mary goes to the village, but she finds her way easily enough.
Mary starts to slip off of Pandora’s shoulder just as they arrive at the back entrance of Frank and Gideon’s cottage, a quaint and homely house on the outskirts of the village with ivy growing all along the exterior, so she carefully placed her down in front of the door and knocked.
Frank is the one to open the door, and he frowns when he sees Mary passed out on the ground. He looks over to Pandora and says, “What happened to her and why are you here?”
Pandora shuffles a little bit “We ran away from the palace and need to get out of the country as soon as possible. Mary told me to bring us here because you will know what to do.”
Frank stands frozen in thought for a moment before opening the door wider. Pandora picks Mary up, brings her inside, and then carefully props her up against the closed door, before following Frank into another room.
She remains quiet as he sits her down at their kitchen table. It is a light yellow room with lots of windows that Pandora is sure floods the room with light during the day. The kitchen itself has wooden cabinets that all have green accents and a soft yellow icebox in the corner of the room.
“Do you want tea?” Frank inquires.
“Yes, I would like that very much,” Pandora looks up at him and gives him a small smile.
Frank sets off to make the tea, while Pandora stays where she is and looks over to the next room where Mary is still slumped against the wall, fast asleep.
“You care about her a lot don’t you?” Pandora jumps at Frank’s sudden appearance as he puts her tea on the table.
Pandora nods, not looking away from Mary, “She is the only thing in this world that matters to me anymore and I would do anything for her,”
“That’s why you're here then, right?”
“Yes, I can’t let her go back there and if I’m caught helping her escape then I will most certainly be hanged for treason.” Pandora says on the verge of tears.
Frank gives her a sad smile “I’m going to be right back. I’m just going to grab Gideon, ok?”
Pandora nods and he walks out of the kitchen and into what Pandora assumes is the bedroom. She quietly sips her tea between glances towards Mary, who has still not stirred from her sleep even though it has been hours and Pandora is beginning to worry that she will never wake up again.
Right before Pandora’s brain can delve into what that would mean, Frank reappears, this time with a tired Gideon at his side.
Gideon and Frank sit down at the table, and none of them speak until Gideon sighs and asks “You and Mary need to get out of the country immediately?” Pandora nods “Ok, I can get you out by sunrise. My brother works on a ship that is passing through here this morning.”
‘This is too good to be true’ Pandora thinks to herself.
“There is something that might be a deal breaker.” Gideon says.
‘I fucking jinxed it’ she thinks.
“It is a pirate ship.” He practically whispers.
Pandora is still for a moment taking it all in before bursting into hysterics. The same people that killed her brother are the ones that will save her sister. It is her childhood dreams and her current nightmares all rolled together.
Frank and Gideon stare at her with slack jaws and she realizes she is crying. She wipes her tears and responds “I need a moment to think about it then I will tell you my decision.” They nod at her and she gets out of her seat and walks over to Mary. She slides to the floor next to her and leans her head on Mary’s shoulder.
She has to save Mary from her family no matter what, even if it means joining a pirate crew to do so. She is worth it. Pandora lifts herself off of the floor and walks back into the kitchen where Frank and Gideon are waiting.
She takes a deep breath. “We’ll do it.”