"Death is nothing; but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily."

  

  
• Napoleon


  

  1853 - It was upon the coast of Milan that the Pharaoh came into harbor. The company, upon the three master flagship, had just left Naples. Though they had just left, they had also suffered a major loss of hands, for the Pales had made closer ever since Bonaparte continued his fight against the AshenKing - Or as they speak upon him in the winds of Naples - the Roi Cendre. But that is a very tiny piece of the tale. It was in the harbor where a throng of genteel folk made their way to see the great ship and welcome its travelers home. It was a large ship, though it made do, it carefully steered into the canals and the veins of the harbor. A young man about the age of seventeen rode upon the ropes, calling out to the men below. He had black hair that rippled well in the air, which he had in a tail. He was thin, though well-made. He looked out over the ocean, where the looming stone fort was Chateau Di’if. It was like the grave of a king, or that of a lover scorned. A solitary isle that stood out in the ocean like a grand cannon - the stone pillars overlooked the whole of Naples and even could be seen past the mountains. It was when the Pharaoh landed that he was called down from above.

  ‘Ah, Dantes!’ The man who yelled was one Monsieur Morell.

  ‘Aye, Monsieur, what is it that is needed of me?” The young man climbed down slowly.

  ‘Have you checked the cargoes? Made sure that they were not affected by the pale? I would hate for the foods to have been defiled and have to be thrown overboard.’

  ‘Oui, Monsieur - this has been done. They are all untouched and look as if they had just been picked up. Though save for a bit of moist things, they are all well.’ The young man smiled back at the monsieur.

  ‘Good, good. Though, may I ask where the captain is? He hasn't left already, has he? I feel I would have seen him when I came aboard.’ This drew a face of sorrow on Young Doyun Dantes' face.

  ‘This is a sorrow news, he was one of the people we lost from our confrontation with the pales, they took our captain.

  ‘That is sorrowful news.’ Monsieur Morell's face flicked into a down state. His black brow slanted down.

  ‘CAPTAIN DANTES,’ one of the seamen yelled, “ We have anchored the Pharaoh.’

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  ‘Good work, men!’ Dantes said to the man behind him. The wind of the ocean licked at him, and as he smelled the fresh salt air, he felt a pang of another wave of sadness, for he missed the days already when the captain first took him to sea. He remembers the way that he was treated - they were a rowdy bunch on that ship, though they were family. His death will harbor me in my own sorrow if I let it. I shall think of my own father - he is still alive, God bless him. He thought to himself.

  ‘Pardon, Monsieur - I do not mean to be offensive to your grieving, though I do want to ask you. Where and how far out are the pales? Bonaparte had been on the Normandy Front.'

  'We were closer here To silver-naples then there. If I remember and have my knowledge correct, then it was...Sicily, they were near Sicily.'

  'By King and country, they are already so close?'

  'Sadly, they are. though i now i must away. My father. I must see him.'

  'Very well. Captain Dantes.'

  In a moment though Dantes stood still, then remembered;

  'Monsiur Morrel, i was too give a packet, it was the captains dying wish.;

  The Monsieur turned to him. cocking his head to the side.

  'It was the reason i left and went with the captian on Alba.'

  'Ahh yes. I wanted to ask you about what that was about."

  'It was a man, he spoke french well though by just hearing it i know it wasnt his first language, he was a grand marshal and spoke on the ramping sightings and conflicts with the pale. He geve me though a parchment - well acctually it was the captain who first had it - he gave me a parchmet that he wanted me to deliver to a man in Paris.'

  The monsieur looked at him, his brow furrowed - though still in a serious manner. He drew himself closer to the young man.

  ' How does the Empress fare? She was there, was she not?'

  'She was, yes, she was radiant as ever. Though she did seem sad and put out. A sad visage lay upon her as if she knew some sad piece of the puzzle that we are unaware of.'

  'Did she speak to you about any of those thoughts she may have had? Or to the captain?'

  'She did not speak to me about those - though she did speak to me about the sea and the stars - for you see it was night and the blood moon was awakened and so the sea itself was red, as if blood was in it. Thinking about this now, perhaps it was a sign of what was to come.' He looked at the still water.

  'Well, I'll let you go - please pray for your father for me.'

  The young Dantes bowed, and with much haste, he could muster he started into the city.

  "Monsieur Morell." A man stood near the gangplank that led to the Pharaoh. He was as tall as Dantes. And wore a sly smile link a lynx ready to strike upon his prey.

  'Ahh, Ken Danglars, what a fine and beautiful day. Isn't it? The ocean is especially something that should be spoken of.' He looked at the other man.

  'It is quite beautiful, ' the man, whose name was Ken Danglars, walked out of the shadowed canopy that he had been standing under, and he shaded his eyes from the sun. As he came out of the shadows, he looked like a sodden rat. Hair was great - so much that it shone bright in the sun, he wore himself in an opaque way, mainly his shoulders hunched, and his eyes bore black bag creases. His eyes being a dark brown that seemed as if they were bored.

  'So the new captain told you - I heard.'

  'The pales?'

  'Yes, and how they - it seems are showing them to be smarter than we thought them. They are trying to flank bonapart arnt they?' Ken danglars folded a hankerchief, putting it back into his pocket.

  'This is what I was thinking too.'

  'Though I am also saddened by the death of the captain, that truly is a poor thing to be burdened upon young Dantes.' Monsieur Morrel turned his attention away from the blue sky as passing birds flew across the sky.