Not much has happened since I last wrote in here, in terms of our exploration, but it has now been one year since we set sail. I might as well write what I can whilst I remember.

Jay has now picked up music. He is not just the shipwright for the Saber of Xebec, but has also become the musician for our crew the Roshio Pirates. 

He has learnt many songs, such as “I Know A Bank Where The Wild Thyme Blows", “My Heart And Lute” plus “Old Rosin The Beau”. 

The song “I Know A Bank Where The Wild Thyme Blows”, is a favourite of mine. 

Jay tells me he learnt that song specifically for me, as he is aware that I am a fan of Shakespeare, as is he. 

He has learnt this as a surprise for it being our one year anniversary as a pirate crew. 

I am so delighted for this to be one of the songs he has learnt since beginning to play the piano. 

The lyrics to this piece were originally written, not as a song, but as a line for Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. 

I saw this play when I was younger, and every part of it was a sight to behold. 

The fairies in it had always intrigued me with the way their magick worked. I also rather liked the character Hermia for the reason that I always felt bad for her, as she was arranged to be married, but did not love the person of whom she was marrying. 

I felt drawn to her in particular, so she has since become my favourite character in the play. As for how they made a song, “I Know A Bank Where The Wild Thyme Blows” it is rather interesting, as the original saying from the play was written between the years fifteen ninety four, to fifteen ninety six, for the play itself, but it wasn’t until the year eighteen fourteen that it was turned into sheet music. 

I still remember the moment when I received the book for “A Midsummer Night's Dream” for my birthday. 

I was turning fourteen that day when my parents had given me this surprise. 

A few months earlier, they had taken me to see the stage play with my extended family, and it was all I would talk about for the longest time. 

The play was amazing for me to witness, so I was completely enamoured to receive this as a book for my birthday. In fact, I have since taken the book with me on my pirating adventures, so I can still enjoy Shakespeare’s works of literature. 

Despite having been given this book by my parents, I still do not like them at all, as it feels this may be the only good deed that they have done for me in my lifetime.

Jay has learned the tune I previously mentioned, on piano, so we can play it as often as we can, he says. 

This has since been a nightly routine of ours, to play each of his songs before we go to sleep. 

Another thing I feel I should mention is that I have gotten my first bounty plus a wanted poster. 

Although most new pirates may feel a sense of terror when this happens. I do not, but instead that terror is replaced with a sense of pride, because it means that we have been officially recognised as the Rosio pirate crew. My bounty currently consists of 30,000 pounds, which is a lot, especially for a crew that has just started, but it makes sense. 

So far none of my other crewmates have gotten a bounty, and it is just me. 

I suspect that I may have gotten this bounty whilst robbing the music shop of its grande piano. This is the same piano that Jay has since learned to play. 

None of us had the money to purchase this piano legally, and I assume the salesmen would not have given us any other option, with that being the reason as to why I have stolen this piano. 

It was listed as being thirty thousand pounds, so I suspect that they have put the same amount as my first bounty because of this incident. 

We, being me plus the rest of my crew aside from Jay, got this for Jay as a surprise, again, for it being exactly a year since we had set sail. 

It was a large item for me to steal all by myself, so I had George and Samantha fight off as many people as they could manage, while Reed and I carried the ginormous instrument onto the Saber of Xebec. 

Jay had always reminisced about how he longed for the sound of a piano. 

We were all forced to learn it during our school hours, but for me, it did not feel like a thing I would want to continue on with, therefore I wasn’t particularly interested in playing it.

As were most people in my class. But Jay was exceptional at playing it.

He would always be learning new pieces by the week, however, his family never had the money to buy him one of his own. 

Nor did he himself. So the only ones Jay was able to play were the small and simple ones of which the school supplied. 

I have since gained more gifts that I have given to the rest of my crewmates, again, as a celebration for it being one year since we first set sail on the high seas. 

For George, I have gotten many delicacies, as well as some newer cooking utensils. 

George loves nothing else, than when he is in the kitchen cooking, so he was thrilled when I gave him these items. 

For Samantha, I acquired some art supplies. She is not just the ship's navigator, but is too, the ship's artist, which I have mentioned earlier. 

Although, I cannot imagine she would become famous for her paintings, as she is a woman plus a pirate. 

It is rather hard to become an artist as a woman, so many women who wished to become famous for their art have had to disguise themselves under a male name. I fear that her paintings may be another thing lost to the cemetery that is the unfortunate passage of time, due to the ignorance of the world as a whole, not realising just how important these female artists are. 

This does not apply to just women who are artists. This is sadly the same for every woman, girl, and the people whose identity may not yet be recognised, who wish to become more than what society has forced them to be, such as that of a simple housewife. 

With that being said, I do not despise anyone who has chosen to stay within the reaches of their own home. I believe that a woman could be truly happy, staying at home to care for the needs of her family if she so desires. 

It is the beliefs that we are all taught from a young age that is truly to blame for this problem. The beliefs that women can’t do anything more than staying at home to cook, and care for her family, or that people who feel they may have been born in the wrong body are in fact not, and that they are insane for having such an idea. 

I do hope that we as a society, are able to move past this belief, teaching, not just young girls, but anyone who may have previously felt the same way, that they can indeed become the thing that they truly want to be, without any previous teachings that may have affected this. 

Because of where we are right now, I truly hope that my friend Samantha, who wishes to be a famous artist of which she unfortunately cannot be, may someday lead the life that she so wants to lead. Whether it be in this life, or the next. 

But now as for how Reed is. Since it is our special anniversary, I have given her an item that is simple, yet holds much meaning between the two of us. 

The item in question is a violet. 

After receiving this, she was overjoyed with excitement. 

Then, a rather funny thing occurred at this moment, as she reached under our bed only to pull out another violet, saying that she got me the same thing. 

She confirmed my suspicion, that she has felt this way since we were young children, first discussing our plans to run away together, as have I. 

I find it incredible that now, many years later, we have achieved this very dream of ours. Now, I feel our bond together is at the strongest point it has ever been. 

Even stronger than the day when we both expressed our deepest desires for each other.

I would be extremely depressed if anything bad were to happen to her, in any way at all.