Ella and Henry

Ella, a tomboyish nobleman’s daughter in medieval times, has never truly belonged anywhere.  She is a feisty little rebel growing up in a world where women are expected to be everything she’s not.  As the story begins, she is traveling with her strict governess to a boarding school in London.  When her ship is captured by pirates en route, she befriends Tom and is given a choice:  perish or be transformed into a pirate.

Upon choosing the latter, Ella enters into this exciting and sometimes dangerous life.  Her bravery is put to the test as she takes part in a series of adventures, including the terrifying initiation ceremony, where she is forced to swear loyalty to Captain Richard and the rest of the crew.  Her change from noblemen’s daughter to pirate girl is mental as much as physical.  While getting to know her new crewmates and their way of life, Ella makes important discoveries about herself.  With the help of her friend Tom, who has become a grandfather-like figure, Ella begins to reevaluate her feelings of self-worth, which had been trampled by her superiors.

In a chance encounter, Ella rescues the handsome Prince Henry from almost certain death and formulates a plan so that she, Henry, and Tom can escape from the pirate ship and return safely to England.  In the process, Ella develops a close relationship with Henry, with whom she has much more in common with than she previously thought.  Suddenly Ella has found a friend, perhaps the best one she’s ever known.  But years of fighting attachment have taken their toll on the stubborn ten-year-old, and at first she flatly refuses to admit that her relationship with Henry is anything but platonic.

The road back to England is not an easy one, for the three friends hold a dangerous secret.  The ship is full of traitors and conspiracy, and it is difficult to tell who is on their side and who is not.  The only thing they know for sure is that Hanks, the pirate captain’s right-hand man, would like nothing better than to use the Prince for ransom.  The stakes become higher when Hanks discovers Henry’s weakness:  Ella.  Now that he knows he can get to the Prince through her, Hanks reveals his intention to kill both Ella and Tom if Henry doesn’t give him what he wants.  Suddenly, the two children, Tom, and their somewhat shifty friend Bailey find themselves in a very dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, winner takes all.  Unfortunately for them, it looks like Hanks is in the lead.

When Tom, Ella, and Henry manage to outsmart their captors and escape from the ship, the fight is not over yet.  A series of obstacles, from fierce pirate battles to escaping from dungeons must be overcome before Henry can reclaim his place as Prince.  All through the book, this has been the main characters’ ultimate goal.  But as Ella and Henry realize that the way of life they have come to cherish will end when this happens, they must reconsider what it is they truly desire.  Henry must decide if his duty to his country is more important than his duty to his best friend.  And when Ella, who is still afraid of her feelings for Henry, receives a mysterious letter that turns out to be a trap, she must decide how far she is willing to go to save her friends’ life.

Near the end of the novel, Hanks is still at large, and will stop at nothing short of treason to get even with those he feels has ruined him.  He uses his connections at the palace to frame Tom for a crime he didn’t commit.  The only way for Tom to go free is for Ella to confess her allegiance to the pirates, a crime which is punishable by death.  This choice, which leads to the ultimate defeat of Hanks, is what finally convinces Ella of her love for Henry and Tom.  She realizes that it doesn’t matter what others think, as long as you do what you know in your heart to be right.  The following is a passage from the climactic scene in the throne room:

     --In my head I saw Tom as I had first seen him: a thin, nervous man with the biggest heart imaginable.  I saw him wiping away my tears whenever I didn’t think anything could ever go right again.  I saw him, my first real father, giving me advice about life, love, and learning.  I saw the first person I had ever truly trusted.

     Then I saw Henry, Henry who was always so kind and gentle, yet never hesitated to take on anyone who insulted me.  I saw him dressed as a pirate, pretending to be a mere cabin boy so that the three of us might have a chance to get home.  I saw him take my hand and look into my eyes, trying to tell me that he loved me, but I hadn’t listened.  I had been so afraid of being hurt that I had pushed him away.  But in the process, I had hurt the both of us.

     I had had my ear pierced, cut my hair, been branded a pirate, let Hanks and the other pirates pummel me to the ground.  I had fought in pirate battles, been locked in cold, dark dungeons, almost incinerated in a burning ship, even threatened with death on several accounts.  I had been through it all; things that few boys and even fewer girls had endured.

     But not for my own sake.  Oh, no.  It hadn’t been for me.

     It had been for the sake of those I loved.

     I had done all those things for Henry and Tom, so that we might get home again, and here we were; so close that I could almost feel it!  If I gave it all up now, it would all be meaningless.  Everything I had fought for, everything Henry, Tom, and I had managed to achieve would be lost forever.

     It didn’t matter if I was tried for treason and convicted, on the grounds of being a pirate.  It didn’t matter if they decided to do away with me, and I never saw the light of day again.  All that mattered was, if I told the truth, my two best friends in the world would be safe.  They would be free.--

     With the help of Bertha, Hank’s niece, Henry and the others reveal the true character of the villain to the King.  Henry explains to his father that Ella saved his life, and therefore all charges against her should be forgiven.  When Henry asks for Ella’s hand in marriage, she is given yet another choice:  is she Eleanor, daughter of Sir Patrick, or is she Ella, the pirate? 

     All through the story, each of the heroes has an internal battle that must be resolved:  Throughout the course of the book, they help each other to resolve these in unexpected ways.  For so long, Ella had been fighting her feelings because of the fear that had been instilled in her from past injuries that loved ones had inflicted upon her.  But when her friends’ lives are at stake, she realizes that she has so much more to lose than she previously thought.  Henry’s responsibilities as a Prince and conflicting loyalties torment him, until a wise friend tells him that a leader who doesn’t follow his own convictions isn’t a leader at all.  Tom, sadly, doesn’t completely heal from the loss of his late wife until the third book, but adopting Ella as a sort of godchild is the first step toward his recovery.

     These characters aren’t perfect.  They all have flaws.  But these flaws are what make them wonderful and unique, and are also what make them perfect for each other.  The three friends help each other to accomplish things that none of them would have thought imaginable.  In the end of the book, Ella and Henry decide that the place they belong is on the sea, with each other and with Tom.  This sets the stage for the next book, which centers on Ella, Henry, and their future daughter, Carrie.