Once, very long ago...

"Once, very long ago..." is the first chapter in the first book of The Starless Sea. It is the first story in the book Sweet Sorrows and the first chapter overall.

Summary
A pirate has been imprisoned in a dungeon. He is guarded by two guards, the "reading guard" and the "short guard." A girl comes to bring him food, but she is afraid of him and stops coming. Afterwards, a different girl comes to bring the food. Though both are wary at first, they soon grow closer. They spend their nights together on opposite sides of the bars of the cell. The girl drugs the short guard's wine so that they have more time together.

Soon, the time comes for the pirate to be executed. For the first time, the girl speaks to him, asking him to tell her a story.

Major Characters

 * Time (as "The pirate")
 * Fate (as "The girl")

Minor Characters

 * The reading guard - a man who spends his time on duty reading crime serials
 * The short guard - a man who spends his time on duty asleep, mostly

Trivia and Connections

 * The Keeper later tells Zachary that "pirate" is a poor translation, and that "rogue" is closer to what he was called.
 * The story took place at an older Harbor. The Keeper had held the title of Harbormaster, "until they decided Harbors should not have masters." Presumably, his imprisonment was the result of losing this position of leadership.
 * The story of the pirate and the girl continues in "...Time fell in love with fate", the last story in Sweet Sorrows, and in Interlude II.

Analysis
In the first chapter, Morgenstern presents one of the central relationships of the book, that between Time and Fate. They are not named as such; instead, they are referred to by archetypes, "the pirate" and "the girl." In fact, no names are used in this story, which is typical of fairy and folk tales. The setting and time period are left vague, although we do know that the action takes place near the sea. There are hints that the "sea" in question is the Starless Sea; the pirate notes that he cannot mark the passage of time because there are not clocks, and the stone walls muffle the morning chimes and evening merriment. No mention is made of the sun, the usual way of tracking the passage of time.

We learn later that this story, the first chapter in Sweet Sorrows, is a retelling of an event that took place in an older Harbor. It is not known specifically why the pirate was imprisoned, although it is possible that the residents of the Harbor, having decided that they no longer wanted him as the Harbormaster, imprisoned him as a result.

Quotes

 * The pirate is a metaphor but also still a person.
 * Even a pirate can recognize the beginning of a dance.
 * "Tell me a story," she says.