Hello guys! I'm SupernaturallyHetalian (duh), I love Supernatural and Hetalia and this is my first fanfic! I just love UsUk man, it is the best paring, with gerita and sufin and aushun following. Plus, Ameriko is such a badass! Pardon my liberties with fighting, since i know nothing, and also with Pirating, which I also know next-to-nothing about. I hope you enjoy it, it took a while... when I reread this, I usually change or add on to the chapter so if you want the while thing, check back every once in a while
P.S. Chiara (Key- ar- Ah) Vargas = Fem!Romano/ Felicia Vargas= Fem!Italy
Louise Beilschmidt= Fem!Germany
Antonia Hernandez Carriedo = Fem!Spain
Amelia F. Jones= Fem!America/ Madeline Williams= Fem!Canada
Ivana Braginskaya = Fem!Russia/ Nikolai Arlovsky= Nyo!Belarus
Vash Zwingli= Switzerland/ Lilli Zwingli= Liechtenstein
You know that feeling early in the morning when you're all snuggled up in bed under the covers and you're warm and comfortable and you don't have to get up and everything is right with the world? Yeah, that's was I was doing, just chilling in my bed, not a care in the world.
It was raining outside, loud enough to hear the patters of the raindrops on the roof, which thankfully had stopped leaking... I'll never doubt Felicia's girlfriend Louise and her carpenter skills again as long as I live.
But yeah…It was total peace, rare in my world, and of course, it only lasted a couple minutes.
"AMELIA FAYE JONES! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED NOW AND GET READY FOR WORK!"
That's my sister. Madeline Alexis Williams. I call her Maddie. I am 19 and 4/6th, and she's 18 and a month but she's definitely the more mature of the two of us. She's the gentle, sweet, calm, shy, sensitive one, while I'm the exact opposite, and even though we're not twins, we look exactly alike except for the hairstyles and eye color. I think that people think since we're such opposites, we don't get long too well, but they couldn't be farther from the truth.
She never speaks above a whisper in public, and people think her sooooo soft-spoken, and those people obviously have never seen her scream at me. "HOLD YOUR DAMN HORSES MADDIE; ILL BE DOWN WHEN I'M READY!"
"HURRY UP THEN!"
She's such a stickler for schedules. "Fine. I'm coming." Quiet enough so she can't hear me.
I swung my legs out of bed and onto the floor, the ice-colder-than-a-witch's-tit cold floor. I hop from foot to foot waiting for my tootsies to adjust, and take a minute to observe my room. Looking at it, you'd be kind to call it sparse and you'd be mean to say it's practically desolate.
Water-stained wood walls, an ancient carved dresser and an elaborate mirror on top of it, a desk and chair across from my bed, that's pretty much it. That's ok though, because I don't need a lot. I try to do my best for Maddie though, since I'm the current breadwinner for this house. It be really helpful if she'd hurry up and be nineteen so she can work too but as long as she gets fed, clothed, and happy, I'm fine with it. Maddie gets mad sometimes, she says I sacrifice too much for her, which is total bullshit.
She's my baby sister and she deserves only the best. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. Besides, She the only family I got left…
But anyway!
I go over to my dresser and pull my work clothes out of the drawer. As I get dressed, I observe myself in the mirror. People, men and women alike, around our village of Bariyle say that my sister and I are real beauties. In fact, with her long light-golden hair and violet eyes, they say that Maddie looks like the first great ruler Princess Arielle and that my blue eyes, curly, dirty blonde hair and 'winning' smile and attitude mirror that of the first great ruler Queen Anastasia. Interesting, huh?
After I put the leaden apron on (I work in a blacksmiths forge), it is now time for the Pièce de Résistance. The wooden chest I have on my chest holds in it the most important thing I own. It's a braided necklace inlaid with gold and encrusted with tiny, expensive-looking, jewels like rubies and topaz with a giant emerald at the base that fits perfectly in the hollow of my neck. I only take it off when I'm sleeping, and Maddie's the same way. Maddie's necklace is practically identical to mine, except at the base of her necklace, the gem is amethyst. Poor as we are, selling the necklaces are never an option. I love the necklace, and I was never a make-up and jewelry type of girl. I mean; what other piece of jewelry can withstand temperatures of over 4 thousand degrees without the gold getting hot or melting? It's awesome! My mother, before she left me and Maddie at the doorstep of the smithy, hung them around our necks, long agon. It was so long ago that I can't even remember her face, and even with her photographic memory there's no way Maddie would remember because Maddie was a newborn and I was almost 2. It's that last and only thing I have of her to remember her by… Shaking off the unusual stab of depression, I pass Maddie's room as I dash downstairs. It's almost freakishly neat, like always. I can almost believe that nobody lives in it, but that's how Maddie is. I, however, am the exact opposite. Even though my room is practically bare, I still manage to make it messy, something Maddie's says should be impossible. But how fun would life be if we had to stick to the rules? I stop wasting time and head into the tiny little room we call a kitchen. Maddie's at the old stove pulling toast out of the oven. Her necklace hangs at the base of her throat too, glinting in the light of the oil lamps.
She frowns at me. "Did you even brush your hair?" It's tangled in curly strands around my face and neck, and on my forehead and in my eyes. So no, to answer your question Maddie, no I did not.
"No mom. I'm making swords for the big bad pirates, not modeling some new dress for Franca's queens. I really see no need." She frowns at the mention of the queens. We've always had a weird attachment to the Queens and Princesses of Lantiria, our Country. Though it was when we were babies, the murder of the last Royal pair, well, we weren't happy when we heard about it in school. "Hey." She looks up. I smush her cheeks between my palms, "Smile, Maddie!" She stares at me like I've lost my mind, her lips quivering as she, being the stubborn little poo that she is, tries not to smile. But my awesome charisma is too much for her and she cracks a small grin. I release her cheeks. "Good." I then proceed to steal the toast from her and take a bite. The toast is crunchy on the outside and chewy and warm on the inside, just how I like my toast. I don't know where Maddie learned to cook (because I am much worse than she is and Mrs. Vargas could burn ice) , but even if its toast she finds a way to make it delicious.
"Oh. I almost forgot. Ivana and Nikolai were here earlier. Chiara wants to see you as soon as you walk through the forge's entrance. They said she sounds pissed." She glances at me like I've done something wrong or something. I haven't. At least I don't think I have. Crap, I dunno! Did I? Crap...
"Pssh. She always sounds pissed. I'll be fine, besides" I check the small pocket-watch that Ivana gave us for my birthday. "You were early. I've got like, fifteen minutes. You've got school today right?"
She scowls. "I don't see why I still have to go. Two months won't make that much if a difference if I already know more than the teachers." Did I mention Mattie is super-de-duper smart? Its frickin' crazy. I've never seen her grade drop below a 99% and usually it's above a 106% (She holds the frickin' record for best all-around score for these past three decades in school, it's absolutely mental), and the 99% was only in health class because she didn't understand the 'birds and the bee's'. It was the most awkward conversation I ever had to have with her.
"Sorry Maddie. You know you have to finish school in order to get your work permits."
She shrugs, "I know…but I hate it there. Nikolai, Lili, and Felicia are the only mildly intelligent ones there, and Feli barely passes in that department (It's true. She so sweet and funny and adorkable, but she acts a bit dim 99.99999999% of the time. We love her though). Everyone else is so stupid and dull it makes me want to stab myself."
"That's high school for you, Maddie. It's tough and boring and the food should be illegal, that's just how it is. But, I heard Lord Alexander is coming to your school later. To watch you read your essays on the Royal Pair, their downfall and division of power after the Queen's murder.,Care to run me by it one more time?"
"What, was I supposed to commit it to memory?"
"You're telling me you didn't?"
"…"
"…"
"Fine. Ok. Well 19 years ago, The Royal Pair as they were called, were the Queen and Princess of Lantiria. Lantiria, along with the 4 other countries of Britanica, Franca, Cazatania, and Quentain, are very matriarchal societies which is why the kings and princes had, have, no place on the throne, in a ruling sense. That isn't to say that Men aren't important figures now, though.
As I said, the Royal Pair was the ruling body of the country. The Queen, holder of the necklace of might, with her fiery, brave, determined spirit, possessed extreme, physical, and emotional strength, agility, reflexes, and the necklace granted her proficiency with all forms of physical combat, including weapons. As the supreme ruling monarch, she presided over governing of the country, the military, and her cabinet and foreign relations, along with various other duties.
The Princess, Her Younger sister, because of her calm, quiet, gentle spirit, possessed the necklace of magic, giving her full reign over all forms of magic that ranged from healing to alchemy to nature to the magic of life and death, and with the necklace and her own prowess was usually the greatest magician in the kingdom. In addition to magic prowess, she also possessed incredible intelligence and a photographic memory. The Princess presided over the same areas as the Queen, was the Second in Command to the military, and had the ability to knight individuals, but to a slightly lesser degree and was the Queen's closest advisor, the royal sorceress, (A.N. She's a lot more important than a Vice president, but that's the basis of what the Princess's role is) and beneath them both were the royal cabinet which served as the advisors to both the Queen and Princess.
They were benevolent rulers, loved by their people and fellow rulers but not all the inhabitants of Lantiria were happy with their monarchs. The self-proclaimed pirate 'king' Richard Kirkland and his crew of the "Bianca Muerta" were extremely displeased with the fact that a Woman ruled the country, despite the fact that a man has never ruled on the throne before. In the dark of night, on the day the Queen gave birth to her second child, another girl it is said, the pirates massacred a small fraction of the village; the guards stationed outside the castle, and stormed the castle, overpowering the Queen, the Princess, the Queen's young daughter, who was scheduled to be debuted 4 months to that day, (that is, shown to the rest of the kingdom when a royal child turns two), and the infant.
The Queen and Princess were killed and the bodies of the toddler and the infant were never found. The pirates then stole all the valuables they could find, barring the magic-secured royal treasury. The survivors of the massacre were the Pair's Cabinet and the Pairs trusted friend, and the Princesses magic tutor, Beatrice Mycroft. To calm the frantic masses of people and deter the threats of neighboring countries to flood Lantiria with troops to quell the pirate 'problem', the land of Lantiro divided the royal cabinet into the lords and ladies who rule over the regions, towns, districts and cities of Lantiro, including our very own Lord Alexander Myelin Candor. A-"
"MADDIE!"
She stops.
"I get it. You are a shoe-in for that A. Just shut up."
She starts pouting. "You're the one who asked me to tell you."
"I didn't think you'd go into such long, boring details. Shame on me, I know, but still."
"Whatever."
Checking the clock again, I see that I have exactly five minutes to get down the forge and we live on a large hill with a windy path down to town. It's an awesome way down though, there are fruit trees everywhere plus my calf muscles are firm as hell. But like I was saying, I'm gonna have to sprint like I'm being chased and not in the good way. "Shit! I'm gonna be late. I'll see you at lunch ok?"
She sniffs disdainfully, still mad at me for interrupting her. "Fine then. Love you, Maddie."
"*Sigh* I love you too, Amelia."
"I know you do."
And I'm off!
The rain miraculously has stopped but the ground is still really muddy and boggy. I start slipping and sliding and trying not to fall flat in my face. Actually, I have really good balance so while the people whose houses are on the hill are trying not to fall on their faces (its way funnier than it sounds) I'm flying down the mountain of mud balancing on my heels like a boss.
I get to the base with three minutes to spare, yet my momentum drags me forward, sending me on a crash course with the fruit-peddler's cart. It's just my luck that she lives on the outskirts of town.
I have no idea how this happened but sometime between the fat, old lady screaming about her papayas and me thinking "holy shit that's a study-looking cart. This is gonna hurt." I managed to bend forward, push my hands into the soft mud, and kick my weight up and over the cart in this weird upside-down pole vault/back-flip. I land on my feet and am still running. It was awesome.
By the time I reached the forge after climbing the other giant hill that leads to it, I'm at least five minutes late, I can no longer see my dirt-caked feet and I have mud under my fingernails which feels really, really disgusting. I open the door, or I would have but the door flies open.
Chiara Vargas, my petite, brown-haired, brown-eyed bestie, fellow big sister and bearer of the never ending PMS, co-owner of this forge and my boss, (Family business because on her own there wouldn't be a snowball's chance in hell she'd ever pick it up) is trying to glare me down, and I say trying because glaring someone down is pretty hard when she's 5'2 and I'm 5'8. I have unwittingly won myself a all-expenses paid deluxe ticket to a classic Chiara bitch-fit.
Don't get me wrong, She and her little sister Felicia are some of my closest friends and after you get to know her, She's really sweet, and this isn't the first time I've had the pleasure of getting screamed at by her, but she is in top form today and let me tell you, it's not pretty. At all.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" She yells. She's actually being quite mild with her word choice. Most of the time, you have to cover the ears of all the children and everyone who might be religious in the slightest when she starts bitching.
Something's wrong with her, I can tell this after years of friendship. She doesn't get this mad at something so trivial, unless its about Loiuse, Feli's girlfriend who Chiara absolutely despises for no apparent reason. I'm usually late anyway. She'd gotten used to it by now. So what the hell?
"I've, um, I got held up at home. I'm really sorry, Chi."
"It's Chiara." Her tone could cut a brick in half.
Ok. She never minded before when her friends called her by her pet name. She was well and truly bugged. And I didn't know why.
"Chiara!" Someone behind her calls her name out. Relief, quickly followed by Irritation flit across her face, and she scowls darkly. I'm thinking that she's scowling at the person who called her name out but when Antonia reveals herself and crosses to her girlfriend, I can tell it's not so.
Antonia Sophia Selena Maria Yolanda Theresa Hernandez Carriedo, a native Cazatanian and Chiara's bride-to-be, is the other owner of this forge. She is also one of my best friend's in the world, Like Chi and Felicia and Ivana and Nikolai and Vash and Lili. Not only is she a totally awesome friend, she's Cazatanian; (Cazatania is like, a big deal here. Super glamorous. Don't know why.), She's absolutely gorgeous. Tall, curvy, robust, and her skin is like caramel. Soft, smooth and sweet-smelling. She has black/brown hair, and forest-green eyes. Like I said, absolutely gorgeous. You should see the guys' face falls when I tell them she's taken.
She and Antonia have known each other for years. Back when they were little, Alessandro Vargas owned this forge (and 3 others scattered around Lantiria) along with a very popular Hotel chain in the richer part of Bariyle (This town) while Gustavo Hernandez Carriedo owned a much, much bigger steel-making factory (plus The most popular theatre in Lantiria, Quentain and Britanica) in Cazatania somewhere, and they were to be wed and merge the two companies. Antonia was sent here 7 years ago to spend time with her fiancée, and learn about the companies She and Chiara would soon be ruling.
In the beginning, neither Antonia nor Chiara were very happy about this arrangement. Actually, extremely, murderously (especially in Chiara's case) displeased would be more like it. We were just over pre-teens and they were already engaged! It was crazy!
Toni was always trying to make nice with Chi though and that determination, through the curse-fests and the cat-fights, eventually won her respect. It took a little while longer for her to actually warm up to Antonia. Now they're so in love, it's practically sickening. Hahahaha, just kidding, well I'm not kidding about the madly in love part, because it's true, it's the sickening part I'm kidding about. Plus, they are a really cute couple to be fair (Don't tell Lovina I said so).
Antonia kisses Chi on the cheek and turns to greet me. There's something up with her too. She moves almost stiffly, her usually bright smile not as…bright. She bear-hugs me and her lemon-scented curly brown hair gets tangled in my mouth. She leans close and when her lips are right by my ear, she whispers, "Check-Up."
oh.
Oh...
Fuck.
Check-ups are the towns' not so original word for the random, mandatory inspections that the Lords and Ladies do in every place of business that gets more than three customers a year. If they don't like that they see, (And if they don't get a little 'keepsake' to take back to their superior,) you get shut down and the other businesses will put you on their blacklist. Meaning, you're out of a job in this town forever unless you're lucky or you have cash, and if you had cash, you wouldn't need to be working. And moving poses the same problems. You need money or luck. And to make it worse, you have no idea who the official is, or the noble they work for (until you find out who the official is, duh)
So our livelihoods depend on this going well, and the officials are known for taking a sort of sick pleasure in ruining people's lives for trivial crap. That's not everyone mind, you, but it's enough.
And something just came to mind that makes the stake even higher today, and explains Chiara's dark mood and Toni's strained affection. Antonia. If this check-up goes south, then the forge will be shut down and since when Toni and Chiara get married the forge will be built upon, jobs will be given to hundreds of Cazatanians and Lantirians, and eventually become the largest steel-making factory in Lantiro and Cazatania. Then, She and Chi will take over their fathers respective monopolies and become possibly the most important buisness leaders in all of the 5 countries. If the forge gets shut down, it will become clear that They arent fit to run a buisness and all the plans to build it bigger and better will vanish with it, effectively ending the proposed consolidation. The wedding will be terminated and Antonia will be sent back to Cazatania, and I'll bet she won't be returning... Since Antonia and Chiara don't yet rule their father's company (this forge was turned by Chiara's father into sort of a practice business to see how well They could run it together) they don't have a big enough business to become exempt from the check-up and they also don't have the official titles of Lady Chiara and Lady Antonia, which they will get when they marry, that would have also exempted them from check-ups. If we get shut-down, they'll tear Chi and Toni apart. (If you're wondering why we're so worried, I mean surely we've been through this before right? I said it was random, and it is. During the check-ups the nobles don't visit every place if business, there's simply no time. We have never had one (We think Alessandro's been paying them not too) but now he's letting them as a test. This whole thing is entirely new for us.)
This is not going to be one of those Star-Crossed Lovers bullshit scenarios, not if I can help it.
Chiara is staring at me impatiently, I nod. "I know what's happening here." Thank God for Friend telepathy, because she gives a sad, knowing, little nod back. "Well, Uh, are you gonna let me in, Chi- I mean Chiara?"
She nods curtly and steps back.
I can't even take comfort in the fact that the forge seems just like it always does, smoky and hot, a scent I absolutely adore as I walk in. I can see the cream-colored scarf that Ivana never takes off in the very back of the forge. Her ice-blond hair, now blackish in the soot and coal is tied in a straining bun (She never put her hair up before) and her shoulders look hunched, but she's working faster than I've ever seen her. Now that I look, I can see Nikolai right besides her, working just as hard. They're brother and sister too, but Niko wants to be more. He's always begging Ivana to marry him, its kinda weird but I try not to judge. I can see the tell-tale signs of stress in Ivana and Nikolai. I'd love too, but I can't even say hi to them right now though.
"Alright then. Let's see what there is to see here, shall we?" says someone who I can't see. I look around the giant wall leading to the room where the actual forging takes place. It's a brunette woman not much taller than Lovina, dressed in muted violet and navy, the colors of Noble Lady Cassandra. She stands with her back to us but she sounds really familiar.
Click.
The voice clicks in my brain. I definitely know her. "Violet?"
She jumps a little and spins around on her heel. "Amelia?"
Before I worked in the forge, right after I finished high school, I worked in the 2nd most prominent Noble's house; her name was (is) Lady Cassandra Whitethorn. I was an apprentice to the Head Accountant Violet Lea since I was good at numbers and Cassandra, oh, excuse me Lady Cassandra, said she liked my spunk.
(She actually said that after I punched this one little dick in the jaw for heckling her at the Annual Town Festival. He was being a jerk, and Chiara's mother who was basically me and Maddie's surrogate, had engrained in me at a young age to never upset the Nobles. The mayor always had to travel and if he wasn't there and you upset them, unless they were nice which was rare, it wouldn't end well for you. The little ass I punched, after his jaw was rewired, became my first boyfriend. He was a cheating fuck though, and now his jaw will never be the same)
Violet and I got along amazingly. She was so nice and patient and fair and I was so thankful for her friendship since the rest of the servants looked down on me for coming from such a low birth, despite the fact that it wasn't much different for them. So yeah, Violet and I did math all day in a violet and navy room. It wasn't that bad at first. All the food we wanted, and no one heckling us, except for the other accountants but like I said before. Math, all. day. long.
I almost went insane.
Too bad really, the pay was great. I was planning to buy a new house, not a little ramshackle cabin, which was all I could afford at the time, for us. But, y'know, anything was better than math.
So back to the present.
Violet pulls me into one of her spine-breaking hugs. For a ridiculously tiny woman like her, she has very impressive strength. I try to figure out why she's here. She was an accountant when I saw her last.
"Oh my god, Violet. What are you doing here!?"
She pulls back, and grins, "I got promoted, Amelia!" She's practically bubbling." But never mind that! I haven't seen you in months!"
"Yeah, I know. You've been well. Obviously."
"Yeah. But what are you doing here?" the way she says it, makes it sound like an insult. That makes Chiara's mile-deep scowl deepen, and that in itself is a feat. Violet notices.
"Oh, Ms. Vargas, I didn't mean it like that! I'm so sorry; my mouth has a mind of its own."
Lovina looks taken aback. She isn't used to the officials giving a shit about what she thinks, much less apologizing for it. "No, Mrs. Lea. I'm sorry for my attitude." You can tell she's forcing the words out. She doesn't like apologizing.
"Oh Mrs. Vargas, please, I hate being addressed by my last name. Everyone always makes it sound so formal. Please call me Violet. Like Amelia does."
Antonia speaks up, "Speaking of Amelia, If you don't mind me asking, Violet. How do you and Amelia know each other?" She sends a glance my way.
"Oh. I completely forgot to mention that. I used to work with Violet," I gesture to her, she waves." At Lady Cassandra's estate. I was an accountant."
Lovina cut in."-Amelia, you're terrible at math. "
"Shut up, Lovina and let me finish…and no I wasn't. I quit after a few months because it was way too much numbers and the fact that everyone but her hated my guts. "
"Oh, Amelia, no they didn't! They were just intimidated by your intellect." This drew snickers from Chiara. Violet continues, "It's true! She was one of the best assistants I ever had! You guys are lucky to have her!" Violet blurbs. Her very sweet comment is followed with snickers and smirks. When I start glaring at them, Chiara starts giggling and Antonia joins her.
I am not at all pleased with their teasing. "You guys are asses."
"Now Amelia, you know we're just kidding." Antonia soothes, or at least, tries to.
"Yeah. Sure."
A relaxed atmosphere fills the room. I know that Violet will give us a fair examination, we'll be fine, I know we will. Violet laughs softly, clapping her hands together. "Alright. It's was really nice saying Hi to you Amelia, but I have an inspection to do. So, if you ladies will excuse me-"BOOM!
Out of the blue, a gigantic explosion rocks the building, from the stone floor, to the gigantic hearth, to the ceiling. Dust that we hadn't bothered to clean from the rafter's falls in giant sheets down onto the floor, turning the room into a giant smokescreen. The ground rolls like an earthquake, pitching me and everyone else to the floor. Someone falls on top of me, and an elbow finds my stomach, knocking the breath out of me.
So we can't breathe, can't see, can barely hear and I for one…am surprisingly calm for someone in the epicenter of an earthquake, struggling to breathe again.
It's after the rumbling stops and immediately afterward another explosion, this time much closer, hits, knocking tongs off the shelves and sloshing hot coals on the floor, that I realize that this isn't an earthquake. It's cannon fire.
We're being attacked.
The ground is still vibrating but I hardly notice as I run to the window. Through the sooty, dirty, grubby window I see it.
On the far side of town, directly opposite us, the dock is being overrun by ships. Ships with cannons trained everywhere. The townhouse is almost completely destroyed, and what's left is smoldering away. There's giant hole in what used to be the sheriff's quarters. People, shop-owners, children, some of the lords and ladies are all running and screaming.
Including Maddie.
Everything slams to a halt, including my lungs. Maddie, my Maddie is out there in the midst of all this chaos running towards the forge. The school where she was supposed to be is being eaten by orange flames. Fear, for her, kicks in, or should I say, slams in because in all my years I haven't ever been this frightened for my baby sister.
And the inhabitants of the ship step out.
They're pirate, Boorish, bloodthirsty pirates that kill, plundered and burn anything they can find. The fear somehow kicks up a couple of notches. For my vantage point, I can just see the captain step onto the dock. He's somewhat tall, dressed in red, with blonde hair, and that all the stock I take because Maddie's down there with them.
The forge is on top of a hill, and the area below it, where the town is, is like a flat bowl with one (the forge's hill) little high area, so I have a clear view of her as she crosses the shops that lead to the hill, and unfortunately, I see that some of Mr. Pirate man's cronies are headed in her direction.
I fling myself out of the forge entrance, down the mountain at breakneck speed without a second thought, all caution gone, because all that matters is Maddie and her safety.
I reached the bottom as she reaches the base and I barrel into her.
She's pushed on her rump, and I kneel next to her. "Maddie. Are you ok? What are you doing here? We need to go now!" I pull her to her feet before she has the chance to say anything. She stops, yanking me to a halt. I turn around. "What are you doing?!"
"Are you ok?" What? Maddie's worried about me when we're being overrun by pirates? I need to have a talk with her about her priorities later, when we're safe.
"I'm fine Maddie! We need to go now, come on!" When I look at the hill, I can see Chiara, Antonia, Violet and even Ivana and Nikolai stumble out of the forge. Then I start ignoring them, because way up there, they're safe from most harm while we are smack-dab in the thick of things. I tear my apron off and fling it away because it's just hindering me now, and we make a mad dash for the beaten path to our house.
"If I can make it there, we'll be safe. It's so far out, there's no way they'd find us. We'll be safe if I can just make it to our house!"
"OI!" …oh god. We both freeze. My back is to the shout, I can see the pathway that (if you know where your going, and if you know the twists and turns) can get us home. All I have to do is keep running. But instead, I don't run. I turn around. And my heart stops.
It's him. The captain. I can tell by the luxuriance of his red coat, the way all the others are standing behind him, waiting for his orders, the way his green eyes roam over me and Maddie like we're some kind of prize to be won and carried home, those eyes zeroing in on our necklaces. If I weren't scared for my life and Maddie's, I might actually think he was pretty cute. Tall-ish, not thick but definitely not thin, blonde, green-eyed, but those eyebrows man! They were black and bushy and thicker than my first attempt at making soup!(on the bright side, it was an excellent glue) He smirks, tossing his golden head like some weird sort of lion.
My heart starts beating again, so hard I get lighted-headed, so hard that it feels like my throat is pulsating, so hard I'm sure that him and his crew and Maddie can hear it.
His smirk grows. The bastard must love smelling fear in his victims. "Well, well, well. Look at this, then. Now where might you lovely lasses be heading off to, eh?" He had an accent, a queer sort of lilt in his voice. It must have been Britanican. I could see everyone, all the villagers running away, now that his attention was on us. And hopefully, on me.
I'm still holding Maddie's hand. I give it a quick squeeze, trying to remind her that I will always love her more than anything ever. Then I push her behind me so I'm standing between them, like a good big sister should. "Maddie run."
I should have known she'd refuse. "Not a chance. "
"Maddie-"
"No!"
"Go! NOW!" I scream.
Just as she's about to refuse (She gets a really pig-headed, crinkly-browed, flashy-eyed look about her when she sets her mind to something) the guy, the captain, speaks up again. "Oh, please don't. I'm afraid that we have a bit of business to discuss with the both of you." Now we're trapped. If Maddie tries to run, they'll hurt her. I can see it in their eyes. My plan dashed to pieces, I see no other option then to wait and watch for an opening. Or go down fighting if I have to. He started speaking again. "Oh, where are my manners? I," He gestured to himself, "am Captain Kirkland, captain of the Angelo della Morte. We've docked at this quaint little… hovel, looking for some treasures. Now then, me and my lads would be most appreciative if you and your young friend give us those pretty trinkets you have on."
What? No. no no nonononono, not my necklace. Out of my peripheral, Maddie's hand flies to her own necklace. I can't let them take it. I can't give up my mother's parting gift, no matter how mad I am at her for leaving us like she did. All of a sudden, I'm not scared, at all. I'm mad. Furious really. This dick thinks he can waltz into town, uproot my life and steal my shit as he pleases? Hell. No. and doubly goes for Maddie. Hell, if he threatens her, I'll kill him or give up my necklace but her's is staying where it is if I have to slaughter the whole damn crew.
I square my shoulders and stare him straight in the eye. (the other one's covered with a black, silk, patch) "No."
He was certainly not expecting that but then again bullies never expect the nerds to stand up for themselves. It was almost funny seeing his face turn red. Then it wasn't so funny. "What was that, wench?"He growled.
"Oho, so I went from lass to wench now?" Anger brings out the recklessness in me, which then turns into heavy sarcasm. I turn to my sister who's staring at me like I've lost my mind. She's probably not far off considering I'm taunting pirates now. "Did ya here that, Maddie? I've been demoted by goldilocks and his caterpillar brows. Next, I'll be booted to prostitute, or barmaid. Ya think he kisses his mom with that mouth?"
What the hell am I saying? I just couldn't seem to shut up. Goldilocks' massive eyebrows drew together, and he snarled and I immediately regretted opening my mouth. "Get them, restrain them. We'll take their trinkets by force, and maybe I'll teach this one to watch her bloody tone."
Oh shit.
"Maddie, stay behind me. Please." For once, she didn't argue.
The first of Arthur's, or whoever he was, cronies was a huge bear of a man. Tall and built like a barrel with a scar that went to the other side of his head on his cheek. He tore of his blue shirt and cracked his knuckles. "Don't fight now girlie, and I promise I will be gentle"
Uh-huh. Sure dude.
I slid into a fighting position that I didn't know I knew and waited for him and I let myself just…do. I've always been really good at hand-to-hand and the few times I've held one of the swords I forged, I really kicked ass so I was at least a little better off. But these pirates had experience, something I had none of. So I just prayed to whoever was listening to help me.
He ran at me, probably thinking I was gonna run again. I didn't. I held my ground until he was right in front of me and here's where it gets weird. My body moved on its own. He had his arms spread out wide and when he was close enough, I bent my knees, hooked my arm under his crotch, threw the other arm around his shoulder (I could feel his shoulder blades) and heaved over, using his momentum to fling him into the ground. He was not expecting that either. He recovered quickly though and made a grab for my ankle, I lifted my foot out of his reach and brought it down hard on his wrist. With my foot on his wrist I spun around and dug my other foot in his stomach, stepped off his hand, drove both my feet into his chest and gave him a sharp kick to the head, followed by two more. Then I stepped off him. I somehow knew that he was only unconscious and possibly with a mild concussion.
I faced Kirkland, who was staring with, I was pleased to note, surprise and shock at my feet and his fallen lackey. He looked at me and then at Maddie and back to me.
Then another guy stepped forward. He was smaller, quicker, but I knew deep in my heart that I could take him. He approached me carefully and lashed out with his fist. I grabbed his wrist, but he was expecting that and slung me over his head, trying to throw me on my back. it didn't work. I hooked my legs around his neck before I could clear his head and when he dropped my wrist I was hanging from him by my legs, coincidentally shoving my breech-covered crotch in his face. For a moment, he did nothing which I guess is protocol for a guy when a girl shoves her secret garden in his face, then He gripped my thighs, trying to pull me off, but I had complete access to his nethers and gave him the mother of all nut-shots, it was so bad I could here all the guys gasp in unison. He immediately let go and collapsed, writhing in pain. To be sure, I drove my foot into his femur, snapping it in two (I didn't know I had the strength to break limbs. )
While he screamed, I readied myself from dude #3. Now Arthur was looking at me like I was somewhat of a threat, and boy did he not like it. He himself stepped forward while two of his crew members circled around me.
They headed straight for Maddie, who was off to the side watching. "NO!" I cried
I started after them, only to have a blades tip meeting my throat. I had to stop. I stood, still as a statue as a thin bead of blood beaded at my throat. I turned my head to see the captain himself staring me down, and hot diggity-damn ( when I get scared my mouth gets all oldtimey) he looked peeved. "Now, I'll be your opponent."
I was really tempted to ignore him and help my sister, regardless of the throat-opening he was threatning me with, but when I looked in her direction, the both of her assailants were floating up in the sky, clutching their throats and choking on…something. Maddie was staring at them, her face screwed up in concentration. Kirkland looked too. He gasped. "Magic? Telekinesis, before her twentieth? (how did he know she was under twenty?) not possible, not of that caliber. So how is she-?"
I took advantage of his distraction and kicked the sword out of his hand, or at least I tried to. He caught my foot, with a grimace that looked kinda like he was in pain (the force must have done it) and flipped me onto my ass.
He leveled the sword at my throat again. "You two. There's something special about you two. And I intend to find out what." Without moving the sword, he bent down and reached for my neck. He tried to grasp my giant emerald. Then he paused. His hand was shaking, like he was trying to push it through something. Then a giant, invisible force threw him backwards.
I had no idea what that force thing was, but I was grateful for it. He was flat on his back in a patch of grass, with his cutlass near my feet. I picked it up and walked towards him. He pushed himself up to his elbows, cradling his burned palms ala bling force field (I really have to learn what that force was because, damn, was that handy.) and eyed me warily. Now, this time, I leveled my sword at his throat; and took some pleasure in doing so.
He watched the sword, and looked me straight in the eyes. He surely wasn't scared, but rather…intrigued. Then he looked past me and smirked. He nodded behind me. "I'd look behind you, lass. Your sister seems to have a little bit of a problem." ...what?
My blood ran cold, like people say that all the time but I could literally feel my blood getting colder. I whipped around, not even realizing that I dropped the cutlass. Maddie was being manhandled by three new guys, whatever power she previously had that I had been too distracted to be curious or worried about was gone. One of the grabbed her hands in his huge hands and forced them behind her back, and very roughly too. "MADDIE!"
Now I was well and truly distracted. I didn't remember that I had a pirate captain with a sword or any one of his still very numerous crew members behind me; I only knew that my baby sister was in trouble.
She stopped struggling and looked up at me, fear and anger in her eyes. Then she went paper-white , staring past my shoulder, looking like she just saw a ghost.. "AMELIA! BEHIND YOU!"
I didn't react quick enough. Whack! A sharp pain, right at the base of my neck rushed up and down my spine, stopping at my head. I remember standing as the world spun around like a top, trying to figure out what just happened. Then thinking became really hard, or rather damn near impossible and my vision went all black and sparkly. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground (I'm pretty sure it was the ground even though ground doesn't dip and sway like whatever I was laying on did) with my hands pinned behind my back staring at Maddie's prim, non-scuffed little shoes. Then, I think she was pushed to her knees because I saw her thighs really close to the ground next.
Bits of conversation flitted to me. "Don't think she'll…able to answer…will you come quietly…..could kill you both…your choice Madeline? Only assume...That's what Maddie is short for…well?"
I heard her voice crystal-clear. "We'll come with you, just please don't hurt her further…please... I'll do anything you ask, you can even hurt me if you want. Just don't hurt her."
I wanted to protest because as long as I draw breath there shall be no hurting of my baby sister, but the massive head pain I had been trying to ignore for the duration of the conversation I didn't quite understand returned with friends, and cousins, and extended families. Someone, a rather inconsiderate someone seeing as I wanted to continue listening, drew a dark, pitch-black curtain over my eyes and I fell into a deep, deep sleep.
Chapter one of my first Fanfic! I hope you'll enjoy it! I know I did!