Hey guys :) I hope you like this story. I apologize beforehand for any typos, mistakes, and small chapters; I'm writing this on my brother's iPod.
When I was a little girl, my mother told me stories at night to get me to sleep, while I sat in my bed wide-eyed...
"And then the terrible Blackbeard drew his sword, and threatened the little princess to do as he said. The princess was forced to hand over the jewels that her father had given to her before his death.
It hurt her almost a much as death to hand them over; they were the last things she had to remember the king by.
The infamous pirate smiled blackly down at the gems in his hand, walked over to the edge of the ship to watch as she was going to be thrown overboard. The sight of this infuriated the princess, and it triggered something in the girl's mind like a gun. She ran forward and hurled herself at the pirate! It surprised him, so much that he dropped the jewels.
The girl cried out as she watched them fall. She dove into the water after the gems, her mind barely even registering the fact that she could not swim.
The next thing she knew, she was in the dark, cold water. Her outreached hand grasped a single jewel, and she clutched it to her heart with all her strength. Her lungs began to burn, but she was tossed around so many times she had no idea which way was even up! She spun in circles, the current playing with her like a toy. It soon brought her to the top of the water, where she gasped for breath and brought in a mouthful of seawater as well."
My mother stopped at this point, glancing at her watch.
"Amu, sweetheart, it's time for you to go to sleep."
"But Mother, what happens to the princess?" "I'll tell you tomorrow night."
She kissed my cheek.
"Mother?" I said after a moment. "Yes?" "What if something like that happened to me? ...What will happen to me when I grow up, Mother?"
She looked at me with a beautiful smile on her face and gently brushed hair back with her fingertips.
"Amu..." She said slowly. Life is like a story that you're making up on the spot. You choose what happens, you choose how it ends. But don't rush through life, or your story. Think it through as you go, and you'll come up with a happy ending." She tickled me and I screamed with laughter.
Her face grew serious. "Just remember, Amu, that I will always be with you, even if it seems that I'm gone. If you listen to your heart, I'll be there. The tiny whispers that you can barely catch will be mine. I will always, always love you Amu." She hugged me close.
Even though I was only eight, these things that she told me, these things that I didn't understand right now, these things would stay with me for a long time.
I breathed in the scent of her perfume. Roses. She retucked me in my bed, blew out the candle on my bedside, and left; closing the door silently behind her. I was left in the darkness, contemplating what I'd just been told.
The next morning my mother was gone. She'd simply vanished. My father and his servants looked everywhere, but she had disappeared like a morning mist. They said that she was gone forever, maybe dead. But I knew in my heart she was out there somewhere. I think maybe she was telling me that night, telling she had to go. I didn't know why, I didn't know where, but I knew she still loved me.
My name is Hinamori Amu. I am the daughter of the Duke of Avon, and the daughter of a loving mother. I didn't need to know more.
7 Years Later
My father was dead. This single thought ran over and over through my mind as I stared at the newly made grave. I laid down the flowers I had brought on top of it.
Memories flashed in my mind. When I was little and he tossed up in the air and caught me again while I squealed with laughter. When I fell down and he would kiss and bandage my cuts. When he taught me my studies himself instead of simply hiring a tutor. On my 15th birthday he gave me a ring that had been my mother's. It was adorned with rubies and sapphires. I glanced at my right hand now, and there it sat on my ring finger. My whole life he had made time for me, no matter how busy he was.
The tears ran steadily down my face. I missed him so, so much. But, there was something else. I was not ready to take over the responsibility of becoming Duchess of Avon.
The Next Day, After the Reading of the King's Will...
I said goodbye to my relatives and prepared to go upstairs to my room. I was exhausted. I turned around and jumped to see the administrator standing there. (A/N administrator: the person that carries out the will; makes sure everything in the will is in order.)
"Miss Hinamori," he began, "There is one more matter of the will. A private matter." I looked at him questioningly. I didn't know of any family possessions that could not be mentioned in front of my relatives.
He motioned for me to follow him into Father's old study. He locked the door behind me and then walked over to the large wooden desk and sat down.
He reached under the desk and moved his hands around. It looked like he was feeling for something. Suddenly I heard a *click* and a small drawer was revealed. The administrator took out a little box with tiny locks on it. He brought out a small key and slowly unlocked each one.
What could possibly be so important that I had never been told about it, and that it was kept in so many secrets!
He pulled out of the box a piece of paper. Seriously? That's all it was? A piece of paper?
He unrolled the paper-no, wait, it was a map- and laid it out before me. A gasp escaped from my lips and I whispered these words with both conviction, excitement, and fear...
"The Seven Seas Treasure!"
Once again I apologize for typos and all that stuff. iPod, remember? Please review and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible.
Thanks!
~kittyallstars