So uh, I've been thinking of a story like this for the past week, and I'm desperately stalling on my summer english assignment. This is the product of that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

Princess Maka Albarn woke with a start after a terrifying nightmare. Glancing toward her window, she found it was still earlier than dawn. Her hand found her heart, which was beating rapidly. But already she was beginning to forget the dream that had startled her awake. It had involved a dangerous man with gleaming red eyes; that was all she could place. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She was safe, of that she was sure. The thought was calming and at the same time horribly irritating. Sighing, she flipped her legs off the edge of her queen sized bed, which adorned with pink lace and gold seaming. Her feet found the lush carpet and she pulled herself up and to the picture window at her bedroom's wall. She threw open the curtains and peered out over the large oceanside town, illuminated by the nearly-full moon.

Mideel was a major port of England, flourishing with trade and craftspeople of all sorts. The man who formed the successful port eventually had a castle built for him and his wife, which sat directly in the middle of the circular town. They had children and passed away, but the eldest son continued rule from the castle. Spirit Albarn was his name, and he found a wife, the beautiful Kami Albarn. The two had three children, the eldest being Black Star, and youngest being William. Maka was the unfortunate middle child, and being the only girl of the three didn't help matters much.

Maka continued to ponder her family and town's histories as she gazed out over the houses and markets to the vast ocean, glowing pitch black in the night air. Sure, her family seemed functional enough, but rumors had begun flying about a one Lord Albarn committing adultery with various mistresses. Maka would not believe the townspeople, who were overzealous for gossip, if she had not had her own doubts of her father from an early age. She watched with observant eyes when her father slipped from the castle at strange hours, and caught the worried look her mother had from time to time. Maka may have gone unnoticed by her parents and siblings, but she noticed everything about them.

Her eldest brother, now the age of 19, was arrogant and bossy, but utterly determined to be the ultimate lord of Mideel. And William was the cursed younger brother, born without rite to become his father's successor. So at the ripe age of 9, he decided he'd become a naval commander, and was still training intensely 5 years later. Maka, however, had no purpose in the world yet. At age 17, she was expected no more than to find a suitable husband, either a navy man or even a lord of a neighboring town, and settle down bearing children. The thought utterly repulsed her. She had a sense of adventure only her mother might understand- Kami had sailed all the way from Japan when she met Spirit. Maka had her older maids tell stories of the places Kami visited before settling here. Unfortunately, these stories were all she knew of her mother; the woman was too busy to spend any time with her daughter. But with every story Maka became more certain- she wanted to explore the world. She needed to travel, to escape this detestable castle. However, her father forbade it. She was not even supposed to leave the castle walls; Servants and pages were to find suitors and bring food and all the entertainment to her. But being largely ignored had its advantages; Maka had been known to sneak out occasionally to a nearby bookstore or market. In the end though, the maids and servants in charge of watching Maka always found her before she got even near the ocean.

Of all the things Maka wanted to explore, the ocean was number one by far. She longed to sail to remote islands and ports all over the world. She was plainly jealous of William, who would at least be on the ocean for his duty as a commander.

Maka's head always filled with these same thoughts when she sat in her windowsill in the middle of the night, staring at the beautiful body of water she would never see up close. If she could just touch the warm bay water- smell the salty wind as it whipped through her hair…

Without thinking, Maka shot up and to her closet. She slipped on some pants she had stolen from Black Star a few years back and a loose blouse. She tied her hair up in a bun, with no other way to hide her long ashy blonde hair. She prayed anyone on the street would not get close enough to notice. She didn't even bother slipping on shoes, choosing stealth over comfort. Then she opened her door as silently as possible and expertly slid down the stairs, avoiding places the wood creaked. Her heart was pounding with adrenaline like it always did when she snuck out; God only knew what her father would do to her if she was found. But by some extraordinary stroke of luck, and certainly thanks to her knowledge of the castle's ground plan, Maka made it to a back door without event. This particular door led to the gardens of the castle, and once she was out of them she would be home free-until someone noticed she was gone. She could only pray it be one of her personal maids, because they graciously never reported to her father what Maka had done.

Maka stole another look down both ends of the hallway before pushing the stone door gently until it opened. The aroma of flowers and fresh air greeted her as she slipped outside, a ghost in the night.

Maka crept along the streets, trying her best to keep out of direct light. Tonight, she was on a mission; all she wanted was to get to the ocean and back. Well, getting back she didn't think about so much. If a handsome sailor wanted to woo her and take her away she'd be fine with that…She blushed madly for even thinking such silly circumstances. She'd been reading too many romance novels. She shook her head clear and continued along. With every new block she felt her heart soar; she was getting closer, closer, almost there…!

Suddenly, the world went dark. A piece of musty cloth had been pulled over her eyes and she felt someone drag her into an alley. As she started to scream, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. She bit the hand and heard a sharp hiss. Once pulled into the dark, narrow street, she felt the blindfold come off and she could see again- albeit not very well. The only thing she could make out in the dark was a pair of ruby eyes and a mess of white hair. As she took in the stranger's appearance, he opened his mouth to groan.

"Agh, you're a girl!"
"Wha-How'd you know so fast!"

"Your scream?" He shot back. His voice didn't match his ominous eyes and dirty face and hair. It was smooth and deep. Maka found herself wondering irrelevantly if he could sing. What a stupid thought to have of your captor, she thought. After a moment she remembered to answer him.

"Oh. And why does it matter if I'm a girl! Changing your strategy from murder to rape then murder?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "I won't go down without a fight, you pig."

"Wow, fiery," He seemed genuinely impressed. "But calm down, wench. I'm not planning on violating you." He looked very pointedly down at her breasts. "You're not my…type." Maka huffed in distaste.

"How dare you! I'll have my father-" She suddenly remembered her father had no idea where she was right now and would have her hanged just as quickly as her captor.

"Aha, so your father does not know you're out here, huh? Explains the outfit." Man, he caught on too fast. Considering he was probably a peasant, he was rather sharp.

"Anyways, I was just going to steal your money, since you looked from afar like an aristocrat taking a midnight stroll. Obviously, I was off."
"Hold on, you were going to steal? How indecent! You know, you could try to make your money the fair way, and-" Maka was cut off by the red-eyed man barking a laugh.

"Oh, you're so naïve. You have no idea how the real world works, do you, love? Let me tell you, I've been around the world and-"

"You have?"

He sighed, clearly annoyed at her interrupting his rant. "I have what?"
"Been around the world?" He looked at her, confused. Then he gestured down at his body, though Maka could hardly see in the dark alley.

"Of course, I'm a pirate-"

"You are?" Maka immediately took a step back from him. She'd read plenty of stories on pirates, but she couldn't be sure how much was fantasy, or even if they were real. But here one was, right in front of her..!

He groaned again. "Yes, now will you quit interrupting me and-"

"Sorry," She spoke, then giggled a bit when he shot her an exasperated look for doing it again. "Really, keep going. But, can we maybe walk while you explain to me how the world works? I have to be somewhere." She admitted.

"You are really weird. Where on earth do you have to be at this hour?" She couldn't deny, it was a fair question.

She hesitated. Should she really reveal her plan to this stranger and proclaimed Pirate? He hadn't done anything to hurt her so far...aside from the attempted robbery. In fact, he would know the way better than she...

She gave in. "The ocean."

"What?" The fair-haired stranger asked.
Maka attempted to clarify. "I just need to get to the shore."

He shrugged, apparently not needing any more explanation. "Okay, then let's go to the shore."

The unlikely pair came out from the alleyway and headed down the road toward the port. Maka was so lost in her excitement that she barely heard the Pirate as he cleared his throat.

"So why d-"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from a few streets behind them.

"MAKA!" It boomed. The color drained out of Maka's face. She and the Pirate both turned toward the sound.

"Is that…" The white haired man started.

"My father. Shit." There was no other word to describe the sinking in Maka's chest. On the one hand, she should be trying to get away from this pirate who she couldn't trust not to hurt her, but she realized suddenly how badly she had wanted to hear his stories and get to the ocean, even if he killed her after.

Groaning, she pushed the man farther up the alley and whispered, "Go. If he finds you, you're dead." The man still looked baffled that the girl he had tried to rob was the daughter of the Lord of Mideel. In a few seconds, though, he recovered and slipped away into the darkness, leaving Maka to face her father. As she walked toward him, and could see his face, angry enough to make a small child weep, she braced herself for the worst.

If it weren't for that stupid pirate, I could have at least made it to the ocean…

But even as she thought that, she knew she didn't regret meeting the strange man. He was the most fascinating person she'd ever met, and they'd hardly talked at all. She made a silent vow as she approached her father, already screaming at her, that she would see the ruby-eyed man again.

Hm, so I typed this up really fast and only read through to edit once. I don't know, it kind of wrote itself. The pacing might be off, and there are bound to be some errors, but overall i think it could make an interesting story? Or...maybe I'm just way too obsessed with pirates. bwahaha. oh and i made Black Star Maka's brother! I always wanted to do that in a story, ehee.

Anyways, please review! I don't even know what to rate this story, I'll make it T for now, but it could change! I clearly have no idea where I'm going with this. Any advice, suggestions, or commentary would help!

Thank you for reading~