Hey guys, Sarah here, with a brand new story!
The idea was inspired by my favorite television show, Firefly, and, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean. I really hope you guys like it!
Oh and I want to dedicate this first chapter to AnimeAddict23232 and Navaka114, for always supporting me and putting up with my shenanigans 3
Read and Review?
x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x X x
There are two types of people in this world. There are the people who are given everything they will ever need, and the people who have to work for it. I used to be the first type. My father was the ruler of Lucian, a major area in Japan. My family was royalty; we had the money, the power, and the respect of everyone in the nation. My mother and I always dressed in the finest gowns and wore the most precious jewels. We had everything we could ever want.
Lucian was a wealthy and clean region. We had the best and most advanced military in Asia. My father ruled with an iron fist, and was deeply respected by all. Everything was perfect.
Then, the war happened.
We were being invaded by a French territory called Staphiria. Our men fought night and day against the Staphirians, defending our home land no matter what the cost. Unfortunately the French army won, and took over Lucian. We lost everything: Our land, our dignity, and my father lost his empire. The leader of Staphiria, Waldo Schaeffer, had traveled all the way across Asia to come personally 'relieve' my father from his duties.
When Schaeffer arrived, my father said that my mother and I needed to escape, to get as far away from Lucian as possible. My mother of course refused, saying that she would stay with him until the end. She packed some bread, money, and clothes into a small brown sack and gave it to me, telling me to run.
I was seven years old.
I was terrified, lost, and confused. I did the only thing that my premature mind could comprehend, I hid. I hid in the cupboard in my father's office, hoping nobody would find me. Shortly after, I heard voices coming from inside the room. I barely opened the door to see my father and mother, and three other men talking intently. The one in the center had grey hair and a bushy grey beard. His round glasses were dark and completely concealed his eyes. He was dressed in a black suit and his stance radiated confidence and superiority. The two men at his side looked like my father's personal security team: dark suits, sun glasses, and emotionless expressions. The one in the center, who from the discussion I discovered was Waldo Schaeffer, asked my father if he had any children. Much to my confusion, he said he hadn't. Schaeffer's jaw twitched slightly, I wouldn't have been able to detect the motion if I hadn't been staring at the man so attentively. He then turned to one of his body guards and nodded. 'It was a pleasure speaking with you.' he said, then turned his back as if to walk away.
And then it happened.
The movement was so fast, you could have blinked and missed it. The body guard swiftly pulled the gun from his jacket pocket and fired a single shot that penetrated my father's chest.
They killed my father.
They then grabbed my mother and said they were going to be shipping her back to France, to be sold as a slave.
And then I was alone. I was crouched helplessly in the cupboard of my dead fathers office. Alone and scared.
It was then that I realized that I was going to have to survive all on my own, without any aide from the outside world. I had to change. I was no longer the young, innocent princess. I could not cry or pity myself, that would be weak, and I could no longer afford to be weak. I had to be brave, cunning, and willing to do whatever it took to survive. It was me, myself, and I. It was my responsibility to find food, my responsibility to find a place to sleep, and my responsibility to live.
Escaping now, however, would be foolish, and I would inevitably face the same fate as my mother. So I stayed, wrapped in one of my father's coats, that was like a tent on me, in the cupboard and waited until early morning before making my leave.
I had been on the street now for about five weeks. I was very thin and my white dress hung from my body. My hair now hung on my shoulders and was greasy beyond belief. I had been chased by the police a number of times for attempted robbery. All my money was spent, and I had eaten every single bread crumb from the loaf.
I lived in a small alley between a flower shop and a motel. I had used a little of my money to buy me a comfortable blanket, and I had found a large box that served as my bed. The reek of my unwashed blanket was unbearable, so I would steal some flowers from the florist and sprinkle the colorful petals over me while I slept. I found myself unable to sleep without the scent of flowers somewhere near me.
One day, I overheard a couple pedestrians talk about a new shipment of fish coming from the harbor, the biggest import they've had in months. Raw or not, food was food. So I headed down to the pier, keeping to the shadows as to not look suspicious. They hadn't lied, I had never seen so many fish in one place before. Rows of crates lined the pier. Fishermen were scattered everywhere, discussing different methods of catching fish, and which kinds of fish tasted the best with a good Corona. I peered over into one of the crates. The smell was revolting and I had to lay my head between my knees to keep from gagging. There's no way anyone would be able to eat something like that, even if they were starving. I crawled behind the crates only to discover that they all shared the same foul odor.
Once I reached the end of the pier, I gazed up in amazement at the gigantic ship in front of me. It was a towering beauty with wide sails. It seemed to be empty at the time, so I quickly glanced around before running on board. Feeling too exposed, I ran into the big wooden door below the quarter deck. I ran down the steps and nearly ran right into a large oak door. I did an about face and ran down the other set of stairs. This one led to a rather long hallway. All down the hallway were about a dozen other doors. I ran to the end of the hall and into a room that served as a dining hall and a kitchen. I was inclined to raid the cupboard when I smelled a rather intoxicating odor coming from a trap door in the corner. The square of wood was a shade lighter than the rest of the floor and had a string attached to it. I hurried down stealthily.
I was now in the bottom of the ship. There were dozens of machines that purred softly throughout the room. Wooden posts were in abundance, supporting the floor above. It was dark, and the room was like a huge maze to my seven year old body. I walked a little further and found the delicious odor from before. Sitting on a stool at the far end was a glass of milk and a whole plate of freshly made cookies. The smell bombarded me with memories of home and I immediately charged forward, but then I noticed something rather strange. Dark shadows that lined the walls. There must have been at least twenty of them. After my eyes adjusted, I realize that they were...cannons? This wasn't a fishing boat.
It was a pirate ship.
Fear washed over me and overtook my hunger. When I was about to turn around and run I felt something being jabbed into my back. I held my breath and stood as rigged as a board. However, I heard a less than intimidating voice from behind.
"What do ye think yer doin' on me ship?" A small voice said from behind, obviously over-doing the pirate lingo. Feeling safe I turned slowly around to face a boy. He was about two inches shorter than I was, but I could tell we weren't far in age. He had blond hair that reached to his small shoulders. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and black slacks with dark boots. On his head was a traditional pirate's hat, black with a skull, but it was way too big on his head. It hung slightly to the left and he had to keep tugging on it to keep it from falling in front of his eye. The object digging into my bag was a tiny wooden sword. "Well, answer da question. What're you doin' on me ship?"
I opened my mouth to speak but someone came down interrupting. "Odd? What do we have here?" An older man asked. He had a white puffy shirt with a tan vest and black slacks. His hair was white and he had a small beard. Odd broke his glare on me to run to the man.
"Dad! Dad! I caught a trespasser! What should we do? Feed her to the sharks?" Odd bounced next to his father.
"That won't be necessary." The man said eying me. "Aren't you Takeyo Ishiyama's daughter."
I gave a small nod.
"It's a tragedy, what happened to him. He was one of my best clients, and a personal friend. Do tell me, child, what are you doing here?"
I hung my head and starred at the floor, not sure what to say. "Do you have anywhere to...live?" He asked cautiously.
I shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on the floor. The man looked at me for a moment, Odd shifting next to him. "Well, I guess we have a new crew mate, Odd."
I looked up in shock to see him smiling. "I'm sorry, sir?"
"Well a young, beautiful girl like yourself can't be livin' on the streets! You never know what kind of hoodlums are in the shadows." He looked down at his son, took off the over sized hat, and ruffled his hair. "This here is my boy, Odd. Only kid on the ship. He could use a friend."
Odd, suddenly ecstatic to see her walked up and held his hand out. "Nice to meet ya! What's your name?"
"Yumi." I said taking his hand.
"Well, by the way you were drooling over my cookies, I reckon you're pretty hungry. Wanna share?" He smiled.
I suddenly remembered how hungry I was. "I would like that." He grabbed my hand and led me to the back of the room, explaining all the adventures he had been on with his father, and how the cannons were so loud, it made the whole second floor rock.
As strange as it was, I felt completely comfortable here. It had only been mere minutes, but I felt that I could trust the mysteriously kind man and his son. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I promised that I would toughen up and learn to defend myself, and this was how I was going to do it.
I'm Yumi Ishiyama.
Pirate.