"Mmmm…"

I stretched a little in bed. Not too much as I'd hit my head if laid all out in this attic. The sun wasn't even up yet and moonlight still shone through my window. It was a tiny room with slanted ceilings. I was literally living in the roof. There was enough room for a small cot, a chest for my clothes, and a small table for the few things I had. A comb, a few elastics, a nail clipper, and a small tarnished necklace. It was important as a baker to keep my nails short. Ducking my head I threw open the trapdoor in the floor and descended down the ladder. I got myself ready for another day in the bakery. Blouse, skirt, shoes, apron, and - ah yes! - my baker's cap. Just as I was entering the kitchen I saw the chef, Charlie, in the hallway.

"Good morning!" I said cheerfully.
"My, you're in a good mood this mornin'," he said tiredly, rubbing his weary eyes.
"Of course I am! It's my birthday."
Charlie looked surprised.
I giggled, "You forgot again, didn't ya?"
"Hah," he rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry Alex."
"It's okay!"

I started prepping in the kitchen while Charlie got ready. It was bigger than my room of course, but the kitchen was also small. We ran a small bakery in a village just outside of the main city, Yamato. Oh! I mean Charlie runs the bakery. I simply work for him so that I can have a place to stay. Okay, first thing is to make the bread dough and get that proofing… then I can start on the sweets! In the middle of my prep Charlie popped his head in.

"Hey, I'm heading out now."
"Oh yeah! Of course."
"Bye now."
"Bye!"

Charlie had some business to take care of in the city. He said yesterday that he should be back by the time we open the bakery. It never got really busy until the afternoon anyway, so I wasn't worried if he was a little late. I looked out the only window in the kitchen. The sun was almost fully visible on the horizon. Ah, I'd better hurry! I popped the bread into the oven.

I finished up putting all the baked goods and pastries onto the bakery shelves. I think I'm actually done early! I went out the side door to check on the sundial outside. I even have time to make myself some breakfast! I cooked up a couple of eggs and some toast. Yes, today is going to be a good day. Other than my birthday happening, I don't expect to do anything special today, but I have a good feeling! I could hear birds chirping to the rise of the sun and seagulls beginning their annoying sqwaks. If you listened closely, you could hear the waves lapping against the shore. It was very nice living in a portside village. You could see around you for miles. Even though the sea wasn't visible from my little bakery, it still felt close by. I opened the windows and breathed in the salty air.

Just then there was banging on the bakery door, interrupting my breakfast. Oh, who could need bread this damn early? I peered through the curtains out the door's windows.

"Sorry, we're not open yet!"

I really wanted to finish my breakfast, and Charlie wasn't here to boss me around and let customers in.

"Oi, Charlie! I know y'ar in there!" A man yelled. He banged on the door again.
"Um… Charlie isn't here!"
"Yer lyin'!" Another man's voice!

They hammered on the door even harder. Oh no, they sound angry.

"He - He's not here! I swear! He went into the -"

BOOM!

The door was knocked off its hinges and I got thrown back. Two men stepped in, looking very rough and tough. One was bigger than the other. The bigger one slammed a fist into the palm of his hand as if ready to fight. Oh, this isn't good. They're so scary!

"Where's Charlie? Son of a bitch owes us money." The smaller one said
"He's not here!"
"Quit sayin' that!" The big one grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me into the air.
"Aah! Please don't hurt me."
"Tell us where Charlie is and maybe we won't." The smaller one said.

M-maybe? I didn't really have a choice, so I told them where Charlie went.

"He's not here, he went into the city!."
"Yer lyin'. He's hidin' here somewhere, ain't he, tha' coward." The big one said. The smaller one started to look around the bakery, knocking over tables and tossing bread everywhere.

"Let's take 'er with us. Maybe we can bait 'im out." The bigger one leered at me with malicious eyes. "Come on!" He threw away my cap, grabbed me by my hair and dragged me out.

"No! Please don't!" He was pulling so hard I thought all my hair would be pulled out. Tears started to form in my eyes.

"I'd listen t' the lil lady."

A man in rugged dress with blonde spiky hair held a sword to the big man's throat. He held another sword casually by his side.

"What's an ugly guy like ya want with a woman anyway?" The blonde asked.
"Who you callin' ugly?!"
"Bugger off!" The small one stomped out of the bakery. "This ain't none of your business."
"... What kinda bakery is this?" Another man dressed in the same fashion as the blonde with a bandana on his head walked up. "Causin' trouble again Russell?"
"Hey! This time it ain't ma fault!"

Suddenly the big man let go of me and charged at the one called Russell.

"Ha! Yer gon regret this!" Russell yelled with a smile on his face.

BAM!

He knocked down the big guy with one swing! These new guys are even scarier and stronger!

"Hey you." The one with the bandana looked at me as he drew out a sickle sword with a chain attached. "Get outta here, it's not safe."

The smaller guy lunged at bandana man.

CLANG!

"I said go!" He yelled again.
"Eeep!" I yelped and started running.

I ran down the main road which led straight to the port outside of Yamato. I don't even know where to run to! My heart was pounding and my breathing was laboured. I couldn't think straight. Will I even make it to a safe place?

"There she is! Git her!"

I turned around. The two men had caught up to me! Did they beat Russell and the other guy already? I ran through some side streets and somehow ended up on the docks. There was nowhere to hide except behind crates and barrels… or in a barrel! Before I could second guess myself, I jumped in a barrel and secured a lid over me.

"Damn, where is she?!"
"Get back 'ere you lil cunt!"

Their yelling faded into the distance. I sighed. My heart was still going crazy and I needed to catch my breath. I'll stay in here until I can run again. Oh, Charlie is going to be so mad at me! But why did he owe those guys money?

THWUMP.

Suddenly I was sideways and tumbling around like laundry in a hand-spun dryer. Ouch! Oo, ow! I was about to yell out to whoever was rolling the barrel when it went over a large bump. I hit my head and lost consciousness…

SCRUNCH.

A loud noise above me startled me awake, like a crate was dragged off the top of the barrel. It's so dark! Where am I? Oh right. A barrel. Oh no, it got moved. Where AM I? I heard a muffled voice.

"I think this one has some booze!"

The lid to the barrel came off and light streamed in. I blinked wearily. A young boy's face slowly came into focus.

"Huh? You're not booze…" He started to panic. "Oh no, I took a lady instead of a barrel of booze! Captain is going to be so mad at me."
"What's taking so long?" A man with dark hair and an eye patch came into view. "Hm? What's this…"
"Eduardo! Ah, please don't be mad…"

Eduardo grabbed me by the back of my shirt and lifted me out of the barrel.

Eduardo - "Ha, who knew you could turn booze into women, Thomas."
Thomas - "I didn't! I found her here. I don't know how she got on board!"

Eduardo grabbed me by my arm and started to drag me up stairs. Strangely the ground kept swaying underneath me. I stumbled.

Eduardo - "What, you can't walk on your own? Stand up. I'm bringing you to the Captain."

The Captain?! Are we on a ship? Who are these people? My heart started pounding again. This is the end for me!

When we came up from the stairs, I immediately felt a cool breeze on my face. Looking up I saw dingy white sails and a starry night sky. The edges of the world kept bobbing up and down. Oh! I am on a boat. That's why it's swaying. What a strange sensation. I had never been on a boat before. It was dark, so I could barely see, but it appeared to be a large boat. Crates and barrels were piled about with coils of rope here and there, and some hanging from the masts. The breeze whipped the sails gently, making soft ruffled sounds. It was quiet except for the sound of men's voices. Eduardo dragged me to the group of men sitting on crates on the deck. Thomas followed behind us with his head hanging. A few lanterns in the middle of the group illuminated their faces. They all had mugs in their hands and were laughing until I came up to them. Hmmm… those two look familiar.

Eduardo - "Cap, we have a problem."
Captain - "Hm? What's that?" A man with an embellished Captain's hat and a goatee looked up.
Eduardo - "We've got a stowaway here. And a woman at that."

Everyone stopped drinking and looked at me. I gulped. They were all dressed roughly and looked like… looked like… Pirates!... But very handsome pirates. Since when are pirates attractive? And all on the same boat, too!

Everyone started to yell out all at once.

"A woman?!"
"No women on th' boat!"
"I say we throw her overboard."
"This is no place for a lady…"
"Let's shove 'er off!"
"That's not a way to treat a girl!"
"... Maybe a lady on board would be nice." Captain said, stroking his chin and looking at me sensually. Everyone quieted down.

"Really Cap?" Russell said. Oh, Russell!

"It's you!" I belted. I immediately covered my mouth. Everyone stared at me. "Um, you… R-Russell is it? You and uh, him. You both saved me back at the bakery from those guys…"

Russell gave me a blank stare. "I don' rememba ya."
Bandana man - "I do."
Russell - "Tch."

The Captain smiled. "See? You're even already acquainted! Welcome aboard, um… What's your name, girl?"
"... My name's Alex."
Russell - "Alex? What kinda name is that fer a woman."
"Russell, don't be rude." A dark skinned man chided him.
Russell - "Women don' belong on a boat full o' pirates!"

Oh dear, they really are pirates. Plundering, murderous, thieving, devilishly handsome pirates… What am I thinking? I shook my head. Eduardo looked at me.

Eduardo - "What, you don't want to be here?" He shoved me to the railing of the ship. "Go ahead and swim with the sharks." He smirked.

How mean! "No! I don't want to go overboard."

I looked out at the water lapping the side of the ship. It looked so rough and tumultuous from up here. I started to get nauseous. Ooooh… I don't feel so good. I gripped the railing simply hoping I wouldn't faint and fall into the sea.

Captain - "It's settled then! Thomas, find her a spare cot in that den of yours."
Thomas - "Me? Uh, yes sir!"
Russell - "Cap, you can't be ser-"
Captain - "Captain's orders!" He looked at me slyly. "Welcome to the Sirius crew, girl!"

I looked at all the faces of my new shipmates. Shit… this isn't how I wanted my day to go! What a terrible birthday.