Heaven Under the Sea - Prologue
If she was completely honest about her life, which she rarely was, she would say that she felt trapped. Caged.
Life was rarely ever kind to Anna Comstock. Abandoned at Columbia Orphanage as a child by her drunk, dead beat father was not a happy start to her life.
Her life had not hit rock bottom yet, for at the tender age of 12, she was adopted by the notorious Father Comstock, a local New York Catholic priest. He was well known in areas of the city for his, well, eccentricity.
From his outlandish religious claims to his obsession with the young Anna, Father Comstock had quite the reputation, though none would ever dare to voice their suspicions and complaints.
Thus, Anna was trapped. She was trapped throughout her childhood in the dingy Orphanage, alone and unloved.
However, in her years in Father Comstock's care, she was trapped in a more literal sense. Though she could never understand why, her caretaker had thought her to be special.
Not intellectually gifted or such that would make a parent claim their child to be special. Rather, her Father would proclaim her "divine" specialty.
As such, he insisted on her protection. She was, as a rule, not allowed outside of the house. If this was broken, punishment was delivered swiftly and mercilessly. Once was enough to learn her lesson.
More often than not, she was locked in her bedroom and left to her own devices. She became quite good at entertaining herself and was self-taught in a variety of things. From languages to arts and more, she read and learned it all. She had developed quite an affinity for singing.
Her room, compared to the shared room at the Orphanage, was quite nice, and well stocked in books, paper, fabric, and whatever else she might have needed. And yet her gilded cage was still that, a cage.
She longed for an escape, to see the world and all it had to offer. In naivety and youth at the Orphanage, she would dream of being adopted by some lovely, youthful couple that would care and love her unconditionally.
She quickly learned not to dream in Comstock House. Her Father was strict and unyielding one moment, and then all sugar the next. He would scould and sing her praises all in the same sentence.
Anna lived for her 18th birthday, the day she would be free of her Father and of her past. After 6 years of isolation and solitude, she finally gained her freedom. However, as with all things, this came at a price.
XOXOXOXO
1946, New York City
At first, she thought nothing of it. She brushed it off as rumors, nothing more and nothing less. Rumors never proved true and a Utopia was nothing more than a fairytale for children.
However, the more and more she heard about this fantastical city, the more intrigued she became. Anna was obsessed with every word spoken about this heaven under the sea; Rapture.
It was everything her life at Comstock House was not. It was a place where one could become their own person, no restrictions. Complete and utter freedom.
No longer longer would Anna be known as the poor abandoned girl, nor would she be known the daughter of the deranged priest. No, in Rapture she could be whoever she wanted to be. She could be Elizabeth.
End Chapter
A/N: Hello there! This is my first multi-chaptered fic (and even then I'm extremely new to writing fan fiction, though I'm certainly not new to reading it!) I would really appreciate reviews, especially constructive criticism! Thanks for giving this fic a try and I hope you stick around for more! :)