A/N: I couldn't resist writing a back story for these two, they are such a good pair, and I fell in love with them when I created their relationship for Pirate Love, so I hope that you enjoy it!!!
I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
Charity stared at the large ship that was docked in the harbour. She had known that her step father, Cain, was friends with the Marines, but she hadn't realised the extent of his influence. Shaking her head slightly, she bent to pick up a small fishing bag at her feet, the movement causing the too loose bracelet on her wrist to drop to the ground. Cursing softly she quickly strapped it back onto her wrist her heart beating fast at the realisation that she had nearly lost her mother's treasured bracelet.
The bracelet had been given to her mother as an engagement present by Charity's father when the two of them had first been betrothed to be married. It was the only item that her mother had to remind her of the man that had sired her first daughter. Charity believed that although her mother re-married Cain, and had another child, Felicity, she had never actually stopped loving her first husband. If she had have, she would have discarded the bracelet and donned the new one that Cain had bought for her.
The small trinket was now all that Charity had left of both her mother and her father. Her mother had passed away only two weeks previous, but it felt to her as if she had been gone for years. It was the loneliness that really got to her. When her mother had been alive, the two of them would talk for hours on end. Charity didn't have anything in common with her step sister or step father and so she didn't talk to them. It had made her angry when Cain had taken over the whole house, acting as though he had every right. She was lucky that she even had her mother's precious piece of jewellery, if Cain found out, he would take it from her and then she would have nothing.
The night that she had received the bracelet was still fresh in Charity's mind, and she often found herself re-living that moment in her dreams at night. She had been sitting at her mother's bedside, watching as the terrible disease that she had, attacked and rendered her body everything but useless with each slow passing day. Her mother had given her a sad smile and explained to her that she would have to be the strong one, since her step father would not see Charity as an heir. She had told Charity to leave the island as she handed her the bracelet that she never took off her wrist, she made Charity promise that she would follow her dream and set off just like her father. As her mother lost the light from her eyes, Charity held her and rocked her until the morning when she was cold and stiff within her arms. Letting go had been the hardest thing for Charity to do.
Now she stared up at the large ship that symbolised her freedom, and her promise to her mother. Cain had said he would take her to the next island so that she could start her life afresh and see the world. Since Cain had been a top ranking member of the Marines in his younger days, he had thorough knowledge of the seas around him, and would be able to deliver her safely to her next destination, where she would let go of the bonds that held her to her home town. Feeling her heart start to race with excitement, Charity climbed up the rope ladder to examine the ship more closely. She couldn't help but be impressed as she ran her hands along the finely gold and white painted walls and doors of the ship. The ship had three rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, it was definitely more than what Charity had expected it to be, and she couldn't help but to praise her step father.
Even though they never got along, she was willing to forgive him and become friends. She knew that she would never have her mother's fortune while he was alive, but she didn't really care. He was being nice enough to help her in her time of need, that she was happy to overlook his flaws and focus only on his traits. He was after all the only one in her entire town that could navigate the seas, as well as get a boat to sail them. She was grateful for the help that he was giving her, and she would not complain ever, though she would be glad when she was away from him.
Charity wondered for a moment what would happen to her half sister, but deep down she already knew and her heart went out to the young girl. Even though the two of them had never really spoken, she would never wish the life of Felicity on anyone. Charity had no doubt that as soon as she was gone, Felicity would be married off to the highest bidder, so that there was no way that Charity could ever claim her rightful inheritance.
"Are you just going to sit there staring all day or are you going to help me pull the anchor up?" Cain demanded, jolting Charity from her silent thought processes. "I need you to pull it up so that we can leave. The sooner that we pull out, the sooner that we can arrive home."
Charity nodded and ran to do as she was told, she could not agree more with her step father, which was a first in the history that they had known each other. They had always disagreed in everything, even the meal that would be eaten for dinner. He had hated her from the start, just as he had hated her father. Sometimes she wondered if he married her mother so that he could get back at her father, but that could not be the case since he had treated her mother very well when she had been alive.
Shaking away her stray thoughts, Charity heaved the anchor and pulled it to the deck, sweating slightly at the effort it had taken to lift it out of the water. She had not thought that it would be so heavy, she began to appreciate just how strong sailors actually were. The way they removed the anchor from the ocean made it seem as though it weighed no more than a feather.
"What's taking you so long girl?" Cain bellowed from the other side of the ship. "Have you got it out of the water yet? How hard is it to do a simple little task such as that?"
Charity rolled her eyes and stopped listening to her step father's onslaught of words. It didn't worry her that he was going off his head, she had grown up with it and had learnt to block it out and go about whatever it was she was doing when he started in on her. Nothing could dampen her spirits now anyway, she was too happy to let his stupid words get to her.
Skipping happily to the other side of the deck, Charity stared out at the vast distance of the ocean around her. It overwhelmed her how big the sea actually was, when she had seen it from the dock, it had somehow looked a lot smaller. She giggled at her strange thoughts letting her eyes travel to the sky. To her chagrin the sky was black with thick and speedily forming clouds. From what she could see there was going to be a large and unforgiving storm. For a moment Charity had second thoughts about continuing on their voyage.
"Cain there's a storm coming this way, it looks nasty maybe we should forget about going today and go tomorrow instead." Charity called as the wind around the ship picked up and pushed it forward. "It looks a bit dangerous to go out in!"
"We can't turn around now!" Cain yelled back, giving her an evil look. "You will just have to get over it and face the danger instead of being a coward."
Charity gritted her teeth and settled for watching the incoming storm instead of retorting to his hurtful comment. It wasn't that she was scared of being washed overboard, she would be able to handle that, she was a good swimmer and could go against even the strongest of currents. Growing up with a pirate as a father had done that.
She still remembered how he had come home every six months and took her swimming in the sea. He had taught her how to go against the currents without straining herself if she was stranded. She used to joke and pretend that he had merman blood in him, he was such a good swimmer, when he was in the water he looked as though he was in his element. Once her mother had started to date Cain his visits had become more scare each year until he stopped coming at all. He never said goodbye to her mother, but he had come into her room when she had supposed to be asleep and kissed her goodbye on the forehead, wishing her all the best of luck in her life.
"Charity the storm is getting a lot stronger!" Felicity cried as she lost her balance and was flung into Charity. "Father said that you needed to climb up and try to steady the rigging otherwise we are going to get into a lot of trouble fast."
"The rigging, what am I supposed to do up there?" Charity questioned as she stared up at the mast. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. "I don't even know what the rigging is."
"Just take a stab in the dark." Felicity suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "I think that it is those ropes over there, they are flapping really wildly."
Nodding Charity took a deep breath and climbed up to where the ropes Felicity had pointed to were. It was true that they were flying around in the harsh winds, making the sails start to unfurl. Charity knew that they wouldn't stand a chance if the sails unfurled, they would be pushed by the wind and become out of control. Quickly she tied them in a secure knot and stood back to admire her handiwork.
She was sure that the rigging or whatever it was that she had tied, would hold so before she fell from the wild rocking of the ship, she jumped back down onto the ground. She felt her heart jolt as a wave crashed over the side rail of the ship, drenching her in ice cold water. The water was so cold that she instantly became numb from head to toe. Ignoring the pain of the cold on her fingers, Charity scanned the deck for Felicity. Even though she didn't have much to do with her half sister, she still didn't want anything to happen to her. She may have been Cain's daughter, but to Charity's reasoning she was her mother's daughter as well.
"Felicity, are you okay, where are you?" Charity called out when she could see her no where. She just hoped that the younger girl had not been washed over board. "Please call out to me, where are you?"
"Over here, I hurt my leg, I can't move it!" Felicity answered, sending a jolt of relief flying through Charity's veins as she ran over to help her sister from the predicament she had been turfed into.
Felicity had never done a hard days work in her whole entire life, and she had no strength what so ever. Every time the ship rocked, she would go sprawling clumsily across the deck with the movement. Suddenly a thought struck Charity and she knew how she could ensure that Felicity stayed on the boat and wasn't drowned by falling overboard.
"Come with me Felicity, I have an idea that will keep you safe so that you don't fall over the side and drown." Charity smiled at the other girl and grabbed her arm, while supporting her weight so that she didn't put any presure on the wound she had received when she fell. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."
"Thanks Charity." Felicity said in barely a whisper, as Charity grabbed a length of rope.
She then tied Felicity to the mast with the rope so that she would not be able to loose her balance. She would not be any help to Charity and Cain anyhow, so Charity was confident that she was doing the right thing. She smiled at Felicity and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.
"I know this doesn't make any sense, but if you are tied here then nothing bad can happen, I am very certain that you will be safe." Charity was surprised with the confidence that she could hear in her voice, it was an emotion that she was far off feeling. "Everything will be alright, you'll see, we'll get out of here and arrive safely at the next island no problems."
Felicity smiled and was about to reply when the two of them were drenched once again by a large wave. Charity could have sworn that the waves were becoming more violent, as she lost her footing and nearly slid down the deck. She re-balanced herself, and looked around for something that she could do. She could find nothing as she scanned the area of the ship, Cain seemed to have everything under control.
"Charity, aren't you going to tie yourself to here too?" Felicity asked anxiously. "Father will be able to man the ship alone, he is a lot stronger and has a lot more balance than what we do."
"I guess you're right." Charity sighed as she saw the reasoning behind Felicity's words. "I just have to go and find a rope first, and then I will be back here to tie myself to the mast with you. The storm will pass soon, so we won't be there for all that long."
Felicity nodded, and Charity left her to find a strong rope so that she could tie herself to the mast as she had promised Felicity. After five minutes of frantic searching she found a solid rope, though she could hardly pick it up in her numb fingers. With a feeling of dread Charity strode purposefully to the mast. She was just about in touching distance from it when she was drenched by another wave which was even more harsh then the last. Shaking the water from her head she took a step forward only to lose her balance and slip to the rail.
She desperately clutched at the rail, but her fingers were so numb that they started to slip. Hastily she reached to grab the rope so that she could tie herself to the railing, only to find that it had dropped into the sea. Panic seeped through her skin as she called out for Cain's help at the top of her lungs. When he didn't answer she guessed that he could not hear her and was still on board. As she struggled to pull herself back over the rail, a shadow fell over her, and she felt her heart fly to her mouth.
"Cain!" Charity called out in delight. She had never been so happy to see him in all of her life. "Please take my hand!"
Cain smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her only a small way up so that he could place his mouth near her ear so that she could hear his whisper. "My daughter is the only one that deserves the wealth that your mother left behind. You are the product of a filthy pirate and are destined to follow in his footsteps."
Charity's eyes widened in shock as the full impact of his words hit her. She gasped and grabbed his arm with her other hand. A satisfied and smug smirk made its way to his lips as he watched her struggled to survive, trying to climb up his arm.
"My father was a good man, and just because he was a pirate it does not mean that I will be!" Charity screamed. She could think of no way other than begging to get her out of her current situation, but she could not bring herself to do it. "My mother would be ashamed to know what you are doing. Felicity can have the stupid money, I don't want it. I just want to start my life afresh."
"I can't trust your word, you have never liked me, and I know that you will do anything in your power to anger me anyway possible." Cain smiled. "If I do this then there is no way for you to destroy what I have worked so hard to gain. Think of it this way, you will be starting you life afresh, you will just be dead because there is no way that you will ever survive this."
"Did you not love my mother? She gave you everything, and never asked for anything in return, and this is how you repay her?" Charity growled.
"I loved your mother very much, just like I love our daughter very much." Cain smiled, as a demonic gleam crept into his eyes. "But I am happy to say that I never loved you, goodbye Charity say hello to your mother for me."
Charity lunged upwards trying to grab hold of the monster that was her life line. He just laughed and she fell downwards into the feral torrents of the raging sea. Thrashing from side to side beneath the water, she lost all sense of up or down. The torrents beneath the water were too strong for even her to fight, and she felt herself running out of oxygen.
Closing her eyes, she let herself sink further below the surface, content to die in the sea. Her life would have been boring anyway, and she had lost everything and everyone that had ever meant something to her. As she stilled her body, her mother's image glued itself in her mind. It was the face that Charity had often seen when she was a young girl and her mother was scolding her for getting into trouble. She could almost hear her mother's scolding words.
Suddenly Charity's eyes snapped open, she knew that she could not give up so soon, she had too much to achieve and a promise to fulfill. Looking upwards, Charity kicked her legs as hard as she could and finally broke the surface. Heaving in mouthfuls of air, she looked around her. The storm had pushed her away, and she had re-surfaced in a calm stretch of sea. The ship was no where to be seen. Pursing her lips, Charity stared around her, she was not going to just give up and let him win.
After waiting for a few minutes, and not finding anything to help her, she started swimming in the direction where she assumed there would be an island. It would be a long swim to shore but she could safely say that she would not give in.