Hey guys :)
Finally I decided to upload something else! xb This story is set in the time of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and contains a whole bunch of OCs, but also many of the characters from the game. Eventually it will become OCXEdward and I hope you guys like it! If it goes well, I'll keep going with it :D Thank you for previous reviews and support! Rated T for language. May possibly contain sexual content in the future.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 1
By the Hands of Pirates
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1716, Kent
The light pierced the huge room in big quantities, glistening on the golden objects and lighting up the Jacksons' home. The end of the afternoon approached, but the ladies' conversations continued and the cups of tea remained on their hands. The room's walls were all covered in creams and golds, they were invaded by huge paintings – some painted be the members of the family themselves – that gave it more color and a more artistic look. The floor was of a dark glazed polished wood and the curtains were of a strong red. Near one of the tall walls, the five women were sitting on the large golden sofas, giggling out loud and drinking the delicious tea. Their dresses were perfectly arranged, of various colors and tight on the waist; their hairs were tied in complicated styles and their faces covered in carefully applied makeup. A servant took away the empty teapot and the plate which only contained some crumbs by now.
Mrs. Cindy Jackson, the lady of the house, looked through the window, into the garden where the children played. Samantha, her daughter, ran from Lydia Jones, her friend who was to spend the night in the Jacksons' manor. Lydia caught her quite fast and didn't take long to do a victory dance.
Lydia was only a year younger than Sam, being then eleven. Lydia's hair was of a dark brown, as were her eyes. She had long perfect teeth and her slightly tanned skin contained no imperfections. Samantha was more pale, she had hair the color of chocolate, with some red and blonde reflexes, a sweet yet strong color, and blue eyes of the color of the sea, very blue but with some green glows; her teeth were small but perfectly aligned and her skin had one or two pimples.
As they saw Richard Jackson and Carl Jones, their fathers, the girls ran towards the men and filled them with questions, asking how the hunt had gone. The men felt tired and decided to rest a while before supper, leaving the curious girls on the garden.
Only the Jacksons and the Jones stayed for supper. The Jones were to spend the night at their friends' house since the area where they lived – which wasn't even far away – had been a victim, to a pirate attack.
-What do pirates do exactly? – Samantha, the most curious twelve year old girl, asked, during supper.
-Pirates are sailors unauthorized by the authorities who make a living by committing crimes and stealing, Sam. – Mr. Jakson explained.
-Father deals with their capture and arrest, correct? – Sam questioned.
-Yes, I have explained my work in the navy to you. – Her father answered. – But you know that pirates are terrible people. Normally we do not arrest them, it is necessary to nip it in the bud.
-What do you mean?
-To hang them.
Sam and Lydia looked at each other very serious and surprised, but said nothing. Mentally they agreed to speak of the subject later, when they were all alone. They were perfectly aware of the hangings that occurred over the town, but their parents had never allowed them to watch one.
After the long supper, the two families headed back to the room where they were to spend the evening and the two children would beg to go to bed late. The men decided to play some card game which the girls did not understand and the women sat on one of the sofas, talking in a low tone and giggling every once in a while. Lydia and Sam sat on the other sofa, bored, attempting to decide what to do. A noise was heard, it sounded as a shot from far away. All six heads were lifted and silence was set in the room. They waited a few seconds and another shot was heard. The men dropped the cards and headed for the nearest window, attempting to see the origin of the sound. The ladies awaited sitting, but the two little ones' curiosity led them to stand.
-Fire… - Mr. Jackson murmured.
A maid entered the room in a rushed pace and didn't even waste time on formalities:
-They are close! They will be by the door anytime now!
-Who? –Sam asked.
-I saw them from Miss Samantha's balcony! – The maid yelled.
-Who?! – Mr. Jackson demanded.
-P… Pirates!
The men stared for a moment and while Mr. Jones rushed to meet the women, Mr. Jackson headed for the children:
-Listen, go to your room, Sam. – He said, quite nervous. – I want you to get in the closed and promise me you will not come out until we go there and call you.
-But why? – Sam asked, getting scared.
-Promise me.
-We promise.
-We promise.
Richard kissed his daughter on the forehead and Carl, after giving orders to the women s they would also take shelter, kissed his own daughter. The four of them ran upstairs and said goodbye, obeying the men. Lydia and Sam ran into the closet and waited in silence. The only sound heard in there was the beating of their hearts.
The men armed themselves with swords and pistols exposed in another room where Richard kept his navy objects. They ran close to the door and did not even have time to check the exterior. With a brutal force, a kick knocked down the entrance door and a huge man, of almost two meters of height and large on the shoulders, entered and raised his sword. The maids had ran upstairs and blown all the lamps out, hiding as well. The male servants grabbed some weapons and defended the house.
The children heard the screams of effort and pain coming from downstairs and hugged in the dark, begging for her parents to be alright. They heard unknown voices of shouting men and made a huge effort not to cry out loud. While swords crossed down there, a man entered the room where they were and looked around. He saw no one and ran to the little dressing table, full of Sam's perfumes. He began opening the drawers and taking jewelry.
-I found two! – A voice coming from the Jacksons' bedroom shouted.
The thief laughed and ran to the next room, allowing the girls to release that breath they had been holding.
-He is speaking of our mothers… - Sam murmured.
The girl ran her way out of the closet, holding her dress. Lydia shouted for her to stay inside, but Sam ignored her and both ran to her mothers. However, when they arrived to the bedroom, they only had time to see Mary Jones, Lydia's mother, pierced by a sword, screaming, and Cindy Jackson attempting to push away the men that only a few seconds ago robbed her daughter's bedroom.
-Mother!
-Mother!
Sam ran towards her mother's attacker, who was pushing her to the nearest Wall. She jumped into his back and yelled, trying to squeeze his neck. The man was too strong and quickly grabbed Sam and threw her to the bed, concentrating on her mother once more. As she was now unconscious he decided to approach the daughter again. The second pirate was retrieving the sword from Mary's chest while Lydia stared horrified into her dying mother's eyes, covered in blood. The girl's legs failed and she got on her knees, witnessing the death of the woman who had brought her to life. The pirate looked to the daughter of his victim and smirked, approaching whilst holding the sword covered in blood. Lydia wanted to move, but she was not capable, barely even hearing the pirates' laughs and her friend's screams. However, before the man could attack, Richard entered the room and with one move killed the pirate, heading then for the man who was threatening his daughter with a knife so she'd remain still. With two more quick moves, the pirate didn't even see the destiny that was approaching and fell dead on the Jacksons' bed, with Sam attempting to push him away.
Richard tried to awake his unconscious wife and Sam ran to hug Lydia, who sobbed watching her mother's corpse. Cindy woke up and her husband helped her up. All of the pirates had been killed, both upstairs and downstairs. The maids had left their hiding places, crying while seeing the blood that spread through the house and trying to help the servants that had been hurt in the battle.
It was terribly difficult for Lydia to have to walk downstairs to accompany the Jacksons to the navy fort where they were to stay: her father, Carl Jones, also laid dead in a pool of blood near the entrance door, without movement, without life. She and Sam hadn't had that conversation about pirates, but it had not been necessary. These men would forever be marked in her heart as the ones that took her family away, all that an eleven year old girl has. Her parents had been killed by the hands of pirates and nothing would change that. She would forever hate them; forever want them far away from her, with ropes around their necks or daggers nicely buried in their hearts. And even so, they would likely never feel her pain, the pain of witnessing the death of the people who were everything to her.
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1717, Cornwall
After almost a year had passed, Lydia and the Jacksons were now at the port of Cornwall, preparing for a long journey. Lydia was now a part of the family. The Jacksons had adopted her after her parents were killed and it was time to start over. Richard Jackson had been offered a job in the Caribbean, where he was to train Port Royal's recruits, in Kingston. Lydia could no longer stand Kent, to her it was now merely the stage of her parents' death. She was now Sam's «sister» and was accompanying her to the Americas, where they were to live as real sisters, in the same house, relating with the same people.
Of course the place they were going did not particularly please Lydia. After all, they were heading to the «sea of pirates», but she knew that one of the reasons Richard was signed there was to end these outlaws and that made her happy.
-I hate the sea. – Lydia said, watching the horizon.
-Why is that? – Sam asked.
-It is full of monsters.
Sam laughed out loud.
-Monsters are not real.
-Some are.
-In Kingston everything shall be better. – Sam comforted. – We shall find new friends and everything will change. I know so.
-I hope so. I cannot live here. – Lydia answered.
-What do you think life is like there?
-They say it is very hot and that the views are gorgeous. That is all I know.
-My mother says the sea is bluer than ours. And that the plants are greener.
-We will meet many officers. – Lydia smiled. – Your father shall introduce to us many officers. Who knows if we do not get marry there, to one of them.
-That would be nice, according to my mother. "A safe marriage", she says.
-As long as you promise me you will not marry a pirate.
-You must give up this obsession over them. I bet they are not all as those. Who knows if you fall in love with one.
-Never! You know what they did to me! – Lydia thundered. – I hate them. Promise me.
Samantha smiled.
-What sort of person would marry a pirate? – She said. – I promise.
Lydia held her friend's hand.
-In a few years we shall be living together, each of us married to an officer of the navy. – Lydia dictated. – They shall be best friends and so shall us. We will be best friends and sisters forever. And everything will be perfect there.
The ship which would carry the family arrived and Richard Jackson greeted the captain, his close friend. The four travelers installed in their cabins and prepared for a long trip, of more than three months. The girls watched the horizon and their perfect buns would undo, leaving their hair floating in the air. Lydia rushed to fix her dark hair, while Sam let hers fly more. She would stay late watching the blue horizon her friend hated so deeply. She knew it was not worth it to speak of anything that had to do with the sea to Lydia, but deep inside her she thought her friend would end up seeing the beauty of it, somehow. And she concentrated on her words: "And everything will be perfect there."
They were far from being true.
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