Jerrie D. Daniels didn't know life outside of cages and fighting rings. As far as Jerrie could remember, she had a stare and a commanding voice strong enough to make the meek fall. Those not felled at her gaze and command would be felled by her tiny fists.
This power caught the eye of slavers, particularly a group that ran a fighting ring.
So little Jerrie Daniels was snatched up and thrown in the ring to fight men to the death, and to be tossed into a cage upon her victory.
In the beginning, she tried to escape every day. The slavers who stole her though were too smart to fall prey to Jerrie's strength, they always tranquilized her immediately upon being in her presence.
Eventually, she lost the will to try and escape. She lost herself in the blood on her hands.
Until, that is, one day, a band of pirates came knocking and killed the slavers. Her cage was opened by a red haired man with one arm. Crawling from it and standing before the men, she looked the man who freed her in the eyes, and regained her wish for freedom. With a stare to scare the devil and a scream declaring that she'd not be caged again, Jerrie weeded out more than half the men.
These men were like all men before, only here to cage her, so she must fight them and reign victorious before they could shackle her again.
The red haired man surprised her though. With a sweet voice he promised she'd never have to see a cage again.
His words were like honey to her. She could see sincerity in his eyes, she trusted his pretty promise. So, she lowered her fists as her lip started trembling, and then, Jerrie fell into the man's chest, sobbing.
The man wasted no time in wrapping his arm around her and standing up. Jerrie kept her skinny arms tight around his tan neck and her face buried into his hard shoulder. She paid attention to nothing but the angel of a man who gave her such a sweet promise. She didn't notice that the men that remained staunch against her mighty will had been waking those that were meek against her, nor did she notice when sunlight burned her squeezed shut eyes for the first time in years.
Jerrie paid none of it any mind. She was too busy crying, blubbering her gratitude into her savior's shoulder. She only stopped when the man brought her on a magnificent ship. She couldn't help but to gaze in wonder.
The man gave the others a few commands with jargon that Jerrie couldn't even pretend to understand, and ventured into the interior of the ship. Entering a large room, that Jerrie guessed must have been his, he gently dropped her onto a soft bed before taking a seat beside her.
"Now, little miss, I have a few questions for you. If we're to be friends, we need to get to know each other, right?" Jerrie's eyes widened as she stared at the man.
"Friends? You actually want to be my friend?" she asked sincerely.
"Of course. Now, darling, what's your name?"
Jerrie's chest swelled up with pride. Her name was one of her few possessions that she carried, particularly one of the few that no one could ever snatch away from her.
"My name is Jerrie D. Daniels!" she all but yelled at him. It wasn't a cry of anger, that was clear to the man, but one of pride. He grinned.
"D, huh? Well, my name is Shanks. I'm the captain of this pirate crew, the Red Hair pirates."
They went back and forth with questions for a few minutes. Shanks learned that Jerrie was 9 years old and didn't know life out of the cage. Jerrie learned that he had lost his arm while helping a friend. Their questions went back and forth with ease, until Jerrie had one hesitant inquiry.
"So since you're a pirate, does that mean I'm a pirate now, too?"
Shanks smiled at her.
"Not unless you want to be. And not until you're much older, you're just too young right now. I'm bringing you to stay with some friends until then." This answer upset Jerrie. She clung to his side, crying that she didn't want to leave.
Shanks did his best to soothe her, with sweet words and a hand rubbing her back, he tried to calm her. It took several minutes, but eventually Jerrie accepted that she was too young for Shanks to bring along on his adventures. Besides, she rationalized, if they're friends of Shanks, they mustn't be too bad.