Ok, here you are, the first chapter. Enjoy!!

Chapter 1: Fear

The Springs, 6 years later.

There was complete silence as he came to the end of his story.

"And so, the ship roams the seas to this day; bringing chaos and terror to each man, woman and child it encounters…."

For a few seconds, nobody moved. It was as if everyone was afraid to breathe, let alone utter a word.

Shaking herself mentally, Samantha gave the first light clap, resulting in the whole room erupting in applause. As odd and strange as the story was, there was a ring of truth in the storyteller's voice that had captivated the whole audience.

By now, everyone had turned to their neighbours, discussing the probability of the story being true or not. Samantha considered to herself. Pirates. Invading towns in search of loot. It wasn't unheard of, but it was still rather rare. The story of Lady Oma wasn't a new one, but to hear it portrayed in such a vivid manner was intriguing. The speaker had seemed to talk of the ship as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Yet most people thought the legendary ship to be just that. A legend. A myth. Just a story.

With a slight smile, Samantha turned to her own neighbour, her good friend Janet Fraiser, and asked:

"Well, what did you think?"

"Very….interesting. Though hardly believable," was the reply.

"You cannot argue that there was not a truthful ring to it," Sam prodded.

"A sign of a good storyteller my friend."

"Yet the whole room was stilled. Not only by awe of the sad story, but by fear. Of what could happen if the ship came upon our small town."

"The Springs is hardly a small town, Samantha, you should not worry yourself; this small town has enough defence weapons as to be able to defeat a small army without the aid of any nearby towns."

The argument was a sound one, and yet-

"But if the ship attacked from the sea, we could hardly defeat them; we have not enough long range weapons."

"Samantha, when you speak like that you sound just like your father."

She laughed with her friend, but still couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had gradually crept up on her during the evening. Sighing to herself, she turned to the front as another storyteller began speaking.

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The sea breeze caressed her face as she drank in the view of the town below her. The sun was sinking low in the sky, just peeking over the horizon of blue sea. She had always loved the ocean, had felt its pull as her father took her on some of his shorter journeys after her mother's death. Her brother had never appreciated its beauty, only stating that he hated it: it had taken his father away from him more times than he could count.

As much as she adored the sea, however, she could not deny that it should also be feared. Many a townsfolk had fallen prey to the storms that came upon them quickly on sea bound voyages. Others had been known to be devoured completely by sea-faring animals. The local mayor, a Mr. Kinsey, had recently fallen prey to a large white fish of some sort. It had been caught and bought to the shore. She had been one of the first to see its massive, sharp white teeth, gleaming in the sunshine. A piece of Kinsey's coat was still hanging from one.

There were also, of course, pirates. Or so people said. None had been seen for some time, not since all the hangings had occurred. It was why the story had shocked its audience. Talk of violence towards children, the raping of innocent women, the fear, death and destruction that came with a visit of such a ship. Shivering, Samantha retreated into her room to close the window. Giving a last glance at the darkening horizon, she wondered what pirates were really like. As ugly as the stranger had predicted? As coarse as people expected?

As she drifted into a peaceful slumber, her last thought was: I wonder what the Lady Oma looks like?

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