A/N - I bet nobody's reading this, but whatever. Chapter one... it's funny, i've been working on this story for so long, but I didn't have the beginning completed until a few minutes ago. tehe.
I'm going to say this once :a lot of people put disclaimers on their stories and all i have to say is this: If I owned Pirates [or Eureka or Glee or Warehouse or LGW or anything else I write stories for], would I be writing fanfiction?
One: Running Away
Three girls ran toward a large house in Port Royal. They were all barefoot and wearing dresses that had been ripped so that they were short enough that they could run. The one in front was wearing a dark green dress and her red-brown hair was flying behind her as she ran. The taller of the others, a tan girl with dark brown hair, was wearing a grey dress and kept having to catch the one in front as she tripped over things. The other one, a dark haired girl in a blue dress, kept repeating, "We're going to be late!" They didn't look like they lived at the mansion they were approaching. If anything, one would guess that they worked there – but if one guessed that, one would be wrong. The mansion belonged to the governor of Port Royal, Edward Stevens. The girl in blue was his daughter, Corin. When they ran to through the door, they immediately charged up the stairs and to the bedroom that the other two girls shared.
"Where have you three been?" asked a woman who looked remarkably like the red haired girl.
"We've been outside, mother. 'Tis a lovely day," replied the redhead. She had added the "'tis" just to bother her mother, who never talked that way and found it very irritating.
"Well you're filthy!" her mother said. "Corin, your father has been looking for you. He's downstairs."
"Thank you, ma'am," Corin replied politely. She curtsied and walked away.
"Arabella," the mother said. The red haired girl sighed. "You and Kail are going to have to wash up before the party."
"Somehow, Bella, that doesn't surprise me," said the other girl, Kail.
Corin's mother stepped into the room. "Arabella?" Both Arabella and her mother looked up. "Older Arabella," she clarified, "Arabella, we need to finish preparing for the party."
Arabella sighed again. "We'll see you later, then." Her mother turned to leave when something occurred to her. "Mum, why did you name me Arabella if you were the one keeping me? I mean, did you not foresee confusion?" Her mother did not reply.
Arabella and Kail chose to wear two very similar light blue dresses for the party. Then Arabella noticed something. "Kail, my dress is too short! People will be able to see my feet…"
"Then put shoes on," said Kail patiently. She watched as her old friend slipped shoes onto her small feet and brushed off her dress. Then they found Corin and went to the party that was already in progress.
"Cori, do we really have to be here?" Arabella whined. She wasn't usually the whining type, but she had been looking forward to this day for a very long time and she didn't want to wait any longer.
"Just for a little while, so that Mother and Father and your mother don't go looking for us right away," Corin replied. Arabella sighed.
"Don't worry, Bella. It won't be much longer," Kail said. A few minutes later, the three girls snuck out the side door. As they walked into the street, Arabella walked straight into a person who was much taller than her.
"I'm so sorry," she and the person she had collided with both said. The other person was a tall blonde girl who seemed to be about Arabella's age.
"I'm Arabella," said Arabella, introducing herself.
"I'm DJ. It's short for Daniella Jones, but I really don't like that name," said the girl. She gestured to the other two people she was with and said, "These are the Turners, Daniel and Emeline."
"Nice to meet you," Cori said politely.
"If you don't mind, we were just escaping. Leaving this life behind and gaining some freedom," Arabella said.
"You're running away? You know, this isn't a large island. You'll be found," DJ replied.
Kail responded, "Bella found a boat. An old, abandoned fishing boat. And she's spent weeks preparing for us to leave."
"Do you even know the first thing about sailing?" said Emeline skeptically.
"No," said Corin.
Arabella glared at her. "We'll manage. Do you suppose that the people who first sailed knew the first thing about sailing?"
"We could go with you. We've sailed before," said DJ, ignoring the question.
Corin and Kail looked at Arabella. She said, "Well, alright then. You can come with us." Arabella was not the oldest of the trio of girls she'd grown up with - that was Corin – but she was the undisputed leader and always had been. She led the way to the small boat. It was nothing special, just an old fishing boat, but it was just the right size for a small crew to sail on.
Within two hours, they were sailing away from the island. They sailed aimlessly for several days. Eventually, they found themselves in need of supplies. The port they chose to restock in? Tortuga.
They restocked their boat. They were walking through the small town filled with pirates that evening when, as they were turning a corner, Arabella walked straight into another girl who was the exact same height as her. Arabella muttered, "I really need to stop doing that."
At the same time, the other girl, who had had just enough time to take in the appearance of the person she'd collided with, said, "You're a child! What are you doing alone on a pirate island?"
"I'm not alone," Arabella pointed out, gesturing to the other 5 teens she sailed with, "and you don't look like you're any older than I am."
"I suppose you're right," the girl replied. "Who are you?"
"My name's Arabella Smith," Arabella answered. "This is Corin, Kail, DJ, Emeline and Daniel. Who are you?"
The girl straightened the green bandana that was tied over her black hair before answering, "Rose."
"You are alone," Emeline pointed out.
"Yes," Rose replied, "but for a good reason."
DJ raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Why?"
"I'd rather be alone on a pirate inhabited island then be on a pirate ship but not allowed to do anything. At least now I'm free," Rose answered.
"Pirate ship?" asked Corin.
Arabella, ignoring Corin, said, "Come with us. We've got a boat, and as you pointed out, it's not wise to be alone in a place like this."
Rose agreed to join them. Arabella was thrilled to be away from home and free, but from the moment Rose stepped onto the boat, Corin was nervous – she didn't like pirates. DJ and Kail didn't mind that Rose's family were apparently pirates. They cared more that there was something about her that was very much like Arabella. It wasn't really their appearances - The two girls were exactly the same height, but that was where the similarities ended. Rose was much tanner than Arabella, with black hair instead of reddish brown. It was something else that they couldn't quite identify quite yet, but Kail and DJ were sure that they would.
