Prologue
Ever since I was a small child, the sea has been the only true source of comfort for me. The rhythmic rushing of the waves, the scent of seaweed and the salt air. When my father would come home drunk, and begin to fight with my mother, I would always slip out of my bedroom window, and make my way down to the beach. I would sit there for hours on end, until I was sure that they had gone to sleep.
I can barely remember the happy times in my life. Before the drinking, before we moved to this village. My father was a loving man, and after a long day's work, I would sit on his knee, and he would tell me stories. Stories about faraway lands, and mystical kingdoms. I sat with my eyes and ears open wide, absorbing every single detail. He was my hero.
The drinking started when I was about four. He began staying out late at the bar, drowning himself in cheap wines and liquors. My mother, being the pushover that she was, didn't say a thing. She tried her hardest to keep up the image that we were the perfect family. That's all she cared about. She would take the abuse from her husband, so long as no one in the village found out about our situation.
When I was about sixteen, my father had completely given up on our vineyard. My mother and I were at a loss. We needed money to survive. We needed to work the vineyard to make money. But neither of us could manage the workload. That's when she hired on a young worker from the city. I didn't know it at the time, nor for years to come, but this young man would save my life, in more than one way.
(A/N: Okay, so this is my first fanfic in a long time. Even if you don't like it, please tell my why, without flaming. Basically I'm planning on doing four other stories like this one, about each of the main girls in HM64, and their respective beaus. Should be fun! Reviews are adored!)