I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
Various characters, such as the main protagonist and supporting roles belong to me. Please enjoy and thank Oda for the amazing manga series he created for us.
A/N: Please bare with the short first chapter. It was written as a form of introduction to the story.
Adella made an effort to stay focused; she really did. Her work room was free of clutter and just the right temperature – the way she liked it – yet her attention was diverted from the assignment at hand; meeting her time limit.
Tea breaks were a diversion she strived to avoid on account of how relaxed and weary they made her feel afterwards, but how desperately she craved it. The herbal beverage would indeed alleviate her stress, but it would also delay her slow progress. She didn't need that right now, so instead she pushed up her swirl tinted glasses, returned her fingers to the worn-out keys of the typewriter, and started again.
The plot for her next adventure novel was attention-grabbing enough, but every time she tried to write out the scene fixed into her mind, a vague muffled noise would interrupt her.
Adella had enough of wondering about the cause of the noise and decided to investigate.
She left the confines of her work room and wandered down the spiral stairs towards the dining area. The racket had to be coming from there; her work room was directly above the dining area. She only hoped it wasn't a rodent. Old houses like this, built eras before she was born sometimes were bad about attracting field mice. However, nothing out of the ordinary stuck out to her as she peeked through the door and listened.
Everything was silent, but upon further inspection, she noticed a burlap sack folded neatly on the kitchen table. Adella recognized this sack; she'd seen it many times before. Somewhere on the sack was a jolly roger she sketched herself.
Sauntering over to the door at the other end of the dining area, Adella stepped through it and found the culprit behind the noise. A young girl sat in the middle of her living room, hunched over a pile of junk – straw hat on her little head. Adella had every intention of making her clean up the mess, but immediately changed her mind upon seeing the fat, sad tears on her rosy cheeks. Panic filled her, and she rushed to her aid, pulling the girl into a gentle hug.
"Esme, please don't cry."
Adella had no idea what had happened, but she did notice something was missing. A certain someone to be exact.
"Where is Lee?"
Upon hearing the name of her big brother, Esme began to cry harder. She wrapped her slender arms around the concerned teenager and shook in sorrow. How was she meant to explain what had happened like this?
Adella gently patted her curly, blonde locks and waiting patiently for her to stop crying. She feared the worst, but she also knew that until Esme calmed down, she wouldn't get the answers she needed to hear. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long.
Esme tilted back her head and gazed at the blurry face above her. "They took him," she choked out.
"Who took him? Tell me what happened." Remembering the junk on the floor, she had an idea what might have transpired.
"Lee and I were acting like pirates again, but we h-had no idea that real pirates were on the island. We took their stuff while some of them were in the wash rooms, but a lady saw us and tried to stop us. Lee let himself get caught so I could escape … h-he's gonna be killed all because I wanted to be a real pirate," she explained.
Adella sighed; she was to blame for this. She was the one who filled their heads with nonsense about pirates after all; nonsense like in her novels – eager pirates who loved adventure and gave back to the world in a positive way. This was the first time the twins stole from anyone; their treasure was usually sea shells from the beach.
Knowing what she must do, Adella only hoped that it wasn't too late. Real pirates were dangerous offenders who undoubtedly had no trouble snuffing out a thief, regardless of their age.
"Could you identify the lady if you saw her again?"
Esme tried to remember. "She has short, dark hair. I took something of hers." She paused a moment while she dug out a gold arm band from the pile, handing it over to Adella. "This is it."
Not as tacky as she thought, Adella gathered that this band was more than cheap jewelry and clutched it in her fingers. She eyed the mess on her floor, suppressed a shiver, and pointed a slender finger at it.
"Does all of this belong to them?"
Esme confirmed her question with a nod. She was afraid of this; most of the things she saw looked valuable. Adella sighed and pulled herself and the little girl to their feet.
"Gather up everything you took, please. We're going to return their property and get Lee back." At least I hope.
While Esme did as she had requested, Adella went over to the fireplace across the room and took down a rusted cutlass from its mantle. She hesitantly buckled a leather strap around her waist – displeased that it clashed with her formal wear – and seated the curved blade into its scabbard.
The thought of having to fight off the pirates made her a little nervous, but she'd never admit it. Lee and Esme were the only people she cared about, and she'd be damned if she ever let something happen to them. Even so, it had been years since she had practiced with a sword – let alone held one – so being skeptical of her own skills was something she was going to have to deal with.
But not right now. No, she had a friend to save.
Adella met up with Esme and the two departed from her warm cottage home, taking to the filthy streets of Grimsdale. Her destiny was soon to unravel before her very eyes.
