Prologue
Night fell upon the small island town of Beckton. It was a peaceful evening out in the Etherium which made for calm winds at the lower docks of the port village. Aurora adjusted her bag and crouched behind a large stack of cargo waiting to be loaded onto the ships come morning. This was it.
She licked her lips and scanned the docks, eyes settling on a lone dingy tied to the wharf. It was just as Arod had promised her. She didn't know how her friend the dock-worker had done it under the strict harbor-master's nose, but he had managed to steal a longboat and prepare it for everything she would need to run away.
"Finally getting out of here. Finally," Aurora breathed. The thirteen-year-old girl had spent her entire young years scrubbing pots at her orphanage on the floating island village just west of the Montressor Archipelago. She'd sworn for years that one day she'd set a plan and be brave enough to take off to the stars where she could make a new life for herself. It had finally come.
She peaked out from behind the stack of crates to look for any of the patrolling dock workers. When the coast was clear, she leapt into action, sprinting toward the longboat. She threw her pack ahead of her where it landed in the boat and was about to leap in after it and cast off when a powerful arm suddenly encircled her midsection.
"Gotcha!"
Aurora kicked her legs as she cried out, realizing with sudden horrific dread that her worst nightmare had come to pass. Mistress Greer, the cruel elder woman in charge of her orphanage, had discovered her escape plan. "No! You can't!"
"You little rat!"
A lantern swung around in their struggle. Before Aurora could stop it, the contraption clocked her on the side of the head and her vision momentarily went dark.
"Help me you idiot!" Mistress Greer snapped. Moments later, Aurora felt smaller hands on her arms to hold her. When she shook away her confusion, she saw it was one of the other orphans - twelve year old Kenny. He looked at her helplessly.
"I'm so sorry Rora! I didn't mean to tell! She forced it out of me!"
"Quiet," Greer snarled. She tightened her grip on Aurora's arm causing the girl to release a noise of pain. "You filthy little heathen. You thought you could just up and leave Beckton? That I wouldn't find out about your little scheming? You belong to me girl. You always will. The contract your mother signed is binding. Where do you suppose you'd go? Hmm? Who would want you?"
Aurora spit at Greer. "Anywhere! Any place better than here!"
Greer laughed as she dug her nails into Aurora's skin.
"For all your spite, girl, you're a fool. The Etherium would eat you alive and the whales would pick their teeth with you!"
"I -!"
"Everything alright here?" called a voice from down the dock as one of the local workers began to head toward them with their own lantern. Greer sneered down at Aurora in a warning, but Aurora's heart had already sunk. If the dockhands had found them, she had lost her last chance to run away and be rid of her orphanage once and for all.
"Everything alright, Sir!" the mistress called back. "Just a rabble rouser out past her curfew."
The dock hand came closer and in the hemisphere of light from their lantern, Aurora momentarily couldn't see the man's face.
"Mistress Greer. A lovely sight as always."
"Arod," Greer frowned, suddenly much more callous. Aurora's head snapped up as Arod lowered his lantern and arched an eyebrow at her. The few times Greer trusted Aurora to visit the market for supplies for the orphanage, Aurora would often wander down to the docks. It was here she had met the dedicated Arod. Over time the elder man had taught her everything he knew about sailing, shared stories of the incoming sailors. But most importantly, he had listened to her when she most needed a friend, and so when Aurora had blurted out one day that she was going to run away, Arod had simply said, "I will help you."
In that moment, however, the Arcturian man regarded her with an unreadable expression.
"She was trying to steal one of your skiffs," Greer interrupted. "I put a stop to it. Can't have these little devils thieving, now can we?" She shook Aurora for good measure.
"Hmph," Arod frowned and looked at Kenny. "Who are you?"
"Kenny, Sir," Kenny said quietly, scuffing his foot.
"Run along, Kenny, your mistress and I can handle it from here."
Kenny looked at Greer with a nervous expression.
Greer nodded, "I'll reward your good behavior, Kenny, when I return."
Kenny looked ashamedly back at Aurora who tried to communicate with her expression that she forgave him. Then the young boy was running back down the wharf toward the orphanage in town.
"She'll get a healthy beating, Arod, let me assure you. She won't be at the harbor master's docks ever again."
"Surely she will not," Arod agreed. "I'll let the harbormaster know of your methods. After all…" Arod paused as he adjusted the grip on his lantern. "She'll never have to see Beckton again."
He swung the lantern as hard as he could, nailing Greer in the face. The woman howled as she was sent sprawling across the metal pier, her grip freeing from Aurora's arm.
"Go now!" Arod ordered, giving Aurora a hard shove toward the skiff.
"Arod -"
"Now!"
Aurora didn't need to be told twice. She untied the longboat as fast as her shaking hands would allow and used her foot to kick off from the dock. Quickly, she revved the engines just as Arod had taught her and she rose higher, higher still until the island town of Beckton faded below her.
"Come back here, Girl!" Greer screamed. "How dare you!"
But Aurora was so relieved, so elated by the realization that she was now floating where Greer could never touch her again that she simply laughed into the wind that whipped her auburn hair around her face. She leaned back over the rail of her boat to see Arod waving her onward while Greer's tirade began to fade. Aurora's smile was wide as she strung the sail as she had seen the sailors do so many times before and grabbed the tiller to turn her vessel into the stars. She didn't know where she was going and she didn't care.
All Aurora knew was that she would never have to see Beckton ever again.
A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at a Treasure Planet fan fiction so please don't hate! I know this chapter was a little boring, but I will introduce Jim in the next chapter I promise! This was more just backstory for my OC Aurora. It was really short, but I plan to develop her more throughout the story. This will be a JimxOC fic with plenty of adventure and romance so stay tuned! Also please review! It helps me know if people like the story!
