Samuel Drake ducked behind a bush and held his breath, the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears. He waited for a moment, listening for the sound of footsteps,and when he was satisfied that he hadn't been followed, he turned and made his way back through the bushes the way he came. Just two days previously, he'd been sat in a cafe with Nathan, his younger brother of 5 years. He'd managed to scrape some change together, mostly from pickpocketing, and had wanted to treat Nathan to a decent breakfast. They were sat waiting for their food, Nathan talking excitedly about all the places they could travel to, whilst Sam read the paper absentmindedly. His hazel eyes browsed through the pages, but he stopped when a heading caught his eye in the obituary section.
"Funeral to be held for esteemed historian and explorer, Evelyn Thyme" it read. Sam felt sick as he looked at the photo, and recognised the grey, wrinkled eyes that seemed to stare straight through him out of the page. Without revealing anything to Nathan, he'd quickly skimmed the article to get the details, and then stashed the paper in his backpack.
He didn't know why he even wanted to go to the old lady's funeral. It wasn't exactly as though he'd known the woman who had returned his mother's journal to him and his baby brother, but he'd felt guilty about leaving her the way they did. He'd argued internally about going right up until the morning of the funeral, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night if he didn't. "You could take the boy out of the Catholic orphanage, but you couldn't take the Catholic out of the orphan after all" he'd thought solemnly. The paper said the funeral was only going to be a small affair, so against his better judgement, he had found himself stood outside the church that was listed in the paper. He hid behind a corner until he heard music begin to play, and once he thought it was safe, he snuck in through the door, just as it was about to close.
Sam was making his way to the corner, when a girl stood up at the front, making him stop in his tracks for a moment. He gazed intently at the girl, but quickly looked away when he noticed her returning his look. He darted behind a pillar which stood just next to him, in case anybody else saw him and recognised him, silently regretting coming in the first place. He heard a throat clear, and he peeked round at the girl who was now stood facing the rows of mourners.
"My Grandmother was an inspiring woman," the girl began, and Sam's ears pricked at the words.
Grandmother? The old lady hadn't looked much like a Grandmother, he thought but then, they hadn't exactly met her under normal circumstances, so why would she? Still, he had had a good look around the old lady's house, and whilst there was a lot of newspaper articles and photos, there were very few that had actual living people in them.
Sam moved from behind the pillar and leaned against the back wall to get a better view. He studied the girl's features as he listened, and he became entranced by her round, heavy eyes which threatened to overflow with tears any minute. As he gazed, Sam found himself lost in thought, replaying the events that had really thrown his and his brother's lives into turmoil, more so than they already had been. By some horrendous misfortune, they had found themselves on the run from the law, living under false names, and clinging onto an old dream just because he was a reckless idiot who had been desperate to make Nathan forgive him for leaving.
"Still," Sam thought to himself, "At least we're back together. Now it can be just the start of another adventure." Sam had always loved the thrill of adventure ever since he was a kid, no matter what it was. Something he had inherited from his mom, he'd often thought. He smiled bittersweetly as he remembered all the times he'd gotten into trouble when he was young; how his Dad would be the one to chastise him, and his mom would always be the one to defend him.
She'd always encouraged his adventurous "spirit" as she called it, and every night she would whisper "You're destined for greatness, you and Nathan, I just know it." Sam's heart constricted tightly as he thought of his mother. He saw so much of her in Nathan, and whilst he would never say anything to his younger brother, it made him miss her more every day.
He remembered how he felt when she'd died; Nathan was a bit too young, so he couldn't really remember, but Sam saw it all too vividly in his mind. They hadn't even known she was sick, she had always tried to protect them from the harsh realities of the world, but after her death Sam became all too familiar with these realities, and so he'd always felt it was his duty to try and protect his brother from the same thing. Sam struggled though, never 100% sure what the right thing to do would be, and so they had often found themselves in trouble. That was partly why Sam had left the orphanage in the first place. He had wanted Nathan to have a more stable childhood, but naturally after everything that had happened in the last week, that too was now a long lost dream.
Suddenly, Sam became very aware that "those" eyes had moved from the pulpit, and as he looked around for the girl, he made eye contact with her just as she was about to sit back down. Sam was left stunned for a moment, before he remembered where he was and why he was there in the first place. He didn't want to risk getting caught by anybody, so as soon as it was safe, he stealthed his way back to the door and hurried out into the busy street. After catching his breath and ensuring it was still safe, Sam made his way through the backstreets of Boston, climbing onto roofs and shimmying down drainpipes, until he finally reached the other side of the town to small hostel he was staying in temporarily with his brother.
He'd told Nathan he was going to meet some contacts who'd be able to get them the papers they needed to be able to travel under their "new" name. In truth, he'd already got them sorted some time ago, back when he'd first left the orphanage, and had dreamed of running away with Nathan. Although he'd never actually considered the possibility that it could become a reality. Sam walked into the hostel, and made his way up to the first floor to the room he was sharing with his brother, who was still asleep in the bottom part of the bunk bed they were sharing. Sam laughed softly to himself and rolled his eyes. Dropping his backpack on the floor under their bed, he plonked himself down, waking Nathan up with a start.
"Huh? Timesit?" Nathan asked sleepily.
"It's time you got up, little brother!" Sam replied, shaking his brother manically, laughing as Nathan struggled under his blanket trying to fight Sam off. "Come on, Nathan! We've got a trip to plan!" Sam called with excitement, standing up and pulling the blanket with him.
Eventually, Nathan complied, and about 15 minutes later, both Morgan (now Drake) boys were sat in a quiet corner of their new favourite cafe, studying an array of maps and notes. Nathan was looking for information about a ring that had supposedly been given to Francis Drake by Queen Elizabeth I, whilst Sam was flicking through his Mother's old journal, trying to find any clues as to where they should begin their search.
As he was studying his Mother's scribbles, Sam couldn't help but think back to the mornings' events and the mysterious Granddaughter who had obviously noticed him. He thought about her face when she'd seen him. She hadn't appeared angry, and she didn't seem to recognise him, but he couldn't help but worry that she knew who he was and what he'd done. He thought back to what she'd said about continuing her Grandmother's legacy, and wondered what she'd meant by that. She didn't exactly appear outgoing or adventurous to him, but he'd always been taught to never judge a book by it's cover.
Sighing, Sam pushed the girl and the funeral to the back of his mind, and focused on the matter at hand. He had made a promise to Nathan that night about doing great things, and he didn't want to let him down. He saw this as an opportunity that had been gifted to them by their mother and the strange old lady, and he didn't see the point in wasting his time worrying about some girl he was probably never going to see again.
If only he knew about the strange twist of fate that one day would have their worlds colliding.