Chapter One: The Shop

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed."
- Carl Gustav Jung

It was early afternoon as I silently eat my small lunch and sat in the back of my shop. I could tell it was early afternoon, because most people on the streets were those looking for a place to eat, instead of wasting their money on material things. Don't get me wrong, I'm very pleased in the many things that I made from scratch and am selling currently, but I also understood the buyer's point of view.

My lunch was practically nothing compared to the meals other merchants, and those who partake in the restaurant business, got. It was just a simple sandwich with some kind of meat and cheese in between the bread, something I could afford to buy that was not spoiled, with a mug of coffee and a freshly picked apple. I needed the coffee to keep me awake since I had stayed up all night just staring at my wall, some nights were worse than others, and the apple was just there to add some sweetness to my day.

No one had fluttered into my shop within the past two hours. Either they saw a few things in the windows but once seeing the price they ran away. (No, I'm not one of those people who overly charge people for something. I actually sell my things quite cheap. Maybe that's why my lunches are always small. Or maybe they just didn't like the array of fabrics in exotic colors that I had to offer.) Most people here usually didn't wear the things I had to offer, I wouldn't blame them. Usually, it was only the small-fry (that's what I called the newcomers that were "pirates") that would even think about buying anything from me, unless there were a couple of tourist who wanted the taste of something new.

Time seemed to filter by much too slowly for my liking, and this made me actually want to close up early and begin on my private orders. I was farther behind on them than I liked and it was going to take well past my deadline to finish them.

(I swear, if that Buggy dude ripped another one of my custom made coats again, I was going to really cut him where it hurts and-)

You know those really annoying bells that always go off when a door opens? Well, the one on my shop's front door just did. It was Mia's idea, I swear.

I looked up, a bit of surprise etched on my face, but it soon disappeared when I saw the person. It was just another small-fry. How could I tell?

He had that stupid boyish grin on his freckled face that made me want to stuff one of my brother's old socks in his mouth and push him out into the streets with his arms and legs tied up like a hog.

I stayed where I was behind the counter, and only shifted to place my feet onto the wooden surface. He actually didn't notice me until then. His dark brown eyes flashed over to me, and he smiled in greeting to me.

After mentally shrugging off an itchy feeling in the back of my mind, I decided to strike up a conversation.

"You're must be new around here. Where ya from?"

He didn't seem to make a notion to answer, he was to set on the variety of things that sat on shelves and were hung on racks. I waited a few seconds, before opening my mouth to make a retort on answering me, but he beat me to it.

"Did you make all these yourself?" I was a bit taken-back at his question, but nodded and finally took the moment to stand at my full height.

I was quite tall for my age, and for being a woman. I stood at around seventeen hands without my boots on, but with them, I was only half a hand or so taller.

"You're really good. I'm surprised they sell for so cheap. You could make a future on this kind of silk design." His hand reached out to touch the silky kimono robe that was hung on the wall for viewing only, but I stopped him.

His hand pulled back just far enough to be missed by the small, yet sharp, dagger that was now embedded in the wall at the other side of the room. His eyes flashed over to me, my hand still out from where I had thrown the dagger.

"Don't touch it unless you're going to buy it." If no one bought it by the end of the week, I was going to keep it for myself. "That is unless you don't want me to miss the next time.

He pulled his hands away, giving a defensive backing-off look and continued to look around. My eyes continued to watch him as my feet ghosted across the floor so I could retrieve my dagger. It seemed those stupid lessons my father had taught me did come in handy after all. It kept away filthy fingers, and even cut a few off if needed.

I had my back turned around for only a few seconds to retrieve the small strip of sharp metal, and when I turned back around, I held the dagger to his neck. The look in his eyes didn't falter, and his grin only widened. He was much too close for comfort, and with me being alone in the shop while Mia was out running errands, you could never be too careful.

"Don't you think you should leave the fighting to the big boys?" This gave me a very good excuse to be irked. I hated men that thought women were only there to take care of the house and make kids. I only sewed because it was a hobby, not because it was my "duty".

"I'll have you know, that I'm the reason the big boys always lose those fights." He wasn't fazed on bit by me, seeing right through my facade. That made me even more irked. My hand tightened around the dagger again, and I shifted my weight only a bit to show that I wasn't playing around with him.

"I think you should put that away, girlie," he answered my threat with a threat of his own. The blunt barrel of a gun was resting on the fold of the dark green sash tied around my waist. My eyes released their glare, and I loosened up my hold on the long knife. I pulled away slightly, but the pistol still followed my every move.

Wasn't this a sight?

A merchant girl who could barely keep food on the table had a knife to a pirate's neck, with said pirate's gun cocked and finger happy to pull if I made any foolish movement. Oh yeah, wait until my father hears about this one.

"Faye!" We both jumped at the sudden shrill of my friend's voice and turned to see what happened. In the end, my dagger accidentally scratched at the side of his neck, and his gun was jabbed into my pelvis.

"Mia," I growled, rubbing at my side and stepping back to put my dagger back into the hidden pocket in a fold of my sash. "Don't scare us like that. I coulda taken his head off, and he coulda made me lose a kidney!" I yelled, half-hearing the mumbled apology for the jab. I hurried over to my frightened friend and pulled her back into the back of the shop.

There she started asking questions, some didn't even make the least bit of sense, but I was more worried about finding a bandage for the pirate I had just accidentally cut because I actually felt bad for doing it. I was just trying to establish my dominance of the building because this was my realm, not his.

OF MEMOIRS AND MAPS

"Wait, grandma…you mean I was named after your best friend?"

Faye blinked slowly, looking up from the messy scribbling and furrowed her brows slightly. Had Anne named her daughter after Mia, her old time friend, after all and she didn't even notice until now?

"Yes, Mia, I named you after your grandmother's best friend." The two turned to look at the half-asleep Anne as she rest her head against Isaac's chest and continued to gently rock her baby boy in his sleep.

Faye smiled, turned back to her notebook, and continued to write, telling the story along with the flow of her hand.

OF MEMOIRS AND MAPS

After searching through the many cabinets in the back, I returned to the front to see a "flirting" Mia and cocky pirate who looked as if he actually enjoyed the sorry excuse that Mia called flirting.

I rolled her eyes and walked up to the pair. Mia stopped twirling a fray piece of hair in her finger, and grinned widely at me.

"Ace, this is Faye. She owns the shop and makes everything you see for sell herself. I only help manage on some days when she's out getting supplies and I help pay the bills with my bar-tending money that I get every night," she sent him a secretive wink, one that I could tell had a double meaning to it. Of course, it wasn't very secretive since I saw it.

"Yeah, whatever…like you can call that 'job' bar-tending. It's more like an under-paid prostitute if you ask me," I answered, handing the bandage over to the cocky, freckled face pirate – did she say his name was Ace? – and turned to go back to the counter.

Beside my stool that I sat on was my unbitten apple, and I took this time to actually take a bite. It wasn't half bad.

"See anything you like?" she asked with a flirty smile. It made me sick, but I just kept taking a bit of my apple and staring at the cracks in the counter.

"Oh yes I do…" he eyes roamed her body like she was a fresh piece of meat. I wouldn't blame him. He was a male. She was barely wearing anything. It embarrassed me to no end that she would dare wear something like that in public, and yet I loved her like a sister.

"Uh, I mean, yeah," Ace quickly grabbed the first thing that he could reach. It was a bright orange cowboy hat. Only a few were sold in this place a year, so I was surprised that he even looked interested in it once he saw what it was. "Do you have this in any other colors?" He finished his answer.

I rolled my eyes, the crunch of my apple was loud, but they didn't notice. I think I was really going to be sick from this. It seemed that stupid saying about apples and doctors wasn't true after all.

Mia shook her head with a giggle, and began twirling her hair again.

"Alright then, I take it!"

Both of our eyes bulged; he actually wanted to buy that thing? Like I said before, had nothing against why I sold, it was just the people I sold it to. He didn't look much like an "orange cowboy hat" kind of guy.

"Oh, um, okay. I'll get Faye to ring it up – "

"It's on the house," I didn't mean to say that. Did I mean to say that? I don't know, actually. I'm pretty sure I thought about it before I said it. I'm not the kind of person to just give something away for free.

Mia looked hesitate. Ace looked quite pleased with himself, actually.

"That thing's been here for a long time. I thought it'd be better t go ahead and get rid of it. Plus, you look like you could use the Beli for something much more important." Mia took a few steps back, giving me this look, but I didn't noticed really. My eyes were trained on the young man that was twirling the orange hat on his finger before he actually put it on his head.

It fit perfectly, but I wasn't surprised. Things like that always had a way of working out, mysteriously.

"Thanks, I owe you one," he tipped the hat at me, gave a dazzling smile to Mia and turned to leave.

"Well, come again anytime, Ace! We're always opened until eight o'clock!" Mia's attempts at suggesting failed aimlessly as she waved me goodbye and closed the door behind him.

Deep down, I wanted him to give me a dazzling smile, not her. I was the one that just saved him about two thousand-something Beli. I ignored Mia, watching as the freckle faced pirate walked into the oncoming crowd. I could still see the orange hat over top of the crowd, but once he turned a corner, I couldn't see anything.

A soft giggle broke Faye from her thoughts. She turned to her granddaughter, seeing the knowing grin on the little girl's face.

"You were jealous, weren't you grandma?"

Faye smiled at the little girl, having long forgotten about telling the little girl to stop interrupting. Yet, she nodded.

"Yes, Mia, I was jealous."

I wasn't jealous, or at least, I wouldn't admit it. When I finally turned to look at Mia, she had this smile on her face that both scared me and wanted me to slap it off.

"You like him~" she said in an annoying sing-song voice, knowing that it gave me an excuse to be irked again.

"I do not! If you don't remember, I just tried to take off his head not ten minutes ago." Mia rolled her eyes and stepped behind the curtain that was placed between the front of the shop and that back, where we both lived.

"Whatever you say, Faye. Now leave me alone, I have to get to work soon."

She didn't give me time to say that it was nowhere near the time for her to go work at her so-called "bar". Mia only shut the bedroom door in my face and locked it so I couldn't say anymore. With a huff, I turned on my heel and stormed off.

I didn't like him. I didn't even know him. Hell, he just shoved a pistol into my stomach barely even ten minutes ago! I grumbled something under my breath, and walked to the front of the shop. When I sat at my stool, my arms crossed and chin resting on my chest. I didn't notice the small black bag sitting on the counter. And if I had picked it up and opened it, I would have found that two thousand and something Beli that the custom made hat cost.

(Edit) A/N: Alright, chapter one! I would kindly like to dedicate this to my first ever reviewer on oMaM, flimmi7! Thanks Flim, I owe ya one. (and I also thank midnight.wolf62 for reviewing too) Because of you, I decided to actually finish writing the first chapter. Oh, and I would also like the thank zorofans4eva111999 for adding my story to their favorites and 62 for alerting, also! I might actually have chapter two up by tomorrow. Depends on how school turns out. Night everyone!

Edited 06/22/14.