Morg: Heyo! I've been so crazy busy lately that it has taken me longer to get to this story than I would have liked.

Ikuto: I'm sure.

Amu: Somehow, I don't really believe you.

Morg: No, seriously guys. I became an aunt and had to help my parents move and took on more responsibilities at work, which means less time to write.

Ikuto: Excuses.

Amu: I thought you were above those.

Morg: Not excuses. Just letting you all know that I haven't forgotten any of my stories. I will finish all of them. Please be patient!

Ikuto: Did you forget that you don't own us?

Amu: I bet she did since she still writes these ridiculous stories.

Morg: I didn't forget, even if I don't like being reminded.

~The Eighth Sea~

With her head resting against the side of the ship, Amu waited in her hiding spot. So far not one member of the crew had come into the hold that she was in. It made Amu wonder just what the pirates had been after in her small coastal town if none of them were bringing down loot.

Being that she'd just left her family behind to an unknown fate, Amu spent the first few hours crying while she hid. Careful not to make a sound, the pinkette tried to accept the fact that she wouldn't get to see them ever again. Ami would grow up, but Amu would never know if her sister got married and had kids of her own. She'd never know if her parents found the financial stability they were always working hard to achieve. Then again, Amu was unsure of her own fate. The pirates could very well just toss her into the ocean as soon as she came out.

With that thought in mind, the tired girl stayed in her spot. Amu didn't want to risk falling asleep, though she definitely needed the energy sleep could give her. The stress of the wedding and escaping was finally taking its toll. If she wasn't so afraid of being discovered while unconscious, Amu would have allowed herself to take a nap. The runaway bride wanted the chance to defend herself if need be. She also wished for a change of clothing since the wedding dress was an obvious giveaway to who she was.

Amu wasn't stupid. She knew that the pirates had been in the Hotori manor. The gathering was obviously a wedding. The pirates would know instantly just who had hidden on their ship. If Amu could convince them that she had, in fact, hid there out of her own free will.

After waiting what felt like a day, the exhausted girl pushed herself to her feet. Pulling her tattered dress up so that she could move underneath its ridiculous weight, Amu slowly squeezed out of her hiding spot to stumble toward where the stairs should be to take her out of the storage area of the ship. The lighting in the hold wasn't much and the sway of the ship as it crashed against the waves made Amu struggle to get to where she was trying to go.

The stairs almost killed her. Amu stepped on her dress and tripped as she attempted to go up the first step, barely catching herself with her already sore hands. The rope she'd used to get onto the pirate ship hadn't been kind to them and hiding meant she hadn't been able to clean the sores.

Holding in her cry of pain, Amu pushed herself to her feet and once more attempted to go up the rickety steps. The stairs needed to be repaired. Clearly, they were part of the reason that no one went into that particular hold unless they had to.

Making it to her destination, the door, Amu slowly inched the wooden object open before listening for any movement outside of the room she was in. During her time in hiding, Amu had heard some of the calls being made by the pirates, even if she couldn't understand exactly what was being said. Now, however, Amu found the area outside the door silent. Taking it as an indication that she could continue with her quest to turn herself in, Amu pushed the door open further and escaped the dangerous stairs she'd been standing on.

As she moved down the dimly lit hallway, Amu could make out more sounds. Commands were being shouted somewhere above her head, though Amu still couldn't understand what was being said. The sound of the ship breaking the waves was too loud within the belly of the ship for much to be heard unless someone was with you.

Amu was alone at the moment. Her feet continued to take her toward where she knew other people would be, even if she didn't think she was quite ready to go there. Then again, walking the plank was definitely a better end than marrying Tadase. At least she'd die free.

Climbing another set of stairs, which was much easier than the last considering these were in much better condition, Amu took several deep breaths before pushing open a door and blinking into the sunlight. She stood just inside the doorway watching as several pirates scrubbed the floor and others scaled the rope ladders to tend to the sails. Everyone was busy with something while the ship moved across the sea. From what Amu could tell, it was late afternoon already. She'd hidden throughout the night and most of the next day. They had to be a long way from her home.

Stepping out, Amu sort of waited for someone to spot her. The voice that came from behind her made her jump.

"Who are you?"

Turning slowly, Amu blinked up at the boy on a higher deck than the one she stood on. He looked as though he'd been watching over some of the others to make certain their tasks were being completed the correct way. "Amu. I-"

"CALL THE CAPTAIN! STOWAWAY!"

Calls rang out through the entire deck as almost everyone instantly dropped what they had been doing to make certain their captain heard the call before they circled Amu. Several of the pirates managed to get between her and the door that led back down into the guts of the ship, trapping her on the deck.

Mutters ran through the crowd surrounding her before a louder voice rang out. "Stowaway, huh? Someone dared to try that on my ship."

Several of the pirates moved out of the way to reveal a tall male. His dark blue jacket and matching hat complimented his just as dark hair. The male looked oddly familiar though Amu was certain she'd never met him in her life. "Please, I was just trying to escape-"

Holding up his hand, the pirate captain cut off the girl's words. "Didn't ask why you were hiding on my ship. I don't really care. I just want you off."

"Captain, she's wearing a wedding dress. She has to be the bride of that rich wedding we crashed."

Turning back to look at the tired-looking girl, the captain narrowed his eyes. "Are you?"

There was no point in lying. Amu knew that her fate would be worse if she tried. "I was."

Another rush of whispers broke out amongst the rest of the crew as a blonde with long pigtails stepped closer to the captain. "They'll surely come after her. We can't have her here. We don't need that sort of trouble."

Several of the others called out to add to the blonde's words, though Amu paid them no mind. "Please, I don't care if you toss me overboard and let me drown. Just don't make me go back."

Crossing his arms, the pirate captain leaned back to look at the richness of the dress the girl wore. "Was he not rich enough for you? Don't answer that. I don't care. We've come too far to take you back, and I'll not risk them catching up to us without you onboard to return to them. I'm certain your rich boyfriend has connections to the navy and can attempt to track you down."

The same blonde spoke up again. "But, captain, we can't keep her."

Nodding, the tall man looked at the tarnished bride one more time. "Your name?"

Gulping, Amu clenched her hands into the fabric of her dress. This was going somewhat better than she'd hoped considering they'd already decided not to take her back, but that didn't mean she was going to make it out of there alive. "Hinamori Amu."

Amu could have sworn that there was some sort of recognition to her name on the captain's face though it quickly disappeared and she didn't have a good enough chance to see it to be certain that it had really been there. Nevertheless, the man turned from her and began moving back to wherever he'd been.

"We'll leave her at the next port. Until then, give her a change of clothes. Amu here will earn her keep."

Several complaints broke out amongst the crew, though Amu once again didn't pay them much mind. The captain had spoken, and no matter what sort of ship they were on, the captain's words were final. Amu would be staying until they next made port.

Happier than she thought she'd ever be, the pinkette gladly followed a girl with a lighter shade of pink hair than her own. A blonde with her curls pulled back joined them as they made their way through a second set of doors. Amu figured that they were taking her to the crew's quarters since the captain had ordered her to change clothing. Then again, they could have been leading her to their cells and she would have gladly followed if it meant she could change.

The small room she was taken to had four bunks in it, two on each side of the room. A small dresser was attached to the wall between the two bunk beds at the far end of the wall. The small piece of furniture had four drawers. Being that there were four beds and four drawers, Amu figured that each person had their own bed and their own drawer.

Proven right as the blonde and pink-haired girl took turns looking through two separate drawers, Amu waited until they actually spoke to her. So far, their time together had remained in silence. Not that Amu really minded. She had just stowed away on their boat. If she was a pirate, she wouldn't be too nice to someone that did what she did either.

The pink-haired girl gave her a shirt first. Amu gave the girl a smile as she accepted the article of clothing. The other girl gave her a pair of pants. As much as Amu wanted to put the much more comfortable than her dress clothing on, she couldn't due to the fact that she couldn't remove her dress on her own. The gown was simply too big. "Can you help me take this off?"

The blonde looked surprised before smiling and nodding. "That dress does look too large for you to get off yourself."

Amu couldn't have agreed more as she nodded and turned in the limited amount of space that the room provided to allow the other two access to the ties holding the gown in place. Once all the strings were loosened and Amu could actually breathe correctly again, the pinkette wasted no time in stepping out of the material. She paid no mind to the fact that she was half-naked, standing only in her underwear in front of the two girls.

Dressing in the borrowed clothing, Amu thanked the other pink-haired girl when she was handed a sash to tie around her waist in order to make certain her shirt didn't come up due to the wind or while she was working. Showing her naked chest to two other girls was all right. Showing her naked chest to the entire crew, not so all right. "Will you tell me your names?"

The blonde smiled again before giving a small curtsy. "You can call me Su. I'm in charge of cooking and mending the sails."

"Amu. I ran away from home so that I could escape a forced marriage and live my own life."

Scoffing, the third girl flipped her long, pink ponytail before moving Amu's dress, which could stand up on its own since it really was that huge out of her way so she could get out of the room. "You can call me Ran. We need to get back to work. Come on, we'll find you a job. Captain said you had to earn your keep."

Amu only nodded. She followed the other two out with a backward glance at her wedding dress. The gown could burn for all she cared. Amu was free. Never again did she want to see or speak to Tadase. She did, however, pray that her family was okay.

.

Morg: So Amu gets to stay on the pirate ship for a little while.

Ikuto: Like I would have thrown her overboard.

Amu: You aren't the one writing the story, Ikuto.

Morg: Like Ikuto would have really thrown you overboard.

Ikuto: See!

Amu: Ugh, why do I have to hang out with you two?

Morg: Because you love us and we have fun.

Ikuto: Well that's why she hangs out with me. Can't say the same about you.

Amu: Oh, snap!

Morg: Whatever! I don't need you! See if I put smut in this story!

Ikuto: I repent! I take it back! You're the coolest person in the world.

Amu: I have lost all respect for both of you.

Morg: You had respect for me before?

Ikuto: Who knew?

Amu: Just review so we can go!