Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ The Ocean in a Pirate's Eyes ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

It was nearly midnight and Aurora Williams was still studying for the final exam the following day. She attended Owleyes Academy in the small town of Mystra, just off the coast of Syrania port. She had unsually bright red hair that fell just below her shoulder blades, and bright hazel eyes. This year was marked her third and final year at Owleyes Academy, which made the pressure of graduating increase tenfold with all the studying she had to do.

 

Aurora was training to become a sorceress. When she first came to Owleyes Academy, she took simple, general classes, such as spells to help you with chores, how to unlock doors if you've locked yourself out, how to make plants grow faster, and things of the sort. She also took classes on how to bend the elements; she tried one element at a time, then aimed at mastering them all at once. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out for her. The stress was much too heavy on her shoulders, and she decided she would stick with bending one specific element: air.

 

Aurora had always known that she had more than unnatural powers. As a child, her parents abandoned her, leaving her to die in the middle of a forest. But lucky for Aurora, a kind old woman took her in and raised her as her own grandchild. The woman had two other grandchildren—blood related, of course—and Aurora got along fairly well with them. One was a handsome man, with shoulder-length blond hair and hypnotizing blue eyes. The other was a younger girl, perhaps a few months younger than Aurora. She had beautiful golden hair that flowed naturally down her back and nearly reached the back of her knees. Her eyes were also blue, though a much darker and more mysterious than her brother's.

 

When Aurora turned sixteen, her grandmother set her free to do what she wanted in life. Aurora, of course, decided that she would attend Owleyes Academy; it was the best Magical School in the entire peninsula of Inoreth. After Aurora was accepted into the school, she moved out of the old woman's house and into the dormitories on the campus. She often wrote letters to her adoptive grandmother, delighted when she received replies nearly every time. However, once, she received it from her step-sister instead.

 

On January 5th of the new year, still being Aurora's first year since school started in August, Audri had sent her a letter explaining that their grandmother had died sometime that morning. Aurora was shocked and immediately went back home, just in time for the funeral. She knew in her heart that it was simply the kind woman's time to go, though it still hurt her deeply.

 

Since her adoptive grandmother died, Aurora had tried to keep in contact with her foster siblings. Demetri often replied to her letters, though Audri hardly ever did. Out of kindness, Aurora would visit Audri once a year as well as Demetri, as they were the only family she had left. But one day, Audri disappeared. Aurora desperately used spells to search all of Inoreth for the girl, but soon found out that she'd moved to another continent. She often wondered why her sibling would do such a thing with no warning, but shrugged it off. Audri had never liked Aurora much.

 

Alas, Demetri had also one day disappeared, though he sent Aurora a letter explaining his long absence. He had joined his friend's business in trading, and often had to leave home to trade with people in other continents. He also explained that Audri had run off with a man who was apparently abusing her, and when he asked Demetri for permission to have her hand in marriage, he had angrily declined his request.

 

Aurora didn't blame him; from the way Demetri described the man, he only wanted the girl for her looks. Then again, Audri has never been a smart one, she had thought. Eventually she let go of the small grudges she held against Audri and often found herself feeling sorry for the girl.

 

After Demetri had left, Aurora hardly left the dormitories of the school grounds. She had a few acquaintances at the school, but she spent most of her time alone, either studying or reading. She hardly went out and didn't do particularly well when she did. One time, she had given in to her friend's request that she go to a local bar with them. By the time they got back home, she had already passed out from the hurried consumption of so much alcohol.

 

From then on, she continued to stay alone. Her friends had never bothered to invite her after that incident, since she seemed to like the alcohol, but was unable to handle it. They felt sorry for her, but didn't want to get into her personal life too deeply.

 

Aurora snorted, bitterly thinking to herself, Some friends. She sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. I've got to get some fresh air. I'm sick of sitting in this dorm all day, everyday. Deciding she deserved a break for studying so hard, she grabbed a coat and put it over her somewhat loose shirt and pants, tucking them into her knee-high boots as she stumbled out the door.

 

She trotted out of the dorm and through the halls quickly. She sighed contently when she reached the outskirts of the school, thankful for the peace and quiet. It's nice like this.

 

She walked towards the closed gates, carefully but swiftly climbing up and over it. She winced and looked at her hands after she fell back on her feet; the skin was badly calloused. She cursed, muttering, “I need to stop sneaking out at night.”

 

Sighing, she shoved her hands in her coat pockets and walked out into the night. She knew the dirt road like she knew the back of her hand; every crease, shortcut, and turn. She followed it into the town and then took a path that wound around small shops and through the beginnings of the forest, finally stopping at the Syrania port. She breathed in the fresh ocean scent, closing her eyes to let it clear her thoughts.

 

She flinched and stepped back when she heard sudden, hushed voices. Her eyes shot open and darted around, looking for the source of the voices. Confused, she then looked at the port; docked right in front of her was an old-fashioned looking ship. It looks like a pirate ship out of a children's book, or something, she thought. Curious, she inched closer, delicately tracing the many cracks in its tarnished wood with her fingers. If it was polished and didn't have so many cracks, it would look spectacular.

 

Hearing the voices edge closer, she quickly ran to hide in the shadows of the ship. The ship loomed over her, proving to be a very large pirate ship. If that's even what it is, she reminded herself. When the voices had lowered, she cautiously peeked out from her hiding spot.

 

In the bare moonlight she could make out two figures: the first one, apparently male, had disheveled shoulder-length hair that nearly blended with the dark night sky. She couldn't tell the color of his eyes or clothes because of the darkness, but she could see that he was wearing a leather jerkin and a loose off-white tunic underneath. His dirtied pants were rather baggy and stuffed into bulky, black leather boots.

 

The second person was a female, and wore a tighter blue tunic and pants than the man's, though they were also tucked into thinner and less heavy boots. They seemed to be discussing something in a different language. That must be Caernaic they're speaking, she thought, suddenly noticing their deep accents. Then do they come from Caerni?

 

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she sank back into the shadows when she heard the footsteps moving closer towards the ship. Then she realized they were coming toward her. Crap! She sank further into the shadows, muttering a simple concealment charm just in case the shadows didn't hide her completely.

 

The girl stopped behind the man, putting her hands on her hips and complaining. The man stepped a few inches closer, only two feet away from Aurora. Nervous, she held her breath, waiting for him to see her.

 

She contemplated on closing her eyes, but decided she would get a better look at him if he was this close. His skin was a little lighter than his hair, definitely tanned from the sun, and his eyes seemed to gleam in the moonlight though she still couldn't tell the exact color. His hair was clearly in dreads now that she could see it, and his clothes were wrinkled and slightly dirty. I've never seen someone's eyes that bright before, she thought, wanting to lean in closer to get a better look. No, I can't risk it. But I've never known a Caernai to have such dark hair and bright eyes…

 

The man shrugged but turned away looking thoughtful, muttering something to his female friend. Relieved, Aurora slid down against the ship's side. That was too close. She shook her head, carefully walking out of the shadows and across the sand. She froze suddenly when she heard the man say something and turned to see him look over his shoulder. She stood, petrified as the man looked right at her. Then he shook his head and turned back around, walking up the stairs that led into the ship.

 

 

“Alright Cass, I need you to work your magic this time,” said a man, grabbing the woman's arm and dragging her over to his office.

 

“You can let me go,” she complained, wrenching free of his grip. She had reddish-brown hair pulled up in a messy bun and dark green eyes. “What do you want from me this time?” she asked impatiently, leaning against the door after she shut it.

 

“What else do I want?” the man asked shrewdly, sitting on his desk and crossing his legs. “The usual. Since we've been dropped into a completely different world, we're going to scout out the nearest town—I think Rolan said it was called Mystra—and then I want you to get some food and drink to supply us the rest of the month.”

 

Cassie gaped, her eyes wide. “What?! Noir, how exactly am I supposed to get a month's worth of supplies for an entire crew and carry it back here without being caught?”

 

Noir smiled deviously. “Simple. I'll cause a distraction.” Cassie scoffed, turning her head to glare out the window. Sighing, she threw her arms up in defeat.

 

“Fine,” she muttered, hurriedly making her way out of the cabin. Noir smirked. “Perfect.”

 

 

“What the hell do you think you're doing, Noir?” asked Cassie, her loose strands flowing smoothly with the wind. “That's the ship's bow you're looking at.” She set her hands on her hips, glaring at the man in front of her.

 

“No…” he muttered, brushing the many loose strands of black hair out of his eyes. “I can sense some magic here,” he explained. Cassie rolled her eyes.

 

“It's all in your head, Noir,” she said, turning to walk back up the stairs into the ship.

 

Noir shrugged and stood up, looking thoughtful as he followed Cassie up the stairs. He heard the soft padding of feet and turned abruptly, staring straight at—“Noir! Are you delusional or what?” Cassie asked, annoyed with his strange behavior.

 

He stared a few moments longer into the empty space on the sand. Then he turned back, shaking his head as he made his way back into the ship.