Birds Of A Feather Fall Together

= Prologue =

Aqua's legs swing beneath her as she finds herself on the dock overlooking the lake. Millions of stars twinkled, and she was sitting under all of them. It was a bit chilly out, but that only happened to be the least of her worries.
It felt so good to be away from everything; it had been two years since her father had left to go to war, and they hadn't heard from him. Knowing whether he was dead or alive provided no solace.

The dock creaked from the light footsteps, and Aqua turned around only to be greeted by her younger sister.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Her sister sat down next to Aqua, curious.
"Go back to bed Opal, you don't wanna get in trouble," Aqua grunted with an annoyed tone.
"It's not like mom cares anyway," Opal said, sticking out her tongue. Opal was only seven; it's not like she really knew better. Aqua, on the other hand, couldn't disagree with her.

A comfortable silence followed; it was calming and peaceful. "My birthday is coming up," Opal stated, laying her head on her older sister's shoulder. "I really want to start working in the shop with you."
Aqua only sighed, "You're too young."
"I am not!" "You were young when you started!"
"Thats because dad had to leave; I also had to rely heavily on Uncle Jett. Someone has to carry on the family business."
"Uncle Jett mostly does everything." She huffed.
"Opal, you forget; I'm still in school. I'm not even an adult yet, and when I turn eighteen." She stated reminding Opal of the difficult situation that had been placed on Aqua's shoulders.

Their town was humble, but it was all she had ever known. They were the best and only blacksmiths around, and relationships with the townsfolk were important to maintaining business. If anyone needed armor, tools, sculptures, weapons, or practical items that involved iron or metal, they made them.

Thankfully, their Uncle Jett, brother of Aqua's father, Flint Ferrarius, had been helping out ever since he left for war. Uncle Jett had been passing on the art of blacksmithing to Aqua ever since she turned thirteen. She'd come a long way in her abilities in the two years since taking over the family business. The thing she looked forward to most was her own hammer, Aqua's very own hammer. Aqua came from a long line of blacksmiths, and it was part of the tradition for her family to make hammers for their kids once they had turned eighteen. At the moment she was just using her dad's old hammer that he had left behind. As important as it was, he would return one day, and it would no longer be hers.

Aqua shifted her gaze to her sister, who was resting on her shoulder, the faint snore confirming her suspicions that Opal was sleeping. "Oh Opal, what am I gonna do?" As Aqua questioned,being completely stressed It was no easy thing. Between trying to go to school, running a shop, and raising her sisters, the responsibilities weighed heavily on her. There was nothing she could do about it; she would do anything for her kin.

A horn suddenly sounded.

Opal raised her head, yawning. Aqua quickly stood up. "Opal, get up!" She panicked; it wasn't just a hurricane horn; it was a war horn. "Aqua.." Opal rubbed her eyes as she slowly stood up with a quaking tone. Aqua quickly looked around, observing. She knew there was tension with the neighboring kingdom, but for it to come to their humble town? It was almost absurd. "Aqua, I'm scared." Opal said, her eyes watering from the horn in the background. Aqua's knees led down to Opal's height. "Opal, listen to me; you're going to get on my back. Then we are going to get Pearl and Sapphire and flee." Aqua was shaking already from panic. "Tell me what's going on?" Opal's nose was scuffed. "Get on my back." Opal only looked at her and wouldn't budge, just crying. "Now!" Aqua stated firmly, and Opal jumped on her shoulders.

Aqua took off sprinting as fast as she could; thank goodness for taller genes that allowed her to run a longer distance. Opal held on tight, and Aqua heard her silent sniffles. The horn kept on repeating; it was only a matter of time before the Alythenian ships arrived on shore.