"Lucy! Please come out of your room," Jackson begged from the other side of his best friend/roommate's bedroom door.
"Go away," she replied between sobs.
"This is ridiculous," Angela grumbled and kicked the locked door in.
Lucy snapped her head up and gasped at the broken door frame and the look of conviction on her friend's face.
"You need to stop moping! I say we put on something sexy and show up to the exhibit opening," Angela yanked the blanket off of her friend.
"Not a chance! I never wanna see Chris again," she felt a new wave of tears fill her eyes.
Jackson sat down on the edge of Lucy's bed and pushed the hair out of her face. "Lucy, you've been crying over that worthless guy for months. You haven't even considered going on another treasure hunt or doing more nerdy historical research. I know this is a tough day, but..."
"But NOTHING! Look, I know Chris used to be your boyfriend and the guy you went on all your treasure hunting missions with, but he betrayed you! He double-crossed you, and used your research to team up with someone else and recover Blackbeard's treasure without you. And just because today would've been your 6 year anniversary, and it's the opening of the museum exhibit of the treasure that YOU should have found, it doesn't mean you can spend the day in bed. I say we get out of town to get your mind off of this! Let's go to Paris or..."
"Ooh! Mexico! We haven't been back since we found the City of Gold!"
"The City of Gold is where Chris told me he loves me for the first time," Lucy whined and nestled her face into her pillow.
"My GOD! Chris was literally the worst boyfriend. You never even loved him," Angela snapped.
"I did...I think I did, right?"
"You don't even know! So, enough tears over that fool, and let's do something!"
"Let me call to get the jet fueled up for Mexico," Jackson pulled out his phone.
Angela grabbed at his wrist and dragged him out of the bedroom.
"You've got that look on your face," he noted in the hallway.
With wide eyes, Angela explained, "Lucy needs to get over Chris. For anyone else, that would mean finding her someone new, but she's a nerd! The only thing that will help her now is..."
"A NEW TREASURE! She needs a new treasure!"
"Exactly!"
"She's found all the coolest ones already."
"Not ALL of the coolest ones."
"YES!" Jackson gasped and barged back into Lucy's room. "Lucy, let's look for the Treasure Fleet!"
Her ears perked up at the name of the treasure that had eluded her for years. When studying Spanish history in college, she learned about a Spanish fleet of ships that sunk during a hurricane in 1715 with 40 chests of jewels, diamonds, gold, and crowns for the new queen of Spain. The boats and chests were never recovered, and it was referred to as the "Treasure Fleet". Lucy did not have any new clues to locate the treasure, but it always lurked in the back of her mind as the one she could not find. "I haven't had a lead in YEARS, guys," she finally said.
"Well, then, let's find one. It's not like we have anything better to do," Angela suggested.
"Hold up! I think I know exactly where we can find another lead," Jackson reported as he stared at his phone. "Foremost expert on 1700s Spain is a Dr. Timothy Bradford. Looks like he's a professor at Stanford University, and...DAMN he can take me to school any day."
YOU ARE READING
The Aurelia
FanficIn this alternate universe, Lucy Chen is a history lover, novelist, and "recoverer of history"...she doesn't like the term "treasure hunter". There's been a missing treasure bothering her for years, so when a friend suggests she should talk to an ex...