Serendipity

Chapter 1

(A/N: Update!! I'm wildly unsatisfied with my work so I'm in the process of rewriting! Thank you for your continued patience, please enjoy what I have published!!)

"Be careful when you go outside today, Sera!" My mother kisses the top of my head and hugs me before I head out.

"I will mama," I smile, assuring her.

"Bye dad! I'll be back soon!" I call to my father, who is at work in the back of the house where his shop is.

"Be safe kiddo! Love you!"

"Love you too!" I call back.

"I love you, mama. I'll be back before nightfall." I step out the door.

"I love you too, Sera. See you soon," mama says and shuts the door behind me.

I run behind the house to a small shack my grandfather built for me when he was alive. Just a place for me to get away. Or hide things like the dagger he and my grandmother gifted me...

The world is a dangerous place...thieves, pirates, corrupt Royal Navy who think that just because they capture pirates, all women are their grand rewards...need I say more? Those reasons are exactly why my grandfather taught me how to fight - though I have yet to actually put those skills to use.

I take the dagger out of a hidden compartment, strapping the sheath to my thigh, hidden beneath my dress, double checking that my hairpin is secure. That, too, was a gift - an heirloom, to be exact. Upon concluding that I'm ready, I make haste for the town. Today's tasks are easy; I have orders to confirm with merchants for my family's business, groceries to buy for mama, and one task at the port to complete.

Yet, as I enter the town, something feels off...

The air is so tense you could cut through it with a knife. It's as if everyone is holding their breath, waiting for something bad to happen. 

I'm nearing the docks at the port when I finally notice what's wrong, far too late.

Pirates.

I back away slowly, praying that I can just get back to the house safely and warn my parents so we can flee. As a wealthy merchant family, we are always at high risk during pirate raids. Me being a merchant's daughter, well, you can imagine what a pirate would do if they got their filthy hands on me. Hold me hostage, kill me, keep me around for some other sick purpose...unfortunately, these things are all too common.

I've just set my heel back onto the stone bricks of the road when my back hits something solid. I unintentionally let out a squeak, startled and slowly beginning to feel fear.

I turn around, coming face to face with a man with black hair, mostly pushed out of his face, save for a few strands left out for style. Two slits decorate his left eyebrow. He wears a long gray coat, layered on top of a white shirt. His shirt is tucked into his black pants, held up by a brown belt and black boots complete the outfit. A sword rests on his right hip, while a pistol rests on the other.

I'm no idiot. I know I've just ran into exactly what I feared I'd see.

Flanking him on either side are two other pirates.

One on his right wears a long white coat, a white shirt, and black pants. His shoes - black boots. A pistol hangs on his waist openly. What surprises me however, is that he wears a black corset on top of his coat. Even more surprising is that it suits him. His black hair is pushed back completely out of his face, the sides of his head shaven.

On the left is a man with a white shirt and half of a black vest on. The other half doesn't exist - it's just a strap through a ring holding the vest onto his torso securely. He wears black pants with white, yet worn-looking boots. A sword rests on his hip. His hair is black and his bangs hang at either side of his face.