Chapter 1- Fern

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Fern awoke to the sound of an empty house but that never botherd her, she knew her mother would be out drinking or slacking off with any man who bought her a drink. She rubbed her yes and reached for her clock, it was almost 7 o'clock but Fern wasn't bothered. She threw back the covers of her taty bed and grabbed her brush before brushing her long, curly hair. After she was dressed she grabbed her belt and dagger off her bed side table and opened her small broken window. The sea side town was bustling with women selling fruit, drunken men fighting one another over the simplest things like a button, animals running through the street causing little chaos but out the sea were large and powerful ships. Fern climbed up out of her window and onto the roof to watch the ships come in and out, it was something she did everyday when she wasn't tormenting her neighbours chikens, running from all the stalls men she had stolen from to buy food and avoidingher mother. Fern had always been the mother her mother never was and having to clean up her mum's messes. She cleaned her clothes, bought food, stole food and basically kept her and mum alive but the only time her mum was fully sobor was when well, never. Fern hated her mother for being the druken fool she was but what other life could she get? She certainly wasn't going to marry anyone at the age of 13 but even if she did there would only be work and jobs to streatch out the rest of her miserable life. Still she managed to get up every morrning and find something for her entertainment, of course the town knew Fern well it not being that big but not becuase of her beauty or her being a some what tom-boy in many ways but the fact her entertainment came at the pain and annoyance of the rest of the town. Almost everyday her mother would hear complaints of Fern stealing form stalls and farms, for "accidentally" sinking small fishing boats, for pickpocketing weapons and money from people in the street, disturbing people at night as she climbs across the roofs, coming aboard ships with out permission and more things that Fern only did for fun. Fern's mother took no notice of the complaints becuase she was always too busy sleeping with every man in the town and drinking. Fern, being an only child, never had many friends or hung around with other people. She spent a lot of her time alone and getting into trouble all across town. She had never been caught by anyone not even the meaner crew member who sailed in and out of the cove where the town was hidden from Navel eyes and ears. Fern had been watching the ships for only a few minutes when she a crowd gathering around one of the many pubs to watch a fight that broken out between two rival pirate gangs. Pirates were normal around the town but Fern saw this an oppertunity for some fun and began jumping across the roof tops towards the fight. When she arrived she silently slide down the side of the house opposite the pub and weaved her way unseen into the crowd. With everyone's attention focused on the fight Fern was free to cut open people bags, empty pockets and steal as much as she liked. She was just finishing emptying a ladies bag when she heard whispering behind her. She turned and saw one of the gang member whispering to another member of his gang and pointing at Fern. Fern turned and slide silently away from the crowd only to heard three pirates from the gang who had spotted her come walking after her, their swords drwan. Fern turned her head just nought to see them but not let them know she had then she closed her full bag and put her hand on her dagger that was tucked carefully in her belt. Suddenly one of the pirates charged at her but Fern was already gone, she turned and struck her balde against his face before kicking him into the other two from his gang. She ran down an alley towards a large wooden wall. "Hey! Come here you little theif!" the pirates shouts echoed of the alley walls but Fern kept running at the wall before jumping against the wall on her side, pushing off it with one foot and leaping over the wooden wall. The pirates stopped and shouted after her as she ran. "Your dead, you here me, dead!" Fern laughed at the pirates usless threat as she climbed back up onto the roofs but she didn't head for her home but to the harbour. She snuck carefully past the pirates who were drinking and fighting along the pier and slide behind a ship wreck that lay untouched for years on the beach to find a small cave. Fern emptyed the bag behind a large rock in the cave before pushing another rock in front to hid the glittering shine of the treasure. Fern smiled cheekily and slipped back out onto the beach. "Another day and a whole lot closer to escape." Fern smiled at the sun as it shone through the clouds. Suddenly she heard a huge uproar on the pier and jumed up with interest. "What will it be today I wonder!" Fern grinned and raced up back to the pier where she saw a huge group of men lined up in front of a smaller man who was sat behind a table holding a pen and a piece of paper. Fern climbed up onto the side of a house over looking the group of cheering men. "You think you've got the heart of a warrior and the skills of the greatest pirates around then sign up to become part of the nottorious, blood thirsty pirate, captain Hook!" As the smaller man in a striped shirt called out an uproar rose in the crowd and many men drew their swords shouting menacingly at the sound of Captain Hook's name. Fern knew well enough like most who Captain Hook was but unlike most she didn't tremble at the sound of his name or coward at the sight of his crew or ship and she most certainly didn't think he was the most fearsome pirate in the whole. She thought Captain Hook was just like every other pirate killed for fun, boring, girly, typical boys and basically the most boring and irritating people in the world. Ferm watched as men fought to get into the queue and rolled her eyes when she saw the large ship behind the small man was empty and only had two guards, the men from the alley. "This is my chance, I can sneak aboard and no one will ven know I'm there till it's too late." Then Fern felt a slight twinge of guilt and looked back at a pub where her mother always was then Fern shook herself and turned back to the ship. "She's better off without me anyway." Fern shouldered her bag and began clambouring across the roof tops back to her house. She collected her dagger from her draw and put it her belt next to her other then stuffed a map of the sea her dad had 'suposably' left behind when he ran away into her bag along with her brush, her grappling hook she'd made with rope from a pirate ship and a spare grapple someone was selling at the market, a spare pair of clothes, a small bag of money she had collected the other day, the small music box her mum had given her when she was born and the small book she used for her drawings with a pencil she used her dagger to sharpen. She took one last look at her tatty, broken room and left.

When she arrived at the pier the queue had gone down a lot but all the pirates that had already signed we in the pub drinking away their first pay. Fern slipped through the crowd and under the pier where she climbed along the support beams till she was at the end where she opend her back and pulled out her hand made grappling rope. She threw it latching it onto the side of the ship before swinging across onto the side and climbing up the rope onto the decks. She pulled her grapple back into her bag before running causiously below where she found a spot hidden from anyone who came looking for stow aways. She waited as the newly signed up crew boarded the ship and left the town Fern had grown up in behind. Fern had always loved the sea but the only real cahnce she got to see it while on the ship was when she came up onto deck at night to find food and get freash air. As she looked up at the sky one night she sighed breathing in the freash salty air smiling. "We're on our way now Fern, just you wait!"




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