Ella Oaks

chapter one

The moment I rest my body, and close my eyes, that is when it starts. That is when I feel most alive; I feel true. That is when I envision myself as the guardian of the forest. That is when my wavy, brunet hair turns into a curly, red mane. Hair so red it is mistaken as fire, with its lava like curls flowing down my back. Even my hazel eyes becomes dominated by a lush green. So pure to its natural surroundings, it reflects the forests' beauty. My ruined lower class dress is replaced with a beautiful forest dress made with leaves and pedals. Short, just above my knees, colored in pinks and greens. And to symbolize my power, a crown of leaves from the oak tree was given unto me. 

While I admire my reflection, in the calm ocean water, a woman with long wavy jet-black hair and ocean blue eyes that rolled in annoyance starts to walk away. But she is not just a woman. She is the guardian of the sea, a tailless mermaid who roams the beach in search for any threats. She has the ability to harm anyone with one look and a kiss. No one can resist her seductive beauty and her tight blue seaweed top and wilted palm skirt. With a blue coral paint and white pearls tattooing her skin to symbolize her power of the ocean. And without ever speaking a word she whispers her name. Viridans never speaks to anyone. No one can ever understand. No one can ever learn her past behind her mysterious deep blue eyes. 

As she starts to walk away, I rush to catch up to her. Before I knew it, my feet were no longer running along the elegant beach that kissed my forest. My feet were hovering just above the clear shore line. My ears were humming from the fluttering of the transparent, sparkly pink butterfly like wings that grew out of my back. 

I finally catch up to the quiet mermaid.

"For someone who walks soft you sure walk fast." I say searching for my breath.

"What are you looking at?" I ask puzzled by her lack of emotion.

Her eyes doesn't move they are stuck on just one target straight ahead like a predator about to launch for its prey. I try reading her faceless emotion until she finally gives a little smirk. I give up trying to read her and look at what is making her smile so evilly. And there it was. The elegant beach that kissed my forest was no longer kissing it, but instead linked it with thousands of dead sailors, their bodies lying for miles on my forest and floating restless in her ocean and beach; their blood dripping down the forest trees and flowers, finding its way to the beach and into the now bloody red ocean. This was no longer a place of peace but a piece of hell. 

Shocked by the all of the innocent blood that was shed; I clap my hands together just over my mouth and managed to spare a tear until I heard a thud in the sand. It was an axe. An axe made from rose thorns and pedals. The handle covered and decorated by pink rose pedals and leaves from its bush. The axe is sharpened perfectly from the thorns that came from the rose with a few thorns still sticking out and drenched in blood, blood from the sailors. I look at Viridans and she too has a weapon still in hand. Entirely made from green seaweed and is stitched with sharks' teeth that look, too, like it has been sunken into some one. 

Breathless and scared from what I see I don't say a word. Still trying to put the pieces together, I feel a hand vigorously grab my ankle. Scared, I wake up screaming and launching my body up. I begin to pant and sweat out all of my fear relieving myself with soothing words of: It was only just a dream.

"Eh, would you do us all a favor and please shut up or get out!" one annoyed sailor yells at me.  

"Sorry!" I whisper to him.

Apparently nobody appreciated my apology because everybody just scorned and yelled in a tired and irritated melody for me to "Shut up!" 

I try my best to escape my swinging hammock as quietly as possible, but fumble to the ground instead. Annoyed from everybody's groans in complaint, I fix myself up, dust off the dirt from my ruined lower class dress and put my fallen pillow and blanket back in its rightful order. Once I finished I stole my boots and head for the upper deck where I can at least be around people whom are awake and won't be annoyed by me. 

Once I've opened the doors from the upper deck's ground I quickly and quietly close it to assure that no more cranky sailors are awoken. Noticing that it is barely sun rise and hardly anyone is on deck, I put on my old and worn out hand-me-down boots and head for the kitchen. I might as well get started on the cooking right? After all, sailors are very piggy after a long nights rest. 

When I enter I am surprised to see my mom already awake and half way done by herself. I reach for my apron and start soaking some potatoes so I can skin them.

"What are you doing up so early?" I ask her.

"Couldn't sleep." Her voice sounded like she was chocking on broken glass.

I grab her shoulder and induce her to face my direction. I am surprised to see her face red and wet. Her hazel eyes were no longer surrounded by a cloud of white but a lake of blood and tears that rolled down her beautifully aged face, once she looked directly at me.

"Mom! Who did this to you?!" I demanded an answer from her.

I want to know who caused my mom this pain?! The question becomes redundant when I realize what I have just asked myself. The answer is so painfully obvious, before I could finish my thought, the kitchen door swung wide open shaking all of the hanging pans and making my mom and I jump.

"Isaac don't! Please!"

My mother pleads to her abusive husband as he stomps right towards her with his hairy fists clenched so tight you could see his veins and a brand new cigar lit in his mouth, smoking, creating his unpleasant appearance even more appealing.  

He pushes me to the side to get a better beating at my mother and slaps her across the face. As I try to collect myself from being thrown into the near by sink, I see my mother trying to get up from the floor but seems too weak to even manage her own weight. All of her emotions just seem to sit on top of her with enjoyment as she whines and chokes on her own tears.

"Stop it!" I yelled at the ugly white ogre.  

I ran and jumped on top of him, hoping that I could tackle him away from the only family I have. Failing at the task, from my boney body, he grabs my wrist and slams me to the floor right next to my mother.  

Before I could react he picks me up to my feet by using my right arm and fails to release me. As I try to free myself from his gorilla grip he looks at me with a calm face.

"I'm serious, stop!" He mocks me as he grinned, exposing his black teeth and bleeding gums.

"You should really listen to the captain when he says to eat your lemons." I reply after an eye full if his shivering smile.

"Sorry, I don't like anything sour." He says as he pulls me in closer to his fat body and gripping my arm even tighter.  

I look at him while he creates a look so evil only satin's son could create and spit in it.  

"You little bitch!" He says as he pushes me to the back counters and forcing me to run over my mother, as she cries for him to get off of me. He grinds his black teeth against each other and held me against the wooden counter. He took his brand new cigar, that he was smoking, out of his mouth and stabs my right arm with its front end. With in seconds I could feel the cigar melting my skin and eating at my flesh, forcing me to scream.  

My mom sneaks up behind him with a hot pan and, with all her might, hits him upside his head. Isaac failed to budge. The pan didn't have a chance to even leave a dent through his think skull.  

He just looked at the ground and laughed, "That's cute." He releases his grip from me only to exchange it for my mother.

"What the hell is wrong with you, woman?" He scorns in my mother's face. "I loved you and this is how repay me?" "

"No! No! Stop it, Isaac! Let go of me!"  

My mother pleads while he yells at her.

"Huh?! Answer me!" Isaac finally roars at her and spitting in her face. Isaac raised his free hand in the air, but before he could continue his abuse two sailors came sprinting in capturing him.

" Isaac, you need to stop this now!" Yells one of the sailors.

"Shut-up, Ezra! Let me the fuck go!"

Isaac is still fighting for freedom, but his fat body is no match for the strength of two sailors. They dragged him out of our sight, when I quickly ran to close and lock the kitchen door to ensure that we will be safe, incase he some how breaks free and tries to finish business.