It was a peaceful morning in the city of stadtra, located in the Voyin Province—territory of the Albury’s. A young man of short dark brown hair and green eyes sat at the dinner table with his father and younger sister—both of them with similar features to his. The family enjoyed a lavish breakfast, surrounded by a beautifully decorated dining room, adorned with a red-carpet underneath, candles and family paintings on the walls.
They belonged to the rich family of Bonheur, having worked their way up the hierarchy for generations—becoming a renowned family that held close ties with the duke of the province. The man’s father—an older gentleman with grayish hair, ate his food sluggishly with his eyes lost in the plate in front of him. The young man ate comfortably, but kept a cautious gaze on the senior. The girl meanwhile, enjoyed the food with a content smile covered in sauce.
“It’s my decision, father.” the young man said. “I will join Cerberus, and protect this family with my own two hands.”
The old man finished swallowing his food before offering a response—gently placing his fork next to the plate. “Jean... your family is not in danger.” he told the man, his raspy voice soft and slow. “The west will deal with their own problems... your duty is to the duke and this land.”
“No, father.” Jean raised his voice slightly. “This is a problem we all must face together, if we can’t support each other... then we’ve already lost the war.” he pointed to his younger sister with his chin—the young infant oblivious to the complexity of the conversation. “Jane has a bright future ahead of her, I won’t risk that future just because the specters aren’t in our borders yet.”
“And they will never be,” the old man claimed confidently. “Don’t talk to me about fighting for others when you only do this for yourself.” he snapped back, unwilling to continue the conversation as he kept eating his food.
Breakfast ended with no further discussion, both parties refusing to even look at each other in the eye. Jean finished washing the plates with Jane’s help to his side—who needed further assistance to clean herself after the meal.
“Look at you...” Jean smiled warmly while kneeling in front of his sister—wiping the crumbs of bread and drips of sauce from her face.
“Are you going somewhere, Jean?” the girl asked.
Her question took the young man by surprise, but kept smiling to her regardless. “Yes... I’ll be away for some time.” he finished cleaning her up. “But I will be back before you know it, don’t worry about me.” he stood back on his feet—taking Jane by the hand as they both walked to the bright outdoors.
“Where are you going?” she asked, looking up at her brother with eyes full of curiosity.
Jean kept his gaze in the distance, staring at the beautiful green and colorful yard of the manor—showered by the pleasant rays of the sun. “I will sail to the west towards Hemel, you know how much I love the ocean.” he looked down at her with a smile. “The world is in need of heroes, Jane. And as a young man of this generation, it is my job to protect you and our home.”
“I don’t want you to go...” Jane frowned with furrowed brows. “We won’t be able to play knights and pirates anymore... you are always the pirate, Jean.”
“We’ll play again when I’m back, I promise.” he kneeled in front of her—holding her into a tender embrace. “This is just something I must do.”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The girl couldn’t really understand his motivations, life was nothing but perfect in her eyes. Food was always in the table, she could play and go anywhere she wanted, read the books she enjoyed and always had her brother to her side. Her only goal was to eat sweets and enjoy a life full of indulgence—everything was perfect the way it was.
Jean however, was a young man with dreams and aspirations for the future. He grew with a strong desire to be known for his great deeds, to have his name written and immortalize in the annals of history. Living near the coast, he explored the ocean in search of excitement and adventure—having close encounters with pirates in multiple occasions. He never found his time to shine however, as the world he lived in was nothing like the one he pictured in his head. Like second nature, he lunged at the opportunity to fulfill his most desired dream with the sudden arrival of the specters—a chance to prove his valor.
“I don’t want you to go...” Jean repeated, pulling out from of her brother’s embrace. “I don’t understand, but father said it was dangerous...” her eyes became watery as her mouth curved downwards.
Jean stood back on his feet, letting no warning sway him from his decision. “I’ll be fine, Jane.” he continued to smile at her. “I just... I just need my name to be out there, you know.” he guided his gaze towards the beautiful yard—his distant smile showing a glimpse of concern. “To be remembered...”
A decade later...
In the middle of the ocean, a small cargo ship cruised the waters of the empire—well on its way towards Hemel to the west. The iron-clad vessel was protected by soldiers dressed in hard body armor—the bandanas covering their mouths, and the beanies in their head hiding their identity.
The ship was filled with cargo boxes of all sizes, secured with rope on the main deck. During patrol, one of the guards spotted an unknow wooden vessel amidst the slim fog cloaking the area—heading straight in their direction.
“Pirates?” Another soldier walked beside him, keeping a fixed gaze on the ship.
“In such a large ship?” the other replied as the fairly large wooden ship approached them. “Is that... a lobster in their sail?”
“Either way, it’s coming too close, call the ot—” before he could finish his sentence, the guard was knocked out cold by a strong hit to the head.
“What the!” his companion reacted, turning to face the woman aiming her musket directly at his head. “When... who...?”
“The name is Jean!” the pirate stated with a smile—baring her teeth. She had dark brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a long blue coat with a wooden parrot on her shoulder—a blue lobster printed in her black pirate hat. “And this vessel now belongs to us... wanna know why?” Jean’s grin grew wide.
“W-why?”
“Because we are...” A group of men dressed in blue stripped shirts and red bandanas suddenly appeared behind her—the rest of the patrol guards knocked unconscious next to them. “The Blue...” the gang of pirates began to dance into a strange formation while singing their words in unison. “Lobsters!” they finished their formation, turning their combined bodies into a lobster of sorts.
“Freaks!” the guard shouted before being knocked down by a bang of Jean’s musket to the head.
“He-he-he,” the captain of the pirates laughed to her own amusement. “Lobsters, search the boxes!” she commanded with a confident smile.
“Aye, aye!”
Ransacking the place, it didn’t take long for the Blue Lobsters to find what they were looking for in their small crusade. From some of the cargo boxes loaded in the deck, the pirates rescued what seemed to be the actual crew of the ship—which got attacked by the unknown group of armed men. All of them blindfolded and restrained from their legs, hands and mouth.
After making sure all prisoners were safe and sound, the Blue Lobsters took the unconscious soldiers and confiscated their weapons—returning to their ship shortly after. The grateful crew of the small cargo ship waved them goodbye as they continued on their way back to hemel, gawking at the admirable captain of the blue lobsters—standing at the front deck of her ship with one foot placed in the railing.
“And remember the name of the greatest pirate known to man!” the girl shouted to the skies, raising her saber with a smirk filled with absolute confidence. “Jean Bonheur!”
END OF CHAPTER