Chapter 1: The Noble Girl

Amanda Lopez woke up as the sunlight crept through the curtains of her bedroom . Yawning and stretching, she slowly stood up, couldn't help the thoughts of another boring day awaited. Well, it's not like she wanted to die, though, it's just this is not really the life she wanted, being a Noble and all. Lots of people would chop their left arm so that they could be in her position but ,really, they would soon regret that decision. While she was dreaming of a new life at the horizon, the maids had finished dressing her. She looked at the mirror and admired their work. The mirror didn't reflect Amanda, it was reflecting a princess. Being among the richest of the world also means that your look must show the value of your family's name. Years of living in wealth had made her become a gorgeous young woman (That's the only part Amanda prouds of). Her shoulder-length , smooth hair seemed to shine under the dimly light of the sun, her eyes glittering as she looked at the mirror and the magenta dress made her look like a goddess but she knew the good moment was going to an end as the maids spoke:

-" Mistress, your father is waiting".

Sighing, she made her way to the dining room. There, her father, was having (according to Amanda) the most insipid breakfast like he always had. Amanda always thought her father was the real definition of a show-off with all the jewelry and fancy clothes he wore just to prove that he is a Noble – one of the sacred Twenty.

-"Good morning, Father" Amanda greeted with a voice resembled a robot

Her father didn't respond. Of course, why should he? To him, Amanda is just a burden, a spare and the cause of her mother's death. But the irony is if she didn't greet him, he would one-hundred percent notice and would punish her mercilessly.

Having finished her breakfast in silence, Amanda stood up and made her way to the beach behind the manor. There, from her pocket, she took out a compass. It's not just any compass you could find at stores or on a ship, no, it was made entirely of glass and the more unusual part is it's not even point North (but Amanda never complained though. It is, after all, the only thing connect her to her mother). Amanda's mother died after she had given birth to her and left her this compass and a letter contained only one sentence

"Let it guide you to where you need"

The compass was glittering like a diamond under the morning sunlight as Amanda inspected it. It was pointing to the sea, to the horizon.

Ah, the sea. It had always been her dream. To sail, to make friends and to be free. But in here, she had none of them. None dared to talk to her, let alone be friends. Weird, isn't it? People would be begging on their knees just to get a hug from a person of her position but this is another kind of position. The Sacred Twenty is an association of the most richest families of the world, usually known as Nobles. There are twenty of them.

And what made them became that rich?

Slavery and exploitation.

With that kind of reputation clinging onto your family's name, it's kind of hard to make friends. The maids weren't allowed to talk to her too because as Amanda recalled, the last maid who tried to comfort her when she cried had her tongue cut by her father.

Staring at the blue, calm water of the ocean, and playing with the smooth sand flowing like silk between her fingers, Amanda's mind was full of visions of a new life. But, the beautiful moment didn't last long as she realized something was off at the far end of the horizon.

A black dot. And it was growing bigger as she kept staring at it.

Only when it became clearer and nearer, that she was able to see it.

A sail. A black sail

Pirates.

The glass compass shook violently in her palm. Its glass hand, used to point at the sea, was then pointing to the opposite direction, indicated that she needed to run. Indeed, she really needed to run. Normal people would have run just when they saw the sail, but Amanda kept standing there like a statue because their was something wrong with this gang of pirates.

-"How did they made it this far into the land?"

The question was bobbing up and down in here mind like a bubble. Nobles were protected very ,very closely. The sea around the Lopezs' resident were supervised both day and night, ships were everywhere, half of the Spain Royal Navy's fleet was sent to protect her family alone but these guys seemed to make it through easily. The compass made another twitch, broke Amanda out of her train of thought. How many time has past? Amanda didn't know, but she clearly knew one thing.

She was too late.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Cannons sounds were heard and the Lopezs Manor was falling apart with each sound. They were firing at it, nonstop. The maids and servants were pouring out of the main gate like ants. Amanda could see her father running and stumbling on others, hands and arms was carrying as much of his treasure as possible. What a coward, Amanda thought. She also realized she was running without even know how did she get into her feet so fast. She ran and ran, the compass was shaking wildly in her pocket. She soon made her way into the nearby village. There, the people, some was poking their heads out of windows, some was craning their necks so high that they look like scarecrows. All they wanted was to have a glimpse of what was happening. They would soon regret that choice.

The pirate ship made it way to the port as the curtain of fog started to fade and Amada realized something even worse.

There were more than one ships. Two? No. Five? More than that. There were ten ships and all of them carried the same flag. An entire fleet of pirates.

Just moments later, pirates started jumping out of their ship like bees leaving the hive. They shot, they stole, people were screaming, the whole village seemed to have sunken into a sea of fire. Everything was in utter chaos. The compass led Amanda to a deserted alley, it had stopped shaking which was a good sign proved that this place was safe. Amanda sat down, panting. Her heels were hurt like hell, she felt as though someone had put a knife between her ribs and the ground seemed to be swaying underneath her. Amanda sat there among the chaos. The smell of gun powder and ash filled her nostrils. She closed her eyes, hoped that everything was just a child's dream, a nightmare, that when she opened them again, she would be sitting at the beautiful beach again.

She opened her eyes again.

None of those things happened.

Gathering all the strength, Amanda stood up, using the wall as a cover, she peaked outside. Everything was still a mess. But what intrigued Amanda most of all what the three pirates stood near a burning barn. They were talking to a crying woman. Why are they not stealing anything? Amanda thought. She wasn't wrong though. Those three looked very different from the others, their outfits look just like what pirates would wear, but outside, they were wore a red coat and they looked really young, probably just two or three years older than her. They didn't look like they wanted to steal, but they wanted to find, to search. Find what? Search for what? Amanda didn't care much. She had bigger concerns than sneaking after three pirates. The compass made a big twitch and scared the hell out of Amanda. She took it out and inspected it carefully. It was twitching again, but Amanda felt something was off. None have reached this alley ever since she entered it, then how could it be dangerous around here? But Amanda still found herself on her feet again because she knew one thing:

The compass never wrong.

Peaked outside again, Amanda saw the three pirates, again. The woman talked to them was lying unconscious on the ground. Trying to look more closer, Amanda realized that was one of the maid served in her manor. Poor girl, Amanda thought. Deep down, she really hoped that the maid was really unconscious rather than… God, she couldn't finish the thought. Amanda peaked out again, this time, she saw the three pirates in red coats, again. She looked at them and… they stared right back at her. Drawing her head back with break-neck speed, Amanda panted. They were looking right back, she thought. Or maybe her mind and eyes were just playing a trick on her. Yeah, it could just be an illusion or a trick of the light. Pulling herself together, Amanda poked her head out again, and this time, it was even worse. They were moving toward her, slowly but deadly like a predator lurking around its prey.

And then, it hit her.

They were indeed looking for something.

They were looking for her.

The glass compass started to shake again. Danger was coming. She opened the compass, tried desperately to find a guidance from it but its hand just kept spinning like a pinwheel and not pointing at any specific direction. Amanda realized what that meant.

Nowhere is safe anymore.

Thrusting the compass back into her pocket, Amanda turned around, intended to run. Where? She didn't know, just anywhere far away from those three pirates. But before she could make a step, Amanda found herself surrounded. They have got her. Christ, are these guys demon or what? She thought. Just a few seconds before, they were still miles away, but now, they had already stood in front of her as though they were teleported. Amanda tried to speak but it's seemed like a big boulder just blocked her throat. Her heart wasn't pounding in her chest anymore but it was jumping all over her body. Finally, one of them, this one is a blonde, spoke:

-" Come with us, girl and none shall be harm"

-" Wait, you sure this is her?"

-" Sure, just look at the pocket"

Suddenly, the one behind her grabbed her from the back while the other was searching her pocket. His expression turned from grumpy to delight as he pulled out her glass compass.

-"My God, look how beautiful it is. Just like the legend said"

The compass wasn't just shaking then, it was glowing. The pirate was inspecting it let out a scream and fell down to his knees, clutching his palm. The compass fell to the ground with a "clink". It was glowing red-hot. Smoke emitted from it as though out of a volcano.

-"Don't touch it" the blonde one warned

"Only its rightful owner is allowed to do so. Put it back in her pocket"

-" Put it back? No, you do it? That thing almost burned my hand to crisp"

Using this moment of distraction, Amanda swung her elbow with all her might and crushed the nose of the one who was holding her.

-" SHE BROKE MY NOSE!" He roared as blood spilled out stream by stream from his nostrils.

The blonde one came forward, sword in hand, and tried to attack her but with a swift movement, she ducked and grabbed the red-hot compass on the ground (Strange enough, she didn't feel hot or anything when she touched it). The blonde pirate advanced on her but she pressed the compass right at his face. His scream filled the entire alley. The third one, finally gathered back his senses, tried to get on his feet. Well, he would soon wish that he hadn't been so stupid. Amanda kicked him right at his groin and ran away, leaving the three howling and withering pirates behind.

She just ran, the compass was pointing forward meant that she was heading toward safety. She just ran and ran, twigs and leaves crunching underneath her feet. Finally, she made it to the other side of the island and the sea was glittering and welcoming her again. Tired. Exhausted. Amanda collapsed right at the edge of the water. Far away, a ghostly shadow of a ship appeared. Pirates again? But the compass wasn't shaking anymore. They could be help from the navy. Feeling safe and assured, Amanda closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep as the mysterious ship approached her.

The scene had shifted. Day turned into night. The attack had ended long ago but the three pirates was still suffering another one, a worse one. They were on their ship again, still docking at the same port.

The captain's shadow was advancing toward their shape, made them look so small and fragile. The three of them was on their knee, look just like three miserable rats

-"You failed" The captian accused

-"Sir, we…" the blonde one tried to make an excused but his words were stucked midway as the captain kick at his face which was decorated with a perfect round scar thanks to the compass.

-" I don't want to hear any God forsaken excuses from you three idiots" the captain roared "Three of my Elites, failed to capture a single girl".

Three pirates were shaking violently, just like Amanda's compass when danger was around. The captain was walking back and forth, thinking. After a while, he spoke:

-" You three imbeciles have disappointed me for the last time. TOOK THEIR COATS AWAY"

A six more pirates, all dressed in the same red coat step forward and wrested the coat out of their body.

-" I'll give these coats to those who are more worthy than you lot. And now, for the punishment".

-"Please, captain, have mercy, have mercy" all three of them beg in unison, one even tried to kiss the captain's boot, but obviously, that didn't help much.

Just like there was a ghost, the rigs came to life and slither toward them like snakes. The three pirates scrambled up their feet, tried to find their way to survive, but no one had ever escaped the grasp of Death. Rigs and ropes coiled themselves around three unfortunate victims' necks, tightened the knots and hung them up before the mast like three puppets. They screamed, they cursed, they choked, their body squirmed, spasmed, and, in the end, they were quite and still, just like they were supposed to be.

Silence covered the deck. No one dared to utter a word, but one seemed to find his courage.

-"Captain, the scout team has returned"

-"Did they found anything?"

-"No sir, the girl was nowhere to be found".

The captain punched the wooden pillar, made everyone's heart skipped a beat. The pirate continued:

-"But they found a ship sir"

-"What did it look like?"

-"It looked rather weird. Not like any normal ship but looked rather like a floating house"

The captain seemed to be deep in thoughts. Then he ordered: " Get me Jake, Enwan and Luca". The pirates left the deck and returned with three more. These guys looked much more stronger and well-built than the one who was leading the way.

-"You summon us, Captain?" They all said in unison. Their voice were full of confidence ,proved that they have been on this ship for a long time

-"You three have served me well after all this time. I think it's time for you three to be rewarded. Welcome to the line of the Elites".

-"That's an honor, my captain" they said while putting on the red coats and join other six behind the captain.

-" Elites, go back to your ships, we will sail at dawn" the captain ordered

-" But sir, where exactly are we going?" One of the Elites asked

-"We searched for Milo Murphy"