Before you start reading this story I would like to tell you that it is a series that will make up about nine books. I plan to write them as quick as I can but I am a busy person, most of the time. The story will be going through many different worlds (book series, manga, and a world I created). Since these characters are seeing each world for the first time I will describe each one thoroughly so even if you have no idea what's in the actual story you will still know what each one is about. Enjoy!

Screams echoed through the crowded streets. A mother hurriedly carried her infant inside her house. A husband searched desperately for his wife. A small child stood alone crying for his mother. An old man hobbled as quickly as he could to his front door. Trying to reach shelter before they came.

Lucie saw all this as she dashed down the streets. She felt their fear and their panic but did not stop. She could not stop. Her small figure made it easy to weave through the crowds and continue down the streets. She took every shortcut she could think harder than she thought she ever could she did her best to avoid the wild men. To skirt around the blood stained streets and to avoid the horrible screams of death. She tried not to think until she reached home.

Minutes later, she stopped at her front door only to find it wide open. Trying to swallow her fear Lucie carefully peaked inside the house. What she saw almost made her collapse with fear. Her mother stood with her back against the wall. Lucie had made it just in time to watch a pirate stab her mother in the gut. Blood stained the blue dress she wore, and Lucie had to clasp her hand around her mouth to keep from letting out a loud sob. The man pulled his sword out of her mother and the woman fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Lucie tried to run but her legs wouldn't move. Frozen in place, she watched the pirate turn away from her mother. He noticed her standing in the doorway and gave a crooked smile. He began to walk towards and she watched him approach. Her heart hammering in her chest. As he approached, she studied his grimy face and tattered clothing. The scent of the ocean and body odor rolled off his body in copious amounts. Lucie wanted to throw up but fear kept her in check. Finally, the pirate stood right in front of her.

"Well, if ye ain't jus' a pretty little thing," he cackled. Lucie could almost taste the rotten fish the pirate must have eaten for breakfast. "Too bad I'll 'ave to kill ye."

With a crazy grin on his face, the pirate pulled back sword. Lucie, still frozen with fear, closed her eyes. A loud clang echoed down the street and she tentatively opened an eye. A butcher's knife had stopped the sword from hitting home. Mr. Write stepped in front of Lucie to protect her from the pirate.

She nodded a silent thanks to the butcher and dashed inside to her mother. Blood was already pooling on the floor and the woman's breathing shallow. She pressed her hands on the wound trying to stop the bleeding. It spilled through her fingers but she didn't know what else to do.

"Lucie." Her mother's hand rested on her arm. "Stop, it's too late."

"Mom, please don't go." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't want to be left alone."

"You won't be alone," her mother smiled. "You still have Zinaida."

"I don't want you to leave."

Her mother gave a sad smile. "There's nothing that can be done. Now listen."

The next sentence was whispered so quietly Lucie almost didn't catch the words. When she realized what they meant she tried to ask what they meant but it was too late. Her mother gave one last sigh and lay limp on the floor. Her glassy eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.

Lucie sat on the floor beside her mother. She didn't cry. Not when her father entered the house. Not when her best friend came to sit beside her. Not when they buried her mother's body.

The morning sunlight woke Lucie from her sleep. She lay in bed for a few moments thinking back two years ago. Remembering her mother's death as if it was only yesterday. A deep wound that would never close. Tears fell down her cheeks but she quickly wiped them away. She cried now out of loneliness but she never wanted the tears to fall.

Taking a deep breath she slid out of bed and put on her dress. She pulled her hair back into a quick braid and then made her way downstairs. Her footsteps to echoed loudly in the silent house but she knew that no noise was loud enough to wake her family.

"Good morning," Zinaida leaped out from behind the kitchen door. The bright smile on her friends face brightened the dull kitchen. Her long blond hair hung loosely past her shoulders. She wore a bright blue dress that matched her blue eyes. Her shoes were dirty from the walk over. The way she dressed no one would guess that she was part of the high class Lenochka family. She ordered the simple dresses of peasants to the lacy ones her mother tried to give her.

"Good morning," Lucie replied. "You're here early."

"My parents said that you could come over today," she spoke over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen. "Your family will be out on a fishing trip right?"

"Yes," Lucie confirmed, "they shouldn't be back until late tonight."

"You should come over then." Zinaida begged.

"Of course I will," Lucie smiled. "I love staying at your place."

"I don't get it." Zinaida frowned. She started pulling food out of the pantry while Lucie stoked the fire. "Why don't you just stay with us if you like it so much?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

Her friend sighed. "I don't understand you. We should start cooking if we want to finish before your brothers wake."

The two girls then went to work preparing breakfast. They worked in silence. Each doing their part with hardly a word spoken in between. Chopping up ingredients and adding them to a pot already sitting over the fire. When the food was nearly done, Lucie began to prepare the tea while Zinaida set the table.

Lucie had just started to dish up the food onto everyone's plates when her father, followed by her brothers,made their way to the kitchen table. Her oldest two brothers had already moved out and started families of their own. The remaining four were either not of age or too reluctant to leave.

Robert, the oldest still living in the house. Wasted no time in sitting down to his breakfast. The others followed more slowly but still chatted excitedly amongst each other. They all took more after their father than their mother. They had the light brown hair, dark eyes and pale skin. As if even their appearance rejected the fact that their mother ever existed.

Not a single one of her brothers took notice of Lucie or Zinaida as they walked in. Their eyes passed over the two girls as if they were just another object in the small house. Only her father scowled at them but then he continued to pretend they didn't exist.

The youngest, Josias, was last to reach the table. He didn't seemed to care as much to rush through meals as his older brothers. Peter, the second youngest, and Henry, the next one, nearly knocked over their chairs over in attempt to be the second one at the table. Peter won by a hair but the older boy tried to argue his way into the second place spot. Meanwhile, Robert attempted to steal a bite of food but their father caught him with a glare. He sat down at the table. his overbearing presence silencing everyone. Everyone's heads bent in prayer while Lucie and Zinaida ducked back into the kitchen to eat their own breakfast.

"The way some of your brothers act," Zinaida whispered. "It's hard to believe they are all older than you."

Lucie snorted, "At least James and Roger are no longer here." She rolled her eyes, "Roger and Robert use to argue about everything."

"I guess that's what you get with twins." Her friend muttered. "I don't know if Sergei and Kirill ever got along. They always seem to have opposite opinions about everything." They giggled silently but then continued silently with their own meals.

Twenty minutes later and Lucie's family was already done eating. After another ten minutes they were leaving the house without a single word to the girls. When the door finally shut, the they could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Time to clean," Lucie turned back into the kitchen. "Let's hurry up so we can get out of here."

They spent the morning washing dishes, clearing the table and sweeping the floors. Together they took the laundry washed it and hung it to dry. They made the beds and made sure everything was in order before leaving the house.

"So nice to finally breath ," Lucie smiled as she breathed in the warm summer air.

"It's been such a nice summer," Zinaida commented. "I don't know how people could stay inside on days like this."

"Which- " Lucie began but stopped as she tripped over a loose flagstone. She quickly regained her balance and glanced around shyly to see if anyone was watching.

"You're such a clutz sometimes," her friend giggled.

Lucie pouted, "At least I'm not as bad as Denis. Isn't he the one who is always tripping on the stairs?"

"True. I'm not sure if there is anything he has not tripped over… And he's always spilling things. You have no idea how many rugs my parents have had to replace because of him! Anyway, what were you going to say?"

Lucie stopped for a moment. "Ummmm…."

"You forgot."

"No I had it." She stood there trying to remember. "Oh yeah. I was going to ask which path you wanted to take to your place."

"We're going by the port today." Zinaida responded as they continued walking.

"Isn't that a little out of our way?" She sighed. Realizing where this conversation was headed.

"I heard rumors that pirates were coming and I wanted to go see if we could spot their ship."

Lucie opened her mouth to speak but was distracted by a young boy that had darted out into the middle of the road. His mother, who not far behind, quickly scooped him up and carry him back to the front entrance of her house. Her husband stood on the porch watching them.

"It's James!" Zinaida exclaimed. "I didn't know your brother lived here."

"I had no idea either," Lucie shook her head. She purposefully crossed the street to avoid any contact with her sibling. "I've never visited his house even though he has come over plenty of times."

"His little boy is cute."

"He's a brat. Just as bad as his father."

"At least you don't have to worry about taking care of him anymore."

Lucie smiled, "I'm glad that I don't have to worry about him or Roger. If only Robert could stop being a jerk and marry someone so he will move out."

Zinaid laughed, "But that would be too easy. Just wait, someday you will have the opportunity to leave that house as well."

"If only that was today," she sighed.

They arrived at the port and Lucie could not help but be calmed by the sea. She stared at the point right where the sky met with the ocean and wondered what it was like to be beyond that. A part of her longed to be on the sea. Past the horizon where she could no longer see any land. Only the deep ocean surrounding her for miles and the nice blue sky stretching far above.

"Do you see any pirate ships?" Zinaida asked jerking Lucie out of her daydream.

"I wasn't looking," Lucie replied. "I don't even want to look for pirates. Last time was bad enough. Who knows what they will do next?"

"They can't be all bad. I think people just misunderstand them."

She snorted but didn't try to argue. Her friend was a little too stubborn and they had already fought over this point many times. Sometimes it was better to just leave things alone.

After a while, Zinaida gave up on her search and led the way back to her house. By the time they arrived it was already noon and both girl's were ready for lunch. One of the maids led them into the dining room where Zinaida's family was already waiting for them.

Lucie could not count how many times she had been inside her friends house but every time she felt shrunken by the grandeur of the place. Everything from the white curtains to the carved railings. From the maids waiting on her to the joyful laughter that always echoed in the dining room. This was a whole other world to her. One that almost shouldn't exist.

"You girl's sure took your time to get here," Vladimir, Zinaida's father, smiled at them as soon as they entered the room. The man stood from his seat and squished both girls in a string hug. Yet another part of this house Lucie struggled to get use to. "I was about to send Sergei to go find you two."

"We were in no hurry." Zinaida reasoned. She took her seat at the table and Lucie followed her lead. "It's a nice day so we wanted to take our time."

As soon as everyone one was seated, food was laid on the table and the whole family began to eat. Light chatter spread all over the table as the family laughed and joked with each other.

Zinaida began the meal by teasing her younger brother, Denis. Telling him that she saw pirates at port. While her brother tried to glean information from her she stayed quiet or would purposely turn to talk to Lucie about completely unrelated topics.

Kirill and Sergei, per usual, sat as far away from each other as they could. Sergei talked Victor about imports and exports of different products. Geniveve, Zinaida's mother, was trying to convince Kirill to find a woman and get married. A topic which he continually tried to avoid but his mother continued to bring it up.

Home. If Lucie could describe this place in one word it would be home. Yet not exactly. No matter how much she loved this place she could not stay. No matter how much she hated the other place she never ran away. Drifting from place to place, she felt like a ship with no real destination. With no wind to guide her.