Morg: Heyo! GUYS! GUYS! I'M SO EXCITED!

Ikuto: Chill out, yo.

Amu: Shouldn't you be doing something else?

Morg: No way! Can't you feel the rush of a new story! Nothing has been written yet! Nothing has been set in stone! I'm just so excited!

Ikuto: Is it Amuto?

Amu: I hope not.

Morg: YES! And guess what!?

Ikuto: Something tells me I shouldn't.

Amu: What?

Morg: This is a pirate fic! That means ships, oceans, storms, treasure and crazy quests! Ugh! Why have I not written this before!?

Ikuto: Shouldn't have asked. Now she's spazzing.

Amu: We have nothing to worry about, Ikuto. She doesn't own us.

Morg: But I'm going to write about you doing epic things! Get ready for it!

~The Eighth Sea~

Sitting on the small wooden chair in the young girl's room, Ikuto watched as his best friend finished stuffing all of her clothing in the tiny bag her mother had given her. Amu's family had lost everything to the king and with Amu's mother being pregnant they could not afford to remain in the city. They were given the option of relocating to one of the new colonies in exchange for their debts, and with no other option, they were going to do so.

Amu did not want to go. She loved their small house and where it was situated just outside of the bustling city. Her school was neat and tidy and, of course, one could not forget her best friend, Ikuto. Despite her parents' attempts to get them out of financial trouble by selling almost everything they owned they had not been able to do so. Amu was quite distraught that they would be leaving the following day.

Their daughter did not care about her pretty clothes or toys that slowly went missing. She cared about being with Ikuto and staying with her family. "I don't want to go."

Sighing, Ikuto had heard Amu say the same five words continuously throughout the day. As much as he didn't want her to have to leave either, there was nothing he could do to make her stay. "I don't want you to go either."

Smiling at the response, Amu stopped her packing to turn back to her friend. She hugged him quick before releasing her hold and sitting on her small bed. The house would be sold once they left the following day, although they would never see a cent of that money. It belonged to the king. Amu's eight-year-old mind could not comprehend why they owed so much money to the king, but if her papa said they did then they did. "I wish we could run away but mama said no."

Being that he was several years older than his friend, Ikuto understood why running away wasn't going to work. "I would be sad, too."

"You would come with us."

Ikuto couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips. Amu was truly one of a kind. She was completely and entirely loyal to her friends, even if he was the only one, and she always seemed to be thinking about him, too. "My parents wouldn't like that."

"I know."

Seeing the pout, Ikuto forced himself to stay seated. Amu was leaving the next day. He wanted to spend every moment with his best friend that he could before she left. Someday, hopefully, he'd find her again. "Just promise me that you won't forget about me and make friends with some other boy."

Giggling, Amu couldn't believe Ikuto would be worried about such a thing. "I would never. Silly Ikuto. You are my best friend. Forever and always."

"Forever and always?"

Still giggling, Amu moved off her bed once more to press a kiss to his cheek and wrap her arms around him for another hug. "I could never forget you. Not in a million years."

The sound of the door opening caused the two children to turn to look at who had just walked in on them. Amu's mother, Midori stood in the doorway. "Are you finished saying goodbye? We have to leave early in the morning to board the ship, Amu. I'm certain that Ikuto's mother is wondering where he is."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ikuto wanted to argue with that statement. His mother knew exactly where he was. If he wasn't at home then he was at Amu's. That's just how it worked. "Be safe in your travels, Midori. Tell Tsumugu I said goodbye when he returns. Please tell the little one about me."

Midori smiled as she rested her hand on top of her growing stomach. Hopefully, the trip across the ocean wouldn't be too rough on her pregnancy. "Of course. Grow up smart, Ikuto."

Bowing, Ikuto turned and gave Amu one last hug while whispering in her ear. "Forever and always."

Amu couldn't help but smile as Ikuto stared straight into her eyes until he was out of the room. The moment he was gone, however, the realization of never seeing him again hit her and she began to tear up. Something her mother seemed to notice as she was pulled in a hug.

"I know that you will miss Ikuto, but there will be other little boys and girls in the new colony for you to play with. Who knows, maybe someday Ikuto will come in on one of the ships as well."

"You think so?"

Midori truly didn't want to give her daughter false hope; on the other hand, she also did not want Amu to be down the entire time they had to cross to the new colony. The journey was expected to last for several months. It would be hard enough without a moping eight-year-old on board. "I can't make you any promises, Amu, but I can say that a lot of people have been moving to the colonies in search of better lives. Maybe Ikuto's family will come, too."

With that thought clutched tightly by her heart, Amu stopped her tears to give her mother a wobbly smile. "I hope so."

XXX TEN YEARS LATER XXX

"Watch 'er, Amu! Don' let 'er get ye'!"

Rolling her eyes, Amu checked the knot around her waist once more before looking down toward the side of the ship she was helping the men in the yards fix. From her spot upon the mast, she could see the hole in the helm where the owners of the ship said the pirates shot them. Luckily, they hadn't sunk and had been able to make it into the harbor for repairs. "This isn't my first time."

A sparsely toothed smile was barely seen below her as the man she worked for grinned up at her. "Doesn't make 'er less dangerous!"

Brushing a lock of pink hair out of her face, Amu prepared for her dive. The first time she'd done this it had been by accident. She had been attempting to untangle some of the lines of one of the sails when she'd lost her balance and fallen. Somehow, in midair, she'd managed to turn so that her safety rope brought her in a graceful arc and she was able to run along the side of the ship before the momentum of her swing lifted her up and landed her on the deck of the ship. None of the men around had been able to believe what they'd just seen. The head of the repairmen had offered Amu a position right then and there for a job. Now she made a similar jump as her fall.

She was well-practiced and knew how to jump so that she'd be able to stop herself next to the spot that needed repairing. The whole thing took only a few moments and was a lot easier than lowering heavy mean over the side of the ship to do the same task. They only had to lower a bucket, and Amu could usually fix any small amount of damage found, like the small hole she was fixing that day.

Taking a deep breath, the pinkette waited until the wind felt just right before she lifted her arms and bent her knees. As she let the air escape her lungs, she jumped off her tiny perch and out into the open air. Nothing could ever equal the feeling she got when she soared through the air. This was a job that she would never tell her parents or her younger sister, Ami, about. The danger involved was high enough that they would ask her to stop and she would do so for them. Since she didn't want to stop, Amu simply did not tell them about all of her tasks in the yard.

Just when she felt like she was going to grow wings and fly, the rope caught and brought her back towards land. The arc completed itself, causing the pink-haired girl to run along the side of the ship as if it were the ground and the sea didn't exist to her right. Pacing herself, Amu slowed down just in time to catch the small hole she'd be fixing and let the momentum leave her body so she simply hung in her spot. "Tighten my rope and pass down my supplies."

"Aye, Amu!"

The repair didn't take much time. Amu was grateful for that as the men that worked alongside her pulled her back up to the deck of the ship. "Is there anything else for me today?"

"Not today. Go collect your pay and head home."

Amu smiled before bowing and quickly moving towards the ramp to get back on the dock. She wasn't going to be going home for long, but the fact that she got to leave early even if it wasn't by much made her day easier.

Once she had her pay in hand, Amu slipped through the people at the pier and up to a shop not far away from the main dock. "Hello?"

"Amu dear, is that you?"

Smiling though the woman that ran the shop could not see her, Amu moved just a little further inside the door. She was dirty and didn't want to spread her filth to the beautiful things inside the shop. "Yes. Just checking to see if you have anything for me."

A woman walked out of the backroom of the shop with a painting in her hands. She moved to her counter and put it down before turning to face the pinkette just inside her door. "I'm afraid not. We haven't had many new people in her for a while."

Amu tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. It wasn't every day or even every week that one of her paintings sold or she had one commissioned.

"But! I heard that we are to expect a couple of ships this month. Merchants."

Smiling at that, Amu backed up toward the door. She didn't have much time before she had to keep going. "That's great news!"

"Hopefully, I'll see more than just one of your paintings. They really are beautiful, Amu."

Blushing a bit at that, Amu bowed before backing out the door of the shop. "Thank you so much. Have a great day!"

Despite not having sold anything, Amu couldn't help but walk with a bit of a pep in her step as she made her way out of the town and up the dirt road to where she lived with her family. New ships meant new customers, which could end up buying her pictures or commissioning one or two from her. Selling them would be a huge help for her and her family.

The promised better life of living in the colonies never came. They had endured the rough seas for months as they made the crossing. Many on their ship weren't so lucky. Her mother had spent the journey sick but Ami was healthy when she was born on dry land. Luckily, they had landed a few weeks before Midori gave birth.

Amu and her parents were forced to work several jobs in an effort to keep their family in their home with food to eat. Ami's school had to be paid for, as well, and the taxes they were forced to pay were no small sum. Still, they had each other and life at their colony wasn't too bad.

Whistling as she made her way toward her home to change, Amu spotted the one person she hated seeing. Luckily, it wasn't an everyday occurrence, but she still thought it happened too much. Not that their small port was big enough for her to avoid anyone.

Moving to the side of the road, Amu bowed to the boy coming down the path toward her. Hotori Tadase, the governor's son. He was the boy that had the most power in their colony and for some reason unknown to Amu, he showed interest in her. Interest that she absolutely did not return.

"Hello, Amu."

"Tadase."

Smirking at the dirty girl, Tadase took a step forward while wrinkling his nose as if Amu's smell offended him. She hoped it did. "How many times must I tell you to become mine and stop worrying about working? I could give you an easy life where you had maids rather than being one yourself."

Smiling back because she knew there would be consequences for her family if she didn't, Amu simply pretended to be too dense and innocent to fully understand what Tadase meant. "I could never be worthy of that sort of life, Tadase."

Nodding his head as if he agreed, Tadase moved to be back on his way down the path. His plan was already set into motion. Amu would be his. "No matter, I will have you soon."

Not liking the sound of that, Amu bowed once more before she hurried along. The conversation had been short but it had also cut into her time that she had to plan out carefully to be to her next job.

What she wasn't expecting was to find her mother and father both in their house waiting for her. They should have been at work and if they were at home then it usually did not mean something good had happened. "What's wrong?"

Tsumugu shook his head before tears streamed down his face. "This isn't fair to our little sparrow. She deserves so much more than this. She deserves to fly free."

Confused, Amu looked to her mother for an answer.

Midori looked hardly better than her husband, though she kept her tears neat as they fell down her cheeks. "Hotori was just here visiting. He has demanded more money from our family, a sum we cannot pay. The only way out we have is to give you to him in marriage. If we do so, he will cancel our debts."

Amu felt her world crashing down on her shoulders. Marrying Tadase? There was nothing she would hate more. Her jobs, although hard, were important to her. Amu felt as if she were independent and strong when she managed to use her time so wisely and made money for their family. A pampered life was not something she wanted. Being forced to be away from her family was not something she wanted. Having Tadase as a husband was not something she wanted. This was not what she wanted. But this was for the family. "Is there no other choice?"

Shaking her head, Midori felt crushed to have to ask this of her daughter. She took her husband's hand into hers as she looked down at her beautiful daughter. There was so much she wanted for Amu. There were things that she had thought they'd be able to have here in the colonies, but it wasn't to be. "There isn't another way this time. Hotori was clear about that."

Slowly, Amu moved toward their small table to sit in one of the wooden chairs. Chairs they had been so proud to be able to afford not long ago. Her future, though not entirely bright to begin with, suddenly disappeared. "I do not want to, but I will."

.

Morg: I think that's a rather nice start.

Ikuto: I don't.

Amu: Not bad.

Morg: What do you guys think? There will be a wedding in the next chapter!

Ikuto: Only if it is between Amu and me.

Amu: Nope! Don't want that.

Morg: It is marked Amuto! You guys just have to learn to trust me! Get ready for this!