Amelia had never liked traveling across the open ocean on large ships such as the one she was on now. Even though she had spent the vast majority of her life by the sea, having lived her life on the coast, she still could not get her 'sea legs' , and every time the waves bounced the ship up and down, so too her stomach made the same uncomfortable movement. These uncomfortable feelings were ones that she had to endure,  especially after her father told her the news of her betrothal  to a prince of a neighboring island across the vast sea.  Her father was not a man to be trifled with-or so that's what she'd heard about him-nor was he a man who was present in the lives of his wife or daughters. Instead, he climbed the political ladder and was now an Earl with many prized posessions.  The one thing that stood in his way to climbing higher on that ladder was his daughters; as Amelia was the oldest, she was fit to be married off to the highest bidder.<br/>When her father gave her the news, it was not in person, but rather in a letter. Moments after she finished reading it, she curled up on the floor and wept, then wept again. She did not wish to be married to some stranger who she didn't love. She wanted to find happiness with someone who would take care of her and provide her with the things she needed. After two days of weeping and eating very little, Amelias' mother took her up in her arms comforted her, but she too was powerless to stop the climb that her father had begun. And so, three days later, Amelia had unwillingly boarded the ship and wept silent tears as she watched her mother and younger sisters fade away in the distance.<br/>Her tears continued for days on end, and try as she might, she could not stop them; no matter how hard she tried to distract herself with reading, writing, or painting. It was all useless.<br/>Amelia had been lying in her makeshift bed below deck in only her thin linnen underdress- for she had not the desire to put on anything else-when she heard loud noises coming from...everywhere. Sitting up in her bed, she soon realized that the loud noise-followed by the cracking of wood-was from a cannon.  Soon afterwards, shouts and swords clanging together resounded from above; Her brows knit together and her stomach dropped at the realization of what was happening. The ship was being attacked. Amelia swallowed the bile that rose to her throat and quickly stood up and grabbed her only posessions that she had been able to carry onto the ship. From underneath her pillow, she clutched a simple necklace with a small sapphire on the chain and her journal. Sounds of boots treading down the hallway echoed just outside her door, but before she could hide her things or place them in a bag around her, the door burst open.<br/>Amelia screamed in fear and instinctively stepped backwards into the wall; the pirates who entered her room smirked and easily grabbed her arms and forced her out of her room and up onto the deck. The sun's light bounced off the water and caused her to squint as she ascended the stairs, but as her eyes adjusted to the light, she threw up as she saw the carnage up on the deck. Her captors did not care and kept her moving forward, towards a woman with dark hair and a long sword. The captain.<br/>Amelia coughed and swallowed nervously as her captors paused in front of the captain, as if waiting for her approval or disapproval in the prisoner.<br/>Amelia trembled, but her fists tightened around her necklace and journal.<br/>She would not let this pirate take what was rightfully hers.