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First actual chapter of my book. Enjoy.

~Chapter 1~
~A Golden Shell and Stories~

She had never seen anything like it before. A gold colored shell. She rarely ever found shells on this beach, let alone golden ones, even though she was almost 14. Kellie examined the shell from all angels; both sides, underneath it, above it; searching for what might be an explanation for this find. Then, she started to remember a story that her mother had once told her: "If you listen to a shell, it can tell you stories of the sea; it speaks that language of the waves."
So, of course, she lifted the shell to her ear to listen to the stories that the shell might tell her.

And, in a way, it did.

A key slid out of the shell and thumped against her ear, sending shivers down her body. She pulled the shell away, and the key fell to the sandy beach with a muted thud. She kneeled and gingerly took the key from its sandy bed and fumbled with it in her hands.
It seemed like an ordinary key; made of brass, a few appendages, and that seemed to be about it. But it was when she flipped the key over, she noticed something else; words. Words engraved in the key’s body. She squinted, trying to make the words visible, but they were still unintelligible. She thought she saw something similar to death, but she believed that the idea was impossible. But, still, she wondered about-
“Kellie!”
She leaped from her spot on the beach at the sound of the voice calling her name. She quickly buried the shell underneath the white sand and turned to Jakob sprinting towards her from the distance. His mahogany hair bounced with every stride and his bright blue eyes sparkled as the sun shone on them. His tanned body came closer and closer until he was also sitting on the beach, panting loudly and sweat rolling down the sides of his face.
Through gasps, he managed to speak. “She’s telling stories!”
Kellie’s eyes widened quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?! Come on!”
She leaped up, grabbed Jakob by his shirt sleeve, and sprinted to town, Jakob being dragged along. The town’s buildings zipped away as she ran faster and faster down the street, looking for the dilapidated shack that was the home of the Story Weaver.
The Story Weaver could be described as an interesting character. Long spider web white hair; smoky eyes, for she could not see; yet, her face and body resembled those of a woman who was only in her early twenties. She had no sight, but she could do something, something that no one else in the small town of Port Glasse could do.
She told stories.
She told stories like no one else in that town. Yes, she was blind, but she told the stories so vividly, it was almost as if she had seen them before. Some say that she simply made up the stories, crafting them like a spider’s web, the stories entangling the children that so dearly listened. Other believed that she was a witch of sorts, enslaving demons and forcing them to tell her the tales that she passed on to the children.
But the children knew the real story; the tales were real. They had all happened, and she had seen them somehow. They thought that she had lost her sight in some sort of accident, but that story was never told.
Now then, Kellie was running out of breath when she finally arrived at the dwelling of the Story Weaver. Jakob, being dragged along, was perfectly fine, and neatly sat down, legs crossed, ready to listen. Kellie fell to the ground, exhausted. There were already some children there, speaking softly to each other, wondering about what stories that they had the pleasure of hearing that day. And then, she came out.
The Story Weaver strolled to a rotting rocking chair that creaked as she sat down. A hushed silence spread across the crowd, each child staring wide-eyed at the Story Weaver. For a few moments, everything was still.
And then, “So, what story do you children want to hear?”
It was an unusually kind voice for someone of her appearance, but it certainly got the crowd excited.
“The Kraken Story!”
“No, that one’s too scary!”
“The Sunken Treasure!”
“Nah, I don’t wanna listen to that one.”
“Something new!”
Dozens of agreements floated within the group. The Story Weaver sat quietly, listening to the commotion taking place. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers vociferously. Silence took hold once again.
“So, you want to hear a new story?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Alright then,” she straightened herself up, cleared her throat, and began her tale.

“Not long ago, there was child whose name was Gianne. The child was know as Robin, however, as she was a girl whose heart burned with courage and adventure, which people took to be the robin’s red breast. She took on many challenges, always succeeding, earning more and more respect from the inhabitants that resided in her town. Everyone showed her great respect, yet she was only 14. She was loved by all, never to be shunned by society, or, so they thought.”
“Picture a dark night. Mist hangs tiredly in the air; clouds slowly roll past the glowing full moon. You wouldn’t want to be out on a night like that, now would you?” Several children agreed. “Well, someone was out on that night. Who do you think it was?” Shouts of “Robin” came from assorted spots of the crowd. The Story Weaver smiled. “Good, you’re paying attention. Now, as I was saying, Robin was one of the few people out that night. She was beyond the edge of the town, underneath the branches of a silent tree, the leaves shivering with every breath of the wind. Underneath that tree along with her was a young man named Rian. Rian was Robin’s boyfriend, and he had asked her to meet with him under the tree for something that he had described as very important. And under the scattered moonlight, he gave her a necklace. It was a beautiful necklace indeed; a red ruby in a golden casing, hanging delicately from a gold chain. And of course, she just loved it. That’s when they kissed.”
“Awww!”
“Yes, very cute, isn’t it? As I was saying, they kissed under the tree, thinking that this was the greatest moment of their young lives. But, of course, that was about to be proven wrong.”
“That’s when the pirates came. They had arrived in the south, raiding towns and villages as they made their way north along the coast. Fire and blood lay in their wake, as they killed anyone that had the misfortune or the bravery and stupidity to be in their path. It just so happened that this tree was very close to the shore. So, unfortunately for the two of them, they were in that very path. The first thing that they heard was the faint footsteps, and then the roars of the excitement of another pillaging. They turned to find them stampeding towards them. Robin was shoved out of sight behind the tree by Rian, while he was left in the open with himself and his dagger. He put up a fierce fight with some of those pirates, but it was when he met the Captain that he met his demise.”
“The Captain was a large man, looming over Rian at almost 6 feet. He wasn’t referred to as anything else; no one had any idea of what his name was, so his crew simply addressed him as Captain. He whipped out his cutlass, the metal catching what little moonlight still lingered in the air. With a quick motion of his arm, the sword had found its way into Rian’s chest, stopping not only his heart, but also Robin’s, who was still behind the tree and watching Rian’s efforts. He swiftly pulled out the stained blade, letting Rian’s deceased body fall limply to the ground. Robin stood, almost physically connected to the tree. She could not move; she could not speak, for the boy that she loved was dead.”
“Unfortunately, she was found, and by someone you wouldn’t want to meet. It was the Captain. He locked his eyes on her for a while, analyzing her every detail with those murky gray eyes. She stood chained to that spot, staring at the ground, not daring to move or even breathe. He took her by the sides and flung her over his shoulder. She could then again see Rian’s corpse, and the dagger still clutched in his clammy hand. That’s when she had an idea. She bit the Captain’s shoulder, causing him to release her. She fell to the ground with a hard thump, but she quickly staggered to her feet. She ran to Rian, and stole the dagger from his hand. She turned to find the Captain running ferociously at her. She swung her arm forward and the dagger sailed into the Captain’s stomach. An ‘urk’ escaped his lips before he fell to the ground, to writhe with pain, and then to eventually die. But before he did so, he looked up at her and smiled. He handed her a small gold key, and told her, ‘Good job.’”
“She had no idea of what the key meant, but the Captain’s crew had claimed it as one of their most important possessions. It was the Key of Captain’s, as they called it; the key that declared a captain. Simply, what that meant was that she was their new captain. Of course, no one in her town was happy about this. Her parents were furious that a group of pirates were calling their daughter one of their own. But she was forced to go, none the less, as some people said that is she didn’t the town would be forever plagued by pirate raids. She left, off to be one of the most notorious captains that has ever sailed the seven seas.”
A hand poked out of the crowd, then, after some thought, it shot back down. Instead, the hand’s voice was heard. “Story Weaver?”
“Yes, Kellie?”
“Um, what exactly did the key look like?”
“What did it look like? Well, it was gold; it was a pretty normal key if you didn’t inspect it too closely. But if you look closely enough, you would see words inscribed on its body.”
A lump of fear was growing in Kellie’s throat. “What did it say?”
“Well, what most people believed it to say was, ‘Pirate, Captain for life, breakin’ this bond, not until death.’”
Her heart started to beat faster and faster. It. Wasn’t. Possible. It just couldn’t.

The shell on the beach.

The key that was inside.

It was the Key of Captain’s.

And she had it.

Only a few words were on her mind: Oh my God.

pirate COMMENT!!