Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Strange Sea Storm

“Mother! No!” The tiny shrill voice of a little girl echoed desperately through the waves of the ocean, their ship kept jiggling forcefully due to the pressure of the water below as the thunderstorm cracked loudly above the threatening dark sky.

“Anna ! Go back inside! Right now!” Her mother, who was shocked to see her seven-year-old daughter stepping out of the hiding room and onto the deck couldn’t help but panic.

“But mother...”

“Go now!” She ordered with pleading eyes and immediately returned to work. Despite noticing her mother’s queer reaction, Anna couldn’t go back like she was told to, it felt like her feets were glued to the ground and she was unable to take even a single step.

The heavy force of the water kept tumbling their ships and the dark clouds weren’t helping matters at all, it sent quite a lot of troupes rolling from one edge to the other and some even falling off the ship and into the water.

This was practically unlike any other sea storm they’ve encountered, one would actually think the Gods were angry and trying to pour the anger out on its people.

“Pull at the storm sails! The second storm is coming in heavier this time around.”

The captain ordered loudly to the remaining troupes while Anna’s mom immediately got to work with the rest of them. Meanwhile, Anna could do nothing but observe the traumatizing scene before her, despite being quite far away from where the captain of the ship was standing, Anna could clearly hear him whisper something cynical to her mother.

.....

“This has never happened before,” he said, “until you decided to bring that daughter of yours on this trip!” The captain cursed without any form of remorse, which made the colors on her mom’s face drain a bit. She said nothing and only lowered her head in disdain, causing Anna to fearfully wonder if her own mother was starting to have the same mentality as the rest of them.

Another terrifying lightning crackled loudly above the sky, forcing Anna to quickly move from her spot. This was her first time sailing through a ship before but she had never imagined it’d turn out to be so scary and full of lightning. It made adrenaline rush through her system as she headed into the hiding room.

The force of the ocean beneath the ship made it tumble heavily to the left, causing Anna to lose her balance just before she could grab hold of the door knob.

“Ahh!!”

She fell to her feet, coarsely rolling to the edge of the ship due to its unstable movement.

“Ah! Mother!” She cried out in fear, gaining the attention of her mom who was busy adjusting the sails so it wouldn’t get blown away by the harsh wind.

“Anna!” She felt her heart seize momentarily at the sight of her daughter struggling to get up on her two feet and immediately left the sails to go attend to her.

“My child!” She reached for the edge and immediately crouched before her little girl, helping her get up to her feet while cross-checking her body to make sure she wasn’t hurt by the fall.

“Are you alright my dear? Were you hurt?” The worry was clearly visible in her beautiful eyes while Anna could only shake her head despite the tears which threatened to fall from the brim of her big round eyes.

“Forgive your mother for bringing you on this trip, you’ll be safe alright? Come here.” She carried her daughter in her arms while leading her to the hiding room.

The storm only grew stronger like the captain had predicted it’d be, its harsh wind increased further and the waves kept getting higher than the last, the young woman safely helped her daughter get into the hiding room.

“Stay here, you’ll be safe alright? Don’t come out no matter what, you’ll be a good girl and listen to mommy okay?” She assured her daughter despite the tears which equally filled her eyes.

The captain was right, this storm was definitely one she has never come across and there was a very low percent chance that they’d survive the next storm, but her daughter has to be safe. Even if she doesn’t survive she’d do anything to protect her only daughter from this strange storm.

“Promise me you won’t come out no matter what, stay here.”

Before Anna could respond or say anything to her mother, the woman had already closed the door, leaving Anna’s voice to hang in her throat as she was instantly encompassed by the darkness of the room.

She could still hear the rumbling of thunder outside and covered her ears with her palm, it scared the daylights out of her and made her shiver within.

“Please go away..... please go away.” Her tiny soft voice kept begging because her mother was still out there, the only person who still loved her, she couldn’t afford to lose her mother, never !

Unable to bear the suspense of what’s happening outside, her sharp eyes immediately scanned the dark room she was in and thanks to the little light penetrating from the window at her door, she found a barrel laying at a corner.

Instinctively, she reached for the barrel, using her tiny hands to push it to the door so she could climb on it and see what was happening through the window.

Making it to the top of the barrel, she peeped out while covering her ears and all she saw was people running from one place to the other, the captain giving out orders while handling the steering wheel.

Gazing up at the dark cloud above, the thunder immediately flashed its heavenly light, a light so powerful and disastrous, that’s when she saw it or maybe it was just the trick of light but she saw something.

Something that made her small body tremble at the sight, her eyes dilated horrifically as whatever she saw got hidden by the darkness of the clouds once again.

A quick short gasp escaped from her throat and that’s when she instantly banged on the window, trying to alert her mother about what she just saw but instead, a huge heavy wave came,a wave big enough to swallow hundreds of people.

Anna’s big eyes unknowingly dilated, her pupils contrasting further after seeing the wave grow bigger before her and within a flash, it had enveloped the ship.

“Mother!!”

————

hello old/new readers ??

Welcome to my newest book on WN as this story is based on a historical setting, it’s a dark romance but it won’t contain much of it as there will be interesting dialogue, enough spicy treats and sweet banters.;-)

But like i said, it’s dark so expect Gore, Angst, betrayal and bloodshed, including strong languages. I deal with slow burns which will improve into something more as the story moves on.

For my old readers I won’t be dropping this particular nvl if u’re insecure about it, I’ve planned on taking my time on it and not rush into anything concerning this nvl like I did with the rest.

For my new readers, thank you for reading and I hope the book reaches your expectation. (^^)

Please leave a comment and reviews too, let’s keep an open mind <3