Chapter 7: Chapter 5 – Disappearance and decision

- POV General -

The day had gone on as usual, the end of the week had even ended in an exciting way for our six friends who had made their way back home with a smile. However, an unexpected discovery had quickly changed the mood of the evening, making it much more worrying. Suspecting at first a human intrusion, Hestia had then penetrated alone in the enormous tree which served all of them as a lair to discover what was going on.

There, before all the others, she had discovered with shock not a human but a white bird, weak, injured and completely disoriented. It had flown into the tree, breaking one of the small windows near the front door before falling to the ground. Everyone was now gathered around Hestia, who was sitting on the ground and holding in her hands, which were shaking slightly, the little bird that everyone had recognized.

"This is..."

"My mother's messenger bird..."

In the hands of the young blonde woman was indeed the beautiful white dove that belonged to Captain Diana Hellfire, her mother. Its previously immaculate feathers were covered with fresh and dried blood and it was not hard to understand that this bird was suffering. Its breathing and heartbeat were weak, as if it could finally die after completing its mission at the risk of its life.

In its paws, the bird held a brown, blood-stained paperback-sized journal that had been wrapped with black thread clenched on its claws. The cover was simple and had only the letter "D" written in a white that seemed to have turned yellow with time and hardship. Silently, Hestia untied what the dove had brought, taking great care not to hurt it.

It was now dark and only the faint rays of the moon that managed to penetrate the density of the forest illuminated the interior of their lair. Thus, a white light fell on the young blond woman cross-legged on the ground near the window even though the rest of the place was dark. Yet none of the other five moved, too busy wondering what was going on and watching for a reaction from their friend.

For several minutes a deafening silence reigned as Hestia gently stroked the head of her mother's dying white dove. Breathing with increasing difficulty, the bird finally breathed its last in front of the lost eyes of those around. Still without saying a word, with a serious face, the young woman got up before delicately depositing its lifeless body on the windowsill.

Next to them, Mysie, Lucas, Joe, Kali and Edward were still watching without daring to move, understanding that something strange had happened. They had only to look at the face and the eyes of Hestia to know that it was very serious. She, who always had a touch of craziness in their presence, had become as cold as when she was in the company of others.

"H-Hestia ?"

Mysie had been the first to speak in this stifling and suspenseful atmosphere, but contrary to what she thought, the young blonde woman did not answer. Without even glancing at her friends, she bent down again to pick up the small journal also wrapped around the same black thread. Still without saying a word, Hestia moved towards one of the furniture of the den resembling a sofa to sit down on.

Sitting down slowly, she put what she had in her hand on the small table in front of her before finally looking up at those who were still standing in front of the broken door. With one look, the young woman gave her companions goosebumps as they waited for what she had to say. As Hestia's empty gray-green eyes looked at them, a single word came out of her mouth instantly making Kali move.

"Light"

"Y-Yes !"

Her voice was cold, her tone authoritative and the moment she had spoken, Kali had rushed to one of the tables of the room to catch a steel flint lighter. It is thus with an effective speed that she lit the various oil lamps and candles of the lair. Little by little, a soft light was spreading, finally revealing the place where the six friends had been living for ten years.

The interior of the tree was very large considering its size and was furnished in a very comfortable and warm way. On the right side of the room, there was a large wooden table surrounded by chairs, only a few meters from a simple but practical kitchen. To the left, there was a corner with a large bookcase, an animal skin as a carpet and several comfortable stools with handmade cushions.

In the middle, where Hestia was now, a large sofa made of wood and soft feather-filled cushions sat across from the entrance. A small, simple table sat in front of it with empty bottles and mugs lying around. Most incredible was the staircase made of smaller tree trunks attached to the back wall, rising to the top of the tree and leading to where the small group slept.

This staircase, built with great patience, went up to small platforms where simple beds and personal items were located. These platforms were six in number, separated, each one representing a sort of individual floor whose space was hidden by a screen. Starting from the bottom, there was Edward's corner, Joe's corner, Lucas' corner, Kali's corner, Mysie's corner and finally, at the top, Hestia's corner.

Normally, the atmosphere was joyful and this little corner hidden from the whole village was not only their lair but their refuge, their home. However, in this soft night, it was far from being a time of rejoicing and it was felt on the serious and worried faces. Kali, having turned on all the lights of the ground floor, was going to replace herself near her friends while always looking at the one sitting on the sofa.

Still silent and able to see more accurately what she was holding in her hands, Hestia finally removed the black thread holding the small journal closed. Just as she was about to open it, a yellowed piece of parchment folded in four slid onto the small table. Without hesitation, the young woman grabbed it before unfolding it and reading what was written on it under the intrigued and stressed eyes of her five friends.

The small, leaf-sized scroll was yellow and bloodstained, which made Hestia's teeth clench a little more as she noticed it. It didn't smell good at all and the closer she got to the truth, the more a quiet anger slowly rose. On this paper, a beautiful handwriting was written that the young woman could recognize between thousands...her mother's.

____

My dearest daughter,

If you are reading these words then my faithful messenger has succeeded in bringing you this little notebook that you probably have near you. A lot has happened and unfortunately I don't have time to tell you more but please keep this booklet carefully. Please don't lose it and make sure that no one else but you or your friends can get their hands on it.

Hestia...you must be a beautiful young woman today who can turn any man's head, which wouldn't surprise me since you take after me ! Anyway, I'm sorry, I can't be there and see how much you've changed in ten years. But one thing I am sure of is that you have become a strong woman and even if I wasn't there, I was and will always be proud of you.

I know this is all brutal and you probably have a lot of questions but I'm afraid I can't answer them right away...maybe ever. I also know that I promised to come back for you, all of you, and I would hold on to that promise until the end, so please...never forget that I will always love you.

So many things to say and to tell but I have no more time. The whole crew is with me and if you are near your friends, tell them that their parents are with me and that the same words are valid for them too. Give Lucas a kiss from me.

Take care of yourself...take care of others as you always have.

Forgive me my darling. Forgive us.

I love you. We love you.

Your dear mother, Diana and the Hellfire crew.

P.S.: Don't forget, KEEP THIS JOURNAL SAFE. And above all, Hestia, do not...

____

As Hestia read these lines that Diana Hellfire had obviously written in haste, her heart quickened and her fists clenched. On this letter, there were not only dried bloodstains but also lighter drops, as if the writer had been crying. Suddenly, coming to the end of her reading, Hestia began to frantically turn over the small piece of paper to find a possible continuation.

Indeed, the end of the message was not complete and a bloodstain had covered the words, preventing the understanding of the last sentence. It was impossible to know what Diana's final warning was, which was very disturbing after such a serious letter. This message had left her daughter in an alarming state, seemingly calm, incomprehension and anger bubbling up inside her, just waiting to come out.

Lucas, who knew Hestia perfectly well, had understood that she could explode at any moment but he still didn't know why. All he knew was that the situation was serious enough to make her so angry, which rarely happened. She was calm and yet her look and what she gave off was totally different, her body was shaking and blood was starting to flow from her clenched fists.

"Hestia...calm down and tell us what's wrong. What's going on ?"

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Without saying a word, she threw the piece of paper on the table that slid to its end in front of Lucas, Edward, Joe, Kali and Mysie. Without waiting, they sat down around it in turn before they all began to read what the young woman had read before them. As they went on reading, different reactions emerged from each one, quite representative of their personality.

The first thing Lucas did was to look up with worried eyes, this time deep blue, at the one he considered his big sister. Edward had gotten up from his stool looking just as angry while Joe was pacing the room. Kali and Mysie were the only ones to speak up first and represent the panic that deep down everyone else was feeling in their hearts as well.

"O-Our parents...w-why does this letter look like a goodbye letter ? What could have happened ?"

"And this warning...it-it's too weird and especially it's not normal."

"They're gone...or maybe even worse.."

"Kali.."

The two young women spoke with a trembling voice, saying out loud what everyone else was thinking despite the violence of reality. Everyone knew perfectly well that they were right, but hearing them speak did not help to keep the mind clear and calm. Hestia, who was listening to everything without saying a word, finally raised her head to speak while Kali and Mysie continued to panic loudly.

"Silence ! Let me think..."

With a single look and a powerful voice, the blonde with the white snake silenced her two friends, far too upset to pay attention to her tone. In her mind, everything was going very fast, and there were ideas, theories, explanations but also a lot of questions resulting from her fears. It was no longer a time for joking and as Hestia closed her eyes to concentrate, everyone joined her at the table in silence.

While the evening had started well, it only took a few minutes, a letter and a notebook to change their destiny forever.

____

- POV Hestia -

It had been ten years since I had seen my mother, ten years of living without knowing what she was doing, where she was going or what she was going through. Of course, I always received a message at the beginning of the year for my birthday, but this attention was the only thing that connected me to my mother. So I waited every day for her to return so I could finally go on her adventures with my childhood friends who shared the same dream as me.

I had grown up learning the responsibility of a Captain to their crew, whom they had to consider as their family, to protect and defend. All my life my mother had prepared me for the day when I would sail the seas with her and the day when I would become Captain of my own ship. But I wasn't the only one, my oldest friends whose parents were part of my mother's crew, shared the same dream as me.

Lucas had lost his parents at the age of 8, both on his ship during a short trip that had gone wrong. Taken in by my mother, he had grown up with me while treasuring everything his parents had left behind. Like me, Lucas wanted to join the Hellfire crew but also to become like his parents, my First Mate when I became Captain.

As for Kali, she descended from a long line of pirates who proudly carried the role of Quartermaster from generation to generation. It was therefore quite natural that she herself had studied this path, first with her parents and then alone when they had left for the open sea. Following me on the seas was one of her dreams and I knew she was going to make it come true no matter what.

Mysie, unlike the first three, was from a family that had given up sailing the seas years ago, preferring the comfort of the land. However, since she was little, she had discovered a passion for singing and writing ballads and songs of all kinds. Thus, Mysie, eager to follow us, had also promised never to abandon us and to always bring a smile to our faces no matter where we went.

For Ed, his family had raised him until he was 14 years old by teaching him the basics of the Master of arms profession on a pirate ship leaving him the choice to continue later or not. He had also learned the Carpenter's trade by passion and had fallen, as we all did, more than in love with the adventure stories of our ancestors. He too wanted to one day live some of the most incredible ones by our side and travel the seas in search of exciting battles.

Finally, from a long line of proud Sailing Masters, Joe was no exception and had only one thing on his mind, to see the world with the crew we wanted to become. We had never left the island and our thirst for exploration was growing. Just like us, he thought that there was so much to experience and discover and that the mysteries of this world were probably unfathomable.

'Fuck…'

We all had the same dream, and not counting Mysie, we were all waiting for our parents to return and take us on their adventures. However, today that dream was shattered with the arrival of this letter written by my mother. Everything was confusing, everything was disturbing, and everything was so sudden that it seemed almost unreal. My mother's crew was in serious trouble and I was a prisoner here.

*Fuck !*

*BAM*

"Shit !!"

Cursing my own helplessness, I slammed my right fist on the table, breaking it immediately in the process, smashing the glass bottles on it. My hand had blood on the inside of my palm from my fingernails but the pain I was supposed to feel was not coming. Instead of my hand hurting, it was my heart that was hurting while my chest felt like it was burning.

*Would Mom be involved in something too dangerous for her ? How long had the dove been gone ? Had it become quieter in the meantime or even worse ? We know better than anyone how hard a pirate's life is and what the risks are but...I can't believe this...and yet. Mom… where are you ?*

With her messenger bird dead, it was impossible to know where she was or to reach her, she and her crew were nowhere to be found. Why was it so painful ? No tears came to me because I never cried, but this feeling of suffocation in my throat was very present. Should I go alone to find them and leave the others here ? The outside was dangerous and the thought of putting my friends in danger was enough to make me angry.

I was totally lost, I didn't know what to do or what to say but I absolutely wanted to give an answer to my questions. Should I leave ? Stay ? Alone ? With them ? After all we had never left the island, wouldn't going into the unknown also be an act of suicide ? Then, as anger and confusion came over me again, I felt two hands grab my wounded one and two others embrace me.

Opening my eyes, at my feet was Mysie on her knees who had begun to bandage my injured hand, gently taking great care not to hurt me. On my right, Kali sat next to me and hugged me to calm me as well as herself. Both of them were shaking and as they finally raised their eyes towards me to speak, their faces were shining, with little tears beading on their cheeks.

"Hestia. Whatever you decide to do, we will follow you anywhere."

"That was our promise, remember ?"

Kali and Mysie had not said anything more, but these words alone were enough to give me a powerful shock that brought me back to reality. For ten years we had been together and for a moment I had thought of leaving them out of this story which concerned them as much as me. Looking up at the boys, I could see a small sincere smile on their faces as they nodded.

"Hahaha~"

Gently stroking Mysie and Kali's hair, I stood up with a much clearer and colder mind than a few minutes ago. Why had I made it so hard for myself to think about all this ? All I had to do was to follow my heart and brave all the trials that would come my way until I reached my goal. It was then with a seriousness and a great determination that I pronounced the words that would change our life.

"Let's leave. Let's leave the island and go get our parents ! They left us with a letter full of crap and bullshits, that sounds like a goodbye letter but I refuse to wait another year ! I'm sure they're still out there somewhere so let's create our own crew, set sail, get off our asses and go find that bunch of old assholes !"

[N/A: Official and original image of their lair available on discord along with an illustration of Achi Von Kokosnuss]

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