Prologue: Annette's Beginning

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April 1717
Narrator's POV

The seas in the Atlantic were calm under the blistering heat. A giant ship was cutting through the dark waters, terrifying the sharks that swarmed underneath.

La Louise was a French pirate ship, captained by the fearsome Olivier Levasseur. It was not terrifyingly large, but it was impressive for Olivier's first ship reigning as Captain.

Infamous for his ruthlessness toward his enemies and his speed, Captain Levasseur stood upon the quarterdeck of his ship, commanding his crew to navigate through the waters. He wore a single gold earring hoop in his left earlobe, and his hair was dark and pulled back in a red ribbon that poked out under his tricorne hat. His scruffy beard was unkept, and his cold blue eyes could pierce into the souls of those who dared to look into them. Levasseur wore lavish clothes from his many thefts from rich ships and had a scar over one eye, limiting his sight.

"Capitaine!" Levasseur's' first mate shouted in French, "up ahead!"

Levasseur took out his spyglass, aiming it to the direction that La Louise was headed. He did not need a spyglass to see the splintering boards of a shipwreck sink what was left of her to the ocean floor. He lowered his spyglass and shouted for his crew to turn to avoid hitting the wreckage. As the ship began turning, Levasseur looked over the edge of the ship and noticed a torn British flag, as well as a Jolly Roger flag that was being swallowed by the water.

At a glance, Levasseur noticed a tiny island that they were passing

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At a glance, Levasseur noticed a tiny island that they were passing. He placed the spyglass at his good eye, scavenging the island for anything valuable that may have been washed up. His gaze got stuck on the dainty black shoes of a girl, laying motionless in the sand.

"Seagar!" Levasseur yelled.

Jasper Seagar, one of his crew members, hopped up to the quarterdeck to assist his captain. Levasseur handed Seagar the spyglass and asked if he saw the same thing.

"Looks of a girl," Seagar said, keeping his eye on the beach.

"Is she alive?" Levasseur asked, adjusting the wheel.

"I don't think..." Seagar said before he froze, watching the child stir in the sand. "Sir, she's still a alive."

"Drop anchor!" Levasseur shouted, not having to wait even moments before his crew began fulfilling his command. They dropped the anchor, causing the ship to come to a dead stop in the sea.

Levasseur sent Seagar and another crew member on a longboat to get the child and bring her back to the ship. She was surrounded by dead bodies of those from the wreck who had washed up ashore.

Seagar brought the unconscious child up to the ship and set her down on the deck. The crew had paused their tasks, staring at their Captain and the girl. Levasseur has always been strict, so this sudden change of heart was unprecedented, and unpredictable.

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