"𝐣𝐣, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡!"
～*:·ﾟin which the lost gold
leads the crew to the lion's den.
𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 sarah and john b's arrival
in the bahamas, it's a whole
'nother adventure.
[𝐟𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐜 𝐱 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛�...
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ALMOST AS A SIXTH SENSE, the person whom Stella hadn't stopped thinking about stood feet away from her. Going past the crowd cautiously, her feet gained control of her numb body, leading her towards the short stage in front of her, not paying much mind to who stood up on the wooden deck, but more to the one behind it.
Through the deep voice of a man and the cheers that followed, the young Clemont could spot the long wavy charcoal-colored hair from a mile away. Even from the back, the all-too-familiar pose caught her eye.
It was then that a small hint of heart pressure hit and she almost took a step back, but she couldn't give up now.
With little to none expectations on what was 'bound to take place, the young girl held on to the strength and motivation of the group she'd left behind. Because she had to warn her mother. After all, she could be in danger herself and the little naive Stella, was going to save her from it all.
Continuing to make her way past the stage and nearing the female figure, she could feel a pair of eyes burning into her skin from her far left. And although curious about it, she couldn't for a second deviate her eyes from her goal.
In slow-motion she moved, as did everything around her.
Her right hand lifted slowly to reach the woman in front of her, who was surrounded by a few men that weren't familiar to Stella, neither was she to them as they moved to block her gesture, until their eyes met.
The weight of the world fell off Stella's shoulders for a split second, only to fall on hers.
The semi-shocked expression scanned hers, before recomposing and readjusting her body so they were now facing each other.
"Stella."
"Mom."
A sad laugh had escaped the young girl's lips, perhaps due to the cold welcoming she got. It was almost as if she couldn't believe it was her own daughter standing in front of her.
And having been 700 miles apart from each other, how could she, really?
Penelope could hold the weight of a thousand planets in her shoulder and a million emotions in her face, that she wouldn't budge. So Stella couldn't quite read through her, was it shock or something else?
The older woman pulled her daughter further away from the stage and commotion, standing below the facade of a boutique.
"I can't believe it—"
She scanned through her entire body with both hands in each arm. Stella cut her words short with a hug, but the discomfort that read through quickly made her turn.
A weird feeling ran through her veins, almost as if she could physically feel it running just as blood does. And suddenly, she was more attentive of her surroundings, from the men that stared her down, to the young blood buzz-cut boy from before who she could now puzzle was the one following her with his gaze a minute ago.
It was as if she was a stranger, a misfit. And no one felt stronger about it, than her mother.
"I had to run," she began, searching for the right words "I had to run, they got him. Our home—"
"Honey."
Her mother's calm demeanor made her anxiety increase.
"I wasn't sure where you were, I just fled."
"How did you come here?" the tone came as a scold.
"They cornered us. Our house— Frank tried to warn me. He was trying to protect me," she felt the word-vomit surge, just as a tear she was quick to snatch away did "Frank, mother. He... He is dead. These strange men ambushed us on the island and they found our house, I only heard the gunshots before I had the time to flee."
It all came out in a single breath and none of what was said made her feel lighter, much against her prior belief.
The silent response from her mother lasted for an eternity. Instead of a response, she calmly inspected her daughter's expression in detail.
Everything felt like a fever dream and just like that, Penelope's thumb ran across her young daughter's cheek, wiping away the most recent water drop that fell from it, before turning her sideways.
"Honey, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
Although slowly, the sudden turn made her feel dizzy and weak.
It wasn't until she refocused her gaze to the man standing right in front of her that their eyes connected and at Stella's third blink, her mother spoke.
"This is Ward."
Ward.
Or for Stella, the man the clique had been hiding from for the past days.
