*Amelia*

That night, I had trouble sleeping. I was so exhausted and yet my mind was all over the place, the events of the other night kept repeating itself in my mind. The same face kept on going around and around. Who was that pirate? How did he know my father? And why did my father, known for capturing and sentencing pirates to death, let him go?

I turned on my side so that I was facing the glass door that leads out to the balcony. But just as I was about to attempt to go to sleep for the hundredth time, I let out a small gasp. My necklace was poking me in the neck. I must have forgotten to take it off before I went to bed.

Because I had nothing better to do, I looked at the necklace through the darkness. The only way I could describe it was that it was an unusual necklace, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. I ran my fingers over it. It was made out of some sort of fake silver, which I never dared to share with any of my friends. For if they knew I was wearing anything less then real silver, then I would never hear the end of it. 

Yet, the necklace was nothing like I had ever seen before. Hanging from the chain of the necklace was a tiny silver book. It was so detailed, I could even see the detail of the pages. It must have taken incredible craftsmanship.

As I held it in the dark, I thought of my mother, as this was once her necklace. From what I can gather, father missed her greatly. I would have loved to have met her. Well, of course, I did. I just don't remember it. I was only 2 years old when she went missing.

I lay there for a bit and was actually just about to drift off to sleep when I thought I heard something. It sounded deep. Were that voices?

Just the maid,  I told myself, Just the maid putting out the lights.

Then the sound came again. Louder, much louder. It seemed to be right outside my room. I heard thumping and a muffled scream.

Someone was out there.

Someone not meant to be out there.

I sat bolt upright. My chest was pumping as I listened to the thumps coming from right outside my room. I was too scared to move. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Suddenly it went quiet. Then the with a bang, the door swung open.

Light spilled into the room, it highlighted my lace curtains around my four-poster bed. As I watched, frozen, unable to move, figures moved silently into the room. That was definitely not the maid. Maids never wear pants. Maids hair was not like that. They were men. Was that glint of a sword?

Suddenly, I could move again. I seized the moment by jumping out of bed and running. Running as fast as I could towards the glass door to my balcony. It was the only way out.

They were intruders, intruders that I knew must have just killed a servant, maybe more, but whatever the case, they would kill again. 

The door to my balcony was getting closer and closer. Just two more steps. Two more. I reached out to grab the knob. One more step. My fingers brushed it. Then, I felt a sudden cool sensation from my head to my toes. I found myself falling to the floor. Darkness clouded my vision.

*Sidney*

I woke to the sound of running feet and screams. It was the middle of the night. Had something happened? I listened again and a shrill cry came from right outside my door. My eyes widened. There was an intruder in my home. Suddenly, I was instantly wide awake and alert. I jumped out of bed and pulled on the closest coat I could find.

Then I heard a gunshot. It rang around the house. My stomach churned.

I grabbed a gun that was leaning against my wardrobe and flew out the door. Adrenalin screaming through my veins.

Having seen and even participated in many wars and other acts of violence, not much made me sick anymore, but what I saw when I came out of my room made a wave of nausea come over me. Mostly because it was in my own home.

I stood at the end of the main upstairs hallway. The house was silent. But as I looked down the hallway, I saw that dotted in front of me was bloody bodies of my servants. Their blood was smutched across the walls and the floor. But the worst thing: I recognised them. These were people who served me my meals. Kept our house tidy. Almost brought up Amelia. Amelia. I felt my hands shaking as I held the gun. I slowly looked up the other end of the passage. Where Amelia's room was. The white door was hanging open. The room, just like the rest of the house, was silent. 

I nearly cried out as I run up to the door at the end. I realised that there was a trail of blood leading to the door. Tears started to sting my eyes as I took in that the door was hanging off its hinges. A single boot imprint revealed that the door had been kicked open.

Inside, the room was dark. But there was a light breeze. I realised that it was coming from the open balcony door. Moonlight fell through the doorway onto the empty bed opposite. She had gone.

The tears were running down my face now. Yet I didn't scream. I was too shocked.

I moved towards the bed and tripped over something on the floor. I looked down and my heart did a flip. I had just tripped over a body.

He was sprawled on the floor. From the way that one leg was extended and how the other one was bent under his broken body I could tell that he was killed as he was running. Running most likely towards the door. He was trying to save Amelia.

I moved around so the moonlight revealed his face. He had been shot in the head. He had died instantly but through the blood, I recognised his face. A lump came up in my throat. It was Dankworth. One of our most loyal servants. He had been here even before Amelia.

Kneeling down, I wiped some of the blood from his lifeless eyes. Then, I closed them. It didn't make him look like he was sleeping but I did it as a sign of respect. He had sacrificed his life for my family. For Amelia.

I stood up slowly and turned so I faced the balcony door which faced the endless ocean.

I knew who was responsible for this. They didn't even have to leave a note. I was warned.

I turned back around and walked slowly out of my daughter's room. My heavy breathing was seen through the rising and falling of my chest. I felt the rage on my face.

How dare they take my daughter away from me. How dare they murder my most faithful servants.

I knew what had to be done. I was going to find Amelia and then I am going to kill Captain O'Malley.

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