Ten years ago...

Rosalyn, now only eight years old, was heading towards the entrance to her village along with a few elven children she called her friends. A big crowd had gathered by the gates and, being children, were curious as to what it was. Indeed, there was a rather decent-sized crowd at the gate, as if they were spectators in a street brawl. It wasn't anything that serious of course, simply a man dressed in somewhat raggedy clothes lying face down in the ground. The kids tried to squeeze past their elders, having a bit of luck poking their heads in. A shorter elf girl, having short shoulder length blonde hair on her head and wearing a cute dress stood beside Rosalyn, having a dead pan expression on her face. She turned to her taller, human companion. "Hey. Lift me up." "Hm?" Rosalyn turned to look at her bored expression, then nodded. "Sure, Dara." Rosalyn knelt down so Dara could climb on her back, then promptly stood up, allowing her to see above the crowd with a little more ease. A half-elf about Rosalyn's height, named Varis, stood beside them since he couldn't poke through. "What do you see? C'mon, tell us already!" Dara simply turned her head slightly and glared at him. All the other children feared this look, for it was creepy. Basically, it meant "Shut up" or "What are you, stupid?". Rosalyn simply laughed whenever she did this, especially on their first meeting. Surprisingly, this earned her respect.

Dara turned her head again, looking tot he man lying down. "Judging by his attire, I'd say... he's a bum." She sniffs at the air, still keeping her serious demeanor. "He smells like one too." At this moment, Rosalyn's surrogate father, Grandus, arrived, pushing past the people to get to the stranger. "Come now, give the man some breathing room! I swear, every time a new weirdo shows up..." He muttered to himself as he crouched down beside the man, turning him over. Dara raised a brow upon seeing his face at least. "He's human too." The man was indeed human, sporting a five o'clock shadow and short blonde hair. He sported a cutlass on his waist, the hilt a shiny gold color. "Sword looks brand new practically... must've stolen it." "Dara!" Rosalyn said as she looked up at her. "Hey, he looks like a thieving bum with a nice piece of weaponry. What do you expect me to think." "You could at least keep your comments to yourself if you can't say something nice." "Noted.", Dara said as a small smirk crept on her face. Rosalyn rolled her eyes,t hen moved aside as Grandus and another elf proceeded to carry the human to their infirmary. Setting Dara down, Rosalyn and Varis proceeded to follow. Dara straightened her skirt, then followed suit.

The children peeked through the window, watching a couple elven clerics tend to the stranger for a couple hours. Grandus came by with some food prepared for him when he awoke. Rosalyn looked up upon his approach, then ran up to him. "Grandus! Is he okay? Who is he? Where'd he come from?" Dara stepped up as well. "Is he dead?" Rosalyn shot her a look. Grandus laughed, shaking his head. "He'll be fine, we don't know who he is or where he came from yet." He then glanced to Dara and smirked. "And he's not dead." Dara snapped her fingers. An elven woman dressed in white robes stepped out. "Ah, Grandus." "Neira, how is he?" "He's fine. He's exhausted, if anything." Grandus nods, holding up a basket. "My wife sent some food for him. A welcome basket I suppose..." "Can we see him!?", Rosalyn piped up excitedly, her eyes wide with anticipation. The fact he was human was thrilling, having never met another human. Neira chuckled lightly, patting her head, which bugged the hell out of her and Neira knew it. "He's resting now, sweetie. Why not come back later?" Rosalyn nodded, then shrugged, going off with her friends. Grandus and Neira watched them run off, then headed inside. "You said there was something urgent you wished to speak with me about?", Grandus asked, setting the basket down. Neira motioned to the man lying on the bed. "This man... he bares a mark that disturbs me. Something that may show signs of trouble for us in the future should he be followed." Grandus raised a brow. "What do you mean?" Without saying a word, she pulled part of the blanket down revealing a tattoo onthe man's arm. That of a skull and crossbones.

Grandus looked at it, a stern look on his face. "... Oh my."

"Inspirations- Part 2"

A week had passed since the strange man had arrived in Rosalyn's village. Grandus had been interviewing the man, trying to learn where he came from, who he was, anything. The man seemed awfully tight-lipped and instead insisted on just having a few laughs over some drinks. Grandus was getting fed up, actually thinking of resorting to torture methods, much as he hated to. While Grandus pondered on what to do next, Rosalyn, as well as her friends Dara and Varis in tow, managed to find a moment to sneak in through the window to meet the mystery man. The man looked up from a book he was trying to decipher, obviously not knowing a single bit of the elven language. "Well, what's this we got here? You three ain't lookin' ta rob me, are ya?", he said with a friendly smile. Rosalyn, who was obviously the most excited one, spoke up. "Oh no, no robbers here, sir! So who might you be?" The man let out a soft chuckle while running a hand through his messy blond hair. "Di'in't yer parents ever teach ya manners? You should introduce yerself first before asking what another person's name is." Varis snickered as Rosalyn blushed, then she promptly cleared her through. "I'm Rosalyn. And these are Dara and Varis." Dara simply stared at the man, seeming unimpressed. Or uninterested. Hell, she just didn't care. Varis on the other hand smiled and nodded his head. "Pleasure to meet you, sir.", he said politely. The man smiled and nodded. "Much better. Name's Johnny." Rosalyn tilted her head curiously. Johnny? What kind of strange name was that? Dara simply raised a brow. The three kids looked at each other awkwardly, then Rosalyn spoke up again. "So why are you here, Mister Johnny?" "Just Johnny. And I'm here because my ship got wrecked." Rosalyn's eyes went wide. "Ship? You mean you're an adventurer?" "Well, not just any adventurer, lass!", Johnny said proudly as he sat up, his hands resting on his hips. "I'm a pirate! A man who knows no limits, who always answers the call o' the sea, who faces any challenge, no matter the cost!" Rosalyn grew only more excited. "A pirate!? That sounds amazing! So what do pirates do?" She smiled, actually leaning on his bed now, looking up at Johnny with great interest. Dara meanwhile took a whiff of the air. Hmph, he smells better than he first arrived at least. Varis scratched his head "Wait, aren't pirates basically thieves who live on the sea and rob other ships of their valuables while taking lives left and right, constantly pursued by the authorities?" Rosalyn and Dara both looked at him. "...What? I read a lot of books. You two should try it sometime." Johnny then let out a delighted chuckle, wiping tears from his eyes. "There's be more to it then that, kiddo! Why, we explore, party, and simply be merry! Nothing ties you down when you're on the open sea. The world is your playground. Ya do whatcha want, when ya want!"

Rosalyn could hardly contain herself. "I wanna be a pirate!" The four of them heard what sounded like someone spitting their drink out over by the window. Outside, Grandus was standing beside the window, having seen the children sneak in. He assumed the stranger would be more willing to talk to children, and turns out he was right. The spitting noise was due to him taking a drink of a delightful beverage he had brought along to wet his whistle, and doing a spit take at Rosalyn's decision. The children paid him no mind as they continued to talk. Grandus was shocked. Where did he go wrong, he was thinking to himself. But he then recalled she was still young and surely the strange idea would be gone from her mind soon enough.

Hours pass, the children listening to Johnny's stories the whole time. As the sun began to set, Varis took notice. "Oh! Ah, hey, I have to be going... see you guys tomorrow!" Varis quickly leaped out the window, now seeing Grandus standing there. There was an awkward silence, then Varis took off running. He quickly entered his home, where his mother was cooking dinner, and her husband sitting in his chair, reading a book. "Varis! You're home just in time for supper.", Varis' mother stated. "Of course, mother! Who would dare be late for your cooking?", he said with a smile as he went past the other man's chair. "Did you finish your chores today, boy?", he had asked, prompting Varis to stop. The man was clearly elven, like his mother. "Yes sir...", Varis responded softly, though a bit of loathing in his voice. Varis held this man in contempt, not only because this man acted like his father when he clearly wasn't, but also because of how this person treated the boy. Why he was treated like a dog, he thought he'd never know. But for now, he would do his best to stay on his good side and obey his commands. His 'father' simply nodding, returning to his book to let Varis go wash up.

Almost another week later, Johnny had fully recovered, and Grandus learned that if he wanted him to talk, all he had to do was set him down with some children or get him liquored up. Johnny liked that last part a lot. After recovering, Johnny went on his way, saying one last farewell to the people who had treated him and kept him company during his stay here. Grandus thought for sure that once he left, Rosalyn would forget about this whole pirate ordeal. But he couldn't be further from the truth.


To be continued...