Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 2.
Leaving Home

Diana woke up the next morning and saw that Tara was at her door. "Oh," She said softly. "I was about to wake you up but now I see that shan't be needed. Father and Mother want you downstairs as soon as you are able."

Diana rubbed the sleep from her eyes and asked, "Why for?"

Tara shrugged. "I wasn't told." Diana let her leave and began to dress. She donned a pair of baggy black shorts that went to her knees and a light white top with thin straps. She brushed out her hair and pulled it back as she always did. She washed her face and looked out her window. The walls were a plain and yet vibrant white which contrasted the black four poster bed. The bed had black sheets as well as pillows. The dark oak wood was sturdy with a black canopy over the bed. There were bedside tables on both sides of the bed. The right one held a oil lamp. The left had a drawer with various belongings in it with the book Diana was reading on top. There were three bookshelves, each one heavily stacked. The room was pretty simple. The dresser was next to the window, reflecting the light toward the bed which acted as a sweet wake up call in the mornings. The closet door was shut.
Diana went downstairs, a packed bag slung over her shoulder, sword on, dagger in her boot, and a calm expression on her face, she went into the front room. She saw Scott, Sean, and Tara sitting ready. She set her pack on the couch next to Scott and walked into the kitchen to find her adoptive parents. The kitchen was fairly large. There was an island in the center with the cutting board, knife set, and a stack of dishes to be washed. The counters surrounding the back wall were covered with various utensils. The walls were white and so were the tiles.
Her mother and father, Rose and David, stood talking behind the island. "Diana." David said when he noticed her. "We need you to do something for us while you're away on your mission.."

"What?"

"...We need you to talk to someone on that ship for us." Rose said. Diana looked at her as if expecting more than just that.

David produced a piece of parchment and held it out to her. "Read over that Diana."

She did. "It's my adoption papers. I don't understand..." Her face was worried.

Rose obviously had a heavy heart as she said, "The man you believed to be your father, is not your father. Your father is a pirate on that ship. Once you meet him, technically, you're not ours anymore."

"What are you talking about? Of course I am!"

David pointed to the parchment. "Not so sweetheart, read over that parchment, bottom section."

It read:

By order of the Rebellion Council and the Adante Orphanage, should Diana come in contact with her biological parents, this adoption is null and void by Diana's command. Should she wish to live with said parents, she need no longer treat the Adopties, Dagger-Point and Rose as parents but as her commanding officers.
Should Diana also wish, though she must have knowledge of this document, she can continue to be the child of Dagger-Point and Rose if she so wishes to not live with her true father and mother.

Diana handed the paper back to them. "I'm not living with that monster."

"Diana," David said softly, "Did you listen to your mother? That monster adopted you too. Well, his wife did when you were a babe. Me and Karen were never in agreeance with that. Your real father left you here for Karen to watch over years ago. He's a pirate. His name is Derrick Lance. That makes you Diana Lance."

Diana stared at them. "Why are you telling me this? It says in the document if I know-"

"That you have the choice to live with your real father." Rose said, tearing up.

David held Rose while she began to cry and said, "Diana, your first adoptive father treated you like crap and made all your choices for you. We aren't like him. Living with us or your father is your choice. You are completely welcome to stay with us but you also have the choice to live with him. I personally wouldn't but then I've never been big on sailing the oceans for months on end. You might like it. The point is, the choice is yours. He knows you're coming. Get to know him. He's a good man. He even passed Karen's expectations and inspections. You know how picky she is with men."

"Aye. I do." Diana looked at her adoptive parents, the closest thing to a real mom and dad she had ever known. She never called them mother, mom, dad, or father, though. She always called them Rose and David.

She ran to them and hugged them tight. "I love you Mom, I love you Dad."

She saw from the corner of her eye, the happiness she brought to them by calling them that. She never did before. Rose hugged her tight to her. She then held her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "You have made us so proud. You walk in a room and demand respect because of what you've been through and endured. You have held your head high and come out on top. We are so proud of you and every choice you've made."

David held her next. "I'm happy to be able to walk down the street, hear people say how wonderful you are, and smile. Because I know that if I wanted to, I could walk up, and say, thats my girl. Thats my daughter."

Diana kissed David on the cheek and then Rose. "You two are the best. No matter what happens and to me, you will always be my parents."

David smiled proudly and then said, "Go on, you should be getting gone." Diana nodded and left the kitchen.

Scott was the only one in the living room. "Where's Sean and Tara?"

"Out front for a private 'talk.' I peeked. If tongues could talk, then they must be having a heated coversation."

Diana giggled at that. "Funny."

"True." Diana laughed harder.


Scott enjoyed hearing Diana laugh, he quickly thought up another way to make her laugh more, "I just hope this conversation doesn't end with feverish kissing." He said in a sarcastic tone.

Diana laughed more and said, "That's hilarious, Scott." Scott. How beauitful his name sounded on her lips.

"Thank you, Diana." Her name, her voice...every aspect of this woman is so beautiful that not even the great Goddesses that the pagans so faithfully worship surpass her....she's beautiful in so many ways I fear I shall lose count. How is one to win the heart of one so inspiring? Scott sighed and remembered that no matter what he did nor tried, most likely her heart would never be his to own, to hold, or to cherish.


When they finally set out, the group decided that Scott be in charge . He was oldest by a couple years anyway. As they marched, having decided not to ride horses unless needed, Diana saw an injured rabbit. Forgetting they tread on a dangerously steep hill, she took off after it, knowing easily that she could catch it. Now, normally, she would feel bad but move on but today something told her to chase after the poor thing, maybe it was his bloody hind leg or maybe it was her natural kindness, whatever it was, she was about to regret it.

Diana tripped and fell, rolling down the steep hill, getting cut and scraped by rocks and branches as she went. She slammed into a tree at full force and it stopped her but her side was hurt pretty badly. Scott charged down, Tara and Sean in tow. Scott dropped to his knees and held her in his arms. "Diana! Diana! Are you alright?"

Diana looked up at him. The look of pain, concern, and worry in his eyes broke her heart. If she hadn't gone and chased after that damned rabbit, she wouldn't feel so bad because Scott wouldn't be so worried about her.

Little did she know, he ALWAYS worried about her.

She forced a smile, ignored the pain, and said, "Yeah, I'm fine." Tara saw through her smile and had to be a blabber mouth.

"No you're not! I can see that you're forcing that smile Diana! You're hurt!"

Sean shook his head grinning, "You can't stay out of trouble can you Diane?" Diane was her nickname, Diana was a bit more formal sounding.

Scott carried her back up to where their packs were. Scott carried hers and his pack, and her. As soon as they reached the next town, they splurched for a few horses and a mule. Everything important, was transferred into Diana's pack and put on her horse with her. Everything else was packed onto the mule. That way if the mule was lost in some kind of skirmish, nothing vidal would be lost.
As they rode, Scott kept close to Diana, protectively. She couldn't walk easily, otherwise she never would have allowed the horses but then...she wanted to walk anyway.

They came upon another town within a couple of days and stopped for the night. Scott and Sean shared a room in an hotel called Bobby's Bed, which Diana thought was a tad perverted, and Tara shared with Diana. Scott and Sean found that the hotel name brought up perverted thoughts. They tired to forget it.

The next day, Scott and Diana and Tara and Sean split up. Tara with Sean and Diana with Scott. Diana and Scott were in town square, not the best place to be, and were thusly looking for a way out of it. They saw a bulletin board with wanted posters for all of them. Diana and Scott raced back to the hotel and were happy to find the others.

"We have to leave!" Diana and Scott said together.

"We know!" Sean and Tara said in unison.

"They have wanted posters of us up all over!" Sean and Scott said together, unison becoming ever present.

Diana then said alone, "OKAY! Talking in unison- has to stop." She had to grin. It was rather funny.

They set out again, skipping out on the bill.

It was eight days later that the group, ahead of schedule by a day, which was surpising because of the pit stops, arrived at the agreed meeting location. Scott and Sean were on high alert. The town was crawling with the stench of cutthroats. Diana didn't seem the least bit scared. Tara seemed worried. Diana didn't. She seemed to be enjoying herself. They were in pub call Bull's Eye. Diana had commented, "Sounds better than 'Bobby's Bed'." Everyone laughed at that as they went in. A cloaked figured came over, hood up, and said to Scott,

"If wants were needs,"

Then Scott finished, "Wishes would be for naught. Hello Bart." The man dropped his hood to reveal a young face, about their age maybe younger. He had bright blonde hair and light hazel eyes. He was lean from what Diana could tell. He had a dagger at his hip. He had a firm grip when he shook hands with everyone.
"Hi, I'm the First Mate on Captain Lance's ship. I'm looking for Diana." Diana meekly raised her hand a bit and put it back down. "Ahh, you look like your mother. Come along, all of you." They followed him, weapons at the ready.

Inside, Diana's heart was pounding and her mind was racing. I'm going to meet my reallly real father..