Chapter Text
ARC 1: BATERILLA
LOCATION: SOUTH BLUE, BATERILLA
YEAR: JANUARY 15XX
Ten years after the Pirate King’s Execution
Baterilla was only a small tropical island in the South Blue. Nothing out of the ordinary. Atleast, that's what Vale could remember based on the fuzzy, blurry memories of her childhood that filled the back of her mind. A few memories stood out. Her mother, Asha, cooking the most appetizing food in the kitchen, with sunlight coming through the windows, shining upon her face.
And her father, Aldrin, reading books and adjusting his glasses in his study. She'd always go there to talk with him, and to also learn more of what he knew about the world. Somehow, he always managed to make himself busy a majority of the time.
Her mother's face was a blur in her memories. Vale couldn't even remember the way her mother smiled. She rarely smiled, if not at all. She'd always cross her arms and turn away when Vale approached her. Her face remained unmoving. She ignored anything that Vale would say to her. Every compliment and word of praise Vale would say when she ate her food was left unreplied, followed by a cold silence that stung little Vale’s heart.
Vale’s daily routine every single day from childhood to early adolescence involved waking up, eating breakfast, receiving soulless stares from her mother, visiting her father's study, either getting denied or accepted to join him in his scholarly studies (most of the time, she wishes he accepts her request, but he has denied her more times than accepting), lunch, going outside to pick flowers or seashells from the shore, dinner, and going to bed immediately after. It's easy to say that her life felt boring. It definitely was.
Her life outside her home wasn't that great either. She distances herself from the other kids on Baterilla. When she walked past them, the whispers would start.
“Isn't she the daughter of that creepy lady?”
“Watch out for her, she might be like her freaky mom.”
Even parents and adults gossipped at each other when Vale caught their sight.
“Poor girl…”
“Her mother was never the same after her death. I can't imagine what she's going through.”
Every word felt like a needle threatening to shatter her heart. There were times when she was at the shore, and took her time to feel the sensation of the grainy sand against her bare feet, watching the sunset. Every time she had done so, she felt free, as if she wasn’t trapped in a cage anymore.
—
Ten year old Vale stood at the shore of the beach. As the sun went down, kissing the very edge of the sea, spilling hues of orange and yellow, Vale reached her hand out at the setting sun. She thought about how ostracized she felt among her family and the people of Baterilla in general. Memories of children her age denying her requests to spend time with them, mothers protecting said children as if Vale's very presence was a threat. Her mind felt disorganized—every thought and memory wandering like scribbled clusters all over the place.
Vale stepped forward, submerging her feet into the cold water of the sea. As she gazed upon the horizon, she muttered only a few words that only she could hear.
“Why doesn't anyone love me?”
Her voice broke, sending tears down her face. She tried wiping them away as best as she could, but she couldn't stop. Everyone would dislike her even more if they saw her like this. She needed to stop the tears. She needed to be stronger. She needed to bury the feeling. She needed to stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it. Please.
It was no use. She fell onto her knees, her fallen tears falling into the shallow waters beneath her. She continued muttering to herself. “Why can’t I be better? Why do I even exist?”
Why.
Why.
Why?
She tried to hide the redness of her eyes and the snot coming out of her nose as she walked home for dinner. As usual, people kept staring at her like she was an anomaly among the community. She didn’t bother, as she was used to this. Lights started turning on in the town as children started returning to their homes in a hurry. Vale carried a few seashells from her trip to the beach that day.
Alas, she opened the door to the house. Her mother stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Her back was turned to Vale, and she remained silent, as if she didn’t hear the door creaking open at all. Vale sighed and closed the door behind her, walking towards the door to her father’s study. Once she arrived, she gently knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal her father, squinting his eyes from hours of working, trying to recognize the little girl in front of him. “Vale. I see you collected some seashells today?”
“I found a few new ones. Could you please tell me about them?” Her body stiffened, holding the seashells closer to her chest. Her eager and hopeful look gained the sympathy of her father. He sighed, “As long as you don’t touch anything in here, you can come in.” Vale’s eyes widened, and shortly after, she was smiling as widely as a puppy having their first meal of the day.
When she walked into her father’s study, she noticed how some things were different from the last time she entered. It had been a while since her father let her in. Some books were rearranged, but the shelves against the walls stayed the same. Different papers were scattered across her fathers desk, but the window in front of it that led to the outside remained unmoved. Vale’s father sat at his desk and carefully inspected the seashells, adjusting his glasses so he could see clearly.
“Ah, I see.” He murmured. “What is it Father? What are their names?” Vale asked excitedly as she sat on the floor amongst a few stacks of books. “This, Vale, is a Calico Scallop.” He pointed to the seashell with jagged red lines. “And this one is an Angel Wing.” He pointed to the other seashell that, indeed, looked like an angel’s wing. For a moment, he chuckled whilst Vale admired the seashells she had collected. Vale looked up at him. He rarely ever laughed at all. “I remembered how Angel Wing used to be your mother’s favorite.”
Vale’s smile faded as quickly as it appeared.
Her mother? Thoughts started racing in Vale’s mind. Vale thought her mother couldn’t feel anything at that point. How could she have any ‘favorite’ things? She didn’t know she liked seashells too. “Father, I thought Mother was emotionless. How did she have a favorite seashell?”
The question stunned her father. He sat there for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what Vale had just asked. His face faltered into one of sadness. He placed the seashells onto his desk. “Vale, I know your mother may be cold towards you at times, but…” His eyes wandered the room, stumbling over his words. “She’s gone through a lot, especially when she was still pregnant with you.” He adjusted his glasses once more.
Vale’s head tilted in curiosity. She looked down at her hands, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean by a lot?”
“Don’t pry into a person’s personal life without their permission, Vale. It’s not for me to say, and it’s hard to explain either way. Just know… there is always a reason someone acts the way they do. Don’t assume things almost immediately.”
Vale nodded her head. It was one thing to discover that her mother wasn’t that emotionless before. It was another thing to find out that she was emotionless for a reason.
—
The attic was off limits in the house for a little girl like Vale. Her mother always went up there every morning, and Vale found it unusual. Not only was it dusty, but it contained many old things from even before she was born. Vale, being the curious girl that she is, always wanted to explore the attic someday, but her mother was hellbent on keeping that attic locked in case Vale had any chance of exploring that part of the house.
One morning, Vale’s mother made a fatal mistake—she left the attic unlocked. When Vale discovered this, she was ecstatic and instantly barged into the attic, excited to see what she might find in there. She ‘barged’ in quietly, of course, so as to not cause any disturbance. She didn’t want her parents to find out either that their daughter had entered the forbidden area of their home.
The first thing Vale saw was dust. A lot of dust. Several boxes were scattered across the floor of the attic. When Vale finished climbing up the ladder and went through the small door on the attic’s floor, she gently closed it. One of the things she noticed is that there was a small window at the front, shining light across the attic. On the windowsill stood a small, opened box. Vale approached it and looked inside. Several photographs stared back at her. They appeared to be old, as some of them were in black and white.
Her mother was in all of the photographs. She appeared to look younger in a majority of them. She had shorter hair, but it was still brown. And for the first time in forever, Vale could see her mother smiling. Her eyes were still shining, and she was happy. There was also another girl in a majority of the photographs, one Vale didn’t recognize. She appeared in a lot of the photographs with Vale’s mother. They seemed to be very close, like they were best friends. The other girl had freckles and long, strawberry blonde hair, and had a flower tucked behind her ear. It was one that was common in Baterilla. Vale knew that because she had gone flower picking before, and she was told so by her father.
Now that she thought about it, her father did look a bit sentimental when he was talking about that flower. He had a dusty camera that sat on his desk too. Could he be the one that took these photos?
Vale shook those thoughts aside and continued digging into the items inside. More photographs of her mother and the girl, a few seashells and flowers encased inside a smaller box, and a few small notes that read:
‘Wish we could talk now, but I have chores to do right now. See you at the beach! - Asha’
‘Sorry Asha, Roger’s taking me on a walk by the flower fields today. Let’s spend time by the cliffs later <3 - Rouge’
‘I’m glad Aldrin is happy with that camera I gifted him. Wanna take some pictures by the beach? - Asha’
‘Your dinner was amazing. I could fall asleep while tasting your food. I hope we can do that again! - Rouge’
‘I heard you reunited with an old friend. His name’s Roger, right? I hope to meet him soon. - Asha’
‘Hi Asha. Can we meet up at the cliffs? I need to talk to you. - Rouge’
‘We haven’t been talking lately, Rouge. Me and Aldrin miss spending time with you. - Asha’
‘About that talk we had at the cliffs. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. But this is my decision, and I’m standing by it. - Rouge’
‘Hi Rouge. I miss you. I finally had my daughter last night. Her name is Vale. I wish you could’ve met her.’
Vale’s heart dropped at that last note. Not only did it mention her, but it was covered with faded tear stains. Connecting the dots, the other girl from the photographs must’ve been Rouge. Vale remembered a certain tombstone that stood by the cliffs of Baterilla. She remembered it being surrounded by gifted flowers and candles in the very few memories she had as a toddler. She sometimes stood in front of the grave, wondering what life this person could have lived.
Rouge was the very name engraved on that tombstone.
No wonder why Vale’s mother felt so emotionless–so cold and distant. She’d lost a good friend. A best friend.
After digging through the box for a while longer, she finally found the bottom. A thick, dusty notebook stared back at Vale, tempting her to open it and see everything that was inside. She lifted the notebook into her lap. She opened the notebook to the first page.
‘AURELIA D. ASHA’S JOURNAL’
It was a journal. Her mother’s journal. That’s when she remembered what her father said to her.
Don’t pry into a person’s personal life without their permission, Vale.
She knew she couldn’t just read people’s journals without their permission. Maybe this was the reason why the attic was off limits in the first place. But, no matter how hard she tried thinking about it, curiosity took over, and she opened to the first entry.
Entry 1
3/10/15XX
Hello!! This is my first entry. My good friend Rouge decided to give this to me for my birthday (she’s so sweet!) and I decided to make this my first journal. Given that this notebook has a TON of pages, I reckon this notebook will take years to fill up. I’m 25 at the moment, so assuming that I write here every day, this might all fill up when I’m in my early thirties. Who knows?
I owe a lot to Rouge, actually, she’s been my friend since I was eleven. She may be a whole decade older than me, but she’s like the older sister I never had. She came to my place today to celebrate. Even if it is my birthday, I decided to cook the food that we ate. Weirdly enough, while we were eating, she suddenly fell asleep. I panicked at first, but she woke up just as quickly! For a moment, I thought I had accidentally included poison in her meal. She really got me worried back there… but we’re fine! We took it as a really funny moment to look back on.
Rouge said she does that sometimes, and not to worry about it. I’m looking to improve my cooking skills a little bit more, especially when it comes to the seasoning. Overall, I’m glad today was a good day. It was a fun birthday, to be honest. I hope to write here tomorrow. Bye!
Asha
Vale continued reading her mother’s journal. There was an entry where her mother wrote about seashells, and one about when she met Vale’s father, Aldrin, for the first time. There was an entry that tells about Rouge insisting Asha to give Aldrin a camera, since she liked him so much. Vale smiled at a few of the entries. There were some that even got a few laughs out of her. She read the journal until the sun set once more.
It was dark out once Vale reached the last few pages. It contained a series of entries from her mother.
Entry 762
6/19/15XX
I plan to occasionally write here now instead of daily. Especially considering there were many days where I didn't write here. It’s Rouge’s birthday today, and me and her decided to spend time together eating food that I cooked. Like the good old times. But while we were eating, she told me news that shocked me: She was pregnant.
Yes. Pregnant.
I thought that women could almost never get pregnant in their forties, but my best friend definitely proved that thought wrong. She told me to keep it a secret, since the baby's father is Roger.
The past few weeks have been exhausting. From finding out that Roger was an infamous pirate the whole time, to finding out that she’s now pregnant with his baby, and that we’ll have to find a way to protect the baby from the Marines. I’ve never opened up this hard before, but I'm genuinely frustrated and angry. I'm frustrated by Roger, and I'm angry that he even came here in the first place.
I'm furious that he made Rouge fall in love so badly that she barely talked to me and Aldrin anymore. But most of all? I'm angry at Rouge. I'm frustrated by her decision to have a child with him of all people. I'm scared for her and her child’s safety, and it's all taken a toll on me.
I just hope things will turn for the better.
Asha
Entry 763
11/21/15XX
It's been a while since I wrote in this journal. To update: Roger has been executed. I couldn't believe it either when I read the newspapers that morning. Rouge grieved and is still grieving his death. Knowing that she’s also pregnant, I’m worried about how this might take a toll on her baby's health. Rouge left a note for me at our meeting spot. She told me to meet her by the cliffs. I went there, and she told me something I couldn't believe.
She was going to keep her baby inside her womb until the Marines stopped searching for her child.
I was shocked. The Marines might be coming here any time now, and it’s clear that they will stay a while, even after nine months have passed. I argued with her about her and her child’s safety, and how I could help her with the delivery if it ever became too much, but she completely refused.
I still don't get it. Rouge is being completely reckless in my opinion. I'm worried for her and how this could affect her health, but she said she could handle it all by herself.
I'm scared. She could die as a result of this whole stunt she’s performing. I don't know what to do anymore. I can't stop her.
Asha
Entry 764
1/29/15XX
The Marines have been searching and hanging around our island for quite a while now. Rouge is still okay, of course. They haven't found out about her pregnancy yet. She still talks to me and Aldrin sometimes, but it feels like our friendship together has been slowly fading over time. It hurts. I can only hope for her safety in this situation.
I talked to Aldrin about this, and he said to just let it be. If that was her decision, then so be it. But a part of me just can't help but want to do something about it. To convince her to do something other than what she was doing. But I know Rouge, and she can be stubborn at times. She can't be convinced otherwise. That's why it hurts. I can’t bear to lose her. Not like this.
Asha
Entry 765
11/7/15XX
I'm pregnant.
At first, I felt nauseous and threw up a few times, but I felt a few kicks, as if something–someone new, was living in my womb. I know, it sounds creepy, but I feel so happy. When I told Aldrin the news, he almost spit out his morning coffee and literally jumped for joy afterwards. Seriously, I love it when he's like this.
Let's just say that we told many people in the village. The Marines were long gone now, so I was safe from being interrogated in any way.
I told Rouge, too. She smiled and hugged me for the first time in months. I almost teared up. It felt like our friendship was whole again, as if the whole deal with Roger and Rouge's sudden pregnancy didn't happen.
I thought about my child and Rouge's child, wandering and playing in the village of Baterilla. I wondered if they could hang out at the beach or in the flower fields someday, just like how me and Rouge once did.
I hope my child will grow to be good and wise. Something about a mini me wandering the house warms my heart.
Asha
Entry 766
1/8/15XX
It's been a week since Rouge gave birth to her child.
A week since she passed away from childbirth.
Me and Aldrin were there to support her during the birth. The smile that spread across her face when she heard her child's cries for the first time will forever remain in my mind.
She died a bit afterward. I told her to stay with us, but she told me that she couldn't live any longer. Her last words to me were to say hi to my child for her.
I cried. I cried a bit too much. I was sobbing. Aldrin teared up when he hugged me. He told me that we needed to keep living on for Rouge, but what was even the point anymore? She was gone, and I couldn't convince her to do anything besides keeping her child in the womb for a year and eight months straight. It's my fault.
Not to mention—Rouge’s child was taken away. By a Marine. But, he was different. He told me that he’d protect the child, and that he’d raise him in a place where the World Government won't be able to lay a finger on him. I could tell that he was telling the truth. He looked like a trustworthy man. He promised us that he'd protect the child at all costs.
I still can't comprehend that she's gone. I don't think I’ll be able to move on anytime soon. It's like a huge piece of my heart had been taken away from me.
At least her child will be able to grow up safely, wherever he is now. I never really got that Marine’s name. I hope he's living up to his promise.
Some good news though: Me and Aldrin have finally decided on our child’s name. Her name will be Vale. Not only does it translate to valley, but it also translates to farewell. I wanted her name to be a tribute to Rouge in some way. So, her full name will be Aurelia D. Vale Rouge.
Farewell, Rouge.
That's what her name will mean.
Asha
Vale's eyes widened when she read each entry. Each revelation was even more shocking than the previous. Rouge died from childbirth. Her child was out there, likely the same age as her. Her name was a tribute to Rouge herself. Her grip on the journal tightened. No wonder why her mother acted like this–no wonder why things have become the way they are.
Just then, she heard the door to the attic creak open. She was in trouble. She tried putting everything back into the box, but it was too late. Her mother stood in front of her, eyes wide and bloodshot from seeing her child in the attic of all places.
Vale stood up from the windowsill and freezed. She didn't know what to say, or what to do. Vale and her mother only faced each other, her mother's tall and slim figure towering over her. Vale tried to muster up a few words, not knowing what else to say, but they failed to come out of her mouth. “Mother, I- um- uh..” was the only thing that came out.
The next thing she knew, her mother stormed towards her and smacked her face in a rage. She yelped and fell to the floor from the intense force. She looked up and saw only her mother’s wide eyes. The rest of her face was clouded with shadow. Her mother crouched down and furiously pulled Vale’s hair. “Mom! Mom! Please stop!” Vale cried, trying to swat her mother’s gripping hands away from her scalp. Her mother only slapped her again. “Don’t you dare say another word.” Her mother yelled, as monotone as it sounded. Vale could feel the adrenaline coursing through her—her skin where her mother slapped her stung like a thousand knives. For a moment, she could feel something coming out of her nose.
Blood.
It was blood bleeding out of her nostrils. Her mother stayed silent afterwards. She furiously grabbed Vale by the scalp and dragged her out of the attic, and to her room, where she let go of Vale with all the force she could, making her fall onto the floor of her room, nose still bleeding, and the mark of her mother’s slap strewn across her cheek. “Think about what you did.” Her mother said.
“And find a way to fix your injuries, too. They disgust me.” Vale’s mother slammed the door closed, producing a loud snap sound that made Vale flinch. Vale only laid down on the floor of her bedroom for the rest of the night, tears streaming down her face.
Curiosity had gotten the best of her. Her father even warned her about it. She failed. It was all her fault.
She sobbed until her entire face hurt and stung, her body shaking from the cold wind coming from her open bedroom window. She didn’t bother to close it. She knew the truth. She knows everything now.
Rouge was the reason why her mother turned out to be this way.
Rouge was the reason her mother wasn’t normal anymore.
It all became too much for a ten year old to bear upon her shoulders.