Chapter Text
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
William Shakespeare
Cassie smiled. Her father just concluded his El Dorado adventure. She glances over her shoulder and spots her mother coming out of the house. She turned her attention back to her father, who was holding the crate of food and preparing to load it into the boat. Cassie hoped she never stopped hearing about her father's adventures. They are cool.
Nate was now talking about his Shambhala adventure. Once they were out in the sea, the storytelling continued. Nate was now talking about his Iram of the Pillars adventure.
"Wait, how did you survive falling out of an airplane?" Cassie asked with curiosity.
"Well…" Nate began. "After I was sucked out of that plane, I managed to collide with a crate with a parachute attached to it. I managed to deploy the parachute and landed in the middle of the Rub al' Khali desert. Where I spent a few days with no food or water in the intense heat."
Cassie inhaled a deep breath and gazed at the sea just as Nate continued. She half-listened. She was thinking of her destiny. She had been raised by the best parents in the world and the fact that they were fortune hunters was just icing on the cake. Cassie took a deep breath and exhaled deeply.
Am I truly meant for something in this world, Cassie thought, was I destined for greatness? Cassie felt the truly nice breeze hit her face. The wind felt warm, but when she stared at the open sea, she knew the answer to her question. Someone like her was meant for destiny. Cassie looked back and saw her father driving the boat, so she went to go sit by her mother. She told about their Libertalia adventure.
"I got to tell Derek about this," Cassie said happily to her mother.
"I'm sure you will anyway," Elena said.
Cassie pulled out her phone from her back pocket and punched in several numbers. She waits for an answer while listening to some kind of wait music. She didn't mind, she was filled with so much anticipation, that she thought her heart was going to explode in her chest.
"Hello," a voice said.
"D-MAN!" Cassie said into the phone in a high-pitched voice that made her blush in front of her parents. She lowers her tone. "D-Man, you are not going to believe this!" she said excitedly. She began telling Derek everything about her parents' adventures.
"Awesome," Derek said.
"I know right, Derek? I've been raised by the best parents and to find out they were fortune hunters, the icing on the cake," Cassie says.
After a long conversation about what the two should do in their future, Cassie concluded by hanging up her phone. She still felt the adrenaline rush in her.
Derek was the name of her best friend, who was her male equivalent. They met each other five years ago on the first day of fourth grade. Whenever Cassie's parents brought Cassie on their adventures, Derek would always tag along and hang out with Cassie. They were like some kind of inseparable duo, and everyone knows the last thing you want to do to an inseparable duo is trying to separate them.
Is Derek also meant for greatness, most likely? Cassie put a hand to her chest, still feeling the adrenaline. Then, she instantly remembers a William Shakespeare quote. ' Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.' So, Cassie was either born into greatness, going to achieve greatness, or perhaps greatness was going to find her. Either way, Cassie knew what she wanted to do with her life. She was going to be a full-time treasure hunter just like her parents. She got up from her seat and began pacing.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Elena asked.
"Oh, I am thinking. What are some of the most exotic places in the world I could visit?" Cassie answered. "I could go there and go looking for a mythical artifact." The adrenaline rush was starting to disappear. "Brazil, the Lost City of Z has never been found, or the Noah's Ark in Turkey." She snaps her fingers. "What about the Staff of Moses?" She began spitballing all kinds of lost cities and artifacts from all over the globe.
"Cassie, calm down," Elena urged her. Cassie stopped pacing and glanced at her mother.
"Okay, I'm calm, and I can feel the adrenaline starting to slow down," Cassie said in between deep breaths.
Nate had come out and faced Cassie and Elena.
Elena stood up and put her arm on Cassie's shoulder. "Cassie, you are truly meant for something in this world. These stories we have just told you aren't stories, they happened."
"Yep, they sure did," Nate replied casually.
"I know you're excited," Elena said in a calming voice.
"Am I truly meant for greatness in this world? Was I destined for this life?" Cassie asks both her parents.
"Well, you are going to have to find out," Elena told her.
"Who knows, maybe you are destined for greatness in this world. Most likely you are. A ninety-nine point nine percent," Nate kissed Cassie's forehead.
Cassie began thinking of what both of her parents said. She just stared at the floor. Will I find destiny or will destiny find me? Cassie spoke her mind. "Will I find destiny or will destiny find me?" She has always been one to speak her mind freely.
"Well, we are going to have to find out," Nate answers. "It might take years for your destiny, Cassie."
Cassie nods with a smile. "I can wait, even though I'm going to have to. I know I will."
"But uh... we don't want you to have the same kind of life we did," Nate tells her.
"What do you mean?"
"While all those adventures seem fun, you know, falling out of a plane and everything, we want you to avoid that life. My suggestion would be to probably keep your findings small. Nothing too big like Atlantis or Shangri-La."
"Why not?" Cassie looks at them.
"That kind of life brought us danger," Elena tells her, "we don't want you to go through that kind of danger we did."
"What?" Cassie blinks. "You don't want me to have a good time? I mean, you want me to live a safe life?"
"We don't want you to get into the same kind of situations we got into."
"I killed people," Nate confesses, "a lot of people."
"I get what you guys are saying about me being safe but I've been safe my whole life. Almost every adventure I've been on with you guys, it's always been safe. not a shred of hazard or booby traps of any kind. I just find the idea to be exciting."
Elena looks at her. "You want to be put in danger?"
"No, I just want to go on an adventure where I'm not in a safe little bubble. I want to experience an adventure on my own. If I encounter booby traps then so be it."
"We don't want that life for you, Cassie."
"Then what life do you want for me?" Her voice rose in volume. "One where I'm barely doing anything at all? One where I got nothing to look forward to? I'm fifteen, Mom, I should be able to decide what kind of future I want to have. If I want to go on thrilling and risky adventures, then you won't be able to stop me once I turn eighteen."
"You'll never be the same," Nate warns her, "pretty soon, you're going to wish that you never chose this life."
She chuckles. "I'm not going to think that, Dad. I've been on adventures before and I haven't regretted being introduced into that life."
"But those adventures were when you had a safety net. You had someone to grab your hand when you fell."
"I'm a good climber."
"We're not saying you can't go on adventures, just make sure they're adventures that are safe," Nate implores, "ones where you don't get shot at. One where you don't fall to your death for being slow by half a second."
"I'm a Drake; I'm pretty sure I'll survive whatever is thrown at me."
"But you can never be sure."
"Don't make the same mistakes we did," Nate practically begs.
"I won't."
"Then turn away from the dangerous ones."
Cassie sighs. "It's my life, Mom and Dad, if I want to go on a daring and risky adventure, then that's my choice. I'm sorry if you're upset but... it's my life."
I understand how my parents feel but at the same time, I don't want to live in my parents' legacy. That magazine I picked up in the house had a picture of me, saying that treasure-hunting runs in the family. Yes, I want to be a treasure hunter, and I'm already one, but I don't want to be known as the Daughter of Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher. I want to make my own legacy, go on my own adventures, and have my own taste of risks and dangers.
I just want to be Cassie Drake and live Cassie Drake's legacy.