The Legend Of The Five Queens : Arabella's tale

Chapter 24: meeting the crew.

Arabella stands at the edge of the boat as she watches the ocean waves pass by. It is such an incredible sight for one to behold. The Queen has never seen the sea like this due to her royal status. The ship slowly moves further away from any nearby islands as it travels further across the sea.
   Suddenly a loud thud comes from behind Arabella that causes the whole floor to shake. Arabella quickly turns around in shock. She sees that poor Adrian had dropped a small wooden crate. He jumps in responds with a look of shock and fear. Poor guy looks like he is about to cry due to his actions.
"Damnit Adrain! I told you to be careful with that! Damn kid can not even manage to carry a simple crate! So very useless,"Ronald yells out in frustration as he ties a rope. Adrian slowly picks up the crate and struggles to carry it across the ship.
"Ey, give the kid a break will ya?! The kid's doing his best," Egore calls out from the front of the ship.
   "Oh yeah? Well being so soft on him ain't gonna do him no good! The boy'll never learn!" Ronald calls back as he finishing tying his knot. He stomps his feet as he walks toward Adrian.
"Now that is enough out of you! Who do you think you are to treat that boy in such a way?" Arabella storms her way in front of Egore stopping him in his tracks. She tries her best to keep the stones power under control.
"You listen here miss, I have raised that boy since he was a teenager. While I may not be his father I still want him to do right and be a man and right now he ain't no man," Egore struggles to get himself out of breathe from getting so worked up.
   "That is still no way to treat a person! He is clearly doing his best and I will not allow you to continue to treat him in such a way," Arabella's body tenses up as she stands her ground in front of Egore. Her heart beats violently in her chest as her anger rises.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You are just the client. I take orders from the captain!" He pounds his fist on one on his chest once in a prideful manner. Arabella knows deep down that he is right for she cannot control him on this ship.
"You are right, I do not have the right to command you," Arabella relaxes her shoulders and tries to give Egore a look of sorrow.
"Hampton, whatever lady," Egore walks next to her heading across the ship. The other men continue to work on the ship shouting at each other about the status the ship.
   The scorching heat beats down on Arabella and her crew. The men find themselves putting their heads on the barrels of water to cool down. Arabella wipes her forehead despite not sweating due to the stone's power. It still feels strange to the Queen to not feel hot amongst the intense heat. The Queen adjusts the top of her dress keeping her stone safely hidden away. The last thing she needs is the men to have another reason to look at her.
The Queen looks over the ship and into the water. She takes notices of fins protruding from the water.
"Aye, it seems like there are some sharks around us, 'tis a pity that we did not bring our harpoons to catch the son of a bitch," Ronald holds out a long metal spear as if he is about to throw it.
"I take it you guys do lot of shark catching then? Arabella asks while resting her arms of the boarder of the ship.
"We catch whatever we can at sea. Anything can be eaten if you cook it well enough," he puts the end of a toothpick in his mouth. Arabella takes this moment to notice the details of his face. His beard has fully grown on his face but the hairs have not grown outta look bushy. The dark patches around his eyes imply that he has not gotten much sleep in the past days.
"Ronald, do you like this job? You look very tired." She keeps her voice sounding calm.
   "No, it jut gets hard to get some decent sleep. Especially when the ship is rocking throughout the night. It does not help that some of the guys stay up late playing board games with each other. They can get very loud. They like to consume booze while playing," He turns his head to look at the other guys working and drinking. "Oh great, it it just became midday and the booze is already being drank," he added. It seems as though he is the runt of the crew. They probably pick on him from time to time.
"I suppose I will go sweep the lower deck. It keeps me outta trouble," He sighs and walks away from her with his head down. Ronald will never have to live a better life in Arabella's new world. There will be no pain in her new world.
   She turns her gaze towards the sea once again to admire its beauty. Her eyes can see all the way to the edge of the world. The men behind her laugh loudly amongst each other as they play a board game.
   "Arabella! Do you want to play a game of chess with us?" Aiden yells from across the ship. A Queen playing a chess game with such poor sailors? That is unheard of. But in this moment Arabella knows that she must pretend to be not or royal blood. Prehospital she shall amuse them for the day.
   "Sure, what harm could it cause?" She says before walking across the ship. The men reset the pieces of the chess board and get it ready. Aiden moves the chair out for Arabella and smiles at her. She sits down in the chair and scoots her chair up.
Aiden sits across from Arabella and sits forward with a devilish grin as she places her hands on the board.
   "Lady's first then," He says as he gestures for her to make the first move.
Arabella moves the first piece. Aiden laughs just before moving one of his pieces. The two of them spend the next 20 minutes moving different chess pieces trying to outsmart one another. Aiden scratches his head as he tries to stay one step ahead of Arabella. Unfortunately for him, Arabella is very good at playing chess. The rest of the crew stand around Arabella and Aiden and cheer for one of them to win. Sweat forms on Aidens forehead as he struggles to get the advantage over Arabella. The Queen move her King chess piece up and wins the game.
   The men cheer as Arabella sits back with a smile on her face. Aiden gives her a look of disbelief as he stands up with his arms out in shock.
"I do not believe this! Egore is the only person who has ever been able to beat me at chess. How is this possible?!" He shouts with aggression and fire in his eyes.
"I too am unbeatable in chess, I play this game every now and then," She replies playfully. The other all laugh collectively together as they down their mug of booze.
"As much as I enjoy watching Aiden complain, we still have a ship to maintain so get to it lads!" Captain Kraton shouts from above.
"Aye Captain!" All the men say in at the same time. The men go to different parts of the ship and begin to work. Arabella gives Captain Kraton a confused look.
"Why are the men not allowed to have any fun on the voyages? She asks as the Captain makes his way down the stairs.
"These men tend to easily get distracted. It is my job to keep them focused,"He steps onto the mail deck and watches as sun begins to set below the sea.
"The ocean can be very dangerous to be on hence why we must say on guard at all times!" The Captain pulls his coat closer to his body. "Although it may be an idea to get a fire going and call it a night before it gets too cold," he adds just before signaling to the men to start a fire.
Ronald goes to the lower deck of the ship and brings up a small barrel.
  "Do not worry Ronald for tomorrow is a new day and we will be much closer to our destination," she tells him softly as she pulls up her hood. Aiden lights the fire and blows on it to raise the flame. Arabella resist the urge to use her powers to not draw any unnecessary attention. The other men slowly comes over and stand around the flame. Aiden gives her Arabella a child-like gestures towards the fire.
"Are you enjoying the fire, Aiden?" She asks him softly. He nods at her and gives a child-like smile. All the other men rub their hands together as the warmth of the flames touch their bodies.
   "Now, we can all tell stories if we please to do so. The Captain won't stop us," Adrian says in a quiet manner. The others agree in the same time. Arabella causally smiles at the crew as they all softly laugh amongst each other. Now Arabella may be able to get to know her crew better.