Iguanatopia - ONC 2021 (Completed)

7: Votetopia

Smokey fog laid over the aquamarine sea. Warm water met cold air as the morning light rose above the horizon. It was a beautiful morning, and it was a fateful morning. Because Alba was about to set a plan in motion.

The sailors all gathered around the fire for morning assembly while they ate breakfast. Turnip porridge and turnip bread with turnip spread were on the menu.

Morning assembly was a tradition Captain Ignacio had enacted. Every morning he announced the plan for the day to his crew and also let them air their grievances. There were a lot of petty grievances, but the captain always listened and cared about every one of them.

But Captain Ignacio wasn't present at this assembly. He was gone. Instead, Joe and Pedro were tasked with addressing the crew. And they had exciting news to tell the crowd.

"Something amazing happened last night," Pedro proclaimed.

The one-legged man paused dramatically before telling them the news. "Captain Ignacio returned to us."

An excited soar went through the crowd. Whispers wandered among the gathered men.

"In the form of this lizard," Joe added and pointed towards Ignacio, the lizard. Perhaps he should be called Iguanacio instead, for the sake of clarity.

A disappointed sigh followed from the crew.

"That's not the captain," pot-bellied Tom, an old cranky sailor, protested. "That's just a lizard. Just because it bears the captain's name doesn't make it him."

"It's not just a lizard though," Pedro explained. "It talks! He talked to us last night!"

Tom rolled his eyes, probably wondering how much turnip wine Joe and Pedro had drunk the night before. That beverage had a tendency to mess with a person's head.

"Captain Ignacio! Talk to us!! Joe commanded the lizard. Everyone turned to look at the reptile who stood by Alba's side at the back of the crowd.

Alba pondered if she should mess with Joe and Pedro and have the lizard remain quiet. It was quite tempting. But she had a plan to enact. A wicked plan. So she mumbled something under her breath.

"They speak the truth," the lizard said. "I am your captain."

Mouths fell agape. Eyes stared. No one said a word. Rendered speechless by a talking lizard.

"He's had a spell put on him," Pedro explained. "It's the only solution."

"But maybe if we follow the map," Joe continued. "Then we can break the spell. That must be why the iguana and the map were found together."

The men nodded. It made sense. Even though Alba knew it wasn't true. She could not let herself believe in the return of Captain Ignacio.

But she still wanted to know where the map would lead them. Towards adventure and treasure, hopefully.

"I will tell you what you need to do," Ignacio said, aided by Alba. "And the first thing we need to do is travel toward the island of Espada to get new sails."

"You heard the captain!" Pedro said. "Towards Espada!"

"And then towards the treasure!" Joe added. "Hooray for Captain Ignacio!"

"Hooray for Captain Ignacio!" the men bellowed in unison.

"Let's do a vote to be sure," Pedro said. "The pirate code dictates that a vote needs to be held to decide who'll be captain."

"Captain Ignacio is already our captain though," Joe protested.

"Not in lizard-form though. Although I'm not sure how the pirate code applies if someone is turned into a lizard..."

It really was a question to ponder. It was likely that whoever wrote the pirate code had not considered this possibility. Captains being turned into lizards was not a common occurrence. Although there was the legend of Leguana-Lenny to consider.

"Let's have a vote then," Joe conceded. "To be sure we follow the pirate code."

"Who votes for this lizard, who appears to be our beloved captain Ignacio, to lead us on our journey?" Pedro asked the gathered audience.

One after one the crew reached their hands up in the air. They all voted for the lizard to be their captain.

Everyone but Lucien voted for the iguana. When it was his turn to vote he said with a smile, "I'd rather vote for Alba. She seems to know what she's talking about."

The men all busted into laughter. This was apparently the most hilarious thing ever.

"But Alba never talks," Pedro said, confused.

"Yeah, and she's a girl," Joe added. "She couldn't possibly be captain."

If she hadn't been in the middle of enacting her plan Alba would have tested how obedient Ignacio was by telling him to bite Joe's leg. But the plan was more important.

"Well, I'll vote for her anyway," Lucien insisted. Alba wanted to hug him.

"As you wish," Pedro said and shrugged. "It won't matter anyway."

And it didn't. Ignacio, the iguana, won the vote 17 to 1. Alba was pleased about this result. Her plan had worked like a charm. Now she, and she alone, was in control of the ship and the men would have to obey her command, whether they realized it or not.

"Looks like we officially have a new captain!" Joe exclaimed.

"A captain will need this!" Pedro added and turned around to grab something from his bag. A black hat with a skull embroidered on it. Captain Ignacio's hat. It had been found on deck the night he disappeared. The last trace of him.

Pedro ceremonially walked up towards the lizard and put the hat on its head. It didn't fit. Hats weren't made for lizards. But somehow the hat attached to the spikes along the ridge of the animal's back and stayed on.

The iguana truly was the captain now. Ignacio let out a low wheeze and the crowd in front of him cheered.

***

It felt weird, to stand by the wheel of the ship. This was where Captain Ignacio used to stand. The wind rustling through his red beard.

"This is for you, captain," Alba said and did a small salute before she put her hands on the wheel. The worn-down dark wood was smooth under her hands.

The captain's lizard namesake played with Oliviero on the captain's table next to her. It seemed like the reptile was rattling his tail in front of the cat on purpose as a game. Apparently, the animals were the bestest of friends now.

Suddenly, Pedro appeared at the helm. "Alba, what are you doing by the wheel?" he asked.

"Steering..." she muttered.

"Steering," Ignacio repeated.

"Ignacio can't steer himself so he asked me to do it for him," she added, to get Pedro off her back.

Surprisingly, Pedro listened this time. The lizard didn't have to talk in her stead.

"Just tell me if you need anything else, captain," Pedro said and saluted the lizard before walking away.

The sea was smooth and the winds gentle as Alba guided the ship away from the island of manatees and mermaids. Away from the mesmerizing being that had made her heart flutter. Maybe she would never see Mirabel again. But the mermaid had given her a gift that she would be forever grateful for. She had given Alba a way to take control of the ship.

With a clonk, the captain's hat fell off the iguana as he chased his feline friend. Alba picked it up and put it on the table next to the animal. She didn't dare put it on her own head, even though she wanted to.

Alba was in control of the ship but she was not the captain. Not really. But perhaps this was as close as she would ever get.