The Legend Of The Five Queens : Arabella's tale

Chapter 26: The Death Sea

   The sun slowly rises above the sea in the distance illuminating the sky. The once violent wind disappears as quickly as it appeared with the rain. All of their struggles have led to them finding peace, for now at least.
   Arabella walks to the railing next to Captain Kraton and smiles at the view.
   "This is the Death Sea? I thought it would be a place that showed us physical manifestations of our worst fear," She keeps her gaze on the sea looking out as far as she can.
    "The horrors do not come out until nightfall. Until then everything will appear normal. Except for nothing her is normal. We must chart the rest of our course very carefully. Soon you will figure out why it is so hard to travel through this sea," Captain Kraton walks away from the railing and towards the stairs. Arabella slowly follows behind him to the Navigation rooms. Adrain stays at the wheel keeping the ship moving forward as he wipes his face with his sleeve.
On the main deck, Egore can be heard shouting at no one about their victory over the storm. He places his spear on the ground in exchange for his mug. Egore quickly turns the knob and starts filling his mug up.
"Arabella, come drink and celebrate our victory! We have one the first battle against the rage of the sea. It is most certainly a proud moment!" Egore says while raising his mug high in the air with a huge smile on his face. Arabella smirks at his childish attitude.
"Maybe later, for now, the victory is all yours," She says back to him as she makes her way to the door that leads to the Navigation room. Egore proudly takes his mug and drinks it all in one big gulp. He does not even hesitate to fill the mug again.
Arabella goes into the Navigation room where Captain Kraton stands hunched over with his back facing the Queen as he examines the map. The young Queen stands next to the Captain and looks at what he has done. It appears that the Captain has placed new tacks on the map-making a new course.
"So, now that we have entered the Death Sea I have plotted a new course. These waters will get very dangerous as we continue our voyage," Captain Kraton then turns her attention to Arabella with a serious face. "Arabella, this Sea comes alive at night. The monsters from below do not seem to light the sunlight very much,"
"So they do not like light?" Arabella asks him as she rubs her stone over the shirt gently. So these monsters may have a potential weakness that they could exploit.
"They do not. Now we do not know if the light will hurt them. It could very well just have to do with their eyes being used to the darkness of the deep sea," He opens a drawer underneath the table and pulls out a small book and opens it. He flips to a page that has contains a sketch of some creature. Arabella looks closely at the photo and takes in every little detail.
The sketch depicts a large human-like figure with scales covering its entire body. Its fingers have long sharp claws from his fingers as well as pointy sharp teeth. The skin of the creature is depicted as being the darkest shade of black that Arabella has ever seen.
"So this is the monster that is supposed to be lurking around in our shop right now as we speak," Arabella speaks with a little bit of fear in her voice. Who knows how many of those things could be lurking underneath them?
"Well to a degree yes. Although I will admit that this drawing was done from memory after an encounter with them at night. The rainstorm was the worst that we had ever experienced that night,"
"Who made this drawing them? You?" She hands the open book to Captain Kraton who slowly puts the book away.
"Aiden. He drew this the night after we fought off the monsters. This image has haunted him ever since the events," Captain Kraton closes the drawer and walks away from the desk.
"I am confident that this journey will go better than the last one," He moves across the room and opens up a big wooden crate. Arabella takes a few steps closer as she watches Captain Kraton reaches down and slowly pulls out a small object by the handle.
"What in the world is that thing?" Arabella asks as she slowly takes a few steps closer to him. Captain Kraton turns his gun to the side showing it to her.
"This is called a gun, more specifically a pistol. It is the newest form of weaponry. We also have rifles and a blunderbuss that can do some damage. They work far better than sword and arrows," He hands the empty gun to Arabella for her to grab. She carefully grabs the gun and examines it closely.
"Do not be afraid to put your finger on the trigger. There is no ammo in the gun, plus the safety is on," He turns away and opens up another box. Arabella puts her finger on the trigger and holds out the gun pointing it across the room away from the Captain.
"So I just pull the trigger and then what?" She keeps her finger on the trigger as she tries to figure out how to aim the gun.
"A bullet comes out of the hole in the front of the pistol. The bullet can be very lethal depending on which part of the body you hit," The Captain brings over a clip for the pistol and shows it to her.
"This contains the bullets for the gun. Without this the weapon is useless," He puts out his hand towards her. Arabella hands him the gun to which he slides the clip in it before cocking it back. "And now the gun is ready to be used. Of course, you will have to learn how to properly use it," He hands the gun back to her. Arabella grabs the handle of the gun and tries to hold it without having to put her finger on the trigger.
   "This weapon is interesting to hold. I hope it is powerful to kill those monsters. Tell me, where did you get these guns?" Arabella slowly lowers the gun and turns her attention towards the Captain. Captain Kraton shifts awkwardly in place.
   "We acquired these guns from King Dietrich after doing him a favor. We are the only people that possess guns outside of the kingdom. We have practice targets outside," Captain Kraton walks to the door and leaves the Navigation room. Arabella follows behind him with the barrel of the gun pointed at the ground. The Captain leads Arabella across the main deck of the ship.
He opens a box revealing a stack of circular wooden target boards from it. The Captain carries the board to the edged of the ship and places it on a metal stand.
"Now, the goal is to be able to hit dot in the middle of the board. The closer you are to hitting the center the better," Captain Kraton says as he moves next to Arabella but keeps a safe distance from her. His trust in her is oddly suspicious to the Queen.
"Why are you entrusting me with such a weapon? I am just a kid after all," She asks him as she keeps the gun pointing at the ground. Captain Kraton quietly laughs to himself.
"On the sea, anyone should be allowed to defend themselves by any means possible. Even if they are a child," He takes out a small container and takes a long sip from it. Arabella is surprised by his remark as she had assumed that he would have judged her for her age. For that, he has earned her respect.
The young Queen points the gun at the target with one hand keeping it facing the target.
"So I pull the trigger and then what? Any repercussions?" Arabella asks as he closes her right eye to try to aim properly.
"Well after you pull the trigger, you will feel a recoil that will send your hand in the air. It will affect your aim," Captain Kraton sits down on a small wooden box and watches Arabella hold the gun. Arabella takes a deep breath as she tries to steady her hold on the gun. Her finger makes its way to the trigger. The muscles in her handshake as a wave of anxiety slowly creeps through her body.
"No, I must be fearless if I am going to be a true Queen," Arabella thinks to herself. She grits her teeth and pulls back the trigger.
A loud BANG ripples through the air as the bullet leaves the barrel of the gun. Arabella's hands instantly move to cover her ears as she hears nothing but a loud ringing noise. The sound of the ringing nearly brings Arabella to her knees.
   When the ringing goes away, Arabella stands back up and gives the Captain a shocked look.
   "Whoa, that is so loud. How could someone handle such a noise?" She rubs her ears gently as the sound slowly quiets her down.
   "After hearing enough gunshots you get used to the sound. The sound seems to go away even in the heat of combat, "Captain Kraton walks over to the target board and inspects it. He picks up the board and brings it closer to Arabella.
   "As you can see, due to the recoil of the gun you completely missed the target and that is okay for your first shot," He sets the target back down on the stand.
   "You can take another shot if you please to do so," Captain Kraton walks back to the wooden crate that he was sitting on. Arabella points the gun towards the target again and holds it steady. She readies herself for the sound of the gun going off again. The ringing in her ears has finally gone away and now she's conserving bring the noise back just to get a better shot. But the thought of the loud noise was too much for Arabella to handle at the moment.
   She slowly puts the gun down and takes her finger off the trigger.
   "I think that is enough for now, maybe later I will fire off more shots." She says before bringing the gun over to the Captain. Captain Kraton takes the gun and puts it on a slot in his belt.
   "Alright. Just let me know when you ready. I would not wait too long though if I were you," He stands up and looks over at the other men who continue to keep the ship sailing smoothly. The clouds slowly roll across the sky allowing the sunlight to bleed onto the sea.
   So far, the Death Sea has been very peaceful ever since they have arrived earlier today. It is sad to know that when nightfall approaches the peace will quickly go away.
Arabella walks to the edge of the ship away from the crew and looks at the sea behind them. It is amazing how far they have traveled in just a few days. She hopes that Severus is doing well keeping the peace in the kingdom while Arabella is away. If all is going well then Arabella will have a smooth time settling back in at home.
The waves manage to stay calm as the ship glides across the Death Sea smoothly. It is almost moving too smoothly for her liking especially on such deadly waters. Perhaps the calmness is what draws other sailors to this Sea as a trap.
Time seems to quickly pass as the day continues like any normal day. The men continue to work on the ship keeping it moving with ease. Arabella spends a few hours firing off several rounds slowly improving her aim accuracy. She slowly gets used to the recoil of the gun as well as the sound of the gun firing.
Captain Kraton grows proud of Arabella as she practices using the gun. Arabella puts the gun down to not use up all of the ammunition. She walks over to the target that is now riddled with bullets. The Queen picks up the target and inspects her hard work. She smiles as she notices the bullets came closer to the center of the target with each shot. She puts the target down and walks away from it moving towards the center of the ship.
Egore is seen strapping down the barrels tightly down to the floor. Arabella finds herself feeling surprised that Egore was able to put the booze down to do something productive. The other men continue to work as they normally would as they patch up the broken pieces of the ship. All was normal for now.
   Captain Kraton stands at the top of the ship looking outwards towards the sea in front of the ship. Adrian and Aiden are playing chess against each other.
Arabella makes her way up the steps towards Captain Kraton.
   "How is the view Captain? Any crazy storms coming this way?" She asks as she slowly approaches him.
"Nothing yet. Thankfully it is looking peaceful as far as the eye can see. The sunlight is keeping the monsters hidden away for now," He replies while keeping his gaze forward.
   "I am almost disappointed by that statement. I was hoping that this voyage would get more exciting once we entered the Death Sea," She stands in between the Captain and the wheel of the ship. The stone begins to absorb the energy from the sunlight. She must charge the stone as much as possible before nightfall in case she needs it. The two of them spot an island in the distance coming out of the shadows. A feeling of hope enters Arabella's body.
   "Is that the island we are looking for?" Arabella asks as she points towards the island.  Captain Kraton looks outwards the island shielding his eyes from the incoming sunlight. A smile quickly forms on his lips.
"Well I'll be damned, that's the island!" He calls out as he moves closer to the edge of the ship. "It will not take us long to get there now,"
Arabella feels a rush of joy as she finally lays eyes on their destination. She hopes that her sword is there, otherwise this whole trip was for nothing.
The Queen struggles t0 keep herself from smiling as they approach the island.
"That sword will soon be mine," Arabella says softly as she brings her hands together.
   "I would get as must rest as you can. It is going to be a long night," Captain Kraton says will look at the Queen. Arabella cocks her head to the side and slightly squints her eyes at him.
   "I will not lay in bed till nightfall. I plan on preparing myself as best as I can for what we may face," The Queen makes some distance between her and Captain Kraton.
   "You shall prepare however you feel like doing," With that said Captain Kraton heads back down to his quarters.
   Arabella heads back down to the main deck with the other guys reside. She finds Adrian on his knees scrubbing at the floor with a sponge. The young Queen slowly approaches Adrain from behind and takes a moment to watch him work.
"Adrian, what is the toughest challenge the crew has endured?" Her question causes Adrain to freeze in place as if she took him off guard.
   "Well, at the start of one of our voyages a few years back we were traveling across the sea in search for the nearest port. A big storm had come unexpectedly and washed most of our supplies off of the ship. We had to go for 8 days with only 2 days worth of food. We all thought we would have starved to death. That's is the hardest thing I have endured for the time I have been with the crew. Although the others may have endured more than I have," he says as she continues to scrub at the floor.
   "Do you know if Captain Kraton has endured anything that he refuses to speak about?"
   "I do not know of any secrets, but I do know that he rarely talks about the day he lost a close friend of his that once traveled with us," He stops scrubbing for a moment.
   "Ah yes, he has told me about a friend being lost during a voyage. He still hopes that he can find his friend," She squats down next to Adrian and he continues to scrub at the floor.
  "Tell me Adrain, how many women have been on this ship since you have been with the crew?" She asks him.
  "Well, there have been plenty of ladies that have been on this ship. They have come in various ages as a lot of times it is a mother and a daughter who needed transportation. Although we have never had such a young lady like yourself with us. How was it again that you acquired so much money?" Arabella takes a moment to think about his question.
"Well, my parents just too happen to have a lot of money and they gave me a portion of it. It is been very usefully in funding this journey,"
   "Indeed it has been. If the Captain was smart, he would invest in getting a new ship instead of buying booze," the tone of his voice implies his annoyance of his Captain.
   "Thank you for speaking with me Adrain," She leaves him to his scrubbing. She looks out at the ocean to admire its beauty while she can. The other men continue to work on the ship.
   The air is quiet for a journey that may turn violent as soon as nightfall approaches.
   Arabella spends the rest of the daytime creating different-sized balls of fire in her hands within the confines of her quarters. She has been learning to control her powers better in case she needs to use them.
The sun slowly makes it's way below the sea line. The air quickly grows colder as the moon rises as nighttime comes.
Arabella makes her way towards the main deck of the ship where the other men stand together to looking out at the sea. The Queen notices all of them are holding their weapons tightly in their hands. Arabella slowly makes her way towards them. All of the men stand still quietly.
   "It is almost time. We must prepare ourselves if we want to survive the night," Captain Kraton says quietly to the crew.
   "Arabella, please be on guard for you are about to find out why people do not dare travel through these waters," Captain Kraton keeps his voice stern. Arabella nods at his request just before taking a look around them. The terror is about to begin.