The Captain

three

The next days passed much in the same manner. I'd thankfully stopped my aggressive vomiting, and the routine on the boat was simple. We got up, had breakfast and sometimes helped with cleanup. Amelie didn't like being shut up in the room, so after I'd made her practice her reading and writing for a while, she usually went up to be on the main deck with Fletcher. 

I spent most of my time reading, sometimes up on the deck if it was sunny. I stayed out of the crew's way, and they stayed out of mine. 

One afternoon, during the seventh day of our trip with the Alexandria, the lookout, a man named James, yelled something about clouds.

Carson had a spyglass, immediately looking out at the sky. 

"Looks like a storms brewing, boys."

I glanced up at the sky. Ahead of us, the clouds were such a dark purple that they were almost black. 

"Is that bad?" I asked Tristan, who was standing next to me.

"We've had storms before, don't worry miss."

I tried to ignore the flash of fear in his eyes. 

Amelie appeared beside me, breathless. 

"What's going on?"

I pointed at the clouds. 

"Oh."

As the first drops of rain began to splatter against the deck, Tristan looked at us. 

"I'd recommend you two head below deck now. It's gonna get ugly up here and I wouldn't want you to get lost in the chaos."

"We could help?" Amelie suggested, sending a quick glance Fletcher's way. His dark eyes glinted with apprehension as he looked at the sky.

"We don't know anything about sailing, Lia. We'll cause more harm than good."

"It's safer for you down below, miss Harlow," Fletcher said, gazing intently at my sister. 

"Okay," she said, allowing me to pull her below deck. The rain got louder and harder as thunder rumbled across the sky. Out the window, the sky around us was black with the occasional flashes of lightning. 

"The boat's not gonna sink, right?"

"It's designed to survive storms. We'll be alright."

Seconds after I said that, the whole boat lurched sharply to the side. I staggered across the room and smacked against the wall. Amelie fell, catching herself on the bed. The bed and wardrobe were bolted into the deck, but our bags slid across the floor, knocking me off my feet. 

"Ow."

Amelie stumbled over and helped me up as the rain continued to pelt the window. 

"Are you alright?"

I stood up, nursing a bruised knee but not much else. 

"I'm fine. Let's put these in the wardrobe so they don't slide around so much."

We put the bags behind the heavy wood doors and then changed out of our day clothes. 

I sat in bed reading while Amelie wrote in her journal, both of us trying to distract ourselves from the loud thunder, lurching room and what sounded like shouts coming from above. 

I don't know how we managed to fall asleep in the chaos, but when I opened my eyes again, it was morning. 

"Lia, wake up. I think the worst of its over."

Amelie blinked a few times. 

"Thank goodness."

We got ready and headed up, where Fletcher and Markus were clearing up the deck. Carson and Tristan were consulting a very worn map. 

"Morning," I said. 

Neither of them seemed to notice me. 

"Looks like almost a hundred miles, sir. We're northeast now instead of west."

"Doggone it all," Carson muttered. 

"What's going on?"

Carson blinked, looking at me in surprise. 

"Oh good morning, Miss Harlow. Everything's fine. Just got a little blown off course during the storm."

I noticed the stress lining his forehead. 

"How far?"

"Enough to add a few days to the journey."

I wanted to be sad that we were going to be stuck on this ship longer, but a deep part of me was relieved that I was going to have at least a few more days of relative freedom. 

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"That's not the worst of it, lass. Means we're in pirate territory now."

Markus had appeared behind us. Tristan gave him a withering look. 

"Pardon?"

Markus, apparently ignoring Tristan, looked at me. 

"We've drifted into unprotected waters, miss. As a merchant boat, we're going to be prime targets for pirates."

Carson hit Markus on the back of the head with a resounding thwack. 

"Don't fret, Miss Harlow. Everything will be fine."

I nodded, a pit in my stomach. Surely we weren't actually going to run into pirates. Markus was probably just trying to scare me. Leaving them to their map and compass, I wandered across the deck, to Amelie. 

"How are you?" I asked. 

"Good, Fletcher's gonna show me some knots in a bit."

"Becoming quite the sailor, aren't you?" I joked, bumping my shoulder against hers. 

She laughed.

"Sure. What did Carson say?"

"Trip's gonna be extended a few days because of the storm."

I watched her as she tried to keep her face neutral, despite the flicker of hope that sprang across her features. 

"Oh. Okay."

I followed her gaze to Fletcher coming back towards us and felt a pang in my heart. It wasn't sailing that Amelie was falling for. But Fletcher was just a sailor kid, and she was going to have to find a suitable marriage in Port Royal in a few years. 

I squeezed her shoulder lightly. 

"Have fun."

I walked away, trying to shake away the sadness that I felt on my sister's behalf. It wasn't fair that she was probably never going to see Fletcher again after this trip was over. Then again, it wasn't fair that I was being sent off to marry some random man for the sake of two trading companies.

The world isn't fair.

I perched myself on a bench at the stern of the boat with a book in hand, intending to spend the rest of the afternoon alone with my thoughts. 

Several hours later, James was shouting again. 

Heart sinking, I looked at the sky, expecting another storm to be approaching. Instead, I heard him yell four words that were so much worse. 

"Pirate ship dead ahead!"

My blood ran cold as I looked up to see the distinct form of a ship, black flag flying, as it approached the Alexandria at top speed.