The Eighth Sea

Chapter 6

Levi

Levi couldn't remember the last time he was this miserable. After being introduced to a staggering forty-seven people and promptly forgetting almost all of their names, he had slunk away to hide in a corner away from all the commotion on deck.

Unfortunately, the environment was not good for moping. In fact, it was horrible. The captain danced around his first mate, talking in the most annoying sing-songy voice. Even Hector seemed to be a bit done with everything.

"Oh, Hector, today is a great day!" Wren said, taking his first mate's hands in his own and twirling him around in a circle. "I feel so alive!"

"You can't die," Hector deadpanned. "You're always alive."

"Don't spoil my fun! Just think about it. Me, without a curse? Us growing old together?"

Hector sighed. "Why must you be like this?"

Levi could not relate to the first mate more. It seemed very much like Hector was the only one on board with any brains left. Everyone else seemed distant or psychotic (like Wren). He was sick of hearing Charlotte slam doors closed to annoy the crew. He was sick of seeing Wren dance around the ship like he was the happiest man alive. He was sick of smelling the body odour of the pirates. And he was actually getting seasick.

Just his luck.

Damn pirates.

Seeing Charlotte was the worst, though. Every time he saw her ghostly face, he thought of Uncle Tobias. He'd never be able to see his uncle again, and Uncle Tobias was his closest family by now.

A tear slipped down Levi's cheek, which he quickly wiped away. Letting pirates notice his moment of weakness was the last thing he wanted to happen. To make his day even worse, Wren strutted up to him, ready to make conversation.

"Hey!" Wren greeted annoyingly. "What's going on?"

"What do you think is going on?" Levi snapped. "You took my life from me! I have nothing now! The crew smells bad, I'm getting seasick, and to top it all off, Charlotte is terribly loud. I hate it when she slams the doors or throws things at people."

"Yeah, that's Charlotte for you. But I just wanted to chat with you. I like getting to know my new crew members."

"I'm not a part of your crew."

"Whatever you say, scribe."

"My name is Levi. Just leave me alone."

Wren sighed. "Fine." Before Levi could get too excited, Wren then called, "Hector! Talk with the scribe."

"No," came a distant reply from across the ship. "Some of us actually have work to do."

"What are you doing?" Wren shouted.

"Takin' the pet fish out for a walk."

"No, seriously."

"Readin' Charlotte's seaweed."

"Charlotte writes out daily navigations in seaweed," Wren explained before Levi could ask any further questions. "We'd be lost without her."

"Oh," Levi answered in a small voice, somewhat terrified of the crew he'd joined.

"Tell Pierre to deal with his wife's cryptic seaweed bullshit," Wren called back to Hector. "You need to help me with giving our new scribe a warm welcome!"

"Fine."

Hector appeared from behind the mast where he had been hiding, and he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Levi.

"See, he's moping," Wren pointed out. "You talk to him since I don't think he's enjoying my company enough."

"Glad you noticed," Levi muttered under his breath.

Hector let out an exaggerated sigh, but he moved a bit closer to Levi and sat down on the deck, leaning against the mast. "Go be a responsible captain," he told Wren. "I got this."

Wren skipped off, saying something about polishing the silverware collection, and Hector turned his full attention to Levi.

"Sorry 'bout him," he started. "He can be a bit... much."

"Yeah." As Levi spoke with Hector, he used his index finger to trace circles around a hole in the deck, probably made by a bullet. If he couldn't go home, then he'd at least want to be left alone.

"Look, I know what it's like. Leavin' home for piracy, I mean."

"Do you know, though? I was forced into this life, you chose it," Levi snapped, a bit harsher than he meant to.

"I didn't, actually."

"So Wren kidnapped you as well? So then why the hell are you so friendly with him?"

Hector shrugged. "He grows on you. He treats everyone the same way—well, except for Pierre, 'cause all he does is pine over Charlotte. He's a good captain. And a good man."

"You're lying."

"You'll change your mind soon enough. Just give him a chance." There was a pause before Hector started speaking again. "So, tell me about yourself."

"My name is Levi."

"Yes, I got that. What else?"

"I'm a blind scribe."

"I got that, too. Well, I'm Hector. I'm a pirate."

The introductions felt a bit awkward, so Levi changed the subject. "What does the ship look like?"

"The sails look like candies. There's sometimes mould growin' on the deck, but we usually have someone take care of that. Uh, there's a skeleton as our figurehead. It's one of Wren's. We tied him up."

Levi gaped at Hector. "What the hell? You have an actual skeleton as your figurehead?"

"It's more cost-effective," Hector explained.

Levi shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm stuck on a ship with a crew that thinks that having a skeleton tied up on the bow is cost-effective."

Hector laughed. "It's not all bad, Levi. We have fun moments too."

"Like what? Kidnapping unassuming civilians?"

"No, like that time Wren convinced Charlotte that she could breathe underwater if she drank enough seawater. And she drank a lot of seawater, then jumped overboard."

Levi was horrified, but Hector's storytelling almost distracted him enough from the growing nausea he felt. "Is that how she died?"

"No, she died of scurvy."

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

"Yeah. The worst part is Pierre's incessant love-letter writin' that he reads out loud every day at midnight." Hector sighed. "Look, I know it's hard to adjust. But for what it's worth, I'm glad you're here. It's nice to have another intellectual onboard."