The Summer Siren

Erik

It didn't take us long to head out in the morning, thankfully my men and I had prepared the ship the night before as much as we can to get through the Dancing Seaweed without any actual problems. I knew the oars would be a problem when it came to going through, but we had spread them with a poisonous material that will make the seaweed wither up and die when it touches it. With the preparations made and things going smoothly, I turn around and head back to my seat at the back of the ship. Gunnar stays at the front for a few more minutes before he makes his way back to stand at my side. "Are you sure that you only want the two of us to go, with the rowing crew? He could've reached his own ship by now," Gunnar whispers.

We told the men the plan last night and while everyone else was excited to get off the ship and head to land, you could see the disappointment in the rower's eyes. I knew why Gunnar was bringing this up now, despite his view on not getting too far behind them last night. I look towards Axel. He was one of the first men on the crew. He and Gunnar were best friends back then and as time went on, they grew into something more that they're still too afraid to admit to the rest of the world. Gunnar has told me before though, even if he hadn't, I would've known because his sleeping quarters are right next to mine and it doesn't take a smart man to know what kind of grunts and noises were coming from his room at night.

I look up at Gunnar who is looking at Axel, before I look down at the rowers and see the same disappointed expression on all their faces. They didn't argue when I told them what the plan was because they're good warriors. They're what made my crew what it is today. When Axel came to my crew it didn't take long for the other 40 men to come on. They trusted him and in turn trusted me, it worked out. I take a deep breath, "Forget the plan."

Gunnar looks at me with wide eyes and then fixes his face, trying to hide his excitement. "Attention soldiers!" I yell, my voice louder than the cox across the ship, "The plan has changed. We will be docking at Portswall. All of us. We are running low enough on supplies that it would benefit us more if we had all hands-on deck when it comes to gathering. While we're docked, we will also be raiding each building to see if Ace, any members of his crew, or the foreign girl are there."

I slouch back in my seat as they all start to cheer. I can't help but feel smug about their excitement. They think that we're going to have an easy time at the port, but it's not going to be the relaxing time that they think it's going to be. I hope after we get that girl we can go back home to Galbraith. I smile thinking about Galbraith. It was cold this time of year, that's why we set out to the ocean. This is the only time we do. However, it's due to start warming up soon and I know my men are itching to get back to their families. I think about the party that we threw when we left Galbraith to head to see this year. It was the biggest yet and the spouses were drunk enough to not cry for the evening, making it easier for my men to get on the ship and leave.

I sigh, thinking about how it also put us all in good spirits, thinking that this would be the best journey we've made so far, but so far, it's been the worst. We may have had a good start but a month in, one of the ships in Ace's fleet ransacked us and took everything on our ship besides a few moldy pieces of food. That was what started a series of unfortunate events for us. This ship in his fleet must have been following us because every time we stopped to get our food and stock replenished, they would show up the next day or even the day after that. It didn't take us long to catch on and start making more frequent stops and filling our bellies while we were docked and bringing the bare minimum back onto the ships with us. I think the excitement that feels our boys that gets us going at full speed. I smiled, still leaning back in my chair, knowing that it won't take us long to Portswall.

. . .

I was right when I knew it wouldn't take us long to get to Portswall. Even though I knew my men were tired and lacking energy, they got us there in three quarters of the time that it normally took. It also worked out that we all came to the town, because as we pulled into the port, I saw a couple smaller ships that had Ace's grand fleet flag on them, and I can instantly feel my hope start to rise that he was dumb enough to bring her into town.

I remind my men, before they get off the boat, to keep an eye out for Ace, any of his crew or a strange girl. I can't tell them to specifically look for this girl because they've never seen her before. If they were lucky enough to look off the side of our ship when I had managed to get her overboard and almost in our lifeboat, they'd only seen a glimpse of her while she was soaking wet and struggling to get above the small waves.

Hopefully with my orders in mind, they got off the ship and started the run into town. It didn't take long for them to disembark the boat, less than 10 minutes for my crew of over 100 men. I stayed back for a moment, thinking about jumping on board the ships with Ace's flag on them but before I could decide I'm brought out of my thoughts by Gunnar, "Come on Captain. It's not just a trip into town for us. I heard your stomach growling through the walls last night."

I scowl at him, "I don't know how you could hear anything over Axel's moaning and you're groaning."

His face turns bright red, and that's when I notice Axel standing next to the ramp that we use to get off the ship. If it's possible, his face is even redder than Gunnar's. I'm not easily embarrassed but something about the fact that they realized they were caught red handed was embarrassing and it made the tension in the area rise to a level that I didn't want to be around anymore. "On that note, we're leaving, let's go," I say, pushing past both men.

Walking down the ramp, I look back at the ships that we're parked next to. They look abandoned, but you can never tell with pirate ships. With the technology that's been invented these past couple of years, with the shipwrights that we have, they could have several under the water layers that we don't know about. That's how we had our ship built, it's like an iceberg, only what needs to be on top, and several layers underneath that hold our beds, storage and what used to be our treasury. We don't have a cell to put our prisoners in, but if we ever have a prisoner, we will probably just strap them to a pole on the top deck for the birds to peck at.

I'm nervous leaving my ship unguarded and I start to turn around to stay behind but Gunnar and Axel stop me from doing so and push me to continue forward. I sigh in defeat, because I am a little hungry and I could use a hot shower. I try and decide what I want first, but the decision is made for me when Gunnar pushes me towards a hotel, "Go take a shower and then meet us at the restaurant right there."

He points at a restaurant while I look at him with confusion, "What are you two going to do while I'm in the shower?"

Axel's face turns a shade of red that can only be compared to a ripe tomato and Gunnar's face isn't far behind, "We're also going to go take a shower."

It didn't take me long to get what he was saying, and my face was turning a slight shade of pink. "Fair enough. I will see you guys later."

"Yes, much later," Axel says, pulling Gunnar along behind him into the hotel.

When I walk into the hotel a couple of seconds later, there's no one at the front desk, probably because of my men, but I grab a key and head up to the room that corresponds with the number. When I open the door, I'm surprised to see someone's things laid out on the bed and I hear the shower running. I assume it's one of my men and I sit in the chair that's placed over by the window. I don't realize I doze off until I'm awoken by a bunch of commotion and loud whispers. I'm surprised when I open my eyes and I see Ace and my strange girl standing in front of me in the process of getting dressed, so they can sneak out I assume. Well, that's unfortunate for them. "What an unlucky day, you're having Ace," I say, slowly getting out of my chair.