In A Faraway Land

The Challenge

Captain Atlas unsettled August. He wasn't exactly like the pirates he had heard about from his father. For one, he was extremely strict about the condition of his ship. The deck had to be swabbed at least five times a day and if one left a speck of dust on it the entire chore had to be redone. The cabins were meant to stay clean at all times and he routinely checked it. He even needed all of his weapons, which he so proudly displayed on a wall in his quarters, routinely polished although August was beginning to suspect that Eddie was making August do that for laughs. As far as August could tell, none of the other crewmates went inside of his quarters.

And that brought him to the second strange thing about Captain Atlas. When he dragged August onto the ship he was preparing to defend himself from brutish thugs, but was greeted by a small horde of mainly children. At first August blanched thinking that Atlas had kidnapped them, but they were all quite fond of him. And quite defensive as well. August made one small complaint about his chores and they hurled such profane insults at him his ears were still ringing two hours later.

That was the most unsettling part of his excursion. Atlas had warned him that no one would respect or treat him as a prince, but they didn't seem to respect him as a human being either. Whilst everyone else had a bunk to sleep in, August was subject to sleeping in a corner. Every time he passed them they all stopped their conversation to glare at him. And he was sure that one of them stole a sack of his gold. He was down to his last one!

Under different circumstances he would've greatly enjoyed this journey. This was his first time sailing and it was as riveting as the storybooks said it was. The fresh, salty air brought a sense of excitement for August. He didn't know where he was heading next, but that was part of the fun. One day, when his father forgave him, he'd travel to his heart's content.

"Daydreaming again?"

August snapped back to attention and found one of the crew members. Ian, in front of him.

"I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning." August said, half-heartedly pushing the mop around.

"This isn't about that. If you don't do well Eddie will just make you clean it again."

"Ah! You require my assistance then! What is it? A rogue sea monster? Rivaling pirates?"

Ian frowned at him. "No. Why would anyone call you for help in that situation?"

August brushed off the insult, a skill he had mastered in a matter of days. "Then are we nearing our destination?"

"You talk too much. Captain wants you."

August groaned. "I already polished his weapons yesterday. How many times can he force me to do such a menial task?"

Ian crossed his arms. "Before you go, I have a message for you as well. I don't know why Captain agreed to help you-"

"I paid him two full sacks of gold."

"Money is not the only thing that moves Eddie. So you better not be taking advantage of him. Do as you're told and don't cause trouble. And if anything happens to him or the rest of our crew I'll make sure you'll get a front row seat of the murky depths of the sea."

August shivered at his words. With enough luck he'd be off this ship very soon.

"Captain's on the main deck." Ian said before flitting off as if he hadn't just delivered a bone chilling threat.

August tossed the mop aside and headed up the rickety ladder to the main deck. Atlas stood in the middle of the deck admiring the horizon. His black hair looked messed up in a perfect kind of way and despite their dull color Atlas' gray eyes shone with excitement. If he wasn't such a prick, August would've called him handsome. A few other members of the crew milled around on the deck as well, with no chores...