ATLANTIC OCEAN OCTOBER 1697
A few years passed and Long Shadow had fully settled into her new job as the ferryman. Britannia helped whenever she could but she had her hands full with matters in Britain. France was being troublesome again and England needed all the help it could get. Britannia spent hours in London speaking with members of Parliament on Naval Strategy.
Long Shadow couldn't imagine the patience involved. Politics was no place for the hot headed. She knew that she would lose her stack if she had to take part in that. Her thoughts turned back to reality when her senses picked up people in the water. Dead people. She grimaced.
Her job wasn't one for the faint-hearted. Who could deal with seeing fresh bodies upon the sea and the occasional, sinking wreck? Long Shadow sometimes did wish she could do more to save lives but that wasn't her job.
"She was to ferry the dead to the next world until the veil became too thick to travel through." As Britannia had told her the day she'd been commissioned into the Ancient's service. Long Shadow closed her eyes, recalling that particular memory.
It was just after sunrise in the Locker. Long Shadow had been resting at her dock while Britannia went out during the night. The old galleon sailed back in, triumphantly holding a pair of cod in her jaws.
"Nice catch!" Long Shadow called to her.
"Thanks." Britannia replied. "Took me forever. They just kept on swimming just out of my reach."
"Sometimes fish are too smart for their own good." Long Shadow said.
Britannia nodded her agreement. "Here is yours." She said, setting the larger of the two down in front of her.
Long Shadow eyed the fish curiously. "Are you trying to get me fat?" She asked. "You always give me the bigger of the catch."
Britannia laughed. "Hardly, I just want you well fed." She said.
"I'm a quarter your size." Long Shadow said. "I don't need nearly as much as you do." She nudged the fish back to her mentor.
"If you insist." Britannia shrugged and exchanged the two catches. The two ate their breakfast in silence. "How are those ribs healing up?" Britannia asked.
"They're still sore but I think they're alright." Long Shadow answered.
Britannia leaned over, touching her bow to her apprentice's side, feeling the injury. "Well they seem to be healing well." She said. "But I think I might be able to speed up that process somewhat."
Long Shadow looked up. "Oh how?" She asked.
"I could channel the energy of my powers directly into the injury and use simple chemistry to help it heal faster." Britannia replied.
"Why couldn't you have done that earlier?" Long Shadow asked.
"My powers were not designed for this purpose. Focusing them to do such a task requires a lot of energy. I must be careful not to exceed my limit." Britannia replied.
"I see." Long Shadow nodded in understanding.
"Are you ready?" Britannia asked her.
"You're going to do it now?" She asked.
"Why not?" The older ship shrugged.
Long Shadow swallowed the last of her cod before replying "very well".
Britannia edged forward, pressing her prow against the bandaged section of Long Shadow's hull. White-blue light surrounded the galleon's hull, drawing itself towards the younger ship's wounded section as if called by sirens.
YOU ARE READING
The Founding Sisters #1 The Damned
General FictionRedoing my original and tying it in with the main series. We go back to the beginning, before the founding of the United States. Several ships were key players in this founding and this is their story.
