Bloodswept

Chapter One - Zachery

The next morning, Zach had simply assumed that the clear image of the alluring lady that had stood on the pier was either a dream, or the result of too much rum. As he stood, leaning over the side of the ship, allowing his thoughts to roll over like the ocean below him, he slowly regarded his reflection in the waters. Zachery was the youngest 'shipman' onboard the boat, though his eyes wouldn't give it away. No, his eyes held a certain amount of distant pain and wisdom that only years of trial could create, and his faint scar that crossed over his nose and towards his lips spoke more than a thousand words. He remembered how he got it, the gash that marked his once so innocent face. It was when he had run away from his drunken mother and left her arms for the welcoming ones of the ocean. Oh yes, he remembered the first time he had to spill the blood of another in order to be allowed a job on the ship. He had been practising for years, with heavy pieces of wood that he used as a make shift sword to allow himself protection, but when the Captain had placed in his small hands the handle of a true weapon, he had felt himself become more alive than ever before. He killed the man that he was to fight in under 20 seconds, a swift twist of the sword and a long slash of the throat and the man was dead. Funny how the death of another had began his life. The Captain had been impressed with the young boy who had killed one of his finest fighters in such short time, and soon came to look over Zachery as if he was his son, allowing him to stay in the cabin next to his and giving him higher rations.

That was four long years ago, and now the young man who looked back at Zachery was different than before. Now, his black hair was long and wavy, with a strong scent of sea salt and the skin underneath his clothes was now covered in scars that revealed his journeys on the open seas. Even the knife in his trouser pocket had been used so frequently he almost considered it lucky. He turned around to stare at his crew. There weren't many, but not many men want to be pirates. Those who surrounded him all wore roughly the same attire; white shirts with leather trousers, swords and knifes fastened at the hips with a brown sash. Many wore bits of rope with a talisman attached and had their long hair tied back with string as they got to work with their daily tasks. All the workers were men and Zachery couldn't remember the last time a woman had stepped aboard but, somehow, he could vividly imagine the maiden that had mesmerised him in his dreams running towards him, in full piratess attire with a long sword dangling from her hips, her curves smooth...

He shook himself from the thought and hurried to the Captain's cabin, the ship moving as if his desperation increased the waves.

"Captain?" He asked, his ear to the door of the cabin.

"Come in boy, what purpose is it to stand outside?" The Captain's gruff voice replied, Zachery could hear his hangover slurring the words. Zachery opened the door and stepped inside, the darkness of the room blinding him for a couple of seconds.

"Spit it out lad, I'm still one sheet to the wind." grunted the Captain, his dark figure in his hammock only slightly viewable.

"Avast ye, Captain. I was just wondering when we'd tie down. We need more men, the crew we have here are useless."

"Ay, belay the ship at the next port then my boy!"

Knowing better than to stay inside the Captain's cabins longer than needed, Zachery turned on his heel and left the cabin.

"Turn the boat around boys! Batten down the hatches at the last port!" Zach shouted, a gust of wind sending cold pinpricks of air down his back.