All Hands On Deck

I ADMIT IT...

I did it because I thought that there was no other way out of this. Trust me, I have tried every possible way to get out of the darn arrangement and every single way pointed in one direction, weather I liked it or not... so what was I suppose to do when this golden opportunity rose ... well, take it that's what...

With that being said, I made my decision and stuck with it no matter how hard it felt, I ignored everything and kept chanting "Freedom". When the sailors at the docks prepared the boats with all kinds of spices for an 8 months trip, I knew I had to jump on board, even if my father's second in charged recognized me half way through the trip, by then it would be too late to turn back. It was genius. My father the great Sinarvanda Matt whitebacked , the insanely genius sailor in all of the seas. My father was the first man to discover one of many huge trade routes across the boarder, making the whitebacked family a name that all traders utter whenever they needed anything. My father went out to sea hunting and finding all sorts of treasury which we now use today and maybe, take for granted. Through his discoveries , our doctors found new cures and medicines for us which could have taken years to discover or worse, not even known till today. I was a babe at the time and back then it was the mother's duty to do the raising and taking care of the house while my father took off to sea, every adventure out in the open waters always took my father by surprise no matter how well he prepared himself, the sea is a wondrous and dangerous beast that no man can tame.

My father never wanted to stop his journeys no matter how many times my mother begged him too. She pleaded and fought that he was losing valuable time out at sea and leaving his family to grow without him. I can't lie, my mother was right; he had missed so many birthdays, Christmases and new years with us that we felt as a family or 4 rather than 5. Before we knew it my siblings and I grew up as the years flew by. We don't hate our father but him not being there made us wonder if it was really worth it? , at first, it was amazing to have everything of the best, but the look on my mother's face whenever my father was back was 51 thousand times better.my siblings and I consider the sea as my father's mistress. The only time my father postponed his next trip was when my older
brother Matthew got married, even then he refused to cancel the trip in all in all and chose for the first time to stay back. This was both a horrible thing that he had done, as his body was here but not his heart. but today, its one of the greatest things that could possibly happen. I can use this to my advantage. As you have figured out by now, I am Silverain Tizas Whitebacked, only daughter to Captain Sinarvanda Matt Whitebacked and in a few days I am to be wed to a complete stranger and I have no choice in the matter. Due to this, I have no choice but to broad the Constantia 51 which is set to leave tomorrow. The best part Is that mt father will stay behind for a wedding that will not involve me.

With much regret I snipped my long brown hair into a above shoulder length , with a huff I tied it back and continued... "Freedom Silverain, Freedom" I chanted and continued packing. Early in the morning my mother was too busy preparing the house for the wedding to even bother to look for me, I guess my father and the wedding was a good distraction for her. I jumped out the window and headed to the docks to place my bag in the holdings and take my place as a substitute. Men ran across the deck, moving like robots already knowing what needs to be done leaving me as a sore thumb sticking out. I grabbed a mop and started moving with the others copying and applying my knowledge to the task at hand, with my head held low, I kept moving. The Constantia 51 was a beautiful sea lass and I could see why my father loved this ship so much. The second in charge , Kraig Ede-Arum , screamed orders above. "Ready the ship for leave" , "Aye Aye captain" the crew bellowed back and just like that they moved to set sail, opening the sails, bringing the anchor in and before I knew it, we were slowly leaving. My father was on the docks , wishing a well trip but deep down he knew it was yet another adventure he would miss, he stared at his second in charge and a silent message was passed. Captain Kraig Ede-Arum nodded in accepted and saluted my father which he returned. I peeped at my father as my heart sank and floated at the same time, "I'm sorry father" I softly said and that was it. Days went by and I was slowly getting use to the everyday duties and routine. Captain Kraig Ed-Arum was on my case for every single thing I did or did not do, this only built me as a person, besides, if I couldn't handle him then how could I be a true Whitebacked?

I met a few men who took pity and started helping me by showing me the ropes. They trained me in everything including the drill procedure in case we were attacked of if there was a heavy storm, which I prayed everyday that neither would happen. We all soon become friends and by then I truly understood what the word family meant. The sailors made sure that they were as strong as the next. This way there was no weak links here.

Months went by and everything was going smoothly, I became the new chef as the men really enjoyed my food. If they only knew it was prepared everyday by a women. Everything was calm and well until pirates decided to attack us and try to steal our stock. I can remember it so clearly, the sea rocked us back and forth so hard, I think it was the sea's way of warning us yet the Constantia 51 took no heed to this and moved on, the storm thundered and poured, I couldn't sleep and was in the ship's kitchen looking for a snack. I tried to eat some fruit but the motion made me more sick. I was on my way back to my bunker when the alarm shrieked all around , it was the same drill the men prepared me for and my heart sank.

"Come on, men!!!!" Captain Kriag Ed-Arum shouted from above, "Pirates!!!!" I was ushered out along with some men as they tried to fight off whoever had come on board. I bit my lip and ran back into the holding as I was not prepared for this, the waves were huge and I thought it was going to swallow us whole , if not this wave , surely the next. I ran to the bunkers but I was tugged into the nearest room but a firm strong grip. I was pushed against the table and I turned to the culprit. "Aye knew that you were a lass, I just knew it!" Captain Kriag Ed-Arum shouted, he gripped my face firmly and looked deep into my eyes before his hard glare turned lovingly "Silverrain, Dear is that you" I softly nodded and the captain dropped his hands as if I was on fire. "Aye lass, but why, this be no place for ye" I stood up more straightly and said two words "Author Maze" "Aye, your marriage" the captain looked so lost and I felt that I caused more trouble than I thought I would, he didn't need to worry about me, he was suppose to keep his head in the current situation. "Well, you better survive this lass, your father should be the one to kill ya, not the sea." The captain dragged me back to the deck behind him as the fighting and cannons went on roaring into the stormy clouds.

The captain paused and spun around "Ya know your training , right?" I nodded nervously as i looked at the hell around me "Use it, and remember..." the next words the captain uttered somehow triggered the on switch in my body and my spirits soared high and I was now ready for it all. "You are a Whitebacked. You have your father's blood running in you so make him proud and stand tall" with that the captain turned around and shouted praise and hope to whatever men were left standing and fighting, he reminded not just myself, but our men, who we are and where we came from. The entire boat shook from this and the Constantia 51 itself felt like it awoke to join the fight. Captain Ed-Arum ended his rally that he said loud and proudly and at the end shouted our war cry which fuelled the warriors and the battled like never seen before. The Captain shouted to all our men to join the fight one last time and use whatever was left within them, the last words I heard and the final words I needed to hear before I, myself engaged in this battle was "Men, stand up, your captain is with you, not just I but Captain Sinarvanda Matt compels you to fight for him, for his honor for Silverrain!!, All Hands on Deck!!!"