Captain Jansen and the Phoenix

Chapter 5

Once both ships were repaired and restocked, they set out again. Over the course of three days, they met two other ships and rescued some drowning sailors. No one on either ship could give them any information about the whereabouts of Tarja and the others, but one of the rescued sailors said that their crew had rescued a man whose description matched Emppu's, who had been found floating in the water, holding onto an empty barrel.

"He was bleeding from a cut on his arm, so we thought maybe he'd been in a fight and then fallen overboard or something," the sailor said. Her name was Simone, and she said the ship she was on had been attacked by pirates. At that, Floor and Marco looked at each other in astonishment.

"What pirates?" Floor asked.

"The ship had a black flag with a fiery skull," Simone answered. Floor breathed a sigh of relief. Not the pirates whom they had just defeated. "Our crew got separated after that. I don't know what happened to the man we rescued. May we stay with you until we get to the next town?" Simone asked. Floor said they could. On and on they sailed, day after day after long day. And with each day, the crews on both ships became more and more disheartened. They began to lose hope of ever finding their missing shipmates. Charlotte tried not to show it, but she was worried. Particularly about Merel. The blonde girl could usually take care of herself, but she wasn't very strong or the best at fighting. If she had been captured...Charlotte didn't want to think about what could have happened to her. Besides, she had her duties to attend to. With Sharon incapacitated, she, Floor, and Marco all had more things they had to do. Charlotte felt bad for Floor. She knew it had to be very hard for her, knowing her co-captain was dying. Charlotte had only been into the sick bay once since the fight, but she had seen Sharon, and knew the captain's injuries were serious. Still, Floor remained strong, never giving into despair, though the rest of her crew was certainly close to doing so. Even Marco, who was usually so jolly and happy, went about with a grim look on his face. Finally, twelve days after the fight, they stopped at another town to see if they could find anything that wouldhelp them locate the missing seven. Charlotte went ashore, and, as she was walking down the street, she spotted Emppu coming out of a store, his sister Merel close behind him. Charlotte ran across the street and tackled them both in a hug.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to see you!" she cried. "Come on, let's go back to the ship! Captain Jansen will be glad to see you." They followed Charlotte back to the dock and onto the Night Temptation. Everyone instantly surrounded them, asking questions, all of them chattering at once.

"Quiet!" Floor's voice cut through the clamor, silencing all others. "Give them a chance to talk. Now, what happened?"

"Well, I was fighting a pirate, and I knocked him overboard, and then I saw somebody grab Merel and swing over to the other ship with her. I went after her, but somebody hit me over the head with something and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in the brig, with Merel and a couple of others," Emppu said.

"Who?" Floor asked.

"Ruud, one of the men from the Phoenix, I think, and Captain Turunen," Merel answered. Floor let out a gasp, then caught herself and quickly closed her mouth.

"And?" she prompted.

"A couple of days later, they came down and got us out. I don't know what they were going to do with us, but Emppu managed to get free. He freed the rest of us, but we got separated and only the two of us escaped. We lost each other, but we washed up on the same shore and found each other in that town," Merel said.

"Are you sure no one else escaped?" she asked.

"Yes, captain," they both answered.

"And only the five of you were in the brig?"

"Yes, captain." Floor sighed.

"Well, that's good that you two escaped, at least. Head down below, get some food, and rest. Tomorrow we continue sailing. We need to find those pirates!"

That night, Floor had terrible dreams. Normally she didn't dream, but ever since the fight, she had been having nightmares, mostly about Sharon. Tarja stabbing Sharon and laughing, Sharon screaming in pain and bleeding, pouring blood all over the deck of the ship, pouring out her life with it, and then dying in Floor's arms. Floor woke up in a cold sweat.

"I will find Tarja, and I will make her pay for what she did to Sharon!" she whispered fiercely. "I swear it!" She lay down and tried to sleep, but couldn't. So she got up, pulled on her pants, went up onto the deck, and headed into the sick bay. She went over to Sharon's bunk and took the other captain's hand in hers. "I am so sorry," she whispered. "I've ruined everything. If I hadn't cheated on you, none of this would have happened. Now it's too late." She broke down and wept bitterly, letting a side of her that was never seen by her crew come out. Her Captain Jansen persona had to be tough and strong and fierce, but in reality, she wasn't Captain Jansen, she was just Floor. A kindhearted, loving woman who cared deeply for all the members of her crew and particularly for her co-captain. A woman who, at the moment, was worried sick over the one she loved. She knew Sharon was close to death. Bending down, she kissed the injured woman's forehead. "I love you, Sharon. I have ever since that first night on this ship, and I always will. Tarja may have blinded me once, but she will never do it again. You are my first love, and my only true love. I am so sorry for everything I did." She gently touched the ring on the third finger of Sharon's left hand. It was silver, with the Night Temptation's emblem, the face of a woman with the moon for a crown and stars for a necklace, set in mother-of-pearl. Around the outside of the image were engraved Sharon's name and their motto: Semper navigamus. Floor had one just like it, only hers had her name on it. These were their promise rings, reminding them of the oath they had taken almost six years before, to sail the ship together until the end of their lives and to never desert one another. Now Sharon was going to die and leave Floor to sail the ship all alone. "Don't leave me,Sharon. We're supposed to stay together. 'Always we sail, 'remember? You can't die," Floor said softly. "Please don't go. Please. I need you."