The Life of a Stowaway

Prologue

The stars shone like diamonds against the open sea, sparkling gently as the waves splashed against the side of the ship. The wind whistled a soft tune through the old sails and around the deck as below it was joined by the sounds of the crew sleeping peacefully.

A man sat peacefully on the mast, in the crow's nest of the ship, his spyglass against his right eye as he peered out, watching out for land. If only he could have enjoyed that peace. If only he could see it's beauty and it's serenity, but instead, all he could see was the memories of his past. The war. The blood. The sound of the screams of the people he had slayed.

But this story isn't about him. Not completely.

Instead it's about a girl.

Who currently was sat inside a barrel in the ship's kitchen.

Her thin fingers pushed gently against the lid of the barrel, lifting it up and moving herself enough to peer over the edge to see if the coast was clear.

Her hazel eyes glanced around the room, a faint flicker of light came from her left. A oil lantern was lit and set on a low setting, giving the room an eerie let warm glow. It gave her just enough light to see what was where.

On the left, next to the oil lantern, was a man, slumped over the tabletop, his arms under his head as he slept. His snores softly echoed around the cabin, and then followed a grunt as he moved his head away from facing her. She pulled herself up and slowly out of the barrel, carefully not to catch her dress on the nails that stuck out of the wood.

She lifted her dress up, trying to make a little noise as possible as the material rubbed and rustled. She removed her heels and walked barefoot between the tables in the kitchen, hoping for another place to hide that was a little less cramped. She tiptoes her way up the wooden steps, the old bark creaked under her, making her heart race ten to a dozen with every step she took. Her eyes peering back to the sleeping pirate that had suddenly gone silent.

Snort. Snore.

She released her breath, not realising she was even holding it when the pirate had rolled his head once again in his sleep and let out another loud snore.

She continued to climb the stairs, the hem of her navy blue dress sat at her knees and her heels against her hip, tapping her as she moved swiftly.

“Maureen! I can't sleep with your--” A deep male voice groaned sleepily as a shadow stepped into her path at the top of the staircase.

She held her breath once again, but this time with a panicked gasped.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Although his body was nothing more than a shadow in the moonlight, his eyes seemed to glow green as they widened and then darkened with anger.

“I--” His hand reached out and grabbed hold of her hair, her blonde locks falling between his rough fingers as he tugged her up the stairs. Her sudden outburst of cries awoke the sleeping pirate and anyone else on the ship.

“CAPTAIN, ENEMY SHIPS TO THE STARBOARD SIDE.” The man in the crow’s nest yelled.

The man who held the woman's hair groaned, Pulling her with him as he marched across the deck, “RAJ, READY THE CANNONS, GARTER GET MY SWORD AND PISTOL. LOUIS, TURN THE SHIP TO THE PORT BY FIVE DEGREES.” He yelled out as a dozen or so men came flooding out from under the ship's deck.

“BATTLE POSITIONS! BE READY TO FIRE ON MY MARK.”  He stopped in front of a red door, not far from the kitchen. In bold letters, the name 'Captain J.H' was written. He kicked the door open, making it crash against the wall inside the room. He moved his arm and with a great force of strength, he tossed the female into the room, “Stay here if you want to live. I'll deal with you in a moment stowaway.”