Beyond the Horizon (JELSA)

-New Waters-

The Atlantic Ocean, 1740s

''All hands!'' The captain yelled as she lifted up the wooden hatch that led below decks. When she heard some stumbling she dropped the hatch and swiftly made her way to the bow of her magnificent ship, a big east indiaman galleon she had named The Ice Queen. She grabbed onto a rope that hung down from the foremast as she peered over the smooth surface of the water.

''What is it, Captain?'' Rapunzel, her loyal first mate asked curiously.

''Prepare the ship, a storm's coming.'' The captain said casually, not turning around to face the first mate.

Rapunzel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked over the flat water and up at the barely moving sails. The sky was clear, the water was still and there was only a slight summer breeze. She took a hold of her captain's arm as she passed her. ''Are you sure, Elsa?''

''Doubting your captain's predictions?'' Elsa smirked confidently.

''Eh, no. But we are in warmer waters now, we don't have much experience with tropical storms.'' Rapunzel reasoned. ''You might be wrong this time?''

''Say that again to me in an hour or two,'' Elsa objected and strolled away from her first mate. The crew was slowly gathering on the main deck. They were as confused as the first mate. All of the work aboard had been done in the morning, nothing special ever happened on warm summer afternoons.

''A storm is coming,'' Elsa adressed to her crew. ''Secure the cannons, get all the loose items off the decks and bring them below. But don't furl the mainsail or shorten the jib until I command to do so! Kristoff, I want you to take the helm.'' Elsa took a short breath inbetween and continued to give her orders while she paced around the deck and pointed in all directions. ''Also, run out the safety lines and tie them around your waist before the storm picks up!''

After Elsa had given her orders she walked up to the nearest cannon and started to secure it with rope. Having cannons roll over the deck during a storm could cause severe injuries to her crewmembers as well as damage to her ship. 

''Ay don't think she is right about this one,'' Merida sighed while she was busy collecting the loose items on the main deck, along with Anna, the captain's younger sister.

''She's not often wrong.'' Anna remarked while she bend down to pick up a bucket. ''She seems really determined.'' Anna said after she glanced in her sister's direction who was running around the deck, shouting orders as if their were already in the middle of a catastrophic tropical storm.

''When is she not?'' Merida chuckled. ''She's too cautious, that's all.''

''Here,'' Anna said dismissively while handing Merida her items. ''can you take these below?'' Merida nodded and took Anna's things and headed towards the hatch.

Anna sauntered up to Olaf, at the age of twelve he was the youngest crewmember of The Ice Queen. Although he was a great learner, he was still clueless about a lot of things aboard the ship. Nobody blamed him though, he had only been with them for roughly a year and he mostly worked as a cabin boy. Therefore he didn't have much experience up on deck. Anna saw how he struggled to tie the right knots to secure the heavy cannon.

''You should just stick to the easier tasks, Olaf.'' Anna chuckled as she kneeled down on one side of the cannon, she faced Olaf and gently took the rope out of his hands.

''I'm sorry.'' Olaf sighed.

''Don't be, I will show you how to tie some proper knots when we have more time at our hands. Why don't you go back to Elsa's cabin?'' Anna suggested while she started to secure the cannon herself.