Open Sea

Chapter 5

Miravette slowly opened her eyes.

She sat up and instantly fell off the hammock she was laying on as she felt a rocking sensation. The sound of water knocking against the walls and wood creaking. Her eyes opened wide, she got up trying to regain her balance. She was in a room lit only by a small lantern that hung by a hook next to an old wooden door. A feeling of fear and worry filled her as she remembered the events from the previous night, a skull mask, the butler, and a large dark ship with a waving black flag.

She walked over to the door and threw it open, she looked down at her clothes. She was still in her thin nightgown and a pair of white wool socks, the smell of musk, alcohol and dirt filling her nose. Slowly and carefully she stepped out of the room into a dim lit corridor. She looked down the hallway towards the stairs that led up. She could hear muffled voices from above, the sound of her own heartbeat ringing in her ears.

"Think Miravette think." she whispered to herself, she looked around and spotted a piece of wood that was leaning against the wall. Quickly and without making a sound she reached down and picked it up. She knew that if she was going to go up there she needed to be prepared, past those stairs was a whole crew of dirty good for nothing pirates. Before she could brace herself and calm her nerves she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Alarmed she quickly ran into the room and shut the door behind her.

She stood quietly next to the door gripping the piece of wood tightly. The footsteps stopped for a second and then continued, they began to get louder as they approached the door. They stopped once again as soon as they reached the door, Miravette heard the door begin to open. She closed her eyes and instinctively swung the piece of wood.

"Easy there Princess!"

She opened her eyes quickly just as the piece of wood missed and hit the frame of the door. She had aimed too high and missed completely. A pair of small hands reached out and pulled the plank out of her hands. She ran back into the room and took a good look towards the door.

A small girl with short blond hair that barely reached her eyes stood their with her confiscated weapon. She couldn't have been more than 5 feet and she had easily taken the plank from her. The girl had a smug smile on her face, she threw the plank behind her and walked closer.

"He wasn't joking, you are an aggressive one."

"Stay away girl please I don't want to hurt you." Miravette said as she quickly ran her eyes around the room trying to find another weapon.

The girl laughed, "Trust me hun you wouldn't be able to even if you tried." She closed the door behind her and let out a sigh. "And the name is Denela, not girl. I'm probably also older than you."

Miravette looked at her closely, she had a small thin frame and didn't look older than 14. She had on a pair of dirty brown trousers with a loose fitting white blouse along with a brown leather vest. She had a black bandanna tied around her head. Denela adjusted her belt, she had a pair of daggers hanging from her side. "Please I need to get out of here, this is a huge misunderstanding." Miravette pleaded.

Denela glared at her, "Sorry Princess, Captain's orders are that you are to be kept on the ship. I still don't understand why but he's in charge." she walked over to a small rotten drawer that seemed like it would fall apart any second. She pulled out some clothes from it and threw them at her. Miravette caught and looked at them. A pair of black pants, a brown leather belt, and another white blouse like the one Denela was wearing.

"Put these on, they're the biggest clothes I've got. Once we dock at one of the outposts you can get yourself something more comfortable and you don't want to be walking around in that around the rest of the crew." she said with a chuckle.

Miravette threw the clothes down, "No I need to go! I'm not staying here! Where's that damn butler, I want to speak to him." Miravette began to move towards her but before she knew it she was on the ground with Denela on top of her and a knife against her throat.

"Mira. I can call you Mira right. Don't make this any harder than it must be." she pressed the blade harder, "And its Captain to you now. Understand?" Miravette nodded slowly. Denela smiled, "Good, now change and make your way upstairs. Our good ol Elize wants to meet you and trust me I'm way nicer than she is." she got off and headed for the door. Miravette brought her hand up and rubbed her neck.

"There's a pair of boots next to the hammock." With that she walked out and slammed the door shut.

Miravette closed her eyes and held back tears.

What was she thinking, agreeing to step foot on a god forsaken pirate ship. The ship's that her father had dedicated his life to sinking. She sat up bringing her legs into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She couldn't stay, the first chance she got she needed to escape. She was not going to be kept prisoner here, she had had enough of that.