The Brave

The Braves Nightmare

—Dream—
I was falling. Ahab was below me, we were both falling into the grumbling sea that had pointed stones jutting out of it. Words screamed around me in Ahabs voice.
Mutant! Prisoner! Evil! Monster!
The dark stones grew closer and closer. Wind whipped my face. I scream as I come in contact with the sharp stone. Everything went black.
———
I wake up clutching my heart. I was breathing heavy and sweating. The permit scars on my back burned from me laying on them. I sit up and try to clear the nightmare from my thoughts.
It's okay, it's okay...
After reassuring myself I go to the bathroom and shower. I remove my old, bloodied bandages and clean my wounds. I look sadly at my arm with the M branded into it and the scars on my back. I wish I could escape my past, but the scars of the past will always be with me. I wash my light pink hair well and get all the dirt off of my face. When I am washed I get dressed back into my only outfit. I put on my tank top that was shredded at the back because of Ahab's whip cutting through it. I put on my trench coat to cover my scars on my back and to cover the M on my arm. I put on my ripped black castaway pants and my old hat. I strap my sword to my side and put my lucky coin in my pocket. I look at the small mirror in the bathroom and see how bony I was from being starved. I had a small nose, thin lips, and piercing blue eyes. Like my dad. I leave the small bathroom and walk barefoot onto the main deck. The deck was hot on my bare feet. I look into the water for Bubbles but I see no sign of her.
She must be asleep still.
After thinking of her I felt bad for not telling her the full truth yesterday. I couldn't bring myself to tell how I was imprisoned and tortured.
Will she still be my friend if she knows I'm a mutant?
No. Of course she wouldn't. No one likes mutants..
Bubbles scared neigh breaks me from my thoughts.
"Bubbles were are ye?" I say.
She didn't answer. I use my powers to feel for magic under the water. I find her and next to her is a mermaid. I stop using my magic and jump overboard to save Bubbles. I swim through the clear, salty water to her. When I get close I understand why she was scared. She was trapped under a net that the mermaid was tightening. I unsheathe my cutlass. The mermaid turns around to look at me. It's black hair rises around it and it's eyes were hollow and black. It makes clicking sounds as it swims slowly near me. I see it has a small dagger strapped to its side. I hold on to my cutlass stronger. When it comes close enough to me I swing my sword at the kin but my sword moves slowly through the water and the mermaid easily avoided it. Now I made it mad.
"Cordelia! She's to powerful! You must go!" Bubbles said.
I shake my head no then I turn to face the mermaid. The mermaid had drawn her dagger. She swims at me with incredible speed. She's only a blur when she cuts my side as she passes. I see blood rising from the wound. I hold my side in pain as the mermaid charges past me again, cutting my arm. I realize that I needed to do something. I hold my cutlass firm in one hand and pretend I'm still suffering from the wound. As the mermaid charges past I put the sword in her path. She couldn't stop in time and the sword cut her along her tail. The mermaid looks at me in anger. She screams and swims away. I sheath my cutlass and hold my wounds in pain.
"Cordelia! Are you okay? Let me out, I can help you!" Bubbles said.
I swim over and release her from the net, she swims next to me.
"Get on my back, I'll bring you to the surface." She said.
I hesitate, but then I get on. With great speed she swam up to the surface next to my ship. I take a deep breath when we break free from the water.
"I have the power to heal, Captain. May I heal you?" She asks.
I immediately think about the scars on my back.
"Please do." I whimper.
Yellow magic crawls across my wounds. The magic was soothing as it healed my arm and side. The yellow magic then faded and Bubbles shook her head.
"I'm sorry Captain. I don't believe I healed all your wounds. You have terrible scars along your back that are too severe for me to heal." She said.
She knows!
I get off her and swim to the ladder. When I reach the ladder I change the subject.
"I ha'en't eaten yet, I'm sure you be hungry too." I say.
"How did you get those horrible wounds Captain?" She asks.
I avoid the question.
"Fish sounds like a good meal." I say and climb up another step.
Bubbles squirts water at me.
"Answer me! We will never be a true team if we keep secrets! Cordelia, you can trust me." She says.
I wipe the salty water off my face.
Can I really trust her?
"They be scars from whippin's." I say.
Bubbles whinnies.
"You mean, from a whip?" She says, shocked.
Embarrassment floods over me. It was shameful to be whipped as a pirate. I look away from my crew member.
"Aye." I say.
Bubbles neighs. "That's horrible! So horrible! How did this happen! Your still so young!"
I shake my head.
"I was made a slave on me dad's ship when he passed." I say.
I clutch the rope ladder in my hand. Bubbles shook her horse head.
"I'm so sorry. I can't believe you had to go through that. Why were you made a slave?" She asks.
I look at my arm. Under my jacket was the black M that was permanently burned into my skin.
"Ye won't like me, if I say why." I say.
Bubbles squirts water at me again.
"We are made for each other, remember?" She says.
I hesitantly grab my trench coat and take it off. The scars on my back were easy to see and the black M stood out on my arm.
"I be a mutant." I say.
Bubbles looked at me with fear in her eyes. She put her head under water. Her voice reached my mind.
"But- you aren't evil right? Are all mutants evil?" She asks.
"There's one night every three years, the night of me birthday, when the blue moon comes out. On that night, all kins with great power lose control of thi-selves and become murderous. That's why mutants be evil." I say.
I climb up another rung of the ladder. I didn't expect Bubbles to say anything more.
"I'm sorry Cordelia. I didn't mean it like that." She said and rises from the water.
I smile at her.
"It's alright matey."
I tell her that I had the power to feel magic and treasure in the water, make weak kins faint with my lucky coin, and control gold. She tells me about her her healing powers. She can only heal someone if there in the water. Bubbles thanks me for rescuing her and I go fishing for food after finding some old fishing rods on deck. After I eat Bubbles tells me that she knows a place nearby where we could get supplies, so we set sail.
After sailing for weeks, practicing battle moves, having nightly nightmares, and stocking up on supplies we realize that we would run out of money soon. That's when I remembered the potion makers blueprints that he showed me while I was in the cell. I tell Bubbles about the machine and she helps me find underwater rubbish to use. When it was done, we had to test it. We sailed quite a ways until we found some magic flowers. Together, we swam down to the flower and I gently grab the blue orb. We then go back to the surface to test the machine.
I put the orb in one side, as it moves through the machine it gets melted and drains into a glass chamber. Cordelia grabs a old perfume bottle that was on the sea floor and pours the liquid magic inside. She then closes the small bottle and shows Bubbles.
"We did it! Three uses of levitation in a bottle! We can sell these to kins!" I say.
Bubbles jumps out of the water with excitement.
"That machine is extraordinary!"
——
I practice scanning the ocean floor. The sea wind blows through my hair. I feel the magic flowers dotted on the sandy floor. I feel Bubbles jumping next to my ship. I feel my small gold stash in the Captains quarters. We haven't been making much profit off my magic. The bottles aren't convenient enough, and we move so often that we can't find enough costumers. As I'm searching for magic on in the nearby sea I sense a wreak, and scattered about it is golden jewelry.
That's it!
I stand up. I quickly get the ship to stop and jump into the water.
"What are you doing Captain? The next Kin outpost is still quite far away." Bubbles says and circles me in the water.
I smile at her.
"I got en idea! We can sell one time use potions that are stored inside jewelry! That way they can be for emer'ency use!"
Bubbles neighed.
"That's a great idea!"
I point down.
"There be jewelry down there."

••Cordelia's Ninth Birthday••
Then I fall onto the pointed stones and everything is black.
—
I wake up and calm my breathing. I've had that nightmare every night since I've escaped from Ahab. I go to the bathroom like usual to freshen up for the day. This time I stop and look in the mirror and realize how much I have changed over the years. I was no longer bony, I was still thin but no longer starved. My arms had light muscles from cleaning the ship, working, and practicing fighting and magic. I was also taller then I used to be when I was imprisoned. I felt my magic rush inside me, it was getting more powerful. I remember this feeling, I've had it on my birthday in past years.
That means I'm turning 9.
I quickly change into my clothes, they were newer versions of the clothes I used to have, and the t-shirt wasn't ripped so it covered my scars. As soon as I have my boots on I run to the main deck. Bubbles was already near the ship.
"Bubbles! Tonight is thi blue moon! We have to do somethin'!" I shout.
She worriedly whines.
"What are we going to do Captain!?"
I look around the ship, hoping something will give me an idea. Extra ropes that lay near the mast gave me an idea. As much as I hated being chained down, this way the only way.
"When the sun is about to set I have to be trapped and ye need to go far away until dawn. I'll anchor thi ship so ya can fine me." I explain.
"Bubbles looked worried.
"Are you sure that's a good idea. I don't want to leave you."
I remember being tied up and gagged on my birthday. I frown.
"It's thi only way ye will be safe."

I spend the day with Bubbles collecting magic from the flowers and making them into emergency charm necklaces. The necklaces have been selling well but there price is cheap. When the sun neared the sea I started bat toning down the hatches and stopping the ship. I put away my cutlass and lucky coin in the sleeping quarters. I grabbed the rope and tied my feet and hands as best I could. I was standing, tied to the mast. I hated the feeling of being trapped once again. Bubbles set off, not telling me where she was hiding. I stand alone against the mast, the sea breeze making my hair fly in the wind. The sun sank deeper into the sea. As the blue moon rose above the dark waters my body twitched with magic. I intently lost control and everything was black.
—
Cordelia's eyes glowed gold. She looked around to see what has trapped her. She pulls on the ropes as if she can't feel them scratching her wrist. After trying several times she gives up and stands still. Her eyes close and her hands glow gold. She feels for anything that can help her. She then opens her eyes and whips her head around. She looks at the hatch that leads to the captains quarters. Her hands glow gold and the hatch opens. Cordelia's sword bust out, it's gold handle glowing. The sword floats to Cordelia and it starts cutting the ropes. Cordelia concentrates on moving the sword back and forth. The moon rises steadily in the dark speckled sky. Cordelia gets one of her hands free then grabs her sword. With one powerful swing she cuts her other hand free. She releases her feet then pulls up the anchor and drops the sails. She turns the boat towards a far off ship of pirates. When the ship nears she attacks the crew and steals there gold. The captain begs for mercy but Cordelia slaughters them. She kept sailing until the moon had fallen. When it was morning Cordelia collapsed, exhausted. She went to the main quarters and went to bed. Bubbles soon found her and in the morning they discussed how there plan had went.
When Cordelia turned 12, the blue moon came out again and Cordelia broke out of her bonds. By the time the sun rose in the morning sky the controlled Cordelia was sitting on top of the ship's white sale, holding riches in her palms. When the moon set, Cordelia grew aware of her surroundings. She freaked out. Memories of her falling off the ship with Ahab rushed back into her mind.
Cordelia was afraid of heights.
Bubbles had to gently talk her down and Cordelia was shaken up for the rest of the day.