Emerald Seas

Chapter 1

There was a time when young Cutler Beckett wanted nothing more than to see the world and travel the seas. Here he was sitting in a large office in the rainy and cold London where his quill scribbled onto some documents. He noticed he wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing and woke from his daydreaming, releasing his hand from under his head. There was a big black stain of ink on his parchment. He let out a soft sigh and threw away the wasted piece of paper.

It was already getting quite dark outside and he noticed the clock showed him it was ten minutes past midnight. Once again his workday was far too long and he felt his eyes were heavy and his fingers started to feel numb from all the writing. But it was all worth it since he got assigned to a tour at one of the East India Trading Company's offices on one of the islands along the Spanish coast. This would be the journey of a lifetime and his first real business trip which made him feel proud of all the hard work he accomplished all those months working at the London East India Trading Company's office.

The week passed slowly as it always does when something grand and exciting is waiting for you. But the day finally arrived and Cutler made his way to the docks of London. It was once again a rainy and cloudy day and the streets were busy, filled with people on their way to wherever they were going.

From a distance he saw the white sails and the blue flags of the EITC ships float and dance with the wind, the magnificent seacrafts being prepared for the journey. It was a cargo ship and carried spices. Once Cutler entered the docks he noticed the familiar smell of the spices in combination with the strong sea salt smell that made him feel at home so much.

As he walked up to the ship there was a harbormaster scribbling on a piece of parchment. He walked up to him and tried to make him notice his presence. But the man made no effort in noticing and Cutler coughed once to make him look down on him. It worked as the man dropped his paper down, slightly annoyed, and looked him into the eyes.

'What is it you're looking for, young man?' the harbor master looked down at Cutler, his eyes peeking over the edge of his half-moon formed glasses.

'Good day Sir, my name is Cutler Beckett, one of the office workers assigned to be part of the trip to Gibraltar' Cutler spoke brightly.

The man looked at him with a frowned face and pushed the small glasses he wore higher up his crooked nose.

'Aren't you a little young to sail with the Company young man?' the man spoke with an annoyed tone in his voice.

'I'm sure my name should be on the list, Sir'

Cutler waited in silence for a few moments as the man's finger slid down the pages, turned over a few, and finally at the very bottom of the last page stopped.

'Ah, there it is. Now move along!' the man pushed Cutler in the direction of the gangplank that led him to enter the ship without paying any attention to him once he climbed aboard. Cutler didn't feel the need to thank the man and noticed how he moved along to the next person awaiting his entrance. He heard the harbor master's voice turn from the cranky old man into a flatterer helping the man which seemed to have a much higher rank than Cutler. But he didn't pay any attention to it any further and was already forgetting about it when he beheld the most beautiful and astonishing ship he had ever set foot on. He was determined to have one at least as magnificent as this one, one day.

Days passed and Cutler felt at home on the ship, even though the work at the office was far from what it was here on the high seas. He mostly got the duty of scrubbing the deck and repair broken parts when needed. Every now and then one of the younger men he worked with at the office in London made haste to one of the bucket's on board or to the rail of the ship to release the already poor meals they got served three times a day. They were no men for the sea or just had never sailed in their young lives. Cutler didn't suffer from the restless stomach the young men were complaining about all the time. No, he had real sea legs and enjoyed his time on the ship apart from the hard manual labor. The burning sun, on the other hand, was what made it killing. But Cutler didn't dare and want to complain what so ever and was determined to complete this journey. There were a few occasions when one of the Luitenants would pass him a compliment on his knowledge of the ship in one of the conversations he had with the group of young men. He felt proud to receive it and it only made him more driven. Cutler was a smart man and in any conversation with him, that was noticeable. Also, he himself knew this very well and sometimes used it to his advantage.