Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 1

Rewritten
***

The sun had never shone this bright in the Aubervin skies. Not even when the skies emptied themselves of their clouds. Yet, the light peeked through the brief gaps in the clouds, and the rays landed on the waves of the ocean.

But not a single ray touched her.

Perhaps a curse or a misfortune. Or a blessing that the world wasn't looking at her.

The curtained sun reminded her of a line from an old poem she had read.

The lightless one will remain dark even after touching the sun itself.

Aeryn Branche stood on the port, watching the boats and ships dock and depart. The couples saying goodbye and people promising their families they'll return soon.

Except that she had promised her older brother she would come back soon, knowing he wouldn't see her mature into an adult. For half a decade, Aeryn would not see her brother, and all she could do was hope time flew by.

She had signed a working contract with Captain Sheries of the Maiden's Cross, a ship dedicated to finding the Tiger's Ruby.

The Tiger's Ruby, both a legend and a myth, a story parents told their kids at night. It was a jewel that could buy the riches of the world and have enough left to buy it again. And again. It seemed tempting, but that much money could never be good for a single person.

And legends should stay legends.

But the Ruby wasn't the only thing motivating her to start her service for Captain Sheries. He had promised a large salary for her. The sheer amount of zeroes seemed too generous of a salary. It was more than enough to take care of her crippled father and ill brother.

But with helping her brother and father came aiding her "mother." The woman she despised. The woman who treated her like a ball on the street—something to run over with a wagon, but good enough to pick up, examine, then toss it back to the kids.

Calling her a mother would be an overstatement. Calling her a guardian would be charitable.

She shook the piling up anger away as she jumped on the little logs waiting for the captain to arrive. She would start her first day at work with a smile.

A dream come true—a miracle the captain had agreed to let a fifteen-year-old work for him. A miracle.

The captains of the other ships she'd applied to had taken one look at her and suggested she be an entertainer. Merchants, mercenaries, good transporters, ocean guards... None of them held a shred of respect for her, not even when she was a child.

But she had no interest in that. She wanted to serve a ship as a sailing-master. An expert in cartography and navigation. The most crucial part of any ship. Even if that meant she had to work for a pirate ship, so be it. At least her worth as a cartographer would be her identity rather than her gender.

And the "minor" detail that Sheries hunted the Tiger's Ruby convinced her. The promising paycheck made her jump to her feet as she agreed to work for the Maiden's Cross.

Tired of jumping and balancing on the wooden logs, she sat on the dock, kicking the seawater with her feet. She watched the ocean with the wish to swim in it, but she couldn't risk ruining her new dress.

A small glowing light emitted from the water and she saw a huge fin too big for any fish near the surface. When she leaned to investigate, the light no longer lit up the water.

She heard the footsteps of boot-bearing feet. Who would wear boots in such humidity and heat?

Aeryn turned her head around to see who clicked their heels against the wood and found Captain Sheries sashaying on the docks. He wore clothes that would make anyone sweat without doing anything in Auber's climate. His hair suffered the consequences of the humidity. Rather than blond curls, the captain had hair matching bean sprouts.