Checkmate

2. Reunions

Information for moving forward: Bethany, like Pan, has a British accent. 

Not long after I had resurfaced, I gulped in the fresh sea air, grateful for the bitter sting. The ship that had shot at me and the shadow floated nearer, filling me with a sense of dread and unease. I had heard enough of mother's stories to know that pirates were never safe company, whether they had just saved you or not. After only a few moments treading water as the ship floated nearer, a rope flew out from the deck, the item landing close enough for me to reach with a short swim.

"Grab hold!" Called a voice from the ship as I kicked and bobbed in the gentle waves. I looked up once more to where the shadow had been, feeling almost sorry for the creature. "Quickly now, lad! Before the mermaids get ya!" If I had been taking my time, I certainly wasn't after that comment. I sped up my kicking and got into a rhythm, fully unwilling to know the truth behind his statement. I finally pushed forward and grabbed the old, fraying item to wrap it around my hand for an extra grip. "Just hold on tight and we'll pull ya in!"

The men swiftly pulled me through the water towards the ship, their chorusing of "HEAVE!" almost settling my nerves. I remained careful to keep my mouth shut, to avoid swallowing any of the salty liquid. I felt it best not to almost drown in the sea after almost suffocating in the sky. Mother would have had a coronary if she knew how close I had been to dying so soon after leaving her embrace. Let alone having been close twice.

As I neared the side of the ship, I braced myself for the inevitable bumps into the wood as the rope lifted me nearer to the railings. With every bump, I remained grateful to hear my arrows still clattering in my quiver. I chalked it up to luck and braced myself to climb over the railing.

Hands reached over to grab this way and that, pulling me effortlessly over onto the wooden deck of the ship. And after a minute or two, I dropped onto the planks, my legs trembling and my arms weak. Grateful for the burning feeling around my hand from the rope. Assessing myself, I knew that with all the will in the world, I would never have been able to pull myself over the edge of the ship alone. Neither would I have made it to shore without drowning at least a little.

Slowly I looked up to see a group of scraggly looking men, some with beards, some with peg legs, some with eye patches, but all with swords. As I looked at them, they looked at me, one by one, noticing that I wasn't what I appeared to be. The hushed whispers soon turned to voiced questions as they questioned the validity of their eyesight.

"Starkey, can you see what I see?"

"A girl."

"There's never been a girl before. What do we do?"

"She came with the shadow."

"He wants her. If he wants her, then he will come get her. There's no hiding from Pan."

The ruckus increased until I could hear boots clunking across the deck. The men fell silent as what I could only describe as their captain came into view. He wore black leather, despite the sun that had already started to grow warm in the early morning, and instead of a left hand, sat a hook. The sun reflected brightly off the carefully polished metal and onto the deck.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, lads?" The man announced, a smirk stretching across his lips until his eyes caught mine. He visibly stepped back in confusion, but didn't show it on his face. I took this as my chance to stand, check my weapons, and shake off some residual water. "But you're a lass."

I dramatically blinked and looked myself up and down. "Oh, you noticed?" I responded, refusing to be afraid of the armed stranger in front of me. "I was hoping it wasn't too obvious. It's the hair, isn't it?" I reached up to release my bun, allowing my long, saturated brunette hair to drop over my shoulders.