Checkmate

3. Pirate Training

A few hours after the incident with the boy I now knew to be the aforementioned "Pan," my father and I were sitting together in the captain's cabin. We had spoken already of missed birthdays, interests, hobbies, and even the little quirks that we shared. When I told him of the deal I had struck with Pan, my father's smile faded.

"Looks like you became a pirate."

My head tilted slightly. "Is that a bad thing?"

Father smiled kindly. "No, I'm just sad I missed you outwitting the devil himself. No pirate here has ever managed it." Father stood, gesturing to my sword. "Let's see what you can do, then."

Despite my exhaustion from a sleepless night of flying and a morning of swimming, I spent the rest of the day sparring with the crew, including the captain. I used my bow to shoot apples off of heads and seagulls stupid enough to fly overhead. I showed my rope climbing skills and beat many to the crow's nest, swinging back down in a victorious curve around the mast.

After an afternoon of acting like children in a playground, the captain grew serious and challenged me for real, curious to see what I was really capable of. I used a few cheeky tactics to evade his swings, using the surrounding items, but eventually, I had him pinned.

The man grunted through his breaths, but still he stood to face and challenge me once more. "Pan won't be this easy, Annie," he growled through gritted teeth as he sucked in the salty sea air.

Our swords sung as they clashed together. "You think this is easy?!" I retorted, matching his blade move for move.

We continued in our dance until sunset. Many grew tired of watching their captain going down repeatedly, but many found it entertaining. Until my father forced us to call it a day to sit down for dinner. All of us congregated on the deck to eat the seagulls I had killed a few hours before. The men also passed around the rum, making sure I had a few swigs when my father wasn't looking.

Eventually, like the rest of the crew, I grew tired. Many had passed out on the deck from a rum fuelled coma, many had simply enjoyed the feeling of a full belly and stopped to rest their eyes. The captain and I whispered about the day, about the island in front of us, and even about the relationship between my mother and father.

They had sailed away together, seeking somewhere safe to live, not realising that they had sailed into a dangerous part of the sea. Killian had rescued them, but not before my mother had been gravely injured, using the last of her strength to give birth to me. As I looked at the captain, who had been the first to hold me, I felt a bond there that I knew could never break.

"We raised you, but when we found our ship here, I knew we had to keep you safe." Killian sighed deeply. "Pan owns the island, and no one leaves without his consent. I learned that the hard way. I never left after that day."

I didn't ask more about the sore subject as we both studied the island ahead of us, the lights from the harbour reflecting on the sea. The captain continued despite his sadness, his words cutting me in a way I had never before felt, for I had never before been in so much danger.

"We knew asking Pan to send you away was a bad idea, but your father was desperate. When the lost boy ran him through, Pan was furious. Ben made the deal in a heartbeat, thinking that you would be safe. But when your father survived... well, that's when things got worse."

"How could they get worse?"

"Your father drank the water from the island, Pan tricked him into it. Annie," I turned to meet the blue eyes of the tired man. "Your father will die if he leaves the island."