The Tale of Anne

CHAPTER ONE

The starched white sails of the Amphitrite towered over Anne Howard's head as her steely grey eyes stared out over the open ocean. The wind whipped through her straight auburn hair and waves crashed around her ship. Due to the size of the ship, however, she only felt a slight rocking under her feet. Unconsciously, Anne cracked her knuckles for the fifth time that day. It was a nervous habit that she had picked up and it had become the only way for her crew to tell that their otherwise confident captain was rattled.

The reason for her nerves today was because she was going back to the mainland after six years at sea. She never liked going back on land but unfortunately, she had to every so often to get much-needed supplies. It was Anne's least favorite job as a captain.

Anne rubbed her eyes, tired because she had been up all night calculating the things they would need to buy. It was a long list. Slowly, her eyes fell back to the horizon and with a shout of triumph, Anne saw land. "Straight ahead!" she called out to her first mate, Lily Carter, who was steering. Lily nodded and signaled she had heard, adjusted the wheel slightly. The sails billowed full of sea air as they skipped briskly across the waves. The salty wind blew through Anne's long hair and she almost felt like dancing. Being out on the ocean felt freeing and so wonderful that she never wanted to leave. Well, maybe someday, but for now this was perfect and all she wanted. She leaned forward slightly, her heart racing.

The land began to curve around the ship now, drawing them into its great arms. In the distance, Anne could just make out the small harbor city that they were making for. It had been built into a mountain, so, from far away, the houses looked as if they were stacked on top of each other. In the valley, there was a huge marketplace that Anne knew to be full of all the things they could possibly need for another long stretch at sea. As the Amphitrite sailed in, Blair and Sydney Matthews, two sisters and some of Anne's best crew members brought down the sails. They were hard-working women, who, despite not being twins, looked very much alike. The only way to tell them apart was their hair; Blair had short brown hair while Sydney's long blond hair was often tied up in a ponytail.

Slowly but surely, Lily guided them into the harbor. The heavy anchor was hoisted over the side with a cry as Anne moved swiftly to the dinghy and untied the ropes. The whole crew moved like clockwork; each person did exactly what they needed to do, and in minutes the dinghy was ready to be loaded and sent off.

It was decided that only two of the women would go ashore to purchase everything. Anne was one of those chosen obviously, and she picked Blair to come ashore with her because, though Blair had her faults, she was very strong and would be useful to carry packages. She swung her long legs into the small boat and once Blair was settled, the small boat was lowered safely onto the rippling water. The oars in her grasp, Blair began to row, and with a few simple strokes, they were sailing nicely across the water. Anne gazed at her surroundings. Although the Amphitrite was a sizable boat, it was dwarfed by the mountains around it. The sun, even though it was mid-afternoon, had almost vanished behind the peaks, and only a dusky light filtered across the sky. But despite the apparent tranquility, the marketplace seemed as busy as ever.

The boat bumped against the rocky shore and Anne was jolted from her thoughts. She sprang out and the sounds of people chattering and laughing from far away reached her ears. Her feet swayed slightly at encountering land, but they soon remembered it and after a moment, Anne was as sure-footed as she had ever been. The same could not be said for Blair. Her feet lurched around as if waves were still rolling beneath them. It was a rather comical sight and in other circumstances, Anne would have laughed, but she was so focused on her plan that she didn't notice. Blair stumbled a bit but managed to drag their boat up behind the small cluster of trees a small way up from the shore. Anne forged on ahead, walking up the small path that led to the marketplace. Behind her. Blair followed, but slightly less steadily.