Though my hair was now short and my appearance was different, I crept around through the city, trying to avoid being seen by anyone who knew me--or the Keeper. I needed a way out of Brighton. I planned on boarding a ship going out of Brighton, but I had no money. “How would I leave Brighton?” A question flying furiously through my mind, occupying my every thought. Then an idea struck me like a flash of lightning striking a metal pole in the middle of a thunder storm; I would bargain with a captain to let me aboard. Now all I had to do was find a captain. I decided the first place to look for a ship captain would be at a pub.
It didn’t take me long to locate one. I hurried inside while trying my hardest to stay casual and keep from drawing attention to myself; but all at once, all eyes were watching me. I felt myself begin to fidget under so many curious gazes. Being watched by so many strangers made me uneasy and sick at my stomach. The thought of turning and fleeing from the watchful eyes had crossed my mind several times in that moment. I took a deep, calming breath and stepped forward towards a table of rough sailors. I opened my mouth to speak, but before any words had the chance to leave my mouth, a loud bang sounded and left a ringing in my ears. One of the men I had been approaching fell backwards, his chair falling with him. He had one hand clawing at his chest as he gasped for air. His eyes grew wide as red smeared between his fingers and all over his hand.
I felt my body quake in fear. I lifted my eyes to meet a pair of icy blue eyes. I could tell by his eyes that he held no fear. I hadn’t realized that I was staring at him, or that he had noticed I was staring at him. Once I did realize, it was too late. I saw his lips lift into a cocky smirk as he walked my way. I kept myself composed, but my mind was in as much of a frenzy as a madman's mind.
“Seems I’ve killed ye captain, eh boy?” the blue-eyed-devil asked me.
“Nay, sir. I haven’t got a captain,” I denied as I felt my face heat up and sweat roll down the back of my neck.
“I find that hard to believe. A boy as young as ye are shouldn’t be in a pub unless he be accompanying his captain,” he challenged with a look of mischief dancing in his eyes and his lips curved into a wicked smirk.
My palms were moist with sweat, and I felt my brow moisten as drops of sweat rolled down my forehead. My throat felt tight, and my knees felt weak. I swallowed hard and tried to think of an answer. “Aye, I came ‘ere in search of a captain,” the words had left my lips before I realized what I was saying.
He let out a loud, obnoxious laugh as he threw his head back and placed his hands on his hips. He slowly brought his attention back to me and spoke, “So ye are lookin’ for a captain? Do ye have a ship, Young Lad?”
“Nay, Sir, I don’t. I suppose I would like to be a part of a crew,” I said in a low voice.
“Ye suppose? Ye can’t go through the world living in uncertainty, Boy!” He threw his head back in laughter again. Once he quieted down, he spoke again, “What’s yer name?”
“Laddie,” I said as curiosity spread through my mind.
“And do ye or do ye not wanna be apart of a crew?”
As I looked at the man before me, my instincts told me to run. Every voice in my head told me to say no, to turn around and walk out of this pub. Just when I decided to say “nay,” I thought of the Keeper. What I would have to go home to. He’d be furious over the broken jewelry, but the fact that I ran away would make everything much worse. I had no other choice than to say, “Aye, I wanna be apart of a crew.”
~
Captain took me to his ship. She was a large, beautiful vessel. The captain explained to me that he named his ship after the queen. Her name was Bloody Mary.
This had been the very first time I’d been on a ship. I’ve been on many since then, but I’ve never found one as beautiful as Bloody Mary. There was something special about her, something that no other ship had. She had a way of being beautiful, though she was decorated with the ugly mugs of some very grotesque men. I will admit that not all of them were horrible to look upon; I’ll go even as far as to say that some of them were rather handsome, in their own way. They were each small features that made up the glory that was Bloody Mary.
“Men!” I flinched when Captain--unexpectedly--yelled from beside me.
Shortly after, there were men gathered around. They were of all different sizes and ages. In fact, some looked ready for the grave. Some looked as though they’d already been in their grave and returned for a final farewell. Others looked too young to be away from home, away from their mothers. A few seemed to be my age or a little older. There was one thing these vastly different men had in common, and that was they were ready to do anything their captain ordered them to do.
“Ahoy!” Captain hollered out and was greeted shortly after with an echo of a response. “We have a new crewmate starting today! His name be Laddie. I expect all of ye will treat him,” he paused a moment in thought, “well.”
The responded all at once with one word, “Aye!”
Captain looked at them in a way that gave them a silent command that sent them rushing back to whatever they were doing before he called out to them. They’d all left except one man.
He was one of the more handsome members of the crew. He was tall and built. His presence wouldn’t have bothered me if it weren’t for the way he was staring at me. He looked at me in suspicion. It was then, he knew something about me. I wasn’t sure what he knew, but it turned my thoughts into a tornado of possibilities, all of which frightened me just by thinking about them.
“Amin, ye are in charge of teaching our newest crewmate his daily duties,” Captain spoke in a friendly tone I didn’t know he could use, but it still held authority in it.
“Aye. Come along, Laddie. I’ll show ye around the ship,” he said in a tone that feigned kindness.
Amin showed me all around Bloody Mary. She was a large ship, and it would take some time before I remembered where everything was. There were several floors to the ship, and we were currently in the lowest of the bowels of the ship. There weren’t any other crewmates around, and that made me nervous. I knew he was suspicious about something, but if he caught me in a lie, surely he would kill. Or worse, he’d turn me into the captain and have me killed in front of the whole crew.
Laddie,” I jumped slightly and faced him when he suddenly spoke. He paused for a moment before continuing on, “Is that yer real name?”
His statement shocked me. He was suspicious about whether or not I gave my real name? “Of course it’s my real name.”
“Aye, but are ye really a man?” He turned to face me. He looked at me in an accusing manner. When my eyes widened in surprise, I knew I’d given myself away. “Ye are really a girly, aren’t ye?”
