Bloody Mary

Chapter Eleven~The Making of a Leader

Chapter Eleven ~ The Making of a Leader

Marianna reached the schooner well before sunrise. Her eyes trailed along it’s exterior as she calculated the ship’s carry weight, its speed, and its basic abilities. She ventured to the deck of the ship and eyed its mast, the sails and whatnot. Eventually she let herself rest at the wheel of the vessel, and she let out a shaky breath.

This is going to be the first vessel I’ll captain… I never expected any position like this. She felt like crying out in joy (or was it fear?) Her heart was beating erratically at the simple thought of giving an order to one of the men and them following through without complaint, as if she were Captain Carlisle herself.

The very thought brought tremors to her fingers, and brought this euphoric feeling to her gut. She could live on that feeling, day in and day out until the end of time. Or at least until the end of her time.

“Percy, was it?” A voice called from the side of her. She turned, spotting Rory leaning nonchalantly against his shack.

“Aye. And you’re Rory.”

The old man chuckled. “I’m aged, son, which explains my shite memory. Youth tends to make that memory worst, it seems, but you do a man good by remembering his name.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Rory found himself scoffing at this. Never in all his life had he been called a sir. He didn’t know if she was trying to kiss his arse or if she was earnest. Whatever one it was, he saw her and he saw something within her eyes that reminded her of himself when he was a young sailor.

The way she moved now though, it wasn’t the way a young boy should move. Rory could tell by the look that she cast along his vessel, he could tell she was knowledgeable of the vessel she stood on. More knowledgeable than most, he’d say.

“Percy, do you know what you’re standing on?”

“Yes sir.” She glanced at him.

“Tell me what.”

“Schooner. I’d say she’s a hundred ten tons heavy. You got the two masts, fore-and-aft rigged. Ten canons, five on each side. Her hull is sturdy, which would mean she could manage a bit of a storm if the captain were to be so unfortunate as to sail into one. Schooners are typically easy to maneuver, so even if a storm were spotted, then sailing away from it would be quite easy. Given her added weight in additional armor, I’d say she’d travel at least ten knots in good wind. She’d carry about… sixty crewmen.”

Rory arched an eyebrow at her response. The way she spoke didn’t lack confidence in the slightest, and Rory was a bit impressed to say that she was correct. With a lopsided Rory grinned and clapped.

“You know more than I did as a lad.” A light redness began to crawl onto Marianna’s cheeks, and she averted her gaze as it did so. Rory noticed it however, and his grin fell instantly. For a moment he could’ve sworn she almost looked… Womanly.

“Perc-“

“Percy! Here early, I see.” A rowdy call came from an approaching form on the docks. Rory and Marianna both turned their heads to spot Carlisle making his way down the docks. The sun was just rising above the horizon at the time of his arrival, but despite the early hour he had somewhat of a bright expression on his face.

“Aye. You as well.” Her eyes turned to Rory for a moment before looking to Carlisle. She hopped off of the ship and onto the docks, a cheeky grin on her face.

“I suppose my hopes were too high in expecting the crew would be here on time.” He glanced around the area. Not a single crew member in sight, nor was there any sign of their arrival for any time soon.