❝You are just a WOMAN. You can't fight in this war, you're weak. It will chew you up and spit you out, you can't keep up with us.❞ The commander scoffed with a low chuckle. A couple of men behind him chuckled as well. Evander's gaze burned into the...
Evander still stood in the middle of the deck, looking dumbfounded; a man sneaking up behind him. I instinctively released my dagger into the air. The shining blade whizzed past Evander's dazed form and huddled towards the man's face. As the cold metal flowed through the air, it left a thin trail of crimson blood along the pirate's cheekbone, and firmly planted itself into the wooden mast behind him with an audible thunk.
Evander jumped with a start and spun around, sword at the ready. Upon seeing the pirate behind him, he angrily marched forward and knocked the stunned man in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword. The man's eyes rolled back, becoming a white slate, and he crumbled to the deck. Evander glowered down at the man.
"Get these vermin off my ship!" I bellowed as I strode triumphantly to the mast of the ship and retrieved my dagger from its wooden grasp.
Out of the counter of my eye, I saw August's boots hit the deck as he drew his pocket knife. I walked to the railing and examined the planks that the pirates used to cross from their ship to ours. I raised my foot and firmly kicked the board, dislodging it from its resting place. It hit the salty water below with a splash that echoed through the night. It was followed by a chorus of cries and flailing splashes as the pirates found themselves being hoisted over the railing and into the dark water.
On the other side of the ship, August was cutting the lines, linking our vessel to theirs, and removing the arrows from their lodging places, adding them to his quiver.
Once the ship was restored to its original crew and we had distanced ourselves from the panicking pirate's vessel, I resumed my post at the helm.
"Well, that could have gone worse, but at least nobody died," I stated loudly enough for the crew below me to hear. "Everyone go below deck, patch yourselves up, and get some rest. We have a full day of sailing ahead of us tomorrow." I reached forward to take the wheel from the sailor who had so kindly taken over during the battle and found that I had no strength to my grip. My right hand was so weak I could barely close my fist.
As soon as the light of the lantern carried by Arius, the last man in line to go down the stairs, was swallowed by the darkness, I let out a gasp of pain. I placed the peg to hold the wheel in position and grasped my right tricep with my left hand. My sleeve was wet and sticky. I pulled my hand away and smelled metal... blood.
I hurriedly removed my leather wrist-cuff and stifled a cry as I tore the arm of my black shirt off at the seam and carefully slid it over my hand. In the pale moonlight, I could hardly see my hand in front of my face, but I could tell from how damp the sleeve was and how weak the rest of my arm, the cut ran deep into my muscle. I had been too careless. I had gotten lost in the adrenaline high.
I held my breath as I attempted to wrap the detached sleeve around the gaping wound. I managed to get it wrapped, but the bandage was too loose. The wound would get infected if I couldn't protect it properly. If I wasn't careful, I could lose my arm.
"Here, let me." came a deep voice from the darkness. Leland's pale figure contrasted the night as he made his way toward me on the upper deck with a lantern in hand. How had he gotten back up here without me noticing? I still had much to learn about my army's commander.
He crossed the upper deck, set the lantern down on a nearby crate, and turned me so that my shoulder was illuminated by the lantern. I winced as he poked at the wound.
"OW!" I said plainly.
"Sorry." he chuckled.
"No, you're not. If you were sorry you wouldn't laugh." I countered with a scoff.
"This is pretty deep. Your flimsy little sleeve isn't going to cut it," he said. He released my arm and reached for the buttons of his shirt.
"What are you doing?" I asked cautiously.
"We need thicker fabric," he stated bluntly and continued undoing the buttons of his shirt. I felt my eyes widen as they fell on his broad chest. His loose-fitting shirt had disguised the contour of his well-developed muscles. This was obviously a man who had made a living out of working out of hard work.
He shook the white shirt out in front of him and turned it on its side. The gentle lapping of the waves was disrupted by the rent that rang out as he tore a wide strip of cotton from the bottom of the shirt. I tried to avert my gaze from his bare chest and arms and he began to wind the snow-white fabric around my arm. The first few layers stained red as they came into contact with the bloody flesh.
I tried to keep myself from staring as the bandage around my arm slowly formed. The pain was a welcomed distraction.
"How did you get back up without me noticing?" I asked curiously.
"I told you I earned my title, you just never asked me how." He smirked, "I was originally trained as an assassin. Going unnoticed is one of my specialties."
A silence fell around us, only occasionally broken by the ships creaking. It hit me that I didn't know much about Leland or his past. He was still a mystery to me.
"That should do it," He stated, abruptly standing and began walking back towards the entrance to the mess hall. He paused for a moment and turned around determinedly as if he had come to a decision. He walked back to me and took the shirt that he still had in his hands and carefully draped over my shoulders.
"Don't let the rest of the crew see you injured." He said softly, "They are already skeptical about having a woman lead them." He turned and walked briskly away, leaving the lantern and the silhouette of his muscular back imprinted on my vision.
×××××××××××××
Author Note!
Hi everyone, Mickey here! Thanks again Nan for writing this for me LOL
Chapter 21 babyyy! My chapter can legally drink alcohol lolllllll
That was hilarious^^ thank you very much
Thoughts >
Feelings >
Predictions >
Random >
How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?
QOTD: Are you more of a reader or a writer?
I am definitely more a reader than a writer, (I think) but I have fun writing for other people, and I know my writing isn't bad and unreadable so IG I don't mind people reading my work.
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