Sea Of Seagulls: A Pirate and Fae Tale

Chapter 11

Theodosia casually walked back and forth along the deck. She looked towards the spot where Shaye would be coming from, waiting for her signal. Theodosia had no idea what Shaye was going to do, but it would hopefully be enough to distract the sailor men long enough for Theodosia to board the ship. It didn't take long before barrels started soaring at the sailors. They rushed around the building, the location where the barrels originally. Shaye snuck around the other side.

Theodosia was caught off guard when the main building erupted into a storm of flames. This must be her signal. She scrambled up the deck, not bothering to look back at panic-stricken sailors. Theodosia hurdled onto the huge ship labeled The New Tide. She took a moment to marvel at its beauty. Theodosia ran her fingers along the aged wooden railings. Admiring the polished deck, that shone as if it had never been used.

She couldn't even catch her breath before she heard the sounds of men charging onto the ship with Shaye in the lead, screaming for her life. She pushed herself up the stairs and onto the quarterdeck. She turned to unleash her power to encase the sailors. Ice sprung up from the lower deck. The men were now trapped.

Theodosia had no speech prepared to convince the men to behave so she tried her best. She never had a ship of her own or a crew who listened to her orders. This would be her first time and she wasn't going to mess up now.

She cleared her throat, " My name is Theodosia."

They kept talking as if they hadn't heard a word she said. She clenched her fists, aggravated. How dare they refuse to listen to her. Theodosia turned and grabbed the arm of the nearest sailor. He had rusty grey hair and a crooked smile. She pulled the sword out and held it against his throat.

All eyes were on her now. Theodosia smiled.

"I see how it is," Theodosia commented to the crew.

"You men will listen to instruction. Why you might ask. Well, you will obey because I am the new captain of this ship. You would be dead because I doubt you know how to drive this beauty. If you don't adhere to my rules, then you will die a much more dreadful death. It's not like you have important lives anyway."

Theodosia could hear mumbling. The sailors spoke quietly to each other. It was not audible but Theodosia did manage to pick up on a few words.

"Isn't she the girl that Queen Aelin is searching for?" One man questioned another.

"That's the princess," another muttered looking at Shaye. Shaye gave them a wicked smile.

"We would be filthy rich," another exclaimed.

They knew. Apparently, that too good queen had set some bounty for their rescue. The queen was getting on Theodosia's last nerve. She would not put up with their misbehavior for long.

Her hand still held one of the sailor's arms. She faced the small group of 7 men and spoke in a loud affirming voice. They most likely had hearing loss at their age anyway.

"We will sail to Skull's Bay. If you dare to interfere, you will meet the same fate as his."

Within an instant, Theodosia's long blade gracefully ran along the sailor's neck. She dropped the arm, the man fell over onto his side, blood spilling on the deck.

Some of the men shuddered in fear, others stood there looking at the skimpy body, and the rest averted their eyes from the scene. Fools. Can't even look at a dead body. It's quite sad.

Theodosia could clearly see which ones were stronger than others. Jack grasped her.

Shaye smiled at Theodosia from where she was standing as if to say you tell them who's the captain.

"Clean this mess up," Theodosia ordered three of the sailors, pointing at the pile of blood with her sword. They immediately grabbed a mop from the cabin below and got to work. Two of the men heaved the rotting body into the deep blue sea. This is more like it Theodosia said as she walked up to the helm.

Theodosia stood there, hands guiding the ship south, ready to make her way home. But not to just go back, she was there to get the glorious treasure her father took. Theodosia could finally smell the fresh ocean water full of salt. She could feel the breeze through her long hair that waved in the wind. She would be the new captain. A better one for sure.

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Shaye eyed the men working aboard the ship. She did not care enough to learn their names. She didn't trust any of them either.

Shaye directed them to keep them on task. They should be happy I didn't roast them to a crisp. Shaye had considered burning them a few times but she did not want the smell to linger on the perfectly good ship. She saw the way that they looked at her, they were scared of her. It was amusing. She enjoyed it even but she would never admit it.

Shaye looked back at the port that they just came from. It was so far away that it was barely visible. She turned her head back around to face where they were going. She planned to sail steady through the Great Sea until they reached Skull's Bay. It would be a quick in and out. Hopefully.

She forced herself to take her mind off of the endless possibilities of what could happen in the future. Or about Turner in the past. He wasn't coming back Shaye told herself. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of his death, his scream. But she quickly dried them with the sleeve of her suit. And focused on getting some rest, it would be a long journey and she needed her strength to face what was ahead. Shaye looked up to see Theodosia at the wheel of the ship. Shaye could discern a small smile on the girl's face. Even without the hat, you could tell she was the leader of the ship. No one could argue with that. Shaye felt safe knowing that Theodosia would be the one to guide them on their long trip ahead.