Mystical waters

1: Island of pirates and storms

Anastacia leaned onto the railing of the cruise ship. The crisp salty air of the night filled her lungs as she stared at the many stars doting the sky. She had come back out to the deck after her parents had gone to sleep. They had planned this trip for a long time and now they were finally here. She couldn't be happier. She had always loved the sea ever since she could remember.

A strange occurrence was happening though. There was not a cloud in the sky yet the ship was starting to rock as waves started to grow bigger. She grabbed onto the railing as rocking intensified. Her eyes widened as a big mass of water approached the ship. A tsunami in the middle of the sea? Air left her lungs as fear seized her body and she cowered to the floor when the tsunami washed over the deck.

__________

Many jumbled voices rang in her ear as she slowly opened her eyes. There were hazy shapes around her she couldn't discern. Suddenly one voice raised above the rest.

"The Captain's alright, back to work mates," she heard the voice say.

When her vision finally cleared she took a look around. She was on an old wooden ship and a young woman was crouching beside her in what looked like a pirate outfit. Anastacia looked around. There were more people around in similar outfits. She turned towards the woman.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

The woman frowned as she pushed a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.

"You hit your head badly, Captain."

"Hit my head?" Captain? Her? It surely sounded like an ugly hit.

"You suddenly fainted and hit your head on a railing. I'm Charlotte, your second in command, remember?"

Charlotte? The name felt strangely familiar for some reason.

Anastacia frowned. Charlotte sighed.

"You are a bit confused, no wonder. I'm sure you'll remember soon. We are in China for a treasure expedition."

Anastacia nodded and stood up. She took a look at herself. She was in a captain outfit with a cutlass strapped to her belt. Moreover, her wavy blonde hair was now in black curls spilling over her shoulders. Looking around her surroundings she concluded she was on a pirate ship. It reminded her of Pirates of the Caribbean. It dawned on her then. Wasn't she with her family on a cruise trip? Her memories started to leak back one by one. A giant tsunami had washed over the deck. Shouldn't she be dead? Or could it be a portal to another world? It couldn't be, she remembered, they were in China after all. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Captain?"

She turned around confused to face whoever called her. It was Charlotte observing her with worry.

"Uh yes, I'm fine."

She turned to leave when a thought struck her.

"Charlotte?" she called.

"Yes?"

"Remind me, what year is it again?"

"1822."

She felt the hair on her arms stand up. So the wave was a portal and it sucked her 200 years in the past, leaving her in the body of some pirate captain. The name Adelaide popped into her mind from somewhere. It had to be the name of her host. She made her way across the ship. Somehow her body knew the way around while her mind was still too perplexed to understand what was happening. She shouted some of the orders that appeared in her head from somewhere. When she arrived at the helm her hands instinctively knew what to do.

A strong wind whipped by and she looked at the sky, quickly filling with heavy dark clouds. It didn't take long before thunder roared, splitting the sky. Big drops started to fall faster and faster until they turned into a downpour. A mighty roar sounded in a distance.

"Rain dragon!" someone yelled.

A rain dragon? What now? Wasn't it enough she got stuck in the 19th century, now there was some mythological creature at their tails as well?

"Damn, I thought we evaded it," said Charlotte observing the dragon through the spyglass. Anastacia extended her hand and Charlotte handed it to her. She looked at the creature that was approaching them too fast for her liking. She couldn't see it clearly for the rain made everything hazy. One thing she could see very well though.

"Damn, it's huge..."

A sudden thought appeared in her head.

"Prepare the cannons!" she yelled.

Cannons? It made sense, of course the ship from the 19th century would have cannons. A pirate one at that.

"Pull down the sails and prepare for a fight!"

Her hands pulled the cutlass from her belt automatically. At least her body knew what to do if she didn't. It made her less afraid for surely the pirate captain knew how to fight. The sound of the rain hitting the wood meddled with the voices of her crew hurrying to do their parts all the while salty water of the sea kept splashing over them. The dragon finally approached the ship and opened his mouth. She had to grab the railing, for a big wave coming from it washed over the deck. She looked at the big mass in front of her, relieved that she was still on the ship.

If only Winx fairies were here now, she thought.

The most strange thing happened afterward. There was a flash of light and something green appeared in her vision. Was it Aisha the fairy of waves? She rubbed her eyes. Other fairies appeared as well. Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna- they were all there and fighting the dragon!

She watched astonished as the fairies circled it, creating a convergence. A big flash of magic appeared, hitting the dragon and the creature let out a dying roar as it fell into the sea. However, not before its big tail swished over the deck and split the ship in two.