Bridges and Boundaries

The Black Falcon

Life aboard the ship was difficult. I had to wake up every day at the crack of dawn to clean the deck and hoist the sails.

The others had been kind though. First, the captain introduced me to his son, the blonde haired boy. His name was Oliver. I tried to talk to him like an average girl, but it was hard when I had to look so far up to look at him.

"Uh...hi?" I mentally smacked myself.

"What's your name?"

"Um, Tarla? It's nice to meet you, Oliver?" I said it like a question even though I meant it like a statement.

"Ah, that won't do. Can't have a crew with fancy old names like that, can we?" He responded. Was I expected to change my name?

"Okay. What about Tarle? My dad calls me that. Well, I don't even know what's happened to him now. I ran away, you see."

"From home?"

"No, from being the Taken One! I had brown eyes, perfectly good brown eyes, until they showed up at the door. You have heard of the Taken One, right Oliver?" I asked suspiciously.

"Eh, of course I do! I'm not stupid." He retorted. The Captain hurried me away to meet two twins, Gustaf and Josef. They were identically brown hair with the same faces. But not identically nice.

"That's the kitchen wench, ain't it, Josef? There, whip me up a pie or two, girl! I'm starved!" Gustaf ordered.

"I am not the kitchen wench, or your personal servant." I said crossly.

"Gustaf, please be courteous. The lass has to rig the masts to we'll actually be able to sail! She has no time for your demands." Josef pointed out. I noted that Gustaf was wider then Josef, probably because he liked pie so much.

Next, we met the first mate, Jim. He was about 18, and I liked him immediately. He was gruff and funny at the same time somehow.

Then we met Celine, the only other girl aboard. And she deserved it.

"Hope you ain't some big softy who gets seasick ev'ry five minutes, 'cause you know I will toss you overboard. Happened before, it'll happen again. Trust me."
Were the first words out of her mouth. I was taken aback.
"I've never been on a boat." I admitted.

"In that case, I'll train you up. Swords, cannons, the basics. The Black Falcon needs you. Crew's too small for the ship!"

Then I was introduced to the person who I would hate the most.

"Hello." I told a boy with tanned skin and black, messy hair.

"Awww, newbies are so cute! Too bad they usually get thrown off the ship on their first day. Don't think you're special. You're just next, and we all know it." He sneered.

"Well, then! I was just trying to introduce myself! And I mean no disrespect, but really! How immature can you get? You're as much of a nobody as I am. You aren't Captain, far as I can tell. And you're not the first mate! So tell me, who are you!" I snapped back.

"Only the most important person on this bucket of bolts!" He swaggered towards me.

"Ew, please, I need personal space!"

"Fine." He huffed." But you'll find out sooner or later."

"You know what! I honestly do not care. If you were handing me a chocolate bar, I wouldn't take it. Who knows what germs are on your nasty hands." I strolled away, ready for lunch. I was disappointed that most of the crew members weren't exactly friendly.

Lunch was the best thing ever. Food, stacked high on my plate, delicious and plentiful. I ate it, and asked for seconds. Then thirds. Then fourths. By the time I was done, I was filled to bursting.

The next day, the crew warmed up to me a bit. Celine taught me sword fighting. Oliver was there for laughs. Josef showed me how to sail. The captain stayed in his quarters. Gustaf and the unknown boy were nasty. I never bothered to ask his name, and I never needed to tell him mine. Names or not, he didn't need any more encouragement to throw his weight around.

This repeated every day, for weeks and then months. I was becoming a good sailor. I was also getting a bit thinner, and stronger at the same time. Healthier.

I began to get my sea legs, and as I became more steady, the Captain started trusting me with better jobs, like hoisting the sails and taking lookout up in the crows nest. The first time I went, I was terrified...the heights, the ropes that became frayed just as I stepped on them. The tales Celine and Oliver told me about the good sailors who fell off and broke their limbs. The two of them were quickly becoming my closest friends. But boy, could they spin a yarn.

"I wouldn't go up there! Remember what happened to Old Man Sal!" The two rascals giggled in the background. I did remember what happened to that flabby mountain of fat pirate from my friends stories. But the Captain was counting on me. I saw Celine's shock and Oliver's delight as I climbed up the first three rungs.

"Get up, Tarle!" He hollered. I looked down, and I fell off the first time from being woozy.

But as I went on more and more, the dangerous gales became minor sea breezes, blowing my hair with salt. It then transformed into something entirely new. I was now Tarle, and the rope ladder was a haven. The wind cooled me and the view wasn't terrifying, it was lovely, and the image was tattooed on my soul. My sisters would have loved the Black Falcon.

I hadn't thought about my family today, and now I couldn't get them out of my head. What had become of them? Had the Prince sentenced them to his dungeon? And was there a different Taken One now? One that I was close with, just to spite me?
The answer was no. The Prince had not given up on me and me gray pupils, even if I had never used controlled magic. But the most important thing- my family was safe, and I was too, aboard the Black Falcon. At least I thought I was.

Now it was nearing Octobre. I wrote letters to G and Mari, the nicknames I had for my sisters, that I never sent.

Things were beginning to feel peaceful, so unlike Elwes. Despite the few nasty characters, it started to feel like home. Until Oliver uttered two, life changing words that would change my perspective on everything.

"Land ho!"
Oliver had spotted an island.
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Authors Note:
What do you think will be on that island? And what do you think of Tarla's new life? This chapters was slow but I promise it's about to get waaaaaaaaay more exciting!