FireSweet

Dreaded Standard

            I carefully wrapped each cloth around my hands, covering my palms, the back and side of my hands, and the space between my thumb and forefinger.  I took my time, making sure that all three colors were showing equally.  I took an extra cloth and shined the hilt of my little knife, aware of how small of a blade it was.  I made a mental note to find out how to get a decent sword later.  But until now it would have to do. 

My hair was an unkempt wreck from my struggle with the pirates at Storm’s camp.  I pathetically ran my fingers through it to make it look better.  But I knew it was all in vain.  I would look like a scraggly street kid instead of the brazen new recruit that I wanted so desperately to appear as.  I whirled around, looking for another source of string or restraint to tame my hair.  But there was of course, none.  In a stroke of ingenuity I tore a strip off of the bottom of one of my pant legs and used it to tie my hair up in a sleek ponytail, a relaxed but kickass style that would demand attention on my face.

I rolled back my sleeve and tied another pink strip of cloth around the mark that identified me as Red’s sister.  I twisted my shoulder up so I could see my handiwork, tugging on the knot with my teeth to tighten it against any chance of it slipping.  I fidgeted with the feeling of the new material on my skin.  With one last sigh I adjusted the unfamiliar bindings on my hands and faced the cabin door, closing my eyes in an attempt to rein my pounding heart back under control. 

I was more nervous than I had been in front of Storm’s judgment; more nervous than the first time I realized I had lost myself in the music and was dancing on top of a table while sober.  This was a gut-wrenching feeling that made me almost sick.  This was my debut as a real pirate, one who was bound to the people that I was about to meet for the first time.  I walked up to the doorway, reaching for the handle slowly.  I breathed in deeply and the door flew open before me.  I stood there staring at the outside world with my hand outstretched like an idiot.  They had been waiting. 

            I regained my composure quickly and walked out the door and up the stairs to the deck near the wheel where Mají-jalio was lounging against a mast of some sort.  As soon as I tried to approach him he walked over to the rail, away from me.  By the time he reached the railing by the main deck the rest of the crew was gathered beneath him.  My eyes were drawn momentarily to all the sets of bound hands crowded on the main deck, shoving lightly against each other in an effort to get a clearer view of their captain and newest crewmate.  I saw other pirates gathered in the doorways, but none of their hands were bound like mine, showing that they were not bound to Captain Mají-jalio.  I stood up a little straighter as I felt them all staring at me.  I was the new kid in town, and had everything in the world to prove to these guys.  It was a little bit intimidating, seeing how many built guys there were that looked like they could snap me in half if I wasn’t paying attention.  Mají-jalio chose this moment to bang on the railing with the hilt of his dagger and call all attention to him. 

            He spoke very calmly, but there was a silver lilt to his voice, like he was trying to convince the rest of the crew of the words he was about to say.

 “My brethren, brothers, pirates of the highest name, all of you have heard the rumors about a female piratess joining us in the ranks of immortality.  I know and understand that some of you may be outraged by this decision of mine.  We have always spoken about who is allowed to join us, putting candidates through trial after grueling trial, but we have not let a member add to our number in five years.  And through those years we have lost some.  Though we are the best out here, even we cannot reign on prestige alone, we need numbers.”

            He began to get nervous, pacing back and forth before the railing, every head on the ship hanging onto his words, looking for a reasonable explanation for his crazy actions.  I myself didn’t understand what I had done to deserve to stand among these people.  I had come here in anger, eager to do anything to prove myself.  But I was clueless, not fit to stand among breathing legends of tales I had never heard at night.