New Horizons (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 1: The Stranger

She quietly opened the door, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. This shouldn't have been of much concern though because when she stepped inside, a roar of merry music rushed past her ears. She took a fast glance around the room and saw many men and women—who probably had one too many drinks—singing along to the tune that echoed throughout the room.

Her eyes stopped on a man in the corner near a stack of barrels. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed very nonchalantly, standing quietly in the shadows. Astryd wasn't even sure why she noticed him. Maybe it was his flaming red hair that gave him away. The man seemed composed and uninterested in the events going on around him. Not the typical bloke you'd see in a tavern, or in this kingdom for that matter.

Her gaze continued from the strange man to a table in a different corner of the room, with a scruffy looking sailor sitting behind it. A sign up desk!

She strode over to the desk displaying her best effort to look like she knew what she was doing, with her hood still covering most of her face. She eagerly slapped a hand on the table, which startled the man behind it who was clearly dozing off. Astryd gave him a confident grin.

"Where do I sign up?" she said enthusiastically, trying to hide the urgency in her voice as the thought of the guards approaching the tavern crossed her mind.

The sailor rubbed his eyes and mumbled to himself a little, clearly still waking up from his catnap. He looked up at Astryd with groggy eyes, trying to peer under her hood. After a long moment, too long for Astryd's rushed situation, he scoffed and said, "You're a woman."

"Does it look like that's something I don't know?" she replied with clenched fists, constantly thinking about the guards bursting through the door at any moment.

"There are no women allowed aboard the Commodore's ship," the man stated bluntly.

"Look, I'm in a bit of a predicament here, and I need passage on a ship now!" With the last word, Astryd pounded the table with her hand again. This time she was sure it was red from how hard she hit the table, but it did do a good job in jolting the sailor into full consciousness.

"You're in a what?" the man crinkled his nose and knitted his brow as he stared back up at Astryd.

"Moron," she mumbled to herself as she rubbed her temples. The man already seemed to be loosing interest and started dosing off to sleep again. She felt a lump in her throat as she imagined a noose tightening around her neck, another reminder of her awful circumstances.

With a loud bang the front doors to the tavern swung open, but the noise coming from inside it did not falter as the soldiers roamed the room scanning every face.

"Where is she?" the captain of the guard yelled over the music, but it was mostly to himself in a fit of frustration.

            "Oh no, no, no," Astryd kept mumbling to herself. She saw a stack of barrels full of ale sitting in the opposite corner of the room. Crouching down near the floor, she made her way over to them, crawling under tables as she went. Once she reached the other side, she pressed her back against a barrel as she sat on the ground. She just now noticed how much her breath was quickening, and a bead of sweat made it's way down her temple. Slowly, she turned her head around to face the people again, and as she peered around the barrel, she saw the guards hastily roaming around the room, and the people were paying little mind to them.

            "Running from something, are we?"

            Astryd shrieked much louder than she wanted. Thankfully the music drowned her out, and she didn't gain the soldiers' attention. She looked up to see who spoke, and Astryd realized she never noticed that the flaming haired man never moved from his spot beside the barrels. He was glancing down at her past his chiseled chin without turning his head to face her, so as to not draw attention to Astryd who was still in hiding.

            For a moment, she just stared at him, not knowing why he wasn't handing her over to the guards and not knowing what to say that wouldn't risk her life in this stressful situation.

            After waiting for a response and getting none, the man continued. "I have a ship you know, and I'm looking for more men—or...women—for my crew."­

            Astryd furrowed her brow at him. "Then why aren't you sighing up men at one of the tables like everyone else?" Astryd scolded herself for saying this. Beggars can't be choosers. She needed to leave now.

            He seemed to ignore the question completely. "Kincade. Captain Thomas Kincade," he introduced. He reached out a hand for her to shake. "And you are?"

            Astryd hesitated, staring at his hand for a moment. This man was strange in the least. He obviously was aware that she was running from something, and yet, he's inviting her along anyway. There was something about how calm and composed that he was that made Astryd feel uneasy. Then again, strange shifty people weren't something uncommon around here, and what choice did she have? The guards were making their way around the edge of the tavern, and they were getting dangerously close. She glanced back up at the captain's face. He raised an eyebrow and grinned at her, waiting for her response.

            "Astryd," she finally replied. She took his hand to shake it, and he hoisted her off the ground and up on her feet.

            "Astryd," Kincade repeated, "A regal name!" he added in a snobby, playful voice.

            In the heat of the moment Astryd was reckless, and the guards spotted her.

"After her!" the captain of the guard shouted to his men. They all rushed in Astryd and Kincade's direction. Astryd could feel her heart beat start to quicken. They were pinned in. She looked over at her new captain, hoping deep down that he knew of something to do. She just put her life into the hands of a complete stranger. He looked at her with a smirk playing on his lips, as if reading her mind.

            "Follow me." He placed a hand onto the back wall and pushed. There was a door she hadn't noticed before. They slipped outside and closed it back, locking it from the outside.

            "This way." Calmly, the strange man slowly walked toward the docks. Astryd's mind was spinning. The guards were right on their tail!

            As if once again answering her thoughts, he simply stated, "Pay no mind to those buffoons they call palace guards. My men will take care of them."

            The sound coming from inside the tavern escalated, and Astryd could tell by the shouting that a full brawl broke out in the tavern. No doubt this man's crew started a fight that broke out with everyone in the tavern.

            It was a short walk to the docks. Astryd followed her new captain to a nearby ship. It wasn't the largest ship at the docks, but it was nonetheless grand with masts that looked like they were reaching for the clouds and beige sails wrapped neatly to the top of them, ready to be unfurled when the ship set sail.

            Never having step foot on a ship before, Astryd nervously made her way up the narrow ramp over the waters that crashed into the ship. With a deep breath, she took that one last step onto the wooden planks of the ship. Her new life had just begun.

AN:

Thanks for reading the first chapter of my story!

What are your thoughts on Kincade?
What do you think Astryd's hiding?