New Horizons (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 2: "This isn't at all what I expected."

Another gust of wind flew by and nearly whisked away Astryd's precious sustenance. She gripped her platter tighter and brought it closer to her body as she scowled at the mischievous wind as if it were against her too. The invisible force beat her this time. It was just too cold up there now.

With a huff of resistance she was forced back to the lower decks, still carrying her now cold plate of meat. Astryd peered into a few rooms along the hallway, but every room had dark shadows lying across the ground or simply no light at all. Astryd wasn't about to find herself alone in a suspicious room. The only inviting place below deck at that moment was the mess hall she visited earlier. Hesitantly, she ventured forth into the crowd once again.

She hoped she could find a nice empty spot in a corner away from all the strange people, but none was found. The room was full, save a few scattered empty seats. Astryd sighed. She had to pick one.

Her search for a seat was interrupted when a blur of fiery red hair caught her eye.

Kincade.

Astryd snapped her head around in the direction of the red hair, but the hair did not belong to Kincade. The red hair led down to the person's waist. A woman?

Curiosity overcame Astryd. There was an empty seat next to the flaming hair. Astryd got a glimpse of the woman's face as she claimed the empty seat and sat her plate on the table.

The woman whisked her head around to see who had sat down. Her eyes brightened. "You must be new. It'll be nice to have another woman aboard! Not that there's anything wrong with you fellas," she added in the last sentence at the looks she got from her male companions. "Name's Carmen," she introduced.

"Astryd."

"Never been on a ship before I take it?" said Carmen.

"What?"

"You look a little out of place is all."

Astryd was a little taken back by the woman's bluntness. Was it that obvious she didn't have a clue what she was doing? Instinctively, Astryd reached for the satchel around her waist and gripped it protectively.

"I was just...looking for a change." This wasn't necessarily a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. "I don't even know where we're going," Astryd added truthfully.

Carmen gave a quick reply, but she could not be heard over the roar of merry laughter coming from the table behind them, which was crammed right up against them. They appeared to be playing a game of cards.

"What was that?" Astryd shouted over the noise.

Carmen held up a hand while she took a large gulp of the tankard in front of her. She swallowed then said, "I said that we're headed out to open sea."

"Well that's obvious," Astryd muttered to herself so that Carmen did not hear. Why is everyone around here being so vague?

"Eat up," Carmen nodded to Astryd's full plate of food. "We're getting an early start tomorrow by the looks of it."

Astryd poked her pile of rubber with her fork.

"Better enjoy it while you can. We won't have the chance to eat meat for very long, goes bad after a week or so, so we don't have much on board. After that the options won't be so appetizing."

This was appetizing?

"Well," Carmen stretched and yawned after finishing up her plate, "think I'll turn in for the night."

Deciding not to linger, Astryd forced a few bites of meat in her mouth and followed Carmen out of the small dining area. Astryd did not feel graceful exiting the room because the waves were becoming relentless and the ship was rocking more than ever. Suddenly, Astryd regretted eating at all.

She followed Carmen into a corridor she had not yet ventured through and into a low ceilinged room. Astryd's head cleared the ceiling, but she noticed Carmen was ducking under each rafter as they passed. The room was very large despite the low roof. It seemed to be filled with cargo in any available space, and hanging from the ceiling were many hammocks that looked like they were made from scrap canvas. Astryd followed Carmen into the corner where there was a lonesome hammock and climbed into it.

"There's an extra hammock there," said Carmen absentmindedly, pointing to the ground where there was a lump of canvas.

Astryd picked up the cloth and a rat scurried out of it in a hurry. Astryd glared at the rat as it ran off. She inspected the cloth carefully as she unraveled it, but the room was too dark to see much. Taking a chance and hoping she won't find anything else unpleasant, Astryd hung up the hammock on some hooks in the support beams and tried to get comfortable inside it. It wasn't much different from her home in Esterbell, if you could call it a home, considering she was previously living in an abandoned shack that was bound to collapse at any time.

Still, the situation could be worse. Astryd could have been captured by the royal guard and sent to prison, or possibly even executed, for what she did to the king. Astryd made the king very angry because of something she stole, but she couldn't take back what she stole now. It was her ticket to freedom.

Astryd pulled her satchel closer to her side to reassure herself it was still there. The hammock she was lying in was swaying back and forth to the movement of the ship, making Astryd nauseated. A tight knot in her stomach she couldn't get her mind off of. It didn't look like she'd be getting much sleep. But tomorrow was a new day. What could go wrong?

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That's a very good question, what could go wrong? What do you think?

Sorry for such slow updates, I'm slow on writing and editing. But I'd love to hear what you think so far of the story!