The Village in the Sea

Chapter 3

(chapter dedicated to @kandakx for the amazing cover above!)

Chapter 3

"So this one is the general? I think he should be a high ranked soldier, but not a general," advised Victoria.

Samuel shook his head, "That's the general. He 'as to look super professional so the soldiers know who all's in charge."

"Alright," Victoria sighed. She placed the general in the back of their well-organized battle field. The soldiers were all lined up in rows, because Samuel had said it was easier for them to fight that way. They were sitting on the sweeped, wooden floor, playing with hand-made soldiers. It was slightly past lunchtime, when they had eaten fish, again. Victoria had a feeling that anything besides fish and seaweed was a rare treat.

"I move my troops north," said Samuel, sliding several of his men towards Victoria's.

"Well, I move mine west, blocking your attack."

Samuel nodded, looking impressed. "That's a good move, but I've cornered your troops and I'm gunna call for back up. Surrender or die."

"I'd rather die than lose without a fight. Attack!" yelled Victoria, knocking over Samuel's soldiers. He laughed and flicked her soldiers down. She smiled, but it slowly faded away when she thought of her brother. He was four years older than her, and had always loved strategy games like this. He had always won, but would never brag about it because he did't want to hurt Victoria's feelings. Sometimes, he'd even let her win.

She pushed the thoughts of him away, they were only hurting her more. He was gone, she couldn't do anything about it.

"Victoria, honey, I don't think you've met my daughter Jessamine," said Mrs. Locke, pulling her out of her daze. The woman guestured to the tan, dark haired girl that looked like a younger version of Mrs. Locke.

"I prefer Jess, but hey," said the girl, sticking out her hand. She had an English accent, just like Mrs. Locke, but hers wasn't as strong.

Victoria shook it and smiled, "Victoria Penrose. Nice to meet you."

"Where are you from? You have an English name, but sound like an American." Jessamine had no problem speaking her mind, and Victoria could tell that from the very beginning.

"North Carolina, my dad's grandparents came from England, though. And I'm assuming you're English?"

Mrs. Locke interrupted, "I'm from India, actually. Jessamine was born and raised here in Adhaesit."

Victoria nodded, "That's pretty cool."

"Not really when you've had to eat fish your entire life," mumbled Jess. They laughed and she continued, "But anyways, when my mum told me we had a new-comer, I figured you should see the town. You want to?"

"Sure but." Victoria motioned to herself, because she was still only wearing her bathing suit.

Mrs. Locke got up. "I found some clothes, they're washed and ready." She handed her a shirt and shorts sitting on the table, neatly folded on top of each other.

Victoria thanked her, and pulled on the clothes over her bathing suit. The shirt was a little short, but it would do.

"You ready?"

She nodded and followed Jessamine out of the door. The dark haired girl climbed into the wooden boat attached to their porch as if it was her second nature. Victoria cautiously walked up to it, trying to ignore the sea below them. She crawled into the boat and almost made it flip over. Thankfully, she made it to the seat without dying.

Jess grabbed a paddle that had been sitting on the floor, pushing another to Victoria. She looked at it like the other girl was joking.

"You didn't expect this to be a one person job, did you?" asked Jessamine.

"No," muttered Victoria. She picked up the wooden oar hesitantly and followed Jess' every move to see what to do. Before the cruise, she had never even been on a boat, nevermind paddle one. And after struggling for the first several minutes, Victoria hoped she would learn how to row a boat quickly, considering it seemed like she would be stuck here forever.

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Enjoy the awkward pic of some random people in a boat!