So many thoughts raced through Astryd's mind as she slowly made her way towards the thick oak doors that led to Kincade's cabin. What could he possibly want?
She walked to the entrance of his cabin, which was placed just under the helm on the main deck. She stood before the doors engraved with detailed designs and stared at them for a moment, her fist hovering over the wood. She took a deep breath and opened the doors.
Astryd had never been in the captain's cabin before. It wasn't quite as grand as she imagined. The ceiling was low, and the only light was coming from the window lining the back wall, which gave a view of the ocean out the back of the ship.
Kincade was standing hunched over a long table in the center of the wide room with his back to her. Sprawled on the table was a collection of different looking old maps and charts.
"You wanted to speak with me, Captain?" Her intentions were to sound sweet and innocent, but addressing him formally felt foreign to her.
"You are a mystery to me, Astryd," he replied calmly. His focus was still on his maps and charts.
"What?"
"You're somewhat of a closed book, it seems, but I can't help but wonder why."
"So, I'm some sort of puzzle to you? Is that why you haven't forced information out of me?" So that's why she was brought here. He was going to interrogate her. She could already start to feel her heartbeat quicken.
Her stress increased when he didn't reply, still focused on his pieces of parchment.
After a pause, he finally put down his charting tools and turned to face Astryd. "My crew come from a lot of different backgrounds. Young and old, we all come from something."
Does he ever just get to the point?
"Or rather, run from something," he continued. "I don't ask too many questions when hiring my crew, considering the circumstances. I leave it up to the crew as an option to share one's story. But you," he took a step closer to her, seeming to study her eyes for answers, "you intrigue me. What made you want to disappear?"
Astryd scoffed. "Because I thought being invisible for a while would be fun. What does it matter? Tomorrow we make port, and I'll be out of here forever."
"Is sarcasm some sort of defense mechanism for you?" He laughed. It wasn't a mocking laugh but more genuine, almost surprised.
"Why do you care?"
"Because you show potential, Astryd. I know you don't care to be here. You've made that quite clear, but I've seen you work."
"So now you're spying on me? What exactly are you trying to ask me, Captain?"
"Well as you know, I have a vacancy that needs filling."
For a moment, Astryd just stared at him, and then she gasped. "You want me to be the new boatswain?"
Kincade raised a brow and smiled at her.
Astryd stood there blinking, shocked. No one ever put this kind of trust in her before. She couldn't even hold a steady job at home. Living on her own from such a young age, she never had anyone place responsibility on her shoulders. Just the mere thought of responsibility felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders, like an anchor tethering her down without hope of escaping. Without freedom.
Kincade pulled her from her thoughts. "You've shown impressive knowledge of Esterbell attack strategies, knowledge that I think could prove useful if you stay."
"Is this a joke? Do you honestly believe that the crew would actually listen to me? I think the fact that you and the rest of the crew didn't care to hear what I had to say until you got yourself into trouble tells me a lot about you. I think you just want my 'knowledge' because I got you out of the hole you dug yourself. Admit it. I'm just a tool to you, another weapon in your arsenal."
Kincade scoffed, seeming taken back. "You should be thanking me. It's not a usual occurrence for a swab to be promoted straight to boatswain."
"Thank you? I never asked for this!"
"Well, excuse me for seeing your potential!"
"Potential? You expect me to believe that? Why do you really want me to stay? So you can figure out what I'm hiding?"
"Need I remind you that you are speaking to your captain?"
Astryd prepared to shout back, but she knew that wouldn't get her point across. Instead, she replied in a soft whisper. "Tomorrow, you won't be anymore."
She turned on her heel and left the cabin with her chin in the air, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her.
"Good riddance!" she heard Kincade shout from the other side of the oak doors.
She put her hands over her face and let out a muffled scream. After all these weeks, all the resistance, he still thought she'd want to stay?
When she looked up, she realized several members of the crew were staring at her. Without a word, she stomped over to the main mast and climbed to the crows nest where she could be alone.
The wind tousled her hair and forced it into her face. With a huff, she tucked the stray strands behind her ear and gazed out at sea.
Now being up high and breathing in the fresh salty air, Astryd admitted to herself she may have overreacted, but she would never let Kincade know that. But really, didn't he deserve it?
"Why is he trying to make me stay?" she asked herself in her quiet solitude.
Regardless of what his intentions were, they couldn't possibly be good. He was a pirate, after all. Astryd tried her best to list all the things Kincade could use her for. What was it about her that was so special?
It's not a usual occurrence for a swab to be promoted strait to boatswain. The words echoed in her head. He was right. It was very unusual. There was no way that after one month that Astryd showed enough "potential" to be given such a high ranking.
When Astryd leaned over the railing and peered down at the deck looming below her, she saw a splash of red emerge from the captain's cabin. She watched as Kincade moved about the ship, and she narrowed her eyes.
"What are you planning?" she whispered. An even better question, why did she care?
Many hours passed by as Astryd watched the crew working below her. She should have been fulfilling her duties, but with the fact she was leaving in the morning and the lack of an acting boatswain to watch her like a hawk, she didn't really care. Stubbornness got the best of Astryd, and she remained rooted to her spot until the sun began to hide below the horizon.
By the time the light began to fade, Astryd's stomach was grumbling. She was used to skipping meals when she needed to, but not eating all day took its toll on her. She weighed her options, trying to decide if it was worth the risk of running into Kincade if she tried swiping some food.
Her stomach growled again. It was worth the risk.
With a sign of defeat, Astryd slowly descended the crow's nest. When her feet hit solid ground, she took a look around. The main deck was empty, which meant everyone was gathering in the mess hall for dinner.
It would be easy for Astryd to grab a plate of food she didn't even like and make her way back to the solitude of the main deck, but she didn't feel like showing her face to everyone, not after what happened.
She thought about Carmen and Tom and all the other people she'd met on her journey. They would all be there eating and laughing and playing games, but Astryd couldn't bring herself to join them. She couldn't handle good-byes.
Slowly, she descended to the second floor and crept past the mess hall into the storage unit. Once inside, she chose a jar of preserved meat and a jar of vegetables and a dry biscuit. She stared at her food for a moment. It was against code to steal rations. It was a punishable offence. But what did it matter? She was leaving anyway.
You're a thief and now a sailor. You know what that makes you, sweetheart?
"I'm not a pirate."
AN:
This chapter took me so many tries to get right. I lost track of how many times I tweaked it. But It's finally done!
Do you think Astryd had good reasons to respond the way she did?
PS, I'd like to acknowledge that fact that this story now has over 500 reads. Say what? That's nuts! Thank you all so much for reading and voting and commenting on the story! It really means so much to me and motivates me to keep writing.