Rewritten
***
Three Years After Sheries' Ship Sank
Captain Aeryn Branche of the White Crow stood on her ship with one leg on a barrel, her hands wrapped around a compass, and her eyes fixed upon the needle that didn't know where to point.
After three hard years of non-stop work, Aeryn built herself a ship, a crew, and a "stable" salary.
The first year, she discovered an all-female ship and worked there as a sailing master. She was glad her hard studying of fifteen years before she worked with Captain Sheries became her identity rather than her gender. As a sailing master, she received loads of respect for being able to read the maps, study the currents, and track their location. It had been the skill she studied for five years. Her father, trained in mathematics and cartography, made it his duty to teach her everything he knew when he got diagnosed with an incurable disease.
She applied to be a sailing master aboard Captain Sheries ship, and it did not work out as she hoped.
In the third year, she started taking many jobs to raise enough money to buy herself a ship. Later on, Erel found a ship with no one alive on board. So Aeryn merely used the money to fix the old ship up. After building up her crew which mainly comprised people Erel had saved and brought to the island and being voted captain by them, she set sail.
She could breathe the fresh air, feeling excited for no good reason other than being free.
Today was her birthday, and she woke to a whisper in her ear. The glowing entity based her ear as she slept in the Captain's Quarters whispered what sounded like a curse. But she ignored it because it must've been a dream.
Some time from now, you will encounter your enemy for the first time, but not the last. Your enemy will tear away everything from you—especially the things you take for granted. You will fight them for revenge in your second encounter. The outcome has not been determined. The day you lose everything you cared for will be the day of your awakening as the Empress. Until then, know that the Sea God had chosen you.
It made sense, but not really. Aeryn had heard about the curses captains would get on the first birthday they spend on their ship. She used to think it was nonsense until she heard those words. It did not bother her, but she should've paid more attention to her "curse." She'd already forgotten everything the voice said. Everything fell apart and left her brain, similar to how a dream vanishes moments after waking up. All that forgetting did was add stress to her plate, but at least she didn't have to remember the details of her curse. Eventually, she would face it.
"Capt'n," said a voice.
"What is it, Iona?"
Iona, the quartermaster of the White Crow, stood behind the captain, scroll in hand. "Another ship has fallen to the Black Egret."
The Black Egret, the ship that sank Captain Sheries's ship and everyone in it. "What's so special this time. They've been at it for the last three years."
Iona flinched, not knowing how to respond. "Capt'n...this time they sank a ship from the British Navy. There are no survivors."
"What?" Aeryn, unsure of how to react, fiddled her fingers around themselves. "The British Navy?"
"Yes, Capt'n."
"What is their last known location?"
"They were last spotted about five hundred miles south of where we are now."
She nodded her head to herself, glad that the Black Egret was nowhere near. "Tomorrow, we'll head to Aerel."
Iona's eyes widened. "But, Capt'n, Aerel is over two hundred miles northwest."
"It would've taken about ten hours if we had wind, but it's sunny without wind." Aeryn scrunched her face, calculating the route and how long it would take. She'd taken it open herself to be the captain and the sailing master. She was the only one who knew how to be one, and teaching wasn't her strong suit. She'd yell at the people who couldn't get it right on the first try like herself and had no patience to deal with the ones with less than average intelligence. "It'll take about fifteen hours. But we need to get there."
"Why?"
"I want to see Erel, and we need to build up our crew a little, so any new people Erel saved will be perfect."
"Aye, Capt'n. I'll make sure everyone is ready for hard-sail tomorrow." Iona saluted, her short black hair tucked behind her ears and her turquoise eyes fixed on Aeryn's. Her eye contact was almost scary. Such a perfect, intentional stare Iona had.
Iona made her way to the common area where the crew's empty bottles of liquor rolled around with the ship's sway. Their makeshift beds made of rope and geese-feather pillows and their playing cards lay on the floor with no sense of order.
The perfect yet messy room held the smell of booze and apple juice for some younger crew members. Playing cards and poker chips fell to the floor with every sway of the ship. No one ever cleaned up in this room.
On the White Crow, Aeryn made it a point that everyone treated one another as a family. She hated abuse of power, so the only time rank mattered was when there was an attack, or they were going hard-sail.
Hard-sail was a term Aeryn created for when the crew would have to work to get the ship moving rather than relying on the wind.
Now Aeryn collected air in her lungs, happy to return home. She did not need a reason. Hell, the reasons she gave Iona were excuses. And she did not need permission. However, an unsettling weight sat on her heart. Like something was going to happen. Nothing bad, but something.
The curse she'd heard in the morning did nothing to calm her pounding heart.
Aeryn wanted no part of doing anything. In the last three years, she worked like a donkey to become captain and she expected to get at least three years of rest.
But nothing goes her way. Especially not on the water.
As she watched the crew—her crew—get ready for hard-sail, a messenger owl came and sat on her shoulder. It dropped a piece of paper into Aeryn's hand and flew away to the small owlery. She unrolled the paper and read the contents.
I have found rumours regarding the whereabouts of the Tiger's Ruby. I've heard where it is. I'll tell you when you come to Aerel in case this gets in the wrong hands.
A single letter "E" served as the only signature and mark that it was Erel who sent the note. Besides the horrible handwriting, that is. Or should it be called flipper-writing? Erel's webbed hands, akin to those of a platypus, felt like a piece of flesh at the top of one's mouth above the two front teeth—and they produced horrible script.
Now, Aeryn had a legitimate reason to go to Aerel.
Aerel was what Erel called the island in her writing and conversation to avoid others coming to the island. Had someone else gotten the letter, they wouldn't know where Aerel was. It didn't exist.
Whenever Erel came to Aeryn's mind, there would be a good reason for her name to surface. This time it was for the location of the gem. Last time she got called for a rare fish to eat.
The time before that was when Erel saved a three-year-old girl from a shipwreck and needed Aeryn's help to remove a piece of wood stuck in the girl's leg.
The two females thought alike and held a calling for one another. Linked from their hearts and minds. Linked and bonded like sisters with twinned brains.
She read the note again. Memories of Sheries torturing and harming people with little information on the jewel ran through her brain. She blinked hard. Why Sheries was so focused on finding the Tiger's Ruby escaped her. He'd never told her. He would merely say he needed money and fame.
Money was what he needed. He almost lost all his money on gambling and buying supplies. Fame was the last thing he needed. Attention from other people and praise would only fuel his already overfilled ego.
Aeryn balled her fists, the paper crumbling under her fingers.
Her mission moved forward, and hopefully, it was the momentum she needed.
***
She was in an abyss of water. In the lake of Aerel Island, she enjoyed a nice bath and talked with Erel.
Aeryn submerged her head in the water, focusing on nothing but the tight feeling in her chest. One that came from not being able to breathe. She did not open her eyes in fear that they might burn, and she clogged her nose with her fingers.
She resurfaced facing Erel, her saviour from three years ago. The siren had all her respect and love, for it was Erel who helped her along the way.
"Aeryn dear, get out of the water before you get wrinkles."
She shook her already bumpy hands at Erel, who sighed. "Don't worry about it. We don't really get to take baths on the White Crow, so I am going to take advantage of this lake." She flopped into the lake, splashing Erel who'd been picking out little fishes from her hair and scales.
Erel, the embodiment of grace and poise, grimaced at every fish that stuck themselves to her scales. The sunlight made them twinkle a brighter cyan than they already were.
Stunning.
"Tell me more about the Tiger's Ruby. You told me you found something out about it."
"Ah, yes. I've heard something, and you will not like it."
"Just tell me, Erel."
"The Tiger's Ruby is under the protection of three ships, two under command of the Black Egret, and the other being the Black Egret."
Aeryn looked at the siren with widened eyes and an open mouth. "What do you mean 'protector?' That freak Sheries mentioned nothing about there being a protector."
"That's because Sheries was a freak."
"You're right. Sheries was always too busy with women to hear any inkling of information and killed his prisoners prematurely..." Aeryn muttered—kept muttering until Erel tapped her shoulder.
"Aeryn dear, please stop. The jewel's in an island called Querilke."
The captain smiled. "You know, I am amazed by how you hear things despite being in the water all the time. For a siren, you sure know how to live above land. Like a messenger owl. They know everything. Those wretched beings. Sometimes I feel like plucking their feathers—you know what?"
Erel rolled her eyes. Aeryn needed to learn how to limit her talking, though she blabbered to the siren exclusively. "What is it?"
"You think the captain of the Black Egret knows I made it out alive?"
The question took her back. She was expecting to hear a much more odd question. Her ears almost rang with idiotic statements Aeryn had said before.
Can a bird swim in water like how it swims in the air? Nevermind, the feathers would drag him down.
You know, there are too many humans on Auber. They fill the Aubervin lands with themselves and their offspring. We think we're superior to all the other species, but we're the only species that pays to live on the planet. And if you really think about it, humans have created all the problems in the world. I wouldn't really mind if all the humans disappeared. It would be peaceful, actually. I will roam the land, haunting an animal to view the world without its vermin.
"I think if the captain knew, you wouldn't be alive. He probably would have come back to kill you."
"But I can't shake the feeling that someone is coming after me. Whatever. Tell me more about the Ruby."
"I know nothing else. I heard from the new girl I saved, and she doesn't know much more. Apparently, her captain also sought the Ruby. When she didn't tell the captain what she knew, she got thrown off the ship after days of torture."
"And?"
"The girl won't tell me the rest. She just told me the Black Egret protects it and it's in Querilke. Happy?"
"Quite." Aeryn splashed and played around in the water as she begged Erel to tell her more stories.
"I've already told you all the ones I know, Aeryn."
"Then make something up as you go along. I just want to hear your voice."
Erel banged her head against the water, trying to come up with a story. She watched her reflection in the water. Her seaweed-green hair, black eyes and lips, repelling as always, floated on the water.
"Why don't you ever tell me stories?"
"Because my life is boring compared to yours." Aeryn dived into the water and came back up, her head underneath the small waterfall. "Stop stalling and tell me a story."
Erel groaned. "Once upon a time, there was an annoying little girl that didn't know when to shut up. She bothered her friend for three years before finally, her friend went insane. In her insanity, the friend would hit her head against rocks and trees, but the annoying girl still didn't realize that her friend's lost state of mind was her fault. Shall I continue?"
"You're not my friend, Erel. You're like a sister, which is why you have to tolerate my little annoying self. Now tell me a proper story before I drive you to insanity." Aeryn floated on her back and bumped into Erel.
With her webbed hands, she pushed Aeryn away.
"I haven't any more stories. Every time you come back from your ship, you expect me to have some story ready—"
"Excuses, excuses, excuses."
Rolling her eyes, Erel spoke again. "Once, there was a girl named Aisha, and a boy named Rolf. They were destined to hate each other, but they couldn't. The reason being they intrigued one another. Rolfie wondered how Aisha remained alive after going through an accident that would have killed anyone else. And Aisha wondered why Rolfie did bad things for good causes."
"Do they get married at the end?"
"You would know if you did not interrupt me," Erel said, her teeth gritting out every word. Angry as one might be at a younger sibling.
She continued her story, and it turned out that the two got married at the end—only to die half a decade later by Kronos' hand, the villain of the story.
Aeryn ranted a string of curses at the villain of the story until Erel shushed her.
One of the newest recused girls. She seemed to be the youngest. "Miss Erel," she said, uncomfortable in her stance but not her tone. "Do you know where I can go to relieve myself?"
Erel pointed into the island, explaining where and how to use the island to her needs.
"Never thought I'd have to hear that conversation again," said the captain, now jumping up and down in the water.
The siren sighed, wanting to say something crude but couldn't with the girl so close.
"Are you going to Querilke?"
"Erel, don't ask stupid questions."
The siren frowned. "But you don't even want money. You hate money."
"What are you talking about? I love money, just not the concept of money. Anyway, you know this is the only way I get my revenge."
"How are you planning on getting vengeance on a dead man? How are you going to rub it in his face?"
"I'll get a spirit medium to talk to his ghost for me. I'll say, 'Feel sorry yet, bastard? I got the jewel, and you didn't, dic—"
"Please refrain from swearing so much. My ears have lost tolerance."
Aeryn swam to the siren, reaching for the paper-thin trumpet ears Erel had.
The siren swatted her hand away. "Don't touch."
"Alright. Do you want to come with me to Querilke? You can swim next to us and monitor me."
"I'm not your mom, but sure. I'll come and watch you try to get the Tiger's Ruby, though at this point I'm sure it's nothing but a story. A rumour twisted to protect another secret or to attract the attention of people worthy of death."
"What the hell, Erel? Don't kill the mood."
***
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Word Count: 2700