One stormy night

Week one had gone as perfectly as it could have. Except for Fang puking something vile overboard, the day to day activity was steady and educating. I picked it up like I was a regular sailor. I learned as long as I listened to Verano and did my part, the ride was smooth. My brother was a prince, but he acted like one of the crew. I took after him, forming my own bonds with the sailors. There were still certain things the men didn’t let me do, but for the most part, they trusted me enough to leave me alone. Dinner was my favorite time of the day. At the end of the chaos, we all came together to laugh and chow on stew. The chef, a man named Jaden, was a former resident of Prune. Our crew was lucky to have him. Occasionally, we would interlock with the other two ships and eat on the deck together, but I didn’t know the other crews very well. I learned early on that the men were heavy drinkers, but it came with the gig.

  When the rum came out so did the stories. Some of them sounded like fairytales, but I enjoyed listening anyways. Through slurred speech and abrupt laughter, I pieced together the lives of the sailors. Each one had an interesting background, mostly starting with some boring job in Oceane and ending with them discovering their love for sailing. A few were transfers from other kingdoms that had joined Oceane to learn the art of travel and trade. Transfers were rare and usually came with an offering, but those who loved to journey across the sea would do anything to make it happen. The other kingdoms only sailed when they had to, and they only understood enough to get them to and from wherever they were going. Oceane had the slimmest rate of coming in contact with exiles due to our vast expertise of evasion. It was an honor to be in the presence of such skilled men.

  I wasn’t the only woman on board. There was another that went by the name of Liza. She was a tough, broad woman with a barking voice. She was as hard as the crew she commanded. Captain Liza controlled one of the other ships, though I was unsure of its name. While she had a hard surface, she was soft towards me. Her eyes never looked at me with anything but kindness. I knew I liked her from our very first introduction. Liza provided me with womanly advice and naturally took me under her wing when she got the chance. Unlike the others, she made a point of reminding me I was a Princess, but not in a bad way. She often provided me with anything she could spare to better accompany my former necessities. I enjoyed her attempts, though I enjoyed living like the sailors more.

  I’d become very close with Dallas, one of the crewmen. He was hilarious and we often shared the same side of the table during dinner. He was only a few years older than I and made it his duty to look after me. My brother treated Dallas like family, so I did too. We were a trio, consulting with each other as regularly as possible. The other crewmen were good people, but they kept their distance until they started drinking. I got the feeling that no matter how close they were with my brother, having a Princess around put them on edge. I had never been out of the kingdom, not like Armelle, who’d sailed with these men for years.

  It was at the end of the first week that the storm hit. The rain was pouring, and our crew was frantically moving about to keep the ship on course. I could see the other ships were struggling as well, inching away from us farther and farther. I could barely hear the crew yelling to each other over the thunder and rain. Waves crashed against the ship, threatening to overpower us. I was told to stay out of the way, due to my inexperience, but I wanted desperately to help. Everywhere I turned, someone was struggling. It felt wrong, just watching them, but I was useless. In the midst of the chaos, I caught sight of something in the distance. We had lost visual of the other two ships only minutes before, so I assumed it was one of them, making their way back to our side. I moved up the stairs to the quarter deck, passing Verano and my brother shouting orders. I squinted, and what I saw nearly stopped my heart. It was a ship, but not one I recognized, and definitely not one of ours.

  “Captain Verano!” I stepped back.

  When he didn’t answer, I turned and ran to him, yanking on his sleeve.

  “Captain!”

  “Not now, Kiara.” He moved away from me.

  Just as I was about to say something else, I heard the call from the main mast lookout. Verano turned his head to look at the waving Vincent. Vincent pointed behind us and I knew what I’d seen was being confirmed. Verano took one look at the approaching ship and yelled at the top of his lungs something incoherent. My brother was at my side in an instant.

  “Kiara, go to your quarters and do not come out.”

  “What?” my heart raced. “What’s happening?”

  “Pirates.” Verano gave me a somber look before nudging me towards the stairs.

  “We can evade them, can’t we?”

  My brother rushed me down the stairs and towards my room. He looked like he didn’t want to answer.

  “Armelle?”

  He stopped abruptly and squeezed my shoulders. “Listen to me very carefully. You go and hide and do not come out, no matter what you hear. Do you understand?”

  “Why can’t we evade them?”

  “The storm is too thick. We’re barely keeping this ship afloat, Kiara. No matter how skilled our crew is, the exiles have more experience in these conditions. They are going to be upon us within the next few minutes and we don’t have the assistance of the other ships. They will board this ship and when they do, you can’t let them see you. They’re going to raid our stash and leave us to the storm. I promise you will be safe as long as you do as I say. Stay in your cabin and do not come out under any circumstances.”

  “I’m not leaving you to them.” I held his gaze firmly.

  “I know what I’m doing, Kiara, you don’t.”

  I bit my lip, not wanting to agree with him. I hated how desperately I wanted to do what he said. I hated how cowardly I was in that moment. My brother was the hero, I was just some Princess he was forced to babysit. I let him push me into the room and close the door. I locked it and held my breath, listening to the sounds of the storm outside.

  No matter how loud the storm was, nothing could mask the unmistakable sounds of splintering wood and panicked cries. They’d boarded. I listened to the loud thumps and muffled sounds of swords clanking together. Yelling, crashing, footsteps. I slid to the floor and stifled my cries. It took me a moment to control my breathing as I waited. It was like a nightmare I didn’t know I had. That’s when my eyes fell on the knife Fang had given me.

  I’d tucked it under my mattress, having no intention to ever use it. Now, the handle stuck out like the answer to my prayers. I suddenly remembered my courage the day I’d told my father I was going. I remembered the confidence I’d felt when boarding this ship. I remembered my promise to myself to protect my siblings and bring them home safely. I was still scared, but I had to help. I couldn’t hide for the rest of my life, and if I ever wanted to come back out to sea, I had to face my fears sometime. I pulled the knife out and held it up to my face. I took one more deep breath and unlocked the door.