Chapter 10

"Captain, I need a new blade. This dagger isn't cutting the thread well anymore."

You handed the Captain the knife and he held it up, inspecting it with one eye closed.

"You're right." He ran his finger along the edge, and it didn't cut him. "I'm surprised you got it to even last this long." He reached inside his coat. "I don't have anything else on me, so just use this." He handed you his own personal cutlass from its sheath.

You felt self-conscious as you took the handle of it, touching hand-to-hand in the process, and intentionally turned your attention to it, and you held it yourself, flat, open-palmed, as if afraid that if it fell or you held it other than how it pleased it might bite you.

You felt self-conscious as you took the handle of it, touching hand-to-hand in the process, and intentionally turned your attention to it, and you held it yourself, flat, open-palmed, as if afraid that if it fell or you held it other than how it pleased, it might bite you.

"It's just a cutlass." The Captain chuckled at your reaction. "Nice and sharp. Should do the trick."

Kennard happened to be passing by, carrying a crate, and saw you holding a dangerous weapon. "Er...Captain? You be sure it be safe to let 'er hold a cutlass?" He wondered if you were going to try to escape.

"Oh, I don't think she'll hurt herself," he said, fully aware of what Kennard was actually asking. "As long as she doesn't drop it on her toes, she should be alright."

Kennard nodded slowly and continued walking.

You looked back down at the long, shiny blade with wide eyes, still holding it tenderly.

"It's not a baby, it's a sword." The Captain laughed, clearly in a good mood. "You're allowed to hold it like one."

You looked back up at him, into his smiling brown eyes, and he gave you a nod.

So then, carefully shifting positions, you held it firmly by its golden handle, and watched it glisten in the sun as you turned it over. You stepped back and waved it a bit just to see what it felt like.

"There you are," the Captain said approvingly. "That's what it's made for."

"So I use this to cut thread?"

"All the daggers I have left are dulled down, since I haven't sharpened them in so long, so yes."

You nodded. "So...yeah. Uh, thanks, Captain."

"You are most welcome." He gave you a nod and walked off, barking orders at the rest of the crew. "Raise those sails a bit! The winds have decided to pick up today, and so has the water! There's bumpy seas ahead!"

You'd thought you had already gotten used to the waves, and had been wondering why you felt a bit seasick again that day. You'd been ignoring the wind, which had been very fickle ever since you entered the pirate ship, so having it be a little higher than you'd seen before was nothing unusual. It was only mid-morning, and you were going to try some green apples, but by now, they were more brown than green, and didn't want to risk it, so you skipped the apple and just sat on the deck and sewed.

.

~ ~ ~

.

It was noon when big wave hit the side of the ship and sprayed you, who had been the closest to the edge, and soaked your back with a gigantic splash.

You tensed and froze, jaw dropped. Unbelievable! You huffed. Ugh, I'm wet! And that water is cold! You'd only been thinking to yourself before it hit, sewing on your own, and the big splash of water really jerked you to your senses. The sky was clear, except for a few cotton, white clouds, so you hadn't thought waves would be a problem, and sat right by the edge.

Well, welcome to the sea, you thought to yourself sarcastically.

The Captain saw, and you could tell he was a bit amused to see your stunned expression. It didn't show much on his face besides his raised eyebrows and the smile that tugged at his lips.

You took a deep breath and slowly lowered your arms, and reached down to gather your wet, patched, grimy skirts.

But it was really windy.

And you started to shiver.

The Captain walked into his cabin, and reappeared with a blanket. He walked over to you, put it over your trembling shoulders, and said, "How about you go below deck for now?"

He was still smiling. "It is not funny." You said.

"If you'd have seen your own reaction, you'd think it was."

"Did you see that coming?" You asked.

"Not until it was right there." He said. "Don't give me that, I'd have warned you. How about you sew at the dining table until dinner, when you can make something."

You raised an eyebrow, but said, "yes sir, Captain," and headed down to the dining table below deck.

As you sat down and began sewing, your seasickness started getting the better of you, and you couldn't focus. So you decided to take a nap.

It was just as you were asleep that you realized the blanket that the Captain had just taken from his cabin was the very same blanket you woke up under your first night on the pirate ship, the night the deck was scrubbed for you.