Angel At Sea

Chapter One: Leaving Home

~~ People were running about me, carrying all of our belongings in their arms and loading them into several different carriages. Mother and father were helping them and I stood at the pier staring at the water surrounding me; it glittered dark blue and diamonds sparkled upon the surface. I smiled, they were like the diamonds that hung in my eardrops and around my neck! They shined to the equivalent of the glitter on my nice, purple dress which, no doubt, was being ruined by the sea salt that flowed unendingly through my hair. "Anna!"

Someone screamed, "Anna!" They yelled again; I turned to find Sophie, my caretaker since I was a baby, standing behind me; Sophie was Italian with a light accent, golden skin, and deep, chocolate eyes with voluminous, brown hair. "Anna, we've got to go" said she, approaching me; I sighed.

"I know, I just...I don't want to leave London yet. Port Royal is just entirely too far away!" I cried, huffing; Sophie sat beside me and nodded.

"It is, but, think of it! An entirely new town! An entirely new life, even!" She cried, looking starry eyed to the water; I sighed, before I left them yesterday I said goodbye to all of my friends in London, and, we all cried together, then, we ate cake, lots and lots of cake.

"Anna!" Someone else yelled now, Sophie and I both turned to find my mother, a beautiful woman with porcelain features and perfectly black hair; my father was a contrast of her, he carried electric blonde hair and golden skin, I was a happy mix of the two; my skin was fair, but not so fair as to be so fortunate to be called porcelain. My eyes, my mother said many times, were emerald green and my hair was dirty blonde. "Come, darling, it's time to go!" She yelled, I sighed and grasped Sophie's hand, and, together, we loaded into the large ship named the 'Queen Mary'; she had snow white sails and the Union Jack flew peacefully upon the powder blue sky.

Her hull was made out of the strongest wood there was, the makers said it was the most dependable. And, we needed it to be dependable, coming from London to Port Royal; it would take two weeks to get there!

I remained on deck as our boat lurched and we began sailing; it was almost magical how we glided so wonderfully and effortlessly over the water!

~~ Three hours later, Sophie and I sat above deck, admiring the ocean and she told me stories of her adventures, coming from Italy to England. "...And there are pirates!"

"Pirates?" I asked "what are pirates?" I asked; Sophie smiled.

"Pirates are men and women, usually men, who pillage and plunder ports and boats in search of riches...and women." Sophie explained.

"Women?"

"Yes, women! Pirates are out all the time with only men, and, when they find a woman, they typically can't help themselves" said she, I shivered, I prayed we got to Port Royal safely, I didn't want to encounter a pirate, especially because I'm a woman!

"H-Have you ever encountered pirates before, Sophie?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Thankfully not, I pity all of those who have. Most pirates were privateers who didn't know how to get money after the war; they were desperate, a feeling which you've never known." Sophie said, and, she wasn't wrong. I had never known desperation or starvation or any of those horrid words you hear on the radio; I was raised in wealth and a family of plenty, my god was I thankful for how lucky I was!

I would love to explain how exciting it was, but, it would taste a lie. Admittedly, it was quite boring and staring at the ocean for hours almost made me manic! I couldn't read for, the swaying of the boat made me nauseous, and, I couldn't walk! I stumbled many times and fell a total of four times; I hadn't earned my 'sea legs' as Sophie called them.

~~ Three days later is when something finally gave, the wind stopped blowing and our travel fell to a stand still. We were in a 'bluff' as the captain, Captain White, called it. Captain White was a youngish man with dark brown hair and light blue eyes; his skin was deep golden from all his years standing beneath the sun and the intense heat which suffocated me was nothing but a gnat to him. All day and night we remained stuck, barely drifting. The next day, the wind finally puckered up its lips again and we were moving at a slow, but steady, pace; I felt like I had gone absolutely mad.

The sun and humidity caused my hair to curl more than usual, and then puff up; the sun turned any exposed skin red, my corset became sweaty and perspiration marks were clearly visible.

This was my definition of hell.

That day I decided to stay in my nightgown and walk about; no corset or anything! It was a white nightgown with ruffles about the neckline and cuffs with pearl designs; I lounged on the bow and played cards with myself; losing twice before something extraordinary happened. I glanced up and saw another boat! It was quite far away, but, I could tell the sails were a strange colour; dark grey, almost black. "Sophie!" I cried; something scared me about that boat, though the Union Jack flew proudly on the vessel, I got an eerie feeling from its presence.

Sophie hurried out and I pointed out the ship to her. "Does that look strange to you?" I asked and she slowly shook her head. She grinned and patted my head.

"You're just shaken up from all that pirate talk a few days ago; don't worry, it's more than likely nothing." Said she, walking away, however, staring at the boat approaching, I felt very uneasy.

~~ I hurried below deck when the other boat approached; I wanted nothing to do with it. However, both my parents and Sophie were called above deck; I refused to leave below deck. "May I please just stay here? I am very unfit to meet anyone" I protested, my father sighed but my mother calmed him; they nodded and went above deck. It was around half an hour later when they came hurrying back down the stairs, pushing one another. "What's the matter?" I asked, shooting up from my seat; there was a large gunshot, a deafening one, canon fire.

"We're under attack!" Sophie cried, grasping my hand and pulling me away from the stairs.

"By who?" I asked, pausing and yanking her back.

"Pirates!" She screamed, her eyes wide in fear.