Crossing Oceans | ✓

ᖴOᑌᖇ | TᕼE ᑕᗩTᗩᔕTᖇOᑭᕼE

Once they had set sail and were some way from Devonport, Captain Reed entered his cabin, and told Amber, that she was welcome to join them on deck. He left, and she followed after she heard his footsteps fade in the distance. Cautiously she crept onto the deck and glanced around. Each member of the crew was busily attending to their own task and seemed to take no notice of her. Quietly she made her way to the railing and looked at the sea beneath her.

It was breath taking, the wind against her face was exhilarating, and the sound of the rushing water beneath the ship was strangely comforting. Suddenly tears sprung to her eyes as she yearned for her home, angry that Carson had the impudence to actually capture her, a young girl, and separate her from her family! The scoundrel!

She stood on the deck, her misty eyes scanning the horizon. She thought that maybe if she peered hard enough she could still see her home, but it had disappeared a long time ago. A silent tear slid down her face, but her features held no sadness. They were firm with frustration, anger, and resolution. She had decided to accept her situation and wait out the journey. Crying would do her no good now, and it would get her no where, and so she brushed her tear away and continued to gaze seaward, her arms crossed over her chest.

She heard his heavy foot-steps behind her, but she made no move to acknowledge his presence. Instead she stood still, her spine straight as a rod, her eyes fixed forward.

Carson was pondering what to say. Should he disturb her silence and try once again to apologize for her situation? Or should he battle with her will, remaining silent so long that she was forced to speak. He knew neither would do him any good, for he had apologized before, and it was in vain. He truly was sorry for what he had done, and he felt pity for the her. But she had been brave. Of course she was angry in the beginning. I've looked into the eyes of wild beasts that were kinder, he thought. But she was rightly so, and she had shed a few tears, but she never had let them get the best of her. Yes, he had to say that she was one of the bravest girls, or women, that he had ever met. After all he had dragged her from her home, isolating her from her family and friends, tearing her from the only world she knew or comprehended. At least she is still some-what with her kind, he thought grimly, for pirates are little better than gypsies.

No, he couldn't stand there and be silent; he felt too much of a need to reach out and comfort her. She was so small, and a desire to protect her suddenly burned within him, and at that moment he promised himself that he would let no harm come to her. "I would once again like to apologize for detaining you against your will. I am sorry you had to over-hear such vital information, but I think you are mature enough to understand my situation." She said nothing, but he knew she had heard him.

She stood facing away from him, and she was glad for new tears had formed in her eyes. The tone in his voice and his gentle manner had torn down her hard shell she had worked so carefully to build up around her. She knew he was truly sorry for that was revealed in the tone of his voice, and she did understand why he had captured her, or at least she thought.