The Adventures of Little Cloud

Flashback

  Hey everyone! This next chapter was supposed to go before the last one (Fateful) but I made a mistake in the publishing, so here you go!

 Nearly two years after Little Cloud had joined the crew, something momentous happened. Or at least, it seemed quite important. The whole day the ship had been cutting through the water at alarming speed to Shipwreck Cove, the meeting place of the Brethren Court. Jones had been personally overseeing the sailors and barking harsh commands at them, while Little Cloud manned the helm. She knew when Jones was in one of his dangerous moods, and when not to question him. Now was a time of both. 

   Later, the Flying Dutchman arrived at Shipwreck Cove. Little Cloud strightened her hat and prepeared to leave the ship. 

   "Little Cloud!" The first mate turned when sh heard the captain call her name. "I want you to stay on the ship."

   "Excuse me?" Little Cloud stared into his fishy eyes, quite taken aback. 

   Jones lowered his voice. "I need you to watch Alex while I am gone. Knowing these pirates, treachery is always a variable."

   Little Cloud held his gaze for a moment longer, then closed her eyes as she sighed. "Fine. I'll watch your kid."

Davy Jones nodded his head, and stomped away to check on Alex in his quarters.  Moments later, the crew was gone and she was alone. 

   Little Cloud quickly set up a training dummy using driftwood tied to the mast and proceeded to beat on it for an unknown amount of time. One of the many things that encouraged Little Cloud to train so hard was the goal she had set her heart on. Vengeance. Vengeance on the one who had separated her from her dragon for all these years. Sweat coursed down her clenched brow as she beat on the splintering wood. With a final slashing kick, she demolished the dummy. Breathing hard, Little Cloud tossed her hat and coat to the side and re constructed the the dummy. 

   "Can you teach me to fight like that?" 

   Little Cloud turned around to see little Alex standing in the deck. "Your father told you to stay in the cabin." She rubbed her hands, wiping off the blood from where she hit the splintered wood.

  "I heard fighting. I wanted to help." Alex explained. A solemn expression clouded her young face.  Little Cloud almost pitied her for who her father was. 

  Scoffing, Little Cloud started to reconstruct the dummy. "If anything, you would have gotten hurt and I would have been flogged by your father." 

  "Can you teach me to fight like you?" 

   Little Cloud sighed. "Well, I could ask the captain if I could, and he would most likely say know, or I could train you in secret." She contemplated this for a few seconds. "Alright. It's better to start young anyway. Come on down here."

   Little Alex hurried down the steps in her tiny leather boots, clutching the rail to keep her from tumbling down. 

   "Stand like this," Little Cloud moved into a wide base stance. Alex did the same. "And hold your fists like this. "

    Alex copied her. A fierce expression covered her tiny face. 

    For the next twenty minutes, Little Cloud continued to instruct her on the basics of hand to hand combat, when she saw Jones and his party on the far shore preparing to return. 

   "Alright, that's enough for tonight." Little Cloud sighed. 

   "But that was nothing! Please train me some more?" Alex begged. In another time, Little Cloud would have smiled and given in to her pleading. But not now. 

    "Go back to bed." Little Cloud growled at her. And Alex did.