Sparrow on a Hook: A Descendants 2 Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Hey readers! Here is chapter 2 (finally). Had a bit of writer's block. Hope you like it so far! Don't be afraid to leave comments. Every time I see another read, add, vote, anything I do a little happy dance. :) oh, and I threw in some Jack pov haharrgh!!!
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I awaken with a start as the ship jolts sideways, throwing me from my bed. Wait, didn't I fall asleep on one of the deck hammocks? I realize that Captain Jack must have brought me inside. I scramble to my feet, and try to steady myself on the pitching ship. I grab onto the bed post and look to my window. Raindrops pound against it, and lightning illuminates the darkened sky. No wonder I slept like a log. I always sleep best in storms. I make my way to my cabin door, wondering why Father hadn't woken me to help. Braving a storm on the sea is no easy task. And we barely manage it with just the two of us. I take my long, brown leather coat off its hook on my door and shrug it on, fastening the buttons down the front. I don't take the usual second I do to admire the intricate red design around the cuffs, button line, collar, and knee-length tail. I heave my door open and squint into the dark hallway. I rush down it, toward the deck, and open the deckway door.

Rain immediately lashes at my face, soaking me all over. I step out into the dark, raging storm and shut the door to keep water from rushing to the sleeping quarters. I glance around to see what needs to be done. I see Captain Jack struggling to pull a sail up. It's at least a two-person job. I run over to him, my leather boots sloshing through the water that has collected on the deck. I have to shout to make myself heard over the rain.

"I'll climb up and tie them fast," I suggest. But he grabs my arm and shouts into my face.

"Enna, what on earth are you doing out here? You'll get thrown overboard!" He's worried for my safety, when the Pearl could capsize at any second from the swells raging around us.

"If I don't help you, we'll both be overboard, and the ship will capsize! Just pull the sail up. I'll tie her off." With that, I climb up the rigging and onto the first beam. Once Captain Jack has drawn the rope so the first half of the sail is up, I wrap the rope around it three times before tying a sail knot to keep it secure. Then I carefully maneuver myself along the beam to the opposite side, and do the same thing to the other half of the lower sail. I signal to my Father to start bringing up the second lower sail. I stand with a wobble, and wrap a rope around my forearm, then swing to the other lower beam. My boots struggle to grip the wet wood, but I eventually make it onto the beam to tie off the sail like the first. Captain Jack is making quick work pulling the sails up for me to tie. My hair is sticking to my face with the rain, and I wish I had donned my hat before coming out. It would keep at least some of the rain from running into my eyes. My hands are shaking with cold, but I can't let up now. We still have the high sails to do. Father hates me tying the high sails, especially when there's a storm like this, but I'm not strong enough to pull the sails, so it's either climb up and tie them off, or climb down and leave them be. Either way, it's a risk, with either my life, or both our lives on the line. I look up to determine my best route, straddling the beam with my thighs.

The rain stings my eyes as I look around. There isn't any rigging connecting the lower beam to the upper beam, the way it connects the deck to the lower beam. So its either attempt to climb the mast free-handed, or use daggers to hoist my weight up. In this weather, either is dangerous. and I'm already weak from exertion. I decide to use the same method I used earlier today, and take advantage of the holes Captain Jack made earlier with his own daggers. I pull the small weapons from my belt, and find the first hold. When the dagger is resting securely in the wood, I raise the other to the second hold, and begin my ascent. Earlier, I was somewhat able to use my feet as leverage, but the rain running down the wooden mast makes it too slippery for my boots to get a decent grip. I'm forced to only use my arm muscles to hoist my weight up, my legs swinging uselessly below me. I'm fatiguing quickly, and my arms tremble with each pull upwards. I let out a cry, hoping that it will somehow give me a mental boost to keep going. I'm halfway up the mast from the first beam, which makes me three-fourths of the whole way up. The mast is roughly ninety feet above the deck. So if I fell from here, it would be about seventy feet. I gulp, and squint down at my Father. I raise my dagger again, reaching for the next hold, and burying the blade into the wood. I clear my mind, focusing on one thing. Reaching the top. Stab and pull up, stab and pull up, stab and pull up. Over and over and over, until finally, my arms limp with effort, I collapse myself onto the upper beam.