Feminine Revenge [Ongoing]

Chapter Three: Figurehead

Sea has been described by so many people. Probably by poets far greater than I, using every beautiful and awe-inspiring word possible. So beautifully written that those who read it can almost taste the salt on their tongue and hear the water as is lapped up on the sides of the boat. Stories written so artfully that the reader's heart trembles in their chest every time a wave threatens to sink the sailors' vessel. My words may not be the best you have ever seen but it is how I see the world. Right now, it is how I see the sea.

It blinds me during the daylight. I had been above deck for over a day now and my eyes could see everything without burning up. Still, the sun shimmering off the now-peaceful waves was a sight to behold, but one I could not stand to look at for more than a few seconds. An expanse of never-ending water that was not quite blue, but a myriad of different colours and blending together.

It was frightening when I thought about it. I mean really looked into its depths I could not begin to envision and think about the ocean. I stayed all day at the helm of the ship, quietly out of the way until mealtimes or night-time, so I had plenty of time to stare into it, as the ocean twinkled and winked back at me.

It was dark. Darker than the waters of the harbour. A bottomless pit that held God knows what. I never liked to swim – not that I had much time to do that anyway – and that was why. I knew the way the city worked and how people functioned. I knew how to avoid certain animals and how to live with others. But the ocean? Nothing beyond what fish they liked to grill in the marketplace.

Sometimes they pulled gruesome things out of the water and then put it on display to show the rest of the passer-by's. The further out the fisherman dared to go, the wilder the species he brought back. I could not even begin to fathom what horrors might exist out here. Nor would I ever want to know.

So, I tried not to let myself think too much about the fact that I was stuck on an old-looking ship in the middle of the ocean with no escape. I tried not to think too much about what would happen if I slipped and fell overboard nor about the possibility of this thing going down. Fear the ocean, wondering what it hid, but never about all the ways I could land in there. Spend my final waking moments being dragged down to the depths by whatever sea monster controlled this area.

There had to be some, right? Somewhere in the glittering landscape, there was a sea monster. It couldn't get me on this ship, though. No way, no how. I breath deep. I was safe. The Captain was an odd man – and perhaps a little off kilter and irrational – but I was safe under his lead, no denying. Couldn't have asked for a better one.

I breathe deeply again. The salty air stings a little and sometimes scrapes at my throat when I spend too much time here, face turned to the wind. It's oddly cold and I can almost feel it cooling down my insides and coating them with salt. Not an entirely unpleasant feeling and weirdly calming. Cold air mixed with the hot sunshine warming up everything else. A perfect temperate to stand outside in, and lean over the railings, which is exactly what I did.

"Foun' ya," Ren says.

I don't know what to say to that, but if I'm being spoken to directly then it's probably a summons of some kind. I stay quiet, knowing he'll tell me eventually.

"Lookin' at ya out 'ere an' seein' ya bein' all pretty, well ya would 'ave made the best figurehead of the ship. Always thought it a shame that we don't 'ave one. Now we do. Lookin' like a sea princess."

I can't help it. His sweet words have once again brought a smile to my face. It's the oddest things. Not that they make no sense, but they're not something everyone would come upon. Like this one. Sure, I'm right at the front of the ship, standing forward, and looking out to the front. Still unexpected.