Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 2

Rewritten
***
Trigger warning for suicide. Please read at your own risk.

Spending almost two years on Captain Sheries's ship was a lot harder than one might think.

At her young age of fifteen, cooking, cleaning, and entertaining the crew members chipped a part of her sanity. No one should ever have to live like a slave. The horrors she'd seen and experienced tainted her memories, but with every mile the ship sailed, Aeryn let those memories go.

Every night, she would curl up on the rope-bed, thanking Sarah for falling asleep on the floor. It was how she apologized for treating Aeryn poorly in every other way.

Whenever it rained, she would wake up to a cold the next morning. She'd gotten sick so many times, but the captain did not let her use any of the herbs for herself.

Aeryn would have to make do with the bowl of beans she got once a day and the bottle of water she'd refill only thrice a week.

She got sick of seeing her ribs, her bones, and feel her spine every time she tried to rub her back pain away.

Aeryn wore the same clothes for months before she received a fresh pair from the captain. The captain would say, "Girl, make this one last longer," every time he handed her new clothing.

After two years of hard labour onboard the Maiden's Cross, she swore she would kill every crew member when her paperless, fake, made up contract ended. However, that promise weakened every time she realized she still had three years left.

If only she'd requested a new contract. Every day she would curse at herself for making such a stupid mistake. Then a crew member would say, "Those words don't suit the mouth of a girl."

She would have to bite back her reply. Oh my. Those ratchet, black, tar-looking teeth don't suit the mouth of a human. No wonder I thought you were a rat this whole time. I could never put my finger on it, but it seems I've figured it out now.

Breathing, sleeping, walking, pissing, working, entertaining... They were all chores to Aeryn Branche and her only female companion, Sarah Walker.

Everything hurt, everything sucked, and everything could go to hell. Even her tiny salary. She received less money than what Sheries would have given her with the new contract.

If only she hadn't acted without thinking.

It was her fault her family would have to live off the measly copper Sheries delivered to them.

"Aeryn," said Sarah. She placed her hand on Aeryn's shoulder. "Don't you think it would be nice to let all the pain go and just drop it into the ocean?"

She ambled away, leaving Aeryn confused.

Sarah talked weirdly, her sentences were...weird. She would talk about the sweet release of death, the happiness the animals must experience because they are not human, and how becoming a ghost would be much easier than spending any more time on the Maiden's Cross.

The more she spoke, the more Aeryn wanted to agree.

But whenever she felt down, there would be a small cyan light emitting from the sea. It reminded her of a mermaid's scales, but further cryptic. Like a siren.

Sirens lined the oceans to capture the lustful men and women, but they would never help someone. Right?

The light would swim beside the ship, and it would change colours. The light itself felt like a person.

Sarah returned and stood in front of the sixteen-year-old. "Aeryn," said Sarah, tapping her shoulder. "I'm leaving tonight."

"Where are you going?" She didn't care for what Sarah had to say. Aeryn merely wanted to show concern. She couldn't tell what went through Sarah's head these days, so comfort would always be the best thing Aeryn could offer.