Ocean Storm (Queen of Piracy Duology #1)

Chapter 11: What the hell?

On the next day, I woke up to watch the sunrise. Although my eye still burned in pain, it was less swollen. My wounds appeared to be healing faster after Dr. Bakker took care of them. Despite the lack of resources and assistants, he did his best to make sure the rest of the crew and I would be fine. The surgeon was so similar to Sven that I wondered if he wasn't his real father... I'm joking! They were just both blond and blue-eyed like me. Anyway, I knew the injuries would eventually become scars, which was upsetting and thrilling at the same time. Although the marks on my skin weren't dashingly beautiful, they'd always remind me of my first time as a real pirate. They'd remember me of all the punches, blows, victories, defeats... almost defeats, actually. After I finished watching the beautiful sun emerging, I went downstairs to the gun deck. Uncle Ruben had told me not to go there, but I wasn't going to fire a cannon, so what was the worst that could happen? Besides, I never liked following rules anyway.

"This place is much larger than I thought," I smiled while observing the black cannons. "I could even sleep here someday."

I never imagined I'd say that, but the gun deck was a very peaceful place. The silence allowed me to hear my own thoughts. As I walked by the large wooden corridors, I wondered if uncle Ruben would ever teach me to fire a cannon. Even though I once tried to convince the master gunner to let me use one, he said it'd be against my uncle's orders... so annoying! I sighed as I gazed at the ocean from one of the squared slots. That place was filled with those little squares since the cannon's front had to be out of the galleon. Once I laid eyes on the sea, I wondered about the sailor I'd thrown off the fluyt. A part of me wanted him to be alive and I couldn't understand why.

"It was a shame I had to push that redhead into the ocean," I frowned slightly and sighed. "He seemed to be an interesting guy."

When I was about to continue my extremely useful conversation with myself, I heard a noise of creaking wood. I gulped since that could only mean one thing: someone was there. I bit my lower lip and widened my eyes. Although I couldn't hear what was being said, I knew who that voice belonged to. It was uncle Ruben. I hid behind a wooden column to listen to the conversation.

I gazed at the barrels nearby, "Let's hope they won't see me..."

"I'm so proud of Eva," uncle Ruben put both hands behind his back. "I can't believe she came back with almost no injuries from her first time!"

You've got to be kidding me!

I frowned and ground my teeth. Had my uncle gone crazy? My eye was more purple than an eggplant, so how could he say that? Well, at least he seemed content with what I did...

"Yeah, it's extremely rare to find good young pirates like her," Dr. Bakker raised his brows and chuckled. "She's so much better than that stupid father of hers!"

I gulped as the memory of my father dying hit me like a cannonball. Although eight years had gone by since his death, it still bothered me. In addition, I could never forget what he'd done to my real mother and me. There was no way I'd forget that he ruined my life by taking me from the Netherlands.

"Don't remind me of that bastard!" my uncle scowled and pursed his lips while shooting an icy glare at the wall. "He deserved a much worse and slower death."

I blinked rapidly. What the hell was he talking about? Although dad had taken horrible decisions, which harmed my mother and me, he didn't have a heart of stone like Hendrika. I'm not defending him, obviously, but uncle Ruben nurtured a rather exaggerated hatred towards my father.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find a more painful poison, Captain," Dr. Bakker downturned his head and sighed. "The lady told me that one was the best to kill someone painfully!"