Perfect Little Pirate

The rough, sodden rope bit into her fingers as she swung over the roiling water far below. Reaching out with the toe of her boot, she managed to catch hold of the rain-soaked railing of the ship- and promptly slipped. Throwing herself forward, she landed hard on the deck, slamming her elbows against the wood planks. The sharp yelp of pain quickly bubbled into a laugh, and she rolled onto her back, laughing up at the gray sky as a torrent of rain washed away the soot covering her skin.

A moment later, someone landed, rather unsteadily, at her side. She squinted one eye against the downpour, and saw her best friend in the whole world, Thane, trying to keep his feet on the slick deck.

“Well look at that,” he announced, “You made it back in one piece.” At fifteen years old, he’d perfected the condescending smirk that the two-odd years he had on her afforded him.

She sat up and pulled back her sleeve. A long cut down her right arm oozed red, mixing with the rain and turning her shirtsleeve pink. She grinned, adrenaline dulling the pain. “And I’ve got a story to go with it.” A giddy, lightheaded feeling filled her head, but it was quite unlike when she’d first felt it earlier that morning. Now, the lightheaded feeling was relief, not mounting terror.

<>

Not two hours before, her hands shook relentlessly. She’d hidden in the one spot she could think of, which also happened to be where everyone knew where to find her. Pirate ships afforded little privacy. Curled up with her knees to her chest, she’d settled in amongst the passel of barrels and stared out to sea, watching the rain clouds swallow the sun. She wrapped and rewrapped the grip of her axe, trying to still the stupid trembling. She hated shaking, it made her feel weak.

“You can’t hide back there forever, you know. We all know where you are.”

“Go away,” she grumbled. Better to let Thane think she was brooding than fighting to keep her breakfast down. Sure, she was excited- excited to prove herself to the crew, and most especially to her parents- but the nerves were starting to get the better of her.

“Don’t worry, these merchant ships are usually pretty moral. They wouldn’t kill a kid, just hold you for ransom or something until we come back around to rescue you.”

There would be nothing more humiliating than to be captured on her very first raid. Thane knew exactly how to put a burr in her britches. She popped up from her hiding place, flyaways of her dark hair dancing in the wind.

“You’d better shut up right now, Thane Lynxfell,” she jabbed a finger at his chest, “Or else I’ll have the captain throw you in the brig and you won’t get any cut at all.”

“I thought you were too old to go crying to your dad-” he ducked as she threw a wide punch.

“Rue!” Her father called from the helm. “Save it for the raid!”

“Sorry, Dad!” She slumped back down between the barrels, embarrassed.

“Hey,” Thane reappeared, grinning sympathetically. “You’ll do fine. At least you haven’t thrown up yet.”

Rue giggled. “I forgot about that.” Thane had spent the entire morning leading up to his first raid with a bout of uncharacteristic sea sickness. The last she’d seen of him before she’d been ushered below decks was his green face hanging over the portside rail.

He reached down to help her up, and she felt the tiniest bit better as she took his hand and clambered out of her hiding place.

“We’ll be just fine, and have a good story to tell at the end of this.” He assured her.

She nodded. She was ready to have her own stories to tell.

<>

“Rue!” Her mother appeared out of the misty rain, her sword still unsheathed and glowing faintly. Rue jumped up and ran to hug her. Cassia dropped her weapon, swept her up, and spun her around. “Look at you, my big girl!” She set her back down and wiped a dripping lock of hair from her daughter’s eyes. “My perfect little pirate.”

“I did it.” Rue whispered triumphantly.

“Well done,” Cassia whispered back, her eyes shining. She spotted the cut on her arm. “Do you want your father to patch that up for you?”

“Will it still scar?”

Her mother raised a brow.

"A scar always makes a story better."

“It most definitely does,” Cassia agreed, winking. She slung her arm over Rue’s shoulders and walked her below deck to where the plunder was being gathered. Rue got first pick that day, and chose an expensive pair of sapphire earrings that were as dark as the sea under a storm. She never wanted to forget how the water looked as she returned to her ship, her first raid a resounding victory.

<>

~six years later…

Rue twitched awake, squinting one eye open to the pearly pre dawn light. The fire had dwindled to embers, and the men designated to the watch were trying not to doze. Looming shadows of the forest blacked out all but the brightest stars, which filtered through the branches like diamonds.

She rolled onto her back, closing her eyes. Reaching over, she gently traced the scar running the length of her right forearm. It was mostly covered now in tattoos and newer, smaller scars, but it was still there. She realized she hadn’t seen those sapphire earrings in nearly two years. So much had changed since that day, she wasn’t the woman that girl thought she’d become. She wasn’t sure what or who she was now; she could imagine the confusion in little Rue’s eyes if her past self could ever see her.She was supposed to be her mother’s daughter, feared across the seas and free as a gull with the wind in her hair and sails.

There was no going back to that dream.

The only thing she could do now was destroy it.

Rubbing a bit of grit from her eye, she rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.