He sat across from Shay, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt. She was the one who had invited him to sit with her, but she hadn’t said anything since. Now, she was staring into the flickering flame of the lantern that illuminated the otherwise dark room, the floor rocking softly with the movement of the waves. It was a comfortable sort of silence, broken only by the creaking of the ship around them, but all the same, Luca thought that he would prefer talking. Finally she turned to him.

“How do you like it here, Luca?” Shay asked. He was a little taken aback; that was not the sort of question he expected. Then again, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected from Shay. She was often distant, more than a little mysterious, and her moods seemed to change quicker than the wind.

“I– I guess I like it. I like being out at sea all the time.” he said. It was true; he did love being on the open ocean, even if it was a little intimidating at times.

Shay smiled. “Better now that you have your sea legs, yes?”

“Very.” He smiled too, remembering his first few days on the ship that were spent trying to keep his balance and not throw up. It seemed like forever ago, even though it had only been a week or two.

“Remind me. How did you convince Elijah to let you come aboard?” Shay asked, getting to the point she had wanted to reach.

“She convinced me. Didn’t she tell you?” Luca figured the Captain would have told Shay at the very least, seeing how close they were. He often saw them together, talking quietly so no one would hear. It was the only time he saw the Captain actually smile or laugh.

Shay shook her head. “She only said that it was your story to tell. And that she was only there for the end of it.”

“Oh. Alright. I’m really not sure it’s that interesting, but I’ll tell you if you want.”

“I would like that very much.”

Luca shifted in his seat. Shay was several years older than he was and she could be a little confusing at times. Some days, she was quiet, reserved, and distant. Other days, she was energetic, bubbly, and intensely kind and caring, especially toward the younger crew members. He never knew how to act around her, or what might make her upset or angry.

“Right. Well. I saw her ship come in during that big storm, right? And it looked like something out of a story, cause it was perfectly illuminated by lighting.” He said. He decided to start at the beginning, when he had first seen Captain Elijah’s ship. After a little while, he stopped worrying about Shay’s reaction and got lost in the memories.

The morning had opened to a grey dawn. The torrents of rain had ceased and the world felt something like a wrung-out washcloth, left out to dry. For Luca, he had felt very much the same. The storm had kept him up that night and when he saw the sails of the Captain’s ship, illuminated briefly by lightning, the excitement and trepidation he had felt were far stronger than the urge to sleep. He had finally dozed off when the rain dispersed into a slow drizzle, but all too soon he had been woken up by his mother banging on the door and dragged himself out of bed. Once he had sat through his mother’s lecture on how early risers were far more productive than fools who slept the day away, he decided that the grey skies provided an appropriate background to his somewhat dreary morning.

His day was instantly brightened when he remembered the new ship he had seen sailing into the harbor that night, brilliantly illuminated by the storm. Most of the ships that came by were cargo ships, which usually came at predictable intervals and all had distinctive symbols on them to show who owned them. He knew that there were no ships scheduled to come that day, or any of the surrounding days for that matter, especially at night, and in the glance he had gotten he’d seen only blank sails.

Cheered by the prospect of something new to explore, he’d grabbed the empty water bucket with too much zeal and headed out the door. His mother called after him.

“Hurry back with the water! Your list is a long one today and you’ve got no time for dawdling. And don’t spill it!”

He pretended not to hear her. Luckily for him, the nearest water pump to his house was right by the pier. As he worked the handle to get the water flowing, he had looked at the ship in front of him. She was far less impressive in the daylight, he had thought. Her sails had holes all over and, in one spot, they had torn completely so they were now hanging dismally by less than a third of the fabric. The hull of the ship was scratched and beaten, although he supposed that was fairly normal. It wasn’t that the ship was unimpressive, it was just that she seemed, well, average.

Shay laughed, interrupting him. “You thought that Elijah’s ship was average looking? Better not tell her that.” Luca nodded, smiling uncertainly. The Captain was very proud of her ship. He continued telling the story.

He sighed, not looking forward to another day working alongside his mother in the house while his father worked in the cooper’s shop nearby; when he saw the people on the boat. At first glance, they seemed to be just like any other sailors, but upon a second glance, certain things seemed far more interesting than the bucket of water at his feet. He spotted one sailor walking on a wooden leg, passing a crate of something to a sailor with an eye patch who carried it onto the ship and disappeared from view. There was one whose arm ended just above the elbow and was carrying a small barrel under their other arm. One sailor, walking by with another crate in his arms, seemed to sense him staring turned to look at him. Luca had to suppress a gasp; the man had a gruesome scar running down his face. The eye that it crossed was milky white.

“What are you looking at, kid?” The man had snarled at him, and he shook his head hurriedly.

“Nothing, sir. Nothing at all, except for my bucket and water.” The man shook his head and kept walking, muttering something about nosy young urchins.

Luca looked at the retreating figure of the sailor, then to his now-full bucket, and back again. Then he left his bucket and followed the man, making sure to keep some distance between them. These people had adventures and awesome tales that he could only hear about in passing, or when he was younger, as bedtime stories from his parents.

The man had walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. Luca crouched behind the crates and barrels yet to be loaded, his heart beating faster. Here, he was able to better see the people on the ship. There was one woman who seemed to be directing the operations, sitting on the rail of the ship and untangling a long and knotted piece of rope. She was talking to another woman who was wrapping the untangled rope up as the first gave it to her. He wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but even from this distance, he could see the sunlight glinting off the beads braided into her hair.

“That’s Elijah! That’s Elijah and me!” Shay said, clapping her hands excitedly. Again, Luca nodded.

“I didn’t know that at the time though. I just thought it was interesting.”

“You thought the fact that we were wrapping up rope was interesting? Or the fact that Oscar only has one leg was interesting?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Where I’m from, if you had one leg you became pretty much useless. I’ve never seen someone walking on one leg before.”

“You see all sorts of things traveling with us. Continue.”

“Aye.”

He jumped as someone set something down. He peeked through the cracks between the already-stacked crates and saw the sailor heading back to the ship. When he looked towards the newly placed box, he saw the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen planted in dark brown soil. With their colorful petals and delicate stems, he knew that they couldn’t have been from around this part of the world. The only flowers he had ever seen were short and hardy, meant to stand up to the strong ocean breeze that blew in from the sea. He had never seen anything quite like this and he knew that he wasn’t likely to ever again.

He had only hesitated for a moment before scooting the crates in the way over, just a little, grunting at their weight. He looked around, saw no one, and in one fluid motion he reached out and picked the flower closest to him. He marveled at the way its colors blended; yellow tips that swirled into orange, and then red closest to the base of the petal. He ran his finger down the length of the petal and he wondered at how soft and smooth it was and how such amazing things like this could exist, even in the drab little town that he called home.

He heard footsteps approaching. He didn’t even have time to hide the flower in his hands before the crates hiding him were pushed aside and a firm hand grabbed the back of his shirt, hauling him to his feet rather painfully.

“Oy! What’re you doing sneaking- hang on. That’s mine!” The man who had placed the box of flowers down had said, standing over him menacingly. Luca had looked from the flower to the sailor, then tore his shirt out of the man’s grip and run away as fast as his legs would carry him.

Shay snorted. “You tried to take Nyles’ flowers? I think those flowers might mean more to him than the cats.”

Luca was slightly annoyed that she kept interrupting him, but he had to laugh at her words. There were three cats on the ship, Hiss, Honey, and Lemon, and it was commonly known that Nyles loved all three, despite his rather threatening appearance. He didn’t bother replying to her; he just kept talking.

The sailor was bigger, stronger, and no doubt faster than Luca, but he had the advantage of being small enough to move around or over the crates and boxes in his way. His pursuer had to either charge through them or change direction quickly; which, somewhat like a bull, he wasn’t very good at doing. Granted, Luca still had to keep himself from getting tangled in his clothes, but he was still more nimble than the sailor.

Luca had run until his legs burned, which wasn’t very long since he rarely ran, and then he ran some more. He’d turned the corner, ran into someone, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground staring at his shoes. He felt himself shaking as he looked up at the person who he’d run into. It was the woman he had seen earlier; the one untangling the rope. She was looking down at him and he may have been wrong, but she looked almost amused. It was about then that the sailor caught up to him.

“You can’t run from me, you miserable little- oh. Hello, Captain.” He’d changed his tone abruptly as he took in the scene before him.

“Hello, Nyles. Are you looking for this rat?” The woman, now identified to be the captain, had said.

“Yes ma’am. You see the whelp stole a-” He was cut off from his rant by the captain.

“Hmm. Thank you, Nyles. I’ll take it from here.”

“But-”

“Go finish loading the ship. I said I’ll take it from here.”

Nyles huffed. “Yes ma’am.” He’d walked away, muttering under his breath about good-for-nothing street thieves. The Captain had then turned her attention to Luca, who still sat at her feet, not daring to say anything or even to move.

“Get up. Walk with me.” She’d said and started walking. He had scrambled to his feet, hurrying to follow her. For a few paces, she said nothing. Then she spoke.

“Is this what you were after?” She’d said, producing a flower- no, his flower- from one of the pockets in her coat. Luca gaped at her; he could have sworn it was in his hand just a moment ago.

“Classic Elijah. You know, she never could resist showing off, although she’ll deny that till the day she dies.” Shay said, chuckling to herself. She seemed to be in a very good mood today, although Luca couldn't tell why. It was the exact same as the past several days; in the middle of the ocean, making their way steadily north. They hadn’t stopped at a port since he came aboard and once they left the coast behind there was nothing except the same blue waves day in and day out. Not that he was complaining; life on board the ship was far more interesting than it had ever been at home, even if there wasn’t much in the way of scenery.

He jumped, feeling something brush against his leg. Looking down, he saw one of the Captain’s cats rubbing against his leg. He bent down to pet it, trying to remember which one it was. He knew their names: Hiss, Honey, and Lemon. And he knew what the three of them looked like: One black, one calico, and one tabby. He just couldn’t remember which was which. He shrugged and kept talking, forgetting to reply to Shay.

“How-how did you…” he trailed off. His throat was too dry and the words felt awkward and lumpy in his mouth. Instead, he’d just gestured at the flower in her hand. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m something of a thief myself, you know. Here.” She’d handed him the flower, its petals slightly crushed. He stuttered in protest; he was no thief, but he took the flower.

“I-I’m not a-”

“You’re not? Is that why Nyles was coming after you? Because that there in your hand was given freely to you?” The Captain had stopped walking and turned to face him, one eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t mean to steal! I just wanted to look at it.” Luca said. He had felt his face heating up, but this time he managed to finish his sentence.

“And what do you see?”

For whatever reason, he’d answered truthfully: “It is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a long time, ma’am.”

“Hmm.” She considered him for a while, so long that he wondered if he should say something else. “Do you know what I am?” She finally asked.

“The captain of your ship?” He said, not sure what she was looking for. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards at his words.

“You’re not wrong. But do you know what kind of ship I run?” She’d asked him. Luca thought for a moment. It certainly wasn’t a cargo ship; it was too small for that and the crew looked nothing like the sailors on those ships that normally came to port now and then. They could have been privateers for the Crown, but privateers seldom allowed a woman on board, let alone to be captain. So either she was a highly prodigious privateer, or… no. That couldn’t be it. Could it?

He swallowed. “No ma’am, I’m not sure.” She must have seen the look on his face, because she looked almost triumphant.

“I think you do know. We’re pirates, lad. And pretty good ones too.”

He looked around nervously. He had heard stories about pirates for most of his life. Most had been a sort of warning tale. ‘If you don’t behave, pirates will come and spirit you away’. The stories of their adventures had always fascinated him. Not so much the violence, but the wild glory of living life on lawless seas was intriguing, to say the least.

Shay giggled. “Spirit you away, huh? Is that what we did to you?” She shook her head, still laughing to herself. “Elijah certainly has a flair for the dramatic.”

She seemed to forget that she knew the Captain in a way that no one else did, thought Luca. To everyone else, the Captain was closed off, intimidating, and absolutely brilliant. She had the respect of the crew, but no one really knew her. No one, that is, except for Shay.

Luca nodded. “What’s his name again?” He asked in lieu of a proper response, gesturing to the tabby cat who had curled up on his lap and was purring contentedly. Shay looked at him, startled out of her thoughts.

“What? Oh, that’s Lemon.”

“Alright.” He shrugged to the cat and kept talking.

“Don’t worry. We’re not here to cause trouble. That storm yesterday was not originally part of our plan. Now, you have two options.” She had said. Luca looked up quickly.

“You can go home and tell everyone that you met a pirate at the docks. I daresay many wouldn’t believe you; we’ve been model citizens. While we’re here, at any rate. Or you can come with us.”

He blinked. He was sure he had heard her wrong. “With you?”

“Yes, idiot. With us. Nyles won’t hurt you, as long as you don’t touch his flowers again. He’s somewhat protective of them.”

“I- You want me to become a pirate?”

“I won’t lie. We need more sailors. And you look the right type. Plus, you already are willing to take things just because they look nice. That’s always helpful in our profession.”

“Profession?” He had asked absentmindedly, still trying to wrap his head around her offer. He hated it here most days, and the days he didn't, he disliked it. But never in a million years had he thought he would get to leave. And with a gang of pirates? He had to admit, a life without people breathing down his neck, telling him who to be, what to call himself, or what to wear sounded amazing.

“What else would you call it?” The Captain had asked.

“I…a profession, I guess.”

“Hmm. So what do you say?”

His heart leaped into his throat. He had to make his decision now. He looked from her to the ship behind her and back again.

“Can I grab some things from home first?”

The Captain smiled. A real smile this time. “Hurry back.”

“Yes ma’am.” He said. His voice had only shaken a little.

“And kid?” He turned back to her. “You might want to change first.”

He’d looked down at the clothes he was forced to wear– the ankle-length petticoats, the bonnet tied under his chin, the uncomfortably tight whalebone corset that wasn’t really visible to the outside eye but which Luca could feel every time he breathed. Yes, he thought. It would be best to change. After all, this could be his one chance to reinvent himself.

He nodded several times to the Captain and started to walk away, but she evidently had more to say.

“What’s your name?” She asked him, frowning slightly. He hesitated.

“Luca,” he answered. “My name is Luca.”

Shay held up a hand to stop him.

“It was that easy for you to leave?” She asked, staring at him intently now. Luca shrugged, a little uncomfortable.

“No. But she really didn’t give me a choice, did she? I spent the whole way home debating whether or not to go.” He ran a hand through his close cut and uneven hair, looking at the lantern’s fire.

“And what made you decide to follow a complete stranger across the sea?”

“If I’m being honest-”

“Honesty is appreciated.”

“If I’m being honest, I wasn’t going to. I got home, and I was going to wait there until I saw your ship leave, but I’d barely walked in the door before my mom was asking where the bucket with water had gone and why I was out for so long,” Luca said, shrugging again.

“Your mom?” Shay asked. “She’s the one who changed your mind?”

Luca shook his head. “Not exactly,” he said. “I was trying to explain where the water had gone without mentioning the Captain or her ship, but she knew I was lying about something I think– ‘I’m a terrible liar– and she kept saying ‘Lucy, where the hell is my water bucket?’ And I guess I just kind of realized that I would always be getting bossed around if I stayed here. There, I mean. I didn’t want that.”

Shay nodded thoughtfully. “Lucy?”

He froze. He hadn’t meant to say that, but it was a little late now.

“Yeah. That’s what everyone called me there.”

“But your name is Luca.”

“It wasn’t always,” he said, his face heating up. Shay’s eyes widened a little as she connected the dots. She nodded to herself.

“I suppose that explains why you were wearing the dress. No matter. We have a fair number of people like that in our crew. You fit right in. But you said you joined us because you didn’t want to be bossed around? You still have to follow orders here. I don’t see how that’s any different,” she said, changing the topic.

Luca thought about that for a moment. It was true; even on the Captain’s ship, he was still given a fair amount of chores and things to do. But here, it felt different. It was work, sure, but it was different from the work he had been given at home. He told Shay that.

“You’re right. But I guess I’m fine with doing what the Captain tells me to because I chose to be here. It’s what I signed up for. At home, I didn’t have a choice.”

“A very good point. But don’t you miss your parents?” she asked. Again, he had to think about his answer.

“Sometimes. But ever since I was big enough to help with the work, she’s been less and less mother-like to me. She knows what she wants me to do and she doesn't care that I don’t want to do it. I would much rather have been helping my father than cooking, cleaning, or watching my little brother. They’ll be better off without another mouth to feed anyway.”

She nodded. “What happened after? Did you go straight to the ship or did something else happen?”

“I pretty much went straight there. I got a little confused though.”

Less than an hour later, he had stood, panting, at the foot of the gangplank. He wasn’t sure what to do from there. The crates and barrels had disappeared; they must be on the ship now. He had seen people moving around on the deck of the ship, but none of them seemed to notice him. He jumped as someone had shouted.

“Elijah! There’s a kid.” It was the woman he had seen earlier, winding up the rope that the Captain had untangled. The Captain, who must be Elijah, leaped down from the rigging.

“It’s about time. We were about to leave.” She had gestured for him to come aboard.

“Elijah, who- what…”

“Relax, Shay. The whelp’s one of us.” She turned to him and grinned. “Welcome to the crew, kid.” Luca had looked around. He was getting some funny looks, but for once, they didn’t bother him. The clouds in the sky were beginning to break, there was a slight breeze, and he felt good. Really good. He only looked back once as the ship left the harbor, carrying him away from his home and towards what he was sure was going to be a glorious adventure.

Shay smiled. “A fine ending to a fine story.”

“But it wasn’t the end. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“You’re right. Perhaps it was only the beginning.” Shay said, standing up. He stood up too.

“Can I ask you something? Two things, actually,” Luca asked hesitantly.

“You just did. But you may ask me two more things.”

“Do you… How did you meet the Captain?” His words were fast and blurred together, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not to say it. Shay looked surprised.

“How did I meet Elijah? What on earth made you ask that?”

“I noticed- it’s just that she seems so different with you. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to be close with her, but you clearly are.”

Shay shook her head. “You’re thinking of her as larger than life. She’s a person, just like you. A remarkable one to be sure, but all the feelings you’re capable of, she’s capable of too. But to answer your question, I first met her a few months ago, when I inadvertently found myself near the little town where she lives in between voyages. I was in a bit of a confusing situation and she helped me. She herself was in a bit of trouble, and I helped her in return. Now, I sail with her.”

“You’ve only known her a few months? There are tons of sailors who have been here longer! I thought for sure you would have known her for years.” He exclaimed.

Shay smiled. He may have been imagining it, but she almost looked sad, as if she was remembering something she wished to forget.

Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a longer story the author has been writing. If you enjoyed it, read the second part here!