Devoted to The Tide

CHAPTER TWO

CHARLIE

The absolute gull on that man. Walking into my tavern with the nerve of a fool, requesting a position on my ship. After his father had so conveniently died? I felt embarrassed for him. No man in their right mind would ever attempt what he had just done.

I rubbed the temples on my head with both pointer fingers because that whole interaction gave me such a headache. In hopes the headache would fade away, it was quickly revived when Caspian barges in the room, forcing me to jump ever so slightly. “You let him go?! Did you see what he did to me?!” I flashed a sarcastic grin. “Aye. It was quite impressive actually. I should've given him props for doing such a number on you.” Caspian rolled his eyes as he held his bruised jaw with a frozen fish wrapped in cloth. “I should've just killed him.” He mumbled under his breath. “What did he want anyway?” I took a breath as I peered back out the window, trying to save myself from being lost in thought. “He wanted to join the crew.” Caspian laughed aloud as if it were the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “That foolish bastard. You rejected him, right?” I looked at him, clearly pained at the fact that I had turned him away. Not because I felt bad for the fool, but because I knew deep down that I needed him more than I wanted to admit. “Right, Charlie?” “Aye, Caspian. I rejected him but we need to talk.” He sat on the edge of the bed, still grasping onto the fish against his face, and adjusted his bright blonde hair out of his eyes. “Alright. About what?” I sighed once more, trying to gather my thoughts. “We leave for our next excursion in less than a week. I have half of the crew than I had a month ago and very few men are trying to join. For good reason too. I can’t afford turning anyone away.” Caspian straightened up his posture and removed the fish from his face. “You can’t afford having a landlubber like Perseus be on our crew either.” “This isn’t about Perseus. This is about how my lack of crew for a big mission like this, is reflecting poorly on me as a Captain. Our reputation is on the brink of nothingness.” He chuckled at my emotional outburst. I wasn’t the emotional type, and nobody has ever seen me like this besides my closest friends. Caspian being one of them. I knew I can confide in him but f**k, sometimes I want to cut his tongue out for being an ass.

“You are worrying about nothing. We will get a crew together, large enough to get to Zadavi. People are still getting themselves together. Give it time.” “I don’t have time, Caspian! That’s what I’m trying to say. Nobody wants to join this crew, and we are running out of time. Gahsili will grow impatient and he will revoke the mission.” “Would that be so bad?” “Yes!” Caspian held eye contact with me as I spoke, waiting for me to give him more of an explanation. “Not a single soul was able to successfully retrieve that artifact from the temple. Gahsili promised us wealth and abundance beyond belief if we get it and that is exactly what we need. If we do not go on this mission, we will go broke. No money to pay for my crew, our food, or supplies, and that will be the end of the Gallient. I’m not giving up on my grandfather’s legacy. Not in dishonor to Vlad.”

I plopped down on the bed next to him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him. I rested my head on his shoulder as he attempted to comfort me. He knew I was still broken up about Vlad’s passing. Other than my grandfather, he was the closest thing to a parent that I’ve ever known. And I knew that my pain for his death rubbed off on Caspian too. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Charlie. You have been the Captain of this crew for the last seven years. Nobody's going anywhere.” I lifted my head from his shoulder and gave myself some space as I tried to break away from my trance of memories. After a few moments of silence, I stood up to my feet, forcing myself to gather my composure. My time of panicking was over. “Hire me thirty men by dusk tomorrow. I don’t care what experience they have. They can all be trained. If they look tough, then that’s all we need.” I knew this wasn’t a good idea and would completely defeat the purpose of how prestigious the Gallient crew was and has been for several decades. But I was embarrassed to admit that I was desperate.

…

Looking down on all of these men had given me a moment of clarity. I was determined to make this work with this poor excuse of a crew, and I didn’t have much time to waste. I stood tall with my First Mate standing at my side. “How many men do we have?” I questioned. “Sixty, Captain.” Caspian responded. Perfect. The novices chatted amongst themselves as they stood on the docks, waiting for further demands. I have never trained this many men at once before, so my guess on how well this will go was not hopeful. The summer sun shined down on all of us as the waves crashed against the shore. I watched my experienced half of the crew load up supply onto the ship. My nerves have come to an ease but not all of my concerns have been muted fully.

As I peered down from the top of a stack of barrels, I noticed a familiar face in my peripheral vision. It was him again.

Perseus broke through the crowd to approach me to where I was standing and looked up at me. “Captain, I’m sorry for my disrespect a couple days ago. But if you please, I am willing to devote my life to this crew.” He pleaded over the roar of the crowd. There really wasn't any reason to reject him again other than I was stubborn. His insensitivity pissed me off, and I didn;t want to make it seem like I was rewarding him for his ‘courage.’ I peered out into the crowd again, ignoring Perseus’ pleads.

“Listen up!” I shouted, gathering the attention of sixty lost souls.

“I am Captain O’Dell. And from now on, you will refer to me as such. Anything I say, you do. If I say jump, you jump. If I say die, you drop dead. Do I make myself clear?” The men looked puzzled as I spoke to them as soldiers forgetting the fact that that’s what they were. “I said, do I make myself clear?” I repeated, with more venom in my tone. “Aye!” “You’re a girl! Why should we listen to you?” A fearless and foolish new recruit shouted. This always happens at least a few times a year. The sexism doesn't even phase me anymore. “Because I have been the Captain of the most powerful fleet in all of the Motherlands for the last seven years. And my grandfather for fifty more years before me.” “Only a few years and ye’ already got half ya’ crew killed. Wouldn’t call ye’ much of a Captain.” I stared right into this nauseating-looking man’s eyes, ready to strike fear into his worthless beating heart. “Careful now, lad.” I warned. “Ye’ don’t scare me.” He laughed. And with that, I removed the dagger that I had tucked in my boot and threw it just right where the blade had lodged into his throat, causing him to spew blood from his neck and collapse to the ground. My aim has certainly gotten better, that's for sure. Everyone else watched him fall to the ground and looked back at me with shock and fear. I didn’t believe in gaining respect from fear, for that’s not what gained loyalty. But it is how someone like myself gains respect. “Anyone else? No? Good.” I left no room for any more comments now that I got a crowd of fifty-nine men, to pay attention and understand the severity of the situation. “You may think that you all turn from lads to men the minute you board that ship. But you are not a man unless I say you are a man. You will all be given positions and you will train until you bleed. And if you live, you will be rewarded beyond belief.” The energy shifted from concern to excitement after I said that, for I knew that that would grasp their attention. “My First Mate, Caspian Thorn will get you all started.” I patted him on the back to signal him to lead them all on the shift, meanwhile, I stepped down from the barrels to get on Perseus’ level who was still gawking at me from beneath me. “It’s your lucky day. A spot just opened up.” He smiled. “How convenient. I guess he couldn’t handle it.” His sarcasm rubbed me the wrong way. “Aye, and that’ll be you if you let me down Perseus Thorn.” His smile never faded for I could see the light sparkle in his blue eyes. “I don’t doubt that for a second, Captain.” I rolled my eyes, completely unamused by this exchange. “Just get on the ship.” And with that, he turned his heels to catch up with the others.