Hello ever-i mean AVAST YE LANDLUBBERS!

I've been meaning to do that for a while. Anyway, welcome to chapter 23 where the plot thickens somewhat yet again and i introduce yet another character! Hopefully they will last longer than Lucky and Kenda.

So thanks to all who reviewed and enjoy :)

The Crys Adventure

The next morning I made my way up from the crew’s sleeping quarters below deck, shading my eyes from the sunlight; most of the crew were up and about doing odd jobs around the ship, Kes was at the wheel looking into the distance, Zole was lounging on the steps, Leona seemed to be in the Captain’s Cabin sleeping and Johnny…

Where the hell was Johnny?

“Alex.” Zole called me and pointed up. When I looked I found Johnny strung up by his left leg, dangling by the main mast, his right leg was hanging limply to the side and he was sound asleep swaying gently with the ship. I shielded my eyes from the sun to get a better look and almost laughed.

“Should I even ask?”

“I was worried that if another storm hit the landlubber would be washed overboard, so we strung him up and left him to sleep.” Zole explained.

“You’re such a good brother.” I smiled and he laughed; suddenly the Captain jolted from his sleep and looked around.

“How in Crys name did I get up here?” He said to himself, he seemed rather dazed-probably hung over.

“Ye don’t make a good flag, brother!” Zole teased.

“Ye bilge rat! Get me down from here!” He waved his arms frantically. “The blood has rushed to my brain!”

“What brain?” I mutter; he had so many bottles and mugs of rum the night before his brain probably shrivelled and died.

“I did ye a favour!” Zole grinned as he untied the rope and slowly lowered his brother down. “Can’t be having the Captain being washed over board now, can we?”

“Sure.” Johnny rolled his eyes. “And we be drinking wine instead of rum.” Once he was firmly on the deck he untied his foot and unsteadily stood, whether it was because he was hung over or because the blood was flowing the right way again I’d never know; he did a three-sixty on one foot, wobbling as he did, to look around and nodded before heading towards the lower deck-swaying with the ship as he went.

“And you call me a rum fellow.” I sighed and shook my head, the next thing I know the ship hits a large wave and Johnny goes flying down the stairs. Zole holds his sides and laughs and I shake my head once more before heading to the Captain Cabin and knocking on the door that had been fixed by one of the crewman.

“It’s open.” I hear Leona say and I enter, closing the door behind me. She’s lying on the bed, on her side, and smiles at me; she looks a little pale and I find myself rushing to her side and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Are you alright?” I place my hand on her forehead, she feels a little warm.

“I probably drank a little too much last night, not as much as Johnny, but certainly over my limit.” She rolls onto her back and presses my hand to her forehead. “You’re nice and cool.”

“Come out onto the deck, the air will do you good.”

“I can’t, every time I sit up my stomach turns.” She groans and I’m worried; she’d never admit it but she’s still recovering from her ordeal with Kenda, she’s still trying to put that weight back on that she lost, but I can see her movements have been rather sluggish and I suppose that’s why she keeps herself cooped up in the Cabin all day-so the crew won’t notice.

“I’ll open the window for you.” I hop around the treasures the crew have stolen over the years and open the window as wide as it will go, feeling the sea air blow over me instantly. “No wonder you’re warm, it’s kind of stuffy in here.” I sit next to her again and brush the hair from her face. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you Alex.” She smiles again and her eyes fall to my shoulder. “How’s that wound?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” I reassure. “Try to get some more sleep, Leona, you’ll feel better.”

“Will you stay with me?”

“Sure.” I say without really thinking about it, she’d stay with me after all. I sit at the foot of the bed and lean against the wall, smiling when Leona has found comfortable position and fallen asleep; I close my eyes and let the gentle swaying of the ship rock me to sleep.

A loud bang stirred me from my sleep sometime later and I opened my eyes to find the cabin door wide open, I’m sure I closed it behind me. I look to my right and see Leona is also stirring from her slumber, I’m pleased to see she has more colour in her cheeks.

“SAIL HO!” Someone shouted from the Crow’s Nest and the sound of footsteps followed after. Leona sat up and I raced to the door to see the crew staring out into the distance from the port side of the ship, we joined them and watch with anticipation as Zole checked out the ship through the spyglass.

“It be a clipper.” He muttered. “But no colours yet…”

“What’s going on?” Johnny pushed his way to Zole and snatched the spyglass from him. “I heard ‘sail ho’.”

“Aye. You still squiffy, brother?”

Squiffy? I wasn’t going to ask.

“What kind of Captain would I be if I was?” He eyed the ship for a moment as it turned to its port to line up with us. “There’s a lot of movement…”

“Man the cannons!” Zole ordered. “Run a shot across the bow! Smartly now!” Half the crew disappeared below deck and some manned the cannons on the deck; the cannon on Johnny’s left was loaded and fired with a deafening BOOM. I had to cover my ears, Leona winced at the sound but Johnny and Zole didn’t seem fazed at all. The cannonball just missed the other ship, hitting the water in front of it.

“I hope you were meant to do that…” I say and the brothers nod.

“Well blow me down…” Johnny muttered and handed the spyglass to Zole. “Look who it is.”

The younger brother laughed. “Been a while since we’ve seen her.”

“Who?” I ask. “Who does the ship belong to?”

“Arisa.” He looked at me seriously. “She’s a hunter.”

“A…hunter?” I felt my heart sink in my chest, I thought I’d seen the last of these Hunters after I’d killed the last one; it just didn’t seem fair…we had only just escaped from the Navy’s grasp and now we sail into some Hunters.

I did say I liked being on Crys, right?

The other ship turns inwards slightly and lines up with the Widow again and I can see the panic in Zole’s eyes as he turns and orders the crew to fire the cannons. I have to cover my ears once more as a rhythmic boom erupts from below the deck, followed by the ones on deck. Arisa’s ship takes a few light hits, the railings are shattered and there’s a single hole on the upper broadside of her ship, nothing that could cause the hull to flood. Arisa returns fire and we all hit the deck as the railings explode, there are cries from below deck and someone yelling an order.

“Chain shot!” Zole yells, there’s another boom in the distance then a loud crack and I look up in time to roll out of the way of the falling mast.

“Fire in the hole!” Someone below yells and the cannon fire starts again.

“Alex, you alright matey?” Zole hauls me to my feet and I nod.

“Bit deaf…but fine. What about everyone else?”

“Fine for now.” He runs to a small hatch, which I think is called a scuttle, and yells down: “Fire a case shot!”

“We’ve got to move before she tries to board us.” Johnny yells over the next load of cannon fire. “She’ll give chase but I don’t think she can catch up.”

“I’ve got the wheel.” Leona jumps on the remaining rail and up to the wheel, pulling it hard to starboard; as the Widow turns Zole and Johnny lean over the side to see what Arisa is doing.

“Captain.” Kes appears from below deck, he looks worried and worn out. “Can we really escape?”

“We’re the fastest ship on Crys, are we not?” Johnny boasts.

“Aye, but Arisa won’t let up and the mast…”

“We’ll be fine.” He says and a cannon ball hits the water and soaks him. The next thing we know a ship has pulled up beside us and a woman is standing on what is left of the rail, holding on to a rope to steady herself. She has long, sandy blonde hair, dazzling light blue eyes and wearing a white corset under a long brown coat, black pants tucked into knee length boots; and is holding a dagger in her right hand. Her red lips curl into a smirk and her eyes sparkle at the thought of victory; she’s confidant, gorgeous…

“Hello Arisa…” Johnny frowns.

She’s Arisa!?

Clipper- A ship that is fast, which is why Arisa caught up so quick.
Squiffy- Tipsy...which i think Johnny usually is most of the time...i think it's such a cool word :)

So if there are any other terms you don't understand in this chapter, or any other, let me know and i'll let you know :)