Hello, this is a story I started writing in an afterschool writing group I'm in. The theme was "looking beneath the surface". In other words, we had to take something that is commonly misjudged and write about a lesser-known side. Well, I was in a pirate mood, so I decided to run with that. Most people think pirates are blood-thirsty killers and all that. I'm showing how they're really just like one big family. So, there's the 'looking beneath the surface' in this. The reason I told you that right off the bat is because I don't think I'll ever finish this story. I'd LOVE to, but I just don't know. So, once I get chapter four up, this story will officially be on hiatus. I hope to update it someday, but I want people to see what I have so far and hopefully get some feedback on my writing style and plot.

With that, I say please enjoy what I have of this story so far.

For the rest of my life… no. For the rest of eternity, I shall never forget the events that took place during my short stay on the Predator. My view of the world was changed the moment I had been captured by that band of bloodthirsty pirates. My very soul had been altered during that time. Whether it was for better or worse is hard to say. My parents would look down upon my actions, if they were to ever know. My lover, a cabin boy, was proud of me, though. He was the one who kept me going through the experience, even when he didn’t realize it. That voyage changed me in ways that are so hard to describe. As I said, my very soul was altered. My name is Ember Silver, and this is my story…

I walked out of my cabin on the HMS Destiny and onto the deck. It was a fine ship, built out of the best materials money could buy. The wind whipped my hair around me in the salty air and a small smile graced my delicate features. I looked like my mother, with long, slightly curled ebony tresses, eyes as blue as the sea and a pale complexion that was unusual for a seventeen-year-old young woman. I sighed into the breeze and closed my eyes. The voyage was promised to be a smooth one, which I was grateful for. I walked along the deck, my fingers tracing the wood of the polished railing.

“Miss Silver,” one of the crew members, Jacob, called. “Is there anything you need, miss?”

“No, sir. I’m merely stretching my legs,” I answered with a smile.

I walked across the deck to where he was, my light, long, blue skirt billowing in the breeze. Jacob was the only member of the crew who insisted I call him by his first name and for that, he was a good friend to me. He was a tall, lean man with muddy brown hair and matching eyes. Rarely did he wear a shirt during his shift. That was the only way I could tell the shift, really, as I knew very little of the workings of a ship. He was wearing a loose, tan shirt, black pants and black leather boots. He wasn’t working and I knew he had time to spare. Jacob grinned as I neared and set down the rope he was working with.

“Have you been enjoying the voyage, Miss Silver,” he asked.

“Yes, sir, very much,” I answered.

“Good to hear it.” I stared out at the ocean as the gentle waves slowly passed. I leaned on the edge of the ship, a soft sigh escaping my lips.

“The sea is so beautiful,” I whispered and Jacob chuckled.

“On the best of days, yes,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever seen the waters when as storm’s coming?” I shook my head. “The water turns choppy and dark. The clouds loom overhead, as if angered in some way. On-deck is no place for a lady such as yourself during a storm. It’s trouble for even the best of sailors.”

“I never realized that,” I mumbled.

“You needn’t worry, miss. You’re safe so long as I’m around.”

I turned toward Jacob and smiled. Ever since I boarded the Destiny, almost a month before, he had treated me like a daughter. He’d often said my smile was much like his child’s which was most likely why he treated me so kindly. Jacob stared up at the clear sky, his lips curls slightly upwards. He clearly enjoyed being at sea, even though it tore him from his family.

“Ember,” a feminine voice called and I sighed. It was my mother. She soon spotted me and grabbed onto my arm, her fingers pressing into my skin.

“Good morning, Mrs. Silver,” Jacob greeted, nodding his head politely.

“Good morning. I’m terribly sorry if my daughter has bothered you. She should be studying.”

“Not a bother at all, ma’am. I rather enjoy Miss Silver’s company.”

“Yes, well, as I said, she needs to be studying,” my mother answered and started pulling me away.

“I’ll see you later, Jacob,” I called and he merely waved.

I frowned at my mother’s actions as she pulled me back into my cabin. She thought that the crew members were all swine and that I shouldn’t associate with them in any way. Of course, she was just being overly critical.

“Ember, what have I told you about those men,” my mother demanded once we were back in my cabin.

“They’re not how you think they are,” I argued in a calm tone.

“I don’t want you speaking to them.”

“Jacob is a gentleman.”

“If he were, he wouldn’t be working on a ship.”

“He loves the sea.”

“That’s enough, Ember. Get back to your studies,” she ordered and left.

I sighed and sat in the chair before my desk. After turning on the small lamp on the desk, I opened my chemistry book and began reading the next chapter. It wasn’t long before I was bored with the facts and figures of radiation. I pulled out the novel I’d been reading and lay down on my bed in order to get comfortable. The novel was an adventure, one of my favorite genres. I became completely engrossed in the story and characters to the point that the light tapping on my door caused me to jump in surprise. I hurried to the door and opened it, only to see my mother.

“Yes, ma’am,” I answered.

“I hope you have been studying and that it is the reason you missed lunch today,” she said sternly.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Should your father and I plan on seeing you for supper?”

“Yes, of course,” I answered, my voice quiet.

“Then come with me. Supper will be starting soon.”

I followed my mother through the narrow passageways, where we could not be seen by any member of the crew. I sighed softly, my eyes downcast as we walked. My mother soon came to a room that the crew was forbidden in and we found my father sitting at the table in the middle of the floor. He was a tall, thin business man with light hair and chocolate eyes. He wore only suits and had a strong, distinguished expression on his face at all times.

“How have your studies been, Ember,” my father asked as my mother and I took our seats.

“Fine, sir,” I answered.

“Just fine?”

“I have problems with my chemistry work. I’m working on it, though.”

“You’re not spending all of your time reading those ridiculous stories, are you,” my mother asked.

“No, ma’am.”

Our meal was brought by the maid my father had hired and we all began eating. For the most part, the meal was silent but for my parents questioning me about my studies. It was how most meals were and I was used to it by that point. Once we had all finished, I quietly excused myself and stood from the table.

“I don’t want you talking to those men,” my mother warned.

“Yes, ma’am,” I answered, a slightly saddened tone in my voice.

I left the room and ran down the passageways to my cabin. Once the door was closed behind me, I took my place on the bed again and opened my book to the page I was last on. It was the best part in the story, where the hero had come upon his greatest adversary. Once again, I became too engrossed in my book to notice anything around me. I soon dozed off, only to dream of the events taking place in my book.

Please do R&R. It would mean the world to me if you did.