Titanium

There is nothing better than the smell of the ocean. Beautiful yet sickening at the same time. Whenever I go out to the docks, the odor changes, always either more sweet or more intoxicating. The world is just like the ocean, always changing, constantly evolving. In many ways the ocean is like me, too. But I don't change. I always seem to be stuck in the same place. Same shit, different day.

I live in a small port city called Braxton, on the coast of France. I've lived here my whole life. My name is Izabel Caputo, and I'm nineteen years old today. I was born February Thirteenth, 1648, at sea. At that time, my mother and father emigrated to France. She was eight months and twenty-seven days pregnant with me when I was brought into this world. I'm the eldest of three children. I have three younger brothers, Jason, Romero, and Bradley, who all live at home with my mother. My father passed away 3 years ago when Bradley turned two.

I work in a bar close enough to see the docks. Many ships dock to stock up on supplies, but most of the time they see the bar before they even begin to shop around. I've served pirates and kings, prostitutes and commoners. You name it. I've had plenty of bad encounters with these voyagers, but my dream still exists. Someday, I want to return to the ocean. Set sail on a ship and just venture out into the open sea: the ocean, my mother, my home.

As I stared out into the vast blue of the water, I closed my eyes and wished, just like every year on my birthday, for my dream to come true. And like always, when I opened my eyes, everything was still the same. I was still a poor bar wench, smelling of alcohol (although I rarely drank), alone in this world. I sighed deeply, inhaling the scent of the ocean, sickening and sweet, hoping to clear my mind. The salty aroma filled my senses and only made my head throb harder and harder. My legs tingled profusely, so I leaned on the railing to steady myself. My eyes were open, yet all I could see were images of stars, all different in sizes and shapes and colors. The sight in my mind was so extraordinary, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into my subconscious. I could feel the hot sun on my face, and then suddenly, I felt the wind rushing in my face. Halfway through my fall, everything went black.

"She's been out for nearly a half an hour. It's alright to leave now sir, I'll take care of her." Tilly? Where am I? Why is everything dark, I can't feel my body.. What's going on?

"No, I will stay until she awakes." A man's voice. I've never heard it before. It's so calm, yet so serious. Almost like satin.

"You need not to, Captain. Miss Tilly can watch over her." Another man's voice.

"I will stay, Tristen. I'm not leaving until I see that she is well." The satin voice again.

My body was numb, but my fingers slowly gained movement and I was able to flutter my eyelashes. My eyes were slow and heavy as I opened them, and as I took in the setting I realized I was lying in the red velvet chair in the back room at the bar. There were three people around me watching anxiously as I awoke. The first person I knew very well, Tilly, my best friend who is also the owner of the bar. She's a very tall and fit blonde woman with long, curly blonde hair. She was holding a water pitcher in one hand and a glass in the other.

The second was a man I had never seen before. He was tall and muscular, wearing a red captain's coat. His hair hung to the center of his neck, where he head a neatly trimmed beard running along his jaw line. He had tan skin and blue eyes, as deep as the ocean. Tattoos lined his arms and chest. Both ears were pierced with small gold hoops. His ensemble made it very hard to focus on the situation at hand because he was rather attractive.

"Still a little dazed, love?" he asked, just as I realized he had been talking to me.

"Wh.. What happened to me?" I asked, sounding so distant, so small and helpless.

"My mate and I were just walking the dock below you, and you fell, maybe twenty or thirty feet. Luckily, I caught you before you hit the deck," the man said, chuckling. His smile was charming. "'Brought you up to land and took you into the nearest place we could." He paused. "I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Morgan, captain of the Jolly Roger. And this is Tristen, my first mate."

Tristen was small, but very intimidating. He had an appearance such as Morgan, but carried himself in a more reserved manner. His long brown hair was tied back at the base of his neck. His eyes were like melting chocolate, but somber looking.

"Izabel," I said, turning toward the captain, "I'm Izabel."

"Beautiful name, I hope you're alright. No scratches or broken bones, at least. Imagine, a woman falling from the sky right into my arms.." he chuckled again, "'s like a man's dream." We both stood up at the same time, and as I smoothed my dress he took his large pirate hat from the side table.

"Well, work's to be done, so I must be off. Take care of yourself, Izabel." His words had a very intriguing tune to them, almost cooing and alluring. The captain took my hand as he kneeled before me, placing a single kiss on the back of my hand. His lips were warm and gentle. I felt my stomach tie in knots.

"It was a pleasure, sir. Thank you very much for saving me." I said calmly, careful not to let on too quickly. He was a pirate. I can't get my business mixed up with that sort of endeavor.

"Saving damsels in distress, thats what I do best." Captain Morgan said, winking and turning toward the back door. The opened the heavy wooden door, looked back, smiled, and was gone. As the door closed, Tilly is instantly beside me.

"He's handsome." she said.
"Indeed... He is." I replied warmly.
The was a brief pause.
"Well," Tilly finally said, "I can't have you serving drinks after an incident like that. Go on home dear. I can handle the rest of your shift."
"I couldn't possibly..."
"Go!" she urged, "It's fine, go rest."

I nodded and grabbed my small sack from the corner of the room. Before leaving, I always fill my flask with rum to drink on the way home. It's my birthday, what the hell, I might as well. Just as I was about to pour the liquor into the flask, the satin voice reappeared.

"So, Izabel, is it?"
I looked up. It was him.
"Aye," I replied cautiously. I fingered through my wallet to pull out some coins to pay for my drink when the captain set down a gold coin.
"Got a voice like the sea, deary. Here, take the bottle for yourself. Could you get me one as well? Might as well bring some cheer back to the ship for the boys."
I didn't notice my eyes widen.
"Uhh.. of course Captain." I said as I turned and set an unopened bottle of rum on the counter and slid it over to him. I set the half empty bottle on the counter as well. "Thank you so much. You see, today is my birth-"
"Birthday?"
"Yes, it is!" I said chuckling. I set the gold coin in the box beneath the counter.
"How old?"
"Old? Never ask a woman her age." I replied winking. I set my head on my palms.
"Aye," Morgan chuckled. "Exactly right."

The chattering in the bar was loud and noisy, but he was close enough to me that I could hear him perfectly. His voice was soft and kind, but I could tell that he was the type of man with a temper. An insatiable type of man. I didn't think too much of our conversation because I work in a tavern, of course. I get men like this all the time. Flirting and playing is part of my job. At the end of the day work stays there and I'm back to my lonely life.

"Well, as i turns out, the crew and I are having a sort of party tonight on the ship.." he said, "If you have no prior engagements maybe you would consider stopping by to celebrate?"

I was quiet as I thought this over in my head. I could come by, I have no memories of being on a ship before. I've always wanted to walk about and explore the cabins and deck. And as many pirates as I've met, I've never met one as kind as Captain Morgan before. Yet, something in the back of my mind told me that it could very well be dangerous. What if they kidnapped me? Or worse, killed me for their own enjoyment. I had no idea of what pirates were all about. All I ever heard about them was how evil they were. Torturing and killing others, looting towns and burning them to the ground. Holding hostages and prisoners of war beneath their ships. By the voice of the sea called me, and I was compelled to say yes.

"I was planning to sit on the beach with a drink and watch the stars like I do every year. It would be nice to do something different." I said, careful not to sound too willing to just board their ship without knowing anything about him or his crew.

"Well, if you'd like we can do that as well. We could even watch the stars from the masts." he said, "I actually do so very often. There's nothing like the stars over a wide open sea. Not a thing in this world to cover up their beauty." He had a look of nostalgia in his eyes.

"I will meet you at the docks at six o'clock." I said. "I need to bring some things home to my family so they can eat."

"As you wish." he replied, fingering the top of his bottle of rum. He made rippling swirls across the top of the cork, pondering, wondering, thinking. He looked up at me and smiled. "See you then."



It was ten minutes to six when I arrived at the dock, to see the Captain waiting for me near the end. He was leaning against the stone of the cliff, the bottle in his hand, completely full. As I neared him he straightened up and began to walk towards me. His smile in the break of dawn was unlike anything I've ever seen. So calm and peaceful. Like the sea.

"Glad to see you've come," he said. "I was beginning to think the story you told me was false."
"Not at all," I replied, chuckling. "Just had to clean up a little and drop some things to my family."
"So sweet, caring for your family." he said. I think I picked up on some grinding of his teeth.
"Yes, my young brothers are not old enough to get jobs."
"I had a brother." he said.
"Had?"
"Yes, he passed a couple years ago in battle. My brother and I were very.. close." he said.
"I'm sorry for your loss." I replied. He nodded and took my arm and began to walk down the stretch of dock down to the second ship.

The boat was huge, with dark red, almost black wood. The words "Jolly Roger" were embellished into the helm. The masts were tied up, but from the looks of it they were black sails. He gestured to a rope ladder not far from where we were standing.
"After you, love."

As I boarded the ship, my breath labored with excitement. As I neared the top, Tristen appeared to help me over the side. I gingerly turned away his help and briskly swung my legs over. I peered over the edge to see Morgan right behind me.

"Captain, what you said was true. She's got the eyes of the sea. True sailer here, got up all by herself the first time." Tristen said as the Captain's boots sounded onto the wood.

"Aye. I noticed earlier. Green eyes, eyes of the sea deary." he said, turning to me.

"I was born at sea." I replied, smiling tenderly. "On a voyage from Italy to France."

"Ahhh..." everyone went around me, they all chuckled. I looked around, I was surrounded by ten or eleven others.

"Izabel, meet the rest of the crew." Captain said. "Now, let the birthday celebration for this lady of the sea begin." he said with a smile. He passed the bottle to Tristen, who popped the cork off immediately and took a drink. He passed it on and on until the bottle reached Morgan. I retrieved my bottle from the sack around my belt and uncorked it, raising it in time with the captain.

"To Izabel." he said.
"To Izabel!" everyone responded. The captain and I both drank and laughed.

The night was fun, I never wanted it to end. A man named Thomas, who was the chef and who also played the flute played us many songs and we danced into the night. I danced with every one of the men, including the captain. Once the stars were out, and we were all pretty drunk, I walked to the helm of the ship and looked out into the sky. I looked right out to where the sky hit the water. The water reflected the stars and the moon beautifully. As I gazed I didn't notice the sound of the Captain's boots following me.

"Even more beautiful from the ship, aye?"
"Even more beautiful.." I replied. I couldn't take my eyes off the sight. I never wanted to forget this moment. For once, I wasn't alone on my birthday. I had met a very decent group of pirates. And now I was resting my eyes on a phenomena I didn't ever want to part with. I'd never see something like this again.
"You know, we could always take you with us." Morgan said. "It's your decision, luvvy. We could always use another mate."

I couldn't tell if it was my drunken state or my heart guiding me in the right direction, but I tore my eyes off the skyline and turned to Captain Morgan.

"You know.." I said, leaning toward the captain. He must have been drunk too, because he leaned toward me too. I spoke very close to his ear. "It's always been my dream to be with the sea."

"Well," he said, smiling and looking at me. "Then consider it graciously. Coming would be a great deal of commitment. I wouldn't want you to rush into this like I did."

"How ever did you become a pirate?" I asked, leaning on the rail of the ship. The captain quickly placed his arm beside me. I could see in his eyes he wanted to make sure I didn't fall like earlier.

"That's a very long story." he replied, gazing off into the darkness of the water. "Another time perhaps."

"I will come." I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you absolute? Izabel, please know that life as a pirate isn't all fun and games. It's dangerous."

"I will learn from you, captain." I said. I could taste the liquor on my breath. I reached onto the floor and grasped my bottle, looking into it to see it empty. I sighed and set the bottle back down. The captain laughed.

"All out of rum, eh?"

"I suppose so."

He held up his finger and walked back over to the men still dancing and laughing, having a good time. I admired the ship, I admired the captain and the crew. I could imagine life as a pirate. Fighting battles, seeking treasure. Surely these pirates weren't evil like the others. I felt something different amongst them. I felt like I belonged.

"Izabel," the captains voice interrupted my thoughts. He held in his hand an unopened bottle of rum. As I reached for it he gingerly slid it into his coat pocket.

"Ah, ah, ah. I want to show you something." he took my arm and led me to a wooden ladder leading up into the masts.

"After you." he said, guiding me in front of the ladder.

"But I don't know where I'm going, Morgan." I replied, looking back at him.

"When you see it, you'll know." he said, smiling. I nodded and started climbing the ladder into the masts.



In the darkness of the sky, only the moon's light to guide me, I found myself fumbling into a sort of large wooden basket towards the very top mast. The captain followed behind me. He shut the little sort of door and slid over next to me. Taking the bottle out of his pocket, he popped the cork and it sailed into the night. Below were the sounds of laughing and singing from the crew.

"Is every night like this?" I asked Morgan. He thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Some nights are very much like this, without bringing strange birthday girls onto the ship." he chuckled. "Some nights we do our duty and go off to Neverland."

"Neverland? Are you joking?" I asked.
"Of course, silly." he said, chuckling. But it didn't last very long like times before, and I caught on quickly. I decided to ponder this instead.

"So, Bella. Can I call you that?" he asked.
"Sure, I don't see why not." I replied. I'd been called 'Belle' by my mother and father, and 'Bella' by others at the bar and around town.

"Why become one of us?"

"My mother would tell me stories about her and my father going out to sea. My favorite, which is kind of gross, is the one she tells me about when I was born. They were on their way to Braxton from the Italian port of Patella. She always told me I was born under the night sky, moon and stars. She would always call me her ocean child. As I was growing up, she would take me to the shore. We'd spend hours there. I always daydreamed about someday being a part of the water. Being a part of something bigger than myself. And every year.." I chuckled. "You'll think this is crazy.. every year on my birthday she would take me to the shore and I'd wish so hard to spend every day of my life on the sea.. I've never set foot out of Braxton ever since we came here. I want to see the world. Swim in the ocean." I looked over at Morgan, who was intently listening to the words.

"I'll drink to that." he smiled.