Status: In Progress
Journey of a Lifetime
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Years Ago:
Going on a quest for the king sounded exciting. This was the first time my father ever let me go with him since my mother left us two years ago. I stood on the deck, listening to Father talk about how the ship needed to be swabbed or whatever the term was. I stared out at the sea, uninterested in the lecture since it had nothing to with me for once. I’d missed this. The smell of the sea, the rocking of the ship from the waves under my feet. Father stopped mid-sentence from his orders.
“Rum, sailor?” He asked. I turned to face the scene. I knew how he felt about rum. “Does anyone know what happens to sailors who drink rum?” He circled the group. “They get drunk. And drunkenness leads to bad form. There’s one thing that won’t be tolerated aboard this ship is bad form.”
I watched him throw the bottle over the railing beside me. Rum didn’t just cause bad form. It ruined lives. A drunken sailor could forget his duties and everyone on board would be at risk. A drunken woman could get married and run off into the night with another man, leaving her fourteen year old daughter in a nasty pub.
“My ship has never been in finer hands.” Uncle Liam boarded the ship, approaching Father.
“Aye, Captain. We stand ready to receive the king’s orders.” Father replied.
“To your stations.” Liam ordered. The men began to move about. Father and Liam shook hands. “Lucy, you’ve gotten shorter.” I grinned at him, stepping forward into a bear hug. His sense of humor continued to get worse.
“I missed you too, Uncle.” I replied. The thing I loved most about Liam was the way he treated me. He gave me the freedom I wanted. I wasn’t treated as an insolent child.
“When the king summoned me, I knew there was only one man I could trust to navigate this difficult journey, my little brother.” Liam said. I followed behind Father, trying to stay out of the men’s way. They would never say anything to me but I understood the sneers from annoyed men.
“Perhaps you mean younger brother.” Father replied. I tried to hide my giggle. Liam always liked to tease Father.
“Not likely.” I muttered under my breath. Neither of them heard my comment, that or they chose to ignore it. Liam opened his satchel. Inside was a golden sextant.
“A gift, to commemorate our latest voyage together.” Liam pulled it out, giving it to Father. I’d never seen such a beautiful one before.
“A sextant. You always were the sentimental type.”
“Look closer, brother.”
“I’ve never seen markings like this. To what strange land are we headed?” He asked. I stood on my tiptoes to get a better look at the sextant. I’d only ever seen one or two of them and none had barred those markings.
“I’m under orders not say until we arrive.” Liam answered, making his way to the helm of the ship. Interested in the sudden spark of secrecy, I continued to follow them.
“But brother—”
“This is the mission of our dreams. The mission that will bring peace to the kingdom and glory to the Jones brothers."
“A hero’s journey. That is indeed good form, brother.” Father turned to address a crew member. “Master Bosom, all hands prepare to set sail.”
A series of movements occurred around me but I stayed next to my uncle. He kept his eyes on anything but me, a slight smile lingering on his face. He always brought me something from his trips, no matter where he went to. I cleared my throat, growing impatient.
“Alright, I’ve got something for you too, Lu-Lu.” Liam caved. He opened his satchel again, pulling out a necklace. It had a nautical wheel pendant with an anchor in the center of the wheel. Etched on the bottom of the wheel was Lucy and on the back it read: Not all treasure is silver and gold.
“It’s beautiful! I love it. Thank you so much.” I said, giving him another hug. Uncle Liam had never married nor did he have any children. I was the closest thing that he had. He’s been here my entire life. I left Liam to work and quickly showed Father my necklace before going below deck.
I stayed in my cabin for a while. I’d only be in the way on deck until we got further out to sea and things calmed down. I loved the open water. Most girls I knew were afraid of it. I wasn’t. How could I be? I was practically raised on a ship. It’s in my blood. I spent an hour going over some maps Liam allowed me to borrow to study. It got complicated trying to memorize all the places. I decided to take a break and get some fresh air but returning to the deck.
“I’ve never seen these constellations before.” Father said. He and Liam were looking at a journal. I’d come into a serious discussion. I waited on the stairs, not wanting to interrupt.
“No one has. That’ right. We’re going to a new land, brother.” Liam replied, excitement laced in his tone. I smiled. This sounded like an adventure.
“Enemy sighted off the port quarter.” A crewman yelled. Both men grabbed their spyglass and looked in the sighted direction. This meant trouble. Father named the types of ships and started to give orders, first to the crew, then to me. I had to go back below deck.
“Belay that order.” Liam shouted. Father and I turned to look at him. We couldn’t outrun them. It simply wasn’t possible, even I knew that. “Deploy the Pegasus.” A bell rang and the crew began to let down a sail. I’d never seen one that had been made that way.
“What is that?” Father asked.
“That is a sail woven from the last remaining feathers from the great creature Pegasus.”
“Legend has it that creature could fly.” Father continued.
“Indeed. And so can we. Hang on. Lucy, you’ll want to see this.” Liam beamed at me. Flying? A flying ship? The ship creaked and lurched forward. I held onto the railing and watched the sea get more distant as the ship rose into the air.
“Set a course lieutenant, second star to the right and straight on till morning.” Liam ordered. He strode over to me where I was leaning over the railing touching the clouds. He grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back onto the deck. “Feet on the deck at all times, Lucy.”
“Yes, Captain.” I mocked, saluting him. With a chuckle and an eye roll, Liam continued on. I leaned my arms against the railing. We were going to a new land, and flying, no less. I grinned at the thought of it. A journey of a lifetime.
Years Ago:
Going on a quest for the king sounded exciting. This was the first time my father ever let me go with him since my mother left us two years ago. I stood on the deck, listening to Father talk about how the ship needed to be swabbed or whatever the term was. I stared out at the sea, uninterested in the lecture since it had nothing to with me for once. I’d missed this. The smell of the sea, the rocking of the ship from the waves under my feet. Father stopped mid-sentence from his orders.
“Rum, sailor?” He asked. I turned to face the scene. I knew how he felt about rum. “Does anyone know what happens to sailors who drink rum?” He circled the group. “They get drunk. And drunkenness leads to bad form. There’s one thing that won’t be tolerated aboard this ship is bad form.”
I watched him throw the bottle over the railing beside me. Rum didn’t just cause bad form. It ruined lives. A drunken sailor could forget his duties and everyone on board would be at risk. A drunken woman could get married and run off into the night with another man, leaving her fourteen year old daughter in a nasty pub.
“My ship has never been in finer hands.” Uncle Liam boarded the ship, approaching Father.
“Aye, Captain. We stand ready to receive the king’s orders.” Father replied.
“To your stations.” Liam ordered. The men began to move about. Father and Liam shook hands. “Lucy, you’ve gotten shorter.” I grinned at him, stepping forward into a bear hug. His sense of humor continued to get worse.
“I missed you too, Uncle.” I replied. The thing I loved most about Liam was the way he treated me. He gave me the freedom I wanted. I wasn’t treated as an insolent child.
“When the king summoned me, I knew there was only one man I could trust to navigate this difficult journey, my little brother.” Liam said. I followed behind Father, trying to stay out of the men’s way. They would never say anything to me but I understood the sneers from annoyed men.
“Perhaps you mean younger brother.” Father replied. I tried to hide my giggle. Liam always liked to tease Father.
“Not likely.” I muttered under my breath. Neither of them heard my comment, that or they chose to ignore it. Liam opened his satchel. Inside was a golden sextant.
“A gift, to commemorate our latest voyage together.” Liam pulled it out, giving it to Father. I’d never seen such a beautiful one before.
“A sextant. You always were the sentimental type.”
“Look closer, brother.”
“I’ve never seen markings like this. To what strange land are we headed?” He asked. I stood on my tiptoes to get a better look at the sextant. I’d only ever seen one or two of them and none had barred those markings.
“I’m under orders not say until we arrive.” Liam answered, making his way to the helm of the ship. Interested in the sudden spark of secrecy, I continued to follow them.
“But brother—”
“This is the mission of our dreams. The mission that will bring peace to the kingdom and glory to the Jones brothers."
“A hero’s journey. That is indeed good form, brother.” Father turned to address a crew member. “Master Bosom, all hands prepare to set sail.”
A series of movements occurred around me but I stayed next to my uncle. He kept his eyes on anything but me, a slight smile lingering on his face. He always brought me something from his trips, no matter where he went to. I cleared my throat, growing impatient.
“Alright, I’ve got something for you too, Lu-Lu.” Liam caved. He opened his satchel again, pulling out a necklace. It had a nautical wheel pendant with an anchor in the center of the wheel. Etched on the bottom of the wheel was Lucy and on the back it read: Not all treasure is silver and gold.
“It’s beautiful! I love it. Thank you so much.” I said, giving him another hug. Uncle Liam had never married nor did he have any children. I was the closest thing that he had. He’s been here my entire life. I left Liam to work and quickly showed Father my necklace before going below deck.
I stayed in my cabin for a while. I’d only be in the way on deck until we got further out to sea and things calmed down. I loved the open water. Most girls I knew were afraid of it. I wasn’t. How could I be? I was practically raised on a ship. It’s in my blood. I spent an hour going over some maps Liam allowed me to borrow to study. It got complicated trying to memorize all the places. I decided to take a break and get some fresh air but returning to the deck.
“I’ve never seen these constellations before.” Father said. He and Liam were looking at a journal. I’d come into a serious discussion. I waited on the stairs, not wanting to interrupt.
“No one has. That’ right. We’re going to a new land, brother.” Liam replied, excitement laced in his tone. I smiled. This sounded like an adventure.
“Enemy sighted off the port quarter.” A crewman yelled. Both men grabbed their spyglass and looked in the sighted direction. This meant trouble. Father named the types of ships and started to give orders, first to the crew, then to me. I had to go back below deck.
“Belay that order.” Liam shouted. Father and I turned to look at him. We couldn’t outrun them. It simply wasn’t possible, even I knew that. “Deploy the Pegasus.” A bell rang and the crew began to let down a sail. I’d never seen one that had been made that way.
“What is that?” Father asked.
“That is a sail woven from the last remaining feathers from the great creature Pegasus.”
“Legend has it that creature could fly.” Father continued.
“Indeed. And so can we. Hang on. Lucy, you’ll want to see this.” Liam beamed at me. Flying? A flying ship? The ship creaked and lurched forward. I held onto the railing and watched the sea get more distant as the ship rose into the air.
“Set a course lieutenant, second star to the right and straight on till morning.” Liam ordered. He strode over to me where I was leaning over the railing touching the clouds. He grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back onto the deck. “Feet on the deck at all times, Lucy.”
“Yes, Captain.” I mocked, saluting him. With a chuckle and an eye roll, Liam continued on. I leaned my arms against the railing. We were going to a new land, and flying, no less. I grinned at the thought of it. A journey of a lifetime.