Chapter 1
Eleven battered young teenagers, stood around a splintered table. Twenty eyes focused on one girl, who leaned over the table. She was looking down, trying to read the map. These teenagers, barley ones at that; had a plan. The ten waited patiently, for the girl to speak. She looked up at them; her brown eyes alight with a plan. Her brown hair was chopped at different angles, as if cut with a piece of metal. All eleven teenagers showed sign's of being over exposed to light, blonde tinting their hair and brown weathering their skin.
The boat rocked along slowly, almost at a lazy pace. The sun peeked through the grime, which covered the windows. It shed a mysterious light, in the cabin below. It set the mood perfectly. The Captain looked around at her loyal crew, taking in each of their faces. She grinned, bearing all her teeth almost like a vampire.
"What do we need, more than anything?" She asked, pointedly looking at Markson.
"Captain, we need power" He said, voice hoarse. His hair shone, due to the light however limited it was. His face not as dark as the others, but his eyes were an astonishing green. Greener that she had ever seen before and he had one of those smiles that could make butter melt. He knew everything possible about weapons, that and his looks made him very useful.
"That's right, but Captain we need supplies" Argon insisted, the skinniest member of the crew. His hair was a caramel brown, with plain brown eyes but a sweet person.
"If you all didn't eat like pigs, we wouldn't need supplies every second week" She snapped.
"Yes Captain, we do need them though" He said.
"Fine, construct a list and when we reach shore you fetch them"
"I'll do my job Captain"
"Yes that would be helpful Argon, since that's why you're here" She snapped, waiting for his reply.
"I'll go with him Captain, for the right ingredients" Ailiah, the dainty cook suggested.
"That would be a good idea, but only bring minimal weapons; we don't need you ending up in a jail cell" The Captain huffed.
"Yes Captain" Argon and Ailiah coursed.
"As you were saying Captain, we need power" Tahny said, her hair a brilliant white.
"That's correct Tahny, we need power and a lot of it" The Captain agreed.
"How are we going to get that Captain, it involves treasure right?" Jeremiah, the small mop-headed blonde asked.
"That's right, my treasure hunter" She grinned.
"The sapphire?" Henrolh asked.
"Yes Henrolh, you agreed it would be worth finding" She reminded him.
"I did agree Captain, but we don't even know where it is" He pointed out politely.
"We do actually" Camelliah, the small navigator said. She grinned, pushing back her curly hair.
"Where would it be Cam?" Jardine snapped, brown eyes blazing.
"On Mary-Elizabeth's neck" She said.
"Liar" Cook, the gangly deck hand snapped.
"Cook, shut it" The Captain snapped.
"Captain" He said.
"I know this, because I was a servant at the Smith's Manor; she would always show off that bloody sapphire. If I knew how valuable it was, it would have been ours long ago" Camelliah grinned, very evilly.
"Patience" Mac, a petite red haired girl laughed.
"Agreed, Mac" The Captain laughed, "It'll be ours very soon".
"Thanks Captain" Mac smiled.
"Markson, go check the weapons; I want them loaded and ready. Jeremiah go help him, will you? Argon and Ailiah, go work on that list and I want a list of what we do have. Tahny back on lookout and Jardine pull up the anchor. Cook, you better get scrubbing those desks. Camelliah, at the wheel. Mac, make sure the maps are all in order. Henrolh, I need to speak to you" The Captain ordered.
They all hurried of, doing what she commanded of them. She walked over to the door, and shut it carefully.
"Henrolh, you are my strategist" She said, her eyes measured.
"One of the best, Captain" He grinned, blonde hair flopping over his face.
"So over-confident" She muttered, sitting behind her desk.
"You gotta be, isn't that right?" He laughed.
"Captain" She reminded him.
"I'm sorry Captain" He amended.
"Good boy" She taunted.
"Captain, what was the point of this conversation?" He asked, calmly.
"The point is, you need a plan for kidnapping- I mean borrowing Mary-Elizabeth, then making her disappear" She smiled.
"I'm not a magician"
"No, but you should have the stomach to do that"
"I do Captain"
"Good, then you'll work out a fool proof plan?"
"Of course Captain"
"Henrolh, bluntly your life depends on this" She sneered.
"Meaning Captain" He asked.
"Henrolh, you haven't really provided a service so far. I need people who want to be here, to be here. Put it this way, if you don't prove you want to be here; then you'll need to take a big breath when we throw you overboard".
"You make it sound so easy Captain"
"I never said I wanted to kill you Henrolh, don't put me in the position were I have to choose" She said, almost sincerely.
"You didn't get this job because you're so sweet, did you Captain?"
"Sadly not" She smiled briefly.
"We have an understanding, then?"
"Captain, will you eventually kill me?"
"Henrolh, you're a human" She laughed, "We all die eventually".
"Yes Captain, but we're pirates".
Captain Rondellah sat at her desk, looking around her messy cabin. She grinned to herself, soaking up the brilliance of her plan. Tomorrow morning they would reach land, and their plan would follow on. The Sapphire would be there's, and no one would even suspect them. Just stupid teenagers, eh? Rondellah grinned. Her mind drifted back to the conversation with Henrolh, and her nerves shot up. He alone was the most annoying boy she had ever met, no doubt.
Her door was pushed open slightly, Argon stood there.
"Yes Argon?" The Captain asked, leaning forward on her chair.
"Captain, Ailiah and I have decided on the ingredients" He said, holding up a small list.
"Thank you Argon" She nodded.
"Captain, regarding the Sapphire-" He began hesitantly.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Is it necessary to kill, to get it?" He mumbled.
"No, I don't think it is Argon" She smiled, after a moment of thought.
"Would you kill her, Captain?" He asked, brown eyes questioning.
"If I had a valid reason, Argon we may be pirates but I am not going to kill someone just because" She said, frowning at his question.
"I know Captain" He said.
"Then why did you feel the need to ask?" She wondered, standing up and walking over to him.
"I just wanted to be sure Captain" Argon said, holding out the list for her to take.
"And now you know. Argon I will not kill unless I need to" She said, snatching the list.
"Yes Captain" He mumbled, looking at his feet.
"Go away now" She said, slamming the door in his face. She glared at the closed door, how obviously they feared her. At least, she knew she had power. She read over the list, deciding it was valid. Henrolh drifted back into her thoughts, how she would love to slice him open. He was annoying and disgusting. It was true he was a valued member, but they would survive without him. All he had to do was give her a reason, and she would kill him.
Jardine leaned on the rail, watching the sun descend from the sky. She breathed in the salty air, tasting it on her dry lips. The pure beauty and strength of the sea, was her drug. Like any drug user, she was an addict. The taste of freedom and adventure, was everything she had dreamed of and more. Since she was a child, she'd wanted to be out on the sea. Now she had finally got it, the Setting Sun was her life.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Camelliah smiled, standing next to her.
"It is" Jardine agreed, turning her back on it.
"Worth giving everything up?" Camelliah asked.
"Yeah, I don't miss it. I don't miss school or anything. We're free out here. A bunch of teenagers turned pirates, our life could be a movie" Jardine joked.
"I miss school, I liked it sometimes. I enjoyed learning odd stuff, I don't miss a lot though" Camelliah commented, the sun pouring over her face.
"Sorry you left?" Jardine asked.
"Nah, not really" Camelliah said, grinning.
"The Captain has a plan" Jardine said.
"Yes" Camelliah agreed.
"A good one?" Jardine questioned, trying to make eye contact with Camelliah.
"If it works, I presume so" Camelliah muttered.
"That makes no sense Cam"
"She'll inform us, when the plan's ready"
"I'm not killing anyone, unless it's Henrolh"
Camelliah laughed.
"If I didn't kill you first" Henrolh threatened, coming up from behind Jardine.
"You can't touch me" Jardine glared.
"I reckon the Captain wouldn't be happy with you making death threats" Henrolh said, his voice as flat as a tac.
"I reckon she'd be thrilled" Jardine countered.
"Back off Henrolh, we'd all squash you" Camelliah snapped.
"Shut up Camelliah, your opinion means jack shit" Henrolh said, not taking his eyes off Jardine.
"I'd love to kill you Henrolh, but why would I take that privilege from someone else?" Jardine sneered, hating him more and more.
"Killing's a sin Jardine" He reminded her.
"And you being alive is torture Henrolh" She said coolly.
"Are you stupid or something? I can kill you" He laughed.
"Back off Henrolh, you can't do anything" She glared, just as his fingers clasped around her arm.
"Really?" He laughed, lunging at her. As the slap of skin meeting skin sounded across the boat, chaos erupted.