Fili loved the sea as long as he could remember. He loved gazing at the waves hitting the rocky shore and cliffs. He loved drawing the ships and waves, and his mother always kept telling him how much his father loved the sea as well.
Living all his life at the coast, he heard hundreds of stories. Many of them about his father. His mother would sit at the fireplace in their small house and tell him how she met the handsome blond sailor. She would tell him how the man swept her off her feet, how he loved her and how much he wanted Fili. But those stories were always tainted with a shade of sadness. Fili could barely remember him, the misty image of a handsome man who would lift him and play with him. He knew his face from mother's drawings, and the stories mother told him. But at the age of four was the last time he saw him.
His mother wept as a widow, after the news of his death reached them. There was nothing to bury, his body forever lost to the sea.
Fili grew to be strong just like his dad. He helped his uncle's in the fishing village, and as soon as he was strong enough he would sail out on their boat with them and help. His uncles never said a word to him about how big a burden it was for them to support yet one more household.
They gave him a job, they made sure both mother and son had enough to eat and enough to pay their bills. They taught him how to manage the boat, sail and swim. They taught him navigation, and how to read maps. They were fishermen, but Nain had once served on a navy ship, sailing to distant lands and seas. He told the eager boy all the stories of pirates, all the rules of the sea.
Frain the older uncle always kept sniggering that adventures were the death of his father, but the younger Nain kept joking he was jealous he never had the chance to just sail away. Fili learnt from Frain all the other things his uncles thought useful, meaning how to count and how to read, but the most important lesson he got as a teenager were to always count on himself.
He smiled hearing the stories of Dain, the youngest of the three brothers, who was still in the navy sailing as the sailing master on one of the flag ships. Dain rarely came home, usually he was away at sea for years at a time, but when he did he always had the best presents, and the best stories to tell.
Fili dreamt of the sea, he dreamt of waves and distant shores. He knew it was a dangerous life, he knew just how hard the job was, his hands rough from working the fishing boat. He heard about the bad sides, the pirates, the starvation when food was scarce. The fights on board and competition to earn the captain's trust. He knew it was a life full of challenges, and under the begging glances from his mother he stayed.
Faina always feared what would happen when her son would feel the calling of the sea, she saw the symptoms from an early age. But her boy stayed with her, his attachment to her greater then the mystic calling of the waves. Fili her pride and joy. Her last spark of hope and sunshine. His smile always filling her sad life with a bit of laughter. She was so proud of him, he worked so hard to keep them both fed and safe. But even he could not stop the pain in her chest as tuberculosis was slowly taking her health. Her cough would wake him at night, and without hesitation he would bring her water and tuck her under the warm cover. He would make sure she ate properly, and as she was fading away he couldn't help crying.
After the funeral he stopped caring. He went out to sea with his uncles, but his usual smile was turned into a grim grin. He would gaze at the sea and dream of disappearing into the waves. His uncle's concerning glances and their warm words and comfort was the only thing keeping him going.
After a few weeks Dain came home. He arrived late in the evening and the news of the death of his only sister hit him hard. The stone cold sailor cried on her grave and wept for her fate.
"I'm taking him with me." Dain's words startled both Nain and Frain.
"You should." Nain noticed glancing at the boy.
"He lost the will to live. The sea is calling to him." Frain noticed grimly.
"I'm tired." Dain told them glancing at the sea.
"But you're already a sailing master." Nain noticed.
"And I won't become captain. I don't have the background and connections for that." Dain was grim. "I made my fair share of gold, and earned splits and wounds instead of a comfortable safe life. I forsaken everything for my career, I don't have a wife, nor home nor children to come back to. The boy is the closest thing I have to a son."
"And you want to take Fili with you?" Frain wanted to make sure.
"Every year is becoming more and more dangerous, the pirates more ruthless and daring. It'll be my last voyage." Dain told them. "Later he'll decide for himself whether to stay in the navy, or to come back home."
"His calling is very strong." Frain noticed grimly. "Try to keep him safe will you. We love the boy as if he were our own."
"I will do my best." Dain admitted.
Hearing the news Fili just glanced at his uncles and nodded. He had nothing left there anyway, so without a word of protest he packed a small bag of personal things and accompanied his uncle back to Portsmouth.
"You'll be starting as I have, from Landsman, but as soon as I get the chance I'll push you better ranks. Keep your head low, my ship has all kinds of sailors on board, some trustworthy and fair, while others will steal your food and dig holes for you to fall in. Don't tell them we're related, those who hate me will use you to hurt me, and those who notice any connection will treat any favour from my side as special privilege. If that happens don't be Surprized with hearing comments like that you earned my favour by warming my bed at night." Dain did not want the boy to get any false ideas. "The official version is, you're a young lad from my village."
"Clear." Fili noticed.
"Most are here as punishment or caught by sea dogs, so be careful with who you make friends with and what you tell them." Dain gave his last warning.
Getting the papers done with Dain's recommendation was easy, the officer's recommendation standing out and clearly indicating Fili was a volunteer and not imprisoned like some of the recruits.
"Good luck boy and expect no privileges..." Dain bid him goodbye and headed towards his cabin.
Fili just lowered his head and joined the new recruits on board and patiently waited for the quartermaster to decide his fate.
"You're a lithe one!" The mean quartermaster noticed. "The mast shall be your friend from now on, you'll be working the sails boy!"
"Yes sir!" Fili immediately replied.
"Find yourself a cot." The pushed the boy to go inside the ship.
"You're a new one!" A dark haired man with a grin greeted him on entry. "That one is free." He pointed to a cot to his left.
"I'm Bofur by the way!" He greeted the boy.
"That's my brother Bifur!" He pointed to an equally dark haired man to his right.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Fili extended his hand towards the man politely. But Bofur did not shake his hand, instead he forced him to turn it over and gazed at his palm.
"Your hand says you fear no hard work. Good for you boy, few new ones know the taste of sweat and tears." The man gazed at his hand knowingly.
"I worked on a fishing boat with my uncle." Fili admitted quickly.
"Good, you might prove useful and actually survive the first voyage!" The man laughed happily. Fili looked at him puzzled. "You'll see!" Bofur sniggered as another man was led in, clearly he was one of those imprisoned he was protesting wildly and he did not like the fact he was there.
"Those who rebel get it worse." The man advised him honestly. "Stick to me, and you'll be fine!"
"Our brother is the chef here." Bifur added with a grin. "Just follow us and keep your head low."
"So tell me boy, do you know any sailing songs?" Bofur helped the boy make himself at home, and showed him where to put his things.
"Quite a few..." Fili began naming the songs.
"Well it seems you're well prepared for this trip." Bifur smiled and began chanting.
"My uncle served on Moth when I was a kid, he taught me lots of things." Fili admitted.
"So you know what you're getting yourself in to. So what madness drove you to come here?" Bofur asked.
"My mother died last winter..." Fili told them slowly and both men gazed at him strongly.
"So you're trying to find a place in life. We'll boy you've chosen a difficult path." Bifur noticed grimly.
"Or maybe it's the pain and struggle you're really seeking." Bifur added grimly.
"So how did you start?" Fili asked warily.
"We both were imprisoned over four years ago, Bombur our brother joined willingly to be with us." Bifur slowly explained. "You get used to it with time." He added.
Days passed quickly, the first few the worst. Working the mast and sails was a difficult task, but Fili had the knowledge to stay safe and do the tasks he was given. Many of the new recruits were rebelling the first few days, and the quartermaster's whip would remind them of their duties. Midshipmen weren't nice either, often spiting orders and demanding a lot. Fili kept his head low all the time, and kept to the first advice that any order no matter how difficult to fulfil had to be met with a Yes Sir! He watched as many of the new recruits either stopped rebelling, or were slowly weakening because of the severe punishments and beatings. The first one died on the ninth day of sailing out. The man was a village boy unsuited for sailing, he got sea sick immediately and proved useless on board. Many deaths followed in the first five weeks. Mostly due to injuries and punishments for disobedience.
Dain kept his distance, never approaching Fili openly. Fili quickly learned people called him Ironfoot because he ruled the ship firmly. But those who severed with him for years kept telling stories of how fair and brave Dain was. His reputation on the ship was strong, most men respected him because he started from the bottom and climbed the ranks. Most feared him, but they knew he would not punish unjustly, and they would obey his orders.
Following Bifur and Bofur, Fili quickly got to know who to trust and who to avoid at all cost. That didn't mean trouble didn't try to find him. Midshipman Alfrid Masters immediately disliked the boy and showed it at any event possible. Fili kept quiet and obeyed orders, but he could feel the man was waiting for a chance to whip him just like he often did with other lower rank men. And one day he got his chance.
"You move like a lazy fat ass woman!" Alfrid sniggered at the boy. "Untangle the lines and do the sails again!" He ordered angrily.
When Fili failed to do it as quickly as the man expected him to, he found himself down on the deck with the first whip strike his back.
"Alfrid, what are you doing?" Dain's calm voice strong broke the normal chatter on the ship.
"The boy failed to do my order." Alfrid glared at the Sailing master with spite.
"Not from my point of view." Dain told him calmly. "Put down your whip, you use it far too often."
"I'm just filling out orders." Alfrid spoke confidently gazing at the higher ranked officer. "Just because this boy hold your favours it doesn't mean he can be lazy."
Dain glared at him and in a swift move was right in front of the man. He reached for the whip and pulled it out of his grasp in a flash.
"You are over stepping yourself." Dain told him in a firm icy voice.
"Tell me it's not true! Tell all of them why this boy out of all the people on this ship, came here with your recommendation!" Alfrid sniggered and waved at all the sailors around them.
"He comes from my village and I know his family. That does not mean I pay him any special favours beyond what I pay any other sailor on this boat." Dain spoke calmly.
"So you do admit you come from a shit hole village!" Alfrid grasped his chance at attacking the officer.
"That's enough Alfrid. You may be Commander's Masters nephew, but on this ship you are to respect the designated ranks. Sailing master Connolly is your superior officer and you shall show him your respect." Captain Pellew noticed sternly. "You shall give up your whip, and you shall take four extra shifts as punishment for disobeying your superior."
Alfrid glared at Dain with hate in his eyes, clearly he was outraged with the decision. Then he glared at Fili, and both the boy and Dain had a strange feeling more trouble was to come.
Weeks passed slowly and finally Fili noticed a change in the sky, they were in much warmer seas. The sky much bluer and the sea much rougher. He gazed at the horizon, and took in the smell of the sea, so different than the smell of the sea at home.
"You love it as much as we do." Bofur smirked and passed him some water.
"The sea calls to me." Fili admitted. "The same as it called to my father and my uncle."
"We feel for you boy!" Bofur laughed and began chanting, as soon the crew was singing along. Bofur was the one who started the songs and all eagerly followed.
"I've heard gossip." Bifur told Fili as they were resting.
"What kind of gossip?" Fili asked curiously.
"Alfrid is going to be next captain. He's related to Commodore Masters and old Pellew is retiring." Bifur told him slowly.
"That sucks... Ironfoot would be a great captain." Bofur noticed.
"Aye he would." Another sailor agreed.
"They say the Captain is ill..." another sailor whispered.
"That means Ironfoot will be running the ship until we reach the next governor's office." Bofur noticed quickly.
"And what happens then?" Fili asked feeling there was much more to the story.
"Then Alfrid will be nominated Captain." Bifur hissed.
"And that means we'll all be screwed." Another sailor added grimly.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Fili added.
"The sea is a dangerous mistress, many thing might happen in between." Bofur noticed with a sudden premonition.