Caribbean Sea
Even though Elsa was quite exhausted from the rough storm that had hit them, she couldn't sleep. The Caribbean heat was something she wasn't used to, she was a Norwegian and had spent her life on the colder seas.
She had already opened all six of the windows at the back of her cabin as far as she could possibly open them, but unfortunately there was no breeze. She took an old chart from her desk, folded it and started to use it as a fan. She waved her arms frantically to try and get the fan to work. At last she gave up and plopped down on her chair. ''Blast this tropical madness!'' She exclaimed as she wiped the sticky sweat from her forehead.
Suddenly she got an idea and quickly stood up. She took off her teal colored waistcoat, purple waist sash and her two belts. She was only wearing a white loose linen shirt and her black pants. She had already kicked off her brown boots and her weapons earlier when she attempted to sleep.
She rushed out of her cabin onto the main deck and quickly walked to the railing. She grabbed the ratlines and climbed onto the ship's wooden railing.
''What are you doing?'' She heard Anna call. Elsa glanced to her left and saw her sister and Olaf sitting on the steps that led to the quarterdeck. They were tying knots together.
''Just going for a little swim, want to join me?'' Elsa smirked.
''Yes! Let's go swimming!'' Olaf cheered while he jumped up and dropped his rope.
''No, no!'' Anna exclaimed and took a hold of Olaf's skinny arm. ''You can't swim,'' she said worriedly.
''Well, he has to learn at some point, right?'' Elsa reasoned.
''Not today, not here.'' Anna said stifly. ''We don't know what lives in these waters, you shouldn't go either.''
''Probably some crocodiles and sharks,'' Elsa said calmly, Olaf's brown eyes widened and his jaw dropped in awe. ''Ohh, and the Kraken!'' Elsa teased and laughed.
''It's not funny, you should come down from that railing.'' Anna said, she wasn't amused.
''I'm just going to cool off, I'll be out in a jiffy.'' Elsa reassured her sister and spread her arms in the air while she balanced herself on the railing.
''Wait-'' Anna said but her sister already made an elegant dive into the sea. ''...tie a safetyline around your waist.'' Anna mumbled to herself.
Olaf strolled over towards the railing and looked over. ''She hasn't come up yet!'' Olaf said worriedly. Anna walked towards the railing and also looked over, she indeed hadn't come up yet. The Caribbean water was very transparent and she could clearly see her sister underwater but she didn't seem to be moving. Anna anxiously held her breath and waited for Elsa to come up but she didn't.
''Should we do something?'' Olaf asked unsurely while he looked at Anna.
Anna groaned and started to take off her boots. When she had managed to get them off she heard a loud gasp. Anna rushed to the railing again and peeked over.
''I think the Kraken just got a hold of my ankle.'' Elsa said while she catched her breath.
''Not funny!'' Anna yelled and stomped away from the railing, she could hear her sister laughing loudly.
''Olaf, throw me one of those lines.'' Elsa ordered. Olaf obeyed and threw one of the lines overboard. Elsa grabbed it and climbed her way back up. She stretched herself out once she was on the main deck again. ''That was so refreshing,'' She said happily. Then she made her way up to the quarterdeck where Merida was standing at the helm.
''So, where are you taking us?'' Elsa smiled.
''Ye're in an awfully delightful mood for someone who didn't get any shut eye last night,'' Merida chuckled.
''Ah well, I guess I'm just glad that we finally crossed the Atlantic.'' Elsa reasoned.
''That makes two of us.'' Merida said and she walked towards the small chart table infront of the steering wheel. She pointed at a certain spot. ''Tortuga is the nearest port, all these ones,'' she pointed to nearer towns ''-are Northern Trading Company* property, therefore not safe for us to make port.''
''Tortuga it is, great work, Merida!'' Elsa said cheerfully and made her way back to the stairs again. She looked down and saw Olaf sitting on the steps, Anna had stormed off after Elsa's little stunt. Elsa went down a couple of steps and sat down next to the boy who was struggling with the rope.
''Here let me help you with that,'' Elsa said warmly as she took the rope from Olaf's hands. She showed him how to tie a simple sailor's knot. ''See? It's not so hard, you just have to practise it so you'll be able to do it quickly.'' Olaf looked at the knot in awe, he admired the captain and everything she did greatly. ''Here, you try.'' Elsa said, she undid the knot and handed the rope back to Olaf.
Elsa watched the boy as he attempted to tie the sailor's knot. She couldn't help but smile, ever since he was her cabin boy they had grown close. She remembered their first encounter vividly.
It was almost a year ago. It was late in the evening, they had just sailed out of the harbor of a small Norwegian fisherstown. It was a well known and safe port for pirates, Elsa and her crew had been there a couple of times to resupply. She had seen Olaf run over the docks before, but didn't know the lad by name back then, she only knew he was the hand of the harbor master.
That night, Elsa was sitting in her cabin, trying to chart a course with a divider and triangle protractor. Several attempts were already lying on her desk, all scratched out. Elsa sighed in frustration and dropped the divider and triangle protractor. She reached for the goblet on her desk which she had filled with fresh water. She took a few sips but the cold water made her shiver.
Then she got an idea. She'd go down to the hold to get a bottle of rum. A few sips would clear her sleepy mind and it would warm her up. Surely she'd be able to chart a course then. She stood up and grabbed her black trench coat and her tricorn hat.
Once she got out of her cabin and stepped into the darkness of the night she noticed that she forgot to bring a lantern with her. She shrugged off the thought, she knew her ship better than anyone else, even if she couldn't see she'd still manage to find what she was looking for.
She strolled towards the hatch and greeted the crewmembers who stood watch. She made her way down and was welcomed by the loud snoring of the crew. She went down a set of stairs further to the hold of the ship and felt her way around. She sighed in relief when she had finally found the racks where they kept the rum. She pulled out a bottle but it felt empty, she put it back and decided to check the bottom racks.
Her hand traveled to the bottom racks and touched the floor every now and then. Suddenly, her hand touched something warm, something alive. As she touched it it started to move.
''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!'' Elsa exclaimed breaking the silence of the night.
''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!'' It exclaimed and Elsa took out her pistol in bewilderment and pointed it blindly.
Elsa heard the sound of multiple boots rushing down the stairs, all of her crewmembers rushed into the hold and most of them were carrying lanterns which lit up the hold. Elsa saw that she had pointed her gun at a young boy, with brown hair and big dark brown eyes that looked right at her.
''A stowaway!'' Rapunzel exclaimed.
''A stowaway and a runaway,'' Elsa corrected as she placed her gun back in her purple sash. ''Aren't you the hand of the harbor master?''
''Yes, please don't hurt me! I am sorry! I didn't mean it!'' Olaf pleaded as he dropped to his knees infront of the captain.
''Why did you run away?'' Elsa asked calmly and looked down at the boy.
''Because the harbor master treats me very badly and I had no where else to go. I'm sorry, really sorry.'' Olaf apologized frantically.
''And why did you choose my ship?''
''Because you looked k-kind,'' Olaf admitted honestly.
Elsa sighed, it was exactly the kind of reputation a pirate captain didn't want to have. ''Darn it!'' She muttered. ''That was one of the few ports where I could safely make berth!''
''Throw 'em over and we could still use the harbor,'' Merida suggested.
''No, no, no! P-Please, I beg you!'' Olaf pleaded and grabbed a hold of Elsa's boots.
''Wrinkling my boots isn't going to help your case!'' Elsa snapped and took a step back. She did pity the boy. She looked at him more closely and saw the possibility to make a fine pirate out of him. It wasn't easy for Elsa to come by hands since most men refused to sail under the command of a female captain.
''Fine,'' She sighed. ''You can stay as my cabin boy but I don't pay stowaways!''
''Thank you, thank you, Captain!'' Olaf cheered.
''What?!'' Merida blurted out. ''How's that gonna help our reputation? We take on stowaways now?''
''You wanna throw him over?'' Elsa asked calmly as she pointed at Olaf. Merida had a big mouth but Elsa knew that Merida didn't have a single bad bone in her body.
''NO!'' Olaf exclaimed anxiously.
''Ehh,'' Merida hesitated.
''I thought so,'' Elsa said as she bend down to grab the bottle of rum she had come for in the first place. ''Now back to your stations, all of you! Let's put some distance between us and that town before the harbor master figures out his hand is missing.''
''Jack!''
Captain Jack Frost stood proudly at the bow of his ship. The wind was blowing through his brown overgrown hair as he inhaled the fresh sea air deeply while he looked over the peaceful water infront of him. Being the captain of The Moon still felt unreal to Jack sometimes.
''Jack!'' His first mate, Bunnymund, called out again from behind him.
When Jack didn't respond again, Bunnymund took out his pistol and poked Jack in the ribs with the back of it.
''I don't know what you're playing at,'' Bunny snarled from the other end of the pistol. ''But I know you can hear me, Jack.''
''Oh, sorry,'' Jack said while he turned in the direction of his first mate. ''I thought you were adressing some other Jack, one who is not captain of the finest ship ever to sail the Seven Seas - surely if you were adressing me you would've said Captain Jack, isn't that right?''
''Bloody showpony,'' Bunny muttered under his breath and heaved an irritated sigh. ''Apologies, Captain Jack.''
''Much better, honestly thought we were past this though.'' Jack said. ''Now, you were saying?''
''We are coming up on Tortuga,'' Bunny said. ''Since that's where your bearings led us once again.''
''That can't be right,'' Jack muttered and took out his compass. It was indeed pointing in the direction of Tortuga. ''I wasn't thinking of rum, was I?'' Jack mumbled while he thought back to the events of the night before. No, he clearly focused on the map when he gave his crew the heading.
''Well, the map must be somewhere in Tortuga, then.'' Jack said.
''What a coincidence,'' Bunny rolled his eyes. Tortuga happened to be Jack's favorite town to make port.
Within an hour they sailed into Tortuga's harbor. Jack sighed happily while he walked down the gangplank onto the docks of Tortuga. A few crewmembers quickly rushed past Jack down the gangplank which almost caused Jack to lose his balance.
''Oi!'' Jack yelled, he hadn't given anyone permission to leave the ship. ''Looks like we need to pick up a few new crewmembers as well,'' he mumbled. Jack noticed the runaways were some of the newcomers, Jack figured that after what they had witnessed the other night they were in no mood to sail with him ever again. The crewmembers who knew Jack better, knew that he always found a way to get himself out of trouble and therefore didn't worry too much.
''Ohhh, Jaaack.'' Bunny said in the most annoying way possible as he leaned over the railing above Jack. Jack looked up and cocked his eyebrow at his first mate.
''Captain Jack, I mean.'' Bunny said. ''How about you leave me in command of the ship while you're out and about, eh? I promise I'll take very good care of it.''
''Nonsense,'' Jack said. ''I need your keen eye when selecting a few new pirates."
''Mr. Hiccs!'' Jack called out.
Hiccup leaned over the railing. ''Aye, Cap'n?''
''I'm leaving the ship in your command until I get back.'' Jack said. Hiccup was one of the only crewmembers that he truly trusted. Hiccup had been with him for several years now and had become a good friend of Jack.
''Aye, aye, Captain!'' Hiccup said cheerfully which made Bunny's blood boil. He scowled and stomped after Jack.
While Jack and Bunnymund walked along the side of the docks Jack always liked to look at the other ships in the harbor. Most of the time none of the ships came even close to the greatness of his ship, the fastest ship in the Caribbean.
Jack wasn't easily impressed by a ship anymore but this time a ship did manage to catch his eye. He stopped walking and took out his spyglass to get a better look. It was a big east indiaman galleon like his own ship. He loved the beautifully detailed rigging of the ship and the blue color on the stern was a nice contrast against the warm brown color of the wood. Also, the sails were some of the whitest ones that he had ever seen on a ship.
''The Ice Queen,'' he mumbled as he read the name of the ship aloud and lowered his spyglass. ''Now that's a ship that could maybe compete with mine. With looks , I mean. I bet she is no where near as fast.''
''A beautiful vessel indeed.'' Bunny said, for once not disagreeing with Jack.
''If I were to have a fleet, I'd want her to be a part of it.'' Jack said while he was still gazing at the ship.
''A fleet?'' Bunny scoffed.
Jack ignored Bunny. ''I wonder who captains it,'' He said.
A/N:
*The Northern Trading Company (NTD) is made up by me. Think of it as a replacement of the East India Trading company (EITC). I just changed the name so it will fit in better with the events of the story later on!