Chapter 9
Mikkel cursed his luck. He knew what pirates did to prisoners, he would have been better off dead. He scrambled to his feet and and grabbed a nearby plank.
"BACK OFF!" He yelled swinging the plank at the pirates who slowly backed off. Mikkel took a closer look and saw these did not look like the barbaric men attacking him before. These pirates seemed better groomed and much less intimidating.
"Easy laddie." A fat man came up to him. "We ain't gonna hurt ya."
"Hurt me? YOU JUST BLEW UP MY DAMN SHIP!" Mikkel cried. The pirates had a look of confusion on their faces. The crowd than parted as a tall man with a peg leg walked up. He wore a black hat with a long orange beard. He wore a long leather coat and carried a long sword. A long pipe stuck out of his mouth filling the air with a sweet aroma. Mikkel assumed this man to be the captain.
"Ye seem to be confusing us with the Black Suns." The captain said. The Black Sun pirates were infamous as they were bloodthirsty. Cannibalistic uncivilized savages who did not even spare women or children. The world may not always get along but all the nations came together when it came to the threat of the Black Suns.
"You meet one pirate you've met them all." Mikkel growled.
"Ye really think we are like the others?" The captain said turning to his men. "Look at us! We barely have the weapons to put up a fight! We are all of us exiles, banished from our homelands for crimes we did not commit." Mikkel did notice they carried old rusty swords and their pistols looked quite beat up. Come to think of it, this ship looked like it was barely holding together.
"I was framed by a man who robbed the castle treasury!" A man with a scottish accent called.
"My 'friend' attempted assassination on the King yet I was the one punished!" A man with a french accent called out.
"And meself." The captain said. "I was accused of deserting the British Army and have been hunted down ever since."
"Who are you guys?" Mikkel asked dumbfounded.
"We are the Sea Rangers." The captain said. "We hunt down the Blacks Suns and kill them."
"But you do steal." Mikkel accused.
"We only take what we need since we cannot make port without getting shot at." The captain said. "We never kill unless shot at first."
"You do realize how stupid that sounds right?" Mikkel asked.
"Believe what ye want lad but know this." The captain said. "If we wanted ye dead we would have killed ya already."
"Why did you save me?" Mikkel asked.
"We are not ye average pirates, we figured it was common courtesy to pull a near dead man from the water." The captain said. "All we request in exchange is three years of service aboard this ship."
"I got news for you, I am not an exile. My ship was on its way to Corona for cross training exercises." Mikkel said. "I am training to be a soldier so I will not be associated with scum pirates."
"If ye training to be a soldier than ye should know all about honor code." The captain said. "We saved yer life, ye owe us."
"I will never help a bunch of damned pirates, my father would never have approved!" Mikkel argued.
"And who is ye father?" The captain asked.
"Soren Erikson." Mikkel said as the entire crowd gasped at hearing this name as they looked to Mikkel with wide eyes.
"Did ye say 'Soren Erikson'?" The captain asked.
"Yes I did." Mikkel said.
"I knew ye face looked familiar." The captain inquired.
"How do you know my father?" Mikkel asked.
"There not be a soul alive in all of Europe who doesn't know of Soren Erikson." The captain said. "He lead the cavalry charge against Weselton during the Northern War and defeated them with only two hundred men against three thousand."
"And just how would you know that?" Mikkel asked.
"Because I was there with him." The captain said. "Twenty five years ago."
Twenty Five years ago, Northern France.
Gunfire and explosions rocked the air as row after row of Weselton infantry advanced forward on the Arendelle-English outpost. The arendelle and english troops had not seen so much as a supply ship in two weeks. Ammo, food, and medicine were running dangerously low. The men were exhausted, hungry, and demoralized. With only two hundred of them remaining, there was no way they could defeat the incoming Weselton troops.
"Whats the use?" A young english soldier said. "We are going to die."
"If you talk like that we will." A deep booming voice said. The english soldier looked up to see a tall strong man on horseback, his is long hair blowing in the wind. There stood Captain Soren Erikson in all of his glory.
"What are your orders sir?" An arendelle soldier asked.
"One more final push." Soren said drawing his sword. "I will not die a prisoner."
"Are you serious! They outnumber us three thousand to two hundred!" An english soldier cried. "This is suicide!'
"No, its your job." Soren said. "I want all rum and flammable liquid dumped onto the ground in front of us. I will take the cavalry and come at them from the back. Between the cavalry and the fire from the rum they will be surrounded. The rest of you will pick them off with your muskets."
"The rum sir?" An Arendelle soldier asked sadly.
"YES THE BLOODY RUM! GET MOVING!" Soren yelled as fifty men mounted horses for the cavalry as the remaining one hundred and fifty men began dumping the rest of their alcohol down the hill in front of the advancing Weselton army. Soren rounded up his men and traveled to the side through the forests. Soren silently prayed as he thought of his beautiful fiance, Analise. They were to be married when he returned. He could hear the Weselton artillery and gunfire as he sped through the forests. Soon he came to the end of the forest and turned his company around so they faced the back ranks. Soren waited for the signal to charge as sweat rolled down his face. He saw the mass of orange flames shoot up on the horizon and pulled out his sword.
"Let it be known, that here, at the ridge of Hell, we gave our all!" He yelled. "CHARGE!" The cavalry let out a deafening roar as they charged forward. Hundreds of Weselton soldiers had been dropped by the fire and musket fire. The smoke and heat of the fire made it difficult for the soldiers to fire back. Upon hearing the thunderous stampede the back ranks turned to see Soren's cavalry advancing from the back. The sight of the charging horses caused fear to overpower discipline as the Weselton ranks broke. Soren stuck his sword out and decapitated a Weselton soldier as the cavalry slammed into the disoriented Weselton ranks. The sharpshooters were dropping Weselton troops left and right in a bloody carnage. The Weselton Colonel soon realized it was over and quickly surrendered. The Weselton troops were rounded up as Soren stood atop the hill on his horse with the Arendelle flag raised.
"VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" Soren yelled as he etched his name into the history of warfare.
XXX
"The day Captain Soren Erikson with a small company defeated an entire regiment of enemies." The captain said. "That day he proved to the world numbers do not win battles."
"My father did that?" Mikkel said shocked. He knew his father was a great soldier but to hear it from an eyewitness.
"Some thought of him as a god." The captain said. "He seemed unkillable."
"How I wish that was true." Mikkel said.
"I hear ya lad, I know he would have preferred death on the field to what he had." The captain said.
"Did you find anyone else from my ship?" Mikkel asked hoping Aksel was still alive.
"We found ye drifin on barrel pretty far away from here." The captain said. "So what do you say?"
"What if I refuse?" Mikkel asked sad at not knowing Aksel's fate but refusing to show it in front of these men.
"We will be civil and drop you off at the next port we come to." The captain said. "Since we are exiled men the closest port we can go to is South Africa."
"South Africa?" Mikkel cried. "I'll never make it back to Arendelle from there!"
"It's the only option lad." The captain said. Mikkel sat down and thought about this. Here he was, in the middle of the atlantic ocean, on a rusty old ship with some oddball exiled pirates. Three years as a pirate? What if they were caught? They would be hung! Then again its not like he had much choice, The path from South Africa to Arendelle was full of carnivores and thieves and hostile kingdoms. Plus these men did save his life. Mikkel wasn't gonna lie the life of a pirate sounded quite exciting.
"Alright." Mikkel said. "I will serve for three years and three years only!"
"Excellent my boy!" The captain said. "Ye can call me Sealion!"
"Sealion?" Mikkel asked.
"Ah yes, we don't go by normal names here lad. Ye are a Sea Ranger now." Sealion said. "All of use take the name of an animal that best describes us!"
"I am Seabear." A massive man with a thick russian accent said. Mikkel could see why he was called Seabear.
"I am Seawolf." A smaller thin man said.
"Seawolf here is the fastest out of any of us." Sealion said. "What should yer name be?"
"Well I am quick on my feet and pack a nasty punch." Mikkel said. "How about Seawasp?"
"Seawasp it is!" Sealion yelled as the crew cheered. Sealion slapped his hand on Mikkel's back. "Come Seawasp, those barbaric Black Suns wont slit their own throats!"
The streets of Arendelle were grim. Thousands of people lined up to honor the fallen men on board the lost ship. Each person held a small candle creating a solemn mood. Since the bodies were now across the sea, fifty empty coffins now lay at the Arendelle Cemetery. The bishop gave his homily as Analise fell to her knees in front of her sons coffin. All she could see was him as a defenseless little boy. The only solace she had was that now Soren would be able to hold his son in his arms. Aksel stood next to her with his arm around her. The King and Queen got up onto the podium and said a few heartfelt words to the families of the lost. Anna had lost it a long time ago and felt no shame in releasing her tears. Up above from the castle, Elsa looked down to see the procession. She heard the bagpipes begin to play and couldn't hold it anymore.
"Oh Mikkel." Elsa said sadly. "When I was a child, and when I was free." She began to softly sing.
"We would run wild, as happy as could be."
"I see you now todaaaaaay."
"God will show the way."
"Into Heaven where you shall staaaay."
"Your father will be there to meet you."
"Open arms, to greet you and hug you!"
"And never let you goooooooooooo!" Elsa sang with all her heart as she smiled at the thought of Mikkel finally being able to see his father again. She knew no one was in the castle except for the guards outside at the gates. She boldly stepped forward and slowly brought her hand to the door. She gulped as she slowly turned the knob. The door creaked open revealing the hallway. Elsa took a deep breath as she stepped out of her room for the first time in years.
"Oh what I would give,
To go where you are!"
"I know you're close but
you are oh so faaaaaar!"
"Remember the pond?
Where we would swim?
You're bright smile,
And you're long hair,
always needing a trim!"
"Remember our hideouts?
And our handshakes?
Oh all those sweet memories
we would make!"
"I still feel you arms around me,
Your heart against mine!
"I will always hold you dear,
Till the end of tiiiiiiiiiiime." Elsa said with a powerful increase in volume. She then stopped and choked up.
"What I would give,
to go where you are.
You are so close,
but oh sooooo faaaaaaaaaaaar." Elsa said as fell to her knees and cried. Icy veins crawled across the room as the broken girl released her regret in a liquid known as tears.
"Please forgive me Mikkel." Elsa prayed. "Please come back." Elsa's voice was soon drowned out by tears. The people outside had gathered around the cemetery for the burial ceremony. Each family member went to their respective lost one but each person made time to go to the grave on the hill near the castle stood a memorial everyone knew well. The grave of Soren Erikson sat just beneath an Evergreen Pine tree to symbolize his spirit would never die. Next to Soren lie a grave stone with the engraving of his son, Mikkel Erikson. Analise walked up to the two graves and collapsed in between them. One hand on her husband's grave, the other on her son's. The bishop gave his final blessing as the crowd laid down roses next to Mikkel's grave. Soon everyone except Aksel and Analise stay at the grave. Aksel stood at the tree saying a rosary while Analise still lie between the two graves. Aksel felt his heart ache for the poor woman. The smell of rain filled the air as gray clouds entered from the west.
"Analise, we should go. A storm is coming." Aksel said.
"No." She said sadly.
"You could get hurt if you stay out here." Aksel said trying to reason with her.
"I don't care, there is nothing left for me here anymore." Analise said devoid of emotion. Aksel saw that she was giving up. Aksel had promised Soren when he died that he would take care of Analise and Mikkel. He had already failed with Mikkel, he would not fail with Analise.
"Listen, I won't pretend to know what you are going though but don't throw away your life!" Aksel said trying to knock some sense into her. Analise closed her eyes and tried to cry but her tears had already come out. Aksel went to her and put his arm around her shoulder and his other beneath her knees and picked her up.
"Let's get you home. I will make some hot tea for you." Aksel said carrying the destroyed mother and wife back home.
Didja like my song? Didja didja? R&R!