Elsa couldn't remember a time in her previous life as a merchant's daughter when she felt more free - the world was open to her to devour and she consumed it greedily like she would the first bite of ration after enduring an extended fast. She was aware of her past life and found she didn't miss any part of it, save her father, and she suffered no guilt for her disregard. Hadn't her father explicitly bid her have an adventure? Well here she was, letting it all go. Being kidnapped by pirates was perhaps the single-most stimulating incident Elsa could ever hope to boast of.
The business of conversion to the lifestyle of buccaneer yielded an interesting blend of physical, social, and psychological training the likes of which Elsa could have scarcely imagined. She had not, after all, anticipated in her wildest dreams that she would be a part of the crew of an infamous pirate ship and under the command of a female captain who was incidentally younger than Elsa herself. Fortunately, the rigorous training she had to undergo was not done alone. Olaf had taken the news that he must become a pirate or die with even more enthrallment than Elsa had. With boyish exuberance, he withstood every trial that the first mate Kristoff threw at the pair and his innocent charm and frankness captivated every crewmember on the ship, thus earning both Elsa and Olaf a rapid assimilation into the "pirate family."
Elsa, though friendly with Kristoff and the others, only had eyes for one person - Captain Anna. Although not shy in the least, the captain was oddly hard to find on a ship that only had so many places to hole up in. Even though Elsa was constantly on the lookout for the woman, Captain Anna could rarely be found. Elsa's efforts awarded her fleeting glances of red plaits disappearing around corners and snippets of the boisterous sound of her laughter from behind closed doors. Elsa was unsure what she would even do if she ever actively engaged the captain or came face-to-face with her after so many days of mild pursuit - the mystery was half of the allure.
Then one night Elsa was stretched out on the quarterdeck, stargazing as per usual with both of her hands crooked behind her head for leverage and to give some comfort to her stiff position on the wooden floorboards. The helm rocked lightly by her feet and if Elsa craned her neck forward she could see the wheel and imagine Captain Anna standing at it, steering with reckless abandon, that wild glint in her eye. Olaf had refused to join Elsa that night because Kristoff had promised to instruct him on the basics of poker, and the boy did not want to pass up another means of corruption. The sky was cloudless, the multitudes of stars acting as sentinels over the Revenge and her inhabitants. Elsa found herself becoming wistful as she often did in the silence and presence of the vastness of the heavens.
She ached for her father (even though she adored her new life) and hoped ardently that he was doing well and wasn't missing his daughter too much. If there was one regret to come out of this, it was that she could not continue to the West Indies and secure his wares. Leaving him ill and poor was almost unbearable. The upside to piracy was a share in the spoils of the whole crew, but figuring out a means of sending gold back home was an entirely different story.
Boards creaked from below Elsa as someone climbed the steps to the quarterdeck. The merchant's daughter stiffened but stayed where she was, waiting to see if whoever it was would emerge and discover her position.
The footsteps stopped. Then: "What are you doing up here at this hour, Sailor?"
Elsa started and sputtered: "Captain Anna!"
The captain had her hands on her hips and was smirking at Elsa despite having used a irate tone in addressing her. Intimidated, Elsa scrambled to her feet, her face hot.
"I was surveying the sky… for practical purposes. Weather patterns and all that."
"Oh really?" The captain had ascended the last step and was slowly circling Elsa like a predator. Elsa felt the flush in her cheeks flare up into her ears as her eyes trailed the captain's progress around the quarterdeck. With alarm, Elsa watched the captain reach a hand to the sword hilt at her belt and slowly extract the weapon with a metallic ring. "Do you know what the punishment is for lying on this ship?"
Elsa swallowed hard and merely shook her head in the negative, unable to speak.
The captain approached Elsa, who remained frozen in place, and let her sword run up the outside of Elsa's pant leg. When it reached her hand, Elsa blanched and retracted her fingers as the sword was dropped from her side.
"Let me tell you a secret." At this, the captain resumed her steady trail around Elsa, sword still held loosely in her grip. Elsa pivoted on the spot, so as to keep the blade and its owner in sight. "We don't have a punishment for that particular offense."
The captain came to a halt and met Elsa's eyes for a moment before bursting into laughter and re-holstering the sword.
"But I sure scared you, didn't I?" She was almost crowing with delight at the pallid face of her shipmate. Words were lost on Elsa and she merely stared at her captain's mirth.
"I really do want to know what you were doing though. For curiosity's sake." Captain Anna swiveled completely to face Elsa and cocked her head to the side, anticipating an answer.
"If you must know," Elsa said, slightly annoyed at being startled by the captain's feigned assault. "I am fond of the stars." At this she gestured vaguely at the dark sky overhead.
Captain Anna glanced up to consider the dots of light above, scrutinizing them like they were a particularly difficult arithmetic question.
"They are pleasing to the eye," the captain said finally, sitting down cross-legged on the floor. She looked up at Elsa and gestured for the merchant's daughter to accompany her.
Elsa was enlightened considerably by her conversation with Captain Anna that night. She learned that Anna had inherited the title from the former captain of the Revenge, a man who had been like a father to her and Kristoff, who were both orphans. Anna had been the first mate at the time of her predecessor's death and only nineteen. Fortunately, the crew had no qualms about this appointment and put up no resistance. Anna had been captain since, and this marked the third year in which the fiery redhead commanded the vessel. A ship of pirates could not have a more enthusiastic or passionate leader, in Elsa's opinion.
Elsa's own history was then disclosed and to Elsa's surprise, the captain became somber at the knowledge that her captive's retention was detaining her from her dying father. A sensitivity lived inside of the outgoing captain and the new layer captivated Elsa even more.
It wasn't until clouds began to overtake that which they observed and a cold wind appeared did the two women end their conversation and retreat to their quarters. Captain Anna took the liberty of walking Elsa to the hold in which Olaf's and her cot was kept, even though the route was in the completely opposite direction from the captain's cabin. Anna's expression as Elsa reached for the door gave the merchant's daughter pause. Elsa waited patiently for the captain to speak.
"We haven't had another woman on this ship since I was a little girl. Having you about, Elsa…" the merchant's daughter felt chills go down her spine at the use of her name. "...allows me a sort of pleasure… one I had forgotten. I apologize for stealing you from your father, but I hope the Revenge will treat you as kindly as it has I."
The captain reached up to awkwardly grab hold of Elsa's upper arm, gave it a squeeze and then turned to stalk away. Elsa was still fixed to the spot, hand on the door to the hold, when Olaf came upon her.
"Elsa?" he was a bit drunk on rum. "What're you doing?"
"Nothing at all. Let's get to bed."
The first real test of Elsa and Olaf's piracy training came a week after the stargazing incident with Captain Anna.
Olaf was attempting to teach her poker on deck. Elsa was only half listening to his instructions, hopelessly distracted as she was by the wind whipping the red plaits and material draped loosely around the slim figure at the helm. At the time when Elsa was about to surrender her hand and abandon the game, a shout went up from the crow's nest - the lookout had spotted another merchant vessel. Kristoff sprinted past the pair from his previous position near the bow. It was obvious that his presence was needed at his captain's side.
One quick glance was all Elsa needed to ascertain that same excited look she had seen on Anna the stormy night that the captain had abducted Elsa and Olaf. Anna spun the wheel sharply and the Revenge lurched starboard in haste to obey her will.
"Gunners, man the cannons!" More shouts went up as the crew hurried to their positions. Olaf, with an excited squeak, scrambled down below deck with the gunners to act as their powder monkey. It was then that Elsa remembered her own duties and joined the boatswain at the foremast.
"And heave!" At the command Elsa and the other sailors tugged hard at the ropes in their grips. The heavy line rubbed Elsa's slender hands raw but she didn't relinquish her hold. The wish to impress the captain occurred suddenly and without warning and it accorded Elsa a newfound strength.
Soon the Revenge was astride the merchant ship, bearing down mercilessly.
"FIRE!" screamed Captain Anna and cannons burst forth, the bombardment cracking and splintering the hull of the ship alongside of the pirate's. Volley after volley smashed into the merchant vessel, debris soaring through the salty air and splashing into the restless navy sea below.
"Ready to board!"
The crew drew swords all along the deck and began to utter aggressive cries of attack. Elsa drew her own blade, wishing now that she had had more sparring experience. She listened to the heart pounding fiercely in her chest and eyed the gap between the two ships that she would need to leap.
Then, there was an arm wrapped around her waist -it was none other than Captain Anna, grinning eagerly, rope in hand. "Ready?" The captain didn't wait for a response - she took off, hauling Elsa behind her. Before Elsa knew it, the pair had run and vaulted side-by-side off of the Revenge and swung safely onto the deck of the merchant ship. The women had led the charge and the rest of the pirate crew was now landing around them, all still yelling a barrage of intimidating hollers. Anna released Elsa and set about assailing the sailors around them, blade flashing. Elsa had never seen anything so beautiful as the skill and intensity with which the captain duelled. It was as though the sword in her hand was only an extension of her limb, metal and flesh one in the same.
"Hey!" The clanging of a sword above Elsa's head and then Kristoff was pulling her away from an aggressor. "This is no time for daydreaming!"
Elsa shot him an apologetic and grateful look and commenced engagement of a nearby sailor in combat. Her own dueling skills proved far below Captain Anna's. They were in fact nauseatingly sub par and Elsa found herself not only fearing for her life because of it, but dreading Anna's remarks if the captain saw her abominable swordsmanship.
She managed to brush off one sailor but another caught and pinned her against the wooden sideboard, his blade across hers as she struggled to shove away his weight. Reduced to her last resort, she lifted a leg and stomped down, crushing the man's toes under her heavy boot heel. He cringed away, releasing the force he had pressed upon her. She knocked her sword against his and he staggered backward, falling sluggishly. Loosing a cry of triumph, she spun to regard the rest of the melee on the deck but was no sooner struck in the jaw by an elbow and thrown against the sideboard once more. A prompt kick to the chest had her falling astern, the world twisted upside down until she was enveloped in cold, dense water.
Stunned, Elsa let herself float for a few seconds as she grasped the fact that she had been mauled overboard. With a kick, she surfaced and panic set in as she beheld the massive ships heaving at either side of her. The waves churned by the great vessels buffeted her, threatening to thrust her under again. With every surge of seawater, the distance between herself and the ships increased. She tread water, letting the current carry her, knowing she didn't have the energy necessary to swim closer.
Then, an object hit the water a few yards away - attached was a rope. The crew members on the Revenge must have seen her fall and sent her a line on a piece of wood. What emerged from the depths, however, was in fact Captain Anna. The captain had personally dived in to rescue Elsa - the merchant's daughter felt her throat close up in wonder and fierce appreciation.
The redhead swam over to where Elsa tread - the rope was tied around the captain's waist.
"You're more trouble than you're worth," Anna panted as she neared, but she was smirking.
Soft hands gripped Elsa's waist and the captain pressed herself close. She tugged on the line that attached her to the Revenge and the pair began to move toward it as crew members dragged them upward.
When the women hit the deck, soaking and gasping for breath, they collapsed on their backs, not bothering to disentangle their legs from one another. Elsa saw that the merchant ship was being allowed to drift away.
"Did- did we- get what we- wanted?" Elsa had to take a breath between each word in order to speak.
"We had to abandon the operation," Kristoff said grumpily from above the women. "Apparently the Captain believed you to be a more important asset than all the gold we could have obtained."
The first mate trudged away. Anna let her head slump to the side on which Elsa lay and huffed, "excuse his jealousy - he knows well enough that I would not do him the same kindness were he to fall overboard... he is entirely capable of rescuing himself, of course."
"But I would have the decency not to go over in the first place!" Kristoff called from the stern.
"Elsa, are you okay?" Olaf's black hair and bright eyes appeared above Elsa, blocking her view of the blue sky. "I heard you fell overboard!"
"I would rather you did not mention it," groaned Elsa, sitting up and rubbing her head. Anna began to laugh and Elsa glowered at her out of the corner of her eye.
"Say, Captain?" Olaf turned to Anna. "Since the danger's passed, would you teach me how to steer the Revenge? You did promise."
"I always keep my promises," the captain said, standing and ruffling the boy's dark and already messy locks. "Care to join us, Elsa?"
If Elsa thought the sunset from her first merchant ship was a spectacle, it was nothing compared to a sunset from the helm of the Revenge. Anna taught Olaf how to grip the handles of the wheel properly and he did so, giddy with excitement. After some sharp turns that made a few barrels on deck tip and roll thither, she gently pried his small fingers from the wheel and let Elsa have a try. After some hesitation from the blonde, Anna took Elsa's hands in her own and guided them to the wheel, murmuring instructions into her ear.
Elsa hoped Olaf couldn't see the red that had crept slowly into her face, and if he did, that he supposed it an effect of the light from the disappearing sun.