That night I feasted with my ship-mates who drank rum and sang heartily before passing out in the floor. I felt great fear of the drunkards but soon realized that they would do me no harm. I began to enjoy their company as I listened to their wonderful songs of love, loss, and rum. I sat entranced by one of the oldest crew-men as he sat and told tales of giant monsters, lost islands, and treasure.
The old sea-dog's eyes glittered in the lantern-light of the ship as he wove a tale of woe, misery, and riches. All the crew sat around him as he told of Davy-Jones and the monster called the kraken. The rum ceased to flow as his story grew more entrancing and when he finished the crew began to cheer and applaud him as they returned to their bunkers and their posts on deck.
"Who is he?" I thought aloud.
"That be ol' James Chance. He came aboard years ago before my time on this ship. He told me he had a niece that lived in England, Clarissa be her name I think. Well he tells his tales and he drinks his rum. That just be ol' James." A feminine voice answered.
"Who... Who said that?" I inquired shakily as a figure stepped into the dim lantern light of the abandoned Mess Hall.
"The name's Mellissa, Mellissa Dian Grasmere or as the captain and the crew calls me, Mockingbird." She replied, bowing slightly.
Mellissa was very beautiful. She had deep brown hair with a few blonde and red streaks in it; her hair was long with a bit of a curl in it. It came down to the middle of her back. A few shorter pieces hung about her face that she tucked behind her ears which were pierced with large hoop ear-rings.
Her skin was tanned and a few brown freckles dotted her arms and face. Her eyes were hazel; green mostly with a brown starburst in the middle. Her smile was a pearly white and she wore a red shirt that was stripped, a blue white polka-dotted vest and a pair of kaki slacks.
She wore a pair of boots that looked like they were made of lizard skin and had a red bandanna that was tied behind her head and served as a hat. She also had one peculiar item on her that fascinated me... a sword.
"I am Nicole, Nicole Rose Demira or as the captain and the crew call me, Phantess." I said, curtseying slightly as I stood.
"How old are ye?" She inquired as she began to clean up the plates and empty rum bottles that were scattered about the room.
"Twelve... Almost thirteen I believe." I replied as I watched her put up the plates and bottles in the sink to rinse them.
"Ye don't know when yer birthday be?" She yelled across the room.
"I know when my birthday is. I do not like to speak of it though." I replied with a stern tone of voice.
"I'm sorry if I have offended ye." She replied as she rinsed a plate, "Well, I am fourteen. I was about your age when I first boarded this ship."
"It is fine. Why did you come here?" I inquired, curiosity overtook my usual curtsey.
"Probably the same reason you did. I was an outcast, abandoned and left for dead. The crew took me in and I've been here ever since." She replied as she put up the clean plates in the cabinets of the ship.
"I was not abandoned or left for dead truly. I was an outcast and I still am. No friends, no true family or any sign of hope... Just pain... I... I should not speak anymore." I said, tears streaming down my pale face.
"Oh Nicole, please don't cry." Mockingbird said as she walked over and sat beside me, leaving a pile of plates setting on a table, "You aren't alone now. YOU HAVE ME and the crew!!! You are one of us now, an outcast. You shall be my friend!"
"Really? You would be my friend?" I asked as tears riveted down my cheeks.
"Of course!!! You and I are the only women on this ship. We have power just out of that." She replied, laughing heartily and only stopping when she saw the tears that streaked down my face.
"What has happened to ye Nicole, I mean Phantess?" she inquired, putting her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.
"If I tell you, will you promise me that you will not speak of it to a soul?" I inquired, looking deeply into her hazel eyes.
"On my honor and on pain of death, I doth promise thee, never to tell another soul." She swore, putting her hand to her heart.
And with this, I told her... She sat entranced by the tale that I wove much like ol' James did. I told her of my life and what I had been through. I spoke of my family and my "gift." I spoke of the music and of my beloved friend that I had left behind with... him...
"Oh my God. I did not realize..." she began.
"It is fine... I am here now and I am alive... I have a friend now and... And..." I tried to say but was stopped by the many tears that flew down my cheeks.
"Nicole... I promise ye that everything will work out... As God as my bloody witness!!! I swear to thee... We will find them both and she will be alive and he will still love you." She vowed.
"I just want to rest now..." I replied, holding my head wearily in my hands.
"Oh of course. I shall escort ye to your room. You shall sleep next to my bunk room and if you need anything, you know where to find me." She said as we walked out of the mess hall and down the steps to the bunk rooms.
She went down the hall and opened a door revealing an empty room that had: a bed with a pillow and sheets, a chest that set at the foot of the bed, a chair that set in the corner of the room, and a table with a candle that set solemnly on it.
"Good night." Mockingbird cooed as she sat the door.
"Good night..." I whispered as I lay down in my new bed and slowly drifted of into a dreary sleep.
Let the sea wash away all my painful memories of thee...
