The Seafarer

The click of wheels on cobblestone drowned out their silence. Each drove her closer to the docks but further from home. The rhythmic trundling of their closed carriage slowed and became disruptive. Melissa tensed as animate voices began to bleed through their carts darkened walls. As they advanced, the mass of uncouth, loud, and grating tones surrounded her and her mother. She snaped back as one appeared beside them.

"Alex! Gah! Get back here or…" it bellowed in passing.

Melissa's mother continued to frown opposite her. “You will have to be braver than that to survive aboard a ship” She suddenly said, “Especially one full of grimy and barbaric men”. Her tone was carefully controlled. She had been silent since last night, after pleading with her daughter not to go for the final time. The result was a quiet morning journey stewing in the same stormy atmosphere. Now words spilled from her lips as brittle docks bounced beneath them. “I hope you’re not doing this just to prove something, because your father and I already love and respect you. You have a lot of your father’s family in you, and you’ll make an honest heir”

“I-Its no… not” Melissa stuttered. Expecting another argument, she had been mentally preparing to levy the same points from last night. Now she was blindsided by her mother’s loving support. Salty sea air pierced the cabin. It intermingled with the scent of bloodied and rotting fish. Melissa knew it well; during her childhood, she had enjoyed infrequent trips to the ports fish markets with her family’s shopper. “That’s not why” She finally pronounced.

“Then why?”

Melissa told the truth. Some of it. “I’m a Skylla, and I want to see if it’s true: “she said “Shaky on Land, Stalwart on sea. Always to be”

Her mother noticeably quieted. The woman’s amber eyes thinned in irritation. She disliked the family’s maxim, believing it to be outdated and irrelevant to a house of nobility. The sounds of a humming mass began to fade, and soon all they could hear was a slight, far out buzz of outside discussion. And the gently frothing of the ocean.

“On the docks, Madam” Their driver gruffed as the carriage trundled to a stop.

The cabin door opened to reveal a fresh-faced older man. He wore a fine black vest over a creamy button-down shirt. The outfit helped to broaden his shoulder, for otherwise he was excessively tall and lanky. Sleek black pants draped his tall legs. He appeared lordly, and completely out of place against the sea-stained hardwood. His dark hair was curtly styled.

The lines of his face curled against a bright smile as he peered into the cabin. His sea-green eyes lit upon his daughter. “Milly!” He cried in excitement and scooped her up. Cradling her in his arms, he raced across the almost solid platform. Thin gaps like ink streaks parted the wood floorboards. Her father suddenly stopped and spun them in a wide circle “Look! Skyla Pier”.

Melissa smiled warmly. She had never seen him so excited. Bouncing in his bony arms, she watched the dock blur by. Most of its ports were empty, but several were beset by massive ships which rose high above the waves with colorful sails. Melissa stared at them wide-eyed as they bobbed against the waves. Her family’s pier was further than that of the bustling mainland’s and rose out of the sea as an isolated island. A large but guarded bridge connected the two wharfs and could be submerged during times of civil unrest. A tall warehouse was built into the dock.

Several sailors lounged around it. They stood at attention at Melissa and her father. Many hurriedly buried their hands in their pockets. Melissa’s father sprinted past them, eager to reach the end of the pier. He set her down there, in between a clout of proud ships.

„Look” he said, pointing his daughters arm at a glittering Vessel “That’s yours, The Rainbow fish”. An armor of vivid scales sheened on its exterior, painted in sparkling hues of crimson, emerald, azure and gold. These same colors were paraded on each of its four-towering masts as vibrant sails. A large, painted fish threw itself in a wide arc beneath the bowsprit.

„Its beautiful!” She said, leaning into her father. Melissa briefly forgot how tall she had become, and accidently knocked heads with him.

Her fathers arm curled further around her waist. Spinning her, he pointed her hand at the large warship now occupying her view. “This is the Skyla” he said, having her point out the six wolf heads springing from the prow. They were bound by a draconian body, which ended in a scaly fish tale. “It was the first of our family’s ships and is passed down from one head of the household to the next. It will be yours someday.”

It was unmissable and titanic in size, so that she had to turn her head forward and back to take it all in. Six masts mounted its colossal frame, each bearing three blackened sails and two crows nests branching from their tops in wicked y-shapes. Darker wood comprised the ship, carving archaic footholds and shields in the bulwark. It seemed a fortress built of one solid piece. Its most prominent feature, however, were the six colossal cannons built into its charcoal hull. Three lay on each side, each pointing in a different direction. Nothing could be seen in the darkness of their rounded interiors, which were large enough to live one’s life in. Together they consumed most of what must have been the ships 5 levels and indeed all the other portholes embedded in the side of the ship had been built around them.

He watched her admire them. “My father used to say that each cannon was capable of wiping away a single ship” he said “No matter its size or strength. I’ve always wondered…”

“Now its just an antiquity of course” Melissa’s mother said, catching up with them “There’s no way to find out if were true or not”

“That’s true, those cannons are the only firepower left aboard. Their structurally significant, and don’t wear with the rain” Her father said, still enamored by the vessels enormous guns. “Also there’s no rudder.”

“Good thing, or you might have gotten away from me” Melissa’s mother crooned. She embraced her husband from behind.

“I wouldn’t have dreamed Allyssa” He said.

Red-faced, Melissa looked away as they kissed. “uhm!” She coughed “Shouldn’t I start to board”. She coyly shuffled toward the Rainbow Fish.

“Wait” her mother cried. She leapt for her daughter, embracing wrapping her in a tight hug. She laid a wet kiss on Melissa’s forehead “I love you. Be safe”

Melissa’s father smoothed out her frazzled hair. “Do as Efrem says, he knows the ocean like the back of his hand. He’ll keep you safe” He said “I’m very proud of you Milly”

Melissa pulled her parents close for a final time, then pushed away. She ran for the board slanting up the ship. It was steep and a crew member, a burly man named Jacob, had to help her up.

Allyssa watched her daughter disappear below deck. Then she dove for her husband to complete their kiss. He met her hungry lips but pulled away.

“I need to discuss something with the Captain” he said.

She frowned and began to slink away. “I’ll wait for you… in the carriage” she said, looking back.

He nodded, staring at the ship until she was out of sight. Slowly, the noble man walked to the end of the pier. Slowly, he pulled his pants up to his thighs. The ocean expanded endlessly before him. Some said it was unconquerable, that its waves would dash anything to pieces before one could see even half its beauty. Others gossiped about the beasts beneath that were said to pull sailors to their doom and sink ships in the best of weather. It was these same monsters that adorned the prows of his family’s ships. It was a tradition that had begun with his ancestors in what most would say was an attempt to invoke fear during those antiquated days. Back when the sea and its treasure trove islands were a wilderness that could bend to no nation, no people. But no, they were idols. Built during those days when the old gods were still old, but new. No creature sunk its worshippers. There had been a contract then, and now too.

Bracing himself, the man buried his feet in the sea. He felt it instantly. The Presence, large and thundering. It spoke to him in large, looming words. And he answered in large, looming words. Then he joined his wife in their carriage. It drew them further inland and away.

Below deck, Jacob was leading Melissa down a waxed stairwell and through a series of clear cut halls. Regularly spaced doors lined these passages. Each bore a unique and colorful Icon above its frame. The entrance to her quarters lay in the deepest corner of the vessels third deck, and took the form of a false wall built into the interior.

"It may be a bit dusty" he grumbled, finding an invisible handle in the thin section. Grunting, he dragged his arm to the side. The panel slid with him seamlessly and unveiled a hall branching into three distinguished portals. "If you have any questions" Jacob said, brushing her off "All the crew are nice". He left her standing in the foyer.

Melissa took hold of the main entrances apparent grip and started to pull it closed. It was heavy, and took great effort. She was to do it piece meal taking frequent breaks. Finally, and with Melissa white-faced, the door whispered shut. Steel circlets ranged the door's frame, complimenting similar guards on the surrounding wall and allowing it to be bolted in multiple areas.

She continued on to the center portal. A gilded knob was attached to its smooth oak. It was cold to the touch.

A muffled bang emerged from the door. Melissa froze. She considered calling for help but frowned and cast the idea aside. There was no surer way to lose their respect. She had to be courageous. Taking a deep breath, Melissa steeled herself. “One, two," She whispered, preparing herself "three Who's there!"

She screamed and flung open the door…