While everyone's eyes were turned up towards the magnificent shade of
the sky Mirrah's eyes were turned downward, staring intently at the
lapping waves at the side of the boat. Her brows were knitted into a
tight frown and she was clutching the railing until her knuckles turned
white. She probably would've liked the sunset too, only looking up
seemed to make the entire boat sway as if she had vertigo and would go
sprawling onto the floor if she even twitched a neck muscle. Her stomach
seemed to be doing flips and cartwheels, bad ones at that.
It
took her a good long moment to realize that she just might be seasick.
She noticed it when she boarded, the weird feeling in her gut that told
her she didn't really want to be there. But now here she was, holding
onto the ship as if she could hold it still, keep it from rocking more
than it already was. What was worse was that the moment she defined her
problem her stomach must've graduated into pole vaults and somersaults
and she felt her face turn green.
Maybe anyway.
Mirrah
held a hand to her face. She had lived in the mountain areas for quite a
while and even traversed plains and cities but she never thought the
sea would make her feel...this bad. She turned away from the
sea, clenching her teeth, doing her best not to let her stomach flip
high enough to expel its contents onto the deck. At least she had a
light breakfast. She was feeling somewhat hungry before she got on the
ship but the feeling was long gone now.
Apparently so was
Wilhelm. Mirrah let out a pained sigh as she scanned the deck. Of course
the boy would want to do some research instead of normal things like
witnessing a beautiful sunset. Lorena wasn't anywhere in sight either
but Mirrah hardly cared about what that woman did. Maybe Wilhelm
retreated below deck. Mirrah pressed her hand against her stomach
breathing out steeply before wondering if a below decks would feel
better than on deck.
It was then that she noticed a few of the
sailors dashing across the deck. One of them skidded to a stop to
whisper something into another sailor's ear before both of them nodded
in unison. He then disappeared into the captain's cabin before the other
one hastily, though not hurriedly, began to greet each group or person
on deck with a nervous smile. It was hard to hear what they were
discussing but his shaking hands told Mirrah enough. He was gesturing
towards the stairs that lead below deck.
Mirrah chanced another
glance out towards the sea. There wasn't much there except a distant
strip of land and miles of water between. Mirrah craned her head,
looking down the side of the ship and there it was. Another ship, just
as she thought. Mirrah sighed heavily, slumping where she stood.
Pirates? Seriously? Who does that anymore?
"Miss, a moment of your time."
She
turned her head, suddenly facing the spindly man with sunken eyes who
had appeared before her just as he did to the rest of the deck. An air
of uneasiness was spreading across the deck. The man's grin didn't seem
to do a good job of hiding it. He gestured towards the stairs with a
gray gloved hand.
"There seems to be an emergency. There's no
need to panic but the captain would like to have you return to your
rooms. Safety concerns, you see."
Mirrah tried to take another
glance towards the sea but the man simply shoved his face closer to
Mirrah, his eyes bulging slightly while his grin stretched an extra
inch. "Please, Miss. If you don't have a room, it's still advised for
you to take refuge downstairs. It's safe down there, you see. Safer
than--"
A violent jolt of the ship sent the man stumbling
backwards where Mirrah instantly clutched the railing, feeling her
insides squelch and whine with the trembles. She jerked a glance back
out towards the second ship only to find herself looking down the bow of
the exact ship. The sides of both boats were scraping loudly against
each other. Their advance was slow but she could already see men on that
other boat, swinging sabres and leering greedily.
Mirrah pushed
herself away from the railing, stumbling with the slight incline.
Screams were erupting from the remaining people on deck.
"Pirates!!!"
Mirrah
groaned inwardly, feeling the trembling of the ship reach an entire new
level with the stomping feet of people running for their lives,
wherever that was considering the boat was enclosed. Shouts began to
mingle with screams and Mirrah made a staggering dash towards a
staircase on the other side of the ship, desperate to get to Wilhelm
before the pirates got to him, or at least keep her stomach in place
long enough for her to make it down the stairs.