Sea Legs Chapter 3
By Jillian Prueitt
Such is the tragedy of me, I’m afraid. I was told not to speak unless spoken to, that white men are infinitely more superior than I, and that I do not matter in this world. It always was that no one wanted to speak to me unless they wanted something. ‘Go get this.’, ‘Answer the door.’, and ‘Fix tea.’ was about as much of a conversation I had ever received.
Thus, I suppose it isn’t very surprising that I lacked friends to speak with. I did not mind watching them, though, and I was content with sitting back and simply taking them in.
One particularly slow day, I sat and watched as the crew joked about. We had just replenished our stores, and everyone was rejuvenated after spending some few days on land. Sitting on a barrel off to the side, I did not think about walking over and speaking with my crew-mates, it was far too outlandish a thought at the time for me to even conceive.
A movement caught my eye and I looked up to see Willy descending the mast, he was returning from his shift as look-out, and he looked a tad worse for wear. The look-out’s job was to, well, keep a look out in case of other ships or spots of land. Depending on what was seen, we would raise the colors or keep low. I had not known at that point that being the look-out was not a very appealing duty. Up in the basket, the ship could sway very little, but still cause great discomfort to anyone in the basket; even to those very accustomed to the sea and all her rolling and tumbling.
Which is precisely why I had no understanding of why it was so unpleasant to be offered to take the look-out’s position.
“Oi!” Willy was calling out to me, and gestured for me to come to him. I did as he bid and walked to his side. Willy, who happened to force me into a good humor whenever we spoke, was a very kindly sort of man. His hair was golden under the sun, and his eyes shone as blue as the ocean. His nose was rather long, and his front teeth seemed to be a bit larger than average. His skin was tanned and browned due to being out at sea so long, but he was still noticeably a white man. His loose fitting shirt and breeches suited his carefree look, and he was certainly one of the more cheerful members of the crew. I felt not an ounce of malice or bitterness toward me in his body, despite me being who I am.
“Do me a favor, mate?” He rubbed at his neck, his bright smile twisting down into an uncomfortable frown. “Would you please be look-out for me for half a tick? Me neck’s killin’ me, and I ain’t had a drink for quite some time! I’ll owe you later, I swear on it!”
Of course I would do as he asked me to, especially since he was so kind to me, but I was rather fearful of heights at the time. I looked up at the basket overhead, and I felt something heavy collect in my gut. “Up there?”
“Yea, up there. I know it ain’t the best way to spend your time, but I’ve got to wet my throat and stretch my legs! I promise you, Oliver, I’ll do something to repay the favor!”
I was aware that some of the other crew members were watching us now, as a quick glance showed me several had turned to see if they would witness me trying to climb the mast (and most likely failing). “You want me to climb up there?” The notches in the mast were made for someone to climb up with ease, but I was certain my grip would not hold.
“Climb? That would be a tremendously bland way to do it, wouldn’t it?” It wasn’t Willy who replied. I turned to see my Captain standing behind us. His gloved hands were clasped behind his back, and that twinkle in his eye I had begun to grow all too familiar with was obviously noticeable.
“Captain!” Willy was looking rather shocked. I was certain he hadn’t noticed our captain approach us as well. “I can return to my post if-”
My Captain raised a hand and stopped Willy from speaking. “Easy, Willy, go and get yourself a drink. Our dear Oliver will take watch while you ‘wet your throat’.”
“Yes, Captain.” Willy rushed down below deck, eager to have a swig of rum and stretch for a few moments.
I took notice that everyone on deck had been watching us, and my Captain turned to me with a smile. “Tell me, Oliver, would you like to have a game?” At mention of a game I heard a muttering from the now collecting crowd.
I shifted where I stood and looked my Captain up and down. The tone in his voice was odd, giddy, much like a mischievous child with a trick up their sleeve. “I suppose.”
“Fantastic!” He clapped his hands together and the grin on his face only grew. “Why don’t we have a race then, to the top! Whoever gets to the look-out station first wins!”
I looked back at the mast and all the notches in it. I was confused on how we were to race if we were climbing one at a time up it. I returned gazing at my Captain, and I suppose that my bewilderment was clearly written on my face.
“Ah, no, I know what you’re thinking. We aren’t going to simply race up the mast, not in the beginning, of course, we’ll be going up the rattlines first and traveling up from there!”
I then turned to look at the rattlines, my mouth shrinking to a frown rather quickly. Rattlines, if you do not happen to know, are ropes tied to the shrouds to form a sort of ladder leading up to the mainyard and on up the mast. I have found occasionally they can be boards of wood, but on the ship we used they were rope. The idea of climbing the rattlines was rather unpleasant, and I was certain I would make a fool of myself attempting it.
In a much quieter voice my Captain spoke to me again. “Oliver, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I believe it’ll be rather good for you.” Whenever my Captain said that something would be good for me, it always meant that he would be able to learn something about me, or I would learn something from him. He never clearly said that, but it always seemed to be so.
I looked back at him and a small smile reached me. I found it very hard to ever say no to him. “I’ll do it.”
He was already pulling off his coat before I had even said yes. “Wonderful, absolutely splendid! This ought to be a great show, I will say.” He handed his coat to the closest crew mate and adjusted his belt laden with all sorts of things. It was hard to see under his coat, but he held a cutlass in his belt, as well as four pistols and several small, assorted satchels all tied to it. He removed his cutlass and pistols and gave them to the same fellow holding his coat. His rather beautiful blue vest was much more detailed than I originally thought, and I was a bit amazed that he wore something so beautiful for a casual day. The sleeves of his white blouse were pulled up to his wrists, and his white gloves were tucked inside of it. I suddenly became curious as to why he wore them. He was, I realized, never without his gloves, not even for a moment did he ever make any move of removing them. He took off his hat and placed it on the head of the man holding his things, everyone gave a bit of a chuckle at that.
Turning to me, he was eagerly popping his knuckles. “Right then, let’s start! Would someone please start us off? No pistol required, thank you!” He had pulled himself up onto the ratlines and was waiting for me to join him. I was wondering just how he thought to climb to the top wearing those heeled boots of his, but I made no mention of it.
I clumsily climbed up beside of him, and I glanced down to the ocean behind me. One slip and I would either fall to the hard deck, or to the ocean. Since I could not swim, the latter was infinitely more terrifying.
“Ready!” I looked up and found Willy with a leather skin in hand (full of rum, no doubt). He was going to set us off. His grin would have been contagious if I had not been so nervous.
I felt my skin crawling with anticipation. I knew I would fail right then, there was absolutely no chance of me winning, there never really was. I tightened my grip on the rattlines and looked up at my climb. It would be immensely difficult for me.
“Go!”
And with that, we were off, hastily climbing the ropes as fast as we could. My Captain was unnaturally quick climbing, coupled with my poor footing, he pulled ahead of me within a moment. The crew began to shout and cheer as we climbed. My hands were growing slick with sweat as I continued to struggle with keeping up, and sweat beaded my brow as I focused on not slipping.
However, my foot did happen to slip, and my entire right leg fell through a gap between the lines. I gave a rather embarrassing yelp as I struggled. I wasn’t able to pull myself out, and was getting more caught with every passing second. My crew-mates were laughing and jeering at me and my plight, and I felt as though I would risk drowning than their taunts.
My Captain grabbed hold of my wrist, though, and I looked up to see a soft smile on his lips. “Come now, Oliver, pull yourself out.” He helped me regain my leg and my footing, and he returned to climbing. I quickly followed after him, growing much better at climbing by now. It was not very long before we reached the mainyard.
He was already halfway across the mainyard when I pulled myself onto it. His arms were only slightly extended as he walked across with ease. I stood there, gawking at him and his impeccable balance for a moment before I tried to follow after. After taking a single step I realized just how high we were. I glanced down and felt the world begin to spin around me. I became stone still standing on the mainyard, and I shut my eyes firmly in fear.
My Captain turned to me with light feet, he was nearly to the main top, but he stopped to look me over. “It’s alright, Oliver, you won’t fall. Just try walking to me, alright?” He coaxed me out of my paralyzed state, and I looked to him with fear shaking my limbs.
“Don’t look down now, just walk towards me. One foot right in front of the other!” I felt my eyes begin to drop as I took a step, but I quickly looked back towards him. My arms were sticking out from my sides to keep my balance as I slowly walked across the mainyard.
Sweat began to roll down my cheeks as I kept walking. It was agonizingly slow, and the comments my crew-mates were shouting at me were not helping in the slightest. I was certain that they wanted to see me fall for a good laugh.
“Easy does it, Oliver, you’re halfway there.” My Captain kept edging me toward him, and I made sure to hold his gaze. I felt as if my head was swimming but lighter than air at the same time. It was exhilarating and horrifying each moment I took another step.
Nearly to my Captain I felt a shift. I knew something was wrong right when my foot touched the wood. I shifted and swayed, and my arms began to flail around me as I lost the entirety of my balance. My eyes were torn off of my captain and onto the deck below, and I felt the world tumble around me. A great cluster of noises sounded from my crew-members and drowned out my thoughts. I was left with terror and emptiness in the inevitability of my fall. I began to tip much too far to one side, and I closed my eyes in preparation of the fall.
However, I did not fall, rather, a very firm grip grabbed me by the arms and pulled me back to properly standing on the mainyard. I threw my arms around my Captain, desperate not to fall. He held me with strength I did not know he had, all while maintaining his balance.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” He whispered to me, restoring my balance with his secure hold. “Open your eyes, Oliver, look at me.” It almost seemed as if he was attached to the mainyard, what with how he was so securely standing.
I did not look at him immediately, I was far too afraid to open my eyes. I shook in his grip and put all my strength into holding on to him.
“Oliver, it's alright. I won't drop you. I've got you.”
I slowly opened my eyes and looked into his blue eye. I felt myself shake in his grasp. I was barely holding myself up at the moment, and I was sure he was holding most of my weight. I was frightened, but his soft look gave me comfort.
“Don’t take your eyes off of me, alright? Now, we’re going to keep walking. Just take a step with me.” He stepped backwards and I would step forwards, the first several steps were very shaky and hesitant on my end, and I managed to slip once or twice. I was able to keep walking, though, and within a few moments I was much better at walking with him.
It didn’t take very long to reach the main top, but I still clung to him once we were on it. I still did not properly have my balance, yet, and I was still shaking from the rush. My grip was like iron on my Captain, but he did not seem to mind. In fact, he kept holding on to me as well. I’m certain it was to keep me on my feet, as my legs were near to giving out on me.
“You’ve made it! You’re doing a splendid job, Oliver, but we’re not finished yet. There’s only a short way to go, I promise.”
I managed to pull myself together, then, and I relaxed my grip on him. “I’m sorry.” I was rather ashamed of how I was doing thus far, and I quickly pulled my hands from him after realizing I had held him so painfully tight.
My Captain only smiled and loosened his own hold on me. “Not to worry, there’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Let’s keep going, aye?”
I gave a nod and he began to climb the notches in the mast. I followed behind him fairly well, but my hands were still clammy and trembling from before. My eyes drifted out over the sea, and I found the sight to be immensely beautiful. However my gaze also fell down below me, and once again the world felt as though it was spinning. I tightened my grip on the notches and quickly shut my eyes.
With my eyes closed I kept climbing, feeling my way along the mast to the best of my ability. I didn’t even realize I had reached the topgallant yard until a gentle touch spurred me from my thoughts. I opened my eyes and found my Captain standing in the basket, a bright smile etched into his face.
“Climb on in,” my Captain said, easing me into the basket. “It’s quite safe, I promise.” The basket was not very large, but my Captain and I were able to stand comfortably in it. We were able to sit comfortably if we didn’t plan on stretching our legs.
Once I was in the basket my legs stopped working. I collapsed in the bottom of it, huffing and shaking as I was reduced to a rather pitiful state. My captain sat beside of me and rested a hand on my shoulder. He didn’t look haughty or full of gloating in the slightest. In fact, he looked to be brimming with pride and happiness.
“You did wonderfully! I’m glad you made it up here, Oliver. Once you get to feeling better we ought to celebrate.” He smiled at me and I managed to give a small, but weak smile in return. I was still rather shaken, and I felt as if I was about to be sick to my stomach.
My Captain gave me a pat on the back, knowing that I was still a bit uneasy. “While you’re up here, I’d like for you to take a peek over the basket. It’s a lovely view.”
I wanted to tell him that I still felt sick to my stomach, that I was still trembling and nearly gulping for breath, but I was compelled to sit up and look. What met my eyes was a beautiful expanse of sea. I stilled for a moment, my eyes scanning the endless expanse of blue.
When I returned to sitting beside my Captain I found that I had calmed. My breathing was steady and I no longer shook.
I suppose my Captain was able to see the realization on my face, for when I looked to him, he smiled.
“The sea’s got a way of helping. She can destroy countless ships and swallow you whole, but you’ll run right back into her arms every single time just to see her.”
I was never in love with the sea; not like my Captain was. He preferred the open ocean than the land, and when he was on land it was always on the docks or beaches. Something unnatural pulled him-beckoned him, lured him closer and closer each day to the waves.
I returned the smile.
“Did you see anything? By any chance?” My Captain’s smile did not falter, but there was a wariness in his voice.
I paused for a moment before sitting back up to peer over the side once more. “I don’t believe so.”
As my eyes scanned the horizon something caught them. It was a speck, leagues off from us, sitting between the water and sky. I narrowed my eyes and craned my neck a bit to try and see it better.
“What is it?” my Captain asked, sitting still in the basket.
“I’m not sure.”
“Here,” He produced a spyglass from one of the satchels around his belt. It was a beautiful thing, but I hardly had time to admire it before he handed it to me.
Slowly I extended it and peered through. The speck was magnified to reveal a ship, but just what kind of ship I could not tell.
“It’s a ship.”
“Oh?” My Captain finally sat up to look with me. I handed him the spyglass to look through. As he looked his brow furrowed together and I became fearful.
“Start climbing down, Oliver.” He folded the spyglass and slipped it back into a pouch. “I’m afraid this might not be as quiet a day as we hoped.”
