Ocean Storm (Queen of Piracy Duology #1)

Chapter 9: Time to fight!

Eight years went by since I ran away from home. My mind still tortured me with the memory of dad dying on that damn bed. Getting over my father's death was extremely painful even though he'd confirmed all the terrible things my uncle had accused him of doing. Even after so many years, I'd sometimes hide in my room to cry my eyes out when I remembered dad. It also broke my heart that he couldn't even say his last goodbye to me. I still wondered what caused his sudden death. Although my knowledge of diseases was limited, something in my heart told me that sickness wasn't what killed my father. You think I'm paranoid, don't you? Maybe I am. I never trusted people unless they gave me a good reason to. Uncle Ruben and Maartje were the first people who earned my complete trust, but that took three years. Sven won it only five years after we met. Anyway, enough of my trust issues.

I was practicing cutlass fighting with Sven that evening. The sunset would begin soon since the sky had turned orange. I loved improving my skills in something I liked while having a magic view. Maartje told me she preferred the sunrise because the beginning of the day represented the chance of starting something new... Beautiful, isn't it? Sorry to disappoint, but my reason to like the sunset better was much sillier. To me, the sunset meant the night was arriving, so I'd finally get some sleep.

"You'll never defeat me!" Sven teased, wielding his sword and attempting to disarm me.

I blocked him and tried to strike a blow to his arms. We didn't try to hurt each other, of course, it was just practice! As always, I was wearing a white shirt, which became an off-the-shoulder blouse since it was too large, a black vest, light brown pants and dark brown boots. Sven's clothes were similar, except that he wasn't wearing a vest and his shoes were black. After uncle Ruben gave me those cool pirate clothes, I stopped using that stupid dress Hendrika made me wear. I loved to put on outfits that allowed me to move freely while I fought.

I laughed, "Never underestimate your enemy, blondie."

Maartje tilted her head as she watched the fight. She wore the exact same clothes as me, except that her vest was dark brown. Also, her hair was tied on a ponytail instead of loose. She held a bottle of grog, which was a mix of water and alcohol. Since we didn't have fresh and clean water, it was necessary to add some booze to it. Yes, you got that right, we were always a little drunk.

My cousin drank a sip of grog, "You're both children."

Sven and I kept fighting. Although we didn't fight in a way that would cause us injuries, both of us sometimes left the duel with some small wounds. He had the upper hand at that moment. I had to take some steps back since his moves were fast. Sweat ran down my forehead. When I was about to give up, a single blow turned the tables. I aimed for Sven's chest, which led him to duck. He narrowed his eyes. I kept wielding my cutlass in a way that would've hit his belly, neck and waist in real life. Uncle Ruben always told me these three were the "critical points" to win when he gave me sword fighting lessons.

After almost bruising Sven's arm, I struck a blow to his legs. He fell to his knees and grimaced. Maartje took a step closer to us as if she'd become more interested in the duel. Sven attempted to keep fighting, but I quickly disarmed him. His sword fell on the ground and I pointed mine towards his neck. Putting his hands up in surrender, he smiled.

I held out my hand to him, "Did you really think I'd go easy on you just because it's your birthday, Sven?"

I put my cutlass back in my brown weapon belt. Sven did the same with his sword, except that he kept it in his belt. He took my hand and got up. Fun fact: my birthday was very close to Sven's and Maartje's. Because of that, it became a tradition for uncle Ruben and his crew to throw a party for us a day before Maartje's birthday, which was the first one. The three of us had turned twenty-one on that same week.