Across the Sea Chapter 2

Hey guys, soooooo, I hope you liked chapter 1 because I wrote chapter 2! I know what your thinking. "Leeli, how could you possibly write this so fast?? It can't be good if it was rushed." And to answer that, no, it was not rushed. I have actually been working on this for a while, but this is as far as I've gotten, so the next chapters might be slower. That is, IF you guys want more chapters. Anyways, I hope you like it!

The boats were in the water waiting for the signal to strike. Hali and Malik had planned the whole operation, mostly to impress their parents. Everything was ready. Hali climbed into a boat of her own and waited for her brother’s signal. Each of the three boats had eight men, and another six men stayed behind to tend to the ship while they were gone. Hali and Malik were in two different boats. Ren and Talia were in the last boat. Finally, Malik signaled with his hand that it was time to move. The men began rowing as fast as they could towards the three ships. The three boats rowed right next to the first of the three ships, and sixteen of the men, including Hali and Malik, quickly climbed up the side and onto the deck, while the last boat stayed behind for the moment to keep watch. Hali smiled as her feet hit the deck and she began running to and fro, dodging the attacks of the ships crewmen and looking for the door that led below deck. See, every ship has a door that leads below deck, and that’s usually where these people kept all their valuables. Except, of course, on Dragoneer ships, which they kept their sqwyrm in a special chamber that was much harder to get to. But this was not a Dragoneer ship, and so it was quite easy to find the door and bust it open. After that was done, she whistled for five of their crewmates to follow her and help bag their goods. As they ran down, Malik and the rest of them were fending off the ship’s crewmates, laughing all the while, and appearing to be perfectly calm and happy.

Meanwhile, Hali and her five crewmates were certain they had hit the jackpot with these three ships, for everywhere they looked there seemed to be something of great value. They swiftly set to work bagging anything they deemed valuable. Hali glanced to her left and saw a small handle on a small door. She grinned as she opened the door, thinking there would be some great treasure on the other side. But to her surprise, behind the door were stairs, leading down deeper into the ship.

“This must be a hidden chamber full of treasure!” She thought to herself

She glanced over her shoulder once more at the five crewmates cackling with glee as they filled their bags with whatever they fancied. Then, she ran down the steps into the darkness below.

Malik’s perspective

Malik was looked around at his crew proudly. Not even one of them were dead, they only had a few minor injuries. He then ran to the door that led below deck and shouted down.

“Alright! All clear! Get up here, all of you, now! Were moving on to the next ship!”

The five crew members ran out and they all got back into the boats.

“To the next boat!” Demanded Malick

They quickly rowed to the next boat and sixteen men got off again, this time Ren and Talia got off too while a different boat stayed to keep watch. As Malik sprang into action, he didn’t notice that something was off.

Hali’s perspective

Hali crept down the last stair and looked around. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she walked around looking for something to take. But she found nothing at all. In fact, upon a second look, the room she was in looked like some sort of prison. Just as she was deciding to give up and go back, she heard a voice behind her.

“Please miss, help me.” Said a small voice in almost a whisper.

As a reflex, she immediately drew her dagger and flung it towards the voice. She heard a loud *thunk* and turned to see her dagger sticking out of the wooden wall of the ship. Looking down beneath her dagger, she saw a trembling body curled up against the wall. The frightened thing looked up, saw the dagger in the wall, and went white. It turned again to Hali and said in a shaking voice,

“P-please miss, don’t hurt me!” It looked her right in the eye as it said this. It was a boy, a little younger that she was, with bright hazel eyes and short, slightly curly brown hair. He was a bit dirty and looked quite skinny.

Hali swiftly drew her second dagger and pointed it towards the boy. The boy threw his hands up.

“Please don’t h-hurt me miss! I don’t have a weapon!” He begged

For the first time in her life, Hali didn’t know what to do. She debated whether she should run or put an end to this witness. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that, which made her angry.

“Why are you here!?” She demanded

“I-I was kidnapped.”

“Where are you from?”

“Kimera.”

“Kimera?! That’s so far!” Hali thought

Hali was so distracted that she didn’t hear Malik calling them to leave.

Malik’s perspective

Malik and his crewmen were preparing to move to the third and final ship.

“Alright, were moving on!” Malik shouted down to the men. When they all ran out, he finally noticed Hali wasn’t with them.

“Where is Hali?” He asked the last man. The last man shrugged.

“She wasn’t with us when we got here. Thought maybe she stayed on the boat.” Was all he said before running to the boats.

Malik quickly scanned the boats for Hali, but she was nowhere in sight. He searched his memory and remembered that he didn’t see Hali come out from below deck when he called them on the first ship. He grunted angerly and climbed down into one of the boats.

“We left Hali on the first boat!” He shouted over to his parents “I must go get her. You take the other boat and take on the third ship while I go and get her, then we will come quickly and help you fight.”

“You best hurry, boy!” Shouted back Ren. And they were off to the last ship. Malik was angry, but he turned and ordered them back to the first ship. Only he got off when they arrived. He marched straight below deck and started yelling Hali’s name.

“Hali! Hurry and come out! This best not be one of your games!!”

Hali’s perspective

“Hali! Hurry and come out! This best not be one of your games!!”

Hali suddenly snapped out of it. She ran forward, yanked her dagger out of the wall, and ran from there as fast as she could. She didn’t know why she wanted to get away so bad, but at that moment, she didn’t care. When she burst through the door, she ran right into Malik, nearly knocking them both over.

“What were you doing?! Do you realize you could have ruined this whole thing? We already finished the second ship, and now the rest of the crew is at the third ship without anyone keeping watch. What was so important down there that you ignored my calling?”

“I didn’t hear your calling! You left me. That’s not my fault! How come you didn’t realize I was gone until just now? Answer me that, brother.” Said Hali.

Malik just grunted, clearly annoyed.

“Whatever, let’s just go.” He replied a little bitterly.

They ran out to the boat and made their way to the third boat, speaking very little to each other on the way. When they reached the third ship, they quickly jumped into the action. Once they successfully plundered all three ships, they rowed back to the Serendipity and a great shout of victory went up. Lots of singing and dancing followed as they made their way back to shore, which was about a two-day journey. They had a great feast that night, and there was much laughing and talk of their great success and all the treasure they stole. Once everything settled down, most people went to bed. Hali couldn’t sleep though. Her mind was in a whirl. She kept remembering the boy with the hazel eyes, and the way they looked at her. It was almost like they could see into her soul. She couldn’t shake the image of those eyes; how desperate they were. She got very little sleep that night. She scolded herself for even caring at all. But as hard as she tried, she just couldn't forget that boy.

Again, congrats if you read all this. Sorry, but I'm out of cookies, so you can have this instead 🥐 As always, please leave your honest opinion in the comments. I can take you criticism, and I really appreciate it. It always helps me improve. And Aerwiar Archives, if you read this, don't worry, more pirates are coming! 😄 You can also leave some of your ideas for future chapters in the comments if you want. I defiantly won't copy them. 😶😜