“There’s a certain level of knowledge needed. I grew up in Belfast, mind you, the daughter of a fisherman. The sea has always called me by name. I know my way ‘round a ship and everything I didn’t know, I learned quickly. You don’t see women on ships, Lieutenant because there aren’t women on ships. Bad luck and all that.” She audibly scoffed before taking a swig of wine, “Nay, there’s a certain test I had to perform. Navigate the ship at night alone. I had to know all the ropes, how to steer, what stars would take me where… I was eighteen.” There was a certain shine in her eye, a massive amount of pride leaking through.
She glanced over at the Crimson King whose weathered face smiled softly, “You never did get the point of the lesson though.” He chuckled. “The idea, laddy, is that one person can’t control the whole ship himself. A good captain needs his crew. Instead this one was running back and forth, swearing worse than any sailor that I knew. I realized then that she would need to be told of the ideals behind being a captain, but that her heart was in the right place. I gave her an order and she followed it. It was good enough for me to start with. And she didn’t destroy my ship, so I let her stay aboard.” Calypso shook her head, her fellow crew around her laughing at the memory of a young woman, swearing loudly and dirtily as she raced back and forth, tripping over her own two feet. She had gotten bad rope burns that night, but it was worth it because she had proven her worth. Even if it wasn’t in the expected way.
Calypso ate a few bites as the captain turned to the other naval officer to strike up a conversation. Calypso looked back at Groves, “Aye, but it wouldn’t need to be in the Garden, would it? After all, God walked in there every day. Surely Adam wouldn’t need anything else to sustain life? Nay, I think it’s a pagan thing.” She remembered her church lessons. She had always felt a certain peace about believing in someone up there, watching over her, even if she had chosen a pagan goddess’s name to answer to.
Intrigued by the tale the pirate was telling, Theodore ignored his plate in favor of listening. Aside from the short excursions made for business he had spent precious little time in Belfast town. He was familiar though with the life of a tradesman and nodded understanding there. The young officers were also familiar with the general superstitious nature of sailors, though Theodore paid little heed to most of them. Traditions he enjoyed, superstitions he did not. Besides, women traveled on passenger ships often with little trouble.
A smile was directed to the captain, a wide laughing grin that the younger navyman joined in on as they imagined a single person trying to navigate and sail the entire massive ship by herself. How long had the Captain allowed her to run ragged and suffer the exercise in futility before intervening? At least the ship was unharmed from the event!
That she had taken such a test at an age when he was only beginning his career on the water was not lost on Theodore either. Though from what he could guess, she was eighteen when he was twenty, and thus they had, in a way, passed their exams together. The frown that drew across the new lieutenant’s face was thoughtful, unsure how such a thing should be taken. He was now twenty-one, and soon to be sent to a more permanent location for his career. as the Captain began explaining the sort-of exam he nodded again and returned to his meal, satisfied for the moment.
It could almost be forgotten they were among pirates. The food was enjoyable and the merriment of the crew evident. If they disliked the military company it was well hidden, and the Captain surely an authority to be followed to force buccaneers to dine with the navy in a friendly manner. Theodore looked up again, “Pagan?” How could pagans create something to rival the authority of God over life and death? Theodore opened his mouth to say just that and then closed it again. So what if Adam did not require it? The Garden housed a Tree of Life, what was to say it was not fed by like waters?
For once though he held his tongue and swallowed the argument, and covered his near-slip by taking a large bite of biscuit instead. “If you insist ma’am.” He chewed thoughtfully. “Then you know where it is, yes?”
“No,” The young woman stated, her tone ruefully. “But I do know the ritual, so when I find it I will be ready.” She skewered some of her food and shoved it into her mouth, chewing hastily. “The only problem I can forsee is my husband. I dinna want to be marrying a whole slew of men. It’d be too hard to keep them straight. Although if I just married a slew of men with the same name, that’d be easier.” She posed thoughtfully, considering the prospect for a moment.
“No, no.” She decided, shaking her head. “I think that would still be too much maintenance. Better just marry the one and make him immortal, too.” She firmed nodded, before filling up her fork again. The fire-haired woman, barely more than a girl, had a heart for romance and a head for reason. She was often at war with herself. Such is the folly of youth- the time for planning and the plans for everything. She swallowed once more and looked back up at Theo. For the first time, it occurred to her that the man in front of her had a life just as complex as her own. He may be an English lamb, but he was still a person.
Better to bury her feelings, her mind whispered. But he’s important, too. Her heart nudged. All her life had been this war. The back and forth of head and heart. That’s what made sailing so perfect- it calmed her heart and gave it joy, but had so much needed structure and organization. She could be defiant to her destiny, but still logical with her life. “What about you, Lieutenant? Where are you from, what do you seek?” She asked calmly.
