"Steer to port!" Captain Martín Alonso Pinzón shouted, and the Pinta creaked as the rudder was pulled at, the sails thrown to the wind in an attempt to turn us left. Our masts had sails painted white with a red cross in the middle, and the hull of our boat was almost black - or perhaps an inky blue. There were two other boats flanking us - one in front and one on the side. (Picture: #4.) The cook called them the 'Santa Maria' and the 'Santa Clara.' Personally, I thought their names lack imagination. 

But I was only a scrubber boy, so there was no need for me to be judgemental - that's what Cook said. "You haven't any say in the chris'ening o' boats, so you listen 'ere, alrigh'? We do what we do best, and you shut yer mouth - we haven't any say. Alrigh', chico?" 

"Yes, Cocinero López."

"And ye ain't authorised to do anything lest it's ordered o' you. No skipping duties - that's the condition for your... allowed-ness to work on this here boat. Righ'?"

"Yes, Cocinero López," I repeated with a grin stretching wide, right up to my ears. 

Cook's words went unheeded. I couldn't help but look over the side of the vessel with perked ears and wide eyes when the look-out called that there was land in sight. A rocky outcrop hid a deep blue lagoon from sight, and behind it, mountainous cliffs rose into a cloudy sky. The waves were quite still here, but the Pinta made them choppy as she passed. Slowly, we advanced, until a passage-way between the outcrop and the mountains became visible and we could slip through into the lagoon.

Shouts and exclamations erupted into the air. Ahead, a port became visible, bustling with miniature people, who called to each other to and fro. Behind us, the passageway swallowed our boat up, hiding the Atlantic from view. (Pictures: #2 + #7) I could see shoals of rocks on every side; many a boat must have sunken here. Yet, the sands ahead were pristine and a creamy white, as if they were innocent - and always had been innocent of violence and death and screams and blood. I could almost see the ghosts of the shipwrecked drowning in the water around us, and I shivered. If Mama had been alive, she wouldn't have wanted me to come on this trip - but how else was I to secure a good wage and a good level of excitement at the same time?

Scrubbing the floor is boring. Scrubbing a boat and dreaming of the creatures below - now that's interesting. Only a few days ago, we had caught sight of some kind of spotted shark. White flecks gleamed on its dark blue back, and its tail peered out of the water like a sharp blade. When it came up to breathe, it was hard to find its eyes, for they were small and beady - and well camouflaged. It must have been twice my size in length, and within minutes, it had slipped out of sight once more. 

I smiled at the thought of being a sea creature. "Do you think I'd have tentacles like an octopus, or rather fins like a shark?" I asked the Cook, but he simply shook his head.

"What kinda question is tha'. You're human, and a good thing tha' is." Even now, I still wondered if there was irony in his words - clearly, he found me a nuisance. 

But now the Pinta shuddered as a rope was thrown out and a man in the harbour wrapped it around a wooden post. A ramp was levered down, and one by one, we stepped out onto stable ground. "We are due to leave on September the 6th! Do not forget else you want to be left behind," a man shouted at the front. Cook caught up beside me, panting a little. The electric, thin, blonde hair on his head was jumping all over the place like baby fuzz, and his cheeks were pink. 

"Tha' - that's Columbus," he breathed.

"The Navigator?"

"Quite righ' - didn't ye hear me the firs' time?" 

"Yes, Cociner-"

"Oh, be quiet, Rodrigo."

I made an action of zipping my lips, and the cook laughed. "We should scour the area for food," he told me, and we walked forwards with purpose. A few children peeked out behind sheds near the end of the harbour, their eyes like stars as they watched us walk down the gangway. 

"You? But you're a child! What are you doing on the barco?" one of them asked, her brown hair falling straight down to her shoulders. Her tanned face was inquisitive, perhaps even a mite suspicious.

"Working," I told her, grinning. I watched as Cook disappeared behind an outhouse ahead.

The girl frowned, "But you can't be much older than us!"

"Fifteen. I've always been small for my age." I laughed as she put her hands on her hips, narrowed her eyes, and then left, running with her dress flapping behind her. I checked the area in case the cook came back, but when there was no sign of him, I edged towards 'Columbus.' 

I was just a metre away from him when a man with neatly trimmed raven hair and black stubble came stumbling towards us. "Columbus, old man! I have news you must hear." 

"Well let us hear it, then."

"In private, good sir." 

Columbus nodded, waving his hand at the few men still milling about, who quickly dispersed. Yet, being small, I could duck behind a crate, my knees pulled up to my chest. With gleaming brown eyes, I listened to their conversation, peeking out from behind my hiding spot every now and then to admire the mens' fancy clothes. 

Columbus was swathed in rich materials from head to foot!

"Sir," the messenger breathed. "The locals are saying you will cross the Atlantic against the Spanish monarchy's wishes. Is it true?"

"It matters not - such rumours are only rumours, whispered on and on by foolish men."

"And women," the messenger assented. "But others whisper of another root to Asia - the one around Africa. Word has it, the Portuguese are setting up a plan to journey around Africa in a couple of years. But if the Spanish do it first, then you have the advantage."

"You think they would agree to another journey across the Atlantic if I succeeded in finding Asia just like this?"

"No, indeed - but do you want to let the people die on your ship? There's talk of a storm and falling off the edge of the world."

Columbus shook his head authoritatively, "Mr Carambo. Astronomers say the world is flat and I believe them. Besides, I highly doubt the Portuguese's caravels will manage such a long ship around Africa's strenuous coast."

"The Portuguese are not as unskilled as you think, good sir."

"You want me to go around Africa then."

"Yes. From there you might reach the Southern, Indian, and Pacific oceans-"

"And there'll be riches in such a travel route. I promised the King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella riches, which must be met. Indeed, I will consider your proposal." 

Somewhere ahead, I caught sight of some blonde baby fuzz. Columbus and Carambo stopped their discussion as they caught sight of Cook's approach. I winced. Cook looked murderous, and if he were a paranormal creature, certainly his eyes would be red. But he had already assured me that, "If I were a witch, werewolf or vampire, I should cer'ainly hav' been caught by now."

Soberly, the Columbus and Carambo nodded at each other before striding away in two separate directions. Cook waited for a minute before bending down beside me. "Overhearing things, are we? Leavin' the ol' man to walk ahead? You better ge' up, chico, and whatever those two men said, you won't repea' a word. Alrigh'?"

I nodded meekly as he dragged me off.

#

Despite the fact that there must be hundreds of men waiting on the harbour, all was quiet. Columbus stood at the head of the crowd, looking sternly down at us. In his gruff voice, he announced the change of plan - we were heading south instead of west.

I smiled to myself as relief washed over me. I wouldn't drown in the Atlantic among predatory sharks, and that was cause enough to sink down onto the floor, my legs wobbly and pulled up to my chest.

"Ge' up, chico," Cook growled, but I just smiled at him and the blue sky above.

"Thank goodness all navigators are greedy for riches," I said, and Cook looked ready to give me a slap across the face. Yet, he just shook his head and looked ahead once more, and all around me, there was just a crowd of legs and shoes. 

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HistoricalFiction The four pictures I used (as mentioned in the text above) were: #2, #3, #4, and #7.

Thank you for tagging me on the "Round of 15" page!