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8years ago

Princess AngelPlin, sole heir to the throne of Allen Burg, destined to be married off in four years time to a man who is six years older than herself

yes that's me young blue eyed girl whose parents thought that she was dumb enough not to know that what they were doing to her was not for my benefit but for theirs and I should have learned by now to just do as they say but, It takes a long time to learn something, yes?. & I was young I was ignorant & I had a dream.

I had a dream that I would be a famous sailor not some trophy wife to some old man or spoilt brat of a kid. I would be one of the best female sailors that ever lived. I wanted to map uncharted parts of the world &explore new untraveled parts of the sea before I was tied down by any man.

That was when I hit the books &studied. I studied the one thing no captain would ever say no to

navigation

because that was the one thing I loved about sailing &that was maps so I studied what was already discovered about the worlds oceans, charted the stars, learned all that I could cram into my little 11 year old head my tutors helped me out wherever they could none of them wanted to see me end up like other princesses.

Though my parents couldn't make heads or tails out of my new obssetion with water seeing as I was petrified of the stuff &couldn't swim. My tutors lied to them about assignments that they were getting me to do as well as the many other study projects.

it was to me at the time the last place any of them looked being my best escape plan ever, having tried to run away millions of times.

So I memorised every nook and cranny of that big, blue, salt infested liquid you call the ocean I remembered each star sigh so, I knew them like the back of my hand it took awhile but I knew how far it was until quin and okasaki how long it would take to get there and all the short cuts that could be taken, I was more then ready.

I dressed in a pair of worn leather pants that i was bound to grow out of one of these days as well as an off white shirt, I was a smart kid and wasn't only going on this trip to get away the thought of gravity thrilled me and the idea of soaring like a bird with wind caught until their wings was an amazing thought ... for an eleven year old that it

but there was one catch for starting this new adventure I was going to change my last name because any one could be named angel and by the time anyone had noticed their 'dearest princess was missing, i would be long gone

so once I stepped on that deck no captain could say no....

............................................

"No no no and no" Captain Gazpacho deep voice yelled over the howling of the wind and the loud squawk of countless sea birds that peached along the square rigged mast of the ship that, from the gold letter scarved on her side, was the Dragon Fly the harsh authoritive growling tone was not something some one should use around children when telling them they were not wanted but i guess it was a tone that he was use to using

captain Gazpacho was, to me at the time, a tall man with dark brown hair peppered with grey specks giving away signs of his old age but other then that tell tale sign he held an air of formality, strength and authority in other words anything but old age showed on this mans face I doubt he would be settling down any time soon, his face held a squared look to it with a beard that seemed to be forever joined to his face it never grew nor shrunk or so they said...

His eyes were a bright emerald green, ones that strangely resembled one that would belonged to a cat, rumor says he used it on his enemies and they have a strange power to freeze them in place, but there only rumors right but either way this was clearly the man not to be mess with.

And today he was using that same green eyed cat like stare on the four boys in front of me.They fidgeted nervously in front of the captain who looked down at them with resentment and boredom.

They had just asked to join his crew as a tilter help sail trimmer and two rowers and captain Gazpacho had denied them all on his own terms without consulting his crew captains word it law I guess.

captain Gazpacho or James Lore Gazpacho the third, see I did my homework, was the most ruthless strict captain ever to come to port in Allen Burg.

I sighed quietly having second thoughts about my escape plan as I looked back up to the captain who would decide my fate

"Why couldn't I have chosen a different captain?" I thought

but,I knew the answer because he was the only one in port and I was desperate to get away from here from the throne my family and before my courage gave out my en-- my thoughts were interrupted by the gruff ahem that came from Gazpacho

he looked me up and down it was only then that I had noticed I had been staring right at him for about five minutes i flushed with embarassment

his eyes looked me up and down once more and I did the same he was wearing a long coat that pointed down to his ankles it was white with a blue strip around the waist the style looked familiar and i frowned a little as i couldn't place it, it had holes it the shoulders and a small rip on the waist obvious reminders of fights fought long ago

the coat itself hid his scarab which at the moment was on full view with his hands on his hip but must be a pain when he needed it in a hurry he was wearing black very non-formal boots as he stood between me and his ship my eyes strayed up to his and from the looks he was giving me he didn't like what he saw.

well done me in five minutes you managed to stare awkwardly at the person you were trying to impress and acted like a complete girl

something i was trying not to do

you better make up for that and think fast because it's bye-bye first impression

I swallowed hard as I scanned him over one more time spotting small red patches on him here and there I just hoped they were food stains

"What do you want girl?" he growled arching an eyebrow

my eyes lifted to meet his but lacking the courage I dropped my gaze to the floor and scuffed my feet across the ground

'well done' i scolded

he cleared his throat "i'm talking to you"

'let the formalities begin' I thought

unable to speak my throat felt dry and I felt as if I couldn't breath ... is this what nervousness felt like? he sighed

"what do you want girl?" he barked

I jumped looking up at him quickly his tone snapping me out of my nervous state I met his gaze regretting so instantly his eyes burned with the passion of a man whose time was being wasted, and sadly i was the waster of his time

I curtsied out of fright when I thought I should have nodded

"I want to join your crew" I said in a timid voice

I could hear that all the commotion on board had already stopped and every body was looking at the person who had taken the captains attention. I felt their stares and that made me fidget even more some of them were smirking they probably saw me curtsey I should have practised in the mirror

"what?"he snapped causing me to flinch"your going to have to speak up"

"I want to join you crew" I yelled stopping myself from backing away from the intimidating man in front of me

'I have to be assertive' I told myself

I certainly should have practiced all this first before I even dared try. But it was too late now the way I had said it was a lot louder then I had intended. his crew had lost interest in me and had gone back to work rolling empty barrels from under the ship to the facet that released the fresh water.

"and what, dare I ask, part would you play on my ship?" he asked irritably his tone showing he was running out of patience and i chose to jump to the paint and did so quickly

"navigator"I told him in a voice that still seemed to carry across the deck

the crew stopped what they were doing once again and looked to me a small figure standing on the pier near their ship being dwarfed by a tall bearded man whose face had been weathered by years of sun and salt compared to my pale skin that had not a single blemish on it. I was frightened near to shaking but I kept eye contact

"pardon?"Gazpacho said his voice softening and holding what sounded like surprise his body language relaxed

his body relaxed a little more  as he leaned forwards his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me tilting his head to the side like he was puzzling over my exsistance

"what was that?" he asked his green eyes bored into mine and we looked each other squarely in the eye green to blue, blue to green he turned his head to me so his ear was coser while still looking into my eyes

"navigator"I said again in a quietening almost questioning voice my throat going dry again as my nervousness came back he was so close

I saw smiles and nods from his crew as they started mumbling to each other and nudging those who weren't paying attention Gazpacho turned his back on me.

"stay there" he ordered firmly and i stood a little straighter

"where was I going to go?" I thought "I'm determined and nothing will deter me!"

he went over to the mast and called his crew together every member abandoned their work to hear what their captain was going to say. I was bouncing from one foot to the other in anticipation. there were ayes and a yes and every one was nodding and agreeing with whatever Gazpacho was saying some people stood up straighter to look at me

"but she's only a kid and a girl at that?" one person said I saw him cross his arms I watched as he got whacked over the head and i winced that was pretty hard and was definitely going to hurt in the morning

"that doesn't matter" Gazpacho growled

"think about the distractions she would make captain" said another "maybe not now but when she's older and lets face it we've all had our fare share of women"

and everybody nodded in agreement I watched as Gazpacho shook his head

"listen to yourselves" he growled "when will we ever get an opportunity like this again she wants to join and clearly no one had made her or she wouldn't be this timid"

they looked solemn for a few moments before they started arguing. Then after five whole minutes of yelling curses and what looked like playful punches the group finally broke apart there faces neutral not showing a single sign that I was accepted or rejected I bit my lip in anticipation as I tightened my hand into fists who was I kidding it was the captains choice after all.

"this was it" I thought feeling myself start to bounce again from both excitement and anticipation"the moment of truth, the moment i've been waiting for"

Gazpacho came towards me looking the same as every other crew member he was definitely not giving anything away

"whats your name kid" he asked

"Angel Tigue" I told him

"do you have parents Miss Tigue" he asked

I nodded "yes" I said

he frowned upon hearing my answer.

"do they know your here" Gazpacho asked narrowing his eyes

"yes"I lied, dear lord i was good at this

truth be told, they thought I was playing in the court yard amusing myself while they were at a meeting between countries they never did care enough about me to pay any attention to what I was doing, to them I was just a pawn, a bargaining chip to be used to settle long lasting feuds between countries. his face brightened

"did you ask their permission?" he ask his voice showing that he was suspicious or just plain old nosey

"yes"I lied nodding

though I only asked to got for a few months not for as long as I was intending to.

he let out a sigh

"kid I'm sorry" he said scuffing my head

"nothing will deter me" I thought "except those three words"

the words made my determination disappear. he was going to reject me and I tried so hard my eyes widened as I looked up at him.

"I'm going to have to say ... welcome aboard!"

his crew cheered their enthusiasm.

"go gather your stuff and be back here by 7pm sharp"

"yes sir captain um sir captain sir uh?"

"awww she hasn't even met any one and she's already lost for words" one of the crew bellowed

I would grow to know this member by name and face. his name was Vince the current navigator the man who showed me the ropes of navigating by sea but sadly he died of scurvy before I even turned sixteen. I blushed with embarrassment Gazpacho silenced his crew with his left hand and glared back at them growling at them in a different language ooh I couldn't wait until I would be able to do that too

"sir will be fine" he said gently turning back to me "now run along you don't want to be late for supper"

I nodded then took off running full speed to the castle to gather my maps spare pair of clothes and money then the next night I set off on my journey ready to learn everything and anything about sailing so i could the best sailor in the world

of course it was only then did I realize that I had just boarded an Armenian ship and once they had beached the ship and set up camp they had brought me over to the fire where a piece of metal laid in It. It glowed a dark red as it heated to melting point Gazpacho sat me down near the fire as he sat opposite me poking the coals of the fire with the poker

"are you going to go back home any time soon kid?" he asked quizzically

"no"I said shaking my head

"are you willing to have a physical mark of your labors on the Dragon Fly?" he asked tilting his head to the side slightly revealing a circle shaped scar along his collar bone one that strangely resembled the one smelting in the embers of the fire, but i didn't connect the dot's

I nodded slowly with narrow eyes not knowing where this conversation was leading too his casual tone was making me fidget around on the log I was sitting on I felt very uneasy he smiled as he pulled out the poker that had heated up in the fire he got to his feet I could see that it was an English Armenian sign with a decorative swirls around the side just like the one i saw on his chest

"what are you going to do with that?" I asked tensing but i had i feeling that i already knew

Gazpacho smile grew it was a mix between playful and sadistic a look that would be there very often as I started edging away from the hot poker tip as he thrusted it forwards playfully he chuckled as I yelped in fear

"oh,"he said casually "this is going to be your physical mark"

I took up a pained expression only just realizing where his curious questions were goingi was smart but i wasn't quick

"the penny drops" I thought

"you do want to be a permanent part of this crew don't you?" he asked innocently his green eyes wide and unblinking

I blinked a few times as I twisted my face and began to think I sighed with defeat it was either this or arranged marriage in four years time, i had a feeling that if i was caught again i would have guards trailing after me and a guard near every one of my future exits 

I nodded he beckoned me to pull my shirt down I complied pulling down a corner of my shirt I then bit down hard on my lower lip. I felt the poker singe my skin then burn through it I let out a quiet whimper as the poker was pulled away I released my shirt straightaway regretting my action my face turned red with pain as I tasted the bitter taste of blood in my mouth

"now you are an official part of my crew" said Gazpacho

he clapped me happily on the back acting as if he didn't just give me a scar I would regret for the rest of my life and this was how I started off as an alacue lap dog on the Dragon Fly as a crew member and this is where my story starts

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