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Alright! Here is Chapter One of my story!
Chapter 1: Ruins of a Former Life
Davy Fireskull stared at the island that the Black Swan was headed to. Since his arrival on the pirates ship, he had bonded with the crew, the captain, the ship, and the sea. At this point, it felt like he had always been on this ship. He rarely thought of the attack on The Eagle 10 years ago. It was all behind him now. He had a new life as a pirate, and a new name. (He became known as “Fireskull” after drinking a potion that the crew’s gypsy had whipped up one day, lighting his head on fire.)
However, this island was bringing back memories to Davy; memories of when he was just a boy, of his parents, and of his brother, William. The island that the Black Swan was headed to was Port Royal. He hadn’t seen the island since he was a child. He was both eager and nervous to return to the island of his childhood. Captain Hawk’s plan was to enter the island flying navy flags that they had stolen from a navy ship, then they could sell their stolen cargo, get the updates on everything going on in the Caribbean, buy some rum (actually, a lot of rum. Davy was the biggest rum lover of the crew).
For now, Davy was wondering if he would find his mother here, who remained on the island when The Eagle was sunken. Or maybe William would have found his way back here. They were desperate hopes, but he was still hopeful.
“Davy! Get down from there! We need ye to help prepare our cargo for unloading tomorrow!”
Davy peered down from the crows nest to see his good friend Gill standing at the bottom of the mast. Gill was 30 years old, give or take. Most pirates don’t know their exact ages. He was muscular, one of the strongest men in the Black Swan’s crew. Whenever they boarded a ship, he would be the one leading the broadswords in the beginning of the raid. However, as strong and fearless as he may have been, he was also a kind fellow. He was almost a second father to Davy. As soon as Davy arrived on the ship, he made sure that he was never harassed by the others. Davy loved him, and Gill loved him back.
“Comin’ Gill! Just wanted to get a glimpse of Port Royal… I haven’t been there since I was a boy ye know,” said Davy, climbing down from the mast.
“Yer eighteen years old Davy, ye still are are a boy!” laughed Gill
Davy chuckled to himself, and went under the deck to prepare the cargo for unloading.
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All was done. The ship was docked, the cargo was unloaded, and the crew was on Port Royal. Captain Hawk had given Davy permission to search for his family, or any remains of his childhood.
His first place to check was going to be his former house. He had dressed in slightly nicer clothes so that he wouldn’t be stared at too much in the town. He was wearing a long red “shop” vest, brown trousers, some simple boots, and a white puffy shirt. He was confident that townspeople wouldn’t recognize him, as he had changed much. His bright green eyes that he had when he was a child were darker now, and he had a small scar going across one eye from a nasty fight with the captain of a navy ship that he boarded. His dark brown hair was almost black now, and he had grown a small beard. Lastly, his muscles were much more developed now, from 10 years of work at the mast.
As he was walking down the town’s main street, he recognized several faces. Some were childhood friends of his that he grew up with, while others were townsfolk that his father had done business with. He desperately wanted to go up to some of them and say, “Its me! David! Remember me? I disappeared in a shipwreck ten years ago!” But he couldn’t. He had promised the Captain Hawk that he wouldn’t give his identity away, unless it was to his mother, who must not be able to tell anyone about him. If his identity got out, it could lead to too much questioning, and could endanger the Black Swan and her crew.
As he was walking, he noticed a lot of wreckage in the area near his house, on the east side of the island, about a mile from the beach. There were many damaged buildings, and wreckage strewn all over the road.
“Now what could be the cause of something like this…?” Davy asked himself.
Finally, after a long walk, he arrived at his house. Or what was left of it. The house was almost completely destroyed. The second story was virtually gone, and there were burn marks all over the house, as if the house was burned down.
But no… Davy thought, a fire couldn’t do all that to a house… it almost looks like it was blasted with cannons… but who would do that?
Davy walked into what remained of the house. The furniture was mostly destroyed, but a few pieces still remained intact. The dining room seemed mostly untouched. Just ashes and a bit of caved in ceiling, but not much damage compared to the other rooms. Davy visited his old bedroom, only to find it a mess. His bed was broken, the legs of it splintered apart, and the body of the bed snapped in two. A tear came into Davy’s eye as he looked at what was left of his former bedroom.
Then something caught his eye. On his dresser, which was untouched in a corner, held a small painting of his family, about a year before the shipwreck. Davy picked it up. There were his parents, smiling at the painter, with Davy and William between them. Davy smiled, then started to sob. What had become of his old life? What god or spirit could ruin such a happy family? Davy picked up the painting, and put it into his bag.
After one last sweep of the house, he left with the painting, a childhood toy of his (a little wooden ship), and his mother’s favorite ring (which for some reason she left here). He also left with something larger. His father had a cutlass custom made for him when Davy was only three years old. It was a beautiful creation; a golden hilt shaped like a dragon with its wings spread, and a blade with a vine design engraved into the metal. His father had never used it to fight with, and kept it on the wall instead, but it was one of his most prized possessions. Davy was confident that he could fight with it.
He soon arrived back into the town. His plan was to find someone his parents had known well back before the shipwreck, and to see if he could get information out of them. He soon stumbled across a family friend, Francis Truehound, purchasing food from a street vendor.
“Excuse me sir,” Davy said to him, tapping his shoulder. “I recently moved back to this island, after leaving ten years ago with my family from the Americas. I noticed that the east side of the island is a wreck. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Oh! Why of course, come sit down,” Francis said, beckoning to a bench. “Say, do I know you from somewhere? Your face seems familiar…”
“Why no, I don’t think that we have met,” Davy said.
Francis stared at him for about a minute, making Davy feel a little bit uneasy. Then Francis broke the silence and said: “When did you say you moved away from Port Royal again?”
“Oh, err… ten years ago, why?”
“Because that’s when David Phillips and his father Henry Phillips disappeared aboard The Eagle.”
Davy’s eyes widened, and he gulped in nervousness. Then he said, “Mr. Truehound, please, you can’t tell anyone that I’m still alive. I can’t explain right now, but I will later. Please…”
“Its okay David! I won’t tell anyone about you as long as you explain to me what has happened since you disappeared.” Francis said.
“First I want you to tell me what happened to Port Royal, my house, and my mother. And I go by Davy now, not David” Davy said.
“Alright then Davy, I guess I’ll start with what happened when news of your disappearance reached the island, but first, lets get to my house. My wife isn’t there right now, so we should have it all to ourselves.”
Tell me what you think of it.
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