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Sea of Memories
By: The Melodious M

She goes through the night seeking to find all she has lost. Her most valuable possessions have been lost to the dreaded sea. She seeks vengeance for what it has taken from her. Yet the only sound that seems soothing is the lap of the water against her vessel. On land sleep seems to avoid her but on water it comes quickly. Drowning the pain as it drowned her loved ones.
It started when she was young. First her beloved father, cast out to sea to seek fortune, fame, and fantasy. The report returned that his vessel was spotted going down.

The only thing she wanted from her father's possessions were his hat and katana. Those were the items she could remember her father having when she was a girl. She longed to wield her father's weapon in battle and to wear his hat as she fought for the freedom of her people.
Her Mother and brothers were seeking a new life for themselves after her father's passing. The last message retrieved from the ship was 'SOS'. Their ship was never heard from again.

She feels so alone. Her world has come down around her. Their is nothing tieing her to living. However she must go on. Not only must she go on but she must cling to the sea for if she leaves the sea's side it may take forever the memories of those she holds dear.
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"Why does everything seem to happen to me!" she shouts at the top of her lungs. "First my father and now this."

The first mate looked nervously at her as he gave Melody the terrible news about the death of her family and the last message received from them. He tries to comfort her but to no avail. She lays sobbing with her head in her hands. His strong and beloved captain crumbled to nothing.

"Please leave, Simon. I need to be alone." Through tears that stream like a waterfall she seems to finally get these mutterings out.

Reluctantly, he leaves her side. He feels responsible for his young leader. She, only twenty-two and in charge of an entire ship. Not just any ship but one ran by the shadiest of creatures. How could he just leave her in this most vulnerable time?

"But... Madam..." He manages to stammer out.

"I'll be okay, Simon. Now go that's an order." She barks sending Simon reeling. He almost trips over his own feet as he flies out the door.

Melody dabs her eyes with a handkerchief she keeps stuffed in her pockets. 'I can't believe they are gone.' Her head is swirling with reasons why this had to happen. Was there any way she could have stopped it? She should have stayed with her family after her father's death. It broke her mother's heart when she chose to follow after her father's footsteps. But who else would fight for the freedom of her people, the freedom of pirates.

People had to understand that pirate's were people, too. It wasn't a choice to be a pirate but rather something you were born into. People would scream at the site of her crew as they came into a town. The only reason they had to pillage was because no one would barter with her. Her crew and family needed to survive. What other choice did she have?

Melody thought of the first adventure she went on. She was only a girl at the time, but being the oldest in the family meant she would be the first recruited help with income. She had a difficult choice to make after all there were only two career choices for pirates. Prostitutes or boat crew.

She was the eldest and being the only girl in a troupe full of boys she wanted nothing more than to be on the boats. Her mother expected Melody to follow after her and become a lady of means. Melody laughed at the idea. Of course never in front of her mother. It seemed so demeaning to allow these overgrown thugs to ravage the only thing she could call her own. Even if she was allowed to priviledge of working in a brothel for 'normal' men she had too much pride to do what it would take to please a man.

Her father was a bit taken aback when she asked if she could join his crew. He expected his daughter to be one of the most coveted in the land. He new that gentlemen of esteem would pay a good price for the services she could offer. He also knew that it was her choice to choose between the two. Although they had limited freedom he was not going to take away the only freedom she had.

Her first voyage started at dawn. Her father had her dress like a boy... it was nothing too far from her usual outfit. Baggy pants, a leather shirt and a hat. He also cut her beautiful locks so that non of the sailors would ravage her if he got a chance. If they all thought her to me a boy they would leave her alone. She remembered looking in the mirror for the first time. Every bit of femininity was gone from her face. Her beautiful hair was shorne, her outfit seemed like a poor boys. Oh how the girls at her etiquette school was laugh. Yet now they would never know, she was free from the daily responsibilities of crimping, perming, dressing in gowns, and learning what pleases a customer. Now she embarked on a new journey.

A crash from upstairs brought Melody back to her reality. It sounded like a fight or a mutiny. She wiped her, face splashed it with a bit of water and sprinted upstairs.

'What is going on here?' She demanded. Her voice boomed over the head of scoundrels. 'I demand to know what this ruckus is all about.'

Her trusted first mate was at the tip of a sword. What could Simon ever have done to be where he is? The crew loved him or at least that is what she had been lead to believe.

Simon responded to her inquisition. 'Madam, let me explain. The men do not think they are being treated fairly.'

'Fairly, why exactly are they not being treated, fairly?' Her voice dripped with contempt for her crew. She did not need this right now but she had to stay strong or she would crumble to nothing.

'They seem to think you are holding out on them from the last run.' Simon responded.

'Drop your sword right now men.' Melody was on a war path now. How could they think after all she had gone through with them she would be holding out anymore than was necessary? 'I've had it with all of you.' She grabbed a near by revolver out of one of her crews holsters. 'Either you do as I say or I shoot you all.'

The crew blinked starry eyed at their delicate captain but before they could figure out exactly what was going on Simon was free and had his hand on his own revolver. Pointing towards the male leader of this particular crew. Now if the crew had the capability to think of for themselves they would have realized that the odds really were in their favor. Twelve reasonably well fit men against two young puny kids from their perspective. Yet they were not very good thinkers. That is why they were the crew and not the captains themselves.

'Now I suggest you go back to exactly what is was I had commanded you to earlier. I am not in the mood to deal with such outcries. The next person to cause a ruckus will pay severely.' The power in her voice even surprised her self. She wasn't sure if she was really ready to injure or kill one of her own crew but she new if the time came it would be necessary to show who was captain and who was not. It was after all the only way these men understood anything.

'My thanks, Madam.' Simon bowed low to her. 'I'm not sure what I would have done without you.'

'Carry on, Simon.' Melody returned to her cabin to mourn her family and allow the sea to bring her memories of those she cherished.
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Simon watched as the slender silhouette of his tender captain passed through the door of her cabin. He had come to cherish her beauty and now her strength in the midst of personal tragedy. She had saved his life yet again. He wanted to hold her close as her warm tears flowed freely but how could he let her know how he felt. He had been commissioned by her father to 'Keep her safe.'

The Old man had known something was about to happen as he had set out on his final journey. She had only been a girl at the time. Simon was the only one who knew that this little rug rat wasn't a poor boy but the fine daughter of the captain. She made her choice to be a crewman instead of working with the other ladies of esteem. Her fine features were so alluring. Her fair skin, dark eyes, short brown hair. Her fiery personality sent shivers down his spine. Never in a million years did he think that this girl would grow to be a strong young captain of a motley crew. Melody was full of surprises though.

She took no short cuts but earned the respect of her men. She pillaged only what was needed and avoided causing any unnecessary casualties. She herself had never taken the life of another human being. He doubted such tender hands would be capable of such a cruel act. How could his beautiful, beloved captain kill another human? It was impossible. Although, her threat has seemed to a bait the crew he did not think that such a fair creature would cause anyone harm.

Simon loved Melody. He had a deep passion within him that made him want to protect her and keep her for himself. He knew he would never have the courage to tell her how he felt. She must think that he was an old man.

“I am an old man!” Simon muttered to himself, “I'm nearly twice her age. She would never love me, never see me as anything more than her first mate.”

Simon leaned over the side of the ship to watch as the rolling waters passed by. The ship seemed to move along the water effortlessly seeking for something long lost. Seeking for something it would never find. How could he go on wishing and wanting for his captain? If anything ever happened to Melody he would never forgive himself. He had to go on as if he felt nothing for his fair beauty. As much as he loved her she would never be his own. He was her protector now more than ever. He wasn't her lover, nor her companion, only her trusted first mate. He had to squelch the desire that burned deep within him. He had to forget the fantasies that trickled on the far reaches of his mind.

“I must stay strong for her, for my Melody.” The words slipped beyond his lips as if the last lyrics of an unwritten song. Despited his desire never did Melody suspect how he felt for her. Little did she know that during the night his heart ached for her companionship.
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The morning light lit up the sky like a fire being stoked during the dead of the night. Sleepless and desperate Melody drug herself out of bed. She had to keep going, but she felt a mantle of despair heavy on her shoulders. What did it matter if she game up? She walked out of her cabin and onto the deck of her ship. If anyone had been awake that morning they would have sworn the ship to be haunted.
A frail pale figure draped in an iridescent robe floated towards the ships railing. Melody slumped down her arms draped over the edge. She was reeling from the events of the past days. She had no one in the world. As the light of the sun peeked upon the lapping waters of the sea she remember...
'Father! Father! Do I really get to go on this voyage?' A cute button nose nine year old boy sprinted over to his father.
'Oh my dear, of course you get to come along.' The gentleman was rugged yet some how regal. As he stood in the doorway of his wench's shack his dark hair fell ragged on his ivory with skin. The light of the morning shown through the window as the boy dressed with the speed of a rabbit being pursued. He threw on his finest sailing clothes: A pair of brown sackcloth pants with only one hole and a white potato sack shirt. He grabbed his brown leather triangle hat and stuck the fresh feather of a gull right in the side. He glanced in the mirror and was shocked to see the reflection. He had changed so much in the two weeks since his first voyage.
So much change that the reflection seemed like a stranger. But that was the desired effect. He could not resemble the person he truly was. A picture caught his father's eye. A beautiful girl dressed in an amazing hand woven black gown made from the finest silk. The girl had chestnut curls which rolled down to the very crown of her behind. She was slender with ivory skin and a twinkle in those bright blue eyes. A tear welled in the father's eye as he recalled his beautiful and delicate Melody. He wiped his eye with the handkerchief which he kept in his pocket. His Melody was gone now at least gone from the for the picture depicted. He rustled the chestnut hair of the young boy as he thought of the dangers facing them on this voyage. The first challenge for his child was to fool the crew. He still saw her darling beauty despite the unwashed face and drifter clothing, he only hoped they would not.
'What's our name going to be today?' He chuckles eager to hear what his little girl's creative mind had come up with.
'Simon! Just like your first mate. He's so strong and I want to be just like him!' Melody busted with pride at the choice she had made.
'Simon, indeed that's a find name!' Her father could not be happier with her choice. He trusted his first mate with his life. He trusted him with his daughter's life. Amongst the rogues in their town Simon was one of the few gentlemen left. What could you expect from a society of scoundrels?
He had met Simon when he was a young man only twenty years old. Simon had been from another town where the pirates had gone to escape the city after the roughnecks had taken over. Simon was looking for adventure and a decent living wage. Melody's father was one of the only captains to offer such a wage. Her father took excellent care of his crew and as a result they were faithful to him. His crew respected him and very few were willing to be civil within their world.
Her father hired Simon right away. Not only because he had greeted him with a 'hello' instead of a growl but he was also a fine young man, strong and sturdy. He knew he had found a treasure. Now after nine years Simon had proven himself to be as good as he had appeared when he first met him. Always Simon had remained loyal following her father into what seemed to be hopeless situations and coming out with barely his life. Her father trusted him so willingly that he told him about Melody being on the boat crew. He knew Melody was a girl and not a boy but he would never tell anyone. He knew that her safety was dependent on his silence.
Melody's mother came out from tending the younger four boys. 'Sir, I am unable to serve you today, I must take care of my children.' She was taken a back from the sight of the amazing captain here within the door.
He walked over and kissed the beautiful woman who stood before him. 'You know I don' tcome here to see you only to be serviced. I love you.'
She cringed at those words, not because she did not feel the same way, not because she did not want to be with him but because of the possible consequences those words could bare. Their society did not allow marriage or even love. Their society was built upon the lust of men. How could a woman serve many if she as tied to one man? The brothel owners simply would not allow it. They did not want jealous clients hanging around scaring away business. If a man was caught 'loving' a woman he was killed. No trial, no questions, no chance to explain, he was simply shot right where he stood.
No funeral would be held for the man. Life would go on as if nothing had happened. No one would bury him. Late one night a group of fellows would dispose of the body right into the sea. The tale would be sealed and life would go on as it had before.
For her services, he paid her well. She knew that each of her children were his. Five children born from unmasked passion. How could she explain to anyone how she could serve only one man and be taken care of with her five children. No other kids knew who their fathers were or at least they did not know who they were for long. Any man who was thought to be a father would run ask quickly as if facing the gallows. They had no desire to see or spend time with their children but Melody's father was different. He loved having children. He would bring treasures form his exploits sometimes coins, toys or even sea shells.
Her father was truly a good man. Her mother was a beautiful second class pirate wench. She was short and quite stout the way the scoundrels liked them. She has plans for her beauty. Melody would be after all a first class lady. Her thin beautiful body would be just what her mother needed to start her own brothel. When her daughter made the choice to become a crewman she had no idea how to respond. She was angry because her daughter was going to be her ticket out of the bottom rung. Despite her curly chestnut hair and blue eyes she knew that unless her daughter would become a lady she would never make her a fortune.
Melody had made her choice and there was nothing she could do about it. Since her choice was made life had become much more difficult for the family. Although they told no one about Melody's decision people knew that something had changed. No longer did she show up for her etiquette classes at the school. The girls from her classes came to see if she had fallen ill. Of course she was not home but off on a voyage with her father. Rumors had begun to spread about what might have happened to Melody. The rumors was all it took for her mother to lost her clients.
Her mother needed the money from her only loyal customer. She needed to service him for his money. As he pressed close to her, he dropped a large bag of coins into her bosom. 'We will return soon my love and you can repay me with your services then.' He kissed her forehead grabbed up Melody and out the door they skipped.

'Good Morning, My Lady' Simon's courteous voice brought Melody back from her memory. Simon seemed as if he had a rough night as well.
'Good Morning, Simon.' Melody realized what she was wearing and excused herself almost immediately. 'I'm sorry to seem as if I am brushing you away but I really must go.' She scurried off to her cabin to prepare for the day.

I like this =) Keep up the good work!

I just have!

Thank You! I hope you enjoy it!

It grabbed me from the start -- good beginning!

It kept my interest too.

One thing... all the way through I was wondering what kind of hat her father had... is this supposed to be a mystery for a while, did you want us to wonder about it? Or do you think you can put it in the early part of the story?

Good job!