We were one of the last few elves boarding this one. My feet touched the brown, smooth wood. And the deck was filled. Every single elf I saw on the warship looked skillful, highly decorated, and gave an arrogant, murderous look. It lost the diversity from the trail.
I found one middle-aged man staring me down, as he happily chatted with his colleagues. I slowly, gently tiptoed backwards, searching for my uncle. I caught a glimpse of his back heading downstairs. At least introduce me or something. Why would he just leave me like that?
I looked around the deck, studying the layout, trying to avoid any type of confrontation. In the corner of my eye, I glanced two sets of horns coming at me. One was mounted on the glaring man's shoulder pads. The other was attached to the head of a wolf. The wolf reached me before I could walk away and kept me in the corner. I looked down before his hunter grabbed me. The animal was tall enough to reach just below my hip.
His owner's rubbed behind the wolf's ear and growled laughed, "look what we have here boys. A stowaway. Youngin, where is your father?" He reached for strands of my hair and his wolf snarled at him. The male elf moved his hand back to behind his ear, "what's the problem Owel?
I've never seen an animal show aggression toward their owner.
He bellowed a sarcastic laugh, "Owel, she's not our enemy. I just want to chat with her." He reached for my arm and his wolf took a step forward. He continued, "youngin, are you a tamer? My Owel seems to have taken quite a liking to you."
I pushed away his arm, but his white jacket got snagged around my wrist cuff. I ended up taking a few steps towards him. My hands landed on his chest. I tried to play it off and simply rubbed my hands on my pants. I coughed, "excuse me. I am one of the recruits."
His aggressive smile disappeared, "youngin." He took a step forward and his wolf barked. "Owel. Silence." She responded with a whimper.
He glowered over me, "how dare you show such disrespect to your officers." He grabbed my hair and pulled me towards the water. Owel growled the entire time he held onto me, but she did not confront her owner.
I was so surprised. I went silent, vocally and physically. I have always obeyed authority and confronted arrogant superiority. Now I'm stuck. This tamer is both. Fight? Submit? I repeated over and over wait, but he kept dragging me along. Before he picked me up to throw me overboard, his grip loosened, and I fell to the ground. I heard a thud coming from the stern of the vessel. I turned my head to see what happened. The tamer had left a sizable dent on the warship, as he clenched the front of his neck on the ground.
A male elf in black helped me to stand up and darted his eyes on the tamer, "Kish. You are one of the youngest officers, but you still act immature." He took a deep breath and continued, "you need to quell your negative emotions."
Kish stood up and dismissed the new elf, "yeah, yeah, I hear you. Maybe you can tell me Flynn, but why is there a recruit on this warship. We all were told that superior officers in every order will board this warship." The arrogance.
All his colleagues nodded in agreement.
Uncle Theo came back to the deck and yelled in a stern voice, "what is with all the commotion up here."
They gawked at me, "a stowaway."
Flynn coughed for direct attention and said, "Knight Theo allowed her on the ship."
Theo laughed and joked around, putting his hands in the air, "It's true."
Every elf looked between the both of us repeatedly. Another old man announced, "She is a girl, Theo. She can't be held with the responsibilities of war."
I expected all the male elves to agree, but the few female officers I saw also nodded their heads. One even spoke up, "although I do not enjoy what you are insinuating assassin. But look at her Theo, she is simply a young elf. We all think Queen Usha is blowing this out of proportion. We can finish our enemies ourselves. It is simple."
His face turned red, "Commander Usha is the one who allowed her to come and there are many young female elves who have joined this war."
Flynn ignored their conversation and pointed at me, "it's already been decided that Sapphire will be on this warship. She is on the roster. I expect all of you to -."
Kish had cut him off, "what did you just say?"
The ship organizer's eyes widen in agitation, "if you let me continue, I can tell you more. But, yes. Kish, she is the daughter of the deceased master tamer." He emphasized the next words, "your first and former master, Kish."
Kish nudged his spotted grey wolf, and both walked gently towards me, "I am sorry that I tried to harm the master tamer Chayce's precious daughter." Owel rubbed her head against my leg.
I pet the animal and stutter, "well…it's fine." No one outside my family has ever spoken about my father like that.
Everyone else simply stayed quiet and smiled weirdly.
A goblin in the crows nest shouted that we are leaving port and will connect with Commander Usha after her appointment."
Flynn clapped his hands, "everyone, your rooms have already been assigned. Please look at the roster if you need any help. I am sure I do not need to repeat myself, but please be wary of places that are not yours. Goblins are still tuning the vessel and there will be a few minor adjustments."
Everyone scattered and Kish dragged me to behind the cargo and motion to be quiet. "Your father. My master. I've known him since I was a youngin. He trained me before I could talk and died before I was ten. He was a good elf, master, and one of the best master tamers known."
I squinted out of confusion. I felt tears forming, "thank you."
He whispered and reached for my cheek, but hesitated, "You probably do not remember me, but I remember you from all the way back to your birth. Your eyes are still the same divine blue. It's as if I can get lost beyond the means of our world. It's still the same." He signed and continued, "you should not believe everything from the official report or -. He shook his head and continued, "Lying is something every clan naturally does. Master Chayce was a hero."
I mouthed, "what are you talking about?"
The lookout yelled to Flynn, "Queen Usha will be boarding momentarily."
Kish smiled, "I know that it has been years. Chayce taught me how to listen to my superiors, always listening to gain information. It was one of the many things to do with my master. We should try to do that and make it a family tradition.
Theo found us and dragged me away from my father's student, puzzled. He pulled me toward the hall away from all, "What did that brat say?"
"Theo, he said nothing important." I looked at his hands, "And you're hurting me."
He continuously pulled me down the ship and explain where everything is and where I will be staying. I nodded at everything he stated. I did not want to irritate him any further. When we were heading to my space, he explained that everyone had to share with at least one roommate. He also added that normally females would room together, but he said that since I'm so young and that he's technically my "guardian" for me to be on this vessel I'll be with him.
We are family, so it technically would not be weird. He opened the door and smiled to let me in first. He laughed. The walls were covered with pictures, which mask the shower of old, rusty blood stains. There were two desks covered with books. Against the wall was a wooden bunk bed. Theo laughed, "This is one of the two ships that survived the Great War. This was the place your father and I grew our trust and bond. He really was an astounding elf."
"I know he was. I trust you and I trust my mother. It seems that many elves here knew him as well."
He glanced at me agitated and let out a sign, "Many elves here can tell you many great stories of him."
Before I could ask him why everyone treated my dead father terribly, he turned off the lights. "It would be best to rest. The walk was long and tedious. Let your body calm down for now."
"You should as well Uncle."
"I will. I must take care of a few things first. Go ahead, you rest." He turned off the lights and walked out.
I grabbed a bedspread and took the bottom bunk. I closed my eyes, waiting to hear the door open again.