Young Writers Society

The dark sea sparkled as the sun shone. Waves lapped against the side of the ship as it slowly swayed, its bow cutting cleanly through the water. Above the full white sails, the jolly roger fluttered in the wind.

Muriel walked the length of the ship, her high heeled, wedged boots dully tapping on the deck. as she reached the bow she took off her hat before the wind did, and leaned on the railing. She breathed in the salty air, the wind playing with her mid-length brown hair, that was pulled back in a ponytail. she glanced at the sun high in the sky.

Muriel set her hat on the desk and raised the sextant in her hand, measuring the distance between the sun and the horizon. Memorizing the angle in her head, she turned and headed back toward the captain cabin.

When she reached the door, she noticed it was slightly open, peeking inside she spotted a young man poking through her guns.

Sighing in annoyance, she slipped inside.

If Dustan keeps sneaking around, I'm going to feed him to the ocean!

Closing the door quietly, she crossed her arms.  "I don't remember granting you permission to enter my cabin, Dustan."

The lanky figure jumped slightly.

"You never said no?" Dusan turned pistol still in his palm.

"I'd suggest you check that attitude," she held out her hand.

Dustan slapped the gun in her palm, "my  sincerest apologies, Captain, I thought this was a pirate ship."

"On this pirate ship we have basic manners and respect," she set the gun back on the shelf, "you may go now."

Dustan scowled and pushed through the door.

Captain Muriel sighed. When men wanted to join her crew, they didn't expect their captain to be a woman. If they did join, it usually took some time for them to respect her. Dustan seemed to despise her being captain completely. Sometimes only taking orders from the male admiral, her best friend, Cornard. Who usually prompted Dustan to respect her.

She walked over to her desk, and sitting down she opened the main drawer.

Muriel grabbed a leather notebook and the pot of ink that was securely fastened in the drawer to avoid spilling. She dipped a quill into the ink and wrote the angle number from her head, latitude. Then she checked her pocket watch set to Greenwich time. Then the pocket watch in her desk, determining the longitude by every four minutes that differed on the Greenwich clock to the normal one. Meaning the ship had travel one longitude degree. She quickly calculated the result in her mind and jotted it down.

 A shout outside caused her to jump, the quill fell out of her hand, leaving a streak on the page.

"What in the blazes." She stood and rushed out of her cabin. 

Conrad met her at the door. "Captain, they spotted us," he pointed to the ship heading in there direction.