User blog:Wolf985/The Captain's Daughter

This is going to be a sequel to "A Tale of Two Rogues" so if you havn't read that yet you might get a bit lost.

Prologue
Thunder roared as bolts of bright white lightning ripped across the dark sky like angry scars. Heavy rain poured down from the heavens and onto the deck of a lone ship and the rough endless sea surrounding it. A cold winter wind howled through the frost covered rigging. The freezing deckhands pulled on heavy ropes to try and furl the sails so they wouldn't get damaged in the gale and so the ship wouldn't get blown off course. The Captain was among them, shouting orders over the gale to scrape the ice off of the sails and to keep pulling. His thick woolen cloak was frozen to his back with seaspray and his thick leather boots slipped on the wet icy deck. His paws were cut up and bloody from the ice covered rope, but they were so numb that he didn't feel any pain. "Pull, me 'earties! Pull! Get these sails up afore they're ruined!" He yelled.

With one last heave the sails were up enough to be tied down, but there was still more work to do.

In the Captan's cabin three female sea otters were trying to comfort two frightened babes. The ship's cook, Willow, held a frightened Adrian who was seven seasons old and the captain's wife, Clarice sat on the bunk trying to calm her newborn. The other female was sixteen seasons old and was tired of listening to her brothers cry. It's just a stupid storm. she thought. Why are they so scared?

Rose Danisham stood up and grabbed her coat. putting it on over her dress. she put on her boots and hat and was about to put on her mittens when her mother noticed and said, "Where are you off too?"

"Out to help dad. I hate just sitting here and doing nothing. Don't try to stop me!"

"Rosemarie Danisham do not speak to me like that. It's too dangerous to go out there."

Rose rolled her eyes and opened the door and a freezing gust of wind blew inside the cabin causing the tiny newborn to wail. She slammed the door behind her. Clarice stood up and handed the babe to Willow. "Clarice where are you going?"

She put on her heavy cloak and boots. "I'm going after her. Rose causes me a lot of greif. If she gets hurt out there i'll never forgive myself."

She left the cabin and stepped out onto the deck and almost fell on a patch of ice. Grabbing the railing she made her way down the stairs to the main deck. She saw Rose next to another young otter named Canvas Waveryder. Clarice started toward them, but the ship lurched sharply as it hit a huge wave and she slipped. She was surprised when somebeast caught her just before her head hit the deck. The otterwife looked up into her husbands face. His whiskers were coated frozen seaspray giving him a fearsome look. "Have you seen Rose?" she asked him.

"What? Is she out here? It's not safe!"

"I know! Help me find her!"

The two looked everywhere and soon found her climbing the rigging with Canvas. "Rose!" Nathaniel bellowed.

She ignored him and kept climbing. Nathaniel went over to a big muscular otter and pointed towards the two. Rigg Waveryder began climbing expertly up to retreive the two young ones, but only made it up to his son, Canvas, when a big bolt of lightning struck the mainmast causing it to split in two.

Rigg grabbed his son and swung down to the main deck on a stray piece of rope. The crew watched in horror as the top of the mast fell taking the rigging and Rose along with it. The big timber beam crashed down onto the ships railing, splintering it. Half of the beam hung out over the edge. Captain Nathaniel Danisham ran over to the edge with his wife close behind. Rose was struggling for a pawhold on the slippery mast. Nathaniel climbed uponto what was left of the railing and reached out for his daughter. "Grab my paw!" He yelled over the wind and rain.

"I can't, i'll fall!"

"No you won't! Grab onto me now!"

Her paws slipped and she dug her claws into the wood as a gigantic wave swept over both of them. "Daddy!" she cried.

The captain climbed onto the broken mast and tried to grab her. "Grab onto me Rosie!"

"I'll fall!"

"No you wont! I will not let that happen, I promise!"

She reached up towards him and just when they were in paws reach another wave washed over them and her claws lost their hold on the mast. Rose screamed as she fell into rough freezing sea below.

Chapter 1 ~Port Kendall~
"No!" The captain yelled as he dove in after her.

Clarice leaned over the railing yelling, "Nathaniel!"

One of the crewmembers pulled her away from the edge of the ship, but she fought against him still shouting for her loved ones. The tears rolling down her cheeks blended in with the pouring rain.

Captain Nathaniel Danisham swam around in the dark icy water. He couldn't seem to find his daughter anywhere, This was not a good sign. Nathaniel knew that his body temperature was dropping rapidly and if he stayed in the sea for too long, he could die. He didn't want to give up his search, but he had to resurface for air. As he came up and broke the surface of the water a monstrous wave crashed over him, pulling him back under. He came up again ,but this time grabbed onto the nets hanging on the side of his ship and pulled himself up a few feet, then just hung there shivering uncontrollably. Two burly crewmen pried his claws from the nets and grabbed his arms, pulling him up onto the deck. Nathaniel's whole body was numb with cold, so much so that he could barely move. And if this wasn't bad enough, He was sobbing heavily and mumbling, "No, Throw me back! *Sobbs* I can't give up. My baby, I promised to save her!*sobbs* My Rosie!*sob*"

Clarice was released and she quickly made her way over to her husband. She gasped at the sad state he was in and lead the two crewmembers that were supporting him into the captain's cabin. Willow flinched as the door opened and she watched in silence as Nathaniel was brought in and put onto the bunk. Clarice shooed the crewmembers out and shut the door, and then went over to Nathaniel and took off his soaked cloak and shirt, and then pulled off his boots and went to the trunk in the corner and grabbed more blankets and covered him up in a desperate attempt to warm him up. She took one of his massive paws and put it in between both of hers and tried to rub some warmth into it. "I...I t..tried to s..save her! R..R...Rose...g..gone!" He said with his teeth chattering uncontrolably."I...i'm s..sorry, m...m..my l..love."

Tears flowed down Clarice's cheeks. "I know.It's not your fault."

"Y..yes it i..is. I..I b..broke m..m...my p..promise."

"What promise?"

"T...to n...not l..le..let her f..fall."

"Shh...Don't blame yourself. That wave came out of nowhere."

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "A..are A..Adri..Adrian and C..C..Coty s..safe?" he asked.

"Yes, They're fine. Scared, but fine."

Nathaniel nodded and drifted off into a deep sleep. Clarice stood up and went to sit by Willow on the window seat. Adrian crawled into his mother's lap and snuggled against her. "Momma, where Rosie?"

This brought fresh tears to her eyes and she held her young son closer. "Don't cry momma. Rosie will be awlright. I knows it. We find her!"

She kissed his head. "That was exactly what I needed to hear Adrian."

Willow stood up with the baby and said. "I should be getting back to the galley. Here, Coty just fell asleep."

"Thank you Will." Clarice said softly as she took her infant son from Willow.

The cook nodded politely and grabbed her coat and hat. Before she left she looked over her shoulder to look at them. She had never seen Clarice this hurt. A stray tear slipped down her face as she left the cabin. Outside standing on the deck, Her coat blowing in the wind and rain, Willow touched the necklace she wore and her paw found the tiny pearl her mother had given her a long long time ago. She looked up into the stormy sky and whispered, "Mother, if you're there, please watch over Rose wherever she may be. Perhaps she is with you and father and Latika. Take care of her."

"Will?"

She jumped as she heard her name. Willow looked behind her and saw Jeremy. She sighed with relief. "Oh, Jem you scared me."

"Sorry love. What are you doing out here in the cold? Come on lets get below deck."

They walked down to the galley and Jem bolted the door shut to keep the cold out. Willow added more coals to the stove and hung up her wet coat and hat. Jem did the same and sat down at the table. Willow sat down on her small cot holding her paws near the warm stove. "So what were you doing out there? You looked like you were talking to someone."

"I was. I was asking my mother to take care of Rose."

Jem gave her a weird look. "In other words I was praying for her safety."

"Oh. That makes much more sense."

Willow smiled. "Get some rest. This storm won't be letting up anytime soon."

Jeremy Halloway didn't need any second bidding. He kicked off his boots and went to lay down on the bunk next to his wife. Wrapping his arms around her he asked, "Do you think your prayer is going to work?"

"I hope so. I really do."

The Next Morning After the Storm....

Two water voles were walking down by the beach to go check their fishing nets. It had stormed horribly the night before and they were worried they had gotten damaged. As they began pulling in the first net in one of the voles, named Tanner, began complaining. "Yeesh! This thing is heavy! I 'ope we cought one 'o those big fishes."

The other vole snorted. "Yeah right. We probably cought a load of seaweed."

Together they pulled the net in and Tanner gasped as he saw a paw sticking out from underneath a bundle of seaweed. "Neville, there's a beast in the net! Hurry, help me get 'im out!"

The vole, Neville, took his knife and cut the netting, and then they both threw aside the seaweed to reveal a young sea ottermaid. Tanner took her pulse. "She's still alive! Let's get her to Algernon, and fast. The other nets can wait."

They lifted her onto their shoulders and started towards town.

Captain Nathaniel Danisham awoke with a pounding headache and a sick stomach. He instinctivly touched his head and felt cold drops of sweat on his paw. Wiping his paw on the blanket that covered him, he looked over to see Clarice placing a tray on the desk while trying to hold a squirming baby. She muttered something then turned to look at Nathaniel. Seeing that he was awake she said, "Come eat some breakfast."

The captain groaned at the mention of food, but he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bunk. He stood up and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. "I think i'll pass on breakfast. Where are my boots?" he asked hoarsly.

"Over by the door. Darling you sound awful, are you feeling alright?"

He put on a shirt and his frock coat then sat down to put on his boots. "I'll be fine. You don't sound the best either."

"I know. I haven't slept for days because of Coty. He was asleep for ten minutes and then started getting fussy again. I was up all night." She yawned.

Nathaniel stood up and kissed her forehead. "Hang in there. He won't be like this forever."

And with that he left the cabin and went down to the main deck. The seas had calmed and the sky had returned to its normal steely gray, but the captain could care less. His attention was focused on the large piece of timber laying on the deck and jutting out over the side. In the light he could see tattered sails and broken ropes wrapped around and hanging from it. He walked towards the wreckage and something bright pink caught his eye. Caught on the splinters of the wood was a pink satin ribbon. Nathaniel gently freed it from the splinters and held it like it was a piece of precious gold. It was Rose's hairbow. 'It must've blown off of her head during the storm'. He thought.

A tear slipped down his face as he tied the ribbon around the hilt of his cutlass. He wiped his eyes and went back to inspecting the wreckage. They would have to have the whole mast replaced including the removal of the bottom that was still attached to the deck. But to do this they had to find a port, preferably a close one, and find the right beasts that could fix it. A job like that could very easily take a season to finish and could be very costly. The steersbeast, Jeremy Halloway,came over to the Captain. "Sir, a port has been sighted. We'll be there in about three to four hours. Sir?"

"That's great Jem." He said distractedly.

Jeremy sighed and turned to walk away when the captain began caughing violently. Jem whirled back around to see Nathaniel on his knees and caughing. He knelt down beside his friend and patted his back. "It's alright. Get that sickness out of your system."

When Nathaniels caughing had slowed, Jem helped him stand up and let the captain lean on him for support. They walked back to the captain's cabin and Clarice assisted Jem getting the captain to sit down and drink a glass of water. Clarice felt his forehead. "Nathaniel, you're burning up. I'm going to go get Willow. Adrian?"

The young otter looked up at her. "Yes momma?"

"Watch your brother. I'll be right back." Clarice left with Jeremy and Adrian went to sit by the basket that served as his tiny brother's cradle.

He picked up a silver rattle and shook it in front of Coty's nose. The babe squeaked and reached out for the toy, grabbing it with his tiny paws and pulling it out of Adrian's grasp. "Hey! you likkle terror. Stealin from your brudder isn't nice."

Coty giggled and started chewing on the rattle. "Yuck, now it bes all slobbered."

Adrian watched his brother curiously. How could something so tiny be so much work? he thought.

He turned towards his father, who was blowing his nose with a rag and holding his head."Dad?" he asked.

Nathasniel looked at his eldest son. "What?"

"uh...where do babies come from? I know that Coty was in momma's tummy, but how did he get there?"

Nathaniel fidgeted with a charcoal stick that was laying on the desk. He often fidgeted when he didn't know what to say. "Uh..that would be a good question to ask your mother."

"But you has to know."

"Aye, but you're too young to understand."

Adrian sighed knowing that his dad wouldn't tell him. Clarice soon came back with Willow. Willow went over to the corner stove and began getting out different herbs from her satchel to make medicine. Clarice sat down heavily on the windowseat and Adrian crawled up beside her. "Momma,"

"Yes Adrian what is it?" she asked wearily.

"Where do babies come from?"

Willow tried to stifle a laugh at Clarice's surprised expression. "I'll tell you when you're older."

"How much older momma?"

"Much much older honey, Now why don't you go play?"

The little sea otter sighed and put on his coat and boots, then left the cabin to find someone to play with. Willow turned to Clarice and said, "Well that was an unexpected question. Wonder what perked that interest?"

Clarice sighed. "He would've asked sooner or later. Oh Will, I don't think he's realized yet that Rosie isn't coming back. Adrian is so optomistic and carefree."

"Aye, Here give this to Nathaniel. It should help bring the fever down and take care of whatever else he has." she said as she handed the tired otterwife a small bottle of freshly brewed medicine.

"Thanks, whats in it?"

"I can't tell ye. It's my mother's recipe."

The captain had been listening to them and walked over to where his wife sat. "Thankee Will, I'll take it and try to get some rest. I'm sure you're needed elsewhere so i'll stop bothering you."

"Oh its no bother captain. Get some rest."

later that same day.....

The 'Phantasma' pulled into the port around late afternoon. Captain Nathaniel Danisham was sound asleep on his bunk while Clarice sat close to the warm stove in the corner and was nursing Coty. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Clarice pulled a blanket over herself and said, "Come in."

Rigg Waveryder entered. His face reddening with embarrassment as he saw Clarice. "Um...sorry miss i'll wait."

"Just tell me now Rigg. Nathaniel won't be awake for a while yet."

"There's a mouse down on the docks that wishes to speak to the captain about the docking fee."

"I'll be there in a moment. Tell him to stay."

Rigg saluted her. "Aye aye miss."

He left the cabin and back out onto the deck. Clarice finished nursing her son and placed him in his cradle. She smoothed her skirts and left the cabin and walked down the gangplank to the docks. There stood a bespectacled mouse dressed in an official uniform. "Excuse me," she said, "you wanted something about a dock fee?"

"Hmm..yes..er, erI asked for the captain of this vessel, not a female."

Clarice crossed her arms over her chest. "The captain is very sick, and this "female" happens to be his wife."

"I..I'm terrribly sorry miss. My mistake. Um..about the fee. How long do you plan on docking here?"

"Until the mast is fixed. so about a season at most."

The mouse scribbled something down on his clipboard. "About three goldpieces should do."

"Wait here."

Clarice ran back up the gangplank and went into her cabin. From the desk drawer she pulled out a small change pouch and pulled out three large gold dablunes. She put the pouch back and wnt back to give the money to the mouse. "Here."

"Thankee kindly miss."

He turned smartly on his heel and began walking away. Clarice placed her paws on her hips and glared at the mouse. "Hmph! i've never met anyone as rude as him. Not wanting to parlay with me just because i'm female. The nerve of some creatures!"

She stormed back onto the ship and went down to the galley. There she sat down heavily into a wooden chair and sighed. Willow was standing at the stove making lunch when she saw the exhausted otterwife come in. She poured two mugs of tea and went to sit by her friend. "Oh Clarice you look exhausted. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Clarice shook her head. "No, it's just that i've been through so much these past few days. I lost my daughter and I havn't slept, and now Nathaniel is sick." She was in tears now.

Willow put her paw on top of her friends. "Clarice, I know how it feels to lose someone you love. It's hard."

The mid seasoned otterwife shook her head. "No you don't Will! You don't know what its like to lose a child!"

Willow stood ubruptly and put her paws on her thin hips. "You think I don't know? I know very well what its like. I never told you what happened during my first season of marriage! I had a little girl, but she was stillborn. Dead." Will was breaking down into sobs. "How do you think I felt?"

Clarice got up knocking over her chair and spilling the tea. She ran back up to the maindeck pushing past Jeremy who was coming down the stairs and went back to her cabin slamming the door. Surprisingly Coty didn't wake up and start crying,but it woke Nathaniel. He sat up slowly and saw his wife leaning against the wall, her head down, and teardrops falling to the floor. He got up and put his arms around her and pulled her close. Clarice buried her face in his shirt and began crying harder. "Shh, it's going to be alright."