The Admiral

Arden Lexington

It didn’t take long for the small island of Barbados to come into view. It also didn’t take long for me to pack my belongings; I don’t have a lot. Just a few books, some trophies from some memorable ships we sunk, captains we killed, and weapons. Wow that's a lot of weapons. I look into the trunk and shake my head, this is all my life amounts to, a trunk full of death trophies and weapons. This isn’t normal, right?

Thomas leans against the open door and watches me, “I never thought I’d see the day Arden Lexington leaves this ship willingly.”

I look at Thomas and narrow my eyes at him, “Cunt.”

I watch his forehead wrinkle; I get all three and allow myself a little smirk at achieving my daily quota for the day, my last day here. Too easy.

“That’s going to be how I remember you Debang, those wrinkles right there,” I say as I check my desk one last time and find a letter opener. I smirk as I pick it up, “You remember this?”

Thomas comes over and sits on the desk, smiling as he looks at the letter opener, “Careful it’s sharper than it looks.” He takes the letter opener from my hand and examines it, “I never understood why we even have a letter opener on this ship.”

“You know, I’ve always wondered the same.”

“The postal service really disappoints out at sea.”

“Don’t even get me started on the Pacific Ocean, just awful.” We shared a little chuckle before I quickly changed the topic, Thomas can be a little too emotional sometimes, and if I let him go there now, I’ll just end up crying, again. “How many candidates for Admiral do you have coming?”

“Three, two male one female.”

“I wonder if it’ll ever stop.”

Thomas shakes his head, “Not likely. The world is full of people who will always try to take what they can without working for it, and The Fleet will always find broken souls filled with enough hate to man their ships.”

Thomas hands me the letter opener and I toss it back into the drawer. He watches me sit down on the chair, “Out with it Thomas.”

“Ox is going with you,” he interrupts me before I can protest, “and before you say anything about not wanting an escort, he resigned on his own accord, and wants to help you on your plantation as a free man. I told him about your plan, and he supports it one hundred percent. Plus, I think it would be good for you to have a friend by your side as you start this new journey. He’s already loaded his trunk into the long boat, he’s ready to go when you are.”

I nod and let it all sink in. Thomas gives my shoulder a squeeze before leaving my cabin.

As I watch the crew lower my trunk into the long boat below, I don’t notice the entire crew gathering behind me to watch me leave. It’s only when I turn around do I see all two hundred and something of them watching me as if they were attending a funeral.

“Okay, this is too much,” I wave them away, “Disperse you fuckers.”

They don’t budge. I watch as someone comes rushing through the bodies to get to Giddeon. It’s young Adam, he comes barreling towards him and says something quietly into Giddeon’s ear.

Giddeon looks at Adam as if needing confirmation that he heard correctly and Adam just nods.

Giddeon motions at me, “Do not let this woman leave the ship,” he mutters before disappearing through the crew and leaving.

This woman. That’s right, that’s all I am now. I thought the words might sting when he said them, but the longer they sit with me the nicer it feels. I get to be just a woman right now, not bound by any rules. What am I going to do with all this freedom now? It’s almost paralyzing just at the idea of how many options are available to me. I can start bar fights without thinking about the consequences. That just might be the first thing I do.

Ox and I wait for whatever the holdup might be. For a good twenty minutes, we all just stood around wondering what was going on. Being Admiral had its advantages, now I’m going to have to get used to being nowhere in the information chain. Since there wasn’t much else to do someone brought out the rum and the bottles started making their way around. Since I haven’t been feeling myself, I passed on drinking and handed the bottle to Ox who also passed it on.

“Giddeon, wait!” We all turn to where Doc shouts, “You shouldn’t be up! God dammit Morgan!”

Morgan? My heart stopped.

The crew began to part like the Red Sea revealing a golden-haired ghost whose arm is wrapped around Giddeon’s shoulders. With his head wrapped in bandages I see one stormy eye, very much alive, meet mine, instantly breaking all the walls keeping me from falling apart.

I can’t breathe.

My hand searches for something solid to hold onto, luckily Ox is nearby and steadies me as I watch Giddeon help James make his way over to me. With every pained step he takes the tears fall on their own. This can’t be happening, I saw him get shot, right in his left eye.

James’s hand reaches out for me and grabs my shoulder. It’s only when he pulls me into him do I believe that this is real. He’s real, he’s warm and in one piece. I’m not sure who’s holding either one of us up but somehow my body finds the strength to hold him.

“How is this possible...” I heard myself whisper.

“I told you I’d never leave you, now don’t you leave without me,” James's voice is dry and weak.

My eyes search for answers and find Giddeon. The fury that fills me is beyond describable. He’s been alive on this ship all this time, and no one’s said a fucking word.

“Don’t look at me like that, he’s been unconscious. Doc didn’t even know if he’d ever wake up. We didn't want to get your hopes up in case...”

Doc interjects, “Morgan, you really must return to bed. Arden, he’ll listen to you, please.”

I nod and look back up at James. He looks so weak and tired; he most likely caused all sorts of chaos just to have Giddeon bring him up here like this. His devotion and loyalty are beyond anything I deserve, but I don’t question it. It’s my turn to make sure he knows just how loved he is.