Eight years went by since I ran away from home. My mind still tortured me with the memory of dad dying on that damn bed. Getting over my father's death was extremely painful even though he'd confirmed all the terrible things my uncle had accused him of doing. Even after so many years, I'd sometimes hide in my room to cry my eyes out when I remembered dad. It also broke my heart that he couldn't even say his last goodbye to me. I still wondered what caused his sudden death. Although my knowledge of diseases was limited, something in my heart told me that sickness wasn't what killed my father. You think I'm paranoid, don't you? Maybe I am. I never trusted people unless they gave me a good reason to. Uncle Ruben and Maartje were the first people who earned my complete trust, but that took three years. Sven won it only five years after we met. Anyway, enough of my trust issues.

I was practicing cutlass fighting with Sven that evening. The sunset would begin soon since the sky had turned orange. I loved improving my skills in something I liked while having a magic view. Maartje told me she preferred the sunrise because the beginning of the day represented the chance of starting something new... Beautiful, isn't it? Sorry to disappoint, but my reason to like the sunset better was much sillier. To me, the sunset meant the night was arriving, so I'd finally get some sleep.

"You'll never defeat me!" Sven teased, wielding his sword and attempting to disarm me.

I blocked him and tried to strike a blow to his arms. We didn't try to hurt each other, of course, it was just practice! As always, I was wearing a white shirt, which became an off-the-shoulder blouse since it was too large, a black vest, light brown pants and dark brown boots. Sven's clothes were similar, except that he wasn't wearing a vest and his shoes were black. After uncle Ruben gave me those cool pirate clothes, I stopped using that stupid dress Hendrika made me wear. I loved to put on outfits that allowed me to move freely while I fought.

I laughed, "Never underestimate your enemy, blondie."

Maartje tilted her head as she watched the fight. She wore the exact same clothes as me, except that her vest was dark brown. Also, her hair was tied on a ponytail instead of loose. She held a bottle of grog, which was a mix of water and alcohol. Since we didn't have fresh and clean water, it was necessary to add some booze to it. Yes, you got that right, we were always a little drunk.

My cousin drank a sip of grog, "You're both children."

Sven and I kept fighting. Although we didn't fight in a way that would cause us injuries, both of us sometimes left the duel with some small wounds. He had the upper hand at that moment. I had to take some steps back since his moves were fast. Sweat ran down my forehead. When I was about to give up, a single blow turned the tables. I aimed for Sven's chest, which led him to duck. He narrowed his eyes. I kept wielding my cutlass in a way that would've hit his belly, neck and waist in real life. Uncle Ruben always told me these three were the "critical points" to win when he gave me sword fighting lessons.

After almost bruising Sven's arm, I struck a blow to his legs. He fell to his knees and grimaced. Maartje took a step closer to us as if she'd become more interested in the duel. Sven attempted to keep fighting, but I quickly disarmed him. His sword fell on the ground and I pointed mine towards his neck. Putting his hands up in surrender, he smiled.

I held out my hand to him, "Did you really think I'd go easy on you just because it's your birthday, Sven?"

I put my cutlass back in my brown weapon belt. Sven did the same with his sword, except that he kept it in his belt. He took my hand and got up. Fun fact: my birthday was very close to Sven's and Maartje's. Because of that, it became a tradition for uncle Ruben and his crew to throw a party for us a day before Maartje's birthday, which was the first one. The three of us had turned twenty-one on that same week.

He raised his brows, "I didn't expect any special treatment, Storm."

A year after I began training with uncle Ruben, my fighting skills improved so dramatically that Sven and Maartje said I was dangerous and fast like a thunderstorm. They gave me the nickname "Storm" because of that fact.

Seemingly proud, Maartje approached us. She hugged Sven and me. I laughed as I felt her tight embrace.

"Both of you went pretty well," my cousin smiled. "Next time you'll fight me, Eva, and it won't be as easy."

I chuckled and gazed at Sven. He frowned and gawked, apparently embarrassed. Poor blondie... Why did Maartje always have to find a way to make him uncomfortable? I couldn't understand.

Sven smiled nervously, "Come on! I'm not that bad!"

Maartje and I laughed even more as Sven's cheeks turned red. My cousin smirked, shaking her head in denial. We were the best trio of The Revenger because we had fun with basically everything. The other crew members seemed to admire our friendship and I believe some even envied us.

"She's Storm. You said it yourself. It's not easy to defeat her," Maartje raised her brows and grinned at me. "My father has done a wonderful job in her training."

Sven nodded and glanced at the ground. I gave him a pat on the back.

Sven shouldn't be embarrassed. He's a great fighter. He even participates in the pirate attacks with uncle Ruben and Maartje while I'm forced to stay here...

The three of us walked together. As I observed the fore-course sail moving slowly, I wondered if I'd ever be allowed to participate in more pirate activities. All I did was train with uncle Ruben and help the boatswain sometimes. I sighed, feeling useless.

"You're right, Maartje," Sven looked at me while biting his lower lip. "Our cutlass fights remind me of my father so much, you know?"

I frowned, "Why's that?"

Maartje turned to Sven, cocking her head. Why had he mentioned his father? Apparently, my cousin was curious to find out as well. He stared at the ground for a moment. Sven always seemed upset when he talked about his dad.

"Although I was only five when dad passed away, I remember him practicing sword fighting with Captain de Vries. My father was so skillful... I wish I'd learned more from him," he sighed and wiped away some teardrops. "Also, I can't believe my mother died a year after I was born... I never even got the chance to meet her."

Feeling sorry for Sven, I knit my brows. Maartje put an arm around his back, caressing it slowly. My cousin probably knew more about Sven's father than I did since she'd grown up with Sven in The Revenger.

My cousin downturned her head, "I remember. It's so unfortunate that your father died from that damn fever..."

Sven nodded. His lips curled into a weak smile and his breathing accelerated. I felt a disturbing will to sob as I remembered my deceased father. My cousin was the only one in our group that hadn't lost her dad and I envied her.

I pressed my lips together, "I'm sure he's watching over you from where he is, Sven."

Really, Eva? Is that the best you can do?

Angry at myself, I squeezed my eyes shut. I lost my father, so I was supposed to be great at helping others with the same problem, right? Turns out, my skills in comforting people were terrible. Sven stopped to hyperventilate and fewer tears streamed down his cheeks. At least my lousy consolation appeared to have worked at that time...

"Thank you so much. You're both amazing friends," Sven turned to me while taking a deep breath. "Now, let's duel again so I can calm down."

I chuckled and my eyes widened since that was the last thing I expected to hear. Although I was tired because of our previous fight, I couldn't deny a duel to one of my best friends, so I nodded. If it meant helping him feel better, I would've fought for hours if I had to. Sven and I took some steps backwards and Maartje walked to the left, apparently to give us some space. I grabbed my cutlass and Sven did the same.

"After this duel finishes, it's my turn," my cousin drank more grog as she gazed at Sven and me. "The loser will have to fight me!"

I bit my lower lip, jealous as I gazed at her drink.

I could use some grog now...

She never let me take sips from her bottle, so I'd have to wait until after the duel. Besides, I'd left my container in my room, so I couldn't really reach it.

I smiled mischievously, "Time to face me!"

I waited for Sven to make the first move. Once he tried hitting my arm, I defended myself and went for his shoulder. He attacked again, but I blocked him and almost left a small wound on his waist.

Sven narrowed his eyes, "You won't win this time!"

I laughed and blocked his blow, "We shall see!"

Maartje kept observing us. She crossed her arms, seemingly focused on the duel.

Our fight continued and I sliced my cutlass against his right thigh, leaving a small wound there. He flinched and tried to hit my waist, but I dodged. Our blades clashed all the time... How I loved that noise! I aimed for his arm and missed, so he took advantage and left a tiny injury on my shoulder. Don't worry, those small cuts didn't hurt us at all, they were part of our practice.

"I hate to be a spoilsport, but it's time to stop practicing," uncle Ruben said from a distance.

Sven and I instantly stopped wielding our cutlasses and looked at my uncle. Maartje put her bottle on the ground as she turned her attention to her father.

"The crew just voted. We'll plunder a ship now," my uncle smiled as he continued. "Eva is coming with us."

I gawked, not believing uncle Ruben had finally let me participate in a pirate attack. I'd waited years for that moment. Although I ground my teeth due to my fear, my heart pounded in excitement. Maartje smiled and squeezed me, seemingly proud. We'd wanted to engage in looting together for a long time.

I grinned widely, "Thank you so much, uncle! I can't wait to finally do this with you! This is going to be amazing..."

My uncle let out a small laugh and put on his black cocked hat. I jumped joyfully while giggling like a child. Yes, I was very mature for a twenty-one-year-old... who am I kidding? I was a big baby!

"You earned it! I know you're ready," uncle Ruben smiled sweetly. "It's about time you know what being a pirate truly feels like."

Feeling myself blushing, I nodded. I was flattered that my uncle had finally decided to let me be a real buccaneer. Since my arrival at The Revenger, I had been training hard, so I couldn't help but be flattered that uncle Ruben thought I was ready.

Maartje quickly embraced Sven and me, "We'll be the most awesome pirate trio ever!"

"We already are!" I smiled and took a deep breath. "Together, we're unstoppable."

I know, I smiled a lot at that moment, but what else would I do? Despite the fear of failure, my excitement was enormous. Although I could never be sure, I felt that I was born to be a pirate. The love for adventure ran through my veins... literally, in my case, since uncle Ruben was my blood relative.

Sven's eyes gleamed, "This is going to be so much fun!"

I nodded so fast that I thought my head would fall. My heart was divided between pure happiness and extreme fear. I bit the lower lip and grinned at the same time... crazy, right? But that was the truth.

My uncle walked towards the helm, "Now you all have to come with me."

Sven, Maartje and I followed my uncle's orders. My heart was beating faster by the second. I swallowed to contain the nausea.

I'm finally going to be a real pirate! I hope I don't screw it up...

"Listen, mates! As you already know, we're looting that fluyt," my uncle pointed at the vessel ahead of us. "Eva is coming with us this time."

Some crewmembers whispered as they looked at me. I gulped, hoping they weren't speaking ill of me. The last thing I needed was being hated by uncle Ruben's people.

He continued, "Isaak, steer us starboard! Pierre, adjust the sails, go to the crow's nest of the mainmast and let me know when we're close enough to our target!"

"Yes, Captain!" Pierre and Isaak shouted in unison.

Starboard means right and port means left... Right? I hope I'm not confusing the two again.

Pierre Lacroix was the quartermaster, which was the second in command and the one who had the power to veto the captain's decisions. Uncle Ruben was the only one who called him by the first name. On that day, Lacroix was doing the boatswain's job as well since the latter was sick.

Isaak quickly followed my uncle's orders, steering the helm clockwise, and so did Lacroix. Our galleon sailed much faster once the quartermaster adjusted the sails. The quartermaster then climbed the shrouds, got in the crow's nest and observed our target with a brown spyglass. As our vessel approached the fluyt, I took several deep breaths. Maartje quickly left her grog bottle in her room. She came back with two blunderbusses, which were small pistols, on her belt. Sven and I already carried our guns with us.

My uncle raised his brows, "Remember, Eva: attack only if you are attacked and always follow Pierre's lead. Is that clear?"

I nodded and bit my lower lip, still nauseated. Lacroix was always the one who led the crew during loots, so I couldn't do anything without asking his permission first, unfortunately.

"We're close enough to the fluyt," Lacroix climbed down the shrouds. "Permission to raise our flag, Captain?"

I don't know if I'm bursting in excitement or fear...

My eyes widened as our target got closer at each second. That was my first time seeing a fluyt, which was a Dutch cargo ship. It was much smaller than the galleon and it had two masts instead of three.

"Permission granted," uncle Ruben turned to his master gunner. "Go to the gun deck and prepare the cannons. Use them if they don't surrender."

The master gunner nodded and ran downstairs. Once Lacroix raised our flag, which was black with skull and crossbones in the middle, Isaak steered The Revenger closer to the fluyt. A large number of uncle Ruben's crewmembers shouted, "Surrender or die!" at his command. After that, they threw grappling hooks onto the fluyt's gunwales and into its rigging, pulling it closer to us.

"Everything is going to be okay. I got this!" I whispered to myself.

When Pierre allowed some pirates to board, the fluyt's sailors opened fire instead of surrendering. My eyes widened in fear. Unfortunately, the vessel would have to be plundered the hard way.

Lacroix approached me, "Allons-y! Come on!"

I quickly tied my hair on a high bun and moved closer to the target vessel. Every step I took made my heart pound. That was it. My time to be a real pirate had finally come. A part of me still couldn't believe I was about to use my skills in the real world. It was time to use everything I'd learned in The Revenger for the past eight years. Taking a deep breath, I jumped.

****

Author's note:

I chose Rachel McAdams to be our dear Eva Van Acker (the twenty-one-year-old Eva, of course) because I think she would make a perfect Eva due to her sense of humor and spontaneity if "Ocean Storm" becomes a movie one day. In this aesthetic, I put three of Eva's most remarkable characteristics and a couple of emojis that relate to her. I wanted a picture of Rachel in pirate clothes, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any... :-( I hope you all liked it! Also, let me know if you also imagined Rachel as Eva.