My heart raced as I looked at Laurens. I couldn't believe he was back in my life. What adventures had he experienced since we'd last seen each other? Had he suffered a lot to get where he was? I bit my lower lip as I tried to imagine what he must have gone through. After we hugged that afternoon, I realized my feelings for him had changed. When we were in Willemstad, I had a crush on Laurens, but that was no longer the case. I won't lie, the reason I ever had romantic feelings for him was that he was the first man, perhaps person, who treated me right. Although my father and Johannes weren't as bad as Hendrika, they didn't care for me as much as Laurens did. Dad... or was it his ghost? Anyway, dad just said those flattering things to me underwater due to his guilt. My brother was boring and selfish, so we weren't exactly friends. Laurens was the only one I could rely on and that made me mistake friendship for love. Deep down, I never imagined myself in a real relationship with him.

Maartje, Francis and Sven left the forecastle deck. Sven frowned and cocked his head. My cousin grinned widely, apparently remembering Laurens. Francis ran to my first friend and licked his legs excitedly.

I chuckled, "Francis seems to be fond of you!"

"We're old friends. He's a great little fella," Laurens smiled and caressed Francis's head. "Did you know he was named after the previous captain's favorite pirate? He adored Francis Drake."

"That's so awesome!" I smiled and widened my eyes. "Francis Drake is one of the most remarkable pirates in history. My uncle told me stories about him all the time."

Maartje wouldn't stop smiling as she looked at Laurens. He fixed his gaze on her and took a step closer. Sven wrinkled his nose. I considered continuing the conversation but decided to leave my cousin to say what she wanted to. Laurens never looked at a girl like that at any moment while we still lived in Willemstad.

"I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Maartje de Vries. I helped you escape that day," her eyes gleamed. "I'm Eva's cousin."

"Of course!" Laurens sighed. "How could I forget?"

Sven cleared his throat, "I'm Sven Van Hout. Eva, Maartje and I lived together in Captain de Vries' ship for eight years."

You're really subtle, aren't you, Sven?

Laurens frowned slightly, seemingly confused. My eyes widened once I realized he had no idea about what had taken place after his escape.

"Wait! Your uncle's a pirate captain? You were living in a ship this whole time?" my oldest friend raised his brows and approached me. "What happened since you helped me escape?"

"It's a long story," I looked in all directions and hoped no one would see that I was talking instead of working. "I'll tell you everything."

My two friends followed Laurens and me as we walked towards the foremast on the forecastle deck. Slowly, I described everything significant that had occurred in my life since he left the Van Acker residence. I talked about how my father died, uncle Ruben taking me with him, the new things I learned as a beginner pirate, the shipwreck... almost every detail. The only major event I left out was the truth about dad's death. Laurens gawked more than once during our conversation and nodded continuously, seemingly attentive at what I said.

"I see a lot has taken place over the years. Also, I liked the nickname your friends gave you," Laurens chuckled. "Storm... It suits you."

"My favorite part was when Eva saved my life in her first pirate attack," Sven sighed and smiled. "Pushing that annoying redhead into the ocean was pretty awesome too."

I gulped once I recalled that terrible situation. Biting my lower lip, I gazed at the floor for an instant. Although I wouldn't admit it, I hated being reminded of that moment. All the deaths I'd caused on that evening made my chest hurt, but killing the redhead was especially awful to me. He seemed intriguing and I wanted to have known him better. Besides, I knew drowning was one of the worst ways of dying even before I experienced it myself.

"Yeah, it was a great adventure," I forced a smile, "but enough about me. What have you been up to since we last saw each other, Laurens?"

His lips curled into a broad grin, "Honestly? My life took a massive turn after you helped me! Without you, I would've never known how much I love being a pirate."

"Thank you," I smiled sweetly. "I'm glad I helped you in some way."

Maartje's lips curled into a quizzical smile, "What motivated you to become a pirate, Laurens?"

I'm wondering the same thing. I never took Laurens as a seaman.

"I've never wanted to be one," he raised and curved his brows while turning to my cousin. "It was a complete surprise."

I chuckled and lifted a brow, "What happened then?"

"A week after I eloped, a group of men hijacked me. They intended to take me to a place where I could be sold as a slave. I must have spent a month on that ship," Laurens pressed his lips together and glared at the foremast. "It wasn't as devastating as seeing my parents being sold by Govert when I was twelve, but still terrifying."

I felt a pain in my chest when I recalled the day my father decided to sell that poor couple... Laurens cried for weeks and got even more whipped for it! It was horrible. Maartje widened her eyes and put a hand on her mouth. I knew she hated slavery as much as I did, so she was probably horrified. Sven shook his head in denial and pursed his lips, seemingly not fond of the subject as well.

"I still remember that terrible day. My father sold Laurens' parents because dad had spent too much on rum and bought some useless things he couldn't afford. We never saw Laurens' parents again after that," I sighed when I looked at Maartje and Sven. "We even had to move to a much smaller house because of my father's stupid spending..."

Laurens bit his lower lip, "Since I was born in Willemstad, I speak fluent Dutch, but my parents didn't. They probably suffered even more than they already did in the Van Acker residence since people hate it when slaves don't understand their language well."

Maartje narrowed her eyes, "Although I was born in Amsterdam, I grew up in a pirate ship, so I'll never accept slavery. People who enslave others have a special place in hell!"

A coy smile formed on Laurens' face as if he'd found Maartje even more attractive after hearing that. Sven took a step forward and frowned, seemingly annoyed. I laughed softly, wondering what Laurens and Sven were thinking.

Am I going crazy, or is Sven jealous?

"I was born in the same city as Maartje and grew up with her in The Revenger, so I couldn't agree more. Slavery is indeed terrible," Sven sighed and stared at Laurens as if something annoyed him. "What happened after the month you spent on the vessel, Laurens?"

Laurens gulped as sweat ran down his forehead, "A group of pirates attacked the ship. I was so desperate that I didn't even think twice before accepting to join their crew."

I couldn't imagine what Laurens had gone through. The color of my skin and my nationality were the only things that kept me from being a slave and that made me nauseous. What was wrong with people? Claiming others as their properties because of color and origin? I think I'd never heard anything more ridiculous...

"The captain was very kind to me and so was the quartermaster. I told them I was a runaway slave, but they still gave me a job as a cook," he continued, smiling widely. "They started trusting me after a year and taught me everything they knew about navigation."

I raised my brows and grinned, "That sounds amazing!"

"Yeah, it was indeed amazing. The captain was so good to me that I decided to adopt his last name after we spent two years on the Sea Urchin together," Laurens' eyes gleamed and he smiled again. "Now my full name is Laurens Dixon."

I nodded and grinned, proud of my friend. Non-emancipated slaves couldn't have last names. The fact that Laurens had adopted one, even though it wasn't official, made me happy for him.

"A last name? How fancy! You and the crew must have loved the previous leaders of this ship then," I tilted my head and frowned. "How did Captain Monster and Quartermaster Devil end up as the new leaders?"

Maartje, Laurens, and Sven laughed, apparently of the nicknames I'd given to Fletcher and Knight. I wondered how someone could've elected those two madmen as leaders. I didn't know them well yet, but I was sure of one thing: they weren't good people.

"The captain died suddenly two months ago. Out of nowhere, he fell on the quarterdeck and stopped breathing. The quartermaster died of a fever a month later," Laurens squeezed his eyes shut for a second and caressed Francis while the latter whined. "Since Fletcher was the boatswain, he was next in line and took command."

Maartje rubbed between her brows, "This is crazy! Do you think Fletcher and Knight conspired to kill them?"

I gulped as the memory of uncle Ruben and Dr. Bakker talking about killing my father hit me like a cannonball. At that instant, Knight yelled on the quarterdeck while a man begged for mercy. The quartermaster used lashes to punish the guy, just like he'd done with me. Captain Fletcher observed them with a sadistic grin on his lips. Francis barked angrily at the evil English man and I hoped he wouldn't listen. The last thing I needed was the crazy captain catching us talking.

"I don't know, but rumor has it they did. Fletcher basically forced the crew to elect Knight, which was pretty suspicious..." Laurens downturned the corners of his lips while narrowing his eyes. "I got a new job as navigator three years before they became leaders and the bastards took it from me... now I'm the cook again."

I ended up in a ship with murderers again? Amazing! I couldn't be luckier!

"I'm sorry to hear that, man," Sven gave Laurens a pat on the back and pulled his brows together. "God, these guys are the worst! I hope they at least don't rape women."

"Unfortunately, they do. That's the only reason Fletcher and Knight accept women in the crew," Laurens shot an icy stare at the two men. "Knight and Fletcher are a real piece of work."

Francis recoiled, appearing to be upset. I thought of the woman who gave me the clean clothes, wondering what those freaks did to her and the others. Maartje and I were the only girls in The Revenger and yet no one ever tried to harm us. I thought some ladies worked at the Sea Urchin because the captain was inclusive, but no! The reason was he and Knight liked to rape, how wonderful... Why hadn't I thrown myself to the sharks instead of boarding that damn schooner? I wanted to run away at that moment.

I faked a smile and raised my brows, "So, they're bloodthirsty and perverts? That's just great!"

Francis growled in anger, seeming to agree with me.

What am I going to do now? At least Hendrika didn't try to violate me... God, this is terrifying!

If fear could kill, I would've died at that moment. Knight still flogged the man on the quarterdeck, giving me the creeps. Also, I wondered how the navigator wasn't getting distracted since the quartermaster applied the punishment very close to the helm.

Laurens pressed his lips together, "The worst of all is that we can't do anything about it. I tried to convince them to stop raping more than once, but they keelhauled me."

My friend lifted his white shirt, showing several injuries everywhere on his skin. Maartje gawked, apparently horrified. Although I'd never seen uncle Ruben keelhauling, I knew the damage that kind of punishment did. My father told me that it happened to RNN sailors all the time. I couldn't imagine someone tied to a line loop beneath a vessel and being dragged under the ship's keel from bow to stern... That was horribly cruel! Laurens definitely didn't deserve it.

Sven bared his teeth, "I still don't understand why no one has tried to break the necks of these disgusting bastards!"

I turned to my cousin and grinned mischievously, "I believe it's time to start a mutiny..."

My cousin's eyes widened, she tripped and almost fell. Sven and Laurens turned to her. Even though I wasn't sure if my two male friends had heard my idea, I knew they'd call me crazy once they found out what I was up to. At that instant, I saw the captain laughing as Knight used the cat-o'-nine tails for the third time on the same day. I knit my brows together and shot them an icy glare as I felt the anger running through my veins.

I won't put up with two Hendrikas... I just won't...

"Are you insane?" Maartje put both hands on my shoulders. "We don't stand a chance against those demons!"

"This won't work, Eva," Laurens pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "I would follow you even if you told me to jump off a cliff, but the crew will never listen to a woman."

I laughed loudly. Francis followed me as I walked from one side to another. Sven cocked his head, seemingly confused. Maartje put both hands on her head and closed her eyes. Laurens' mouth was partially open as if he wanted to say something. Although my friends were worried about me, what else would I do but take down the bloodthirsty dudes? As I said, I wouldn't be silent with that craziness happening in front of me.

I smiled mischievously, "Who said anything about listening? They just have to see."

Maartje huffed. I couldn't tell if she was angry, frustrated, or worried... maybe everything at the same time. Francis sat down as if my words had brought him peace of mind.

Sven raised his brows, "What the hell are you thinking, Storm?"

I'll need a cutlass, but I lost mine in the ocean. I guess I'll have to steal one...

"I'm going to humiliate and overthrow them," I sighed and glared at the two leaders. "We won't endure their violence anymore. Not if I can help it."

Maartje laughed nervously, "We barely arrived in this vessel and you're already talking about a revolution?"

Francis kept looking at me and I couldn't understand why. Laurens looked from side to side as if he feared someone could hear us. Guess what? I had freaked out my friends! At least it was for a good cause... Although I knew that was my first day at the Sea Urchin, I was determined not to live in danger.

"Listen, I heard the whispers before meeting you here," Laurens knit his brows while pointing at the main deck. "The crew was delighted with what you did today, but God knows how they're going to react if you try something like that!"

"Don't worry. I'll gain their trust," I smiled, pretending to be confident I'd succeed in that craziness. "This will be a slow process. I won't overthrow the leaders tomorrow or anything."

Sven hyperventilated and wouldn't stop gawking. He appeared to be afraid of my idea. Although I knew my plan was crazy, how could I sit and watch those violent men do whatever they pleased? Somehow, I'd send them straight to hell, I felt it.

"This is pure madness," Sven's eyes bulged. "You're going to get us all killed!"

"Not you," I took a deep breath. "Just me."

My friends froze. Maartje scowled and gawked. Francis approached my right leg and licked it, appearing to know what I meant. Laurens looked downward while putting a hand on his chin. Sven gulped. I pressed my lips together as I could feel they were all worried, but I knew exactly what I was doing. Although I was scared, no one would stop me from fulfilling my goal. Fletcher and Knight were going to pay for what they'd been doing for years. With or without my friends' support, I would destroy the two tyrants.

****

I chose Idris Elba to be our sweet Laurens Dixon. I think he would make a perfect Laurens if "Ocean Storm" becomes a movie one day because of his amazing charisma. In this aesthetic, I put three of Laurens' most remarkable characteristics and some emojis that relate to him. I added his unofficial last name as well since it's now part of his identity. I hope you all liked it! Let me know if you also imagined Idris as Laurens.